MelvinBragg

Neither did I. But having done the Hampden tour recently, it apparently stems from way back when fans travelled from the East end or the South side of Glasgow on foot and the decision was made on the basis of the ease of getting them into the ground without too much difficulty. As I say, that's the reason the official SFA Hampden tour gives...

So tickets cheaper than Accies then?

Suspect it's no different to the prices there earlier in the season and it's maybe just been thrown into sharp focus given the prices for yesterday's game but £23 and £13 for a game at that dreadful stadium seems steep. As for the game, they'll be up for it. We'll need to make sure we are...

Went for Dunne. Our best defender for the last six or seven games, our best player on a few occasions. Passing is slowly improving (lovely ball to Frear today) and he won a couple of tackles he had no right to win. New contract, please...

Assumed their wee pal Neil was going to get the win so had us at 32? First time in years that we've had a team that can grind a result out while playing poorly. Should we just be grateful for it..?

Aye, but also saying that Dundee are by far the better team. We must be bad if official Twitter is saying it.

I like Tanner but, and I don't have the stats to hand obviously, even with Dunne's odd misplaced pass I suspect his passing accuracy percentage was better than Tanner's today...

Not much I can disagree with here...

I'm sure he's aware of that given he said "we should have made more of that". Your constant berating of Robinson makes me think that you are Mark McGhee in disguise...

Just shows you how people see games differently. I like Tanner but thought he was poor today. And I thought Rose had a decent game. And I'd disagree that we played 442 in any of the league cup games. For me, all of those games were 352 formations...

New kits for next season, I'm told...

Don't tell his agent that. Quotes I read suggested he favoured coming here because he'd be in the first team squad...

Campbell injured a blow...

Dunne is certainly going a long way to win over his doubters. Out of contract in the summer? I wouldn't be averse to him getting a new contract. Laughed when I read what you wrote about Main. Just before I had a look at this thread, I was thinking about Main and the phrase that crept into my head was 'I like the cut of his jib'...

No chance... It'll be 2-0 and Frear and Tanner...

It's a bad day when you look at the line-up and start praying it's a wacky 442 diamond midfield. Tanner was poor on Saturday (don't know how fit he is) and I suspect Frear isn't ready to start a game yet. But it's still not an eleven to get the pulses racing... EDIT Having said that. It's the exact same team as the league cup semi-final bar the two strikers and Hartley and all three are unavailable or have moved on...

You managed to say what I was trying to say a few posts back, but you used far fewer words. What I would say is that a manager having a clear idea of how he wants to play and the formation he wants to use is, in general, a good thing. Robinson has clearly managed to bring in central defenders that are comfortable in a back three. Tait is comfortable at right wing back and Hendrie may turn out to be the answer at left wing back. Problem is further forward. We don't seem to have come up with a midfield combination that allows us to compete, retain possession and create chances. I don't know if we even have the personnel to come up with the right combination despite midfield being the area where we have the most bodies. The other issue is that playing 352, I'm not sure where Cadden, Frear and Tanner fit in. Given they are three players that offer creativity (Frear and Tanner) or real powerful physical presence (Cadden) then you'd want them in the team. If we are going to persevere with 352, Robinson's third window should be used to get the midfield balance right, find his long term solution at left wing back and perhaps move on some of the players that don't fit the way Robinson wants us to play...

Apparently yesterday was the first time we'd conceded a goal from a header in the league this season* (we were informed this by another fan about ten seconds before Thistle scored, thanks Paul) so would suggest we're doing something right about defending free kicks... *Haven't checked this myself before anyone points out any inaccuracy there...

There is no easy answer as you say. I do think that Campbell and McHugh are being made to look worse than they are by the fact that they're being outnumbered in there. I like Tanner but when he's played as a central midfielder it becomes more like 3412 or 343 than 352. Which is a problem when pretty much every other team in the league plays three central midfielders. People have been slating McHugh's distribution but numbers are a factor there as well. With three opposition midfielders against our two, it makes it far easier for teams to close both McHugh and his passing channels down. I'm not absolving the players of any blame but I don't think the shape always helps. Cadden is another player suffering because of this. Playing at wing back, his starting position means that he has to do a lot more work before he gets into an area where he can cause the opposition problems. I guess what I'm trying to say is tgat people are focusing on personnel in midfield when it's not the only problem...

Voted for Dunne. Could have gone for Kipré but feel Dunne was excellent and deserves credit given some of the stick he gets...

As I see it, the problem with our midfield is as follows.. Early in the season, we played three workers in the midfield (invariably McHugh, Rose and Campbell). This allowed us to compete but the lack of creativity was less of an issue because we had an in form Bowman dragging defenders all over the place leaving space for Moult. And Moult could get us a goal out of nothing. Think of the last goal against Aberdeen in the league cup, the second goal in the semi final, his goal against Hearts. Were those goals 'created' for Moult? In the absence of Moult or another striker who can pull a goal of nowhere, we are now generally only playing two workers and Tanner. I like Tanner (although he had a poor game today) but he's not going to do the dirty work that a Rose might do. Basically I feel that the problem is not Campbell or McHugh but the fact that they are generally playing against three central midfielders. When players are of a broadly similar ability (as most SPL players are), numbers generally win the day. So what's the solution? Could Bigirimana or MacLean be the third midfielder in place of Tanner offering creativity and a degree of defensive work that isn't Tanner's strength. Could Cadden play more centrally as he did a couple of seasons ago under McGhee in a asymmetrical 442? Then he played with Pearson and Lasley in the middle, occasionally breaking into wider areas when we attacked. Johnson played wide, allowing us to still play two up front. As others have said, the 352 doesn't suit the attacking players in our squad. Tanner, Cadden and Frear don't really benefit from this system and we're not getting the best out of them in this shape. Maybe as Ciftci gets fitter, he'll start to pull goals out of nowhere as Moult did earlier this season and Robinson will be able to go back to his three 'battlers' in the middle of the park. Again not great to watch but it might be relatively successful. Depressing that it might be better for us to ditch our more creative players in favour of workers. A sad indictment on Scottish football...

I thought Thistle were the better team for much of the game. I think that their lack of ambition cost them as their midfield sitting deeper was a help to us. If they had kept pushing at 1-0, they could easily have picked up a second goal. We seemed to be second to every loose ball. Thought Tanner was as poor as I've seen him and offered little. Because of that Campbell and McHugh were getting overrun in midfield. Hendrie may have taken an early knock but was poor. Cadden looked better when we went 442, a formation that could have been exposed had Thistle wanted to show any real attacking intent (it nearly cost us late on). Thought our two best performers were Kipré and Dunne. Much maligned Dunne may be but it was his commitment and attitude that got us our equaliser and I thought he was excellent defensively. Given I thought we deserved to lose, I'll take the point and move on. You know how you prevent timewasting? Score the first goal...

The traditional flat 4 across midfield is dead. With a few notable exceptions (Leicester season before last), it just concedes too much possession. Most teams play at least three in the middle of midfield. Hence my reference to a 'suicidal' flat 4 across midfield...

Fact is that with Osman fit for them, it kind of justifies Robinson picking his more physical midfielders and leaving the ball players like Tanner and Bigirimana on the bench. Not saying it's what I would do but can see the justification. Hendrie gives us the option of a back four. But that would mean trying to pick two centre halfs out of four. And where do you then play Cadden without playing the suicidal flat 4 in midfield? Really need his running power or we risk not being able to get up the park. In short, I don't have a clue what team I'd pick...

Grimshaw and Tanner in for Cadden and Ciftci. Rose or Grimshaw at wing back? 442 with a diamond midfield? I don't know so hopefully neither does Neil Lennon...