Kmcalpin

As I wrote, I don't say that it's right but it's a fact. It's OK to disagree and we'll do that.

Of course. Football is is a physical contact sport and injuries and emotions are only to be expected. However, some players go into challenges with the express intention of harming and injuring an opponent, sometimes under instruction from a manager. I do apportion blame for that kind of incident.

That's not how it works. Yes, there are a few fans who go along and spout constant abuse. I'm not referring to those. I doubt there are many who go along with the premeditated intention of mouthing off to make themselves feel better. As the original poster wrote, for some it's a way of relieving the pressure of everyday lives. As you'll know very well, people handle such situations very differently. Everyone is an individual. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's a fact of life.

I would say it doesn't apply to messageboards, although the principle of respect certainly should. Shouting at a game tends to be more spur of the moment and impetuous, although there are exceptions. Posting on a message board is more of a detached, measured and thought out process. Again there are exceptions for example in terms of personal and abusive posts. Robust debate is fine but abuse is not. The term "troll" is much misunderstood and misused though.

Absolutely. There's criticism and there's abuse. It's a fine line to tread. Downright abuse isn't acceptable. Footballers though aren't totally blameless. Quite a few behave in such a way that if they did so in the same way off the the pitch they'd be arrested and charged. Its about rough and tumble banter but with respect.

Every so often a post appears somewhere that grabs your attention and stands out from the morass. I've just read one such one on P & B. Of late, there's been a lot of criticsm by some posters on P & B of our fanbase. I'll park that. However yesterday AnderooMFC posted the following: "Football crowds allow a release of the pent-up emotions and frustrations of everyday life, even the negative emotions. That scapegoat is a temporary stand-in for every asshole customer/boss/partner/child/parent/authority figure/system/patriarchy/nameless horror that they are not allowed or unable to express frustration at from Saturday 5pm-next Saturday at 2.59. So come 3pm kick-off there's a lot to be vented. Holding it in is not good for your health. We exist to improve people's lives. Even moaning-faced twunts." That sums it up perfectly. Well done sir/madam. Football is an emotional game and a safety valve for many

Not quite. If you have a few hours to spare, feel free to check back my post match comments. I may criticise refs in most/many games but by no means every single time. That's an inaccuracy.

There are several issues at play here and its not all down to VAR. I do get the unnecessary delays and the micro analysing decisions i.e. an incident should be clear and obvious. However, what its poor performance to date does highlight is the level of inconsistency in decision making and the defensive/secretive attitude of the SFA. There is then the adoption of ridiculous rules and guidelines about handball and red card tackles. A final word on the Jack Vale red card - why was Butland only yellow carded in the St Mirren V Rangers game?

So, Lennon Miller's "goal" was rightly chalked off. That being the case, Ross County's goal ought to have been chalked off earlier in season?

I was just stirring it Allan. 😁

So, with Jack Vale being unavailable for Saturday do we bring in Sam Nicholson or Moses or maybe Oli Shaw in midfield?

Compare Vale's challenge to the one which put Lennon Miller out for several months. The Aberdeen player went in on him, late, high and with intent. Referee failed to produce a card of any colour.

For the past few months, and whilst negotiations with potential investors were taking place, the Society held a 2:1 majority on the Executove Board yet wasn't actively involved in discussions? Presumably then, Jim McMahon was ploughing a lone furrow.

Yes, thats certainly true. Because of his background, he does know a lot more about football in general than fans who haven't been involved in professional football. He also knows more than virtually all the fans, about the playing side of the club. However, these forums / fora are all about debate; hopefully considered reasonable discussion. Surely its not unreasonable to question the manager's decisions at times or are we going to shut that down? We cannot afford to suppress criticism simply because someone knows more than we do. I was told by a former teacher to treat anything I was told by salesmen, lawyers, politicians and teachers with a questioning attitude. They might have silver tongues but they're not always right. Constant criticsm for the sake of it is wrong but so is unquestioning support. Its a fine line to tread.

Whilst not wishing any club to go under, anything which takes money out of the top tiers of English football can only be a good thing. It might just help to even things up.

Absolutely. I don't know in exactly how many games, Vale has been playing behind Bair in an advanced midfield role but I do know thats been the case in the last 2. We've drawn one of those and lost the other. The single goal we did score was through a defender. Now, its simplistic and wrong to attribute both of those results solely to this one tactical move. However, there is more evidence to show that it has not worked than to show that it has worked. Then again someone could argue that this move is more about not losing goals than scoring them. An overly cautious approach if true.

Some truth in what you say, but I'm more optimistic. SK will have more money available to him for a start. Not in terms of the gross amount but certainly in terms of the net amount. Wages for the likes of Barry Maguire, Conor Wilkinson, Nathan McGinley, Callum Butcher etc will be freed up to spend on newcomers. These players contributed little to our campaign this term but did eat up a substantial part of the wages budget. Hopefully Jon Obika too. On the debit side, yes we'll lose Blair Spittal for sure. Maybe Theo Bair and Lennon Miller - but those moves are by no means certain. As for the rest of the OOC players, there's no-one I'm desperate to keep. Maybe some other youngsters coming through too? There will be huge departure and arrival list this summer, but even if we only attain a 50% success rate in incomers then we should still strengthen. Add to that, that SK will now know his squad better and will be aware of weaknesses.

Fair point. Add to that, that we the fans, don't know the personalities in the squad and its hard to come up with an answer. What this conundrum does highlight is that the team lacks an onfield leader, something many of us have been saying for some time.

We could confirm our safety on Saturday, if we beat Livingston and either or both of St Johnstone and Ross County lose. There's life in the old dog yet though as we saw at Almondvale on Saturday. Take nothing for granted.

Pretty much agree with that, although I'm still not 100% convinced of Blaney yet. Maybe 2 central defenders?

Just watched the TV highlights. A few points stood out for me. * Vale playing behind Bair again in midfield. At least that won't happen next week. Another striker will be playing in midfield. No need to sign many more sr trikers in the summer just sign more midfielders! * Kelly flapping at a cross again. * Never a red card. As Handsome Devil says on P & B, no intent, wins the ball, no excessive force, and Aberdeen player comes in late. A yellow card. Aberdeen certainly seem to have the Indian sign over us with referees, don't they.

We can't lay all the blame at either Kelly's door nor that of the central defence. Both are equally to blame. There are other factors too of course such as a weak central midfield. However Kelly and and our central defenders are incompatible and are not right for each other. If we keep Kelly then the central defence needs to be cleared out or if we keep the central defence then Kelly needs to depart. In reality a combibation of both is likely.

Heading for Rugby Park allegedly.

A good day today in terms of results although it would have been the icing on the cake to pick up something ourselves. For us to be caught by either Ross County or St Johnstone now they need to record 2 wins and 2 draws and 2 wins and a draw respectively, and for us to pick up nothing. We should be safe enough for 9th place and the bottom 6 table will probably look pretty much as is in terms of final placings. I'd have bitten your hand off months ago to finish 10th never mind 9th. The consolation for our good friends in Dingwall and Perth is that whoever finishes 11th should coast through the play offs.

It was disappointing, but entirely expected, not take something from the game. It was always going to be a huge ask. Very disappointing too to lose Vale to a red card but again you expect that kind of incident at Pittodrie. I'm more concerned at his absence next week. Results elsewhere really went in our favour to make it a decent day. The games at Livingston and Perth were always going to be more important for us today than our own game.