Leaderboard

Just passed my final teaching crit. Subject to passing a few essays that’ll be me a qualified Primary teacher in August.

The night before we play a cup final and we're tracking one of our players returning from playing international fitba. I don't know which parallel universe I'm in but I'm fucking loving it!

I’ll keep you all posted

"Not stronger for tarmac" [emoji38] What a fucking melt

The SNP might be shite at fixing potholes, but they're clearly leading the way in giving the mentally handicapped access to MS Paint.

It wouldn't surprise me if the whole episode was done in one take.

It’s the good luck video! Heartwarming! Happy! Hilarious!

This is tremendous: Direct link: https://www.themaneland.com/2018/3/18/17134822/an-orlando-city-fan-in-scotland TheBeardedGuy Mar 18, 2018, 1:00pm EDT Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Scotland Being the fan of football that I am, I have always tried to find opportunities to visit places that allow me to watch matches, either in person, or in bars/pubs that specifically cater to the beautiful game. My work schedule on the other hand, likes to do the opposite: take me to places that don’t have teams, television is dominated by American football, baseball, and other sports not named football (or soccer as we say in ‘murica). I can only hope that at some point, the stars align, the heavens sing, and someone, somewhere, looks down upon me and everything works out. I was in Glasgow, Scotland last week, and something amazing did happen. When the dates of my trip were finally locked down, and all of my arrangements had been double checked, I began to look for any matches that might be possible to watch. My excitement turned to dread pretty quickly as I realized that my travel schedule was in no way conducive to watching matches, including the Rangers versus Celtic match on the Sunday I traveled (I mean, I doubt I could have gotten a ticket, but with a few phone calls I might have pulled it off). It would appear to me, and the quick research I did, that I would not be watching football this trip. I flew into Edinburgh and had a car service drive me the 50-60 minutes to my hotel in Glasgow on the West End. The driver, Ian, was a great guy, who chatted with me the entire way about politics, religion, and football. He wasn’t a big footy fan, but he certainly understood why I was a bit upset the timing wasn’t right to take in a match, and certainly understood my disappointment in missing the Old Firm match, the name given to the meetings between Celtic and Rangers. It was OK though, as hopefully I would be able to carve out some time to drive over to the stadiums and take a few pictures, seeing as the grounds themselves are so close to each other, maybe a 15-20 minute car ride if traffic is not horrible. Regardless, I was beginning to let it sink in that experiencing Scottish football may not be in the cards this trip. I got to work Monday, and spent a solid three-fourths of a day with the team getting a great start to my trip. I headed out to a nice early dinner, considering I had not gotten any decent sleep due to travel and time changes, and was making plans for the rest of the week. My friend asked if there was anything else I would like to do while I was there, and I openly lamented to him on the sadness I felt at the fact there were no football matches being played. All the other things on my checklist had to do with beer, whisky, castles, and fish-n-chips. He assured me we would get as many things knocked off the list as possible before my trip was done. I went to bed fairly early and looked forward to the next day of work. Not long after the work day began, my friend pulled me to the side and said he called his uncle, who is a huge football fan, and asked what we should do to help me get my football fix in. His uncle told him it was an easy problem to solve, as there was a Scottish Cup match replay happening just south of us the following night. Upon hearing this, and hearing that my friend was already making calls to get details and make plans, it was a bit overwhelming, considering I had a job to do, and I was going to get it done, but it was already something that tried to consume my thoughts. There was now a good chance we were going to match. Wednesday came, and my friend finally had discussed all the needed details and set everything in motion. We would leave work a pinch early that evening to catch a train to Kilmarnock, a city a bit south of Glasgow, to watch the replay match against Aberdeen, the fifth- and third-place teams in the Scottish Premier Football League, respectively. The work day went well, and during every little break, I was given more and more advice on what to expect, what to say, what not to say, and an infinite number of recommendations on food, beer, and treats to sample while there, and all suggestions were properly noted as they were all great. My friend and I left at a reasonable time, hit the hotel quickly to change, and grabbed a cab to Glasgow Central Station. We decided to take a little bit of an earlier train and avoid the peak of rush hour folks trying to get home. We acquired our two-way train tickets, had plenty of time before the train left, so we walked around the corner to a pub for a quick pint. Here is where I detour for a moment on a couple things that I learned to love while there. Brewdog makes fantastic beers, and I mean absolutely fantastic beers. European pints are four more ounces than we get here, and that needs to be changed. Getting a true pint of Tennent’s, or any other local beer was just perfect, every ounce of that 20 was perfect. I digress. So, we hopped our train for the 40-minute ride to Kilmarnock. Then a three-minute walk to a Taxi stand, and a 10-minute drive to Rugby Park, home to Kilmarnock FC, the oldest professional football club in Scotland. To put that statement in perspective, the club was founded in 1869, only 24 years after Florida became the 27th state. Rugby Park holds about 18,000 people, all seats, and is of a very similar construction to Orlando City Stadium, with roof extensions designed to help protect the fans a bit from the elements, but also to help focus sound on the pitch, and does it do a good job of focusing that sound. <img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10447523/0313181730a.jpg" alt=""> The famous Kilmarnock Pie (Killie Pie) and a pint We started in the Park Hotel, which sat right next the Rugby Park, ordered a few pints and Killie Pies, the best pie in football, and one of the best steak pies in Scotland, and waited to grab a seat, as the bar area was already pretty packed with players, staff, and fans enjoying some banter before the match. While I was enjoying my first pint and pie, my friend was at the bar trying to get some information and began talking to a gentleman at the bar. After they were done talking, he came over to me and relayed their discussion, as this very finely dressed gentleman had seen my Orlando City shirt, and was shocked at how small the world was because he has a friend going on holiday to Florida and has already purchased tickets to an Orlando City match. In sheer disbelief, I went over to introduce myself to this gentleman, who I found out is on the Kilmarnock board, exchanged information with him, and took a picture with him for his mate who will be in Orlando for the next home match (hopefully I will be meeting this man and his wife for a small pint before the match). Nothing else much happened while we drank more pints and ate more Killie Pies, except meeting Craig Brown, the former manager for the Scottish Men’s National Team, and having to explain my “that’s OK, we won’t hold it against him that he played for the Timbers” comment to some field staff and players from Kilmarnock. They had heard me talking to another fan, who saw my Orlando City Sea Cows shirt, wanted to chat MLS, and let me know that Chris Boyd, Kilmarnock FC’s starting striker, had a one-year stint with the Portland Timbers. It was all in fun, everyone went their separate ways smiling, and it was time to head to the stadium. <img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10447525/IMG_20180314_003833_304.jpg" alt=""> Former Scotland Manager Craig Brown, also on the Board for Aberdeen I won’t get into the gory details of the match play, but it was a very defensive game, with a lot of balls sent over the top to lone strikers, or pairs of players trying to break. The ball seemed to be in the air more than it was rolling on the pitch. We were seated right behind the goal, in the front row of the upper section, which gave us an amazing vantage point. Almost 10,000 people showed up for the match, including about 1,500 away supporters, who were set up, alone, on the opposite side. Could you imagine having that many fans travel for an MLS side, consistently? What was truly amazing, other than I was freezing my ass off in 37-degree weather with a 15 mph wind blowing, watching a football match, was the crowd. I had forgotten how “polite” fans are during matches sometimes when it comes to away support. The away supporters are given opportunity to sing some of their songs, when appropriate, and are not immediately drowned out by the overwhelmingly larger home crowd, although right before their songs ended, the entire stadium would boo. When the home side sung, it was deafening, and not just because I was in the equivalent of the supporters section. The entire stadium vibrated when the home side sung in a way that gave me goosebumps. It was an absolute spectacle. Also, fans are very honest, and it certainly does not matter what color your kit is, as the fans will tell you exactly what they think of your play, home or away. Listening to the commentary of the groups around me was some of the best play-by-play I have ever witnessed. <img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10447537/0313182028_Burst07.jpg" alt=""> The view from the Moffat Stand during the match Of course, the match not only went to extra time after finishing 0-0, but also went through extra time with a score of 1-1 (honestly, Kilmarnock FC should have won, as Aberdeen FC was awarded a penalty on an obvious dive in the box), and finished in a penalty shootout, with Aberdeen advancing on penalties, 3-2. And this is where the last bit of fun begins because, remember ladies and gents, we took a train, and ScotRail does not run trains all night long. As soon as the match ended, the speed walking began. There was no chance to hail a cab as the cabs are kept away from the stadium for about 20-30 minutes after the match ends. We were given very good instructions though on how to walk back to the train station by our driver earlier, and they worked perfectly. We got to the platform with about 10 minutes to spare, got in line to get on the train, and even got seats when it arrived. We were frozen, heavy from the multiple pies consumed, and ready to get back to the hotel, for one last pint and rest. I am convinced that not being an Aberdeen fan, being a foreigner, but, more importantly, being an American that loved football, immediately endeared me to everyone around the match, from both sets of fans, players, board members, staff and everyone we met in-between. The entire experience is one that I will cherish for a long time — cherish so much that I emailed the makers of Killie Pies to see if they ship to the U.S. Watching football abroad is certainly something I will continue to do, even though I know exactly where my home is.

The most disappointing part of that episode for me was when they were naming the team, I was really hoping Tam was going to say Tamilton Accies

Mediocre

It was certainly no Craggy Island All-Priests Over-75's five-a-side football championship

It quite clearly is working, seeing as it has already promoted one side into the national league setup that has survived at a higher level, with the relegated team finding their place in a competitive setting at a regional level of the game. Not to mention that this success story comes from a Lowland League that was derided at the time by not including 'the big clubs' of the non-league scene - somehow it has coped. And now Junior teams are steadily slinking for the exit door within their dead-end setup for leagues associated with the pyramid setup. On every front then it has been a major success and is working as its proponents intended. If you want a proper debate, you should stop probably stop making such utterly ridiculous assertions without facts to back them up.

Of course. Thats your risk. Not that unusual for players held up in traffic to be named in teams. We have done it several times. Team lines need submitted 75 mins before kick off.

Not actually the case. The 200 Club has received several messages from the Raith board thanking them for their donation. A photo opportunity for the official website is planned also.

Wishing you all a fanTasTic weekend

Tell that to the family of the French policeman who exchanged himself for hostages in the Daesh attack near Carcassonne today.

Ideally, I think you'd see a West of Scotland feeder league at Tier 6, incorporating clubs from D&G, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Dunbartonshire and perhaps some of Stirlingshire. I'd say that West Lothian, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire would probably be East, but that would possibly be something to debate. Below that, you could either have another region-wide league at Tier 7 (ie a West of Scotland Division 2), or you could have a two-way split, with Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and D&G in the "South-West" region and the rest in a "North-East" region. I'd say that the natural place for the South of Scotland league would be below that at Tier 8, along with an Ayrshire league, Glasgow league etc. Some of the teams currently in the South of Scotland would certainly be playing above Tier 8 and would have a bit of increased travel, but it wouldn't be as far as the likes of Threave had to do in the Lowland League or East of Scotland. That sort of stuff will take time to develop, so at the moment the key is just getting everything integrated in a way that keeps everyone reasonably happy. Leaving the South of Scotland at Tier 6 for now might do that, but as has been mentioned above, I don't think even most of the clubs in the league are really hugely bothered about playing at a higher level, for now at least.

A WoSFL is undoubtedly required to “complete” the Pyramid, of that there is no doubt. Where would the SoSFL fit into this? Well we have to look at the fact that its member clubs are pretty reluctant to head to the LL. Threave withdrew a couple of seasons back, and if rumours are to be believed St.Cuthberts delayed their Licence in order to avoid promotion. Also, look at how fragile Wigtown were, withdrawing completely after being a leading club. I get the impression that the Licenced clubs are Licenced only to safeguard their SFA membership and Scottish Cup entry, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Perhaps once a WoSFL becomes reality, the SoSFL seeks integration with it in some form, rather than remaining a stand-alone league with direct entry into LL play-offs which they don’t seem to want (and to be honest, their quality maybe doesn’t warrant).

I never realised sportsound was broadcast worldwide

Salt and lemon should work.

To me everything counts, even down to the kids coaching at the weekend. We are not going to win the top league, loads of cups and have European adventure after European adventure, we might win the cup and get into Europe but we could also struggle, it happens to all clubs our size. If any of the community stuff stops even 1 kid from growing up a celtic/rangers fan like their families then that's a win for me, anything that gets more kids supporting their local team instead of the bigoted big 2 is what I want whether it's a winning team on the park or the community stuff.

The South of Scotland League is not fit for purpose as a feeder to the LL and I say that as a fan of football in that region. It's crazy to expect a club from say Stirlingshire like Dunipace to travel down there for a league game, or for those clubs to have to come up. Ok, Dunipace will perhaps get their trip to Kello next season but it's not a trip they'd make every 2nd week. An influx of Glasgow area teams would markedly alter the characteristics of a league for, in the main, D&G sides. And how many of those SoS sides are in any position to get licenced AND want promotion?

That's basically it. We could storm the league or quite possibly have another nightmare like this one. Regarding the marketing, I think those guys do an amazing job. All the trucks and hot tubs get people talking about us, and look around the stadium the next time you're there. Pretty much every square centimetre is covered in logos. But to people like me and many others on here that has absolutely no impact on the chances of us going to the match on a Saturday or not. It's not for us.

99.99% of the support could not give a toss about all the community nonsense and marketing bumf that is rammed down our throats at every available opportunity. An entertaining, winning team is all fans are interested in. For those who run the club, however, the football is a mere sideshow. That's the disconnect.

Foo Fighters- Dear Rosemary

On this point, massive props to the club for using a 14 second video to not only promote the player to their own fanbase but basically advertise the player, complete with impressive stats to pretty much every club, analyst, scout, journalist and agent that follows their socials account at exactly the point at which the player is quite high profile with the Ivory Coast call up (and the rescinding of the red card). We've said for years that the club need to be smarter at talking up their "sellable assets" they're really doing it just now and not in a crass way either. Not only that they're tagging accounts like SPFLRadar etc to widen their own reach. The socials game from the club is absolutely on point right now, they seem to have found a nice identity with their #content that sits nicely with what the image they're trying to project. The fact they're reaching out and tagging other online outlets is interesting as well. That sort of engagement isn't something that I've really noticed other clubs doing so far.

I've already shouted at the weans for getting one in squint. This is going to go well.....

Assuming the 55/45 split is correct, the SFA/EoSL should set up the WoSL, and invite applications for 2019/20. There is no need to rush for next season, and the West Region has already agreed a new (vertical) structure throughout. This time period would facilitate consultation on structure (how many divisions, financial benefits, licensing, funding for ground improvements, etc), with all 'senior' clubs. The SJFA 's future role would be to reorganise the remaining 45% of clubs who don't wish to be part of the pyramid. This could include comprehensive regionalisation for smaller clubs, to reduce costs, retain traditional rivalries, participate in the Junior Cup, etc. Whilst there would be no automatic promotion and relegation between the 2 set ups , Junior clubs would be free to apply to fill vacancies, as and when they arise in the future. Likewise clubs struggling in the pyramid, could decide to go junior (or amateur), as at present. Both 'sides' would be required by the SFA to give an undertaking to cooperate fully without prejudice against any clubs. However the SFA would also need to state clearly that it will not countenance TWO parallel Pyramid leagues in the East Region, nor elsewhere, either now or in the future.

Pretty much.

We are quite clearly looking for a big bid for Kipré in the summer, but the way the club is going about it is clever. International call up, stats to back it up. I think people occasionally forget that a year ago he had never played a game of professional football. He’s undoubtedly got the attributes to play at a high level. I just hope we get to see the big man hammer home a header and go tonto before the season is out. Edit: I see Ciftci and Kipré were at the Edinburgh City game. Fully invested in a sitcom of those two.

The Shankly bothers did battle on this day, well it was night, in 1960 when Dundee beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first floodlit game at Dens Park. I was taken to my first game at Dens just over 2 weeks later, a 2-0 win over Celtic.

That was one of the worst episodes in months, only surpassed by the Ring in Dog shit one a couple of months ago. Actually think I preferred the Weyland/Max Branning secret agent stuff to this.

What a load o fckn pish! Sack the writers and producer this instant.

Just about died when I saw this tweet.

The c*nts who bang on about how we voted to leave the customs union are the worst. Anyone who says they had ever heard of the customs union prior to the referendum is a liar. Or the ubiquitous, "Why can't people just be more positive about Brexit? All anyone ever does is look at the downsides." They probably go into cancer wards and tell them that they should be happy about all the money they're going to save on haircuts.

In other news, I’ve just spent the best part of the last half hour catching up on today’s posts on this thread... Every one of your posts has just made me say “Fucking hell”...

Traffic - Dear Mt Fantasy

I can't recall a worse episode than that and I'm a defender of the new ones. Really poor stuff tonight. Winston's leg and Navid's tackle were the only laughs for me.

First Brexit, now this. Sometimes I think we'd be better of living in a dictatorship.

Allow me to help, lads.

She should be walking behind him?

I've always thought Eckersley was one of our team who could definitely make the step up. He's strolled through most of the season. Would hope that we keep MacKenzie too. I reckon Davis is good enough to make the step up, MacKenzie has played a good level before too, and Baird will keep improving.

Simply giving the appropriate level of respect [emoji38]

Funny to see fans of clubs which benefit massively from being the big fish in the junior pond so desperate for the status quo to maintain. There is absolutely no way charlatans like Scott Robertson and Tom Johnston should be allowed anywhere near the administration of a senior west league, they have proven themselves incompetent time and time again, no fixtures, no sponsors, nothing but a knees up for the blazers.

I'll help him out 50 - Aiden McGeady 49 -Aiden McGeady 48 - Aiden McGeady 47 - Aiden McGeady 46 - Aiden McGeady 45 - Aiden McGeady 44 - Aiden McGeady 43 - Aiden McGeady 42 - Aiden McGeady 41 - Aiden McGeady 40 - Aiden McGeady 39 - Aiden McGeady 38 - Aiden McGeady 37 - Aiden McGeady 36 - Aiden McGeady 35 - Aiden McGeady 34 - Aiden McGeady 33 - Aiden McGeady 32 - Aiden McGeady 31 - Aiden McGeady 30 - Aiden McGeady 29 - Aiden McGeady 28 - Aiden McGeady 27 - Aiden McGeady 26 - Aiden McGeady Just feel free to copy and paste this to make your life easier Ludo.

Personally I like the photos. 1 and 2 bring home the post war bleak wasteland that is Dumfries whilst 3 is an allegory for the lives of all Doonhamers. Thrown onto this spinning rock, too close to one another and inward looking despite a world of opportunity if they would only move. These photos should be in the MOMA IMO.

So in fact he just shuffled across the road in his pants and asked McTominay "How's about it?"

I can't believe we're as close as we are to be honest. Win our game in hand and we're only 6 points off Morton. United V Pars and Queens V Livi this weekend, Pars V Queens, Morton V United the weekend after while we're playing Brechin at home. It's not totally out of the question we could be only 3 points (assuming we win our game in hand) off the pace at that point. With 4-5 games left at that point i'd take that in a heartbeat. How on earth are we even anywhere near.

We are currently working on a software application called, for reasons unknown to me, "the SEA". When the boss asks me to add extra functionality to it, I like to reply "OK let's get that into the SEA". He doesn't get it.