What sports teams do you support?

[Heid the Ba]

Our best collective seasons are when RCC get relegated and they win more games in the second tier. Of course the same should be true of Die Alte Dame.

[Arneb]

Yeah, shouldn't it. [grumble]

[Heid the Ba]

Rangers 2 - 1 Czecho Spartans

In the Wee Euro Cup

Played 68, won 34, drawn 11, lost 23.

[Lianachan]

We have a cup final on Sunday. Can’t go, too busy.

[Heid the Ba]

A relegation six pointer in November. Hopefully Levein will work his usual magic.

[Arneb]

Hertha BSC 2 - 2 SC Karlsruhe

Archetypical Hertha. Early corner, didn't get the ball out, sharp pass into the centre, botched attempt at a defence, own goal. Then scored two before the interval, switched into administration mode, squandered a few opportunities. Five minutes from time, corner, didn't get the ball out, badly targeted shot into the centre, ball pinballs off two Hertha defenders, late equalizer.

Everything in front of a crowd of 60,000 celebrating the "fan friendship" between the fans of two teams wearing blue and white and being famous for their financial and professional fuckuppery. Is there something like this on the Isles? Collective fan friendship?

Anyway, "Hertha loses connection to the upper ranks of the table", as the papers aptly write. Played 69, nom nom, nom, won 34, drawn 12, lost 23.

Greuther at home to promotion-minded Düsseldorf later today. It's shaping up to be a shitty weekend. Any better news from the Cup Final?

[Richard A]

We don't do fan friendship on the Isles - we just don't. Taking the piss out of other teams is more our style. One of the more good natured ones came from a friend who was a dedicated Everton fan. Just to be clear, the song referred - at least that weekend - to separate matches. And of course "the blues" has a nice double-meaning in this context.

"I never felt more like singing the blues
When Everton win and Liverpool lose."

But as Lance and others will confirm, the US takes it to another level. You see bumper stickers referring to one partner supporting one team while their significant other supporting another: "A House Divided".

[Lianachan]

Yes, there’s no fan friendship up here either. Plenty, mostly good-natured, joshing but that’s about it.

In the league:

St Johnstone 1 - 0 Ross County

Played 70, won 34, drawn 12, lost 24.

Very wee cup final is later today, which is mostly our reserves and u-21’s. But hey, County are for the first time reporting this in their social media and showing it in their fixtures ...... so I thought we could do with the wins in our count.

[Arneb]

We very much can! The best of luck for today.

[Arneb]

SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1 - 0 Fortuna Düsseldorf


Played 71, won 35, drawn 12, lost 24

[Lianachan]

Well, still a net gain.

The Fastest Town In The Highlands 5 - 4 Ross County (aet)

Played 72, won 35, drawn 12, lost 25.

[Heid the Ba]

Livingstone 0 - 2 Rangers

A "by the numbers" win over a pish team.

Played 73, won 36, drawn 12, lost 25

[Lianachan]

The Fastest Town In The Highlands

I'd been expecting to have to explain that one.

[Heid the Ba]

I looked it up so am better informed but no wiser.

[Arneb]

The Fastest Town In The Highlands

I'd been expecting to have to explain that one.

Enwisen us. Or me at least. I am always for learning the meaning of pejorative nicknames for other football teams.

[Lianachan]

It’s a joke about a car approaching and passing at high speed. NnnnnnnnnnAIRN.

In this case the footballing superpower that is Nairn County Football Club.

[Lianachan]

RCFC have sacked their manager this morning. I'm not sure who is available who could do any better, but hey-ho. He was indeed shite.

[Arneb]

Hey, we all know sacking the manager works every time. So, congrats, RCFC!

[Arneb]

Ten minutes after posting this, I learned that Union Berlin have sacked their manager, too.

Now I still stick with my Auld Auntie Hertha, reluctantly, but while watching Union's ascent has been a very pleasurable affair over the last five years, there is a sad story here. Urs Fischer was the face of Union's success. He took them over when they were an ambitious 2nd-leaguer after a disappointing season. He managed promotion into the Bundesliga in his first season, and in the four seasons since, everything was pointing upwards until 2023, when Union reached the Champions League as fourth of the table. Promotion - avoiding relegation - Conference League - Euro League - Champions League was quite the trajectory. Things have gone down ever since. After a first round Cup win and two League victories at the start of the season, there have been 14 matches without a win, and only one of those was a draw (in CL, away to Naples - honourable but futile). They've sincve crashed through from the top to the bottom spot in the league and were beaten in the Cup 2nd round. In CL, they are dead last of their group (which would be unsurprising under any circumstances - they have Real, Naples, and Braga).

Their business model has been, keep a low profile, hire players at dead-end points in their career, offer them meager salaries with a high winning bonus attached, prohibit any star cult from forming, and rely on a closed-knit community with the fan base (the fans physically helped with the ugrade of the stadium a decade back - go figure), all under the calm but firm tutelage of like-minded people like the President, the sports director and the manager. But they*ve changed this season, contracting high-profile players like Robin Gosens (from Inter Milan) and Leonardo Bonucci (European Champion, from Juventus). Maybe the old model was unsustainable, maybe they lost their way. However bad things turned this season, neither his bosses, nor the fans, nor the key players ever veered from Urs Fischer. In the end, they appear to have separated on good terms. Sometimes,Fischer is quoted as saying, a team in crisis simply needs a new face. Simple - and cruel - as that.

The coach of the Under-19 team will take over as interim.

[Heid the Ba]

Ouch, Union is a great story but I heard they were getting away from the old model.

[Arneb]

Speaking of new faces: The lead assistant coach to the newly appointed interim manager, Marco Grote, will be a woman, Marie-Louise Eta. A first in German professional male fitba'.

[Heid the Ba]

Excellent. I see she used to play for the mighty Torbienen.

[Мастер]

It isn’t cricket.

Went to the Irish pub around the corner, to watch the World Cup in this sport I don’t understand at all.

I think I have the very simple basics done. Working on the rest.

Apparently this will last eight hours though. I don’t think I’ll be here that long.

[Arneb]

Nothing for the count, as it was only a friendly, but the

Germany 2 - 3 Turkey

in our own Olympic Stadium in Berlin, captained by an excellent player of Turkish descent, really hurts.

Hertha must have left some of their toxic fuckuppery fumes in the hosts' locker room, I guess.

[Lance]

It isn’t cricket.

Speaking of which, we're getting a 24,000 seat cricket stadium built about a half a mile from where we live.

I have no idea why.