Kmcalpin

He 100% did and it should have been a straight red. Madden completely lost control and that weakness led to a string of incidents afterwards; all completely avoidable. In view of the Carroll decision I'm waiting to see if the Compliance Officer offers Smith a 2 match ban tomorrow.

Last Friday night was, apart from anything else, always going to be a physical test and we failed badly. It gets back to Robbo's earning the right to play and we just didn't. We lost too many 50/50 challenges, got bodied just too often, and couldn't hold the ball up when we needed to. In short, the current squad is too lightweight.

You have to think that Robbo knows his players better than we do and knows what he is doing by going public. As Bill Shankly said years ago though, every player is different. You need to boot some up the arse and give them the hairdryer treatment but with others you need to put a comforting arm around them, and give them quiet encouragement.

A bit curious that Adam Livingstone wasn't given some game time in the group stage games. I had hoped to see him get a wee run.

A very, very poor performance last night and we were beaten before we even took to the pitch. Wrong team wrong tactics. The players themselves made a bad situation worse as we all know. At the moment we simply can't afford to play with 2 wingers. I just can't fathom out our team this season at all - no leadership, no direction, no character and no identity. Players playing out of position this early in the season, an odd mixture of player styles; I just don't get it. Yes its early and new players do take time to gel but they weren't all new recruits last night. We badly need a new number 9 and a defensive midfielder before the window slams shut. Both 100% essential. Last night we were toothless up front and although predictably Scott was isolated he looked out of his depth and really does need a spell out on loan. The wingers were totally ineffective, as others have commented. The central midfield was outfought and completely devoid of attacking ideas and in that regard felt sorry for Dunne as no-one was showing. Polworth had a hand in 2 goals and although shows flashes of talent he does look like a Championship level David Turnbull. Donnelly is like a fish out of water in central midfield and Allan Campbell just isn't his usual self. At the back, Gillespie was poor, especially his distribution, which put defenders under immediate pressure. Both full backs were poor and when Hearts scored their goal I though Stevie Hammell was playing again. In their defence, both full backs received no cover from the impotent wingers. I thought Gallagher had a reasonable game and does seem like the best of summer acquisitions. As MFC said our shape and organisation when not in posssession, was very poor,but thats nothing new. We had no physicality either last night. Hearts were no great shakes, but were worthy winners and hardly needed to move out of second gear. We had loads of possession in the second half but failed to trouble the Hearts defence which strolled it. Referee got a few major decisons wrong including the first penalty and letting their first goal stand. he also got the flare up near the end totally wrong and Smith should have received a straight red. Given Carroll's summons by the Compliance Officer it will be very interesting indeed to see whether Smith's yellow card will be upgraded to a red. A proper test for the system.

I can see the argument for this formational change but don't know who the front pairing would be. It wouldn't solve the huge attacking deficit we currently have with 4-3-3 or is it 4-5-1? It would also leave the 2 wings very exposed which is the last thing we need. The current set up just isn't working and we do need to try something different but what? Our attacking signings just baffle me and last night just added to my confusion. Towards the tail end of last season, teams began to double up on our wingers rendering them sterile and this season has started in much the same way. Many questions but few answers.

Spot on sir.

Only one candidate for me and thats Gallagher. By no means outstanding but the best of a very poor bunch.

If they can cough up the not inconsiderable sum of money needed good luck to them.

Is he? I'll believe this when the teams are announced.

Any update on the Jake Hastie compensation negotiations or tribunal?

He serves the last game of his suspension tonight.

We've seen this scenario at Fir Park for a good number of years now....remember the Jim Gannon days? Its now commonplace amongst middle and lower ranking Premiership clubs as budget cuts bite. I'd say to them welcome to the real world. One possible exception is St Johnstone who have managed to retain a relatively stable squad although even they are beginning to experience higher rates of turnover.

Can we afford to start with 2 wingers against Hearts, especially if they might tire by half time? We also need to be much more clinical up front. Is Cole fit yet? More questions than answers at this stage, but Friday night will offer a more realistic test of our progress than last Saturday did.

Just watched the TV highlights and agree with most of the comments post match. I'd say however that Celtic's penalty was every bit as soft as our penalty claim. Not much in either.

A tad harsh. In effect the Police call the shots. Three or four years ago when we were playing Celtic at Fir Park, I asked a steward if he would ask Celtic fans in the southern part of the POD Stand to sit down (they stood virtually the whole game) as we couldn't see the corner area at all. He said he'd check with his boss which he duly did. His boss in turn spoke to the match commander who instructed (his exact word) him to take no action. Had the stewards taken action the Police would have been down on him like a ton of hot bricks.

I don't necessarily agree but you have a valid point. Going into our next couple of games, if the formation remains the same, then I can see Hearts and Accies doubling up on our 2/3 wingers who are not fully fit. That said how do they gain fitness except by playing? Maybe revert to 4 in midfield?

Is there provision for Gallagher's red card be annulled? Can the referee admit to making an error, in his report which will be due in the next few days? If not thats a real injustice as yellow cards do mount up and suspensions follow.

I'd heard that Shankland was on £4k per week at Tannadice but hadn't heard about the signing on fee. Crazy money, which United can't afford.

Probably also some acquired tickets from season ticket holders & family members. Worth pointing out that our fans can take note of the seats and report them to the office afterwards.

I didn't make the game yesterday and so can't comment in detail. However, as someone posted on P & B perhaps we don't have the players to implement the manager's current system 4-3-3 system? Maybe the new lads will settle in and get fully match fit and that will change. Robbo has said that most of the forward players he's brought in "can play anywhere across the front 3" but I'm not sure exactly what that means. Jack of all trades master of none? We are short of an out and out striker and thats been apparent for some time. We also seem to be short of a solid defensive midfielder. Hopefully both deficiencies will be addressed before the window slams shut. They do need to be. Like others I was surprised at the line up, playing with 2 wingers, leaving the middle struggling. Did Robbo know beforehand that Hylton and Seedorf weren't 100% fit? If so, that was quite a risk to take. The bottom line is that he got the line up and tactics wrong on the day. I'm not saying he was responsible for the defeat, as I think we would have lost anyway, given individual errors and the fact that Celtic are a far better team. An interesting comment from Spiderpig above. Many fans were and are calling for us to ditch a more cautious style of football for more entertaining expansive football and I get that but sometimes I think you have to take the middle road. Maybe a significant number of our support went home happy yesterday having been entertained by 2 attacking teams but I'm sure an equally large number would have been p****d off at losing 5 goals.

Some in the POD Stand would have been complimentaries (players' relatives and friends).

Yes, its a fine balance. Our midfield will be crucial. It has to compete and get in Celtic's faces, thereby shielding our defence and certainly not defending too deeply. Not only that the wingers have to link up with the lone striker, to ensure he's not left isolated. Is Long suited to that role? We'll find out soon enough. I'm concerned that although Grimshaw has a good engine, he is suspect defensively. Its all to play for and we can get a result, but a few factors will need to go in our favour.

Either its a yellow card or it isn't. SFA should make its mind up.

Good post. In answer to your question, when the current system was first introduced, the then Compliance Officer said publicly that he would consider evidence from all sources; none would be excluded. I sent in 2 examples. The first showed footage of a St Johnstone defender punching one of our attackers off the ball at a corner kick. I received no acknowledgement and no action was taken. I then sent in a second one a few months later and again I received no acknowledgement and no action was taken. Anyone is free to send in evidence but it won't be accepted. In short, its trial by television highlight. So, its down to Television company staff which incidents are shown or excluded and which are highlighted.