stewarty

The driving charges are, I assume, the tip of the iceberg. By all accounts he gave his address as Redcar, and he had some well documented problems when he initially moved to Killie where he didn't integrate with the team and was down the road every opportunity, mixing with less less than wholesome hangers-on... I wonder if he's slipped into old habits

Add Charlie Adam as a 3-for-2

I wonder how much the issues Aberdeen had with arranging friendlies will have hampered their preparation. Contrast with various messages from Gerrard about the sharpness of certain players, will we be able to use the potential fitness advantages to give them a torrid time? Cosgrove being out weakens them too.

Share a lot of the concerns about the developments needed in our squad, especially in attack. I think we will face a stubborn Aberdeen who will immediately try to exploit the weakness highlighted by @26th of foot Overall I'm optimistic, but agree we need to get off to a good start. My working assumption is that Michael Beale has been working hard with Gerrard at improving our tactical flexibility and to give us tools to adapt our game to the situations that arise. Part of that is going to be taking our chances and maintaining discipline - something we have not done at crucial times.

Do you mean Richard Wilson, formerly of the Herald and latterly with the BBC? If so, the tweet was not from him, but rather a Tim claiming to specialise in Balkans football.

Aberdeen 0 - 1 Rangers FGS Aribo

Any word when we will find out the outcome of the arbitration process?

A striker and possibly a centre half and I'd be happy enough with our transfers, with a few more going on loan to develop

Stayed at the Ricoh hotel with a pitch-facing view when Coventry played Blackburn in the Caraboa Cup a couple of seasons back. Was as dull as it sounds.

As a backup on a free, maybe he isn't the worst signing. But surely this is the kind of situation where we keep Mayo and give him games, whilst allowing Helander to get fit. Especially since the window doesn't close for a few months.

We can't rule it out, although I reckon it may be the other way round, and DUFC taking a closer look at one or two of our youngsters ahead of potential loan moves. Although we can probably rule out young McPake from that given his loan last year.

How did Hastie show up? Hard to judge from the highlights I've seen, albeit Edmundson seemed to have his number in 1v1 situations.

That’s good because we’ve found it tough to find ways to break down packed defences at times. I’ve not quite worked out whether that’s a simple case of not having or showing enough quality at the right times, or whether that happens more frequently when we go through phases of playing 2 games a week for a couple of months. Or maybe it’s both. Either way, it looks like the management team and players have used lockdown and pre season well in terms of performances so far.

Didn’t see the game due to the change in kick off time. Sounds pretty positive. How did Motherwell set up? Did it feel like what they would do in a normal game? I.e. men behind the ball and chucking hammers around?

All you did was post an article from Guido Fawkes, so I had to make certain assumptions. With regards to experts, this is the trouble with science in the moment, its there to be challenged and for our understanding to be updated as we learn more about the virus and its effects. As for Independent SAGE, I think they've done some good work holding the government to account, so I'm happy to see them exist along side official SAGE.

An example of Independent SAGE's work. They've written to the CMO on this, asking for the government to change its approach. Aside from disagreeing with the government's approach, I don't see any partisan nature of this work on first reading. Can anyone who disagrees with what Independent SAGE are recommending outline why, and what they would do differently? @forlanssister

I thought the ref over-reacted in sending Kent off. It was silly of him to raise his hands but it wasn't a red card I didn't think. Solid performance from 40 minutes onwards and even creating problems on the break with pacy counters. We can never read too much into pre-season friendlies but it was certainly a good workout to help prepare for the Leverkusen game.

Wigan went into admin for non-Covid reasons in fairness @craig It’s an absolutely clusterfuck btw, arguably much worse than Craig Whyte’s stitch up.

Who is playing the man rather than the ball? You and that the Guido article. The ball in this case, would be to examine what independent SAGE are saying, compare it to the actual SAGE advice and subsequent government decisions. It would also be to examine why they were set up, what their aims and objectives are, and to examine what they are actually saying rather than what you assume they are saying. Regardless of any political views they may hold, they felt the need to set up such a panel and to do the work they are doing because they had significant concerns about the approach this government has taken and the way that the work of SAGE was and continues to be scandalised and politicised. Some of the concens that led to were based on the lack of transparency of the group's work given how significant it is to the actions the government has taken. It also took a number of weeks and a lot of media pressure to get SAGE to publish its minutes and guidance,. Many of SAGE's members did not want to be known publicly for fear of public backlash. The government itself has been given advice on a number of occasions which it did not act upon for a number of weeks. An example is the use of face masks/ coverings in public spaces such as shops - something that was recommended weeks and weeks ago, but has only now been adopted by the UK government. How many lives did that cost in terms of the number of the potential for increasing the spread of the disease? No matter what way you look at it, any group of scientists that are prepared to put their heads above the parapet, transparently publish their findings and recommendations to enable other people to review and scrutinise their work, must surely be a good thing, no? Or is it simply that anyone who doesn't agree with the government's approach should fuck off and get over it?

Behave yourself! I don't speak for ASIL, nor did I mention him, so I'm not sure the relevance of insinuating he or the independent SAGE should eff off. And yes, it was a very Brexity sentiment. Its not like you've been shy in saying this or similar things in the past. In any case, did Guido Fawkes offer any analysis of what Independent SAGE have said, or is it just an attempt to smear those who are critical of the UK government?

"That's little more than a bunch of ASIL's fellow travellers who still can't accept that the country told them and Corbyn to just f*&k off!" Perhaps you didn't say Brexit directly, apologies. Regardless, the point about playing the man/woman stands.

Agreed. We need more tactical flexibility. The last few seasons we have had to contend with very early Europa League qualifiers which may have limited the coaching team's ability to drill different formations, due to the need to get work on our preferred tactics. With the mixed up close season we've had, I'd suggest that excuse wont hold as much weight so I'm looking forward to seeing how we adapt to different situations going forward.

As much as the machinations of Brexit and the approach to Covid-19 are inexorably linked in terms of the key political actors and the absolute shit show with which both are being managed, the criticism of the government's approach is not because of Brexit. A classic case of playing the man/woman rather than the ball.

Agreed. The scientific method is designed to enable people to disagree, and for our understanding of our existence to be enhanced by it over time.