Malky79

Of course Clarkson isn't a great player. Great players don't tend to stay at a club like ours for very long. We struggle even to hold onto good ones. He is a great player for us but that doesn't mean I think he is actucally great in the sense that you can compare him him favourably with top level players. But to say there are hundreds of players in Scotland like Clarkson is nonsense, there are maybe plenty people that could be technically as good but we all know lots of players don't make it in football for a bundle of different reasons. Clarkson has been an effective player for us, granted he isn't always the most graceful to watch but he scores goals, he creates goals and he works harder than most. He clearly has some character and heart to come through what he has, not just the Phil thing but the years when he seemed to be getting nowhere he has come through stronger despite dogs abuse from large section of fans. Most fans appreciate him now for what he does give us. If you think that this is a poor reflection on us that a player of his ability is considered good then I think you underestimate the general poor quality of football in this country and our ability as a club to hold onto talent. I did see millers goals, though not sure of the relavence they didn't really stick out. One was a header from about a yard out and don't remember the other.

As for Fitzpatrick the other scapegoat. Only recall the one poor effort of a cross where he gifted possession, so I take issue with idea that he as giving the ball away left right and centre. I think he tends to do an unglamourous job fairly well. Played alright but was probalby right player to sub when you looking to take the game to opponent. Fact that they score attacking down his side whilst he was off I think is as much to do with the mistakes we made individually rather than his absence.

I'll go as far as to say that yes Clarkson is not a lead the line striker, he isn't Porter and that yes he'll definately miss Porters presence and that he had a mare last night. But this kind of posting annoys the life out of me. Clarkson has been a consistently good player for more than a season and a half now, yet one bad game and the people that have been having to bite their tongues instantly jump on the guy. If you can't see the improvement in Clarkson from the player of 2,3,4 seasons ago I can only assume you are blind. 50 goals in 240 games, fine it doesn't sound all that impressive but who cares we all know he had like 3 seasons where he could hardly buy a goal, frustrating as hell as that was I'm deligted with his general return in the last two seasons, something like 23 goals and I fancy he'll crack in a few more before end of this season. Clarkson has developed physically, he improved his finishing, he added creativity and invention to his play, his touch still isn't Bergkampesque but it still a hell of a lot better than what it was. Maybe he not quite top drawer and worthy of international caps but he no worse than Kenny Miller. Clarkson is one of our key players and I hope we have him for a good while yet, last night will soon be forgotten about and I don't doubt Clarkson will have more good games than bad between now and the end of the season.

Pretty gutted at way we've went out. It was a poor game and neither side looked clever, Mehmet was a bit of a handful but thought we'd largely dealt with him. Then as we were looking a bit more likely Clarkson with an absolute howling pass leaves us exposed to a counter. To be fair he could have put in a dangerous ball and it could have been knocked clear and we could still have been hit on the counter but it was just such a dreadful dreadful effort. Then Craigan does the hold yer hand up and look for offside rather than trying to stick with Mehmet as he just seemed to totally lose where he was and their in with only real chance of the game. Yet again we arse it up in the cup to a poor team and make no mistake they were poor. Not to say we were much better, despite threatening to play some nice stuff we contrived to arse it, over complicate it or dither in the final 3rd. Clarkson and Sheridan seemed to almost instantly click on Sheridans debut but since then we look like we need a lot of work there. Clarkson had a glorious chance to slip in I think Sheridan, it may have been O'Brien on the right when he shaped to have a shot and then tried the pass to late when whoever it was was no longer expecting it. Things like that are so frustrating. Ah well, lets hope we can get 5th place in league and a final between rangers/celtic/aberdeen who seem likely to be in the top 4.

Most of the time things the PC label is just a stick to hit people with when they suggest people should maybe not be able to abuse others often minorities. I don't see where fears over ligitgation regarding health and safety issues really connect with that. That not to say there is no cases of political correctness that haven't been a bit mad but i find it mostly exaggerated daily mail headlines that any sane person with a bit of capability to think would generally see through. The issue that what you getting at goes more hand in hand is increasing restrictions on all our civil liberties, what we can and can't do in public within reasonable boundaries that groups of adults should be able to define for themselves such as standing up and bouncing around a bit at the football at the smaller end of the scale that is issue at hand here. Even what we can shout at white people of scottish descent getting called racist, that maybe ties in a bit more with being overly PC.

Call me a pedant but I don't see where, "political correctness gone mad" is what you getting at. The fact we live in a society where people/organisations like a football club have to walk on eggshells for fear of litigation has he-haw to do with some idea of what is or isn't PC whatever definition of that one chooses to use. On the main point I agree it is a heap of shite!

I agree about getting behind the players, was annoyed at some the moans aimed at them but 90% of the discontent and the grumbling was aimed at the manager. He is having a laugh if that was 4-3-3, he maybe told them to line up as a 4-3-3 but he still needs his heid read for trying to shoehorn those players into that system, Hughes as a forward? He'd get a lot more respect for all the good things he does and is doing if he'd hold his hands up now and again when he gets it wrong. I called for him to go earlier in the season when he seemed to have abandoned his favoured style of football and we were awful. Hasty words perhaps we have come back, but moments like that performance and again yesterday to less disastrious results I do wonder what goes through his head. Darren Smith did ok on the right hand side yesterday but again we have O'Brien asked to play out of position, now maybe he should be able to adapt better but we clearly struggled with this imbalance. McGhee is a good manager and he seems to sya what he thinks without fear of what nayone thinks fair play to him but I don't think it ever occurs to him that he can be wrong now and again.

Celtic fans can fuck off, if they want a moan they can go ask the h*n hordes why they didn't take advantage of our wonderful pricing system which is the reason we dropped it. The club has only one set of fans that it should really care about and that is its own, though that is questionable to say the least at times. As for the pitch, well we playing with fire if we haven't fixed it. We all know the pitch wasn't relayed as promised why should anyone believe we fixed the USH properly if at all? If plans are afoot for a big move I can understand the thinking of not spending money on Fir Park but there are risks and downsides to this penny pinching that can come back to haunt us in many ways.

I'm in two minds about the whole thing. Petty nationalism annoys me, end of the day there fuck all intrinsically better about being Scottish or any other nationality. No one gets to pick and choose where they born it is just your dumb luck. That said we do have a certain degree of national identity and common history and in the arena of sport we have history of competing under the scottish flag. A history of often heroic failure but a history that does somewhat bind us. Watching scotland from fitba daft wee boys(or girls), growing up and identifying with only the one team. So I have some sympathy for people like McGeady, McLean, O'Brien, McCarthy that have a split heritage, I fully expect them to have feeling for the other country of their families family tree BUT to best of my knowledge all of them have been born and bred in Scotland. McGeady both parents also born and bred in Scotland. The connection to Scotland is the one that if any of it means anything is the one that should be stronger and big deal at getting a knock back at 15 or 16. So fucking what, what percentage of Scotland u16 players end up making it, it probably better to be over looked at that age. As as pointed out everyone of these guys seem to signify plenty that is wrong in our country, running off to the country that the fans of the bigoted twosome tend to identify with. No fucking wonder they get dogs abuse, the career endin injury comment is taking it to far but they stuck two fingers up to Scotland and fucked off to another country before any of their careers as pro footballers had even got going. It not at all comparable to likes of Coyne and Coyle, who would have probably loved to have played for Scotland and were heading to wards the twilight of their careers before taking an opportunity to play for a country that they also had some eligibility for.

How special does a day need to be to enjoy knocking fuck out each other?

If it on the telly they have to lower prices to about a tenner. i'd rather be at the game but if it on the telly then it far from a given I going to go at normal prices.

Didn't think it was any more than 6000 myself either, though it very hard to tell from any one vantage point, but having watched the highlights last night the figure looked close to bang on to me. Picked out a lot more empty seats in what were fuller looking parts from the TV view, st.mirren end in particular I thought was not full but maybe pushing 4/5ths full I definately round down my initial estimation and the east, DC and POD stands look scarcely busier than an average day. Disappointing but wee don't tend to enjoy our away games in cup more than the ones at fir Park!

I want to see same team as started against Hibs. Maybe give the new lads a run if we struggling or coasting for that matter, Sheridan if Sutton doing nothing seems obvious. Semi I suppose will be needing to show well training this week I'd imagine given the manager not really saw him prior to taking him on reccomendation.

If he fires in goals or generally does us a turn I don't give rats ass about anything else. Not been impressed when seen him, has scored goal or two for Celtic but it a bit of cover and competition to keep Sutton and Clarkson on toes at least if true.

With Teale part of the deal falling through is there even remotest chance this transfer falls through?

How can Teale be a replacement for Porter? One a striker and the other a winger. Not saying he might have been only replacement McGhee was thinking about but he not strickly speaking a replacement if he not going to play same role. I think we missed out there sadly, think he'd have been suited to our team and delivered in crosses for Sutton to feed from. Hope he wasn't only iron in the fire.

I'm not to bothered about getting in some panic buy but McGhee has somewhat made a rod for his own back basically saying we had options that were as good as done once Porter move went through. A striker on loan, and/or a defender if McLean isn't back in the game yet and we should be ok. If we can jettison fat boab on top of all that result!

I'd like to see a loan signing purely for a bit of competition/depth up front but I quite happy with Sutton, Clarkson and Murphy(despite that sitter). For me Sutton being able to fill Porters books is still a bit of a big if, but in theory why he can't do a turn in his own way while we essentially keep same style of play doesn't seem a huge issue. With Clarkson beside him and O'Brien in advanced wide role I think we not badly off with Murphy and Smith to come off the bench. We could maybe use another more orthodox striker should Sutton struggle or be missing with injury but if nothing happens nothing happens I think we'll be fine as is. I want to see players in place for next season more than rushing in someone just now.

BBC still thinks Porter not decided. Hope it cleard up sooner rather than later.

Murder or not, he occasionaly off the bench at West Brom a premiership club so wages wise there no way he'd be player we looking at unless it was a loan which seems almost as unlikely.

Lasley is one of the most under rated players in the SPL. But that sort of fee if it is enough for us to tie down say Klimpl would be worth taking. Lasley is gonna be 30 soon, out of contract end of the season and not an first team automatic pick. I don't think Klimpl is that much of a better player than Lasley, he just fits a certain role we need better, or seems to so far. But there no point taking the money if we can't be certain that we getting it reinvested in squad improvements we need.

Was in an interview with Ian St. John somewhere I pretty sure, he had Cooper and Jim Bett in his office, they wanted approx £500 each to sign and St. John told them to take a hike as it was to much.

Think echoing the general sentiment, it a good move for Porter and for a player out of contract it a not to much of a shitty fee. I just hope some of that money at least does help us say tie down, Hughes, Klimpl and a new face or two if we lucky. Bearing in mind the wages freed from Porter are also meant to be on the hefty side for us. Been wondering about Sutton not even being coming off the bench in recent weeks, wondering if there any problems with him and the manager. Hopefully not and if there are were now it time to bury them and for Sutton to step up and take his chance. Yeah he might not be as good as Porter in many ways but he always done fairly well up in Scotland and showed he knows where the goal is. I sure he can fit in without to much disruption and do us a turn.

Not sure I agree with that. Certainly when he left he may have been verging towards that description but the player you desribing in terms of being quicker and more agile is the same player we had at 17/18 when he first broke into the team. Technically I don't think he is any better than the player I saw in his first couple of seasons. Exception being that I'd agree he honed his delivery, something I think he could make more use off if he were willing push forward more and occasionaly go outside his man instead of cutting inside.

fixed that for you, played football not likely! :-)