Kmcalpin

Very much my view. We had several weeks off to prepare for this game and still blew it. Ok, I accept ring rustiness can be a factor. Surely the management must have known County's strengths and weaknesses beforehand and I really thought we'd be prepared and set up to handle a midfield battle. Unless he was unfit, Allan Campbell, should have been one of the first names on the teamsheet.

I know. In the meantime play 2 up front with Scott being given a chance. He's young and a bit raw yet.

Robbo himself has admitted that we don't have a target man and presumably we'll try to sign one before the window closes.

Fair point. Going by reports more than a few players didn't know where they were meant to be playing and/or weren't clear about their role. I suspect a fair few also took the same view as we fans when they learnt the team i.e. Whats that????

We currently don't have a striker capable of playing as a target man on the books so a single striker up front is a non starter for me. Its never worked for us in the past. You also need a very mobile central midfielder to play off him - only person who could possibly, and I mean possibly, fit that bill is Hastie.

Just listened to Robbo's interview and I get the impression that the pressure is getting to him; he was quite defensive. Interesting that he didn't seem to think that playing MacCormack from the start was a mistake. Suggests to me that we underestimated County and thought that we could afford to give MacCormack a 45 minute training exercise. Interesting too that he admitted playing Johnson as a lone striker/target man was a mistake. That baffles me, because we as posters, are not professional football managers yet many of us thought that was the wrong role for Johnson, especially against a big physical defence. If we could see it why couldn't he before kick off? Our previous style of football has been sussed by other clubs and we do need to change and evolve but it seems to me that he tried to do it too suddenly in one fell swoop on Saturday without having the players to do it.

As Andy P and some others point out you're wrong, Steelboy. Generally speaking cup attendances at this stage are habitually poor compared to league attendances, due mainly to the fact that season ticket holders have to pay to get in. Quality/size of opposition is also a contributory factor. Consider these stats from today and yesterday (Cup attendance as a rough percentage of average league attendances): The figures are rough, not precise, and exclude Rangers & Celtic games. They also don't take into account away supports eg Ross County brought less than 200 to Fir Park. Of all the Premiership clubs playing at home we fared generally well as did St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. St Mirren, Celtic, Dundee and Hibs fared relatively poorly. In absolute terms we had higher attendances than St Johnstone, St Mirren, and Dundee. Without debating exact figures, we can conclude that our attendance yesterday compared very well with other Premiership clubs and in no way reflected badly on our support or club. I know there there is apathy creeping in amongst our support and that might well be reflected in future attendances but simply looking at yesterday that was not really reflected in the size of the crowd.

Apologies - double post.

Thats all very well but we don't have the players to play the long/hòof ball either.

May next year.

After yesterday's debacle there are big questions to be answered about this transfer window. Ross MacCormack's signing naturally grabbed a lot of headlines but after his performance yesterday it may take some time to get him fit never mind match fit. That possibly lengthy period will eat into the reamining fixtures. Ariyibi looks as though he'll take time to settle in. No-one one knows what the remainder of the window holds for us but we need another striker and badly and not one who will take months to get up to speed. Its all very well to bring in players to fire in crosses but who is going to get on the end of them?

Agree with much of what you say, but this season we have been physically a bit more lightweight and battered by a few teams eg Livingston. For all his propensity to play the long ball he's never really had or bought in the players to execute that successfully. You do need wide players to provide the ammunition and maybe we're starting to bring them in but you also need big physical players to get on the end of crosses and do damage in the opposition box. We've never really had that with the possible exception of Bowman and thats arguable. This season and certainly yesterday we haven't been consistently strong enough to earn the right to play. Yesterday its almost as if he said to the fans well you wanted an entire team of ball players you've got it. No halfway house its one way or the other.

The problem is that of the players you mentioned Turnbull was played out of position; Ariyibi was probably not match fit and is still getting to know his colleagues; McCormack was so unfit he should have been nowhere near the starting line up; and Johnson will never ever be a target man who can play up front on his own. I've said often enough in the past that talent alone does not win games. You have to have solid, physical aggressive types with dig to win the ball and go toe to toe in midfield battles. It has to be a balance. If the opposition won't give you the ball voluntarily, and I suspect we did ask Ross County politely to do so and they told us to f**k o*f then you need to set about them and physically take the ball off them whether they like it or not. Our line up yesterday rendered us incapable of doing that. All fur coat, albeit a tatty one, and no knickers. You are right in that the manager must shoulder the blame; in my opinion for planning the wrong tactics, selecting the wrong players and failing to motivate those he did pick. I agree with MFC88 and would add that County had about 6 players out for various reasons yesterday.

A good summing up Andy and I agree with almost all of it with the exception of not being beaten before we start. For us to have won today would have taken outstanding individual performances from almost all the players. I am struggling to comprehend the scale of mistakes that Robbo made today, many of which you cover. So so many in the one game. Rarely has a manager of ours got it so wrong in a single game

Yes but they have the players to do that successfully whereas we don't. Too many of our players are being played out of position or are not suited to the roles they're being given. For example we don't have a striker on our books capable of playing on his own up front nor a central midfielder to support that advanced role.

Unbelievable just unbelievable. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to work out that that formation would fail to deliver.

So we started with one striker, Johnson of all people, up front supported in the middle by a very unfit MacCormack. Have I got that right???

Sorry wrong thread.

No problem with a back four in principle and other changes further up the park. I know many on here wanted that. But, as you hint, you have to have the players to play it that way and to select them. His team selection didn't suit his formation.

That line up suggested to me that Robbo expected us to win any midfield battle relatively easily to bring our attcking players into the game or to play effective hoofball and snuff out any County attacks in midfield without much bother. It seems we weren't capable of doing either. I don't know much about County but I do know they have a big defence and tough & hard central midfield. I was expecting them to come to FP prepared for a midfield scrap. Cup runs are not all about playing scintillating footie sometimes a bit of fight and aggression is required.

Not sure what you mean. When the line up was announced I thought it was very ambitious. Its the kind of line up I'd have expected to field against a lower Division 2 side and was very risky. Little in the way of bite, defensive cover or drive in the midfield and playing with 2 attacking wide men. Johnson, a poacher, and a probably unfit MacCormack seemed an odd partnership up front. I was expecting before the game that MacCormack might see 10 minutes at the end of the game but to start???? Shocked also that there was no starting place for Campbell and perhaps Grimshaw.

Robbo has a lot of work to do before the transfer window closes and some very important games are coming up. A critical January for him and the club.

It looks and sounds like we completely underestimated Ross County and were taken aback when they got set about us.

Really no excuses for today. We had ample time to prepare for the game; Ross County were weakened and it was a home tie. The management team completely blew it and we were as good as beaten at 2.50. Robbo got this one badly, badly wrong.

Sounds like we were pinning all our hopes on a 25% fit Ross MacCormack. Time is running out to fix our impotent strikeforce.