Caledonian Craig

Well I presumed when the Watford boss spoke of a big summer ahead for Porteous I presumed he was talking of the Euros with Scotland but it is feasible he was hinting of sealing a move to Udinese.

No. The Watford boss stated the other day he would not risk Porteous as he realises he has a big summer ahead. Also, bizarrely, he said Porteous was one yellow card away from a suspension and did not want him suspended for the start of next season. Surely, those bookings/suspensions do not get carried forward?

I hardly think a source closely-linked to club news such as Goodison News is would feel the urge to get the views of someone in no way connected to the case. In any case Patterson is out of the Euros of that i am certain. You do not go from operating table to playing again in six weeks.

The whole report is vomit-inducing written solely for unionists but wriitten as if they are speaking on behalf of everyone and as if the SNP was some unelected military junta who had taken power via a coup.

Gist of it is here:- https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/douglas-ross-takes-credit-humza-32693217

And a section of the Tamb deserves credit:- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/04/30/humza-yousaf-snp-first-minister-resignation-douglass-ross/

Ah yes that is the report I read so no Dyche never said it but looks like the doctor/surgeon must have dealt with the case so his prognosis is certainly more valid than Dyche's anyway. Plus no comment from Patterson saying do not rule me out yet like we got from McTominay and others on behalf of Hickey, Brown and Armstrong.

Nathan Patterson is definitely out. Dyche stated he will probably miss that start of pre-season training.

Not to the degree that you would confidently drop a squad stalwart for a tailor-made international class (proven) replacement.

We are not blessed with an array of international class players so yes many have booked their places already. They are the players that got us there and there are very few obvious candidates screaming select me in their place. All that being the case a large number of the current squad would have to get done for chicken-molesting to be dropped.

I agree the injury crisis is not Clarke's fault. It is the worst set of injuries to key players you could imagine. It is all about how he deals with it now that is key. Stop gap players being brought in is not going to benefit us in the long run so look to the future generation. It would be a mistake not to and would tell me that the up and coming next generation are not up to much which would be a big worry.

Ferguson got lots of gametime anyway and once again he did not show he is worthy a starting slot just now.

I am not talking about a overhaul. I am talking about looking to integrate some of our most promising youngsters into the squad especially now when we havea number of injuries to the squad. It makes far more sense to bed in the next generation than stop gap players who only have a couple of years or so at the top of their game in the squad.

I disagree to a large degree. The last double header really was about regaining some momentum with wins and you do that fielding your best team which ours would always include the likes of McGinn. If we had gone into that double header in fine form then yes by all means experiment but we were a long way off that.

I agree with all but the last part. We do need to be looking to the future. Armdtrong is 32 and this will most likely be his final major tournament. Hanley is also nearing the end of his international career and thete are a string of our key players now in their late 20s or edging into their 30s. We run the risk of going down the avenue taken by Craig Brown towards the end of his tenure which left Vogts a big rebuilding task.