weeyin

Exactly. And no "international breaks" nonsense either.

One of the headlines there is "Bus fares increased by 14%" No wonder some fans struggled to follow their big team... Allegedly.

They got theirs when the club was liquidated. Our cup history against the mob we're playing on Sunday is short - and not very sweet.

The 370k plus an enhanced TV deal was a major reason we really wanted to avoid relegation last season. Basically a pot of free money for a club our size. Not that there's ever a good season to be relegated, but last season would have been one of the worst.

I'm not completely sure losing to Rangers led to the decline and relegation 2 seasons later.

My enjoyment of watching them was diminished by the fact that some other people were leaning against my stanchion.

#McSugar #McShugKnight

I hope the players don't obsess about the ref as much as the posters on here. They'll not put in a tackle. I remember the same chat from the play-offs and that worked out OK.

This. The stewards seems to be one of those sub-contracted English mobs that want to do as little work as possible. Last time I was there, the club had posted which turnstiles would be used for which ticket numbers. Turned up at the ground and asked a steward which gated we should use, and between three of them, claimed they didn't know gates had been allocated. So they just sent us to the nearest one.

Tanner and Frear might well make an appearance. Just not in the starting 11.

The Accies stewards have a track record of uselessness. It feels like they deliberately make things difficult just to annoy the away fans.

I guess if Blackpopl are amenable to canceling his contract then Hartley could be signed as a free agent.

It's going to be quite a contrast for the team switching from the plastic midden heap to the wide open spaces of Hampden. If we keep things close I can imagine Frear coming on with fresh legs at some point in the game. Robinson also mentioned that Petravičius would be fit for this game. Interesting to see if he is in contention for a spot on the bench.

Dunne obviously fits Robinson's model of big, fast and strong - so I expect he will be a starter for the semi. Having Hammell as a back up just shows the depth of cover we have this season.

A lot of what happens will depend on how the new guys react to the occasion. For many of them, it will be a new experience and they need to settle quickly.

The pitch mostly - at least based on similar comments in the past. His view (which most of us share) is that the nature of the pitch means it's difficult to keep the ball under control and pass it on the ground. I watched us warm up the last time I was at NDP, and on multiple occasions our players were passing the ball along the ground and it would still bounce up into the air. It's like uneven concrete. Seems that Accies just never invested the money to actually take care of it.Or maybe somebody told them that you don't need to look after plastic. Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I was watching Alloa (albeit on the telly) during last season's play-offs and their plastic looked 10 times better. Still not ideal, but certainly a much more consistent, and lower, bounce.

Sounds like a typical plastic Accies game. Any win is a good one on that artificial midden. Never sure how sharp we'll be after an international break, but there's no such thing as a bad 3 points.

So what everyone is saying is that this is our "Best Chance Ever"?

Sounds nasty. Financial fraud like that can be difficult to unwind. Guardian is reporting as high as 900k.

Putting hashtags in posts is soooooo 2016.

Does the Chairman not get any credit? Seriously, I think 'Flow and the Board deserve a lot of credit, but let's not forget it was Les who orchestrated the restructuring of the club. That restructuring has helped everyone be more successful. Plenty of credit to go round.

If we get the youngsters in and around the first team, I think it makes it a much easier decision for them to commit. It also gives encouragement to some of the others on the fringes. There's a nice article in the Evening Times about Adam Livingstone and how seeing Campbell in the first team motivates him. He certainly has the attitude to succeed and often that's what differentiates players with similar skill levels.

Accies pitch gets passed fit for use the same way as our old sandpit got passed fit for use. Plus, the authorities don't really care, and don't want to embarrass themselves by backtracking on the permission they gave to lay it. When I was watching the play-offs at the end of last season, the plastic at Alloa looked 10 times better than Accies' pitch.

That will never catch on. Next thing you'll be telling me is it's OK to enjoy myself at a game.

Have you seen the Accies pitch? It's worn, uneven and they don't take care of it. They don't even water it properly. The ball bounces at waist height so it takes an extra touch to bring it under control. It's not the fact it's plastic that's the biggest issue. It's the fact that it's a really really bad plastic pitch. It's impossible to argue it doesn't change the flow and tempo of the game. All the great teams play on grass. Fir Park shows what is possible. Or do you really want our home surface to be replaced by one of Accies quality?