MelvinBragg

Maybe they've seen his last couple of performances. Now teams are aware of him, he seems less effective. Still a promising player by no means the finished article...

Concerning that you don't mention Livingstone given we've already given him a contract....

I agree to an extent. Hastie didn't offer much, difficult for Ariyibi to as he was booted up in the air pretty much every time he got the ball. Always felt we were the team more likely to play decent football. Only period I felt they were the better team was the first 15 minutes of the second half. And that was changed by the subs. Winning while playing poorly is never a bad sign and it was good to have the option of Cadden and Frear to give their full backs different problems. Hastie is never going to power past people the way Cadden can...

I can see why the club and the players would want top six. Just feel as a fan, bottom six games might be more enjoyable without trip to Ibrox and the always enjoyable visit of thousands of Celtic supporters. And as others have pointed out, offers the possibility of relegating Accies at their own place...

Serious question. Do we want to finish in the top six? I know there are financial positives but for me the risk of Celtic winning the league at Fir Park gives me the fear. There's also the fact that games against the bottom six might be better games for us to blood the likes of Brown, Semple, Scott and Livingstone. Obviously I never like to see us lose games but just don't see the great appeal of finishing top six...

I'm not convinced that James Scott will be the answer up front but the club clearly feels he could be. Therefore my only frustration today was the fact that we didn't give him half an hour against a dreadful defence. Strikers are judged on goals so the sooner he gets his first goal, surely the better. Bringing him on the same time as Frear with both of them having something to prove might have given us fresh momentum in the second half...

At least we know in advance who's going to have most influence on the game today. Andrew Dallas is referee..

To be fair, if Hastie's going there he's going to walk into their first team. Kent loan ending and Candeilas is poor. Good luck to him and we move on...

Also on the subject of contract extensions, if Gorrin and Grimshaw are out of contract in the summer then that's an issue I'd be looking at right now. Gorrin in particular but if we keep striking out with left back signings then Grimshaw at right back and Tait on the left wouldn't be the worst option to go with...

It's a situation where I can see both sides of the argument. At a recent home game I heard someone say that we should have had him tied down on a contract before we put him in the first team. Our history is filled with players who impressed at U20 level but who never made an impact at first team level. Think of Dom Thomas, Bob McHugh, Luke Watt in recent years. There have been guys who have made an initial impact and faded, like Forbes, Saunders and Carswell. We as a club have made some mistakes in offering some contracts and ending up with players here who weren't good enough at first team level. That being said, we seem to get more decisions right than wrong. That old chestnut about how many young players have we let go who have gone on to better things. If Hastie has faith in his ability, the two examples he should perhaps look at are Lee Erwin and Robbie Leitch. They moved early to big clubs and made a fair bit of money by doing so. What the stalling in their development has done for their earning potential for the rest of their careers would however make me wonder if in the long term they will really end up massively better off by the end of their careers? The club have made the best offer they can. As others have said, there's no point in worrying too much about it. Players have left over the years, others come in. We move on. Semple is a player that has been much talked about, pretty sure those who watch the U20s will know of others. I would love him to stay but if Hastie leaves, then he leaves with my best wishes. He's given us some great moments and been a massive part in stopping what could have been a slide into a relegation battle...

Stand corrected on Riedle. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had him as East German like Sammer...

Don't think Riedle was in the squad in 1990...

Juninho? Guivarch possibly? Andreas Mòller?

Why was Dunne playing left back?

Trips to Ibrox and Parkhead, I always take the approach that if you can get away without an absolute pasting and avoid injuries and suspensions then it's job done. Sadly on the injury front, we have suffered today. Thankfully we have points in the bank. What I did find interesting today was that when McHugh got injured, Liam Donnelly came on. How far out of the picture is Peter Hartley?

Scott in for Main. Assuming Main is injured as not even in squad...

Much has been made rightly about six league wins in a row. I wonder when the last time was that we started with the same eleven for five games in a row. Must be a while ago...

He may not have been man of the match but I really am growing to love Liam Grimshaw..

Is it not the case that we need to offer Cadden a new contract to be entitled to compensation? At least equivalent contract...

Given the shape he was in by the time he arrived at preseason training for us having considered his options, I'd be astounded if Scott McDonald is anywhere near match fit before the playoffs...

Hard to disagree with any of that. Question would be whether McHugh and Frear would settle for the kind of wages that we would offer a backup...

Is that the same man that brought in Carson, Gillespie, Dunne, Kipré, Aldred, Tanner, Gorrin and Johnson? I'm not Robinson's biggest fan but people have selective memories when criticising his transfer record. Most of the signings that didn't work (Fisher, Plummer, Petravicius, Taylor-Sinclair), he moved on pretty quickly....

At no point did I say that Frear was better than Ariyibi. I was only making a point that Ariyibi has (rightly) received a fair bit of praise since his arrival. In that time, Frear has been instrumental in us winning two games (Dundee and last night) in ways that are obvious. Yet he doesn't get the credit. Also calling bullshit on the suggestion that Frear doesn't work hard enough for the team. This is a guy who sacrificed himself by playing out of position for the last season and a half if he was selected. Not saying Frear would be first name on the teamsheet but I think you're downplaying his contribution massively...

I was thinking this after last night. Frear has his critics but in the five games since Ariyibi arrived, Frear has contributed 2 assists (3 if you include winning a penalty against Dundee) and Ariyibi has none. Not slating Ariyibi here as I think he has offered something but at a time when statistics are used to criticise certain players, feel as if some tend to ignore the contribution of Frear as it perhaps suits an agenda...

I thought he'd come on as a sub in at least one game...