Dunfermline Don

Away fans allowed as well?

I have also seen it argued the Rugby can be more of a stop/start game than football, so having a period of time while a check is being made doesn’t disturb the flow of the game as much. It also seems there is a bit more respect towards the ref, though I have to admit that my only experience of watching it is on TV for some internationals. Having them miked up and explaining their decisions certainly helps the spectator experience.

VAR is in danger of alienating a whole generation of fans. I know that I now prefer going to games where it isn’t used. If it is to continue it needs to be vastly overhauled to restore my confidence in it. Football could take a leaf out of the eggchasers and have the conversation between the VAR and the ref broadcast to the fans in the ground so we can all know what is happening. Alternatively, like tennis, teams could be allowed to challenge a set number of decisions during a game. As at the moment it seems like they are sometimes trying to find reasons to give penalties to certain teams when no one else has seen anything!

So if they are checking if it was in the box it is admitting that it was a handball and the linesman who was almost in line with it didn’t spot it or want to give it!

I ordered mine from this website on Monday and it has arrived in the post this morning, the cost was just under £15.

It’s been slowly losing its attraction since football was invented again in the early 90s. Growing up in the 70s and 80s the FA Cup final was probably the biggest club match in England and could be argued that winning it was as big if not bigger than winning the league. I could probably name the clubs in every final from that era up until the early 90s. Now I would struggle to tell you who played in any of the finals in the last 10 years, though it probably involves Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd.

If Aberdeen were playing any team outwith Celtic or Rangers I might have considered going, however games at Hampden against those teams are definitely not worth the price that the SFA are charging, so it’s a no from me.

We all know that the football authorities in Scotland don’t have the balls to punish the two Glasgow clubs for the songs and general behaviour of their fans. They would more likely punish a smaller club if their fans sang any of the ‘traditional party songs’ when they played against them. I am pretty sure Aberdeen fans were reported a few years ago for sectarian abuse when they sang about Gerrard being a ‘sad b******d’

The Modfather in Dunfermline last night. He reckons this is his first ever gig in the city and even paid tribute to local legend Stuart Adamson dedicating one of his songs to him.

Knowing the Dutch, you can probably smoke a spliff while driving but I don’t think I would risk it in case I am wrong!

The national teams injuries are starting to remind me of The Pars earlier this season when it seemed every game saw a player being taken off injured and being out for weeks/months. Get McGinn, Robertson, Tierney wrapped in cotton wool now!

Why not use the revamped Meadowbank stadium, it has all the facilities to be expected of a modern athletic venue.

£15 per game for the East End Park experience, I am glad I will be over in Germany at the time.

Dons fan and shareholder living in West Fife and I don’t think I have ever felt as ‘meh’ about a semifinal. It’s a combination of KO time, cost of tickets and the fact I just can’t be arsed with any games against the gruesome twosome at Hampden any more. If it was against the JTs I might have been interested. I went to the League Cup Semi against the Hi-bees with my Pars supporting sons and their Pals as I felt there was a chance of a more even game. I will still probably watch the game on TV before heading along to East End to watch the Pars against The Spiders. PS. Should we win I may go to the final and would definitely expect a 50/50 split of tickets regardless of who we play.

I think the best chance of Scottish independence at the moment is if England decided it wanted its independence. Unfortunately that ship has already sailed with Brexit as many south of the border see no absolutely difference between England and Britain (see the current Tory image showing what is great about Britain and the football team that is in it!) However No sensible politician in England would want to lose the resources that we posses in Scotland despite all that nonsense about us being a drain on the UK some right wing media outlets spout.

I have done it at Ibrox in the early 80s just after the stadium had been redeveloped. I would have been early teens and was there with my Dad and his pals. We mainly went to see what the ground was like as we normally avoided any away games against either of the OF unless it was a final. There was no segregation and we weren’t wearing any colours, though that and the fact that we didn’t join in any of the ‘party songs’ probably made us more obvious. I remember an older Gers fan near us realising who we were supporting and advising that as long as we weren’t shouting much or cheering on The Dons we should be Ok. He then said that there had been a bunch of louder Dandies sat where we were and the police had to move them for their safety. The match was a 0-0 draw so we survived, but there was a close call when Rangers got a penalty and Leighton saved it right in front of us, one of my Dads pals was almost out of his seat cheering. I personally would have no issues sitting at a game with supporters of any club in the country apart from the gruesome twosome.

I worked on the QE2 for 8 years and wasn’t aware of that match the day of her launch. I wonder if any programmes from it are available and how much they would be?

Unfortunately FFP won’t solve the main problem in Scottish football which is the massive disparity between the top two teams and the rest. Only a radical restructuring involving things like how gate receipts are distributed and shared merchandise sales among all the clubs, to name a couple of ideas, may help to slightly level the playing field financially. However with the authorities we have running the game in this country I am not optimistic of any positive changes any time soon.

Although I am heading over to Germany I thought it would be good to have a thread for those staying at home. Apparently The Pars are setting up a Fan Zone at East End Park which they are claiming is the largest in Scotland.

Managed to sort it out, I tried again and managed to get them without going through any registration process. They have been emailed out. Let’s hope the pies don’t sell out now!

Can away fans buy tickets at the ground? I have tried buying them online, but I can’t seem to get past the registration page!

A wee breeze in Arbroath!

According to my app the Northern Ireland game is still an upcoming match so perhaps last night was just a dream!

On the subject of booing GSTK and being disrespectful to visiting teams. l would would take issue with that for the following; It is the UK National Anthem and doesn’t belong to any individual part of the UK ( please take note). As a result, like it or not, it is our Anthem for the whole UK, of which I am a passport holder. I do however (as an atheist republican) feel that it says nothing to me about the nation that I live in. I strongly object to having an anthem that speaks nothing of the country and only a privileged family of adulterous males and ‘alleged’ sexual predators. I therefore take the opportunity to express my displeasure with such anthem at any opportunity. I am sure most other countries anthems are given the appropriate respect at Hampden and if Scotland and England were both independent countries l would give it the proper respect if they still used it. Regarding some of the away fans last night, just remember some of them(especially those from Govan/Larkhall etc) would probably be happy supporting a UK team if it existed despite the fact it would no doubt be indistinguishable from the current England team.

Exactly, I am old enough to remember all the hype before the 78 World Cup. I expect all the other teams will now see us as the game they expect to win, that could be to our benefit! (Shite, there I go getting all optimistic again. )