Bill

I believe by far our greatest failing is the inability to fully function when things go against us - when the opposition is strong, when we can't get a breakthrough, when we don't meet the fans' expectation. When we get the breaks and things go our way we are capable of high tempo play and moving the ball quickly but when things go against us our play becomes torpid and ineffective. Most of all, we seem largely incapable of moving from the latter to the former during games .... a characteristic that suggests too few leaders and way too many followers. Tellingly, I almost never see our captain lifting his team.

There's no end of things that should be but, a full ten years down the line, it must be clear by now that accountability isn't something that's ever going to escape from the shadows of this farce.

It seems to me Liverpool fans have made a hell of a rod for their own backs. They claim they (the city) have been treated badly by Westminster governments who they accuse on managing the decline of the city and that their allegiance is to Scousery first. Strangely, I cannot see this being mirrored in the Everton support, which suggests this is at heart just another attempt by Liverpool fans to scale the cliffs of victimhood. There may be more to it that I'm unaware of but from my current perspective the fans of that football club have a long tradition of attention seeking and self-pity. They seem to exist to be seen as "special" and that's never been an attractive look. I've been to Liverpool and I've been to Anfield and most of what I've seen is a long way from being special. By booing the national anthem, I believe these people are showing themselves to be petty and disrespectful and increasingly like the fans of another anti-monarchist club closer to home.

Incompetence, yes but you'd expect that in Sturgeon's Empire. It's what the incompetence was layered on top of that concerns me more. Do you really believe this long, complex and sordid affair evolved merely by virtue of incompetence at every single step? I think that would require a level of consistency and coincidence that hardly fits with incompetence alone.

Rangers 2 Ajax 3 FGS - Colak

A translation at last

Is it?

I disagree with your sentiment. The banner is shameful and quite offensive but unless it's actually breaking decency laws I think fans should be free to display what they want. It reflects on them, not us/me. There's enough censorship around as it is.

Let's be honest, if we'd dropped points today the anger would have been fairly volcanic but almost no one would be expressing undue surprise. That was such an important win today - not just because it gives us three points and keeps us in touch but because after recent poor results another defeat would have thrown the club into compete disarray. A decent win provides some breathing space and gives everyone some hope that things might yet improve.

It's good you mentioned Ryan Kent. I hesitated to do so but you're absolutely right, he did have a good game. He's been rightly criticised recently but he never hid from the ball, always made himself available and his work rate was notches up from recent games. I just wish we could see him play with the same freedom and self-confidence of Fashion Jr.

He's not the only one but Tillman is particularly guilty of declining opportunities to shoot/score.

It's clear to me they both read this forum because they were both excellent today, particularly Sands who I thought looked every inch a midfielder we can use, before looking composed and comfortable as a central defender. I wonder if he can handle fullback too?

Going to be stiff competition in the MOTM poll for this one. Sakala, Sands, Čolak, Tillman, King, Barisic? One player lit up the game, you could sense the anticipation every time he received the ball.

We've waited a while for this performance. Maybe there is some hope after all?

To be fair to him, Kent has had a much better second half.

Gotta love Fashion Jr. Wtf was he on the bench week after week?

Predictable

For all that the usual suspects continue to struggle, the tempo is much better and a number of players have definitely improved their game. King and Davies, Tillman and Sands, Sakala and Colak all put in a decent shift first half. The goal we conceded was farcial.

I'd be selecting Wright in his place for a handful of games.

I wouldn't have had him on the field but to his credit he's not hiding

Čolak looks more like the real deal every time I see him. Sands and Tillman both doing well.

Classic ....... our captain turns his back on the ball, hand raised looking for the referee, while the Aberdeen player hammers the ball into our net unopposed. You couldn't make this shit up.

More likely to be an Aberdeen player

It's irrelevant, no one will be consulting the support on that appointment. Maybe just as well really.

It's always hope that kills you in the end.