Welldaft Mk1

For the most part it has worked. As mentioned above we have not gone on to lose many games / goals once he loads up defence and midfield. As also mentioned it is not conducive to an enjoyable finish in games. As we are pretty much always on the back foot from his subs onwards. I do see the logic. How many times have teams who are winning by the odd goal chase another only to concede because they are too open. I listened to the DW podcast with GA and he often mentions how important the result is and not the performance. He likes his teams to outfight the opposition certainly in terms of effort and application. I have said many times before at the start of last season under Robbo we were dominating teams possession wise and having many more shots on and off target and losing 1-0. Hamilton, Ross C and DDee United all followed that pattern. So yes he is a bit of a do not lose type coach but as long as he gets results I will have less problems with such an approach.

We did but it would be nice to get to another final which was not against Celtic or Rangers. Since 1991 we have been in 4 finals I think. All against the Old Firm :-(

Jeezo Mr Positive :-) Hibs might regain form but I would be confident if Maloney was still in charge. His philosophy is total football. We will hopefully bulldozer them like we did Aberdeen in the last round. As you say take a home draw v anyone other than the Old Firm at this stage.

Tough tie but we are at home and avoided the Old Firm. Cannot really ask for more. Maybe Dundee at home but hopefully Maloney will still be in charge.

Don’t suppose it will matter. If we manage to avoid the Old Firm we will meet them in the semi final or the final. Our last 3 finals have been against Celtic. When you think of St Johnstone getting to two finals v Hibs and Dundee United iirc. Fully expect an away tie in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Whilst St Mirren get Dundee at home.

Yes it was disappointing less than 4000 home fans turned up. We do have a fair weather support. If we were on a good run we could have had 5000+ in the game today. Sadly we have too many part time fans who bottle it when the going gets tough. Not enough kohones to front up. You know who your are. I was raging at the 1st goal we should have scored. We were in line with it and it looked all the world to be onside. If I am wrong then fine but by Christ if not it was just another awful decision against us. That linesman was behind play several times. All said and done a great performance. The players were right up for it. No failures but I was impressed with Joe Efford. He reminds me of Henrik Ojamma. All in all. Well deserved win. I look forward to Celtic at Parkhead in the next round…..

And we are not at the moment ? Say what u want but they also managed to score 2 goals against Celtic and only lose by the odd goal. Two poor teams and next two games are pivotal for both Managers and players alike. I would almost rather win the league game if I could choose. Beating Rangers and / or Celtic is simply not going to happen anytime soon. It would be good for the bank balance to get to a semi final or final. Wish the league game was first. Christ knows what team he will pick. I don’t know if the Manager knows. In fairness apart from Donnelly I was OK with starting line up last night.

I am far from a pant wetter and generally shout them down. But by Christ this year we have transformed into an utterly shite team. We gift goals like confetti. Literally every shot on goal is a goal. That even strikes me as borderline bizarre. We now have no one to score goals. The Manager changes line ups like I change my underwear. It is quite obvious that is having a detrimental effect on the players. I was a fan of Alexander. He has done a good job in the year he was in charge. Numerous Manager of the months etc. Bit things are unravelling and fast. Tonight’s interview was the 1st time I thought he is struggling and largely waffling. Just don’t know where any goals will come from.

As if we did not know why we were able to sign a former Finland international and Captain. He is a perma crock ! BBC stats twice as many shots as Utd - granted not many on target. Apparently some hit from Levitt. United have scored 4 goals in 30 years and he we go again. We look as if we could not score ever again. Long night ahead. Lose tonight and Europe is basically f*coed and top 6 starts to look less likely.

(Only) At times……:-)

A wee boy that volleys an equaliser from a bouncing ball in only his 2nd or 3rd game. A finish that Messi would be proud of. Efford has had half a game FFS. Today was depressing no doubt but some of the crap on here is well to be fully expected. Never met such a bunch of pant wetters in my life. We are still 4th and yes we will probably fall out of the top 6 before we get some (on paper) easier games. Reading the sh1te on here is more depressing than the result. I am a way back to P&B for some reasoned debate / chat.

Celtic have a team way above anything in the league. So they should. I would wager that Joe Hart on his own will be on more wages than our starting 11. That said I am afraid Donnelly has not covered himself in glory. The 1st goal he allows Hatate I think it was to simply run away and he he does nothing. Does not follow him and jogs back to the box. For the 2nd goal he should move closer to Rogic. Yes a great finish but he has done that time and again v Motherwell. I am sure Alexander would have said do not let them shoot from distance or outside box. He simply would not be a starter for me but it is clear GA thinks he is worthy of a starting place every game.

I get the distinct impression that GA has fairly high standards and expectations of a player and his focus and approach to playing the game. In essence the exact opposite of what Griffiths has served up for many years. A natural goalscorer for sure when he is on his game. But that has been few and far between. Plus we have the yank to still see so I very much doubt there is any interest in Griffiths from anyone in the top flight bar St Mirren possibly.

I am pretty much on board with this POV. Although I am worried that we are missing Watt more than we care to admit. Van Veen has missed a few opportunities in the last two games. May not have made a difference but you never know. I think we need 3 points from St Mirren away or we will likely not even b top 6 by the time we play the bottom half of the league. As I cannot see us taking much from Old Firm and have United and Aberdeen which will both be tough games. You could see us taking anything from 6 points to 1 or Zero from that run. Would have taken top 6 start of the season. I am starting to think Europe is a forlorn hope. In saying that Hibs and Aberdeen are hardly setting the heather on fire. Think Maloney was a poor appointment and although early days they are struggling more than us !

You are probably right but I would also like to see Nathan McGinley on the bench. He was not alone is being poor on Tuesday but arguably he was at fault for the 2nd goal which led to us losing the game. It would be nice if the Manager benched a player for that kind of thing. Rumours that Liam Shaw is injured even tho he has only just come on loan from Celtic. Not sure if true but I would have him in for Maguire and Slattery to start also for Donnelly. Also be good if we got see Ross Tierney whether to start or from the bench.

Best to ask SteelmeninOz :-) One was started a week ago. One was started 5 hours ago….. I know there is a time difference in Australia but…. Just joshing. If a mod can merge ?

Well you have your answer. No posts for 2.5 days ? Must have lost midweek. Time to start the discussion on how we may well find a way to f*ck this up. We need to start as we did v Hearts. On the front foot and closing down opposition ASAP even if they are a league below. Imrie has Morton doing just that and so as Robinson was fond of saying we need to earn the right to win. I would make quite a few changes. Carroll and Slattery to name but two. Also if Shaw and Tierney are fit may be time to give them a run out as they will be eager to impress I would hope. I saw Shaw was injured on a Celtic online fanzine. Must have been in training. Hopefully nothing serious as after Wednesday we need to make changes to midfield. Would keep Goss and that is that… Expecting a tough game and hope the players are too.

Alexander is quite rightly raging in his post match interview. As angry as I have seen / heard him. Quite right. I think he has been very protective of certain players and poor performances and I acknowledge we are still 4th in the table…for now. But he has every right to tear them a new one. Too many players are believing the hype. Just expecting to turn up and do the bare minimum. I am not sure why no Shaw nor Tierney. Neither probably up to speed. And Slattery on the bench. WTF. Not saying he is Kante but he has rarely been poorer than Donnelly nor Maguire. Early days but that was a huge missed opportunity. Could have stole a bit of a march on Aberdeen and Hibs instead we have stalled. I still think and hope we will finish top 6, but Europe is a bit of a pipe dream based on that shitshow tonite. Hopefully gives us a kick up the arse ahead of the cup game but I think we need to see a few changes in team personnel. Very few can lay a claim to be starters after tonite. Ojala injured again possibly / probably. What is the point. As good as he undoubtedly is if he cannot play more than half a dozen games a season he is fuck all use to us or anyone for that matter. If he has Covid I take it back but no sooner does he seem fit he is nowhere to be seen. All in all a shite night. Not the first nor the last but sh1te all the same !!!

The players and the Manager need a good look at themselves after tonite. How is it even possible to let the opposition have 2 shots on target and yet lose 3 goals. Has forever been our Achilles heel. We need 5-10 shots on target to score. Opposition a couple. By all accounts defence was shite. I would like to say surprising but SODs has rarely had a good game. For every game McGinley is half decent the other game he plays like a donkey. Hopefully the kick up the arse we needed ahead of Saturday but Morton will be every bit as tough as Ross County. Imrie has them chasing down all over the park. Just the kind of team our players like to face. We are still 4th but Europe is a distant dream as Hibs and Aberdeen will go above us soon based on that shitshow tonite.

Well hopefully this gives us the kick up the arse for Saturday. To lose 3-1 v 10 men is a fucking red neck

Never seen that sentence before….. They are down to 10men. This would be an awful result after coming back from 1-0 down.

One tame effort on goal. Ran about a lot. Everyone has bad games, but he looked very similar to Jordan White and we know how that turned out for us. The Gaffer and Las were there I believe so hopefully that may make them rethink. Supposedly there were 8 or 9 clubs watching the game last night and interested. Would imagine that number is a lot lower now.

Was having a bit of a set too on P&B with United fans on this. I saw a figure of £350k being quoted for St Mirren for McGrath to go to Aberdeen this month. He too is out of contract this summer. I would argue Watt is equally if not more important to us. Truth is I doubt we would quote a fee that would be unrealistic as it would be best for both clubs if he moved on. But I think a fee of £150 to £250k would be realistic for the leagues top goalscorer. If United are not willing to pay more than £100k then I very much doubt a deal will be done.

Cheers. Will try again shortly.

Anyone else been able to buy a ticket yet via the season ticket link ? I have tried a few times yesterday and this morning. No joy getting through to the site. I assume and hope this is down to volume of people buying tickets since it was confirmed crowds were being allowed back in by then ! As to the game. I was delighted we drew Morton and not Inverness based on respective teams fortunes. But a 5-0 win v Dunfermline and Imrie as Manager gives me a little more trepidation. Anyways looking forward to getting back to Fir Park and a Scottish Cup game. Hopefully the players and Manager will be right up for this. Maybe Ross Tierney will get a run out if he is fit enough ?