Kmcalpin

Agree 100%. Week in week out we see players time wasting; booting the ball away after conceding a foul; taking foul throws; very occasional illegal "passbacks" as on Saturday but only very rarely and randomly are they penalised for it. Either these things are fouls or they aren't. Total inconsistency. As for Kelly picking up that clearance/booted ball whatever you call it keepers should never pick them up unles there's an opponent nearby. I've often seen clearances/miskicks etc picked up by our keepers and thought don't trust the referee to make the right decision. Its not the first time we've been penalised this way.

According to the Courier GA is not keen to lose Lamie to Dundee this window.

Just watched the entire game on Alba. We had a bit of pressure in the first 45 but we huffed and puffed to create anything did not look dangerous. Hearts were the more dangerous side even before they scored. They also worked harder off the ball. Kelly's booking? Ridiculously harsh from a jobsworth referee, but we've had them given against us before and will do so again. Kelly should learn not to trust referees in these situations. Hearts first goal. I wouldn't blame Sol too much as he had 3 Hearts players snapping at his heels. He could have done better yes. However, the real fault for me was the space and time Halliday was given on our right side. Who was meant to be covering him?? He had the freedom of Tynecastle to tuck the ball away. Second goal - yes Shaw lost it in midfield (by no means the only player to do this in the game) but again who was marking Simms? Sol was on the wrong side and wasn't covering anyone. He was more at fault for the second than the first I reckon. At first sight it might seem like individual errors cost us but it went deeper than that. For a variety of reasons, poor defensive play all round by our defence and midfield. Having saisd that the best we could have hoped for was a 0-0 draw. A bad day at the office but we move on and regroup.

Sunday Post (Dundee United) reporting that we accepted £100K + an add on for Watt. Originally wanted £200k but United offered a remarkably high £75K

There's no doubt in my mind that injuries to crucial parts of the team i.e. central defence have been very disruptive to us this season. Add to that a fair number of new players coming in and we can see the scale of the task facing GA. He has, to his credit, got rid of a fair bit of deadwood in the process. Leaving those issues aside though, we have struggled all season in midfield to get the right blend and since Watt's departure up front as well. He may well have an idea of his strongest team but getting that on the park has proved almost impossible. No doubt there are good reasons for seemingly inexplicable team selections - we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. The one area of the team I can't fathom out is the strikers, and as of 29th January, I'm not sure that GA knows either. None of the wingers has set the heather on fire, although maybe Woolery has come closest - he needs to find more of an end product. Conor Shields is work in progress but isn't the No9 I was expecting. Van Veen is very temperamental and inconsistent. In their defence, the midfield hasn't helped. Ross Tierney looks promising but probably hasn't got 90 minutes in him yet, but where do we play him? Watt has been a huge miss, moreso than many of us imagined and I'm not sure we have prepared for his departure; but time will tell. .

Duplicate post...sorry

Agree 100%. Apart from individuals we need 2 defenders who can play together. Our central defence has been very unsettled. I'd like to see Ojala back in.........if he can keep clear of injuries. A settled defence is vital.

In the interests of clarity, are you saying that had he lasted the full game, that, at worst, we would have achieved a 0-0 draw?

Entirely predictable result, but disappointing nonetheless. We're fortunate that rivals also lost today. I doubt if the game told us anything we didn't know before although we hadn't seen much of Tierney and Shaw before - how did they play? Did we shape up 4-3-3? I'll watch the game later on Alba to form my own conclusions.

We've had several months, not 40 days. It seems that Watt expressed his intention to move on quite some time ago.

Will Devlin get booked today?

Not convinced of Carroll in Central defence but that might be down to fitness of others. I feel sorry for Goss being dropped. Surprised Maguire has retained his place but pleased that Slattery is coming in with Shaw. Not sure where Tierney will play, but hopefully as part of a midfield 4. Unless Van Veen chooses this game to turn it on we'll struggle up front. I feel for Dean Cornelius who hasn't made the bench. Right now I'd settle for a 0 0.

Not sure about that line up but time will tell. Hopefully not a 4-3-3.

GA will know exactly the type of player he wants and it would be nice to sign a prolific scorer at this level but thats not likely. What we do need, in my opinion, is a guy with a bit of physicality who can hold the ball up and bring others like for example, Tierney or Van Veen into play. That would also give them some vital space.

I have no problem if Joe Efford turns out to be a decent addition to our collection of wingers and will give him my support. However, like you I feel we need an out and out striker - that has been demonstrated on the field in our last 2 games. Van Veen is very talented and can be unplayable on his day, but is very inconsistent. His temperament is also questionable and I can envisage him missing games through injury or suspension. Shields is work in progress but I'm not convinced he's an outright No 9. Given that the club knew that Watt was likely to move on this season I would have thought that we'd have had a few oven ready striking options lined up. The window doesn't close until Monday so I'd hope we can do some business before it slams shut. If we don't, our top 6 place is in jeopardy. Euro places are still up for grabs too so there's a bit at stake.

Dundee Courier confirms that they want Lamie to join in the next few days.

Lamie signs a PCA with Dundee. No real surprise. They'll want him now of course and will be desperate. ££££

Interesting..........we've signed another winger.

Darragh O'Connor joins QoS on loan until the end of the season.

I'd like to see Ojala, O'Connor or Shaw replace Carroll at the back as we'll need more physicality there but that will depend on their level of fitness, as some haven't played for a while. In midfield, I'd go for Slattery, Goss and either Shaw or Cornelius. Up front ??????? Van Veen + 2 others. As always with Hearts a hard physical battle in prospect.

I doubt if we could compete with Dundee on wages. Hearts have now signed another central defender, Toby Sibbick, presumably to replace Soutar.

100% My choice. A good mixture of skills and attributes. As you say Shaw may also have role to play.

Pretty much my view Yorky. When I saw the line up at 7.30 I was happy to settle for a point. Hibs, were no great shakes and there for the ebating but Shaun Maloney would have said the same about us. Given we finished with 10 men, I was reasonably happy at full time. I think Macey had one save and Kelly had none. That says it all. The weather was horrific and that played its part. Defensively we were largely ok but were vulnerable down the exposed wings. O'Donnell had a shaky first 45 and got on the wrong side of his opponent 3 or 4 times; fortunately that wasn't costly. Sondre Solheim had a great game. Of late we've not been shipping many goals at Fir park. Lets hope that continues. Midfield was once again largely anonymous with little creativity and lack of support for our front men. Goss was the best of the bunch. GA was right to substitute Tierney to manage out the game when down to 10 men. Time to try options than Donnelly and Maguire, and we have them. Up front the "strikers" had an off night with Van Veen missing a first half sitter. As with last Saturday, they just didn't link up and ploughed 3 separate furrows. We're missing Watt badly. Only other short term option is to drop the 4-3-3- formation. Andrew Dallas failed to control the game as evidenced by 2 incidents involving the remarkably unbooked Bushiri. First time he was injured off the pitch then got up to enter it again in order to fall down. Secondly, he was injured off the pitch but Dallas saw fit to stop play until he recovered. Donnelly gave him " a decision to make" what ever that means, and he took it. McGinn also gave him a decision to make when he wiped out Roberts on the edge of the box within sight of goal and he didn't take it. On the positive side we showed grit and determination to see out the game when a man short.

Excellent news.

Agree 100%. Barry Maguire is a "big honest laddie" but thats it. He's one of our own and always tries his hardest but is that good enough? Last night, once again, the game largely passed him by and his impact on it was negligible. We need much more than that from a player in a midfield of only 3. That said Donnelly didn't help him. Management must see something in him if they've given him a new 2 year deal. There are other options on the bench. I know they are different types of player and midfield is often about that mix of types, but surely Slattery is our best midfielder? Dean Cornelius is one of our own and has done enough, in my view, to be given another start. Liam Shaw is only with us on a temporary loan and I'd like to see what he can do in midfield rather than in defence, sooner rather than later. GA however knows more about individual fitness and injury issues than we do and he plays his cards close to his chest. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes. We have issues up front. Its becoming clear that Van Veen is our only central option and although talented he's becoming a latter day Stuart Elliott, with attitude. I'm not sure about Conor Shields. Was quite impressed with him until last night but he's no winger and is a bit lightweight for the middle. Looks to me like he'd play well off the shoulder of a bigger and stronger partner in the Higdon/Jutkiewicz mould. Its how we get the best out of him. The bottom line is that we miss Watt badly. We need someone strong enough to hold the ball up with a bit of nous to link up others. In fairness last night, midfield weren't supporting the strikers.