Tubilay

I don't think it was a case of entirely wild speculation. There was a vacuum of information for a week, and that inevitably makes for speculation, but it wasn't as if it was one or two rogue newspapers claiming he was on the radar at Rangers. Everyone had it. The bookies had him down to 7/4. There was *something* going there, but it was likely blown up because there was bugger all else in the sports news. My own personal, slightly educated hunch is that they definitely wanted him, they couldn't afford compensation, McInnes was nonchalant about the speculation, their other targets got impatient, and Milne probably added a wee sweetener to a contract that was already on the table in some form or other, making it much easier to sign.

Going to sign for Leeds, apparently.

It remains to be seen if this is a "maximise the value" contract, or a commitment to see out a title-challenging year, but both are preferable to the status quo. Excellent news.

One for the "worth a look" file. Stephen Dobbie being released by Crystal Palace. Pros: Experienced, and at a good level. A "winner" (read, competitive, a bit niggly) A very good technical footballer. Plays in behind the striker, a position we've struggled with. Good with set-pieces. Another veteran who can pass on good habits and tales to the younger kids. Cons: 32 years old. Has been on loan at Fleetwood. Almost certainly on the downward curve in his career trajectory. Won't get (or by worth) anything like what he's being paid by Crystal Palace.

For a goalkeeper, I'm not sure it's quite so much to do with proving his worth at that level, but more an issue of simply getting more minutes on the pitch. Experience is more important for a goalkeeper than almost every other position, and figuring things out in real game situations is invaluable. A different club in the same division will pose different challenges. If we could get him out on loan to another Premiership team, brilliant. I think that's unlikely though. It's all about minutes on the pitch as far as I'm concerned.

I'm amazed that folk have a strong reaction one way or another.

I'd think McNaughton would be a more than adequate replacement in the centre of the defence if Anderson is retiring.

The problem is that Doncaster is accountable to the clubs. They're his employer, not the SFA or some anonymous suits. The SPFL board of directors are his bosses. The fact they've deemed his tenure so far to be acceptable absolutely reeks. There's been no leadership from the top at all, with the board of directors having Doncaster as their public face, and him being unwilling to make anything like a forceful statement on anything. A sponsor would be a start, but there needs to be a serious shake up at the top regardless.

Ultimately, I think it'll depend what happens in the next two seasons or so. He's still young enough to make a real impact on the top flight or the Championship. We might have to reassess some of the guys who left. If Fraser is even on the fringes of a Premier League side, I think we'd have to say that he's made the right move for his career. After a very slow start, I think Grimmer probably feels he's made the right move as well, given he's been much closer to the first-team under Symons at Fulham. Obviously, it's still the bottom of the Championship rather than Europe, and it's a few lost years, but they're a team who are a Premier League side behind the scenes. I just hope we've got some good add-ons for these guys, whether they make it to the big time or not.

What he's got in his favour is that he's the only realistic "other" candidate. Celtic's votes will be split a number of ways, Stewart has had a good season, but I don't think he'll get many votes that Rooney wouldn't. A couple of years ago (last year?) when Celtic had no nominees, it was because they had seven or eight players who'd all got just below the required threshold. Rather than it being the slap in the face they said it was, it was actually a backhanded compliment. I suspect there'll be a few votes going each way to the Celtic pair, so he might have a chance.

I'd say that last season will be more memorable in five, six, ten years' time. In that sense, it was better. But we, as a team, are miles and miles better than we were last season.

Very interesting to see what we do with him. He's been far too good for League 1 this season, but he's going to have a hell of a time trying to force his way into the first team. Another year contract, like Low got last year, sending him out on loan for six months to the Championship?

There are scale problems in Scottish football with regards pricing. The reason that clubs in, for example, Germany can afford to offer football at £150 for a season ticket is because their TV deal is so massive that the day-to-day support is a fraction of their overall income. Clubs in England could/should be able to do exactly this as well, but choose not to. Every club in the English Premier league could drop their prices by £20 next year, and still make the same margins as they did this, given the massive increase in TV money. International golf, rugby, tennis, etc, all have huge sponsorship deals, which means they can be a bit more flexible on pricing. In Scotland, we don't have that luxury. Almost all of a club's income comes from gate receipts. As a result, they're more expensive, and they're pushed to the absolute limit of what people will pay. Because the league has no sponsor, because our TV deal is horrendous and because there's minimal "other" revenue streams, clubs have to put up prices. For example, if we dropped the average ticket by £5, it could cost us something in the region of £1 million in lost revenue. That's something like 15% of our total turnover, and that's us. For a club like Motherwell or St Johnstone, that's an enormous portion of their income in a given year. The only way to make it more affordable without cutting back on the budget of the clubs is to open up more TV money, more sponsorship and more revenue opportunities for the clubs.

It certainly seems that way. Rather than simply bringing through local kids, we're looking at teenagers from all of Europe. There's obviously a long way to go before we see if this approach bears any fruit, but you can see from the development squad that it seems to be in very good hands. Even as an afterthought, having a more cosmopolitan squad has to have additional benefits, as players hopefully learn good habits from players brought up outside Scotland.

It's definitely a step in the right direction. I've no doubt that it'll be seen with a degree of scepticism and mistrust, and I certainly don't think it's fixed all the issues, but it's absolutely a small step in the right direction.