GorgieRoad

It's the sign of a top footballer when they score against one of the top teams in the world, regardless of the competitiveness. - Juho Makela (2007)

Liquid football.

Feels weird to be the envy of Scottish football again, not seen this since 05/06.

Didn't realise we lost tonight, heading into Edinburgh on saturday to pick up the season tickets but will probably just tell them to keep them. Disappointing.

Is it a poster off here that's 'allegedly' getting sued by George Galloway over a tweet? If so, top effort.

...not sure what Old Pivotonian is on. I'd be surprised if we signed Kerr on loan considering we have Paterson as first choice RB and Smith as cover for him, unless Levein reckons Smith isn't up to it yet. He wouldn't be getting first team football if he came here, I don't think.

Has fantastic reflexes and is decent at one on ones, as said he flaps at crosses a bit though I can't remember much of that last season. Will probably be one of the if not the best goalkeeper in the league next season, great signing.

If I didn't notice the polls I would have thought Yes had a really good chance of winning this, most people I've spoken to are voting for independence, though I reckon Dundee on a whole will be between 50-60% yes on voting day. I'd say there's little chance of an overall yes vote now though unless there is another piece of news that reveals a massive case for independence. All a bit sad, really.

Started it up on holiday for a laugh. Budapest Tinder. ooft.

We were in the same position, a couple of seats were released for whatever reason in the Gorgie upper (wouldn't be my first choice!) so we took them, initial plan was to hope for the top of the lower wheatfield sections. Don't think the changing seats stuff counts for those buying a new one instead of renewing so we'll probably just stick with them.

Season tickets bought, couldn't be bothered risking it with the second phase.

Not a fan of Wilson with the captaincy, failed to command the defence last season never mind the whole team. Having said that, there's not really any other candidates left.

I'd thought that was just applicable for those renewing, if that's not the case then that's an excellent shout, cheers!

Had to give up my season ticket a couple of seasons ago after being at university and without a job, this is the first season where I've had a job and prices have come down. Tempted to wait until the second phase and hope for a bronze or silver, probably worth it for the loyalty points and Hibs and Rangers games alone.

Caught in two minds whether to buy one in the upper reaches of Z or V in the Gorgie now for £215 or risk it in the second phase and hope a decent seat becomes available at the top of the bottom tier of the Wheatfield for £220. Funds dictate it might be a case of sporadic home games and struggling to get to away games on the basis of loyalty points though.

Similar to Widge (edit: in fact having written this it seems experiences seem similar bar Split!) I've written up about my trip so people can get opinions about potential destinations... This was done in 15 days which was probably a bit rushed, but for the amount we saw in such a short space of time I didn't regret doing it in such a hurried manner tbh. Prague Not sure if it's because it was our first destination but this was the unanimous favourite place between us. We stayed in Zizkov which is just to the east of the city centre, but the metro and tram system means you're never far from the city centre. Zizkov itself was nice, and a nice place to retreat to after a day in the city, a bit cheaper as well though no where is expensive. Stayed in the Clown and Bard Hostel which was okay, looked like it would be far better in the height of summer, the start of June might have beena bit early in that respect. The city itself is stunning and you can easily spend a day wondering about absorbing the atmosphere and architecture, very rarely are there 2 buildings the same in a street. Recommend a stroll up to the castle, and one of the highlights of the trip was hiring a pedalo with a few beers and 'sailing' through the centre of Prague - surreal! Pint Price - ~25-30 Koruna's (80p-£1). Well worth trying Pilsner Urquell, fantastic. Took the student agency bus to Vienna, a t.v. on the back of every seat with tv series and films etc, and a fair amount of legroom, recommend it for no more than £11! Vienna Again, a lovely city with stunning architecture, most things seemed concentrated within a 2 mile area which made it handy for a quick sightseeing tour. We only stayed the west side of the city (the older side, I think) due to time constraints but there looked like a few more things to do on the other side as well as the Danube through the center. Prague had spoiled us with it's cheap cost which dampened our spirits somewhat for Vienna when we saw the prices, probably double or triple in terms of drinks and eating out. We stayed in the Wombats Base Hostel alongside the Westbanhof which was in a decent area, again there was no where too far away with the trams and metro taking you pretty much anywhere. Pint price - ~3.50 to 4 euros (The Hostel did 1.5 litres for 5 euros in happy hour which went down well right enough!) Took the train to Budapest and booked on the day for 41euros, it was only 15euros to Bratislava so might be worth heading there or looking into booking in advance for this journey. Budapest We managed to time our trip at the same time as a central European 'mini heatwave' which made everywhere seem fantastic. Same could be said for Budapest, seemed similar to Prague in the way of architecture except with a far heavier tourist feel, didn't seem as in your face as I thought it would be though. Buda Castle and citadel are must sees for the views, a really spectacular city to look at from above, and the museum next to Buda castle is worth a visit. The parliament is really nice as well, the iron shoes monument type along the danube closeby is a powerful reminder of the cities involvement in the war, particular with the Jewish areas. Sadly we didn't know museums closed on mondays which is the day we set aside to visit the house of terror, and is probably something I'd want to see if I return. We didn't do the spa party, though after hearing a few people we met say the novelty wore off once the water became a bit...stagnant by 2am I didn't feel too bad. As you'd expect for a stag/hen party city the nightlife is incredible, pretty much 7 days a week and the ruin pubs are worth a visit to the city alone. 'Szimpla' was by far my favourite and was the favourite of the whole trip, managed to time it with a party of 30 scotsman which took off the authentic Hungarian quality though. Pint price - 250 - 350 HUF (70p - £1). Would love to visit Budapest again, looks a cracking place for a stag do as well. Train from Budapest to Split Giving this a section of itself for the utter hilarity of it. Started at 14.45, and by 3pm the air-conditioning had managed to pack in on the train. Instead of stopping the train continued for about an our and a half, with it being 36 degrees outside and with no openable windows on the train it must have been close to topping 50 or 55 degrees in the carriage, never experienced anything like that before. Hilariously the train stopped for another 45 minutes before a replacement bus caught up with us, which incidentally didn't have air conditioning either forcing another hour journey to another train in ridiculous heat. The next train then had to stop (thankfully this time with air conditioning bringing the carriage temp to a 'cool' 30 degrees) due to a broken down train in front of us. The border stop took about 30-45 minutes which was to be expected, sadly we managed to leave the station on the wrong track and had to reverse back to the border before we left again! Arrived to Zagreb at 22.50 with our connecting overnight train to Split at 23.05... The overnight train can't be booked outside Croatia so it was a book it on the train job, completely unaware of the price we jumped on without realising it was actually just seating compartments. Couldn't really argue with 200 kunas (£22ish) for a 7 hour overnight train but there wasn't much sleep had in a full 6 person compartment. Biggest tip for this would be to get the direct Budapest - Split sleeper (which unfortunately started 2 days after our trip) or stay in Zagreb. As long as you're with a good crowd and you meet a few decent people it makes it bareable though, looking back on it it was a hell of a story. Bol We got the 7.30am boat (50 mins) to supetar on brac for 30 kunas (£3.30ish) and then the bus (70 mins) from there onto Bol which cost 40 kunas (£4.50). Certainly can't grumble with the travel prices in Croatia. Bol itself is absolutely stunning, I'd never even heard of it before I'd researched for this trip, which is suprising considering it's actually a tourist area, just not as a british market. The water is the clearest I've seen anywhere in the world, and having been skeptical about the pebble beach beforehand it is far better than sand, far cleaner and not actually that sore. Only visited it for the day, but could easily spend 3 or 4 days as part of a lazy beach holiday. Took the evening ferry from Bol to Jelsa for 30 kunas, careful if you're doing this trip and intending on heading to Hvar town as there's no buses meeting the ferry. We were fortunate another couple were in our position so we shared a 5 person taxi for 80 kunas each (£7.90) but if there's only 2 or 3 of you it'll be a fair whack. Pint Price - 18-25 kunas (£2 - £2.50) Hvar Loved Hvar town, very popular with Americans and Australians, made up the majority of visitors along with people from Essex bizarrely. The harbour is pretty spectacular and we were lucky our hostel (Hostel Marinero, recommend it!) was about 10 seconds from it. The prices are a wee bit more inflated than Bol being a tourist area, can still have a nice meal for £7 or £8 though. Mentioned it on the dedicated thread but our drinking mainly consisted on heading to a shop that provided 1 litre of wine for 9 kunas (£1) straight from the tank into your own plastic bottle. Fantastic memories of taking our own cups and sitting at the harbour with hundreds of people and watching Croatia opening the scoring of the world cup. Scenes. Spectacular views of the town from the fortress on the hill, hell of a walk when it's mid 30's outside though, well worth it. Love that instead of beaches Croatia operates a 'jump into the sea wherever you want' policy by providing stairs next to the sea, such is the quality of the water there. Nightlife is pretty spectacular too, we stuck to Kiva and Aloha bar since we were on a budget, headed briefly to the 'Carpe Diem' nightclub but were put off at 32 kunas (3.50) for the cheapest bottle of beer. Plenty of clubs and bars to choose from, incidentally clubs don't tend to open until around 2am and close around 7am. Mental. Pint Price - 25 kunas (£2.80) Split Wasn't really impressed with Split, though both ours days happened to be cloudy and dropping to a 'cool' 25 degrees. The Diocletians palace is nice, and the basements are worth paying into considering the age of them and how well they've been preserved for such a long period of time. The whole place was heavily tourist orientated though, even within the palace walls, a walk along the promenade (Riva) is cool, and I think the nightlife is decent. We were there for the England game on a saturday night but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, the inital idea was to head out the next night until we remembered it was a sunday! Another place that is probably far better in July or August, June was probably too early. Bacvice beach is okay but again we were spoiled by Bol and Hvar, looks like a massive club alongside the beach which would be fantasic in high season (along with a questionable 'Gentleman's club'). Pint Price - 13 kunas - 22 Kunas (£1.50 - £2.30). Got the bus to Dubrovnik for 120 kunas (£13ish), again decent for 5 hours and it's cool to say we've had a walk in Bosnia. Dubrovnik Stunning place. Great place to end the trip in a place with such history, like most of Croatia the city has been heavily tourist orientated but it's easy to see past it here. Walk around the walls give you a great perspective of the city, and the views around it, as well as the fortress that sits just outside the city walls. Plenty of museums etc around and a day card gives you free access to these as well as 24 hour transport around the city (buses are fairly regular). If we'd had more time we could have dedicated time to the beach (Looked really nice with a fancy - albeit expensive! - club/bar alongside it), and visits to the islands looked great. As well as the Old town we managed a trip up to the Srd mountain by cable car which gave some magnificent views as well as a look at a fortress with a musuem about the Croatian Wars of Independence, interesting to see the old trenches still sitting at the top. We walked back down, probably not something I'd do again in a hurry. Pint Price - 20 - 30 kunas. (£2.20 - £3.20). I'd recommend interrailing/travelling to anyone, fantastic experience and you'll meet some great people along the way since everyone is in the same boat as you. We found booking each train by itself okay if not un-predictable, the pass itself would probably be worth it to relieve some of the stress about buying tickets and having dedicated travel times, important to note for Croatia though that buses are the preferred transport, no trainline to Dubrovnik. we'd normally travel early afternoon and get to the next place for 6 or 7pm which let us dump our stuff and head straight out for a pint - which undoubtedly taste better about 4 or 5 hours of travelling in the heat! Apologies for that essay.

Not a bad shot.

Also...

Perhaps a few years ago, signing a 36 year old goalkeeper seems a bit shortsighted to me. I'd be surprised if we offered more money considering the downsizing we've done, though as you say Scottish football is an absolute mystery now. Given Partick's style of football and Premiership status it would be a strange choice to come to Hearts, wouldn't complain right enough!

Gomis and/or Buaben would be fantastic signings for a championship club. Not so keen on the rumours about Neil Alexander though, awful decision to let MacDonald go if that's his replacement.

Crumbled and bought a backpack, spoke to more people about it and it seemed the reasonable option. 8 days until the first leg of the journey in Prague.

Going by the ever reliable 'facebook vote'; 24 of my friends like the 'Better Together' page. 15 of my friends like the 'Yes Scotland' page. Not surprising that most of my friends from home will be voting no considering it was a reasonably conservative/Lib Dem area, and most of the people voting yes are the left of center types or football supporters.

Cleverly written song, St. Johnstone hardly the easiest name in football to fit in. Enjoyed it, nice one.

"its only shopping mall, Overgate (which incidentally is only two letters short of being ‘overrated’)" ooft, burn.

I'm planning on telling the bank I'll be in Europe and using my debit card in the cash machines, means taking out what I need for wherever I am in the local currency. That's all the accommodation booked for my trip, only the travel left to go, though we're going to leave a few things unbooked (mainly because it can't be booked online) to have a bit of spontaneity about the holiday. Decided on: Prague - Vienna - Bratislava (for a few hours) - Budapest - Zagreb (2 hour connection) - Bol - Hvar - Split - Dubrovnik. Quite a lot packed into 15 days but it's been planned fairly well, staying mainly in hotels/guesthouses in Croatia since they're cheaper. Taking a suitcase instead of a backpack but hopefully that won't cause too many problems, just over a month til we leave.