skygod

Correct! I thought I was looking at a final table. With the size of Germany and the huge competition involved, it’s always good to see small clubs such as Elversberg and Heidenheim making the top level. Hoffenheim were different because they had big financial backing.

Yikes! McCann said he would be back before the end of rhe season. Can’t see it.

I see that SV Elversberg have been promoted to the Bundesliga. I’d never heard of them so did some research. They had never played in the Bundesliga 3 until 2012-13 but they were relegated after one season. They were playing in the Regionalliga as recently as 2021-22 when they were promoted to the Bundesliga 3, which they won at the first attempt. They finished 11th in their first season and 3rd last season, but lost a play-off to Heidenheim. Now they have finished runners-up to Schalke to clinch promotion to the Bundesliga. The town has a population of just 13,000 and their stadium holds less than 10,000. This is similar to the capacity of Holstein Kiel’s stadium in 2018 when they would have been denied a licence should they have won their play-off against Wolfsburg. They lost. I don’t know whether Elversberg will be allowed to play in their own stadium. The closest alternative is Saarbrucken, 15 kilometres away. That holds just 16,000 but that would qualify under Bundesliga rules.

Yes.

I think the KTV’s commentator’s arithmetic is a bit lacking. Our goal difference is now -23, four better than Saints’, not two.

Sharp’s on the bench for Dundee today so the SPFL must have granted dispensation.

A Twitter thread yesterday about the possibility of Rangers signing Watson showed a few posters thinking Rangers should have a core of Scottish and Northern Irish players, because they understand the culture! The consensus sermed to be that Watson shouldn’t be signed, for both footballing and “other” reasons.

This is Harry Sharp and McCracken is injured? I don’t know the full facts but the emergency loan rule only applies to goalkeepers. He’s their player and Montrose’s season is finished but the loan - more correctly described as a temporary transfer - continues until the transfer window reopens. You would think that the SPFL could grant dispensation for him to be eligible for his parent club. If he was Montrose’s player, Dundee could borrow him on an emergency basis.

He won’t he able to play though.

Marvin Bartley has resigned.

More season ticket prices. This time National League Aldershot Town. More expensive than ours in most categories but they do have 23 home league matches.

The timing was of the club’s choosing. They could have done it a couple of years ago when the plastic pitch’s life span was up. They put it off until 2025 and then 2026 to coincide with the training centre being operational. If they had been planning properly financially, they should have had to pay for a new pitch in 2024. Or 2025. I don’t know the difference between the cost of a replacement artificial pitch and a new hybrid one but there should be a chunk of the cost budgeted for. Plus £150k which the fans have put up. Edit: I don’t think it has ever been advanced a reason for not replacing the pitch in 2024 but it would have probably been impossible due to the early European fixtures. It doesn’t alter the fact the money should still have been there to do the work.

Wales is contracted to Swansea until 2029 and I can’t see them cutting him loose after one season. Rotherham, Stevenage and Northampton were also credited with interest in taking him on loan in January so I doubt he will be short of options if Swansea decide to loan him out again. He can look to the example of Keiron Bowie who was loaned to Northampton by Fulham for two seasons before establishing himself at Hibs. With John-Jules, Daniels and Hugill at least likely to be available next season, it’s not a priority position for us anyway.