Happy Dosser

dennyc: "And Killie might have had to change their half time game plan which was working a treat." Quite right: get your "substitute retalition" in first and take the initiative. That's something for SK to ponder for future games if he is to improve as a manager.

"That said, just clean out everything and take the foul which keepers invariably get." Yep, that's the traditional way, even if you go through your own defender. I hope the coaching staff do some "mentoring" to reinforce the point. The Ox had two great saves after that, three if he got a touch on Moult's crossbar-rattler, so he's worth working on.

The Ox seems to have got the jitters now, which is worrying, but I was delighted for Stama, who showed what he can do if he gets the ball in the right way in the 18 yard box. Kaleta is ok when attacking but he's not a great defender. and looked out of his depth in that role. Seddon (and Sparrow when he came on) played well but Blaney didn't instil much confidence and Gordon seems to be regressing a bit. TC had DU rocking in the first half but tired and he was given the treatment by the opposition defence in any case. A great win but I hope we address the obvious weaknesses in our performance before next Friday. Love seeing Goodwin deflated/disappointed but those last few minutes were painful.

It was mainly an anecdotal night to showcase the book, as you would expect, so I wasn't expecting any great insights. I actually only went because a friend asked me to come along and we were going to the pub afterwards 🤣. He seemed ok on the surface but it's hard to tell much about a person in an hour of chat about things you didn't witness yourself. The one story I did find surprising was that the salary John Boyle offered him as CE (or whatever his title was) was too much and he would only take half the amount offered because money wasn't very important to him and JB was always too generous when splashing the cash. Since I had already heard negative views of his time at FP, it was frankly difficult for me to come to a conclusion. In my experience , you only really get to know someone by working with them (or marrying them 😈) that's when you discover their true nature, for better or worse.

You're sounding like my old pal 😉.

Attended an event at Motherwell library tonight with Pat Nevin talking about his time at MFC and other clubs. His new book was for sale also. I had an older friend, sadly no longer with us, who was very critical of PN during his time at the club so it was interesting to hear the latter's version of things. Whom to believe, eh?

Exactly, and you are quite right to draw attention to Clarke's contradictory statements. He's getting to be as thrawnly defensive/prickly and dismissive as Strachan was in his final phase as international manager. I also notice that he sometimes pushes Carver out to do his talking for him before matches now. I'm pretty sure Lennon Miller will be in a Scotland squad as soon as he's left Fir Park.

For that reason I'm hoping Lennon goes abroad when he leaves us. Max seems to be doing pretty well now and even sampling CL football.

I'm even more worried that he gets injured playing for Scotland U19. We can't afford him to be out for a run of games.

Looks like his career is really taking off. Sorry, I'll get my C&A coat.

Hee hee! Wished I'd checked my spelling before I posted. Off to thrash myself with birch twigs.

David Turnball scores his first for Cardiff. His penalty was saved but he scored on the rebound.

Have I discovered a thinking Rangers fan? Have I discovered a thinking Rangers fan? Switch off after his MFC assessment., obvs.

I rather like that set-up but doubt SK would be so revolutionary and attack-minded from the off. Whatever formation we adopt I agree with many posters that we need be snapping at their heels from the first whistle.

Well, Ally Mauchlen is only 64. He could probs still do the job.

IIRC, we were about to inflict a rare (or was it first?) defeat on Celtic that season only for McGregor to artfully con the ref into giving a penalty: gutted was I and many others. Rodgers' deflection because Burrows was showing footage of the incident on his laptop to the press was typical of Mr Sanctimonious Smug. No wonder Darren Farley's impression of him is so popular.

Yes, Brendan Rodgers is always so generous in his comments about opponents. Just ask Alan Burrows...

Yes, very cynical to go after a guy whose shoulder was probably a bit dodgy anyway. The sending off itself seemed a bit over the top but didn't Tanser also barge into The Ox? Maybe the ref just got fed up with him and the second yellow was cumulative. It was great to beat SM because they have usually outmuscled us in the past and ground out a victory but Robinson just isn't working up front in the present formation since the ball never sticks to him and so he can't link up with anyone. SK needs to solve that problem pronto and this shouldn't be too difficult given that we're top-heavy with strikers, at least on paper. Watt was eventually brought on to hold on to the ball and win fouls but he doesn't look match fit. I should be happier today after a win and with us sitting on ten points but that was a real shitfest,(perhaps inevitable given the nature of the opposition), and our midfield contributed little, Lennon Miller apart. That said, I think we would have lost that game last season. The Ox has made a big difference to our chances of winning tight games, as the last two matches at FP have shown. Lots for the management to mull over before our visit to the Far East.

No, I didn't but weren't all three Scottish officials in the AC Milan game found guilty of taking "gifts" from the Italians?

Gosh, thought it was just me. The cumulative effect of incidents like these which I have witnessed over the years (1962 onwards) has led me to the same conclusion. My only direct experience of The Green Brigade pales into relative insignificance by comparison. The 1978 3-5 game at FP against them, when their twenty-minute riot went unpunished (despite senior police officers being on duty that day) after us going 2-0 up was the last straw of a long line of them: sheer intimidation and anarchy but no sanctions by the "authorities".

AllyMax: "In my footballing lifetime, which started with the Stuart Rennie 'steps incident' against Airdrie, we've only ever lost in semis to either Celtic or Rangers ." God, the 1975 and 1976 S-F decisions still live in my memory. When was any other GK pulled up for his steps? Of course the JRP Gordon performance was even worse than a possible honest mistake and he was caught taking bribes a few years later. I think beating The Hens is a realistic possibility if we play to our strengths but we'll need a decent referee.

Quite agree and to be fair I thought Moult's goal was vintage Louis. Thank God Goodwin didn't have him on from the start. Such a wee shame for the manager 🤣.

Miller cool as a cucumber as usual. Robinson's goal was so important and Moses made an impact when he came on but for me Lennon was MoM.

Looked really delighted to have scored. Looking good this season.

Of course it makes sense: returning to our league winning formation of 2-3-5 and catching all of our opponents on the hop. Invert the pyramid, ya bass!