Is James Tavernier s Position at Rangers Under Threat ? The Football Show LIVE

Scottish Football

Rangers 1-4 Lyon fallout continues. Is James Tavernier's position in the Rangers squad under threat?  Subscribe Now: ‪@PLZSoccer‬   Rangers manager Philippe Clement defended his decision to substitute captain James Tavernier during their 4-1 Europa League defeat to Lyon. With Rangers struggling in the second half, Clement opted for changes, including bringing on summer signing Neraysho Kasanwirjo. Clement emphasized the need for rotation, as Rangers will play over 60 games this season. He also expressed confidence in his younger players, including Connor Barron, despite his mistake leading to Lyon's second goal. Clement acknowledged Rangers' missed chances but remained optimistic about their future performances.  The Football Show Highlights:  00:00:00 Intro - The Football Show 00:00:56 Rangers 1-4 Lyon - reaction and analysis 00:12:03 Possible fine by UEFA for Rangers fans pyro display 00:13:08 Dynamo Minsk 1-0 Hearts 00:18:58 Football analytics  00:24:17 Porto 3-3 Man United 00:25:51 Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic - Brendan Rodgers Celtic tactics 00:35:33 Scottish Premiership fixtures this weekend 00:36:14 Hibs v Motherwell preview 00:42:02 Dundee v Kilmarnock preview 00:44:18 St Mirren v Dundee United preview 00:45:32 Aberdeen v Hearts preview 00:53:06 Ross County v Celtic preview 00:53:56 Rangers v St Johnstone preview 00:57:47 English Premier League fixtures  If you love Scottish Premiership football as much as we do then subscribe for the latest press conferences, exclusive Scottish football podcasts and interviews with legends of the game.

Transcript

00:00:00Welcome to the football show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel, I'm Peter Martin, Alan Ruff,

00:00:07Alison McConnell and Tam McManus here with me on the show, don't forget to hit that subscribe

00:00:11button, we're absolutely delighted that you can join us on a regular basis, whether you

00:00:16join us live or indeed at your own leisure, don't forget, hit the subscribe button and

00:00:21if you download the app you'll get all the latest breaking news at your fingertips, there's

00:00:25lots to talk about as well as looking ahead to the Scottish Premiership over the weekend

00:00:30of Saturday and Sunday, we're going to discuss European football, Lyon thump Rangers at Ibrox,

00:00:36Brendan stands by his tactics after that mauling in Germany, Hart's bagged their first win

00:00:41of the season and do the old coefficient, no end of good and Inverness need £1.6m and

00:00:49that's just to survive to the end of the season, so lots to talk about, let's get into

00:00:55the meat and bones of Ibrox Park, Lyon 4-1 win, it was emphatic but Rangers did have

00:01:04chances and opportunities in that game, Ruffie?

00:01:06Yeah, the first 10 minutes, they could have got the first goal, I still don't think it

00:01:10would have made any difference because for every chance that Rangers had, Lyon had a

00:01:14couple and Jack Buckland again had two or three saves, so if you're going to count the

00:01:20chances you got and count them as goals, the game could have been 7-2, 7-3 but at the end

00:01:26of the day I think the Lyon class was there, particularly in the front three, I thought

00:01:30the two Rangers full backs just got ripped to shreds and they fell into a wee bit of

00:01:36the category like Celtic, they just can't defend against top class opposition.

00:01:41Philippe Clement reckons that once they get the goal, you then have to chase the game.

00:01:48And we had to chase the game also and that's the big difference if you start the game and

00:01:52you can score first one goal or even two goals we should have scored, then they need to chase

00:01:59the game and it's a totally different story, but we didn't do so, we didn't reward ourselves

00:02:04so at the end you don't deserve more.

00:02:07Well he's fairly honest in his assessment but I think every Rangers fan in there is

00:02:12looking and wondering how did Chernie miss that, it was an absolute sitter wasn't it?

00:02:17Yeah and it's not the first time he's missed an equally as bad one, probably not as bad

00:02:22over the Malmo, he's cleaned through on the goalkeeper Peter and he's got all the time

00:02:25in the world to pick his spot and put it wide. A pivotal moment in the game, I thought that

00:02:30Lyon looked ropey at the back, I think they've lost 12 goals in their first six games in

00:02:37the league and I can see why they were defending last night but Rangers just didn't have the

00:02:41quality in the final third to punish them, they had lots of balls into the box, crosses,

00:02:45scrambles, they were gifted a goal really with a poor headed pass back and all in all

00:02:51I thought Lyon were streets ahead of Rangers, I think they had gears to go up as well but

00:02:56the positives for Rangers were they did create chances in the first half, the negatives for

00:02:59me were defensively I thought they were really poor defensively and they could have lost

00:03:04six, seven goals, similar to Celtic.

00:03:07Yeah I mean I was looking at the back line, they certainly gave up chances Ali but the

00:03:12front three were magnificent for them, Cherokee, Lacazette and Fofana, he's only 19.

00:03:19Yeah excellent, I agree I think there could have been more goals in it, I think it was

00:03:25just basically a very lopsided game, I know Rangers take Philip Clement's point that there

00:03:30were chances at stages in the game but I just thought Lyon were streets ahead.

00:03:35Yeah and the other thing about it Ruffey with the fallout from these situations is I was

00:03:41looking on social media and you get both sets of fans wallowing in how crap we all are.

00:03:48Yeah but the whole bottom line is if our best two are crap what does that say about everybody

00:03:53else, these two are beating everybody else so if you try and analyse it like that and

00:04:00look at the bigger picture it means that Scottish football is not particularly good

00:04:04at that level.

00:04:05Yeah I mean that's the frightening thing about it, in the comments I think Rory was talking

00:04:10to Ali McCoy and they were talking about the fact that a couple of years, two or three

00:04:14years ago you had Giovanni Van Roncker saying being able to go toe to toe and take some

00:04:20good scalps along the way, the gap at the moment or just maybe and I think this is more

00:04:25the pertinent point, maybe overall I think the recruitment process is key to it all.

00:04:33It's getting those gems, it's getting those players that understand how to go and play

00:04:39in European football and unearthing those little golden nuggets.

00:04:43The recruitment hasn't been great at Rangers and I think that's the general consensus even

00:04:47from within at boardroom level on the recruitment level at Rangers has not been great.

00:04:54They deserve the credit from the Malmo result but this was a real chastening coming back

00:04:58down to earth.

00:04:59Yeah it was Peter and you're right, two or three seasons ago they looked a really strong

00:05:03team, they took some massive scalps particularly at home, teams like Leipzig beating Dortmund

00:05:09away from home, brilliant results but they look miles away from that now.

00:05:12The recruitment has went backwards, I think you can tell that with the performance last

00:05:17night, the players have went out the door, have not been replaced with better players

00:05:21so they're not as good a side now.

00:05:24I think obviously getting the result away from Malmo maybe raised the hopes of the Rangers

00:05:27fans that they could compete in Europe but I think you're right, they were brought back

00:05:31down to earth with a bang last night, second half, Tavernier getting taken off is another

00:05:37one for me, his position for me is really under pressure now.

00:05:40I think that the Rangers fans have turned on him, he was dreadful at the final goal

00:05:43that came right across the box and he got done at the back post again so I think you'll

00:05:48see that Tavernier's position at Rangers is really under pressure now, he's got two decent

00:05:53players coming in, pushing him for that place now.

00:05:58Easter Road Revolution, on YouTube it's great because nobody actually goes by their normal

00:06:03name on there, it's just tag lines but some people do, Kenny who's from Los Angeles is

00:06:08an Aberdeen fan, uses his name, our Easter Road Revolution makes a good point though,

00:06:14our game is a mess, Grassroots needs totally redone on our football philosophy, somewhere

00:06:22along the line we understand the mechanics and the economics of the wealth that's down

00:06:30south and they're able to cherry pick the best of anything that we've got in our youth

00:06:34but if we have a bigger pool of half decent youth players then some of them can still

00:06:38stay in this country, Scottish football as a whole I don't think we should be absolutely

00:06:43battering it right now for that situation because I think Rangers when they do have

00:06:48a good recruitment whether it's Scottish players or foreign players Ruffey, they have been

00:06:53able to play, produce, fly the flag, get the coefficient points over the last five years

00:06:58but I just thought last night off the back of Borussia Dortmund dismantling Celtic was

00:07:03a worrying situation because they'd spent a few quid in the summer as well.

00:07:08Yeah I think seriously, I mean I hate when the old friend managers usually come out and

00:07:13we kind of compete with their teams like Lyon spent £188 million we only spent £20 you

00:07:19know that comparison could be thrown out everywhere even in our own league, I mean all our teams

00:07:25apart from Rangers and Celtic could come out with that excuse every Saturday when they

00:07:28get beaten by them so you've just got to deal with it, I think it's just organisation.

00:07:35What do you mean by organisation because Brendan Rodgers is getting slaughtered and we'll get

00:07:40to him in a minute but he's getting slaughtered for his tactics and he's standing by them,

00:07:44was there something so wrong with the way Philippe Clement set up his team?

00:07:51No I think he was okay and this particular game I thought that Lyon had better players

00:07:56and better positions you know particularly in the front three, midfield as well they

00:08:01seem to have a different kind of pace, what the Rangers players had, their finishing was better,

00:08:06yeah if Rangers finishing were as good as Lyon they might have got something in that game but

00:08:11they haven't got the quality that Lyon had, I mean I don't know how much these guys up front cost but

00:08:16they'd be more than what the Rangers players have cost.

00:08:19Well I think rightly so we were salivating over the close control of Cherokee and the boy for

00:08:25Fafana who's only 19 I think he was like he was a few he was about 20 just short of 20 million to

00:08:30sign him on and he just looked as if he could beat anybody on the park and I think that's the key to

00:08:36it all Tam, apart from obviously the ability to retain possession I mean Connor Barron's pass,

00:08:44a blind pass from a midfielder into an area which is just a no-go area if you can't see it's on

00:08:52and suddenly they're all over Rangers and the ball's in the back of the net you know.

00:08:56Yeah and that's the level you're at, if you'd done that against no disrespect St Myrna or St

00:09:01Johnstone it probably wouldn't be a goal, you'd probably get away with it and get back in and

00:09:04maybe clear the danger, against quality players you're going to get punished, I thought Fafana

00:09:09and Cherokee in the wide areas were superb, Lacazette didn't really look as if he was in

00:09:14the game much and then bang you know 6-1 in the top corner and probably could have had a hat-trick

00:09:19in the end. A curling one must have been, I mean see when you get to a situation where you know

00:09:23that there's, I mean before we said this we talked about the fact that they had a lot of quality

00:09:30and I thought maybe I was being optimistic thinking Rangers could get a draw but when

00:09:36Lacazette just goes away and just bends it into the roof of the net you think...

00:09:40Yeah and it was absolutely scalped you know it was a bit of a curl, the goalkeeper never

00:09:45getting near it and they were just quality, I mean you look at the guys you know they didn't

00:09:51play you know Zaha I think wasn't involved, Benrama from West Ham, there are a lot of guys

00:09:56on the bench who cost big money but yeah I thought Leon middle to front looked very good

00:10:02but defensively I think if they come up against a real quality outfit Leon I think they'll get

00:10:06punished defensively, I don't think they're great at the back but Rangers just didn't have the

00:10:09quality in the final third to punish them. That's a good point though Wally because you know if we're

00:10:14going to look at things in a greater context I think you have to do that, there are teams that

00:10:19both Rangers, Celtic and Hearts who are left, there are teams that you are going to come up against

00:10:26that can give you an absolute doing, there's about two or three in each group that you think

00:10:32you'll be lucky to get something and then your battle is elsewhere around the teams that maybe

00:10:37are in that same mold so if we're going to be fair and cut some slack to Celtic you've got to be fair

00:10:43to Philippe Clamont and the Rangers side and say well maybe this is one of those battles that was

00:10:48you know it was it was always against them to get something from that. I would agree with that

00:10:52to a point however I would say that I think you want to be winning your home games or

00:10:56certainly you want to be taking something from your home games I think 4-1 at home is a difficult

00:11:02scoreline, it's a sore one to take, as sore as Celtics was on Tuesday night too it's very sobering

00:11:07just a reminder of the standard that you're up against and just where you are but I do think

00:11:13fundamental to any progression is making your home grounds particularly tough for opposition to come

00:11:20to. And the next one again Ruffey is at home where they really do have to bounce back, Rangers

00:11:27you know still have Bucharest. Yeah I mean as Alison said there you're looking at this game

00:11:33when they were a force I don't know how good they are now they don't seem to be

00:11:37getting to the final of any big competition so Rangers will be looking at that game saying

00:11:41that's got to be three points. The game away from home where they got three points was a wee bonus

00:11:47you know I thought everybody thought if they got a draw it'd be good but they got a win

00:11:51so I mean you can bounce that against the game last night if you want but you've got to win the

00:11:56next one you've got to keep picking up points because the quality away from home is obviously

00:12:01harder to beat. And there's a wee suggestion I don't know if it's going to gather pace but we'll

00:12:05find out off UEFA that Rangers could be in trouble with the fireworks and the you know and the flares

00:12:10I mean UEFA must be throwing out some amount of fines right across Europe. Yeah well we've seen

00:12:16it repeatedly we've seen it time after time and they don't tend to take instances like last night

00:12:21casually I think if Rangers are found guilty of a firework going off within this area I think they

00:12:28could be in serious hot water with UEFA I think it could potentially go beyond a financial penalty.

00:12:34Yeah you don't like to see that I don't know about you Tam but they just don't seem anyone there's a

00:12:40group of fans just don't seem to learn their lesson from it I'm not just talking about here

00:12:43but definitely in Europe you see it all over the place. Yeah and as you said UEFA you know come

00:12:48down heavily on that sort of stuff it'll be fines, fines, fines, the fines will keep increasing and

00:12:53Rangers have you know there's not a lot of money in the pot as it is so yeah listen we all want

00:12:59to see an atmosphere at the games but if it's taking five minutes to clear smoke and all that

00:13:03for the partner throwing flares on it's dangerous for players as well so I think Rangers will get

00:13:07punished for it. Okay must get your thoughts on it because I know a lot of people will be hanging on

00:13:11your every word on it but if we're going to be negative about Celtic and Rangers it's time to

00:13:16be positive, Hearts have got their first win of the season. Yeah listen I watched the game and I

00:13:22thought they deserved to win I thought they were the better team unfortunately it was a behind

00:13:26closed door game so there wasn't much of an atmosphere it was quite eerie actually it was

00:13:28looking back to the Covid season so you could hear every shout and listen I think that's a

00:13:33massive win for them getting it in the manner they did you know the last kick of the ball

00:13:37you know getting the winning goal great start to the European campaign they'll take that confidence

00:13:41hopefully onto the game against Aberdeen they've got a tough game but I think if you're a Hearts

00:13:45supporter you're breathing a sigh of relief because the longer it went without getting a win

00:13:50you know the worse it was getting so that could maybe kick them on this season but it was a great

00:13:54result for them in Scottish football we get points in the coefficient and I think Hearts get 400

00:13:58grand or something for the win so all in all a good night for Hearts. Yeah absolutely delighted

00:14:02for young Danda to get that goal because he was on the bench most of the Hearts signings have been

00:14:07on the bench which is not so much a sad indictment of them more a case of I think Liam Fox just

00:14:13trying to go for tried and trusted at the moment just to try and you know steady the ship until

00:14:19the new manager comes in. Well we saw what Danda was like up at Ross County there's no doubt about

00:14:23it he's got quality whether the European style of football would help him a wee bit better than the

00:14:28hustle bustle of Scottish football you know it's good he'll get the goal there's good confidence

00:14:33I think Penrice got a game as well and Spittle got a game so that's the three the new boys in

00:14:38the team and a winning side which can only give them confidence. You know what I love about you

00:14:42Ruffy as well which is great it's a great thing for Ali to look back on it you use great old catch

00:14:47phrases that when Ali was a young reporter in the newspaper game she wouldn't have heard it for a

00:14:52long time and then she just says ah hustle bustle I haven't heard that for such a such a long time

00:15:01it's fantastic yeah and if you can see if you can get square going before the end of the

00:15:06programme I'll be absolutely delighted with you Ruffy so anyway fair play to them the chief

00:15:13executive Andrew McKinley has said you know the way things are going and I think we expected this

00:15:17with Tony Bloom the way things are going the manager will not be Scottish who's coming in

00:15:22boy they're not rushing it are they? No I think they'll take their time and try and get the right

00:15:27candidate but yeah I think you know for a fact that they'll use the analytics to the Jamestown

00:15:32analytics and it'll be Castor Nett to see who basically meets all criteria that they have

00:15:39selected I think it's very interesting I think it's an experiment that could

00:15:46potentially put them in a really good position if you look at what's happened down in Brighton

00:15:52how successful it has been then I think it's fairly intriguing to see what they can come up

00:15:58with and just how it actually operates I mean I have to say I still don't think it goes to the

00:16:02fact that you you bring in a manager through this way and you're almost selecting the team

00:16:06through through AI and through analytics you know I think it'll still be manager has

00:16:10final say on team selection and essentials however you're using every fine margin to try

00:16:17and tailor things to exactly what your requirements are. Strangely enough though Ali I think you know

00:16:23I think most of us I understand where you're coming from but I think now most of us have to

00:16:30change our attitude or our insight into what a manager does nowadays because most of the time

00:16:38I'm looking and I'm saying to myself you've got such a vast array of people in the background who

00:16:43are almost like an American football side you know you're Austin McPhee's and we talked about

00:16:48Alan Russell you know his job with strikers you've got a situation where there are a group of people

00:16:55who actually just pick players and say right we've picked them in these positions you coach them

00:17:00you just coach them and pick your team you know there are some owners who get involved in telling

00:17:06the manager who they want to be playing but that's very much the exception to the rule. Yeah I think

00:17:11that's more a European thing it's starting to come into the game here and where a director of

00:17:15football or you know head of recruitment would would go and pick players and buy players you'd

00:17:19have a list you take them to the manager and the manager would be so right yeah yeah yeah and they

00:17:24would go and try and sign one of them so yeah I think it is it's an interesting concept with Hearts

00:17:28that's really it's fascinating that there's not been one name come out in terms of Hearts there's

00:17:33not one link or one rumour you know there's absolutely nothing which tends to indicate that

00:17:39they are keeping everything under wraps and it's all getting done by Jamestown Analytics and on

00:17:43the quiet and I'm sure that when they've got that manager selected they'll go and try and get them but

00:17:49you're right sometimes your eyes are your best judge Peter and it'll be interesting to see

00:17:55Hearts how they get on with this new concept. It's interesting though it's the

00:17:59compromisation it's like if you bring in a head of recruitment or you bring in a director of

00:18:05football your manager role is a coaching role rather than a manager role it's like he's

00:18:10subservient then to your to your managing your sorry football managed director of football

00:18:17so it took me a while to get there. Yeah don't worry about that mate we're up here usually just

00:18:21running around the houses. Yeah it's interesting because you essentially then have a philosophy of

00:18:28how you want to play and you're saying here are the players that we believe fit our system

00:18:32this is the mould and the shape that we want to play in. What happens if it doesn't work?

00:18:36Closes his shop. What do you mean? Having this analytic thing suggests other things and it

00:18:41doesn't work. You bin it and you just keep going. I mean as they say players these players come in

00:18:47and this team gets relegated. I know it's working at Brighton now but say it was used at another club

00:18:53and they got relegated who owns up to it? Well at the end of the day I think like anything

00:18:59Ruffey in life if something isn't working eventually you do change it you know. Yeah but

00:19:04what you're saying is these this I don't know how it works. They're saying the player and

00:19:09they're looking at this player that you know and his lifestyle and everything that goes with it.

00:19:14If you think of the wonderful players that we've had through the years does that mean that they

00:19:18wouldn't have got picked? Well no because we're talking about the George Bess. No because what

00:19:23happens is Ruffey you do this that the whole thing is almost like a situation where you put every

00:19:30detail every minute detail into the server and it equates it all and says right this guy is going

00:19:38to run for this amount of time this guy gets 18 crosses into the box this guy will score this

00:19:44guy's technical ability if you were saying it was out of six would be 5.7 so suddenly you're putting

00:19:50all of that into the mixture you say can he fit into the way we want to play he runs up and down

00:19:55I mean I'd love to have seen the report I'd love to have seen the report on Dyson Maida.

00:20:01I mean honestly can you imagine it I mean it would be this guy runs like a machine I'm sure he's a

00:20:05robot he never runs out of gas he just keeps closing everybody down he can't cross and he's

00:20:11starting to get better at scoring but he's not it's not high on the agenda but you look at it

00:20:16and you say wow do we need that type of player in Europe who can run forever in a day who's still

00:20:22got some good technical ability. Take all your financial situation into account too so it'll be

00:20:29who have you got that fits this kind of profile in terms of salary, finances, contractual situations

00:20:36all of that stuff comes into the mix and it will say well here are three or four players that we

00:20:40believe meet your needs and suit the needs of your team well fit in. I still think that a manager

00:20:46would probably have final say on that I think that a manager would go and you would have an opportunity

00:20:52to say well yes or no. Yeah absolutely yeah I mean there's still that element of it I think

00:20:56that still exists some people might disagree it's a great talking point on it and interestingly

00:21:02enough in the next couple of weeks I'm going to have some people in who are going to talk about

00:21:05this very topic I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag but there's somebody coming in who's

00:21:09going to give us a wee insight into that Ruffey. I think a lot of people David McLeod, George Best

00:21:16would have made it actually and to be fair to be fair I mean let's get real about it Ruffey

00:21:25we've got this player his name's David Cooper he can beat players he's only got one leg

00:21:30by the way we see that leg it can destroy everybody he's on his left John Robertson,

00:21:35he's got no I mean can you imagine John Robertson's remit you know when you look at

00:21:40the his report card it would say no pace whatsoever but on either foot. He's a half-time fag.

00:21:48He likes a half-time by the way he likes a half-time fag yes and then he gets five yards past your left

00:21:54or right and can whip the ball in and also he can score goals I mean listen that's when football

00:21:59is similar. He likes a Guinness and then again yeah and Kendall Gleesh fat arse genius you know

00:22:05I mean brilliant what more can you ask for. David McLeod says UEFA giving out big fines all over

00:22:10Europe it gives them a right good end of season piss up it's not a bad line from David I think

00:22:15he's on the case there with that. Ewan Montgomery I don't know Ruffey I think the I don't know if I'm

00:22:22being unkind or kind to you in this and just observation of it all but I think the tide is

00:22:28turning on you now I've noticed a I've noticed a kind of a real edge of vitriolic you know dislike

00:22:35of Ruffey now whereas the last 11 years he's been the housewife's favourite because he's

00:22:40because he's getting a bit more punchy with his opinion. Well no Ewan Montgomery Ruffey lives in

00:22:45the dark ages quite a lot of people not having you now Ruffey. Birdstock as well yeah Ruffey

00:22:51isn't having this he wants to bring back the 4-4-2 and 5 shuttlers before games. Yeah Ruffey doesn't

00:22:55like the newfangled ideas there's a lot of. I hold my hands up to it yeah. I hate Ruffey.

00:23:01I'm old school I can't get my head around it at all. Here's another one you're just making the

00:23:03Ruffey's clueless I hate Ruffey. Is that just you? William Smith says Ruffey gonna do me a favour can

00:23:09you tuck your jacket in white label sticking out on your left hand side I mean that's what's

00:23:13happening now they're absolutely picking on you for everything there it is there turn it in

00:23:18it just shows you how. It's a fashion show now. So anyway I think the overall. I hold my hands up

00:23:26I'm not buying into it I'm sorry yeah but I'm old school sometimes you take your loyalty. It takes

00:23:31his back. I just can't I just can't get my head around that this whoever picks a manager and he's

00:23:35there for six months and then he gets sacked but this computer said he's the real deal you have to

00:23:41take him because he's this he's that he's done that he's done that he's done this. He's giving

00:23:46you a margin of. Yes it's not giving you the real deal it's you're basically gambling you're taking

00:23:50all this information and saying this guy suits. Percentages. This guy suits the biggest percentages

00:23:57of what your needs are this guy will fulfill them most effectively than the other five candidates

00:24:03that you have or the other eight candidates or whatever it may be. There's also the potential

00:24:07for improvement because managers can't improve players but the upshot of it all is Dynamo

00:24:12Minsk won Hearts 2. It's a good scoreline and well done to Hearts for it. Liam Fox this is what he

00:24:18had to say on the whole thing. I'm delighted for the players first and foremost. It's been a long time

00:24:23since they had that feeling of sitting in the changing room and having the victory

00:24:27and I'm delighted for the supporters. We need to keep the resilience and keep the mentality

00:24:31if we do that you give yourself a chance of winning some games so we have to obviously

00:24:37compliment them on that. As far as other British sides are concerned Porto 3, Manchester United 3

00:24:42I think they were ready to absolutely cane Ten Hag and you know he turned out to be a tactical

00:24:49genius Tam. He brought on Harry Maguire. I know. Two not nearly doors you think it was a good win

00:24:55for them then three two down you think he's out the door and then they get an equaliser but

00:24:59defensively Man United again just shipping goals for fun. Yeah absolutely I think he's

00:25:04a dead man dead man walking isn't he? I think he is yeah you're right. Scottish Premiership this weekend

00:25:09really looking forward to it. Before we get just one little footnote because we haven't had a

00:25:13chance to speak to you about it Ruffy. I know you discussed it on the journals this week Ali

00:25:21but I think Celtic's hammering. Everybody and their grannies had their

00:25:30chat about it. What did you make of it? There's no way to start. I agree we all like the style

00:25:39of football Celtic play here but I think there comes a time when you play better sides you've

00:25:44got to have some kind of formation that's going to restrict the score because I don't think a team

00:25:50of the magnitude of Celtic should be getting hit 7-1. I think you should be going out into games

00:25:55better organised with better players. I was looking at the Celtic team and I've said all along

00:26:01they're great enjoying every minute of it enjoying all the goals enjoying everything but have they

00:26:06been tested by anybody in our league who's going to pin them back and that was the case the other

00:26:11night there. That's the first time this year that they've been up against it and it's proved that

00:26:16certain players in the Celtic team can't defend properly. Their organisation's all over the place

00:26:22and I'm looking at the team and anytime I look at the Scotland team and I see two sitting

00:26:27defenders. Where was the sitting defenders the other night in the Celtic team? Two sitting

00:26:34defenders are supposed to protect the back four. There was nobody protecting anybody. It was just a

00:26:39gung-ho performance and I'm looking at the team and I'm going who's the Scott Brown? Who's the

00:26:45Neil Lennon? Who's going to really get somebody and say hey you're going to be in a game here?

00:26:51You know there was nobody prepared to put their foot in anywhere and I thought that was a big

00:26:54mistake obviously. Yeah I thought they were soft. I thought the Celtic looked physically weak.

00:26:59I want to tell you about this Tam and you can give me your thoughts on it. This is what Brendan

00:27:03Rogers had to say today. When the competition is really high and the stakes are high then you have

00:27:09to expect defeat sometimes and if you don't you're a dreamer. If you dream then you don't have a long

00:27:15career in management. The idea is to get over the setback which is what I've done my whole career

00:27:21with teams and to look to bounce back onto a higher level. He also went on to say Tam quite

00:27:27simply that he's sticking by his tactics and I'm gobsmacked and I'll tell you why Tam. I'm gobsmacked

00:27:37because I watched Aston Villa play Bayern Munich. Unai Emery. Unai Emery who's won the

00:27:45UEFA Cup. I mean I don't know if they've given him the original UEFA Cup and said here you keep it

00:27:51because you know how you win it regularly but he's sitting in against Bayern Munich and then

00:27:56they pick them off with one moment. I don't get it. I called him Monday. I did say to you that he

00:28:01won't change Peter. He's not going to change now. I think that Brendan will. He's got one way of

00:28:07playing. That's it. He'll try and do that better against Atalanta. I think they'll try and be better

00:28:12on the ball. They'll try and cut through Atalanta more. They'll try and be better in certain phases

00:28:18of the play but he's not going to sit five across the back. He has no chance of doing that. He'll

00:28:22go again and he'll try and be better in possession and take their chances and be better defensively

00:28:27but yeah Unai Emery is a great example Peter. I don't think anybody expected Aston Villa at home

00:28:33to sit in against Bayern Munich but I think he appreciates that Bayern Munich are better than us.

00:28:37Maybe they've got better players than us. If we open up and go toe-to-toe with them we're not going

00:28:41to get a result. We spoke about Ancelotti doing it. He played Man City two years in the trot.

00:28:47First year they went toe-to-toe with them. Man City battered them. Second season I've never seen

00:28:51Real Madrid a team sitting in my life. They sat in at Man City, got the result and went through and

00:28:56won the whole tournament so listen Brendan's a top manager. He's a long career in the game

00:29:02and he's going to do what he believes is right. I don't believe it's right. I think you should be

00:29:06a little bit more pragmatic and defensive in your approach to try and as Ruffey says maybe restrict

00:29:11the other team and stay in the game but Brendan won't do that. They'll play the same way against

00:29:14Atlanta and Italy 100%. The reason he'll play the same way against Atlanta is because if he changes

00:29:20it he's admitting his role and he won't admit his role. It's an ego thing as well I think.

00:29:25Do you want me to tell you something Ruffey? I don't care if he changes it and somebody gives

00:29:29him the neck. I think he needs to change it and I know some people are looking at it. We're only

00:29:33talking about over in European football because of what we've witnessed this week. We'll move on to

00:29:38the Premiership shortly but Joseph McGonigal makes a good point. The definition of insanity

00:29:44Peter and it sums it up. If Brendan Rodgers suddenly gets a dose of humility and turns

00:29:51around and says well I need to change it. That's his job. A coach is not a coach who just sits and

00:29:57lives or dies by a certain principle. A coach is there to analyse in a sporting context who are the

00:30:04opposition, how am I going to win the game and nullify their points by utilising what I have at

00:30:10my disposal. That's what a coach should be thinking. Not I'm brought up to play attacking football and

00:30:16that's all I'm going to do. I mean my god you only have to go back to Celtic's history. I mean he

00:30:21wasn't too happy about it but Jock Steen decided in one of the games, Duc la Prague, I'm going to

00:30:29sit in here and we're going to defend. It's almost as if pragmatism has become a dirty word

00:30:35in certain circles when you're lining up and you know you're going up against

00:30:40better teams. I think you saw it too with Ange Poste Koglou, an unwillingness to

00:30:45change a style and almost rigid sticking to this is my philosophy, it's the way I want to play and

00:30:52I think my teams will improve by playing this way but I think time and time again you have seen it

00:30:57come undone and I think this is Brendan Odger's fourth Champions League campaign in charge of

00:31:04Celtic and you look there have been some absolute heidens along the way. You think of Barcelona,

00:31:08PSG, Atletico, Dortmund on Tuesday night. I don't know that you can, I think no one really expects

00:31:15Celtic to come away on for example on Tuesday night with three points but you expect them to

00:31:19be a lot more competitive. You expect them to be a bit more streetwise, a bit more savvy.

00:31:25Not only were they soft but it also felt as though they panicked when they were under pressure. You

00:31:31could sense the alarm whenever Dortmund kept coming at them and they did just keep coming at

00:31:35them particularly in that first half when it was just wave after wave of attack and just

00:31:41cutting them wide open. There was a point in that game where you could have feared it might have hit

00:31:46double figures. That's how one-sided the game was and how open Celtic were and how eager Dortmund

00:31:51were to exploit that and I think Atalanta could be every bit as tough. I think you look at what

00:31:59they've done in recent seasons in European football that will be just as formidable as

00:32:03Tuesday night. To me I think you have to look at it, you have to look at the players you've got and

00:32:07think can you set up in a different way that might give us an opportunity to soak up some of the

00:32:13pressure. Brendan's spoken before saying we know we're going to have to suffer at points in the

00:32:18game. You know when you're up against a better opponent you're going to have to suffer. Is there

00:32:22a way you can set up to absorb some of that and then just take something on the break a bit like

00:32:27what Aston Villa done on Tuesday night. To me I think I would probably consider playing Adam Ida,

00:32:32playing someone who can go up, maybe hold the ball up, bring others into play. Just enable you to

00:32:37catch your breath a bit because Kyogo was anonymous the other night simply because there's no service

00:32:44coming in. Every part of the action is taking place in the other half of the field. I'd be

00:32:48tempted to play, to go with the physicality of Ida and maybe just sit in a bit more. I wouldn't tell

00:32:54him anybody to play Ali, I would just say change your style. I would just say change the formation

00:33:01and change the tactics for Atalanta or you're going to get spanked again. That's what I would

00:33:07say. Kenny says please don't compare Rodgers with Jock Steenpeter. Jock was so far ahead. I'm not

00:33:14comparing him with anybody in any capacity whatsoever. I'm just saying that we're watching

00:33:19football and coaches, the great coaches and Ancelotti, Emery's a great coach. Mourinho.

00:33:28They look and they say to themselves, Mourinho's a classic example. I'm glad you picked it out there.

00:33:32Inter, they won the Champions League. He had flair but he had a real mentality of let's make

00:33:41us difficult to break down and then we'll pick our moment. I think good managers can survive in

00:33:47this league. Great managers can survive and work out a way to win in Europe. Martyn O'Neill did it,

00:33:53Neil Lennon managed it, Gordon Strachan did it. Gordon Strachan's a very good case in point when

00:33:58you think what he had to do with bringing a wage bill down at the same time. There were no

00:34:04superstars by that point in that team. You think of who was in the team at that point when Celtic

00:34:09went out against Milan an extra time. You would argue now that the quality is higher within Celtic

00:34:17ranks but the other thing too I think is that this being married to the idea of playing out

00:34:23from the back. Celtic continually played themselves into trouble on Tuesday night, continually gave

00:34:29the ball away and then you're giving the ball away in areas where you're easily going to be picked

00:34:34off. You saw three times Dyson Maida conceding possession at the edge of the box, Alistair

00:34:38Johnson conceding the ball just then all the time playing yourself into trouble trying to play out

00:34:43from the back. There is no shame in saying we're up against better players, better teams, we have

00:34:49to compromise on how we want to go about it. I think Brendan spoke there about if you're a dreamer,

00:34:55if you're going to do that. I think there has to be an understanding that the game has progressed

00:35:02so far in Europe compared to where it is in Scotland that there has to be a changing of it

00:35:07if you're going to survive and make it. When this draw was made there was much optimism of Celtic

00:35:12getting out and qualifying at least through the playoffs. Fundamentally they can still do that,

00:35:17it's still very much an achievable objective but I do think what you have to see now in the next

00:35:23away game is an ability to change, an ability to say this is how, this is why we lost that game

00:35:31and this is how we're going to address it. As far as the weekend is concerned, they're back to

00:35:36domestic issues where Celtic are at the moment in many people's eyes in a one horse race. This is

00:35:42how the Scottish Premiership is looking over the weekend, some good games, Dundee, Kilmarnock,

00:35:47Hibs, Motherwell, St Mirren, Dundee United on the Saturday, we're going to talk about them shortly.

00:35:52We're also talking about the Dandy Dons who just can't stop winning. Ross County, Celtic,

00:35:59Aberdeen, Harps and Rangers against St Johnston all to discuss. You can give us your point of

00:36:06view on European football by all means, we'd love to hear what you've got to say on that. We've got

00:36:11lots of games that we want to obviously talk about and on the Saturday, three games, the boys,

00:36:19Hibs against Motherwell is one that we're going to discuss because there are some good young

00:36:25Scottish players that are catching our eye. First of all, as far as Easter Road's concerned, we sent

00:36:30our reporter Patrick through there to get the thoughts of David Gray. Hibs are preparing to

00:36:35take on Motherwell this weekend as they look to build from that promising performance against

00:36:39Rangers last weekend. While there were no points picked up, David Gray has found the positives

00:36:44and is hoping his side can show that once again against another tricky opponent. In terms of where

00:36:50the groups are and how the training has been this week, I'm really looking forward to the weekend

00:36:55now and everyone else has trained really well and we need to make sure that that's not just because

00:36:58you've went to Ibrox and you can raise your game for that, that's just the standard that we need

00:37:02to take into Motherwell at the weekend. We're a team that are flying, doing really well, well

00:37:06organised, well coached and it'll be a real tough test again this week so that's been our focus to

00:37:10make sure that there's zero complacency and it's all about what we can do. One of the star men for

00:37:15Hibs this season has been Kwon in the midfield. He's received his very first South Korea national

00:37:20team call-up and David Gray was full of praise for his midfielder. He's done excellent. I think

00:37:24it's exactly what we expected from him. He'd done really well on loan last season and I think

00:37:30just he's seen him getting stronger, getting fitter the way we were training, the way we work and the

00:37:34way he's starting to get the ideas on what we want him to do. I think he's done really well and I

00:37:39think that's credit to the squad, the club for him going and getting the international recognition.

00:37:44I think when you come to a club like this it does give the players who haven't had a call-up yet

00:37:49the chance if they are performing on the big stage especially at Ibrox at the weekend for example

00:37:53that this is an opportunity to try and push into your national team and we've seen

00:37:57many players who haven't had caps who come here that then go on to develop that so it's a real

00:38:04credit to everyone involved really. It's Hibernian versus Motherwell at Easter Road kick-off.

00:38:09It's Saturday at 3pm and Piotr Leszczyk will be there live keeping you up to date.

00:38:13What do you make of the Hibbies now? Yeah as I said Peter, I said in the show on Monday it was a good

00:38:18performance against the Rangers at Ibrox. No points. I feel as if Hibs haven't really got what they

00:38:24deserve this season in terms of points. I think some of the performances they've put in have

00:38:27deserved more. I think Dundee at home, they should have won that game. Kamanak away, they should have won

00:38:32that game. Rangers away, they should have got something out of the game in my opinion so it's

00:38:37okay me sitting here saying that Hibs are playing well and they're looking good but

00:38:41they've got to start winning games Peter. Should they be winning the next two games ahead of the

00:38:44Derby? I think they should be Peter. I think you should be looking for six points. I know Motherwell

00:38:47are on a decent run this season, he's right. They are a well-organised team but I think with the

00:38:51quality that Hibs have got in their squad now. Dwight Gale coming on, I thought Junior Hoyle

00:38:54against Rangers was superb. They've got Martin Boyle coming back in early. They've got a strong

00:38:59team. I thought defensively they looked good. I thought he was excellent. I thought him and

00:39:04Triantis in the middle of the park were excellent against Rangers. They look like a big powerful

00:39:08team now Hibs. It's the first time I think I've ever said that. It's usually hearts you associate

00:39:12with being big and strong and powerful but Hibs going up against Rangers at Ibrox at set plays

00:39:16for long throw-ins, I think they look far bigger than Rangers. I think they've got to start

00:39:21picking up points Peter and I think tomorrow's a perfect opportunity and I would fancy Hibs

00:39:26strongly to go and get three points. You, I've worked with a lot of pundits down through the

00:39:30years Tam, you are like getting on a rollercoaster. It's fantastic. I never know which way you're going.

00:39:35I think I've been quite positive this season. I think I'm quite, straight down the line with

00:39:40David Gray, I think he'll do well at Hibs but they need to start picking up wins Peter. I think

00:39:44performances have been good. They're creating chances as you've seen at the weekend against

00:39:47Rangers but they need to start taking them and I think they will against Motherwell. I think he just

00:39:50needs time. He does need time Peter, he needs time. I think the Hibs supporters are seeing it,

00:39:54are looking at the games and going we're actually playing okay here. We're not really

00:39:58picking up a load of points so far but I think they can see that there's shoots of recovery

00:40:04there and if they're patient I think David Gray will form a good team at Hibs.

00:40:08Okay, what about the Motherwell camp? Kerry Pollock was there.

00:40:11Stuart Kettlewell's men are preparing to take on Hibernian this weekend at Easter Road and with

00:40:15the hopes of making it three wins on the bounce. Kettlewell added that after netting his first

00:40:19goal at the weekend, Lennon Miller is keen to add to his tally this season.

00:40:23We challenge each player to ensure that they have a specific thing that they're working on

00:40:29every single day. They have to take ownership for that and it's safe to say that that's one

00:40:35thing that Lennon wants to start adding to his game. That's kind of been point one on the list

00:40:39for him just now is to go and start seeing if he can pitch in with more goal contributions.

00:40:44And it won't be long until the Steelmen are at the National Stadium to take on Rangers in the

00:40:47Premier Sports Cup semi-final. However, this well boss insists his side aren't looking that far

00:40:52ahead just yet. I can genuinely tell you that we've not spoke about the semi-final. I've not

00:40:58heard one murmur of it from the group of players. I think you could see where motivation was purely

00:41:04St Mirren at the weekend and we could have got caught up with ourselves and started to read

00:41:08our own press and all the rest of it. But where I have a massive trust is I keep going back to the

00:41:13staff. I keep going back to the senior players that if anybody starts to mention that and starts

00:41:17to get carried away with themselves, they will be firmly put back in their box. And that's not

00:41:21a threat. That's just how it has to be. That's how it's always going to be as far as I'm in charge

00:41:26of a football club. Because these games that we have to face in the lead up to that are far, far

00:41:31too tough. And if we start detracting 20, 30% of our attention somewhere else, then we're going to

00:41:36leave ourselves seriously short for games. Both sides will be aiming for a win before we head into

00:41:40the international break. Kick-off is at Easter Road this Saturday at three o'clock. What's your

00:41:46prediction? 3-1 to the Hibs. 2-0 to the Hibs. 2-1 to the Hibs. Okay. I'll go 2-1 to the Hibs as well.

00:41:55I think we might as well all go for it in that. Who knows? Stuart Kettlewell might come up with

00:42:00something that surprises us. Dundee against Kilmarnock. The Dens Parkside have lost three

00:42:06on the bound trophy. I don't think Tony Docherty is going to panic though. No, by all accounts,

00:42:10last week he thought he was a better team. They just didn't get the goals that they needed.

00:42:16I think they've just went off the boil just a wee, wee bit. As far as this game is concerned,

00:42:22I think the onus is on Kilmarnock. Kilmarnock don't win this one. That's a horrendous run

00:42:27they're on, obviously, the international break coming up. And if you're down the bottom of the

00:42:31league, or second bottom, you can stroll about moping about that for about a fortnight.

00:42:37The whole players will be as well, and the supporters. So I think they need a win just

00:42:42to lift the players and the support with the success they had for last year. Yeah, I don't

00:42:46think any of that. It's amazing though, because of the stature of Derek, nobody's looking and

00:42:51saying, oh, under pressure. They reckon with his experience, and I share this view, that he'll get

00:42:57himself out of that bottom area. I think so too. I think what you see is the effect of European

00:43:02games at the start of the season for a squad that doesn't really have the depth to cope with that.

00:43:07Now, we've been seeing that though for the last month. I do think it comes a point where you think

00:43:12you have to start getting points on board. I think they'll get a point. I think they'll get

00:43:16something at Denton Park on Saturday. Yeah, another draw. Four draws. Four versus five.

00:43:23It'd be a favourite for the Old Pools, wouldn't it? The Old Pools panel, I'd draw. But I think

00:43:26I'd draw as well, Peter. I think it's difficult to separate both of them. And I think a draw would

00:43:31maybe suit both of them as well. I think it's a game that Kermarlin wouldn't want to lose,

00:43:35going into the international break, you know, second bottom of the league, possibly bottom.

00:43:38Yeah, I mean, they've started to just make themselves difficult to beat.

00:43:43They should have won last week. They should have won last week, though. They're 3-1 up.

00:43:46I don't know, Ruff. This is the toughest one of the whole weekend to call. I'm going to go Dundee

00:43:51to just edge it 2-1. Well, obviously, if Kermarlin continue in the vein of losing the goals they

00:43:56lost last week, they're going to be on the end of it again. And I agree with you. I think Dundee

00:44:01will beat them, just 2-1. Yeah. What about yourself, Ali? Two each. Two each. Okay. You're

00:44:06going to draw a mental. I don't know, I don't want to win. I just want to enjoy it. Okay,

00:44:11just testing you. Hey, pop. Yeah, fantastic. I like you, I like you. I see you've got your

00:44:16shinnies on. St Mirren against Dundee United. Despite, obviously, you know, I think he'd be

00:44:22delighted fighting back. But Jim Goodwin says, when you look at the overall picture here,

00:44:27he's well happy with Dundee United's return to the Scottish Premiership. Should he be?

00:44:32Yeah, I think so. I think the first year you're in there, you don't want to be in that bottom

00:44:37three. You know, you want to be winning games, holding your own against some of the bigger sides.

00:44:41So, I think if he's just hanging about the top six position, it'll be a successful season for

00:44:47them. But I think, I don't know if they'll get a strong enough pull to see out the whole season.

00:44:51So, the more wins he gets just now, the better. I think he's right to be pleased. Fifth?

00:44:57It's a very tight league, Peter, as we know. There's not a lot between, you know, fourth all

00:45:02the way down to the bottom at the minute. A couple of wins either way, you can fly up the table or

00:45:08the opposite, you can go down towards the bottom. But I think he'll be pleased. Nine points,

00:45:11decent start from the first six games. They've had some tough games in there as well. So,

00:45:16again, it's about a game that will be targeting a win. St Mirren, I think, will be roundabout

00:45:20Dundee United this season. And again, it's another tight one for me to call. I'm going

00:45:24to go for another draw here, one each. Sunday, we'll get to eventually Celtic and Rangers,

00:45:32but let's talk about Aberdeen, because our man Kobe has been all over it up there for the press

00:45:39conference. Joint table toppers Aberdeen take on bottom of the pile Hearts on Sunday. However,

00:45:44Jimmy Tole knows how quickly all that can change. No, but that's football sometimes. Sometimes

00:45:50everything can turn really quick in football. It's difficult to say the reason sometimes,

00:45:56but I think like the show the last two games, they have good things inside the team and have

00:46:02good ideas. And let's see what's happening. But hopefully we can win on Sunday. A win for

00:46:08Aberdeen on Sunday would open up a 19 point gap between the Dons and Hearts. However,

00:46:13Jimmy Tole insists it's too early to look at any of that just yet. No, I told you before,

00:46:20it's so early in the season and I'm not thinking about the past or how much gap is to other

00:46:25teams. It's so early. We have a lot of games to play. And for us, our only focus is this game

00:46:32and also how they performed the last two games. They have done really well, played stable.

00:46:41Liam has made some changes and some good things have changed and added to the team. So we need

00:46:48to be 100% prepared for the game on Sunday. So we can talk about the table and have one game to

00:46:59play at the end of the season, but not now. Aberdeen take on Hearts on Sunday. Kick-off

00:47:04is at three o'clock. Love Kobe. He'll need to stay at the gym. I need to get him a bigger jersey.

00:47:13I think he's working out in the gym, but he's absolutely top draw for us. What a

00:47:21fabulous young prospect we've got up there and Kobe following all things Aberdeen. 19 points.

00:47:27They could be ahead of Hearts if they win this one. It's absolutely outrageous.

00:47:32It's exceptional and I do fancy them to win. I think Hearts going into the game on the back of

00:47:37that trip, coming home late, then you've got a trek up to Aberdeen. Aberdeen fresh this week and

00:47:45of course on the crest of a wave at Pataudry. Loads of energy, loads of optimism around the club.

00:47:50I fancy them to win it. Thanks to so many people who've been very complimentary

00:47:59because Kenny says Kobe is brilliant, which he is. He's up there and the good thing about the

00:48:04Cobster, he's not got that attitude of some Aberdonian people that we invite to parties

00:48:09who don't turn up. If I shout party, Kobe has already got a room and he's down and he's staying

00:48:15for that. He's already been doing another one like most Aberdeen people. He bought a drink as well.

00:48:21He did buy a drink. You were nearly putting yourself in it. Three nil Aberdeen.

00:48:29I was going to say, the reason I'm saying that is because,

00:48:32Ruffey, and this is why we've got to be good about this. Kenny says, Peter, I've booked my

00:48:36flight. I'll be home for the United game, the Rangers and the Celtic semi-final. I'll pop in

00:48:43for a visit the Friday before the semi-final. So, dare I suggest it, should we get him on the couch?

00:48:49Yes. I think that's a great idea, isn't it? Yes. So, we'll get Kenny on the couch and we'll just,

00:48:57we might as well get a fan on the couch talking about the Dandy Dons they've done well.

00:49:01Are you happy with that? Yes, get him in. It'll be great. You get him on after the semi-final.

00:49:05You're also bringing him in. Do you want to get him on a downer, Ruffey?

00:49:07If you're bringing him in... Let's get him full of optimism.

00:49:11The toughest month. This is the month where... I told you not to mention October. The Dandy Dons

00:49:17don't want to talk about it. Although they could get off to a fire this weekend.

00:49:21Don't dig yourself out of a hole because October's coming, Tam. We've predicted their downfall in

00:49:28October. It starts with this game. If they're still in the title race in November, then we'll

00:49:34start to take the Aberdeen seriously. But they've got a tough month coming up. I think they'll beat

00:49:38hearts comfortably. I'm going to go for 3-0 Aberdeen. 3-0? Yes, emphatic win for me. The

00:49:42hearts will be tired. That's a good point. I'm going to go 2-0 to the Dons. 2-0 Aberdeen too.

00:49:48Ruffey? 1-1 each. What? Yes. Well, if you listen to the Dandy manager last week,

00:49:53they were the better side. They should have won the game. I'm thinking back to the Aberdeen

00:49:57Motherwell game. 2-1. Motherwell had chances in that one. I think it's maybe just tapering off

00:50:03just a wee bit, but not enough for them to get beat. So I think hearts will get a draw.

00:50:08Yes. Okay. Somebody just said, Ruffey away and take it flying. I just made that up, Ruffey.

00:50:16But anyway, say hello to Pataudrie on Sunday, says Kaiser. I'm not surprised. It's absolutely

00:50:22fantastic. I was up there last week. The buzz around the place is absolutely brilliant.

00:50:28Can they split the Old Firm? Well, I have to say, Kerry has caught up with a Dons favourite

00:50:35from the past in Niall McGinn and he reckons, once you hit the turn of the year, if they're

00:50:40still there, don't bet against them. And the feeling around the club with the fans, the

00:50:45atmosphere, everyone's buzzing that the team are doing so well. They play Rangers and say

00:50:49they're taking a matter of weeks, as you mentioned. Can they split the two of them, do you think?

00:50:53They have a chance. I think when I was part of a team that we were winning most weeks and

00:51:00we're running close and it is going to be very, very hard over the course of a long,

00:51:04long season to keep close to Celtic and obviously Rangers as well. With Rangers dropping points

00:51:13already, losing a game and drawing a game and Aberdeen being consistent. So it's maintaining

00:51:18those standards out with the Old Firm games and winning games. As I said earlier, it's winning

00:51:22games if you aren't playing well and if you can do that, who knows where that can take you.

00:51:27Even listening to the manager's coach, when he spoke last week, it was only September and

00:51:33obviously the league has not won until May. But I think now, if they can get through these

00:51:39important periods and gain confidence from that, then there's no reason why they can't be touching

00:51:43distance with both teams. With Jordan, can they go into a title race? It's hard to say,

00:51:50I'd like to be positive but being there and being in the club, it's always been very,

00:51:54very hard. But I want to be positive and I think the priority for them is just to take each and

00:51:58every game and run them as close as we can. If they're in with touching distance coming around

00:52:03the Christmas period where they're being consistent, then we'll see what January and

00:52:08February brings. But I'm sure the manager's reiterating just sort of being important of

00:52:16just winning games, taking each game as it comes and I'm sure they'll be looking to do so.

00:52:21Yeah, you can hear all of that interview with Niall McGinn, one-to-one with Kerry Pollock.

00:52:28Really good insight into the Aberdeen side at the moment and also looking back to the time

00:52:33when he was wearing that red shirt. Big favourite at Pataudry as well, Niall McGinn, really good

00:52:39player and strutting his stuff in his twilight at Morton. Who knows, he reckons he's going to

00:52:44play on until he's 40 and I say more power to him, Tam. Yeah, obviously I think he started in

00:52:50Derry City over in Ireland and he got moved to Celtic, great career, excellent Aberdeen. I think

00:52:55he went to Korea for a short spell as well, which was a strange move. But he's still playing, still

00:53:00fit, so I don't see any reason why if he stays away for injury he can't play until he's 40.

00:53:04Okay, Ross County take on Celtic. Are we in any way suggesting anything other than a Celtic win,

00:53:11Ruffey? Taylor and Cameron Carter, Rick, are still out? Yeah, no, I think obviously there'll be a lot

00:53:17of talking being done after the game. Celtic are no different from any other team. If the players

00:53:23hadn't performed, I think the manager would have told them that. So it remains to be seen who the

00:53:28manager thinks was partly responsible when the team lines come out, because he's got to start

00:53:33showing everybody that you're not a regular every week. If you don't perform then you won't be

00:53:38playing. So it'll be interesting to see his team selection, but I still think it doesn't matter

00:53:42who goes on the park, they'll still be too good for Ross County. Okay, prediction? 3-0. 3-0.

00:53:49Yeah, 2-0. 4-1. 4-1, okay, interesting shout there from you. 8pm on a Sunday night, strange

00:54:00for Rangers against St Johnson. Somebody's got to take one for the team, Ali, and you're the person

00:54:05who's going to do it. It's the Great Run, so all the roads are closed in and around Ibrox on Sunday,

00:54:11which is why the game is a later kick-off. And funnily enough, the strange thing about it,

00:54:17which a lot of people are asking around the Clarkson area, you used to go and do a fair bit

00:54:22of running, but that's all gone now, Ali. It's finished for you. It's just, you might not call

00:54:27it running, but something loosely married to running. I was just about to say, a lot of people

00:54:32are saying, there's Ali walking to the shops. It's funny actually, Robbie, and they don't realise it,

00:54:42but because we've got such a young team of journalists who work for us, they are so dismissive

00:54:50of anyone over the age of 26, it's almost as if you're finished. And what Ali and I are trying

00:54:59to remind them is, it's great being in a 32 waist or a size 6 or 8 dress, but eventually what happens

00:55:06is, you get married, you stay in, you have a pizza, you have a bottle of wine, and then eventually

00:55:12you realise that that 6 dress has to go, and the 32 waist is just a thing of the past, Robbie.

00:55:19I can't remember the last time I was in a 32 or a 6 dress.

00:55:25Nearly the weekend!

00:55:30Unbelievable, Robbie. Anyway, 8 o'clock. Now that we know there's a great run,

00:55:36Patrick's actually doing it, so that's fantastic. It's a thing of the past. I genuinely, Tam,

00:55:45I genuinely say to them, having run 5 marathons and about 20 half marathons, when I see somebody

00:55:51running, I think, don't do it on the roads, because you're going to need a resurfaced or a new hair.

00:55:56Aye, I was never a long distance runner, Peter, I was always a sprinter. I hated it, I just think

00:56:01it's boring, I just can't do it. I remember, we went to Chateau Row, the big country park, with

00:56:07Hibs, with Bobby Wollaston, and we done a, I don't know, a 10k run or something, and honestly after

00:56:13about a k, I was just wanting to shock it, and I just feigned injury, and then I got lost somewhere

00:56:18in Chateau Row, and they were all looking for me at a search party, looking for me at half one,

00:56:23everybody had their lunch, and I was still out wandering about, didn't know where to go,

00:56:26shouting, I'm in here, get me! Bobby went mental.

00:56:29Did you not used to have to go up Arthur's Seat?

00:56:32I've done that enough.

00:56:33Hibs used to go up there, it was for health and safety, unbelievable.

00:56:37But when I was at Thistle, I always used to take money with me for a taxi,

00:56:40because I knew I'd be that far behind.

00:56:43By the way, he's not joking.

00:56:45Rangers St Johnston, I think Rangers are going to win this one 3-0.

00:56:48Yeah, I think we've seen the levels last night, where, you know, Rangers are not quite up to it

00:56:53in the Europa League against the better teams, but again, like Celtic, they'll come back,

00:56:58they're back in a decent habitat in terms of winning games, and I think they'll win 3-0 as well,

00:57:03we're comfortable.

00:57:03Absolutely, and Michael Taylor has just put three words in there,

00:57:07cross-dresser, roughy, absolutely.

00:57:12Something for the weekend.

00:57:13Yes, absolutely.

00:57:16Anyway, apart from anything else, are you going for Rangers to win?

00:57:19Yes, I'm going 4-0.

00:57:21What? 4-0?

00:57:224-0.

00:57:23Yeah, I don't think Seema Valakari, the new manager, will be happy with that,

00:57:26although he's not in charge for that game, Andy Kirk will still be there.

00:57:31Yeah, no, I just can't see past Rangers on Sunday.

00:57:34I think they'll want a reaction.

00:57:36I think coming off the back of a very dispiriting European performance,

00:57:40you almost want to come and reassert yourself domestically.

00:57:43I fancy Rangers to win it without any real headaches.

00:57:46Okay, just before we go, here's the English Premier League for the weekend

00:57:49and what you can look forward to.

00:57:50Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Arsenal, Southampton, Brentford, Wolves,

00:57:54Leicester City, Bournemouth, Manchester City, Fulham, West Ham, Ipswich,

00:57:59Everton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Man Utd, Chelsea,

00:58:02Norwigan, Forreston, Brighton, Tottenham.

00:58:04Wow, there's two games there that are maybe worth watching.

00:58:09However, I'd watch Liverpool every day of the week,

00:58:11but of the others, I'm thinking just two.

00:58:14Everton, Newcastle and Aston Villa, Man U.

00:58:18No, you've missed the best game out of them all.

00:58:20Bottom game.

00:58:22Brighton and Tottenham.

00:58:23Brighton and Tottenham will be the big game of the weekend

00:58:25because I watched Ange Postacogu last night.

00:58:26They've now won five games and they've trotted Spurs

00:58:28after Colin Freese's head not that long ago.

00:58:32They played a lot of younger players last night

00:58:33and I think every time you watch Tottenham, you're guaranteed goals.

00:58:36It might not be for them, it might be for their team.

00:58:39I remember last season, they went down to Brighton

00:58:40and they were down 3 or 4-0, they got hammered

00:58:42and they came back, I think it was 4-2 or something,

00:58:44but I would watch Spurs every day.

00:58:46I think they're brilliant to watch.

00:58:48Okay, interesting stuff from you.

00:58:50Just before we go, we'll finish on a positive note.

00:58:52The SPFL have released their figures

00:58:56and the turnover has grown to £44.3 million,

00:59:00the highest ever figure in the league's history

00:59:03according to the annual accounts.

00:59:06With that in mind, there's an increase obviously

00:59:09for clubs getting payments out to them,

00:59:12which is always a good thing, Alison.

00:59:13Yeah, I think that's what you want.

00:59:14You want to see a continual and sustained growth.

00:59:17It would suggest that things are moving in the right direction.

00:59:20Fingers crossed that it keeps going that way.

00:59:22Inverness are already on the phone.

00:59:24Well, that was my footnote to it.

00:59:27Can I get an advance?

00:59:28The sad thing is we've finished already.

00:59:29They have got an advance to do something.

00:59:31Yeah, Inverness, £1.6 million just to survive

00:59:33to the end of the season.

00:59:35Yeah, a lot of bad decisions.

00:59:37I mean, off the top of my head,

00:59:39I know it's not a footballing thing,

00:59:40but I know they did a big concert last year.

00:59:44What's his name?

00:59:44Elton John?

00:59:45No, the opera singer.

00:59:47Andrea Bocelli.

00:59:48Bocelli.

00:59:49And lost a lot of money.

00:59:50I mean, a lot of money.

00:59:51I don't know what went wrong.

00:59:53And I think they're suffering,

00:59:55but that's one of their biggest headaches that day.

00:59:57Yeah, and full marks to Duncan Ferguson.

00:59:59OK, he's probably made his money,

01:00:01but it's still a great gesture.

01:00:02He's not taking anything at the moment,

01:00:04just trying to help the club as he manages them,

01:00:07trying to get the results and helping them financially.

01:00:11Let's hope somebody steps in there to help Inverness.

01:00:14A great club.

01:00:15We'll love to see it continue

01:00:17without hitting administration.

01:00:20We talk football.

01:00:20We want you to hit the subscribe button.

01:00:22We've also got something that we will be putting out

01:00:25to all our YouTube viewers,

01:00:27our subscribers over the weekend

01:00:30that we hope you will lend your support to

01:00:32for PLZ Soccer.

01:00:33We want to take it to the next level,

01:00:35expand and offer you even more programming

01:00:38and become the only place that you will come to

01:00:41for football, not only here in Scotland,

01:00:43but across the UK.

01:00:45Hopefully you're enjoying our programming.

01:00:46Download the app.

01:00:47You can get us on the website

01:00:49and you can watch the programme at your leisure

01:00:51or on that YouTube channel on your big telly as well.

01:00:54More and more people realise now

01:00:57that the digital channels are where it's at.

01:01:00YouTube is growing year by year,

01:01:03replacing the likes of Netflix

01:01:05and, of course, analogue television.

01:01:07This is where you get your football

01:01:09and we're delighted that you're supporting us

01:01:10in great numbers.

01:01:11From Ruffey, Alison, Tam McManus

01:01:13and myself, Peter Martin,

01:01:15have a great weekend at the football.

01:01:16Thanks for listening and watching.

Category

Transcript

Recommended