AndyDD

He has, albeit I would suggest both Major and May had a rougher time of it from the press. Maybe even Gordon Brown. Well, we shall see, but he has aye been a popular figure in certain sectors of english society. I'd be interested in his numbers specifically in Scotland. Conventional wisdom is he is almost universally reviled up here and that's why so many of the scots Tories were initially against him back in the infamous 'operation arse' days. I highly, highly doubt he has 40% kind of numbers in Scotland.

Hahaha aw you're right, it would be sensational. The outpouring of joy and relief would be all the greater due to the tension. I reckon we'd blow a penalty shootout, though. No many players in our squad who have taken part in one. They will need to practice it but, for the first time since, what, the Dutch playoff under Vogts? Been no prospect of one since then. Thankfully we'll no need one, we'll skoosh the final at Hampden by two clear goals.

I don't even want to contemplate that. Imagine a penalty shoot out in the final? Horrific tension. Anal nerves collapsing nation wide.

Personally delighted with the goings on at Falkirk, but probably not as delighted as the good* people of Greenock. *There must be SOME good people there, right?

Not just for our chances of winning, the logistical nightmare of trying to get to whatever the away venue would be after the semi would be of epic proportions!

It's rather startling really, just how big a draw this is for us. Huge. I cannae wait for March. Give me Isreal and then a Hampden final UEFA, you corrupt cunts (Because i've no idea how I would get to the away game in such a short turnaround and i've no idea how we would qualify from an away trip to Norway or Bulgaria).

He's leading in the polls, they believe they are in front, so further debates are of little use to him; it gets him nothing. Especially now he has already taken part in one, with a further Beeb one to come. It's pish, but the broadcasters let him and Corbyn off the hook with, what, two one-on-one debates? They can both say they've ticked that box and the rest of the media won't accuse them of ducking debate because they are cowardly cunts. The broadcasters should have agreed to play hard ball, but they gave the Tories and Labour exactly what they wanted. Both of their campaigns are comfortable pushing the narrative that it's one or the other, blue or red, Corbyn or Johnson. They are both very poor debaters, so neither at a particular disadvantage and the debate formats are so anaemic that neither are really going to suffer much as long as they stick to their boiler plate, ready made soundbite slogans. Easy television for the broadcasters, easy and useful set up for the two parties. Fair play, it's a masterclass in closing the shop.

Brown is bang on here, it's what we've all been saying since Tuesday night and something talked about already by Clarke. Regards the man himself, i'm prone to a bit of hypocrisy here; usually I want players who retire to stay retired, but Scott Brown is exactly the sort of player we've missed since the moment he retired and makes such a difference to the celtic team, as he did to the Scotland team. If he wanted back in, I'd not tell him to bolt. Same with that other perennial retiree, Steven Fletcher. I do think we'll be able to make it without them, though, which would obviously be preferable. Going cap in hand to players who patched us in the past is galling and not a little embarrassing. A conundrum, sure enough. Anyway, it's no like he has come out with this statement. He gave an honest answer to a question. An answer every man and his dug agree wi, anawl.

The fuck did Cumbie Utd ever do to you? Doing alright this season thus far anawl, thank-you very much...

I thought Forrest was good in the last two games, as it happens. Should have scored on Tuesday night. Some good runs and passes and got past his man (couple of times, men) a few times. Very neat and clever in build up to the winner in Cyprus. Linked well with Taylor a number of times in both games and was even tracking back on Tuesday, including one memorable moment when he chased an opponent down deep into our half and took the ball off him. And one first half pass was sheer art; outside of the right foot to Naismith. Tasty. I'd play him. Especially if we play Israel. Look what he did to them last time. Not playing the guy who scored a hattrick against the very same opponents last time out seems a bit mad. Even if the result is they are just terrified of him and either back off or surround him, freeing space for everyone else.

So long as they don't actually give him the bullet, I can live with the press and some fans doing their usual. C'est la vie. I share your general frustration with the chopping and changing but I still don't think we should be tying ourselves to every manager for at least 4 campaigns come hell or high water. The water would get very high indeed.

It was hard before these two games to envisage a scenario where a fit McTominay would have his place in jeopardy, but the relationship between Mcgregor and Jack was excellent over these two games. They really seemed to have gelled and to know each other's games. They played like teammates. It would be very harsh for either to lose their place, regardless of how talented McTominay undoubtedly is, on the back of the last two games. Robertson comes in. Taylor is a good option and did well, but Robertson comes in. Tierney at right back? Again, looking at the improvement in Palmer over the two matches I would find it very harsh to drop him. So Tierney at centre half? It would have to be in place of McKenna, so that we have a left footer on the left and a right footer on the right. Not convinced by that, either. If Griffiths is fit and getting some game time, he has to come into contention, but I really liked the game intelligence and workrate of Naismith, not to mention the reflection of his winning mentality through his constant talking, cajoling, encouraging and moaning. If Robertson was the only change to the lineup, I'd not really complain. Of course, If McTominay and Tierney make the line up, i'd not really complain much either. Some difficult choices for Clarke now, in a good way.

I'd not be sacking Clarke under those circumstances, but you're kidding yourself if you don't think his position won't be brought into question in such a scenario. Of course it will. My hope is that he stays the course and Maxwell is strong enough to retain him regardless of this questioning and scrutiny. Having a blanket rule of giving 8 years, though, is a bit silly. Two campaigns would be more reasonable, but if we make a bad appointment and stick to it out of bloody mindedness when there are better options available we would be making a mistake. It was a mistake to get rid of Strachan in my view, but not a mistake to get rid of Levein. A hard and fast rule is going to tie your hands and I think a balance can be achieved between giving a reasonable crack at the whip to grow something and refusing to remove someone until they have had 4 campaigns, even if the fans and many players have chucked it. Even if it is obvious that the ship is sinking and won't refloat itself. Had we not swapped out Strachan for Mcleish I do wonder where we'd be. On the flipside I wonder if Strachan could have gotten us over the line had he been brought in to replace Levein at an earlier juncture. Or where we would be if Clarke had been appointed instead of McLeish.

Seems to be, aye. Not just looking at Tierney here, or Fraser; i'd apply this to anyone who pulls out or 'makes themselves unavailable' unless the injury is clear and obvious.

Poland from pot 2 and Austria, Sweden or the Czechs, please. Of course, we all know it will be France and Portugal... ... visiting Belgrade...

Awk then they are surely due a beating...

Only just dawned on us on the way back from Hampden that we could be facing up to extra time or penalties in either game. Imagine the fucking tension. Horrific thought. I think the poll result reflects reality; odds are we will win our semi and fall short in the final. However, a home draw for the final and the momentum off the back of four wins on the trot and knowing we are one win away could be enough to push us, especially if we are relatively unscathed from semi and the winner of the other is off the back of an exhausting slobberknocker. If they'd like to go extra time in their semi that would be absolutely fine and dandy. Maybe kick lumps out each other anawl.

He can make it public that this player (or these players) will no longer be selected under his tenure because they have not demonstrated an interest in playing for Scotland in European Championship Playoffs. Beyond that, yes, all he can do is stop them playing for 4/5 days and refuse to ever call them up. That's all any manager can do. That and publicly shame them. They likely won't care about that, but at least the fans will see that HE does.

Correct. SFA must be delighted that his fights with them will now at least be behind closed doors. Hopefully that side of him isn't even called for in March, anyone who isn't flat out smashed to bits must want involved in the squad that finally makes it. Even I won't give benefit of the doubt to any cunt then. Nevermind the 5 day rule, i'd exile them for good. ... But still invoke the 5 day rule out of sheer malice.

Agreed; there is no question about the importance of these games and so I expect and hope to see the Clarke who took the SFA, SPFL, that referee and the rangers fans apart when he was the Killie boss.

Fingers crossed!

Not to mention turning out to support england at Hampden last summer, or they clowns that supported Ireland at Parkhead when the closest they've come to the emerald isle is a couple pints of Guinness.

It would definitely bring into question his suitability to this job, as it would be hard to argue it wasn't a clear example of regression. But the McLeish who managed Scotland the second time around is not the same guy who used to be a manager of some considerable talent and the shambolic decision to appoint him put an unfair stain on the reputation of one of our best ever players and someone who was a solid enough manager in his short lived first spell. Current day McLeish is not as good at football management as Steve Clarke. I don't ultimately think that could be in any sensible dispute, no matter what.

You'll get some folk arguing that all players would rather play a game than have the weekend off, but we surely can't afford to risk injury disaster when we have such a reasonable chance of finally doing it. This will be a huge test for Maxwell and of the clubs themselves. If Clarke and co can get them from Friday 20th or Saturday the 21st, even, that could go a long, long way.

The Membership renewal is imminent, isn't it? Presumably they will use the playoffs to drive those home. Outside of members, it will be interesting to see what they come up with for the tickets.