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It will be a big test for us next week however. Hibs have some very good players and we will be without Longelo and possibly Fadinger. At least Welsh is back, but with Koutroumbis still out and RCC injured, the inability to sign LB cover in the window might come back to bite us. Gonna be very limited for options there.

Despite playing for 20 mins with 10’mins we still had 53% possession. Shots 13 to 12 for Celtic. 6 to 3 for Celtic shits on target. I thought we were the better team first half and after 15 mins of second half we got passed Celtic being on top and had started to regain control before the red card threw us for a loop. Of course, issues to work on but still a lot to like about our team. I’m expecting us to roar back the next few weeks at home.

I dont think thats fair. The only big game I dont think we turned up in was the League Cup semi-final, and even that game was down to "moments". Performance wise, we have been excellent against Hearts twice, Celtic three times and Rangers three times. Results wise you could make an argument for it, but given all 3 teams have significantly bigger budgets than us and are above us in the league, they might just be better/luckier than us. The fact that we have been able to go toe to toe with them is a significant improvement on mindset and performance levels from years gone past. Of course, if we want to develop and get better, Jens will have to find a way to bridge the gap and turn those performances into results.

Is it not the case that any incident like that inside the 18 yd box would be a penalty and a yellow card only, if it was not violent conduct

Still only lost 5 games out of 30

It is.

Time to take those green and white glasses off MJC. Getting tired of all your pro Celtic rhetoric!! Step too far today but still much to play for this season. Would still love to beat Hearts at Tynecastle and really put the cat amongst the pigeons. As JBA is always telling us, celebrate the performance not the result. It is miles better than we have been used to for some time.

It will certainly be a huge test of character. In my book there's a questionmark over our team in big games.

Good, is it following season we lose a place?

Thought we were very good first half and deserved to be 1-0 up. Poor decision making for their goal. You can blame any number of players for it, but the manager wants them to play that way so seems churlish to try and hang it on any one individual. Oxlade - Chamberlain should have walked for a second yellow for his foul on Said, but we dont get those kind of decisions in Glasgow. Second half MON changed it up and their press was far more effective. That led to far more loose passes and mistakes and ultimately the pressure that leads to the penalty. Anyone arguing that its not a pen and a red card really needs to take their claret & amber shades off. Maeda might well be pulling Longelos jersey, but the minute he rolls him and gets goal side Longelo has to let go. Maeda has a clear header, so its a DOGSO. Games a bogey at that point, although I would still have like to see Eythor on much quicker and go more direct. We dont seem to want to throw long balls or crosses at him, despite how good he is in the air. Overall, decent performance up until the red card. Disappointing result. Time to put the title race chat to bed and focus on 4th place.

Massive game and can't afford to lose it. I have lost my mojo and fear we are going to struggle rest of season. Maswanhise and Watt need to ignore the hype about them and get back to way they were playing

I thought some of our football was excellent today. Watched it on Celtic Tv and Peter Grant was full of praise for us. It was a pen, but the red card was awful, terrible decision that has changed the game. We lacked a bit of cutting edge up front today and were wasteful in good areas. But our play from the back to midfield was outstanding. Keep playing the way we are then 3rd or 4th is achievable which let’s be honest would be a fantastic result for the club. Just got to keep building this style of play into next season as I’m sure it will bring success to the club.

The Tommy Gemmell statue in Craigneuk makes a nod to Ravenscraig with its' plinth. Still able to reference the past in a cost effective stadium with a good design team. Don't know if anyone else noticed, but the recurring theme with every stadium they covered was seven day a week use. They were all designed with that in mind from the outset. Kansas City Current I think want to make a gimmick of the Missouri river. The openness of that stadium may struggle here due to our climate. But the proposed stadium in Denver have made a thing of it too. When I look around North Lanarkshire there's not much to drive people here despite having a huge population within a 30 minute drive. NLC were envious that residents would travel to Hamilton or East Kilbride to use their shopping centres if a trip to Glasgow couldn't be faced, taking money out the area. Ravenscraig is a chance to create a draw and the only way we can stay in the town if we want something new unless Dalzell plate mill goes the same way. When I look around the local area I see things like the Sunday markets at Chatelherault and think, well that works. It's why in the presentation I allowed for a space where food truck owners could use it as a base and be a draw for lunchtime and evening trade as a draw in itself plus somewhere to have a shared prep kitchen, storage, refrigeration and take unsocial hours deliveries. You tell these vendors that over and above everything else every two weeks you deliver 10,000 to 18,000 folk to them, again it all seems to be mutually beneficial. The other thing which is total pie in the sky is COSM, but we could emulate elements of it but it needs investment and brings risk. The story behind it is pretty cool: Fans in the video say they paid $140-180 for a ticket no doubt before the $15-20 beers, it late explains admission starts at $70, which is a very American trait and how their sports is moving with dynamic pricing. But I suppose if folk here are prepared to pay £30 for a Scotland fanpark for the WC and often pay a commensurate hourly rate at places like Top Golf then could you fill it with enough revenue per week to make it viable? Our market would favour football and there's cameras to buy and install and move to the next venue here and in Europe, but piggybacking off the feed for the two American based venues would be a start. I don't know what they do outside their camera's being at an event to keep the place turning over. I doubt they'd be keen as LA, Dallas and ...... some brownfield site in Lanarkshire doesn't really have the same oomph or align with their premium brand, would be a bit like Del Boy's Reliant Regal. But it's all stuff to think about and rule out than never think of at all.

Thought we were decent enough without a real cutting edge up front,maswanhise has lost a bit of form,same with watt,said was poor,stupid challenge from longello caught ball watching really changed game,consolidating 4th is our objective.

Next season is Scotland's last with 5 teams. Champions - CL P/O Round 2nd Place - CL QR2 3rd place/cup winner - EL QR3 4th place/3rd if cup winner isn't Celtic - Confrence League QR2 5th place/ 4th if cup winner isn't Celtic - Confrence League QR2

I don't understand how that can be anyone other than Sparrow's fault he either clears the ball or puts enough pace on the pass to SOD for him to clear it. Either way it was another avoidable goal we've conceded.

I thought there were only 4 spaces and one being reserved for Scottish cup ? Jen’s mentioned Falkirk still being in the cup yesterday when asked about euro which I thought tied back to the old ruling - i could be wrong

A crunch game in the tussle for 4th place and an automatic Euro place. 4th place is ours to lose but have the wheels come off? Stephen Welsh will be back and thats good news for a faltering defence. However Longelo will be sidelined. With no natural cover I'd go for SODS at left back and Jordan McGhee at right back.

Sorry mate but it was Said’s fault he should’ve cleared the ball in the first instance instead of opting but to pass it back to Sparrow and put him under pressure. There’s a time to play and there’s a time to clear it out and that fell into the latter and Said should’ve done that.

Yes.

I know I've asked a few times but does 4th get euro spot, no matter who wins cup?

I think we've been overhyped and that has maybe got to us. Folk need to remain grounded. Yes, we are probably the best footballing team in the league, but that alone doesn't win you games. There are 3 possibly 4 better teams than us in the league and we shouldn't forget that. However we'll finish in 5th at worst and thats a tremendous achievement. We've built a good foundation from which to strengthen the squad for next season and turn it into a team capable of winning a cup.

I’d agree, I’ve not seen too much in him yet but I do think we need to mix it up a little. I’d move Maswanhise wide and have him play off the big man. As much as I love wee Said I think he’s been off it for a few weeks, he might have a stronger impact coming on as sub. certainly nothing to get worked up about, the football is still good to watch and there’s 8 great games left to the season. Let’s face it, even the happiest of clappers couldn’t have predicted we’d be in this position when we played Twente in pre season.

I am just disappointed as this was our only chance to win league. Old firm and hearts were for the taking but maybe some of the hype been OTT. some players believing their own hype and as much as I think Askou is a legend, there is a time and place for possession football. That's both times at parkheid we have been ahead then gifted goals. Next week we need a massive crowd. Beat Hibs and we are 9pts clear with much better goal difference. That is now the focus

Good post which mirrors my own view. We have weaknesses in the team which are now costing us, but in fairness, we are very much work in progress and way ahead of where many of us thought we'd be. Have the wheels come off? Maybe, but we'll know for sure next Saturday evening. Are we good enough to retain 4th spot? We do seem to have an issue with players have off days in big games. Thats now 3 recent defeats losing 7 goals in the process and scoring 2. Looking on the bright side, its been a good day results wise as Falkirk and Hibs only managed to claw back one point on us. I didn't expect that. Their results were always going to be more important to us than our own. What did disappoint me was the red card. That was something I was hoping to avoid like the plague today, but I was being a tad optimistic. I haven't seen the penalty incident so can't comment on the specifics. With no back up left back, it'll cause us issues next week No more Tom Sparrow at full back though..please. I never expected to take anything from today, so in that respect the defeat is neither here nor there.