Thoughts from the Caledonian massive?

He may of course make the point moot by deciding he’s had enough, and if that’s the case I certainly wouldn’t hold it against him, but assuming he wants to stay on as manager, do we think it’s the best option for Scotland?

Plus points:

An intuitive sense that we’ve improved under him. Some pleasing craft and excellent goals to add to the blood sweat and tears.

Positivity

Club-like continuity with managed introduction of new blood

No players declaring they’ll never play for Scotland while he’s manager

The lack of other genuine contenders. Or is there?!

Negatives:

Seeded fourth. Finished fourth. Brutal, but there we are…

continued…

Scotland 2 Poland 2.

That is all.

Couple of recent examples of this analysis:

Alan Shearer’s view of Newcastle’s collapse against Man City. Newcastle’s golden era in recent memory was the Keegan / Shearer period. Wonderfully entertaining as that was, it certainly wasn’t down to 11 ‘bleed black and white’ bonny lads who would die for the cause. Yes, Keegan, Shearer and others’ passion was a key factor, but quality, relative to their nearest challengers, was surely more important.

England’s RWC losses against Wales and Australia. So, the England team were somehow, like, whatever, about whether they fancied beating the Welsh or the Aussies? I don’t buy it. Pressure on the home team would undoubtedly have played a huge part, but still, probably not as much as the quality of the opposition, who played to their full potential on the day.

…as opposed to their football counterparts.

It’s fashionable to comment on how wonderfully disciplined rugby players are compared to those foul footballers.

It’s partly true, but a few caveats:

‘Handbags’ is accepted as part of the game of rugby, and largely ignored. D***o C***a controversy aside, if this kind of thing occurs in football it can lead to red cards, not just a 10 minute time-out (something which it is blindingly obvious should have been introduced to football years ago).

But the key issue as far as I can see is communication. Rugby refs are constantly communicating with both teams, and their officials (including video) whereas their football equivalents tend to keep shtum. In football, this leads to issues festering, whereas in rugby they tend to be quickly resolved.

So – back to the old chicken and egg conundrum – would footballers behave better given the same respect as rugby players, and, equally, if the usual stonewalling approach of football referees was applied to rugby, would that lead to all-out-war?

An enthralling game between South Africa and Scotland by the way. We couldn’t live with their raw power I’m afraid…

If ‘Och Aye Canoe’ isn’t the name of a Scottish kayaking venture, it bloody well should be…

another one from the ‘surely must be a Chris Morris spoof’ category…

according to Gary Neville in the Telegraph. Continued in comments…

My alcohol of choice has largely been beer, whisky and wine, but I’m currently sipping neat Finlandia and it’s as smooth as Cary Grant on ice.

Fantastically aesthetically and tactilely pleasing bottle too.

Thoughts on this ancient spirit eagerly sought…

Nice (or, ahem, above Par*) profile of the pride of Dunfermline.

Of particular interest to AWers may be from around 42 mins – her rendition of All the Pretty Little Horses with Danny Thompson. Spellbinding.

And – she was, and remains, very agreeable to the eye. Just saying.

*about three people might get this Scottish fitba’ reference😉

http://bbc.in/1uY4rfz

BBC Sportscene Goal of the Season 82/83

Gordon Strachan (2), Kenny Dalglish, Brian Rice, Ralph Milne (2), Eammon Bannon, Charlie Nicholas (2), Eric Black, John Wark, Richard Gough, Paul McStay…

Fond memories (well not so much of Champagne Charlie scoring against us but the playground footballer in me always recognised his brilliance) of a team when we could expect to, and usually did, hammer teams from Scandinavia and the Baltics.

But maybe, as with Clyde Shipbuilding, the rest of the world just caught up. No shame in that – just a recalibration of expectations, which began in the aftermath of A****tina ’78 and is still continuing to this day. ‘Surely we should be expected to beat Georgia away?’ – well, who knew but maybe not…

I can’t be alone in relishing watching this none-more-combative striker.

Yes, he’s a boo-hiss pantomime villain, but by god wouldn’t most want him in their team? Least of all Arsenal, who could do with a bit more of the Bergkamp about them – outrageously skilled yes, but also adept at the darker arts.

I also tend to agree with the view that Mourinho took a large step towards winning yesterday’s battle when he waited for Wenger, who appeared from the tunnel some time after everyone else, and offered his hand.

Then when Wenger waited for the ref, in vain, at half-time, you also felt that Arsenal were not in control of things as they may have been in other eras.

I hold my hand up and freely admit to being a huge fan of Mourinho, and, to a lesser extent, Costa (the Roy Keane to his Alex Ferguson).

I predict it’s going to be a hell of a season (in a good way ;-))

Big Country – In a Big Country

Great production by Steve Lillywhite as well…

https://youtu.be/di-_n05tppo

…have thought she’d be the best choice.

Ooooh behaayyve etc…

oh dear – deja vu all over again tonight I’m afraid.

Time was we’d have said ‘oh well we’ll probably beat Germany now’, but ah hae ma doots…

Certain it’s been done before in one or other incarnation of this site, but here goes again:

Bryan’s Ferries – the luxurious way to cross the Tyne

Vans de Morrison – Citroen, Renault and Peugeot commercial vehicle hire.

Not a Welshman but found myself involuntarily uttering a ‘Yes! Get in!’ after Gareth’s latest Roy Race impersonation.

Writers what I respect, such as Martin Samuel, have expressed dismay at the widening of the European Championship, fearing it will dilute its quality. That may well be so, but as a Scotsman I find it hard to be objective. In times past the same could have been said about Wales but Bale, backed by a very capable squad and manager, has made that a moot point.

Great stuff.

Does such a thing exist?

In general I think the craft beer explosion is a positive thing. Seriously though, I find the aforementioned subtropical citrus fruit to be a dominant flavour ‘note’ in a great many varieties.

I guess that means my tastes just incline towards the darker end of the spectrum, but I do enjoy a Deuchar’s IPA or two, and Brooklyn Lager is a current favourite, so I’m open to suggestions of paler ales without the presence of g________t.

Thoughts welcome…

…by ver Speedwagon.

Top tune, and lead vocals by Neil Sedaka. Listen and tell me it ain’t so.

Going through a challenging time in my marriage right now.

Found more home-truth wisdom in this, at first sight, stereotypically Victor Kiam site than anywhere.

When you say, “You’re the only one that I can love, you’re the only one that I can be happy with, you’re the only one,” you’re really saying, “I’m a pea-brain. I can’t really see that the world is full of beautiful women or good looking men. I can’t see that. I don’t have any confidence at all. Don’t you want me?”

No, they don’t.

“I have no self-esteem, no nothing. Don’t you want me?”

And the answer is no.

And – understand the difference between ‘needing’ something – such as for you and your spouse to stay together – and simply desiring it. Clue – the latter is the healthy answer.

He uses the principle of jujitsu (other spellings are available) – basically ‘manipulating the opponent’s force against himself rather than confronting it with one’s own force’.

Just diamond-hard advice. Only read it tonight but instinctively it seems true.

Being not exactly chock-full of self-esteem, the former is a very real possibility.

But – is the Afterword a busted flush?

Full disclosure here – there have been a couple of times (no more than that) when I may have posted in a somewhat provocative manner. However, in general I’ve noticed that the response to any post, whether provocative or not, tends to be lukewarm and very limited in number.

As I say, this may well be me, but I, for better or worse, had pretty good responses to my posts on the Word site and AW v1.

I take no pleasure in suggesting that, following the demise of the Word, and the subesquent (highly laudable) revival as the AW, the third coming (following the hacking) might be a step too far.

One of the things I loved about the old site was the ability to post anything on subjects far removed from ye olde rock’n’pop which represented the magazine’s core constituency. That still exists on the current site, but in massively diluted form.

I feel that now one needs to present an instantly cogent argument from the get-go, whereas before some kind of compromise could be arrived at through » Continue Reading.

Heard this song on R2’s Sounds of the 80s the other day. Probably the first time I’d heard it since it was first released, and even then only rarely.

Douglas Trendle and his chums inevitably became a bit of a novelty act outside of the ska circuit but this is a gem of a tune. Fantastic dual saxophones.

Love the video too, a postcard from a long gone, less self-aware time.

Just watched this star-studded (Will Smith! Woody Allen! Woody Harrelson! Bryan Cranston! Aaron Paul! Katy Perry! Kanye West! Ricky Gervais! Harrison Ford!) special by the living in a box hitmaker, and it is absolutely stupendous. Find the ‘simple’ card tricks just as impressive as the spectaculars. Just jaw-droppingly watchable.

(David Blaine – Real or Magic)

https://youtu.be/LQbBOryBt9w

Apologies for the post title but I’m thinking of literate, somewhat left-field stuff which crossed over to Smash Hits / TOTP territory.

This is one of my faves…

Aztec Camera – Deep and Wide and Tall

Watched this on iPlayer last night and really enjoyed it. Good to see a late bloomer really appreciate his success and all the best to him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0645f7n/rob-brydon-at-50