Kmcalpin

Minus 3 first team players.

It sounds a real boring, dull and turgid encounter so far. Edit: Quote from the BBC " If you are wondering about the lack of updates from Rugby Park, the game has fallen into an even deeper hole of mediocrity. "

4 Yellow Cards so far in the Killie Dons game and its just half time.

True up to a point. However of the 4 players you mentioned how many were signed as long term replacements for Stevie Hammell? Maybe Chalmers and although you don't mention him, ZFA. The others have been short term stop gaps. For too long our managers were complacent with Stevie and just assumed he'd keep on going for as long as they themselves were in charge. I tend to agree on Hendrie though as he's hardly made much of an impression so far.

Absolutely. If you play one up front it either suggests you have very few strikers available, which wasn't the case, or you aren't confident of matching the opposition ie you think the opposition is better than you are..

Ok Andy I'll accept that ...I was just going by some of the comments I've read in social media.

Hopefully yesterday will teach Robbo and Keef some valuable lessons, as they are a relatively young and inexperienced management team. We need to cut them some slack. The change in team formation seems to have backfired and perhaps it sent out the wrong message to the players and to Accies. It smacked of a lack of belief or confidence that we were capable of going toe to toe with even a weakened side at NDP. It tells me that Robbo and Keef didn't think we were good enough to match Accies, not Celtic, Aberdeen or Hibs, with a 3-5-2 line up. That can't have done the players'confidence any good and it immediately told Martin Canning and his charges that he had a psychological advantage if we were running scared of his team. Maybe if we'd been more adventurous and gone 3-5-2 Accies would have given us a real doing? Thats all food for thought. Maybe the pitch was a factor in team selection, maybe injuries were, who knows? What it suggests to me though is that we don't quite have the players yet to implement Robbo's preferred style of play. We've improved our competitiveness and aggression this year but Accies taught us that we've still got a bit to go yet. We don't have enough creativity especially in central midfield and that left Cadden as our only outball as Canning would have known. We're not yet suited to playing the long ball, if thats required; and we need more effective height up front. I'm not for a minute suggesting that we rip up the team sheet in the summer and have a major overhaul but some changes are required. We're still in the midst of a team rebuild and our final position in the league will tell us how far we've progressed. Our excellent cup runs have to be factored in too of course, but a good season doesn't just mean an appearance at Hampden it also means not being outfought, outbattled and outplayed by a badly weakened, and not overly great, Accies side.

Yes, top six has now all but gone and our target has to be retain 7th spot and that will be hard enough. As I've written before I won't be downhearted if that ultimately proves beyond us but I'll be disappointed if we can't finish 8th, which would represent progress since last season.

I agree with most of what you say but I'm not sure the pitch as much a leveller as you say. Other teams seem to be able to compete well enough with them at NDP. OK its a very poor pitch but other sides seem to be able to adapt and outscrap Accies whilst we can't. We're very much a side in transition and we still haven't got the character of the side quite right never mind the footballing aspect.

Agreed. Although I wasn't there today I know exactly what you're talking about. The way to handle this is to submit a mass petition/complaint to the Well Society. I'll happily add my name.

Absolutely. Certainly a very cautious line up today which seems a bit toothless up front. Didn't make it so will be interested in the views of those who did. The stark scoreline suggests that we were well beaten but that might be misleading.

I think Nadir has been better in a supporting role and shown some very nice touches. However his eye for goal hasn't been so apparent. If he plays, Martin Canning will ensure that his temperament is tested thoroughly. If Ryan Bowman plays at some point, expect Accies defenders to fall about all over the place (see Evening Times article).

Sensible post. Stewards have to be consistent with the advice they dole out and fans have to respect each other. Either way the cash turnstiles are likely to be busy so those without tickets should turn up reasonably early and not at 14.55. The same applies to those with tickets. That said there's always a few who just do as they want anyway and to hell with anybody else. Despite the enforced absence of Sarris, Imrie and probably MacKinnon and Crawford, I think Accies will play their usual game and those who fill their boots, irrespective of their age, will be streetwise and cynical as most of Martin Canning's charges are. They've brought through some decent players though. Thats how they survive. Their tactics and the horrible pitch will ensure its no classic. Still we know what to expect and this current team of ours can compete and showing a bit of character.

There's a huge difference between being a good player and a good coach. Similarly the brightest students rarely go in for school teaching. The best school teacher I ever had, was not the brightest (by his own admission) but he certainly knew how to teach kids and impart his knowledge.

A larger than usual proportion of Saturday's attendees will be PATG, given that tickets did not go on sale until after our most recent home game and only 5 days before the game itself. Accies could have distributed them before last Monday surely?

We'll need to wait and see. Take all these rumours with a spoonful of salt.

Accies have Imrie and Sarris suspended for this one. Scott Brown MacKinnon is also unlikely to play. We'll be running out of opponents to barrack at this rate.

In one word TV. I don't like it one bit for the reasons expressed by others, but given, in some ways, it was akin to a democratic vote, I accept it. Many fans vote for live football on TV through subscribing to TV packages (ok I know this is on BBC) and by doing so knowingly hand over almost complete power to the TV companies to do whatever they like, subject to police approval of course. All fans have to accept the consequences, whether we have purchased TV packages or not. In short we, the fans, can't have our cake and eat it. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Would the ref have arrived at the same decision if the goalie was rolling the ball forward with his foot at a kick out and Cadden had nipped in and robbed him? As for Cadden's "goal" I still think Tanner should be credited as the goalie seems makes contact with the ball only after it was over the line.

Yes that was his major failing. I think l most of us would agree he could have yellow carded another 3 Hearts players, if he was being consistent. Had the game gone to a replay, his inconsistency may have come home to roost depending on whether the Hearts players had already picked up yellow cards in earlier rounds.

Its a nonsense isn't it and simply highlights the SFA's bias? If there is any logic to it then it will depend on who we play. If Aberdeen prevail then you'd imagine we'd have the west end and if Killie prevail then we'd have the east end. Time will tell.

Hard to argue with most of that. The only thing that I would perhaps take issue with is Cadden's chalked off goal. By now we all know the rule i.e. the keeper has the ball under his control and his hand is on top of it, with the ground below. However I think there some evidence that the keeper was rolling the ball towards his body. It all comes down to the referee's interpretaion of "under control" . I'd say it was a 50/50 decision which went in Hearts' favour. A very difficult call for the referee, who has to make an instant call. Very surprised that Craig Levein didn't mention that his team got the rub of the green there.

I agree that a replacement scoreboard is a good thing and will be a real asset to the club and to us the fans. Presumably it will have the capability of showing colour images and moving images of replays etc but I get the impression that it will be capable of doing far more. Not being into cutting edge technology can anyone explain to me its wider benefits.

We're the cheapest in the league if you're aged between 60 and 64. £16 for away fans as opposed to £22 at Hamilton. No such concession for the semi though.

Yes its time to move on and just savour what the team achieved yesterday. Whatever else the lads have shown character and an unshakeable will to win this season. Leslie still a papermaking town.