joecraigfanclub

The guy in the hotel said he would like to say it was a one off but actually it happens quite frequently. Have been emailing them today about a refund and the actual name of the group that appears to be running the site is hotelxxl.com

A wee warning against using this company for hotel bookings. Booked the Park Inn in Glasgow last saturday for the night of the England game. Booked it back in October 2016. Turned up on Saturday with the voucher and was told the hotel had not been notified by Hotbeds.com and as such we had no room and there were no spare rooms due to the game. Managed to get somewhere at a reasonable, for Saturday and last minute notice, price but it was a royal pain. Will be asking my credit card company to refund payment for the hotbeds.com charge and sending them the bill for the other hotel. Guy at park Inn was brand new and has sent me an email to send to my card company saying they received no notification of the booking at Park Inn

Anyone going? Anyone have any tips on Marseille? Pubs, eating, areas of interest, can you do a tour of the ground?

just been listening to the Michael O'Neill interview. Give this man the Scotland job now!

If you turn right out of the station the Orange Tree is 100 yards on your right across the street. In the street behind the the Orange Tree is the Triple Crown a real rugby pub. If you come out of the Orange Tree and turn left, walk across the traffic island you will come to a couple of pubs, one of which used to be called Molly maleness and its ok. I think the point about the coloured cords is pretty accurate but there is also a very healthy young vibe. God can't believe I wrote that. There is also quite a good german bar eating place situated above the river but its name escapes me.

Where are these Under Armour rumours coming from?

Loads of pubs, LA did a pub crawl round there a few years ago. Great eating places as well. White Swan down by the river very popular plus a couple on the Green whose name escapes me. Take a big wedge with you as its not cheap. Am surprised they are playing NFL there s the local residents have the RFU over a barrel regarding the number of events they can stage per year so for that to be one says something. enjoy

Anyone know of any bars in Venice Mestre that are likely to be showing midweek football?

He is still on the go as I saw a tweet from someone who was in the bar last week and he featured in a photo. To continue with the kilted stragglers theme, when we were there last time, a group of Valencia slappers went up to a guy and asked him to show what was under his kilt. He politely refused as he was a bit bored with it all which was his choice. They kept at him and he was getting rather pissed off till another Scots guy said "He'll show you his if you show him yours". They said ok so the guy lifted his kilt at which point they all screamed and legged it about 10 yards away. At this point the guy who had brokered the deal shouted at them to honour their part of the bargain. Fair play to the girl, up went the denim mini skirt and down came the thong. We all said "Fair play" and both groups went on with the rest of the evenings festivities.

I would second Jen's comments. The bus organisation was not of a WESTA standard and the journey back seemed to last for ever. It would also have helped if the drop off had been central.

I really rate it as a place to go. The beaches, a bus ride from the centre, are fantastic. They also hosted the Americas cup a few years ago which led to a big improvement in what was on offer. Large expanse of sand stretching for a few miles. I would recommend a trip to Mastella (?) as its very central and an impressive ground when you are inside. Also near it is a bar that was or maybe is run by Manolo, the number 1 Spanish fan. The night I was there he was working behind the bar and appeared to be a bit of a character to put it mildly. You can buy bottles of wine with his picture on the label and in the pub there is a huge tiled frieze if him leading the Spanish fans, a bit like Mao Tse Tung with the red army. However, if you are a veggie don't eat there as he was a bit economical with the truth regarding the content of his dishes. Its a lovely city for wandering, they have turned a dried up river bed into a park. There re all a couple of stunning modern museums as well but never made it to them. Great for eating as its the home of paella. Hope you enjoy it as its got a lot to offer

Will pm you the address. If you reply with yours I will stick it in the post today

This might seem archaic but do you have a chequebook?

I would agree with the earlier comment on here about treating every game as a cup final. I am constantly amazed when teams faced with a relegation battle suddenly go all out guns blazing knowing they have nothing to lose. They win 7 out of their 8 games and stay up. This then begs the question why don't you play like that all the time. Hopefully Strachan will realise its shit or bust from now on and go out on the attack. If we get pumped 5-3 by England giving it a go so be it. Rather that than passing it around at the back and we get beat 2-0. Also what would be sweeter than pumping Lithuania in their own shithole of a stadium in Kaunas? Well pumping england at Hamden obviously but lets stay off the drugs.

Ok, I appreciate its a game we all want to forget but if anyone would like a badge, I have four left. Available at www.loonyalba.com

I will be selling the badges in the Hibs club pre match. I will also have badges for the other qualifiers available. I will also have POTY and Welcome to the TA t-shirts in a variety of sizes just as long as you want XL.

at www.loonyalba.com £3.50 incl p and p. Only a limited number of 150 made so get in early

Be prepared to put quite a lot of money into it. I looked at getting small match pennants made, the sort people hang from their rear view mirrors but they were almost £5 each. The other thing to look out for is the minimum order requirement. Most places would only do 100 as a minimum. Asking for 25 or 50 would probably get you nowhere. You could try searching on www.alibaba.com and find someone in China to make them but they would want paying in US Dollars which increase the price given the poor exchange rate. If you google it I am sure you would find a manufacturer in the UK but it then comes down to price and minimum order once again. They would probably get them made in China themselves but it cuts out all the hassle you would face in doing the artwork etc but you would end up paying for it. The guy I use for badges is black dragon badges based in Lancaster. Google it then ask for Andy if you call.

Am going to Atletico on Sunday at short notice and found tickets together quite hard to get. Thats for two as well. Will let you know of any decent bars we stumble across

I think you should be ok for bars and restaurants. As for shops I don't know if they would open on a Sunday anyway. The one time you don't want to go is new year. Places close en masse so they can get home to celebrate with their families. Have done two new years in Spain and never again.

Madrid like a lot of Spain is not to be missed at Easter. Was there once in 1981 and the street processions have to be seen to be believed with the guys in purple klu klux klan type get ups parading through the streets carrying coffins. As if that's not weird enough you then notice their legs are manacled together. Very very odd. I was in the Malaga Il Corte Ingles, main department store, last year and they were selling the outfits but trying to ,ake it clear they weren't for the klu klux klan. Should be good

They are in freefall

Remarkable but true

Its in very good condition judging by the photo but unfortunately it looks a bit boring. I have one in a poorer state but its got a colour picture of a kid in an Argentina strip with a ball and a sombrero in colour. It might get £20 on ebay if you are very lucky but I would have thought the postage would be a nightmare.

As an attempt to try something new I have had some large fridge magnets produced featuring a black and white image of Law, Bremner, Lennox and McCalliog training at Hendon FC before Wembley 1967. Will put the image up here when I get access to my own laptop but until now here is the ebay link. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182458231507?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649