Kmcalpin

Yes, thats how things are shaping up. We're at the stage now where performance doesn't matter so long as we can grind out results. We could also do with a bit of good luck - we must have quite a bit accumulated in the bank. One issue we do need to address is the now traditional second half slump. Worryingly too, a win may not be good enough in itself; it may have to be a convincing win, as the league is very tight. Tactics? Surely we'll revert to an old fashioned 4-4-2. Ripley and Moult would be the first names on my team sheet - after that?

The only problem Fraz is that its against the rules as they currently stand. In theory the club could be disciplined if we, the fans, don't abide by the rules.

That doesn't surprise me. I wonder if the Kangaroo Court took that into account in its deliberations.

First things first I'm not singling out or blaming Keith Lasley for yesterday's defeat - be clear about that. In the first half his distribution was awful and gave his colleagues no chance, Gomis put himself about a bit more but his distribution was very poor also. In the second half Lasley was completely anonymous when we needed the engine room to dig in and protect the defence and feed an outball to the strikers. That said, Pearson was just as anonymous as was Johnson and to a slightly lesser extent Cadden. I said before the entire midfield was poor - Lasley and Pearson were no worse nor better than the rest. Our central midfield has been poor for several years now and that did not change yesterday. In the middle of the park we lost just too many individual battles. This is leaving our centre backs exposed and our strikers and wingers starved of decent service.

You've hit the nail on the head. This is our single biggest weakness as a team. Its more than just a coaching issue though. Its down to the character, physique, fitness and pace of the players. The teams that you cite are not great footballing sides, but they are in the main fit, compete and make few mistakes.

Killie's support has plummeted over the past 3/4 years. In part it may be due to internal bickering with the owners but I think there was a rumpus a few years ago about ticket allocations at the then OF games, when home fans got shafted..

We'll agree to differ on that Tweed. In the first half, as I said earlier A St Johnstone player was able to get into the right hand side of our box within close range of Ripley with no defender near. It happens once and you think "maybe a one off". It happens twice and you start to think what to do about it. It happens a third time and you know something is going badly wrong. Not only did it happen three times yesterday in the first 45 it happened a fourth time and they scored from it. In general they were no more skillful than us but were more determined, looked fitter and faster, and better organised - at one point I wondered if they had 20 players on the pitch - they were here there and everywhere harrying us, chasing us and closing us down. On not a few occasions they had 3 players marking Johnson and Cadden.

Can anyone tell me the recommended ratio of fans to stewards is and what it was at the Sevco game?

It would not have made a jot of a difference Haggis. Service to him would have been just as dire.

I agree about MMcG overthinking tactics but Pearo was no worse than the rest of the midfield today. They were all very poor. That said it would be nice to see Cadden and Pearson playing in roles to which they are more suited.

I don't think Traveller was overly criticising Stevie Hammell here Andy. I took it that he was criticising Mark McGhee's tactics and team selection. I had assumed that if he was going to bring on one full back it would have been Josh Law, given that Saints were tearing us apart down our right hand side. However I think that he should have brought on 2 full backs and not one. For the record Stevie Hammell didn't play well when he came on but he was no better nor worse than the rest, although he didn't look clever at the second goal. I also think that too many players in midfield are being played out of position. Pearson is being deployed in too deep a role and I'm far from convinced that Chris Cadden is a winger - more a right sided midfielder. I have no axe to grind with Mark McGhee and was quite happy when he was brought back but some of his tactical decisions, like today's, simply beggar belief. It became obvious after say the first 30 minutes, that the line up was completely wrong. All that said, I wasn't expecting to get much today - our real test comes next Saturday. No excuses for less than 3 points then.

Absolutely. Canals do leak small amounts of water but they are lined to prevent this. If the underlying hydrology is in any way to blame it will be dependent on the level of natural water table and I very much doubt that it reaches ground level under Firhill.

Agree with that but who do you head the ball to when your midfield is sitting about 2 yards in front of you?

No-one deserving of a vote today.

Absolutely. Just home from the match. We got what we deserved - forget the late goal if Saints had scored earlier it would have been 3 or 4. We matched them for skill but couldn't match them for attitude or work rate. The team played badly but we were beaten at 3.00. Tuesday's formation was never going to work today. I felt sorry for young Cadden and the 2 strikers + Johnson who had a thankless task on poor or non existent service. The entire first half Saints exposed our virtually non existent right hand side and Cadden was left cruelly exposed. When Wotherspoon hit their first goal it was the 4th time one of their players was able to stroll into the right hand side of our box without hassle - we failed to heed the first 3 warnings and paid the price. The second half we fell into our customary defensive shell and Saints were able to fire over cross after cross with the inevitable result. In short our entire midfield was woeful - little creativity, second to most balls and struggling to compete and failing to protect the defence. Their passing was awful and Johnson and the 2 strikers suffered accordingly. That said Fletcher struggled to compete and looks more like a 6 yard box player. Our big problem was that due to the starting formation requiring substantial changes to transform it into a 4-4-2 set up it simply couldn't be done mid game. Gomis didn't have a great game but his defensive presence was missed when he was hooked as we simply don't have suitable replacement. Faddy was a big letdown - didn't do much apart from take 4 corners, 2 of which were very poor, one very good and one leading to the goal.

I'd guess that Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts and Dundee United bring larger crowds (no surprise there then). We certainly take bigger crowds with us than Hamilton, Ross County, Inverness, St Johnstone, Killie and Partick. Probably the same as Dundee. So, you're probably right in that we punch slightly above our weight. You have to take gate prices and travelling costs, as well as geography into account. Killie's away support (and indeed home support) has plummeted in recent years. For their size Dundee united have a relatively poor away support.

Interesting that most folk seem in favour of leaving Pearson out. Maybe he's been carrying an injury but he has been asked to play deeper than he likes. Saints have a fairly combative midfield so we'll see the respective line ups. Brian Easton has been ruled out (apparently) so we'll see if that affects Mark McGhee's thoughts

Thats Partick's home game against Aberdeen called off - the 4th this season. Again still no media witch hunt or SPFL investigation threatened.

Seconded. I've known him for many years and he's Motherwell through and through. Whats more important though is his enthusiasm for the job, his willingness to put in long hours and his professionalism.

Spot on Shaka. In the past 2/3 years our midfield has been lightweight and all too often brushed aside easily by other teams. In the late stages of games its disappeared altogether. Opponents have been given time and space on the edge of our box as we retreated deep into the danger zone. That has cost us a good few goals. Now part of that is down to tactics I admit. Keith Lasley is by no means responsible for all of that but by the same token, as captain and a crucial part of the central midfield we can't say that it was nothing to do with him. As you say we have missed him when he wasn't available but that does reflect our lack of alternative choices. Stuart McCall and Ian Baraclough did neglect the central midfield and now Mark McGhee is having to rectify that and quickly. Whether Morgaro Gomis is the solution I have my doubts but his loan signing has flagged up McGhee's thoughts on our engine room.

I stand corrected, you are quite right - he is not 37 until September. However my points still stand. I beg to differ about his "superman" image. Someone, I have no idea who, coined the phrase "houswewives favourite" and I think thats indicative of his status within much of our support.

If Gomis was to be left out of the starting line up would Pearo be best suited to a defensive role? We don't want to fall into the Craig Brown school of thought where we field our 11 best players irrespective of their positions.

Anderson is a smoking timebomb, always liable to blow up and do something erratic discipline wise.

Unconfirmed rumour on FPC that diminutive playmaker Stefan Scougall is heading our way.

Sorry Tony I don't agree. Keith Lasley is now 37, going on 38. Irrespective of how good he has been he is simply not as fit as he was say 8 years ago. Granted he is very fit for his age. He has never been fast but that is quite different from stamina. He's never ever been a box to box player in the mould of Phil O'Donnell, Stephen Pearson and now Chris Cadden - thats no slight on him he's just a different type of player. I contend that he starts to run out of steam at around the 75 minute mark - again no slight on him but a perfectly natural reflection of his age. In terms of fitness ie stamina I'd place him as one of the less fit members of the squad. I wouldn't have posted these comments but I just don't get the "superman" image many fans, obviously including yourself, have of him. As at today he's a loyal servant to the club, a model professional and a decent player past his prime but thats it.