DrewDon

There is genuinely a decent chance that Brighton become the first team to finish in the top half of the Premier League despite losing all thirty-eight games.

It seems counterintuitive, but the bottom six fixtures - and the type of forwards he will come up against - will almost be a bigger challenge for Gartenmann than yesterday, despite being up against technically much poorer players. It is similar for Polvara in midfield. He did well enough in the first half yesterday, but fell away after half-time and we begun to get dominated. He will likely get another chance next week against Motherwell with Shinnie suspended, so I want to see him stepping up and influencing games against bottom six teams when we are likely to have a majority of the ball. Also to see how well he copes when he comes up against midfielders more likely to make the game a battle and who will relish the physical side of things.

Clattenburg should stand down tonight, distance himself from the statement and, most importantly of all, give his full focus to Gladiators.

I genuinely despise Manchester United Football Club. An appalling institution.

I genuinely think that penalty from Torp is one of the best I have ever seen.

Great to see him getting involved. I'm sure the blog will be a treat, regardless of who wins.

I think he was trying to pass it across the six-yard box to Hojlund rather than shooting himself.

I think it's harsh, and I don't think it would be given if the referee hadn't awarded it on the pitch, but I'm more than happy for it to stand.

That is probably fair. If you put him up against a Simon Murray or a Kyle Vassell type of centre-forward, you can tell he just isn't comfortable with the amount of physicality: he ends up either not engaging and taking up a deeper starting position, which in itself is a problem, or engaging, getting turned and beaten too often and then having to make up ground. If you have someone like Rubezic to partner him then you can alleviate that to an extent, but you can't escape it entirely as a centre-back in this league. Whilst I don't mind MacDonald and it was nice to see him get some redemption for his misjudgements at Celtic's first two goals, he doesn't quite offer that some degree of physical coverage, which is presumably why Robson seemed to settle on Rubezic and Gartenmann as his preferred pairing when he did eventually move to a back four.

The handball is borderline, I think - it would be given in Scotland, but I have seen enough in England to know that the bar for intervention is higher there (and I personally prefer that approach). The one with Reyna is undoubtedly one that, if it gets given on the pitch, the VAR isn't intervening; again, though, I have seen similar ones this season that have also not been reviewed most likely on the basis that the degree of contact from Young isn't severe enough. The most egregious of the three is the last one, I think.

Gartenmann was excellent yesterday. He kind of epitomises this team: he seems to have his best performances against better teams and in bigger games. When he plays like that, he is the best centre-back at the club by a country mile. I do wonder if he just doesn't like playing against really physical attackers, which is always going to a big problem for him in Scotland if he does sign permanently.

It's good to see Clattenburg earning his wages, at least.

All VAR and referee process chat aside, the challenge from Hoilett on Johnston is one of those that feels like it is given 50% of the time, and let go the other 50% of the time. Celtic fans claiming it is absolutely blatant are at it, but so are some of our fans I have seen claiming that it is 'never' a foul or the most scandalous decision ever. Carter-Vickers on Hoilett is a foul, but it's the sort of foul that seems to be becoming increasingly common, especially inside the penalty box, and I'm not sure I like it. Shades of Phillips/Gordon in the Newcastle v West Ham game a few weeks back, and no doubt numerous other examples.

In fairness, I think he gives it when he first blows the whistle - it looked like he's pointing at the spot rather than the six-yard box, but he is giving the free-kick.

I was celebrating the award of a penalty for a solid ten seconds in the ground, I'll be honest about that. Next time I look at Robertson, he's signalling for a free-kick. I will actually go against the grain of Aberdeen fans and say that I understand why a foul has been given on Johnston having seen the incident back: it's one of those that could probably go either way and you should just stick with the on field decision. It's not a clear and obvious error either way. If he's given it on field then that's fine and, as said above, we thankfully equalised anyway.