rabuddies

It's nice to see clubs finally pay their debts - well, except if you're a "new club" of course. Perhaps the Blue Bigots, Hearts, Dundee, Motherwell and the rest will have a fit of conscience and will pay back all they owe. Ach, a man can dream!!!!!!!!

Tess can play anywhere across the back four, or three, or five - whatever we play next season (answers please in a s.a.e. to TC, etc.). Perhaps they want to push Naismith back into a more central role which I think is his natural position. Tess could be a useful acquisition. Don't get shirty about his wage demands, everybody looks for their maximum worth for their labour. All this talk about "excessive wage demands" and "only pay them when they play - you'd never guess we were a Paisley club!!!

I think it was just after his sons death and in the back of my mind I recall Cooper with his arm round Tony after he had been sent off. A referee that I met at a dinner some time after told me that the offence had been dealt with compassionately by the SFA and that several players from both sides had contacted them and that RFC had asked for leniency. Whether anything had been said to spark Tony off is just idle gossip I think.

Their average gate the last time they were in the top league was over 6,000, our average this season was about 4,500. This, and the new investors who have promised them money, might mean they could have a better budget than half the Premiership next season - us included. Their problem will be that they will need a lot more players for the new season based on what I saw of Hamilton the other night. All the pundits reckon Hamilton were a better side than Dundee and they struggled against Hibs, by far the worst team in the Premiership this season.

Great keeper - and not a bad outfield player as well. He turned out for the reserves wearing the No.7 jersey a couple of times (in those days we only travelled to the nearby away games and the reserves always played on Saturdays so the old enclosure was pretty full for these games). Where are the characters like Denis in the modern game!

Sometimes, it's better to say nothing at all!

Still a Hearts player according to Levein. They have asked him to take a pay cut, which he did before, and will only be released if he turns it down

He certainly was a quality street kid. Touted for big things and I saw him play for the Scotland U21's and he was head and shoulders above anyone else on the park. However, the last season has been a bit of a bust for him - attitude maybe after all the media hype? Would still think we have no chance here.

I think the higher figure is salary plus bonuses, appearance money and other add-ons. I think most players in league 2 are nearer six figures a year when all the perks are taken into account. That's about equal to most SPFL teams. Scotland can't compete with League 1 sides at the moment.

Have you thought of getting married and taking your new husband's name?

Most players who have their heads screwed on do their badges in their late 20's, early 30's - a sensible precaution. Then along comes media work and all the spin-offs from there can lead to a very comfortable income without losing sleep over all the crap that football management brings. Don't assume that he wants into management - he plays the guitar, perhaps he wants to form a band?

Not personally but long, long ago an old mate was working as a spark for Kilpatricks and to finish a job in Cumbernauld he did three 12 hour days, finishing at 8pm on the Saturday night. He got a lift back into Glasgow, had a couple of pints with his workmates, bought some cans and a double double of Bells (remember it was the early 70's) and downed a couple of cans waiting on the train. He got on the Ayr train around 10pm and a guy woke him in Prestwick and asked him where he was wanting off. When he said Paisley the chap advised him to stay on till Ayr, get off there, and get the last train back up to Paisley. While waiting for the last train back he scoffed the double double as he was getting a bit chilly. He then got on the train and a cleaner woke him at 4am in a siding outside Central Station. He swore off the drink then but the funny fags he started on didn't do him much good either!!

His gig in Paisley last Saturday as part of the Bring It All Home series was sadly not too well supported (Scottish Songwriters - Midge Ure, Hamish Stuart, James Grant, Karine Polwart and Blue Rose Code). Pity 'cos it was a good night. Each played some of their own stuff and songs they admired by other Scottish writers and then a 20 minute medley / jam session featuring all of the above. Mind you, Midge chose a couple of Cream songs as he is a big fan of Jack Bruce but he had to admit that on the afternoon of the gig he found out one of them wasn't written by Bruce

He was signed just the day before I think. We certainly paid the Bankies for him, not sure if we paid Thistle any money for DMcD.

Oops. Sorry all I meant "just over an hour away". Senior moment. Anyway, nearer than most United fans live if you believe the press they get. Going from Rotherham to Leeds is like going from Paisley to Stirling. Family friends in Rotherham have two lads in their 30's and they are both huge Leeds United fans and have been since they were boys. "Dogging it" was common parlance for bunking off school when I were a lad.

The Rotherham population (if you include it's surrounds) is close to 250,000 - about twice what Paisley and it's surrounds has, 125,000. You have to remember that Linwood and Erskine are largely made up of former Glasgow overspill so you can't include them in the equation. So, they have a crowd of 8,000 and we have a crowd of 4,000. We have the bigot brothers on our doorstep, they have the two big Sheffield clubs, albeit they are not what they were and Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds not that far away. Not counting that the two big Manchester clubs are just over a mile away. Statistically we are not that far behind them.

All of the above are good, very good indeed. But if you want greatness please listen to this as it is a work of true and inspired genius. It is Ralph Vaughn Williams "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis". (Read the notes on it on Wikipedia to understand what RVW was setting out to achieve - he just hit it in spades) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAtx578yaZ8&noredirect=1 It's only just over 16mins (he also wrote two revisions which were slightly shorter but the above is the real deal) so I try and listen to it every day.

The Garage at Abbeymill, tel:0141 4112255 (i think). Contact big Kenny or Grant, both know their stuff and are straight-up guys.

Thanks for that. A long time since I did my Business Law classes. Do you know if all Saints shares carry same voting rights.

I'm sure the rules actually apply to voting rights. But if it is 1 for 1, the important point is if you acquire 75% + 1 you are mandated to offer to buy the balance of 25% - 1 from all remaining shareholders at a price at least equal to that paid for the balance of the shares that give you the controlling interest. Do all the shares come with the same voting rights. I had some shares passed down through the family and I bought more when they had further share issues but I'm damned if I can find them to check if they both carry the same voting rights. Any corporate law guys on here?

OK. I open with Sandy Clelland.

I was speaking generally. I saw my first Saints game, as a bairn, in the mid 50's. If I listed all the clueless triers I've seen since then I would break the interweb thingy!!!

I don't think I've ever seen McLean shirk a tackle or not give 100% when in a Saints shirt. He tries to play football all the time, even when it's not coming off or he's not playing well. Sadly, that's what gets fans on his back and even more sadly it's why some fans will always love a clueless trier over a good footballer.

My cousin's husband flew Super Hercs and Globemasters for the RAF. At the end of his first day of training at Cranwell the instructor told them that flying was the best job in the world and his only piece of advice was "don't get in a helicopter if you can avoid it"!

Post of the week. But, take the tourist route on the way back. You must batter up the A9 because it has the truly breathtaking view of Scottish forestry in all its glory. As you head towards Dunkeld you crest a little summit in the road and you are met with the most amazing view of what Scotland was originally - just trees rising up all the way to the sky it seems. Best viewed in autumn, with the greens, gold and browns. And the bonus is, if you carry on through Pitlochry towards Killiecrankie you have Queens View. Just look and wonder - you can stick the Grand Canyon you know where!!!