Welldaft Mk1 Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 So we are top 6 which is a fantastic achievement given where we were 2 months ago. No-one really saw this coming not least Dundee, Inverness or Partick fans all of whom would have fancied their team over ours. No we await the post split fixtures and fight for a 4th spot that will bring in extra money and potentially a place in Europa league should Celtic not screw up the Scottish cup - which is sadly not beyond them ! St Johnstone appear to be in freefall, yet have the better of us in the 2 ties up in Perth. Which should help us assuming they come to Fir Park. Ross County may well be our real threat for 4th. By my reckoning we have played Aberdeen, Celtic, and Ross County at home twice and St J and Hearts away twice,so expect us to play St J and Hearts at home and the rest away. That would also give us equal amount of home and away games. It is tough to take many points in top 6, so would think 2 wins and draw would be more than enough and would mean St J and Ross C would need to win 3 games out of 5. If the 2 wins come against St Johnstone and Ross County even better.. Thoughts ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuwell Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 IIRC the usual way is that at the start of the season the SPFL assume the top six last year will be the top six this year and as such the home/away fixtures reflect this. If one team fails to make it then the team who have got their place also get their allocation of home/away games - this led to us previously having to play Celtic 3 times at Parkhead. The fact that ITC, Dundee & Dundee Utd all failed to make the cut means that things might be different this year but potentially we could see Celtic back at FP again this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 So we are top 6 which is a fantastic achievement given where we were 2 months ago. No-one really saw this coming not least Dundee, Inverness or Partick fans all of whom would have fancied their team over ours. No we await the post split fixtures and fight for a 4th spot that will bring in extra money and potentially a place in Europa league should Celtic not screw up the Scottish cup - which is sadly not beyond them ! St Johnstone appear to be in freefall, yet have the better of us in the 2 ties up in Perth. Which should help us assuming they come to Fir Park. Ross County may well be our real threat for 4th. By my reckoning we have played Aberdeen, Celtic, and Ross County at home twice and St J and Hearts away twice,so expect us to play St J and Hearts at home and the rest away. That would also give us equal amount of home and away games. I think your post split fixture prediction looks about right Iain. Two homes and three aways. I reckon we're capable of beating st Johnstone at home and drawing with Hearts. The game against Ross County (at Dingwall?) looks tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderpig Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I think 3 wins from last 5 should see us secure 4th maybe 2 and a draw, we should be capable of beating StJ and Ross county but to be honest all of the other 5 are beatable. If we keep our recent form going then 4th is a very real target which given where we were in January would be a fantastic achievement even without the added bonus of a Europa league place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goggles & Flippers Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 County blow hot and cold and are a shadow of the team the put that unprecedented run together last season. St Johnstone are scrambling to get some solidity back to their season. I only fear for County overtaking us and even then I'm not overly fearful. I'm especially glad to be reminded of Jonathan Sutherland and pundits waxing about Hartley and how Dundee could make waves after they destroyed Killie 4-0 on the opening weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Maybe it's just me, but I'll be fine with 6th. Anything beyond that far exceeds my expectations for this season. In fact, 6th far exceeds my expectations. I have been following football, and this mob in particular, for too many years and know how hard it is to stop the rot of a team in free fall. So still delighted we are in the top half after the split. Kudos to everyone involved for turning it around - especially after the way we started. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StAndrew7 Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Maybe it's just me, but I'll be fine with 6th. Anything beyond that far exceeds my expectations for this season. In fact, 6th far exceeds my expectations. I have been following football, and this mob in particular, for too many years and know how hard it is to stop the rot of a team in free fall. So still delighted we are in the top half after the split. Kudos to everyone involved for turning it around - especially after the way we started. This. I had the fear up until a few weeks ago that we'd keep slipping down the league and be in danger again. To be in the Top 6 with a striker on the verge of 20 goals in his first season and another closing in on 15, along with the young players we're bringing through (Cadden, Hall (if he stays, going by the rumours) etc.) and the others that we have tied to (relatively) long contracts that are going to be sellable assets, it's a tremendous turnaround. Credit to Mark McGhee and the management team, as well as those running the club. We're in an ever improving position and I can only echo the comments people have made re: McGhee being the right man for the job. I wasn't convinced at first but I can see him really developing our players and putting the foundations in place for a proper conveyor belt of talent to come through. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaag Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Beat 5th & 6th place teams and we'll finish 4th - sure of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzyB Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Would be disappointed with anything other than 4th now that we hold that spot with 5 games to go. Also couldn't care less how pish we were last season; that shouldn't be a reason to accept less than what we are capable of achieving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donaldo87 Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I'd be a bit disappointed seeing as we are in 4th just now but wouldn't lose any sleep over it if we finished 5th or 6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Would be disappointed with anything other than 4th now that we hold that spot with 5 games to go. Also couldn't care less how pish we were last season; that shouldn't be a reason to accept less than what we are capable of achieving. Forget last season - look at where we were in January. And the nature of the league is that wherever we finish (4th, 5th or 6th) that is *exactly* what we were capable of achieving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Top 6 resembles a decent season, boosted by the development of young players. Given how precarious our finances are however, it'll be a missed opportunity if we don't beat a poor St Johnstone and inconsistent Ross County to 4th place and an extra £200k minimum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 We've taken 1 point from 9 against County and 3 from 9 against St Johnstone. Granted we are playing much better now, but certainly not a banker in either of those games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzyB Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Forget last season - look at where we were in January. And the nature of the league is that wherever we finish (4th, 5th or 6th) that is *exactly* what we were capable of achieving.Forget January, look at where we are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superward Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I think we need to be targeting 4th spot now. Well within our grasp and we shouldn't give the excuse of 'look where we were in January'. At the same time if we finish 6th it won't be a huge disappointment. Europe aside the extra money could do wonders I regards the Les/Well Society situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Given how precarious our finances are however, it'll be a missed opportunity if we don't beat a poor St Johnstone and inconsistent Ross County to 4th place and an extra £200k minimum. Agreed. However do we go hell for leather to maximise our league position as its a fair bit of cash involved or do we say to hell with it blood as many good kids as possible? I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Agreed. However do we go hell for leather to maximise our league position as its a fair bit of cash involved or do we say to hell with it blood as many good kids as possible? I don't know. In my opinion, the young ones that are ready have been blooded during the cut and thrust of the season. I'd like to see more of Watt and Thomas but not to the cost of £200k. McGhee will use them when he knows they are ready. Big pre-season ahead for the pair of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I get that the bench is somewhat dictated by positions that may need covered but it was notable that 4 of the 7 subs at the weekend were 20 or under with Chalmers 22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 In my opinion, the young ones that are ready have been blooded during the cut and thrust of the season. What about the likes of Mackin, Campbell and MacLean? Maybe a 5/10 minute slot in the latter stages of a game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 What about the likes of Mackin, Campbell and MacLean? Maybe a 5/10 minute slot in the latter stages of a game? Well Mackin won't as he's currently an Airdrie player. He started for them on Saturday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 What about the likes of Mackin, Campbell and MacLean? Maybe a 5/10 minute slot in the latter stages of a game? Think next season will be too early for Campbell and from what I've seen, admittedly pre-Christmas, Mackin is some way away. I liked MacLean pre-season but injuries have got in the way this season. We'll see what McGhee pulls out the hat. Not many would have expected Hall to get a sniff this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzyB Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 Do we normally play youngsters post split? I can't think of those who have gotten more game time post split in recent years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 we will be going all out too finish 4th so im pretty certain we won't see any more youngster's get a chance before the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 I understand that McGhee said ages ago that he'd look at integrating some of the younger players when we were safe however I'd argue he's already been doing that. As I mentioned half our bench on Saturday was 20 or under plus Cadden starting. I'd imagine he'll continue fielding the sort of team he has up until now, with some of the younger guys getting longer on the park than that have been ie: Dom Thomas getting half an hour rather than 5-10mins and Jack Leitch getting a start in place of Gomis and so on and so forth. It wouldn't surprise me to see the likes of MacLean, Campbell or even Turnbull make an appearance on the bench but equally I don't see the starting XI changing much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzie Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 I think one thing we should do is punt Gomes back to Hearts to save some cash and give Jack Leitch a few decent runouts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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