Ten Caat

Sure I read yesterday the Ferguson is still out but Frank Ross now fit and available, not that I think he will play in any capacity in this one. Hibs aren't really a big physical team but they are quick in every part of the field. We certainly need to keep the ball far better than we did on Saturday so on this occasion I'd probably go with Gleeson in place of Ball but it honestly would not surprise me if McInnes goes for a total shitfest line up hoping for a breakaway goal in a dour 1-0 win and starts Ball as well as Shinnie and Gleeson.

And becoming quite a common view amongst our own fans ana

There was only one team trying to play football the correct way on Saturday. And it wasnt us....

The problem I think most of us have with Gleeson is that whilst there's no doubt he can play passes and keep possession better than Ball, he is just too slow and immobile to play the defensive midfield role and that he just looks overweight (in a similar fashion to Greg Stewart last season).He isn't particularly good at making challenges either. Coupled with this.....and I believe what I've said is the root cause.....he runs out of gas after an hour necessitating McInnes to always have to sub him. This limits our options and though it hasnt happened yet, the day will come when we start him and then suffer a couple of first half injuries that require substitutions. That leaves us with him coming off after an hour and praying no one else suffers an injury in the remaining time. Ball, whilst limited and not particularly quick, does at least go the full 90 minutes and no one could ever accuse him of being soft in the challenge.

Can't say I'm particularly looking forward to this game, Hibs do goals and we (apart from one notable exception this season) most certainly don't. With that in mind I really hope DM abandons his safety first cautious approach and just like the St Mirren game allows up to go out and have a real go at them. Hibs' weakness is their back line but if we just sit in I cannot see any result other than Hibs advancing to the next round. Having a go we could suffer a big defeat but conversely we could also dish out a hammering given their frailty especially on the left side of their defence. Hope we go with Max Lowe from the start in this one. Consi would be horribly exposed to the lightning pace of Martin Boyle. I'll go 3-1 Hibs if we sit in as usual. 2-2 if we decide to have a go with the game eventually being decided on penalties which we will win....

Seen quite a bit of Campbell on Red Tv playing for the reserves and in my opinion he is the best of the youngsters coming through. As I've said elsewhere, i think he will get a decent amount of time coming on as a second half sub before Xmas with a few starts in "easier" games and should be ready by Easter to push for a regular start ahead of Gleeson/Ball......lets face it he doesn't have to be a world beater to get in ahead of either of them. Rico mentioned about Frank Ross not being on the bench ahead of Forrester against 'Well. I could be mistaken but I thought he was out injured and has been for a few weeks?

Definitely he just looked fat and slow with us last season but now looks like he is a stone lighter and its made a huge difference.

Turgid game, very little in the way of chances for either side though Joe did make a very good save from Cadden near the end to preserve our lead. Both centre backs very good as was GMS again.....looked dangerous had he been given a decent service but too often we just lumped the ball forward bypassing the midfield. Logan had a shocker.....missplaced passes and positional play questionable. Result was all important today but we will need to be a damned sight better than today if we are to progress against Hivs midweek

Chas Hodges of Chas n Dave No more incessant talking/becoming a pest........Rabbit rabbit rabbit (Under 30s won't have a feckin clue)

Sad fact is we are stuck with him for at least another half season though with his injury record and lack of effectiveness (and comparatively high wages for Scotland) it is difficult to envisage any other team wanting to take a gamble on him Jute is definitely correct that he would be far more effective as part of a front 2 but McInnes seems dead set on playing his 4-2-3-1 system which we know just doesn't suit May's game. Earlier in the season our injuries forced a 3-5-2 system and it looked decent but injuries to Hoban and McKenna coupled with the signing of Lowe pushed us back to the old system. I think we will improve a bit but the league is already a write off, we will be doing well to finish 4th given the lead we have allowed Hearts to gain and Hibs' summer recruitment just looks to be a bit better than ours was.

Why have you ditched GMS? Been our most consistent performer alongside Devlin all season.

I think you should take another look

Saw bits of it and no doubt first half they were totally outclassed and fortunate to still be only 1-0 down at half time. Second half they improved immensely and shows that it is worth having a go and playing footbally the correct way rather than getting 10 men behind the ball and trying to limit damage. Although the last 10 minutes they were hanging on for grim death, sevco could (and probably should) have won it in injury time with a breakaway attack putting one of their players one on one with the Villareal keeper Agree that this is a game we would have lost by 3 or 4 goals

Sevco 1 down after 45 seconds Come on you Yellow Submarines!

The Cup semi was a bad example to use though. We could have had Christiano Ronaldo playing striker that day and still gotten pumped such was the ineptitude of performance (the suspensions being the biggest root cause)

Ferguson out is bad news means we probably go with Forrester again. I'd be amazed if Wilson starts but hopefully will get a 30 minute run out....though equally wouldnt be at all surprised if he pulls up injured in the warm up. Imperative we get all 3 points, can't afford to drop even further behind Sevco Lite.

O' grade syllabus which i sat in 82 and got a B for was in 3 parts...."Changing Life in Scotland 1760-1820"....all about how Scotland evolved from a 3rd world peasant economy into a thriving industrial nation......was fairly interesting. The Great War 1914-1918....causes eg shooting of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo etc......loved it seemed pretty relevant. Then finally The Russian Revolution......bored the shit outta me.

Sod all to do with his undeniably shite goalkeeping ability. Never forgiven for his antics on a certain Balearic island when trying to engineer himself a move to oldco....

No idea what you are on about but any tirade against Clangers has to be a good thing. Cyber pint awaits Mr Mutton

Don't see Forrester being anything other than a bit part player unless we are really stretched with injuries. Ferguson would be in the starting line up as you say but it will be sitting in front of Shinnie and Gleeson/Ball. So severely restricts Wright's chances unless McGinn or GMS have an injury or suffer a catastrophic loss of form.

Don't think you should take that performance as a barometer of how good we could possibly be. As we now know, the St Mirren dressing room was already in meltdown mode and Stubbs had lost the confidence of the players. This new guy seems to have improved them dramatically already. Wright for sure deserved to keep his place after that result but having missed a few weeks out injured, who does he replace when ready to return? McGinn is one of DM's favoured sons and GMS has probably been our most consistent performer alongside Devlin all season. May therefore would be the obvious candidate but never seen Wright play as an out and out striker, only on the wing or as that game, as a number 10 making runs at their defence from deep.

On the contrary, if McInnes gets word of this development, there should be a 3 year contract waiting for your signature by Friday at the latest.

Will you be having a nibble at that price then?

I said Hearts lead is ALMOST unassailable. But 9 points is already a huge lead and we play the Dhims away in 2 games time. I think it will get bigger than 9 points shortly and there is no doubt Hearts have improved whilst we have gone backwards. I stand by my assertation. They will finish above us..... AS for your claim that no one could have foreseen the injury situation we have suffered. Really?? McInnes' entire signing policy appears to be predicated on signing once decent players who have suffered severe, sometimes career threatening injuries, in the hope that they will once again return to former glories. May.....looks every inch of £400k down the toilet. Hoban......Crocked after 2 games and crocked again on his return, operation this week, should be about ready to return around the same time he gets his first Xmas card. Gleeson......no huge injuries but consistently hampered with niggling injuries all his career and did have the obligatory knee ligament damage at one point, also one manager quoted as saying he looks like he has an attitude problem. Wilson....18 fucking minutes we have seen of this guy since he signed. I haven't called for DM's head this season ( i did want him out in January as I did/do believe he has taken us as far as he can) but it's obvious Wiggy thinks the sun shines out of his arse. It has been a poor start to the season but as I've said elsewhere, he will be allowed one dodgy season (unless we are in relegation trouble come Feb/March but I don't think we are that bad) in view of his moderately successful tenure and there was no doubt a big rebuilding job was on his hands in the summer. Once the training centre is open then I do believe he will become sackable although by the end of that season he will have been here 7 years and might fancy a change by then anyway.

Well that was worth the 27 year wait (not) First half we were god awful. Forrester is joining Gleeson in the TC written off permanently basement. Gleeson still looks overweight and runs out of steam after 55-60 minutes resulting in us always having to sub him. At least Ball can give a full 90 minutes. Shinnie.......wtf has happened to him? Looks like he is working his ticket right now and tbh if he keeps up this level of shiteness I'll be glad to see the back of him. May......I've been generous to him but I think he is playing within himself as he knows he is fucked physically. Time to bin him for Anderson. Had loads of possession and the second half was much better than the first. Lowe looks a decent acquisition, GMS was lively and McGinn though largely anonymous rescued the point with a fabulous free kick. Could have won it with their keeper making a few good saves late on, Cosgrove should have given their keeper no chance but was still a cracking save. GMS looked like he was pulled down in the box in injury time, Gollum was only 5 yards or so away with a clear view.....I'd like to see that one on tv. A point sadly is disastrous for us with Hearts nearly unassailable already for us and both Hibs and sevco winning. Looks like a long season ahead...