Kmcalpin

I get what you're saying but the current system, or implementation of it is neither one thing nor the other. Either play 90 minutes end of come what may or add an appropriate amount of time. I know its extreme, but if refs were to be pernickety, it would certainly cut down the amount of time wasting and injury feigning drastically. I'm not suggesting time be added for periods out of play at throw ins or by kicks, unless its excessive. There's a happy medium. Other measures could also be taken to speed up the game such as obligatory booking players who deliberately boot the ball away after play has stopped. Players who get in the ref's face and argue endlessly - Shinnie last night for example. Just card them and move on.

In truth we lost the game before kick off last night. The formation and line up was all wrong and that was down to management. 5-4-1, 3-4-2-1 or whatever is a busted flush and we don't have the personnel to play that way. Too many square pegs in round holes last night. Defence was shocking, midfield non existent and lone striker totally isolated and ineffective. Just 30 minutes into the game I messaged our group that our formation was the main issue, and I'm no tactical genius. In game decisions were also questionable. Miller should have been taken off well before half time as he was clearly suffering after have been on the receiving end of 2 bad tackles. The team is chronically short of pace, especially out wide and in midfield. Both wing backs look vulnerable and thats where many of our defensive issues stem from. Aberdeen were poor but at least they looked organised and closed us down, just as Ross County did. Paton was the best of a poor bunch in midfield and Slattery and Spittal were totally ineffective. They tried, but were far too isolated from Wilkinson. Too many high balls thumped aimlessly in Slattery's direction when he was being marked by 2 men. Too often he was out wide - not a role for which he is suited. Midfield formation just isn't right. Up front? I said before the game, that Wilkinson is not suited to be a lone striker. He asked for balls to be played to his feet (Bair last Saturday?) but was frequently on the end of high balls thumped up to him when being marked by 2 big defenders. I saw a post on P & B by Fat Tony, which I'll quote, which sums up exactly my thoughts on him. "Wilkinson up top alone I think has the same problem KVV had under Hammell, in that we're lumping the ball up and not getting anyone close to him in the event that he does win it. I'm not saying he's even on the same planet as KVV but I can understand how we didn't get anything out of Wilkinson playing him that way. He looked brighter in the second half with Biereth alongside but was obviously struggling a bit given his lack of game time. I think there's *something* there, if we can get him fit and not just stick him up top on his own against 3 strapping big CBs." Biereth is our one bright hope, but how much can he achieve on his own? Unlike KVV in the second half of last season, he doesn't have the luxury of having an effective midfield and defence behind him. One final note. It wasn't all down to SK last night, the players must take some responsibility.

I won't go into detail about last night as thats not why we lost. However timekeeping was an absolute joke. In the first half, there was a minimum of 3 minutes to be added and its doubtful if they were played in full. Add to that a bad injury and we ended up playing about 2 and half minutes. Second half: 4 minues added on (we estimated about 8 or more probably 9). Blatant time wasting, 4 goals, injuries, and 7 subs. How does that stack up? OK the game wasn't on a scoreline knife edge - a good job it wasn't. Much too long for many!!

Please no 5-4-1 on Saturday. Any lone striker would have a thankless task competing against 2 or 3 big defenders with no midfield support. That ship has sailed. Will Biereth be risked on a weed infested plastic pitch?

Agreed and we've taken 1 point from 18 from them!

I sincerely hope not. That system has been well and truly sussed. Just ask the likes of Martindale, Mackay and now Robson.

No one is calling for his head tonight. However if things don't improve in the next 3 winnable games then he's in deep trouble and rightly so. That would be no wins in 9 games or even worse.

If this run continues for the next 3 games, which isn't unlikely, then he's in deep trouble.

Wilkinson has his strengths. He's our second best striker and knows where the goals are. However he's not especially mobile and not exactly a target man.

That occurred to me also thats why I wrote banning in quotations. The only surefire way to do it is to identify the individuals in those blocks of seats, if thats even possible, and then remove their season tickets, even if only temporarily, and allocate them to someone on their waiting list. Thats if they're serious about it. I'd wager they're are several thousand involved. Did CCTV at Fir Park pick up the gatecrashing culprits?

I see STV and BBC are reporting that Celtic are "banning" the Green Brigade. Also the first confirmation of a kind, by them, that Celtic fans stormed fire exits at Fir Park a few weeks ago. This of course is reportedly alleged by Celtic, not the media outlets of course. Cautious reporting as they don't want to offend anyone.

Agreed Allan. Hope I'm wrong, but all going well, I think it might be December before he's ready for a 90 minutes.

I suspect a permanent manager will be in place for our game next week, unless there are protracted negotiations.

I think the problem is that if, we go with one up top, who that single striker is. None are really cut out for that role.

A blatant passback ignored yesterday as well.

Thats it in a nutshell for me. Our defence is playing poorly, but maybe Butcher's return will steady that particular ship......time will tell. Our midfield has gone off the boil.......maybe opposing teams have worked us out. Based on the results of the past few games, we're a bottom 3/4 side. Biereth looks to offer something different and can win games. My one concern with him and a major one at that, is can we get him fit and and keep him fit? If yes, we can challenge for top 6; if not we'll struggle at the bottom. As I said above and in another post, teams have now worked us out. We have to change things. Whether that means major changes or simply fine tuning I don't know. The bottom line is that we can't rely on Biereth alone; putting all our eggs in one basket and all that.

Although I haven't yet seen TV highlights of yesterday's game, I don't think the referee made any game changing howlers. However the level of inconsistency in his and his assistants game management was staggering. By their nature they can't be attributed to split second decision making. This set the tone for the entire game. Some examples: * Callum Slattery complains to the linesman that an opponent hasn't retreated 10 yards at a free kick - it clearly looked to be about 7. The official, standing about 10 feet away, waves away his protest. * Players stealing 5/6/7/8/9 yards at throws in all game and he randomly pulls up Stephen O'Donnell for stealing maybe 3/4 yards. * Brown goes down with a seemingly serious head knock requiring treatment but isn't required to leave the field. * The game is stopped for a County player to receive treatment about 2 feet from the touchline (he's on his feet and well able to walk). No single incident, taken on its own, warrants outrage, but over the course of a game they do matter cumulatively. I appreciate neither set of players were blameless.

One particular disappointing aspect yesterday was the quality of our corner kicks. They simply weren't causing County any problems. I know some of you have been banging on about this for some time. Do we practice them in training?

Biereth for me. He wasn't on long but did more in that short spell than others did in 90+ minutes. Only other option for me was Harry Paton, the pick of our midfielders.

Undoubtedly. From the little I've seen I'd say Obika is number 3. Bair tries hard but simply isn't Premiership level and Shaw was a panic stop gap signing. Much will depend on Biereth's fitness as to how much he'll be played.

A most peculiar game today, in which we just about deserved a draw. Before hand I would have been disappointed not to pick up all 3. A great comeback all the same which speaks volumes about team character. SK is being tested in this run just now and is struggling. Teams have now seen enough of us to work out our strengths and weaknesses and just as Ross County and Livingston did, so will Aberdeen, Killie and St Johnstone. Whether we play with a single striker or two, they have us sussed. Our 1 or maybe 2 aces in the pack are Biereth and Butcher, but a lot will depend on the former's fitness. Today's points were conceded before kick off, to a considerable extent. I'm being Captain Hindsight, but Shaw should never have started before Wilkinson. At the very least the former should have been hooked just after half time. Our defence was very poor and depending on fitness, Butcher should have replaced, a totally out of form, Mugabi midway through the second half, if not before, when the warning lights were flashing. He's usually good for a blunder per game but today it was several. Our weak point, which isn't being addressed is our wing backs. Once again, just like Livingston, Ross County exploited our weaknesses out wide, where they enjoyed far too much space. That can't be allowed to continue as its costing us. For sure, our next few opponents will have picked up on that. We could easily have been 3 goals down by the 7 minute mark and again in the second half Ross County gave us ample warning of our frailties at the back as they sliced through our midfield and defence with ease and created numerous chances. Again that needs sorted out pronto. Dingwall Amateur Dramatic Society aka Ross County were streetwise and played the referee like a fiddle. Considering Wilko's yellow card at Livingston I think we're fully entitled to feel hard done by. A record number of VAR checks and I'll look back with interest at those "pivotal" incidents which TV has chosen to include in their highlights. There's plenty to ponder with games coming up thick and fast. One things for sure, changes are needed and quickly. More of the same simply won't do. To finish on a positive, it was great to see young Luca Ross grab the late equaliser. He had a decent game when he came on.

Maybe Grizzly maybe. I'm in no rush to see Bair and Shaw start again. Also, I agree about Mika and we don't know what Arsenal's "advice" is. Keep him off Killie's weed infested plastic pitch. As I see it Wilko is our number 2 striker and I'd like to see more of him. Not in the KVV class but he looks to have a goalscoring instinct and deserves a run of games.

They could have been 3 up within the first 7 minutes.

That decision almost cost us a point.

I'm not expecting a classic today. Result is more importnat than entertainment for Ross County. I fear that, if we go with one man up front, they will have drawn encouragement and optimism from Livingston's highly effective tactics of smothering and suffocating our midfielders.