JFK-1

Hi there Marc.

There are some commentators of the opinion that both sides can be potent in the attack and that both have suspect defences which may lead to a high scoring match in which the winner will obviously be the one who scores most. That view is speculating both will indeed score. And regarding TV audiences another view doing the rounds speculates that because our kick off is 30 minutes earlier than the Manchester derby kick off millions all over Britain and abroad will tune in while waiting for the Manchester kick off and become so captivated they will stick with our game. One of our problems tomorrow may be Barton. He has been exemplary in his on-field conduct so far and an example of that is while watching the game at Kilmarnock and he had more of an assault than a challenge made on him I was immediately thinking as he flew up in the air this is it. He's going to explode. It didn't happen but tomorrow will be a different issue. I feel he will be singled out by their crowd from the get go and if there is going to be a Barton bomb at all tomorrow will be the time the fuse is lit.

I think the crux of what everybody opposed to any Savile display or any paedophile reference at all boiled down to a single short sentence is that any reference to Jimmy Savile or any paedophillia at all is an extremely bad idea and not remotely funny either. It's a sporting occasion not an issues gathering and aside from being insensitive on many levels it doesn't have a shred of humour about it and would get us absolutely nothing but criticism from all quarters including the neutral home and abroad.

Well as has been mentioned before the predictions of the naysayers are of little relevance to us but are simply applying more pressure on them. If it pans out that way then it's only what they all predicted, they wont get any great praise for it and we wont get any great criticism for it. On the other hand if it all goes pear shaped for them the knives will be out for them and we will be lauded as having pulled off one of the greatest old firm victories. In that respect they can't win and we can't lose. We should thank the press for piling the pressure on them and for placing us in a no lose situation.

Apparently he was missing at training today.

I hope too that O' Halloran is given the nod for this. Isn't his deadly pace a reason we shelled out half a million for him and presumably it wasn't to run Partick into the ground? A guy like him can take you from the middle of your own half to the last last quarter and in effective crossing range in seconds and given our typical style surely somebody will be up there to receive? I saw the potency of such a fast runner when we played Motherwell in the league cup. Their fast runner Johnson took the ball all the way from not far beyond their 18 yard line to not far outside ours inside about 5 seconds but unfortunately for him the rest of his team had all been lying back playing the old park the bus game and couldn't keep up with him so he found himself alone. On a full sized pitch in which we expect to be given some space O'Halloran is more than capable of the same thing.

In addition to that have they faced an attacking force such as ours when it gets going? Arguably not. Problem with that I suppose is the team has only been turning it on for periods in matches while in this instance we need them to switch on from the first whistle then maintain it. The Israelis demonstrated what can happen when you push them back. I want O'Halloran in from the start for the sheer panic he will create when he goes on one of his runs which alone can unsettle them and their crowd.

I'm guessing your job wasn't quite as physically demanding as his nor involved having to tangle with highly trained athletes at a peak of fitness. If they put him in now he simply wouldn't be able to keep up with the opposition which could lose us a match.

Nothing would surprise me, it's a nation where millions know nothing about anything outside their own state far less their own country. Vast numbers can't place the US on a map despite the fact it's a continent sized land mass. I talked to a woman who was actually a primary school teacher who thought Scotland was a place 'somewhere in England' When the Crimea incident blew up a couple of years ago many wanted to go to war with Russia because they thought Crimea was a place some where up North in the US. They don't grasp war with Russia isn't like kicking Arab ass and would be a conflict to put WW2 in the shade. More than half the population think angels are real and the Earth is only ten thousand years old at most while humans appeared on it exactly as we are right now by magic spell in a single day some six thousand or so years ago and Jesus will be coming back in their lifetime. A good conspiracy theory will always be given more credibility than demonstrable reality. I know more about the governance of their country and the history and geography of their country than most of them do.

Neil McCann is a true professional commentator who unlike some others who shall remain nameless presents his view with no hint of bias and in this instance he is simply doing what everyone else is doing and giving a view largely based on recent form. Our recent form has been unimpressive so as an unbiased professional he can present no other view but he knows as well as we do form isn't a clinching factor. An early goal is what we need which will silence their hordes and pile even more pressure on them and that's a possibility if they come at us. Our team has seen absolutely nothing but packed defences up till now so a bit of space to run into will be a breath of fresh air for our sprinters. I don't know if he will be chosen but this might be the time for O'Halloran to prove himself. He habitually tormented them with St Johnston. The only side I have seen go at them was in Israel where they were played off the park and extremely fortunate to get through that. We can do this and if it doesn't work out well so be it. We will be stronger when they come to our home.

Even better if they use the unabbreviated title because here in the US that's just as well known and maybe even better known than the abbreviation is and since Americans are so insular I expect the same applies everywhere. In the US the older generation knows it from the news and the younger from Sons of Anarchy which I have never watched a single episode of but apparently they feature heavily in a season of it.

The non stop obsession with plus the excitement and rush to see a brand new team and pay through the nose for it is the thing that has me zombified. They're so stupid they don't have the mental capacity to grasp their own stupidity.

I was ultimately glad we did because we patently weren't ready and might never have got the current management team.

I would guess an international and even English audience would have no idea what a fenian is but they do know what IRA means.

All the more believable since I think he is actually only contracted for a year with the option to either extend it or alternatively get out in a year when an EPL offer comes in leaving them starting all over again.

If Waghorn plays he's going to be really up for it because he missed the last showdown and in addition Garner who is a combative character would absolutely love to make such an instant impact.

My actual initials are indeed JFK but I have not so far taken any head shots or at least not from bullets. And I don't share any names with the one who did who isn't the original JFK my dad and before him his dad were.

I think Murdo is confusing spending more with recruiting 'better' We just came up from the Championship and there we are sitting in second spot one of only two unbeaten teams and all while still never having had a chance due to injuries for the manger to field what might be his most preferred starting 11 and all while not even playing well. I'm pretty confident the vast majority of the league would swap places with us in an instant right now and even more so when we do begin to click and have the full squad to choose from.

That's the point that completely exposes the pointless and damaging nature of it. Those who want to do this Savile thing didn't come up with the idea because they were so concerned about victims of paedophiles. At it's core it's nothing but an attempt at shock value. You wave a banner with Torbett on it the vast majority of people aren't even going to know who it is but they know who Savile is. And as you say the vast majority would then be thinking what in the world are they doing? What in the world does this notorious paedophile have to do with this football match? Are they glorifying this animal? It's guaranteed to bring nothing but bad press further afield than Scotland.

Totally agree then if we win the match the focus will be taken off the result exactly as the hibz bunch did within hours of their primitive Hampden rampage by raving on about songs which are apparently worse than assault and half a million pounds worth of vandalism. Again agree, this has nothing whatsover to do with any concerns about victims of paedophilia it's simply a vacuous attempt to take a swipe at the opposition. If that weren't the case the same people would/should be relentlessly campaigning across multiple platforms instead of doing absolutely until a football match? The family and victims of Savile in particular would be mortified not impressed in any way and this would be about as big a foot in mouth episode as I can imagine possible on the day.

Given that he is a free agent and could still be signed right now you would imagine they did consider it if they thought he could do a job and just as importantly to Warburton 'fit in'

I don't know if deluded would be a fitting word to use in the circumstances. Taking that picture as an example where we can clearly see the ref looking directly at the incident they can obviously see exactly the same picture we do and would indisputably use it in the opposite direction if it were going against them instead of us. THEN they would see what we see because it's right there in front of us and them too. With that in mind they're not deluded they simply lie and all join in the obvious lie. We see it all the time. The hibz grunts don't see what EVERYONE but them sees in the aftermath of the cup final. That's not delusion it's outright lying. Also I wonder who supposedly actually reads the record since the hibz and sellick contingent all say they never would because it's apparently pro Rangers while here people say the opposite. Weird.

I agree with Warburton. Sure this thing can mean a lot to us fans but it's not the be all and end all of our season. I would rather be beating everybody else all the time than beating them on Saturday then losing to others.