Jaggernaut

I'd happily get along with everybody if people just stopped p*ssing me off.

...a warrior! Check the number of asterisks.

As long as you don't try to focus on Elvis' attire and footwear as he moves around.

Good on ya. Cheque going in the post tonight. Monra Jags. Edited to add: Err, I'll wait until I get the renewal form.

Me neither. Shaggy's a w*****r!

Who knows what the difference might be? If you never try, you'll never know. We've tried 300 years of London, and that's enough, thank you. So you want to divide a stable democracy where there are about 500 000 English living in Scotland and the same if not more Scots in England to basically "give it a go"? Again you use London. Geography. In England. Despite it being one of only two really international global cities where people from all over the world are attracted to (the other being New York) somehow as it's based in that far away land of England then it's bad. What is there to be frightened of? Would independence mean the end of stable democracy? Of course not! Do general elections every 4-5 years signal the end of stable democracy? Of course not! Your point about the numbers of people from outwith Scotland living here, or Scots living elsewhere is irrelevant to the question of whether Scotland should/is capable of governing itself, and might do a better job of it for all the people who are living here. [i]Oh, I forgot, the unionists in Holyrood blocked the only serious attempt to address alcohol abuse.[/i] Minimum alcohol pricing is a tiny piece of what is needed. Culture needs to change. Moving away from "getting on the bevvy" plus councils and police already have huge powers to control drinking via current laws which are never used. Agreed, but legislation as a tiny piece is at least a start. Just look at the change in attitudes towards driving after having had one or two drinks compared to how it used to be, or to wearing seat belts to how it used to be. Or to smoking in bars, restuarants, in offices etc. Legislation can play a role in helping to change attitudes. The unionist parties blocked the SNP's proposals for petty political reasons. Yes, many people migrate, but it's usually because their economic and/or social situation makes their native country no longer attractive enough to keep them. We live in a globalised world. Populations move all the time. 100 000 Poles came to Scotland at the peak and the majority all worked. Where did these jobs come from and why did native Scots not take them? There is a over reliance on the state and a work ethic that has been diminished in many parts. The left leaning SNP (when it suits them) wont help that. Entrepreneurship and getting off ones arse will help. Nationalism does not promote openness but inward looking and accusing fingers of not being Scottish enough and being a traitor wont attract people, keep them or open up investment. I think the main reasons people leave is the weather and the sense of adventure. That will never end. Agreed about the globalized world, and there's nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is the illogical accusation of narrow-mindedness and xenophobia leveled at SNP supporters by British nationalists, by which I mean many (not all) of those who are desperate to save the union. Overall to me nationalism is a bizarre political viewpoint. By luck you are born in Scotland. If you were born in England would you be a supporter of the English Democrats? Would you want to give two fingers to people in Newcasle, Liverpool, Leeds etc and say I'm doing my own thing. Thanks for Welfare State, NHS, ability to bail ourselves out from the credit crunch but GTF anyway and look at Ireland and Iceland who were part of the once mythical "Arc of Prosperity". Not really sure what you're getting at here, but it's impossible to state that that the world economic crisis would have affected Scotland in a worse way if we had been independent, because the entire economic context would have been different. And don't forget the the UK is trillions (yes trillions) of pounds in debt, that will probably never be paid off. That Arc of Prosperity wasn't at all mythical for as long as it lasted, and those countries will eventually recover. There are other small countries with a much higher level of prosperity than us.

We won't concede any goals next season.

Nice, apart from the annoying adverts.

London, Brussels, Edinburgh. What's the difference? East coast good. Brussels good. London bad. Who knows what the difference might be? If you never try, you'll never know. We've tried 300 years of London, and that's enough, thank you. Has our health and life expectancy improved during the SNP governance over the past 4 years? Health can be improved by social learning and promotion of better habits. A lot of our problems can be cured via families and people showing their children the right way to live. If people cut down on cigarettes, drink, ate less fatty foods and went and did some exercise then the stats would improve dramatically. You don't need politicians for that. You really expect health and life expectancy to have improved after 4 years of the SNP governing under the constraints imposed on them from Westminster, the same constraints that Scotland has had imposed for 300 years? Politicians can give guidance and leadership, and even take measures to try to facilitate the right way to live. Oh, I forgot, the unionists in Holyrood blocked the only serious attempt to address alcohol abuse. As for people having to "abandon their country". What's wrong with moving, living a different culture, improving your job prospects or simply enjoying better weather? Nothing. Sounds like your nationalism is showing through. Oh, I never thought of it like that. People are individuals and can move if they want. Migration is used by politicians for political means. Germans and English moved to America in huge numbers but this is totally ignored by people for their own political hunger instead talking about poor Scots having to move to flee economic and political pain. Yes, many people migrate, but it's usually because their economic and/or social situation makes their native country no longer attractive enough to keep them.

So what do you propose? More of the same from another 300 years of being told by Westminster what we can do and what we can spend? Another 300 years of having no voice at the UN or in Europe other than the one that Westminster allows us to have? Another 300 years of having some of the worst health and lowest life expectancy among industrialized countries? Another 300 years of so hundreds of thousands of Scots experiencing "the benefits" of the union to the point that they prefer to abandon their country to settle somewhere else? I think you've been watching listening to and reading too many british nationalists.

Hmm, tres interessant. It may be that with one or two of the youngsters being able to do a good job in midfield, that we'll have enough to cover and mix and match.

I'd recommend paraquat as a mixer for their Buckfast.

That's a good set of replies by Steven H. It seems to me that many "British nationalists" (i.e. unionists) are not too far off openly declaring a deep anti-Scottishness; there's even a kind self-loathing of Scotland by some Scots that is now starting to surface because the unthinkable (for them) might just happen, i.e. Scotland might actually become a country, instead of a region.

I watched a couple of Youtube clips last night, and noticed that Cairney scored a few of the goals that featured. It was good to see him start to show glimpses of his old self in the last few games of the season, especially when Rowson was absent, but that probably meant he was a bit deeper than he'd normally be. It would be great to see him fully back to normal and getting forward a bit more next season.

Is that in today's Mail? Any chance of a link?

Didn't think of that, but I don't have online banking with them, so would be unlikely to be able to access the money. Got a feeling that you need to sign a contract in any case, and that's when they can demand it. Funnily enough, when I did something similar with the Clydesdale they put in place no such barriers.

I've never seen any winning side do this, and I don't think I ever will.

Pedantry alert! Err, you're sort of right, right enough.

Was that on the match chat thread on the old ptfc.net? The range and depths of emotions throughout that thread were incredible.

You know fully what kind of kind of reply this one's going to attract.

Yep. I've added a post to the fundraising brainstorm thread at the top of the page.

And since this has come up in another thread: Sell prints of some of the best matchday photos, both unframed and framed, signed and unsigned. These are also things that can be used as prizes in half-time draws, raffles etc.

I enjoyed seeing Birmingham's "Apprentice"-style competition for groups of school children, featured on last night's MotD programme. Schoolkids came to the ground and worked in teams to come up with ideas about how to get more people to come and see the team. There was a panel, including a player, who assessed each project, asked the children questions etc. All very supportive of the children and got them thinking, so probably a good "educational" day out for the children, and maybe even some good ideas for the club to work on too. All in all, even if not a real fundraiser, an excellent community exercise.

Are the final results for this out yet?