Durnford

Thermals in the tumble dryer as we speak.... it could be a four pairs of socks day. The joys of age...

Quick note to our friends from the West - remember to bring sun glasses. As odd as it sounds you'll probably be spending between 3 and 4pm staring straight into a low sun - not only will you not be able to see much; you'll end the afternoon with a humdinger of a headache together with the heartache that goes with an 80th minute capitulation to the Lions.

FIFY

The referee for this one is Euan Anderson. He refereed our nil-nil draw with Celtic last April and totally ignored standard protocol of awarding Celtic their customary penalty at home. Shocking refereeing; do these guys simply not understand the rules?

At the moment without any recognised strikers I'd be gobsmacked if we scored against Well's defence. In addition, with Gallagher in the Wells defence, our long throws and set pieces will be pretty much a wast of time. Therefore, unfortunately, the strategy should probably be stopping Wells from scoring but 10 men behind the ball isn't really in our DNA so am not really confident. But have a greenie anyway for spelling "Livi" correctly.

Right; yes; extending players' contracts and then putting them out on a year's loan was a really strange one Likewise with Blues; I though he's come on a bit in the pre-season but then gets loaned out to Morton and hardly makes an appearance. I also understand that we're currently picking up the majority of Hamilton's wages.

We only have two loan players don't we; and one plays in goal. Not sure Stobbs is going to make it though; impressive start against Ross Country but precious little since then. Really should have had more than enough time to get back to full fitness so questioning whether he's really good enough. As for the "squad players" I believe all are under contract so all would cost money to let go; a couple of them though have been injured almost as soon as they signed for us. The fact that Dykes seems to be injured more often than he's fit is a big concern; without him we're pretty toothless at times. Also I liked the pace and agility of Tiffoney but his miss yesterday really demonstrated a degree of immaturity in my opinion; true he did well to get into that position in the first place but a cooler head..... Maybe we'll get Hamilton back in the winter which I suppose will be something but we're still at least one and maybe two strikers shy. Obviously we are unlikely to be able to afford a proven goalscorer unless its someone at the end of his career (not got the best experiences there with an injury prone Miller etc.) or someone released. I think I also predicted we didn't need another striker in the summer but that was before we'd learnt that Hamilton and De Vita were going out on loan and Miller would never be fit.

Not sure I agree on the red card assessment; I dont think he connects with the hearts player effectively pulling up on the scissor kick thing although I cant really see whats happening with his other foot. Lying on the ground he doesnt seem to stamp out or extend his leg. However i would agree it was reckless and, with Aitken in the middle, frankly stupidly foolhardy.

Will Kenny Miller put the kiss of death on it?

He didn't say which goal...

Despite all the claims of two footed challenges etc. etc. I didn't think it was a dirty game and yet there were seven cards shown. Apart from anything else it really shows the referee didn't have control of the game from point one. The niggly fouls should have been stamped out as should the rolling around thumping the ground before being back on his feet a moment later and running after the ball. In the old days I remember referee's calling both captains together and giving them a talking to (as they do in rugby now) before all the card happy nonsense. If it had gone on much longer both teams could have ended up with eight players.

Seen Marv pass numerous times already when it would have been easier (and better) to have had a shot at goal. Exceptional player but his reticence in from of goal is truly baffling. At the moment it looks like Dykes is unlikely to make it so, if Hibs score we will lose, otherwise it will be a draw. Just to confuse everyone our new strike partnership will probably be Hakeem Oddafin and Cece Pepe. The only one to exhibit fear will be the stadium announcer

McMillan's lack of acceleration is a problem; he's generally a good solid defender but if he pushes up past the halfway line, and we're playing four at the back rather than last season's three and two wing backs, then there's the chance of a gap particularly if the opposition have pacy wingers. Was confused when we offered Miller and De Vita an extension as both had seemed to struggle. The same goes for Erskine; I've kept hoping his fitness would improve but I dont think it ever will. Been really disappointed with Savane being so injury prone as well. Seemed pretty impressive agains Alloa in the friendly but now am wondering if we'll ever see him play a full game. As for Pepe I really don't know. In some of the games I've seem him in he's actually really offered something in the set piece scenario; he's received some criticism of being flaky but then he's hardly had a run in the team to become settled. And what the heck is all this about playing Oddafin as a striker/forward. I like the guy but he has very little acceleration (worse than McMillan). Lets not be silly about it.

A quick note to our Edinburgh brethren - if you're in the East Stand (majority of Hearts support) bring sun glasses - if the weather stays as it is you'll be staring into bright sunlight for an hour at least

Without Pittman being available I'd probably agree but with Souda coming on second half. I like Robinson but he seems so ~~~~~~ injury prone. Against a team without Halkett in defense I'd probably also agree about having Tiffoney on from the start. Had Halkett been fit I suspect he's have kept Tiffoney well and truly under-wraps.

Games against the Jambo's are rarely without talking points; ones that stick in the mind are the first game in the SPL when they came out of the blocks like raving wolves - my god, I thought, if this is what the SPL is going to be like we're going to get flayed every week. Other games; well obviously last seasons 5-nil win; also the games against Hearts in their promotion year; the Talbot kick to the head incident and the hearts boy that got sent off for kicking Fernandez on the ground whilst trying to get the ball. Hearts support always turns up in impressive numbers (okay I know its only 15 miles along the A71 but still...) so it makes for a good atmosphere. I'm going to predict a Livi win for no other reason other than loyalty. On our day I feel we can beat anyone; the question is will Saturday be our day?

Unfortunately one word that cannot be used to describe either team so far this season is "Consistent" To be honest; on the day anything could happen. Anyone know who the referee is - actually strike that; they're all appalling.

Diddies with 100th of their budget.

Like West Germany v Austria?

As a matter of interest does it HAVE to be one of the old firm; I mean is it written into the SPFL rules or something?

I noticed that - it seemed to appear all over the Kerry Dale Street site: https://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/livingston-2-0-celtic-post-match-t136325.html?sid=19c18ae67bc3fcb383fd79d5a21a898a

Do non-old firm supporter actually give a toss? Personally I'd rather Motherwell scraped it on goal difference ahead of Aberdeen.

To be honest the Betfred cup is an excellent warm up for a number of Premierships sides (well those that didn't qualify for Europe). We had a bit of a stuttering start but it gave us an excellent chance to figure out what worked and what didn't; far more than a series of pointless friendlies could ever have done. The championship and other league sides really take the games as serious competitive games and, as such, you need to be on the top of your game to avoid an upset.

Everything else aside can some one really confirm Christopher Jullien really cost Celtic £7 million? I don't really like to single players out on one showing but, bl00dy hell, there must be a couple of dozen defenders currently playing in Scotland who are more competent and, just as importantly, don't get so easily wound-up. Both Halkett and Gallagher left Livingston for free during the Summer; in my opinion both are head-and-shoulders above Jullien. To be honest I've seem better centre backs at Hamilton; Aberdeen, St. Mirren and even Ayr and Falkirk if I'm honest. Was that a heavy dose of complacency with thoughts of "its only Livingston". As I say I'm not having a pop; he obviously can't have been that bad to justify the price tag or did Lennon have a complete brain f@rt when signing him? One other thing though; I imagine quite a few clubs watching this will have noted just how easily he got wound up.

Would love to say we play like that all of the time but last weeks game against Hamilton was night and day. Last week, with Dykes injured, we lacked any cutting thrust up and, without either Pittman or Jacobs in the midfield, our midfield looked disjointed and ineffective. If only we could play like we did against Celtic and the rangers for the entire season.... but then I suppose every side says something similar.