Falcor Roar

I can see Shankland staying for many years to come tbh. There might be interest from the English Championship but I suspect he'll be underestimated because it's only Jock football, his Belgian move didn't work out and he's not a young player with sell on value anymore. If he keeps scoring he'll get into Scotland squads which will appeal to him.

8 in a row, going for 9. Ron's son better fire up the Wyscout and find another Willy Fish or two. At least you're top of the sandwich and champagne league by the sounds of it.

Looks like Euro group stage football and getting battered by prestigious opponents is back on the menu boys. As if there was any doubt given how rank every other side is.

Classic response from someone who's absolutely raging. And for your information I don't have a life anymore, I'm in Montrose looking after an unruly 2 year old while drinking cheap malbec.

Did free flowing Hibernian win the moral battle again though? We never win the moral 3pts.

Disappointing you've back tracked to claim it's a wind up Zing. Better tactic is to put your hands up and admit the jambos were simply the better side.

I was thinking that sounds like the Czech daftie. Brilliant one game, hilariously inept the next. A bit worried how Clark will work with a defence who have not been able to deal with cross balls. Having Rowles and Halkett back will make a difference, but I wonder if it's also a weakness in the coaching at Hearts. Neilson seems to have a blindspot for the importance of a solid defence.

I was in the stand in line with the 6 yard box and I'd say the Stranraer effort crossed the line. Thought the ref was generally poor, blowing the whistle every time a player fell down. Bonnyrigg clear value in the first half but they tired in the second,if Stranraer had a finisher they'd have been fine as they were getting in behind with their wing play. First trip to Bonnyrigg, nice social club and fans got behind their team.

Interesting to hear. I don't think the majority are expecting an upgrade on Gordon who probably saves us double figures in points over a season. Hoping that he'll be a solid shot stopper who rarely drops clangers but we'll see. It was poor goalkeeper recruitment that led in a big part to us going down so it's a touchy subject for jambos. I suspect 3rd place is now much more up in the air than before. A solid commanding cb is a must in January, failure in this respect would be farcical.

You didn't lose because of the ref. It was your shitebag gaffer lads.

Thought this concept was running out of steam a bit but buckfast bacon has it back on track.

Went as a neutral with a mate to this one as neither of us are watching the world cup. Missed the opener as we were blethering while getting a pie. Left about 30 seconds before the second. At least it wasn't as cold as I expected.

I went through this exactly 2 weeks ago and as you say it's a farce. The letter says to turn up, the phone line says don't turn up. I was called at 10am on Monday asking if I was free to go into the ballot as they had a trial. I explained that my son is only one year old and Montrose to Dundee is quite a commute to get back for nursery ending. They said well, it's up to you but the timings should be ok. I said fine and agreed as long as I wasn't kept past 4:30. They didn't ring back so obviously I didn't get drawn. If there was more cases in the week they might have called Tuesday or Wednesday but that wasn't likely apparently. You could say you couldn't get childcare and that would be that if you don't want to do it.

Norrie Davidson, scored the winner in a league cup final for Hearts. That was over 60 years ago though. I used to work with his nephew, very nice bloke.

I think Neilson's strength is training a team that can move the ball forward at speed, who can vary the means of attack either by balls over the top from midfield or working it out to the wings. Thinking about most of last season, thinking about the first half vs Zurich at home where we had them truly rattled. We've got quality in Shankland, as good a set of wingers as I've seen for a long time, a good mixture of midfielders who can do different things. Another striker would have been handy but hey ho. I couldn't agree more with DC92 with regards the defence. It was the same as the Championship season, make do with a totally finished Berra and bring in the Romanian jobber who couldn't get a game at st mirren. It could have ended in disaster if it wasn't for Gordon. It's an utter bizarre blind spot he has. You don't get good sides who are dreadful at the back. The defence dictates shape with and without the ball. It starts the moves, it permeates the confidence you need to play good football. We were obviously a couple of injuries away from disaster and it's predictably come to pass. The excuses were laughable. There were improved players at cb out there, we just failed to find them. If you can't find anyone better then you at least bring in cover. All teams need to do is drift a cross into our box and you'll get chances. And Sibbick is all at sea in defence that much is clear even to Neilson. He doesn't have the ability to track markers or position himself. Having said all this we're within touching distance of a poor hibs side in third who have not played Celtic yet so we've done well all incompetence considered.

To be honest there were a few question marks about Hickeys positioning and marking at hearts maybe, but that was a dysfunctional side altogether. He was always going to be a top player given his outstanding technique and his intelligence in using his body. I like that he's been clever in his moves up the ladder. Everyone on here who's had Clarke's back from day one is delighted with Tuesday's result given the players we had missing. We've been backs to the wall in other games and the defensive solidity is usually impressive. It's been a cornerstone of Clarke's philosophy from the beginning even if we've had a few games in the recent past where we've been at 6s and 7s. He's used a number of so called lesser or less experienced defenders but they understand their roles in keeping the shape because of the manager. It shows how versatile we are given the attacking masterclass the week before at home.

I don't care, It's an irrelevant and pedantic argument. Pat yourself on the back for being king of the internet. I haven't said you don't have the right to bore people with your deflection tactics. Fire on.

No, what you've done is create a boring straw man argument about whether there has been a 'complete tactical turnaround' or whether it's been a system change which doesn't alter the fundamental characteristics of how Clarke plays (high press, playing out from the back, short probing pass work in the opposition half, quick counter attacking using one touch triangles to build play, strong shape out of possession...) You've spent the last couple of days proclaiming that everyone else is wrong and crying foul when you've been pulled up for your previous awful takes. Sorry but that's not how public forums work.

At least the jobs no longer the poisoned chalice it once was, thanks in major part to SSC. I can imagine there will be choice for the SFA when the day comes.

It's utterly bizarre. Even if you somehow agree that Clarke's changing of formation and personel is tantamount to a 'complete' tactical turnabout, it still stands that he wouldn't have had that opportunity had Bing had his way back in June or after the Euros. The dignified position would be to put your hand up and acknowledge your short sightedness.

Hi Craig, hiya pal.

Can I not carry on knocking him and also have a preference for somebody other than biscuits, McCann and Grant on the radio? Why is that not allowed? If the benchmark is for journalists to be literate then that probably serves my point.

You're trying to spin this like Clarke has had some road to Damascus moment. We haven't completely changed tactics, our positive style has been quite consistent and the players are well drilled. We've had games where the players haven't followed through with the game plan either/or because the opposition have played too well or because we've lost confidence leading to poor shape and a reliance on hitting it long (Czech Rep and Croatia at Euro 2020, Ireland away, Ukraine playoff). It happens, international teams are particularly vulnerable to inconsistency. We played a back 4 for years before Clarke and it didn't work. We used a back 3 to steady the ship. We're moving back to a 4 because things have evolved and the manager is competent enough to bring in changes as and when needed. Can we also claw out Tom English while I'm at it? He's another that's gushing again this morning but has been doomsday when we've stalled.

You're fooling absolutely nobody. That's twice you've kicked SSC when he's been down and you'd have been straight on here calling for his head had we lost a late goal last night. We play a higher press, short sharp passing in possession because that's what the better sides do if they can and it's the best way to win the most points. Sometimes that means you'll lose important games when teams get through your lines, so be it. It's difficult for international coaches to keep consistency given the short time they have with players. Clarke has always been able to rally his players after the blips. We don't have a plethora of great defenders but we're a solid enough defending unit thanks to the manager. We've had 20 years of defensive garbage. it won't always be plain sailing but thankfully there's enough level headed supporters to drown out the fringe dissenters waiting for the slip ups.

Easy! Easy! Easy!