JFK-1

Braga currently lying 4th in their league. Drew 2-2 at home yesterday to 12th placed Gil Vicente. They're 16 points behind Porto who are in 2nd.

How much to win the FA cup with a development team?

Happy for Hagi to get a goal like that on his first start. Nice to see how much he enjoyed that and looks confident in his own ability. That wasn't an easy one to take.

Unbelievable. Still not there but edged me a fraction closer to the conspiracy camp. Does anyone doubt Alfie would have been booked if the situation were reversed? All credit to Alfie for walking away.

They were about as good as they get, we about as poor as we get. They didn't raise their game as much as we lowered ours.

Yes indeed we should be beating a team lying 19 points behind with a game fewer played and GD of 3 compared to Rangers 44. You disagree? Or think I might? I suspect some of them may be.

The sheep are a 'diddy' club and just can't stand their status. They obsess over Rangers night and day trying to conjure up a rivalry that doesn't exist. We have only one rival and it isn't them. Their diddy club status was in full view both on Saturday and following the last game at the sheep pen, both draws. Draws they celebrated like a victories while we on he other hand treat this one in particular like a defeat. That's the difference between Rangers and a diddy club. A draw feels like a defeat while it's akin to a cup final win for them.

Fouls committed in league games this season. Top two by a considerable distance are the two we have most recently played.

"My son and my daughter, all the times, when Liverpool win in the last minutes, they ask me, 'How lucky, how lucky they are'. I said at the time, 'It's not lucky'," Guardiola explained. What Liverpool has done this season and last season many, many times is because they have this incredible quality and incredible talent to fight to the end. That's why I say to my players – not just my son and daughter – that is not lucky. If it happens once or twice, yes, but it happened maybe 10 or 12 or 14 times"

Remember the Scottish cup game v the sheep at Ibrox last season? Eight of their outfield players were booked for a final stat of 80% of the entire outfield booked. It's obvious to everyone that this is a strategy which amounts to one gets booked he then passes the baton to someone else to be booked. Fouling is illegal and this is a clear pre-planned tactic of deliberate fouling to prevent a technically superior side playing any football. Referees have to see from the outset that this is happening and be producing those cards a lot quicker letting them know that you're not going to be doing this. Referee of that game was Kevin Clancy.

I'm trying to take some consolation from the stats. We're clearly off our best by a long way but still had 16 shots to their 4 and 10 corners to their 1. I expect us to get back on track but these lost points in the meantime could prove the difference at the end. As for the refereeing it's becoming farcical. The fact Cosgrove was still on the pitch at the end was startling enough but the fact he didn't even have a yellow card mind boggling considering 3 of ours did. They're trying to sell Scottish football as good entertainment while doing nothing to stop these hammer throwers preventing any entertaining football.

It's a bitter blow. We're now falling towards a place where we're going to be dependent on others to take something from them.

Which of the hammer throwers is going to be the first to show him this isn't about playing football.

Astounding that we have almost as many bookings as they do.

Yep. Constant fouling isn't a booking offence but complaining about it is.

It's difficult to get a rhythm going against the constant fouling.

I wish a window would be slammed shut on the fingers of the journos who insist on writing that.

It is pointless now but I think people will always ruminate over lost opportunities. I heard DU pay him about 5K a week. Nothing in comparison to many Rangers contracts but to my knowledge comfortably more than most non OF SPL clubs pay. I wouldn't want him now if he were going to cost in the millions. But this Defoe injury is a potentially killer blow. I'm presuming something will happen now but hopefully not some not well thought out reflex buy. Though I doubt that. They must have been scanning many options in recent weeks and may simply be forced to get one in now.

I thought we should have taken a gamble since he was free. And I even suspect we could have paid him a lot less than DU allegedly are with the promise that if you prove you're the real deal who can rack up the goals at this level you will get a much better contract. If it were me I would have jumped at that even if it were half what DU were offering and I suspect he may have too. There is no comparison to the two stages even if DU were in the top league.

An indication of how important Tavernier is to the overall play?

Aw FFS. If he's injured and going to be out we have a real problem.

So maybe I underestimate my own footballing expertise. Maybe I do know more than Gerrard. But I can't get away from the fact that he was a somewhat better player than I ever was. ?

I too would prefer Katic to Helander. But if the manager continues going with Helander when he's fit then I have to accept that he knows more about football than I ever will and that there must be a very good reason for it.

Might have been impressed if it were actually Liverpool and not Liverpool reserves/kids. One of the Liverpool starting 11 was just 16 years old.