- 2 months ago
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00:00:00.
00:00:30Welcome to the Football Show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel. I'm Peter Martin, Alan Ruff, Alison McConnell and Tam McManus here with me in the studio.
00:00:48Thanks to you for joining us as ever on YouTube and don't forget if you want additional content, quizzes, competitions, giveaways, then why not get involved in our latest competition?
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00:01:14It's ideal for a bit of leisure wear, golf, training, you name it. It looks cool. If you're supporting your favourite team, it might be in your favourite colours.
00:01:23And we'll also throw in a chance for you to get one of these fabulous posters with legends of the game with their legendary numbers as well.
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00:01:45Yeah, beginning to sound more and more like the lottery guy with these promos.
00:02:00But nevertheless, we hope you get involved in it. Lots to talk about.
00:02:03But before we get to the weekend's football, can I just say that we are absolutely delighted on PLZ Soccer to name as our official charity partner, Maggie's.
00:02:16They are going to be our official charity partner for the full season.
00:02:19And as you know, Maggie's provides free psychological, emotional and practical support for everyone living with cancer, as well as their family and friends at 24 centres across the UK.
00:02:34So we are absolutely delighted at that.
00:02:36Most of these Maggie's centres built in the grounds of major NHS cancer hospitals.
00:02:41Maggie's been a trailblazer of cancer care, as many of you know, for three decades now.
00:02:46And it supports hundreds of thousands of people every year.
00:02:50So no appointment needed. People can drop in, speak to fully trained clinical psychologists, benefits advisors, cancer support specialists.
00:02:59And if you want to know more about it, please do visit maggies.org as well.
00:03:05And we'll have a link across our website, our app and of course on YouTube as well.
00:03:10Throughout the course of the season, we'll be doing little features and giving you an insight into the fabulous work that Maggie's does.
00:03:18And of course, putting out that appeal to you, if you can help in any way, then it will be gratefully received.
00:03:25So delighted with the charity, Ruffy.
00:03:26It's fantastic. You know, I think, unfortunately, these things happen and it takes a lot of weight off the family, the mums and dads.
00:03:36You know, they can go to Maggie's and get the help that they need because everybody has to deal with it and they do it very well.
00:03:44Yeah, absolutely.
00:03:44Here's what's on offer over the course of the weekend.
00:03:48In the football for you, as far as the Scottish Premiership fixtures over Saturday and Sunday.
00:03:54Dundee against Motherwell, Aberdeen-Livingston, Rangers against Hearts, Falkirk-St-Mirran, Hibbs against Dundee United and Kilmarnock against Celtic.
00:04:05So no shortage of excitement, controversy, managers in the spotlight as ever.
00:04:10It has to be Scottish football. And everybody was waiting today to see what Brendan Rodgers had to say after the big fallout between the fans,
00:04:19who clearly are not happy with the lack of ambition showed, with, of course, the board.
00:04:25Brendan Rodgers today, this is what he had to say.
00:04:28My job as manager is to pull everything together again.
00:04:31We have to take responsibility that the window wasn't what we wanted.
00:04:35The club put out a statement and I'm not here to answer those questions because they're not mine.
00:04:40It will become clear how that evolves.
00:04:44I am not here to tell supporters how to feel.
00:04:47I know. I feel it because I grew up with it.
00:04:50I know what the demands are.
00:04:52And, of course, from that, Brendan went on to say the summer 2025 was a critical window for us and we weren't ready.
00:05:02That made me leave the last time.
00:05:04This time, I won't do that.
00:05:06It didn't make me think of walking away.
00:05:09I just felt empty.
00:05:10I would love to stay here longer.
00:05:12I've had informal chats, but no offer to consider.
00:05:17And he also reacted to the mole or the story that was put out regarding Brendan himself and whether he was itching or etching about for a move.
00:05:28It was interesting when I was shown that I thought it was a cowardly action.
00:05:32Was I surprised by it?
00:05:33Not really.
00:05:34I was briefed upon the last time I was here when I left.
00:05:39So, clearly, a little miffed, but not too surprised by a parent mole in the camp or someone just suggesting that maybe Brendan was trying to work his ticket again.
00:05:51Lots to digest there.
00:05:53Alison, what do you make of it?
00:05:54I thought it was very interesting.
00:05:56I think he addressed quite a lot of issues that have obviously been burning across the last fortnight with the international break.
00:06:04I think we've seen the Celtic support mobilise themselves in that time.
00:06:09Meetings midweek to discuss a strategy to make clear their dissatisfaction with the board and the manner in which the club has been run.
00:06:17I think Brendan Rodgers made his feelings on the way in which the window had played out perfectly clear.
00:06:26They're left to deal with it now.
00:06:28They have to deal with the aftermath of it.
00:06:30They have to deal with the fallout of it.
00:06:32I think Celtic fans will be heading into Rugby Park in the 12th minute, making the point that they are the 12th man.
00:06:39They want to make their point as much as they can.
00:06:42I think the comments on his future are particularly interesting.
00:06:47The fact that he's had informal conversations with Michael Nicholson and Dermot Desmond but hasn't actually been offered a new contract.
00:06:55I found that quite interesting.
00:06:56And the fact that people briefed against him.
00:07:00A perception that people were briefing against him from within the club after he left the last time I found very interesting too.
00:07:06Yeah, the ultimate thing out of this is he's going to stay to the end of his deal, Ruffy.
00:07:14And then from there, we're going to have the Circus of Sunday, which is the fans coming in in the 12th minute.
00:07:21Will it make a blind bit of difference?
00:07:24I don't think it'll make a difference to Brendan Rodgers.
00:07:27The players will get on with their job.
00:07:29They'll be focused and winning the game.
00:07:32Will it make a blind bit of difference to the board?
00:07:34Because that's why they're doing it.
00:07:35I know they're not going to walk away.
00:07:38I don't think for a minute the protests that they're going to do.
00:07:41Well, you would like to think as human beings who would grasp that they have been wrong.
00:07:47You know, they haven't admitted it as much.
00:07:49But protests against particular people at a football game is quite hard to deal with.
00:07:55It depends, you know, how much they think it is their fault.
00:07:59But they'll have to deal with it because it's going to be directed right at them.
00:08:03What do you think is going to happen?
00:08:04Is it going to prompt a change in attitude, a change in the way they go about their business and strategy?
00:08:09Because if you listen to Brendan Rodgers, he said, it's not for me to answer those questions, but it will become clear how that evolves.
00:08:17I hope so, Peter.
00:08:20I think that, you know, he spoke about that's why he left the last time.
00:08:23You know, he wasn't backed in the transfer window.
00:08:26And obviously Leicester came in mid-season and he left.
00:08:28But I don't think there was any chance of him doing it this time.
00:08:31No matter what happened, I think the abuse and the stick he got the last time for doing it.
00:08:36You know, I think he would at least see his contract out and see it to the end of the season.
00:08:39But you would like to think that the Celtic board and the ownership and the recruitment team would take this in the chin and come back and try and do things differently in the January window.
00:08:48Whether that happens remains to be seen.
00:08:50But it's clear that the Celtic supporters are not happy.
00:08:54While it made a blind bit of difference, I don't really think so, to be honest with you.
00:08:57I think that the board are the board and they're going to be there.
00:09:00And I don't think it will make a blind bit of difference to them.
00:09:03But for the players, I think coming out and seeing an empty away support, I think would be, you know, not off-putting.
00:09:10But I think it would, you know, I just don't think it's good for the Celtic players to see that when they walk out.
00:09:15So, listen, hopefully they can get it sorted out and get the fans back in together again.
00:09:18But Brendan Rodgers spoke about coming together as a club.
00:09:21And I think they've got to do that now.
00:09:22They've got that squad to work with from now to January.
00:09:25They've just got to go and do the business on the pitch, Peter.
00:09:27There are two things that I've said continually, Alison.
00:09:29One of them is, you know, it really is something that I think a lot of people are hoping the fans show,
00:09:35which is a bit of decorum, decency.
00:09:39Certainly you can show your displeasure at a board.
00:09:41I wouldn't like it to become abusive.
00:09:43Because I think if you are going to offer some balance in this,
00:09:47and I think the board over that long period of time,
00:09:50despite the fact that I don't think they share the ambition of the supporters,
00:09:54I think they've got a strategy which is very much led by accountants and bank managers.
00:09:59But you do have to give them credit for making it a really profitable club, well run.
00:10:06It is like a well-oiled machine.
00:10:08They follow that strategy.
00:10:09Some people are not happy with it.
00:10:10But I don't think being abusive towards the likes of Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson, Dermot Desmond,
00:10:17who are, after all, what I would consider Celtic men,
00:10:21who are doing the best in the way they see fit.
00:10:23I think there needs to be a change of approach, a fresh approach,
00:10:27a change which I think the Celtic fans are craving.
00:10:30So, first and foremost, I don't think there should be abuse.
00:10:33Secondary, I don't think they come in in the 12th minute.
00:10:35They could come in in the 89th minute, it wouldn't matter a jot.
00:10:37But I think the only way you register any kind of change of direction
00:10:44is if you say, well, I'm not buying your tickets, I'm not buying your strip,
00:10:48I'm not going to this or that, I'm not going to give you my money
00:10:51because I'm not happy with what you're doing with my money.
00:10:55I think that becomes very difficult to try and garner widespread support for that.
00:11:01I think quite clearly there was a meeting this week
00:11:04between various members and associations to come together to try and come up with a strategy.
00:11:10I think that might be quite an unpopular strategy of not buying tickets.
00:11:14I think not buying merchandise and not buying food within the stadium.
00:11:18I think all that thing will probably be agreed upon.
00:11:21Ultimately, though, I think it's actually very difficult
00:11:24to change the structure of what the board and how the club functions just now
00:11:29in terms of agitating for any kind of change.
00:11:33Realistically, I do wonder what that means.
00:11:36What is it?
00:11:37Who would step into the void?
00:11:40And what does that change look like?
00:11:42There's been discussions about fan advisory panels and fan advisory on the board,
00:11:49which I think might be something that would appease a section of the support.
00:11:55But ultimately, what you have just now is an anger and a frustration
00:12:00that this is a club that's very well run,
00:12:05that is sitting on money that they have not spent in a transfer window.
00:12:09Now, there will be new accounts released in the next couple of weeks.
00:12:12It's almost like trying to smuggle out good news
00:12:15because these accounts will be eye-watering.
00:12:18They will be very impressive from a boardroom perspective
00:12:22and will underline the business element of the club and how it's run.
00:12:27The big issue they have is that supporters wanted to see that
00:12:30and raced into the first-team squad capable of getting past Almaty,
00:12:38the mighty Almaty in the Champions League and going on and booking their place
00:12:43at Europe's top table.
00:12:45That didn't happen.
00:12:46And the anger around it is actually anger that has been cumulative
00:12:50for some amount of seasons now, all just coming to a head.
00:12:54I actually don't know how it dissipates because even if there are,
00:12:59I think the obvious answer is to win games
00:13:02and it brings the temperature down a bit
00:13:04and it lowers the tone of it just now.
00:13:07But quite clearly, there is unrest throughout the club.
00:13:10This isn't just a fans against the board.
00:13:13What you also have is a manager in the middle of a very murky internal civil war too.
00:13:19Yeah, and listen, I think the other thing about it,
00:13:22TAM, which has incensed Celtic supporters,
00:13:25is the fact that everything is strategic with them
00:13:28and even when they eventually did get a reply,
00:13:31it was almost dismissive of them as if,
00:13:34you don't know, we know, this is what we're doing
00:13:36and this is why we can't do that, this is why we can't do this.
00:13:41And all of these excuses were quickly batted away
00:13:44by the Celtic supporters thinking,
00:13:46no, you're not dealing with the issue here,
00:13:49and you're just trying to put up a smoke screen
00:13:51of why you're not doing it.
00:13:52Yeah, I think we all agree that the statement
00:13:54was pretty patronising towards the supporters.
00:13:56They just told them, or they already knew, Peter.
00:13:59And the PSR, the fair play stuff,
00:14:01you know, that was blown out of the water immediately as well
00:14:03in terms of turnover and all that.
00:14:05So, no, I think that they'd have come out better
00:14:08if they'd just come out and been honest about it.
00:14:09And we spoke about it, Ruffy, myself and Ruffy,
00:14:11came out and said, this is what we tried to do,
00:14:13this is who we went to try and get,
00:14:14this is the players we looked at, tried to get.
00:14:16But I think if they came out and said that
00:14:18and were honest about it, Peter,
00:14:19I think they might have got a little bit,
00:14:21you know, a fairer deal from the supporters.
00:14:24But they didn't do that.
00:14:25They came out and it was just a nothing statement.
00:14:28It was patronizing the supporters,
00:14:29and that's just through, you know, petrol and the flames.
00:14:32So, no, for me, Peter, I do genuinely think that
00:14:34there has to be a change of approach at Celtic.
00:14:37And listen, the January window will tell everything.
00:14:39You know, Celtic are miles clear, Peter.
00:14:41They maybe won't need to spend money.
00:14:43But if it's neck and neck, you know,
00:14:45they'll be forced into the transfer market to spend money.
00:14:47Yeah.
00:14:47And I think we're only maybe, unless it's already happened,
00:14:50I'm only speculating at this moment,
00:14:52I think we're only maybe a couple of hours away
00:14:55from the memes of Brendan in the Wolf of Wall Street
00:14:58with the microphone.
00:15:00I'm not leaving.
00:15:01I'm not leaving.
00:15:05He's staying.
00:15:06What you make of it, you can give us your thoughts on it.
00:15:09Interestingly, Des has said the Brendan Rodgers press conference
00:15:12hasn't been uploaded to the Celtic YouTube as it usually is.
00:15:16It's probably being heavily edited
00:15:18or maybe just being sent to HR at the moment.
00:15:22Of course, I just think everything is so strategic with him.
00:15:26It's premeditated.
00:15:27It's 8.42 and a Saturday night.
00:15:30It's let's say nothing unless we absolutely have to.
00:15:33And again, you know, this is just my personal opinion on it.
00:15:37But I think they'll just sit and ride it out.
00:15:41I think they'll ride it out.
00:15:42I think they'll get to an AGM.
00:15:43I think they'll just take the flack that's coming their way
00:15:46and, you know, on it goes.
00:15:49Celtic fans, I think, have to be applauded for digging in.
00:15:53They've galvanised them.
00:15:54I mean, that was, I can't remember who it was already.
00:15:57I think Chris Sutton mentioned it as well.
00:15:59They certainly have managed to get all the Celtic supporters together,
00:16:02together against them, Robbie.
00:16:04Yeah, they certainly have in the organisations, as you've said there.
00:16:08I think deep down they want a bigger say,
00:16:11whether that's going to happen or not.
00:16:13I don't know what happens at the Celtic boardroom behind the scenes.
00:16:16What's a bigger say, Robbie?
00:16:17I mean, the fan.
00:16:19What's a fan advisory board?
00:16:21Well, it's easy to have a board, an advisory board,
00:16:25that when the board do have a meeting,
00:16:28they relate to this board what they're actually discussing,
00:16:32what they're doing, the way they're taking the club forward.
00:16:35At least you're bringing them on board.
00:16:37You know, you might not want to tell them everything,
00:16:40but you tell them the things that they want to know.
00:16:43Yeah.
00:16:43And that means they're involved.
00:16:44I don't know if that happens behind the scenes,
00:16:46whether they do, anybody on the board does report
00:16:49to the fans' advisory committee or not.
00:16:52OK.
00:16:54Hard to believe it, but there is a game that will go on at the weekend.
00:16:58Kilmarnock are on a good bit of run of form at the moment,
00:17:01unbeaten in six with two wins in there as well.
00:17:05And Kerry Pollock was down there at Rugby Park.
00:17:06The Premiership returns this weekend
00:17:09as Kilmarnock take on Celtic here at Rugby Park this Sunday.
00:17:12And the manager, Stuart Kettlewell, says he won't be feeding into
00:17:15or buying into any of the noise that surrounds Celtic at the minute
00:17:18as he says in his words,
00:17:19there's always something whenever a Glasgow side comes to town.
00:17:23I've said this a few times.
00:17:24I've faced Rangers and Celtic so many times over the last however many years.
00:17:31And there always seems to be some story or some narrative
00:17:34that everybody wants to latch on to and jump on to.
00:17:37I don't listen to it for a second.
00:17:40I keep saying I've brought up in West Central Scotland
00:17:43and I've seen it since I was a young, young child.
00:17:46The one thing that I do know with Rangers and Celtic,
00:17:51Celtic's obviously the most important one for us this weekend
00:17:53because that's their opponent.
00:17:55They're a top side.
00:17:57You continually see it.
00:17:58They've continued to win trophies time and again.
00:18:01And that's because of the standard that they've set.
00:18:04They've raised the bar.
00:18:05They've been able to sustain those levels.
00:18:08Something that the Kelly boss prides himself on and has always done
00:18:11is bringing young players through to first-team football,
00:18:14but only if their efforts have shown they deserve to be there.
00:18:17From an early stage, everybody knows that I'm somebody that likes to try and empower
00:18:21and introduce young players and I trust them and, you know, they can make mistakes,
00:18:25but I'll continue to trust them throughout scenarios.
00:18:29I'm not fearful of leaving out a senior player and an experienced player
00:18:32to introduce one of the young players.
00:18:34But, again, it's not another time where I stand in my soapbox and start preaching about it.
00:18:39I've got really strong views about it.
00:18:40I do.
00:18:42About what that could and probably should look like for clubs in Scotland.
00:18:46And I think it's suffice to say that my intentions and ideas lined up with the football club
00:18:51when I first came in.
00:18:52Hence why everybody asks me the question and everybody probably has that anticipation
00:18:56for young players to be in the squad, but they have to do something to earn it
00:19:00because I've always said that I will not play them unless I feel that they're capable of doing so.
00:19:05It all takes place here this Sunday.
00:19:07Kilmarnock host Celtic and the Scottish Premiership kick-off is at 3 o'clock.
00:19:12Yeah, big thanks to Kerry.
00:19:14The match, Gennaro Daniels, one of the more experienced players, is at a good start.
00:19:19So is the team, Kilmarnock, to be perfectly honest with you.
00:19:22So they think there's maybe a good chance to get at Celtic with all this unrest.
00:19:27So give us your prediction, Ali.
00:19:30Yeah, I think it's an interesting one.
00:19:32I'm curious to see how the players react to what's going on in the stands
00:19:37with supporters coming in late.
00:19:39I think you saw the effect.
00:19:41Covid, I think, really had an adverse effect on Celtic playing in front of empty stadia
00:19:47and no one in crowds.
00:19:49I just wonder, I think Celtic have been poor across recent games.
00:19:53I thought they were poor at Ibrox.
00:19:54They were exceptionally poor against Almaty.
00:19:57They've not scored a goal in all that time.
00:20:00But when you look at it, the league start has been fine.
00:20:04A winning start, they've not lost a league goal yet.
00:20:07They should prevail.
00:20:08You would expect them to come away with the win.
00:20:11Interesting to see just what all the noise around the last fortnight is.
00:20:14I think Celtic will win 2-1.
00:20:15Yep.
00:20:17She could tell by the look on my face there.
00:20:18I was going into the...
00:20:19Ready.
00:20:20I can predict.
00:20:21You're going into Ruffy mode.
00:20:22You're one of those guys that tam trains at the SAP coaching course.
00:20:26You had the ball at your feet and you just started running left and right.
00:20:30I don't care who's in the box.
00:20:32I'm just running.
00:20:33Ruffy?
00:20:34I think defensively, they're solid.
00:20:36They haven't lost a goal for a while now.
00:20:39I think we're all waiting to see the new wide guys, the new centre forward, to see whether
00:20:43they're going to take part in the game.
00:20:45I think midfield are still strong.
00:20:47So I think they'll come on it quite comfortably, 3-1.
00:20:51Oh, 3-1.
00:20:523-1 comfortable now.
00:20:53Sam?
00:20:54Yeah, like Ruffy, I'm interested to see who they play in the forward areas.
00:20:58They've been really, really impotent the last three games.
00:21:00So I think they'll play the two new wide players and I think they'll maybe play Maida through
00:21:04the middle.
00:21:05So I'll go for 2-0 to Celtic.
00:21:06Okay.
00:21:07I'm with you, Ali.
00:21:08Take 2-1.
00:21:10And...
00:21:11I wonder how Maida will play too, just given that the window's now closed and...
00:21:15Yeah.
00:21:16You know, he has to...
00:21:17He'll start running again.
00:21:18He has to...
00:21:19Okay.
00:21:21Obviously, it's not game of the weekend, that's for certain, because I think game of
00:21:26the weekend is at Ibrox.
00:21:28Rangers against Hearts.
00:21:29Four draws for Rangers.
00:21:30Hearts, seven wins and one draw.
00:21:35They've been on a great bit of form.
00:21:38But all the news is about no Raskin in the Rangers squad.
00:21:42Of course, the big talking point was whether Russell Martin could sit down with Nico Raskin
00:21:49and just get him back on side, have discussions and say, look, we're not happy about this,
00:21:53this and this.
00:21:54And maybe the player gets to air his views as well.
00:21:57Well, at the end up, he's not in the squad.
00:22:00And here's the Rangers manager on Why Not.
00:22:02We won't be in the squad tomorrow.
00:22:04We have a lot of conversations, as we do with every player.
00:22:06But he's back training with the squad, which is a good step.
00:22:11And now, like every player, really, he has a duty to make sure that he earns the trust
00:22:15of all his other teammates and the coaching staff and the staff in the building to help us win football.
00:22:20And actually, it's the same for every player here.
00:22:23Well, fair play to the manager.
00:22:25Made the call.
00:22:25Yeah, I think he's making a point.
00:22:28He's making a point to everybody else or the other players.
00:22:31You're not going to mess me about.
00:22:33Yeah, I'm quite happy to talk to you, discuss what your feelings are.
00:22:38But I think leaving him out is just a wee tester to the rest of the players to say,
00:22:43look, this is what's going to happen if you're going to go down that road.
00:22:46So you need to buckle down.
00:22:47We're in it as a team.
00:22:48So let's play as a team.
00:22:49I'm surprised he left him out.
00:22:51I think he's left his cell open a wee bit.
00:22:53You know, if obviously the game doesn't go their way,
00:22:56because that's something that the fans will latch on to.
00:22:58Yeah, you've had a chat with him.
00:22:59Why is he not back in there?
00:23:00Why is he not playing?
00:23:01So he's just left a wee opening there.
00:23:04Things don't go well.
00:23:05Yeah.
00:23:05Has he made a rod for his own back?
00:23:07No, I think you've got to back the manager in this situation, Peter.
00:23:10I think that it's clear from that interview that he's either undermined him in the dressing room
00:23:16or on the training pitch.
00:23:17You know, if a manager comes out and says that,
00:23:19probably your best player, probably your most sellable asset comes out and says that.
00:23:23There's something going on behind the scenes, Peter.
00:23:25You know, and it's not just Russell Martin.
00:23:27You've heard little snippets from, I heard Alex Ray talking the other night, Neil McCann.
00:23:32You know, there's been snippets from people who have been involved at Rangers last season
00:23:35and seasons before who have worked with him.
00:23:38So he's an awkward character to deal with in training and stuff like that.
00:23:40So whether he says something out of turn, I don't know.
00:23:43But it's very, very clear that Russell Martin's been strong in this situation.
00:23:46And he has to be because, as Ruffy will tell you,
00:23:49if you give players an inch, he'll take a mile.
00:23:51And he has to be strong with me, you could ask in here.
00:23:53The supporters are not going to be happy with it.
00:23:55But I think you've got to back the manager, you've got to back his judgement.
00:23:58And there's, you know, there's no player bigger than a football club.
00:24:00Yeah.
00:24:00If you've got player unrest between player and player, that becomes difficult as well.
00:24:06I've been tossing Peter, sorry that you said that,
00:24:08about earning the trust to the players as well.
00:24:09Yeah.
00:24:10So maybe the players have not been happy with him as well.
00:24:12That's what that comes across as that, Peter.
00:24:14That's where I see that.
00:24:15I think quite clearly there has been something said out of turn, I think.
00:24:20My anticipation was that it would have been smoothed over this week,
00:24:23that it would have been the window's closed, you're here,
00:24:25it makes sense to get you back in and playing.
00:24:28Let's have a conversation, perhaps an apology,
00:24:31and we move on from it quite clearly,
00:24:34that whatever's happened, it's not gone that way.
00:24:37And I think it's one of those ones that if Rangers are to win tomorrow
00:24:41and they come out of it with that first league win,
00:24:45people will be happy, they'll be content, you've got the win.
00:24:48If they don't, it becomes a much bigger issue again.
00:24:50It becomes a much bigger talking point because there's no question
00:24:55that he is probably their best midfielder at the club,
00:24:58was their best midfielder across the latter half of the last campaign.
00:25:02So I think when you're choosing not to play,
00:25:05I mean, this is a guy that was scoring and playing for Belgium.
00:25:09You know, when you're choosing to leave him out,
00:25:12I think quite clearly the manager has felt that his authority has been questioned,
00:25:17that it's been questioned in front of other players,
00:25:19that perhaps senior players too have also felt that he's spoken out of turn.
00:25:24So it'll be interesting to see how it develops.
00:25:26Yeah.
00:25:27The easy option, Peter, would have been for Russell Martin
00:25:28just to put him back in the team and the squad.
00:25:31Yeah.
00:25:31Support is a fan's favourite.
00:25:32The easy option for him would have been take the heat off himself,
00:25:35take the pressure off himself, play him.
00:25:37But I think he's shown a lot of bottle and he's sticking to his guns, Peter.
00:25:40And it's not quite on the situation of Shearer and Rude Hullet,
00:25:44where they both went head to head and they left him out.
00:25:46But it's similar, you know, it's a fan's favourite.
00:25:48He's left him out, he's binned him.
00:25:50The manager's under pressure.
00:25:51If Hart's beat him tomorrow, he's going to be under even more pressure.
00:25:54But if he doesn't, then he'll think that the manager was right.
00:25:56Yeah.
00:25:56Can I ask you, I mean, has he been brilliant since the start of the season?
00:26:00No, Peter, and it's not as if he's, listen, he's a good football player,
00:26:04but it's not as if he's won 15, 16 trophies at Rangers.
00:26:07He can just go on and say to the manager,
00:26:10no, I don't like the way we're playing, don't like the system.
00:26:12It's clear that it's been stuff like that.
00:26:13It's been said in the training ground, Peter, or in the dressing room.
00:26:16So I think he's a good football player.
00:26:18But in terms of being the top, top man at Rangers, I don't think he is, no.
00:26:22I haven't seen anything.
00:26:23I mean, I like him when he's on his game.
00:26:25I like the fact that he can really, you know, he really puts himself about it.
00:26:31He can close players down, stop them.
00:26:32He can obviously offer something in a positive sense moving forward.
00:26:36But I don't know about you, Ruffy, am I in cloud cuckoo land here?
00:26:40But I like midfielders that actually go and win games for you,
00:26:44change the outcome of a game, make a telling pass.
00:26:48Am I losing the plot on, where are those midfielders?
00:26:52I mean, he doesn't do it.
00:26:53I'm looking and I'm saying to myself, how many games has he won?
00:26:57Like taking the game by the scruff of the neck?
00:26:59Yeah, I think there's not many games he's been man of the match.
00:27:02No, he's never been a standout.
00:27:03He's never grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.
00:27:06I just think, unfortunately for him in the last year,
00:27:09his head's been turned away from football,
00:27:11whether that's his dad or his agent or whatever,
00:27:13because somebody's telling him he's a lot better than what he is,
00:27:16because I think he thinks it as well.
00:27:18I think he thinks that he could go anywhere in Europe and get a top club.
00:27:22And I think he's been working his ticket,
00:27:24but I don't think he's been getting 100%.
00:27:26I don't think he's, and that might be an issue as well with the manager
00:27:29who's such that out, that he would rather be somewhere else than here.
00:27:33Okay, now let's talk about Hearts,
00:27:36because Derek McInnes, interestingly enough, well done to him,
00:27:39he's the manager of the month, no surprise, August, great for Hearts.
00:27:43I just wonder about, you know,
00:27:46I think he was trying to just put a lid on the,
00:27:51I wouldn't say excitement,
00:27:52but anticipation that things are getting better for Hearts,
00:27:57and there's a little bit of an increase in the expectation.
00:28:00Put it that way, Alison.
00:28:01And he's just said, listen, January's a better indicator of where we are in the league
00:28:04and how, you know, how, you know, we're progressing gradually.
00:28:09Rather than this, Hearts are now going to Ibrox,
00:28:13going to lay down a marker, they are going to be the real deal.
00:28:16Yeah, I think it's sensible.
00:28:18I think you look at the way Aberdeen started the season last term,
00:28:21and then how they fell off a cliff going into November.
00:28:24So I think he's right to urge a bit of caution, I think.
00:28:28Maybe the starts and the points tally perhaps massage the start that Hearts have had.
00:28:33I think they've had a strong start, a decent start,
00:28:36but, you know, maybe not performances haven't been quite as convincing
00:28:39as those would suggest, as those figures would suggest.
00:28:42I think they've carried a wee bit of luck in a couple of games.
00:28:45I think tomorrow's quite a big test for this Hearts side in terms of showcasing,
00:28:50well, where are they?
00:28:51What have they got when they go to Ibrox?
00:28:53I think you have to go way back.
00:28:57Is it something like 4,091 days come tomorrow before you,
00:29:01the last time that Hearts won at Ibrox?
00:29:03I did actually say, Ali, the other day there, that it's six wins.
00:29:06It's six wins in about 70-odd games at Ibrox.
00:29:09But, you know, I think I put it in context of six wins in 163 overall games.
00:29:15I think it'll just be interesting to see how they go about playing against Rangers.
00:29:19I think if they go out and make a strong start to the game,
00:29:22they can capitalise on the bad feeling within the club, around the stadium.
00:29:28They can add to the pressure on the manager
00:29:30if they try and dominate the open exchanges of the game.
00:29:34If, however, they go in and go a goal down early on,
00:29:37I think there's still a danger that the game could slip away from them.
00:29:39Even six wins at Ibrox since 1985, it's not great, Robbie.
00:29:43No, it's not. I mean, I'm not convinced by them yet.
00:29:46I keep looking at that Motherwell game.
00:29:493-0 down at home, you know, in 45 minutes.
00:29:52That's not the sign of a team that's unbeatable.
00:29:56Obviously, they've got their act together.
00:29:57The late goal against Livingston, the late goal against Dundee United.
00:30:02I think there's a lot of hype there, and quite rightly so,
00:30:05where they are in the league and the new players that are coming in.
00:30:08And I think they will give Rangers problems up front,
00:30:10but I don't think they'll beat Rangers.
00:30:12OK. The Brazilian Agui is out.
00:30:15Kent's out. Raskin's out for Rangers.
00:30:18There is positivity around players that we hope are going to shine on this stage here.
00:30:25And certainly we hope it's going to be better than the dross we watched
00:30:28between Rangers and Celtic.
00:30:29But you've got, you know, Asgard, four goals for Norway.
00:30:33Cornelius scored a wonderfully kick for Canada against Wales.
00:30:36And, of course, Cermiti at some point is going to come on.
00:30:39Everybody's going to get excited.
00:30:41He cost a fair amount of money.
00:30:43And on the flip side of that, you've got Shanklin alongside Braga,
00:30:46who really have been tearing it up.
00:30:48They love Braga, the Hearts fans.
00:30:51Yeah, they do.
00:30:52But I'm probably a similar opinion to Ruffey.
00:30:53I've watched Hearts a few times.
00:30:55I've not been convinced by them.
00:30:57They're winning games.
00:30:58They're getting results.
00:30:58They're scored late goals, which is a good sign.
00:31:01But I'm not convinced about them defensively, that back three, Peter.
00:31:03Do they need time to settle in, though?
00:31:05He's just come in the door.
00:31:06Yeah, I think they do.
00:31:07Obviously, they had the League Cup games,
00:31:09which bred a little bit of confidence as well.
00:31:11But I'd fancy Rangers strongly in this game, Peter.
00:31:14I just think that the signs that Rangers have made,
00:31:16I think they'll go and win the game.
00:31:19Derek Cornelius, Asgard, you know,
00:31:21hasn't been great for Rangers so far.
00:31:23You know, maybe he needs a little bit of time.
00:31:25But four goals for Norway as a sub.
00:31:27As someone going, he'll come back with, you know,
00:31:28his confidence really, really high.
00:31:29So I look at Mijovski, Sharmiti in that forward area.
00:31:33You know, Gassama.
00:31:34I just think Rangers have got too much in the forward areas.
00:31:37I think Hearts will score.
00:31:38But Rangers will win 3-1 for me.
00:31:393-1?
00:31:403-1 to Rangers.
00:31:41And that, in itself, I think if it's as emphatic as that,
00:31:45takes the heat off.
00:31:47Because the one thing that I think was an absolute godsend
00:31:52for Russell Martin was the fact that there was madness
00:31:55going on across the city,
00:31:57which really took everybody's mind off.
00:31:59And the international break came at a good time as well for him
00:32:01and not losing the whole firm game.
00:32:02So, nah, listen, I think he's had a couple of weeks now
00:32:04to work with the team, work with the players.
00:32:07Obviously, there's been a few away on international duty,
00:32:09but I think he'll have the team in his head
00:32:11that he wants to go and win the game.
00:32:12And I think if Rangers turn up and play well,
00:32:14you know, I've seen enough from them in bits and pieces
00:32:17that they're good enough to beat Hearts at home, Peter.
00:32:19So, I'll go for Rangers to go in comfortably.
00:32:213-1.
00:32:213-1.
00:32:22I'll ask Bubba if they get burst.
00:32:23Yeah.
00:32:23Okay.
00:32:24Yeah.
00:32:27Bearing that in mind, Alison,
00:32:30Rangers, Russell Martin,
00:32:33got to start seeing a style.
00:32:35Got to make sure that they do not give
00:32:37any kind of fuel to the fire
00:32:40that Celtic could potentially know on a Sunday
00:32:43that they could increase their advantage.
00:32:45They've got to go and do the business.
00:32:46I think they'll win because they have to.
00:32:48I think the pressure is on to win.
00:32:50I think they will.
00:32:51I think it'll be 2-0.
00:32:53Ruffy, is that a comfortable 2-0, Ali?
00:32:54Yeah.
00:32:55Yeah.
00:32:56Yeah, I think so as well.
00:32:56I think if Rangers score early on,
00:32:58it could be, I'll go for 3-0.
00:33:013-0 Rangers.
00:33:03Yep.
00:33:03Okay.
00:33:04Right.
00:33:04It's a new and exciting, Ruffy, this season.
00:33:06It really is.
00:33:06A boring two.
00:33:07Your two stock scorelines are 1-1 and 2-0.
00:33:10Yeah.
00:33:11You're never very deviated by that.
00:33:12I only say it as I say it.
00:33:14Yeah, absolutely.
00:33:15I'll tell you.
00:33:15I don't make it up.
00:33:16There's a fair bit of consternation around our predictions for the 1-12.
00:33:24So that might as well just keep it going.
00:33:25I'm going to go for Hearts for the draw at Ibrox.
00:33:29So we shall see how it all pans out.
00:33:31Give us your thoughts on it.
00:33:33I quite like this one.
00:33:34Manager of the month for Derek McInnes with PLZ, the judges.
00:33:38Probably you.
00:33:38Good lad, Derek.
00:33:40Thanks for that, Tam.
00:33:43Ruffy thought it would be a tight game.
00:33:454-4 draw.
00:33:46William, you're not too far away from that.
00:33:48Robert says, all the pressure is on Hearts.
00:33:52Well, it's going to be interesting because certainly they can't have any slip-ups.
00:33:57Or again, suddenly the focus will switch to Ibrox.
00:34:01But give us your thoughts on it as well.
00:34:03What do you think is going to happen in those two big games we've been discussing in detail?
00:34:06Kilmarnock against Celtic and Rangers against Hearts at Ibrox.
00:34:11Other matches to look forward to as well and big questions.
00:34:15Again, when we're talking about managers under pressure.
00:34:18Aberdeen Livingston, one win this season against Morton and no goals scored.
00:34:24He's under a fair bit of pressure is Jimmy Tullin.
00:34:30He's spent a lot of money too.
00:34:31He's a lot of recruitment this summer.
00:34:34I think he badly needs to get up and running.
00:34:37And not just to get up and running, but to start to piece together a fairly consistent run of form.
00:34:43I don't think there's any question that he's under pressure.
00:34:45I think the Scottish Cup win maybe just bought him a bit of time.
00:34:50But when you look at that run of form, when you look at the league run of form since mid-November last year,
00:34:56it makes for a pretty grim reason.
00:34:58The one thing that's his saving grace is I think he might have some wingers and some goals up front
00:35:05that might actually change the way they're going to play.
00:35:09I can see them getting better, Peter.
00:35:11They can't get any worse at the minute.
00:35:13No bottom of the league, no scored a goal.
00:35:14But I think the three signings that they've made have not been playing.
00:35:17I think they might take a week or two, a couple of weeks to stay gel.
00:35:21Kevin Isbitt's not been playing football.
00:35:23Stuart Armstrong's not been playing football.
00:35:24I don't think Carlson's been playing at Bologna.
00:35:26So they're three good signings, but it might be in two or three weeks' time
00:35:29once they get game time under their belt.
00:35:31So I think Livingston can pull off a wee upset here and get a draw up there.
00:35:34But I think he is under pressure.
00:35:38I think when you look at the level of recruitment and the level of finance that he's had,
00:35:41as Aberdeen manager, they should be nowhere near the bottom of the league.
00:35:44They should be third place, fourth place.
00:35:46But I think Livingston, fit, strong, stuffy.
00:35:49I think they'll get up there and get one each draw.
00:35:51Yeah, David Martindale would love the budget that Jimmy Tolene has had.
00:35:55But I think they signed four boys at the tail end of the window.
00:35:59And for me, the four players that they signed are probably starting a living.
00:36:03So I think they signed really, really wisely at the end of the window.
00:36:07Stuart Armstrong's going to improve most squads in the Premiership.
00:36:11Kevin Dinspit's tried and tested.
00:36:14Mitchell framing a wee bit short at left-back.
00:36:16I know Nicky had been playing there at times.
00:36:18And Graeme Cheney had played there at times.
00:36:20So he's going to give them a wee bit of squad depth in the left-back area.
00:36:24And they brought another one in.
00:36:25I've seen a lot of his clips.
00:36:26And he looks like a really, really good player.
00:36:29So they've signed well in the summer.
00:36:31But they've went and reinforced that late on the window for me.
00:36:35Which looks like, on paper, four very, very good signings.
00:36:39OK, Tam thinks it's going to be a draw.
00:36:41Livingston's not on a great run at the moment, though, Raffy.
00:36:43Three defeats.
00:36:44No, I think Aberdeen will win this one.
00:36:46I think this is the day that they're going to turn it.
00:36:49Or the weekend they're going to turn it round.
00:36:50I think they'll win this quite comfortably.
00:36:52And I'm going to go for them to win maybe 2-3-0.
00:36:55Yeah?
00:36:552-3-0 again?
00:36:56Yeah, yeah.
00:36:57Are you on some kind of tablet?
00:36:59David Martyn has already made my mind up.
00:37:01He's talking them up already.
00:37:05Yeah, absolutely.
00:37:07Just on that point, is this the climb from here?
00:37:09It's got to be here.
00:37:10They can't go back the way in there.
00:37:11They're going to go up.
00:37:12So I don't think he's...
00:37:14I know Alison's saying that he is under pressure to win games.
00:37:17There's no doubt about that.
00:37:18But I don't think there's any defining thing of getting sacked.
00:37:22But like Rangers, they've got to turn the tide.
00:37:25Is it a Miley Cyrus moment for you, Ali?
00:37:31Just testing your musical knowledge.
00:37:34Is it the climb for the Dons after the weekend?
00:37:36I think they'll win this weekend.
00:37:39I think they'll win 2-0.
00:37:41I think it'll be fairly comfortable.
00:37:43But it can't be a flash in the pan.
00:37:46It needs to come on a consistent basis.
00:37:49I think they have signed well.
00:37:50I think the players that they've recruited at the back end of the window will make a huge difference.
00:37:55But it's how quickly they get up to speed.
00:37:57Yeah, I'm going to go for Livy to get a point.
00:38:00Aye, one each for me, yeah.
00:38:01Yeah, I'm going to go 1-1 as well.
00:38:03Did you give us your 3-0?
00:38:04I'm 3-0.
00:38:05I mean, if you think back to that Falkert game before,
00:38:08the Aberdeen boy gets sent off, they hammered Falkert.
00:38:10Yeah.
00:38:11I think if they were the 11 men on the park, they'd have won that one quite easily as well.
00:38:14Yeah, any chance you can just listen to your old international teammate.
00:38:19It doesn't say they hammered them in the scoreline at the end of it.
00:38:22True, true.
00:38:22Kenny Ruggles used to say that.
00:38:24You should remember that, Ruffy.
00:38:25True, I will.
00:38:25I will.
00:38:26Okay.
00:38:27I also remember you said one each.
00:38:31That's another good point.
00:38:33Just out of curiosity.
00:38:34And I feel as if I, before we go on to Dundee against Muller,
00:38:37I feel as if I should let a little bit of gossip.
00:38:40You like gossip, Ali, out of the bag.
00:38:44Ruffy goes to the same hairdresser as myself.
00:38:46And he's trying to get you to move completely away from the mullet
00:38:50and the McDonald's hairstyle that you have.
00:38:52But you're not for doing that.
00:38:54No, no.
00:38:54That's not a mullet.
00:38:55I used to have, it's short at the back now.
00:38:58He tried to get me to McManus, but I mean, I'm not into that.
00:39:01I'm not into that.
00:39:03You're going for the skin fade.
00:39:05Is it too late, Ruffy?
00:39:06It's far too late.
00:39:07Get a skin fade, Ruffy?
00:39:08That's too late.
00:39:09One of the boys this morning was saying to him,
00:39:11I remember him with his 1977-78 haircut.
00:39:16With a perm.
00:39:17Yeah, it was a bad deal.
00:39:18That was a bad deal.
00:39:19It was.
00:39:20Did you never have a perm, Al?
00:39:22It took me four years to grow that out.
00:39:25Is that right?
00:39:26We're going to legally blonde a movie now.
00:39:28You know, don't put any chemicals in it.
00:39:31You put mousse in it, Ruffy?
00:39:32I put nothing on my hair at all.
00:39:34Nothing.
00:39:35Okay, fantastic.
00:39:36There you are.
00:39:37No moisturiser on my head either.
00:39:39What have you been doing that, Sam?
00:39:44Really, Ruffy, I can.
00:39:45Yeah, okay.
00:39:47Dundee against Motherwell.
00:39:49Cara is back out.
00:39:50I'm delighted Cara Henderson is fit.
00:39:52She's back with us.
00:39:54And she was out there to get the thoughts of the Motherwell manager.
00:39:57Scottish Premiership action returns at the weekend as Motherwell travel to face Dundee at Dens Park.
00:40:02And although they're going in great form, they're still chasing that elusive first win of the league campaign.
00:40:08And this is what Jens Berthel-Asku had to say on that situation.
00:40:12It's a great feeling to win.
00:40:13That's what we're chasing.
00:40:14We approach every game with that mindset that we want to win them.
00:40:18And we do our best to win.
00:40:21It's not like the project stops if we don't win on Saturday.
00:40:24And it's not like it's finished.
00:40:27We can clap our hands and relax and sit and lean back and say,
00:40:31Oh, that was fantastic.
00:40:32That was it.
00:40:33Now everything is coming.
00:40:36We don't have to work for it.
00:40:38It's the same mindset.
00:40:41It was a busy transfer window for the Steelmen with them adding almost half of their squad through the transfer window.
00:40:47And this is what the manager had to say looking back on the window as a whole.
00:40:50I think in general we were really pleased with the transfer window.
00:40:54There's been a lot of players who have left us this summer.
00:40:59And we've brought in approximately half of the current squad.
00:41:04We've brought in this summer.
00:41:06And some of them quite late.
00:41:10Like recently.
00:41:11So it's still a new group.
00:41:14We've changed a lot on the staff as well.
00:41:16So it's, as I said, there's plenty to work on.
00:41:19There's still a lot of relations to build.
00:41:20But I think the players and the staff have been brilliant in terms of trying to spend enough time together.
00:41:28It's the 3pm kick off then on Saturday as Gensberth will ask his side travel to take on Stephen Presley's outfit at Denz Park.
00:41:34And PLZ Soccer will have you covered.
00:41:35So make sure that you follow all our social medias and YouTube channel to get all the updates as they happen.
00:41:40Great to see Cara back, isn't it?
00:41:43I mean, honestly, she's had a tough time as our Cara.
00:41:46Absolutely brilliant to see her back out there in the field.
00:41:48Yeah, delighted to see her back in amongst it.
00:41:50And I'm sure she's probably quite relieved to be back in.
00:41:54Yeah, absolutely.
00:41:55Very professional, very polished here.
00:41:56Yeah.
00:41:56Others could take note.
00:41:58Absolutely.
00:41:59Thank you, Jan.
00:42:00Yeah.
00:42:01But they've all left now for lesser jobs.
00:42:04We've just been left with equality.
00:42:06Just on that point, Motherwell, four draws in the league.
00:42:09I mean, this is the thing about it.
00:42:10I've been raving about them.
00:42:12Oh, here we go.
00:42:13I know, but...
00:42:13You've got 6-0 Motherwell.
00:42:14No, no, but what I'm saying to you is I've been raving about them.
00:42:16I love me, Motherwell.
00:42:17But they're going to Denz Park and they still have only had four draws.
00:42:20I mean, we've seen some good football, but you've got to get results.
00:42:24We've got an end product, Peter, and they have played a lot of good football.
00:42:27And they should have beat Hearts.
00:42:29You know, should they beat Camarnet?
00:42:31You know, a couple of goalkeeping errors, you know, have probably cost them points.
00:42:33But I don't see a lot of goals in this game.
00:42:36I think both teams are a wee bit toothless up front.
00:42:38But I think Motherwell will just edge it.
00:42:39I think Motherwell are playing the better football.
00:42:42I've seen Dundee against Dundee United.
00:42:43They were fairly toothless up front.
00:42:45You know, they didn't have anything in the final third.
00:42:47So Elvis needs to find someone in there.
00:42:50You know, get some more goals, more service to Murray.
00:42:52I'm going to go for 1-0 to Motherwell just to edge it.
00:42:54Yeah.
00:42:55I mean, if anything, they play good football.
00:42:58They're nice to watch, Ruffey.
00:43:00But Dundee have got a manager who's just saying,
00:43:04we've got to make sure that we're difficult to get a goal against.
00:43:08He just wants it tight at the moment and then maybe nicks something.
00:43:12And I think the general feeling from Stephen Presley talking this week is,
00:43:15maybe, you know, Kilmarnock and Rangers good performances,
00:43:19but we want to see if maybe a win takes us above Motherwell and changes people's perception of Dundee
00:43:25and gives them a bit of, you know, positivity.
00:43:27Yeah, I think after every game that he's played, obviously not won them.
00:43:32So he's seen things that are positive.
00:43:34I think he's trying to convince himself that there are positive bits in there.
00:43:38I certainly haven't seen any.
00:43:40I think when you come out of every game and your star man's your goalkeeper,
00:43:44it means he's got too much to do and the rest of the team aren't pulling their weight.
00:43:48So I don't think he's there yet.
00:43:50I don't think he's got the players yet that have proved that they can win this one.
00:43:54So I'm going to go for Motherwell to win 2-1.
00:43:56Yeah, Ali?
00:43:57I'm going to go for Motherwell too.
00:43:59Yeah.
00:43:59I've liked the look of them when I've seen them.
00:44:02They've been a bit unlucky in games too that I've seen.
00:44:05I thought they should have won just before the international break.
00:44:09The goalkeeper had a bit of a nightmare.
00:44:11I think I like watching them.
00:44:12I've seen them twice so far this season.
00:44:14I've quite liked how they've set up 1-0 Motherwell.
00:44:18Yeah, I think Motherwell edge it by two goals to one.
00:44:23As well.
00:44:24OK, Falkirk against St Mirren.
00:44:26We're getting to your hubbies shortly, son.
00:44:30But Falkirk against St Mirren.
00:44:32Falkirk got that win over Aberdeen, as Ruffey alluded to.
00:44:34St Mirren, though, three draws.
00:44:36If anything, the good news for Falkirk is Scott Bain doesn't have a problem with the thumb.
00:44:41And it's a thumbs up, he's in.
00:44:43Yeah, listen, I think that's great news for Falkirk.
00:44:45Really experienced goalkeeper.
00:44:46Started well at Falkirk.
00:44:49Falkirk at home, I think, will cause teams a lot of problems.
00:44:51They're very, very attacking.
00:44:52They're used to playing on that surface.
00:44:55I've seen St Mirren against Hibbs just before the international break.
00:44:57I thought they looked pretty good as well.
00:44:59No dangers in the forward areas.
00:45:00So this is a game that I can see goals in.
00:45:03Hard to call a winner.
00:45:04St Mirren maybe just didn't sneak it 3-2.
00:45:06But I think there will be goals in the game.
00:45:08Falkirk look good going forward.
00:45:10They're not convinced about them defensively yet.
00:45:11And I think St Mirren have got the pace and the power up front in the forward areas to punish a Falkirk team that will go in full attack in front of their home fans.
00:45:19Yeah, I like St Mirren.
00:45:20I just think he's one of, for me, if you were looking at the top managers in the division, it's something we probably haven't discussed in any great detail.
00:45:31Who are the best managers in the division?
00:45:33I mean, I think it's, I don't think I'm going to cause any great controversy by saying Brendan Rodgers is the best coach in the division.
00:45:43But I think he's up there, Stephen Robinson.
00:45:45Well, if you listen to all the other managers when they're doing the interviews and that, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is budget.
00:45:53They know they've not got the budget the same as everybody else, you know, the likes of Livingston, St Mirren.
00:45:58And, you know, but they got on with it. They don't bleat on about it, you know, they just throw it out there so everybody remembers.
00:46:06I just like St Mirren, I think, this year.
00:46:09They're going to be the team that's going to take some points, or the most points, out of the bigger side, you know.
00:46:15And it's interesting to see the players that he brings.
00:46:18We had him in the show here, just to get back to sort of signing players and bring them in when you bring them in.
00:46:24And he was telling us that he's actually in the market six months before the window.
00:46:29He doesn't have a director of football around that.
00:46:31He's a guy down in England who's thinking he's all the games down there.
00:46:35And they're six months ahead of any window that's coming up.
00:46:39And that's what they have to do to survive.
00:46:42I think what Ruffy's just basically saying there, Ali, is Stephen Robinson will never get the Celtic job.
00:46:48It's just he's too thinking, too far ahead.
00:46:51Two windows ahead.
00:46:51Yeah, he'll never get it. I mean, that would be battered out of him.
00:46:56As far as Stephen Robinson, you're right, a lot of managers, including John McGlynn, have been very complimentary about Stephen Robinson as being the benchmark for what every other manager should be trying to do.
00:47:09And I think Stephen Robinson is flattered by the compliments.
00:47:12Certainly. And it's not certainly just me that John was even that.
00:47:16That's the club as a whole.
00:47:18It's grown massively over the last three and a half years.
00:47:21I think the similarities are, you know, where some of the smaller clubs in the division.
00:47:26But there is still a chance to be relatively successful and build on a good structure that was already there and keep trying to progress it.
00:47:33So, yeah, I'm sure people will look to sit around and do the board and the setup that we've got with the training ground that it is achievable and it is sustainable.
00:47:43Yeah, that's Stephen Robinson for you.
00:47:46So, give us your call on this one, Ruffy.
00:47:48I'd have a funny feeling if I'm going to sneak this one.
00:47:52I think, obviously, Falker will continue to play entertaining football.
00:47:56Yeah, we've seen it. We love watching it.
00:47:58But, unfortunately, if you play that style of football, you're coming up against a team like St. Martin, you're going to leak goals.
00:48:05And I think St. Martin are going to win this one 2-1.
00:48:07Yeah, Ali.
00:48:082-1 for me too.
00:48:10Tam.
00:48:103-2 St. Martin.
00:48:113-2, 5 goals. Wow. Tremendous excitement.
00:48:14I think they've had a lot of goals in that game.
00:48:15Oh, fantastic. Get in early, for God's sake. Don't wait to the 12th minute. Could be 2-1 by then.
00:48:21What about the final game?
00:48:23I've got it here, Tam.
00:48:24Just looking at the last time Hibbs actually played the Drew 1-1 with St. Mirren.
00:48:30And then, of course, Dundee United got that Derby win.
00:48:34It's got the makings of a fabulous game.
00:48:37But I'm looking at the Hibbs side on that day.
00:48:40And it's Jordan Smith, Grant Hanley, Rocky Busheery and Jack Ierdale.
00:48:46And then it's Chris Cadden and Chiwa, Dylan Levitt and Nicky Cadden.
00:48:53And Martin Boyle, Thiebaud Khalidji and Junior Hoylett.
00:48:57Is that the strongest side, Hibbs?
00:48:59No, because Ciarán Bowie's obviously not there in Mulligan.
00:49:01So I would go goalkeeper, probably Smith at the minute.
00:49:06Back three, I would go Busheery, Hanley and O'Hara.
00:49:12Right.
00:49:12I'd go the two Caddens.
00:49:14Chris Cadden, right wing back, left wing back, Nicky Cadden.
00:49:16Three in the middle, Chiwa, Mulligan and Levitt.
00:49:19And up front, I would go Boyle and Bowie.
00:49:23Yeah, Miguel Chiwa. I was trying to think of his name.
00:49:25Finally got it.
00:49:26It's interesting there, there's a lot of rumours that Hibbs could be wearing the green and white hoops in this game.
00:49:30What?
00:49:31There's rumours online that Hibbs, for their 150th anniversary, could be wearing green and white hoops in this game.
00:49:37Wow.
00:49:37Against Undenighted. I stress it's just rumours.
00:49:40It was the tradition in that.
00:49:41Hibbs were the first, they wore the hoops before Celtic, back then.
00:49:45They were founded.
00:49:46So, there you are, Robbie.
00:49:471875.
00:49:48I remember, I can remember the green with the white sleeves.
00:49:55I can remember that one.
00:49:56Hibbs were the first, they wore the hoops before Celtic.
00:49:59Yeah.
00:50:00Is that way back in the 20s?
00:50:01Talking about doing that for a hunt.
00:50:02So, in this game?
00:50:05That's a rumour, I don't know if it's just wind up for the Hibbs supporters.
00:50:09But it's been interesting when they take their tracksuit tops off to see what strip they've got on.
00:50:13Chance for a commemorative shirt again.
00:50:15You can see the opportunities all over this one.
00:50:16Gavin and Adam and all the boys will be promoing that, if it does happen.
00:50:20Never have.
00:50:21But, nevertheless, it's against the Dundee United side.
00:50:25And it's going to be tough, because, listen, this is some run, Ali.
00:50:29I mean, David Gray's side, as well as the game against United, Rangers in the Cup, Falkirk, Celtic and Harts,
00:50:35and all of them are away from home.
00:50:37Yeah, I think it has been a tough run for them.
00:50:40They're at home this weekend at the games at Easter Road.
00:50:43Yeah.
00:50:43So, I fancy them.
00:50:45I think Dundee United are on a good run.
00:50:47Obviously, Jim Goodwin just signed a new contract.
00:50:49He's impressed up at Tannadice.
00:50:51I just fancy Hibbs for this one.
00:50:53I'm going to say 2-1.
00:50:542-1 to the Hibbies.
00:50:55What about Jim Goodwin?
00:50:57I'm delighted for him, because he's just signed a new rolling contract.
00:51:01I like that.
00:51:01It's a rolling contract.
00:51:03Smart move, a rolling contract.
00:51:05Yeah.
00:51:05Why?
00:51:06I just think you're always in the final year, effectively, of a contract.
00:51:09You've always got a year to go.
00:51:11I think it takes a lot of the sting out of things.
00:51:14It takes a lot of the uncertainty out of it, and I think managers quite like it,
00:51:18because then, obviously, if someone comes in for you, you've just got a year's compensation.
00:51:22Yeah, and if you want to bullet them as well, you get a chance not to pay out fortunes.
00:51:26It works both ways.
00:51:28Listen, he brought in 14 players in the summer, Ruffy.
00:51:31He has said he won't need as many next summer.
00:51:35I'll go back to him on that quote and say to him, you said, because I've never met a manager
00:51:39who doesn't need more players in a January or even a summer transfer window.
00:51:44Interestingly enough, though, in one of his quotes, he did mention the fact that they can't match
00:51:50the vast amounts of money being spent by Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibbs.
00:51:54So he was looking to recruit players with height and power.
00:51:58Now, this is, for me, a smart move by a manager I've got a lot of time for, because there are
00:52:05many ways, as you know, Ruffy, to skin the cat.
00:52:07There are many ways to win a game.
00:52:09There's no such a thing as just out-and-out pure football.
00:52:12If you've got to work out how to beat an opponent who's got better resources, sometimes you think
00:52:17to yourself, well, let's utilise set-pieces, long throw-ins, you know, all of these added
00:52:23bonuses.
00:52:23And I do think he's got some really good footballers as well.
00:52:26Yeah.
00:52:27I mean, whoever's the director of football or who's identifying these players from all these
00:52:32different countries has done particularly well.
00:52:35I can't, off the top of my head, think of one that hasn't done his bit at the beginning
00:52:40of the season.
00:52:41A lot of them are unknown.
00:52:43That might change as the season goes on, you know, because of unknown quantity, how they
00:52:47play, their strengths, their weaknesses.
00:52:49But certainly at this moment in time, they've bought well, they've brought in well.
00:52:55What's your prediction?
00:52:562-0 Hibbs.
00:52:573-0 Hibbs does it ever.
00:53:06Does it?
00:53:07That's why we love him.
00:53:08Yeah, what are you going for?
00:53:10I think they'll be goals in this as well, Pete.
00:53:11I'm going to go for 3-1 to Hibbs.
00:53:13I've been pretty impressed with Tundain to this season, going forward.
00:53:16Dolceic looks a real thing.
00:53:17Habsburg.
00:53:18They've got some players that can cause problems for Hibbs in the final third, but Hibbs back
00:53:24to full strength.
00:53:24You know, with Bowie back in the team, Mulligan back in the team, 3-1 Hibbs.
00:53:29Did you?
00:53:30Aye, fancy Hibbs.
00:53:32Yeah, I'm going to go 2-2.
00:53:34There you are.
00:53:35Still one of those smooth stuff, like disruptor.
00:53:38I think I'll give it three or four draws in my predictions of you, but nevertheless, I
00:53:41think United have got, Hugh has just said, Peter loves Goodwin.
00:53:47Remember Darvill?
00:53:49Hugh, you make a very good point.
00:53:52The one thing that I'll always remember, I'll never forget.
00:53:54What are you going to say?
00:53:55That's Easter Road.
00:53:56He just walks across Easter Road and you know he's getting sacked.
00:53:59It's just, he's been sacked.
00:54:00He's walking across Easter Road.
00:54:02You're wondering if there's a car there waiting for him.
00:54:04Is anybody even going to pick him up?
00:54:06I thought it was one of the saddest live pictures I've seen for a football manager.
00:54:11And I'm so happy for him for the last two years.
00:54:13And I like the way his team are playing football.
00:54:15So, yeah.
00:54:16He looked a bursted flush after that, didn't he?
00:54:18Listen, I didn't even think he was going to get a job as quickly as he did.
00:54:22So, I am a Jim Goodwin fan and always have been.
00:54:25So, yeah.
00:54:26United are reaping the rewards of it as well.
00:54:29And just to back that up, Kenny Merchant says, Dundee United will not make top six.
00:54:33No way.
00:54:34So, there you are.
00:54:36Take that kick in the teeth.
00:54:37That's what it's all about.
00:54:38Give us your thoughts on what you think is going to happen in the predictions.
00:54:41Tam and I will be sitting next to the, standing next to our technical board,
00:54:48giving the odds out and firing that out before the games kick off.
00:54:52You can give us your thoughts on that as well.
00:54:54And don't forget to hit the subscribe button on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel
00:54:57because right across the weekend, our reporters are out at the games,
00:55:00keeping you right up to date with what's happening.
00:55:03Managers, players, interviews, talking to fans,
00:55:05giving you lots of information ahead and after the game as well.
00:55:10So, it's well worth not only downloading the app, look at the website,
00:55:15and right across our social media, we're keeping you up to date with everything that's going down.
00:55:21A nice little return before we finish to Ange Postacoglu.
00:55:25The goat.
00:55:26He's back.
00:55:26And for many Norringham Forest fans, what a chance to see somebody shout from the backline charge,
00:55:34and then they all move forward.
00:55:35It's unbelievable.
00:55:36The only man who stays is the goalie, and he starts looking mightily worried on the counter-attack.
00:55:43But Ange, he's there to try and win.
00:55:47Sometimes you don't know when these things will end.
00:55:49So, I certainly didn't expect to finish up after winning a trophy either.
00:55:53So, that's just the nature of football.
00:55:56And, you know, in terms of the style question, again, it's pretty familiar territory for me.
00:56:03It was similar when I took over at Spurs.
00:56:06You know, they wanted to change kind of the way they played.
00:56:09But it's a little bit different this time, obviously, with me taking over three games into the season.
00:56:14It'll be a gradual process.
00:56:15But I think, you know, if you look at the squad, and even the first two or three games,
00:56:20I think Nuno himself was probably transitioning to something a little bit different from what it was.
00:56:25But, you know what, even if I was playing exactly the same, we're all different.
00:56:30Yeah, and he says the way these things are, you might have to win a trophy in the first season to get a second season.
00:56:38Does this count as a first season?
00:56:39Yeah, I must admit, though, I thoroughly enjoyed his company.
00:56:45I was lucky enough to have two or three great days with him.
00:56:49And he was absolutely top drawer.
00:56:52Loved the laugh, loved the enjoyment.
00:56:54What about his team?
00:56:54What are they in for?
00:56:56Yeah, I think you know exactly what they're in for.
00:56:59It's a commitment to attack.
00:57:01It's about going and trying to win games however, whatever that may look like.
00:57:05I think it's a focus on attacking football, which I think is what draws crowds.
00:57:11It might not be to everyone's liking.
00:57:14There'll be points where they'll think, you know, maybe just shut up shop a bit or try and protect what you've got in games.
00:57:19You know exactly what you're going to get.
00:57:21But yeah, I mean to you, I liked listening to him.
00:57:24I was there the first day when he was unveiled as Celtic manager and he had everyone eaten out of his hand within five minutes.
00:57:31This guy who'd come in to a kind of scathing assessment, almost like Ange Postacoglu, who is he?
00:57:38And Eddie Howe turned down the job and within five minutes he had everyone just, you know, he had the room.
00:57:44He's a charismatic kind of guy.
00:57:48You can understand why players buy into what it is he wants to do.
00:57:52I think you can see why players would gravitate to what he wants.
00:57:57He's in my top ten of Scottish managers who've come in who, you know, Walter Smith was one.
00:58:03Also, Martin Anil, Gordon Strachan, you'll have a top ten, I know I do.
00:58:10Gordon Strachan, just those managers who don't suffer, poor journalists lightly, and they just batter them out into left field.
00:58:19If you were not prepared, you know, you'd get the cold stare from Walter if you thought you would.
00:58:23He gab's got a couple, didn't he?
00:58:24Oh, gabs.
00:58:25From Vange.
00:58:26Poor, poor gabs.
00:58:26I was on him every day, every day.
00:58:28Vange has got you in toast, Gabs.
00:58:30There is a...
00:58:31He got battered.
00:58:32Oh my God.
00:58:32I don't even think, I don't even think, Gabs who used to work here, I don't even think when he had a really good question, it got any kind of a credibility.
00:58:40I kind of felt a bit for Gabs, I don't know if it was just the accent, because Gabs has like this kind of London, Southern English accent.
00:58:48I don't know if it just went against Andrew's grain.
00:58:51Yeah, I don't know.
00:58:52Listen, I'll tell you one thing about Gabs, though he stuck in there like the good PLZ employee he was.
00:58:57But when you go to small radio stations, it's up to you.
00:59:03Let's talk to you of which, Robbie.
00:59:07And give us your prediction, Arsenal-Norean Forest.
00:59:10Oh, Arsenal 2-0.
00:59:124-0.
00:59:13Arsenal 3-0.
00:59:145-3 Arsenal.
00:59:15Yeah.
00:59:15That'll be a great game, won't it?
00:59:17That's the early kick-off.
00:59:18You're going to Falkirk first.
00:59:19Yeah.
00:59:20Man City, Man United.
00:59:22Oof.
00:59:23Don't know what's happened to Man City, but I think they're still good enough to edge this
00:59:27one.
00:59:27Yeah.
00:59:282-1.
00:59:282-0.
00:59:29Ali?
00:59:302-1.
00:59:32To each.
00:59:33Yeah, of course.
00:59:34As if you were putting any great thought into it there.
00:59:35People hanging on your words.
00:59:37Ruffy, always like to say it, just before we finish, 18 years ago, it was a great night.
00:59:44Don't worry about it, we were in the Parc de Prance.
00:59:46I had a right good skull full of wine after it as well, but on the night I was sober,
00:59:51although some people wouldn't think so, when James McFadden hit that raker into the
00:59:56roof of the net.
00:59:57The mysticals dropped.
00:59:58Yes, absolutely.
01:00:00Thanks for that, Tam.
01:00:01But I remember saying to James McFadden, James, how do you feel after scoring that wonder
01:00:06goal?
01:00:06And he looked at me and he said, I'm hearing I didn't feel as good as you.
01:00:12Well, I've said this in numerous occasions.
01:00:15I was six rows behind you and I could hear every word, so the people around about you
01:00:20must have been nodding her.
01:00:21He was like, oh, is this guy doing?
01:00:24But we had Alec McLeish on the week, during the week there, and Alec first thought, he
01:00:29said, what are you doing, James?
01:00:31Why are you hitting that?
01:00:32Yeah.
01:00:32That's what he was saying for the side, so it just shows you these things happen.
01:00:35And then when James hit that, he said, that's exactly what I told that boy to do.
01:00:39Wait till you're 40 yards out when we haven't had a shot and goal and they are absolutely
01:00:43battering his alley.
01:00:44I mean, there was one point in the game, I might as well just share this moment with
01:00:47you.
01:00:48There was one point in the game, which Ruffey remembers, where James McFadden, now this
01:00:51is France with McAlealy, Henri, the lot, they're absolutely battering us.
01:00:56We haven't had a shot and goal, we haven't been near their 18-yard box, and James McFadden
01:01:00gets a nutmeg on the halfway line.
01:01:03This is about 44 minutes gone, and I go, that'll do for me, James.
01:01:07Just a nutmeg now, 10 bob of nutmeg, Ruffey, because we were absolutely throwing our body
01:01:12in front of them.
01:01:13Oh, it was just block after block after block.
01:01:15It was just one of the nights where the defenders are just, the balls are just hitting off them.
01:01:20Every time they went into a challenge, they managed to get it away, but they couldn't
01:01:25believe it.
01:01:26I just remember their faces at the end of the game, they just couldn't believe what
01:01:30had happened to French players.
01:01:31Yeah, it was absolutely magnificent, it was brilliant, and I had a few sherbets that night
01:01:35with my great friend Davy Proven, the Scottish fans who managed to steal tickets from every
01:01:40French fan that they could.
01:01:42They absolutely surrounded the whole place, it was magnificent.
01:01:45Anyway, happy days.
01:01:46Thanks to Tam, and of course Ruffey, and Alison McConnell.
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