Ya Bezzer!

I think McGhee should resign after today but I don't expect us to get any better. The fan ownership model means even if we survive this season we are certainties to go down sooner rather than later, probably next season (can you imagine that team without McDonald?) or the season after that. I've been saying it all year but fans need to adjust their expectations to the new reality. They deserve better than we got today but when Hibs come up and the Top 6 positions are locked up by the city clubs the best we will be looking at is Bottom 6 football in the Premiership.

If you look at Dundee's home and away record you can see they are obviously much better on their own patch. We've only lost once to a bottom 6 team at home and that was a while back. Should be looking to pick up at least 3 points here, 1 at a minimum.

Dundee have one away win since the first week of the season.

I like your optimism but our fixtures aren't getting a whole lot better. Couple of big pressure matches against Dundee and Kilmarnock, then we have Aberdeen and Rangers away again and St. Johnstone who are breathing down Hearts necks. 7 of our last 10 league matches will have been against Top 5 teams come 18th March. Lot of things seem to be going against us this season from refereeing decisions to injuries and suspensions to the fixture list. I don't agree with the 'must win' game mentality at this stage in the season but a win against Dundee would be a really important result especially since ourselves and Dundee are the only 'Pack' clubs not playing Top 5 opposition.

Story of the season.

Been ill all week although maybe that was a good thing as I missed all the inevitable breast beating and wailing in the aftermath of the Aberdeen and indeed the Aberdeen match as well. My view on these games is that we should go into the games looking to get something but if we come out with nothing we shouldn't be beating ourselves up too much. Our season is going to be against our immediate competitors. On the face of it we don't have much chance and there is a huge gap in terms of form, confidence and ability but players have to go into these matches 100% or else you aren't showing the strength of character to be selected in other matches. If players give 100% and we lose 4, 5, 6 nil then there isn't much you can do about it. If players don't then that's where the big problems are going to come.

I've not watched MotD much this season but I watched it was night and there must have been half a dozen tackles worse than the McHugh one that didn't even get a card, never mind a straight red. It's an absolutely disgraceful decision, at most it's a yellow and even then if it's pussy football you are playing. The game is being wrecked by self important, attention seeking officials. Dallas was an absolute joke yesterday and even before the McHugh incident he was spoiling the game with rotten decision making and an inability to keep his whistle silent for more than 2 minutes. Every player and every manager will tell you how referees interact with them behind the scenes. They are a bunch of pompous assholes, who get paid more than many of the players for being part time, exist in an inner circle clique and look down on everyone else in the game while wrecking football matches so they can climb up the ladder.

Went for Moult, worked hard all match in deeper areas than he'd probably like. Cadden for me was pretty anonymous for a lot of the match but then sprung into life in the latter stages but it was too late by that stage.

You shouldn't be. It's the latest buzz word form the petted lip brigade. Just off the top of my head - Moult hit the bar with a header, Ainsworth has one cleared off the line, Lasley shoots just wide, Pearson narrowly misses a header.. The thing is it's not even that long ago we were going game after game without even having a shot on target. Lot of short memories around.

Just one of those periods when things seem to be going against us a bit. Didn't look like a red card to me but whether it was or it wasn't Andrew Dallas was absolute garbage today. Where else but Scotland would the former Referee's development officers son get a gig as a top level referee? Especially one as incompetent as Dallas Jnr. Hearts 1st goal was also a huge fluke which is a bit hard to take. Hearts dominated possession but I didn't think they had really threatened us too much up to that point. We looked fairly comfortable and were very much in the game at 11 v 11 and 0-0. Didn't deserve to be ahead but I thought we were good for a point at that stage. After the goal we are obviously going to have to stretch the game and run the risk of being caught on the break which is exactly what happened. So we lose one of our better players to suspension and go into the next match weakened. Hopefully our luck changes a bit and we can turn it around and we don't get into a rut that affects us beyond this tough run of fixtures.

League Cup match.

A forum is a discourse, a conversation. People post opinions, others challenge them or agree with them. I'm sorry if you don't like having to justify a position or view or even have someone use facts to illustrate a point.

Our performances haven't been abject. In the first match we were all over them in the first half and could easily have gone in at HT 3 or 4 up. Second half the game switched and Rangers dominated but there's a hundred games of football like that every Saturday, hence the expression "game of two halves" being the biggest cliche in football. Second match I wasn't at but by all accounts we did quite well and lost to a last minute goal. Unlucky. Third match we were completely comfortable for 85 minutes of the match and lost due to a terrible individual error at the last possible moment. Fourth match we were well on top until our best player was sent off, unfairly in my opinion, and again were the better team in the first half. Like the first match at Fir Park Rangers were better in the 2nd half. We've not had a result but our performances have not been abject. In fact for the vast majority of our matches against Rangers we've matched or bettered them. Rangers have dominated 2 halves out of 8. Is that really abject? Missed chances, bad luck and a couple of errors have been the difference. But hey, that's football, just take it on the chin for god sake.

You know I wish I didn't need to state the obvious as often as I do but such is the amount of bullshit that gets posted.

3 teams have beaten Rangers this season - Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts.

What chance McGhee ever being able to bring in a £200,000 forward or a current Greek international with 60+ caps?

Samson needs to be aware he's being obstructed and just blooter that guy on the line right out the way but I'd hardly say it was a howler. In fact I think Samson has been in pretty good form over the last 4 or 5 matches.

Difficult to avoid calls for the managers head. It's hardly a minor detail. Especially when you are at the game and surrounded by slavering numpties screaming a level of abuse at the manager that previous incumbents, who were far worse, never even came close to getting. Since when did stating facts and asking for a sense of perspective become 'point scoring'?

Ciftci is a good player when he feels like it but he's always struck me as being lazy with a poor attitude. McDonald might be a bit on the stroppy side but 9 times out of 10 he knocks his pan in as well as having the extra bit of quality. Pretty relieved we never returned the call to be honest.

The funny thing about all this is since the beginning of December we've only lost 3 out of 8 and those 3 defeats were against Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen. In terms of form the only teams better than us are.....you guessed it.....Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen. I think it's fair to say some people's irrational dislike of McGhee doesn't take much to get it stirred up. Frankly a lot of people should be a bit embarrassed, especially by some of the scenes in the East Stand on Saturday. Doesn't seem to be much calm perspective around these days, football or otherwise.

If you remember McDonald wasn't happy when we turned down his Rangers move but still almost single handedly kept us up that season.

Radio said we were looking dangerous and Hammell was putting a lot of good crosses in. Jim McIntyre said we were the better team.

They've brought in a lot of new players in the window. Could be an positive or a negative. Cathro's not had a good start though.

It'll be two out the three at best I think. McGhee just said he "hopes" McDonald stays in the after match interview.

Just went Top 6. A weeks a long time in politics. In football 3 days will do it.