Kmcalpin

Good post. Healthy competition is fine in my book and parents can decide where to send their mini Messis. Hopefully it would encourage clubs of all sizes to upgrade their facilities and generally improve the standard of youth coaching. The problem is however that cash may be limited and the more that goes to smaller clubs the less can go to bigger clubs. I agree change is due but this is entirely the wrong way to go about it. The way things have been organised so far however has/will led to unhealthy competition. There is a very real danger that the 8 potentially elite clubs, in addition to upgrading their own facilities, will seek to actively undermine competing clubs' claims. Now thats unhealthy. The members of the existing committee will possibly change the goalposts if a competing club is in danger of meeting all the necessary criteria for entry to the top 8. Our club has been made aware of that possibility. Instead the committee, whatever its called, should have been selected from independent members with no vested interests. I have little doubt that if this flawed scheme goes ahead as is, there could well be a legal challenge from a number of clubs left out in the cold.

It will be a poor crowd on Friday due to a number of factors - televised game; predicted poor weather; 2 days before Christmas and a night out on the lash for some. That said, i don't know if the attendance would be much better if the match was to be played on Saturday. A lot of the problem over the entire season is this daft "winter break" which means fixtures have had to be shoehorned in to a shorter timespan.

Totally agree. Did Willie Collum not give a penalty against us in an Aberdeen game a couple of years ago? Someone blasted the ball against Stephen McManus's hand at point blank range - penalty awarded and McManus sent off (red card later rescinded). There was also a clearer claim on Saturday when a defender gave Moult a full blooded push in the small of his back just as he was about to connect with the ball. I can also recall a penalty given against us at McDiarmid Park due to Stephen Craigan "facing the wrong way" at a corner kick. Add to that 3 good goals wrongly chalked off this season already. No conspiracy theory from me but as you say we're not getting the run of the green just now.

Do you know that to be a fact? The reason that I ask is that I understand we received a modest fee for him.

It was a very poor performance yesterday Andy but the result was definitely acceptable against a team who are difficult to play against. The BBC stats of 11-0 corners and possession 64-36 are a reasonable reflection of the game. There were many reasons for our poor display in my view and I'll summarise them. There are underlying deficiencies in our squad eg the lack of left sided midfielder following Marvin Johnson's late departure and our poor central midfield (I'll come on to McHugh later). We must have the weakest central midfield in the league. Injuries - a lengthy list including MacLean, McHugh, Kennedy, Chalmers, Hammell and Blyth. Although Saints also had a few injuries they have a slightly larger more experienced squad than us. So we did go into the game with our team selection constrained by absentees. We also had a stamina sapping trip to Aberdeen in midweek which Saints did not have. Add to that a few of our players were not fully fit. So with the exception of the underlying squad deficiences Mark McGhee's hands were tied to some extent. Where I take issue with is playing players out of position or trying to fit the players into a system that doesn't suit them. MacDonald for example cannot play deep - he needs to play alongside Moult. If he cannot be play there then bench him. Out of 11 starters yesterday I reckon 8 were deep lying or defensive types, the exceptions being Moult, MacDonald and Cadden. Now that immediately limits any attacking desires we might have. Substitutions? As others have said we didn't adapt well to our own changes. We were also unfortunate with the injury to MacMillan although that was late on. We were also limited for choice on the bench with the untried Turnbull and Maguire and goalie sub. I think 3 of the back 4/5 places picked themselves with the exception of left back where it should have been MacMillan V Ferguson. Midfield I would have started Ainsworth or Thomas wide on the left (not my ideal choice it has to be said.) That would have given us more of an outball. As to the game itself, Saints are not overly blessed with talent but they are very fit, organised, physical and competitive. So it was always going to be a struggle for us. In order for us to create we had to win the ball and thats where we just didn't compete. Central midfield is a critical area of the team and we just didn't show up there. On a few occasions Cadden manged a run but became a tad frustrated with the lack of support from behind and beside him. I think McHugh will make a difference when he returns but thats speculation on my part. We lost too many 50/50 challenges and did not work nearly hard enough to close Saints down - look at all the unhindered crosses they managed to throw into our box. Anyhow it was a point gained and we did not lose ground on the pack. We have 3 more games before the break and if we can hobble to the end of the month with adequate results I'll be happy. We can then concentrate on getting players fit and perhaps bringing a couple of midfielders in.

It wouldn't. The 8 elite clubs would continue to sign and hoard the best players to the disbenefit of the other lesser academies. Lads who might have progressed quicker or further with lesser academies will warm benches or worse with the 8 elite outfits.

I've no idea how much cash is involved but its substantial. The proposals, if implemented would not improve the set ups at Rangers or Celtic. As for young players being routinely denied game time it was stated at the club AGM that if the proposals are implemented then fewer youngsters would receive game time, presumably as clubs outside of the elite 8 cut back their youth schemes.

A valuable point today although its questionable if we deserved it, although as Tom Wright alluded to we could easily have won a penalty in the second half. We played poorly in the first half and even worse in the second. Fortunately for all their dominance and possession, Saints were pretty toothless up front. A measure of their dominance from start to finish was the corner count 11-0. I can't recall a game for quite some time in which we were under the cosh pretty much from start to finish. Credit to Saints though - they ran, harried, chased and tackled for 90 minutes. I think Mark McGhee got the line up wrong. It seemed to be a 4-5-1 with Moult on his own up front and MacDonald playing deep and out wide. At times it was more like a 4-6-0. As has happened in the past with MacDonald playing deeper he didn't link up well with Moult. Saints targeted our left flank from start to finish and in the second half slung over free cross after free cross to such an extent it became boring. Our midfield simply didn't compete and was overrun. Cadden produced a few runs which sadly were not supported by his midfield colleagues. I thought Lasley and Clay were pretty anonymous. Even from the early stages we defended far too deeply and retreated into our box and not surprisingly we lost a scrappy goal through it. Even when Lucas appeared he was pretty anonymous too but you can't expect one man to change a game like that. As others have said we didn't adapt too well to our own changes and thats when we lost the goal. Our own goal was bit odd and resulted from a goalkeeping error but credit to Tait he put in a great low cross that Davie Cooper would have been proud of. Maybe a few of our lads simply weren't fit given that they required late fitness tests? The last 49 minutes were nail biting and its the kind of game we've lost before but not today. It wasn't all bad though - I though our central defenders did pretty well with little or no support from those around them. They were bombarded from all angles with crosses and players running at them but they stood firm. Yes, they made the odd error but I reckon they won us a point. Great to see the likes of Ferguson and MacMillan get more game time and Davie Turnbull getting a seat on the bench. Over the weekend we made modest gains in the league after a game in which few gave us much chance. Onwards and upwards.

Don't forget that Accies lost last night too.

A close run thing between Heneghan and McManus for me. Neither had a brilliant game but they played like British survivors from Rorkes Drift and refused to buckle when faced with overwhelming odds. Heneghan just shades it for me.

I can see the logic in a geographical spread so we can then assume there will be one academy for the Glasgow clubs and one for the Edinburgh clubs? IF this proposal goes forward I can see it ending up in the law courts as quite a few clubs are extremely unhappy. Another question - how can a club in the second tier of academies progress to the top 8? Presumably vested interests would then change the criteria goalposts?

If we go out tomorrow and work damned hard off the ball for 90 + minutes (not 45), compete and don't make mistakes we'll take a point at the very least. A tall order?.....time will tell.

A very tough game is in prospect tomorrow and those who go shouldn't expect a classic. As Louis Moult acknowledged St Johnstone are a very physical team and we'll need to conjure up something a bit different if we are to return with any points. They remind me very much of John Lambie's Partick Thistle side of a good few years ago. They'll be well organised, extremely hardworking and very streetwise. They'll bite, scratch and claw their way to a result and Tom Wright won't be overly fussed how they do it so long as they aren't caught. At the very worst, it'll be a great learning experience for the likes of MacMillan, Ferguson and perhaps Hastie. Willie Collum's appointment isn't the best of news for us but we'll just need to get on with it. Our long injury and perhaps illness list will determine who plays and who doesn't ansd also our tactics but it would be very satisfying to return home with 3 points or at least a draw. We are long overdue a decent result in Perth so why shouldn't we start tomorrow?

Thanks, much appreciated - its ok though I'll download the form myself. It was just that the Society site stated that voting had already opened and I thought it strange that I and perhaps others hadn't received any prior warning.

Has anyone been emailed yet regarding the voting? It seems to have started but the only mention I can find of it is on the website.

I agree 100% but it depends on what kind of player Lucas is. Is a defensive sort or an offensive type or indeed an all rounder. I haven't seen enough of him to judge but MM will know. That will determine who he replaces. As to our tactics on the day a lot will depend on who is fit.

He should be but its the SFA were talking about here and they don't often do consistency.

Hope to goodness that its not a 4 5 1 formation with MacDonald playing deep and Moult or Bowman playing wide left midfield.

Whats the team?

John Hunter for service to football in North Lanarkshire. .

Wow you're certainly the master of understatement. Hammell, Chalmers, MacMillan, Kennedy, McHugh, Blyth and Cadden all out. I thought a share of the spoils was about right. Both sides mustered one effort on target each in a turgid draw. Certainly we had 3 good chances but spurned every one. Its a game we might have won but equally we've lost this type of game in the past. Not many passmarks for me with MacLean, Heneghan and McManus being the pick of the bunch. Again I thought MacDonald was wasted deeper in midfield (will we never learn) and Moult received poor support for long spells. On the plus side more youngsters got game time and we kept a clean sheet. MacLean is certainly settling into the first team. I thought our Caddenless midfield was woeful, MacLean apart, and not even Lucas, who appeared just after the break, did anything of note. He has a valid excuse of course. I thought Thomas had a funny game - mediocre going forward, poor at corners, but impressive when defending off the ball. He annoyed his opponents by harrying, chasing and closing them down. Ainsworth was a huge and frustrating letdown and for me his time has come and gone. Again I hope we can crawl into January in touch with the pack so that we can completely revamp the central midfield.

A toss up between Heneghan and McManus for me but I'll plump for the latter.

Who is on the bench?

Craig Hughes.

Absolutely. Trying to replace players in the January window is notoriously difficult and I'd hold off until the summer to sell unless the bid was phenomenal.