Kmcalpin

I agree with that. Its not his lack of passing ability that gets me though. For a large part of the second half when we were under the cosh, he simply disappeared and merged with our defence. I was looking for our defensive midfielders to stick their chins out and push out from our penalty box to tackle Saints' attackers head on and close them down. That didn't happen. Instead they sat far too deep and caused problems for our central defenders and especially Ewan Wilson who was frequently faced by 2 attackers. i get though that this may have been down to managerial instructions to sit deep and concede territory.

I'm not so sure. Yes, we are top heavy with strikers but as a whole their recruitment seems a bit piecemeal and they don't complement each other. Its as though they've been selected randomly. Ebeye is a penalty box striker only. Robinson is quick but lightweight and can't hold the ball up. Stuparevic?? Watt: experienced and will do a job but not an out and out striker. Ap Stam promising but we haven't yet seen much of him?? We don't have an out and out target man who can compete with gargantuan defenders which was obvious yesterday.

Pretty much my take on it. When the ball struck him at point blank range he seemed to be crouched down and in that position, its hard to keep your hands rigidly by your side, if you want to retain your balance.

Overall a very satisfying result. Not a classic but then almost no-one predicted it would be. I'd been warned beforehand about just how big and physical and Saints would be but it didn't sink in until just before kick off. Our starting line up surprised me and in terms of the stiker(s) it just didn't work. As Steelboy said elsewhere, lets hope it isn't repeated. Ebeye is a penalty box striker, nothing else. By all means start him if we are expected to be the dominant team in a game, otherwise no. Robinson and Ebeye were lightweight and totally ineffective against a defence of colossuses. The ball just wouldn't stick up front. Thats a game we would have lost season. Apart from a few stupid mistakes, most notably at the first goal we looked fairly reliable. The Ox refused to be intimidated and had a great game saving a penalty. Our central defence, marshalled well by the impressive Gordon held out well. Wilson performed solidly but suffered from a lack of midfield cover, especially in the second half. Of greatest concern to me was our powder puff midfield, Lennon Miller apart. I thought Miller had a great game and took his goals coolly and well. Halliday and the energetic Davor were simply outmuscled and overpowered by much bigger, quicker, and physical opponents. For a large part of their time on the pitch they simply disappeared. Its an area of the team I'd like to see strengthened. For the time we were numerically disadvantaged at 11 v 10, we struggled but the set up was wrong. Once things were evened out at 10 v 10 we failed to grasp that equality had been restored, remained passive and looked like a team under the cosh. Where was our midfield? I thought our subs were too late in coming on. Would a winger, for example, have stretched St Mirren? For all St Mirren's physical dominance they lacked qualty and creativity and that was their downfall. After listening to Sportsound post match, I considered writing to the SPFL to add to their chorus of complaints and moans and request that the result be declared null and void but then I came to my senses. Whatever the result, we won't have made many friends in the media yesterday. As a final aside, interesting that Robbo took great exception to a punter in the POD Stand giving him some stick. There was also a rumour doing the rounds that KVV came on as a sub yesterday but didn't see him myself.

He protested long and vociferously at our penalty. We were sat near him and had a better view of the incident than he did and it wasn't clear to us. So I don't understand why he protested. A clear penalty where Fraser faced the wrong way and had our lad in a clear hug. A bit similar but more blatant than the penalty Stephen Craigan conceded in Perth for "facing the wrong way at a corner". Robbo also had a running verbal battle with a fan in front of us. He was clearly rattled.

The "handball" in the lead up to Miller's goal was neither clear nor obvious even after watching the highlights. The ball hit off his upper arm but also appeared to hit off the arm of the defender. As for Tanser's 2nd yellow it was clear cut. A deliberate stamp and he knew it.

What was today's attendance? I was expecting the Buddies to bring a far larger support with them given the massive crowds they've been attracting in Paisley. I thought they'd fill the upper tier and part of the bottom about 2,800-3,000 in total.

Looking at the St Mirren team....please keep the ball on deck lads.

The club has a customer issue, which need fixing, then.

The cynic in me says wait and see.

Oh dear, the Courier is upset. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/dundee-united/5088556/premier-sports-cup-motherwell-dundee-united-commentary-probe/ In all my years of supporting the Well, I've yet to come across a happy Dundee United fan. This could open up a can of worms and not just for Premier Sports. Are you reading BBC?

Brian Kerr promoted to assistant manager at the Buddies.

Does anyone know what the official attendance was on Friday night? A great effort by the Society. For once, volunteers turned out in numbers.

Line up could be bolder as it’s a cup tie after all. Not even minor tinkering after last weekend’s lacklustre showing.

I totally get your logic David. However, you refer to our percentage as being 14%. What geographic area are you referring to? Scotland’s towns and cities vary considerably in character. Aberdeen, based in a self contained city, for example, draws a large proportion of its fanbase from a huge rural hinterland. East Fife, based in Methil, by comparison, draws its support from an urban area comprising 4 adjacent settlements, that only a local could distinguish.

Fair point. We really do need to make it as easy as possible for fans to buy tickets. We're putting too many obstacles in their way.

That's St Johnstone sacked Craig Levein. 5 games into the league season. Interesting that some Saints fans want Tom Wright brought back.

He’s not compatible with SK’s preferred system of playing a single, often isolated, striker. He’s a penalty box striker.

Moses is a penalty box striker no more no less. If he starts, it needs to be part of a front 2. Yes, the balance in midfield is all wrong. We need a solid out and out defensive midfielder.

Not at the game today, but I agree we’re asking players to perform roles they’re not suited to. Robinson is a prime example. He‘s just not performing in my view. We don’t seem to have a striker who can play up front on his own. Time to change the system. Also our defensive midfield is too lightweight. Given Aberdeen’s form’ not the worst result but the performance seems to have been lacklustre. Changes needed for next week.

They're not considered to be good enough at the moment obviously.

Well deserved. Please extend his contract.

It doesn't really matter if they want to be or not, in many ways they are.

Yes, we're much stronger defensively than we were last season. This is especially true of our keeper and central defence. So, job seems done there. However there's more to good defence than that. I think our set up with a narrow midfield leaves the wing backs a bit exposed. This was evident yesterday but fortunately Saints weren't good enough to capitalise on it, although they targeted Ewan Wilson early on. Also I don't think Davor and Halliday are cut out, for various reasons, to shield the defence in the centre. The Ox was clearly unhappy at our midfield yesterday for letting Saints ping in 3 unopposed shots late on. I know were big on numbers now but as soon as is practicable I'd like to see us bring in a solid defensive type to slot into the middle. Work in progress, so far so good.

We thoroughly deserved to win as we were the better team and tried to let St Johnstone play football, but that was neither appreciated nor reciprocated. In truth we should have scored more and been out of sight by half time but we still lack that killer touch in front of goal. We were also a bit unlucky. Credit to SK & SF though. They almost lost us the game but in the event they won it for us. Against the backgrouind of a huge injury list and new players bedding in, I don't think the starting line up is right. Defence wise I thought our 3 central men had an excellent game, such a change from last season. That was crucial in achieving a win today. Up front, Robinson is not a lone striker, despite some deft touches. A lack of support from midfield and the close attention of a hulking 6-4 centre back made life difficult for him. Tony Watt also is never a lone striker. I was disappointed in midfield and we lack an attacking midfielder. Lennon Miller was played too far forward and his normal game was therefore constrained and to be fair Saints do have some combative and abrasive midfielders. Still his contribution from set pieces really is proving an asset and shone through today. Craig Levein will be sticking pins in his effigy this evening (only joking as he's genuinely a hell of a nice chap). I thought Halliday and Davor struggled a bit to compete and weren't really effective defensively at all. That said, Saints do have a very competitive and combative engine room, although lacking in creativity. I felt sorry for both wing backs. Young Wilson made some telling interventions but I thought he and SOD were left out to dry a bit by our formation as Saints caused us a few problems down the flanks. On the plus side, Manwanhise looked quick and lively and we should have brought him into the game more quickly. Jack Vale too added some much need pace, when he entered the fray. We did ok for most of the first half but took our foot off the gas a bit latterly and inexplicably. Overly cautious instructions from the technical area. For 10 minutes before they equalised, Saints began to dominate the game in midfield as we goaded them into attacking us and invited them onto us. Levein then made some inspired changes and not surprisingly they scored. We then wobbled. However, late on SK made some equally telling changes that proved instrumental in setting up a great late finish. Saints still managed to rain down 3 decent attempts on goal and the Ox wasn't best pleased with those in front of him, as they left him exposed. Then came the great finish. A series of attacks and vicious corners from Lennon Miller had Saints on the ropes and Ross Sinclair did well. Then up popped Moses to strike the killer blow and instigate scenes in the stand. Ye cannae beat a late winner! A lively crowd responded and the players appreciated that. The team showed great durability and character to win today and thats all I ask.