snorbens_caleyman

Between injuries and suspensions, what sort of team will we be able to put out next week? In a fair world, both reds would be cancelled on appeal. But Collum is refereeing the Cup Final, so the SFA are not going to undermine him, are they?

Cross my palm with silver and I'll tell you tomorrow night's winning lottery numbers.

Willie Collum! Probably the strongest team we could put out. Understandable that Mckay is dropped, since he didn't get much out of Arbroath on Tuesday. I suspect he will come on when Doran runs out of steam. Sutherland, Chalmers and Samuels are all capable of banging them in. McAlear too. I have a horrible feeling that it will all come down to penalties.

IIRC, deliberate handball just outside the box, pushing the ball away from the Arbroath attacker. Fairly clear on TV.

Advice for Friday. Broadfoot please stop making so many mistakes - quite a few in the last few games. Chalmers, have a quick look around instead of automatically pulling the trigger. Everyone, stop hoofing long, high balls up the field (unless there's a Gayfield gale behind you ). And for heaven's sake, please practise penalties - it could well come down to that.

I was thinking last week that I hope we have been practising penalties, in case it comes to that. I can't remember the last time there was a penalty in any of our games, either for or against us. Anyone?

Then you'll be a week early, old bean.

On the other hand, they may have lost some sharpness. Someone on the TV last night said "Players would much rather play than train.". I've noticed in the past that we are sometimes dodgy after even a one-week break. Fingers crossed.

So what did you think Dodds was doing when he took off Chalmers and Mckay and put on Harper and Hardy? I reckoned that, having just equalised, he was settling for the draw, and saving two of his key players for Friday, protecting them from both the pitch and from Partick. Didn't quite work out that way ....

I am so glad we won that. A pitch that was a disgrace, and a danger to both teams. A cynical team committing foul after foul. A referee who let them off with so much. Two self-entitled prima donnas in Graham and Tiffoney. And BBC Shortbread's biased commentators. Ah well, at least there will be a decent pitch on Friday. Do we have the same officials, or different ones?

I thought that Partick were going to maim half our team. At one point nearly every challenge was dangerous. Took the ref a long time to find his yellow card. And that was a penalty against Chalmers. Replay from behind the goal clearly shows the defender pushing Chalmers away with his arm, having tripped him up - and also a very guilty reaction straight afterwards. Very impressed by the way Chalmers has come on lately. He's putting in a lot of work up and down that left side.

Mr Guards reminds me, strangely, of a North Korean dictator who used to post here, but is now "Retired". Is it just me?

For me, the difference last night was that, for the first 25 minutes at least, we went for the jugular. Incisive, direct movement, straight at goal. None of the dithering about outside the box which I have complained about in the past, passing sideways to each other because everyone was too scared to have a go. Instead it was straight through - run at the defence and cause them problems. Probably the best game I have seen Sutherland play. I thought Walsh was immense too - not just his two goals, but he always seemed to be in there, usually in the middle and not on a wing, trying to create and cause trouble. I'm pleased for him, because at the very start of the season he and Carson were a great partnership down the right-hand side, but then Walsh seemed to lose his way. Take the same attitude into the next couple of games, and we'll be fine.

****, I missed it. How did we do?

Basically, anyone who is deemed to be indispensable for the play-offs and can't be risked. Ridgers, Carson, Broadfoot, etc etc...

Usual aimless, unstructured game. If we can't put Morton to bed, then what chances in the play-off? Need to establish authority with another goal early in the second half, or this one could drift away from us.

Raith, because I like their PPV commentators

Having heard reports of him mentoring other players, being a model professional, and being a stabilising and organising influence on the pitch, I wonder whether there could be a role for him as a defensive coach, whilst retaining his player's registration in case of emergency.

I assume you weren't a supporter when both teams spent nearly 110 years in the Highland League?

I suspect that Broadfoot's experience and influence may play more of a part in keeping things together than is generally appreciated.

Must be at least 30 minutes stoppage time, for the outages 😁

I am pining for the great days of Pixellot.

Apparently the system is now "retsarting".

Hadn't noticed until you and Robert mentioned it. Not sure if the commentators noticed either - they still sound as though they are on Mogadon.