Fratelli

We need a third so that we can chuck the subs on and turn this into the testimonial it's crying out to be. It's already a precession but not quite at that level where we can completely half arse it and relax.

No one's saying he's a Champions League player*, just that he's a solid option at SPFL level and not utter shite. *Unless yer man Jinky has at some point

The second half will be in front of about 2k if this stands.

Aye this is what it is, which is fair enough i suppose - i thought he was terrible less than a year ago. Like most of these things - the folk who actually watch him every week have been fairly consistent with their opinions of him recently, although it's easy to dismiss that as blind loyalty/bias too. He may be a fairly limited footballer but by f**k he's made the most of what he has, and absolutely battered the door down in front of him. He's went from laughing stock (amongst Celtic fans) to 'here, he's actually not been too bad' in a half ironic way - to making his inclusion in the side something that just can't be argued with - all down to his own graft and attitude too. Fair play to him.

The gr8est player ever.

It's an issue with loads of them i think. With the Covid season immediately leading into the Euros, then only having a tiny break before the season (with some playing CL qualifiers) a lot of players have basically played for about 2 years without any sort of break. The last half an hour of the Wales vs Ukraine game was like watching folk trying to run about in a swimming pool.

Much like Robertson i think he's gubbed from a full season of top flight football in England. He's been off form at club level for a wee while too, and has played in a different role under Gerrard which nullifies him imo.

The Armstrong/Christie partnership gives us a different level of energy and forces us to at least try and play football. Was evident when they came on last week and even more so tonight against this type of opposition.

It feels like every other song has been binned off in favour of a 90 minute loop of the John McGinn song post Euros.

Ralston will never be first choice but he absolutely deserves his place and to be in amongst it. Understand many on here will refuse to believe he isn't absolutely terrible - and he may just be very well suited to Celtic's specific system and the players around him - but taking Patterson* out of the equation he's been quite clearly the best of the rest this season. *The argument as to whether Patterson would/should play without game time at club level is another issue, but i'm happy to consider him our nailed on RB for the foreseeable.

More on about the general atmosphere around the national team really. I'd say the mood around the Euros and then those games you mentioned were more the departure from the norm in the last 20+ years. Us being shite, and then the obvious divisions within Scottish football have prevented us being fully together/behind the national side as a country in the way that they are in Wales - this briefly subsided at the Euros where folk who were previously apathetic (at best) towards the national side seemed to get into it but that's quick in calming down again. Had we qualified for the World Cup we may well have been on our way to building the type of environment around the side the Welsh currently have, but i think there are other factors involved too.

I follow a fair amount of Welsh football folk online, and they seem to have an overall togetherness as well as a culture/spirit around the national side (that has been building for the best part of a decade) that for various reasons, we just don't seem to have. This bleeds through to the players to the point where they all are all absolutely daft about playing for Wales and some of them openly use club football as a means to keep fit for internationals. I don't put too much emphasis on the cliched intangibles like desire, passion and so on - and do believe we're going in the right direction - but aye there was a noticeable difference in overall attitude from Wales compared to ourselves. The atmosphere dropped pretty quickly on Wednesday and turned to frustration at times even before the goal, which didn't really happen tonight.

I mean, that isn’t exactly a slight on them and famously works in their favour. They essentially outsource youth development to English clubs and their two clubs who have English league money.

Ukraine are a tidy side but we made them look much better than they are. Wales are also better than folk let on, which is why they’re qualifying for their 3rd tournament out of 4.

Yarmolenko is just aimlessly swiping at the ball every time it comes to him the big diddy.

Wales have created at least two other chances they should’ve scored from, which is considerably more than we managed.

Tyler is half a second behind with the commentary and it’s doing my fucking head in.

Yarmolenko can hardly move.

Criminal from Ramsey - misses a sitter and then fails to set Bale up for a sitter.

Fair few of these Ukraine players are beyond gubbed.

There were about 10 of those given in the PL and CL last season. It’s a stonewaller in the modern game with VAR.

That’s a pen

Wales win run over the top of them now. Ukraine will be fucked after about ten minutes of having to chase the game.

Zinchenko seems like an example of how stupidly good you have to be to even get in the squad at Man City. He’s one of those players that just sort of blends into the background there but stands out a mile at this level.

Literally one in swinging corner had that keeper flapping. Just annoying.