SPL Season 2009/10

Jock Dodds · 1 Sep 2009 at 18:27

rmuir said:
The 3 points im well happy with, dont get me wrong.

I was talking 'bout the McGeady incident which leaves a rather bitter taste in the mouth it has to be said. He went down far too easy and rather than 100% defend him BTM could have just acknowledged that the lad had been daft and was getting his punishment and that was the end of it.

The upshot of all this is Aiden is now going to be kept under careful watch all season and no doubt that'll mean a stonewaller going astray somewhere or other

McGeady got what he deserved. I think BTM felt he had to defend him or he would open himself up to a ****storm like we saw with Eduardo. Interestingly, Yogi Hughes also chose not to get all frothy-mouthed over it

"People get booked for nothing, and if we keep going the way we're going, we'll be playing with slippers on.

"It's a contact sport, and you need to get stuck in. Tackling is an art.

"Even if Aiden McGeady take a dive, is it not just a case of saying 'let's get on with it'?

"Where's the common sense? It spoils the game.

"You never want to see that, especially with a talent like Aiden McGeady.

"I'm the opposition manager, I want to see him doing his stuff and see if my boys can handle him."

Anyway:

SPL TRANSFER TRACKER:
In: Aberdeen (Sorensen), Hamilton (Antoine-Curier), Kilmarnock (Brown), Motherwell (Moutaouakil), Rangers (Rothen)
Out: Celtic (Brown, O'Dea)
(* Subject to work permit)

Celtic might also be signing Zheng Zhi. Am I right on saying that Rangers new winger is pronounced "rotten"?

Jock Dodds · 1 Sep 2009 at 18:48

That was 10 years ago.

Jock Dodds · 3 Sep 2009 at 08:29

rmuir said:
Totally agree about McGeady getting what he deserved. I would just have preffered BTM to either have kept schtum or held his hands up and said... aiden went down he's been booked and subsequently sent off and as far as im concerned thats it.. end off. Would that not have killed any ****storm?

You're right, that would probably have been a better way to deal with it.

Interesting comments from Scotland's Numero Uno, Craig Gordon, regarding diving in general and Eduardo in particular...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8233782.stm

"For a goalkeeper, it is infuriating when you don't touch someone and they have won a penalty," said Gordon.

"But if a Scotland player does it and we end up getting to the play-offs then do we still feel as badly about it?"

....

"He's won a penalty, and himself and his club a place in the group stages of the Champions League," added Gordon, who is preparing for Saturday's World Cup qualifying clash with Macedonia.

"That is worth £16m and he has probably got close to £100,000 in bonuses, so you can see what it means to players and why someone would do that, to win a game by any means possible.

"It's not nice but I don't see how we can stamp it out of the game.

Jock Dodds · 3 Sep 2009 at 15:16

Should we hide the international stuff in here to?

World Cup qualifier: Scotland v Macedonia
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, 5 September KO: 1500 BST
Coverage: Live on SKY Sports, BBC Radio Scotland the BBC Sport website, highlights on Sportscene on BBC One Scotland at 2315 BST

Goalkeepers: Gordon (Sunderland), N Alexander (Rangers), Marshall (Cardiff), Langfield (Aberdeen)

Defenders: Barr (Falkirk), McManus (Celtic), Berra (Wolves), G Caldwell (Celtic), Davidson (Preston), Hutton (Tottenham), McAllister (Bristol City), Whittaker (Rangers), Weir (Rangers); G Alexander (Burnley)

Midfielders: Brown (Celtic), Commons (Derby), D Fletcher (Manchester United), Hartley (Bristol City)

Forwards: McFadden (Birmingham), Maloney (Celtic); Clarkson (Bristol City), S Fletcher (Burnley), Miller (Rangers), Naismith (Rangers), O'Connor (Birmingham)

I just can't see a starting XI in there that gives me any confidence.

Jock Dodds · 3 Sep 2009 at 17:54

jrodga2k5 said:
Same here but this is the team I would play anyways on Saturday.

-----------Gordon------------

Hutton Weir Berra Whittaker

Maloney Brown Fletcher McFadden

--------Miller Fletcher--------

I wouldn't play McManus since he hasnt played all season apart from some reserve games but thats it. Then again I'm unsure as to whether Berra has actually played much part in Wolves season so far, but one of those two.

That's pretty much the line up I was thinking of; I think the midfield is lacking something, Barry Ferguson probably. I'd be tempted to drop Maloney for Hartley and stick Fletcher on the right but I don't think Hartley is up to it any more. Miller and S. Fletcher up front is certainly something I'd like to see.

Burley is on a hiding to nothing anyway, we're not going to qualify and he's going to be out of a job one way or another.

Jock Dodds · 9 Sep 2009 at 09:49

Looks like we're going to line up like so:

Code:

           Gordon           

Hutton Weir McManus Whittaker 
           Hartley 

Naismith Brown Fletcher Maloney
           Miller

Jock Dodds · 9 Sep 2009 at 12:46

Smit said:
I Sure hope not to be honest. Naismith isn't good enough for the right wing Not sure we have anyone to put there though

I agree but he's all we have! Mind you, being a Rangers man he'll probably rule himself out, one way or another

Jock Dodds · 12 Sep 2009 at 15:15

Motherwell 0 - 0 Rangers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8249342.stm

Family Club Motherwell missed a late pen, Bougherra sent off. Rangers didn't look too clever either, I'm dying for a gloat but Dundee United have pricked that bubble already... :rolleyes:

Celtic 0-1 Dundee Utd L
Motherwell 0-0 Rangers R
St Mirren 0-0 St Johnstone L

Hertz/Killie game is off due to a chemical spill in Shotts.

Jock Dodds · 12 Sep 2009 at 15:19

YAAAAAAAAAS!

Jock Dodds · 20 Sep 2009 at 18:27

Close one! We we're mince with the exception of McGeady and possibly Fox.

It's early days but 2 points ahead having been to Pittodrie and Easter Road is an acceptable start. We still look fragile though and we'll need to sort it out before we head to Castle Greyskull.

jrodga2k5 said:
However, there will be debate as to whether it was actually a corner from which Celtic did score from as Wallace allowed the ball to go out but TV pictures haven't cleared it up as of yet.

No debate imo, even when I watched it live I was wondering wtf he was doing letting it run because he clearly touched it last.

Jock Dodds · 21 Sep 2009 at 07:47

doopydug said:
You think Rangers are playing better ?

IMO Rangers are more resilient at the moment and I think our midfield and defence are a tad frail, throw in the Wattienaccio factor and I foresee it will be grim viewing.

Jock Dodds · 24 Sep 2009 at 09:25

A routine win. The CIS cup only really gets exciting in the Final, and even then only if we get to play a wee diddy team from Govan.

What's keeping Paddy McCourt from being a real top-flight footballer? Is it fitness or is it just because he looks like a jakey bam?

Jock Dodds · 24 Sep 2009 at 12:06

McMav said:
As for Boyds shocking dive. Deservedly booked just like McGreedy was. It also cost him a penalty when his heels were clipped in the box. The exactly the same challange happened later outside the box and a foul was awarded to QotS later on.

So you agree that Boyd is another cheat?

Jock Dodds · 25 Oct 2009 at 15:01

Celtic made hard work of that but a win is a win.

Results:

Aberdeen 0 v 2 Dundee Utd
Hearts 0 v 0 Falkirk
Lloyds TSB 1 v 1 Hibs
Kilmarnock 2 v 1 St Johnstone
St Mirren 3 v 3 Motherwell

Hamilton 1 v 2 Celtic

Jock Dodds · 2 Nov 2009 at 14:04

Good to see Fortune make his return to the Celtic first team. It was only 30 mins worth but I'm convinced that Fortune's recovery will mark a turn-around in our goal-scoring performance.

Jock Dodds · 12 Nov 2009 at 22:20

Rangers got off lightly. Repeat offenders should be stood on, this fine is a gesture. UEFA should do us all a favour and shut them down.

Jock Dodds · 13 Nov 2009 at 11:20

McMav said:
Least we havent had fans breaching security to get onto the park "TWICE" and not been closed down. What we got was on par with what other clubs get for 30 second skirmishes.

Ah you invoked the, "Whit aboot ra other mob?", defence. Bravo.

Just what is it about people in Rangers T-shirts that makes them such a magnet for provocation? Stewards in Romania, Police in Pamplona, Big Screens in Manchester, they all have it in for you!

Jock Dodds · 13 Nov 2009 at 15:00

McMav said:
Well you were happy to call for a ban so I'm pointing out you should have been banned for worse security failures.

Sorry but what I actually meant was that UEFA should permanently ban Rangers from European competition, the SPL should expel them from the league, LloydsTSB should lock the door to Ibrox and sell it, then anyone with any affiliation to the aforementioned club, be it employee, investor or supporter should be hunted down, shot and ground-up into tiny pieces.

'Call for a ban', indeed! I want nothing less than genocide!

Jock Dodds · 14 Nov 2009 at 08:12

afraser2k said:
Celtic's John Kennedy forced to retire at the age of 26 due to injury caused playing for Scotland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8359464.stm

Could've been a good defender for Celtic and Scotland.

This has been coming for a while and I'm genuinely gutted for the boy. It's easy to talk about how good he could have been, and my opinion doesn't count for much, but I really thought John had it in him to be a world class defender.

Jock Dodds · 17 Nov 2009 at 10:47

John Collins throws his hat in the ring

I'm going to re-post this, it's quite long, but relevant, and it will remind us all of the glorious days when we humiliated ourselves on the big stage, not against the Welsh 2nd XI.

Scene: World Cup 1998, France, Opening game, Scotland v Brazil
Leighton: Let's huv a name on this, I don't want tae see the baw here again for at least another 20 seconds.
Lambert: ****, its coming towards me. Whit the **** dae ah dae wi' it noo.
Durie: Don't ****in' pass it here ya donkey, I dinna want it. Gie it to Jackson.
Jackson: ****, wasn't expecting it this early in the game. I think I'll gie it back tae Paul.
Lambert: No' again.
Boyd: **** off Lambert, gie it tae Burley, he'll know whit ta dae.
Burley: Ach that's miles away Tam.
Collins: That's come to me nicely. How am I looking? Fantastic I bet. These Brazilians are **** by the way. Looking good Johnny Boy, ah can skin them all. ****, lost it. Hope the camera didn't get that one.
Calderwood: Christ, he's comin' at me, where's Colin? Colin, get oer here, that silky *******, Ronaldo's comin' for me. Whit noo?
Hendry: Slide him.
Calderwood: Whit?
Hendry: Leave him tae me......****, missed him the wee ****.
Leighton: Oh for ****'s sake.
Dailly: Better get back.
Gallacher: Wonder what's happening up there? Oh corner to Brazil. Better go and stand next tae somebody.
Leighton: Who's on Sampaio?
Jackson: Are we eating out tonight? Scampi did you say?
Hendry: I'll mark Ronaldo.
Calderwood: I'll mark Ronaldo.
Dailly: I'll mark Ronaldo.
Boyd: I'll mark Ronaldo.
Collins: How am I looking?
Hendry: Burley, you mark Rivaldo.
Burley: Okay, I've got Ronaldo.
Leighton: For ****'s sake, who was marking Sampaio???
Hendry: I had Ronaldo. Its no' ma fault.
Durie: Did the cameras see it?

20 minutes later.........

Hendry: ****, here they come again. Crash positions lads.
Leighton: Oh Jesus, humiliation beckons again. Maybe Fergie was right. I'm ****.
Jackson: Oh there's ma Mum in the crowd.
Durie: *******s the lot of them. I bet they're Catholics.
Dailly: Better get back.
Collins: Feeling like a run. Want to strutt those majestic thighs. Looking and feeling great. Plenty of time to score. Oh, here comes the ball. Nice touch, Johnny Boy, you are a God, oh passed him nicely, looking good, need a rest, breaking sweat, I'll gie it to Burley. Beautiful.
Burley: Hi Colin, what are you doing here? Do you want the ball, I think I'm aboot tae get tackled. ****.
Hendry: I didn't want it ya fud Craig. Oh ****, here they come again, must hoof it somewhere safe. Where's Jim? Bugger, up the park will do.
Gallacher: Ball coming, must run fast as little legs will carry, then maybe it'll miss me.....****, WHAT WAS THAT???? A bloody train hit me. Why is everyone hugging me? Am I dead?
Referee: Penalty to Scotland.
Scottish Fans: ****in' Hell.
Hendry: Who wants to take it?
Durie: Errm, ma legs sore. Old injury.
Gallacher: I've lost a contact lens.
Jackson: MaBoyd: Wha'?...............Oh ybe it's no' ma Mum.
Collins: Give it tae Johnny Boy, he'll take it. Looking great, I wish ah had a mirror. Hope the burd is tapin' the game.
McAllister: Now you'll know how it feels ya wee *******.
Collins: Let me just place the ball. Millions of burds watching. Cool as a cucumber, Johnners. Right ref, nearly ready. Just fix the hair. Okay, ready to run............here we go...........just one final check, teeth are clean, hair great. Right ladies, watch this.................. and Johnny Boy does it again. Don't touch the ****in' hair Burley. Hands off my arse Durie. You can get away with that at Rangers, but not here. I can see God on Stars in their Eyes saying, "Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be John Collins."
McAllister: ****.
Craig Brown: Tee hee.
Scottish Fan: Whit? Goal against Brazil? Ya beautyyyyyy. Second round, here we come!!
Leighton: What's happening up there?

16 minutes to go............

Hendry: Get rid o' it ya mug!
Lambert: Where?
Hendry: Just hammer it.
Burley: No' tae me ya eejit.
Calderwood: **** off, Ah had it a minute ago. Its no ma turn, ma kid's watchin'.
Hendry: I said hammer it, not pass it.
Durie: Its too far for me to chase. Go on Kevin.
Gallacher: Come on wee legs, faster. I'm gonna make it. Got it!!! ****, lost it.
Collins: And his majestic highness steps in to stealthily pass a gorgeous ball to his fellow team mate.
Lambert: I told you, not to me.
Dailly: I don't want it. There's 300 million people watching.
Collins: Is that all? I need a bigger audience. Johnny Boy to the rescue. Who wants a bit of silky skill from the King of all Kings. I think I'll pass to me. Oh yes...fantastic, still looking great. Glad I wore that aftershave today..... What was that?
Gallacher: That was Ronaldo.
Jackson: Can I get a shot on the ball? Ma mum's watching.
Hendry: Somebody tackle Ronaldo.
Calderwood: Okay.......****, missed again.
Hendry: Somebody tackle Ronaldo.
Leighton: Who's on the ball now?
Boyd: Dunno.
Leighton: Get markin' I think that's a cross comin' in.
Boyd: I think I'll mark.....him. He doesn't look dangerous. I should come out of this okay. I can see the newspapers tomorrow, Braveheart Boyd a stalwart at the back.
Leighton: CROSS COMIN' IN!!! I'M GOIN' FOR IT!!! TOMMY, LOOK OUT........... ****.