Kmcalpin

The bottom line is that we won yesterday and that brought a sense of relief. So in some respects it was job done. We're also not adrift at the bottom. But, thats as far it it goes. As others have said the game was a mirror image of matches we've lost this season. Saints dominated possession (59%/41%), created/were gifted 5 chances and took none. We fashioned one, just one, chance ourselves, although Callum Davidson disagreed I believe as he would, and took it. Saints dominated midfield despite us trying to play 3-5-2, looked more committed and competitive and worked harder off the ball than we did but fortunately looked toothless in front of goal as Trevor Carson will gratefully tell you. For long spells our midfield was outfought and anonymous. Whether we tried to sit on our lead on our lead or not I don't know. We certainly missed McGinley when he went off. Saints were gifted the freedom of our left flank late on and slung over cross after cross from there. Thankfully Gallagher and Mugabe were up to the task, although the latter was a bit overly clever at times. He has stepped up to the mark though. Overall, the defence, especially Lamie looked shaky at times, but in fairness they received little support from either Campbell or O'Hara. Polworth was largely anonymous throughout and created nothing. Allan Campbell scored a lovely goal and was far better going forward than defending. I did feel sorry for strikers as they were given nothing to work with and the promised crosses into the box just didn't materialise. Credit to White for soldiering on, but I really think he should have been taken off, before he was. Our build up was slow, tiresome and very predictable. I still feel that our problems lie primarily in midfield where things just aren't happening. Hylton is injured, I think, but in any event our wingers aren't doing it. With the cash coming into the club just now I'm not in favour of spunking it on more players but I'd give Robbo a wee bit to bring in a solid defensive midfielder on loan until January. That shouldn't break the bank.

I had assumed that he added most of those minutes on to compensate for Trevor Carson’s excessive time wasting.

Yes it was a 5-3-2 but was intended to be a 3-5-2. The problem was that St Johnstone won the midfield battle and penned us back for long spells.

I though big Dec and Bevis Mugabi both had decent games today despite a chronic lack of cover in front of them.

Get the midfield sorted out Robbo.

Thats 2 blunders he's now made. Saints 4-1 up on chances.

Another let off for us.

Well taken goal apart we've done nothing. The midfield really needs to step up its game and our build up has been painfully slow. 2 lapses of concentration could have cost us dearly at the back. Still we're ahead and I'll take that.

Stream just died again.

Very very difficult to prove, if not impossible. If it was possible there would have been scores of cases so far relating to transport, parties, pubs, restaurants etc etc. Even if someone did catch the virus at a football match it would be hard to disprove that they didn't catch it elsewhere; especially from someone who was asymptomatic. Even then as Numpty says, they would have to prove negligence.

Agree about compliance as we only need to look at quarantine arrangements after plane loads of holidaymakers arriving back in the country to see how difficult that is to enforce. The new rule about 6 people in 2/3 households - good luck with that. Yes, thousands of people have suffered through loss of their jobs, businesses and loved ones - no disagreement with me on that score. As most, but regrettably not all, of us know, Covid 19 is a very nasty virus. Governments of all persuasions have a very very difficult job of trying to balance addressing Covid 19 with trying to protect economies. I really don't envy Nicola Sturgeon or Boris Johnson's jobs in that regard. All that said, trying to keep countries onside, motivated and compliant is a monumental task and people have to be entertained and motivated and compliant and that task can't be undervalued (Professors Karol Sikora and Linda Bauld have made this very point recently). There is also the not insignificant detrimental effect on mental health. Football and indeed sport in general has a role to play in that. Football is an outdoor sport involving large numbers. I quite agree that in the current climate allowing large numbers of fans to attend is simply not on. However allowing a few hundred fans into stadia is not unreasonable and presents less risk than allowing punters into pubs, mass demonstrations, or on aircraft or public transport for example. The numbers involved shouldn't make enforcement of compliance too difficult. Apart from the financial aspect, I don't see why snacks can't be served in "test" stadia as the same folk could easily buy takeaways from burger vans or fast food outlets for example. Don't overlook the fact that football clubs employ quite a few non playing staff and they are suffering at the moment. There will always be levels of inconsistency in Governments' approaches' but we could do better to iron out disrepancies.

Another plea from me...please keep the ball on the deck. Give our striker(s) a chance by playing it on the ground.

Agreed but is he fit enough to start?

Now I'm not saying it will be easy Andy but it should be reasonably straightforward with a restricted crowd. The key to this specific issue would be to set the ground rules before allocating seats. Presumably season ticket holders would be invited to join a draw, as Aberdeen is organising. At that stage it should be made crystal clear to applicants that they could be allocated to any stand, but normal preferences would be taken into account but in no way guaranteed. If that isn't acceptable then don't apply end of.

Agreed, and I'm in no way being political. Our approach throughout the UK is totally inconsistent. I appreciate that football's resumption here in Scotland is based on an informal agreement between the Scottish Government and the footballing authorities, but coronavirus doesn't respect industries and locations. Presumably conditions will be enforced strictly at test events yet they are not being enforced anywhere else? I've seen dozens of folk wandering around supermarkets with no face coverings and totally ignoring social distancing and nothing is done about it. Pubs were shut down in Aberdeen but not in Glasgow. In the Glasgow area, its ok for households to meet in a pub but not at home? Yes, football is being given a raw deal.

Should these particular rules not also apply to people in pubs, workplaces, shops and restaurants?

A clean sheet would be a good start. As Matt Busby would say just do it Motherwell and don’t get caught.

McKenna?

Yes, a very strange choice of clubs and games. Still there’s been many odd and contradictory decisions made by all 4 governments in the UK during the pandemic and this is just the latest. In fairness though these are unprecedented times and challenges.

It’s just that he’s well down the pecking order (rightly or wrongly).

You're right but there would be a minimum of 4 semi detached properties involved. Then there's planning consent to address, including the effect on neighbouring properties - we're not Celtic or Partick. As you say costs would be very high before any work even started.

No need to strike out the "sell on".

OTF is pretty much right. An empty stadium is just a collection of buildings, although design can have a limited influence. Its the fans who make the ground. The failure to complete the old main stand as was, was due to land ownership problems which won't be solved and would contrain a new stand. . I think a stadium with 4 complete sides would help the atmosphere, although its down to the fans.

Perhaps the clause has already been cancelled as part of his loan deal? Who knows.

Absolutely but who would pay for it?