Kmcalpin

You could always point out that it didn't happen in a cup final and no-one was red carded because of it.

We might struggle a bit to field 2 decent central defenders on Wednesday night. Could have done without those 2 injuries today.

9 Minutes Allan??? Is that some kind of record? Very disappointing result but not surprising given the injuries.

A lot of truth in that. However I was always taught to trust people until they give you cause to do otherwise. Maybe I'm naive.

Add Luke Watt, Dylan Mackin, David Ferguson and others to that list.

The problem is that no-one expected Hastie to return to us after his loan and make such a stunning impact and that includes the lad himself. He thought he'd return and have to fight for a first team place. I'll defend the club over that decision. Signing youngsters on long term deals is a bit of a lottery. I hope the lad is as good as his word.

Rather than do that why don't we ask the fans to pay for another hike in his wages? If 4,000 fans paid say £2 a week month that might help. In effect it would be the same as your suggestion. Not a road I'd go down.

As others have said it was a very well placed free kick from Turnbull, if lacking in a bit of power. A real piece of skill. Surprised at the debate on Sportsound (I really ought to know better) about the merits of the red card. Both Michael Stewart and Steven Thomson said it wasn't a red card. Where have these pundits been for the past couple years? They're paid to be knowledgeable about the game. It took the anchorman to mention "excessive force". I thought this issue had been done and dusted a year or two ago after a couple of similar red cards for Carl McHugh. I don't recall the media questioning those decisions.

Not sure we did defend that well, although I wouldn't say we defended poorly. Hearts found plenty of space on our flanks and our defence sat too deep at times. We also failed to track runners a good few times. Agree 100% about Hearts' long ball tactics though, which as you say the media will ignore. A very tight game which arguably should have ended in a draw, but we lost a few games like that early in the season, so I'm not complaining. That said, we did create the better chances. Good to beat Hearts especially with a late late goal. I have to say though that Hearts were a cynical streetwise bunch, which is exactly what we expect from a Craig Levein team. Probably the worst display of diving I've seen all season. For such big lads, they went down very very easily, but don't expect the media to highlight that. Nick Walsh looked out of his depth and got decisions wrong from start to finish. Can someone explain why he booked Gorrin for persistent fouling (4 fouls) whilst Ikpeazu committed 5 fouls without being booked for the same offence? Another case of inconsistency from our officials. Overall though we played well with no weaknesses and I thought we were the side to tried to play football. Hastie took his goal very well indeed although he drifted out of the game in the second half. Turnbull again looked assured in the middle and it was great to see him score the rather fortuitous winner. Campbell and Gorrin had reasonable games but struggled a bit at times to compete against far bigger and heavier opponents. Ikpeazu's bulk and strength caused us problems at times although nothing much came of his efforts. What was really encouraging was to see 4 Academy graduates (Scott, Hastie, Turnbull and Campbell) all on the pitch at the final whistle. This is exactly what our business model is based on and with more youngsters waiting for their chance the future looks bright. Our change of playing style is like a breath of fresh air. A good day at the office.

I'm cautiously optimistic after reading this article, but given the Simo Valakari nonsense, I'll believe it when it is confirmed.

He has a degree in civil engineering.

Not my fault guv, I don't subscribe to TV sports packages Wouldn't give them a penny. Absurd KO time.

Probably quite a few, in broad terms. Brian McLair for example went south too early to aston Villa and ended up back with us. Alan Martin thought he was a much better keeper than he actually was and after hawking himself around English clubs he ended up at Ayr and now QoS. More recently, Fraser Kerr, came back to us from a stint at Birmingham City. Another example is Robbie Leitch - where is he now? Going back to the original question of whether its better to jump ship early for big money or to wait, a year or two, to mature, posters on this board have already answered that. Some good posts, but it depends entirely on the individual. For some, leaving early is good for others its a bad move. It depends on a young lad's maturity, character and personal circumstances. Leaving home at 16, 17, 18 or even 19 is a big move for anyone and some can't wait whilst others are very loathe to leave home and familiar surroundings. For some money is god, for others there's more important things in life. I've known several excellent and very well thought of colleagues in my career, who could easily have risen up the career ladder but had no interest in doing so because they didn't want extra responsibility, pressure or to move away. At the other extreme I've come across others, with lesser talent, who didn't care who they trampled over to gain a few extra pounds. In short each to their own. For some young lads its better to stay a year or two; for others its better to leave early for more money down south. I'll end with advice I was given and many of you may have been given also "Be nice to folk on the way up as you might meet them again on the way back down."

Yes, those were the days. Great to see the likes of Gordon Banks, Martin Peters (both World Cup winners), Alan Mullery, Martin Chivers, Jimmy Neighbour, Harry Burrows and other giants of that era play at Fir Park

I'm sure we have offered him a first team wage; but it also depends on how realistic his demands are. No doubt negotiation tactics are clouding the discussions for ordinary fans like us. Are you saying that if the club says it can't afford to meet his wage demands, whatever they are, then questions need to be asked?

Adam Livingston was loaned out last season to East Fife and their supporters that I know rated him. Hopefully he'll get his chance soon, as we're no longer in a relegation scrap.

Conflicting rumours on Pie and Bovril this morning. Mitch claims that he'll sign a Pre Contract Agreement with us this week; a St Johnstone fan says he'll sign for them; and a third poster says there's several offers on his table. Without being party to inside knowledge its impossible to say which one is right. Add to that, Stephen Robinson quoted as saying PCAs aren't worth the paper they're written on, and everything is as clear as mud.

No surprise there then. Hastie's agent will be well aware of our wage structure and what we, as a club, can afford. He / she is at it and knows full well that we cannot meet their demands. Maybe a negotiating tactic maybe not. Although very promising, Hastie has yet to be tested against top six opposition and they should not be allowed to ignore that.

Like a few others I was beginning to lose faith in Robbo going into the winter shutdown. We failed to kick on after last season and the summer recruitment drive was less than successful. I didn't like the longball style of footie we played but was lesss concerned than many others about that. What concerned me most was our poor results. However Robbo has turned it around suddenly and dramatically. We're now winning gmaes albeit against bottom 6 opposition but we're also playing attractive footie with home grown talent featuring prominently. So, I take my C&A hat off to him. What he has done, unlike many others before him, such as Maurice Malpas, is acknowledge he had made mistakes and change things. Thats why I've really warmed to him in the last month or so. No manager is going to get things 100% right be it tactics or signings. He's really turned things around and deserves credit for that. I'm happy to say that my opinion of him was wrong.

Is anyone surprised? No doubt the youngster's agent has been trying to stoke up a bidding war using a friendly journalist to publicise it. We'll wait and see.

I think the Motherwell Times suggested that we received a modest/nominal fee, which would seem reasonable in the circumstances.

You have to ask what the future holds for Peter Hartley. He's 31 and not getting any younger.

Yes, during his time at Fir Park he always gave the impression of being a bit lazy. If he lost the ball he had a tendency to just shrug his shoulders.

Thats my view too.

No reason to be pessimistic tonight given our recent form but our team is fairly young and prone to inconsistency. It'll be a hard game. Wouldn't surprise me if Ariyib4gi is dropped to the bench tonight as he isn't fully fit and may struggle to play 2 games a week right now. I guess we'll find out soon enough.