AJS

Butcher had concluded his business he said. So this guy must have had something about him to encourage the manager to sign him up, albeit for 6 months. I'm happy, with addition of these 2 lads from Arsenal the squad looks in better shape and has more options. Looking forward to seeing them in action.

I'll be there plus 5. Looking forward to it.

Regardless of the duds the Arsenal academy is one of the best in the world and if we are getting to sample some of the potential talent that comes from it im all for that. Could add some much needed quality to the team. It's always a hit and miss signing young players, i'm aware of that but i do see it as a positive thing for any future transfer buisness we do.

A youth set up that has developed players such as Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, and Ashley Cole? I can think of much worse teams to do a partnership with.

Potential hit and miss but wont know unless he plays. Cant help but think this is the best they could manage on the budget but may be another gem, lets give the lad a chance to prove himself.

Seriously, what is Butcher expected to do? Can only work with what he has got. I am one of those delighted with the way the season has gone so far. For the first time in years we are showing that our own group of young players are making progress to becoming established members of the first team. We have also shown that despite working with a limited budget we can still attract experienced footballers to this club and have done so by building a backline containing 2 players that captained previous clubs. Most of the new lads have all established themselves in the side and im glad. I've got every bit of confidence that we will get better as the season goes on. Saturday was a bad result backed up by a poor performance, we were outclassed and outplayed but i see it as a learning curve for those who had never sampled a game like that before, especially in the defence. Hopefully they can come back better from it. Anyone who seriously walks into a game against Celtic expecting a result is incredibly naive, just cause County got a point of them the week before well big feckin whoop. If i was to have anything against Butcher it is his persistence with formations that dont work. He needs to be more open to try new ideas. Lads like Pepper and Oswell are yet to be given a proper chance to steak their claim, despite showing potential He should be more prepared to tweak his team in order to use them and to bring about better results. That said i still think he is the right man for the job. There are signs in the first 3 games that he is still capable of getting the best out of this team and that we can still hold our own in this league. So give the man a break.

At least we know we are guaranteed penalties getting scored when we play them.

Wow, we lose our first game of the season to the best team in the country and suddenly everythings going wrong.

I would have expected a result as least as good as the Travellers Why? I'd imagine due to the fact Celtic fielded a weaker team against us than against County . Celtic fielded 2 of their most promising young players, apart from that the rest were first team players, hardly a weaker side. They played County with 1 eye on the Helsingborgs tie and after having gained such a result were always going to be on a high. I see the outcome as a wake up call to our new boys. Hopefully they will come back better from this next time.

Reguero Cooper, Warren, King, G Shinnie Pepper, OTJ, Foran, Whyte Sutherland, McKay

Nobody played paticularly well on Saturday but in the last few games ive been quite happy with Raven. Saturday was a big test for all the lads who hadnt experienced playing a team of Celtic's stature. Can only hope they have learnt from it and come back stronger next time.

I agree, many say he is not up to scratch but i totally disagree with that. Butcher is not using him properly. He did this last season and is persisting with him as a wide player. He isnt one and never will be. Whenever he is on the ball he always drifts in, never looks to hug the line and hardly ever looks to cross the ball. He is a tall, strong bloke and he has a sweet left foot when he gets the chance, he is a target man - end of. I dont really think he is seen as the replacement for Hayes. Probably just Butcher's way of sugar coating the fact that we are short on money for more players. We have next to no options on the wing or up front. Not saying what weve got isnt good enough, not at all but if we have another bout of injuries then we really are stumped. But i agree, Shane needs to be played up front to get the best out of him. Better yet put him alongside Billy as he is no target man in this league, pair them and then see what happens. Could make a world of difference. We have young lads like Pepper waiting on the bench who could do much better on that wide right area.

Very dissapointing, had been a great impact player for us this season so far and we are so low on numbers as it is.

Cant get the time off work for it, gutted as i love visiting all the old style grounds around the country.

Spearing is overrated and has done little when given the chance. Martin Kelly has probably progressed the best. Still think he could establish himself as a regular in the team. Seen Pacheco a few times. Looks to have some talent about him but managers never seem to give him a chance. San Jose is a regular for Bilbao in La Liga now.

Also absent from the Ceptic game this weekend but at present im more than happy with the start we've made, was anxious given the bodies we had lost but we've shown some real metal in the first few games and a real sign that our youth development is making great progress. Will be back for Motherwell and looking forward to it.

Esson Meekings, Warren, King, G Shinnie Draper, Morrison Doran, A Shinnie, Ross Sutherland

Means i can go. Happy with that

Great post bud. I agree, there seems to be a real togetherness within in the team next year, what we lack in quality we are making up for with effort and endeavor. Who knows where that could take us.

As long as it dosent affect what would be a sell out game's attendance im happy. I agree thought that any pre match socialising pretty much goes out the window for some who are working or needing to make a hasty journey through to the game. I love night time kick offs though and it hasnt deterred me from looking forward to this fixture.

Gutted i couldnt make the game, seemed like an absolute thriller, caught the best of it on Alba however. Both pens were a joke and the red card was debatable, saw an identical challenge in the football league show which merited a yellow. The unity in this team is already clearly evident, this kind of scenario last season would have seen us on the end of a hiding. But once we got ourselves back in it i always had a feeling we would get an equalizer as long as we kept Hearts out and sure enough we did, Billy's not everyone's favourite but that little dink ball he played for Shinnie in injury time was class. Im glad it was Pepper that got a goal, he looked promising in pre season and has proven that alongside Ross we have some really good impact players, though i think guys like that need to start more but as Terry said this is a sign that we will be hard to beat this season, i totally agree. Thought the defence looked excellent, especially Warren, he is so far proving to be the latest gem.

Esson Raven, Warren, King, G Shinnie Draper, Foran Ross, A Shinnie, Doran McKay Subs: Matheson, Meekings, Morrison, Pepper, Sutherland, Oswell, Polworth

Given we had no points at this time last season i'll take another point. The first 20 minutes was superb, we attacked in numbers, we exchanged some lovely passes and after getting an early goal could have rapped the game up. Kilmarnock began to grow in confidence. Esson made a great triple save from the penalty but he should have been in better control with Pascalis goal. Raven's head wound should have been spotted well before it happened though. Cant help but think it wouldve made a difference. Not much to say about the 2nd half. Neither side improved on their 2nd half display but Nick nearly grabbed it with his header, great save from Cammy Bell. Owain deserved to go, he didnt head butt Kelly but he did grab him. It was a petty tackle but the reaction cannot be defended. However 2 games unbeaten into the season and a young squad that is showing promise. Warren was my pick of the bunch today, though he defended brilliantly, could be an important player for us. Shane looked lost in the first half but put in a great shift up front in the 2nd. Please Terry, for the sake of all of us just play him there.

His injuries had already flared up before he left but the season after we did miss him as none of our strikers following that were very prolific. Wyness got 6, Niculae got 8, Bayne got 2 and Dean McDonald got a big fat zero in front of goal and the following season was even worse. There was no question that he had left a difficult task to follow which wasnt matched until Adam Rooney's form developed some 3 years later. The move to St Mirren maybe didnt kill his career but definitely killed the reputation he developed during his time at ICT.

Would love to make this one.