joewarkfanclub

The position we find ourselves in has nothing to do with whether we publicise our transfer dealings before they are concluded. You seem to be prioritising your need for the board to demonstrate to you that they are doing something to rectify our situation, over just actually doing it and publicising it afterwards. If we get to the end of the window and none of our problems have been addressed, then you will have a point. Until then, why not just be patient?

Could you not just have left the post at this?

Or maybe just go about our business quietly, announce deals when they are done and save ourselves a few quid......

I would expect some changes for this one. Id go 4-4-2 with Smith starting potentially alongside Long. If Polworth is indeed suspended I would presume that Watt and hopefully Lawless will play the wide midfield roles with 2 of Campbell, Crawford and OHara in the middle. Defence picks itself. Big game. Be nice to win it but must not lose.

Thought we played reasonably well first half., sloppy defending for the goal aside. Good reaction from the players after the goal and short of some awful refereeing decisions should have been level at the break. Im not sure why folks think Polworth should have been red carded in the first half. It was clear that Aberdeen had marked him out for some "attention" so I can understand why he reacted the way he did when getting taken from behind again. Of course we have seen red cards given for less (see 2nd half) but that doesnt mean its right. I thought the ref got that spot on with a yellow card apiece. Not sure what has happened for the red card itself. Polworth does try to draw the foul but gets clattered from behind yet again, so if something has been said, surely that has to be taken into account? The ref has played advantage to us, so the card cannot be for anything Polworth has done in the tackle. Will be very interesting to see if any explanations are forthcoming. After that, what happened was kind of inevitible, although I was surprised that no action was taken against Ferguson for a quite blatant elbow on Crawford. If the referee had evened things up there it might have given us some hope. As it was we have Liam Kelly to thank for keeping the score respectable. I dont think things are totally doom and gloom. Our deficiencies havent changed, but we did respond better to going behind than anything I have seen this season. The manager will also be getting more of a handle on what he needs to do to get us up the table. I would expect one or 2 more signings soon.

Thought there were some decent performances first half. Watt was very good again and can consider himself very unlucky to be subbed after the red card. Thought Mugabi had another very decent game, but it has to be Kelly. Was absolutely outstanding 2nd half and kept the score respectable.

Great disciplined team performance, but Tony Watt for me is leading from the front. What a shift he put in again today. He is our player of the season by a distance right now.

Once Onthefringes alludes to the possibility of a deal happening with Rooney I might start to believe it!

I remember every time we played Partick Thistle or Livingston he put in very good performances, either scored or provided an assist and was generally one of the better players on the park. Did I wish he was back at Fir Park? Probably not. But he is a proven and consistent SPL level player who should be good for a minimum 6/10 performance every week. Not the flashiest, most inspiring signing we will ever make, but the boy will do a job.

I really dont see what the alternative is here? With the spotlight that Scottish football is currently under due to previous breaches and Celtics heavily criticised recent actions, the panel would be absolutely mad to overturn this decision. Both clubs admitted breaches of protocols. That has to have some form of punishment attached. The financial penalties were deferred pending future good behaviour, which I think is entirely correct, given the financial situations of most clubs. Therefore docking points is the only alternative. I think you could alter it so each game is only a 1-0 loss so as not to adversely effect goal difference. But thats about it.

The 25% we reportedly negotiated in the original deal. If we didnt get that heads should roll

Coles chance was a good one. But not any better than the St Mirren chance at the other end that met with the same fate. Or the one that Erhahon missed in the second half. The debate here is whether St Mirren deserved a point or not regardless of the penalty that should never have been given. I would contest that they were deserving of a point. Others may differ.

I generally feel that the team that plays the best deserves to win the game. You dont always get what you deserve but thats fitba'. St Mirren had a gilt edged chance in the first half and another in the second as well as the free kick. We had the goal, Watts header and O'Hara's free kick. So if you want to ignore the balance of play and go on chances alone a draw probably was still the correct result. Not sure why that part of my post seems to have irked you. I talk enough shite to find fault with without focussing on a minor matter of opinion.

In the last game we played nobody up top. We played 2 banks of 5 for 70 mins and when we lost the goal and did change the answer was Jordan White. No offence, but the change came too late and when made it was the wrong one. I dont think we can play open against Rangers as they have the quality to pick us off. But that doesnt mean we should just sit back and invite them onto us. We could play a high press and try and keep Tavernier and Barisic from pushing up. But thats a long shift as well and we still have Kent and Morelos to take care of. On the plus side I think Arfield and Roofe are still injured so thats 2 less to be concerned about. Particularly Arfield as I think he is the type of player that really gives our defence problems with late runs into the box. Its a fine line playing good teams. Hopefully we can get the balance right for once.

On the balance of play, St Mirren were the better team in the 2nd half, just as we were in the first.

Id play Watt up top. I think he is the most likely to make it stick long enough for the midfield to get up and support.

Now that we have all seen Sportscene, can we agree that it wasnt a penalty, Mugabi did nothing wrong and actually played the ball? Still doesnt change the fact that St Mirren probably deserved their point, just not like that!

Hopefully given the fact that he has lived and played his entire life in England he wont be tarnished with the "we have no right to expect to beat them" mentality. I dont mind if we set up to be really hard to beat, but we need an outball allow us to counter attack.

I thought Carroll looked much more assured today but clearly still has a bit to go sharpness wise but it will come. I was impressd with O'Hara and he stuck to his task despite the yellow card, albeit he rode his luck at times. Great free kick. However, went for the much maligned Mugabi probably just to swim against the tide a bit. Thought he had an excellent first half defensively and his striding purposefully out of defence with the ball is something to behold! Second half I thought he stood up to the increased pressure pretty well. I need to see the pen again, but I didnt see much wrong with it on first viewing. The guy is still young, and with the right support and playing partner I dont think he is an absolute write off just yet.

Thought today totally encapsulated our season in 90 minutes. Good first half. Controlled the play,. Played some nice stuff without carving out too many clear cut chances. Took one, couldnt press home our advantage by converting another and giving ourselves breathing space. Totally allowed the opposition back into it 2nd half. Made some dubious substitutions that didnt improve much. Lost a goal to a really dubious refereeing decision. Failed to win 3 points. On the plus side, we didnt capitulate. We actually seemed to react a little after the goal and finished strongly. Mugabi, Carroll, Polworth, O'Hara, Hastie, Cole all put in vastly improved performances. Plenty for the new gaffer to be encouraged about but plenty of scope for further improvement.

Just read McFedz post on the other thread! Great minds and all that....

I wonder if Alexander might try something totally different? Play 4-4-2 in a diamond? Both Carroll and O'Donnell have the legs to get forward and can deliver a cross. We have the defensive midfielders to make it work. Maybe having 2 up top not having to track back would give us more of a threat? Worth thinking about until we can get bodies in and out. Maybe too big a change for one training session right enough. Kelly SOD Deccy OHara Carroll Maguire Crawford Campbell Polworth Watt Cole/White

Campbell is the engine room of our team. Unfortunately having a great engine doesnt do you any good if the wheels are falling off and the bodywork is severely damaged.....

Kelly SOD Deccy OHara Carroll Campbell Crawford Hastie Polworth Watt Cole

More than happy with this appointment. Looking forward to seeing how he is going to rebuild/reshape this squad. Players will have to shape up or prepare to ship out. A nice early win on Saturday would be a bonus!