MJC

I know that and I’m not expecting us to sign proven goalscorers with a track record of scoring 25+ goals a season at a decent level. However I can’t understand why we are not targeting central forward players who we know are most comfortable playing in that position and hoping for that bit of luck that sees them doing very well for us. Like Louis Moult Every signing we make is going to be a gamble but we need to try and stack the odds in our favour.

It’ll certainly make it a bit of a lottery. Incidentally today is exactly 22 years to the day since we had a Scottish Cup tie at Arbroath abandoned at half time due to weather exactly the same as it is today.

We’ve needed an out and out striker, or a ‘No.9’ type since Moult left four years ago and for whatever reason we have opted for signing attacking wingers or ‘secondary type’ strikers as opposed to scouting and signing players who’s natural position is to play up front and through the middle. I fully appreciate that we are restricted by our budget and the wages we can offer, also that signing players in the January window is that bit more difficult, but I cannot understand why we seem to target the same type of player over and over again. Tony Watt was not an out and out striker but he was the nearest thing we’ve had to one in the last four years and KvV isn’t one either but could be a brilliant foil/partner for a player who is. Obviously I will give every player we sign my full backing and support and I hope that Joe Efford can bring something to the table, but for me this is a strange signing.

I had hoped we’d moved away from the days of signing wingers who “can play anywhere across the front three” as Robinson liked to say as opposed to signing a proper striker who could play through the middle but it seems not. Best of luck to the boy and welcome to the club but I can’t help feel like this isn’t exactly what we need right now.

2-0 defeat, same as our last visit there.

Glad to hear it, hopefully this will ensure a big crowd and a good cup tie.

100% this. Losing Watt - the one player who was a creative threat for us up front - was a hammer blow and unless we replace him then we are going to struggle big time for goals.

Dismal stuff. Yes we didn’t get beat and if you’re looking for a positive then that’s it. However yet again we looked so flat and devoid of any creative ideas, just as we did on Saturday. Again I don’t understand the starting line up and player selection, as I said before the game, starting Donnelly ahead of Slattery was madness and so it proved. We need to start playing as though we actually want to win matches, not just scrape bye and avoid losing, otherwise it’s going to be a very long and difficult second half of the season.

It was a strange substitution either way.

Tierney subbed off, he must be injured.

Donnelly can have no complaints there, that was just plain daft.

GA’s stubbornness is very apparent here by persevering with Donnelly in midfield. As I type, Tierney on and Shields off. Baffling!

Donnelly starting ahead of Slattery is madness. He’ll need to pull another worldy out of the box tonight to justify that decision IMO.

Donnelly starts again, as does KvV and Roberts. Tierney on the bench.

I fancy us to nick this one. 1-0 with van Veen getting the winner.

I notice that we are due to play Aberdeen in the League the week after the Cup tie. That always seems to happen when we play Aberdeen in the Cup, it ends up a double header. Whenever that’s happened in the past, it’s been one win each. If that trend is to continue here then I’ll gladly take a Cup win as opposed to three points in the league.

Yes, that was the same season (17/18), the round after we beat Aberdeen at Fir Park. My point was that outwith that season and the LC16 tie against Livi the following season our record in Cup ties against Premiership sides is dreadful.

That was one of the best games at Fir Park in the last decade, right up there with the playoff 2nd leg for enjoyment and overall satisfaction. The scenes when Moult buried the third were priceless. That season though was very much the exception to the rule for us against top flight sides in the Cups, as outwith that season and the LC16 tie against Livingston the following year, we have not beaten a fellow top flight side in either Cup since the 2011 SCSF against St.Johnstone.

Hopefully today acts as a wake up call to GA and the team that they cannot afford to take Cup games lightly. We got away with one big time today but we’re through and ultimately that’s all that matters. Against Aberdeen we need to have our strongest possible eleven starting the match, no two ways about it and we need to be right up for it on the day.

It should be a good crowd and I hope that the TV companies leave this one alone and it’s played at 3pm on the Saturday. But “we usually do well against them”? Not in Cup ties we don’t. I know we beat them at Hampden in the 2018 semi final but they had a habit of knocking us out of the Cup in the early 2010s when we were significantly better than them and had their number in league matches. No arguments from me about them being bang average. However as I said above, under McCall a decade ago we were unbeaten in the league against them for in seven games yet they managed to come to Fir Park and knock us out of the Scottish cup in back to back seasons - actually twice in the same calendar year so our league record against them will have no bearing on this tie. On paper yes, we are more than capable of beating them but I just do not trust us to do the business in a Scottish cup tie against them.

Okay perhaps not Aberdeen themselves as they are a very ordinary side, but maybe it would be more accurate to say that we should fear ourselves and our dismal record in Cup ties against top flight sides.

We’ll need to play considerably better than we did today if we are to get past them. We’ll also need to considerably improve our Cup performances against top flight sides as our record in that respect is diabolical. Anyone saying “nothing to fear here, this will be easy” is kidding themselves.

Stinker of a draw.

Yaaaaaaaassss THANK.FUCK!!!

That’s only going to prolong the agony I reckon. A penalty shootout loss looming here.