joewarkfanclub

So we are. Good spot. I guess that means we can try again next midweek if Tuesday doesnt go ahead?

Really need to get the cup game on given the next round is next Saturday! Otherwise we will be playing the replay next Saturday and potentially the quarter final the following midweek!

I doubt its worth anything. Does the tv money not go in a central pot for prize money these days? I presumed it got divvied up depending on how far you got in the competition.

Think he means Higdon, although I immediately thought Stevie Cowan!

Looking at our limited options Id stick with 4-3-3 Gillespie Grimshaw Gallagher Hartley Carroll OHara Polworth Donnelly Aarons Watt Hylton

Will Manzinga not be suspended?

Given that we have only just played St Mirren and we play them another twice within 4 days, I dont think mixing it up a little would be the worst idea. Whether to do it on Saturday or leave it until Tuesday is up for question and may depend a lot on what personnel are available. I would be tempted to stick with 4-3-3 on Saturday and try and catch them out on Tuesday, however, doing the opposite might keep them guessing. Whatever we can do to gain an advantage. Midfield wise for me O'Hara is the one player who should be guaranteed a start. He is the most complete midfielder we have in the squad and it shouldnt matter that he isnt our player. We need to win the next few games and he will help us do that. Polworth probably has to start just for his creativity and ability to pick out a pass. His delivery at set pieces needs to improve however. Its thereafter down to either Campbell or Donnelly for me if we stick with 4-3-3. If we opt for a different formation we might have room for both but giving either of them a rest at some stage wouldnt be the worst idea as both have lost a little of their early season form. Didnt see any of last nights game, but I would be starting Aarons off the back of his performances v Celtic and St Mirren as he appears to offer some genuine pace and quality that our other wingers just dont have. Long must start up front. Whether thats with or without Watt depends on the formation.

Thanks for your insight. Much appreciated.

I appreciate we have tied in with Dalziel for a long time. My suggestion was that we should maybe look to assist in upgrading Dalziel or tying in with someone else in a joint venture rather than taking on all the costs of in a sole venture (I think Hearts are tied in with Herriot Watt University?) Obviously the logistics / politics of that might not be advantageous, but Im sure there are plenty of minds on our board smart enough to explore all options and do whats best for the club.

As far as training facilities go, I would have thought a joint venture such as Hibs and Hearts run would make sense. A tie in with Dalziel or a local college or the council could work. We only need access at specific times so would be financially more sustainable if someone else was benefitting from the facility and contributing to its upkeep.

Murphy missed the penalty at 0-1. Pretty sure he hit the post with it. Would have set us up for a rousing finale. Anyone who would prefer the League Cup to that is off their heads.

Good work from all concerned. We can now invest every penny we earn into improving the squad and our facilities. Happy days.

European football raises the profile of the club which has to assist with recruitment. It also allows us to budget with confidence for next season much earlier as we know already we are probably going to finish top 6 and a relegation battle is out of the question. I would imagine we will have most of our business done before this season is over.

Dunnes pace at back is an asset. But his positioning and distribution can be iffy. Definitely better as left side of a 3 but good cover for Carrol if he was injured.

Always a hard place to go, particularly mid winter on a Wednesday night. Will be a very small crowd in inclement weather. Happily take a point right now. Agree we should rotate a little with so many games coming up. Cup game has to be the priority as its the only trophy we have any chance of winning and the extra finance generated by a run to Hampden is very important to the club. Whether Robbo rests players midweek or on Saturday or both will be interesting to see.

I'll never forgive John Gardiner!

Thanks Grizzly, I had buried that particular memory in the darkest recesses of my mind!

Home tie v Aberdeen or Kilmarnock. Got to be happy with that. Great chance of another day out at Hampden!

O'Hara for me. Had a very good first half capped by an excellent goal. 2nd half he kept trying to do the right things. Couldnt really understand the Campbell substitution at the time as O'Hara was still having an influence in the middle. Can only think Robbo was shutting up shop to get a 1-0. Taking him off after they scored made even less sense.

Thought we played some good stuff today in spells. The first half was very enjoyable. An end to end cup tie with both teams going for it. We rode our luck at times defensively, bit looked dangerous going forwards and probably just about deserved our HT lead. Defo want to see the Aarons incident again. Looked a stonewall free kick. The only question was what colour card the St Mirren player would get. For Dallas not to even award a foul seemed incredible. 2nd half the weather deteriorated so badly it was hard to criticise players struggling to control and pass to each other. Both teams were equally as guilty. Thought we created the better opportunities 2nd half and the defending at their goal is really disappointing. Firstly not getting out to block the pass inside (which is an unfortunate feature of Carrolls play) and secondly not picking up the man in the box who had an age to get his shot away. Very poor. I didnt think Gillespie could do much about it and thought he had a pretty decent game in general. Overall, we probably should have won the game but cant really complain too much that we didnt. Hopefully we will have enough to despatch them at Fir Park in some better weather!

Watt wouldnt have been my choice earlier in the window purely down to the baggage he appears to have carried with him throughout his career. However, with the window now closed and with no other prospect of bolstering our striking options until the end of the season, we just have to get behind the guy and hope he still has sufficient in him to bring something positive to the team. There is no doubt the boy has talent. If he can sort out whats between his ears its still not too late for him to resurrect his career.

I found both to be similary infuriating to watch but Frears assist stats must have him ahead of Hylton?

Carroll is a decent full back at our level. With a better/more confident player in front of him he would bring a lot more to the table. Hylton is a hard worker who clearly takes on board the managers instructions. But his confidence is so fragile you fear for him every time he gets the ball. I dont know how you fix that other than the player himself working on his mental strength. Grimshaw is different. He is a player without a real position trying to do his very best because he is the best option we have there. He does a decent job, but he is not a natural as can be seen every time he gets in a position to cross the ball then cuts back and plays it inside cause he clearly doesnt trust himself to deliver. He also quite often gets his body shape all wrong when he is actually in a good position to defend, making it easy for the attacker to get the better of him. All that said, he is still a better option than Tait right now which is really disappointing given how good he was for us when he arrived.

Since our return we have Despatched Dundee easily in Cup. Gave a gutsy battling display to win 3 points in Aberdeen. Competed very well against an improving Hibs team and could easily have earned 3 points. Played shit on a plastic pitch and got what we deserved. Went toe to toe with the treble treble winners and should have gone in at half time at least level. Ran out of steam second half and succumbed to a team far superior to us in every way. Struggling to see where this implosion in our form is? If we turn up on Saturday we win. And I dont just mean the team......

Thought we played very well first half. I must confess at thinking it was a bold team selection that could come back to haunt us, but we were able to go pretty much toe to toe with a very good Celtic team and only some poor finishing stopped us going in at half time with a deserved share of the spoils. However, everything we did well first half we seened to stop doing second half. The second goal is really poor and after that we seemed to lose our way. The first substition is a shocker. If Aarons was cramping fair enough, but to think Seedorf was the answer is quite incredible. We basically gave them the game at that point. Anyone of the other subs would have been a better alternative. It was no surprise at that point it all went south. For all the result was disappointing, our fans need to take a reality check. The first half performance had lots to commend it and those giving Polworth a hard time might want to go back and look at his contribution first half. The crazy shot from 25 yards apart he was involved in nearly everything good we did. Always available, always looking to drive forward and play the forward pass. He worked incredibly hard for the team. Yes he faded badly second half and his delivery was terrible, but he wasnt alone. Fast becoming the boo boys new favourite. We have had some tough fixtures, but Livvy game apart, we have coped with them well. Plenty to be positive about going into Saturday. Toughen up princesses!