Duck snort

Scotland will be better off independent because we'll have a govt at Holyrood making decisions for and creating policy for the 5m people of Scotland rather than a govt at Westminster attempting a one size fits all approach for 65m people. Even if I thought the UK govt was trying to do the best it could for the whole of the country I'd believe fundamentally that a Scottish govt could make better decisions for Scotland. That the current political climate south of the border is lurching further to the right of centre makes it even more important in my eyes to vote Yes. While I don't expect UKIP to make much headway in terms of the number of seats they claim at the next election their rise in popularity is dictating policy for both the Tory and Labour parties. We already have the the 4th most unequal society in the developed world and I can only see this pattern continuing under a UK govt. If you're looking for absolutes when it comes to the financial side of things then you're probably going to be disappointed. Both sides are obviously going to spin the numbers to suit the outcome they're after. However, if you look at Scotland's resources and diverse economy there's no doubt we have what it takes to be a successful independent country. Cameron, Darling and Paddy Ashdown amongst others have all said as much. I don't see many other European countries of a similar size struggling to make ends meet so why would Scotland be any different. I don't expect it to be easy, far from it, but I see just as much uncertainty if we vote No.

I seriously doubt Brian Souter said any such thing. He's an unequivocal supporter of independence. The way the media have spun Stagecoach's annual report is ridiculous, but typical. It's an accounting requirement to mention any possible risks, so of course the independence referendum had to be included. Also mentioned, but not reported, were things like the EU in/out referendum and the UK general election. This link has Souter's real opinion. http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/news/280679-sir-brian-souter-independence-will-create-a-positive-outcome-for-firms/ Re the set up costs. What was actually said was that initial set up costs are likely to be around £200m, rising to between £600m and £1.5bn over the first 10 years of an independent Scotland. Included within these costs would be the upgrade of the tax system, which is something the UK will have to do anyway so those costs will be incurred whether we vote Yes or not. This is according to Prof Dunleavy in his interview with GMS the other morning. Even if the costs do reach the top end of the estimate they're a better investment for Scotland and considerably less than our £2bn share of HS2 over the same period, as far as I'm concerned.

Danny Murphy is a breath of fresh air. Tactically astute, not stating the obvious like so many of them. A huge step up from Lawrensen's tired old routine. Hope the BBC use him more often.

Have heard from a reliable source the only offer Thomson has had for next season is from......Hearts!

To be fair to McGivern that's the way both Fenlon and Butcher have told Hibs to play. A mate of mine who knows Alan Maybury was told by him that training under Butcher and Malpas is brutal. It's all about launching the ball into the box from anywhere on the park and encouraging midfield runners to pick up the pieces. I'm not suggesting we should be interested in McGivern, just that playing for Hibs at the moment is no indication of how good a player you are.

A Dundee supporting mate says they were pretty poor this season. He reckoned Christian Nade was their best player since the turn of the year, which tells you a lot. However, it's likely there will be quite a change in personnel over the summer. Think they've already got a couple on pre-contracts.

Sportsound saying tonight that Levein will pick the team and be on the training ground every day. What exactly is Neilson there for?!

Actually been home for half an hour after my 10 minute walk home, but only just calmed down enough to type! First half we were awful other than for 5 minutes after Taylor's goal which came completely against the run of play. Second half we were fantastic. Got the ball down and played as we know they can. Can't wait to see Gary Fraser's goal again. Absolute screamer. Goal of the season easily. Atmosphere in the away end was awesome. Brilliant night.

BT Sport are showing St Johnstone v Celtic next Wed night. Unbelievable, the only game being played midweek that is meaningless.

2-0 now

No, definitely Taylor-Sinclair! Great cross from Higginbotham. ATS and Taylor both launching themselves at it, but Aaron got there.

No reason why there couldn't be a re-unification if that's what all parties wanted, but why on earth would we want to. 55 countries have become independent from the UK since 1900 and not one has asked to come back, most who have nothing like the resources Scotland has.

I didn't say it was the worst we've been. I said it was the worst we've passed the ball for a long time. We were solid enough defensively and I never really thought there was any danger of Hearts getting back into the game. Agree we did ok in the 1st half, but we never got the passing game going. That, as The Cup says, may well have been down to Hearts' style of play which is all based round the energy of their youngsters.

The benefits of living 10 minutes walk from Tynecastle mean I can do the "just in" early for once. Great 3 points, but not the best performance. We just didn't pass the ball at all. Worst I've seen us in that regard for a long time. Don't know whether or not it was the plan to keep knocking the ball long or not, but that's what we did time after time. Taylor did some great work chasing them down but it wasn't pretty to watch. It was the definition of winning ugly. It's what we needed to do so I'll take it, especially as we've had so many good performances where we've got nothing this season. Edited to add - fantastic Thistle support. Turned up in big numbers.

Could make his Oldham debut v Liverpool in the FA Cup this weekend!

Phoned the club this morning. Tickets will be available at a kiosk at Easter Road on Saturday.

Not sure this is a good move by Hibs. If Butcher does well he'll be off to Ibrox. If he doesn't then they're back to square one. Either way I don't see him being there long.

This season the refereeing seems to be worse everywhere. I've seen result changing incorrect decisions in Scotland, England and especially the Champions League which is worrying as it's supposed to be officiated by the best refs in Europe. In the NFL every play of every game is reviewed the following week and the officials are all rated. At the end of each season the most highly rated get the play off games and the lowest rated are replaced. How I wish there was a similar system in football.

I think 4 is harsh on us. It's been a much better contest than the Firhill game. Nothing between the teams in the 1st half other than Bannigan not doing his job at both goals. Thought we responded well to the 3rd goal, the heads didn't go down. Craigen really unlucky to be subbed. One of our best players till that point. Aberdeen are the best side we've played this season.

No Lawless in the squad either.

There was a couple of them in the Main Stand at the South end. They made themselves known when Samaras scored which caused a bit of a reaction from those around them. Just an argument rather than anything else. I think they left at that point before the stewards removed them.

Given that the seats were ripped out at Firhill at a Cetic v Rangers kids game it's unlikely Jags fans were heard singing the sash!!! Utter pish. Been following Thistle for nearly 40 years and never heard it sung.

"Scottish minnows"! Bloody cheek.

If Doolan continues to play like he did today the goals will come. He ran Barr and Bouzid ragged in the first half. They just couldn't handle him. Forced Samson into a great save. He was a bit quieter in the second half but had one superb moment when he brought the ball out of the air, turned a couple of defenders and hit a shot that was destined for the goal but for a terrific block. I didn't get a good view of the disallowed goal but there didn't seem to be many protests so assume it was handball. He finished it well though.

Sorry, but that's a total over reaction. I did see the coin land on the pitch and it's disappointing that it happened but according to Ian Maxwell we've had over 40,000 kids through the gates since the initiative started and you want to get rid of it after one incident!