Kmcalpin

I was discussing this very issue with JoeWarktheLegend last week and although we have no concrete evidence we have a hunch that something just isn't right behind the scenes. Too many things just don't add up.

Very true Andy. The club has said its taken a calculated gamble and it came off last season...just. We're only weeks into a new season and that's now 2 on the trot in which we've had a shocking run on injuries. You pays your money you takes your choice.

Without being unkind, John Porteous is getting on and I think wishing to wind down. He's taken the Hibs post temporarily to help them out. Adam Stokes is an up and coming physio, and we probably didn't want to lose him. Natural progression I guess.

Paul Lawson and Iain Vigurs are now fit so that's some positive news. Can O'Brien play left back?

I'd be surprised if that was the case. Ramsden is not a centre back and has never seen himself as such. Bradford fans were surprised were were playing him in the middle of the defence. Certainly Stuart McCall was looking to replace Hutchy with a "mobile" central defender.

Was it not Faddy against Dundee and he came on as a sub to play left back, if my memory serves correctly (2001/02?). Lost 3-0. At the time Pat Nevin said he could play anywhere on the left hand side. Don't recall if he played left back again certainly.

You're spot on mate. This was a serious error of judgement by our manager. I really hope it doesn't shatter his confidence. I'm all for blooding youth but this was a completely wrong call. At best he was badly advised by somebody on the coaching staff. No problem whatsoever with Lee Erwin but he is not a left sided midfielder and it was unfair to expect him to play in that role.

I agree with you about a long term model built on a youth system and the lack of an Under 20 left back and am not in into a blame game, but surely someone is in overall charge of the club's footballing side. If there isn't one single person then there certainly should be. I find it absolutely incredible that we don't seem to have an under 20 left back, unless we have and he's injured.

It always has Mitch. He is a penalty box player nothing more nothing less. John McGlynn at Tynecastle never learnt that lesson and it seems Stuart McCall doesn't recognise it either. Sutton is a decent striker but has to be given service and for him to play successfully in a lone role he would need midfielders in the mould of Chris Humphrey, Nicky Law, Phil O'Donnell or Gavin Rae to feed him. If we must play one striker up front then Sutton isn't our man to do it.

I stand corrected I meant the Premiership. As to your second point, no I wasn't joking - not my style of humour. Reid has done a good job when played there before and I thought Jack Leitch did well enough on Wednesday to retain his place in the starting line up. Reid certainly has much needed pace.

First of all I agree with almost all of the comments about an unfit team unable to compete, shapeless formation, players playing out of position etc etc. Its also worth commenting on young David Ferguson. He did his best and was very much out of position but was totally out of his depth and looked s***t scared. Yes, he received no protection. Not the lad's fault and he was hung out to dry. He should not have been put in that position. Probably our worst performance in years. It was so bad that it took us until the 10th minute before we could reach 30 metres of the ICT goal! It has to be put in context though - we are carrying a lot of injuries and missing players. Thats bound to have an influence on performances and results. No need to panic just yet though. Ojamaa and O'Brien should hopefully help to bolster our ranks. Two things however stood out for me and should give us cause for concern. Why do we not have an under 20 left back who can fill in, in an emergency? By comparison, we are well off for right backs (Ramsden, Kerr, Reid and Law). Secondly our centre midfield is of longer term concern. It is slow, uncreative and lacks aggression. In short it isn't fit for purpose. Our strikeforce, such as it was, was not supported today and our defence not shielded. It was the same in the opening 2 games. I would argue that Keith Lasley, our captain, is now struggling badly at this level and has lost a bit of pace since last season. He was awarded a 2 year contract in the summer. Stuart Carsewell, in my view simply isn't up to it and won't make the grade at SPFL level. Not a good position to be in. Given our budget is limited maybe its time to try out Leitch and Reid in the engine room once injuries permit. Maybe not the best solution but the best in the circumstances. Business as usual simply won't do.

Can Reid play left back? I know he can play right back, centre back and midfield but didn't know he could play left back too. If he can that will solve a problem.

Well done folks and well done Iain for organising this. It reflects well on the site.

Iain Ferguson?

He did well today and as it turned out scored our winner. Definitely shows promise. I think he looked a bit raw, not surprising as he's inexperienced. Yes he needs more game time but we shouldn't expect too much of him at this stage or put him under too much pressure. Thats really it Iain. As for some of the others, I agree with with Wee Alpha - a few were carrying knocks. Overall happy tonight with 3 points won, the prospects of 2 new signings, if only on loan, and players returning from injury. As with any new season issues will emerge and we'll see how management reacts. At the moment central midfield seems to be causing a bit of concern. Too many unknowns at the moment to draw real conclusions about our defence.

Good post. The result was possibly more important than the performance today. I thought Twardzik, Kerr, ZFA, Law and Erwin all had decent games but Lasley and Carswell were poor and failed to protect those behind them. Given that we had a makeshift back 4 you'd have thought that they'd shield them more effectively. Good to see Erwin score on his debut. He did well but not quite ready for frequent first team just yet - a gradual introduction from the subs bench will do him good. Our organisation was lacking today - Saints found just too much space all over the park. Still they couldn't score - not our problem! Onwards and upwards. .

Not on my part.

I did not take that into account at all. I based my view on the lad's admittedly limited contribution so far. It doesn't matter what club he played for in the past its what he did whilst there and more importantly what he does at Fir Park. I believe he was also their player of the year. Yes he did play right back but he also played midfield. Did you know that Faddy made his debut at Fir Park at left back? John Sutton has also played a fair number of games in defence but that doesn't stop us playing him as a striker. Did Hull City take into account the fact that Andrew Robertson played for an amateur team a wee while ago when they signed him? As far as Faddy is concerned the club could not allow sentiment to cloud its judgement. That seems very hard and ruthless but its how football works. Irrespective of how well he played last term, when he did play his actual game time was limited. In the time he did spend on the pitch, I thought his contribution was inconsistent. Yes there were flashes of the old Faddy but these were few and far between. The days of clubs like Partick and St Johnstone going into a blind panic when he appeared were gone. Much of the time he failed to make an impression. To be fair to him he recognised that and that is one of the reasons he wanted to leave I believe. The club also took the same view. If the club was to re-sign him, and given our limited squad, it would have wanted to ensure that he could play as many 90 minutes as possible. If he could not do that then it would have wanted to ensure that his contribution during part games was exceptional ie as a high impact player. That clearly was not the case. As I said both the club and Faddy himself decided the time was right for him to move on.

Not at all. Faddy's been a great player for us in the past and been a real ambassador for the club. Most folk would not dispute that. Last season however he only played well in flashes. He played in 27 league games and completed only 5 full 90 minutes. Of those 27 games 6 were for less than 45 minutes. He scored 4 league goals and 1 cup goal (in the CIS Cup). His measurable contribution then was limited and inconsistent. He left by mutual consent and that was the right decision. Would he have been fitter this season - I doubt it. What of his influence on those around him? How do we know? Certainly in a handful of games he made others play well for spells. But, we don't really know. Josh Law - you are being unfair on the lad. I'm basing my judgement on very limited game time admittedly but what I have seen of him I was impressed. He also looks fit enough to be able to play a full 90 minutes week in week out. We can't live in the past and however much we love Faddy it was time for him to move on. In the cold light of day his contribution to the team wasn't enough for him to be retained. That is sad but true.

I don't know that we do require 4 players to stay where we are, probably more like 2. Dan Twardzik for Lee Hollis - no change really. Josh Law for Faddy? Given Faddy's injury record last season and contribution over the whole season I'd say possibly a gain. Law has to prove himself of course. Shaun Hutchison & Henri Anier - two players down who will need to be replaced. Keith Lasley & Steve Hammell are both a year older and slower but the likes of Lee Erwin, Craig Moore (when fit), Jack Leitch, Stuart Carswell and Fraser Kerr are all a year stronger and more experienced. I agree 100% with your assessment of Scottish football.

Good post Iain and a fair summing up of where we are at. Taking those 3 clubs out of the equation, the other clubs in the SPL have roughly the same playing budgets. Ours perhaps a little more, the likes of Ross County perhaps a little less. Those 9 clubs spend their money in different ways. Some choose quantity of over quality other like us choose quality over quantity. Broadly speaking these 9 clubs will be looking at the same player pool. Tom Wright at Perth would be able to give us all a detailed assessment of our signing targets if he so chose. Thats the nature of the game in Scotland.

Ross Stewart? Like Euan Murray nothing from the club in the way of announcements. I'd assumed he'd moved on because reference to him has been removed from the Official site. I agree about Fraser Kerr. He's being asked to fill in for various positions to which he isn't really suited.

Just about to post the same thing. At the risk of being labelled nuts I really can't see Stuart McCall selecting Vigurs if the SFA has suspended him.

Overall, I agree with you but where we have been falling down isn't in not blooding enough youngsters but in not unearthing the right ones and not holding onto them. Thats where a youth system really earns its corn. Apart from Faddy who was the last really good youngster we produced? Phil O'Donnell? The first stage is to invest in a good scouting set up and then put measures in place (whatever they may be) to hold onto the emerging starlets in the age group 14-17. As an aside, Some posters were calling for Ross Stewart to be blooded last season to address our goalkeeping problem. Stuart McCall, who presumably knew the lad's strengths and weaknesses, was rounded on for not giving him his chance. Whats happened to the lad now? He's been released.

No idea of the extent and severity of the injuries mentioned by Stuart McCall. Given that we don't know about Stephen McManus we can't assume he'll be available. Iain Vigurs, of course, has definitely been ruled out. If we have any leeway (no pun intended) then I'd start with Erwin alongside Sutton. Stuart McCall may well have other ideas though.