stewarty

I think the interesting aspect of King's statement is the fact that previous agreements have not been adhered to by SDI. What significance that may have on further actions will be interesting to see. Also, and I only caught up on SonsofStuth's facebook last night but there was another action in front of the beaks on Friday as SD were not happy with the injunction handed down given that the judge has not been able to prevent Elite continuing to sell strips. Clearly there is more to come. I'm all in favour of ramping up protests outside SD shops. Newcastle fans are getting their act together in that regard, and I think if we can get back to that too, the noise around this toxic prick will escalate and further harm their bottom line.

There are two sides to every story, etc. Certainly O'Neill isn't happy but I will reserve judgement till more information is available.

Definitely. Two assists in the last two games for example.

There was a really good blog from a couple of months ago that highlighted some of the issues that Morelos had with his finishing particularly. Namely that he wasn't making front post runs and that he was constantly trying to finish off his back foot, thus causing him to be off balance and snatch at chances he should have been putting away. Fast forward a couple of months and I'm seeing a much improved striker that has a greater clarity of thought process and that is breeding extra confidence in his game. His backheel flick on Sunday was simply outstanding and an example of how he is putting right the various things that I mentioned above, not withstanding his all round contribution which has remained of a high standard even when he wasn't scoring. I think he is also making improvements in relation to critics over his attitude and demeanor. This may be linked to the return to goalscoring form, but I would wager that a large part of this is due to the management team working with him and really tapping into what makes him tick in order to get the best out of him. For me he's a 8/10 striker, with a potential to be a 9 if he can squeeze a few more goals out and hit 30+ this season.

Shit I forgot about doing the preview for the weekend. Sorry guys

I'm still celebrating last night's game and treating myself to a four finger diktat for my afternoon tea ?

Be interesting to see what happens given a few tribal ditties were given an airing last night...

Having grown up in Selkirk, I can only concur.

Call my cynical but this seems like a bit of a fake protest from Celtic... I'm awaiting the next bandwagon they want to start that will reflect this feigned grievance as either the cause or a reason why they have to get their own petty way.

I'm not sure its as simple as saying: spread the cost. Budgets in Scottish football are so tight that even (what might seem like) a modest reduction could be significant for most clubs. And tbh, the idea of professionalising referees and making it an attractive enough proposition for the current ones to give up their other careers, should not be underestimated.

The problem with all of that @Malangsob, is cost.

There's a few players I wouldn't risk due to the surface, but mainly Dorrans and Rossiter. However it does limit our midfield options a little.

I think though that the SPFL have decided themselves to suit their own agenda, rather than properly consulting with the clubs - the fact that Aberdeen and Hearts are raging underlines this.

I wouldn't downplay the impact of BBC influence from down south on BBC Scotland. it seems to me that pressure is growing and that wont go on indefinitely. So i'd argue our current stance is probably the right one in terms of holding our ground. The more success Gerrard has, the harder it will be for PQ to justify what is happening. And for me, its a case if when they soften their stance, rather than if... we can then put into place other aspects of a wider PR and Comms strategy as I've suggested above. If that makes me a silly arse, fair enough.

Craig Levin has given the SPFL both barrels over this. And Aberdeen are raging too. It really is staggering how they have arrived at this conclusion. Essentially Levein is pointing out that they could play their tie the following week when they were scheduled to play Celtic in the league already, with there essentially being until April to find a slot to reschedule the league game. Its hard to argue against the logic.

I think @JohnMc also makes good points in that there is no clear winner on either side. The reasons for the removal of McLaughlin's press privileges are perhaps not clear to everyone, thus making it easier for the BBC to trot out their "ongoing dispute" line. At least part of the issues we have had are spiv related, in that previous club officials took umbrage at some areas of coverage as it reflected badly on them. Another element thats maybe not been touched on is our PR/Comms "Guru" Jim Traynor and the extent of the adversarial nature of our relationship with the BBC stemming from his own agenda. Whilst that may have suited us back when we were fire fighting on all fronts, but I would question the value of it now. It may not have been a priority up until this point, but now that we are starting to get back on track on the field and with much improved off-field operations, perhaps the Board can spend some time developing a comms and PR strategy that encompasses the development of our own media, including @Bill suggestion for our own radio station, but also removing potential barriers to our ability to work productively with key media partners, whoever they may be. Part of that strategy for me would also be about lobbying the SPFL now in terms of the future of any rights deals and making sure we regain some leverage over the partners in terms of some of the contractual obligations they have, but also ensuring there is some method of such disputes being dealt with quickly, rather than having them rumble on like this for years.

I'll do Hearts next Sunday.

Craig Mulholland's interview on RTV on Wednesday at HT was also very interesting. The depth of thinking and the coordination of the strategy is impressive. A hat-tip to Mark Allen, Mulholland and all the team involved

I may be wrong but I think the BBC may have access to other feeds that are provided as standard to broadcast partners. It could be interesting to test the waters on that though

Without doubt. All I mean is that we might have the capability, but if we don't have the rights it wont happen.

Radio commentary will be tied up in the rights that the BBC have so isn't necessarily a goer until such deals are up for negotiation. It will be interesting to see what stance the club takes when that happens

Rumours that JD Sports are going to get a delivery of kits to go on sale shortly too...

Add to that the fact that there is just not enough time for reporters to do anything other than regurgitate press releases to create copy, or to trawl social media for click bait nonsense... actual journalism or reporting, regardless of whether its in a sporting context or otherwise, becomes a 'nice to have'

We need more information but I take your point. My take based on the information to hand is that King is trying to do some groundwork to take to the Cos/ TOP in order to proceed with a lesser amount of funds than originally required. And if that is the case, it would be down to the CoS to sanction There's a lot of assumptions on my part though.

I know you understand the C1872 rules. They have received a request from the club/King to sign a formal undertaking. Do they respond to this unilaterally without consulting with members? I would have a problem with that if they did. And I suspect you would too, and rightly so.