MelvinBragg

If we were to go into Saturday's game without Carson, Campbell and Cadden then I wouldn't be confident at all. So on that basis, I tend to think that we couldn't sell all four and survive...

I took it as an advert that Bigirimana was looking to go back to England...

If we sign Callachan, I would suggest it means that McHugh is playing at centre back and someone is leaving. Even with McHugh at centre back, it leaves us with Campbell, Rodriguez, Rose, Grimshaw, Cadden, Turnbull and Bigirimana. With Tanner returning some time in September, this would seem excessive...

Surely not? Even if we play McHugh at centre half, we still have no need for any more bodies in there. Unless someone leaves. Someone that the manager announced recently might want to go back down South...

Feel free to point out that one of those 2 goals was a penalty. Bowman also only scored 2 league goals in that time. Sammon scored 3 in a rotten Partick Thistle side. Doesn't suggest any of them are necessarily the answer but puts to bed the lie that Sammon is rubbish and Main is magic...

You are clearly delusional. Main, I fear, has been unmasked as the player Portsmouth fans warned us about. Unlike Main in the league cup, Sammon looked semi capable of taking a chance. Main's two goals? Keeper threw one in and the other hit off his head. Main's last decent performance was the Scottish Cup semi-final. For me, he'd be fourth choice striker, possibly fifth behind Scott...

To go with a back four featuring two centre backs, one just back from a long term injury and one trying to settle into the team strikes me as bizarre given we have been going with three at the back in the league cup Asking for trouble? By the sounds of it, Main has been found out. Two from Sammon, Johnson and Bowman from now on please. The cynic in me also wonders if Bigirimana got on today in a game that Robinson knew was already gone so he can say 'Well, he had his chance'. Surely not? Not an unsurprising result and Hibs -1 was a rather appealing 15/8 today...

If you're looking to negotiate a loan or a fee for a player, I reckon it's a bad idea to advertise the fact that you have a fair bit of money to spend...

Campbell is suspended..

Unlikely as we'll need McHugh at the back..

You do realise that all clubs of our size (St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, St Mirren) and some clubs bigger than us all do the same thing? Sell their best players to keep the club running and bring in someone that they hope can develop to replace the player they sold or bring in someone that maybe needs a fresh start somewhere? Moult wasn't proven at any real level. Likewise Heneghan, Marvin Johnson or any number of players who have come in and done a job...

No, he said that he wanted us to sign someone with a few games under his belt. Kipré wasn't that player when he signed. The point weeyin was making was a valid one...

Move forward to where exactly? We are where we are in the food chain. We don't sign young yet proven players. We as a club have to take risks. We took two obvious ones last summer. One worked out (Kipré), one didn't (Plummer). It was the one who had never played a first team game before that worked out. We can our scouting and look into a player's character, do all the due diligence we like, every player we sign will be to an extent a roll of the dice. Sure things sign for bigger clubs...

Our aim is always initially to avoid relegation, as it should be. The likes of Dunfermline, Raith Rovers, Dundee United and Partick Thistle have all gone from mid table to relegation. You have to remember the size of club we are, we have no divine right to have been in the top division for over 30 seasons in a row. An ongoing record only bettered by Celtic and Aberdeen, by the way...

One of the most lucrative certainly suggests a fair bit north of £500k. Add to that the fact that Borrows has said that it has the potential to be the most lucrative. Well, I don't think any add ons take a few from £500k to £1.75m easily. The club have shown recently a willingness to turn down a few if it's not right. On that basis, we have to trust them on this one. Definitely leaves us short handed with only four guys fit that can play centre half, with one of them suspended for Sunday. Would be fine if we didn't play three at the back. As others have pointed out, the fact that Kipré came as an out of work trialist suggests that there are players out there...

To be honest, I think we already had Humphrey's best years when he was with us. Seem to remember him starting at Hibs doing really well in the first couple of games and then tailed off...

Indeed. Dunne, Bowman and Tanner still being out left us short in certain areas as is. Do we really want to be five or six players down for the first couple of months of the season? I know we'd try and get replacements in but how long will they take to get up to speed? A 433 of Gillespie Tait McHugh Hartley Taylor-Sinclair Rose Campbell Gorrin Johnson Sammon Frear or a 352 of Gillespie Donnelly McHugh Hartley Tait Rose Campbell Gorrin Frear Johnson Sammon doesn't look the most tried and tested. Wouldn't leave a great deal on the bench either. No point being financially secure for the season and then going down...

Campbell is suspended..

Ordinarily I'd agree but Grimshaw played at Stranraer and it was noticeable that when Campbell went off on Saturday, Grimshaw stayed on the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if Grimshaw started but I don't think it's definite...

Or better because everyone else is playing so badly? I will admit that due to work commitments, the Clyde game is the only game I've seen but on that basis Donnelly looks no better than Maguire. The midfield in the first half seemed to be lacking something So it's understandable that people are looking for alternatives within the squad...

Cheers. I was only going on the previous post. Good to know as I have yet to see a plastic pitch play well in a professional game. Heard a lot of talk of hybrid pitches but have no idea if they'll be any better...

St Mirren have an artificial surface as well? That's four in the SPL this season. Good grief...

Frankly the team might pick itself with injuries and suspensions. Expect it to be along the lines of Carson Kipré McHugh Hartley Tait Cadden Rodriguez-Gorrin Rose Frear Main Sammon Personally would go with Johnson ahead of Main and were there other options, the back three might change but reckon that's what we'll go with. Not confident...

Too many are describing Frear as a winger here. He's playing wing back. If a winger in a 442 or 451 takes a man on and loses possession then there's a full back behind him to cover. Frear doesn't have that luxury. It would be slightly different if Dunne was left side of the back three as he's naturally left sided and quick enough to get out and cover. At the minute if Frear loses possession there's only a slow right footed central defender behind him...

If we're selling a striker, make it Main... But in general, I agree. We have players in the squad that Robinson clearly doesn't want. When Bigirimana had his squad number shifted, that was all the clue you needed. We had Grimshaw, Rodriguez and Bigirimana on the bench yesterday. And McHugh playing at centre half. How many injuries would it have taken for Bigirimana to get on the park? If Cadden, Campbell and Rose had all gone off injured, I suspect we'd have seen Grimshaw, Rodriguez and Donnelly coming on with McHugh going into midfield. I'm not one who is suggesting Bigirimana is the answer to all our problems. What I would say is that if he's so far out of the picture that he's realistically 7th in line for 3 midfield spots, then it's maybe best for him and for us that he moves on...