purestate

Kelly had a number of decent saves, a bit of fancy footwork, and in a day where the wind was causing havoc with flight of the ball, his handling was secure. Blaney was solid as well and cracking strike for goal.

Has VAR disallowed it yet?

No doubt we’ll get an apology in umpteen weeks time about how it shouldn’t have been given. on the other hand do we believe if VAR wasn’t there it would be some other contrivance

Yes, and it’s the extra draws/games we didn’t lose that have us above StJ and RC and will likely make the difference in the final placings. I think there’s some in here who are probably happier we lost today rather than have another draw.

SK post match said they worked on covering the moves which led to Celtic goal and sounded pretty frustrated but he should know how immobile Butcher is, how McGinn is nowhere near as comfortable on left and general capability of players to play positions. I agree with others that Blaney should have replaced Casey which would have been less disruptive and then Butcher could have been a more defensive midfield option and Nicholson could have tried to play the Vale role.

If we can keep it tight in second half, say up to the 99th minute, we should at least get a draw

It’s a reasonable statement that we would likely struggle against Dundee Utd and probably Raith if games were played now. And if we were to finish in 11th it would surely mean that we were on an absymal run so whoever the Championship side is would likely have a chance. It’s just far more unlikely that all the teams immediately below and around us are ALL going to suddenly up their games enough that ALL of them overtake us now. Maybe mods could start a optimists/happy clappers vs pessimists/doomsquad week by week “playoff” debate 😉

I guess we’re all just going to have to find out together. I’m obviously a bit more optimistic that we’ll take enough points from those around us, especially after the split. I suspect neither of us want County to get enough of a new manager bounce to make a difference. Like him/loathe him Adam’s probably called County’s quality correctly and my take is Levein won’t add anything more than he has already to a poor StJ side.

Seriously, now I do think you are maybe being provocative for the sake of it. At this stage there is absolutely nothing to suggest Kettlewell and our squad won’t perform just as well or better than those around us. The Morton game is no more a definitive indicator on how all the rest of the season will go than the County game. RC aren’t looking for a permanent manager which shows how they are thinking and the “box office” tosser at Aberdeen is no long term solution for them either. A lot of clubs now limping towards the end of this season. I’d rather stick than twist thanks very much.

Totally agree. Also the keeper is probably the toughest position on the pitch. Any mistake is more than likely to result in a goal against or, at least, be amplified in fans eyes. Not sure if people saw Becker and van Dijk the other week - total train wreck from players on a totally different level - shit happens. It’s how pros react to adversity that matters and, in my eyes, most of our squad are doing their level best. Who knows it may not be good enough by the end of the season but I’m a glass 8/12ths full kind of guy.

Yep we thought that too although he may just have been well wrapped up. 🤷‍♂️ Based on only this initial view it does confirm my thought though that it wouldnt have been have been worth pushing boat out to bring him back.

I agree and also with others that it’s more likely it will be a three way battle to avoid playoff but with us pulling away at the start of the split and finishing 9th or 8th. A big part of why I’m optimistic remains the apparent attitude and willingness of the players to respond to adversity. Okay we could have had better luck and judgement with signings but the squad seems together and that’s an important factor going into last 16 games

Don’t agree. Two/three of our better players up til now were younger loanees and we’ve brought in some who look promising. have a look at who other clubs have been able to bring in, especially those who we’ll be competing with in bottom six Are there any names there people would like to have seen at Fir Park and think are guaranteed to improve those other clubs position.

Now that’s a reasonable question and my opinion is that the defence needs a new approach and so perhaps yes a more dynamic (basing on youth only I appreciate) can improve that side Also if we concede less then we can afford to score a little less but still win points. (My Hearts point but also plenty of the other teams above us) Also Vale doesn’t need to score any to adequately replace Shaw 😉

Wrong. Obviously Biereth , a now known quantity at our level would have been preferable, but Bair (6) and Spittal (5) are still at the club. Have a look at our goal scorers. Who knows if Vale can chip in but some seem to want to write him off already.