The Round Ball Game

[teamsaint]

McDermott out Di Canio in at Reading,you heard it here first.

you seem to be in the know, ER.
Can't see this being good for Reading, but who knows......

[EdgeleyRob]

you seem to be in the know, ER.
Can't see this being good for Reading, but who knows......

Unless Paulo has a fall out with the owners before he puts pen to paper.
I would have had your man Adkins in with a shout but betting has been suspended on PDC so it looks a done deal.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

unwise to underestimate Di Canio ..... McDermott has certainly gone! good spot EdgelyRob!

[scottycelt]

Found it on you tube,quite incredible.

It was indeed, but was the only real notable moment in surely one of the drabbest (and unsurprisingly least well-attended) Edinburgh derbies ever. Even allowing for the conditions the skill (or lack of it) was at schoolboy level. It was utterly depressing.

These games used to be crammed full houses with 50/60,000 in attendance at either Tynecastle or Easter Road.

The stadiums have got much better but the standard of play and entertainment value to the spectator is at rock-bottom.

And Rangers 1 Annan 2 ... Ross County 3 Celtic 2 ... sadly it's now a clear case of 'levelling-down' even further for Scottish football, even after the euphoria of Celtic's unexpected performance in the Champions League Group stage.

It grieves me to say it but I've seen a much better standard of football in the English Conference than I witnessed at Easter Road at the weekend.

[teamsaint]

Scotty, its a familiar story of woe for the Scottish game.
What would you do to get the game back on it's feet up there?

[scottycelt]

Scotty, its a familiar story of woe for the Scottish game.
What would you do to get the game back on it's feet up there?

Dunno, team.

I don't think anyone really knows the answer and even worse maybe some are beginning to doubt there might even be one.

Maybe it's simply inevitable this decline in the big-money modern game but when you see even smaller counties doing better than us that seems a very lame excuse.

I was genuinely shocked at the pathetically-low standard of 'professional' football in Edinburgh at the weekend. Even when skill was not much in evidence you could always rely on raw entertainment in the way of blood and thunder and 100% effort in such derbies in the old days.

Even the SKY commentators appeared audibly bored and finally gave up with some sarcastic comments, and ,of course, it's their job to make things seem interesting and exciting ... says it all, really.

[johncorrigan]

Dunno, team.

I don't think anyone really knows the answer and even worse maybe some are beginning to doubt there might even be one.

Maybe it's simply inevitable this decline in the big-money modern game but when you see even smaller counties doing better than us that seems a very lame excuse.

Seems to me that Footie is now priced out of the market in Scotland - there's no 'stars' (there's no Larsen or Laudrup up here these days that you'd pay good money to go see) - there's no Suarez or Van Persie or Michu, that makes you think you might head off to see a star on a Saturday. Of course, there's too much footie on the box too, so it's a lot easier to see stuff of higher quality from elsewhere.
The Scottish League's been trying to tinker round the edges, trying to make it competitive for longer but to little avail. I'd certainly look at the prices, make it cheaper to come in with the kids and encourage a new generation to go through the gates -otherwise it's a lingering demise - surely it has to be better with 50% more in the ground than these three-quarter empty grounds. I remember when I was a nipper there was a running story in the Hornet, I think, called 'There was once a game called football' where for some reason that I've forgotten footie had been banned and an underground movement was trying to get it started again in defiance of the law - maybe we need to ban it up here for a while and see if it works its way back - but not before next Sunday please!

[teamsaint]

Barca/ Milan...what a game so far....

[Beef Oven]

Barca/ Milan...what a game so far....

Great game! In hotel in Manchester with a few pints of Becks and listening to Bach's Cello Suites on the Podeye (better than the twat commentators).

[teamsaint]

Great game! In hotel in Manchester with a few pints of Becks and listening to Bach's Cello Suites on the Podeye (better than the twat commentators).

Music almost always better than clive and andy.....well it would be hard not to be.... enjoy......

Edit: Mozart Violin sonatas for me......

[scottycelt]

Wonderful game. Professional footballers worthy of the name.

It has to be Bruckner 5 for any football game these days, surely!

On second thoughts, maybe not ...

[teamsaint]

One of THE great performances. Quite sensational stuff.

[EdgeleyRob]

One of THE great performances. Quite sensational stuff.

I only saw the highlights,breathtaking,football from another galaxy,the Galatasaray/Shalke game wasn't bad either.

Looks like Adkins is back in the running for the Reading job (and Di Matteo).

Midweek results.

Cardiff City 1 Leicester City 1.Looking like play-offs rather than automatic.
Coventry City 2 Colchester United 2.Play-offs still within reach.
Bristol Rovers 2 Port Vale 0.Forum derby,Rovers should be safe,Vale still 3rd.
Southend United 1 Wimbledon 3.Climbing away from danger.
York City 0 Rochdale 0.Useful point in the battle against relegation.
Lincoln City 1 Wrexham 2.Still top of the league.
Barrow 0 Stockport County 2.Much need win in a 6 pointer.
Sutton United 0 Truro City 1,Rare victory.

[teamsaint]

THanks for the midweek round up, ER.

Tough times ahead for Cov, by the look of it.

A great result for Stockport. I bet it was chilly in Barrow !

[Beef Oven]

One of THE great performances. Quite sensational stuff.

Agreed. As I said, had the Bach on the iPod - all I needed was a pocket-book Shakespeare and I would have had all three of the greatest of mankind's creations!