Scott7

What did our old drillie from Jordanhill tell us young defenders? Never square the ball across the penalty area. Never mind. It means that some forecasters got the result and the score. Worth mentioning that some others didn’t.

All games 1-0. Maybe modify that a bit. Burnley 1-1 Arsenal Blades 0-1 So’ton Villa 1-0 Wolves Brighton 0-1 Leicester Baggies 1-0 Mags Liverpool 2-0 Fulham City 1-1 United ‘Spurs 2-0 Palace Chelsea 1-0 Everton Hammers 2-1 Leeds

Bold assertion with no stats to back it up: At the start of the season defences were leaking goals by the barrowload, 4, 5, 6 and more. Now a lot of games are finishing 1-0.

I hope you’re right but Toffees have been careless this season and falter when they should be striding on as have Villa at the next level in the league. Hammers and Moyes deserve it as a progress prize though they might regret it next season. I think it’ll be Chelsea. Liverpool missing out and Arsenal nowhere near. Who’d have thought it?

Careful. @Rousseauhas the power of the ban.

By all means but you lose it for implied criticism of the referee/VAR.

Fair enough. But you lose them for saying Wolves wouldn’t.

I don’t see Anelka in Rashford but you’re right about management. Ferguson would have got another 30% out of him 90% of the time. US isn’t a proper soccer nation yet. Croatia v Germany is a better comparison. Croats’ first team competes and wins. Maybe the second team. I can’t be sure but I speculate Germany’ thirds would have it easier. (Why have I suddenly thought of Croatia v Pakistan at cricket?) Reserve leagues should be brought back, I agree. I doubt if there’s a public appetite for B internationals now. They flourished at a time when people had much fewer entertainment opportunities and the Scotland B team was as good as the first picks.

City 3-0 Wolves Burnley 1-2 Leicester Blades 1-1 Villa Palace 0-2 United Fulham Lilies 1-2 Tottenham Lilies Baggies 0-1 Everton Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea

Interesting topic. Strength in depth for England but not so much in the strikers. What’s Ings doing in that list? Calvin-Lewis is young. Rashford is inconsistent. Sterling’s a scoring winger which leaves Kane as the only out and out, bang it in the net striker. One more than Scotland has, I suppose. There are only eleven for each team on the park at one time so there’s no reason why the first eleven from a small country should not be able to compete with the first eleven from a larger country. In my teenage years Scotland had a comfortable lead in head to head victories. I couldn’t imagine Scotland being overtaken. I was into my twenties before I discovered otherwise. In B internationals and League internationals Scotland’s record was pretty decent but not so much in the under 23s. There’s the clue perhaps for what came about. Population numbers make it inevitable that though your first team might do all right your third eleven struggles and finding a fourth could be difficult whereas the big boys can find a hundred players without too much reduction of quality. Another factor in Scotland v England terms is the difference in demographics which gives England a pool of outstanding athletic talent.

Liverpool hero centre forward has died. I never saw him play for Liverpool but I saw him often for Motherwell and Scotland with distinction. Small for a centre forward but sturdy enough and a scorer of goals. His Motherwell forward line, all diminutive, was a splendid unit. Reid, Quinn, St John, Hunter, Weir. Goals against Rangers always distress me but on one occasion, Fir Park, 1960, St John’s winner brought some compensation, 37/6 as FGS in the ‘bus sweep. That’s just under £45.00 in modern money. Lived like a lord for a fortnight.

That’s the way of the world nowadays, I’m afraid.

I saw no evidence of grooming. Quite the contrary. I know what you’re getting at, though, and I am aware of this individual and her competencies but only from your frequent references in this topic. I had never seen or heard before and with luck I’ll continue to avoid doing so. I doff my bonnet to you for your efforts in exposing PQ. Just cut her less slack in future.

Run, bookies, run. City 3-0 Hammers WBA 0-2 BHA Leeds 3-1 Villa Magpies 1-2 Wolves Palace 2-2 Fulham Leicester 2-1 Gunners Hotspur 3-0 Burnley Chelsea 1-0 United Blades 0-2 Liverpool Toffees 0-1 So’ton

Leaving Lennon to get back to PQM, I saw last night on Sky News the closing fragment of a discussion involving Alistair Bonnington and a bizarre looking woman, whom I had never seen or heard before, the latter grinning vacuously and hee hawing, as only weegie wifies can, about Nikla. The piece ended and the presenter thanked Bonnington and the apparition whom he named as Angela Haggerty. @26th of foot, be ashamed. You have been far, far too kind to this person. How can someone like this have an authoritative voice in national broadcasting? And Goon Shall Speak Unto Goon

Andrew Neil in a Sturgeon-bashing article in the Daily Mail: ”The Crown Office is in crisis. In a recent case involving the famous Glasgow Rangers football team it was forced to admit to a 'malicious prosecution' – legalese for proceeding with a prosecution even though you've been advised that you don't have enough evidence to secure a conviction.” A trifle misleading on the facts but the descriptive language is excellent.

He’ll be on Sportsound on Saturday or as soon thereafter as he feels up to it. PQ adore him.

Time to close the topic. Their plan, like so much else celtic, has failed.

Definitely not chota.

Can’t blame Lenny for that. Expect him as a constant presence on Sportsound from now on.

Not doing something is not necessarily failing to do that thing. Oh and never mind the ghastly celtic, let’s get after Forres Mechanics.

Great Medicine Man Rousseau has spoken.

Blofeld.

Oh dear.

I suspect that’s got something to do with it. @Gribz has already pointed out the loss of centre halves because of long-term injury and failure to replace them