TxRover

A good DoF doesn’t interfere, he/she assists, investigates and locates. The open question is can our BoD/Owner(s)….new or old…not screw it up.

Did anything ever come out about the fee paid Peterhead for Savoury? I know there are rumours of English League One/Two interest in him.

I’ve heard of licking the sausage as a code, but never “eating the pizza”.

Just keep that thingie tucked away and we can all be friends…you whip it out, and it’s over the Championship forum for a beat down!

This place is ideal for you then, other than that Partick fan thingie. In all seriousness, the General Nonsense forum is ideal for cracking the ice and feeling a little more connected. The more speciality forums, on particular sports or areas, are all great for finding a group of people with similar interests to exchange thoughts over. And the majority of people on here aren’t above exchanging thoughts, so go for it…jump on in and post your thoughts, just be ready to be chastised, belittled, abused and cheered, but (almost) all in a somewhat friendly manner.

Workman that show up and immediately ask to plug in their charger because their batteries are flat from yesterday. And, johnney…

To clarify: Noise only occurs when in reverse, and moving, with steering wheel turning or turned left? Does it occur for any period of time once a forward gear is selected, before or after movement forward starts? Does applying the brakes change the grating sound? Then, is there any noise with a slow forward left turn? Finally, can you isolate to front or rear of car, and if not, perhaps someone outside can listen? Offhand possibilities are a wearing CV joint, a brake drag issue or possibly a stone stuck. The “when turning” makes the CV a leading candidate…any clicking noise? Look under the front for torn CV boots?

Quite amusing that the FBI report and analysis has been found flawed. Seems the mechanism was sufficiently worn to allow discharge without a trigger pull. Still seems mental to have a gun, with a firing pin, on set, let alone some live ammunition there too.

Well, if you look at the location they show the “attack”, and notice a major highway next to the location, you might look further. Looking at that major highway, you see it comes off the bridge and moves through some marshes before joining another semi-major roadway (P57) which loops around to the southwest while the E97 heads into Crimea. Now, since Crimea is a major Russian “goal”, they can’t ignore any threat to it…and if the Ukrainians drive down the E97 toward Crimea, it would isolate any a Russian forces to the west of that roadway. All that makes it pretty important to keep the Ukrainians north of the marshes. Warfare is, as you should know, all about supplies. Controlling them, blocking them, capturing them and destroying them. Edited to add this from the Institute for the Study of War 22 April Update: “Russian milbloggers have provided enough geolocated footage and textual reports to confirm that Ukrainian forces have established positions in east (left) bank Kherson Oblast as of April 22 though not at what scale or with what intentions. Geolocated footage published by a Russian milblogger on April 22 shows that Ukrainian forces have established positions on the Dnipro River bank north of Oleshky (7km southwest of Kherson City) and advanced up to the northern outskirts of the settlement on the E97 highway, as well as west of Dachi (10km south of Kherson City).[1] This footage also indicates that Russian forces may not control islands in the Kinka and Chaika rivers less than half a kilometer north of the geolocated Ukrainian positions near the Antonivsky Bridge. Russian milbloggers claimed on April 20 and 22 that Ukrainian forces have maintained positions in east bank Kherson Oblast for weeks, established stable supply lines to these positions, and regularly conduct sorties in the area—all indicating a lack of Russian control over the area.[2] Another milblogger’s battle map claimed that Russian forces do not control some Dnipro River delta islands southwest of Kherson City as of April 22, suggesting possible Ukrainian advances on these islands.[3] Some milbloggers complained that the slow rate of Russian artillery fire due to the over-centralization of the Russian military command allowed Ukrainian forces to land on the east bank.[4] Russian forces may be prioritizing maintaining defenses in urban areas such as Oleshky and Nova Kakhovka, leaving the islands in the Dnipro River delta unmanned. The extent and intent of these Ukrainian positions remain unclear, as does Ukraine’s ability and willingness to maintain sustained positions in this area. ISW is recoding territory on the east bank of the Dnipro River to Ukrainian-held only now because this is the first time ISW has observed reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions on the east bank along with multi-sourced Russian reports of an enduring Ukrainian presence there.”

Actually, assuming this is the mooted Dachy incursion, the E97 is certainly a valid paved road and useful target. The development of a breakout is constrained by surrounding marshes, but it’s certainly not something the Russians can ignore.

The fun bit that’s them both out for the Ayr match where Morton want US to get a result.

I suggested Bene wasn’t an ideal starter for us, and would he even be willing to become our third choice CB going forward. The Bene matter was settled before IM even had a choice, as for MacDonald, I’m asking a question, not saying toss him out.

Let’s unpack this. Unless we can’t afford him…that’s the question, isn’t it. You’d suspect MacDonald is one of our best earners, is it a good choice? Is it best to spend that money on the keeper when the defenders in front of him are a scratchbuilt, hot mess? Yes, he’ll save some of the leaks, but if there were less leaks, would a less expensive keeper work? The defence has plagued us all season…and, inevitably, the keeper is integral to that defence. Everyone blames this player or that player for the defence failing here and there, but what an about the question on what MacDonald brings to the defence? There’s the talk about how vocal he is, how commanding…but we’ve leaked set piece goals like a rusty sieve. We blame Nolan, Lang, Dick, Millen, Ngwenya, etc…but no one says why didn’t MacDonald do this or that. There needs to be a serious look at the cost of MacDonald versus his results, that’s what I’m saying. Perhaps we’re spending too much in one spot, perhaps not…but we’ll find out what IM thinks soon enough.

Wink, wink…

Pretty evil Wordle 673 5/6

Partner went into labour Saturday morning.

This should show the insanity…the police say both sides were justified and they cannot determine if a law was broken: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/actions-of-gunman-instacart-delivery-driver-justified-in-davie-shooting-incident-police/3019765/

Here’s the thing, we have Thomson and McNeil as well. That’s two decent salaries and a small one. If we have to let one of McDonald or Thomson go, who is better to let leave? Thomson is 7 years younger and doubles as our Goalkeeper Coach. Is Thomson as good a keeper as MacDonald, probably not, but he’s good for another several years and has so far done an excellent job training McNeil, so that’s worth continuing, plus he’s been perfectly acceptable in spot coverage for MacDonald. Is McNeil ready to start, hard to say. It’s possible he could be ready, but there would be hiccups…we’d really like to see him get time somewhere, but finding a spot to get keeper starts is very difficult outwith emergency loans. Regardless, we want to keep McNeil and I suspect IM sees him as the starter within a year or two, after all, he is now 22. McNeil is under contract…Thomson probably gives a discount because Kirkcaldy works well for his coaching outside the Rovers, but is out of contract…MacDonald is out of contract too. IM needs to shape “his” team, he needs to buy some players, for that he needs some playing space and money. I suspect he believes that McNeil is an acceptable number 2, and that he will let one of Thomson or MacDonald go. MacDonald leaving makes more sense than Thomson. I wouldn’t bet against MacDonald at Falkirk next year.

Diluted white vinegar sprayed around the perimeter of your garden/yard may help deter the cats. Really after rains or every few days, it should help. Also, citrus peels in the garden are effective in making cats feel unwelcome.

OK, where is the money in this squad? MacDonald, almost certainly one of the higher earners…Spencer, probably pretty well paid too…perhaps Ross, Stanton, Connolly and Gullan on JMcG’s specials…Lang probably a decent packet (no Kenneth, not that)…Thomson probably decent since he coaches too…Matthews perhaps, maybe Dick? Average contracts, likely Brown, Easton, Millen. Who is cheap? Mitchell, Arnott, Young, Masson, McNeil, Mahady and perhaps McBride and Nolan. So, if we presume the spending is to be broadly in line with this year, who do we let move on and who is worth their pay to retain, knowing it costs us part of another player? Gullan, Matthews, Ross and Stanton are all under contract, and all but Stanton are likely unmovable due to lack of performance or injury. Spencer seems to be not taking up the player option, so I’d see Murray considering taking the 1.5 players he likely represents and shopping to replace him. Connolly seems favored by IM, but he hasn’t signed yet…so that either another 1.5 players or Connolly back (does IM see McGill as a possible budget replacement for Connolly, with more versatility?). Millen, Brown and Easton are all IM’s boys and under contract. Young, Masson and Mitchell all seem likely to get contracts, Arnott is a toss up, but under contract and probably worth the small cost to try out given the flashes we’ve seen rather than trying to release. Nolan seems a good bet as at least a third CB for next year, but Lang may have sealed his departure with injury woes and a rash streak. Likewise, Dick is versatile but it depends how much he wants. Mahady is likely gone, but McBride seems to have IM’s favor. So, knowing who IM likes, will we see a move to a 4-1-4-1 or 4-1-3-2, using Brown in his strongest role and bolstering the attack? If so, the starting CB’s are critical, and if Lang leaves, IM needs 2, even if he plans to start Nolan. He also needs to address the LB question and the backup to RB (Masson?). After that, the primary need is still a competent striker. If Connolly and Spencer leave, that’s a decent budget for a couple of attackers, and if Lang and MacDonald go, there’s the pot for CB’s. With Thomson and McNeil at keeper, we’re not as strong as the last couple of years, but…if we keep MacDonald, can we afford Thomson (perhaps, because of the coaching role…which may cheapen Thomson’s cost, and helps Thomson by providing a work location near his other jobs and provides a professional role to burnish his image) and McNeil?

Not much room for a clear out at some positions. It’s possible, it’s also possible he has until a certain date to exercise the option and is checking his options. He’s our only real DM besides Brown, I’d be bothered unless IM is changing formations. Matthews and Stanton can play DM, but both are out of position and lose effectiveness. McGill is a possible option, if we sign him, but less than ideal. MacDonald is one of the better keepers in the Championship, but certainly isn’t a class ball distribution specialist. Maybe the question should be asked if he perhaps has failed to properly marshal the defence on some of these set pieces and other times? We often talk of expecting keepers to be loud and aggressive in organizing the defence. I personally don’t blame MacDonald for our woes, but reflecting upon our weakness on set pieces, it is a bit concerning. I have said that it may be time for moving past MacDonald, and nothing this season has convinced me otherwise.

More amusingly, it now assures that the winner will have either the lowest wining point total, or tied for it, in 29 seasons at the second tier (correcting the two shortened season by multiplying their totals by 1.33). Edit: Clarifying that's the entire 3 points for a win era.

Deep breaths, calming thoughts, Dundee is gonna Dundee…aw, hell, nevermind.

Best guess for outfield players available: Defenders: Dick, Millen, Ngwenya and Young, with Masson possible. Midfield/Wing: Brown and McGill, with Ross probable. Forwards: Akio, Connolly, McBride Unknown: Easton, Spencer, Stanton…but all three have had back issues this year. So, MacDonald…Thomson…McNeil…MacDonald at DM with Brown, Thomson in goal and McNeil at RW? Seems to be.

Both one game suspensions, maybe they have plans together? More seriously, I think that’s Lang for the season, he was obviously in discomfort.