joewarkfanclub

Gillespie. Without his saves it could easily have been 4 or 5.

Where to start with that? Having no way of knowing the fitness of players and how we would actually set up, I have to confess to bring just a wee bit excited when I saw the line up. I fully anticipated it to be 4-4-2 with 2 wingers and us going after their full backs. However, it became fairly evident early on that they were playing a high press and we were being overun in midfield (which contributed to the defence having to launch aimless balls forward). It was crying out for us to sub a clearly unfit McCormack for someone who could actually help out the midfield and give us a foothold in the game. Not for the first time this season the managers substitutions were utterly perplexing as they did nothing to address what the actual problem was. Grimshaw or Campbell (or even Gorrin) would have made for a much more sensible first substitution, especially as we were still in the game at that point. What followed after just compounded matters. In short, the manager got the starting line up wrong and his substitutions did nothing to effect the course of the game. He cant keep on making such big mistakes. If he does we will be dragged back into a relegation battle and it may well cost him his job.

Some very decent finishes there, and pace to burn. Fingers crossed he can adapt to Scottish football. We might have unearthed another wee gem.

Good luck to big Bowie. A good honest pro who gave his all in every game. The way he rattled SEVCO in the League Cup semi final and the seethe from the zombies in the aftermath was glorious to watch. Shame he was so vilified by the press aterwards. Wish him all the best down south.

Dougie Imrie is a pantomime villain. We love to hate him. He loves that we hate him and plays up to it. Its entertainment and the game would be much more dull without characters like him. Not sure what ripping seats up and lobbing them on the pitch adds to the spectacle.

I think thats harsh. Hartleys performances last season before his injury were excellent. The fact that he had a bit of swagger only enhanced his popularity with the fans, so it was an easy choice to make. Obviously his performances this season havent hit the same heights. That and his unfortunate outburst before the Rangers game have caused some to question whether it was a wise choice, but thats hindsight of the highest order. I didnt hear anyone saying it was the wrong choice at the time. That said, given Hartleys injury problems, Im more than happy for Richard Tait to wear the armband. He has earned it.

Re the head clash. McHugh made up his mind really early it was his ball. You could here him shout "Carls" as clear as day from the East Stand. Unfortunately Dunney either didnt hear him or couldnt get out the way. Just one of these unfortunate incidents that happen in contact sport. Re Bigi. I thought it was very clear from the minute he came on that he had been thinking long and hard about the criticism he has endured. He was running around very busily trying to close people down. It just doesnt come naturally to him so he ended up looking a bit like a headless chicken. He also had plenty opportunity on the ball but repeatedly made poor decisions. Im afraid his time is up.

Dont think the "Big Man" was on our side today. All those injuries? Pen decision? Sending off? I think he is in the huff with us for some reason!

Frear looked promising on the occasions he was able to get on the ball. Mostly in the first half. Grimshaw made some good forging runs in the 2nd half and generally put himself about. MoM for me though by a country mile was Richard Tait. His performance at centre half after all the injuries was just immense. Won every header, every tackle and put his body on the line for the team. First class.

This is getting really boring. We wanted a change of selection today. We got it. We wanted a reaction from the players after the St Mirren game. We got it. But for a series of circumstances the manager had absolutely no control over, we may have got a result today. Even with everything we had to contend with we were still in a game against the new "cuddly toy" of Scottish football, right up to the final whistle. Nothing has changed. Robinson will be given this transfer window to sort the squad out. If he does and we get a decent cup run and improve our league performances, he stays. If he doesnt, he may get his jotters in the summer. Until we are actually dragged back into the relegation equation the board wont act.

Hard to know where to start with that today. Firstly, the level of application was much better today. You cant fault the team for effort. I wasnt sure about the starting selection but it was good to see Tait back on the right and Frear getting an outing from the start with some actual defenders behind him. Unfortunately we never got to see whether it would work because of the injuries. I dont think Ive ever seen 4 head knocks in such a short space of time. The McHugh/Dunne collison was a sickener. Hopefully both will make a quick recovery. Not much in the first half. Thought we had more possession but Killie made the better chances. The goal however, was just one of those freak crosses that flew in the top corner. 2nd half continued in the same vain. Lots of huff and puff from us with Killie happy to sit in and play us on the break knowing they had the quality to hurt us when they did. We rode our luck a bit and could have been further behind had they converted their chances. Thought we had a good shout for a pen when Bigi appeared to get cleaned out in the box. He should also have converted our best chance of the game near the end when he put his laces through it when a sclaff into the ground would probably have done the trick. No real complaints about the sending off although I do feel some sympathy for Main who just lost the plot after a series of incredibly inconsistent decisions from the referee. Thought he could easily have sent off Gregg Stewart for an earlier incident in the box. Overall a very frustrating game. Hamilton is now massive.

We need width. Frear is our only wide player. He isnt a wing back so needs a defender behind him. I think we all agree Tait needs to get back playing on the righr so its Dunne or ATS. Id pick Dunne. He has been honking since he came back but he needs games.

All depends what Motherwell turns up and whether the manager can get the team selection / substitutions right. Of course one may well depend on the other. We need to get players playing in their proper positions and get back to what we do well, pressing high up the pitch with energy. Get back to a 442 with Dunne at left back and Tait on the right. Id get Frear on for width on the left with Turnbull and McHugh or Campbell in the middle. Main and Johnson up front. Right mid is a problem with Cadden injured. Probably only Grimshaw can play there but at least he can sit and watch Jones if Tait overlaps going forward. 3 points would be magic but Killie are in great form just now so even a point from this one would be decent.

Good post and I agree with most of it. What I would say is though, there is a subtle difference between budgeting and planning. Given the fan owned status of the club and the fact we have no longer have access to any bank overdraft or rich benefactor, we cant really do anything other than budget for 10th place and get knocked out of both cups in the first round as there is a certain amount of money / income that comes with that outcome and we have to cut our cloth accordingly to balance the books. However, I would like to think that the club aspires to and plans for slightly higher than that. This year for example we have done very well financially which has allowed us to do more around the stadium and off the field. Like you say, its not an exact science and there is a fine line between aspiration and sustainability. All the more reason we need to ensure our signing policy and strategy is spot on and bears some fruit. Unfortunately what little extra was made available for the playing budget over the summer does not appear to have been spent wisely. We do need to try and rectify this in January and its never been more important to get it right.

Wasnt at the game today and only have mixlr commentary to rely on so I wont comment on the performance of individual players. Cant really argue with the starting 11 given the St Johnstone performance. However, our substitutions and timing of them seemed very strange. Im willing to cut the manager more slack than most, but his subs made no sense to me and appear to have cost us the game. Its not the first time this season that its happened and the 4 up top at the end? Desperate stuff. I still dont think he will be sacked and Im still with him for now. But he has heaped a whole lot of unecessary pressure on himself this week and if we dont get something in the next 2 games and St Mirren and Dundee somehow get more points on the board, then he will be under serious pressure going into the winter break.

Sounds like he was really scunnered with the way the change in set up from Youth Team to Reserves panned out and saw it as an appropriate point to move on. Clearly still has a lot of affection for the club. Wont be surprised if we see him back in some capacity in the future. Wish him all the best, whatever his future holds.

To be fair to other posters, who are perfectly entitled to their opinion, I am usually far too loyal to managers and the last to turn, even when the writing is on the wall. Its just the way I am. Wasnt at the game last night because experience tells you its not gonna be very enjoyable. However, a few observations.... I dont blame Robbo for rotating the team. It was the sensible thing to do and it wasnt the reason we lost 3-0. Much better teams have done that. I think his choice of players to rotate in are up for debate however. The wisdom of playing Bigi and Gorrin in the middle in a game we are gonna be starved of possession and have to track runners is questionable. He could easily have kepted Mbulu in and pushed Grimshaw into midfield and went with one of the others. Whether that played a part in any of the goals or would have made a difference Ive no idea. But to suggest we put out a team just to rollover and not compete is wrong imho.

Fixed it for you

We are 5 points clear of Hamilton and 9 clear of St Mirren and Dundee coming into a run of winnable fixtures. Anyone thinking Stephen Robinson is getting sacked anytime soon needs to have a word with themselves. Never gonna happen.

Good luck to Andy Rose. An underrated player very much under appreciated by sections of our support. Put in the hard miles for the team allowing others to play. Probably only truly appreciated by his team mates.

McHugh for me. Organised the defence very well. Centre half is by far his best position. He reads the game so much better when everythings in front of him. Id go as far as saying he is our best centre half at the moment. Gillespie did well and looks a solid replacement for Carson but other than the penalty save, which was excellent, he didnt have a lot to do. Could just as easily given it to Johnson on those grounds.

Gillespie Grimshaw Aldred Hartley Tait Rose McHugh Turnbull Campbell Gorrin Main Set out hard to beat. Try sneak one on break or at set plays. Still enough legs AND footballers to try and support Main.

Turnbull looks like he has been playing in the first team for years. He cruised through the game yesterday against a decent Aberdeen side. His composure on the ball and natural athleticism put any comparison with Ross Forbes to bed.

No failures today at all. Every single player played their part. Main had his best game of the season. Johnson was excellent and weighed in with 2 goals. Turnbull just oozes class, he has incredible composure on the ball. The defence were pretty solid for the most part and Gillespie looked assured enough in goals. MoM for me though was Grimshaw. Great energy going forward and more importantly covering back. Crashed into some meaty tackles and made good use of the ball whenever he had it. His run at the end to get us up the park and see the game out with a clean sheet just typified his performance.

Craig Thomson. Stamped his influence all over the game. Match winning performance.