Andrew Mackenzie

Use of the ball since half-time has been appalling, unfortunately.

Change the formation - do something to make it less predictable. #WBA

The Hawthorns during the first half of West Brom vs Sheffield Wednesday.

Not a great half, but not dreadful. Still feels like creating good chances with sustained possession doesn’t come naturally, but a slight improvement on some efforts. Been a bit more direct at times and maybe trying to move the ball a bit quicker, too. Maybe I’m clutching at straws, though. #WBA

Definitely feels like there is space behind this Sheff Wed defence to be exploited in transition. Whether we have the wherewithal to take advantage is a fair question.

Also, at least from my vantage point in the East Stand, this is very close to being a kit clash. #WBA

As usual, remarkable queues for the phone boxes on Great George Street and around Westminster. Mobiles clearly not catching on, as I long said would be the case.

I was about to get angry at an inconvenient and sudden train cancellation there, but the carriages had massive poppies printed on the side of them so I was overcome by a wave of #respect instead.

Jonathan! That serves you right for fucking Andrew Sachs, that. Serves you right for Andrew Sachs, that. Fucking serves you right. #CelebrityTraitors

Scottish Parliament election to have daytime vote count in 2026 Votes will be counted the day after the 7 May poll, instead of overnight, it has been announced.

Even worse than abandoning the Boxing Day football fixtures, this.

I demand to hear about Dumbarton going to a fifth recount at 4.30am!

I have plenty of reservations about this Aberdeen team, but six points and two clean sheets from away fixtures at St Mirren and Kilmarnock is good shooting regardless of how you get them.

Utterly bizarre use of "👀" from BBC Sport Wales, here. Are they suggesting that they have actually kidnapped his dog and they are just waiting for Ramsey to increase the reward to an acceptable amount before they decide to get involved?

It would presumably be a complicated (and expensive) deal to get done, but if there is any chance that it would be at all feasible, Celtic should be doing everything they can to get Kieran McKenna as their next manager.

YouTube video header: "Martin O'Neill BACKS Hearts To Win The SPFL Over Celtic & Rangers!"

Martin O'Neill, who has been appointed as interim manager of Celtic this evening, was on talkSPORT earlier today.

He was full of compliments and praise for his new players, with a League Cup semi-final against Rangers fast approaching on Sunday.

Stewart Lee's looking well.

Hope so. Feels odd timing, with Thelin in post and not used to working with a SD in this role (Gunn's DoF remit seemed much more limited). Hope Pfannenstiel understands Scottish football as it exists in reality, not how he might wish it did. A trap I fear Cormack and Thelin have both been caught in.

I have reservations about the timing and the individual, but at least the role is filled.

It is absolutely critical that he makes a genuine effort to understand Scottish football as it exists, rather than how he (and others) might wish it to be. If so, he might give himself a chance of succeeding.

This should happen when Cormack has made a decision on Thelin, within the existing structure. Then allow the Sporting Director to lead the recruitment of a new Head Coach. Cleaner for all. Thelin's not stupid - he will know this means his time is up so any relationship is undermined from the start.

We should have been appointing a 'proper' DoF when Warnock walked. That was the time. Gunn had the title but basically none of the powers. Instead, Cormack bet the house on a manager and even let him appoint his own Head of Recruitment - and set the strategy. A costly mistake, in more ways than one.

Interesting about Phillips and use of ball/build up. Bit simplistic, but almost feels like you can guess how good an Albion performance is likely to be by how many passes he - and Mepham to an extent - will attempt in a game. Between them, 173 v Watford and 113 v Ipswich. By contrast, only 71 v PNE.

Would this version of Aberdeen FC have the inclination to sign a Graeme Shinnie from Inverness, or a Kenny McLean from St Mirren? Never mind to then use them to the best of their abilities.

No, they wouldn't - and that's a big problem.

The dial has moved too far.

"They" are the fucking KRAY TWINS. Hahahahaha.

Fiver to anybody who can guess who "they" are in this Tweet.

Keith Andrews has got me thinking: what is the most left field appointment Brentford could make, who would still be capable of keeping them in the Premier League? Within their current structure, of course.

I'm going for Robbie Savage.

I think I am quite good at The 1% Club, but I am also *convinced* that if I actually applied and got on, my bottle would crash and I wouldn't get past 80%.

Same if I went on The Chase. I would inexplicably end up with zero on the cash builder and say that Wales was the capital of Azerbaijan.

Wait until this "party source" finds out about Keir Starmer's campaign to be elected Labour leader. They will not be happy!

Without ball, I think things have been broadly fine. Different story with it. Chance creation is clearly core issue, as xG reflects. With MJ/IP/SIJ, we should be primed for counters and transitions, but then often look like a team actually wanting slow, settled possession. Feels a bit incongruous.

Last weekend, only one Championship fixture was settled by more than one goal (Coventry 2-0 Blackburn). This weekend, it's the same story (Coventry 3-1 Watford). A bit more variety in midweek, but very much a league of fine margins with every team - bar maybe Coventry - cutting each other's throats.

Yeah, I think the play-off winners will probably be fine. What a shout from me.

Individual quality can win games, with Price and Johnston the most likely sources in this team, and especially with very fine margins in this league. But feels like this season will be defined by whether Mason can find a way for this team to carry a genuine, sustainable threat in possession.

I agree. Odd thing is, although I might be in the minority, I don't think we are *that* far off being a relatively good, fairly effective Championship team. The fundamentals out of possession seem fairly sound - and Mason deserves some credit for that. The core issue is chance creation.

If Mason is concerned about retaining ball when going more direct, I do increasingly wonder whether Maja and Heggebø - or even Maja and Grant - could start for a couple of games, even if that means the number ten becomes more of a shadow striker. IP could even be #8 in right circumstances, I think.

Agreed. I'm fine with a 'defensive' team - I just like them to retain a coherent attacking threat. It would probably help if the defence had more range in possession, but still feels like we could go direct into the front four more often when the ball is turned over - and, frankly, much quicker.