Handsome_Devil

The highlights made them look absolutely shocking last night. You instinctively assume they can't be as bad again in Saturday but their record suggests otherwise. You do wonder just how a side with that many decent to (potentially) very good players can be where they are...yes, they've obviously got some haddies too but even so.

County got a last minute equaliser so four wins and we're top six unless Dundee beat Rangers.

My main wish later is County don't win...draws in both probably ideal but we can definitely take the positive out of whatever happens at Dens.

Don't disagree...and playing Gordon for every minute when he was approaching 40, bringing in Gunn from nowhere when he got injured and only using Kelly/Clark at all when there was no choice suggests there is a strong preference for when the decision is made. The counter-argument is Gordon is obviously either not fully fit or back to his best. The logic of that is irrefutable tbh. And the follow on is then taking a guy to the Euros when not fully fit or at his best having - barring a change at Tynecastle - probably played only four competitive games, three of which will have been against lower league opposition, in 20 months following a serious injury is daft.

Was curious to see McFadden and Kenny Miller on the BBC last night when both were hugely sceptical about taking Gordon, at least as it stands. I still think Kelly will miss out but I wonder if our FFS Liam bias makes it seems cut and dry when it's not.

Nah, the three going to Germany can get 60 minutes each if you cut Kelly to zero.

Suspect Clarke just wants to bin him in person.

He is and we are.

I love the fact the media team don't even disguise their hatred for Oli Shaw.

Kettlewell continues to come over very well even when saying absolutely nothing.

I know we still have some live business but I'm basically considering him and Nicholson signings for next season, we'll drip feed them in as and when we fancy/need.

He signed till 2026 so while I doubt he'll be at Livingston next season I doubt he'll be at us either.

Happy Aberdeen won tbh as I reckon Warnock would have been down the road this evening had they lost. KVV...who knows. I have the feeling Killie signed him solely to stop St Mirren getting him and possibly turning him back into what he can be...they clearly don't need him numbers wise and seem to have little interest in giving him the minutes to get him up and running. I joked back in January it would be interesting to see the speculation start again for summer...can't imagine many clubs will be willing to match Killie's contribution on loan again.

Ha, I actually did wonder about that...and I've met enough folk who clearly believe it, I just have little interest in following how they're doing the next two years.

As @RandomGuy.says, it's just advertising. We've now made a player of someone folk literally laughed at along with turning journeyman KVV into a millionaire and sending Spittal in a similar direction. Tbh I also like it for the narrative - for a start it's honest, there's no euphemism or 'some folk doubted you' nonsense. But it also builds the connection to a guy who most folk will relate to (ish) in fighting to establish himself. You might like Biereth more as a player but I seriously doubt anyone would identify with him... So aye, batter in.

I loved that at the time and perversely still do but it's objectively horrific.

It was mentioned in the paper we're playing Ayr in a friendly today - presumably just a closed doors kick about?

Quite the turnaround in a few months (in general rather than you in particular). It occurs a pattern is kind of emerging...the first Motherwell team I hated in a while was the rag-tag bunch at the end of Robinson era. But they eventually cruised to mid table safety and came within a penalty shootout of an epic comeback to reach the cup semis. We were similarly loathsome under Hammell (where the Spittal-Goss combo in the middle rightly took stick) and eventually were fine. This season people were hating the team as recently as a few weeks ago in Greenock...yet we're fine. It's almost as if keeping calm and doing nothing is better than panicking, sticking better than twisting etc (with the caveat nobody has chucked it). So while I'm not yet completely sold on new deals for everyone (and yes, I know not literally everyone is meant), in the Ibrox afterglow I'm coming round to it more...keep as many pieces in place and build from it. We know many alternatives are unlikely to be better.

So do I. In a way it's ridiculous to say it's because it's not about money because pretty much everything UEFA does comes down to money one way or another.. but there's certainly the impression that folk in it are just thrilled to be competing against peers for something worth winning having effectively been priced out of other competitions. Which is extraordinary when you consider who tends to reach the last four here. It's also curious to wonder just how far UEFA will go in developing European football for everyone. Does it lose its appeal if it's default and not a prize? Probably a bit...but if you keep diluting the domestic leagues to promote European competitions, you're going to have to provide some kind of alternative for the rest. Certainly if we were involved in some kind of regional competition - whether a knockout or group format - for teams with less than 10,000 fans I'd find it absolutely fascinating, though I dunno if others would. But perhaps that's just what 40 years of playing interchangeable St Mirren, Dunfermline, Kilmarnock etc four times a year does to you.

The CWC was fantastic and it was a shame the CL killed it. Actually I said somewhere here recently there were virtually no positive changes since the passback rule but the introduction of the conference league was indeed a brilliant move to recreate that a bit.

I was older than that but remember it well...'Thursday night, on channel five' used to be an insult sung!

Aye, I can understand it...I just don't like deals of that length in general. But fair point about our secret clauses, he's probably safely employed until his 40s.

Signed till 2025 so apparently we're not that convinced or he's very convinced we're just a step up. Good luck to him and hopefully he's not the last bit of good squad news in the next few weeks.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2022/october/24/vale-signs-new-long-term-deal/ 2025 with an option apparently. And aye, I'd sign him (and Gent) on three-year deals this evening if we could.

I'm good mates with a couple of Blackburn fans and they've written him off... you never can tell of course but they gave the impression they're looking to get rid permanently in summer. Whether we could afford him a different matter ofc.