Caledonian Craig

I have said it before and will say it again. As things stand you probably have a hard core 40% of Yes voters who will vote Yes whenever another IndyRef is called. Probably there are around just under 45% hard core unionists who will vote No whenever IndyRef 2 comes about. That leaves the Yes side to try to convince about 15% of voters to vote Yes. Many of those don't knows/waiverers/overly cautious voters (if we were to have a vote BEFORE Brexit) would want to know the outcome of Brexit before being converted into a Yes voter. They would still hold on to a faint hope that a deal would be signed on Brexit or that it would be cancelled and so would not have the courage to vote Yes. On top of that Bitter Together 2 no doubt would point out that this IndyRef was never really anything to do with EU membership as the Yes side could not even wait to find out the outcome of Brexit. That will only put more potential Yes voters off.

Lets remember the quality of the opposition compared to us - Belgium are world No 1 side in the rankings. We have not come close to qualifying for anything for over a decade now. Russia were World Cup quarter-finalists. Both sides are a class (or three) above us. However, my gripe is we are no longer seemingly tough to beat. Over the twenty odd years since we last qualified we have played the very best teams and been very tough to beat losing many games by an odd goal or even beating top notch sides. Sadly, we have drifted away from this level too which is my big worry. If I am being honest our chances of qualifying ended in Kazakhstan and its always been about the play-off route. Clarke realises that now too and hopefully he can use these next few games to beef up our defence and instil a little bit more confidence and self-belief with wins against the weaker sides in our group. We need to try to remain positive for the play-off route was always going to be the likeliest route to qualification. I do agree with those that say we need a ball-winner/retainer in midfield. A tough Scott Brown-type as the glue to make the ball stick in midfield. Somebody to build attacks around in midfield who can hold the ball and feed our attacking midfielders as we break. The problem is I don't see that type of player available to us at the moment. We also need to beef up our defence and hopefully the return of McKenna will help in that area and we need to re-examine our right-back options. Keep the faith.

All those cuts but it will still not stop yoons voting for her for their own warped reasons.

People are so gormless though. Did those in the audience (and others further afield) not stop to think that the UK has been in the EU for many years and it is not a Euro they have in their pocket.

Tactical yoon voting will see Swinson home.

It shows what clueless people they get on The Andrew Neil Show. This morning whilst talking about Brexit they then diversified onto the possibility of a General Election and what the results could be. Whilst moving onto Scotland the silly bitch said now that Davidson has gone the SNP could clear up. W T F

Pretty much spot on post this.

No composure is different to bottle in my eyes. Virtually same set of players showed bottle to come back in dying minutes to get winner against Cyprus.

I am not sure its bottle that is the issue. They need to find defenders with composure on the ball. Not ones who will hack the ball clear to nobody in particular and invite more pressure. That was the big issue last night. We sunk deeper and deeper because we were clearing the ball anywhere and when you defend so deep the ball is only going to come back at you.

Actually in 2014 IndyRef the polls were fairly accurate. Only one put Yes ahead a couple of days before the vote. This is when Brown shat himself and came out with his promises of rewards for a No vote which never materialised and tried turning it into a Devo Max thing.

We allowed ourselves to get pinned back and had no out ball. The goals were always going to come playing that way. Naive is how I would describe and very brittle at the back. Sure we have plenty of talent in midfield but that is immaterial if you canmot play out from the back through the midfield. To be honest since the Kazakhstan loss I always felt our only path through would be the Nations League play-off route.

Perhaps but perhaps not. The alternative? Continue with the pathetic option that exists at the moment.

No actually it isn't. During the Scottish Independence referendum and after it many English people were asking where was England's version of Holyrood. A parliament containing only English MP's voting and passing bills on purely English matters. There are far more of them than you think. They recognise Westminster for what it is.

Yes I was having a go at ones with a certain type of reasoning for it but ones doing it for other reasons I have no problem with.

Well no they wouldn't....not from me. That may very well be heard from unionist backers though most definitely. I, being a Scottish independence supporter, desiring to break clear of Westminster rule, would certainly not criticise English people for feeling an urge to do similar.

Yes I do absolutely. But that is totally up to the English voter alone to attempt to do something about it by taking their vote elsewhere away from the established parties and organising themselves perhaps pushing for English independence.

Exactly. And those Brits crave the right to remain living where they are but that may not possible for them.

Not many granted but that just highlights the hypocrisy of Brexiteers of wanting to have their cake and eat it. I have no problem with Brexiteers who want out of the EU for legitimate and correct reasons. I'd see those as being for wanting back control of laws and trade deals etc. It is the ones that cite reasons I listed above who I disagree enormously with.

I would say the chief beef Brexiteers have with the EU is their false belief that it has seen too many foreigners come to their country. A belief that they have taken jobs away from Brits and are to blame for rise in NHS waiting times etc and to blame for housing issues. By my experience they are way off the mark. Too many Brits nowadays see themselves above many menial jobs or cannot hack them and so leave. Too many live with their head in the clouds with dillusions of appearing on reality TV or being something that they aren't instead of living in the real world and doing jobs they so wrongly see as being below them. As for the NHS theybdo not stop to think that a lot of our specialist doctors and nurses are foreign nationals that are keeping the NHS running. As for the housing problem well the solution is simple - the government is to blame for not building more houses and accomodation for local councils. People wrongly think closing borders will stop foreigners getting in. Jeez look at the priority Trump has made of this and still he hasn't cut the flow. Another false belief of the Brexiteers is that the EU is the reason for the UK's demise. They seem to forget that it was Tory governments who decimated the coal, steel and shipbuilding industries and the car industry was in swift decline before the UK even joined the EEC. In short people should look closer to home for the UK's problems.

All I know is that Scotland has lost so much of its key industries all because of Tory Westminster governments. They closed down coal mines, steelworks and shipyards. That had Jack to do with the EU. When we had a chance to leave this union in 2014 who spun a web of bullshit? Better Together and Westminster not the EU. So that is the damage Tory governments and Westminster governments have done to Scotland now can someone point out the direct damage the EU has done to Scotland?

Globslism is nothing new. Look at the Roman Empire, the reign of Napoleon, the rise of the Nazis and even the British Empire. Countries expanding out their control over the world imposing their values, beliefs and trade deals on others. One difference is back in those days it was achieved with violence, wars and invasions with territories and countries taken by force and held through mistreatment of the colonials. Say whst you will about the EU bit at least there is none of that. The EU is an optional union not one brought about by invasion, divide and conquer.

I am just waiting for the next GE and Tories collapse in Scotland. We will then hear that if Ruth Davidson had stayed she would have been First Minister.

Davidson, I think, loves her false reputation as something of a miracle worker. Under her recently the Tories success came about by one reason alone at the last GE. Far more organised and tactical unionist voting. Tories and Labour made the last GE all about another IndyRef and rallied unionists into voting in any which way to suffocate the SNP and as the SNP were less aggressive in campaigning it as about independence their vote suffered. In the here and now though Davidson deep down knows the Tories are in for a nasty shock at the next GE in Scotland which will bust the false myth of her as a miracle worked and great leader. I think she is canny enough to hope thst the Tory losses will be put down to her departure alone and nothing to do with something of a surge in fresh SNP/Independence support and so the Tories and Westminster will try to use her exit as an excuse for a perceived upturn in SNP vote share.

I agree. The only way those in studio should review it is if the onfield referee contacts them to say I am not sure about that decision can you check it. If they don't do that then it should be left alone.

Aye okay 12 yards but point stands.