Kmcalpin

Another poor refereeing performance today and we were not the beneficiaries. Very pernickety when it suited him. How Ian Murray & Kevin McBride remained on the park is beyond me.

A good win today with Sutton and Hutchinson putting in impressive performances. Stephen Craigan concerns me though - he's been very reliable in the past but is now showing cracks most weeks. Jon Page did a job when he came on. Not a great second half but that was down to tactics and SM's options were limited when Tom Hately had to retire. Hibs were very poor and Ian Murray put in his usual impersonation of a drunken thug at scaling time. Steve Jones looks to have a few tricks in his locker when fully fit. Not so sure about Steven Meechan though. Given time and space he looks fine but will other sides afford him that. After the game, Catweazel's Ring aptly described him as being like a right footed Ross Forbes and that might prove to be a reasonable summing up. Not a classic but the 3 points were important. Now who'd swap Darren Randolph for Graeme Smith?

John Sutton for me - what a shift he put in. Shaun Hutchinson a clsoe second.

Seconded. Great post.

Well said. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Presumably those most vociferous in their criticism of the club have never made a mistake? Thanks for being honest Leeann, I just wish more folk would be the same.

Echo what Spiderpig said. My condolences.

Its all very well having talent but you have to convert it into performances on a reasonably consistent basis. Ok even the best players don't turn it on every game but they should be able to perform in most games. In his second second season Hughes may have turned it on once every 4 or 5 games. Another similar player in theory, although not nearly as good was Brian Kerr. Again a guy with talent in bucket loads but he rarley showed it.

Good to see some experienced signings today albeit they're loans. That'll give Stuart McCall some breathing space. Stephen Hughes? A very, very talented player who was nothing short of electric on his game. The problem was that in his second season with us he was hardly ever on his game. I seem to recall someone on these boards calling him the "Invisible Man". In too many games he was anonymous. Cast your minds back to a critical game at Rugby Park when we needed the points badly (0-0 draw), and on paper stood a good chance of collecting them. A perfect stage for him to show off his undoubted talent. What happened? He didn't turn up and did little until the closing stages - all too little too late. Cup replay at Paisley on a good pitch - same story. No thank you.

Please make it be Hibs or Aberdeen...please.

Definitely. This would encourage clubs to encourage their fans to travel, but be warned such a suggestion might upset the OF.

Yes.

The truth is that it was Jim Gannon who didn't have the balls to see it through and he steadfastly refused to sign a contract. Yes, we did try to find JG2 (but this time someone with more stability and commitment) but found it harder this time round.

Pretty much my own thoughts. Its neither here nor there to me whether he was at Airdrie United or not. The main thing is whether he does the business for us. A bit of a strange appointment.

What makes you think that? Have you seen last year's accounts? If so, whats your take on them?

Seconded.

An apt description. A journeyman at best, of lower SPL / higher SFL standard. If signed, he would fill a jersey but is that what we really want?

Probably not Ricky. It will be extremely difficult to bring in decent replacements in the next week or two. I would have thought loans would be our best bet at this time of year.

Have to say it does smack of desperation to me as well. Time will tell though and I may be completely wrong. Its been said before by pevious managers that the January window is difficult because the best Bosmans, at all levels, are already contracted until the summer months. You also have to fork out a fee to land someone decent. This isn't a route that worked particularly well for us in the past.

I'm no apologist for the club but I guess she's been very busy lately. * Stadium matters and emergency repairs (the safety officer left and a new one does not start for a week or two) * Sorting out transfers and contracts * Busy with the search for a new manager and his assistant * Fixtures to organise * a whole host of other routine issues to attend to which go on behind the scenes.

I remain convinced that there is something fundamentally wrong with the team's atttitude. However its much more difficult to put your finger on the reason. Some players may be downright tired; some could have atttitude problems like some recently departed loanees; and some simply lack confidence or an aggressive will to win attitude. Catweazle's Ring is right about our midfield. Hateley (as a midfielder), Lasley and Jennings are all basically defensive midfielders and thats the wrong comibination. Add to that Ross Forbes' deficiencies and we have a problem. All too often yesterday and on Wednesday the striker(s) tried to mount an attack but the central midfield just wouldn't back them up. My assumption (and thats all it is) is that the central midfielders lack pace, know it and are afraid to commit themselves in case they have to backtrack PDQ. At times John Sutton looked disgusted and Chris Humphrey looked frustrated too at the lack of support. Impresssed by some ICT players yesterday and also Dundee United's - ok they're no world beaters but they never gave up and harried and chased - something we're not doing to the same extent.

Pleeeeeaaaasssseeee Flow can you upload our details. I know you've been busy.

A poor game today and that was due in part to the appalling weather conditions. However good teams can grind results out in all kinds of weather. For me Randolph and Hutchinson gained pass marks. The latter came in and gave an assertive display at the back although he did have one bloomer in the second half. Defence again looked a bit shaky and at one point lost 3 headers in our box in as many seconds. When will Stevie Hammell ever beat his man when on the attack? Midfield? Another poster referred to them as plodders, and with the exception of Humphrey had no pace at all. Without Humphrey we can't mount a fast counter attack. Too often we overelaborate and miss the early killer pass. Humphey didn't cover himself in glory but it has to be said that until the latter stages his service as woeful. Too often he'd receive the ball with 2 defenders breathing down his neck. Thats not his game and we should learn that asap. Felt sorry for Ross Forbes - the lad is just not cutting it. His lack of positional sense caused problems for our defence, especially Stevie Hammell. The strikers did ok up to a point but Jamie Murphy needs to find a killer touch. Steve Meechan had a mixed debut and didn't really do enough to be able to assess him. Our biggest problem today again was lack of confidence/lack of determination and too many players just didn't seem up for it. Quite tellingly a few folk round about us concluded that something is not right off the pitch. Clearly something isn't right and the club itself will know. SM must address this attitude problem as a matter of priority. Too early to judge Stuart McCall who has been left a bit of a mess. However he should have made changes long before he did eg substituting Ross Forbes. New blood is essential, but January is a hard time of year to acquire it.

The January window is not the best time to be losing players. Most players that are available tend to command fees. I'm of the opinion that Craig Brown left us in a bit of a mess and Stuart McCall is having to pick up the pieces. Still we appear to be reasonably well covered in central defence...for now. A threadbare squad loses another member though.

99% agree with that. Tom Hately is a central midfielder or nothing though. Even if only for a short time we should play Reynolds and Hammell on the left.

Ross Forbes is a talented player, but crucially is short of pace and nothing will change that. That means he's going to struggle in the SPL. At the moment we are incapble of mounting a fast counter-attack up the middle and thats costing us. Last night was a case in point.