Plenty of Nothing

A View From the Top

Inexpensive Scotland: Pay the £4.50 admission fee into Dumbarton Castle and watch today's match from the summit of Dumbarton Rock.*

Morton visit Dumbarton.

With their season one-third complete Morton are sixth with 13 points. At this pace they'll finish with 39, which in last year's Championship was good enough for 7.5th place. They just have to keep on beating the bottom clubs. Dumbarton are in eighth place, and are coming off a 5 - 0 thumping by Falkirk. Morton ought to win this one.

Rangers, with eleven wins in eleven games, already have enough points to avoid relegation in last year's Championship.

[Morton win 1 - 2. Goals by McKee and Johnstone.]

It's the final of the Nabisco J League Cup: Kashima Antlers [3 - 0] Gamba Osaka. "Gamba" is Italian for leg. [Antlers win for the sixth time. They are the Nabisco Cup experts.]

Largs Thistle [2 - 2] Ardeer. A friendly.

Montreal Impact have knocked Toronto FC out of the MLS Cup, and all's right with the world.

Yesterday: Adanaspor [1 - 0] Karşıyaka.

League of Ireland promotion playoff, second leg (in Italian, seconda tappa), was played yesterday: Finn Harps [2 - 1] UCD. That's the end of the season for UCD. They'll play in the First Division again next year.

Tomorrow is the last day ot the Scottish Women's Premier League schedule. Glasgow City have already secured the title, their ninth straight, but Hibs were a close second.

*Dumbarton play at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium, so they can't really complain.

Poutine Chips

The Charleston

On this day in 1923 the musical comedy Runnin' Wild opened on Broadway. One of the musical numbers was "The Charleston," which launched the dance craze for which the Twenties are famous. 1925 piano roll. Things didn't trend quite so quickly ninety years ago: the Charleston was still going strong in 1927.

The Return of Fox and Badger, page 2

2015-16 Scottish League Cup, Quarter-Finals

You often hear the expression "one of the leading lights" to describe an individual who is prominent in some field of endeavour, but what exactly is a leading light? It's a navigational aid, and here's one on the Greenock Esplanade, combining neo-classical and contemporary elements, and yellow paint. Source.

St Johnstone visit Cappielow for their Scottish League Cup quarter-final match against Greenock Morton.

The last time these two clubs met was October 30th, 2013, in the quarter-final of the 2013-14 Scottish League Cup. St Johnstone won that game 0 - 1. So today is a League Cup quarter-final grudge match.

How have St Johnstone fared over the past ten League Cups? QF (2014-15), SF, QF, R3, QF, SF, R2, R2, SF, R2 (2005-06), a total of 36 rounds. Morton? R2 (2014-15), QF, R2, R2, R2, R2, R3, R1, R1, R1 (2005-06), for a total of 20.

[Both Morton and St Johnstone wear blue and white, so the powers that be have ruled that both teams must wear their away strips tonight. Morton are yellow and blue; St Johnstone white and black.]

[Morton 1 - 3 St Johnstone. Morton goal scored ironically by Johnstone.]

Other QF games: Caley Thistle [1 - 2] Ross County; Hearts [1 - 2] Celtic (tomorrow); Hibs [3 - 0] Dundee United (Nov. 4).

Ottawa Fury have won the NASL Fall Season. They came in 9th in the Spring. The NASL is looking to expand to 20 teams, and Celtic are thinking of buying a franchise.

Faultline Gin

Gin label by Jaime Hernandez. Source.

The Return of Fox and Badger, page 1

Refined Greenock

So sweet, bare feet! Jump here for a summary of the rise and fall of Greenock's sugar enterprises. Source.

Alloa visit Cappielow.

After eleven league games Morton are seventh with 10 points. Alloa are ninth with 5. In their first meeting Morton won 0 - 1. Morton have lost four in a row, have not yet won at home and are -4 at Cappielow. Rangers' Martyn Waghorn has more goals than the whole of Greenock Morton. Now is a good time for a lopsided home win. At the beginning of the season I called for four wins against Alloa. When was the last time Morton did that against anyone? Last year: Dunfermline and Stirling Albion. When was the last time Morton did that to Alloa? Never, but they took three wins off them in 1977-78, in the three meetings era.

[Morton win 1 - 0. Goal Forbes.]

Today is the Second Round of the Scottish Cup. Cove Rangers are the only club left from the First Preliminary Round. This is their fourth match. Let's watch:

Fort William vs Cove Rangers [postponed]

Brora Rangers [1 - 2] Arbroath

Elgin City [1 - 0] Spartans

Cumbernauld Colts [2 - 0] Auchinleck Talbot

Edinburgh City [1 - 2] Buckie Thistle

East Kilbride [1 - 1] Forres Mechanics

It's also Round Two of the Scottish Junior Cup. How about:

Stonehaven [2 - 0] Shotts Bon Accord

Forfar West End [0 - 2] Clydebank

Scone Thistle [1 - 1] Benburb (Most Scottish club name imaginable vs ideal Scottish new town name.)

Broxburn Athletic [1 - 3] Whitletts Victoria (Whitletts Victoria, Dennis the Menace look-alikes.)

Fauldhouse United [2 - 2] Hurlford United

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic [6 - 1] Montrose Roselea (or, The Rose Bowl.)

Bathgate Thistle [2 - 2] Greenock Juniors

Livingston United [2 - 1] Largs Thistle

Tranent Juniors vs Auchinleck Talbot [Wait, what? Talbot are in both cups. This match will be played next Saturday.]

AFC Champions League Wednesday: Gamba Osaka 0 - 0 Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. Gamba are out.

Europa League Thursday: Molde 3 - 1 Celtic

Friday it was the first leg of the League of Ireland promotion playoffs: UCD [0 - 1] Finn Harps.

Vissel Kobe [3 - 1] Montedio Yamagata. [Montedio are relegated to J2, though they have two J1 fixtures left.]

Tomorrow: Karşıyaka [2 - 0] Elazığspor. Elazığ is in eastern Turkey, in the upper Euphates river valley.

Komi

Komi from the area of Cherdyn, Perm, early 20th century.

Let's Work Together As If We Are Living In The Early Days Of A Better Nation