joewarkfanclub

Hopefully that will put to bed the idea that qualifying for Europe doesnt benefit the club. Much as I have enjoyed the re-introduction of group stages in the League Cup, Im getting a bit fed up seeing us play Annan, Morton, Stranraer and Edinburgh City!

You inferred he was the kit hamper carrier or the waterboy. Thats pretty personal. In your first post you accused him of using word salad. I dont want this to get into a tit for tat between you and I but this is a regular occurrence. You clearly have a lot to offer this forum, but demeaning other peoples posts because they are less knowledgeable than you isnt constructive.

You just did. And you made it personal in your first response. Thats why people get annoyed and bite.

I think you have just listed all the reasons why it wont happen. The only one that would have made it even worth considering is his football ability. Having a debate whether the latter is worth overlooking the former is normal. Griffiths could be a divisive character for sure, but Im not sure he is on the Goodwillie level?

I said it before the first game at Fir Park and I will say it again now. If ever there was a team set up for Alexanderball its Celtic. They are very good middle to front, but the centre backs can be got at, particularly from set peices. We need to be stodgy as f#ck in midfield and defence. In their faces when they have the ball and get it forward quickly into the final 3rd when we get it. If we try to play football against them they will destroy us. It might not be pretty, but it can work.

Not averse to the idea, but not sure he is GA's type of player, or that we could match Dundee's wages. Certainly a proven goalscorer in our league, but could we get a tune out of him?

Be nice if the training ground / academy facility were to get off the ground. At least then the money would be invested in bricks and mortar, and add as a further attraction in attracting players, not to mention further developing our own.

He is always available for the ball and is always looking for an incisive pass, rather than just playing it safe with a sideways or backwards one. I thought from 20 mins in up until he was taken off, he was the driving force for the team and encouraged others to be more adventurous with the ball. Some of our first time passing in the final 3rd was very good. Although admittedly we are still lumping it to the wide men to get us up the park far too much for my liking, but that seems to be the Alexander way, and on the whole its working for him.

Dont stop posting. You make a greater contribution to the forum than some......

My point is, I wasnt pointing the finger at you. I may not always agree with your opinions, but you rarely play the man instead of the ball!

And you opened a brand new account....

Was surprised with the team selection and an apparent move away from 4-3-3. Thought we started slowly and for the first 20 mins we struggled to get a hold of the ball. However, after that I felt we totally dominated the game. Kelly didnt have a save to make first half. Second half I thought our work rate and desire was very good. Our press worked very well, and although we didnt make best use of the ball at times, St Mirren kept coughing the ball back up to us because of it. It was utterly gutting to conceed when we did, but just as pleasing to score late on to deny them the 3 points. It was the very least we deserved. GA may not be winning many friends with our style of play. But it is effective and it is getting results.

Seems to be a few old accounts being re-activated recently that appear to be more intent on trolling other posters than adding to any debate.

I thought the 3 centre halves were very good tonight and Bevis certainly caused them problems when he went up top. Kelly had very little to do right up until the end but then pulled off 2 very good saves before they scored. But for me Slattery was our best player by a distance. I wouldnt have taken him off.

I agree with that. The manager is in charge. If he lets players undermine him, he is toast. Looks like GA isnt gonna let that happen to him.

It strikes me that, the way GA deals with the media doesnt do him any favours. He never reveals any information about injuries, and he never criticises the players individually in public or gives the media any bones to chew on. I totally respect his discipline in doing so, as he clearly feels he needs to do everything in his power to deny the opposition any advantage and to try and extract some advantage for our team. However, as a fan, I find it very frustrating as I feel a lot of our support would cut him more slack if they knew some of the issues he is having to deal with behind the scenes. As for the game, I thought we were competitive first half and played a bit more football in midfield than normal, with Slattery and Shaw showing a bit more quality in that area than we have seen of late. It was interesting in the post match interview that GA felt the need to say he would trade that for the 3 points. As much of an insight into his own thought process and tactics as we have had from him. The Kelly booking is just so typical of Scottish refereeing. Totally pedantic and unecessary when a word would have done. The first goal is a collective clusterf#ck with no one taking responsibility to clear the ball but all getting dragged towards it leaving Halliday totally unmarked. Goss looked most culpable as he had the best chance to boot it away, but in truth its badly defended as a team. I thought the turning point was Maguire going off injured. He gave a solidity that allowed Slattery and Shaw to go play, which disappeared when Goss came on. This is Maguires value to the team imho. 2nd half our press wasnt as effective and Hearts had more of the play. I still felt we looked dangerous on the counter and it would have been interesting to see how Hearts woud have responded if we could have equalised. The 2nd goal and the one that should gave resulted in a 3rd that was cleared off the line was again collectively bad defending albeit it exposed some individuals more than others. In short, we did a lot of good things, but we still have a lot to work on and Hearts still look closer to the finished article than we do at the moment.

Donnelly out. Slattery in. Shields in for Woolery. Apart from that, I dont see us changing it up mutch. If Ojala was fit, Id be tempted to play him and put Bevis to right back, but I dont see GA doing that.

Hard to choose this week as very few of our team put in a full 90 minute performance. I thought the defence, collectively, made too many mistakes. Maguire was the pick of the midfield for the simple reason he tried to keep the ball and play it on the ground. Why he got hooked for Shields is a mystery to me. I gave the award to Roberts mostly for providing the one bit of real quality on show from our side and for keeping at it for the 90 minutes despite the lack of decent service throughout.

Anyone doing a MOTM thread for this one? Id try myself, but not sure Im allowed or would know how!

Im starting to get a bit annoyed with all the McGinley bashing. Im not saying the guy doesnt make mistakes. That would be patently untrue. But he does a lot of good stuff that seems to get overlooked, while other players seem to get a free ride. Bevis and Sol both made worse mistakes than McGinley on Tuesday night imho, but nobody is demanding they are taken out of the team. Most (not all) have also ignored the great interception he made just before Ross County scored the first goal. Covering for team mates who made mistakes. The guy isnt perfect but he is a better defender than Carroll, who may be great going forward, but gets caught out of position all the time, hence why he isnt starting. Until we sign someone better, which is unlikely on our budget, he is the best we have in that position.

Surely everyone knows Partick Thistle are the cuddly toy of Scottish football?

Always thought Gogic was decent in the holding role and he could probably do a job. However, as others have said, we are well covered in that area, so dont really see the point. Money better spent elsewhere.

Fans to be allowed in unrestricted under 10k. Motherwell to grind out a 1-0 away win. Ross Tierney with the winner from the bench. Lets get the fitba back!

I think Shankland can probably still do a job in the SPL, but given the likely finances involved, Im not sure it would be good business for us. Given we play a front 3, Im not sure how you fit him and KVV into the same starting 11, which would mean one of them warming the bench. If Watt does leave, then its a similar type of player we need on that side of the pitch. Shields deserves a chance to see if he can make the place his own and we still need to see where Ross Tierney fits into the picture. I wouldnt rule out us signing another forward, but I dont think its essential. Shaw looks like a good addition, but I share the concern about what that means for Cornelius. If he adds quality to the midfield, it would be foolish not to use him, but Id hate to think it blocks Deano's opportunity to stake a claim whilst developing a rivals player for them.

Numbers rising isnt the be all and end all. Hospital admissions, admissions to ICU and deaths will govern what happens next. If they dont rise, there will be no justifucation to limit outdoor gatherings.