steelboy

We are looking at different things. I want better performances not better unused subs and guys sitting in the stand. I don't see any of the three signings so far improving our results other than McGinn possibly making less errors that cost goals than SOD.

St Johnstone gave Galatasary a good game so going by that we have a chance.

I'm not so sure about that. SOD was ahead of McGinn for Scotland but hopefully McGinn can be a better player for us. Spittal will be competing with Goss, Slattery and Cornelius for a shirt, I don't think he's an upgrade on them. It's hard to say with Morris but if we are signing him as a forward then I think he will struggle. He's definitely not an upgrade on Watt.

As long as we avoid Israel and Kazakhstan I'd say it's a good draw. Sparta Prague is a tough draw but it's Christmas come early in terms of away trips. The rest are difficult but not impossible.

Upgrades on what?

We have had a bid for the first choice striker then he disappears out the squad with a 'knock'. We have all seen this movie before. As for SOD I'll be very surprised if he captains us again. You are correct about the squad being weaker. We need two starting quality attackers even if Van Veen doesn't go back to Holland.

The trialist keeper is on.

Efford adds to his collection of comical goals. A deflected Thistle clearance plays him and with the full goal to aim at he hits it straight at the keeper and it goes through his legs to make it 1 nil. Tierney just missed an empty net.

The half fittingly ends with Efford falling over the ball. Morris has been decent on the ball but is more of a playmaker than a forward. That's about the only positive.

Connor Shields is underlining we need another striker who is Premiership level. Spittal majorly struggling as well.

Plums for me in the draw. One of the worst misses you'll ever see by Bala last night.

In 4-2-3-1 there are two players sitting in front of the defence that cover the full backs when they push up. Killie played it under Clarke with Dicker and Power as the two. Rangers used it under Gerrard with Kamara and Davis/Jack. We did not play that way at all last season with our midfield usually playing miles apart with just one holding.

Spittal played in midfield in a 4-3-3 for Ross County not as part of the front line which was Hungbo and RCC playing wide of Jordan White. I've already said what level of player I expect us to sign. Two attackers who are better than Shields and Efford with one being a similar level to Van Veen and Watt.

Efford is brutal, he should be emergencies only until we can get shot of him. If we are relying on Spittal, Morris, Tierney and Goss to create in the final third it'll be a repeat of our form since the winter break and a new manager for Christmas.

At the momemt Connor Shields is the only player in the squad with any pace so unless we bring in another attacking wide player and a striker then it's looking a even more turgid than last season. Morris doesn't seem to be any more of a for ward than Goss is. Unfortunately with the players we have on the books just now a switch to 3-5-2 looks likely. We are only a striker away from Alexander being able to claim we have two players for every position in a 3-5-2 so whoever comes in needs to be significantly better than Shields and Efford.

Fox wasn't great when we signed him, he has barely played in two years, had a bad injury and visibly isn't as fit as a pro should be. We need a better sub goalie.

Was he injured last season? 6 starts in League 2 is poor going.

It's not really Ins and Outs for us but I see Josh Doig and Lewis Ferguson are off to Serie A for about the same money we got for Turnbull. A great deal for Hibs in particular as Doig is pish. Aberdeen have brought in two guys who got relegated from the top flight of Hungarian football. I can see Goodwin being sacked by Christmas.

Do you get a confirmation email when you register for tickets?

We'll see but it so far it always seems like in the make or break games he manages to get over the line. Our season is dependent on getting some quality in for the final third but a fully fit and firing KVV, Shields and Woolery will cause Sligo problems. Beyond that if Slattery has shifted some pounds and had the full benefit of preseason it will be a huge boost.

If the players and manager are taking this seriously in terms of preparation then hopefully our physicality will give us a decent advantage. It's unthinkable these days that we would be in nick of McCall's team against Starjnan but there there is no excuse for anything less than a fully fit team stepping out at Fir Park on the 21st.

That has the making of a decent pairing with Watt doing the running and Fletcher staying central. Dependent on Watt being as focussed as he was in the final year of his contract with us.....

Murphy has 8 goals and 4 assists in 19 appearances against St Johnstone so from their perspective at least he won't be playing against them. He has 1 goal and 1 assist in 31 appearances against Celtic which I think sums him up. He had so much ability but fell short mentally, if he had a Scott McDonald style attitude he would have had a much more successful career. He was still a great player overall for us though.

I think people have given up with him because he can't pass the ball five yards.

I watched the first two Scotland games at the u17 Euros and out of the two Lennon Miller was far more impressive than Rice. They were both 15 playing against older boys and Rice showed good touches but struggled badly with the pace of the game. In the first game Miller came on at half time and almost dragged Scotland back into it getting an assist and creating a few other good chances. In the second he sat in front of the defence and was effective until he went off injured. Given the fact that we release boys every year without anyone blinking an eye then we just need to accept Rice or others choosing to leave as the flipside of that.