Can Ben Doak Change Scotland s Fortunes ?The Football Show LIVE

Scottish Football

Scotland v Portugal: Can Ben Doak change Scotland fortunes against Portugal?   Subscribe Now: ‪@PLZSoccer‬   Scotland is set to take on Portugal, and all eyes are on rising star Ben Doak. Can he help turn the tide for Scotland in this crucial clash? We discuss Scotland’s chances, key injuries, and how they stack up against a strong Portuguese side.  Also on The Football Show:  Full reaction to Croatia 2-1 Scotland - Is it time for Steve Clarke to stand down as Scotland manager? Lydon Dykes poor run of form and what alternatives there are for Steve Clarke A full breakdown of Scotland's midfield and defence Lee Carsley intends to return to Under 21 international football and asks for the next England manager to be "world-class" Neil Critchley to be named Hearts manager  Philippe Clement is 1 year in charge of Rangers. We look at his record to date and judge if it's been good enough Celtic v Aberdeen is not to be televised, but do the Dons have what it takes to win at Celtic Park? And much more!  The Football Show Highlights:  00:00 Intro - The Football Show LIVE 02:04 Scotland press conference ahead of Scotland v Portugal 04:48 Croatia 2-1 Scotland reaction - "We need a striker and cannot defend" 10:44 Lyndon Dykes - "He's woeful" 13:13 Should Steve Clarke be replaced after Croatia 2-1 Scotland? 16:12 Scotland National Team injury news - "We're crippled by injuries" 18:18 Scotland defenders - "We can't magic defenders out of thin air" 24:42 Scotland midfield and strikers - "Shankland isn't good enough" 26:46 Scotland v Portugal predictions - "Portugal have technically gifted players" 35:39 Alan Rough Scotland career and how the team compares to now 40:01 Breaking Scottish Football News 41:55 Lee Carsley states England need a "World-class manager" 42:57 Neil Critchley to be named Hearts manager - "Not inspiring for Hearts fans" 47:30 Philippe Clement's Rangers record - "He came into a poor Rangers side" 52:39 Celtic v Aberdeen - "Aberdeen don't have the players to win"

Transcript

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

00:10to have your company and Alan Ruff and Tam McManus are here with me. All you have to

00:15do to join the football family is hit the subscribe button on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel

00:21and if you do that, share it with your friends, tell them all about it. We've got the podcast,

00:25we've got the YouTube channel with so much content and if you download the app you'll

00:30get all the breaking news at your fingertips as well. Lots to talk about, another defeat

00:35for Scotland and Portugal on the way to Hamden tomorrow. Hearts are closing in on their second

00:42choice as manager, we'll discuss Neil Critchley. Are we heading for a football strike as players

00:47and leagues are taking action against FIFA and not only that, could we be heading for

00:53Bosman 2 in the transfer market? There is a legal case which could spell problems for

01:00clubs and any contracts they have with players. The competition winner, we might as well start

01:06off by saying congratulations to Dave Balfour, he won the Aberdeen away top. Fantastic, I'm

01:14sure there was a lot in for that, is it signed? We could probably get it signed. We could

01:20but shut it, you're not getting it signed. No we will. Why don't we get it framed and

01:24then give them £1,000? No, I'm sure he gets his jersey, he's outside the entrance at Aberdeen

01:30and the players are coming in, got a wee signature. Well to be fair what we've said to him is

01:35if he can play golf with you in Maka then stay at your house overnight with the top

01:39on and then head out for a meal just with you. No, I think me and Tam would go up to

01:43Trump Turnberry wouldn't we? If he's got a membership there. Dave, I'm going to pass on

01:50Ruffey's number to you, contact him if you can with your Aberdeen top on, congratulations

01:55to you. Anyway, more competitions on the way as well, don't forget, hit the subscribe button

02:01and join that football family. Earlier on, just finished, the Scotland press conference

02:06I caught up with Kerry Pollock at Hampden. Well I'd like to say we're going to Hampden

02:10Park now because Kerry Pollock is there, she's been listening to the words of the

02:14Scotland manager Steve Clarke. Kerry, Steve Clarke himself with the stats backing him

02:20up is close to achieving a little bit of record that Jock Steen and Andy Roxburgh had as managers

02:28of Scotland. Yes he is that Peter, he's just, he's in that bracket and he said he's absolutely

02:34delighted to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys Jock Steen and Andy Roxburgh

02:38as you mentioned. Just one man outruns him as Scotland manager, that's Craig Brown, he's

02:41nine ahead of him just now and to meet that target he has to obviously outdo his contract

02:46which will hopefully take him into the Americas, into the World Cup which I'm hoping to do

02:50but he's got bigger problems ahead of him. He has to take on Portugal here tomorrow night

02:54at the National Stadium and despite defeat to Croatia on Saturday, he says the players

02:58have no issues and they're well aware of what's to be challenged ahead and what they need

03:02to do. None of the players are good, ready to go again. There's absolutely no issue whatsoever

03:07with that. Like I said before, the players understand where we are in the process, they

03:12understand what they have to do to get results and as far as I can see and hopefully as far

03:18as everyone else can see, they're all on board with that.

03:21A player obviously who has caught the eyes of the Scotland fans is Beto, he's only 18

03:25years old and Steve Burt says there's no issues with the youngster being thrown in. That would

03:29make him an agent so of course he joked about that but he wants him to be a star for the

03:32next 15 years and not just for a short length of time.

03:36Yes, I think so. You've always got the balance and we know Ben's a talent but we want Ben

03:43to be a talent for the next 15 years, not for the next 15 months. As I always say, don't

03:52put too much pressure on him, he's a young man, he will make mistakes in the game, he

03:55will do some really good things in the game.

03:57So the expectation will be that they'll hope to see Ben Doakern, we might even see a few

04:01more faces thrown in here tomorrow night.

04:04Yes Kerry, I think everybody is hoping that we can somehow reverse this dismal run we're

04:09on. One win in 15 is not great, some people expecting one win in 16 but we're hoping for

04:14a huge turn out of the Tartan army and maybe Scotland on the front foot.

04:21Well that's exactly it, that's what Shri Adams says, he did notice a few changes during the

04:25Croatia game. One of the criticisms coming out of the Euros was that Scotland were a

04:28bit cautious in the way that they set up, they played the back four against Croatia.

04:32He said he certainly noticed that Scotland are more attacking, trying to get the ball

04:35back and hopefully we'll see that here again tomorrow night because the last time we played

04:39Portugal of course it was the 88th mirror from Ronaldo that stole the points away from

04:43us.

04:44Yes, thanks to Kerry out there at Hamden covering that Scotland press conference well. First

04:49of all, let's talk about the nearly point that we almost got against Croatia. What were

04:56the positives for you, Ruffey?

04:58I think the positives were obviously the young boy Doak, I think any time he got on

05:03the ball you were looking for something to happen, that's not happened for a long time

05:08from anybody in a wide position, obviously through injuries but he was given his chance.

05:14I thought we looked organised as we always do, I think we had a lot of possession of

05:18the ball which we don't usually have. Unfortunately the possession from the back to the midfield

05:24is very, very good and then as usual we get up front and there's absolutely nothing, there's

05:29nothing to hang on to, there's not somebody up there who you know is going to score for

05:35you but given a chance. I think the boy, no disrespect to him, he's scored one goal in

05:40about 15 games or something like that, he's not a prolific goal scorer at this level.

05:44London Dykes?

05:45Yes, and we know all these big teams have got the big time scorer and we don't have

05:50that so I think we've just got to keep persevering, free kicks, corners, see what we can get.

05:56But it was certainly a better performance than the Euros.

05:59I am going to be optimistic first of all and positive in my assessment of it. While watching

06:06the match Tam, I actually thought yep, okay they've got possession at times but we're

06:10playing some good football but there's always that sense of we just don't have anything

06:16up front. When we took the lead it was a mistake by Croatia which we were able to capitalise

06:22on through Ryan Christie but then there's always that sense of impending doom because

06:28and I sound like a broken record, we just cannot defend.

06:33No we can't, I thought it was a lot of positives to take out the performance Peter, I think

06:37we always need the second goal, I think we've shown that against Portugal, getting the first

06:41goal as well. If you go 2-0 it gives you something really to hang on to, I don't think we're

06:45strong enough defensively against the top teams to keep them out. You always fancy Croatia

06:50to come back but I thought we played well in spells, I thought we pressed high, I thought

06:54we showed energy in the final third, we went after Croatia and when we had the ball we

06:59kept the ball well. I totally agree with Alfie, we're just crying out for a striker, a number

07:05nine, big dice goes up there and you know what you're getting from him, he'll put himself

07:09about, he'll win fouls, he'll work defenders but we've not got the quality in the final

07:16third and again it's a midfield player that scores for us, Ryan Christie. If the midfield

07:21players, your John McGuins, your McTominay's, your Christie's are not chipping in with goals,

07:25we're really struggling to score a goal at the minute. Again I think we'll go and compete

07:30against Portugal tomorrow but I just think in the final third we're really lacking because

07:35I thought a lot of our play was good until we got into the final third and then it all

07:38broke down. Brian says 1-15 is a dismal record, Clarke would have been sacked if he had that

07:43record at a club team. I just wonder, there's a big game tomorrow night at Hampden, how

07:51we go about things but I just wonder is there almost an acceptance of the fact that the

07:58credit in the bank is getting to these tournaments too, which we hadn't been at a major tournament

08:04for such a long time, so is that the credit in the bank which avoids anyone questioning

08:10whether he's going to get sacked or not? Yeah I think the credit in the bank is obviously

08:13getting to the Euros but taking Germany out of the equation, there's nobody really turned

08:20us over, we've never got thumped by anybody, we've always been in the game whether we lose

08:25a late goal or whatever but he hasn't suffered a three or four nothing off a Poland or something

08:32like that at home, that kind of result. He's come under pressure for the way they play

08:36though Ruffey. Maybe he's bought into it now because I think he's changed it a wee bit

08:41as Tam said, we had a lot of possession, the players were comfortable on the ball, they

08:46were prepared to move up the park and passes the way that Croatia were doing but unfortunately

08:52when Croatia got into the last third, the two boys wide who were creating absolute havoc,

08:58we didn't have that, all we get is Andy Robertson getting to the 18 yard line and throwing balls

09:03into the box and there's nobody in there apart from Dykes. Now the wee boy Doak got into

09:07the corner of the 18 yard box and he was taking people on which you thought oh there's something

09:12here but again there was nothing in the box, the midfield were all coming late but just

09:17too late. I just don't think, I think if he keeps playing that way and we're in the game

09:24and we're not getting turned over by anybody, I wouldn't be shouting for him to be sacked

09:30because I think the players that he's brought in, the nucleus of the squad is as good as

09:34any time we've had in the last 10-15 years. I think the players are getting everything

09:38as well, Peter you can see that, when managers are on a bad run you look at the players,

09:42are they still playing for the manager, are they still running for him, are they still

09:45trying for him and I think you can see to a man, going right into the last minute, Peter

09:49obviously they go wiz offside but we kept going right to the very death to try and get

09:53a point out of the game. Che Adams were unlucky with the lob as well, we created chances in

09:57the last 5-10 minutes so we kept going and I totally agree with Ruffey, as long as we're

10:01not getting beat 3's and 4's and 5's and we're competing with these top nations then I don't

10:05think anyone can come in and do any better with the squad of players that we've got to

10:09pick from. Do you think our whole discussion here would have changed had it been a 2-2

10:16draw? Yeah I think it would have been Peter because I think that the second half I thought

10:20we played well, I thought the last 10-15 minutes we really pushed for the equaliser

10:24and I think a draw would probably have been a fair result but us and Croatia have just

10:28got that little bit more quality in the final third than us and that was the difference

10:31but yeah I think we would be Peter because we know how good Croatia are, the quality

10:35of the player they've got but I don't think we looked outclassed at any point in the game,

10:39I thought Croatia looked a decent team but I think we looked and spells every bit as

10:43good as them. Yeah Doc says basically Dykes is woeful, he looked like a junior player

10:49flicking balls on at chest height then chasing it, don't get me started on Grant Hanley,

10:55Jesus wept, I'm not sure if Jesus did weep, I certainly jumped up when we got the equaliser

11:01because I thought to myself wow 2-2 fantastic and then by an inch, by an ankle, by a toenail

11:09we're deprived of that valuable point but I did see positives, I know Lyndon Dykes has

11:16come out Ruffey and said we're getting close, it's getting better, I wonder, I'm not going

11:23to totally and utterly discount and get into an argument with Tam On, there's nobody out

11:28there better because there's always someone who can change the way we play, I think maybe

11:34I'd like to see now, he's bought into the Ben Doak, he's a sensible manager, he doesn't

11:39want to put all the pressure on his shoulders, now I would like to see him, I'd like to see

11:48him maybe say right okay I'm going to take the bull by the horns here, we're not scoring

11:53goals with Lyndon Dykes, maybe we change the way we play and give somebody else, another

11:59striker a chance to have a go at it and get 15 games because it's not as if we're getting

12:06anywhere with the goals that Lyndon Dykes is going to make. Shea Adams will come in

12:09Peter I think. Yeah well Shea Adams has moved to Roma, a different league, you would think

12:14he's playing in a better class which will give him a lot of confidence but again Tam

12:20will know better than me, to be a striker in a Scotland team, you need service, you

12:26need people getting to the dangerous positions in the park, you need guys who are going to

12:32be firing missiles across the box to make it difficult for the defenders because if

12:36you're the only guy up there and you're making movement, you're not going to get the ball

12:40all the time, but we've not got a natural instinctive striker who's, something with

12:47the ball bubbles a bit and he's there, you get strikers who are like that, they're very

12:51very lucky and they're in the right place at the right time, we just don't seem to have

12:56a striker like that now. Yeah and the other thing and by the way we like to read out people

13:00who agree with us, some who don't, we'll try and mix it up and one here says, does

13:07Ruff, now when they're calling you Ruff that means he doesn't like you, does Ruff believe

13:13the crap he is saying, he thinks because we haven't been turned over it makes it okay.

13:19No I'm saying when you get turned over, when you generally get beat 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, that's

13:25when you get a reaction, I mean there is a reaction. What kind of reaction, a Celtic

13:29reaction? No, no I'm talking about the manager has to go reaction. He looks as if the players

13:37are down tools and results like that. Yeah you get all the different ones, he's lost

13:41the dressing room and all that stuff, that's what people buy into and obviously the media

13:45kick in as well and it makes it very very difficult for the powers that be to keep the

13:49manager in the job. The Germany game, yes that happened there, you can't defend that

13:54at all, it was a dismal performance. I can't think of anyone recently, okay we've beat

13:59the Holland but I think since then, I think he's hopefully learnt a couple of lessons

14:05but we won't know until tomorrow night until we see the team. I really do hope he keeps

14:09the young boy Doak in there because I do think if they play like that, the way they did,

14:15they could possibly get something out of the game tomorrow night, I really do.

14:19Yeah, the other aspect of this and again lots of people are making the point, is there

14:25a reluctance to give Steve Clarke criticism? I don't think there is, I think there's a,

14:30in my mind there's a realisation that we don't have and we haven't had all the way back to

14:37Gordon Strachan when we were at Wembley in the tunnel roughy, when we lost to three set

14:42pieces against England and Scotland played really well that night at Wembley. I just

14:47don't think we've got the defenders, we haven't got a system that allows us even a defender

14:53in a natural position, you know we've had Tierney in there in a three centre halves

14:59but it's asking a left back essentially or a full back, an attacking full back to play

15:04in a position some days it's not natural. He has on occasion played it for Arsenal but

15:09I just think it's better if you have centre halves who understand how to think like a

15:15centre half. We haven't got them Tam and we haven't had them for me, I don't think

15:21we've had them for the last decade and no harm to Grant Hanley, it's just not good enough

15:28at that area and then up front, if you can't defend you can't score goals, you're not going

15:33to win matches or make it to these things, I don't know what he's going to have to do

15:37but if there's one thing I think with Steve Clarke is I think the next stage of his evolution,

15:44you know managers can be lucky if they get the odd one or two players who come in and

15:48force their hand, I think he's got to look and say to himself, come on we need to either

15:54blood somebody at the centre half position and suck it up because right now we're not

16:00doing any better and we need to blood somebody in the front line alongside Shea Adams other

16:05than, you know Lyndon Knights can be a squad player, we've got to find somebody Tam that

16:10can suddenly create a threat for us and I think it's got to be somebody with a bit of pace.

16:14I think the problem we've got Peter, we've got a couple of problems, defensively firstly

16:19I think we are being crippled with injuries, I think when you look at the right back area

16:23in particular, Nathan Patterson, Aaron Hickey, I think three centre halves who would probably

16:27play would be, tiering the centre half, Jack Henry who I think is a decent player and McKenna,

16:35I think there's three centre halves who would probably play and the guys that are playing,

16:39Grant Hanley's not playing for Norwich Peter, he's not getting a game, he's not playing

16:44for Celtic, Ryan Portis is not getting a game for Watford, right so we're throwing guys

16:48in there who are not playing and not match fit which is an issue as well and the forward

16:52areas again, we're really lacking a striker, I think the last kind of talisman we had was

16:57Kenny Muller, I think Kenny Muller was perfect for this role, you know that lead striker,

17:02he was more mobile than Dykes, he can run in behind, he could score goals for us, Kenny

17:06was great for Scotland, we need a counter attacking striker, yeah we need somebody at

17:10pace that can run in behind and Dykes can't do that, Dykes as Ruffey spoke about earlier,

17:14he relies on service, you need to get the byline, you need to get crosses into the box

17:18for Lyndon Dykes, that's what he thrives on his whole career, that's why he's done so

17:21well with Stephen Dobie doing it, Queen of the South, they played as a two together,

17:25so that's the problems we've got Peter and as I said it's just a realism that this is

17:29the squad we've got at the minute, if we had a full squad available I think we're a far

17:33far better team but we are missing, particularly defensively we are missing some key players

17:38and in the forward areas you're right, we need to find someone more mobile than Dykes

17:42who can away from home, late at Croatia, can go and run in behind and threaten them.

17:46Yeah and thanks to so many of you who are giving us your thoughts on it, you know we're

17:50only giving it from our point of view, lots of the Tartan Army have got their own opinion

17:56on it and one here from Les who says, this is the best Scotland team we've had for years,

18:02give your arse a chance, we will improve under Clarke, you can't magic players out of thin

18:07air, I think your last point Les is absolutely spot on, I don't know where we're going, Bob

18:15says Peter doesn't rate McKenna, I mean I just don't think any of the players in the

18:22back line other than Andy Robertson and Ciaran Tierney are anywhere near the standard that

18:28you can hope to, to come up with what Tam's talking about Ruffey, we need to score two

18:34goals to think we might get a draw, that's been the case for ten years Ruffey.

18:38Yeah but things have moved on defensively now, every time you see a manager buying something

18:43it's always about his distribution on the ball, is he comfortable on the ball, the days

18:48of the old centre half of just putting in tackles and winning headers and competing

18:54against the opposition centre forward, that's all over now, it's a different style of defender

19:00that you want to be playing and Tam's identified, I'm not going to buy any Tierney being in

19:07a back three, I don't think it's his best position, I think it's wide getting forward

19:12and firing, he's the guy he was when he was playing in that wide position firing quality

19:17balls into the box, but obviously Andy Robertson's there as well, you cannae have the two of

19:21them, I just feel it's a modern day thing now, you know.

19:26What's a modern day thing?

19:28Everything's coming through on the ground, nothing's coming in high, centre halves don't

19:33have to go and win headers and all that, they have to be good at reading the game.

19:37Somebody sent me a clip, and I hate going back to the year dot, but I'm going to go

19:41back to the year dot, the year 1980 somebody showed me a clip, a Scotland England game

19:46and the Scotland back four was Danny McGrane, Willie Muller, Alec McLeish and Frankie Gray

19:53and England threw everything at them, I think it was Trevor Francis and Wood Coulton, whoever

19:58and Alec McLeish and Willie Muller just defended, they defended everything that came in the

20:03box, anything that was near the box, they read the game wide, both sides and they just

20:09defended, they were defenders, old style defenders.

20:12We don't have them, and I think the point there that was just made moments ago is we

20:18can't magic them out of thin air, so we're just going to have to suck it up.

20:22I don't know if another manager suddenly comes in and starts to play a different style which

20:27is going to produce a different end result.

20:30I'm not so sure, I think Steve Clarke, and he's not a mate, I do like him as a person,

20:39I know there's a group of Rangers fans who just don't like him, which is fine, they can

20:45get on with their own agenda, but I think the normal thinking fan from across the divide,

20:53Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hebs, look at him and think, he's got us to two tournaments,

20:58he's a good manager, he just doesn't have the personnel and if anything, and I think

21:04we were quite critical of him, I thought he got it woefully wrong in the European Championships.

21:09He has changed it now, Peter, he's definitely changed it.

21:12We played 3-5 at the back and we were too defensive, we were scared to go forward in

21:18the Euros, we threw us in the big stage, he's changed it now, I could see even the other

21:22night, getting up the park, going and pressing teams high, we sat in over in Germany, we

21:27waited for things to happen, we're now trying to make things happen, but he's hamstrung

21:31with the squad he's got, you can only pick the squad available, it's not a transfer market,

21:37you can't go out and buy people.

21:39As I said to you Peter, I think he'll struggle to get someone to come in and do a better

21:43job than Steve with the squad of players that he's got, but I've definitely noticed a change,

21:49I think he's went home and analysed the Germany, the Euros, and he's thought, we've got to

21:53be better than that, we've got to create more chances, I think we were the record lowest

21:56shots and lowest chances.

21:59I think his greatest analysis must surely have come from Switzerland and Hungary, that's

22:04where I was hyper critical of him, I didn't go into the Germany match and think well anything

22:10other than going to get battered.

22:14The Hungary and the Switzerland game, for me I looked and I thought, no I'm sorry Steve,

22:20it's alright being cautious, you need to change the game, the outcome was there to be changed

22:26in your favour and you didn't grasp the nettle for two teams that we should have been beating.

22:30The Switzerland game was there for the taking, the Hungary was painful and any manager could

22:38see, you want to win the game, get somebody positive on it.

22:41As you say, I do see the changes in him, sometimes managers, as many a manager say, it's better

22:47being a lucky manager than a good one.

22:49Get that change that suddenly somebody comes into your side that you can't ignore, he's

22:54Scottish, he's in and suddenly he gives you a different dimension on the way you want

22:58to play.

22:59Dokes is only one aspect of it, a young boy that he is, but we need others.

23:03I don't think we've got others, I think the only other I can think of is the boy Lennon,

23:10Miller.

23:11Yeah but he's another midfielder.

23:12I know he is, but I can't off the top of my head.

23:15I think Hickey looks good at right back.

23:17He's not going to be a right back, he's going to be a wing back.

23:21We need guys like Hickey and Paterson, and then Tierney.

23:24I don't think we need Paterson, I'll tell you why, because if he gets regular football

23:30and starts to show the early promise of those few games that he had from Rangers, he's never

23:36been able to get into that Everton side on a regular basis and his previous performances

23:41for Scotland were poor time.

23:42I think he needs to go through a development phase.

23:45I think he needs to go and play somewhere.

23:48Particularly when we're at home, I would like us to find three right good defenders

23:54and play a 3-5 with two up front, particularly at home.

23:57Ruffey, if we could find three central defenders, we'd be winning points at where we're losing games.

24:02Yeah but at home we should be against other teams having the upper hand, we should be

24:07on the front foot, we should be getting the ball wide to Roberts and Ardolph and getting

24:11in there.

24:12Let me throw to you now, what's going to happen tomorrow night then?

24:14Well they won't play two up front, because every manager you hear now say you've got

24:19to stifle the midfield, you've got to get as many people in there.

24:22But you've just said we should be on the front foot, are you expecting us to be on the front

24:25foot tomorrow?

24:26I think in parts of the game we should be.

24:28I don't think Portugal should have possession of the ball all the time, I think when we

24:34proved in Croatia we can have possession for, not large parts of the game, but certain parts

24:39of the games.

24:40But at the end of the day if you watch the way we play, there's nobody for the centre

24:44of MacTominay or Gilmer who are going to advance to the edge of the 18-yard box and have a

24:50ripping shot.

24:51So the only way we're going to success is to get the ball wide to Robertson, get the

24:55ball wide to Dort, get them into dangerous positions, get balls into the box with the

24:59midfield sort of supporting whoever is up front.

25:02That's the only way I can see us scoring, or a corner or a set-piece.

25:07Hugh Scott has said, Peter it goes to show, Shankland was scoring for fun last season,

25:13but didn't use him hardly in the Euros, now he's not scoring, it was a chance missed.

25:18Well, I am of the belief in the levels that Shankland, good scorer that he is, he's not

25:28got enough movement for me, I mean I have to be brutal about it, he's not got enough

25:33movement at the top level that suddenly is going to cause defences havoc.

25:38I'm sorry.

25:39No, no, I agree, I think he's a guy you bring on with 10, 15 to go if he's needing a goal.

25:43I think he's a penalty box striker, he's good in a team that dominates possession, dominates

25:49games, that's why Hart's finished third last season, he's a massive part in that.

25:53Hart's playing the front foot, they were getting plenty of balls in the box for him to score

25:57goals, so that's not the way we play.

25:59We need somebody that can hold the ball up, get fills, run the channels, get us up the

26:03pitch, that's just the way we play, and Lonitz is just not that type of player.

26:08You've obviously got the Portugal team up on the screen there, they've got a lot of

26:12quality on their team, but I don't think there's a lot of pressure on us, nobody expects us

26:16to get a result against Portugal tomorrow, so if I'm Steve Clarke, go and have a go,

26:19go and get after them and see what happens.

26:22I think we've done that against Spain, this Portugal team's not as good as the Spain team

26:25we beat at Hampden, I know we're missing some players, but that night we pressed Spain,

26:30they did not expect that, they're used to teams just coming and sitting in.

26:33We really, really pressed, played high up the pitch, were brave on the ball, played

26:37a brave high line, and we've got to go and do the same to Portugal to get a result.

26:40If we just sit in against Portugal, eventually they'll open you up and pick you off.

26:44I don't expect us to win, I don't even expect us to get a draw, so anything tomorrow is

26:50a bonus.

26:51If we see that progression in, as Tam says, that possession, that high press, maybe creating

26:57a few more things, maybe we will be positive on Wednesday's programme, but they had a team

27:03with Costa and Goal, Dalot, Diaz, Vega, Mendes, then they had their middle three, Fernandes,

27:10Neves and Silva, and then Pedro Neto, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Leal, who just looked like

27:18one of those machines that could run all day, and of course Ronaldo gets his goal.

27:24I just think they've got some really technically gifted players, they play lovely little triangles

27:32and they're really special, some of the players.

27:36Tam just touched on it earlier, it doesn't matter who you're playing against, if you're

27:40playing against another team that's better than you and they've got better players than

27:44you, you've got to do something, you've got to get in their faces, you've got to make

27:47sure they're not getting time on the ball, you're making sure if they're in corners,

27:52you're hunting in packs, everybody knows what they're doing, and they'll obviously research

27:58the Portuguese team, there will be a weak link in there that you can attack, but you've

28:04got to be on the front foot, you've got to say, okay you've got better players than us,

28:08you're all playing with great sides and all that, but they're not miles ahead, they weren't

28:13any miles ahead in Portugal.

28:15I'll tell you one thing I'm going to say to you right now, I think Tom Crossan, every

28:18now and then you get a golden nugget that comes up on our feed, Tam, and you think to

28:23yourself, I think somebody's got it, and I think Tom Crossan has it, he says, what we

28:28need is someone who gets the ball in our own penalty box and then beats everyone and scores.

28:36He's been reading that old magazine, who was it, Alf Tupper, what was that, was that the

28:41Hotspur, was it the Hotspur?

28:42Roy of the Rovers.

28:43Roy of the Rovers.

28:44It's Tiger and Scorcher, you know, there's two minutes to go, Blackie Gray has the ball,

28:48puts it to Roy Reyes, and then bish bash bosh, what a goal.

28:52Yeah, you're absolutely right, listen, it's a tough call, I don't know how it's going

28:57to go, but I fear we could be a 1-1 in 16.

29:02Does that change your mindset, are you looking for progress, do you think Steve Clarke should

29:07just be allowed to get on with it in the main qualifying campaign for the World Cup, is

29:10that the remit, and everything else is just a gradual progression?

29:15I'd love to be a fly on the wall, Ruffey, when he's talking to the SFA committee and

29:20has to, game by game, offer his assessment on where we are, because I think as a manager

29:26his job is to try and get the absolute best out of what he has available, but there has

29:32to be a moment, Ruffey, when he sits in that chair and says, ok, give me three centre-halves,

29:38give me two strikers who can score goals, give me somebody other than the plethora of

29:43midfielders that we have on a regular basis, give us someone that can defend properly,

29:49that's available, or give me a striker, and we don't have them, and we can't magic

29:53them out of the air.

29:55Interestingly enough, give me your take on this, I'm not going to mention your age,

30:00but I'm going to mention Ronaldo's, he's 39, Ruffey, he's scored 906 goals, and he

30:07got his 133rd goal for Portugal at the weekend against Poland, 72 for Al Nasr, Juventus 101,

30:16145 goals for Man United, the 5 goals for Sporting, and the mere 450 for Real Madrid,

30:26which is just frightening, 906 goals, and every press conference now, you have a group

30:34of journalists who are saying, does he spoil the balance of the Portugal side, is it time

30:40to hang the boots up?

30:42Yeah, again, you're going back to modern-style football, everybody a way back loved that

30:48luxury player, but now it's supposed to be a team game, it's 11 players all working for

30:55each other, and as long as that one player is producing the goods and doing something

30:59special, you get away with it, but in the modern day now, if the other team have the

31:04upper hand and that one player isn't being any effective at all, that's why he's not playing.

31:09Am I being a little bit sentimental on this, Tam, there's a real clamour from some people

31:14to say look, enough is enough, Roberto Martinez is sticking by him because he sees the value

31:19in what he offers, I mean, I have to tell you, the Portuguese FA certainly see the value

31:25because the merchandise alone has filled the coffers over the years.

31:31Yeah, I thought he was disappointing in the Euros, Peter, I thought he looked as if it

31:35was a Ronaldo show, I think we've seen the games, the Portuguese were disappointing,

31:38they didn't score a lot of goals, I think they exited and it was a penalty to France

31:43or something, with the squad of players they've got, I thought they were disappointing, and

31:49Ronaldo's listening, he's Marmite to some people, some people like him, I think the

31:53Portuguese fans will, he's a legend, probably one of their best, if not best ever players.

31:59Does he upset the balance, probably a wee bit for me, I didn't see him the other night

32:03but in the Euros, I just thought everything was trying to get into Ronaldo crosses, they

32:07were all looking to play Ronaldo in, and a lot of people didn't really play their natural

32:10game, so Robert Martinez is not going to drop him, I don't think, as long as he's in the

32:15team scoring goals, but yeah, I think with someone else, maybe a younger striker, which

32:20will come shortly, I don't think he's going to go on forever, then you maybe see a more

32:25free-flowing Portugal team, but every time a Fernandes or a Bernardo Silva gets the ball

32:30the first thought, can we hit Bernardo, I think teams are clocked on to that now.

32:35What I did notice in the Euros was when he wasn't playing, when he was on the bench,

32:39say 20 minutes to go and then they threw him on, you could see everybody else going, he's

32:44on the park now, we better up our game. I must admit, there's somebody who's obviously

32:50mentioned to me and there's not a lot I can do about it, because apart from his posturing,

32:58I am a fan, I think Messi's certainly the greatest player of this last 20 years, I think

33:06he's a level just above Ronaldo, but I am a huge fan of Ronaldo, just basically because

33:14the stats are incredible, he's a perfect example to so many athletes about working at your

33:21craft, working on your physique, working on every aspect of the game, I mean he hit the

33:27bar with one, which was basically a sleeping centre half and he sneaked in and just flicked

33:32it on to the bar, if you switch off, when I think it was Real hit the post, Ronaldo's

33:38there, one touch, the ball's in the back of the net at the weekend, he still for me

33:44is head and shoulders above a lot of mediocre internationalists and he's 39. Yeah, I mean

33:52again, I spoke about it earlier, a really, really good striker being in the right place

33:57at the right time, he has got the knack of that, he's been in the game a long time, he

34:01can read the game well, he can know balls are coming into the box, he might not get

34:05the ball all the time, but he'll anticipate where it is and I don't know if you remember,

34:10I mean I can't even remember which station it was, there was a documentary on Ronaldo

34:14on the TV and they showed, they put him in a room with a goal and turned all the lights

34:19off and firing balls in at him and he was getting every ball in the dark, I don't know

34:25which side that was on, but that was my lasting memory and then they were judging how high

34:30he can jump for a standard position and the figures were absolutely incredible. Yeah,

34:35absolutely, listen I'm a fan, some people are not, some people, the more cynical ones

34:40and the people who want to see maybe the Portuguese journalists who want to see Portugal progress

34:46and play in a different style are signalling the demise of Ronaldo, but I think he's still

34:50got something to offer, whether it's at the absolute top level in the major tournament,

34:55does he want to bow out at the World Cup, we shall see, pretty Paulie says, but could

34:59he score on a windy night in Arbroath, I think you'd probably have a field day there as well,

35:06but Ronaldo, Portugal, give me your prediction, Scotland, Portugal? I'm going to be positive

35:11and go for one each. One each, okay, I am going to go Scotland 1, Portugal 2, Tam? Yeah,

35:18I think we can compete for 60-70 minutes with Portugal, but I think when you look at the

35:22depth of the squads, I think that Portugal will probably pick us off late, as they've

35:27done in Portugal, so I'm going to agree with you and go sadly 2-1 to Portugal. Yeah, Rafi,

35:3212th of October, over the weekend obviously, as well as it being my daughter's birthday,

35:38it was also something momentous for you, 47 years ago, I know you hate it when I do this

35:44to you Rafi, but 47 years ago. What year was that? It would have been 40. No it wasn't,

35:51you weren't 40, you must have been about 24, 26 were you? 1977. 1977, it was a momentous

35:59day, 12th of October for you. Clean sheet against England. That year was round about

36:03a Scotland-England game, first Scotland-England game, first game for Switzerland, against

36:07Switzerland, first cup. No, what in 1977? Are you kidding me? That's a year later on,

36:13I was 76 that year. Third tennis girl. You're going to get battered. That's not the year

36:21we beat Portugal 4-1, was it? No, it's the year where you travelled down to Anfield to

36:27defeat Wales. Yes, I remember that. 2-0, who scored? Kendall Gleash and Don Marston. Can

36:36I ask you this, just as a wee footnote to it all, did Joe Jordan stay in the dressing

36:41room? Never. Never told you that he handled the ball? I've met Joe tonnes of times over

36:45the years. Did he not think that hand was his? No, I think if you watch that game, the

36:52Wales players don't complain either. Here's the difficult one, Rafi, and I know you're

36:57going to be really irritated by me. I've got to ask him, do you remember the team that

37:05played that night? And it just gives you an indication of now, the quality that we

37:10have now. Who was in goal? Well done. Martin Buchan played. He's a sub. Is he? Yeah, come

37:22on, he's a sub. Who was the back four in front of you? Who was the back four? Oh my God.

37:32Oh, come on, you're useless. So you are. Do you want me to tell you? Stuart Kennedy

37:36played. No, no. Jardine, left back. Danny? No, he played for Man City. Wally Donaghy?

37:45Yep, the two centre-halves, one of them was your big mate, you loved him. Greg Gordon?

37:50Yes, and the other one was a guy who made an unbelievable tackle for the Scotland and

37:57England match. Thank you. Right, your middle four, Masson's obviously scored the penalty.

38:04Lou Macari? Your favourite. Thank God, because I was going to give you a clue there. One

38:10of them had a wee book that extensively he always took on tour with him. Asa. Oh, Asa

38:19Hartford. And the other one is a guy who was really, really skilful. Joe? A winger.

38:31Willie Johnson? Yeah. And the last two. The two strikers might get into the team now.

38:39De Gleeson Jordan. We're talking about the game now. Imagine if you'd dealt De Gleeson

38:44Jordan in that modern team. If we'd dealt De Gleeson Jordan at the game against Croatia

38:51we'd have won. We're talking about now or back then? We're talking about when we were

38:55playing and we're talking about De Gleeson Jordan now? I'll take De Gleeson Jordan now.

38:59I've got one fella who we're going to play with one forward up front in his day, a game

39:06getting way back, Stevie Archibald. Stevie Archibald could play that one up front. Yes,

39:11he could, absolutely, without a shadow of doubt. He was a magnificent player. Yep, absolutely.

39:18My God, when you think of the talent we had then. And a big thank you to John Monaghan

39:24who says, your show is getting worse. Thanks John. We always like to read out people who

39:29are complimentary and those who really don't like us. So with John and his lovely compliment,

39:35remember John, this isn't the show for you. If you don't like the show, why don't you

39:40go and watch fanzines. We always like you to go and watch shows elsewhere which sums

39:45up your own intellect. Is that fair, Ruffy? Because sometimes if you're talking football

39:50here it gets above some people's mind and the way they work. Yeah, I mean you can't

39:55please everybody all the time, you can't agree with everybody all the time as well. Absolutely,

39:59if John can give us a boot and a buzz, we can fire one right back up. Let's go to the

40:03news.

40:10The Rangers are in advanced talks with Neil Critchley, ex-manager of Blackpool and Queen's

40:14Park, as they look to fill their vacant managerial position. There's Scotland News updates as

40:19James Forrest has departed the squad and in comes Rangers midfielder Connor Barron. Ahead

40:24of Tuesday night's clash against Portugal, Diego Dalot has warned that his side are finding

40:28their best form in years. Pedro Martinez Loza is delighted to welcome back Caroline Weir

40:34to the squad after a lengthy time out with an ACL injury.

40:38She's a very important player for us, very emotional too in terms of bringing her back

40:42and contribute massively to the game for us but also our priority is to take care of her

40:49to make sure we replicate routines and dynamics that are working well for her so we have done

40:55a lot of work with the club and the player to do that.

40:58England interim manager Lee Carsley believes that the next England manager should be world

41:02class and have won plenty of trophies.

41:05This is a world class job, this will be up there with the best jobs in football so whoever

41:12gets it is going to be at a high level. Again it's a privilege to do this job, I feel really

41:19well trusted.

41:20Those were your daily news headlines on Monday 14th October sponsored by Arnold Clark. For

41:25more exclusive content please be sure to download our app and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

41:35She's doing really well Ruffy, she needs a little bit of support every now and then

41:39based on playing up front for Partick Thistle.

41:41Yeah but I think she's a leading goal scorer, all strikers go through a bad spell, you know

41:46hers is lasting a wee bit longer than me.

41:49Well that's crashed her confidence, thanks for that Ruffy.

41:53Just listening to Lee Carsley there, he's adamant he's going to go back to the under

41:5921's and needs a world class manager. I wonder what they think they need to just get them

42:04finally over that hurdle for a major win.

42:06Yeah I think they do Peter, it's a huge job, I totally agree with him there. The pool of

42:10players at England they've got, they've got world class players in their squad. You could

42:15argue they've underachieved by not winning anything with that squad of players, I know

42:20they've got the two finals but you look at the quality they've got. Pep Guardiola, guys

42:25like that, that's the type of calibre of manager that I'd be looking for. Jürgen Klopp, he's

42:30got a job with Red Bull but guys of that ilk I think England have got to be in for.

42:36Yeah, Ruffy?

42:38Yeah I would agree with that. I think if you look at the bigger clubs, the club sides,

42:43when they want a cup or a good run in Europe they identify a foreign manager who's had

42:49that success, whether it be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, whatever. So there are certainly managers

42:56out with that pedigree.

42:57And talking of pedigree, the Hearts job, Neil Critchley now, we thought it was going to

43:01be Hoogma, couldn't get him over the line on Friday, suddenly they've changed and they're

43:07opting now for Neil Critchley who looks as if he's in the box seat if they can get all

43:12the T's crossed and the I's dotted.

43:15Well I think this is definitely an algorithm Tony Bloom appointment. I think if you look

43:20at his record, I think it's particularly great. I don't think it's inspiring if you're a Hearts

43:25supporter. He's done a decent job, obviously he worked under Steven Gerrard for a long

43:30time as a coach, a decent job at Blackpool, really poor at QPR and got sacked. But he

43:36must tick all the criteria that Hearts are looking for when they put everything into

43:41whatever it is they're putting into their computer or stats. He's obviously impressed

43:46in interviews as well, he's got them up, he's impressed. So a couple of Hearts supporters

43:51I've spoke to are a little bit underwhelmed by it but you've got to give everybody a chance.

43:55He'll come up, I'm sure if he's, it looks as if it's going to be done today or tomorrow,

44:00he'll be in charge for the game at the weekend and Hearts supporters will all get behind

44:04him but I don't know, I just think it's a little bit underwhelming if I'm a Hearts fan

44:08to see Neil Critchley come in.

44:10Yeah, listen, none of us had heard of Hoogma. Neil Critchley, we've heard of him. I wonder

44:17if now, if Tony Bloom has a major influence on this. Listen, everybody can talk about

44:24the Brighton blueprint, Ruffey and the great people that they've been able to sell on and

44:29the way they play football and the managers that they bring in that keeps them in the

44:32Premier League. Brentford have adopted this system as well at times. I'm sure there are

44:38other clubs who adopt this process and this procedure of, okay we're going to hire players

44:44based on stats, we're going to look at their value for money over their contribution during

44:48a game and then we're going to look at their potential for sell-on. Hearts are dealing

44:53in a smaller market that's certainly not up at Brighton buying somebody for £9m and selling

44:58them for £115m. So, they're dealing in a different market. Okay, they might get an

45:04influx of cash. I wonder if they're dealing in just somebody who follows the blueprint

45:09rather than offers his own personality.

45:12Yeah, I mean obviously they're the only ones that can tell us that. Tom's touched on the

45:17success that he's had but I think I read somewhere that he's actually got one of the highest

45:22coaching badges with FIFA or UEFA or something like that. So, I think that would go with

45:27it as well. I think he coaches to lots of teams all over the place but his actual club

45:33record isn't that good. In Blackpool he only lasted three games.

45:37Yeah, the second time. I mean, I know things can happen at clubs. It's not always the manager's

45:44fault. It's the way the board want to go. Tom's right, this certainly doesn't look like

45:49a Hearts board decision because I don't think the Hearts board would want anything to do

45:53with the next manager because they've made such a big zealot over the last six years

45:58with the appointments they've had coming in because none of them have worked. They finished

46:02third last season. I know but they're looking for more than that. They're looking for a

46:07good European runs after getting the three million. They want to do it again and that

46:11failed. So, they're obviously saying, well, who's going to take us to that level?

46:16Yeah, I must admit I'm going to go along at the weekend. I don't expect to see anything

46:22drastically changing. I think, if anything, the manager, whoever he is, comes in, if it's

46:25Neil or if they have to change again because they can't get him over the line. I think

46:30what they will see is a group of players, for me, who are underachieving. They've got

46:37a half-decent squad, Tam, and I think they could get a trick out of them before he gets

46:43to this expected change in January, more change in the summer.

46:47I think it's a great time to come in as a manager of Hearts. I think they are rock bottom

46:51at the minute. They're bottom of the league. Seriously underachieved. The squad of players

46:56they've got, they added in the summer, they spent money in the summer. The Cherry picked

47:01a lot of the better players from the smaller clubs in Scotland. They went abroad and signed

47:05players. So, listen, I think it's a good time to come in. They've got a favourable run of

47:10games coming up where you can go and pick up points. Listen, I think that every managerial

47:15appointment is a gamble. I don't know Neil Critchley personally, so we're just surmising

47:19what he's like as a coach, but if he's just looking at totally just focusing on his record,

47:24then I can understand why the Hearts supporters are a wee bit underwhelmed by it.

47:54I think when he came in, he came in obviously to a poor side. He's been on record a lot,

48:19saying there's a lot of people who had to leave and better players coming in. I think

48:23he's tried to do that throughout the year. I would hazard a guess that the team that

48:28he's got now look better than the first batch that he had in. So I think window on window,

48:35I think he's tried to get a lot out, but they just can't seem to get the target that the

48:40Rangers supporters want. They want to beat Celtic, obviously. They want to have a right

48:44good run in European football. I still think he's maybe two or three windows away from

48:49that, but the stumbling block is he keeps coming out and saying, I don't have the money

48:53to get us there.

48:55Tam?

48:56Yeah, I agree. I think that he inherited a bit of a pig's ear of a squad, to be honest.

49:01I think Michael Beale, the players that he brought in just weren't good enough. He's

49:07come in with a remit where, listen, we've got to get players out. We've got to reduce

49:11the wage bill drastically. He's got rid of a lot of big hitters. A lot of big monies

49:16went out to Rangers and they've signed cheaper players, which was obviously on his remit

49:20as well. I think at the tail end of last season, they had a real opportunity to win the league

49:27and they didn't do that. Until he beats Celtic in a big game, until he proves that he can

49:32win a big game of football against Celtic, then I think the jury's always going to be

49:36out on him. He's got a huge game coming up in January against Celtic. They've got to

49:40keep winning until then and keep that gap at five points. But yeah, I think he needs

49:45another couple of windows to get where he wants to be, but second's nowhere in Glasgow.

49:49Will he get the time to see that out, Peter? I don't know.

49:52Well, I do think he will, Ruffey. I'm there to be proved wrong, but I think slowly but

49:59surely he's getting half-decent players in areas. He's still looking for that prolific

50:05goal scorer. He hasn't got him yet. I don't see anybody in that line-up that looks as

50:10if they're capable of scoring regularly that 25-30 that you should be scoring as a Rangers

50:17player with the chances created. So, that's the biggest problem I think he's going to

50:21have to try and address. And then of course, the only thing that I think he has mentioned

50:28that I think is going to come back to bite him on his backside is, he said Celtic will

50:35see you in January at Eibar, it's a different story. If it isn't a different story, I think

50:39a lot of people will be very angry. Yeah, you come out with these kind of statements

50:43after a big game. People don't have short memories, they remember these things. This

50:49is what you promised us, this is where you told us we were going to be. So, it makes

50:53big emphasis on that game to win it. But as Tam says, there's lots of games before that

50:59that are as important as that Celtic game because they're only a couple of defeats away

51:04from other teams getting away from them and the supporters won't like that. Doesn't matter

51:10whether it's whatever it is in January, if there's so many points behind, okay you like

51:15to beat your opposition but if it only means three points and you're like 10 or 12 points

51:20clear, it's not going to be all and end all. I just wonder, does positive results in Europe

51:26again, it has been known in the past to take people's mind off the pain of what's happening

51:32domestically? Yeah, I think that's always been the case.

51:35I think Rangers in recent times in Europe have been excellent. I think it's taken the

51:40pressure off the manager. Domestically, Celtic dominate and they've gone on winning games

51:44and people can see what we're doing well in Europe, maybe we can get closer to Celtic.

51:48But listen, they've got some tough fixtures coming up. I mean, Camarnet away at the weekend

51:51is going to be a tough game for Rangers. Camarnet, probably not where they should be in the league

51:55but it's still a tough game to go down there and get a result. Then I think they've got

51:59Bucharest and then Aberdeen away is looming on the horizon as well. Listen, they need

52:04to keep winning games, they need to keep doing well in Europe. The fans need to see where

52:08the team is going. You need to see a style of play, you need to see progress and then

52:14the game in January will be pivotal as well in terms of the relationship with the Rangers

52:19fans. But I think a lot of Rangers fans are realistic at the minute. They know they're

52:23well behind Celtic but they just want to keep on the coattails and maybe down to a one-off

52:27game in January they can close the gap and see what happens. But yeah, I think they do

52:32need to stick with them over the next couple of windows but they've got to stay close to Celtic.

52:38Big game, weekend, not on the television, three o'clock kick-off.

52:43No, I mean, I don't really know who's in the right, who's in the wrong. But obviously the

52:50clubs now look after their own supporters, that seems to be 100% the way they go. It's

52:55disappointing for the neutrals, who like to see big games. It will be a great atmosphere

53:01at the game. Aberdeen are coming down to Glasgow and we all know what Alec Ferguson used to

53:07say about coming down to Glasgow. You're not going to go anywhere until you can prove to

53:11everybody that you can go to Glasgow and take points off the old firm.

53:15What would you do, Ruffey, with Jimmy Tolleen? He doesn't know what he's in for now. He's

53:19had this magnificent run and does he go toe-to-toe and high-press and try and see if they can

53:32take them on at their own game?

53:34Yeah, I would. You've got a dressing room of confidence, you've got a dressing room of

53:39players who are saying, look, we're undefeated here. Why shouldn't we be cocky enough to

53:46go down there? I personally don't think they've got the players to do it, but it just remains

53:52to be seen.

53:54Can I ask you this, Ruffey? If you think that Jimmy Tolleen should go down to Glasgow and

54:00go the high-press and go toe-to-toe with Celtic, do you think Celtic should do the same thing

54:05against Atalanta?

54:08No, I think Celtic should change, should find a plan B. If they do get the first goal, to

54:15be disciplined enough to see the game out, to be gung-ho and get another one, which I

54:21think they can do, but they've still got to prove it. I just think Aberdeen have got nothing

54:25to lose. They're five points clear of the Rangers.

54:28Yeah, it's not going to define their season, Peter. It's not going to define their season,

54:31Aberdeen. As I said to you, I think they've got third tied up already. They can go and

54:35have a go. Go and play the way you've been playing. Go and do the things you've been

54:38getting results. Don't change now because of the situation you're in with Celtic. 99%

54:46of Scottish football fans would expect Celtic to win this game. So go down and have a go

54:50and see what happens. I think it's going to be a great game. I think it's going to be

54:55a real great game, but I think you'll see Celtic burn their teeth. If I'm an Aberdeen

55:02fan, I think they could go and be on the end of a heavy defeat in Glasgow.

55:07Brian says Aberdeen's bubble will burst soon. Tone says Jimmy thumping incoming from the

55:15Champions. Don's 2024 says 2-2 on Saturday. Kenny says Peter Leven figured out Celtic

55:22in the semi-final last year and it was the best game of the season. Why not go for it

55:29with 21 points? We've got a lot of people. Michael Taylor says I agree with Kenny. Why

55:34not have a go? Gary Connor says Aberdeen will get a draw. 4-0 the hoops from some other

55:41quarters. And also Don Clark says can you give a shout out to Tam's former club Derry

55:48City. They're top of the league tonight with a win and only three games left.

55:54I've been keeping tabs with Peter. They've not won the league in 30 odd years over the

55:58last month. Can they win and go top of the league tonight? If they win they go top of

56:01the league and it's in their own hands to go and win the league. It would be fantastic

56:04for the city. They had a poor result the other night against Bohemians 1-1. They seem to

56:09be stuttering over the line. Shamrock Rovers, who have dominated Irish league for recent

56:13years, are still in the mix as well. It's really exciting. If you look at the league

56:18table, it's really exciting. I think two or three teams can still win it with three games

56:22to go. I'd love to see Derry City winning it. Would you go over there for the title

56:26winning game? Probably not. I'm not allowed. I've had a few weekends away so I'm underlocking

56:34keen at Christmas. I was going to say to you, you've got to be the only one on this programme

56:38in the last 5-10 years. We're going 12 roughly. I can't think of any of the pundits who have

56:45ever worked for us who have said, hey I'm having a weekend away in Blackpool. It's quite

56:51an unusual situation isn't it that we find ourselves in? It is. I was surprised to see

56:57what we can say. It was his brother he went with. He was your brother's 40th. Did you

57:02go on any of the fairground rides? No. Or did you just concentrate on Blackpool? Steady,

57:08steady. The mirror has said it. Not with Roffy. There were no rides. We did. We had a great

57:19time. It's the first time I've been down there since I was a kid. I don't think it's changed

57:23much. It's cheap and cheerful. It's cheesy and cheerful. A good weekend for the boys.

57:33Absolutely. Fantastic. Can't get any better than that. Roffy would have loved it. It would

57:37have been really good for you. I was quite happy here. We haven't been away for two days.

57:42Yeah, absolutely. We did call for your exclusion from the team as if to try and phase you out

57:48but we'll still keep you going Tam. Listen, thanks to so many of you for offering your

57:52support. I honestly don't mind people giving us a good kicking as well Roffy. Which is

57:58fine. Everybody's got their own show that they like don't they? Yes, of course they

58:02do. Did you think you'd be here 12 years on? No, not at all. I don't know about the next

58:0812 years either. You'll be here Roffy. Even if I've got to dab the side of your mouth,

58:14you'll still be here. I'm going to stick with you. Put a wee unbind there. You'll still

58:18be here in spirit. You moron. What age are you now Roffy? I'll be 73 next month. What?

58:2873? You'll look fantastic for 73 and we're still playing tennis. You'll be saying that

58:34moron out of the tennis. I know, absolutely. Listen, you can play tennis, he plays golf.

58:40He's doing alright for a 73 year old isn't he? Aye, absolutely. If I'm looking like Roffy

58:44at 73, I'll be delighted. Let's be honest about it, the lifestyle you have down to Blackpool

58:48you'll not be here at 53, never mind 73. Listen, thanks to everyone who watches the show and

58:54subscribes. If you get a chance, hit the subscribe button. Even like John there earlier on, if

58:58you hate us, hit the subscribe button. Always helps. It's one of those situations, we take

59:06all comers, love and hate. Thanks very much for watching and listening to the show.

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