Diamond Scot

Couldnt work in Scotland for many reasons. Firstly the percentage of people interested in football that support the OF are too high. Presumably if you declared that you supported Rangers you also wouldnt be allowed to ref Celtic games. Secondly, Refs like any of profession want to get to the top of the game and ref the biggest matches. In Scotland the biggest matches involve the OF and the vast vast majority of cup finals have 1 of the OF in them. Lastly, if a ref declared that they supported another team then the football public would just decide that they are lying and actually support one of the OF. The reason it works in England is that none of the above reasons exist.

Said on the other thread. Next appointment is a big one. Short term somebody like Lennon would be good. They wouldnt get relegated with him and would probably be into top 6 next year. (As they should). However I cant see Lennon doing anything special in the medium to longer term. He doesnt play a particuarly attractive style of football, isnt known to play lots of youth and a section of the support may already have negative feelings towards him which is rarely a good thing beyond the short term. On the other hand, going for somebody outside of Scottish football is a bigger risk, especially in the short term.

Hold my hands up. I thought Warnock would be a good appointment in the short term. Experienced and club wouldnt be too big for him. For one reason or another it hasnt worked. Aberdeen need to get the next appointment right.

Horrific. Just a random background. Looks very much like a training top.

For me its a source of frustration although my default position for the OF is that they will do whats right for them so I cant be overly critical of Aberdeen for doing the same at the time. They obviously gambled on 4 years minimum in 2nd place, hoping thay would distance themselves longer term from the rest of the pack. Obviously hasnt worked out that way.

Shankland is the stand out. Very rarely does a non OF player score as many as he has. Thinking through the other teams. Im not sure there is anybody from the OF who has stood out consistently. Maybe Butland but would be strange to give to a ln OF GK who are rarely tested. Agree with McInnes for manager at this moment in time.

Im always torn on these type of situations. On one hand we should be picking the best players for the highest possible level. That might mean 17/18 year olds playing for U21s. On the other hand its important to expose as many of our best players to international football as possible. So given the above example it might mean 2 x 20 year olds missing out completely as they obviously couldnt drop down to U19s. Its difficult to predict which youngsters will go onto the full squad so im reasonably content with keeping the 2 above at U19 for the moment. The frustration comes when they are possibly full squad players and we keep them at lower levels but from what ive seen it is probably a couple of years away at best for these lads so no need to rush them to U21 just yet.

Celtic have 70 odd million in the bank. Rangers are getting back to a level position and with champions league money may soon be turning in good profits etc. The OF have next to zero incentive for change. Having kids in Aberdeen buying OF stuff suits them. They are the very definition of big fish in small pond. In the same way it would be nice if the worlds elite enacted change to redress the financial imbalance, it just wont ever happen and we cant expect it to. Unfortunetly change only happens when the people who need it, make it happen. I think we concentrate too much on league winners. Germany has only had 1 league winner recently but generally its a really well run and thriving league. We need to get to a point where the non OF teams can grow fan base, interest and product on the pitch. Totally agree regarding Sky but again I feel this needs to be driven by the non OF clubs. The OF are pretty much on every game and the pundits are OF based. Even though Scottish football coverage is rubbish the OF probably get more weekly coverage / attention from Sky than mid table EPL teams like Brighton, Crystal Palace, Villa etc. My proposal would be for the 10 non OF top flight clubs and maybe even some of the bigger Championship clubs to come together and form a body. Like the F1 teams did years ago. That body then discusses matters with the SPFL / OF with 1 stronger voice. Threaten to pull out of cups etc if needs be.

Ultimately the OF report to their fans and shareholders. Having a monoply over the league and therefore access to europe is perfect for them. Lets be honest, creating a more competitive league isnt going to turn the SPFL into the EPL in terms of revenue etc. Having the focus solely on the OF suits them. It drives column inches, merchandice sales, season tickets etc. We shouldnt expect and will never get buy in from the OF. What needs to happen is the non OF clubs force their hand on things that are either a minor thing for them, such as hampden ticket allocations or even better try and get them on board for things that might actually be good for them. Ie Amazon investing in Scottish football might mean every OF game being available live, throughout the UK or world. Profits from that, greater access and programmes like the ones done with the big clubs down south.

I wouldnt expect the OF to want it to change. Why would they? I really think the way forward is for the non OF teams to come together to force change. The interests of Hearts / Hibs etc cant be that much different from Motherwell / St Mirren etc. Scottish football cant exist without non OF teams. Its about time they used that. Otherwise they will be scrapping over smaller and smaller scraps as the years go on.

Championship is crazy this season. Realistically anybody from 3rd to 9th could finish in playoff places for promotion or relegation.

Spain strip is basic, Germany quite nice. Italy is a crime. Its almost impossible to mess up the Italy home kit but they have given it a good try. I predict ours will be horrible. Probably dark blue with yellow adidas strips and yellow down the side.

For years to me it has seemed like a large percentage of non OF fans arent particuarly happy with how the game in Scotland is run. Im more recent years the OF fans also arent happy, with both sides seemingly thinking that the refs / authorities etc are against them. Its all becoming a bit boring as far as im concerned but my question is, do people think the problems in Scottish football can be resolved? Is there a collective will to at least try and address any issues and what if anything would you realistically suggest. I think one of the fundamental problems in Scottish football is the focus on and the power the OF have however at the same time accept that alot of the money coming into the Scottish game is because of the OF. That being said I think the non OF clubs should come together and form 1 voice. Issues such as Hampden ticket split could be easily addressed. I also think the non OF clubs need to address the broadcasting. The reality is that the focus will always be on the OF as the biggest clubs but the current approach is so short sighted. There needs to be so much more done to promote the other clubs, other big games, teams battling for europe, top 6 or avoiding relegation. I think teaming with Amazon / Netflix etc could really help with this. Do something before the Premier league and get ahead of thr curve. The final thing for me would be going to summer football. So many positives and very little negatives. Weather for the actual game but also the fans but one of the main things is that it would put our game on at a different time from the EPL which lets face it is massive. Combined with an Amazon type deal and you could try and build viewing figures in England when everybody is keen to watch competitive football.

Thats the refs / VAR job though. To look at the situation and make a call on whether the player did something on purpose or not. Ie you cant jump without moving your hands but there is no reason for them to be above your head where the ball is coming down. The Celtic game yesterday. The players back was to the ball and the reason his arm moved was because another Celtic player barged into him. This ultimate quest for perfection in decision making is ruining the game. Leave it to the refs. If they consistently make poor decisions then dont move them down the grades.

Like most things they have complicated something for no need. Used to be intent, which then had to change because defenders like John Terry were making themselves bigger before the ball was struck. This should have just been changed to read that if a player deliberately puts his hand / arm in an unatural position where it was likely to hit the arm / hand in order to gain an advantage then its a penalty. Ie doing a star jump. The ball hitting an arm as the player runs or jumps etc is a farce. 99% of handball pens are obvious.

The worrying thing is Ramy is that you appear to actually believe this? Am I wrong in saying that the ref on Sunday was "celtic leaning" but you and Rodgers are upset because the VAR ref was "Rangers leaning"? The ref made the final calls. The sooner fans and people involved in the game move away from this nonsence the better. Refs are refs first and foremost.

Rangers scoring in the 2nd minute played a big part. Getting the 1st goal early as the OF quite often takes the life out of the opposition.

Thats a big part of the problem. Even current players and managers dont know the rules. The ex players etc in the studio give an ill informed position and then that feeds the masses. The host on clyde 1 is the only guy who consistently pulls up callers and pundits about wrongly stating the rules.

Handball rules are mental these days. Ruining football.

Football is done, you are right about that. I wouldnt give as a pen but then I wouldnt be giving most pens awarded it last few years. Im just saying there is contact by the hibs player. That appears to be enough these days.

I never said it was a penalty. I said I can understand why it was given. Especially the way the game is being officiated these days. What part of what I said was inaccurate? Did the Hibs player go for the ball? Yes, did he get the ball? No, Did the Hearts player move the ball out of the way. Yes. Did the Hibs player then connect with the Hearts players leg / foot? Yes. The only part thats poor is the contact isnt enough to make the Hearts player go down but that could be said of alot of penalties these days.

I heard it on the radio, saw the comments on here and was expecting to see an absolute shocker but I can see why the penalty was given. The Hibs players has made an attempt for the ball, the Hearts guy moves the ball and then the Hibs guy connects with the Hearts player. Its probably a foul outside the box and therefore can see why its a penalty. The problem is most people have grown up at a time when penaltys had to be more than just fouled. They had to be over and above because they are effrctively a goal. With VAR and the new way of reffing the game, those days are gone. Similar to the Hibs penalty conceeded against Celtic a few weeks back where nobody was even claiming for a penalty.

I dont think Taylor would start at LB. It would either be Hickey or Doig. Personally I really like Tierney at LCB. I just feel it gives us something unique thats so hard to play against. How does a team setup to defend against a centre back overlapping the LB. McKenna just wouldnt play LCB the same way. Similar to how Copper couldnt. They are centre backs. I think Clarke will have learned this from past games and im sure he will have a plan in place if Tierney isnt available.

Because Tierney playing LCB is key to our formation and also its such a unique role, the way he plays it that other teams find it hard to defend against. Anybody else we have tried to play LCB hasnt been a patch on Tierney and affects our entire team. Tierney would play LB just aswell as Robertson. Its losing him at LCB thats the issue. If Tierney isnt playing LCB for whatever reason then we could look at 433 with Barnes and Fraser as wingers. Leaving McGreggor, McTomminay and McGinn as the midfield 3 however this is pretty much untried and might have a negative impact on McGinn and McTomminays performances. One this is certain. Playing 451 results in a bombscare and shouldnt be tried again unless we get a dedicated holding midfielder.

Im pretty sure he has at some point in at least a game but cant recall him ever starting in a 2 with a back 4. Did he play CB in a friendly at Aberdeen or is my mind playing tricks on me?