Patrick Noubissie

Good to see him getting a bit of praise up here but we don't need the English media getting involved at this point in his contract

This is becoming a team you can really buy into. They've looked great to watch at some points recently and just a right pain in the c**t to play against at others. A bit of everything you want. Hickey looks like he could be an outstanding right back for us, for years to come. Hendry has really grown on me and Porteous did brilliantly tonight. For how isolated he was, Adams did well whenever called upon as well. On Porteous, I suspect the massively over the top pile on he's been getting recently will soon be forgotten about. We'll see if fans across the country get themselves dutifully whipped up over the next character the weegie media tell them to get angry about, or if we'll ever learn our lesson on that one.

I'm all for players/managers calling each other names. Forget SFA charges for that kind of thing, there should be more of it if anything. Where Goodwin has had a personal beamer is this chat about showing footage of Porteous winning penalties throughout his career. It seems like the young Ryan has melted Goodwin's brain into coming out with some instantly disprovable spraff. If Goodwin can pop in that DVD at SFA HQ, he should have his charge lifted straight away.

Last time I was having a wee read on here, you were scattering off about eight posts in a row telling people not to talk about actual sectarian abuse at Hibernian v Rangers, in the Hibernian v Rangers thread. Meanwhile, you expect everyone who supports Independence to take ownership of a nameless, muppet-themed Twitter account. That's quite an inconsistent outlook on collective responsibility, I must say.

According to this, Income Tax and National Insurance are the main sources of public sector income and 'social protection' is the biggest expense. For me the next argument for Independence needs to make the case for how being a proper country will shape the economy to our interests and eventually create a more advanced, higher wage economy. It's not the most simple argument to make but we (Scotland and the UK as a whole) are surrounded by countries whose people are earning more money each month and have healthier national economies to show for it. We have something like a 3% unemployment rate and a shan pension system so that high spend on social protection isn't us sitting around in hammocks enjoying the glorious union dividend. It's evidence of an economy that lots of people don't get a fair shake out of; and whose employers are subsidised by the state. And to be fair, in terms of that sounding like a simple blame exercise aimed elsewhere, our government need to be more sophisticated in planning and articulating how that's ever going to change. Lower down the spending list also offers various areas for improvement - some on us and some structural. We're apparently responsible for £4bn in defence spending, four times more than Ireland and proportionally way more than a bunch of small European countries. On the other hand, we could surely be a healthier country which would reduce public spending in various areas. Obviously GERS isn't an account of an Independent Scotland's finances in the first place but even the picture is does provide isn't as insurmountably scary as I think some want it to be.

That post is a perfect summary of political opposition in Scotland. Whoever wrote that could've just used the three or four points that aren't some combination of completely mental, flat out wrong or nothing to do with the Scottish Government, and it would still be an expensive list of failures by a fairly lacklustre, unimaginative government. Whereas when I read that it makes me want to vote SNP more to offset the vote of the thicko who put that together. Same applies to the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and the BBC. Deserved criticism for the SNP gets diluted with their constant hysterical shite.

It's interesting to read United fans in agreement about defensive midfield being a problem. I wasn't fully Ross out at Hibs but it was an area he never addressed with us. To be fair, most managers in my lifetime watching Hibs haven't managed to sign a decent DM either.

I don't expect the manager to come out and slate players in interviews but if Johnson's going to mention some of them not being good enough, he's having a laugh saying it's only two or three. Deary me. I thought one of the only positives for us was Youan. I don't think he's a lone striker though, he seems to do his best work drifting around into space. A Doidge from a years ago type player with Boyle and Youan feeding off them would be nice. Emphasis on a few years ago because Doidge looks ready for the glue factory now. In terms of a focal point up front, I'm slightly jealous of Livi having Nouble from what I saw yesterday. I was looking at his wikipedia there and I find it surprising that he's 26 and has played at such a terrible level before now. Congrats for identifying a late bloomer if that's what has happened.

Cabraja running into the guy was the only incident I could think of for the suggestion that we could've had multiple reds. Surely not a serious shout. The only other player who could've run the risk of a second yellow, by getting a first, was Boyle. Come on lads, it was a pretty straight forward pen. You can get a wee rub of the green without making stuff up to counter it. At the end of the day, Livi executed the game plan well that works on us every single time. Overall we can't say we're unlucky when the same pattern repeats itself over and over again.

On one hand we've been hard done by not getting a clear penalty but ultimately, there are too many players in this team who are either finished or never going to be good enough. Including two who chucked in soft as f**k goals there. I ken we scored in Perth with one but the delivery from corners since has been excruciating to watch.

BBC left wing lol

If the UK is small-minded, insular and belligerent....what's wrong with being a belligerent disruption against it? Isn't meekly accepting that state of affairs the most small-minded and insular option available? Other than perhaps towards the UK government, I can't think of many examples of the Scottish Government acting in an aggressive or petty way towards any of its neighbours. It would seem the famously separatist Welsh Labour Party and DUP now also have pretty strong grievances with how devolution works in practice. So the increasing tension you object to isn't unique to us jock partitionists. You don't have to like Independence or accept is a solution to the UK's political malaise. But without an explanation of how intuitions like the Scottish Government ought to behave in the current climate, your jobby analogy is a massive concern trolling cop-out I'm afraid.

I'd say the opposite, that it was a stupid thing to say at the time. Opinion polls aren't elections or referendums (referenda?) for good reason. Not only are they inaccurate, they're sometimes not impartial either. YouGov Forced To Deny Suppressing Poll Because It Was 'Too Positive' For Labour Government policy should be based on the programmes that parties have successfully put to the electorate in proper elections, not justified by opinion polls. I will say the 60% thing is maybe something the SNP should have kept to themselves as a sensible bit of internal strategy. I don't buy this 'but we started on X% last time' argument. We've been actively debating independence for a decade now and the don't knows are 100% folk who are going to vote no but feel a bit ashamed about voting against their own independence. The Yes side have some significant ground to make up and October 2023 is a big gamble, imo. If I was one of these staunch unionists greeting about the SNP all day every day, I'd want the UK government to agree to this.

Only a few. Just make sure to leave your free DWP car at home when you go to spend it.

I don't think these two things are close to equivalent in terms of extreme positions. The Tories are in power more often that and whenever they are, their peers enrich themselves through cronyism while wages stagnate and inequality increases. There are literally zero credible arguments for society ills being caused by workshy scum, to rival the hard data about what Conservative rule means for average people's standard of living. If I stump my toe and blame it on the Tories, it's an extreme position - but blaming them for how the country is run is a pretty reasonable point of view imo. I do actually agree with some of your points about the SNP and independence. I've generally supported both for most of my life but we're at the point where being slightly better than the Tories doesn't hold up as an impressive track record for the former. I'm slightly concerned that after 15 years in charge, the SNP have run out of steam when it comes to long term strategy. If this campaign does go ahead, there will need to be some fresh voices involved (not Alba).

Accusing everyone else of showering undeserving people with free things is a pretty hilarious defence of the Tories at the moment.

The false flag stuff earlier in this thread is the dumbest shit I've ever read.

You seem to have a very specific window for where Toryism is acceptable. I personally have some assumptions about where the current Labour leadership are politically based on the battles they're choosing and tabloid headlines they're chasing. But in terms of real issues, I have no idea what their position is on anything. When it comes to elections, if they're willing to cooperate with other parties that they should have plenty in common with, it'll be an encouraging sign and I I'll definitely be hoping they win overall. If, as I suspect, everyone left of Jeremy Hunt is expected to do their social duty and get on board while he drinks pints of bitter in front of flegs and talks about executing terror suspects without trial or whatever, there isn't so much to care about.

Motherwell players trying everything to get a red here At least the Hibs calls were for decent shouts. Feels like there’s at least another goal in this.

Are most people here getting taking in by Miller’s slavering? Every team would’ve reacted the same way to that. Motherwell aren’t exactly hard done by to have ten men. Hibs have been questionable against ten men for as long as I can remember. Need a few more here.

I think most people would accept that there is a lot of progress to point to globally. Here and in many similar countries, I really don’t see how society is in better shape than in the few decades before it. That is obviously a truly tiny sample of time in the big scheme of things but people should challenge barriers to progress where they see it. It hasn’t really been said here tbf but usually the point about how good we all have it is used to dismiss some pretty legitimate bigger arguments. I’d disagree with a few of your points but this is maybe the perfect example of where convenience of information but less actual opportunity doesn’t make make things better. I’ve looked at rental property recently and the situation is genuinely fucking grim. Is your contention that listing aggregators make for a healthier marketplace that helps renters find good opportunities; or that modern technology makes it easier to move somewhere with better housing? The first is just not true on any level and the second is pretty depressing by itself. I’d rather have to pop down to a letting agent but be able to find some okay options there than pick up my phone and have it confirmed in 30 seconds that I’m getting shagged up the arse.

Every time I see a statement like this, I become more convinced that big tech use their algorithms to get a sense of people's political opinions and then push the exact opposite on them. I guess people being wound up generates more clicks than consensus. I constantly hear right wing people say that every big platform is only there to promote woke soy boy cucks and that conservatives are shut down at every opportunity. And yet I'm pretty much a part of the middle class, virtue signalling left and anyone seeing my recommended content would think I'm a card carrying fascist.

The obvious solution is to build a ring at Heathrow customs, hire a few British professional boxers for the day and if the applicants are able to slap them about, they're obviously Ukrainian.

1st in being absolute hard c***s.