Kmcalpin

Thats my question too.

Irrespective of who we would prefer for our selections will Peter Hartley be fit? Apparently he has/had a dead leg.

Andy Rose has had limited impact this season, in part due to injury and maybe others like Bigi, Turnbull and Gorrin coming through. Perhaps too it was part of the masterplan to gradually phase him out, in the knowledge that he would only be with us until Hogmanay - who knows. At any rate the midfield dynamic is already changing and there's no-one amongst the current senior players who can replicate that role. Rose reminds me very much of a young Keith Lasley but with more athleticism, but less grit. Not in any way showy, but hovers around to cover up for other more gung ho colleagues' errors. My overall view of his time with us is that whilst he never set the heather on fire he did a passable job, most of it off the ball. Not our worst signing by any means but far from our best. Still, it gives Robbo some time and money (he must have known about Rose's move months ago) to plan for a new player in the upcoming window.

I don't know but if he is rested it would be a nice gesture by Vancouver to pay his wages intil 1 January.

Apologies Andy, my comment was partly tongue in cheek and before the news about Andy Rose was confirmed. At every turn we broadcast the message that we're totally skint (unlike our close rivals). I accept that might be deliberate to dampen dreams of healthy warchests from other clubs. My thinking was that if we were totally skint and no-one was shipped out next month ie the worst case scenario, then if Jake Hastie were to return we couldn't even afford his wages (currently being paid by Alloa presumably). That won't now happen as Andy Rose is leaving next month, although its unclear if any fee, however nominal, will be involved. At the very least a wage will be freed up. I'm ambivalent about him going, although I'd rather we lost a few others first. We are reasonably well off for central midfielders and need to strengthen in other areas first. Centre Back; left sided wide midfielder; creative midfielder and striker. Still now that we know for certain Rose is departing it will free up some cash - maybe to allow us to bring Hastie back .

Steady on Weeyin. Pittodrie and Tannadice really take some beating. Tannadice is the only stadium you need to wear long johns in July.

So, as things stand, Andy Rose may move on next month and Falkirk have made it widely known that they're keen on taking Ross MacLean. If our budget permits, Jake Hastie may return.

Yes of course, but not all will. There are a whole range of factors which might influence an individual's decision on when to move or if indeed to move at all. As Fizoxy says, "Many young players know that it makes more footballing sense to get regular playing time, build a reputation, and reap the rewards of a bigger move a few years later, and actually playing games is why most got into the profession in the first place." Most young players will want to move up in the game and I get that, but timing is also crucial. Some do want to establish themselves first, earn a good reputation and then move on and up.

There are agents and agents as the powers that be at Fir Park will tell you. Some are honourable and conduct themselves as you say. Others are ruthless and don't care about their clients; they simply want their dosh. As far as careers go not everyone is money oriented and desperate to become the next CEO by the time they're 23. In some cases a move for more money might be premature or simply not be right. I've seen colleagues turn down far better paid positions because they didn't like the company, their methods or their personnel. Money is important yes, but its certainly not the end all and be all.

Our fans wouldn't like his brand of football or his reluctance to use bring young players on . He has done very well at St Johnstone and built solid teams. Not great to watch, not exciting but they're competitive, consistent, physical, streetwise, experienced and don't make many mistakes. He likes players with a combative and abrasive attitude like your Murray Davidsons, Liam Craigs and Paul Patons. Not making mistakes is his trademark. In our league that will guarantee you a mid table slot. He's not great at bringing young players on. For some years now St Johnstone have paid higher wages than us (not by a huge amount) despite having smaller crowds. I'd like to know how they balance the books.

Just watched the TV highlights and the time and space the Hearts player was given to cross the ball into our box for their goal was criminal. He was allowed to pick his spot. That put our defence under unnecessary pressure. We're not good at closing teams down outside our penalty area.

It means leaving his post but continuing to be paid and continuing to carry out parts of his job.

As Shaka says above we are in our wee group of 4 teams at the bottom until the end of the season. That doesn't mean that we won't improve when injured players return or we have a good January window. I'm confident though we have enough to finish in 9th or 10th place. If we can beat those teams below us anything we take from sides above us will be a bonus. However we should go out to win every game.

Don't get me wrong Iain, the team should go all out to win these games and they have to believe but its just that I have low expectations this week and next. Just now I have little confidence that the team won't make a crucial error against better sides whilst the oppostion makes none. There's little in these games but just enough to deny us a point, as we've seen often this campaign so far.

The support seems to be split about David Turnbull. FWIW my view is that he should sign a year's deal or 2 years at the most, with us before moving on. He's got a lot to learn yet but he doesn't want to end up in Chris Cadden's position. He should be aware though that his agent's view will be heavily influenced by the prospect of a nice fat fee. That said I do understand those fans who are "advising" him to jump to a bigger club.

Calm down folks. Not a game we were ever likely to take anything from (same again next week and at Parkhed) but both Accies and St Mirren got beaten (Saints also dropped a goal on us). Our big games come at the end of the month.

There are "roasters" in all 3 home stands, probably least in the POD Stand and most in the East. Its down to capacity & demographics.

Absolutely. Jersey pulling goes on week in week out and is rarely punished. Danny Johnson was blatantly pulled to the ground last Saturday at Livingston in the box and no foul was given. You just need to look at post match pictures to see the amount of jersey pulling that goes on. Its a foul!

My thoughts exactly. There is a huge gap between youth football and first team football but you'd think that fitness wouldn't and shouldn't be one of them. Surely thats down to the sports science team? If a player is being given all the advice and help necessay from the managerial staff and ignoring it then thats a different matter; but thats not the case here. Puzzling.

Maybe that was a factor in his selection last night.

Its been that way ever since I can recall at these games. At games involving Celtic, Rangers and Sevco our home attendance drops by about 1,000. Nothing new.

Very "interesting team selection. Full of defensive players but little in the way of attacking options or pace. Relying on the long ball (to who?) and set pieces? I thought Allan Campbell had earned a rest and by the way he played at Livingston he needs it badly. We can draw conclusions at 9.45 as to how effective it proves to be. No red cards or penalties conceded tonight - please!

Wouldn't argue with that reasoning. I'd also start Bowman ahead of Johnson as we'll need some strong runners up front and incursions into the Celtic box may be few and far between. .

Robbo also made comments about changing the squad in January and having to move players on to bring some in. As there's very few of Mark McGhee's signings now left, that to me is an admission that he's got it a bit wrong so far, both in terms of last summer's signings and those before that. I suppose an obvious one is Conor Sammon, although in his case it may be possible to terminate his loan prematurely. Hopefully budgets will allow us to recall Jake Hastie from Alloa to give him an overdue chance. David Turnbull is an interesting one. One or two had concerns about the club saying we were "hopeful" of extending his deal. Robbo has now clarified that by saying the lad himself is keen to stay but his agents are not persuaded; so the question is what influence does he have over his agents? Interesing too that our fans divided over him. Some want him to stay others want him to leave. For my part I think he he ought to give it another year or perhaps two at the most as he's still only 19. He should look to the likes of Lee Erwin, Robbie Leitch, and Alan Martin to see where they ended up.

Absolutely. Whilst the headlines might be off putting I can't really disagree with much that he's said and am surprised at the reaction on here. The only thing I'd take issue with though is his statement that he was forced to play footballers. As I said on the weekend's matchday thread he did have other options, but as far as I can tell chose not to use them. Now I like open expansive football on the deck as much as the next fan, but on our budget there are limits. To allow the "footballers" to play their game you have to be physical enough to compete and win the ball first. Its difficult to play exciting football if you don't have the ball. On Saturday, Livingston, not us, dictated how the game would be played. Not surprisingly they chose to play to their strengths. Make no mistake the best teams are physically hard and robust when they need to be i.e. to gain possession. My only concern is one which Clackscat raised above and one which I hadn't thought of before. To play a high pressing and physical game, as Robbo, promotes, it does put the players under a lot of physical strain and maybe that isn't sustainable. We should watch Livingston with interest to see if they crack. As far as Bigi is concerned you're spot on. He's not the sole reason we're doing poorly this season but he is one of a good number of players who are either not good enough or are off form. Seeing as his name has been raised specifcally though he is in the team to provide creativity and to be blunt has been very inconsistent in that role (no player plays well every week). When we're on top he plays well but when we're not he is anonymous. Last Saturday for example, the type of game didn't suit him, nor did the pitch, but he did have several opportunities in the first 45 to provide a spark or create opening but he didn't or couldn't. Defensively he's always been weak (tracking back and losing his man) and thats a consistent feature of his game ie against Aberdeen and again last weekend. Now the question then arises is his attacking prowess so good that we should build a midfield around him and select players to specifically compensate for his deficiencies? I just don't think so. In short if he's picked to play he might create attacking opportunities once every 2/3/4 weeks but he'll cause defensive problems every week.