Kmcalpin

Spot on about Sutton and Murphy and I was surprised that we started with that formation and that it took so long to change it. Jamie Pollock... a good propsect perhaps but he looked out of his depth last night. Needs another couple of years to mature.

Seconded.

That could also be said for half the team. Keith Lasley, Tom Hately and Steve Hammell, and some others were all prone to doing this. Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey were continually given the ball when closely marked by a defender or on some occasions 2. As at Hamilton we didn't seem capable of playing one touch football. Our build up, in general was painfully slow unless we fed Jamie Murphy early.

By not buying a Tannadice pie last night I saved £2 - that would do for starters.

Very poor show tonight and reminiscent of the Accies game on New Year's Day. We lined up 4-5-1 with Sutton being the sole striker - a role he is not cut out for and which many of us knew beforehand. Midfield was lightweight and sat too deep leaving Sutton isolated. The defence once again looked most unsure of itself nad is in need of major surgery . What concerned me most was we lacked any kind of fire, spirit or determination - all qualities I was expecting Stuart McCall to instill. We looked petrified of United for spells although we came on to a half decent game in the second part of the first half. Very worrying. Pass marks? You had to feel for Darren Randolph, who put in a reasonable performance despite being left exposed by his midfield and defence. Steve Jennings was the pick (?) of a poor midfield, an Jamie Murphy looked promising in the first half. The game passed Jamie Pollock by when he came on, but at least he'll have gotten a bit more experience. In general the midfield lacked pace and creativity. United weren't great but worked harder than us, showed more belief and determination and thoroughtly deserved their 2-0 win. We need to bring in bodies and quickly.

I've been in favour of just such an idea for some time so long as no-one is coerced into it. Other clubs operate similar schemes.

Good luck to the lad. He'll probably be paid as a regular up north, whereas he was paid as a squad player with us. If not, then questions need to be asked of Ross county, not us.

Looked quite sharp on the deck when he came on but not a target man, I agree.

A fantastic draw for us. A good away day in propsect.

I see Keith Lasley more as a defensive player or man marker. He's committed, gives 100% and has good positional sense. However he lacks pace and is not a box to type, although he's capable of scoring a nice goal now and again.

According to Stuart McCall himself he's looking to bring in a left sided player in this month's transfer window. Could it be that he's waiting to find out if he can land that type of player first before deciding on Marc Fitzpatrick's future. For the lad's sake I hope he knows where he stands quickly, so that he can get fixed up elsewhere if his contract isn't renewed.

John Boyle was spot on in his comments. Good to hear our point of view being promoted in an assertive way.

Blackford just off the A9 had 4 inches of snow on Friday night and the same again last night. Not looking good for travelling fans. Undoubtedly the weather will cut our support even further.

There's also the problem of getting to the game. Snow in Mid Fife is very thick maybe 8-10 cms deep. A lot might depend on conditions on the A9 in Perthshire. hopefully Police will take into account safety of travelling fans and not just those living a kilometre or two away from Dens.

Remember folks that any player playing in the cup tie at Dens will be cup tied. Will that affect the team selections on either side? Also worth noting that if Alan Gow had played at Dens he too would have been cup tied.

Just behind two big strikers?

Ah yes they will have to go some to fill the boots of great youngsters like Darren Mackie, Zander Diamond, Chris Clark, the Young brothers..... Just like Hibs ..... Aberdeen + young player = great young player. Not getting at you Lobey - this is a perpetual media myth.

That was always going to happen - well it was apparent as far back as a month or six weeks ago. When Dundee fans were moaning about having to field a skeleton side against us in the cup I can recall thinking - we'll lose more players than you will before the cup tie.

Too much gloom and doom. To anyone feeling down I'd say the older folk on these Boards have experienced real hard times - administration and relegation. Now they were black times indeed. We didn't even know if we'd have a club to support. Get a grip folks and rally round the club. When the enemy is launching a full frontal attack on our trenches the last thing we need is a platoon of Corporal Joneses and Private Frasers. "We're all doomed I tells ye."

In the main thats 100 % right. But they can up the prices for pay at the gate fans. Also a bigger cut of transfer fees will be siphoned off by the Government.

Another blow to hard pressed clubs. Clubs like the OF, Hearts and Hibs can't do much unless they target away fans as much of their gate income comes from season ticket holders. So at Tynecastle, away fans will be targeted?

An "exlcusive" for Keevins? Doing the rounds at FP for weeks.

Aye we could have selection problems, although if we win they'll disappear. If Blackman doesn't re-appear then the choice of personnel in midfield and up front will be absolutely crucial. John Sutton is a useful player but isn't mobile enough to be a target man and Jamie Murphy is too lightweight. Casagolda may be talented (?) but appears lightweight. Bob McHugh has shown little so far to warrant a starting place. We have no out and out attacking central midfielder and Jenno, Lasley and Hately are all variations on a defensive theme. Time to Stuart McCall to earn his corn!

Presumably the club will just absorb the VAT increase? 40p extra per matchday ticket siphoned off by the Government.

A complicated one Iain, and I don't know if there's a single answer to this issue. Some players may be on a downer for some reason - transfer issues/change of manager; others may be suffering from an injury or illness and yes some may simply not have an aggressive/determined character. Theres many a player failed because although they have talent they lack character. Some lads may appear to lack motivation but its a case that they know their own limitations and are reluctant to do anything outwith their comfort zone. Its Stuart McCall's job to get to know each of his charges individually and find out what makes them tick. Those he can't motivate he moves on.