Monkey Tennis

It is and it isn't. If the recruitment hasn't resulted in suitably capable players being fielded, then that impacts on what makes sense as to how we set up.

Pretty much agree with this. I'm certainly not suggesting we should be strolling the division. My own summer prediction for the final table had Falkirk and Hamilton in the top 2 slots. However, I don't for a minute think their advantages are such that anything taken from them is a bonus. They've both started well, but they're only out of sight for us, because we've been lousy. It's not that we can't possibly live with them.

Sorry, but I'm not accepting that sneaking the odd point off Hamilton will be a bonus. We need more ambition than that. You're a whisker from referring to 'free hits'. It's Hamilton and Falkirk for Christ's sake. It's September for Christ's sake. I'm glad nobody seemed to see it that way when we shared a division with 3 of the country's 5 biggest clubs, in addition to the behemoth that is Falkirk.

Yip he's clearly very frustrated. We know we're not fielding a full strength side just now, so there is some mitigation. However, he's clearly really getting pissed off with a lack of focus and awareness in some of his players - a basic lack of maturity perhaps. He sounds unsure of how to fix it.

It is poor that seats are filthy. There's no need for anyone to get defensive about it, or resort to whataboutery. The Hamilton fans can't even be accused of sour grapes here, given that, in common with most guests, they took away the points.

Well, they won't now. I think there's a bit of revisionism going on though, that suggests Falkirk and Hamilton were obviously always going to be miles ahead of us from the outset. Hamilton have been struggling for a while, suffering two relegations in three seasons. Meanwhile, Falkirk have been stuck here for four already. They might have been fancied to finish above us, but the margins right now are greater than we'd every right to hope. I'd contend that defeats to the top two do matter. Despite their strong starts, both will yet drop plenty points. We can't be writing games off in this division.

I don't think he's doing terribly well so far, but we really need to commit to sticking with this one for a decent spell. Missing out on the play-offs would represent pretty dismal failure, but I think that even then, it would probably be fair to give him another crack. He's young and was widely admired. He needs a chance to get it right.

Very good.

Are we still scared stiff of Bartley getting poached?

I did not have that sense of him at all to be honest. I felt that he could frame things quite skilfully.

Nah, you see he didn't just do the daft stylised gibberish that you've attempted to parody. He actually did manage to speak well on his podcasts, back before he fashioned himself as a guru.

Nonsense. There are lots of thoroughly inarticulate people who are well read.

I think P&B is actually interesting in terms of charting changes in sensibilities. Obviously, it's always relied on a certain irreverence, but things we'd deem thoroughly unacceptable now, weren't just present a decade or so back: they were popular. Rape jokes, references to rape vans etc went down a storm - they really did. It's kinda uncomfortable. Our attitudes shift quickly, and most of us reach them less independently than we'd like to think.

Don't be daft. He went well beyond that. He had a real dexterity with language, and he was very quick. If you can't recognise that, it would suggest that you're not, in fact, terribly clever.

I agree with your observations about the decade, and the sort of celebrities it gave rise to. However, I don't think Russell Brand does belong in that group of those who became famous without discernible talent. He was a clever, sometimes funny, entertaining guy, blessed with a terrific facility with language. He was always clearly a dick, and evidently now, he was actually much worse than that. He was talented and capable though.

Yeah, that's probably fair. The two are related. However, so public was his sleazy behaviour that much of that aspect of the programme lacked impact. it is relevant. However, it was dwarfed by the other allegations, yet seemed to get similar weighting.

I thought the C4 documentary was a bit lopsided. The major revelations were at the start - the pretty solid sounding rape allegations from America, and the situation regarding the 16 year old girl in London. There were other serious allegations of sexual assault later too. I thought though, that too much time was spent on his already well documented promiscuity. I get why it's part of the story, because it says unedifying things about him, some of those round him, and the wider industry. However, I think there's a danger of conflating promiscuity with sexual offending. This allows him to construct a defence of sorts, and deflects from the gruesome stuff.

Better.

Hey, I was only offering constructive criticism.

...apart from the fact that it looks like it was taken at a school's 3G pitch. Your ground still needs a 4th side.

Christ, what did it say? Its replacement isn't all that conciliatory.

I'm not convinced that we're disagreeing here. Is the bold bit not precisely what I said?

Well yeah, it keeps you in the hunt for promotion. However, as you know, the odds aren't great. Queen's Park's circumstances are a little different from ours. It's galling that we're so far out of the title picture already. I'd no real expectation of winning it, but involvement a little later than this might have been fun.

The Alloa and Montrose games meant we couldn't afford to lose today. Then we did. It's poor that we're yet again mid-table down here. I fear we need to start getting used to it.

To be honest, I was hopeful that nobody would have disappeared over the horizon by mid-September. We've taken 50% of the available points thus far. It's a disappointing start.