Kmcalpin

In other words we have to have players capable of winning 50/50 challenges against teams like Livingston and Accies on their plastic pitches. Of course we have to have a mix of players also to retain possession and create. If we can't compete there then we have to rely on hoofball but we don't have the players for that. It all gets back to Robbo's earning the right to play. If we can't compete in central midfield then that puts the defence under a lot of pressure and leaves the striker isolated. If the opposition choose to play physically on these pitchess how do we compete or avoid getting involved or pickig up injuries?

Overall a decent result and a clean sheet on an abomination of pitch. More teams than us will struggle against Livingston on their pitch. Its a game we could well have lost in the past. Perhaps our tactics and line up weren't suited to the conditions and as a few commentators have implied as it wasn't the venue for fast open wing play. Sometimes you need to engage in the footballing equivalent of hand to hand combat but we don't seem to have the squad to do that on these plastic pitches. In short, admirable though our intentions were, it wasn't a day for exciting football. Our young management duo will have learnt from their errors. Early days of course but nothing that happened today changed my opinion that we're short of an out and out "number 9" striker with some physical presence. Hopefully we'll see one coming in shortly. I'm also not sure that our central midfield is right. Maybe a fully fit Sloth will improve matters and I'm still not convinced Donnelly is the man for the defensive midfield role. All in all an acceptable start result wise.

That was always going to be a danger. We've seen this before. We need to instill some fight and solidity at half time. Livvy are being allowed to play the game as they want. Sounds as though midfield isn't performing the basics.

Yes while a win would be great a draw would represent a decent result. Livingston topped their League Cup group with 11 points so will be no pushovers. A very tough game in prospect. My fear is lack of firepower and an exposed defence, but I hope I'm wrong. Solidity and reliablity will be every bit as important as flair and skill. We're more than capable of taking something from this match but whether we do so is another matter.

They shouldn't have to Andy. To save any hassle, they should open them up as soon as the stadium itself opens. They don't need to open up vast areas. How often do we see large sections of a stand at an away ground cordoned off and our travelling support hemmed/sardined/penned into a very restricted area causing unnecessary hassle. How often have we seen this at Hamilton and Livingston, for example, where we've seen fans arguing/pleading with slow acting stewards to open up other areas? At Fir Park, supports other than those of the gruseome twosome are typically given a generous area in which to sit - why can't other clubs do the same? A pet grouse of mine.

Exactly. It was a sham consultation along the same lines as the proposed Edinburgh Congestion Charge of a few years ago i.e. you ask Group A if they are happy for Group B to pay more. Of course they'll say yes.

Did the Accies directors seek feedback from our fans? If so I missed it.

That makes sense, so long as we're not sardined in as usual.

So, irrespective of the crowd, we're being restricted to Section L, gates 11 and 12. Couldn't they allocate a little bit more seating?

If everyone is fit (apart from Cole), that would be my team.

That will depend on whether he's returned from injury and playing well by the end of January. If he is, he'll be off and we'll see perhaps a few weeks of him in the first team at best. If he doesn't depart in January, then we may get more out of him if he can get back to his best. On a personal note, good luck to the lad as he's been through enough for a youngster of his age. I also think we need a goal scorer up front. This coming Saturday will prove to be a good early test as Livingston will be an upgrade in class compared to who we've played so far this season.

Once again I ask can they afford it?

A close choice between Donnelly and Grimshaw for me, but I opted for the latter. Grimmy had a good engine and was great on the attack with his surging runs but isn't so good off the ball when defending.

Does anyone know the prize money on offer, by round and including TV cash, for this year's League Cup?

This 100%. He's showing up well but will shortly start meeting taller, heavier, nastier and more experienced central defenders once the league action starts. He did struggle towards the end of last season. Don't forget either he's only 18 and has a lot to learn. He'll also struggle more to get the close support he needs from others and he'll need to learn how to hold off hulking defenders until the cavalry arrives. Robbo has alrweady said that he needs how to use his body better. I'd like to see him get gametime but I don't think he's quite ready to shoulder the burden of being our main number 9 week in week out just yet. His time will come.

Reading is looking at Ben Heneghan. Maybe a sell on fee is in the offing?

Hearts, Forfar, Morton, Accies, Partick, Dunfermline,

A good summary. We qualified as seeds, collected the maximum of 12 points and withourt conceding a goal. Compare that to the poor start made by other Premiership teams. You can only beat the teams in front of you and we did that. However like you I wonder how we'll compete against other Premiership sides. I've only seen two games but we looked a bit lightweight today, at times, and against Morton. How will we fare defensively when put under some pressure? Some thoughts from today's game. I thought we missed Gallagher's aerial ability today at set pieces. Donnelly is fairly hitting the net but I wonder how he'll cope defensively against better sides. I quite like the look of Long but he's no number 9. Without having seen Cole, I think we'll need to sign an experienced one before the window closes. For long spells we seemed to lack a killer touch in the box. The wingers today were less effective against a team who predictably came to park their bus. Defenders doubled up against them and we can expect to see more of that in the coming weeks. I must say I like the look of Ilic and am sure there's more to come from him. The same goes for Sloth and it'll be interesting to see what he can do once he's fully match fit. Semple had a reasonable game and the experience will have done no harm. Would liked to have seen something of Adam Livingstone but it wasn't to be today. Annan were a bit fortunate today not least in keeping 11 players on the park after some quite dreadful challenges. Hopefully we'll get a decent draw tomorrow - its time we had one.

He was in the POD Stand today walking on crutches.

You assume that he will actually go to the USA. Time will tell.

Manzinga being brought in to replace Johnson as a squad player and given the chance to prove himself?

Who knows, but he was obviously signed for a reason. As with all new faces we need to give him a chance to show what he can do, apart from scoring with overhead kicks.

Rumours of Danny Johnson to Dundee.

Depends what you mean by"screw". We signed Coke when he was 23 I think thereby depriving Northampton of a fee. All legal and above board. Clubs have been doing it ever since.

We'll agree to disagree about that Greg and also about Gorrin. The team is shaping up nicely this year but has still to gel fully which is understandable. Lets also remove Turnbull and the wingers from the discussion. We were always going to miss him and finding a replacement was never going to be easy. That said, I agree with you about Polworth. A creative player with a great cross in his armoury. I wasn't at Dumfries or Dumbarton last night but base my initial observations on the Morton game. For spells, the midfield struggled a bit, especially in the first half and in the early part of the second half. They sat too deep when defending but despite that, gave Morton a bit more freedom than they should have done. Morton also came out on top physically for a fair spell. In the middle we lacked a bit of pace, aggression and ability/composure to hold the ball. As the game went on in the second half though our midfield did dominate to be fair. Yes, Gorrin was rash at times, no argument there. Its not being negative to suggest that the midfield, or more accurately central midfield, looks to be a bit short. New players yes; Turnbull missing yes; players not fully matchfit yes; and its not realistic to expect the engine room to be firing on all cylinders already. Every team has weaknesses at this stage, as we've seen from other group games, and the management will not be 100% happy. If they are I'll be extremely surprised. We're doing well so far and playing attractive football for the most part, but haven't yet met another Premiership team. Work in progress as they say.