Kmcalpin

I think Tait will probably do well enough if played at right back providing he's given pacy protection further up the wing. Dunne - I'm having doubts about him now but a lot might depend on his partner. Grimshaw - squad cover only. It won't be enough for us to tread water over the summer as we have to assume that our rivals will improve and that Ross County will be stronger than Dundee. Agreed that a substantial rebuilding job is in prospect. Our level at the moment is 8th but I hope we aspire to a top 6 place and decent cup runs. That means we have to improve and bring in slightly better quality or even just more solid players, which should be doable even on our budget. We had a very poor first half to the season; then a great run but we are finishing poorly. Historically 8th is about our level, but taking into account 2 poor cup campaigns I'd say this season has been slightly poorer than normal.

A very disappointing game yesterday from several standpoints. We seemed to compete well enough for a 15-20 minute spell in the middle of the first half but apart from that we were very poor. Saints could easily have been 3-0 up from headers in the first 10 minutes. Overall they were far harder working, more aggressive, better organised and more experienced than we were. We lost too many 50/50 battles and were very poor in the air. We also looked well off the pace. They wanted to win it badly and we were on the beach. Tactics wise they smothered us and the 2 wingers style of play was again totally ineffective. Not sure why Hastie was in the squad and wasn't surprised when he was constantly barracked. I don't agree with it but it goes with the territory as one of our party said. In his 15 minutes or so on the park he did nothing. The defence was shambles from start to finish giving Saints far too much time and room, especially on the wings. Both Dunne and Aldred are decent in their own way but perhaps they're the wrong combination - anyway not an issue next season. Of late though, Dunne has been very error prone. Midfield just couldn't compete with faster and more aggressive opponents. Turnbull sat too deep and McHugh far too slow and again got caught in possession. We missed the departing Gorrin badly. Up front, Scott ploughed a lone furrow and got little change out of big experienced centre backs. He kept wandering out to the wings and the wingers and central midfielders were too far away to support him. More experience for him though and his inclusion gives us an insight into Robbo's pre match objectives. The referee, Colin Steven, was way out of his depth and I didn't realise until afterwards that it was his first Premiership game in charge. Not one he'll want to remember. Not clear at the time, but from highlights, Tanser 100% handled the ball on the line. Red card and penalty - no. Who scored Saints' penalty - none other than Tanser. Saints penalty? It looked soft but tv highlights are inconclusive. Certainly Kane made the most of it. What is it about Kane, Dunne and penalties!! Ref lost the plot at the penalty and booked Gillespie. Davidson was rightly yellow carded for a late challenge and then did exactly the same thing before half time only to be given a verbal warning this time. Surely a second yellow? Who scored Saints' second goal? Overall Saints deserved to win but the referee certainly influenced the outcome and they can consider themselves fortunate.

A fair summing up. Add to those names, that of Barry Maguire who may also pass muster but thats an unknown as yet.

Not at all. In your original post you say that every Well fan knows where we are weak. I didn't express my own view at that point but simply questioned whether your presumption was correct. I think its unlikely that several thousand fans would all agree about that. I also wanted to know where you thought we are weak, but you didn't clarify that. In my second post I expressed my own view in that we are weak in all areas bar the keepers. I would be very surprised if every fan agrees with that though. There will be a range of views. My posts are in no way contradictory.

No comment.

Almost agree with everything you wrote, apart from those about Cadden and Hastie. Apart from goalkeeper every area of the team needs strengthening. Declan Gallagher will be an upgrade in central defence and his acquisition is very welcome given our lack of pace and aerial ability today.

Hearing today that both McHugh and Gorrin are definitley offski; the latter wasn't even on the team bus. Also Adam Livingstone has a great opportunity to take over the left back slot next season - take out of that what you will.

Where are we weak? You might get different views about this.

I doubt it. Before this summer's transfer income is taken into account I reckon, at a very rough guesstimate that we owe Messrs Hutchison and Boyle about £320K. Taking into account Jake Hastie's transfer and other youngsters I'd say we'll be owing about £180k. If Cadden leaves, as seems likely, or Turnbull departs then I reckon our debt will be just about paid off.

I'm not fussed about whether or not we retain Main's services. I suspect that Robbo would fancy a change up front as we don't appear to have made re-signing him a priority. I think he'll g back down south as Aberdeen and Hearts won't be able to match the wages on offer there. Although not a prolific scorer, he seems to fit the kind of physical striker that both sides favour (apologies to Richard and Willie).

Interesting article in the Scotsman about how much clubs spent on agent fees over the past 2 windows. Our total was £6,575 the 3rd lowest in the Premiership and only above Accies and St Mirren. Ross County and Livingston even spent considerably more, as did Partick Thistle. https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/scottish-premiership-clubs-splash-out-6m-on-agents-fees-1-4923636

I agree Haggis. Of late our defence has been less than impressive. The result will depend on whether or not we can score and if so how many.

Potentially 2 important games coming up for us. One game at a time though as they say. If we want to win it badly, for the cash, then Main or Sammon must start to make the ball stick up front. If on the other hand its to test out youngsters, then Scott should start. Thats our choice. It'll be a tough game against a well organsied and very hard working Saints side.

Gallagher seems to be very highly thought of and is exceptionally good in the air; quick too. Defensive midfield could be improved from this season. Our defence this year could have been better and ourgoals against record this term could be improved somewhat

One vote per club although thats by no means perfect?

Certainly one major factor in the equation Greg. Undoubtedly the voting system is flawed.

I expect both Aldred and McHugh to leave at the end of their contracts. Just part of a bigger rebuilding exercise. The important thing is that they let the club know their intentions as soon as possible.

Two good posts Ya Beezer and Yorky. When we play with a lone striker like Scott, there's usually a disconnect with wingers playing wide or deep and attacking midfielders. We were creating chances from wide but there was a lack of bodies getting into the danger areas quickly to take full advantage and take the weight off Scott. Turnbull played in a deeper role. We definitely missed Gorrin as he is a good all rounder. He's someone who can compete and tackle, albeit rashly at times, but is also comfortable on the ball and can pass. We've not had such player for some years now. This type of player is a real asset for any team and means that they can support and help more specialised types. Polworth, as I understand it, is an attacking midfielder who can also play wide. Hopefully we will replace Gorrin with a like for like player, but Polworth isn't that man. Carl McHugh is a decent but limited player. On Saturday he defended reasonably well and won more than his fair share of aerial duels but his lack of pace and passing ability limited his influence. I thought he could also have been more assertive at times, especially in the closing stages, when we needed someone in the engine room to kick a few butts. All that said, there are worse players than Carl McHugh.

I don't take these awards seriously as they are very subjective and in reality are influenced by a range of factors other than ability and performance. Unfortunately Iain the fact that David Turnbull didn't win the award will have no bearing on when he leaves.

Again shocking defending. As the game entered its closing stages we began to defend deeper and deeper and paid the inevitable price. No-one was marking Magennis who had plenty of space inside our box. A last ditch but unsuccessful tackle shouldn't mask poor organisation. St Mirren were surprisingly unambitious yesterday as others have mentioned but their defence was overall more solid than ours on the day; not great but not error prone. I was also puzzled as to why Ariyibi was taken off. He didn't have a great game overall but maybe halfway into the second half he really came onto a game and annoyed the Saints defence to such an extent that they decided collectively that enough was enough began to take turns to hack him down. Was he injured or knackered?

Forgot to add that playing as a lone striker is a big ask of anyone let alone an inexperienced youngster like Scott.

Yes he was definitely a bit slow and got caught on the ball a few times but he didn't have a bad game. A draw was just about right. Our defence looked shaky all day and it was no surprise when they deservedly equalised. Again we looked vulnerable on the wings. Neither side deserved to win nor lose. Our biggest problem was that nothing stuck up front, where we looked toothless, although we did create quite a few chances. I thought that Main or Sammon might have replaced Scott for that reason round about the 70th minute mark. The substitutions did seem a bit odd and certainly didn't help, our cause. Another valuable lesson for James Scott, who showed some neat touches but was up against another big tough centre back who conned the referee. A summer in the gym beckons for young James and maybe a six month loan spell. Saint's Mullen was extremely annoying with his constant diving and he was lucky not to pick up at least one card. The referee lost control near the end much to the relief of MacKenzie who was only yellow carded. Does anyone know why we didn't have a substitute goalie on the bench? At the end of the day a decent late season workout, although it wasn't exactly scintillating stuff.

Mostly average displays but dunne gets my vote. McHugh would have done but got caught on the ball 2 or 3 times.

I wonder if the likes of Well fan Dean Cornelius or Reece MacAlear will get a seat on the bench.

Hopefully we'll see some more young players in action at some stage tomorrow or on the bench. This is the perfect time to give them a taste of first team football.