Kmcalpin

Don't forget last summer Stuart McCall awarded Keith Lasley a 2 year deal. Pearo is a different kettle of fish - last night he just didn't look fit, but is normally combative and able to make a few good runs at defences.

Very disappointing tonight. The team looked very flat with no fight or desire. In short they just weren't up for it. No matter how good the players are, if they have no fight they just won't compete and perform. Luck deserted us tonight as it tends to when you're down at the bottom. Our big problem was midfield and if you play 2 wingers then you're going to struggle in the middle as we did. Pearo just wasn't in the game and looked as though he wasn't fit. It was scary the way Accies were allowed to run at our defence and nothing was done to stop that. We got what we deserved - nothing.

No I never saw him - who was it? Did we have a right back?

No need to be insulting about the office staff but I take your point. I picked h this up earlier today. I agree it was misleading.

Agreed. I don't know about a sell out, but I would expect and hope for a big travelling support. Its one of our most important games for years.

Good post Alan. Yes we have 5 cup finals coming up but we have to keep an eye on the play off. At the moment we have a reasonably big squad and so a bit of squad rotation may not go amiss especially if it becomes clear early on that we're heading for the play off final. If any game we go a few goals ahead (fingers crossed) then players should be taken off early. We need to use every trick in the book.

I would doubt if this is true, although you have to take into consideration a player's age. Craig Brown was in charge what 5 years ago (?) when Lasley & Hammell would have been in their prime say 27/28. Normally speaking if a player signs a 2 or 3 year contract then his wages increase annually.

If fans are able to go (commitment and money wise) then its a must go. Not a night for our fans to sit in a cosy armchair with a capuccino or beer. I've already had requests for 6 tickets. Whats past is history and we have to turn up in numbers and create as much noise and atmosphere as humanly possible. Not a game for the faint of heart.

More than likely. Irrespective if how fit the players may be one or two may not be risked given that this is the first match after the split. I think thats always been the case on artificial pitches. Terry Butcher and Stuart McCall took the same view.

I raised this topic some weeks ago on these boards and was reliably told that its not an issue for us.

Ok we'd miss Celtic but Hibs and/or rangers would bring a few fans. How many do Ross County and ICT bring currently?

Yes the same thing happens every year. It always will unless, by luck, the TV companies and Police can agree quickly.

John Sutton is a limited player - he is very good at what he does and that is putting the ball in the net in the penalty box. He is not a mobile target player. If we are expected to be on top then he is your man if however we are playing counter attacking football then you play another striker. Horses for courses.

I'm in no doubt that RB is law's best position but I don't think he's done enough to be retained. In recent weeks he's had a hand in quite a few goals we've lost and his positional sense isn't the best.

The root cause of our poor form this season is Stuart McCall's signings, together with an horrendous injury list.

Presumably the post split fixtures are due out imminently? No doubt the precise timing will be down to the TV companies haggling and horsetrading over the draft list which they will already have been given. In my view our prospects will depend in no small part on the exact fixture list. Playing Partick at home is a very different prospect from playing them away. Likewise I don't fancy another trip to Dingwall. Accies travelling to Paisley might be a different game to Saints going to Hamilton. Ideally I'd like (in no particular order) 3 homes and 2 aways: Partick H Killie H Hamilton A Ross County H St Mirren A Thats how it should pan out on the basis of previous fixtures but we'll see.

Absolutely. Of course were in a precarious position no ones denying that. However as long as there's a chance we'll stay up then we fight on and fight together. We can do without a defeatist attitude at Fir Park.

Craig Reid is contracted for another year.

This also assumes that Killie beat say Hamilton, St Mirren and either Ross County or Partick - a tall order for them. A lot will depend on the post split fixtures and whether we get 3 home or 3 away games. Theres a "reasonable" chance we might have to travel to Firhill again because as things stand Partick would face 4 away games and that won't happen.

Thats my understanding too, Iain. The SPFL will try its best to ensure all clubs play an equal number of home and away fixtures BUT if there is any "clash" then the team in wrong half of the split will lose out. So as I see it 3 home games are not guaranteed.

I don't want to turn this into a sterile "who is the worst" debate. In my view both full back positions have been one of our achilles heel positions all season and I hope that neither Law nor Straker are with us next season. We will need two new FBs next campaign for various reasons - Luke Watt may start to develop and it'll be Steve Hammell's last year and no-one can predict how he'll shape up for that.

To take but two of your points. We don't know that the team "froze" under pressure. Its quite possible yes, but in my view the team was just "flat" and that could be down to a number of reasons about which we don't know. If you have experienced pros like MacDonald, Pearson, Lasley, McManus, and Sutton freezing then there's something wrong somewhere. I don't think anyone is blaming Sutton its more the decision to deploy him in the way that we did - thats a management issue. I doubt if many on here would issue a cast iron guarantee that a tactical/line up change would have delivered the 3 points but at best it meant we started the game at a disadvantage. As it was it meant that a striker's position was wasted but add to that Erwin being wasted out wide then thats 2 positions being weakened before a single ball was kicked. In a competitive game thats a bad start, a very bad start.

I agree about Sutton but not Straker. Sutton is very much a penalty box player to use when we're on top - not in yesterday's type of game. Straker? I admit he's a bit of a bombscare and erratic but overall he's no worse than Josh Law. Both were caught out time and again yesterday through poor positioning. In addition Law gave Ainsworth virtually no service at all. However to focus only on the failings of Straker and/or Law is to ignore major failings elsewhere in the side. Starker seems to be the figure of criticism for many but thats being selectively unfair. I agree with andy P in that we can't afford to throw in the towel. There's now 15 points up for grabs and even if we do finish 11th there's still a play off in which to do the business. If the fans throw in towel now the players are quite entitled to do the same thing.

A pointless substitution in my book. Ainsworth's big problem was lack of service and when Thomas came on he suffered from exactly the same problem. No surprise there. I could have seen the point in Thomas had been introduced in place of the totally ineffective Sutton. As others have said we were beaten before kick off with bad tactical and selections errors. Why oh why do we have to repeat previous management errors ad nauseum? We had a number of options to replace Johnson on the left - Straker, Moore or Thomas. Of those three probably Moore was possibly the best bet. Central midfield with a clearly unfit Pearo was the root cause of many of our problems.

Hopefully catch you guys later. Behave yourselves now. No shouting at the ref!