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Thought we started well enough yesterday but by 20 minutes in Livvy had worked us out and grew into the game. By half time their midfield were bossing it and we had Gillespie to thank for going in level. Thought the changes we made did improve things a little but the performance was still disjointed and we continued to struggle to break them down. For me we still had the best chance of the game when Tait came in onto his left foot but for some inexplicable reason chose to hit it with his right. That should have been buried and would have made it a very different game. Still lots of questions remaining regarding the quality of our squad. But just as we shouldnt have been getting over excited by our league cup performances, no one should be be getting over agitated by yesterday.

I worry that Robinson has gone too far away from the physicality that he always emphasised in our two cup finals season. We were OK against the teams we played in the League Cup but yesterday showed the lack of strength in the midfieId. I do not see anyone in our squad that can be as physical as Bowman, Rose, McHugh or Gorrin. I don't see Donnelly, Polworth, Campbell, Sloth or Semple bullying other midfielders. Robinson's mantra has always been you need to win the battle and earn the right to play. It remains to be seen if we have the players equipped t do this.

But the authorities claim that all our magnificent plastic pitches in Scotland meet the FIFA standards. The fact that the players don't want to play on them and the fans don't want to watch games on them isn't important. Players and fans don't count.

The pitch, beat everyone.

LOL. It must be difficult being a supporter when your team give you no joy, no hope, no sense of pride, no entertainment...…… Basically no pleasure whatsoever. First game of the proper season so whilst we can't define it as pre-season, the first day often throws up unusual results and rusty performances. Add the pitch into this equation and this game was always likely to be a bit of a lottery. I have mixed views about the result yesterday and can see the arguments on both sides. I think it is naive to think that the pitch did not affect the performance but at the same time it can not be the only reason for a mediocre performance yesterday. The strong league cup performances have now been put well and truly into context. A Premier league side were always going to show up more of the cracks in our newly formed squad so it is only natural that the early optimism has been tempered somewhat. The biggest concern for me is, as Ya Bezzer! pointed out, that their midfield looks stronger than ours. Livingston are my tip for the drop this season so that they appear to have a stronger midfield would be a concern. I wonder how much the uncertainty regarding Turnbull's future has upset the planning in that particular area of the pitch. Let's hope that Sloth provides a bit of strength in that area when he gains full fitness. I remember a similar situation last year with Gorrin, who did not feature early season but became a mainstay of the team as the season progressed. No hiding place unfortunately with Celtic and Hearts coming to Firpark over the next few weeks. I don't think we are going to get a true sense of the merits of this squad until September. A draw away from home in the first game of the season is no bad thing. Livingston was a touch place to go last season so it's a decent result even if the performance has left us with more questions than answers.

Too early to tell for me, i’m not judging anything after one game on that pitch. I liked the look of Sloth when he came on last week and feel he will slot in to midfield when fully fit. We will know more about the Polworth/ Donnelly combination after a few games although next weeks game is already looking like damage limitation and Hamilton will be yet another sh#t fest and a pitch not much better than the Livingston’s one. I think one of better signings in the summer is Carroll, just shows how you can’t always rely on feedback from supporters of a previous club. But as others have said we need to sign a central striker, Scott needs to go out on loan which will be of far more benefit to his development, Long does not look the right fit to me either having seen him in a few games now.

If Sloth isn’t suitable for the Donnelly position then we need to strengthen there. Donnelly and McGuire being our only two options for a crucial role in the team isn’t enough.

Don't know if my view is skewed having seen two awful leg breaks playing amateur on astroturf, but today gave me the fear. Seemed like every physical dual left someone on the deck with some sort of injury. Not sure if upping the physicality on these pitches is a good idea.

Baws, can't make it now. Anyone else going to see The Cure that night (showing my age)?