MelvinBragg

Unless Watt has shifted half a stone, no thanks...

I reckon you could have put a fiver on 2-1 both ways for every game we've played so far this season and have made a handsome profit by now...

Stuperavic scoring for Morton...

Why AP given his second name starts with an S? Just curious as to how this nickname came about as my son also refers to him as AP...

Sunday confirmed?

Miller will win this and probably rigjtly so nit I thought a few players who have had a bit of stick showed up well tonight and deserve some praise. I went for Davor... Also worth mentioning McGinn. Doesn't look to be weighed down by the captaincy as some have been. At 33, he was still pushing forward late on...

Allan Campbell got 24 U21 caps. Hardly suggests an issue with him...

Ebiye is a strange one. As others point out, his goals to minutes is impressive. And yet there are times he looks like he has never seen a football before. And like it or not (and this is where Stuperavic has fallen foul) Kettlewell likes strikers who press and make life difficult for the opposition. Robinson does that, Ebiye not so much. And, yes, I am aware goals win games and are probably more important than pressing on paper but pressing can stop the opposition getting at you as much and maybe tire out defenders for your late sub to score against. That being said, with the plethora of strikers that we have on the books, you imagine there must be some combination that would work in a 352 with the wing backs supplying them...

Without wishing to be cynical, when you have an inexperienced ref and the opposition manager is an experienced ex Scotland manager often seen in the media, this can happen. It shouldn't but Levein has been getting away with it for years...

We have been rotten? Funny as the BBC reporter seems to think we were well on top and expressed surprise when St Johnstone equalised...

He's really paying for that shite 46 minutes against Partick Thistle...

If nothing else, signing Tavares and Vale increases the chances of seeing Lennon Miller in his natural position. Might even switch to a back four and play 433 when the situation dictates...

Our 17th signing of the summer apparently. Trying to work out how many players we had left from last season to work out the size of squad.. By my maths, we had eleven(not including Nicholson as they announced him as a new signing or Wilson as he was way out of last season's picture) including the injured Slattery. Squad of 27-28 by my reckoning...

To me, the plan will be to only use two proper midfielders when Watt is fit to start with him and Maswanhise playing off a striker. On that basis you could play Miller and Zdravkovski and have Sparrow and Halliday on the bench. I think the addition of Watt's footballing brain is to make up for the lack of one in three of our four midfielders. And also to make up fir the fact we can't find another midfielder with that brain. I suspect Paton and Nicholson were supposed to fill that particular void...

My first thought if Vale returns is 'OK, how long are Stuperavic and Stamatelopolous out for?'. I can only assume that they're perhaps out longer than was first assumed. That would leave us with Robinson, Ebiye and Watt plus Maswanhise who's a winger. So perhaps another striker would be useful? But if either of the other two are back shortly, it seems like overkill...

Neither Van Veen nor Vale make any sense to me.. Stamatelopolous will be back soon, Watt, Robinson, Ebiye, Maswanhise and Stuperavic also to return, how many attacking options do we need given we play with one out and out striker normally? Midfield, it really depends on how far away our injured players are. We're operating with four midfielders available at the moment so one injury there away from being really short. Not sure when Paton or Nicholson are due back, to me those two would make a huge difference.. I'd like to see a loan midfielder come in before Friday. But if it doesn't happen, I'll not be panicking. I'd rather not sign anyone than just bringing a player in who isn't able to contribute...

I expect us to win 5-0 with quality of football not seen since Lambert and O'Donnell dovetailed in McLean's last season. Why? Because I'm missing the game. So if it comes to pass, thank me later...

I'd argue given the size of the squad, rather than a Spittal replacement, we need to find a way of playing that doesn't require a Spittal replacement. Whether that's 352 with a flat midfield three in an early Stephen Robinson style or 433 with a flat midfield three and Watt and Maswanhise either side of a striker, I don't know. And don't particularly care. Just find a system that suits the players we have...

That ends after the group stages apparently. Hence him playing today...

Went with McGinn. He makes a huge difference to Gordon's game as well as he only has to worry about Casey and not Blaney as well. Was shifted about as subbies changed things and just got on with it. Watt and Maswanhise made a huge difference when they came on simply by instinctively looking forward whenever they got the ball rather than sideways. But I tend not to give MOTM to a sub..

Cheers...

Just a question.. In the group stages, games go straight to penalties. Does the same apply tomorrow in the case of a draw or are we back to thirty minutes extra time?

To be honest, it doesn't matter whether he appears as a striker or a midfielder on the team lineup. His job is going to be to link the midfield to the forwards...

I think the lack of other creative players for the foreseeable future means that he will be used from the bench a fair bit. Maybe out on loan in January if Stuperavic, Paton and Nicholson are all back...?

I don't disagree but with Nicholson's absence (unless you're playing Watt as a creator rather than a number nine which I we will do), a lot of responsibility in midfield being loaded on the shoulders of two weans...