Coventry Saint

The Norwegian side dominated possession. It really was All Brann.

Yeah, I think the ball bounced off Toyosi in a way that made it look like the defender got it, but I'm certain he didn't. It's fine, I am uncharacteristically unworried about the second leg based on that performance. We'll sharpen up up front, and we'll tighten up at the back. First game I've seen: of the new(ISH) players, Brown, Balcombe and Idowu were excellent. Brown looks a different player in the correct position.

This. Good luck for tonight lads.

I don't follow: why would your assumption be that we'll be in our home strip if they are in red? Surely we'll just play in the away?

Our away kit is blue now...

Crazy to think how gutted I was when it became clear Jim Goodwin was leaving.

I a) don't believe that's true and b) don't think you can even hope to verify that.

There are plenty of factors that make this a tricky tie, but them putting four past the Albanians isn't one of them, IMO. If the opposition is poor enough, the GD becomes irrelevant. Case in point: Dundee United scored five goals last night, and they are managed by Jim Goodwin.

Was literally about to post that pic. Those shots of him looking miserable have fairy done the rounds on here - when he had the temerity to say we could challenge for top six or even top four. This won't last forever - we might get pumped tonight, theres a good chance we're not top six this year - but Tony fucking believed and here we go.

Conditions looking nice and Scottish, too. Hope all the travelling Saints have a class time.

Welcome mate. I like to provide a service and share my wisdom wherever I can.

I would like to be the first person on this thread to point out that the bird in that crest is in fact a gyrfalcon. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resident there also, but some gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter. Individual vagrancy can take birds for long distances.

Iceland: closer to Paisley than Dingwall confirmed.

I think it's difficult not to get carried away after such a long wait to qualify for anything like this. I have FULLY got the fear now about Valur and I think we'll lose the first leg and leave ourselves with a mountain to climb at home. BUT I've still found myself planning ferry crossings in case we get to play in the Netherlands. I'm aware of the mentalness but can't quite stop.

Yeah, I even checked that first - must have mis-read it.

Prospect of a possible game in Deventer is stirring things here. I could walk/short ferry to the North Tyneside ferry terminal, DFDS overnight to Amsterdam, 2hr40 train to Deventer. Looks a piece of piss.

TBF, re Rooney, I'm pretty sure @Radford mentioned his suspension on the day he signed for us. So not a surprise. At least he's not injured like the rest of the squad.

Describing 2013 as 'all the better' Vs 2010 is quite the understatement

Outstanding bit of Dundie/Dundee/Thank You layering there. Intentional or not, I enjoyed it.

The Callum Davidson approach to squad building.

Have you got a link to those comments at all? I was briefly in a Twitter debate with someone losing their shit over a friendly result, in which I made that exact point about strenuous training. I've always got to have the last word so would be good to dive back to that.

Fair questions. I have to preface this with the fact that I've not seen any of pre-season yet. Re the balance, I'll admit that's more of a hunch, and it may just be concern based on seeing more squad churn than we were perhaps expecting. I think we've had to go off-plan to build the defence out and, while the caveats about Robinson's excellent transfer record still apply, it's tough to see at the moment what our ideal defensive line-up will be. But that will be sorted and I'm sure it'll be fine. In terms of the width, that is a legit concern and one that is a slight hangover from last season. Assuming we stick with the 5-2-3, two of our first choice wider players in Kiltie and McMenamin are injured. Kiltie hopefully not for too long, but Conor is out for a while and it's a tricky injury to overcome. I remember it effectively retired Owen Hargreaves. Fingers crossed the surgery is a success. As you said, we've still got Tanser, and in a ideal world Rooney will do what we all saw him do at St Johnstone at RWB. But up top is a worry. Robbo has talked about playing with 'two 10s' - which gives me the fear because that's what England did and they were dogshit. I'm not a fan of inside-out wide players and I'd like to see us play with two wide forwards on their correct side, especially on the right where it'd take pressure off Rooney to do what peak Strain was doing. In Mandron we have a player who would thrive on whipped crosses and I want to see more of that. Again, as you've said, Sutherland might be an option here. I would love to see Sutherland playing in front of Tanser. I think it could be a low-risk way of integrating him into the first team without potentially exposing any defensive frailties. A starting front three of Sutherland, Mandron and Olusanya (from left to right) would be dynamic and terrifying. I suspect Idowu will be getting the nod instead of Sutherland, which is probably fair based on pre-season appearances. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being doom and gloom, I just think the combination of players moving on unexpectedly, and a couple of injuries to two of our absolute standout players from last season, has left us weaker and less balanced.

It's the big frontal lobe hamstring that affects decision-making and impulse control.

Decent summary. I'm worried about squad balance, and a lack of width in the team. Absolutely trust Robbo still, of course, but think we are in for a tougher season this year.

You say that, but have you read all the chat about ticket allocations and ballots?