Kmcalpin

Happy to correct my error. I misread the BBC statistics. I do wonder though that if the panel had reviewed last night's events what they would have made of them.

Of course the BBC is very selective as to which examples they print.

English football, at least at the higher levels, has always been more physical than ours. Bigger, faster, heavier and more athletic players. The last time I watched an English Premier League game, admittedly some 2 or 3 years ago, I winced at some of the challenges. Not particularly dirty, but just like two 800kg Spanish fighting bulls colliding at full speed.

Double post - please remove.

I get that in the lead up to goals and red cards footage is checked for infringements. I suppose the question is which infringements count and which don't. Is an illegally taken corner like last night relevant or isn't it? What about a foul throw? What if a player scores with a free kick that was taken yards away from where it should have been?

Pretty much agree with that. We need a full range of opinions on these forums, from happy clappers to perpetual pessimists. The important thing is to respect others' views and not get personal. We all want the team to do well but we express that support or frustration, at times, in different ways. If posters are driven out then thats a real cause for concern. If posters leave because the forum is too negative thats their choice. I've begun to read, but not post on, P & B again. Its an perhaps extreme version of this site; its different. The best is better and the worst is worse. There's room for both sites and I hope they both thrive. For folk who think this site is OTT or overly negative you do get some extremely negative posts on P & B that put some posters on here in the shade. I've no problem with Steelboy, Yodo & MJC being challenged for their views but sometimes it gets personal and a bit OTT. There's nothing wrong with posting the odd provocative message to stimulate discussion, providing its not offensive or personal. Live and let live / each to their own.

Good post. Whilst I hope Halliday is fit he won't be playing on Saturday as he is still Hearts' player.

Pretty much agreed. Post split, and even just before it we start to see odd results as mid table teams lose to or draw against the bottom feeders. Post split can throw up freak results too - a lot will depend on how the fixtures are arranged. In short, we want to go into the post split fixtures with a real cushion over the 11th placed team.

Just watched the highlights, with the sound turned off. Much better that way. We do look good going forward and cut open Aberdeen. Its good to watch. Bair is certainly a find and now looks confident. He took his penalty very well and was in the right place at the right time for his second. Devine took his goal very well - a difficult finish. Defensively we were shambolic and the first was one we could have lost against Ross County - opponents with time and space in and around our box. VAR did us no favours last night and the authorities need to decide how it should be used. Aberdeen's second should have been chalked off as even I could see the infringement, and thats saying something. I'm surprised that no-one has mentioend that at the corner, the ball was outside and not touching the arc. Or, has that rule been dispensed with now? Aberdeen's disallowed effort was rightly chalked off as Miovski was marginally off, not by very much though. Paton was unlucky to have his goal disallowed though as there was a fair bit of wrsetling going on from both sides. Fair play to Aberdeen though as I think the defender who went down, as if poleaxed, probaly saved them. Gamesmanship? Its not often we get a fair hearing from referees at Pittodrie and last night didn't break that mould. A rare penalty there though!

Yes, I think he is a project. I can't explain his signing in any other way. Its a huge step up from antipodean football and as we all know, he hasn't played for months. So, with the best will in the world, he's not going to get gametime for a good few weeks, if not a month or two. He's only signed until the summer, so he doesn't have much time to make an impact and impress. I guess if he does make the first team before season's end and is not up to scratch then we haven't lost much. However, if he does seem like the real deal then he'll be off elsewhere like Dundee, Kilmarnock or Paisley. The only win win situation that I can foresee is if he's a notch above ok - in other words he's not bad but not good enough to be snapped up by circling predators. Its possible though that he impresses in training and is kept under wraps but even then others will know all about him. An........interesting signing shall we say.

I'll rephrase my original post. Are they being coached properly? Now a poor defensive display is nothing new; it's been evident for months. In the words of none other than Alex McLeish "if the players are being coached properly and they continue to make the same mistakes, then they need moved on".

I don't know that it was most of us, but certainly a few of us were calling for a commanding centre half. I don't know why but our central defence is a complete shambles. There's no other word to describe it. Goalkeeper????? The best we can hope for in games is that the opposition get an early goal so that we have time to recover and come back.

I'd have been happy with a point beforehand but to lose a 3 goal lead in such a collapse. Serious questions do need to be asked about our defence. The same weaknesses week after week. Are they being coached?

There's still time for us to score again but we need to manage the game far better.

Our defence has been very poor all season especially at set pieces and crosses. Nothing has changed in months.

We'll do very well to get a point. A fantastic start but then seemed to crumble. No leader on the pitch. If we lose this after being 3 0 up then serious questions need to be asked.

Good to some changes, including the introduction of Vale. Like you surprised that Butcher had retained his place. Please keep it on the deck Well, if at all possible.

As a sceptic, I'd say if we finish 10th or above and show some signs of progress then he will deserve credit.

I wouldn't take these posts personally. There are all shades of opinion on SK in our support and its hard to gauge the balance of opinion. I get the rough feeling though that most are dubious of keeping him on past the end of the season, but are willing to wait to see where we end up (for the record, I'm in this camp). A few want him kept on and a few want him out now which I think is unrealistic. Sk had a poor summer's recruitment but we don't know under what financial constraints he's been working to be fair. We also don't know what objectives he's been set. What I would say though is that had SK been in charge at almost any other Premiership club, he would be gone by now for that horrendous winless run. As to who might replace him, I think a few are jumping the gun by assuming that it would be another internal appointment like David Clarkson, but I may be putting 2 and 2 together here and getting 6. For my part I haven't got a clue. By the end of the season, we'll have another Chairman and CEO and they'll have their own ideas. Thats my take on the matter and it might be right or it might be wrong. Ther's nothing wrong in generating respectful debate though - that's what these boards should be all about

I agree. At the end of the season thank him for his service and say goodbye. Bring in a big goalie who can command his area. That then takes pressure of the rest of the defence and gives us more flexibility.

I often see this question asked but its not really a fair question. Generally speaking, fans don't have access to the same information and intelligence that clubs and agents do. As always there are exceptions. How many of these fans know the details of other Scots managers', assistant managers', and coaches contracts (if indeed they have one) for example? How many candidates would appear out of the woodwork if our club approached them directly through their agents ? How many current senior players with other clubs might apply? Now to my own ignorance. I didn't know until recently that some individuals will not apply for vacancies, but will only become interested if they are directly approached. That was news to me. Then there's England. The same questions apply only moreso. How many of our fans know much about English lower league managers? Without checking up through Wiki, how many of our posters could give you a run down on the managers and their assistants at say Gillingham or Bristol Rovers? How many of our fans know much about coaches at clubs like Birmingham City? I won't go on to potential overseas candidates. In general, how many fans have a reasonably good knowledge of potential candidates' characters? These questions are hard enough for clubs, in the know, to answer never mind posters on this site. All this said, there is no cast iron guaranteee that if a manager is replaced, his replacement will be any better. I would pose the question though that if a manager is deemed to failing (who decides that I hear you say) is it better to bring in someone who might fail? All such posters can see is that the manager of their own club is failing or underperforming.

Agreed Wellfan. I though SK had turned the corner with the thumping of Rossco, but now I'm not sure. Originally I wanted him to depart but its now too late for that. The time to reassess his contract is the end of the season. I suspect that there are many with this view - we are not all trolls which is a much misused and misunderstood word.

Pretty much agree with what's been said. I'd like to retain Spittal and maybe McGinn but that's it. Maybe look to move on Tierney and possibly Blaney/Casey???? Luca Ross? Mark Ferrie -don't know enough about him to pass an opinion. Not overly concerned about a massive revamp. The key thing is to build a well balanced squad.

I'm a bit baffled myself. He's clearly not fit enough to play anytime soon. If he's a project, and we only have until May to assess him, when does he play? As far as Kelly is concerned, maybe SK is "managing" him in public. I can only assume that he has seen enough of Oxborough to know he doesn't rate him.

Like others, I'd like to see Nicholson start, but I just don't think he's fit enough yet. So far, he's been given 10-15 minutes and its a huge step up to 90. Our priority is to solidify the defence. If we play one up top the chances are that Bair will be isolated. Maybe time to give Vale 45 minutes depending on his fitness levels. In terms of fatigue, some rotation is required, but we can't afford wholesale turnover.