Kmcalpin

I'm with you on this 100%. Yes neither Ainsworth or Johnson are playing well. However all too often they are given balls behind them or at the wrong height. Also, they are being fed too many balls that they have to come short for - just not their game. As I've said before its frustrating to watch our centre midfield or full backs faffing about and dithering before passing the ball to the wing, by which time both lads have 2 defenders on their backs.

A poor game from our perspective but we did win through and I guess thats the important thing. East Fife were tricky opponents and were certainly fired up. They were very competitive and won most of the individual battles until they tired around the 70/75 minute mark. They closed our guys quickly, put in great tackles, won most of the aerial balls, were strong enough to win 50/50 balls - and thats where their success was founded. We were the exact opposite. On the ball they were quick, tidy, passed the ball well and ran well off the ball. In short we simply weren't competitive enough, much like the St Johnstone game last Saturday. Thought Ripley was ok and had one fantastic save; Kennedy was reasonable; Moult put in a great hard working shift with little support and was rewarded with a goal. Thomas was lively when he came on but needs to improve his final ball - if and when he does that he'll be a match winner. Skippy looked lively when he came on but that was against a tiring defence. Law had a real nightmare. This impacted on an off form Laing, who was affected by Law's performance. Leitch and Lasley were outbattled by their lower league opponents and went missing when we were under pressure. Their service/support to Clarkson/Moult/Ainsworth and Johnson was also poor. Ainsworth and Johnson found it hard against multiple defenders and suffered from poor service again. Clarkson worked hard but received little support and played too deep. Our shortcomings are exactly the same as those that have bedevilled us this season and last and remain unaddressed. Another point evident last night was that we need to cut out aerial balls - we just don't have the height up front to benefit from them. We're through to the next round but the team certainly put us through hell last night. Had Austin's offside goal stood the mood amongst our fans would have turned very nasty indeed. You could sense the anger rising to the surface when he scored East Fife's goal. Its quite some time since I've felt that sense of raw animosity.

A must win game for us no if and no buts. I'd like to see Watt start at right back and I'd be tempted to go with Thomas and Ainsworth unless and until we take a 2 goal lead in which case Johnson is the man. We're desperately poor in the middle and unfortunately I can't think of any realistic alternatives to Lasley and Leitch. Cadden may be worth looking at but right now he lacks experience and its unfair to put too much pressure on his shoulders.

Moult for me. He put himself about and harried the Fifer's defence all night. That was achieved with some pretty poor support for much of the game. Dom Thomas? A possible contender but all too often his final ball let him down.

Saturday's crunch game will tell us a lot. On one side the new players are still settling in; we've lost a couple of key ones through injury; we're above 11th spot; and we've had a tough set of opening fixtures. On the other we've lost 4 games on the bounce and are not playing well; we struggled badly against a lower division side; and we still have the same weaknesses we had last season. You pays your money and takes your choice. IF we are going to fire Ian Baraclough, how long do we wait? Given our track record of long drawn out recruitment processes we can't afford to wait too long. Christmas is far too far away. The question in my mind is should we act on Saturday (if we don't beat Killie) or wait until the first round of fixtures are over (if we are still struggling badly)? All that said, we might suddenly start to hit form beginning on Saturday and Baraclough's stock may suddenly rise. Yes, Saturday will tell us a lot.

I've had managers I didn't like or agree with from time to time but yes I just got on with it - call it being professional if you like. I have absolutely no idea of the relationship between Ian Baraclough and his players. What we have heard may just be rumours.

Its often not a case of wanting to vary your performance Al - it just happens. Some bosses undermine their staff, don't trust them, shout abuse at them, constantly criticise them, or embarrass them. In such circumstances its very hard indeed to stay motivated. I was fortunate in my career that most of my managers were fine but the odd one demotivated me big time and that wasn't a conscious choice on my part.

In most areas of the team yes. However where is the cover for Pearson & Lasley?

Chalmers is a decent player but does lack pace unfortunately - maybe not the best guy to motor up and down the park.

I'll probably have a spare ticket tomorrow if anyone is interested - looking for face value ie £15.00. One of our group has had to drop out. If interested PM me.

Which young player is ready to step into Las's boots as of now Greg? I simply can't think of any. Of the current crop possibly Watt and Thomas seem to be the best but neither could remotely be described as an out and out ball winning defensive midfielder. Over the years, I've witnessed many young lads come through the ranks at Fir Park, but I can never recall 11 or thereabouts covering all positions, breaking through at the same time. For a year or two we might see strikers, then it might be the turn of midfielders a few years later, then perhaps a centre back. For some positions we have to accept that there are currently no ready made replacements ready to step in and that buying in is the only solution.

Ian Baraclough in today's interview said that we hope to bring in "one or two" new faces before the transfer window closes next week.

Yes its nothing new. Given that we should have been looking to improve the defence I'd have thought that this would be a position we would have looked to strengthen. Downright baffled by the decision to award him another deal.

Absolutely Andy. We often complain that our midfield disappears when we're under pressure or opposition players can run straight at our central defence or we're too soft. As captain and our holding midfielder thats Keith Lasley's responsibility. Unlike others I don't think he's he's played well this season (I wasn't at Tynecastle or Inverness). He's played well in patches but thats about it. On Saturday he couldn't compete with younger, fitter, more aggressive and physical Saints opponents. After 30 minutes or so yesterday he just disappeared along with others of course. In his defence, it doesn't help that he's partnered with either a young player who is unlikely to make the grade or a new acquisition who has been anonymous.

Very hard to say. I've now watched him in 2 games and am no wiser. On both occasions he was totally anonymous. He's certainly not a hard defensive player but by the same token he's not an energetic box to box player. Just not sure where fits in.

For me the jury is still out ...just. What struck me yesterday at Perth was the number of moderate/usually reasonable/middle of the road fans who mentioned that Ian Baraclough's position was becoming very shaky indeed. For that reason, I think the thread should remain open. Whatever your view, this is a topical issue.

Good post. Jim Gannon thought the same thing and he was right. The problem is though that we don't have the players to play the ball out. You can just envisage the ball being rolled out to Stevie Hammell; he is closed down rapidly by the opposition so he plays quickly it to McManus, who in turn is also closed down and he gets rid of it to Law who is pressed and then gives the ball away. Unless you have quick skillful players at the back its a dangerous game. The opposition quickly learn to press high up the park and close us down. You're also right about our off the ball tendencies. I was very impressed with Saints' off the ball work yesterday especially defensively. At one point in the second half Lasley got rid of the ball quickly to Johnson who then had 3 defenders close him down immediately. They worked hard off the ball to close us down and deny us any space. Aberdeen were the same. At throw ins in both games opponents closed us down irrespective of which half we were in. These sides work hard and quickly when off the ball to smother any threat immediately and thats something we just won't or, more likely, can't do.

In terms of pitch size, New Bayview is slightly larger than Fir Park, which in theory should suit us. I think we can afford to make two or three changes without weakening the team and indeed may even strengthen it on recent evidence! I'd be tempted to give Dom Thomas a start, but he won't find East Fife any physically softer then Premiership sides. I'd also be tempted to switch Clarkson for MacDonald but then again he isn't suited to a deep role either. Kennedy for Law is a good shout and I'd give Chalmers another run on the left. No idea if Taylor is eligible or not.

I agree that we need a new right back and defensive midfielder but for me we need a stronger starting 11 never mind strength in depth.

The problem is though that the current team is not solid and hasn't been so for a year or two. Thats simply not going to improve overnight. Likewise the team isn't capable of grinding a result out. When under pressure we simply crumble. The root cause of many of our problems is an ineffective central midfield that just isn't competing and disappears under pressure and 2 defensively suspect full backs. IB has had opportunities to fix those problems but hasn't. That said, we are missing Pearson but I don't expect to see him return any time soon. Totally baffled by Ian Baraclough's comment that "We were totally in control in the first half" - we weren't. They had 5 shots on target we had 2.

Absolutely. We displayed all our old failings again today. We started off well and deservedly took the lead but by the half hour mark Saints began to dominate midfield and they continued to do that for the remainder of the match. In the second half our midfield simply disappeared and we could not compete with a fired up and aggressive St Johnstone engine room. Taylor was largely anonymous and Lasley simply disappeared in the second half as we defended deeper and deeper. We are missing Pearo badly but need a replacement for Lasley very badly like now. Both full backs were very poor and Hammell struggled badly against O'Halloran. I thought Chalmers played him marginally better. In short we gave Saints far too much room. MacDonald was again played too deep leaving the industrious but ultimately sterile Moult too isolated. The substitutions, apart from Hammell's enforced departure were downright baffling. Leitch added nothing to a totally ineffective midfield and its doubtful if Thomas touched the ball more than twice after coming on. We did look not too bad in sporadic breaks but flattered to deceive with no end product or killer touch in the box. For me though the 2 most worrying aspects were an anonymous central midfield which showed little fight and the amount of time and space we afforded Saints. A word on Taylor - he was anonymous but was harshly treated by inconsistent Craig Thomson. His first card was absurd as the ball was not stationary for the free kick. You see this kind of incident week in and week out with no action being taken and indeed today I counted a further 2 such incidents which went unpunished. His second card was downright poor refereeing. Yes he went down easily but the defender definitely caught him and not accidentally either. A bad day at the office and Ian Baraclough must be running out of excuses. This dismal run cannot be allowed to continue much longer.

Conor Ripley by a country mile for me - let down badly by those in front of him but made a few tremendous saves. No-one else in contention.

Certainly during my time following the Well we've always fared better in the League Cup than in the Scottish Cup. This year is as good as any to reverse that trend.

A bit flummoxed by your post, which in its own way is fascinating. I'm assuming that it was something to do with the ground that made you realise that going on Tuesday wasn't worth the hassle? What exactly was that? Yesterday, I too drove through Lower Methil and past the stadium but came to a different view. I'm looking forward to Tuesday evening, although in my case I will have less hassle admittedly. Incidentally I'm intrigued as to why are you finished with the League Cup? Is it our lack of success or something else entirely? Its your right of course but I'm always curious when someone feels the need to upload a post saying that they don't intend to do something. Each to their own.

I hope so, but for our 2 wingers to run the show they'll need to be given the ball early and not only that but given the passes they like. Very frustrating to watch our full backs or central midfielders faffing about before releasing passes 5 yards behind the wingers who by that time are covered.