- 4 hours ago
The weekend saw Rangers and Celtic go head-to-head - in what is usually a blockbuster affair, did the teams serve up the WORST Old Firm game of all time?
We also look back at the weekend's Scottish Premiership action and then hear from Steve Clarke's Scotland Camp as fixtures against Belarus and Denmark await.
🎙️Peter Martin, Tam McManus, Alison McConnell and Alan Rough are on the couch!
⚽ Plus:
How much pressure is Jimmy Thelin under at Aberdeen?
What did the referees get right and wrong this weekend?
We also look back at the weekend's Scottish Premiership action and then hear from Steve Clarke's Scotland Camp as fixtures against Belarus and Denmark await.
🎙️Peter Martin, Tam McManus, Alison McConnell and Alan Rough are on the couch!
⚽ Plus:
How much pressure is Jimmy Thelin under at Aberdeen?
What did the referees get right and wrong this weekend?
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00Welcome to The Football Show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel. I'm Peter Martin, Alan Ruff,
00:00:16Alison McConnell and Tam McManus here with me in the studio. Thank you to you for sticking
00:00:21with us over last season and well into this season. Great figures across all our social
00:00:26media channels and if you want to hit the subscribe button, The Football Show is absolutely
00:00:31free five days a week. We've got lots of great content as well on PLZ Premium and you'll see
00:00:38a link where you can click on that and with that subscription you'll get access to exclusive
00:00:44content and additional new content as well as the chance to get some great giveaways,
00:00:50prizes and enter some competitions. And the reason I mention that is because so many people
00:00:55are clicking onto it and I have to say, Ruffie, I got in the car, I thought to myself,
00:01:01it was against St Mirren, might as well just go to our competition winner in Livingston,
00:01:05chap his door and there was George Porter, happy as Larry with his Scott McTominay shirt
00:01:11in his house with his wife and she gave me that look as if to say, who are you? But I realised,
00:01:18Ali, something very special about George Porter, which again, and you might be able to enlighten
00:01:24me of this. George Porter, his house was magic because he'd, you know, things there that were
00:01:31David Bowie, simple minds. It was just like, it was like a replica of my own, Ruffie. It was great
00:01:39and then George's wife said to us, it's just clutter. And I thought, wow, George is the same as me.
00:01:48I'm not sure his wife likes actually the football show, but George loves it, so that's good enough
00:01:52for me. Well, he's got more now, hasn't he? Because I'm sure he'll put it in a frame and that'll be on
00:01:56the wall as well. But no, you can see the delight in his face and it's great that people can win
00:02:02these things and it means a lot to them. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks to George for being
00:02:07a premium member. If you want to jump in there, then you can do and we'll contact you. And there's
00:02:12lots of nice little giveaways to you for joining up in premium. And of course, we'll give you over
00:02:17the course of this season, some great one-to-ones and exclusives as well. Well, what are we going
00:02:23to talk about? I wonder, transfer deadline day, the worst old firm derby ever, United ruling the
00:02:29Dundee Derby, Aberdeen hit rock bottom and Liverpool break the British transfer record.
00:02:34Just a few of the things occupying our minds. Here's how it all panned out over Saturday and
00:02:40Sunday. Livingston 1, Hearts 2, Motherwell 2, Kilmarnock 2, Rangers 0, Celtic 0, Dundee 0,
00:02:46Dundee United 2, Aberdeen 0, Falkirk 1 and Hibernian 1, St Mirren 1. And the table over and above
00:02:56all that, once they're all finished, looks like this. Celtic and Hearts at the top. Celtic
00:03:01with goal difference occupying position number one. And then as you go back with teams having
00:03:07played a game less, you've got Hibs in there, Dundee United, Motherwell. And at the bottom
00:03:12end, there is Aberdeen rock bottom. Three games played, no points. What do you make of it,
00:03:19Dons fans? We want to hear from you. Give us your thoughts on Aberdeen's predicament at the
00:03:24moment. And just before we get into the main talking point, which is the big derby at Ibrox,
00:03:32here's the team of the week, folks, to see if you agree with it. Scott Bain and goal,
00:03:38Gogic, Busheery and Longelo in the back three. Stevenson, Tate, Watt and Kazaridis. And then
00:03:46Sapsford, Dolceic and Braga. Not one single Rangers or Celtic player in it. And I think
00:03:54that's fair comment, Tom McManus.
00:03:58Really? I'd have had Liam Scales in there. I thought he had a great game. I thought John
00:04:04Suter had a good game as well. But bar that, I'd probably agree with you. There wasn't anybody
00:04:10in the midfield or the attacking third for both teams. Well, Busheery scores again for
00:04:15Hibs Longelo, who's a left back. Yeah, he scored as well. He scored as well. And Gogic was
00:04:19just as usual. Gogic, just great. That's not a bad team. You know?
00:04:24Would that be your big favourite boy if you'd done the United, the big boy in midfield?
00:04:27I thought he was good. Yeah, well, listen, I mean, the boy Dylan Tate played really well
00:04:32for Falkirk. The boy, Elliot Watt, for Motherwell, he's bossing games at the moment.
00:04:37And Kaziridis comes on, creates one and scores one. And Lucas Stevenson for Dundee United
00:04:43was brilliant. And he created the goal for Sapsford. And there's Dolcic, hits one to make
00:04:50all three points secure. And you can't rule out Braga, Ali, because he just, despite his
00:04:55sitter three yards out, I suppose, he's still the main man that the Hearts fans are falling
00:05:00in love with. Yeah, I think I'd probably agree with your team, although I might have had
00:05:05Scales in too. I thought Scales was a good guy. I thought Scales was one of the, probably
00:05:10the only Celtic player that you would have given pass marks to.
00:05:14Scales was a dilemma. I started off with Scales, but then I dumped him on the basis that it
00:05:18was one of the worst old-firm derbies of all time. Am I understating or overstating it?
00:05:23Scales would give you more balance.
00:05:24Yeah, absolutely. It's well worth actually getting that in there, Tam. It's been a while.
00:05:28Well, you've been missing these little puns, but it's not happened, but he's fired it in
00:05:34there. He's still not in the team. Ruffy, as a derby, it was rank rotten.
00:05:40Yeah, I think he struggled. Where do you start? Do you start making excuses for people? Or do
00:05:46you just say it was just rank rotten? I thought Brendan Rodgers was right. I thought his team
00:05:50looked tired. I thought they lacked in a lot of things they didn't have last year, that there
00:05:55was no pace in the team, going forward in particular. There was no quality balls into
00:06:00the box. And I feel sorry a wee bit for Callum McGregor. Callum McGregor looked tired. He's
00:06:07been keeping the team together and he's been playing all these games, 60 games a year. I
00:06:12think it's beginning to affect him a wee bit. He doesn't seem as mobile as what he used
00:06:17to be, but I think that's because the two people beside him are not performing as well
00:06:21and he's doing the shift for them. So I feel a wee bit sorry for him.
00:06:24Yeah, as far as the stats are concerned on it, and if you have a look at the possession,
00:06:31Celtic had the majority of the possession. Shots, five Rangers with four on target. Celtic
00:06:37had two Rangers and none. A couple of saves for Butlin to make. Eight corners for Rangers,
00:06:43one for Celtic. There was in that 90 minutes a disallowed goal from John Suter. But Russell
00:06:53Martin comes out of it with these stats. I don't think too many Rangers fans are still
00:06:59enamoured with Russell Martin. But total games, 13, wins three, draws seven, defeats three,
00:07:06goals for 19, goals against 21. They're seventh in the table with a win percentage of 30%. But
00:07:13Russell Martin had this to say on what he's getting from the owners and the board of Rangers
00:07:21football club.
00:07:22So honestly, I've not felt one change in their attitude towards me. If anything, I felt
00:07:30the more support than ever in this last week from Kevin, Patrick, the owners, Andrew being
00:07:35here. Andrew spoke amazingly well to the players and staff yesterday about the plan that we've
00:07:40embarked on just 90 days ago. They felt it was the right plan then and they still do. So he
00:07:45doesn't want to get caught up in the, I don't know what to call it, you'll criticise me for
00:07:53whatever, the hysteria of you guys and what goes out and everything else that comes with
00:07:58being at this football club.
00:08:01Well, is it hysteria or is it just a reflection of the manager and his team?
00:08:06Yeah, I think if you're, I think if you've maybe not been accustomed to what life is like
00:08:13at Rangers or Celtic, you might call it hysteria. But Russell Martin had a spell obviously at
00:08:18the club as a player. I don't think it should take him as any great surprise of the intensity
00:08:23of the role, of the scrutiny that you are under and results have been abysmal. You would have
00:08:29to say that's four games, four league games without a win. Performances have been poor.
00:08:35I think when you add into the mix a humiliating exit in the Champions League, a 9-1 aggregate
00:08:41defeat, it's not been good enough. So I think it's inevitable that you'll be surrounded by
00:08:49a wall of noise. I think his point there was interesting about still having the support
00:08:56of the owners. I think it's quite clear that Rangers fans don't see it as the right appointment,
00:09:01didn't see it as the right appointment and don't see any evidence that it's going in the
00:09:05right direction. But I think he'll be very relieved to have got to the international break
00:09:10to dial it down, to bring the temperature down a bit and buy a bit of time. What you would
00:09:15say though is that every game will carry the same kind of scrutiny. So if it's not a winning
00:09:21return when domestic football gets underway in a fortnight's time, that noise won't evaporate.
00:09:28It'll remain there. It'll still be one step away from that same pressure all the time.
00:09:35If anything though, Tam, he'll have new signings in, players that he wants out that he feels
00:09:41are causing him grief. And he'll have two weeks to try and mould them into the style that
00:09:48he wants them to play. Not that two weeks is possibly enough, but he'll certainly get
00:09:52a long time working with the players who are not away in international duty.
00:09:56Yeah, I just think it gives him breathing space, Peter. I think when you look at the results
00:09:59so far, three wins out of 13 is not good enough for a Rangers manager. So that record's going
00:10:05to come under a lot of more scrutiny. And Alison's right, when they come back, they've
00:10:08got Hearts at home, who are currently six points ahead of them on the table. Anything other
00:10:13than a Rangers win, that intensifies the pressure on them. And then they've got Hibbs at home
00:10:17in the League Cup. So I think it's maybe just a stay of execution at the minute, but he
00:10:23needs to win games. Peter needs to beat Hearts, needs to beat Hibbs, needs to beat Livingston
00:10:26away in the following game. Or else, as I said, he's just on a thin wire act now, Peter.
00:10:35He's hanging on just now, but one slip and I think he's gone.
00:10:39You mentioned that. Should we be bashing him over the head, Ruffy, with the stats that Tam's
00:10:44mentioned? Because Aberdeen were a fair few points ahead of them last season and it all
00:10:49crumbled and Rangers eventually reeled them in. Are Hearts a different animal?
00:10:55Hearts? Oh, I think Hearts are. I think if Hibbs and Hearts at this moment in time don't
00:11:00think they can take on the big two, they're not thinking in the right way, because I think
00:11:05they're there to be taken at this moment. And we'll see with that Hearts game that come
00:11:09up. And to go back to what Alison's saying, she's right, you know, it's okay I'm convincing
00:11:14the owners, but he's got to convince the fans. You can't keep going into a game with fans
00:11:18with banners and booing and everything. That's not the way ahead. You know, okay, he keeps
00:11:24saying, he keeps saying, every time he's saying this is a work in progress. There's only so
00:11:28many times you can say that, but you've got to start winning games.
00:11:31Yeah, and by the time we get to the end of that transfer window, some of those players,
00:11:36some of those goal scorers, some of the other players that are underachievers, that have
00:11:40cost previous managers their jobs, Ali. He'll be hoping they are out the door and he's got
00:11:45the nucleus of a side that's going to buy into what he wants to do. And as you said, they've
00:11:52got to hit the ground running, but I looked at the performance of the team and I didn't
00:11:57see any real great creativity. I never at any point, for both of them actually, to be honest
00:12:02with you, I never at any point thought there's a real, there's a player that put the fear
00:12:07of God into you in that game.
00:12:08No, I thought for Rangers, a goal seemed most likely from a set piece. I thought maybe from
00:12:13a corner or from a free kick, that was where, if they were going to have any joy, I thought
00:12:18that's where it might come from. I think Majlowski's probably going to need a bit of time to get
00:12:23up to speed. I thought his movement was good at points yesterday in the game. I think he
00:12:28will get better, but I think Russell Martin will be delighted when the window closes and
00:12:33you see what you've got to work with. There are obviously all sorts of things going on
00:12:37politically. Behind the scenes it looks as though Cyril Dessers will be gone. Still a question
00:12:43mark over Nico Raskin's suggestions today as it stands when we were filming this. Suggestions
00:12:48that he's going to stay at the club, quite clearly he would have to resolve the differences
00:12:52and very clear differences that exist there. It would be pointless keeping an unhappy player.
00:12:57So you would need to smooth over the waters with that, maybe clear the air talks when
00:13:02he comes back from international duty or you close the door and say this is a fresh start.
00:13:06But whatever happens, the squad that you've got now by tomorrow is what you've got to work
00:13:11with until January. I think that offers you a bit of stability. But I think Rangers look
00:13:18incredibly off the pace in the games that we have seen and I'm not talking only about yesterday's
00:13:23game, but I'm talking about what we've seen across the opening four league games. I just
00:13:27don't think there's enough there to go and challenge Celtic for the title. I also think
00:13:33you would still be struggling to see what the identity of the team is.
00:13:37Yeah, that's Rangers. Here's what Brendan Rodgers had to say about his team. We didn't have any
00:13:42shots on goal against us, but our offensive game is nowhere near the level I'd like it to
00:13:47be at. It was a game that lacked real quality. We've lost players that connected the game
00:13:53for us. When you go through a spell of games you're not scoring, it can affect the other
00:13:57guys and they don't make the forward pass and they make the save pass. The creativity
00:14:03has come out of the team and we need to find those connections again. I'm very confident
00:14:07we will improve. That's not the Celtic way of playing. Well, you can say that again because
00:14:13it's been a club that's basically asset-stripped any creativity out of it.
00:14:19Yeah, I totally agree, Peter. I think that when you look at Celtic this season in the league,
00:14:22they've been pretty solid defensively. I think they never conceded as a shot-and-target.
00:14:26Ibrox has a long time since the Celtic team has done that, but at the other end they were
00:14:29insipid, Peter. They had nothing. First half, probably the poorest I've ever seen a Celtic
00:14:34team going forward. I mean, I don't think they'd one attempt at goal.
00:14:37It's an hour. The first shot-and-target's an hour. And Celtic, it's just incredible.
00:14:43On the back of the two legs against Kyra, not scoring a goal and not Lutton scoring a goal
00:14:46either. So he needs to find something. They need to get some players in before this window
00:14:50closes tonight to give them some competition for places, Peter. I thought when Shin came
00:14:55on, at least he held the ball up and got a few fouls and stuff like that, but he does miles
00:15:00off what he was last season, Peter. He couldn't hold the ball up. Celtic couldn't get up the park.
00:15:05The midfield three, I thought the Rangers midfield three totally dominated in the first half,
00:15:10the Celtic three. I think there's a real lack of legs in the middle of the park for Celtic
00:15:14at the minute and energy. I look at Diamandi and Barron, they were swarming all over,
00:15:18Callum McGregor. So that first half was dreadful from a Celtic point of view. The second half
00:15:23were probably slightly the better team, but as you said at the start, probably. In fact,
00:15:27it is. It's the worst old-farm game I've ever seen in my life. It was horrendous.
00:15:29Yeah, it was. It was really, really bad, you know, from start to finish.
00:15:34Even when they injected any substitution, it made not one blind bit of difference.
00:15:41Ali mentioned Miofsky, you know, with the odd touch here and there. He's one of those players
00:15:46that will come into his own once there's a style there. And one of the things that he does feed
00:15:50off is his service. You know, if you can get it to him, you know, he can hold it up, but he can
00:15:55he can certainly play off the last shoulder, Ruffy. Yeah, before he went, before he went,
00:15:59I was at the Hibs Aberdeen game at Easter Road and it was terrific. The movement off the ball.
00:16:05He's got that wee half a yard that Keogh had to get in front of defenders. That's the reason,
00:16:09obviously, he got the move, you know. So they've got something in there. They've got a goal scorer,
00:16:14but they, as you said, they have to supply the goods for him. Now, he's not going to create it
00:16:18himself. You know, he needs supply. He needs quality balls into the box. And he looked
00:16:23sharp. He looked, if anybody was going to score, it was going to be him.
00:16:26Are you happier with more fans, away fans? Ali, it's a sign of, hopefully, things to come. I'd
00:16:32still like to see one end for both Celtic and Rangers fans.
00:16:35I agree with you. It's a step in the right direction, but that's all it is. Although,
00:16:39I think those fans that were in yesterday might have regretted parting with their hard-earned cash to
00:16:44watch that. Yeah, absolutely. Regardless of who started it, both
00:16:49boards buy into it, and they've killed that fixture. Just thought I'd mention that again.
00:16:53I always like to mention it, Tam, just to remind them in case they forget how they've managed to
00:16:57kill off one of the best derbies in the world as far as atmosphere and, you know, the whole sense of
00:17:02occasion on it. But certainly, you know, 2000, what was it? 2000 fans? I think it's just over.
00:17:09Yeah. There on the day gives any away team, whether it be Celtic Park or Ibrox, that sense of you're
00:17:17playing for someone there. And if it's not going according to plan, the fans get a chance to let
00:17:23you know what they think. Overall, I was struggling. I mean, I know you mentioned Liam Scales.
00:17:29Souter had a push. Was it an offside goal? Yeah, he's offside, Peter. I think that's,
00:17:36you know, I'm moaning about VAR, and I don't know if we'll speak about it earlier, some of the decisions
00:17:39in England this weekend, you know, beggar belief. But that's what you're, you know, that's what
00:17:44VAR was brought in for, big decisions like that. It's clearly offside. He just went a little bit early.
00:17:48Castor Smeichel got out of jail, who looked rocky at his goalkeeper, Peter. So,
00:17:53the penalty, my off-skate, that's not a penalty for me. And I seen another one, I think it was
00:17:57Midor on Sunday. It was never a penalty. So, I thought the referee, the things he had to handle,
00:18:02I thought he handled them well, and he was, I thought he had a good game down, Robertson.
00:18:05It does not auger well, Rofy, for the future of it, when you look at what they've got at their
00:18:10disposal at the moment. The one real strength, you know, for teams is the fact that if you get
00:18:17wingers, if you get exciting players that can take them on. I mean, even the debutant,
00:18:22not at any point did he want to take on... He didn't want to, he just
00:18:27wanted to be safe all the time. You know what it is as well, Rofy?
00:18:31Very negative, Peter.
00:18:32Yeah, very negative. But one of the things that really, and it's not just the Celtic and
00:18:37Rangers game, but I think, I think there's a lot of players now who are getting paid good
00:18:43wages for playing safe, for being the player that doesn't want to make that adventurous
00:18:48pass, doesn't want to be brave and play it in, because I don't know what, the way the manager
00:18:54tells them to play, or whatever, but if we talked about the creativity of both of them,
00:18:59I would not be filled with any great confidence, if you're looking at the standard of what we're
00:19:04looking at.
00:19:04You've said it for years, years on now, about Celtic should have a number 10. Somebody who
00:19:09gets the ball, looks up, and can play that pass. I don't think any of the three that
00:19:14Celtic have got, they now do that. They don't look up. They do their own wee bit, 10, 15 yards
00:19:20out. They might advance a wee bit, but that's not the kind of player that Celtic should have.
00:19:24They should have somebody who's creative, somebody who's got that cockiness about them,
00:19:29somebody who's got a bit of swagger, and they don't have that then.
00:19:32I can't remember the last one to have that. Can you?
00:19:35Celtic?
00:19:36A number 10?
00:19:38I have to.
00:19:40It's a long way back, isn't it? I can't think of a last Rangers one.
00:19:45I mean, Fergie would take a ball with three or four players around.
00:19:47Yeah, Ronald DeBoer. He was a really good player, wasn't he?
00:19:52Yeah, I mean, Ronald DeBoer would take it.
00:19:54I remember we played a bit. I don't know if it was his first game at Ibrox or one of his first
00:19:57games. I was at Hibs, and he was playing, and the first five minutes, somebody had a ball in
00:20:03behind. He came short for it, and somebody just pinged it in behind, and he didn't chase after it.
00:20:07I heard all the fans were groaning and moaning and all that.
00:20:10And Barry was going, hey, Ronald, get in behind, and you run for the ball.
00:20:16Played to my feet.
00:20:17Played to my feet.
00:20:18Oh, honestly.
00:20:19Yeah.
00:20:20And the next ball was into his feet, turned and just slid something down for a goal.
00:20:23Yeah.
00:20:24Probably just turned to Barry and went, that's what, played by my feet.
00:20:26Absolutely. He was actually a really funny guy as well, Ronald. He knew how good he was.
00:20:31Sometimes I am Ronald, and sometimes I am Frank.
00:20:33Yes, exactly. That was it, yeah. And as I always mention, with great glee, interviewing
00:20:40him in a sandpit up at Tamadice one day, and I says, Ronald, that was a masterclass for
00:20:44you. You were unbelievable. And he went, yes, this is normal.
00:20:51He said modestly.
00:20:52Yes, absolutely. A wee bit of arrogance about him. But listen, you crave for players like
00:20:57that. It was so bad. As a spectacle, Ruffy, for anybody watching the UK, they must have thought,
00:21:02we've gone back to the dark ages.
00:21:04Yeah, I think that the word touched on it is pace. There was no pace in the game. There
00:21:09was nobody prepared in wide areas to go, people take people on. It's something that's just
00:21:14disappeared out of the game. It seems to be just about speed and getting away from somebody.
00:21:19There's no sort of a dribbling by or taking anybody on, and that wasn't happening either.
00:21:24You know, obviously Celtic had Jota who did it, Coon did it, you know. So that's not happening
00:21:30up front now. And obviously, as Tam says, Maida's just went off the boil for whatever
00:21:34reason. So up front, Celtic don't have a number nine. So that's why they're not scoring goals.
00:21:40I think they look stale. Celtic, they look like a stale team.
00:21:44They look up from top to bottom probably. There's no aggression, there was no intent in the play.
00:21:50Have they got away with it, the board?
00:21:53Well, it depends. It's down to the last day again.
00:21:57It depends what constitutes getting away with it.
00:21:59Getting away with exactly the same plan that they do every year.
00:22:03I don't think so. It's cost them a place in the Champions League so far this season. Although,
00:22:08again, I think you would have to share blame across the board here. I think recruitment has
00:22:15been appalling across the summer. I don't think you can make any excuses for how poor it has been.
00:22:22But I think performances too have been desperately poor. I think Celtic looks spent. I think they look
00:22:29lethargic, heavy-legged, tired, stale. No aggression. No verve or vim about performances.
00:22:36That game, I can't remember a more negative Celtic performance in a big game.
00:22:43And what about Rangers?
00:22:44In recent times. Rangers, I think, are still... Rangers would be the happier, I think,
00:22:49of the two teams. Yesterday, I think Russell Martin really had to avoid defeat. I think...
00:22:54Yeah, but the happier of the two teams in a dreadful game where his career...
00:23:03If you were thinking about the Rangers fans, listening to the Rangers fans, they're looking
00:23:07and saying, you lose this game, they want you out. I mean, the only thing it stopped was mass,
00:23:13you know, protesting outside the ground at the end of it. That's the only thing it stopped,
00:23:18but it hasn't stopped that kind of general feeling of unhappiness and looking at the recruitment and
00:23:25thinking. It won't be good enough. I think it... I think that the jury remains very firmly out. I
00:23:30think my off-scale will make a difference. I think he'll be a good signing for them. I think there is
00:23:37time just now... Well, there's respite... Time's the wrong word. There's respite just now across the
00:23:44next fortnight. But that Hearts game is super interesting because this is a Hearts team that are
00:23:49playing real glimpses of positivity under Derek McInnes. And then there's Hibs too to come in
00:23:56that cup tie. Those two games... You're back in the same movie. You're back saying these two games
00:24:02frame really the future for Russell Martin. And that's what it will be like until he can piece
00:24:06together a successful sequence of results, if that sequence of results actually comes.
00:24:11Yeah. And if Miofsky can get the goals, maybe that'll buy him even more time. Of course,
00:24:16Miofsky himself is certainly going to have to go back to Patojo one day wearing a Rangers strip,
00:24:22which is never an easy thing to do. But I think his return to Scottish football,
00:24:28the Rangers striker is all about doing his best for his new club. Look, I always will respect Aberdeen.
00:24:35I have a great time there, but I need to do decision for me and my family.
00:24:40No. Every player needs to deserve to play, of course. On the pitch, if you perform well,
00:24:46you will play. If you don't perform well, you will see that it's simple.
00:24:49Yeah. Okay. Well, we're certainly impressed with Miofsky the last time around Ruffy. I think
00:24:56he'll be a good signing for Rangers. But on the evidence of both of them, I wonder,
00:25:00just on your point there, do you agree with Ruffy? Is there ever a time... I mean,
00:25:04even when you look at the table, there's still a game that people can get points and move closer to
00:25:09hearts. But this season, yet again, we're looking at one club and thinking,
00:25:15can they split them or at least make it interesting? And of course, it was made interesting by Tony
00:25:21Bloom saying, listen, the next 10 years, we're going to challenge them. But I look at the other
00:25:26teams and you were waxing lyrical about Hibs. And I go through to Easter Road and I'm thinking to myself,
00:25:31if you want to really step up to the plate, you've got to beat St Mirren. You've got
00:25:38to go to certain games and say, that's got to be three points in the bag.
00:25:43Yeah. I think obviously, I think my Hibs now out of Europe, Peter Hart will help them.
00:25:47You know, there's probably a few tired legs and they made a few changes, but I watched the
00:25:51Hearts game. I watched it online and I didn't think they were great, but they're winning games at the
00:25:55minute. You know, they got a great point last week against Motherwell. 10 points out of 12,
00:25:59they're six points ahead of Rangers and they go to play them next. So there's a statement for you.
00:26:03If Hearts are serious about splitting the old firm, they go to Rangers and win. And then people will
00:26:08go, maybe Tony Bloom's got a point. If they go and Rangers turn them over, you think it's another
00:26:13false don. So I think that's a really, really interesting game, really big game for both clubs
00:26:17as well. Even a draw, you think? Is a draw there? Is that good enough? Yeah, it's not good enough for
00:26:21Rangers. Five successful draws for Rangers. Hearts would definitely take it. I think that, you know,
00:26:25Rangers need to win the next two games, as Alison said. It's like the same movie, you're just cutting
00:26:31it a different... But I think it's a really good... I mean, I understand where you're coming from, Ruffy.
00:26:37I'm not too sure, I think, if it was me, honestly, and I was looking at some of the teams and the
00:26:43football and the style they're playing, I think Hearts need, you know, a really good striker
00:26:49alongside what they've got, you know, just to really mix it up. If you can get two or
00:26:55three, I always like to see three or four that can come in and change a game and come
00:27:00on from the bench and sway games your way. But I mean, they brought Cazaridis on and he
00:27:05created one and scored one. And, you know, you look to business, they've got a good bench
00:27:10as well, but you just have to win the games out with the big two before you get to the point
00:27:16you're saying to yourself, maybe this could be an interesting season, because those two are
00:27:19rank rotten. And there's unrest in the background, no matter what they tell you. There's unrest in
00:27:25the background at both clubs. Well, that's the only reason I'm saying right now, I'm not talking
00:27:30about the end of the season, I'm saying right now, if Rangers and Celtic were to go to Tyne Castle
00:27:35or go to Easter Road, I would like to think Hibs and Hearts think they could take them the way they are
00:27:40just now. Longevity, I don't think that would be the same, but at this moment in time,
00:27:46if they do, then if you're at that club and say Rangers or Celtic come and you beat them,
00:27:51you start believing. You really, because you look at the players that you've got and you look at
00:27:56the goal scorers you've got, the defenders you've got, and you say, well, maybe if we win today
00:28:02and win convincingly, this could be the year. At this moment in time, it's on, but it's a long time to go.
00:28:08I also think just now, the way Celtic and Rangers are playing, they've not got that fear factor
00:28:13about them just now, they've not got that intimidation factor about them just now,
00:28:17that I think teams will scent. This is a good time to get them, you've got a good time when there is
00:28:22unrest, when fans are angry and there is discontent around the club. This is the ideal time to go and
00:28:30turn the screw. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Hart certainly in the end ran out winners, but
00:28:36David Martindale and Derek McInnes, I think were singing from the same hymn sheet, they were not
00:28:41happy with the match officials. I'll be honest, and I can only be honest, I'm not trying to say,
00:28:46the ref's not the reason we lost the game, by the way. I just thought it was performance,
00:28:50there was a lot of yellow cards for Livingston that seemed to not go the other way, so if you're
00:28:55going to be kind of card happy, I'm alright with that, but I think it's got to work both ways,
00:29:01and I didn't feel it felt like today. Except the referee get involved in stop-start,
00:29:05how big nine buttons there I think it is in a game, it was stop-start, no advantage played for both
00:29:12teams, too many stoppages, not every challenge was a foul, but it seemed to be a herdys whistle the
00:29:18whole game. Yeah, it's annoying when that happens, isn't it? Yeah, it is, but I just think Livingston,
00:29:24you know, they're that kind of team. You know, in Hearts on the Day at McInnes, they'll be that
00:29:29kind of team, they'll be physical and they'll try and get in and win their 50-50s and stuff like that,
00:29:34but I did watch the game and there wasn't really a bad tackle in the game. There was one, I think,
00:29:38the boy Finlay came across, it was a kind of quite a big collision, and I think the boy for
00:29:42Livingston got booked for it, which was just a 50-50, Peter, so that's probably the one they're
00:29:46talking about, but I think it's a great result for Hearts. I thought Livingston probably deserved
00:29:50a bit of point out of that game, but Hearts, from not playing well, are scoring last-minute goals,
00:29:55and I think that breeds confidence as well. When you're scoring last-minute winners and last-minute
00:29:59equalisers, you're going to the death, you know, that breeds confidence as well. And do you know what also
00:30:04helps? They're away support. Yeah, fantastic. They're starting to really think, you know...
00:30:10You know yourself, Peter, when Hibs and Hearts and Aberdeen are going a good run.
00:30:13They'll take five, six thousand to Livingston, to Falker, teams, they'll take big supports,
00:30:18if they're going well. Yeah. And Hearts are going well at the minute.
00:30:21I think there's a really feel-good, I mean, if you talk about the contrast from one end of the
00:30:25country to the other, there's a really feel-good factor around Hibs and Hearts at the moment,
00:30:31and they're buying into it. You know, they see the players, they see the style of football they're
00:30:36playing, they're thinking, yeah, I'll have a bit of this. Yeah, and I think the early evidence of
00:30:40the opening weeks of the campaign is what breeds that confidence that they've seen enough about
00:30:44the team. Hearts, I think, you've seen in flashes how they want to play and how they want to set up,
00:30:51but I think that augurs well when you're scoring late goals. Just to suggest not just an element of
00:30:57fitness about your team, but also a togetherness, a belief, an intensity, a desire to keep going
00:31:04until the last minute to take it out. And I think that that gives you an optimism around the team,
00:31:10and I think it just bleeds into a bigger picture. I think the perception just now, it will be that
00:31:16these two teams are definitely capable of going and mixing it up with Celtic and Rangers at points
00:31:22this season. And I think Hearts fans have got a lot to be excited about, just based on the
00:31:28the early couple of weeks of what you've seen so far. I was there at Easter Road for Hibs 1,
00:31:34St Mirren 1. Again, as ever, Stephen Robinson's side are really good to watch,
00:31:41and Hibs equally so, because I was looking forward to seeing, I think the last time I'd been through
00:31:45there at Easter Road was the Michelin game when they were outdone by an absolute worldie right at the
00:31:50death. But again, you know, good players, good signings. I like the way they played football.
00:31:57If anything, I thought Hibs should have had all three points right at the death,
00:32:03with a decision from the VAR and the referee on not a penalty that left me gobsmacked. But David
00:32:09Gray wasn't about to apportion blame. I don't blame the referee at all. I think he's someone that
00:32:15gets one chance to see it. It happens that quick. Sometimes you can tell by the player's reaction
00:32:21round about that something's happened. And I think that was why VAR has been brought in.
00:32:24It's been brought in to help the referees to assist them to make sure that they get the opportunity to
00:32:28put something right. And I would probably ask the question why he wasn't asked to go and see the
00:32:33screen, because I think his hand is away from his body. It is high. Yes, he's very close, but if it
00:32:38doesn't hit his hand, it goes in the goal. Yeah, we want the striker in. We want a striker with
00:32:42pacing. I've made that very clear. When you're playing against teams like Hibs or Celtic Rangers,
00:32:48Harts, you have the opportunity to break away. We don't quite have that at the minute. I believe
00:32:51young Evan Mooney's been excellent when he's coming on as well. So we've got that, but we need something
00:32:55else. I think the key element here for both these managers is they need to maybe move someone out.
00:33:01Johan might need to go from Hibs to get them in with maybe a Linden Dykes or anyone else that they're
00:33:08scouting. Same situation with St Mirren to try and balance the books. Yeah, I think obviously
00:33:14Hibs have spent a few quid, but you know, they're going to have to wait and try and get Eli Johan
00:33:18out and talk about six or seven hundred grand. If you get him out and get Linden Dykes in,
00:33:22it just gives him a better balance, I think, in the final third. Penalty kick?
00:33:26Oh, Stonewaller, Peter. I can't believe, I cannot believe that David Gray actually speaks really well
00:33:32there. I would expect him after the interview with you to be raging. He's pretty calm there.
00:33:38He makes a great point. Why is the referee not sent to the monitor to have a look at that?
00:33:41Why are they just telling him? He can't possibly see that in real time, Peter. It's a header that
00:33:46flicks off his arm. The referee cannot possibly see that. Go and have a look and meet your own mind up.
00:33:51He's not went to the monitor. Last kick of the ball as well. I thought it was a penalty kick, Peter,
00:33:56and it's going to be really, really frustrating for Hibs supporters to see that. But Stephen
00:34:02Robinson, I thought a draw was probably a fair result, Peter. You know, I watched the game
00:34:05as well. I thought a draw was probably a fair result, but I think Stephen Robinson's right.
00:34:08I know they've been linked with maybe Johnny Kenny in loan from Celtic. Sunday over that elk,
00:34:13I think, could be the difference between St Martin finishing in the top six or the bottom six.
00:34:17Yeah, well, it's difficult, Ruffy, because there are two or three teams that I think
00:34:23will make that push for that top six, and they're definitely going to be in the mix,
00:34:27because he's such a good manager. I mean, a draw probably was a fair result, but if you're looking
00:34:31at incidents in a game that annoy the life out of you, that one, for me, cost them three points.
00:34:39I thought it was a stonewaller as well. Yeah, I mean, I think if it hadn't hit his hand,
00:34:43it was going in the goal. I don't think the goalkeeper was going to save it. But again,
00:34:48I think if you cast your mind back to remember when Golsan did it, he put his hands up.
00:34:54Yeah. And we all went, stonewaller, stonewaller, and then the referees come out with,
00:34:58well, if the balls go near your face, you're allowed to put your hand up to protect your face.
00:35:02Now, I don't know what the, again, we go back to the dialogue. What is the dialogue,
00:35:06obviously? Tam's saying he never went to the screen, but there are people shouting in his ear
00:35:11to tell him. Surely they've seen it, you know, they should be looking at it. But no, I thought
00:35:17he was very calm there. I mean, with everything at stake, you know, that is three points.
00:35:22Yeah. I must just mention one thing, and I know sometimes we can be fairly negative about things
00:35:28that surround the football and with spectators going to it, but I thought it was a real class
00:35:34showing from Hibbs and St Mirren fans with their minute applause in memory of Rod Petrie. It was
00:35:40just a, it was just a nice little touch. And the public address system when the announcer was just
00:35:46giving an insight into Rod's commitment to Hibernian and to Scottish football. And while he gave that
00:35:54speech for about 30 seconds, then after it asked them for a minute applause, and to a man, woman and
00:35:59child, the whole stadium was up for it. I thought it was really nice. A good touch, I think,
00:36:04both sets of fans deserve praise for it. But in the end, I left that ground thinking Hibbs need
00:36:11to win those games, you know, those games against teams that they think, and maybe, maybe St Mirren
00:36:17will be thinking equally so because they're a top six side, need to win those games.
00:36:21I would say though, I think for teams coming off of European football and midweek games, I think there is
00:36:27always a drop off. I think it's always reflected in weekend games. I think you've maybe seen it with
00:36:32Aberdeen as well. But I think there, I think Hibbs will get better. You know, I think it's tough
00:36:39trying to manage both of, both a domestic and a European campaign. I think they'd have been
00:36:44fairly heavy legged yesterday afternoon too.
00:36:46The good thing about Hibbs was, the three that he left out influenced the game when they come on.
00:36:53Yeah.
00:36:54When they made the three substitutes, it changed the game in Hibbs' flavour.
00:36:57St Mirren are a bogey team for Hibbs. They are, they are. They are, yeah, you're right,
00:37:01you're not wrong. They didn't beat them last season in the league. I watched the game,
00:37:04Hibbs were 2-0 up away from home last season. I think Hibbs ended up clinching the third place
00:37:08in St Mirren, come back and win two each. And I'm just thinking that, I think Hibbs can never,
00:37:11ever beat St Mirren. Yeah. They're just a total, absolute bogey team for Hibbs at the minute.
00:37:16But you know what's good about it, Tam? Having watched Rangers against Celtic and then gone into the ground to
00:37:22watch the first half of Hibbs at Hibbs against St Mirren. There was chances, there were saves.
00:37:27It was just great to see nice players, you know. The ball not going back the way. Yeah, absolutely.
00:37:32Nice passing football players that wanted to take chances. You know, and again, I know a hard part
00:37:38about this, but you're taking your wages. I mean, I don't know if it's the managers who have gone
00:37:43through these drills time after time after time, but play the ball forward. I mean, for God's sake,
00:37:50man, if you're a midfielder, you know, see the amount of sidey ways and back passes that would
00:37:55do your brains out. You play like that, Peter. You play like that when you have no confidence.
00:37:58You play like that when you have no confidence, Peter. And Celtic are blacking it in the now.
00:38:01See if you're Hibbs, there's no rocket science. Get the ball wide to the Caddons and just let them
00:38:06fire it into the box. Some of the balls that come into the box are so hard to deal with. Yeah,
00:38:11absolutely. But to be fair to Hibbs, that's what they do. I mean, I think Hibbs and St Mirren have players,
00:38:17you know, something simple like the balls going into the midfield area and it was in a sensible
00:38:25enough area where there was enough St Mirren players back, but Bacchus took it in and just
00:38:29let it come off the outside of his boot, turns the boy and then moves forward. It was a lovely
00:38:34piece of skill. And you think to yourself, my God, you know, I'm watching midfielders taking touches,
00:38:39then going back the way all the time.
00:38:41Well, that's what was happening. And as you said that game, the wide players were getting the ball wide
00:38:46and then they're looking up front and they're seeing two defenders that they've got to go
00:38:49by and they're going, oh, I don't fancy that. So I'll just go back the way.
00:38:52Well, I don't know anybody that I saw in that game that even wanted to take somebody on.
00:38:56No. Which is dire.
00:38:58A real lack of commitment and belief and confidence, I think.
00:39:02Yeah. And the Dundee Derby, we did call that, right? Because we haven't actually earned any
00:39:08money in our kitty, Ali, because we owe Tam a fiver each. And I think we'd be as well transferring
00:39:14over to him because it was just absolutely a big nightmare. We did get the Dundee Derby right,
00:39:20though, because in the end, Dundee United had key players that could make the difference, Ruffy.
00:39:26Yeah. Yeah, I think the new players have taken it on board. Whatever they're doing, you know,
00:39:30out of training, it's working. They're all doing their bit. The two boys up front are hard to deal
00:39:36with. They're getting wee breaks here and there. You know, the goalkeeper's making some good saves.
00:39:40So everything's going particularly well compared to Dundee, who are just not at the races at all.
00:39:46Stephen Presley and Jim Goodwin after the game.
00:39:49Our desire and our work ethic were there, but we just lacked a little bit of belief in
00:39:56and a little bit of quality with the ball. In the first half, I made a couple of changes
00:40:01because I thought we lacked thrust and the ability to eliminate. Tony gave us more of that
00:40:06in the second half. But again, our final ball, the amount of bodies that we're getting into the box,
00:40:13we need to improve on all of those things. Today, it was important that we, you know,
00:40:17repaid their faith and, you know, sent them up the road happy. You know, that message was certainly
00:40:22given to the players and the players wanted to, wanted to make the supporters, you know,
00:40:28go into work tomorrow and have the bragging rights. I think that was important.
00:40:32Yeah. And when you've got a boy like Lucas Stevenson, Ali, his cross for Sapsford for the first one,
00:40:38Sapsford also comes into it now. And I do like Dolceic as well. I think they've got those players
00:40:44that make the difference. And I think he brought in so many players. I think sometimes you're
00:40:48wondering, does everyone gel quickly? So many nationalities and different cultures and languages.
00:40:54But I think, yep, I think he's got them playing well. They look organised. Just kicking on from
00:41:00the foundations really that he set last season. Yeah, I'm not sure. And I think that's the point
00:41:06Steven Presley was making there. You've got to also have, and you're talking about that mindset,
00:41:11you've got to have that belief, right? You know, I'm looking around the dressing room,
00:41:14we can go and take them. And I don't think they're there yet with that. I wonder what activity
00:41:19they'll be scurrying around to try and change and help them out. Yeah, I'm sure Elvis will be looking
00:41:24for some players in before the window closes tonight. Yeah, I think the last couple of games,
00:41:28going to Ibrox and getting a good result, and then I think they went down to Kilmarnock and got a good point.
00:41:33They seem to have sorted the defensive aspect out, but going forward, Peter, they were, again,
00:41:38toothless, didn't really look like scoring, didn't create anything. Simon Murray was isolated at times.
00:41:42They didn't get enough balls into the box, didn't get enough bodies into the box. Everything that
00:41:46Steven's just spoke about there. So really disappointing from a Dundee point of view. Dundee
00:41:5090 thoroughly deserved their win. And I think they'll be the dangerous team this season, Dundee 90.
00:41:54I'm not sure where they'll finish, but I think they're capable. I think they've got enough quality in their team
00:41:59to go and cause a few upsets. Dundee, I'm really, really struggling to see them getting out of the
00:42:05top of the bottom two at the moment. Yeah. Again, we're talking about so many,
00:42:09I just wonder how many teams we can get in this top six, and we're going to be unbelievably positive
00:42:15about some of them. One team that's not in the top six at the moment is because they're holding up the
00:42:19league is Aberdeen. They lost 1-0 to Falkirk. Here's Jimmy Tillene and John McGlynn on the performance.
00:42:27Right now, our performance over 90 minutes in the games we played so far this season is not stable or
00:42:35good enough to deserve the results. I think some path is okay, but then in some moments of the game,
00:42:44it's not good enough to get the results.
00:42:46A huge thank you to them. No, they didn't. They've been amazing. They've been amazing in the last
00:42:50few years that we've been here, and they just get stronger and stronger, and you know, they'll take
00:42:54a lot of belief for this as well, you know, absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure they'll enjoy their
00:42:59travel back down the road and wherever they stop or whatever, and when they get back and they go out
00:43:03tonight, I'm sure they're going to enjoy that. Yeah, 15 year wait for a top flight victory, and boy,
00:43:10the Falkirk fans will have celebrated that. Now, a couple of things I want to get your thoughts on
00:43:16on this. First and foremost, Aberdeen's forum in the last 30 league games since last November,
00:43:23Ruffy, played 30, won 5, drawn 7, lost 18, goals for 24, goals against 56. The Dons fans have only
00:43:34witnessed 22 points in the bag. Yeah, I think we have to be honest enough to say if he hadn't won
00:43:40the Scottish Cup, he wouldn't be there. You know, the Scottish Cup gave him that, the fans, that
00:43:45breathing space gave him the breathing space, but he's now holding up the league. You know,
00:43:51I don't think that can happen for very long before people start pressing buttons and asking questions
00:43:58and throwing stats up. The fans have hung in there, obviously because of the Scottish Cup win,
00:44:03but I don't think they'll put up with many losses or Aberdeen being in that bottom six for a long
00:44:09part of the season. Yeah, should he have had a red card? Was Nicky Devlin harshly dealt with? No,
00:44:15stole my red card for me, Peter. Yeah? Yep, but I think that he's tried to leave a bit on him,
00:44:20Calvin Miller. I think he's very similar. If you catch something about a few years ago,
00:44:24Ryan Jackon, Stevie May, very similar, goes and wins the ball, follows through,
00:44:30nearly straight legs him, straight red card. So I don't like that sort of tackle either. I don't
00:44:35think Nicky Devlin's that type of player, but I just, I don't like that type of tackle because
00:44:40it's, I'm going to win the ball and then I've got a kind of free one on you and I didn't like that
00:44:45at all. So I thought it was a red card. Oh, interesting. I thought it was, I thought it was maybe
00:44:5050-50 in the momentum carrying him through, but you know, Tam's, he's been there, he's seen those
00:44:55sort of things. Robbie, what do you think? I don't think he meant it, but I think like Tam,
00:45:01I think he had that wee aggressive, but he's an aggressive player, you know, that's the way he
00:45:06plays, you know, and he unfortunately has followed through and he has caught him and I think it's
00:45:11the catching. Reckless, isn't it? I think it's the catching bit that gives him the red card. Ali?
00:45:17Like you, I thought my first viewing of it was exactly your summation of it. And then when I
00:45:22watched that again, I thought, hmm, I'm not sure. I think then there's a bit of intent. It's quite
00:45:28reckless. Yeah. Well, it changed the game because quite simply, you know, well, let's credit Scott
00:45:34Bain. He made two or three really good saves, Ruffy. No, Aberdeen are far better than Folk in the
00:45:38first half. They dominated the game, created all the chances. Their goalkeeper, they had all the
00:45:44saves to make. So you would like your thought at 11 v 11 in the second half, Aberdeen maintained
00:45:51that kind of pressure and eventually scored. But just so she happens when you get into 10 men,
00:45:56sometimes players lose confidence around about you and Folk has stepped up. Has he got room for
00:46:01optimism then? Oh, a wee bit, yeah. I think the first half there was only one team in it,
00:46:08you know. So he will be saying to himself, yeah, like just like I said there, he'll be saying
00:46:13if we had 11 on the park, we probably won this. But it's okay saying that. But if it continues when
00:46:18it's 11 versus 11, they're not getting three points. Yeah. And that goes out of the window.
00:46:21Yeah, there's not been an Aberdeen manager in the history of the club been more backed than him
00:46:25financially. In the history of Aberdeen, there's not been a manager backed more than him financially.
00:46:33Yeah. They've not scored a goal this season, Peter, in the league. Yeah. They can't continue for a
00:46:38club of that size and the investment that they've made. Do you think he's under real pressure?
00:46:42I think he's under real pressure. I totally agree with Ruffey. More pressure than any other managers
00:46:46in the league? Yeah, he is because outside the Celtic Rangers they've spent the most money.
00:46:50Is he under more pressure than Russell Martin? Eh, I don't think anybody is, to be honest.
00:46:56I think the Scottish Cup kept him on a job, Peter. Yeah. So do I. I mean, honestly, it buys you a lot
00:47:01of time because the memories and everybody just thinks, well, we'll forget about the dismal run
00:47:05because that one-off game transforms it for you. It's almost all like what you're seeing is just
00:47:10this season's picked up where last season left off. You know, that abject, drunk.
00:47:14That's the last four of last season as well, league games in the top six. Yeah.
00:47:18It's been utterly abject. Yeah. Do you think he's under pressure?
00:47:21I absolutely think he's under pressure. A Aberdeen team with no points after four games.
00:47:26Yeah. It's a good point, actually, you're making there. What do you make of it? Do you think he's
00:47:31going to survive? He definitely needs wins. He'll need them quickly. He needs to start climbing that
00:47:36table and again... Has Falkirk been the bottom two? Yes. Yes, I still...
00:47:42I just spoke to my Falkirk supporting fan today, Big Gordon, and he said,
00:47:46tell Peter today, if you're on, we're not going down. We're far better than a couple of the
00:47:50teams, so... Yeah.
00:47:51You're going to say... Well, to be fair, listen, I am... I was...
00:47:56You're bottomed in D? No. No, I was Falkirk's biggest fan.
00:48:01You're Falkirk at the bottom? Yeah. I was Falkirk's biggest fan last season,
00:48:05but I just think they're a championship side that needs something else. Whatever they do in
00:48:12that window, they're going to need it because I think it's between them and Dundee. I'm loathe to
00:48:19suggest Kilmarnock because they've got a couple of big, tall strikers. They'll be able to go and mix it
00:48:24up. I think you need to have... If you're in that bottom of the table, Ruffy, you need to have plan A, B,
00:48:30and C when it's not going well, which is, okay, if we can't pass it through a team and we're in a
00:48:36fight, in a dogfight, let's launch it. Let's go for set pieces. Let's make ourselves a certain type
00:48:42of team to scrap points. But right now, as you know, 36 to 37 points is where those teams will
00:48:51be looking on their board every week and saying, in a quarter, we've got to get nine points in each
00:48:57of those quarters to get ourselves to playoff or safety. Anybody who gets 37 and above normally
00:49:07gets at least a playoff or away from danger. And I'm looking at Falken, I think, you know,
00:49:11great three points for them. Absolutely delighted for them because I think it's a brilliant club.
00:49:16I love the manager. I love the way they play football. But in this division, he's going to have
00:49:22to have a plan B and C. Another thing as well, if you're going to start tying it down to who
00:49:27are the three that are going to be down there, I think you've got to throw Livingston into that.
00:49:30Livingston, Dundee, and Falkirk. And the most important thing is when you play the teams,
00:49:35you've got to beat them. If you beat the teams around about you, you've got a chance.
00:49:39Yeah. We are going to give our predictions, definitive ones, tomorrow.
00:49:43We're going to actually, we're going to analyze, obviously, Ali, every team, their transfer activity.
00:49:51And then obviously, you know, as we often do, I call it the roughy clause. Once you get to January again,
00:49:57and you start to see who's making a real pigs here of it, you can change your mind.
00:50:02You invoke a clause to change your mind because you get a better picture of it. Right now, Ali,
00:50:08you know, I look at Stuart Kettlewell's side and I think they've got a plan B.
00:50:14I look at Motherwell. For me, Motherwell are going to be top six. Motherwell are going to get better
00:50:20and better under this guy. You're very, haven't they won a game? I don't care.
00:50:25I was impressed with Motherwell, particularly in the second period. Although they go, yeah,
00:50:32I think they might. The goalkeeper, Callum Ward, they should have.
00:50:38We'll get to him. We'll get to him in a minute. But I think Motherwell,
00:50:42the footballer playing at the moment, is great to watch. It's fun to watch.
00:50:46It's great. I like watching.
00:50:47The best football in Scotland at a minute, Motherwell?
00:50:49Well, you can't see, you can't see. You know what, you can sense.
00:50:52Yes, I like watching them. Do you want me to tell you something?
00:50:56Even when I'm in the press box, I'd say I'd pay and see this mob because they're really good.
00:51:00You can sense the players are enjoying the way he's set them up. You can sense that everyone,
00:51:06one, knows their job and what to do, but also that it's a fun system to play.
00:51:10There's four teams in the league that I actually, at this moment, I've been quite surprised with,
00:51:14that I've been good to watch. In fact, three, I'll go three. I like watching, I thought Motherwell,
00:51:23I thought Hibbs, Hart's good to watch. My fourth one's Dundee United. There's the four teams I've seen
00:51:29and I've thought to myself, yep, easy on the eye, play football the way you want to play it,
00:51:33brave midfielders, getting the ball out wide as well, getting crosses into the box. There's the four of them.
00:51:40I was hoping that John McGlynn would be able to bring in, you know, three or four, five players
00:51:46that would strengthen what is a really good core because he's a good manager and he likes to play football
00:51:50a certain way, but I think he's going to find it really difficult because he's still got for me
00:51:55a championship side in the Premiership. It's a long winter. I think that's the only thing that
00:52:01maybe worried me about Falkert was we'd be going to parks in January and December and it's mud flying
00:52:07and it's the rain and snow and can they play that same way? Have they got the players in their squad
00:52:13to roll their sleeves up and eek out a one each or a two-one? Well, can Motherwell do that as well,
00:52:17Tom? That's another question about it. You're quite happy that we stuck our neck out because it's
00:52:21quite unusual for you. You usually stick your neck out May 1st. Yeah, top six. I'll remember that.
00:52:28I'm clocking that down on my watch. Motherwell top six? Motherwell top six. Yeah, yeah, I think so.
00:52:34And in fact, the funny thing about it is... What's Motherwell than Nune? Well, listen,
00:52:38you've got to go and see them. Any chance you should 2-2 could go into a game, bloody great. I'm only going
00:52:42by the goals they're losing. They might be playing good football, but they're losing bad goals and
00:52:48they're not winning games. Yeah. They are losing two goals. Right, okay. So let's get to Motherwell
00:52:52against Kamara. We've finished 2-2. Here's Jens Asgau and Stuart Kettlewell. You'd have to be very,
00:52:58very depressed by nature if you can't see the good things at Motherwell Football Club right now and
00:53:10I can see them as well. And they will be even more clear in a few hours from now and even clearer in
00:53:17the morning because you just come from a game where you think you've done enough to win it. None of this
00:53:24is about me and that's the politically correct answer. It's not about me. It's not about a
00:53:29reception I get or don't get or whatever. I come here to try and do a job today for Kilmarnock. So
00:53:34did the players. And I think we all conducted ourselves in a positive light and whatever else
00:53:40happens in between that, I can never control it. So we move on. Yeah, listen, he left because of
00:53:46the reception he was getting from certain Motherwell fans and when he comes back in the Kelly colours,
00:53:52he's getting a similar kind of reception. So I don't think he should worry about it. But
00:53:57to Motherwell in that game, okay, they've drawn all four games, but I'm afraid, I'm afraid the
00:54:04keeper sold the jerseys. Yeah, well, that's a dreadful, he's got, even if he's struggling,
00:54:10he's got to hang him out over the bar, tip over the bars, you know. He wasn't struggling. He wasn't
00:54:14struggling. He had it on. The boy did touch. He didn't push him. He touched him. He just touched
00:54:19him. Just a small touch. So do you think that was a foul? If he touched him, I, but I couldn't get
00:54:23the right team. No, you don't think that's a foul, do you? Do you think he touches him?
00:54:28I'll weigh in, he's peaceful. Ask the question. Do you think he touched the goalkeeper? No. No.
00:54:32You never, if you think he, if he didn't, if he didn't. Wait a minute. Oh, so he now brushed
00:54:36him. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Is every touch on a goalkeeper or a
00:54:45player a foul? Well, if you're going up and it's an easy catch and somebody just dunges you,
00:54:50you're taking your eye off the ball. Come on, Rafi. I'm sorry. Come on. You're not telling.
00:54:55If he didn't touch him, it's a bad mistake. There's no doubt about it. You're not telling. I'm giving him a
00:54:59wee bit of leeway if the boy just had a wee, what did you call it? A light brush. A light brush.
00:55:05A light brush. You're not telling me that that, that is. That would put you off. No,
00:55:09but you're kidding me, Rafi. You're not telling me that wasn't a blatant mistake, are you?
00:55:12Oh, it's a mistake. But he's, but the goalkeeper has got a wee bit of leeway that he thinks he
00:55:18got touched as he was going up for it. Yeah. What were you? What do you think?
00:55:21Do you think it was a foul? Yeah. No, do you? If he touched him, it's a foul. Oh, jeez.
00:55:28Surely not. Every touch on a goalkeeper's a foul. Well, see when we finish and you stand up there
00:55:33and you jump up, I'll touch you in the back and see where you go.
00:55:36Have you got that HR number? 30 grandpa.
00:55:44I wanted to open up our HR department again. I'd closed it down because we were all there.
00:55:52So, and the other thing about it is, I can't wait to see you actually get a bit of elevation on the ball alley.
00:56:02Anyway, listen, apart from that, played good football. I mean, they did play good football again.
00:56:10Maybe they need to. Maybe they're looking at it and saying, right, listen,
00:56:14we're not, we're not getting the, we're not getting the, you know, the points that we deserve.
00:56:19We're giving away goals. You might look at it and say, is it the goalkeeper? Is it the centre half?
00:56:24Are we working hard enough on that part of it? But he's only in the door and I'm impressed with him.
00:56:29I'm not going to go over the top of it. I agree with you. I just think they're, I think they're good to watch.
00:56:35What's the difference with new managers who come in and new teams and don't say it's a work in progress?
00:56:43Because they're getting points. They're winning.
00:56:45Yeah.
00:56:46You know, the Rangers manager comes in and every press conference says, look, you have to hold on.
00:56:50This takes a while to sort it out.
00:56:52The teams that are winning and getting winning points, they don't use that.
00:56:55It's the same points as Motherwell.
00:56:56There's a slight difference between the Rangers.
00:56:58Yeah, but they think they're playing well.
00:56:59The difference is the expectation. That's the first thing.
00:57:02With Rangers, they've spent an absolute fortune and a lot of the players haven't turned up.
00:57:06But there shouldn't be a work in progress. They've got them from Monday to Friday training.
00:57:11Yeah.
00:57:11They've been training for the last five, six weeks. How's that a work in progress?
00:57:14Yeah, but Barry Ferguson had them for a good five or six weeks as well and he couldn't do anything with them.
00:57:18And Philip Clement couldn't do anything with them.
00:57:20He actually said, no, they were getting through him in particular games, the big games that he won.
00:57:25They weren't good enough. And right now, the recruitment, you ask any of that board that
00:57:30was on the board and now the way they look at the Rangers squad right now, the recruitment's been
00:57:37absolutely woeful, even as we criticise Celtic and their recruitment, you know, with, you know,
00:57:43all these players have come in that they've been waxing lyrical about and then suddenly
00:57:46Yang's off to Birmingham, Ida's off to Swansea. You know, if they could, I'm almost certain
00:57:52they would get trusty back down the road as well. You know, this is all these players,
00:57:57half of them projects, half of them not, poor scouting, poor recruitment. Rangers will look at it
00:58:03and look at some of the players that they've, they've bought in and said, where's the contribution
00:58:07here? Danilo. Can't score a goal.
00:58:10What I would say as well, it doesn't look good on Russell Martin. One of the biggest games of the season,
00:58:16if not the biggest, he's having to bring James Tavenier back in and drop. He's right back that
00:58:21he signed Max Ahrens and Rothwell, he's a big signing for the championship. He's dropping him
00:58:27and bringing Conor Barron back in. So that's not great for Russell Martin and his recruitment team.
00:58:32He's bringing in a 17 year old that they're calling a wonder kid.
00:58:35Yeah, the boy Michael Moore, I don't see that either.
00:58:36Mikey Moore, I didn't see that either.
00:58:3817, he's 19.
00:58:39Has he any Berlin Finlay cutters?
00:58:4019, sorry.
00:58:41Eh, I know.
00:58:43I mean, honestly, you know, play your own. I don't think there's a great deal in it. From
00:58:46what I've seen so far, I don't think there's a great deal between Finlay cutters and Mikey Moore.
00:58:51Yeah.
00:58:51So why not play your own instead of developing somebody else's player?
00:58:53Absolutely. Listen, this is Tam's favourite week. It's a break for internationals.
00:58:58I'm just not coming in this week.
00:59:00So, Denmark and Belarus on the horizon. Stevie Naismith reckons that there's room for optimism
00:59:07around the squad that Steve Clarke has at his disposal.
00:59:11Yeah, to be part of the journey to the Euros was great, because I think you could see each
00:59:19step. And I think if you look at the squad as a whole, players are now in their prime. They were
00:59:24at the very start of that journey when I was here. And club and country, they've pushed to become
00:59:31legends, big players at their clubs and Ballon d'Or nominees. So, yeah, it's good. And I think that
00:59:40the biggest change I've seen is that maturity, the understanding. The guys now have got bags of
00:59:45experience in massive competitions with their clubs, and they've been to major tournaments with
00:59:50Scotland. The next step is the World Cup.
00:59:53Yeah, next step, Ruffy. Just out of curiosity, will you be available if it is Canada, Mexico,
01:00:00and America, or... Can you get urns on planes?
01:00:03Will you be... Will you be available, or will you be going to Ben Becula for a tap and army get together?
01:00:14No, I have contacts in America and near Mexico, so we're okay there. Don't have Canada, I have to rely on
01:00:21time for Canada. And now that you're a full-timer, are you contributing anything to the accommodation
01:00:27Ali that we're all going to? It remains to be seen. Yeah, are you filled with optimism the way Stevie Naysmith is?
01:00:36I think Scotland have good players there at their disposal. I like the point you made about players
01:00:41like just having grown into themselves, matured in terms and maybe just hitting their prime years,
01:00:48but the World Cup qualification campaign is still pretty tough.
01:00:52Yeah, pretty tough. That's Ali's way of saying we're not making it. All we've got to do is we're
01:00:57above Denmark, Ruffy. You better just cancel the accommodation.
01:01:00Yeah, but we usually fall flat against somebody else, you know, and I get Ali saying that we're
01:01:07now relying on all the young players that are playing abroad now. We're expecting them to be
01:01:11the real deal. It means the pressure's on them now. They've never experienced being a national team
01:01:17having to qualify for the biggest tournament, so a lot of pressure on their shoulders.
01:01:22They need to start well. I think they need a really good start.
01:01:264.36. Yeah.
01:01:28I would say minimal.
01:01:29Okay, let's wait and see how it all pans out. We'll keep you right across all the news
01:01:36ahead of those two games, one on the Friday, one on the Monday, Denmark and Belarus on the horizon
01:01:41for Steve Clarke. International week, there'll be lots of other great content coming your way this
01:01:46week. I would keep it locked to PLZ Soccer. Hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel if you
01:01:51can. If you want to be like George Porter, then all you have to do is subscribe to PLZ Premium and by
01:01:59subscribing there you'll get access, early access to some great content, some additional content
01:02:05and giveaways, prizes, competitions. We gave away the Scott McTominay replica top. We're going to
01:02:12be giving away another prize starting tomorrow. Look out for that. Subscribe to the premium channel as
01:02:16well. Just before we go, Tam, it's player power in the 21st century. We've known that as players decide
01:02:23when they want to leave and when they throw the dummy out of the pram, they usually get their way.
01:02:27Ezek will be on his way to Liverpool, £125 million. What about the money Liverpool are spending?
01:02:33I'll tell you what, if you don't win the league this year, he wants to get sacked. Yeah. It's like
01:02:37the American basketball team. It reminds me of Johnston and all that. Oh, the earlier Lakers.
01:02:42No, they went to the Olympic Games and won the gold medal. Oh yeah, the dream team. That's what Liverpool's
01:02:46like by the way. It's like fantasy football. If they get gay from Crystal Palace, they'll win the
01:02:51Champions League as well. They might win the quadruple. What a team they're putting together. But Ruffy,
01:02:56if only you could have done that in your heyday. Came for a cross like the Muller boy. Demanded
01:03:01a move. Demanded a move. I've been here too long. Yes, absolutely. I should have tried that after 15
01:03:06years. I wouldn't have worked to me. I'll be back in the dressing rooms. Don't be so stupid.
01:03:12There you are. Not quite the impression of Bertie Alder I was thinking about, but it was along those
01:03:17lines that he said that to you. Great to have your company, Ruffy. Still
01:03:21sporting the shorts, Ali. And as the rain lashes into the country, Ruffy is just...
01:03:26This is the last day. You think so? The last day, yeah.
01:03:28Yeah? Okay, fine. Thanks to Ruffy. Don't forget to download the podcast as well. Thanks to Alison
01:03:34McConnell and to Tam McManus. This week we're going to bring you lots more programming. What is it?
01:03:39Well, we'll be posting the photo of Alison getting brushed against the... Yeah, absolutely. We will do.
01:03:44See what the fallout is. Yep, and we'll also be...
01:03:46Let me tell you this, she'll get a free kick. That's the first thing she'll get.
01:03:52I'll retire now. I'll restrain another. That's probably more relevant. Before it all goes pear-shaped, goodbye.
01:04:11You're not going to have any details.
01:04:20It's not going to have any details.
01:04:20Ever, it's going to be a good one.
01:04:23It's going to be a good one.
01:04:25It's going to be a good one right to see you guys.
01:04:27That's my question.
01:04:30Here are we going to get here.
01:04:32Please be a good one,
01:04:33and we have some good ones.
01:04:34Great one.
01:04:34I'll be a good one.
01:04:36I'll be a good one,
01:04:37and we'll be a good one.
01:04:38Let's begin with you guys.
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