Skyline Drifter

Yeah, as debated on the other thread, if we're in a situation where 6,500 had at least 12 points a year or so ago and over 18,000 may have 12 points within the next 6 months or so then those extra points will matter. I just thought logically if the Hampden App provides this technology then it makes sense to actively use it. Didn't actually occur to me they wouldn't be using it for home games. Does it specifically say somewhere that they aren't?

I think that's a slightly left field one. Although they didn't actually "attend" the game in such circumstances if they can prove they were booked on a cancelled flight I think they should get the points. A bigger concern as @Pie Of The Month says below is we know of at least two instances of fans who were at the game not being credited with points as the Dutch haven't scanned them in properly. Surely they now could very easily apply the same rule to home games? It's all scanned entry now on the new Hampden app. It should be able to tell if a ticket is used or not and update accordingly, or if it was transferred to a non member to use. Whilst I doubt it makes much odds to anything significant, I'd say they should be using it at home games if the technology is there. Well the issue is so far they are resisting any manual adjustment for those who weren't scanned in properly, but that's a different debate. I'd support using the technology if it is reliably there to use. We all know there are points harvesters out there and this will go at least part way to addressing that (nothing to stop harvesters buying for the Dutch game and giving to someone else to use of course). Gibraltar is going to be 100% collection so it amounts to the same thing.

I'll see that and raise you that we ended up in a Championship relegation playoff in a season we played Dobbie and Dykes up front together! Despite Dobbie scoring 43 goals in it even though he missed two months injured.

The away game cant possibly be the reason to any significant extent. The number on 12 points or more is up by more than 2,500 and the number on 11 or more is up by over 3,000. We only got 2,400 for Netherlands and about 1800 of them were sold on day one to those who were already on points above that level. It certainly drifted down to 7 pts though so probably about 500 or so of the lift can be attributed to people taking a chance to go to an easy away trip when it was there. No, the rise is in the home member attendance. As I said before, qualifying for Euro 20 re-ignited a lot of interest. The SSC sold out and a lot of the newer members stated going every game (or they may have been going every game before but not members because they didnt need to be). It maybe wont go quite as high as I thought given the number on 10 hasnt really moved but it looks fairly likely up to 18,000 people might have 12 points shortly. Compared to 8,000 6 months ago. If I recall correctly the discussion was about how easy it may be to get away tickets and tournament tickets in future. Its likely going to get harder and for qualifiers with any sort of rationing people are going to need the mid teens to have a chance. I'm seriously considering heading to the Gibraltar game to get the points. Otherwise my ceiling any time soon is likely 14 points.

That's ridiculous. They should have facility to manually edit a member's points (I accept it may need some sort of management countersignatory to stop someone just adding point to their mates accounts). If they don't have then the system isn't fit for purpose. I'd be complaining higher up the chain if you are able to provide photographic proof of you inside the stadium.

Injuries could obviously impact Leeds between now and then of course but Cooper's not playing for them anyway. And Southampton have already ruled Armstrong out for the rest of the domestic season. Ralston's fairly unlikely to actively feature in the Cup Final for Celtic either. I take your point though. None of those players will be available for early join up.

Wasn't me. Couldn't have told you that.

No. The squad will need to be announced ahead of Finland. I accept there's an argument for having a larger squad go to Gibraltar and trimming it on return, especially if there are fitness proofs to be made by the likes of Hickey and Armstrong. For me though when the games are so close you just name the Euro squad and use them in the friendlies. Possibly with a standby list. Does Stevie Clarke really want to be calling three or four players to his hotel room after Gibraltar (be that in Portugal or back in Scotland, not sure if they'll go direct to the airport post match) and telling them they haven't made it? I'd get that out of the way before they go and take a party that will go to the Euros away.

Has this been said anywhere? We obviously have the two friendlies Gibraltar and Finland but the final squad is to be confirmed on the day of the Finland match (not clear if that means midnight or during daytime hours, and presumably it's CET anyway. Ergo, it'll certainly need confirmed before the Finland game. I'm pretty much assuming he'll name a squad for the two friendlies the usual week or so ahead of the first and that it will be the Euro squad. I suppose it might be slightly larger if there are lingering fitness doubts over a couple and they are given the week / Gibraltar game to prove their fitness.

Your current plane or what you think Stevie Clarke will take? Not necessarily the same thing. I'd take Craig Gordon for instance but I'm not convinced Clarke will unless he plays most of the remaining games for Hearts. For me Grant Hanley's either fit or he's not. If he's fit he goes whether it's 23 or 26. If he's not then he doesn't. I don't think the squad size affects him. Same as Hickey in effect. Is there doubt about McTominay now? I know he went off injured yesterday but I didn't see the game so was not aware it was anything serious. On the positive news front Southampton have confirmed Stuart Armstrong has a quad injury and not a knee one and he has a 'good chance' of being fit for the Euros though he won't play for them again this season. If it's 23 for June and picked today (on the assumption Hickey, Hanley and Armstrong make it but Patterson and Ferguson do not) then: Gunn, Clark and probably Kelly Robertson, Tierney, Hickey, Ralston, Hanley, Hendry, Porteous, McKenna, Cooper McGregor, Gilmour, McGinn, McTominay, McLean, Christie, Armstrong Dykes, Adams, Shankland Which is 22. One more from Souttar, Taylor, McCrorie (Ross), Johnston, Jack, Brown, Nisbet, Conway If Gordon plays 3 or 4 of Hearts remaining games and plays ok then he displaces Kelly. Possible Souttar is preferred to Cooper, that's a coin flip. Armstrong not making it opens the door for a question about Fraser, Gauld, Cairney, etc but it will most likely be Jack or Brown unless both are also not fit. 26 man squad opens up the possibility of more adventurous picks but I guess it's likely to just mean three more from the list above.

All three involved Ashley Young. Thats not even good trolling though. Must try harder.

Not sure if serious? It's not an aggrieved fan. That's directly from the mouth of Marinakis. He's done it deliberately and the club will be charged with bringing the game into disrepute. Again. He's an arse.

It's not that hard to believe. Forest have form for it in the last 12 months or so. I just knew something embarrassing would come having watched the game. They can't just leave well alone for everyone to see for themselves how bad it was. I was expecting something attached to Clattenburg's name later or tomorrow though. Five minutes after full time on the Twitter account smacks as if someone's given Marinakis the account password to deal with it directly from the Boardroom himself.

His hand's well out from his body, and there's a lean into the ball too rather than it just hit him. Even in England that handball is given 90% of the time. And less obvious handballs are frequently given. Young's reaction after the handball is very much that of a guilty man wondering if he's got away with it.

An argument about what? That they were incorrect is surely beyond question. Absolutely anyone would give a penalty for all three surely in isolation? I accept that there's a debate that there's not an obvious enough error to over-turn the onfield call in the first case though I suspect Taylor would give a penalty if he saw the thing again. Beyond that? Forest have been robbed by refereeing in several games this season (most notably previously the one where Willy Boly was sent off after about 10 minutes v Bournemouth for a challenge in which HE was fouled! There was also the infamous late Liverpool goal coming after they got a drop ball which everyone acknowledges should have been a Forest ball (albeit more than a minute earlier and 100 yards away from the Forest goal). That's extremely frustrating. It's not going too far to suggest that referee decisions (and of course FFP) are the only reason Forest are still in a relegation fight. However, none of it excuses such a toys out of the pram Sunday League amateur statement. They'll be doing nothing because fundamentally they CAN do nothing and Marinakis needs to realise this isn't Greece, Forest aren't Olympiakos and he can't bully the FA and everyone else into giving him his own way. Get on with it and win some games. Only Stuart Atwell knows why he denied them all. I'd imagine Dermot Gallagher will appear with yet another apology this week and Atwell will have at least next weekend to do some shopping with his wife. Nothing will change though.

The performance of the VAR in the Everton v Forest game today is truly embarrassing (Stuart Atwell I believe). He'll be sat down next week. There's an argument about Anthony Taylor too but to be fair it's easy for a referee on field to make a mistake and a couple of them were probably blind side for him. There are no excuses for Atwell. Sky were able to show all three as blatant penalties within seconds. I take the argument the first "wasn't enough to overturn the on field call". I disagree but I accept the argument. There's just no argument at all for the other two. They are penalties. All day, every day. Then just when you think things can't get even more embarrassing, and I speak as a Forest fan, along comes that statement. FFS. Employing Clattenburg to "officially" whine about referees was already pretty embarrassing. Letting the YTS write the official club statements after an afternoon in the pub and threatening "options" is laughably amateur. We're back in the Premiership but Marinakis is making the club a laughing stock.

He has a point though. That was nothing like a 'first team squad' Ramsay played in even if its technically a first team game.

Did he move from Watford during the game? Begovic be disappointed to lose his place.

Touche. You can have the spelling error. Its perfectly acceptable use of the word defection though, and it's perfectly possible to defect and then defect back. Spies have been doing it for years. This is a bizarre hill for you to die on.

England gives a 3 game ban for it. Some people think football doesnt exist outside Sky!

It'll not be violent conduct, it'll be 'Serious Foul Play'. Same thing. Two game ban. Great result today playing with 10 for 75 mins. Hopefully you celebrate it with 3 points at Annan next week

I'm not sure your dictionery says the same as mine. Moving from one country to another is the very definition of defection. It being potentially possible to defect back doesnt change that.

Well there has. I mean, I know he's still eligible to play for Scotland at senior level but he has switched from playing for our u21s to playing for England's 21s. Thats clearly a defection whatever the rules still allow.

Eh? I can't see any grounds for thinking Stevie Clarke, who hasn't picked Fraser for a squad in over a year is suddenly going to start him in a pretty unfamiliar position (he's been playing left wing for Southampton when he starts) ahead of Anthony Ralston, who, regardless of what you and I may think, has been in squads fairly consistently since Hickey was injured and was on the pitch in that position against the Dutch last month. He's not going to play Robertson on the right either. Tierney could do it but I don't see him deliberately disrupting the position he's made his own to do it if Ralston's fit and available. You can take all three in a 23. He already was a candidate for that 23rd shirt along with Cooper / Souttar, Taylor and Jack. In Ferguson's absence there's another spare shirt. That said, the likelihood is this will see Patterson out and if anything make it more likely he takes a risk with Hickey even if not 100%.

It's not actually clear that he does make anything to be fair. Looking at the filings online it looks like the companies have bought back his shareholding at cost but as they are all small companies what they file lacks any significant detail to be sure. I'm not actually sure it's fair to call it a "prize" when they win if he ends up getting his money back to be honest. But it doesn't look like in any of the recent 8 he's actually made anything. I do agree with you on the types of business that have been winning lately. And the two that weren't in that category have both gone tits up. As I've already pointed out, the candidates these days are recruited and go through a vetting process for entry without anyone even asking about a business plan. It's absolutely an afterthought in a game show and if any of them actually have a genuine one it's a bonus. It's why I thought he'd take Phil given it's a genuine existing business. It's also why he was desperate to nab a bit of Paul's dentist practice.