Yoss

McKeown's long-throws aren't quite as dangerous as they've been cracked up to be. Bear in mind he's just been playing at Cowdenbeath where the pitch is several yards narrower.

Yes, as others have said this has been the racing favourite among book fans for some years now. It's not universally accepted and there are plenty of other theories out there, but personally I find the circumstantial evidence to be pretty compelling. (Also, GRRM has planned out those sorts of aspects from the book since way back, so I don't see him changing it in response to expectations - if we're wrong, we've always been wrong.) To my mind, though, it's because of stuff like this that make the TV series - good fun though it is - so much less interesting than the books. The TV show is a single narrative telling a story, the books are a whole array of competing narratives and information and misinformation, and so much is deliberately planted to give you clues to work out the genuine state of affairs (insofar as there is one). The most important bit of back-up for this particular theory, for example, comes from a passage of Ned Stark's inner monologue in the first book - not a hint of which was contained within the TV equivalent. So if it does turn out to be true it's going to be deus ex machina as far as the TV viewer is concerned. (And even if it doesn't, there's plenty other examples which could be used to make the same point.)

Might have just been luck / coincidence / Graham's injury, but Graham and Baird weren't that effective for us when playing together. Both of them did very well for us separately, but the season when they overlapped wasn't a great one. Nonetheless I'd expect Graham, if available, to get a better offer than we could give him. If I were managing either of the Edinburgh teams I'd sign him up like a shot.

Yes. Now f**k off.

Anyway, peach of a goal, glad someone got it on camera. Boom boom boom, let me hear you say ....

Makes perfect sense. If you're selling tickets for an all-ticket game and you're asked for two seats together it's useful to know where the gaps are.

If Campbell signs up as well, as seems likely, we'd be starting the season with a first-team squad of 20 (including three 'keepers, Callaghan and Vaughn but no other youngsters, and including Ellis but not Murray). That's bigger than we've started the season with at any time in recent years.

Don't remember much about the Teenage Fanclub set, I think I was mostly trying to keep in touch with the Test score from Trent Bridge at the time - it was that Ashes summer.

Planning to, yeah. I've seen Commonwealth Games athletics at Meadowbank, and I've seen The Pixies play there, but I've never seen a football match there.

Sorry, I know it's a cheap laugh going through old predictions and things, so this is my last*, but I think my own favourite Tade comment was peegee's "Anything would have been better than Tade. Sade even." Didn't think of Nade did he? That fooled him. [* For now. Probably.]

I also went back to re-check the opening pages of the thread and found this post, which reminded me of the futility of existence.

The Shimla is alright. I could just go an Indian buffet for breakfast right now. With or without the five pints.

It so is panic. I could trawl through the thread and find similar quotes from the same stage every summer. (The first few weeks of it are largely dominated - alongside the numbers of people writing Tade off as being shite - by discussion of whether Marvin Andrews was going to sign, and whether we were missing out on signings while we were waiting. We ended up with Murray and Hill instead.) For one thing, even if we were in any sense desparate for players there'd be little to be gained, in respect of our negotiating position, by saying so. In any case there's no point signing players for the sake of it. If the right players aren't there now and it leaves room in the kitty to add loanees or whatever once we're into the season, then fine. It'll be rayt. You'll see.

It's July 3rd. Let's not panic, folks.

Hopefully a good move for all concerned, this. His career at Raith was far from being a write-off and he certainly showed flashes of ability, but his failure to produce it with any reliability - particularly when given starts - was a bit frustrating. Maybe we didn't give him a long enough run as a starter, but he never really showed enough to justify it. He'll probably get that at Alloa, and is due some credit for taking a step back to part-time football in order to do so. I'd be happy to see him doing well.

Okay, so Dundee have the resources to sign proven performers from within the division, but none of the others have been signed from other clubs at that stage. (Maybe it would have been more meaningful to look at the season before they joined their current clubs.) I have no particular opinion either way on Stewart. It's not a signing that fills me with excitement but it could work. Jury out.

I don't know the answer to this question - but just out of interest, how many of those 15+ goalscorers also scored 15+ the season before? It tends not to be the way things work at this level, players hit a streak of form or just hit lucky and have good seasons, then often move on. (Mark Stewart was one of those who did, a few years ago.) It's not that common for someone at our level to sign someone who is already a reliable goalscorer at the same level. To some extent everyone is taking punts.

Anderson's flick-ons have been a major, but hardly ever mentioned, part of our game plan over the last two seasons. Nice to see him being given a bit of credit, somewhere.

I didn't think Hammill was anything like as bad as most others have said, but - a bit like Rob Sloan before him - we never worked out where best to use him. Had an eye for a pass and dodged away, but in our customary 4-4-2 he was a bit lightweight for a central role and a bit slow for a winger. As someone says, he did better in the couple of game when we played wingbacks.

And he looks like less of a dick.

Yeah. For all that most folk seem to have decided that Allan Walker was shit after he'd gone, we missed a bit of his energy / drive / character / gallus / whatever-word-you-want-to-use in centre-mid last season, when things weren't going well.

Can I ask why Gary Glen is invoking such antipathy?

... by not playing, mostly.

The tragedy of the misunderstood.

I don't rightly see what difference Hibs coming down makes. They'll finish above us next season but Hamilton would have as well. Our equation is still the same, be nice to be in with a chance of fourth place but we just need to make sure we finish above two of the part-time clubs. Edit: or what donny just said.