Kmcalpin

I felt sorry for him last night, although he does himslef no favours. There were several fouls last night similar or worse than the one he was carded for but no action was taken by Euan Anderson, who had an extremely inconsistent game. Yes, he has built a reputation with refs and thats costing him. Being human, referees let personal emotions and bias affect their decisions.

Not his fault. We knew that when we signed him. Let the buyer beware.

Yes, they'll score but if we can sort out the midfield and strikers then we have a chance. I don't care if we lose 3 as long as we score 4. Going with the right formation and picking the right personnel would be a great start. Both we and St Johnstone know our weaknesses at the back so we just have to mitigate them. Hopefully we'll protect Kelly and take out cross balls before they reach him; lets close down opponents quickly - probably a pipe dream ( no I've not been on anything).

A genuine guy by all accounts but not my type of manager. That said, he'll be an excellent fit for St Johnstone and will represent a continuity candidate who is consistent with their style of play over the past decade or so.

Mistakes were made with our striker recruitment; most though not all fans would agree about that. However, I don't think we've been using them to their albeit limited strengths. My impression, and thats up for debate, so far is that: Bair is a target man end of; Wilkinson is a limited penalty box striker; Obika is a target man and possibly a little more; Biereth is an all rounder but not a target man; Shaw? Irrespective of what formation we play the striker(s) need close support, which they've not been getting. That means a mobile midfield and its questionable if we have that; and if we play 2 or more strikers together, then they have to play close to each other. I think a 2 man strikeforce is worth trying tomorrow with Bair as the target man and Biereth feeding off him. Defence could be a concern. If rumours and reports are to be believed, then it could any 5 from O'Donnell, Gent, Mugabi, Blaney and Casey. Back up????? Its a critical game for both sides with Saints being desperate to have a new manager in place by tomorrow.

Also Miller and McGinn doubtful.

This is it for me and possibly for many others. We all knew the great run would come to an end at some point. However we are in the here and now and that's what matters to the SPFL. That's what determines income, league placing, relegation; and from a fan's perspective, enjoyment. Wrong as it may be, 1 point from 7 games is very, very poor. 1 point from 30 would be catastrophic.

At the moment, and assuming both are fit, I'd play Bair alongside Biereth up front. The "but" though is that they have to play close together. Also for that to work, they both need a midfielder who can support them. Spencer at right back please.

Just read a post on P & B. Wilkinson and Bair weren't played out wide were they?

No hard and fast definition but I'd say if a manager fails to achieve a single win in a complete round of fixtures, say 11 games. We're now heading towards that. Two tough but normally winnable games coming up but then we face Celtic at Parkhead. Hopefully we'd act before we'd reach the stage of terminal decline. I think you're right about KVV - he was an "unusual and exceptional factor" in our run of results last term. SK deserves credit though for bringing out the best in him.

Yes, we could be looking at 2 wins. Its by no means impossible. Until recently I never believed in bad luck but of late we have suffered some real body blows. Even on Saturday we suffered bad fortune in the shape of several injuries Hopefully that will change. I think the worst posible outcome for the club in the next 2 games is inconclusive results. A couple of unconvincing draws or a single draw. Its a shocking statistic I know, but Stuart Kettlewell is currently the 6th longest serving manager in the Premiership (Barry Robson in 5th beats him by only 14 days). Football has changed and the days of long serving managers like Sailor Hunter, George Stevenson and Bobby Howitt are long gone. Clubs face huge financial pressures these days, with the cost of failure being catastrophic. We, the fans, are far more demanding now than we were say 20 or 30 years ago. The pressure on managers and directors is huge.

I assume that both Butcher and McGinn will be out for this one, and possibly Miller too, given the battering he suffered against Aberdeen. My plea is that whatever formation we set out with on paper, we play with 2 strikers playing close together on the park and to support them from midfield. Oh, and to play round pegs in round holes.

There's a middle course to be steered here. I think he can turn things around but time is running out fast. He has to do so fairly quickly. As you say, we have no pre determined right whatsoever to beat the likes of Aberdeen, Livingston, RC Killie, or St Johnstone but by the same token we should have no expectation not to pick up points against them. To expect some decent results in that run of fixtures isn't unreasonable. Apologies if I'm misinterpreting your comment above but it does seem somewhat.......fatalistic and passive. We cannot afford to simply wait and hope that SK turns it around. To me, its akin to watching a seemingly stricken ship struggle, and saying we'll re-assess things if it goes down. As Gazzy B wrote, if we lose the next 2 then its time for change; that would represent 1 point from 27 - worse than St Johnstone's record this season. Apologies for the nautical theme - completely unintended.

What was the formation today? Despite much pre match speculation, I read a post on P & B suggesting that it was basically the same as in recent games with Biereth on his own up front with Bair and Wilkinson replacing Spittal and Slattery and Spittal replacing Miller. That can't be right surely?

A bit quick, but the clock is undoubtedly ticking. If we lose on Tuesday then the pressure really builds on him. Lose next Saturday as well and that should be it. Next game after that is Celtic at Parkhead. Not nice but that's the modern game.

Yes, bought our tickets for the postponed match. Its a huge game now.

Absolutely. SK is now being tested.

Now 1 point out of a possible 21.

No, we need to get the ball to Biereth. According to the BBC he is totally isolated. What a surprise.

Well SK has certainly rung the changes. Hope it wasn't done in a panic. It'll either backfire badly or be a masterstroke. Presumably we'll be playing the long ball on that disgusting surface.

If we have a choice, I'd leave Lennon Miller out for this one. If Wenesday's game is anything to go by, opposing teams have wised up to him and are targetting him. He looked broken, by the 35 minute mark in midweek. I can't see Killie adopting a different approach to Aberdeen. So time to take the pressure off him a wee bit.

Ruby............. aaarrrrgghhh!

Having seen a few keepers in my time at Fir Park I'd rate Kelly at about a 6.5 or 7 out of ten. Slightly better than average. A lot were worse, a good few have been better.

Not to my knowledge. Shinnie didn't book the ref.

I don't know. If, and it is a big if, this run continues we'll be well adrift at the bottom by Hogmanay. That would test the resolve of the Directors. Fans would vote with their feet. Now stability and continuity are important but these days, clubs don't have patience; fans even less so. We've all seen the shocking events at St Johnstone who have sacked 2 managers in a short space of time. Both fans favourites. That club was renowned in recent years for patience, stability and continuity. A sign of the times.