weeyin

Robinson doesn't want wide players in the traditional sense - he wants wing backs that track back and cover in defence. Typically, that means natural wide players - or wingers as the old folks call them - aren't part of the mix. He's happier to play a defender that can run up and down a bit, than a winger that can take people on and hit the bye-line.

I think we're playing one dimensional football. I don't think we need to - even with the current squad. What won't work is fielding players that can pass a ball and expect them to adapt to long balls down the channels. As for the defence, Tait, ATS and Johnson can all play full back, and Aldred, Hartley, McHugh, Maguire (and Mbulu) can all play centre. So while it may not be his preferred approach, there's no reason we can't play a back 4 in the short term.

20 quid for a ticket to theTony Macaroni is pasta joke.

Sammon is nowhere near as bad as Bob Malcolm. (Bob Malcolm who, by the way, when we signed him, was touted by many experts on here as a classy, footballing midfielder. I kid you not). Johnson is the one we need to develop, though. Sammon was brought in as cover, then Bowman got injured and Main needs a cow's arse / banjo refresher.

Accies, Livingston, Dundee and probably St Mirren are all going to be in the bottom half mix. Our early fixtures could have been better, but I still think we'll do enough to keep relegation out of the picutre. I'm more concerned about entertainment value. No point in finishing 6th or 7th if we are unwatchable.

Far too soon to be thinking about relegation. With guys like Hartley, Aldred, Campbell etc. it's not leadership we are lacking. It's putting someone in midfield who can pass a ball. There's no point in sticking on players with 25 minutes to go and saying "2 goals down, save it for us". I was hoping Rodriguez might be that player, but he might not get that chance. Likewise, no point in playing Bigi, if the tactics are still to launch long balls over midfield and up the park.

The worst possible tactic to play against a deep lying defence is the long, high ball. You either need to play it wide and hit the bye-line, or find a through ball. Both of those tactics require someone in midfield capable of passing a ball on the deck - either out wide, or to find someone in the box. That will never happen while we're trying to earn the right to play football. Deep lying defences give the midfield time to create. You see good teams probing and playing short one-twos in and around the box. The opposition has invited you to play football - no earning required. We just aren't smart enough to do it.

ATS, Johnson, and Rodriguez all have the potential to be good signings. The new boy, Mbulu, could be a good one too (although not convinced we needed to re-sign Aldred at the same time given we had already picked up Donnelly). Whether you are a fan of Frear or not, there's no doubt he was one of the better performers in the League Cup group - and has been rewarded with zero starts in the league. Combine that with guys like Bigi, and Turnbull (and Dunne, Bowman and Tanner when they are fit again), and we have the potential to be more creative, play a bit more football. I'm not suggesting we suddenly turn into a silky smooth tiki-taka side, but there is plenty of room in the middle ground to be something other than a long ball team. It's all about balance. There was no point, for example, to bring in Sammon for high punts when it's obvious he scores 90% of his goals from passes on the deck. It's unclear whether Robinson just doesn't know what his best team is, or is scared to change his approach, but if you're the opposition, it's a lot easier to set up to defend long, high balls than it is to dfend against players taking you on, and good through balls. I knew we were in for a long afternoon against Accies after all the pre-match buildup on twitter etc. with the emphasis on "battles" and "fights" and "steel" etc. that plays right into their hands. Accies are poor this season, and the way to beat them is with a bit of football - just like the last game of last season. There will be games against Hearts, and Rangers etc. where we will need extra dig, but even then, we'll still need to create chances. I hope we take a step forward before the Livi game, because we struggled to adapt to the plastic pitch at Clyde in a game that was crying out for someone to put a foot on the ball and start playing some short, crisp passes. The Livi pitch is, by all accounts, worse than Clyde, and long balls don't work on plastic at the best of times - the ball just bounces too high and runs away from players. But I'm not panicking at this stage. I think it's going to be a rocky start, but I don't think relegation isn't in my thoughts yet.

The ball at Fir Park now gets more air time than the podcasters...

Except for the "winning a cup" bit.

Seems like Maguire will need Hartley, Aldred, Donnelly, Mbulu an McHugh to be unavailable before he gets another look in.

Aye, it was all Bigi's fault. Thankfully, everyone else was excellent and blameless in the defeat.

Turns out it's not about the battle, and the fight, and the "earning the right", and the steel, and the fire. It's still about creating chances and taking them. Who'd have thought it?

Didn't need to be Nostradamus to see that one coming.

Based on the Twitter commentary, it sounds like Main found an old pair of John Reilly's boots to wear.