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Really surprised at how willing folk are to brush this result off. We should be in the next round of the League Cup. All we had to do was avoid being pumped 4 - 0 but we somehow went one better and conceded five. It was a lamentable showing from us today with a lot to think about going into the league opener next weekend.

Being apathetic towards poor results is the thin end of a very fat, barbed, poisoned wedge.

It's a good point Lawrence makes about the teams in the draw having a ball number allocated according to alphabetical order. Had we lost to Hearts by less than 4 goals we would have been 3rd in alphabetical order of the non-seeded sides whereas Partick are 5th. As it happens Kilmarnock are the 3rd in alphabetical order so we would likely have got The Rangers at home with Kilmarnock away at Livi and Motherwell hosting Celtic instead. Anyhow, that's all rather incidental and the reality is that we aren't in the draw and that is disappointing. I didn't watch the game but it sounds more like a bit of a reality check than a disaster. As I said earlier, knowing you can afford to lose the game but not by too much plays tricks with your mental attitude, and with Hearts needing to shake off some poor early season form and prove a point following the loss of points from the Cove game. It was a thumping waiting to happen. It sounds as though Hearts had a good day at the office and were clinical in front of goal. We are unlikely to face a team in the Championship that will be able to so ruthlessly exploit our defensive frailties, but it is important that the fact that those frailties exist has been so clearly demonstrated. Part of the problem is undoubtedly the lack of bite in midfield following Vigurs' departure, as is the general lack of experience in the team. I worry that many folk have too high an expectation of this squad in what looks to be a significantly more competitive Championship than last year. I think the squad has promise for the future and will certainly have some very good results this season. The shortcomings in the side will also mean we will lose matches we perhaps ought to win and the net result of that could well be ending the season in much the same position as last. It will be a long and hard season but for all the disappointment, I think the heavy defeat to Hearts is a reality check and will be helpful in preparing the team for the challenges ahead.

Obviously didnt suffer it in person like us? Robbo got this so wrong. Wrong team, wrong set up and quite frankly outclassed. Why oh why didnt we just set out not to get gubbed. That was all we needed to do to get into next round. Really bizarre subs too although Tremarco looked to have a knock. Doran and Walsh our best players probably. Im now concerned re whats to come tbh. Players looked shell shocked and knackered at the end

So any bit of criticism is vultures mon bud that performance was shocking hearts are no Barcelona we were gutless at the back and clueless up top! A defeat of that scale bound to knock the players confidence! Learning curve surely they learnt enough about embarrassing defeats at the start of last season! Need to put in a far better performance against Falkirk when it really matters!

I think the club could do worse than reach out to current and former season ticket holders by means of some sort of survey to get opinions on what they like / don't like about going to games at TCS, why some folk didn't renew and so on. There could well be data issues here I don't know but it seems like an obvious thing to do if there aren't any barriers to it. At the end of the day the best way to get folk along to TCS is to get a successful team on the pitch that wins games regularly.

If 2 million customers like eating "microwaved garbage" then it is a good business model to provide it. Too many businesses fail because they offer what they want to provide rather than what the customer wants. There have been some nice ideas for how the club might raise some more money and attract new people to the ground, but for most of this there is probably very little evidence for there being a demand. I think a little market research amongst the existing and potential fan base might be in order.

Unreal how people are brushing this of wel learn from it learn what last season had a similiar result at Dunfermline and went on to produce over the next couple of months some of the worst football iv ever seen! I'm raging about it defo need to get out more!

Probably but a fair bit wealthier in the process at a time when we are desperately short of cash. Yes Hearts were good, yes they are a cut above us in terms of quality but we were in the fortunate position of knowing precisely what we had to do and that was merely to avoid defeat by four or more goals and, despite being armed with that advantage, failed in that task. Not a disaster as the cups are not our priority but still a considerable disappointment which does not merit being brushed off so casually.

An absolutely appalling performance, we got the result we deserved. Chalmers and Trafford were liabilities in midfield and our defence couldn’t cope with anything. Abysmal and a much truer reflection of where we are than wins over a Highland League side, the worst team in the Scottish leagues and a chaos riven Raith team.

Fer fecks sake - Did anyone see the first 2 or even the first 3 goals - All GREAT finishes - No answer to that. For the first 30 minutes there was little in that. Shure Robbo gotthe tactics wrong in the end BUT it was wholly understandable why he set out the team as he did. That was NOT a humiliation - We went behind to a better team and there was absolutely NOTHING straightforward about it. Cant believe that the "vultures" are circling already. The season STARTS next Saturday.

Was bad enough watching it the first time around... I even avoided the STV news just in case. Gotta hope this galvanises the team into looking for revenge on sat otherwise were in for another slow start

At least no one is looking for the highlights!

This is all stuff that was done regularly before. Not sure about the current policies, but it used to be that any school could phone up and request tickets, the community department had tickets to pass out at kids courses for every home game etc.. The challenge for some schools is/was getting enough volunteers to accompany the kids...and that's not just with bringing them along to football, getting volunteers (from staff or outwith) is a growing issue. The 100 kids v players thing started back in Terry Butchers time....and wasn't even limited to 100 kids! The day was a bit more structured with skill stations and fun football challenges before having a mass kick around. Even better still, there was no need to purchase anything to qualify....all kids were welcome, regardless of whether their parents could afford to buy a shirt or not (or what preference they had for home/away shirt). D&E provided/help with transport for bringing in school groups. There was open training sessions where the team were put through their paces whilst the manager/coaches provided commentary over the mics...the first one of these we ever did had over 1000 fans in attendance, and it was pouring rain! Exclusive events for Season Ticket holders etc are great for adding value, but they should be in addition to the open, free offerings.....not instead of. Unfortunately, the "nothing for nothing" approach seems to be the direction the club is being taken down just now.

IMO, Scottish Football is already squeezing every penny it can out of the fans who still attend...so any plan based on getting more from them is destined to fail. First thing that needs done is to stop the rot. Having taken part in, and seen the results from, fan satisfaction surveys...and what keeps them coming back (or not)...I can say with certainty that positive results on the park come a pretty long way down the list. It's an often given reason, but when you drill down into it you realise that it's actually just an easy excuse and the cause is a bit more complex......lacked identity with the club, didn't feel valued, poor treatment by club, poor value from the matchday experience etc. Deal with those things and you then have a more positive, engaged support who do the next bit for you...mostly...and that is to encourage more people to attend more regularly. From there on it's about tweaking the offering to ensure that resources are concentrated where they provide the biggest benefit...to club and fans. That's inevitably going to be supporting families and attracting new young supporters to the club. Build from the bottom up : 40+ yr old fans who have been attending since 1994 and who have weathered the good and the bad aren't going to need as much convincing/pampering to keep supporting the club as an 8 yr old who's having his head turned towards following a Champions League team that he'll never likely get to see live in person. Not saying the older fans should be ignored, just that it's easier/cheaper to find things to improve their matchday experience.

Just a point the Hearts goalie was outstanding two world class saves didn't help our cause one iota.

agree with what I have highlighted from BDU. That is the main point in all of this. No-one is saying the American way of doing everything should be recreated, but one thing North Americans - and their sports leagues - do and know how to do is marketing, merchandising and squeezing as many pennies out of you as they can while still leaving you smiling !!! Three to four hours in the warmth of Houston is not the same as Longman, Inverness. As a season ticket holder at Toronto since inception in 2007 I think I can safely say that I have enough experience to comment that 3 or 4 hours in Toronto in the early or late part of the season is far worse than the Longman for temperature. The coldest I had ever been at a stadium for many years was actually the first ever game at the Caledonian Stadium where we played an RAF / Services select on a cold midweek night. That night was absolutely brutal and well below zero with a biting wind coming right up the glen and into your face. I swear I could hear the clang of the brass monkeys all around me .... HOWEVER, that was eclipsed in each of the last two years at the MLS Cup Final in Toronto, in mid December ! We lost the first and won it last year. The temperature was about the same both times at around -7 but the first year, with the dreaded 'windchill' factor it was closer to -20. For some reason I didnt feel it so bad last year !! Try standing on metal stands for 2 hours in that temperature and freezing from the soles of your feet upwards and the TCS will seem balmy at any game ! And its not just Toronto ... you could add Montreal, Minnesota, New York (2), New England, Philadelphia, Chicago, Colorado, and others into that mix for severe weather and of course Houston, Dallas, LA (2), San Jose and others into the mix for extreme hot weather in the summer months. Sitting in extreme heat can be as bad - if not worse - than sitting in extreme cold ! The cultural differences between USA and Scottish/UK folk are well known...... Scottish football has a 'pie and bovril' mentality which will never change imo. I can't see many folk wanting a Prawn Cocktail or Avacado, with freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice snack at half time. Cultural differences ? MLS is a weird league in some ways thats for sure, but what it does have everywhere is a mixture of cultures not just 'Americans'. It varies by location and the cultural and immigrant makeup of the city in question but in Toronto the group i belong to has people from virtually every continent in the world. Plenty of UK ex-pats but also Bulgarians, Italians, Brazilians, Chinese, Australian etc .. you name it we got it. These people all bring their own passion but as a group it is great as everyone feeds off each other. Maybe that's why there are so many options at the stadium for stuff to eat (and drink) from 3rd party companies who rent space ..... https://bmofield.com/plan-your-visit/food-beverages/ ... and not a Prawn Cocktail or Avocado in sight !! ... I think you can still also get a pie and a bovril if you want it ... you could certainly get that along with chip butties and Cornish pasties and such like the first couple of years. I do tend to eat before I go to the stadium though as the pricing is typical North American stadium pricing which is ridiculous .... but if you want it, it is there and plentiful ... I mentioned the -20 weather above ... they sold a lot of hot beverages that day including soup, cocoa, chocolate, and of course coffee and tea (not your fancy starbucks stuff, just a good old fashioned large cup of steaming coffee). I am told they had 'hot beef drinks' too but I never found them .... The game on the pitch is always live on TV and they have that playing all over the concourse on big TVs while you wait for the toilet or for your next round of food or drink at the concession stands. exactly. The SFA for many years said things could not change 'because we have always done it this way' . That is a sure fire kiss of death in almost any business or career. As Shrek once said (and I dont mean Wayne Rooney) ... 'Change is good donkey !!' I dont have any showstoppers here but I'll throw a couple of ideas into the hat and see if that inspires others .... Start small - tidy up the place. We cant do much about the car park as the lack of paving means the rates are lower but perhaps we can plan it a bit better. Even something as simple as having one side of the car park as the "express" line and the other as the more leisurely line. How many times have you come out of the stadium only to find the driver for the car in front is in hospitality or taking their time around the stadium. Make the left side express and the far right side the slow side ! Charge less for the slow side if you want to incentivise it. Behind the North Stand allow some food trucks to congregate and 'compete' with each other. Competition usually brings better quality and pricing. Let them do this for a while for a nominal fee and have the fans vote on their favourites. The favourites can be invited to occupy prime spots in the stadium such as the space between main and North stand, the main concourse of the stadium (outside) or even the inside food area for the regular rates. With the advent of electronic ticketing it should not be a problem to allow exit and re-entry to the stadium using the QR or bar-code from the ticket to access these vans. If it is, then on a matchday you simply put up crush barriers and extend the footprint of the stadium to include those areas. With those crush barriers in place (or not) have a few things kid related around the stadium area. At TFC we routinely see other businesses (banks, car companies, food companies) setup bouncy castles or 'beat the goalie' or other such stuff. The kids love it and of course the reps can badger the parents to subscribe to or buy their services as they stand there. This one might be controversial - but on a matchday close of all side-street road access along Stadium Road from the harbour mini-roundabout all the way to the TCS. Make this a 2 lane one-way street (to the TCS) until 3PM and a 2 lane one-way street (to the town) after the game. This may not be viable in the championship but may be worht talking to the council about when we get back to the Premiership and crowds are higher. I am sure I can think of others - but thats a first thought before we even get inside the stadium !!!

Don't give the foul away in a dangerous position in the first place yes.

McKay Chalmers and Trafford were poor today. Really hope McCart starts against Falkirk. We don't really have a proper defensive midfielder which could be a major issue. Trafford and Chalmers have proven they can't play this role. If Robbo changes the personnel and can perhaps bring in a loanee to break up play it could be the difference between a playoff place or sitting 7/8th.

Perhaps it was actually only reignited today ?

Of course it is vultures. There should not be any of this species of posters flying about and spreading their venom at this stage of the season. I am calm and it is raw but again hopefully a big learning curve. What form - against who ? Again watch the first 3 goals. Hearts had a better team and then they had confidence and the impulse to go for the jugular.

Home tie v Celtic we've missed out on. With TV that could be £50k of much needed ££ that we won't get. Very frustrating, big performance required next week to get the season properly started

Obviously playing HL teams not the ideal preparation for pre season needs sorting now

And I suppose that you were impressed by Polworth and Doran ? Robbo set up a team to defend and play on the break. Understandable but Levein sussed it and went wide and direct. How many defences would have defended those first three goals ? And prior to today Hearts had illegally beaten a Highland league side, had won on penalties at a chaotic Raith team and beaten a 10 man last year worst team in the Scottish League. Criticism is criticism. Vultures are predators and are overly critical and waiting for things to go wrong. People who bollicked the likes of Vigurs and Polly last season. First defeat in how many ? It feckin happens.