grumpy

I always have 38 points in my mind as our first target. I had a quick look back at the recent final league tables, and since the introduction of the play offs, 38 points has been good enough for tenth or better, although St. Mirren did finish 11th with 41 points the year before they were introduced. That said, I suspect that at least one of the current bottom three won't reach 30 points this year and 38 points will be more than enough for safety.

I don't normally vote when I don't attend, but having watched the full 90 minutes on Alba, I decided to break the normal rule. Frear for me, looked like the player we all hoped he would be when he first played. Honourable mentions for Aldred, Grimshaw and Turnbull.

I could make a case for Gillespie, Mbulu, Campbell, Main or Johnson. It seems strange not to vote for a striker who scored twice and put in a great shift, but Grimshaw gets my vote, his second half performance was outstanding.

It has to be Turnbull, he works hard, he is comfortable on the ball and he is prepared to put his laces through it when the chance arises. Cadden, Tait, McHugh, Grimshaw and Bigiramana all impressed too.

Steven Lawleff?

Agreed, he looked like the big next thing for a while but whether it was his slight build or just a lack of desire to keep working hard, he definitely didn't achieve what his talent promised. I also have a clear memory of a mid-week game on a horrible night of rain, wind and near zero temperatures and Ian was just hanging about on the wing with his hands tucked up into his sleeves looking miserable and dis-interested. I think he was off to Morton not long after that.

Even further back, that was the terracing I watched Ian Clinging score two absolute belters in the same game, picked the ball up at the edge of our box and ran 80 yards before smacking the ball into the back of the far away net, then repeated the trick shortly afterwards, 1979(ish) I think

I didn't see the McGregor - Hartley incident clearly, though my brother-in-law described it a as body slam, I did see McGregor swing an elbow at Johnson though just before he was subbed, and if Johnson had reacted the way some players would have (for that read Morelos), it would have been interesting to see how Thomson would have responded. I know I sound like a paranoid Celtic fan, but I honestly don't think we have had a decent shake from the refereeing fraternity since we papped Rangers 6-1 in the play offs.

Excellent on many levels today, perfect no, but night and day from the Hamilton game. Carson should do better at the third goal and there seemed a lack of communication between him and his central defenders at the second, they were also able to swing a lot of crosses in unopposed. Middle of the park going forward though was much improved, we created plenty of chances by playing decent football and whilst it is disappointing to hold the lead twice and not win, a last minute jump about is a great way to end the game, and a point was the least we deserved. As to Mister Thompson, somebody said he had a good game, but I can only assume good is used as a relevant term, i.e. good compared to last year, how Lafferty and Morelos got through that game unspoken to, let alone unbooked, is a mystery of Detective Rebus proportions. And how he could book Hartley (correctly) for dribbling the ball away after conceding a freekick, then, about 60 seconds later, ignore their number 6 launching the ball 60 yards up field to prevent us taking a quick throw in would be laughable if it wasn't typical of Scottish refereeing standards.

Tough choice between Bigi and Johnson, in the end went with Johnson (I know he seemed to be everywhere but the list above says there were two of him which explains quite a lot). A lot of good performances today, it was much more like the Motherwell of last year so hopefully we can push on from here.

I always get a cached copy when I log in and have to refresh the page to see the newer items, I thought it may be my browser settings but it is the same at work* and at home *Not that I sit at work on the internet all day

Was he in a days when he scored?

Frear in the first half. Nobody in the second.

Does Stewart Auld now run a pub in Craiglang?

Ultimately though, most people only buy the top, so the shorts and socks are irrelevant in terms of shirt sales. Just for clarity, I’m an old (fat) fart, so I don’t buy replicas, just occasional t-shits or polo shirts, but I do like the traditional hoop.