aaid

I'm wondering whether this recent self funded puff piece points towards Mone and Barrowman knowing that criminal charges are pending and are trying to get out in front of them. Cant really think of any other reason.

Just to be clear, I was talking about the period before the SSC started to give out points for home games. They were warned in advance that it would be impossible to police. In those days, I’d buy the full package of tickets in advance - with a discount - and because I live in the SE of England, I’d generally miss one or two games. This is one of the reasons why I packed it in. The SSC went through a period of not really caring who got the tickets, I’ve no idea if that’s changed.

I wonder what Lisa Cameron has to say about the FCO closing down their office in East Kilbride?

Its actually even better than it appears to be and makes Cameron look even more stupid. The meeting was set up with an FCO advisor acting as minder/grass. The Turks changed the time at the last minute. The FCO lackey couldn't make it. Humza took the meeting without the FCO present. So problem here is lack of available FCO "supervision".

I wouldn't know as I only got in 5 minutes before kick off having been stuck outside for an hour in the most ridiculous queue you've ever seen

Waiting for the usual suspects to say that he’s talking to the wrong sort of world leaders and that Erdogan isn’t the hill I’d die on.

I don’t think that being unable to shift Tavernier reflects on Patterson at all. At the point Patterson left he was all about potential, Tavernier was simply the better player at that point and arguably still is. Tavernier didn’t look like he was going downhill any time soon and he’s - injury free - likely got another 3-4 left at Rangers. When they eventually have replace him, Rangers are going to have to find two players, a right back and someone to score 15-20 games a season - he’s a one off. The deal made perfect sense to all parties.

People are forgetting that the opening game of the World Cup and European Championships is considered by FIFA and UEFA as a marquee game. I’ve never understood why that’s the case but it is. In this championships, the ticket prices are the same as the semi-finals. It was exactly the same in France for the Brazil game. I can’t remember the price of my ticket but given it was behind the goal in the bottom tier I’m assuming it was one of the cheaper ones. I saw a friend of mine put his ticket up which was 500 FFR, or about £70 at current rates on exchange. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the most expensive ones. For some reason 1000 FFR rings a bell.

Did you watch the stage 3 debate? Jamie Greene spoke, quite movingly, and explained exactly why he would be voting for the bill.

This x 1000. That’s how it’s always worked, I’m amazed anyone would think it would be any different. This whole elite thing is a load of bollocks anyway. It started as a wind up for the wanks who have zero self awareness. I stopped going six years ago so I’ve no points. However before that for about 25 years I would probably have been in that category as in the years I didn’t go to every game I was missing one or two. It started as a joke because, in the odd occasion when there was a big game was an oversubscribed - actually it was more in the build up to a game as funnily enough everybody who wanted a ticket got one, you see these sort of complaints. ”I’m a massive Scotland fan but <insert personal tale of woe> I haven’t been going as much, so I won’t get a ticket but these “jocky come latelys/points harvesters/middle class wanks/people who can fly to Japan” are stopping me from getting a ticket” Points harvesters was the biggest myth going. In the 2000s and 2010s when Scotland were pish, absolutely rank, and couldn’t qualify for love nor money. What exactly were people actually buying tickets with no intention of going, what tickets did they think they’d be missing out on. When I was a regular ten pointer I used to think, all the people who are in the same boat as me are at this game as well, I can see them here. This week I’ve seen it all playing out on Facebook. Guys you wouldn’t trust to cross the road by themselves complaining about the cost of tickets, flights, hotels, beer, food, trains, hookers, whatever. It’s the fucking European Championships in a foreign country. Of course it’s going to be more expensive than a game at Wembley and two games at Hampden.

But surely thats a good thing as long as it’s only used to overturn things that I don’t agree with. I mean why bother with democracy when WM obviously know better.

Even more applicable to comparison with the Women. One team in the final game with nothing to play for and the other with everything.

Denmark who had already qualified and could not be knocked off top. A Scotland team that could do no better of worse than finish second. A effective friendly. I think I’m very realistic with where both teams and managers are in term of their relative ranking, their strengths and weaknesses. I actually think Clarke is a very good manager, I also think that his record over the last couple of years bears comparison with Losa’s. We’ll see how good Clarke is next year when he’s managing in League A, let’s see if he does better than Losa. We’ll see if he can perform miracles. Let’s not forget that run of three defeats against England, Spain and France. Most people reasonably gave Clarke a free pass because they were playing against top teams. The only way to get better is to play better teams and to realise what you need to do to counter them.

Apart from Spain, I can’t recall Steve Clarke achieving a victory against a team of note.

Three Home Secretaries have gone to Rwanda but there’s been zero refugees.

Let’s have a look at those mixed results over the past two years - disclaimer, the world ranking is the current one, but hopefully you get the point. For comparison Scotland are ranked #23 Defeats. oct 21, Sweden 0-2, #1 nov 21, Spain 8-0, #2 feb 22, Wales (PC) 3-1 #29 apr 22, Spain 0-2 #2 sep 22, Netherlands 1-2, #7 oct 22, Ireland 0-1 , #24 feb 23, Iceland (PC) 2-0, #14 sep 23, England, 2-1, #4 oct 23, Netherlands, 4-0, #7 oct 23, Netherlands 0-1, #7 nov 23, England, 0-6, #4 Thats 11 defeats, 8 of them against teams ranked 1, 2, 4 and 7 in the world. There’s 13 wins and 4 draws on top of that. Thats why he’s been given a new contract.

These excessively high defeats occur from time to time in Women’s football, I’ve no idea why thats the case but it evidently does. That said, you talking about scuddings from the team that won the World Cup six months ago and the team that they beat in the final.

I haven’t been an SSC member for 5 years. I pay no attention to the current set up or its relationships with fans groups as it’s of zero interest to me. As you know though, I’m more than qualified to talk about what was going on 20 years ago.

So you’re judging him on one game. You’d have sacked Clarke after the Ukraine play loss?

If he doesn’t know how he’s talking about, how does he know they’re up the SFA’s arse?

And believe me, Marjory was absolutely useless at those things. I suspect there was very little computerised. The difference was that Marjory was able to take a personal approach that made every member think that Marjory knew them. That was an accident, it was a mark of the woman but she also put a lot of work into it. For example, for every away game she had the list of all members who’d applied for tickets. She’d go through them and pick out those she didn’t know, eg., new members, get their membership cards out, print off the photo and then make a point - if she came across them - to have a chat introduce herself and to call you by your name. That drilled into you - in a nice way - that Auntie Marjory knew what you were doing and not to step out of line. I met her several years after she’d left the SFA and she admitted that she couldn’t have done the job in the way she did with the levels of membership the SSC had. The point when this changed was when David Taylor came in and one of his ideas was to grow the STC into the SSC. You just can’t have a boutique service for a mass membership organisation.

A good account of themselves? played 3 lost 2 drawn 1. The draw being a snatched from the jaws of victory by conceding a 94th minute penalty. Bottom of the group.

Why should a children’s charity be holding anyone to account let alone the SFA?

I’ll not have a bad word said about Marjory Nimmo but in her day the SSC was a tenth of what it is now and attendances at away games were generally in the hundreds rather than the thousands. its a different beast now.

You really think so? This was the inaugural Women’s Nations League. The seedings were carried out on the basis of team-coefficients. Scotland had the lowest coefficient in League A, #16. In fact they were #17 and only got bumped up because Russia invaded Ukraine. A lot of that was down to Losa’s work over the previous year or so. They were then drawn in a group with the #1, #6 and #10 seeds. The four teams relegated? The bottom teams. Add to that he lost his best player to injury for the bulk of the campaign. If and when we get relegated from pot A in next year’s nations league should we sack him as well. The reality is that Scotland - at men’s and women’s football - are not League A teams at the moment. They both look like they are heading that way but sacking either manager won’t help anything. Start a thread called “Sack Pedro Martinez Losa” now and let’s see if you look as ridiculous as kumnio once the Euro qualifiers start next year.