Kmcalpin

In the main thats about right. What happened to the extra revenue fans were promising if we voted against Rangers' fast tracking and for sporting integrity? Cup results have been a disaster.

Dundee United will be paying him until the end of the season I'd guess or will make up for any loss in earnings. Basically they just want him out of the door.

Saints fans are far from happy if recent reports are to be believed. A lack of information coming from their Board and concerns that the new South American investors want to acquire 75% of the shares.

He deserves respect for what he has done and his loyalty, but being ruthless his time has now passed. He was never fast but has lost a yard of pace since last season and is being bullied by bigger and more aggressive opponents. Sentiment and blind loyalty are not whats required in our current situation.

Don't agree with all of it but its seems a pretty fair assessment to me. Bear in mind it would have been written a wee while ago. Certainly no justification whatsoever to ridicule it.

You can't explain some things purely in terms of bald statistics. However our central midfield hasn't been right for some time; in effect a season or two. Its also not just down to Stuart Carswell. There are plenty of other factors. However, Carswell lacks pace and is not creative. He's also not a great tackler. In effect he' s an honest journeyman. He's not what we need. Last season when we finished second we still had a very poor defence, although not as bad as this season. The central midfield failed miserably to protect the defence. In the second half of games our central midfield would often disappear as the opposition bulldozed our engine room. Fortunately our strikeforce scored freely to compensate for this weakness. We have a good number of central midfielders but very few or none are the quality we require. The one possible exception is Paul Lawson, who is however very injury prone and we've seen little of him. If we have a total clearout of our d central midfield in the summer it will be no bad thing.

Totally agree. ZFA is left footed, is pacy and good going forward, but his defending is mercurial and erratic.

Dundee were also very lucky - they won't get that good fortune every week. We on the other hand are due a break. Bad refereeing and bad luck has dogged us for the past 3 games.

Very true. On the pitch he's a very abrasive character and not one of my favourites. Not the way I like to see football played.

I know why you posted this but we have no left hand side at all and haven't had for months and its cost us. Personally I'd play ZFA wide left midfield with Steve Hammell at left back, if he's ever fit.

Decent shout but I'd be tempted to replace Carswell with Reid. Some pace in the engine room wouldn't go amiss.

Quite right too. Adam Stokes is a very capable replacement and had he not made the step up with us we may have lost him. On the issue of injuries - any news on ZFA? He seems to have disappeared wthout trace.

Good post. In a nutshell its why we lose so many goals. Players are allowed to run at our defence and take pot shots at goal at will. They can also run to the by line, usually without challenge to whip in crosses. Why do our two full/wing backs have to play so far infield? Time and again it leaves us vulnerable. Our left hand side is simply non existent and had been for months now. It was noticeable from the TV highlights yesterday (and every week at Fir Park) that if our wingers want to get in a cross they have to beat 2/3 men to do that. Thats defending. Against Aberdeen we also conceded far too many cheap and avoidable corners. In the absence of any shout or advice from Dan our central defenders would attack the ball, as you would, and put it out of play when in truth a simple shout would stop them.

Our defence isn't playing well nor has it being playing well for some time with or without Hutchinson and Hammell. No arguments from me there. However we simply can't judge how bad it is until we get a decent keeper but more importantly a decent midfield, particularly in the middle, who can shield the defence. The central defence is getting no protection whatosever and is under constant pressure. The keeper is left exposed time and again. We need a central midfield with a bit of steel, pace and most importantly character. Without that protection, even the best defence in the world would struggle.

I've never been a Keith Lasley fan but he's always been committed and reliable. Last season should have been his last as his legs were starting to give out. That though was a very unpopular view. Very, very fans questioned Stuart McCall's decision to give him a 2 year extension. Times change though and its now clear that this season has been one too far for him. that said, he has no-one decent to partner him or run for him. His heir apparent Stuart Carswell has been found out to be nothing more than an honest journeyman; a latter day Mark Fitzpatrick.

You're 100% right - see my post under ins and outs. If you give opponents time and space in or on the edge of your box then all it takes is a bad deflection, defensive blunder, refereeing error or a freak effort on goal and the ball is in the net. Currently we have no left midfield and no central midfield to speak of. That immediately puts your central defenders and goalie under pressure. Week after week we see our wing men having to beat 2/3 defenders to get in a cross (same again today) but our opponents have all the time and space in the world to pick their spot. Its not rocket science the more shots you have on target the more goals you will score.

In short we need to strengthen in all areas and that just won't happen this month. As money is tight I'd prioritise our central midfield. If we can only bring in 2 players it should be one creative player and one defensive player. Preferably both should have some pace. Central midfield was the root cause of many of our problems today, as it is most weeks. As things stand I don't think I'd renew the contracts of any of our established central midfielders. Thats a damning indictment of Stuart McCall.

Just watched the highlights and yes we were atrocious, but Dundee also got all the breaks. That won't happen too often. First goal was a horrendous deflection, second one the scorer was lucky in that the ball rebounded off woodwork straight to his head. Third and fourth were horrendous blunders. Still if you give teams time and space on the edge of your box thats what can happen.

Thats been the case since the start of the season, and possibly before that.

Whatever our line up, the central midfield looks very weak. Thats the crux of our problems this season.

Agreed. I think the slope is of the order of 4/5 feet. In terms of the pitch alone it would mean removing or building up thousands of tons of soil not to mention possibly having to drill/blast underlying rock depending on the geology. Its simply not an option and could cost millions taking into account associated works to stands etc.

Not so. This season, Derek McInnes and Tom Wright have expressed concern about playing on artificial pitches. They said the surfaces would influence their team selection. Thats quite consistent with your statement above. However, both Alan Johnston at Kilmarnock and Alex Neil at Hamilton have also expressed identical comments. Johnston said recently on BBC Radio that he had not been able to pick Eremenko as often as he'd like due the surface at Rugby Park. Across the Clyde, at the time of our League Cup tie, Neil said that the surface there had exacerbated the injuries of a couple of players (Antoine-Curier being one?) Football clubs' attitude to artifcial pitches has not changed over the years. Directors love them for economic reasons but managers and players hate them.

Thats correct although its a best case scenario. During his temporary spell in charge and in the first week or two of Ian Baraclough's reign, Kenny Black had the opportunity to try out one or two different things selection and tactics wise and did not take that opportunity. If something fails why continue ad infinitum with it? You might have thought that he felt he had scope to do his own thing up to a point. Ian Baraclough will now have overall control of team matters. Kenny Black's role, as far as we know, is to advise him, but not follow his instructions blindly without question. Is he giving the boss the correct advice? Based on what he did during his spell in charge I question whether he is providing the right advice. Quite apart from that would you want to retain the services of a disillusioned employee who cast doubt on his employers' actions in public?

What do I base my opinion of Kenny Black on? Well I've heard from various sources that he was been in charge of training under Stuart McCall and we have concerns about fitness and preparation for this season etc. However I disregard that as I don't know that for certain. What I have based my view on was in his temporary period in charge. With the exception of one single game in which we beat Dundee United he didn't manage to improve results. I don't hold him responsible for that. During his temporary spell in charge I specifically looked at games to see if there was any discernible change in team selection or tactics ie were these purely down to Stuart McCall previously and did KB have his own ideas? Perhaps KB had a huge input beforehand? Now I didn't notice any change in team selections, tactics or fitness during his temporary spell in charge. In short he persisted with decisions which had failed us all season. More of the same in other words. I therefore concluded that we needed fresh ideas and a new broom. To be fair to KB he didn't have a completely free hand due to our injury list. Still there were other options which he didn't pursue, one being limited introduction of youth. Thats what I based my view on. I'm sure that Kenny Black is a decent guy who knows football inside out but he's maybe not the right man to continue as No 2. At the time of Ian Baraclough's appointment he was clearly disillusioned as was clear in his radio interview. Ian Baraclough may want to bring in his own man when the opportunity presents itself. Time will tell, as KB's contract is up in the summer.

Its more than likely that we'll play a counterattacking game either willingly or not. Given that, we need pace and striker(s) that are mobile and some creativity. For this reason I'd play Ainsworth, Ojamaa, Thomas and Erwin. If however, at some point, we're pinning Dundee back in their box or they are sitting deep then Suttons your man. Sutton is very much a penalty box player.