dennyc

That is why Welsh not starting baffled me and why I think Askou got it wrong. Welsh is the only Centre Back we have that has the confidence and ability to push up and then pass the ball accurately into our midfield. And he has the pace others do not possess. Starting McGinn and Gordon as a pairing was the reason we saw so many negative passes along the back line. Also meant, especially on our left side, that our wide players could not charge forward. Made it so comfortable for St Mirren. Welsh simply has to start on Saturday.

Focusing on yesterday it appears that on here at least Ap Stam, our lack of a goal threat and Ward are being cited as the root cause of that performance. In fact some appear to be revelling in that reasoning. Ap Stam did not have a great game and we need improvement, but he and Ward were far from the worst players on view. Being let of lightly by most are Watt, Maswanhise, Fadinger, Longolo and McGinn who delivered far less than Stam and Ward. In fact Maswanhise, Watt and Longolo turned in performances almost as dire as they did against Livi. Except yesterday they did not have the convenient excuse of an artificial surface that seemingly affected their ability to run or pass the ball. On a Managerial comparison, Askou was completely out thought by Robinson who devised a system that negated the advantage we thought we would have given the larger playing surface. Can I suggest Robinson learned more from our earlier meeting than Askou did? Looked to me that Saints were perfectly happy to surrender space out wide knowing that we would more often than not slow the game down and eventually meekly surrender the ball. Time after time. Team selection wise, given the hype regarding the threat the Saints giants pose, I get why Askou selected Gordon. But not selecting Welsh and retaining McGinn was a huge error in my opinion. Welsh is the only Centre Back we have with the ability to pass the ball forward (through a pressing opposition) to the feet of our midfield/forwards. Driving us upfield. What we saw first half was the ball repeatedly played along the back line making it almost impossible for Said and Longolo to press forward quickly. On the right side, Katroumbis was a bit more effective offensively but sadly he received poor support from Maswanhise. I think Askou acknowledged that situation at Half Time which is why Welsh appeared. Why else bring on a Centre Back when losing 2-0? I also think Slattery should have started or at least been brought on along with Welsh. So, No, I don't believe Stam and Ward were the main reason we fell short yesterday. Far from it. Too many of our players had possibly their worst performance of the season, not assisted by team selection. I'm far from jumping ship as regards our new approach, but previous Managers were rightly slated for not having a plan B to revert to in times of need. So far I have seen nothing to suggest that Askou is any different. We have a difficult run of games coming up and we are far too predictable. Hopefully we will see some tactical changes that give opposition Managers food for thought. Surely that can be the case without moving away from our possession/passing approach. It was far too easy for Robinson and his players yesterday. Having said all that, it is astounding how one piece of refereeing incompetence can change the dynamics of a game.

Adult Public on mine as well. Even though it was bought as an Old Fart concession.

Also a lot of Apps update automatically in the background. I downloaded mine before the recent Scotland games and have not manually updated it since. Has it been updated? Who knows but it is working fine.

Ticket in App. A transfer from the original buyer so the transfer bit seems to work ok. received an E-Mail from SFA to say it had been sent and when App opened I had to accept the transfer. Showed up after a minute or so. All good.

I think Spittal would strengthen us even if not immediately starting. He would have to bide his time and get comfortable with our approach. He certainly has the ability. His delivery from out wide is streets ahead of anything we currently have and a great option to have sitting on the bench. If we get the 'old' Spittal that is.

Thanks. Spot on. That's the one I was thinking of.

Cannot remember the game but pretty sure we had a player sent off for stopping a breakaway even though the tackle was in our half. Away to St Mirren, St J or Dundee maybe. And not that many seasons ago.

I detest VAR as it is operated in Scotland. The delay it causes to the games is farcical and communication is a joke. The dilemma is that for every 'Said non goal' there is a 'Nick Walsh no handball'. So if we do away with VAR we have to accept the incompetence of our referees and accept whatever they throw at us. The wee baldy linesman that chalked off a perfectly good goal against Rangers at Fir Park all those years ago still haunts me. The biggest criticism I have this season is that errors appear to have increased in number, and not decreased as should be expected as systems bed in. Willie Collum will deny that is the case though. Would I detest VAR if it was operated properly, with competent officials and proper technology with cost not a factor? Probably not.

I'm not so sure about that. The form he has shown so far will not have gone unnoticed. And Welsh would be a cheaper option and less risky than bringing in some unknown CB from the Far East. They tried that this summer and that future superstar has disappeared without trace. Another waste of money that the media seem to ignore. And who knows if Rodgers will still be there. He has history when the going gets tough. Hearts win on Sunday and the pressure will go through the roof.

He was sitting in the POD beside the rest of the staff and players on Saturday. Beside Stuparevic. First time I have spotted him. Usually check to see who is there......and who is not.

By all accounts the new pitch is much improved. Not grass but not the shocking surface of seasons past. Win or lose, it will not be down to the surface.

Usually try to avoid posting immediately after games to give me time to clear my head. But yesterday was too much. in no way do I condone any of the irrational abuse aimed at some players which others have highlighted earlier in the thread. Maybe having to put up with some of that stuff is the price we have to pay for playing the attractive football that has seen a sizeable increase in the number of fans attending games? But I do think fans are justified in calling out our Manager after performances like the second half yesterday. He rightly has had plenty of praise for changing our approach and making football fun again. But he must also expect criticism after days like yesterday. It's not all down to the players. He has the power to alter things if needed. My view leading up to half time was that Katroumbis was done, having been injured when fouled and then seconds later further aggravating the injury with a block tackle. He battled through until the break but did not look like he had recovered. He was kept on regardless and really struggled in the second half. I consider that a managerial error. I mistake which Falkirk exploited time after time down that wing. I lost count of the number of times they got in behind and should have punished us. Team selection wise I had hoped to see Welsh return at CB, pairing up with Gordon. I am not Gordon's biggest fan but have to admit that he and Welsh have been great as a pairing. Welsh seems to have helped Gordon regain his confidence and composure. McGinn may be Club captain but for me he finds it challenging playing centrally given our new approach. Even panics at times. If he cannot make the team at right back then he should not be squeezed in out of position just because he wears the armband. I thought our central defending was poor yesterday and I believe Askou's team selection played a part. Up front I thought Hendry did ok, and was perhaps a bit more mobile than Ap Stam. But he was no better in the box. What was the reason for starting Hendry ahead of a striker who was excellent at Celtic Park and who at last looked to have found his goal scoring touch? Unless Ap Stam was carrying an injury being dropped will hardly have helped his confidence. Admittedly he did miss a chance when SOD put in one of the few decent balls into the box that we saw all game. On that front both Katroumbis and Langelo wasted too many opportunities. So! Frustrated but not bailing ship yet. I love our style of play and find it refreshing and enjoyable. I took along a couple of Falkirk fans to the game and they thought we were fantastic, more so first half of course. The drive back to Fife was a tough ask! Still relatively early days, but we need to start winning games we dominate and our Manager has a part to play in that. He also has to reflect on his own contribution when things do not work out. Evidence suggests it's not only the players that have things to learn.

I was told St Mirren do not use Ticketmaster which we do. The SFA are linked to Ticketmaster so in our case the seat option was available automatically. St Mirren were given a work around which have given a seat choice up front to their fans but they opted not to use it. So seat allocation to follow for them in due course. Cue one set of unhappy fans. That's what I heard anyway.

Might be the St Mirren fans that panic. The fear being that he cracks a few jokes to keep them entertained.