fat_tony

It's not necessarily that daft a theory. Look at Porter for example, who came here with a history of knee (I think) problems and stayed fit almost his entire spell here.

We've still got until midnight to sign someone and the EPL sides will have a ton of players available for loan due to this new 25-man squad thing. Still got 3 hours to sign.

You've been saying that all day! Hopefully if this mooted Reynolds deal does go through, it does so early so that we've got a bit of time to try and get a player or two in.

Another note on the BBC gossip page that made me chuckle: Broonie you wily old fox...

BBC's Tuesday gossip page has a note from the Daily Mail about Reynolds:

That's to be expected when you have a squad the size of theirs and can afford to rotate a few players. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury and for whatever reason, Broonie felt it was better to start with our "first XI" despite them having thrown the kitchen sink into Thursday night's game. It's not like we have 6 or 7 ready made replacements who can step in for alternating games.

I'm another one that voted for Lasley. Don't think a single player passed the ball well today but in the other aspects of his game, Lasley was superb. Battled for every ball, covered every blade of grass and uncharacteristically even had a shot on goal that wasn't too far away. He also made some fantastic tackles throughout the game but just didn't have the backup once Jennings was subbed. I also thought that Saunders had a decent game until the penalty, Randolph's early save was superb as well.

Agreed. Adding a creative spark to our midfield and/or perhaps a natural wide left-sider could make all the difference. We're missing an out ball when under pressure and someone able to go by people out wide. Murphy can run at a few but when he does, there's nobody moving around him to look for the ball. Someone to keep hold of the ball and/or someone to drive forward from midfield is really all we're missing I reckon.

Aye, Saunders just tried to hoof the ball clear but Samaras nicked it away from him and took a boot because of it. No intention there, pretty harsh booking I thought. And how about Samaras only getting booked for his late, high, studs up tackle on Craigan? Seen many a player get sent off for that. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked but from the Cooper it looked more like a red than a yellow. It's disappointing to lose to a shocking penalty decision but on the surface of it, Celtic were worth their win. In saying that, our boys looked tired and the international break is probably a good thing, let them recover a bit before the next SPL game.

Couldn't agree more with this. They were a bunch of shitebags. Wrestling our players one minute, falling over a blade of grass the next. We really could have done with a stronger team of officials tonight, might have awarded a penalty earlier for one of the many handballs in the box or the ridiculous offside that never materialised. I know some have said they were no better or worse than others but I felt they came here with a game plan to try and break the game up as much as possible and put the boot in excessively. Reminded me of the Dutch in the World Cup Final actually. However, at the end of the day, you have to take your chances at this level and we didn't. Blackman will look back with some regrets I feel (especially his decision to header it from 6 yards instead of lashing it home), as will Murphy and Sutton on their early chances. It's tough to be angry at Murphy for the penalty as it was a lot for a young lad to take on and they really made it hard for him with their mind games on the spot. I think we need to learn to play with more urgency at times and let the ball do the work rather than running with it. There were times at the end where we were strolling forward with the ball and playing short passes rather than moving into space looking for an opening. Unfortunately, that was probably the best chance we'll ever get to progress to the group stages of European competition and we really had a shot at it tonight. Absolutely gutted.

Murphy for me. The entire first half he cut inside and breezed past 2 or 3 players, there just wasn't enough movement around him. Struggled a bit in the 2nd though and just a shame he couldn't put the penalty away. Still, it was a lot of pressure for a young lad and the mind games of the Odense players standing on the spot etc must have added to it.

Last 20 minutes at work before hitting the road through... Come on, isn't there anything faster than a clock?!?!? Can't wait for this!

Craggs without a doubt. I also thought Reynolds and Murphy were excellent too.

Yup, agreed. He was superb tonight (thought Reynolds was too) and really kept things together at the back, handled the big guy well and guided the team excellently, especially when we were under pressure and panicking a bit in the 2nd half. And from the looks of things he's been in at the Just For Men...

Is the shop going to be open up to the game tonight? I was wanting to pop in a get a new shirt and maybe pick up one of these programmes at the same time.

Looks like it was a wee bit of a silly penalty to give away. Still, an away goal's good, just need to keep it tight on Thursday. Great effort by Hateley there, unlucky it was a bit too close to the goalie!

I'm hoping to pick up an away top next Thursday before the game. I thought it looked excellent in the match tonight, especially without a sponsor's logo on it.

I know but I really felt there was a place for both McMillan and Hammell! As for the other two, I didn't include them in the list due to their inconsistency/other problems. But when Brian Kerr played well and put the effort in, he could turn a game and did on quite a few occasions. Just a pity he let his ego get in the way of his ability. McBride was a brilliant player when we had him on loan from Celtic. Unfortunately, after he did his knee he came back a shadow of the player and was never able to reach anywhere near the form of his early days at the club. Which is why I didn't include the two in the list. I'm surprised no-one's put in Alan McCormack yet given his god-like status on here.

I certainly went for Hammell as he's been a consistent performer for the longest period of time. Lappin was never a natural left-back in the first place but did well enough over a short time. Paterson was superb at the start of the 07/08 season under McGhee but again, just hadn't been as consistent for as long before then. Over the entire period, Hammell's been the standout first choice left back.

I only started regularly attending Fir Park in the last 6 years or so when I moved to Edinburgh so may be a little weighted towards more recent players. Great idea for a thread though. I'm going to cheat and add some subs who are close to the top 11 IMO. Ruddy Corrigan - Craigan - McMillan - Hammell Hughes - O'Donnell - Pearson McCormack - McDonald - McFadden Subs: Porter, Clarkson, Paterson (Post slim-down), Jutkiewicz, Leitch, McLean (pre-injury), McBride (pre-injury) Vadocz always looked like a tidy player but I just don't think we ever saw enough of him to really include him on here. Brian Kerr could also be superb on his day but just didn't have the attitude or consistency to be considered. McBride might be a controversial one but I remember him being absolutely brilliant before he did his knee and unfortunately, never the same after.

It should be. We looked the more professional team for the most part last night, despite a few moments. The important thing was the clean sheet and the bonus a goal. They're as fit as they're going to get, while our boys should be that bit sharper next week. Couple that with the fact that they need to score 2 and I think we should be able to see it through. Not counting any chickens mind...

And there was me thinking it was meant to be a pass! Thought we were the better team over the piece tonight but miles away from normal levels. In saying that, a bit of extra training and I think we'll be much sharper next week. I thought the Icelanders were quite a tidy side and certainly passed the ball about very well, although I think the extra experience of playing professionally told tonight. Enjoyed the game though, and I thought Murphy was superb until he tired in the second half, as well as Stevie Hammell who put in a great shift down the wing. Most importantly though, a clean sheet, a goal and no injuries.

According to the SPL website, our last 3pm home game on a Saturday was the 1-0 loss to Falkirk on 3rd April. By my count that makes it 8 fixtures between our last 3pm Saturday home game and our next one, against Aberdeen on 18/09/10. That's shocking.

Aye that makes a lot of sense! This summer football malarkey's got me all confused!

According to Wiki, that was last year and they were runners up in their league cup this year? Very well could be wrong!