AndyDD

I always liked David Begg on Sportsound and think he's significantly missed now from the radio commentaries. Rob Mclean is fucking unbearable, as are almost all of the television commentary teams I've ever heard, be it Sky, BT, BBC. I genuinely struggle to think of any I actually enjoy the input of. I'd quite happily have no commentary at all, I think. Pre-match, half-time and post-match punditry is fine, but I never have really understood why we NEED a commentator on TV. We definitely don't need commentary teams, with former player X making absolutely pointless contributions at best, inane, gibbering nonsense comments at worst. They are quite fun to pillory, I suppose. And you wouldn't get commentatorballs in Private Eye without them. That's about as positive as i can be about them.

100 goals is quite a significant amount. Whilst i'm generally sympathetic to the argument that Mcburnie hasn't been helped by the players around him at times for Scotland, again I would point out that his level of endeavour, even his basic ball control, has been pretty abysmal throughout his 9 caps. Away to Cyprus he had plenty support from the midfield when he came on, but the players soon stopped giving him the ball after repeated failures to trap it, control it or even make any sort of run. His cheap surrender of possession was actually quite remarkable in what was surely his worst performance yet. No wonder he didn't get a sniff at home to Kazakhstan after that dreadful display. At one point, he had a one on one with the goalie if he could have just bothered his arse to actually run 20 yards. Couldn't be arsed, just stood and watched the keeper nonchalantly come and collect it. Clarke quite rightly kept him on the bench at Hampden after that and it is up to Mcburnie to roll his, ahem, sleeves up (eschewing the obvious play on the topic title) and prove to the manager that such a performance is behind him.

Will be interesting to see how Mbayo develops; unless there's a formation shift in the offing, or a change in how the lad is utilised, it is difficult to see his starting ahead of Fordyce or Crighton, at least as things stand. Have to say i'm very pleased with the business done so far and the shape of the squad; we do look like needing a few more bodies in central midfield, as @airdrieman and others have said including a box-to box mid and a creative source, but still time between now and early October to get business done, with loans to come as alluded to. That we have kept a good number of the successes from last season on, keeping in turn the lions share of a squad that by all accounts made for a very good dressing room, and added some young talent to it, is really heartening. Roll on October, lads and lassies.

He did aye, although there was more endeavour in his ultimately fruitless appearance against Slovenia at home (hit the bar and post, buzzed around, linked well with his celtic teammates, just couldn't find the net) than Mcburnie has managed thus far. This may be in part follow naturally to their very different styles, but you did feel it was coming for Griffiths. I don't think anyone watching his Scotland performances have ever thought 'aye, a goal is coming for this lad' vis a vis Mcburnie.

Possibly unfair in isolation, aye. I gave him benefit of the doubt for his ineffectiveness against Russia largely because, bar that ten minuter spell during which we got our goal, everyone was pretty poor that day. Also the quality of the opposition. His performance in Cyrpus in particular, though, added to Kazakhstan away, then bolting on the other six appearances of anonymity at best, liability at worst, makes it hard not to reframe that initial free pass for the Russia game. Agree with much of what you go on to say. I don't think for a second there is any value in not having him in the squad and he seems to be hitting some form which is good. It's entirely possible he can have 9 absolutely dreadful caps then really step up on his 10th, but i'll be continuing to cross my fingers that Griffiths screws the nut.

This is better than a lot of actual football. Fucking giddy up. I love it.

Thought he toiled a wee bit against Aurier who handled him pretty well defensively. It seems very strange that he was given Alderweireld to mark, but he clearly was, and rather unsurprisingly he failed pretty miserably to do so. Suffice to say not his best game. But how good it is to see him getting consistent game time again. Here's hoping it continues. He has been doing well (not great, that sort of coverage has been slightly over the top I have felt) but he has been doing well, which can only be seen as a massive boost for us, regardless of his very spotty availability record.

Yeah that's right, lovely goal. Ditto that equaliser in Germany, when Fletcher held his man off and slipped Anya through. Pace, composure and the finish. Can a Scottish premier side no get him on loan or something, get the guy playing again? Sigh.

God, Anya was like a revelation at times. Loved the guy. He's absolutely vanished of late though, which is a shame.

You see Mcburunie do rather well in some games for Sheffield and you think, 'hm, maybe we're the problem is we're just not setting up to get the best out of him'. The you think back, or rewatch, his performances against against Cyprus, against Kazakhstan, against Russia, and you remember just how poorly, clumsily and lazily he played and you hope beyond hope that Griffiths gets a shift on. His appearance in particular in Cyprus was painful to watch. That we surrendered possession and territory so easily and consistently to them as the game went on was in large part down to his utterly feckless performance as a second half sub. Frustrating beyond belief.

Yeah, I suppose this season once the league starts we are all going to be settled and will have to be content with what we have... until the January window a few months down the line. I wonder if the increased number of loan players hinted at in this BBC article are going to come to pass or not. That could be significant for a lot of clubs in the lower leagues- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53375596 The SFA and the SPFL are looking into extending the transfer window for Championship, League One and League Two clubs. They are also looking at increasing the number of loan players from four to six, and to extending the period when you can sign players on loan. This doesn't appear in the SFA update today, so perhaps not.

It at least confirms that lower league clubs will be able to make signings through September, too.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/coronavirus-joint-response-group-update-14-july/?rid=14258 The Joint Response Group has been examining the optimum summer transfer window for Scottish football clubs, with consideration to the impact of COVID-19 on domestic and international movement of players. A request submitted by the Scottish FA to open the transfer window from today (Tuesday, 14 July) until midnight on Monday, 5 October has now been approved by FIFA. Seems a sensible enough accommodation.

Cannae wait for Player Of The Year 2020/2021 and future France International Thomas Robert to rip the shite out sides this season. Trophy now and call it there lads?

@Spanish Armada you should never have been doubted!

... Tom, is that you?

So, have clubs in non playoff places take part in mini playoff tournaments? That's a really daft idea. Why does the team in first not have to earn their title in a playoff if the team in bottom gets a chance to avoid relegation through a playoff? Why would you have top spot fixed in place but the bottom spot fluid? Quite an ill-conceived suggestion.

... Right, but why were you talking about Partick and Stranraer being in playoffs in the first place?

What are you on about? Partick were not in a playoff spot; Queen Of The South were. Ditto Stranraer; it was Forfar who were in the playoff spot. So QOS would be in a playoff game with Montrose whilst Airdrie played Falkirk, with the two winners then going head to head. Forfar would have been playing Cowdenbeath whilst Edinburgh City played Elgin, again followed by the two winners fighting it out for a place in League 1. All those games would be two legged affairs, usually. Playing 12 fixtures, involving travelling home and away, would be more complicated than 3 fixtures all at Hampden.

I know what you mean, it adds an extra wee bonus point to it. Agreed about Carrick, watching him off the ball at times you can see he played at a higher level earlier in his career. A constantly working football brain. Even when our players don't pick up on it, he tends to at least drag a defender or two away to leave room for the, ahem, less sophisticated move we do make. Delighted to have him for the season ahead.

Ahh right I see, with you now. Wondered if i'd missed some choice quote from Stuart Millar for a moment there. Proof will be in the pudding I guess. Still only July and not kicking a ball until October so i'm quite relaxed about the lack of replacements for the released players. I suppose it is technically possible to have a 'title winning budget' this time around and also have a weaker team, IF the standard is just lower right across the board and everyone ends up weaker than last season. Who knows. Maybe we will be the least weakened of a weakened bunch haha. We shall but see.

Did I miss something? When were either of those claims made?

That wasn't your point at all though, was it? You were saying fans (in this case a hibs fan) would be wanting the calling of the leagues reversed if they were disadvantaged. However, you either forgot or did not realise that 2 points behind with a game in hand would result in the team in second (hibs, in your own example) actually being advantaged by the calling of the league, not disadvantaged. It was a basic error that you have tried, rather clumsily, to cover yourself for, instead of just saying 'okay hands up bad analogy'. I'd say nice try, but, well, it really wasn't.

Ooft.

^ At that age, is there not an argument that this is still to be determined? That goes for all of them. 'Willie Miller was a striker as a teenager' etc etc, but in all seriousness, we could easily see these guys end up excelling in a role they don't actually start in, or have yet to really be tried in.