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The Journos · 7 October 2026
"He set them up to fail." Gordon Parks and Hugh MacDonald join Peter Martin after Scotland's 2-1 defeat to Slovenia at Hampden ended their hopes of second place in the Nations League group, and Gordon wants answers from Sebastien Pocognoli.
Scotland: Pocognoli's post-match "we weren't high enough", a press that went missing, Ben Gannon-Doak pinned at wing-back, Stephen Welsh left exposed and Oli McBurnie starting ahead of Kieron Bowie. Andy Robertson's 100th cap with Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish and Steve Clarke at Hampden, the half-time switch to a 4-1-4-1 that never came, and whether Kevin Nisbet, James Wilson or Bowie should lead the line with Josh McPake and Gannon-Doak on the wings. Gordon's charge sheet ends with one question: "Did your players let you down, or did you let the players down?"
Celtic: Martin O'Neill stays after "a lot of soul-searching and reflection", with Motherwell, Benfica, Hearts and Celta Vigo next. Who is really picking the team, why Peter thinks "he's going to get the bullet" if he doesn't take control, and the theory that the board might "lead him to the cliff" with a mattress made of pounds. Plus the AGM, the tennis balls at St Andrews, Celtic's Saturday-night statement, and why "Dermot Desmond will go from Celtic when Dermot Desmond wants to go from Celtic".
Plus Peter's charity-match story from Possil, the Tennent's Sixes (Aiden McGeady, Charlie Adam and Stephen McGinn's goal of the tournament), this weekend's fixtures and much more!
Did Pocognoli let the players down? How long does O'Neill last? Tell us below.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome to The Journos with Hugh MacDonald and Gordon Parks
0:58 Scotland 1-2 Slovenia: "the debacle"
1:29 "The structure was wrong": a press that went missing
2:36 Pocognoli's "we weren't high enough": "a big red flag"
3:16 Ben Gannon-Doak at wing-back and "an absolute shambles"
3:58 McBurnie over Bowie and a seven-figure salary
4:19 Robertson's 100th cap with Strachan, McLeish and Clarke
7:31 "We'll do what we're doing better": Mark Warburton's plan A
9:00 The half-time fix: Hickey, Bowie and a 4-1-4-1
10:17 Stephen Welsh hooked and a woeful back three
10:51 "As clueless" as any Scotland team: where were the instructions?
11:18 Steve Clarke's failings, and what he got right
13:40 Pocognoli's back catalogue: Union Saint-Gilloise, Monaco and the back three
14:06 "Start with a four"
14:54 "We can't defend"
15:25 Who's Scotland's striker? Not Shankland
16:00 Oli McBurnie: "he's not a goalscorer"
16:43 Why didn't Kieron Bowie start?
17:17 Kevin Nisbet and the Kasper Høgh problem
18:29 Josh McPake, Valakari and St Johnstone
19:10 McPake's penalty shouts and VAR
19:40 Two wingers? "It's been garbage for too long"
20:34 A 4-5-1 with McTominay and Gilmour
21:18 "It's not rocket science"
22:51 Gordon's charge sheet: what Pocognoli needs to explain
23:19 "Did your players let you down, or did you let the players down?"
24:06 Pot three and a five-team group
25:42 A PLZ kit for The Journos?
26:34 Peter's charity match at Possil and the man in the Y-fronts
28:36 Tennent's Sixes: "old footballers don't fade away"
34:48 Martin O'Neill stays: the Celtic TV exclusive
35:42 Motherwell, Benfica, Hearts, Celta Vigo: O'Neill's next four games
36:48 "Clarity of purpose": who picks the Celtic team?
38:28 "He's going to get the bullet" "They might lead him to the cliff"
40:42 The Celtic AGM: "a set piece of chaos and turmoil"
41:19 If Desmond turns up: "running out of tennis balls"
41:48 The protests: "no strategy, no endgame"
42:59 Celtic's Saturday-night statement: "the daftest thing I've ever read"
44:25 Who picks up the bat phone to Dermot Desmond?
45:43 When protest is the last option
46:15 "Dermot Desmond will go from Celtic when Dermot Desmond wants to"
48:55 Rangers v Kilmarnock, Motherwell v Celtic and the rest
50:35 900 at Thorniewood v Bellshill: lower-league crowds
51:51 Messi and Ronaldo: "bow out with grace"
53:17 The Caminito and the Messi cuckoo clock
54:25 Peter, a huge Ronaldo fan
54:54 Ronaldo, Jorge Jesus and a swan song in Lisbon
55:36 Messi's farewell against Benin
56:34 "He is about self. Messi was about others."
57:15 "Ronaldo in private is what you think Messi is like"
58:40 Ronaldo the centre-forward: "from a seven to a nine"
59:11 John Hillcoat's Ronaldo autograph story + is Harry Kane England's greatest? Bobby Charlton
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