Gribz

Yeah agree with this. If Buffel is moving on then we need someone to come in and replace him. I still think Buffel could be a key player for us. Id like to see Sebo stay aswell and be given a chance to justify that price tag - again I think he could do it. He has strength and pace, he just needs to add a goal. Svensson can move on but he will do well in another league somewhere. But Smith seems to have covered the centre half positions well this season but looks like he isnt satisfied and Cuellar and Webster will come in.

Hughes is another player i totally forgot about, he was far too lightweight which was his main downfall. It would be a good move for Gavin Rae. As for Naismith, 1.5 million will trigger a move (its in his contract) with Rangers, Aston Villa and Bristol City (bizarre one) showing interest.

Im kinda glad Gow is playing. He deserves a place ahead of those who decided to take there summer early, just after the OF game. He will give 110% and be trying to impress. I dont know what it is, I havent been a fan of signing SPL players, but he is the only one I have slight hope for who might do us a decent job in the SPL.

After the split its still 1 division regardless - i.e. The SPL. There isnt a SPL 1 or 2 after the split. But agree with Malky, ive also said 4 divisions with 44 clubs is just wrong. There has been a few fairytales with Gretna and Livingston coming through the leagues in recent times but it just shows that the rest (older clubs) will be there for good. Merging teams is one way I think the game would improve. Id start with reducing it to 3 leagues again as it gives teams that extra incentive. SPL should have 16 teams and 14 in the other 2. But traditionalists wont merge, they hate the idea. They would rather see crowds of 243 at a Cowdenbeath v Alloa game than boost this towards the four figures. Between Aberdeen and Dundee there are 4 minor clubs - Montrose, Arbroath, Brechin and Forfar - thats ridiculous having them as Professional clubs. They should all merge and be called Angus Utd. Given time and once pride was out of the way all the tradionalists would realise this was the right move. Why is it that every fan, pundit, player, manager and even the media all over the place can see how bad the Scottish game is but nothing gets done about it and those jokers at the SFA still make a mockery of the game. It needs football men at the top.

During this season we had spells in joint 6th in the league and we have played dreadful football at times. Considering our resources compared to the average clubs we were always going to finish 2nd and the reason for that is we do have 3 or 4 players who make the difference who are above average SPL standard. But If you take those players who make a difference - Weir, Hutton, Ferguson, Hemdani and Prso out that squad and replace them with average SPL players Broadfoot (St Mirren now Gers) Stuart Duff (Dundee Utd) M Sylla (Killie) Gow (Falkirk now Gers) Scott McDonald ('Well now Celtic), do you honestly think we would have finished 2nd and closed the gap on Celtic?

Yeah guys I agree, what i was saying is from next season its a clean slate and we cant say the title is out of reach from the start and we cant be saying Smith needs to steady the ship - that part is complete IMO. Agreed we arent far behind Celtic on the park, thats been proving in the last 2 OF games, best XI v best XI id fancy our chances pretty more often than not.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6676953.stm Jack Hayward sells Wolves for a tener but only if the new owner pumps 30 million into the club. Thats unheard of this day in age - take a bow Mr Hayward!

Yeah thats harsh on Hutton BT. Hutton has been consistent all season. He started off very decent but since the turn of the year he has been our best player. Im sure he is allowed 1 bad game, just as long as it is 1.

Im confused by this statment Cal. Of course we have signed average SPL players. What do you call Rae, Broadfoot, Gow, Kenny Miller (1st time), Alan Johnson, Paul Ritchie, Gary Bollan, Alec Cleland, Fraser Wishart to name a few. So how can you say we will NEVER sign average players but then doubt whether its enough to win the league or compete in the CL or not. The proof is in the pudding - we just have to look at the last 2 seasons and the side has been so average its unbelievable. Yes, we are signing the best Falkirk and St Mirren can offer but they are the best of a terribly bad bunch.

...Or is it. This is a term that has been used for 4 months since Smith came in. It really was what was required aswell as securing a 2nd place finish. But up until the last 2 games of the season the steadying of the ship was done but a bit of complacency sneaked in. If the players learn the lessons of the last 2 games then we can say the ship is steadied. But this term cant be used going into the start of next season. We are now looking for progress. Smith and McCoist will be on a even playing field with Celtic in July/August and 2nd place is not the target anymore.

New record for the quickest manager reign - 10 mins! At least he was unbeaten

Konchesky isnt a bad player!!! Maybe he can take Hayden Mullins with him!

If Langfield signed for us which meant our keepers being him and McGregor we would be aswell watching Cowdenbeath every week. Cant nobody see signings like this is why we havent won a trophy for 2 seasons now. If you buy average SPL players then you become an average SPL team - simple statement. We should be looking at bringing in a top keeper and McGregor should be the back up.

I know, what is it with people thinking Owen is goody 2 shoes (or is it goody tissues - i cant remember ) He is boring and is a robot during interviews as he tries to be Grandpa all the time. You need characters on that program like the late Emlyn Hughes - he was good.

I should get that at 10:30am in the morning then and im off this week

Thats a good shout with Saha going the other way, but Spurs have said Berbatov is staying. Spurs also stated they were going to sign 3 other big players and Defoe was on his way out, but cant remember the 3 We'll see over the summer

Nonsense, its still the SPL. Does it become SPL top half and SPL bottom half. For the last 5 weeks of the season Scotland has 5 divisions??

...On a second consecutive season without a trophy. This season hasn't exactly panned out to be the way that many a Bear would have expected back in August once the first ball was kicked at Fir Park. Soap writers wouldnt have managed to write what was coming. After coming off the back off the previous season where we had our worst run in 20 years and finished out of the top 2 for the first time in 2 decades we all expected things to take a turn for the better. Instead we hit rock bottom by continuing a dreadful SPL run, early exits in both clubs including a home defeat to a lower division side and mass behind the scenes problems that led to the return of Walter Smith. We have talked about the problems that took place on many occassion so now its time to look forward. The first thing to be positive about is we improved our league position this season and since the turn of the year we topped the form table. These things arent quite what we want to shout about but its the first steady step in the right direction. This summer is going to be huge! Although that statement has a familiar ring to it. The man at the top - Sir David Murray - will be feeling a little bit of pressure to dip his hand into his pocket and provide Smith with some funds. Lets not pretend here, the average realist knows the squad needs major surgery but we are in no position to buy a new team, so Smith has to be shrewd and fill the key positions with the right players at the right price. If we can off load a few at the same time then that always helps free up some needed wages. But another job Smith and McCoist have is to get the players fit and in better shape. They also need to install harmoney in the dressing room again. They need to get complacency out the door as a few recent results have shown us. Off the park, we will be looking for Murray to improve the running of the club - but is that too much to ask and where do you start!! I'll leave that one to someone else! The team is now off for an all expenses paid trip to the USA for an end of season advertising match, while the fans are left to ponder whether to fork out the best part of 500 GBP to re-new their season tickets. Some might say Smith should leave a few of the first team squad in Glasgow and give them an early holiday as they seemed to finish early anyway - just after the last Old Firm Derby - and in place of them take the sucessful U19 squad to the States but that wont happen. So when the SPL kicks off in about 9 long summer weeks time, I will be extremely interested to see the look of our line up and whether it will be up for a challenge for domestic success again. We HAVE to be challenging for the title and we really HAVE to get the Scottish Cup back as 5 years without an appreance at Hampden for that cup is not good enough for Rangers.

I was reading the spar of words that Rino and Gerrard had a few weeks back. I like Gerrard as a player but I really hope Rino gets stuck into them and Milan get revenge for 3 years ago. Didnt Rino go off early in that final?? I'll be cheering on Milan on Wed.

Yeah agree with this good point. I also look at both OF squads and we just seem to rake up all the better players from the other SPL teams. We are feeding them money with transfer fee's and also keep them affloat by playing them 3 or 4 times a season - yet we get slaughtered by them and the press at every individual thing. The Scottish game has went backwards in the last 15 years and I dont rate a high percentage of youngsters when comparing them to players in recent generations, so im against buying players from the SPL altogether especially when we have the facilities at Murray park but cant seem to produce much.

Thats what i was thinking Gav, and the price tag is supposed to be 10 million. Id say he could be worth 5 million. I thought Arsenal might come on for him but Lehmann got a years contract and Wenger seems to like Almunia (sp). Roy Keane wants Jaaskeleinen at Sunderland so Bolton maybe an option.

I think he will be a good addition to there squad as he brings bite and can win tackles along with good passing. Its the extra depth they needed this season as O'Shea is ok in there but only as a stop gap. I think if they got Hargreaves earlier and Larsson had stayed there until the summer they may have got to the CL final and won the FA cup. 35 million for Carrick and Hargreaves is quite a lot though. Dont know if they will add Owen, he is a risk and id think he was a cock if he left Newcastle. They have paid him 110k a week to sit on the sidelines for 2 years. But they need a big strikers. Sir Awex just keeps on producing the squads. This is his 3rd or 4th team he has built, and the likes of Van Nistelrooy and Keane havent been missed so far. Id say only Butt and Beckham were missed the year after he left as Djemba Djemba and Kleberson didnt work out but since then nobody else.

There is so much wrong with the scottish game. This split should be scrapped along with the League cup. And Dunfermline shouldnt get in the UEFA cup if they lose the cup final next week, that should go to the team in 4th place. Unless we get a uefa cup place back for the league cup then its a pointless trophy. Even then the winner would likely be a top 4 club. The league cup should be either divded into a regional competition with the 4 regional winners making up the semi finals. Or better still merge to make a UK cup. I also say extend the SPL to at least 14 teams and have a winter break in January but instead of no football that month bring back the tennents sixes or play the whole league cup that month,

He'll be puking if West Ham do end up being docked points and Sheff U get reinstated.

What Bolton were you watching?? They are one of the worst in the EPL, they are famous for just out muscling opponents and long balls. But Sam turned them from a lower league side to a top 6 EPL team and signed some big players like Jay-Jay Okocha, Djorkaeff, Campo... I can see Anelka and Nolan making the move to Newcastle with him.