Kmcalpin

Yes. The arrival of Lafferty has changed things. Going further back I'd agree with you, but we're dealing with the here and now. They've now scored 7 goals in their last 3 games, with Lafferty netting three times, including a penalty.

Devante Cole has shown enough to be retained, if that is an option.

Gallagher will be offski whether we like it or not as will O'Donnell probably. As far as O'Donnell is concerned I haven't been impressed by him in our colours.

Wee Al won't be here next season so an academic question.

Just like some messageboards in other words Agree about lack of leadership though. Thats down to poor recruitment. Covid restrictions don't appear to have affected other teams gelling though.

Agreed but, lack of quality or ability doesn't seem to be the problem as the man himself said.

He did indeed. No names mentioned but he's clearly unimpressed with some of the team. He hinted at a lack of character/bottle/attitude whatever you want to call it.

The thing is though that had Livvy have had more punch up front they might well have snatched a point or even won. Although the defence played reasonably well as a unit, it still showed serious weaknesses.

Just heard his interview and going by his comments and body language he wasn't a happy man. Referred to technical ability alone not being enough and something being missing. I think he's learning fast who he can rely on and who he can't.

Not sure what you mean Yorky, but this result has been on the cards for a few weeks now. Despite playing well generally and getting some decent results our defence has consistently looked vulnerable and the fact that we largely contained the likes of Livingston and St Mirren was more to do with them being toothless up front. In short we glossed over our defensive frailties. Some team with a bit of punch up front was always going to give us a doing. That team just happened to be Kilmarnock. Going into today's game there was a general feeling of complacency and over confidence. No cause for panic and if we can pick up a few draws or a win after the break we should be fine. The key thing is for GA to learn from our mistakes.

Very very occasionally I wish I was a betting man. Today was one of those rare days when I got all key 3 results (for us) right.

Calm down folks. Results elsewhere going our way.....so far.

We shouldn't kid ourselves. This will be a very hard game.

Magliore has settled in well after a shaky start but we definitely miss Gallagher's aerial ability. Since he was absent a few teams have caused us big problems at crosses and set pieces.

He may bring back one or more of O'Hara, Gallagher and Mugabi, if fit. He watches the players every day, we don't. Who knows we may have picked up more illnesses or injuries. I have my own views but I haven't a clue what Mr Alexander is thinking.

Yes blue was our original colour but it was a petrol or prussian variety very similar to our recent away one.

Colour wise, what is the connection to our club?

Historically I've always had a soft spot for Killie,but not this season, after their Coronavirus debacle a few months ago. I'd like nothing more than a win but a point will do. Hopefully the extra week's rest will have helped our injury list.

Tend to agree. You'd think that if loanees pick up a serious injury that keeps them out for weeks/months that they'd go back to their own clubs. I'm sure I've read that in the past.

I understand from an operational policing perspective why virtually no action was taken against the crowd. We've seen this kind of approach to policing gruesome twosome crowds for decades inside stadia. However, by taking different approaches to large and small crowds in the same situation the police risk being seen by the wider public as giving preferential treatment to certain groups. Inconsistent application of the law if you will. Police numbers at the events (yes they were anticipated) were woefully inadequate. Interestingly there were several cases for sectarianism and an arrest (maybe a secondary issue here), but this has been ignored by the media. Serious questions need to be asked of the Government and Police Scotland.

I'm naive in such matters as kit production, but whats to stop us from approaching a British clothing manufacturer with our own design and asking them to produce it? Is there sponsorship involved?

Pretty much my view. I don't know though how their wage bill would have compared to say Hibs and Hearts in previous years. I'd say they should be finishing 3rd or 4th most years and they've pretty much done that. Under McInnes they've punched their weight no more no less.

I wouldn't read too much into the discussion so far. When the vacancy was being filled, most folk (I think) thought that Tom Wright would be a safe but dull choice. Graham Alexander was a bit of an unknown quantity but had the reputation of having a stronger commitment to youth development and thats possibly why he was chosen. I'd guess he's been given 3 main remits 1) steer us clear of relegation this year 2) helping to generate income from transfers as per our business model and 3) developing the youth system. For reasons way beyond his control he cannot yet be assessed against 2) and 3). He's had little, or probably, no opportunity to bring in his own players. I suspect that the ones brought in during the last window weren't entirely his choice, although he would have had the final say. So, to that extent his performance is still a bit of an unknown quantity. His performance on the pitch so far has been good; getting results and lifting us a little above the real relegation dogfight. We're also playing better. As Ohwulliewullie says though, the 2 shocking performances and results against Acccies and St Johnstone has understandably caused fans to not get too carried away. Injuries aside, it seems he has learnt some lessons quickly about playing out from the back (see some interesting non food related discussion on P & B) about that. So far so good.

The jury is still out on Graham Alexander for me, but he's beginning to impress. His first piority surely, is to keep us in the Premiership and he's certainly improved results and performances, despite a 1 in 200 year injury list. With a very few exceptions, he's used the same players as Robbo but has them playing more confidently and has tweaked the system to suit the players we have e.g. Tony Watt, Chris Long, Devante Cole and Robbie Crawford. In other words no square pegs in round holes. He's also made some behind the scenes improvements. All to the good. Do we need to ask questions of the players though? He's still to be tested though in the transfer market and in his influence on the youth development system. Presumably his record with youth is one of the reasons that he and not Tom Wright got the job. These of course are longer term objectives. Time will tell, but so far so good.

A huge result for us yesterday and thats the bottom line in our position. We also played well, but thats a bonus, although there were aspects of the game that'll concern management. So, in that respect it was job done. Kelly was again immense although he was left exposed at set pieces. The defence was reasonably solid but looked very vulnerable at set pieces as Livi had 4 or 5 free headers, one of which rattled off the bar. An issue to be addressed. Midfield played reasonably well for the most part but did disappear a bit whilst we were under the cosh. Crawford and Campbell impressed with the latter still going strong at full time with a surging run or two. Barry Maguire was quiet and didn't feature much but that said, he didn't do anything wrong. Good to see the midfield supporting the front men for once - what a difference it made. The strikers were very impressive with Roberts and Cole outstanding. Both ran themselves done and caused constant hassle and danger for Livi. Our set pieces still give cause for concern though and we'll need to improve that aspect of our game. All in all though, a decent all round team performance. Livi played just as we expected and, for all their faults, they kept going to the very end despite a very onerous week. Probably some squad rotation helped. Fortunately they were toothless up front and had to rely on long throws and set pieces. The ref was very inconsistent with fouls and cards. I didn't see our first penalty claim but will look at it later...if it is shown in the highlights. Had Tiny Wharton been officiating then Watt would have seen out the full 90 minutes. By modern standards, both Long with his card and presumably Fitzwater with his critical foul were unlucky, but that’s random refereeing for you. Now a chance to recuperate before the Killie game.