ALSY

Read the full text of this on the editorial forum and it's absolutely brilliant, but for some reason when I click on the main page only the title comes up. Is this just a problem with my PC, or is it a mistake, or am I being whooshed in some way far too sophisticated for my tiny mind?

From where I was sitting,Rooney was our best outfield player by some distance. We had maybe five or six chances of any note in the whole game - four of them were largely down to Rooney's ability to read where the ball was going even if, on this occasion, his finishes were below his usual standard. He also did his best to hold up the ball and look for support, which was largely non-existent. The service he received on Saturday was absolutely diabolical - he can't be in three places at once, but did at least tend to be in the correct areas of the pitch looking for the ball, unlike the majority of his team-mates (Foran, perhaps, excepted).

Motherwell look a good deal better than we looked yesterday. I'd hoped next Saturday would be an opportunity to pick up three points, but if Motherwell play anything like this then we'll struggle.

Probably going to meet TSNY et al at Robbie's first, but will definitely make it along to the Iona before kick off. Looking forward to this - always one of the best away days.

Hmm. Sutherland for Odhiambo and Tokely for Innes from the team that played the bulk of last week's match. Slightly surprised by that. I wonder if Foran will be restored to one of the wide positions with Sutherland up front, or if Sutherland will be asked to play wide?

I think TB might play Duff at left back and Rossoce at right back - Duff was solid enough there on Saturday after Butcher switched him and Proctor after Saints' second goal. Probably a toss up between Proctor and Odhiambo for the wide right role. Think I'd rather see Ross in the team ahead of either of them if he was fit though.

The second goal makes him look bad, even though I'm not sure he was actually at fault: if he'd been covering his back post he'd have left the whole goal gaping, especially with the defenders so far forward in the box. Looked like a fluke IMO. He's had a couple decent saves since then - hope he can get a few more in in the second half.

Not having a particularly good night so far...

Rangers. We might have beaten Celtic in the cup twice before, but they're a much better team than Rangers at the moment. There's been very little between the teams in our three games against Rangers this season.

:irritated:

Great game to watch. Not so sure it'll be Rangers in teh next round. Celtic look by far the better team even with ten and fully deserved that second equaliser. Unbelieveable save from McGregor there. ...and Naismith just sent off for diving! Brave decision, but the right one too, judging by the replay. From our pov would probably rather Rangers got through, as Celtic are the better side at the moment, but then we do have a better cup record against Celtic.

Happy birthday Johndo. I'm sure you'll be proud to know that you share your birthday with Rick Astley.

Really impressed by what I saw on the highlights. It was great to see so much creativity going forward. Odhiambo played a decent role in the build-up to one of the goals (first or second, can't remember which) but if he was ineffective otherwise, as people have been saying, and if Hayes is still injured, then how about Sanchez on one of the wings against St Mirren if he is fit? From the limited highlights he looked really busy and put in a beautiful ball from the left for one of the goals in the second half. Surely Duncan must keep his place too now?

Nice one.

Oh yes. Working on the match preview just now. I'm really looking forward to this one - hoping today is another turning point in our season and can't wait to see Doran in the flesh.

It will turn to 11,000 if we make the semis! :( I don't know about that, mate - I've got a feeling we'd take far fewer down than we did for our previous two semis. Playing in Glasgow against 'big' opposition isn't the novelty it once was for many of our supporters. If we were to get to the final, on the other hand... No cup shocks today, then. Pity Ayr couldn't do the business over St Mirren.

Just got in to find out the score. Nice surprise - I was expecting us to struggle. Sounds like we've found someone in Doran who can really supply chances - suddenly Rooney starts scoring again. Please please please let it be Brechin away in the quarter finals.

Brilliant, Davie. I'm impressed with Sir William's latest work - he seems to have developed a btter grasp of metre than he used to have...

Kencar mentioned on the 'red card' thread that Tokely is suspended for two games in addition to Munro being out. If this is the case, then presumably Proctor will go into central defence with Duff moving to right back and (hopefully) Duncan coming back into midfield. Once the defence is restored to full strength, I'd happily live the rest of my life without seeing Proctor play at right back again - I'd rather see him in deep midfield with Duff staying at right back - but I don't think TB sees it that way. For United, assuming Tokely is out, I'd go: Esson Duff Proctor Innes Shinnie Ross Duncan Hayes Sanchez Foran Rooney with TB prepared to throw Doran and McDonald in early if it's not working.

P&B is a good thing. It may be St Mirren-centric and 75% of the threads may descend into point-scoring, but it's still far and away the closest thing we've got to a barometer of what Scottish football supporters really think about the current state of the game. If you can train yourself to ignore the innumerable trolls and the (sometimes genuinely frightening) obsessive pedants and tin-foil-hat-wearers, it produces some really good threads - the 'SFL 1 in MS Paint' thread last season was approaching genius. I've got an account but I don't post much - we have excellent representation on the site from ICTChris and RiG, and in Sandy Cromarty and Sophia a pair of selfless rabble-rousers who draw so much hatred that the rest of us get away pretty much unscathed.

Maybe the story from those who were at the game will be different, but from the radio commentary it actually sounded like we played some decent football at times tonight and created several good chances without managing to convert them. That's better than the dog days of the Brewster reign, when we were creating next to nothing (anyone remember that horrible home 0-3 against Aberdeen in December '08?). All the same, the run is worrying: Richard Gordon was just saying that we've now equalled Hamilton in going on the longest run without a win in the SPL this season. You've got to wonder how much the slump is starting to prey on the players' minds.

Oh God. Heaviest defeat of the season on the cards here.

Proctor on for, I assume, Sanchez (missed what the commentators said). What on earth has Duncan done to **** Butcher off so much? B*gger. Rooney puts a great chance over the bar after making space for himself.

Yeah, I've been listening to that. Slightly strange logic from Allan Preston - when Chick Young said that he reckoned Rooney would be a worthwhile signing for Rangers (not sure I agree, tbh), Preston suggested that he wouldn't be because he is a 'lone striker' and Rangers don't play that way. Maybe this betrays my ignorance of the game, but I've never thought of Rooney as somehow generically a lone striker; rather, I've always felt Rooney has been asked to play this way because of the system TB favours and because of our squad limitations. Is there any reason why Rooney couldn't play in a partnership?

If TB sees him as a player that is ready to go into the first team - and if he is a genuine winger - it will be interesting to see how this might affect the starting eleven. Might he consider moving Foran back into a striking role alongside Rooney and playing two of Duncan/Cox/Duff in the centre, with one slightly ahead of the other and Doran and Hayes on either side? Could lead to a more of the end product that has been lacking recently, as discussed on other threads.