Kmcalpin

I'm a bit late to this particular party I know, but I was surprised by the state of the pitch last Saturday. The POD Stand side looked a bit on the bare side. I know we've ahd far worse, but we've also had much better. The winter so far, hasn't been that bad, so it seems a bit odd. In previous years, we've hired UV growing lights in winter to boost growth. By Scottish standards we've got a state of the art pitch and spent a wad of cash on it so why the problems?

1st prize 350328 2nd prize 349841 3rd prize 349957

Rubbish draw but winnable

I really don't know what Celtic are playing at with Welsh. Either way, he won't be happy.

A player can go down too easily but that doesn't mean is not a penalty. Not quite the same thing but I recall Richard Tait winning a foul at Easter Road and then being booked for simulation at the same time.

Encouraging to see a healthy crowd of 5,547 at yesterday's game. It may not have been as much as some expected but I felt anything over 5,000 would be absolutely fine. Its put into context by crowds at Kilmarnock, Tannadice and Almondvale. Certainly not many travelling fans from Dingwall to swell numbers. Cup crowds do tend to be lower and £10/15 is quite a lot for some folk to fork out in January. Last year's attendance at Mcdiarmid Park was about 3,800 by comparison. Its up to the club to capitalise on these increased attendances in terms of hospitality & catering income but thats maybe a longer term project, given the limitations of the Centenary and Cooper Suites. Certainly the closure of Club 100, whilst regrettable, will have helped MFC.

In terms of loan players, Dylan Wells played 45 minutes for Stirling yesterday and Olly Whyte seems to have been outstanding again for Stenhousemuir.

Yes, I'm sorry for the staff at Club 100, who lost their jobs of course, but the premises certainly piggy backed off MFC on matchdays as does the likes of Dalzell Bowling Club. Mrs Baillies was also closed yesterday for some reason and had it been open that might have taken some of the pressure off. Still, MFC would benefit yesterday from busier than usual hospitality sales. Discussed on P & B would the club be interested in acquiring the now vacant Club 100 premises for any purpose?

I'd say not as good. Both do well on the ground but thats not the issue. Ward made the odd howler but yesterday Matty had about a 50% howler rate based on only 2 real saves admittedly. However he looks very frail in the air, much moreso than Ward did.

Today's game turned out just as I expected. Ross County park their buses and we struggle to break them down winning by a single goal or perhaps two at a push. We're through and thats all that counts. A much changed line up that took me by surprise but it worked just after some much needed adjustment. Maybe I'm in a minority of one but I wasn't overly impressed by Connelly today. Yes, he's excellent with the ball at his feet and pulled off one great save but also fumbled a fairly straightforward shot and looks most uncomfortable in the air. I didn't think Luca Ross did very much but thats probably due to the role he was asked to play. Liam Gordon was my MOTM. Hardly put a foot wrong and kept White in his pocket. Priestman too impressed and he's looking useful. Really encouraging too to see Jordan McGhee slot effortlessly into the back line. County made it difficult for us with their defensive tactics and gamesmanship, aided by a compliant referee. However patience paid off and that forced them out of their defensive shell. In the dying stages the team assumed it was game over and became a bit sloppy but County were unable to capitalise on that slackness. The big takeaway for me was our lack of punch in the box and it would seem that JBA agrees. We progress but there are still potentially exceedingly dangerous cup sides like Falkirk and St Mirren lying in wait, both of whom have the necessary qualities to do well in the tournament.

No standout but Priestman impressed. I opted for Liam Gordon though. Kept an awkward Jordan White quiet.

Well done. A sound piece of research that seems as definitive as anything I've come across.

Just read a post from Al B on P & B. He rightly points out that the VAR team was examining arm contact. The issue wasn't that at all it was a trip.

I don't know the buying patterns of our fans. Do a lot of folk buy tickets in the last 24 hours before kick off? Certainly, the ticket office is open from 11am until ko.

Agree 100%. Given his style of play and never really being a goalscorer in his career so far, it puzzled me at the time as to why he was brought in. Like you, I fail to see how he fits into the system we play.

From the litle I heard from the clips, there seems to be a lot of inconsistencies in the comments between incidents i.e. was there contact yes or no/there was contact but very slight. Also a lot of shouting from the VAR team. On that evidence, I'm far from convinced that its a logical and consistent process and thats before we get to the technology.

True, but how many of those goals are from open play?

Dylan Wells has resurfaced and has been sent out on loan to Stirling Albion for the rest of the season. Good luck to the lad.

Whilst I don't know for certain, this sounds as though he has some kind of underlying problem. Agree he just hasn't worked out.

Apologies, yes. I was just thinking that. Furlong is maybe a decent shout?

I'd hope not. His record with us was very patchy at best and he made it know he didn't enjoy being at Fir Park. In short he seemed to have an attitude problem. What has he done since?

Does anyone know how many tickets we've sold so far? It would be great to hit the 5,000 mark.

He'd be an interesting addition and give us something a bit different up front, physical presence. Initial view though is that he'll be more of a project to start with.

Hale has apparently been suffering from an "illness".

They seem to have fielded pretty much a reserve team. No surprise there. No Hale or Gallagher.