Kmcalpin

Wow! I can't ever recall a transfer window like it, especially in January. Having now had an opportunity to assess most of the squad I can only assume that Ian Baraclough has not been impressed by what he was left. Interesting posts from Leanne have added a bit of spice to the day for us.

Conor Grant?

+1 Some folk are never pleased. By all means complain in a few months time if new acquisitions turn out to be flops, but come on give them a chance.

Thats why Randolph left for nothing. Good to see us signing a big guy who should be able to repel battering ram strikers; command his box and allow our centre backs to get on with their normal jobs.

Yes, that was the root cause of the goal - no midfield cover.

The very successful Community Trust was set up under his watch.

Just watched the highlights on BBC. Just as Ian Baraclough said, Laing slipped and fell into the Saints player bringing him down. An unintentional foul but never ever a red card. Just as in the Aberdeen game Collum should have used common sense but failed to do so.

A reasonably fair assessment. My initial thought too on the goal was who was tracking Davidson? The number of goals we lose from this type of situation!! I'm not saying our defence is blameless but you have to feel sorry for them when an opponent is allowed to run at them uninterrupted through our central midfield. Likewise, you're right, offensively we have no-one in central midfield who get get up and support our strikers - Pearson being a possible exception. Strengthening our central midfield must be a priority in my view. None of the current squad (Carswell, Lasley, Leitch, Vigurs) are capable of fulfilling either role. That surely is Stuart McCall's most significant error in team building last summer.

They could indeed but by the same token they could lose to Aberdeen to throw away one of their two game advantage they hold over us. This would mean that they'd go into the game against us 6 points worse off and potentially end up 9 points worse off than us. These are the worst and best case scenarios of course.

It was interesting yesterday that either Kane or MacLean let loose with a string of swear words on 2 separate occasions in front of the POD Stand and no action was taken by the officials.

Its not the ref's job to help any one side but he has to be fair and consistent which Collum is not. I stick by my view that the red card incident was more of an accidental collision. From my view in the POD Stand, Davidson deliberately elbowed Carswell on 1 occasion - I don't know about 3. If Collum was going to be pernickety then he ought to have booked Croft for a blatant dive in the box and a Saints player for booting the ball high into the stand after the whistle had blown.

That is 100% correct - no joking matter. You obviously have contacts in the club.

Just watched the TV highlights and I have to say the red card incident was in the very soft category. A foul? Maybe. A red card no way. Poor poor decision from Collum.

My thoughts too. I thought Straker looked useful and will settle in when playing with better players. He was asked to play all over the shop even on the right hand side for a spell. Young Watt had a poor game and that didn't help Straker having to cover for him. Law was poor and Dan looked shaky in the air. The midfield in general was dire in the first half and failed to protect the defence. Immediately prior to the red card incident (I'll need to check it but it looked soft) the Saints player who made the pass was offside according to the manager. Second half was much better and Moore, Erwin and Thomas all contributed energy and threat. Reid did well in a makeshift defence. Overall I was happy with a draw which was deserved. Our starting line up lacked pace and creativity and that contributed in no small part to a very poor first half. A decent point and fightback given the circumstances and we must take into account the number of players missing - few teams could cope with that injury list. Oh and did Faddy impress anyone today? Didn't do a thing in my book.

Too many Trolls on here as well!

Yes, we could play 3 centre backs with Kerr retaining his place if McManus doesn't make it today. We could also play any combination of Law, Reid, Watt, or Ramsden at right back. Midfield could be a wee bit of a problem depending on whether Pearo is fit. Again we could field a combination of Ramsden, Carswell, Law, Ainsworth and Straker or Thomas in there (assuming Lasley doesn't make it). Quite few options at right back, centre back and midfield although we still have weaknesses in there.

A change in tactics may be just what is required. Tommy Wright knows our squad better than most of our fans do. However we do have uncertainties over injuries and new players coming in so our line up will be a mystery not just to us but to St Johnstone also. A midfield battle is more than likely. We can expect St Johnstone to be well organised, streetwise and physical and have to be prepared to combat that style of play.

+1 Some of the posts on this thread are nothing short of embarrassing. We are all Well fans and need to support the team and stick together. Please respect each other.

Whether you're for it or not the Society is now the confirmed way forward. Given that we all need to support it in any way we can.

Not quite sure what you mean. Wiki's definition of an internet troll is "In internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off topic messages in an online community." I'm sure there are others. The poster, in this case Leanne, whoever she/he is, doesn't come into this category. The term "Troll" is often misused to refer to someone who makes comments that run contrary to the views of some of the more active posters. Thankfully not all posters agree on everything otherwise the site would be boring. In my view all comments are welcome on this site provide that they are not illegal or bring the site into disrepute. I don't like personal abuse or overuse of swearing but under the rules of the site they are allowed. To go back to the original post I can't see whats wrong with it. You might not agree with it but fair enough.

Indeed, many folk on here either forget or simply have never known the scale of wages being paid in the English lower leagues. York for example has a population greater than Aberdeen. TV money is vastly superior to that on offer for the Scottish Premiership. Good to read some positive and realistic posts on here as opposed to a plethora of negative ones.

Hopefully things will become clearer today. New owners and a new signing?

Straker can also play on the wing. Given Steve Hammell's age we will need a replacement for him soon, like very soon. I think the management have been working very hard behind the scenes to wheel and deal.

An inability to close players down, put in tackles and shield the defence is possibly our biggest defensive weakness and thats down in large part to central midfield. Still in Ian Barraclough we trust.