Happy Dosser

God, he's good. Does the club know something we'd don't know yet?

Unfortunately, it's the Sky effect of obscene amounts of money thrown at the English game bolstered by huge revenue from its relentless advertising of gambling firms on TV. Even the trickle down from the English Premiership to the Championship puts us completely in the shade. In any case, I wouldn't think the likes of Doncaster would be capable of negotiating a deal which would be to the general advantage of Scottish clubs (i.e. beyond simply the OF) .

Thanks for the inside track on Lennon: great to hear of his development on and off the pitch from someone who knows Serie A. Haven't heard him speaking Italian yet but Ferguson at Bologna sounded ok. Yes, I felt the same. I feel he's really thrawn and blinkered and I feel he didn't like Lennon's naïve/misreported comments a while ago, probably especially coming from a "diddy team" player at the time. A four-year contract for Clarke before a WC tournament is insane but sums up the SFA's cosy cartel of useless blazers who have failed to produce any improvement in the Scottish game domestically or internationally since the 80s.

I didn't know that Forrest and McGregor weren't fêted much (unlike foreign players) by the Celtic support. I feel this is typical in Scotland. If you have an Italian, Spanish or sexy Dutch name, you're probably going to be regarded as intrinsically better. Likewise, if John McGlynn were a slim 30-y-o with a sexy foreign name, he would be praised as a tactical genius. IMHO one of the best things Askou did was to show that humble players, Scottish or otherwise, could play great football based on ball-control, positional awareness, passing and moving, bravery on the ball and risk-acceptance if they are properly coached. In a sense, Clarke is the opposite, as stuck in the past as the other hardy annuals on the Scottish managerial merry-go-round who people our media as pundits. As far as Scotland squads are concerned, OF Scottish players can walk in but players at provincial clubs are at a huge disadvantage and SC will look to the English Championship, whether in form or not, before considering a Watt, McGinn or Welsh. Some might say Clarke hasn't as much time with the players as club managers do but most of those players outwith the Scottish Premiership are probably quite used to more enlightened coaching. They just need a mindset and a plan devised by a talented and progressive manager.

The amazing thing to me was that I never spoke to a Celtic fan who rated him in the slightest.

As in Frank Zappa's "Weasels ripped my flesh" Hell mend them.

True, dat. So, I'm hopeful we continue the bold Scandi-approach, not just because it's great to look at but because it puts thousands on the gate, something I'm sure the club directors are very aware of. BTW, is Max Rogers still with us? In all this excitement, I've lost track.

Excellent research and analysis: thanks! It seems a long way from Big Yogi's "Honest, hard-working boys".

I'm sorry I missed those comments. Tom English has gone up in my estimation.

🤣 Of course, on reflection, Clarke's record in the finals of international tournaments does speak for itself: we are unquestionably dire 😱.

I'd love to think so.

The way we were (sobs):

Yes and even at that, his hand is within his body shape and is only there because it was pushed up through contact with the Celtic player so it could not be a penalty anyway. Och, why do we bother? The referees make it up to suit their agenda and it's getting more and more blatant. I'll renew my ST to see The 'Well as usual but I'm even more certain now that, when push comes to shove, our game is rigged.

Oooooooft!

I think that was one of your rasher statements......