Row S

It does make you wonder what they do in training. That's the worst performance I have witnessed for a long time at the TCS. Any more like that and our crowds are going to dip well below 3,000. Time to change things around big style I think if the relegation zone is to be avoided. We definitely need a midfielder who can provide a stroke of genius and give our strikers the ball at their feet in the box, not 30 yards out or a high ball that they get outjumped every time for. Get it sorted Charlie!!!!!

Absolutely right guys. On Saturday Zander could have provided the spark of genius we needed to open up the Hearts defence in the last 15 minutes. I would have hooked Roy for him instead of Dargo. Zander on the left could have given Robbie Neilson some problems instead of the easy afternoon Roy gave him.

Discipline problems aside, I still think Blackie deserves to be in the team ahead of Rankin. We need Blackie there to jump for high balls in midfield and play some decent passes. He is less involved in the hot-headed stuff and plays his best when Russell Duncan is alongside him.

It used to be Caley Croc but I think it's Nessie now.

The Scotsman says Malofeev will be there before his touchline ban kicks in the following week. The comments from Paul Hartley later in the same article could see him demoted as well. So step forward 'Captain of the Week'. I have a suspicion that Romanov's immediate plot is to destroy the morale and careers of the Scottish internationalists to deplete Walter's squad and give Lithuania a better chance of beating them in the next Euro 2008 qualifier. Andy Webster excepted he can then sell on the players and bring in even more Kaunas players on loan deals. Then he gets their coach across to run Hearts into the ground.

Rode their luck big style tonight. Outplayed in first half, scored from a free kick that never was, tried to claim that Maloney's arm was played by the ball for the Man Ure penalty and then Boric is well off his line to save it.

We must freshen up the midfield and swap Denzil for Bayne. Dargo has missed him this season. I'd also slot Morgan into the left wing spot for McBain and Black in the middle for Rankin. To be honest, despite his 2 goals against Falkirk, Rankin has not impressed me at all this season. When it isn't going our way it has surprised me why Charlie hasn't tried pushing Rankin up just behind the strikers or hooked him for young Zander more often.

Just the time to kick them when they're down. The more Lithuanians the better.

I must agree with Caley D as well. Too often against H*bs and Aberdeen Roy was posted missing on the left flank allowing Whittaker to come strolling forward and set up chances. Hastings is left to cope with two men bearing down on him a factor that led to Hart's cross for Aberdeen's equaliser last Monday. Morgan would provide better cover and more skill to beat a few players going forward. However, young Zander looks as if he could be a handful for the likes of Whittaker, forcing him to stay back and defend. I also thought Rankin was totally lost and apart from his last ditch on his own six yard line challenge to block a shot in the first half he contributed nothing to the game. Glad to see him hooked at last but a bit too late in the day.

You could see that Dargo was knackered. He had put in a hard shift against two good defenders in Anderson and Severin. However, I also felt that either Roy or Barry should have been tactically hooked a bit later on for Sutherland. The wee lad could have occupied Hart for the last 5 minutes and stopped him getting forward to lay on the equaliser.

Well done to the Bairns for knocking out the Tattie Munchers on penalties. Despite a slightly weakened Celtic team, that result puts our defeat in the last round in prespective. here's hoping St Johnstone make it a double OF knockout come this time tomorrow.

Outwith the Transfer Window can we buy players who have been sacked/had their contracts terminated? Perhaps loan deals are more likely but do we really need anyone given our current run of form?

Romanov lost the plot when he sacked George Burley almost exactly a year ago. If Vlad had left GB to get on with things Hearts would probably have won the SPL last season and be in the group stages of the Champions League with a team that included Andy Webster, Rudi Skacel and Julian Brellier. Instead he has turned the club into a laughing stock with only so much the players can take. Well done to Elvis and the guys for saying enough is enough. All the rotation of players this season has cost them points and only Celtic are benefitting. As good honest professionals the players only want the best team to be turned out every week, not to fill it with over-rated and under-performing Lithuanians. I hope that Fraser Wishart and his colleagues at the Players Union get their teeth into this and for the sake of the game the players win at the end of the day. The SPL sorely needs to end the OF domination and Hearts had seemed to offer the best chance of that happening.

Andy Walker said the very same thing on Glescasport on Monday - designer stubble at his age?

Nah, there has only ever been one dead ringer for Plug in Scottish football - Davie Dodds, ex of the Arabs and the Huns. Rossco hasn't got the nostrils.

And the stewards missed all the action once again. :sleep01:

Couldn't hear him at all above the noise at the end of the game. We need a decent PA system and someone who can whip us into a frenzy at the start of a game - as long as they don't bring back Tich McCooey.

I agree whole heartedly that CC should play the 3-4-3 or 4-5-2 formation at home. It seems to put the team into over-drive and attack most of the time. Just like we used to in the old First Division. Falkirk just had no answer when the switch was made. Latapy never saw the ball again and as for Hughes's substitutions, he only wasted time sending them on with 2 minutes to go. Well done CC for recognising the need to change things, despite the fact that if it was up to me I would have made the switch at half time.

After he gave the ball away on the half wayline for Falkirk's second goal, I thought he had to go. Even Charlie gave us hope he would when he started to get the subs ready to come on, but no, he stayed on and the rest is history. I for one was calling for his removal dseveral timnes before he scored the first free kick. Despite his goals today I still think he contributes little in the midfield. Still if he plays mince every week and we still win who are we to complain?

Is Dargo going to play in behind Bayne? The away tactics might just work. Also, given Blackie's suspension there will have to be another U21 player in the squad to add to Rory and Zander. Possibly Soane?

Today's Scotsman has a cracking article by Alan Patullo slagging off the new set up. Sorry I can't add the clicky link as it will cost me £29.99 to join the Scotsman Prem club. As well as Andy walker's poor reading of the autocue and the late running causing many viewers to fall asleep before their team comes on, it mentions the discussion with Graham Spiers about David Fernandez playing like a girl degenerating to the point that Grant Stott got to mention girls breasts on his first show.

....and we don't want the wee Leith ned either. It sounds like he's getting the same treatment at Celtic as David Fernadez got. So Riordan is bound to go back to Fester Road on loan.

Did you see the wee f*d on TV yesterday speaking out in defiance of the critics and about his readiness to play for Scotland? This followed up the debate on Radio Scotland either side of the match commentaries on Saturday, fuelled by Jim Traynor. Personally, I'm with JT on this, i.e. that Bazza is not ready to play for his country, especially not against France. Viera and Co. will take him apart. I also don't think that he can play in the same team as Paul Hartley. Even a half fit McFadden will be more effective than BF. I also hope that Gary Caldwell isn't playing either. He's another liability

RiG, you mentioned it on the main match thread. I saw it quite clear as well and the defender holding Grant back. As I said on that other thread, that t*sser of a ref Murray missed the first offence and took action at the second, often retaliation incident - he booked Grant for his reaction and complaining. Hamilton should have been booked in the first half for his persistent fouling, but again Murray failed to take action then. Now if it was Ian Black ..................

At least get someone who doesn't need to tell three times at half time that we are drawing 0-0 with Dunfermline!!