AJF

Davies and Ridvan out injured for tonight with Lundstram suspended to add to the long list of players currently unavailable. It's going to be an uphill task to get anything but after a positive performance on Saturday where things seemed to click, there's a little optimism. Likely to be Sands and King at the back which is obviously the main area of concern. An 18-year-old still learning and a player that doesn't appear to be a natural centre back, although his second half display there on Saturday was very good. Hoping for a much better showing and at least a bit of effort that has been lacking in this CL campaign.

Much improved performance from Sakala yesterday too and while he is still clumsy and his first touch really needs to improve, he caused Aberdeen so many problems down their left. Committed the defenders often and mixed it up going to the byline or cutting inside at pace. Deserved a goal.

The delays for VAR at Ibrox were ridiculous. Morelos scored and was eventually found to be offside but it must’ve taken at least 3 minutes to check. Similarly for our penalty, it took a fair while before the ref was called over. Then after all of that, there was only 4 minutes added on.

The banner is the least of Aberdeens worries after that performance.

Much better all round performance today with Sands being the pick of the bunch in both midfield and defence. It was a shame to see Ridvan go off after a really bright start as well. 4-1 in the end but it really could've been about 7 or 8 with the chances that we missed: Sakala's 1v1, the missed penalty, Arfield's shot cleared off the line and the Tillman sitter at the death plus a few more.

Referees getting a decision wrong is not cheating. It's that simple.

Convenient

So who do you mean then? If you didn't mean only certain teams, then do you mean all teams would benefit? What on earth are you talking about? How have I attributed comments to you that you never said? I stated that I never said that decisions even themselves out or that footballing karma existed, simply because it was irrelevant to the point I'm making. I don't know why you used those quotes when I never said them, nor was it ever implied by me, so it had no bearing on what I was saying. Referees getting things wrong is not cheating it's human error. And human error I'd be willing to accept if it is the alternative to VAR. Why is it relevant what anyone at my club wants in the context of my opinion? What I want is different so why do you think it should diminish my opinion just because they want something different? You are making no sense here. I have always maintained that I did not want VAR even when Rangers were calling for it almost 3 years ago following a match at Celtic Park. It is impossible for it not to be intrusive, which is my point. There is no way that VAR can review a decision made by a referee, suggest the referee then reviews it and the decision is subsequently overturned without it being intrusive and stopping the match. Decisions cannot be changed without the match stopping and no matter how efficient it may become it will always be that way.

Seems like a weak link you've made there, but sure...

That inevitable that it never happened last week at Ibrox when VAR was being used

Saying 'certain teams' would benefit from poor officiating would be the exact same as saying only certain teams would benefit from poor officiating, surely? If you don't mean just certain teams only, then who do you actually mean? You can create the poll all you like, I have no interest and it's not a hill I'm dying on. I was simply contesting your argument that the comfort of knowing these 'certain teams' wouldn't benefit would be a positive when the majority of your matches won't involve those 'certain teams'. I am not only talking about the experience in Scotland though. Football as a whole has become less appealing to me since the introduction of VAR. Why do we need context of VAR in Scottish football to form an opinion on VAR as a product? Why would VAR being operated in Scotland be any more appealing to me than VAR being operated elsewhere? I did not state that decisions would even themselves out or that footballing karma existed. I simply said I'm willing to accept that my team may be on the end of wrong decisions if it meant that VAR was not in use. I've loved football for decades without VAR and a controversial decision adds to the entertainment in my opinion. My club's opinion on this is irrelevant when I am giving you my opinion on it. Why does my stance on VAR need to be considered a contradiction just because the club I follow supports its introduction? You cannot have VAR without it being intrusive. It's simply not possible.

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't expect you'd care the same watching "neutral" games, nor do I. But I'd still say that the spectacle is worse off than pre-VAR days. Whether that is in the stadium or watching on TV.

You are absolutely talking about conspiracy theories when you imply only 'certain teams' benefit from poor officiating. VAR has been in use for years... the fact it has only just been introduced in Scotland doesn't mean we need to wait and see how it goes here before forming an opinion on it. And as I said, my opinion is that as a consumer, I attend matches and watch football on the TV to be entertained. VAR is making the product less appealing to me, regardless if it means we eventually arrive at more correct decisions, which are still sometimes debatable. So when you say it needs time to sort itself out, it's not been sorted out in the years it has already been in use elsewhere.

Sorry, I was probably assuming they'd draw on their experiences of watching other matches using VAR to form that opinion (EPL, Champions League, Europa League, the Euros) so they could take away the conspiracy theory aspect of it.

So, if we take out any conspiracy theories regarding 'certain teams'. You play 9 matches per round of fixtures that don't include the teams I assume you are referring to. 9 fixtures out of 11, you will have no requirement for "added comfort" as you call it. So, do you believe those matches will be a better or worse experience with VAR?

As someone that is seemingly pro-VAR, do you enjoy watching football more now since its introduction?

Do pro-VAR people enjoy watching football more now than they did prior to its introduction? It would be a resounding no from me. I understand players, management and clubs themselves being pro-VAR as ultimately they don’t want decisions to impact their job, but f**k me, football is a sport that is supposed to entertain people and VAR is diminishing that product. As others have said, who really cares if someone is marginally offside? Why do we need to review every single contentious decision? I’d even go to the extent of saying it’s probably a good thing that your team is on the end of a few bad decisions a season. It’s entertaining. Football fans love to moan so a shite call lets them do that and ultimately they loved the sport for all its flaws before VAR came along.

Aye, that’s been the rumours since the summer. Sounds pretty plausible and would explain our lack of transfer activity after qualifying for the CL. I also expect the litigation with Sports Direct and the construction of Edmiston house has cost them more than expected.

All a bit predictable right now. The lack of effort and apparent absence of a coherent gameplan was always going to get punished by a good side. If it wasn't against us, I'd say Napoli were a joy to watch at times. The pass and ball in for their first two goals were top quality. Just a side lightyears ahead of us.

Obviously I was mistaken.

As tempting as a “sevco” must be, surely you must think to yourself is it really necessary on the first anniversary of his death and on the back of some nice news to pay tribute to him.

Really pleased to hear this. Hopefully it’ll be a fitting tribute to him:

Rotate the squad tonight and get home without any further injuries. That's the stage it's at.

I think the argument around deliberate handball has to be more than just a case of the above example and that's why you then have debates around unnatural arm positions. Players attempting to block a ball may not make a deliberate movement towards the ball when it's in flight to block it, but if they rush at an attacked with arms spread out or held above their head before the ball is struck and it subsequently hits their arm, then by it's nature they have deliberately made their body bigger in an attempt to block the balls path even if they don't make a movement towards the ball after it is struck or in flight. Of course though, this is very subjective because I often feel players attempting to block will always have a natural arm swing due to their momentum and I think these types of offences are penalised too often.