Tweed

Not to mention that United brought a reasonably healthy away support and Ross County brought a couple of hundred. Thistle will be another downer no doubt as Christmas increases attendance in general from 1st home game v them last season while September weekend will cause some to miss out this time. Ho hum.

Remarkably after seven games in the league we have exactly the same record as we did this time last season. We started with WLLLLWX then and have done the same now. If we keep the same idea we're losing the next five. And also slightly bizarrely, last year games 8, 9 and 10 were against Hamilton, Thistle and Dundee, our next three fixtures. However take the stats out, last season I think we were a pretty poor team. This year I think we are ordinary and underachieving which in a way is worse. But I think there is a bit more hope of improvement. Next three league games up to the international break are important to buck the trends and also to build a bit of belief. But by hook or by crook we are now three unbeaten.

Poor performance from both teams I thought. We really struggled to get our impact players involved throughout became frustrated and just seemed to bypass wings and midfield. When the ball got in there we struggled to do much. For all I thought we had offered little, I was a bit miffed in a game with two bad lots we were going home with nothing thanks to a goal with a blatant foul in the build up. However the one bit of class appeared. Grimshaw played a great ball to get Johnson on the by line, his cross was delicious and the finish was what it had to be. When you see us playing football like that, you do wonder why we had to put up with the 91 minutes of utter shit that went before it. I'm on holiday next week but if I read that Taylor is starting and Grimshaw isn't, my phone may be in smithereens on a Polish pavement.

I think the next two games could tell us a lot. Felt we should have taken four points from St Johnstone and Dundee Utd but por finishing when on the ascendancy and poor defending when we weren't cost us. We are now playing the two teams who have undoubtedly overachieved since the start of the season and if we can remain unbeaten it suggests we could at least be competitive for getting top six, if we lose both suggests 10th will be the aim. What is undoubted is we will have to play well to win but in patches we have been and in Grimshaw we should have a better structure in midfield which could make a huge difference to us. Cautiously optimistic about this but if we underperform we know this team will punish us.

However good big Handsome is or was, even he struggled to score when his arse didn't leave the subbies' bench. Probably why your prediction was to your usual standard.

Think this is a fair assessment, maybe a wee bit harsh on Law, Skippy and Moult. Thought Law did OK yesterday and I felt whilst Skippy gave the ball away far too often he did look like the guy who might play a defence splitter. As for Moult he is a right digger which is great but problem is if he drifts back and wins the ball there is then nobody for him to play for in an offensive position which in turn makes him look bang average. Also agree there is one cog missing. I'm hoping it is Pearo or someone of that ilk but to me we look like being not a kick in the arse away from being a decent but unspectacular middle of the road team. Had we taken a couple of draws from the Saints and United game like we should have we would now be saying we've had a good start. Need to build on the last two results for Ross County who will undoubtedly be a sterner test.

I thought that we played the better football throughout. Other than the save in the first half, Ripley was never seriously tested while we played some good one touch stuff throughout but the final ball was a bit disappointing which we didn't create the number of chances our better possession and territory should have. Was just discussing the game with my dad who couldn't make it today and was saying that I thought they all played quite well as individuals today but the connectivity just didn't click which is a bit of a shame. Hopefully the win will give us a bit of a lift, I thought we did look a bit scared of winning last 20 minutes but have chucked away two 1-0 leads in the last fortnight that is only human nature. They now know they can do it. The next two league games are really interesting against the two teams who are probably overachieving in this league - if we could take four points from that, I'd be really confident of fighting out about the middle of the league and if we can do that it would be a great indicator of progress.

I think last year we were a poor team who got away with it, this season I think we are a better team but we're underachieving. After six games I'll tolerate it, if it continues for the next six to ten a change at the top must ensue.

Seconded

I think in most games we have started well this season and then drifted out of it due to concentration, Baraclough's subs, defensive errors, etc. Last night we started absolutely dreadfully and then improved a bit in the second half and then ramped it up when they ran out of petrol. Least we got there, three Premiership teams didn't. A new level will need to be found by a lot of them v Killie or we'll be bottom on Saturday night. Ripley - kept us in it with a couple of saves but don't understand why he was motionless at the goal Law - dragged all over the place Laing - Not a clue what was going on, absolute shocker of a performance Kennedy - unremarkable but OK Chalmers - decent going forward, naive at the back Ainsworth - questionable attitude but grew into it Lasley - broke up the play, distribution disappointing Leitch - as Lasley Johnson - contributed nothing CLarkson - subdued Moult - Drifted back to try and make things happen and when Thomas came on was able to play as a forward more. Fine finish and good all round display with little support for 75 minutes. Watt - didn't get long enough to judge, did fine. McDonald - lively and determined but several poor decisions and touches Thomas - some mistakes but at least looked lively and most likely to make something happen

Ainsworth. No coincidence we were the better team with him there and utter shit when he wasn't.

We can't keep losing games we are the better team in. For an hour today we were the dominant force in that game and really should have had more than one goal for our trouble. But despite that they got in a couple of times in the first half and Ripley had to be sharp. As you would expect Saints upped it a bit after the break but despite more of the game being around our box I thought we looked OK. Until they scored. Then came the killer moment - our subby of Leitch for Ainsworth. We took off our out ball and basically told them every time Ripley tried to play out it was going to Johnson. Baraclough claimed it was because we were losing the midfield - no shit sherlock, when we play 3v2 we nearly always do but if you have strength in the wing it compensates. Losing the wing impetus killed us stone dead and they cruised through us with ease. Sorry but in any book, that is manager error and at game 5 it is already the second one we have lost because of his changes. I quite like Baraclough but keep costing us games by not knowing when to stick and when to twist and we'll get relegated. Losing to Hearts and Aberdeen is annoying but understandable but losing to a bang average St Johnstone and Dundee Utd is stupid. Once was a risk worth taking, twice was daft, Then onto Jake Taylor. Hope to be proven wrong about the dive, but that must be the most unprofessional, stupid red card I have ever seen in my life. He deserves a distinctly reduced pay package this week. We're not a bad team but we are so so naive it is pathetic. Oh and if Chalmers and Law want to learn to tackle that would be lovely.

Spot on, unless we're right at the death of the season and goal difference is crucial it is much better to hurl everything to gain a point rather than worrying about losing a goal. I was more annoyed at the tug which the referee could easily have booked him for, thus having to send him off as that could have given us a problem at Tynecastle and by that stage we were as well losing the goal as not as we weren't getting back up the pitch. But he got away with it. I thought Laing was man of the match though. Bossed everything and is looking more like the centre half Forest were reticent to sell in January.

There is nothing more appropriate than him signing for a team called Angers!

Leitch was subbed quarter of an hour before the second one.

We were in the lower tier for the cup game in 2008 and it was not as good as further back but it was fine. We've gone downstairs for tickets for Wednesday too as it certainly isn't a 25% poorer view!

Overall I thought we did a good job minus the final ball and and the shooting boots. I thought we were just about edging it when he brought Clarkson on for Leitch. We did this far too early. Even if it had worked and we scored after 75 minutes, we would then have been hanging on for 15 minutes with about 103 strikers on the pitch. As it was we surrendered the midfield and we never saw any of Thomas, McDonald, Johnson, Moult again. Not sure why he did it but I think he was maybe worried about Leitch getting a second yellow as leaving us with ten men in this game would have been annoying, losing another central midfielder for Wednesday would have been really bad. Couple of real moments of class though, Ripley's save in the first half and Law's ball to Chalmers were both delicious. Think we certainly could have won, should not have lost but it is August and it is the time in the season for taking a risk and I find it hard to be too critical of Baraclough for doing so.

See what happens with a bit of proactivity. http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/business/train-firm-launches-services-tailored-for-sunderland-and-newcastle-football-fans-1-7393988

Partick and Dundee Utd did the same thing as we did with United last year. With the best will in the world the price of the game is often a small proportion of the cost of going away when you throw in transport, food, drink etc.

I think there is a much broader thing here in that football games are much more enjoyable when there is a good away support. Our numbers were good yesterday but noticably quiet. Football clubs should be doing everything in their power to encourage a large away support and whether that is subsidising buses, working with train companies or even with other clubs. If the price of going was less, we could afford better transport etc but the problem is clubs are close to skint so they need to be creative. For all I have no truck with the bois and think they add lots to our games but you can't make special cases, the clubs need to do an all or nothing offer policy.

I thought it was two guys going in hard for a loose ball. Don't think he could have not gone for it. Agree we don't want to lose him though, played some good stuff today and I don't think it is entirely coincidence we were weaker after he went off.

I thought McDonald was a bit subdued today but the other nine outfield starters could all lay a reasonable claim to be considered. For me Laing edged it from Lasley, Johnson and Fletcher.

Well if he has played with McDonald and McManus before, if he is sensible he'll have a word with them on the quiet and see if they think he'd cope going in right away without knowing the back line that well and what is character is like. I'd be inclined that the best way to improve is to play in a match and if he is going to be number 1, he plays today. If Dan doesn't like it, tough luck, football can be brutal at times.

I would never advocate making a managerial decision based on a shocker of a cup result however when you had the accumulation McCall did you have to wonder. One win in his last seventeen. Granted some of them were against top European opposition but League 2 Rangers, two legs with Stjarnan and Albion Rovers is just about unforgivable. That said his league record was not only outstanding but consistently outstanding. I liked the way he developed us when Craig Brown left but he did seem to run out of ideas last season.

It reminds me of the regression of Kevin McBride when he got injured. Never recovered. Hopefully with a full pre-season he can get back to a suitable level of fitness, speed and sharpness. I also have a feeling they'll be getting a very rigorous regime come Thursday.