Kmcalpin

I don't disagree with the majority of your post but I'd take issue with the term "deserve to be at". Maybe its just the way you phrased it? Historically, we have finished on average 7th or 8th so I get that. However there's more to finishing well than just size of support. You need to take into account the way a club is run. Surely well run clubs deserve to finish higher than those which are poorly run? Not saying we've been perfect by any means but in recent years clubs like Sevco, Hearts, Dundee, Dundee United have all been basket cases, and some still are.

Is there not some release clause in place allowing him to move for a modest, whatever that means, fee. I have no problem with him moving on. He's been decent with us and from a playing perspective, isn't the best defensively. Only issue is a replacement as Grimmy is still ill and I'm not sure if Max Johnston is quite ready. At this point just a rumour though.

I concur with most of this. Whatever system we seem to play we play very narrowly defensively allowing the opposition time and space to bombard us with crosses into our box. Now thats fine if you have a keeper in the Sieb Dykstra mould and two huge central defenders. We have neither. Agree we need to build from the back and that starts with 2 new central defenders as a top priority. Seems that one may well be incoming shortly but we still need one more first pick to partner him. Lamie and Mugabi are just too erratic. We also need a leader on the park. In short, build from the back. Midfield has been discussed at length and I won't add much that particular debate. I assume that, as things stand, Donnelly will be our defensive midfielder with Slattery taking up a "Gorrin" style all rounder role?? GA has now outlines his long term strategy and that explains things to a large extent. If he brings in more decent quality players on medium or long term deals then thats fine with me. It will avoid huge annual upheavals. However that may well mean a very hard time on the pitch for the first 4/5/6 games. We may have to accept a few losses. Short term pain long term gain.

I think thats more to do with posters assuming that Bevis Mugabe is fit, which I presume he isn't.

I certainly hope so Allan. Even this early he would add something to our engine room.

A tough opening fixture, from which we'll do well to take anything. Its come perhaps 3 weeks too early for us. Is Slattery up for start? Maybe just too early for him - will he get 30 minutes?

Will it be freely available to anyone with a TV?

I have no idea about this but in terms of gametime he's 2 games behind others. At Airdrie he was given 90 minutes straight away. Yes, he's been poor so far but last season he was quite good at LB. Stephen O'Donnell has also been poor defensively, but he has had other issues (international fatigue?). Admittedly O'Donnell has been better in an attacking sense. A lot may also be down to the way we play, leaving the wings exposed. Its not easy being a FB at Motherwell. Jake Carroll was hardly a roaring success in our first 2 games. We need to cut McGinley and others some slack just now, although that can't go on forever. It'll take a few weeks until we can properly assess all the players. New players coming in and gelling; others regaining fitness and so on.

The bottom line is that its job done and we progress, but thats it. A good job that Airdrie didn't beat QoS. We never looked like scoring 4 or 5. Defence still looks shaky, especially down both wings.

Great save at penalty. Free cross from our right in the first place.

Surely an opportunity now to give someone on the bench some gametime?

Yes! QoS now 3-0 up.

Fair comment. A few flashes of exciting play but we lack solidity and our overall performance has been low key. That said, Annan were always going to park the bus and the onus would be on us to break them down and importantly hit the net.

Not just McGinley - too easy just to pick him out.

Our defence is still looking very vulnerable.

I'd hope we'll now bring in another first pick central defender. Yes a creative midfielder should also be high up on our menu.

Several random things occur to me after last night. OTF is right - I don't think most of us are aware as to how individuals, units or indeed the entire team are being instructed to play. The team does lack leadership on the pitch and thats something that has to be remedied asap. An Aldred or Hartley type player. For all McGinley's faults last night, that was his first 90 minutes of the season. He was up against opponents who have played at least 3 X 90 minutes this seaons, so we need to cut him some slack. Many of the players just don't look fully fit. Understandably much of the focus of our angst has been on the defence and midfield but the front 3 must also be scrutinised. Apart from the fact that they don't look fit and are still getting to know one another, the combination has been wrong. Even allowing for the fact that we haven't yet seen Shields and Amaluzor play, I'd imagine our best front 3, if indeed t has to be a front 3, would be Van Veen, Shields, Amaluzor/Woolery. Tony Watt is not a winger nor is Steven Lawless. They are best suited to playing behind a front 2 or even 1.

Maybe I'm in a minority of one but.... I agree we are crying out for a creative midfielder but my priorities lie elsewhere. We are desperately in need of 2 central defenders and some solid midfielders. That way we'd be hard to beat and score against. We could build on that. Right now, Championship and Division 1 teams are able to cut through us far too easily.

Absolutely. This system places a lot of emphasis on the midfield 3 and fast running front men. Right now, midfield isn't our strongest department. We need to switch to a 4-4-2 formation. As for tonight's game, Airdrie seemed to have 22 players on the pitch - they covered every blade of plastic and when our man had the ball he was closed down by at least 2 opponents. For them this was a derby and cup final. for us, it was a pre season bounce game. They seemed to be fitter, faster and more aggressive. Positives? More game time for legs and er........... On the basis of our 2 previous games this result was coming. What did we learn tonight that we didn't know before? Nothing really. Depending on how Saturday's results go we might qualify and we might not. Of more concern to me right now though is how prepared and competitive we are going to be for our first few league games.

The full backs have been poor in all 3 games so far. In their defence though, the 4-3-3 system we have played leaves them exposed.

Spot on Steelboy. He's good at our level but, high balls are his achilles heel, and I'm sure he himself has admitted that.

A sad loss. RIP Billy.

John Park now head of recruitment at Blackburn Rovers.

I agree with much of that, but I'm not sure we controlled the first half. Yes, we had plenty of possession but played into Queen's hands. Their game plan was to sit back in depth, harry, close down and soak up pressure and then hit quickly on the break. It worked a treat. We lost 2 sloppy goals as you say but it could easily have been 4 or 5. That said we could scored a couple ourselves, but our chances were limited. The second half was different game, as we clawed back an early goal and they tired. A few significant negatives which we all know about - shaky central defence, weak midfield etc., and which hopefully will be addressed in the coming weeks. Add to that problems with lack of match fitness. I thought that Carroll and Donnelly struggled probably due to lack of fitness and that put more pressure on Maguire and young Cornelius. Not only had they to cover box to box but also the wings. 4-3-3 is very demanding on the midfielders. Thats the negaives but there were also plenty of positives. The team showed an ability to fight back, and thats an improvement on last year. Kelly was impressive in goals; O'Connor looks to be raw but promising; Cornelius is developing well, doing a lot of unnoticed work; and the strikers are starting to showg form. I was especially impressed with Van Veen, who looks to be a real danger in the box and Woolery who added energy and directness when he came on. Two game and two wins; thats what cups are all about.

I think as this issue currently goes beyond normal politeness and good manners, now being a public health issue, the stewards should enforce organised distancing. Some fans may have been put off from attending games because of this issue. The bottom line is that the club needs to take responsibility.