Ya Bezzer!

Normally I try and keep the missus onside by supporting Celtic in these matches but I mentioned I wanted a draw today and I think I'll be sleeping outside tonight.

While that might be the case Soccerbase is utter rubbish for correct stats.

Ah, big Ben. Will always remember him if only for the worst defensive display of all time against Partick Thistle. Pure hokey cokey stuff at Firhill. 🤣

Dundee have Shaughnessy, Ashcroft and McGhee there so I'm not even sure he'll get first team football. They also have the Mexican Portales who was ironically injured against us.

Paton changed the game for us.

Who is he going to link up with? If Fletcher signs he'll be our top scoring striker but it might still be single digits.

That's the case with most of the players at our level.

With that first half still fresh in the memory I almost can't believe I'm saying this but.....I think we deserved to win that game! Obviously the first half was very poor. Really hardly showed anything, only remember one real chance and Kilmarnock were well on top. Second we were better, I wouldn't say great, but we improved and Kilmarnock went off the boil and between those two facts we managed to start to dictate the game. There was still a lot of be desired in terms of performance but we got confidence from the goal and Kilmarnock sat too deep and I think made it a bit easier for us than if they'd stepped up the pitch a bit. We missed a penalty, Vassell missed a sitter and then we scored with the last kick of the ball so I suppose either team could have won it but I think we just about edged it. Felt a bit sorry for Slattery having to wait so long to take the penalty, certainly makes it harder for the taker. I wouldn't want to depend on Casey and Paton for winning goals too often which brings us to the forwards. Bair, just don't see it. He's a big athletic lad but just doesn't seem to have the instinct for football. Pace and physique only gets you so far and it looks to me like Bair doesn't really know what to do. Thought Kettlewell was playing favourites today with the substitution. Efford wasn't great either but he at least got into some decent positions to receive the ball. It worked out for the manager today and we carried a wee bit luck but there was something about that substitution that just gave you the impression that the manager seeing things slightly distorted from reality. Fair play to Harry Paton though, think it was the Queens Park match where he came on and did really well and changed things and today he was our best player.

I'm often wonder about this and this is my take. Technically poor players don't like receiving the ball from throw ins.

It's Scottish football. If we can do it wrong, that's the way we do it.

Kilmarnock are undefeated in 7 matches this season, have beaten Rangers and Celtic and haven't conceded a goal against a Premiership side this season. On the other hand we didn't look like scoring against an utterly howlin' Hibs team until Biereth came on and that option isn't going to be available for a while. Obviously I'd rather see us hump them but I feel this is a match were the visitors have all the confidence and momentum.

And we lost all four barely kicking a ball between the lot of them. I wasn't that upset about the defeat at the weekend because I lost any belief that we can actually win a trophy a while back When we won the cup in 1991 we had guys like Cooper, Paterson, Angus, Ferguson, Russell, guys that had been there, done it and won it. On top of that we had some of the best youth players we've ever developed McCart, Boyd, O'Donnell and guys with the mental toughness to win - Nijholt, Griffin, O'Neil, Philliben, Arnott. We don't have any of those types any more. I don't want to be downbeat but it's just a realistic take on it.

Don't comment on games I wasn't at but it would be hugely disappointing if Biereth is out injured now.

I like that it talks about 'rampant self righteousness' without any kind of self awareness. Like most I'm not against supporter groups but when they stray away from actually supporting they inevitable embarrass themselves. And far too many of them have an inflated sense of their own worth. The old geezer in the beige anorak and bunnet and the guy that takes his young family to the game are absolutely 'worth' the same as supporters of the club as any cookie cutter ultra. Just remember we come to see the football not 6th form art painted on your maws under sheets so rein it in a bit.

There can only be one. Don't Mika me spell it out for you.

We didn't play well today but we still deserved the victory over an absolutely dire Hibs team. First half was verging on embarrassing for top tier football, you'd have to scour the leagues of Europe to find a lower pass completion all weekend I'm guessing. Second half we improved in patches while Hibs went even further back. Biereth, obviously, changed the match. Right after he came on he created a chance just through his movement by creating space for an attack. Just that one movement, without even touching the ball, he'd shown more than Bair and Wilkinson combined. He looked aggressive, pacey, with a decent touch. Bair and Wilkinson up top didn't inspire much confidence. I don't mind Wilkinson doing nothing all game if he scores. Bair ran about a bit, but, too often, into other players giving away needless fouls. Defensively we looked very comfortable, Hibs were piss poor, but I wasn't ever nervous about Hibs scoring until they got an injury time penalty. Midfield was a little off today. Passing was poor overall. Especially first half. Overall though we were well worth the win but I thought Hibs were really abysmal.

Hibs look decent going forward but also very vulnerable defensively. No clean sheets in four and two of those were against non league level Euro minnows. Full back areas in particular are areas we can get success in. Stevenson is slow as treacle and they are struggling for a decent right back. Goalkeeper has also been very shaky.

As opposed to the logic of judging a player on his record in a competition that he's not played in? The fact is Zack Robinson performed well last season and if we'd signed him there would have been a more positive reaction than we've had with our actual signings.

My eyeballs.

Obika also has more Premiership goals than Messi, Ronaldo, Zico, Maradona and Eusebio combined.

As it stands Dundee have a better striker than we do in Zach Robinson.

I think Jordan White was a bit unlucky with us as he had two perfectly good goals disallowed early on in his career with us and after it never really happened to him. If he'd got off the mark early on it might have been a different story but it's difficult for strikers when the pressure starts to mount.

The last two home matches players have been booed on as substitutes so no one should be surprised at the lengths some go too.

Just to add to the Theo Bair stats.... Started 8 matches last season and was subbed in every one of them. To be fair his one goal was a no bad finish!

To be honest I think that's the plan. Lennon/Spittal/Slattery all scored 2 goals in the league cup group and I think he's looking for 6, 7, 8 goals out of each of them this league term, with strikers also chipping in here and there.