weeyin

I hate playing full backs/wing backs on their wrong side. Much easier to defend against (just show them the outside) and players on the wrong side naturally drift into the wrong position. One reason Gallagher and O'Donnell have played well the last few games is because they are playing in their regular positions. The main reason McTominay struggled is that he wasn't. I understand the desire to get Tierney and Robertson into the same team - it's just unfortunate they both excel in the same position. Clarke will know what we are up against, though, and he's certainly earned the right to pick whatever teams he thinks will do the business.

Just listening to the "experts"on the Sportsound podcast last night, they all wanted O'Donnell to start against Serbia. Levein fancied Gallagher in the middle with McKenna on the left of the back 3 (as he reckons we'll need some big defenders to take on their strikers). Miller fancied McKenna central and Tierney on the left. It would be tough on Dec if he was dropped (5 games, 4 clean sheets, 1 goal conceded, unbeaten), but there's a lot of competition in the back 3 when everyone's fit. He's certainly staked his claim in the best way possible.

For last week's game, Clarke said he was unlikely to be a starter. What he does now is anyone's guess.

He was a bit unlucky with his scoring streak. After the team being let out of isolation not long before the Cheltenham game last week he had the ball in the back of the net there too, but it was ruled offside. He always seemed to be more of a confidence striker than a grinder. Good to see it working out for him.

And Killie lose 0 - 3. Been as well not playing it

Suspended, like a fox.

I see the the U21s are giving him a rest today - and Maguire starts.

Is that where he was going to get us that big defender he promised us during his first stint? He was pretty adamant his German contacts would see us all right.

Aye, he's definitely suffered from being played out of position in an ever-changing line-up every week. Playing in the centre is where he is at his best. Also, Scotland are basically playing a back 5 when they're defending which suits him even more.

Forfar weren't "allowed to forfeit". They had one player test positive on the afternoon of the game and were required to liaise with the SFA and Test and Trace to establish if any other players were required to isolate. As it wasn't possible to complete that process before kick-off they weren't able to fulfill the fixture. They basically had no choice. The Betfred Cup has its own rules (because the SPFL run it) and their rules award a 3 - 0 win to the opposition.

I think it's as simple as "if you have enough players you need to play". At least in the Premiership. Cup games are more complicated due to different leagues and their protocols.

Looking forward to the game as always, eh? Václav Hladký is doing his man-of-the-match heroics at Salford City this season, so we won't have him to deal with. 3 - 1 to us, with two of them coming from O'Donnell crosses, Cole opening his account and St Mirren scoring when O'Donnell is caught too far up the park

Can you imagine Doncaster being in charge of that?

Doncaster said the SPFL is not allowed to award any games. When they requested temporary emergency powers this season, that was one of the powers they wanted. However, the clubs voted against Doncaster and his crew from having those powers - (correctly, in my opinion). So only the SFA has the power to award the game to us. This means any results of the SPFL inquiry have to be handed over to the SFA for their deliberation. The cup games that were deemed to be walkovers fell under the jurisdiction of the League and so it was easier and quicker for that decision to be made. I agree there should be rules agreed and put in place as it is very likely to happen again and the last thing we need this season is another "calling the league" situation if we run out of time to complete it.

As per FIFA, to "keep training costs reasonable", from the ages of 12 - 15, every club is considered category four. Apparently, in Europe, only England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain and Italy have Category One clubs. I read a slightly out of date article that said it's 10,000 Euros per year for Cat 4 and 60,000 Euros per year for Cat 2, but expect that's quite close to the mark.

Officially, But for the current season. Which brings us to partial World Cup qualification. TL;DR Scotland won't qualify.

If I was a youngster playing in the Premiership, I'd look for a move to a different league purely on the basis that it must get a bit repetitive playing the same 8 or 9 teams multiple times every season (plus the occasional new opponents from the Championship).

I'm not one for jumping on a bandwagon, but I thought McBurnie was the worst. I have seen him play at club level and international level many times and he has done nothing. He seems to be living off a reputation from one good season at Swansea in the Championship. £20 million player? Just naw.

I think they are at least decent backup options, and that Gallagher would have done better than McTominay in the last two Scotland games. He certainly did OK in the appearances he's made already. I also think Gallagher has been at least as good as McKenna in the past 12 months. We're not overburdened with choices in defence at the international level, however, especially with the current injuries. So I have no issues with either one of our players being selected. It also reflects well on the club to have someone like Dec get international recognition only after joining us. If you want to go on recent form, Robertson shouldn't even be in the squad tonight, but I imagine he'll be captain and play OK.

One thing in Gallagher's favour is that I doubt he's ever played in a defensive shambles as big as Liverpool's last Sunday. I agree he's not best suited to a 3, though - but still better than McTominay in that spot.

Depends if they go back 3 or back 4, but Cooper is his main competition for a starting spot in a 3. So no doubt we'll see some strange formation that includes neither of them.

I just love the fact that, after years of complaining about the bias shown when overlooking our players for international duty, we've reached the point where the same fans are complaining the ones that are selected don't deserve it.

I think it's the "I can't stand outside 12 feet away from a football fan, but I can stand beside my mate shooting grouse or take the bus and eat at McDonalds" that is more confusing,

I was at that game too. Donachie's OG was something else.

Ian St John was pretty good paired with anyone too.