Socks

Tom English, along with most on Sportsound, clearly didn't understand the processes involved a couple of weeks ago. He clearly had no idea at all that clubs had already received almost all of their entitlement to guaranteed prize money, i.e. based on bottom place in each division. Since then, everything I've seen and read from his has made him come across as a slavering hoor and his repeatedly giving a platform to present Ann Budge's agenda, without any critical analysis, does him no favours at all. I didn't hear Doncaster's interview and have only read the transcript on BBC website, but it does come across reasonably well to me, albeit he's only saying exactly what I'd expect him to. From the statements coming from the SPFL board recently, they genuinely seem pissed off at how things have been presented and I have sympathy with that view.

Aye, but clubs budget at the start of the season based on their likely income. At the moment, all teams in the top league know they can expect a bit more than £1M, maybe a bit more than that if they do well, so they budget for the season based on that. If they know that they can expect 500k but would get £1M if they finished outside the bottom 2 places it changes things massively and makes budgeting almost impossible.

Temporary reconstruction for a season would be absolutely stupid and I don't know what benefit there could be to any clubs other than those who would immediately benefit, i.e. Hearts, Inverness, Partick, Falkirk, Stranraer, Edinburgh City. I'm not in favour of reconstruction at all, but if it is to happen then it should be done properly, not rushed through in an attempt to artificially keep one of the bigger clubs in the top division. A top division of 14 with the current prize money distribution does not seem workable - it would mean prize money for 13th would be half what it would be for 12th, so I don't see teams who could reasonably expect to finish bottom half of top division accepting that. Uncertainty in income for the season would just be too much. If installments are still paid during the season based on bottom place, it would also mean these installments would be much lower for all clubs in the top division. To make a change with 75% majority, prize money distribution cannot be changed. To change prize money distribution or bring extra teams into the league needs 11 of the top division to back it and 75% of all clubs. I can't see that happening given the entire basis of it seems to be keeping Hearts up with no real benefit to the game generally.

That win at Ayr was great, and it was verfy amusing when several Ayr fans started greeting on here that we'd celebrated so enthusiastically. Imagine, a wild celebration after a huge away win with 10 men. My favourite was the Scottish Cup quarter final replay at Pittodrie in 2009. We'd played quite well in the home game, but once Aberdeen went in front they should have gone on to win but became much more defensive and let us back into it. We got an equaliser and the replay was the following Wednesday on Sky. It was probably an atrocious game for anyone without a care for either club, but being at the game with a really good atmostphere in the away end made it a great night. It finished 0-0 and went to penalties, I think with barely a chance of note in 120 mins. Paul Gallacher saved two while we scored all of ours - Graham Bayne put away the 4th one to win it. I have two memories of extremely trivial details - the trip home was almost silent with everyone knackered, and the last few miles I drove home on my own ended with 'I Only Want to be with You' by Dusty Springfield on the radio, which now always reminds me of that game whenever I hear it. It was only the second time in our whole history that we'd been level after a replay - only one game in the 60s went to a second replay and this was our first Scottish Cup tie to go to penalties.

That's how I remember it too - definitely just a slip on a very wet pitch. Fairly sure it was a second yellow though - he was booked not long before that for something off the ball that was seen by nobody around me. Chick Young described it as a wild lunge in his report on Radio Scotland, but it was no great surprise to hear him talking nonsense. Here's the BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/6201963.stm

I think the most furious I've ever been while watching the Pars was a home game against Inverness in 2006/07. Willie Collum was the referee, had a nightmare, and most things seemed to go against us. I think it was when Stevie Crawford was sent off for a ridiculous second yellow that I completely lost it, like many around me. The most amusing one was at a second division game at Ibrox in 2013. We'd just made it out of our financial troubles alive, while Rangers hadn't. We'd been relegated in part because if the 15-point deduction, while the new Rangers had won the third division the year before. The "Rangers died and the Pars survived" song was heard plenty, and one clown couldn't take it. He stormed right up to the segregation barrier, ranting incoherently at us all for a good minute with his face bright red. It was genuinely hilarious and my pal and I pointed at him and laughed hysterically (from about 6 feet away) which pushed him to another level of fury. It ended with him chucking his orange scarf at us which was very amusing.

We definitely should have had a penalty for handball. The rule changes this season on handball are absolute horseshit and I don't think that sort of thing should be a foul, but under this season's wording of law 12, it definitely is. On the penalty he did give, I was pretty certain at the time it wasn't a foul but wanted another look - from that angle on the highlights I don't think it's that clear one way or the other.

I had nothing on today and fancied seeing a game so headed along to this. Brechin were probably a wee bit unlucky not to get a point from it in the end after a good second half comeback. Cowden were comfortably the better side for the whole of the first half and I don't think it's outrageous to say that Brechin were absolutely dire before half time. Brechin fans have always seemed quite reasonable when I've been among them at Glebe Park, but many of them seemed absolutely raging with that first half today, and understandably so. They just seemed to go wrong with everything they tried to do, with the keeper making an arse of it for the second goal being totally in keeping with the rest of it. There didn't look to be that much difference early in the second half either but that was some comeback. Beautiful shot to make it 2-1 and probably too easy a header for the second straight after. Brechin had some good chances after that, more than Cowden made when they were on top in the first half. Poor goal for them to lose for the winner though, looked like someone completely lost their man at a free kick that didn't look all that dangerous. That's the first game I've been to as a neutral for a few years and I enjoyed it after it got interesting in the second half.

Thanks folks - I see the article on DAFC website now as well saying it's the stand only. That's a shame and means I won't be going - I definitely would have been there had we been in the cowshed or behind the goal.

Where in the ground are away fans likely to be this time? I like Cappielow and it's been good the last few seasons getting the terracing at the end of the cowshed but we were back in the stand for the first game this season. Was that a one-off or is this normal this season?

The final whistle of a Fife derby at Stark's Park, March 2013. There was a real feeling in the week leading up to that game that that was it - after that game was played, the club would never play another game. As you'd expect given the circumstances, the whole game was quite emotional and it was a very strange combination of feelings when Andy Geggan scrambled a second half equaliser from about a yard out in front of the Pars fans. The game finished 1-1, and the final whistle was awful. Even worse when the players came up to the away end shortly afterwards and the song was 'Dunfermline til I die'. I was in tears as it came to me that actually the club was probably going to die before me. It was a horrible day but I'm so glad I was there. The experience had quite an effect on me, and it still upsets me every time I recount what happened that day.

I thought the ref did OK on the whole, in a game that was far from easy to referee. Certainly, he got some things wrong and I had a few shouts at him, but when the game is as frantic as that second half was, with so much going on, it makes things much harder for the referee. It's possible for decisions to be wrong without them being terrible decisions. He let both teams away with some things but didn't let it get out of hand, and I thought the way he refereed the game contributed to making it the fast-paced exciting game that we surely all like to see. I'm generally more forgiving of mistakes when things go that way, though I realise that's easier to say after a win than after a loss.

I'm surprised to see a few folk saying it wasn't pretty. The first half was a bit dreary but the second half is one of the best 45-minute spell I've watched in a number of years. If every game was as exciting as that, there really wouldn't be much to complain about. Ayr played the better football while we had the better chances. It looked like Ayr would win comfortably when they went ahead, but that was some turnaround in the game after Ashcroft's strike. A win and a good, exciting game where both teams played well - must be at least a year since we've had both of those together.

Ah well, this non-competitive running phase I was on about lasted all of 15 minutes. Inevitable really, but when someone passed me a couple of minutes from the finish, there was no way I was having it as I knew I had enough for a push to retake the place. Although I wasn't too fussed about time beforehand, I had a vague idea that I'd like to be inside 23 minutes and might do around 22. I'm genuninely amazed then (and very happy indeed) to have finished a few seconds inside 21 as I never thought a time like that would be possible after such a long time out. It's my slowest time at Kirkcaldy Parkrun, but of all of them it's the one I'm most pleased with, PB included. Good luck everyone running in Glasgow tomorrow. Somehow I've ended up as one of the manual timekeepers for this which should be an intereting experience, if only to see the speed the elites approach the finish at. Looks like decent weather conditions for you, so hopefully some good times to be had.

After 3 and a half years of injuries, surgery, failed recoveries and general disappointment, I finally seem to be at the point where I'm strong enough to get back to it, albeit in a far more limited way than I was doing back in 2015. I'm going to have a go at parkrun this week for the first time since January 2016 and even though my time will be miles slower than what I was running back then, I'm genuinely happy to have the chance to get out at all. At the start of this year I was starting to resign myself to never being able to run again, with a mixture of dark thoughts and trying to persuade myself that 'ach, cycling isn't too bad'. I love the competitive element of running and it would be naive to think I'm not going to care about running decent times if I can keep at it and stay pain-free for a while, but for now I'm not that fussed. It's just so nice to rediscover that great feeling of running outside again, particularly running in the rain which I've always loved. People who don't run themselves just don't seem to understand how big a thing it is, but it's important to me and I'm really looking forward to competing (to some degree) after such a long time away from it.

Was the first round draw done such that all ties are between one league team and one non-league, or was it an open draw as before and it's just coincidence that this is how it turned out?

Craigen deserves respect for giving it a decent go in an unfamiliar position, and being a passable full-back. He wasn't outstanding and was responsbile for a couple of terrible goals (Falkirk and Dundee Utd away) but on the whole he did as good a job at right back as anyone could reasonably expect. He also had a couple of games at left-back and didn't look out of place there either. The only real disappointment from his time with us is that he didn't get as much of a chance to play in midfield as I'm sure he would have liked. That wasn't his fault though - by being the only player in the squad who had shown himself to be reasonably competent defensively at right-back, it was usualy the case that he just had to play there. He was generally a reliable, unspectacular player who did his best for us. He should be replaceable, but I wish him no ill either.

It appears that your memory does not match your pedantry! We didn't confirm 4th at Inverness - we still needed at least a point against Dumbarton on the last day. Check the final table - we only finished 2 points ahead of Inverness. https://spfl.co.uk/league/championship/archive/265

This happened last year as well, and it really nipped me at the time. It was either the Tuesday or Wednesday before the last set of league fixtures that the dates were finally announced. It didn't seem to be influenced by the teams involved either, as 4th place wasn't decided until the last day - it could have gone to either ourselves or Inverness. I think it's very poor, and seems to be spreading to the other play-offs as well. It used to be that the play-offs between this league and the one below had fixed dates of Wed-Sat-Wed-Sun, but these dates don't yet seem to be fixed either. I'd find it annoying for a run of the mill league game, but for important games like these that I'd definitely want to rearrange things around to make sure I could go to them all, it just dones't seem at all reasonable.

If we're talking historical counties, then it would be Linlithgowshire that we're talking about. I think South Queensferry is within that old county boundary, so you could argue that the two do actually border each other, with the connection via a bridge. I was really just curious, because as noted above, there is a historical precedent for clubs based outside Fife to become members. If that was the only reason, it's strange that Livingston would have applied for a second time.

Presumaby Livingston were refused entry both times - what was the reason for this?

This might seem a strange question to which I guess everyone's answer will be 'no', but has anyone ever used an elliptical bike? They look a bit ridiculous, but after some research, it looks like it might be a pretty effective type of cross-training that replicates a lot of the running motion without the impact, and look miles better than those awful cross trainers in the gym. I'm asking because after getting my hip op, the surgeon told me that as well as what he fixed, there is much more wear than expected for someone of my age, and that I'm in the early stages of arthritis. He says I can still run, but have to greatly limit it to only 10k or so a week to stop it wearing out too soon. It's a total sickener and there's no getting away from that, but I'm trying to find a way back with only a small volume of running with loads of cross training. I won't run a marathon again and maybe not even a half, but if I can stay competitive over shorter distances, it'll still be worth doing. I'm thinking I can probably do 1-2 hard but short runs a week, maybe alternating between hills and tempo runs, and replace long runs and other easy miles with something else. I think it's worth a go, and I'll give it a year to see if I can get anywhere near where I was. If I can get somewhere close to 40 for 10k I'll keep at it, if not, I won't. Looks like I'm in good company though, as a quick scan of the last few pages makes it look like this has turned into the injuries thread since the days when I posted more often!

I finally found out the cause of my many months of hobbling - there's a tear of the cartilage inside the hip joint, caused by the hip being slightly the wrong shape. I need surgery and it sounds lovely - they basically pull the joint apart far enough to get a camera and surgical tool between ball and socket, then smooth out the cartilage and sew up the tear. Brutal as it sounds, I'm counting down the days to the op! I was also told that there are some early signs of arthritis though, so I'm really hoping I don't get told to stop running completely - that would be pretty hard to accept. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, and if not, I hope to be back to it to some extent by the end of the year. I've been looking at some stuff to help with recovery and getting the muscles working again after the op, and pilates looks like it might be worth a shot. It seems that it's mainly women who do it but I'm not especially put off by that. Has anyone had a shot, and if so, how did you find it?

For anyone interested, entries for the Forth Road Bridge 10k are at 8pm this Sunday. Be quick if you want a place. If you're lucky and get in, then an added bonus is that you get to pick up your number from me on the day! I never gave blood in the time when I was running a lot, but I remember once playing a game of fives later the same day after a blood donation. I felt exhausted after 10 minutes, and it was really quite scary just how debilitating it was - I've never felt a tiredness like that since, and that includes the end of a marathon. I was surprised as I'd never had any problems after giving blood prior to that day. Having experienced that, it wouldn't be a shock if it took a few days to get back up to normal levels.

Pretty much as I see it as well. We have a few who walk most of it and jog the downhill bits, who usually finish in about 50 mins - that's totally fine. You can understand why they don't want to put time limits on it as it might deter people, even if they'd comfortably be within the time. But, there's been a recent push to encourage more walkers at any pace, and I just think it's going to be counter-productive. Ach, between this and a massive rant at today's referee over a horrendous penalty decision, I'm probably just having a moany day! Quick mention of the Forth Road Bridge 10k as a few here might be interested - we've confirmed the date as 27th August this year, with entries open in early May. If you're interested, keep an eye out for entries opening (Pitreavie facebook will have the details) as it's likely to sell out in a few minutes again.