Scott7

Sir Tom Finney, Preston North End, outside right, outside left and centre forward and scoring in all three positions. A bit like Davy Wilson.

George Peebles (?) about to receive the clap of doom.

Two of the greatest.

That’s a great photo of Alex Scott. A bewildered Willie McSeveney on the ground, maybe? Don’t know the other bloke. John Martis?

As would we all. I think the team is playing better football than was on display last season. Different spectators see things differently.

In bursts, the team is playing football not seen since the Advocaat years. Even when Beale’s sides won it was turgid stuff.

Fans didn’t want Mowbray to go. Anyway, good club management isn’t ruled by bleating fans. Proper planning and execution would make all the difference to Sunderland but they have two big problems, Newcastle and London. One is too near, the other is too far away. Look at Brighton. Outstanding business management was put in place about ten years ago but they wouldn’t get the players they have if Brighton itself wasn’t an attractive place for modern young folk to live and London’s an hour in the train. A bit glitzier than the Dog and Rivet in Roker.

Correct. They got rid of a decent manager and hired Beale. Their business management has been bad for forty years at least as I mentioned but their new model is insane. The owner doesn’t care about league success nor about entertaining football. He wants to trawl the world for young unheard of players in the hope of finding one to sell at daft money. Mowbray told him this wasn’t a great idea. My reference to “resources” above was to “fan resources”. Aberdeen and Hearts don’t get 30,000 home attendances in the top tier let alone the second. If I were one of the 30,000 I’d be pretty miffed with the business model.

They turn up in very large numbers home and away despite woeful business management for nearly forty years now and a plunge down to League 1. They’re entitled to expect something back for their money. Aberdeen and Hearts can only dream of the fan resources Sunderland have got.

Just exactly what a ‘Spurs man wants to display on his mantelpiece. Old Trafford next stop?

Bring him home.

That’s the easy bit. The hard part is coming now.

Alex Scott is the only player featuring in two of the board’s usernames.

Just cross them lower down your mast.

Speak for yourself, lad.

That’s a mighty powerful bench.

Mowbray is reasonably competent, Beale seems to be confirming that he’s not.

Ok for manager and players but the rest of us can speculate and forecast to our hearts content. The heid necromancer will be on in a minute to shut me up.

Willie Henderson and Ralphie Brand?

Possibly it’s celtic who are not in the right frame of mind.

Great winger, not such a good manager despite the Kilmarnock miracle.

An absolute great for the Airdrieonians, the Rangers and the Airdrieonians again. The best passer of the ball I ever saw and that includes di Stefano, Blanchflower, Haynes and White. Never a more thrilling sight at Ibrox than Ian McMillan clawing the ball down from the air, pivoting and rifling a pass between defenders for Alex Scott to race onto, all in one movement. Scot Symon’s instruction to defenders: “Just give it to Ian or Jim”

Telly highlights showed Rangers playing some football equal to anything I’ve seen before but it should have been six, minimum. Dessers scores some goals exquisitely fashioned out of nothing and not what you would expect from someone of his build but he doesn’t get many of the instinctive striker’s goals through a ruck of defenders in the ‘keeper’s box.

I know what you mean but you could have a wonder ‘keeper and rubbish defenders.

They were, as were all the Highland Regiments before the rifle put an end to such finery. The drummers in the pipes and drums of 4 Scots, descendants of the Seaforth, still wear scarlet doublets. They looked better in green. Not emerald green, obviously, a much darker shade than that. Archer Green it’s called, I think.