ScottishRed

6 hours ago, Tinmans Love Child said:

That was the sliding doors moment when Fielding got a red, we were 1-0 up and flying and when that happened you just knew it!

Much as I liked Frankie he made a heat of the moment crazy error, should have let him score rather than bring him down.

Getting thumped by Villa a few days later sealed our fate in many ways.

I truly believe that a lot of people at the club got carried away after the cup game, ‘ Premier League team in waiting ‘ etc.

That said, I think we were playing out of our skins beforehand and didn’t have the depth to keep it up. The January window was the time to press on and we get Diony and Kent.  

The later was a disappointment, he clearly didn’t want to be anywhere near AG and that should have been clear to all involved in the signing.

3 hours ago, AshtonGreat said:

I think Bernardo may leave as he's said he wants a new challenge, but I reckon they could (and should) hang on to Gundogan.

He is an excellent player however maybe he feels it’s time to move on as he has won everything.

I have a strong impression that playing for Pep is immensely intense, looking at some articles on him, and there may come a time when a player needs to remove himself from that.

18 minutes ago, AshtonGreat said:

Man City are reportedly close to signing two central midfielders in Kovacic and Veiga, so I doubt they'll be considering any more at the moment.

Depends on how many already there are moving on.

2 hours ago, BetterRedthanBlue said:

I'd say for West Ham it all depends on Declan Rice if he does go as many suspect I think they'll be in for him.

I do think Man City are keeping an eye on it but their hands are tied with the 115 charges. Spurs may step up their interest given they are not going to get Maddison (heading to Newcastle supposedly). Wolves can't afford it. Newcastle won't need him. I think there are definitely a few interes clubs we don't know about

Not sure how Man City’s hands are tied. They face charges but they are currently under no transfer restrictions.

As an aside, I read yesterday that their revenue from winning the CL was £180m in total.

Just now, Roger Red Hat said:

Yep, Pep, undeniably improves players, often not seen until their second season under him.

Yes, very much how he works. Ake is a great example of that.

12 hours ago, Simon bristol said:

Yes, you would have to be seriously high level player to make it in that team… on the other hand, de bruyne mahrez and gundogan arent spring chickens anymore, over the next few years they will be slowing down and moving on, so the next generation will have to be found!

Agreed. That is part of my thought process. If Pep sees Alex as potentially part of that next generation it would be a great move for him.

Intriguing. 

Carlo taking them to court on financial issues suggests that they are in some real trouble.

I can still see him going to Man City. Pep has seen the potential and apparently complimentary remarks from his players.

His age makes him perfect for Pep to mould. He won’t get much game time for a season or so, but it would be a great move for Alex,learning from the best will really enhance his game.

Whilst I think it hugely unlikely, that nice Mr Ashton may have found some cash from the American Fireman’s pension fund to turn Joe’s head.

Just watched the interview.

I get the impression that Nige is quietly confident about next season.

Clearly he is not going to sit there and talk about a relegation dog fight, but there does seem an air of gentle optimism.

I think regardless of any other factors, the bloke really loves the game and despite his age he misses it too much to retire.

There is always a danger of tainting your legacy, and he does have one, but I wish him well.

Except when they play us obviously.

I think is a smart move.

He is an impressive guy and plays a style of football that the fans will appreciate.

Realistically Spurs are not going to be winning the EPL anytime soon regardless of who the manager is.

Recruitment has been poor for a while and it’s going to take a number of in’s and out’s over 2/3 windows to address that. Even allowing for that they are miles behind Man City and another few clubs.

If he can get European football and a decent cup run that would be a success.

I think Kane is a real dilemma for Levy. He doesn’t want to sell him to another EPL club but, he only has 12 months left on his contract and would generate a decent fee.

The power here is with the player. He could sign a new contract, or he could stay for one more season and leave next summer and no doubt receive a huge signing on fee.

Alternatively, if the reported interest from Bayern and Madrid is real he could choose to go abroad. Either of those options would be expensive for the buying club which could prove problematic.

On 05/05/2023 at 15:41, SydneyCity said:

Just watched a Scottish Premiership fan forum - one fan content creator representing each team with moderation by a few ex-pros / current TV analysts.

The questions posed to/by the Hibs fan were Johnson related and why Hibs are so streaky.

Answers…

• Despite Johnson scraping into the top six (it looks like fifth place will get into Europe this season) and technically meeting his first target, he still has a long way to go to prove himself
• The appointment of a DOF is a very good thing as recruitment under Johnson has been extensive, erratic and "a disaster"
• The medical team needs to be looked at because this season, a ridiculously high number of players have been out with muscle injuries (which has led to being streaky, as the team needs to be pieced together by whoever's fit, regardless of the position they play)

Sounds very familiar.

Slightly unrelated but still on the topic of young managers in Scottish football… ex Bournemouth / Burnley / Hibs player, Marvin Bartley - now in his first managers job at Queen of the South in League One - comes across very well in this interview, if you have time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MuqmgHVbVo 

I picked up some similarities with LJ on how he approaches management but is much more articulate and impressive in his presentation and I believe he'll make it work. To make an analogy, Marvin Bartley is Neil Godwin from the Swindon office, in comparison to Johnson's David Brent.

 

If you get a moment have a Google Of Marvin Bartley..........

6 minutes ago, George Rs said:

Will have a look

To be fair I might’ve been swayed by the “Scottish league is tripe” stereotype.

The key problem with Scottish football, and this is unlikely to change, is that two clubs have resources way in excess of the rest. 

When you consider that match day revenue is the highest element of income and dependant on the fixtures, there are weeks when the attendance at Ibrox or Parkhead is greater than the rest of the SPL added together.

That said,Scottish football has started to produce better young players who are moving on to other countries apart from down here - Italy being one example.

Aberdeen are trying hard to get back to something close to the Fergie years. They are owned by a boyhood fan - Dave Cormack - who made a fortune from his software company and is investing a lot of money, relatively, into the club. There is a new training ground in place and plans for a new stadium close to the city centre.

They really don’t need the money from transfers, unlike most Scottish clubs, and this may be part of the reason the fee is higher than may be expected.

32 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Appointed Erol Bulut as their manager today, 48 & has only ever managed in Turkey before.

Shota Arveladze to Hull vibes about this one, looks a very strange appointment, up until yesterday some random Portuguese bloke was in the frame.

I am already wondering if he will be in position after the autumn international break.

Of course there could be personal reasons why location is an issue, but from a professional view staying here makes a lot of sense for both parties.

For Andy it would appear we are offering a pathway into coaching with a manager that he knows and trusts.

For the club it seems he provides a very solid voice and guidance to the younger squad members. That is very important to have with younger players, particularly in the world we live in now.

I hope he stays.

13 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

Unless, of course, Zak is off somewhere............................

Possible. Wasn’t there a link to Brentford earlier this year? Seems highly unlikely but with their model it could be a goer.

As mentioned previously QPR are skint so we may get a decent deal here. 

Looking at some of their fans tweets they are pretty pissed off with last season and with Beale in particular, which is no surprise.  I think that Ainsworth has a job on his hands .

I was utterly astonished mate.

1 hour ago, Red Skin said:

Says all that needs to be said about the closeted life of a professional footballer.  I couldn't believe it when he came out with that!

6 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

Quite surprised he obviously only signed a one year deal last year. Wonder if that was Forest being risk-averse or his agents thinking a year of him excelling at Forest would put him in the shop window?

Probably, although I am sure the massive weekly wage was also an attraction, with only a one year commitment, so win-win for him and his agent.

Interesting to see where he ends up, his time at Forest has not enhanced his reputation.

Can’t make a cup of coffee!

Saw some comments that SC made regarding budgets prior to their last home game against our friends across the city.

He reckoned that they had twice the player budget he did and that he needed more funds.

I suspect the CEO agreed as having been there 7 years, he left fairly suddenly a few weeks ago.

28 minutes ago, Midred said:

At the beginning wasn't there the nightmare where the winner of the championship playoff had to play the third relegation placed team in the premier league and beat them to get promoted?

Still a variation of that in Scotland. Winner of Championship goes up automatically, the bottom team in the SPL is relegated automatically but, second bottom play the winners of the Championship play-off which is contested between the teams that finish 2,3,4.

2 hours ago, Numero Uno said:

How the hell did Brendan Rogers totally mis-manage that group of players to land the club in this scenario? One obvious mistake he did make, which was Sunday Pub standard management tbh, was thinking that Danny Ward could adequately replace Kaspar Schmeichel. In what universe did he think that was a realistic scenario? Assuming they do go down there will be a quite a few rats scurrying off that particular sinking ship albeit Leicester City will be a huge draw for the better standard Championship player. If Vardy stays that's one of the two auto spots sealed I reckon.

I am not a huge fan of Rogers however he did have some challenges last summer regarding transfer budgets. Not an excuse but not being able to ‘refresh’ the squad became an obsession for him, at least in the press.

I suspect Kasper was pushed out to reduce the wage bill. Strange as it sounds maybe selling Maddison last summer in a timely manner might have been good for them and given them cash to invest.

If they do come down then a lot will depend on who becomes HC / Manager, I doubt Dean Smith will stay.

Regarding who comes down a lot will depend on how seriously the opposition clubs take the game, for example, I think that West Hams conference final is next Wednesday, that being the case I can see Davie Moyes making a lot of changes. If I supported the Hammers I would be supportive of that. We can talk about integrity of the league etc but you are not relegated based on one game.

I also doubt Bournemouth will be bursting a gut on Sunday either.

1 hour ago, petehinton said:

What has struck me most, is how devoid of any responsibility Allardyce is. Every loss he’s just shrugged off in a kind of “well it was all probably bit too far down the line now when I came in anyway”.  A new manager for 4 ******* games. What was expected to happen?

I didn’t particularly rate Marsch, but I’d wager money if you’d have just stuck with him youd have more points than you do now. 
 

The only positive is hopefully it puts an end to any PL club seeing Allardyce as a default go-to when a manager is under pressure. 

Apparently on £500k for the games in charge and £1m bonus if they stay up. Although he won’t be getting the bonus it’s a nice pay day for him.

Interesting to hear Ayling’s comments on MOTD last night about the squad not being fit enough. 

I think you are right, this will be Big Sam’s last hurrah, in his interview on MOTD he didn’t come across as too bothered. Mind you, £500k buys quite a few pints of white wine!

7 hours ago, Ian M said:

No, the rumour is that he did it to ensure he passes. As much as we want him, he wants us, Aberdeen want the money…..so it happened before the season ended when in reality he could have finished the season just fine.

That would be an odd decision by Aberdeen. They are desperate to finish 3rd and get Europa League Group football which, apparently, is worth £4m.

They played Hearts today who are their closest rivals for the place  and lost 2-1.