fat_tony

As I stated on the other Gannon thread I'd be very surprised if he were to go anywhere. He's started building a team here and is making plans for January and beyond. From what I've seen and heard of him I don't believe he's the sort of person to walk out in the middle (or even at the beginning) of something.

We're only 1 win off where we were those seasons and if anything, I would say that the number of draws we're having shows a bit more character and that we're becoming harder to beat. Under McGhee we were usually a win or lose team but with Gannon, we're drawing while playing poorly rather than losing and showing some great character to fight back from behind in games that we probably would have lost previously.

You may not like it but it's true. In terms of resources, facilities, attendance, finances and catchment area (for want of a better term) we are smaller than the likes of Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen and United. Given those factors and the fact that we sold most of our first team in the summer, I'd be delighted to be in the top 6 at the end of the season.

I really think we should be keeping hold of Craigan and Lasley. Lasley's around the fringes of the team at the moment and still able to make the bench at least. Craggs has just been a superb servant to this club and a great ambassador. Every club needs a guy like that. In saying that, I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave to try and get regular football but I hope he sticks around, fights for his place and continues to represent us in the great way he has done so far. I don't see Fitzpatrick or Smith going anywhere either. They've been injured and I think deserve a chance to prove that they're worth a spot in the team. Fitzpatrick especially could fit very well into this system and I could see Jim Gannon being the type of manager who knows how to get the best out of him. Fraser and McGarry (and to some extent Jennings) just don't appear to be performing up to scratch for the manager so I wouldn't be surprised to see them go in January. All the best to anyone that does leave though, I hope they find clubs soon and do well.

Any manager who comes to us and does well is going to attract attention and speculation. It's part and parcel of being a wee team punching above your weight. For what it's worth though, Gannon seems to have character in abundance and a solid sense of loyalty and commitment so I don't see him going anywhere until he feels he has achieved what he set out to achieve.

I think we should be trying to keep a hold of all 3 loanees at least until the end of the season. Ruddy's been superb and I would like to think we'd be able to put a bid in for a permanent move but as mentioned above, finances may put an end to that. I've been impressed with Jutkiewicz lately and I think he's only just getting to proper fitness and form. If we could keep a hold of him for the rest of the season, I think he could be on a great run come february time. Yassin's a funny one. He can seem so good at times and then severely lacking at others but he's definitely got ability and is in a position where we don't have much competition. Hopefully again, we can keep him for another 6 months as well. All in all though, some excellent loan moves and if I had to choose one of the 3 for keepsies then it would be Ruddy, hands down (into the pick n mix, allegedly).

2 against the Jambos for me. Fizzy's at Easter road in the semi was immense just for the sheer joy of being in the final. Porter's equaliser at Tynecastle in the first game back after Uncle Phil. I don't think a goal's ever meant as much to me as that one did. Nearly fell down the stand celebrating!

I just took it as a typical "Sun" question. With the recent change in the rules (which doesn't affect Hutch I know) they seem to be trying to dig up anyone and everyone with any possibility of a Scotland cap. I wouldn't pay any attention to that one if I were you.

Wide open MOTM competition today with a lot of good performances but I actually went for Jutkiewicz. I thought his movement both with and without the ball was superb and he did everything bar score. So many times we were under pressure at a shy and he would show for the ball, shrug off a couple of hearts players an find a pass. That and some of the lovely touches and flicks he showed and I think we're beginning to see glimpses of why Everton bought him in the first place. Hopefully he'll keep improving and we can extend his loan until the end of the season.

Loved that shirt though!

And has anybody actually heard anything from the player himself? Didn't think so. How about we just wait and whatever happens with Slane, happens and take it from there. For what it's worth, I don't see him moving on for a couple of years and it's just like some of our fans to start dishing out the abuse on the back of more hearsay and chinese whispers. Give the guy a break. Lets get him back to fitness first, then see what he can do if he gets a run in the team. He looked good against Flamurtari and Steaua and did well in his limited time against Killie but it's hardly enough exposure to brand him the next anything.

Wouldn't surprise me if he's been caught with a loaded question there but to be honest, he needs to do a fair bit of work on the defensive side of his game before he's likely to get a big move anywhere. Fair play to the guy, he's looking good going forward but he's still got a lot to learn. Glad he's got a bit of ambition though and to be honest, as long as he gives his all until January then that's all we can ask. It's different if it's one of our own players but when he's here on loan, all we can ask for is his best while he's here.

Guy behind where I sit in the Cooper was coming out with such gems as: "Just get past him", "Just put it in the net" etc. Nice one Mr. Tactics, I don't think Gannon or the players had though of that! I see Murphy and Forbes' honeymoon periods are over and they are now getting targetted by the boo boys.

From Jim Gannon's interview on the official site: "There was one bit of good news in that it looks as if Jim O’Brien’s knock wasn’t as bad as first feared. The former Celtic winger took a sore one in a clash with Jackie McNamara but the problem settled down after the match and it looks as if he’ll be okay to continue against his former side in a fortnight’s time." 'fishal

We're a tricky side to sum up at the moment I think. Defensively, we seem to be reasonably solid, last week's errors aside, Hibs didn't have too many chances. Today, we had a couple of scares/lapses but are doing better than we have in the past. We don't seem to pressure other teams too much and lose out on a lot of second balls which is understandably frustrating for the fans but is maybe down to some tiredness/niggling injuries in our midfield. Falkirk were unlucky today not to take a point but it's good to be in a position where we're picking points up while not playing at our best. Hopefully when we do pick up in form again we'll start taking teams to pieces.

Humphrey for me today, with Hammell and Craigan close behind. Was worried when I saw that O'Brien wasn't playing but Humphrey had a great game and linked up well with Moutaouakil. I'm looking forward to us having Slane, O'Brien and Humphrey all fit at the same time as we'll have a good amount of pace and trickery available to us. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I'm surprised to see anyone opting for Moutaouakil for MOTM. He did well going forward for the most part but his crossing was poor today, he played about too much at the back, losing the ball a lot doesn't seem to do an awful lot of defending for a right-back. But, he's obviously got talent and given some time and the right direction from Gannon, could become a very good player for us.

I' be surprised if O'Brien were to refuse a new contract, he's only been at the club for a season and has made good progress in that time but I would say isn't yet good enough for a step up. As for Slane, it's hard to tell what might be going on there but I would hope that those close to him are doing what is best for his career and not themselves. He either stays, gets his chance to play first team football and improves as a player or he moves, we get a development fee and he disappears into the what-if's of Scottish football. It wouldn't be a shock to me if they were both still here plying their trade at the start of next season's campaign.

Very true but it still doesn't excuse the behaviour. It pisses me off when some moron in our support who can probably barely spell their own name, does something like this that has the potential to get the club into trouble. Referees make mistakes, some players wind up opposition fans but you don't see something thrown on the pitch every game.

I think the one thing we're lacking is a pacy dribbler up front who is comfortable with the ball at their feet. Murphy's done well the last couple of games but without the pace he needs to be a wee bit stronger on the ball. Lukas and Sutton are both good at taking a touch and laying it off or having an effort but the real thing we're missing is a Clarkson type player who will run with the ball and have the strength/pace to hold onto it/skin people. Murphy could get there I reckon but needs to strengthen himself to do that job. McHugh's a decent enough player given the time but looked a bit lost today. Give him another season perhaps and he might be in more of a position to make a positive contribution.

No excuse for throwing something at a player. Even if he had been diving and hacking our players all game long there would still be no excuse for it. I would hope that those around the idiot that did it would pull them up on it as all it does is land the club in hot water. What a fanny.

Good to see a bit of common sense being used. We weren't great today and were cut open at times by a very decent strike force. However, Hibs were pish at the back as usual and on another day we might have done better. Lets see how we do against Falkirk next Saturday, hopefully with today's result the lads will flying out the traps. If someone had told me 2 weeks ago that we would have played Utd and Hibs and have taken 3 points from the 2 games I'd be delighted. Hopefully we can get 3 points against Falkirk and make it 6 from 3 going into the break.

Two players who I though put in a great shift today and did everything they could to try and win the game. One was Big John Sutton who worked his socks off again, tried to get to every ball and played some great passes through the Hibs defence. But, above that I thought Stevie Hammell had a great game today. He looked good going forward but more than that he made a number of critical tackles and interceptions and put in a more solid defensive performance than usual.

I got the feeling that last night the team were playing on orders from Gannon to take it as easy as possible and slow the game down, keep possession and expend as little energy as possible. Had we been playing like that last night normally I would have expected to see him on the sideline yelling at the players. However, he seemed quite calm for most of the game and content with the way we were playing. I thought at the time like we were playing to try and tire out Caley and save our players legs for Saturday. Did anyone notice this sign on the advertising hoarding in front of the Cooper stand? "Encase of emergency kick down panel" I wonder if the club are trying to make the new French signing feel at home? Also, big cheer to the guy who threw the ball back to Ruddy from the Cooper stand and managed to hit the hoarding, putting a big hole in it.

Funnily enough, I actually thought Forbes struggled to impose himself on the game until well into the second half. Hateley was solid for the entire game but overall I though Jim O'Brien was worthy of our MOTM. He was the only player who seemed to be actively looking to attack at every opportunity and could have scored/provided a few goals were he not chopped down mercilessly. Overall though, I would say Esson MOTM, followed closely by Foran, who never stopped running the entire game. Good to see him get a round of applause from our fans when he went off.

It all depends on his next move to be honest. I think he has the ability and the work ethic to become a great player if he gets the right opportunities. If he were to move to a higher level, I think he has both the attitude and the skills to up his game. As they say, the better the players you play with and against, the better you become. He's got his head screwed on from the sounds of things and I think he'll be wanting to do right by both himself and the club whenever he finally does leave. Just as long as he comes back to finish his career with us, like Craggs, Uncle Phil and hopefully Faddy