AJS

Back to bed then to continue recovering from New Year.

Tbh i wouldnt be suprised if Foran simply battled on with an injury. He is that sort of player.

Just to add, i just saw the challenge from O'Hanlon on Foran, that was vicious, if the referee had seen that from another angle O'Hanlon would defnitely have been walking, dreadful tackle.

Im satisfied that we havent lost the game but a little dissapointed we didnt take full advantage of Hibs fragile state. Their supporters were on their backs almost from the word go, any pass that went remotely sideways would be met with instant discontent. They need to get their perspectives in better shape or they will carry on dragging the club down. I think tactically we were a bit lacklustre. McKay was being forced to contend with long punts for the whole game but struggled to compete with O'Hanlon and Stephens, no suprise given they are almost twice his size. Tade struggled to make much impact on the wing too, his effort was superb a usual but he falied to be as productive as he has been in recent weeks. Still glad to see Doran back and hoping he will be back in the starting XI soon, Wasnt sure about the free kick but having seen it on the telly ive got no qualms, well struck but Esson seemed to move a bit late when going for it. Still credit to the boys they didnt let their heads drop, Foran had a terrific shot curling onto the post and Jonny curling one just wide, also Billy McKay having a shot blocked when he burst through. Not long after Jonny Hayes scored arguably the best solo goal of the season. Picked it up on the halfway line, Hibs players backed off and Jonny just burned past them with one or two ending up on their erses trying to stop him before unleashing a lovely strike into the bottom corner. The second half was a bit of a no show, both sides huffed and puffed but very little was created between either team, though Foran made a great block at the end. Also Tade seemed to end up in good area to shoot and ended up sconing it across goal when shooting seemed the better option. For me best player tonight was Foran, he has had his critics this season (including me) but he seems to be relishing his new role in midfield and he seems to have added that bite it was missing at the start of the season. If he carries on like that then he may well give Bucher alot to think about in terms of Tansey and Jones's situation. Also i thought Kenny Gillet was outstanding tonight in central defence, some of his tackles and interceptions were game changing and he gave 100% there, despite being a makeshift role for him. Overall pleased that its 2 games without defeat. Looking forward to St Johnstone coming up, hopefully we will have Tokely and A Shinnie back and would be nice to see Doran get a longer run out too. Roll on 2012.

Meekings and Piermayr are fine for right back. Butcher has already said he intends to bring in another center half so it makes sense to move Proctor on. Imo he wouldve been gone already had he not already had a year left on his contract. I think out of our own crop of youngster Gavin Morrison is the least likely to get in the side so a loan move may be the best option for him. I dont want Shane or Nick departing. Doran still isnt back to fitness and we dont have many options up front anyway so hope they are both retained. Also with Davis looking to stay and the fact we already have plenty midfielders is it possible that OT Jones could be shifted?

Esson Piermayr, Tokely, Golobart, Gillet Davis, Foran Hayes, A Shinnie, Tade McKay Subs: Tuffey, G Shinnie, Morrison, Doran, Ross, Sutherland, Cox

We played better at Ibrox last week and lost, shows what a funny game football really is. It was a real solid display from everyone today though. Given that we were missing our top scorer and best defender today id say we did fairly well and given what happened to Hibs today im sure the team will be well fired up for the 28th. Roman Golobart - take a bow son, he was absolutely colossal today. He won everything, headers, tackles and some great no nonsense stuff. Was worthy of the goal, only emphasised how good he was today. Hoping he stays on, he seems to have found his feet and cut out the faffing about he got up to in his first few games. Thought Foran gave a solid display in the holding role. Some good tackles and some vital headers in the box as well. I think he should just stay in that role for the remainder of the season. It's not often we score from a corner but to get 2 was brilliant. Golobart caught his header brilliantly and Tade's came purely from the fact he reacted quickest. Also worth pointing out Tade has already surpassed his tally from last season at Raith, heres hoping he has a few more come May time. To sum up its good to see us beating one of the teams around us in the league and some distance between us and the foot of the table developing. Bring on the Hibees.

Not the first time we've been linked with Keegan before.

My source tells me Sheffield United have had him watched recently and were very impressed with his showing on Saturday , he also told me Hayes isn't the only one that could be out the door in January !!! Lets be honest, Jonny is arguably the best player in our squad right now and has been for the last 2 seasons and im glad we have held onto him as long as we have. If he goes then he has my best wishes. He's had offers before and knocked them back for the good of his career and has defnitely developed so much while he has been here. If he stays i'll be delighted. I know he's settled up here but so was Adam Rooney when he moved. If Jonny goes we will replace him, its what we always do.

Courier says today that Butcher wants to keep Golobart, Davis, and Chippendale beyond January and that finding another center back to replace Hogg is high on priority. Nice to see he's making his intentions clear. If Golobart carries on improving then i wouldnt mind seeing him stay for the season, same goes for Davis. I think Chippendale may go back though, by January Doran and Jones will hopefully be back in the squad and Chipper will just get pushed further down the pecking order. Glad he's going to get a new center back as well.

Standing is just better, it makes me less restless if the game is a tense one, It makes it easier to see the game overall, you cant sing properly sitting down, in the winter it dosent feel as cold. There are loads of advantages to standing and if it is safe then i see no reason why it shouldnt happen.

I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I'd rather pay a bit more and be able to stand throughout the match. Me too.

Esson Piermayr, Tokely, Golobart, G. Shinnie Davis, Foran Hayes, A Shinnie, Tade McKay Subs: Tuffey, Gillet, Cox, Ross, Tansey, Sutherland, Morrison

So you still think he was poor then, I take it? I thought he was solid. Not spectacular but played a central role in the match. Grafted, tackled, created, played a captain's role and even scored (not his fault it was scrapped). He was playing the role that Edu or Papac was playing for Rangers and, I thought, his performance absolutely eclipsed them. Surprised there's any criticism of him. His defensive qualities we're clearly evident yesterday, ive already said that and yes he was unlucky with the goal but he still gave the ball away far too easily at times and there were occasions were he was asking for far too long on the ball. I will admit he was better yesterday than he has been in recent weeks. If he stays in that area in the field he may get better more consistently too.

Think you need to calm down a bit. I would say that he merely played less poorly than in recent weeks. His defensive quality's came in handy and he probably shouuldve had a goal but at the same time he gave away posession very cheaply on more than one occasion and got caught napping at times when in control of the ball so no i wouldnt say it was his best of the season but i will agree that he is better suited to the middle of the park.

Defeated but not disheartened. We shoudlve came away with a result and im dissapointed we didnt but at the end of the day we were against the reigning league leaders . The first half was a real no show. Both teams cancelled each other out. Whittaker coming close with a header which Esson turned away, Cox had the best opportunity for us but just couldnt make contact with the ball when it came in. Thought unlike last week Butcher got his tactics more or less spot on. We went out to frustrate Rangers and despite omitting Andy Shinnie for the starting XI i thought he brought him on at the best moment. Gillet at right back was a funny one but he did reasonably well though my heart was in my mouth when he fouled Jelavic towards half time. The 2nd half was alot more open, frustrating to see us concede yet again from another set piece, didnt clear our lines and Bocanegra eventually found the net. But Shinnie was introduced and almost immediately the game was turning our way. Foran found Tade who showed great skill to get past Whittaker, burn into the box and play a great ball across which Shinnie finished first time. We were deservedly level and shouldve added to it. McKay rounded McGregor only to hit the post, Johnny had a shot turned off the line and McKay then fired straight at McGregor in a good area. Would also like to see Foran's header, he seemed onside when making his run. But as usual our luck is just not going good and Davis played through Lafferty who stroked the ball home with not long remaining, Rangers played out the remaining few minutes by holding up the ball and bouts of time wasting. The Shinnie brothers, Hayes, Golobart and Tade all get good mentions today, all gave 100%, had a great impact on the game and can be very pleased with their performances today. McKay shouldve scored but his performance was good, he is getting into good areas and if he carries on he will start to hit the back of the net more. Our players can take alot of heart from today, keep that level of performance up we will begin to produce results against other teams.

Doubt it, Sofia are looking to sell him. Would be a good signing but i would imagine theyd be reluctant to loan him again.

Ex manager of St Johnstone keen on bringing one of St Johnstones best players to his new, bigger and better club? Yeh what a load of rubbish.

I agree with you, but what I do not understand is why it has not happened ..... The excuse trotted out by the players union and the SFA/SPL seems to be that they can do nothing as its an internal matter until someone actually complains officially .... that makes me ask two questions 1. Why has no-one complained officially ? If my employer didnt pay me on time, I would be chapping the boss' door straight away and asking some difficult questions. If the answers werent good enough, I would then be going further up the food chain until I got an answer .... If that ends up going nowhere then its lawyer time, and if applicable, getting onto my union and/or the governing body to get it sorted. 2. When does it reach a point where the league will act ? The players should not be subjected to this, and the bodies governing our league should be applying pressure on the employer to resolve it not sitting back and watching it unfold. Makes it even worse that it is happening at one of the most expensive times of the year with Xmas coming up. I think the players were probably too scared to say anything when it started, Pressley and Hartley spoke out and all it did was eventually end their careers at the club. So i would imagine the players would have been made to tow the line for a bit for risk of being punted. Id imagine by now though its reached the point where they really dont give a toss if they are at the club or not. They will probably just want to start making a livig again out of their profession. Balogh and Elliot have already departed and Skacel is gone at the end of the month and no doubt will be followed by more departures. It is reaching crisis point. With regards to no.2 well all that can be said is the SPL is run by muppets and this whole scenario is emphasising it. They need to intervene now.

Happy Birthday Brew...

Butcher - sign him up!

Is it possible that with all the problems at Hearts Darren Barr may become available? He was excellent at Falkirk but hasnt really been able to emulate that at Hearts and im pretty sure that like many he is in the final year of his contract.

If Russell Anderson was fully fit he would be a decent signing.

If we had a team of players we nearly signed we'd be top of the league. I saw Mackay Steven against Clach last summer and thought he looked the part but if i recall he was going to be out for about 3 months if we signed him so it didnt really make sense at the time. However if memory serves me right we offered the pay as you pay deal afterwards but he knocked it back and spent 6 months on the dole before ending up at Airdrie. Dissapointed we never took the chance but i suppose at the time it seemed the more sensible thing to do.

There was a time where this team wouldnt have survived without Richie Foran but now it appears he is one of the players dragging them down. When he was struggling at the start of the season i thought it was just his injuries that were hampering his form but it is clear now that there is something more to it. What it is i dont know but it is clear he needs some time away from the starting line up and the captaincy as those are the only things that it could be. Physically he is not up to scratch to play on the wing anymore, he is 31 and imo has lost a bit off pace over the last year. I thought his displays in center midfield last season were rather good but there is alot of competition for places there. But we all know Terry will never drop him, he's captain, he's the favourite and in Terry's eyes Richie is the one that galvanizes the team.