Kmcalpin

All in all a good day. We won 3-0; won the group; gained an unexpected seeded spot; and gave younsters more game time. SK & SF can be satisified tonight. We controlled most of the game and never looked in danger except for a very brief spell just before we scored the opener. It might seem odd having scored 3 goals but I thought that we were a bit toothless up front and lacked penetration - not surprising though given our lack of strikers. Most of our moves were frustrating - with some really good leading up play but the final ball being an inch or two out or defenders making last ditch interventions. We're getting there though. Oxborough had very little to do although I'd liked to have seen more of how he deals with high balls - the tiniest of question marks there. Souare looked good and I was very impressed with Paton - possibly the best he's played. Got wired in, very mobile and showed energy. Good to see young Miller have a good game and score the opener although I thought he sclaffed it. A fine passer of the ball. Slattery is getting back to his old self. Davos Z looked promising and put himself about well. Definitely looks promising but we'll see how he fares against bigger, nastier and better opponents. Thought the ref had a poor game - with inconsistent calls on fouls and he seemed to take an instant dislike to Bevis in his duels with our old acquaintance Nathan Austin. The lack of added on time was absurd. I would have expected 5 or 6 minutes given the injuries and subs. What if we'd been chasing one more goal in an effort to secure a seeded spot? Hopefully Wilkinson's injury isn't serious.

If Obika doesn't make it today we're going to be gey short up front. Ferrie and Wilkinson in that event?

Yes. We have 2 senior strikers, at least one of whom isn't a traditional goalscorer. We also have one young inexperienced lad, maybe not at the required level yet. This deficiency has been reflected in our results so far in the League Cup, through a relative lack of goals.

Yes, the deck clearing continues. He's doing a first part (clearing deadwood) Harri Kampmann very well. Lets hope the second part (bringing in new blood) is more successful.

An absolutely critical point that many miss. Any real talent in our squad usually has to come from within our own youth ranks, and thats not guaranteed year in year out.

Tierney's loan departure is best for both parties and was on the cards. He doesn't seem to fit in with SK's plans and hasn't kicked on since he signed. Ostensibly talented but has shortcomings in his game and is a bit lightweight according to various social media commentators and a couple of his managers. Frees up a wage. SK is proving adept at moving on players who aren't in his plans.

I've no idea why he has been out for so long but in the eyes of many the longer he's been out the worse he was. I didn't hear any booing personally from round about us but I made a point of cheering him onto the pitch. In my humble opinion not nearly as bad as many make out. It might help if he was played in his best position in the middle. He's due another chance.

From where I was sitting in the POD Stand, it looked to be in exellent condition.

Midfield concerned me last night, although Slattery had a good game in spells. For considerable periods though, it was anonymous. Queens Park competed better and looked more mobile and better organised in the engine room. It concerned me that we defended too deeply for long spells - reminiscent of how we would normally play against the better league teams. Now whether all thats thats down to lack of fitness, poor individual performances or instructions or something else I don't know. I would hope that for a large part of the second half we didn't take the view that "we'll sit on a 1 goal lead and see the game out".

Today was a struggle as I thought it would be. Still a wins a win. Thought Queens Park looked better organised, worked harder and were pacier than us but lacked something up front. Had we had a more potent strikeforce then perhaps their shaky defence would have been properly tested. They also had a stonewall penalty for handball turned down. For our part we lacked width and defended far too deeply for long spells. For whatever reason, I thought our midfield was anonymous and for longs spells didn't compete. Up front we lacked movement and an outball. Not sure yet about Wilkinson. Obika did some good supporting work but he's no goalscorer. On today's evidence we lack a decent striker and a holding midfielder (maybe the Macedonian lad will fit the bill?). Not sure yet about our two wing backs.

Just watched the highlights and I agree. Also Lamie's 2nd yellow also looked borderline. Not our night luck wise.

I didn't think we got it quite right last night. It depends of course on SK's priorities for the game. The League Cup is a strange competition coming at an awkward time. Premiership managers like to get gametime in legs for the squad whilst lower league opposition prioritise winning and giant killing. I think last night proved we weren't quite enough to play a number of fringe players (for good reason) and still win against league 1 opponents. Maybe the balance wasn't quite right. I think it proved what many of us already knew and SK knows. We lack a goalscorer up front - Obika has his strengths but he's not a main goalscorer. That said, I don't know much about Wilkinson. Central defence gives me the fear if Casey and Butcher are unavailable. The jury is still out on Blaney. I don't think that Mugabi and Lamie are quite good enough as backs ups and both have a year to run on their contracts. What if Butcher is out for several months - that could give us a problem. To lose 3 goals to a League 1 side isn't good enough but SK knows that and I'm confident he'll deal with it.

Absolutely shocking coverage tonight by the BBC. Apart from anything else they still can't correct tables an hour and a quarter after games finished.

Not according to the BBC. We're on 4 points, one behind East Fife.

My question is are they good enough to be back ups?

Kilmarnock not signing our former trialist Josh Fowler.

Hope you haven't read Pie and Bovril then. Some of the comments there are OTT and pure vitriol. The first game of a new season and some getting torn into their favourite targets who were on the field for barely 15 minutes. I get we all have our opinions of players and thats fine but there is a line we shouldn't cross. Players are only human and do read interent boards.

A professional job done - no more no less. It put more minutes into legs, blooded some youngsters, gave Lennon Miller his first goal and took us to the top of the group. Queens Park, probably our nearest rivals, also failed to win. SK will have picked up on weaknesses and will feed them into his squad reshaping.

Yep, no Efford or Shields. Maguire only makes bench.

As far as this is concerned we should wear what we wish to. No need to pander to the bigots or give them any credence whatsoever. How far do you take this? Ban blue jeans or orange clothing, because that hints of Sevco? Mustn't wear green in case that leads to claims of Celtic bias? Even if the establishment in Scotland won't address this cancer we should, by just doing our own thing.

Pleased with the Casey news. It helps give us stability and solidity at the back, which is essential in any team. The fact that we've moved on Danzaki and Mahon shows that we're actively trying to reshape the squad and clear the decks for others to come in. More to follow perhaps? Maybe a bit bloated in central defence, especially if Sam Campbell progresses.

Apparently SK is looking to bring in 4 new players, with some leaving.

Having read that it puts my mind a little more at ease. I don't know anything about Balmer but it does indicate that we're looking a strengthening central defence, either short term or medium term, which is a must in my book. Although Lamie and Mugabi are both decent guys they give me the fear. I know relatively little about Blaney yet.

Presumably Stevie Hammell had the final say in his signing? He would also have told Nick Dawes what kind of player he wanted.

No mention of any pay off so you'd imagine it would have to benefit the club financially.