PerfICT

The penalty for 5th rather than 4th last season was an extra round of the league cup. Hopefully, SEVCO will be bust by then anyway, so it might be a bye or Queen's Park.

I like Renegade's line-up, but after the World Cup, we could consider going 5 at the back with Shinnie and Raven as wing backs - something like: Brill Meekings Warren Tremarco Raven Tansey Shinnie Watkins Christie Doran/Williams McKay I'm assuming Draper still injured? If he's back, I'd go 4-2-3-1 with the same personnel as above, but with Shinnie back at left back instead of Tremarco and Draper in beside Tansey.

Goals (for your team!) provide top entertainment in football - full stop. I bet nobody can remember the build up to Nick Ross's equaliser against Hearts at ER...it was pretty scrappy! Were you entertained? My problem is that I subscribe to the Barca style of football, but then Barca usually score at the end of a beautiful move. I reckon we will score some beautifully crafted goals this season, but not many. Now, will the beautiful passing outweigh the disappointment of few goals and dropped points. We'll see. Hamilton away is an almighty banana skin - here's hoping the boys turn it on and grab a couple!

Pretty + Ineffective = pretty ineffective. I think this is going to be a theme this year! Our possession stats will be brilliant, but we'll continue to leak sloppy goals and will struggle to score because a slow build up is not playing to McKay's strengths. It's a goals business, JH....please prove me wrong!

OK, IHE, I'll provide a very brief report of how I remember yesterday's game: Cracking weather greeted a powerful looking team from Fleetwood and a small band of visiting fans. The main stand was about half full by kick off. The first half started with long spells of possession for ICT - Fleetwood struggled to get hold of possession and were reliant on long thumps up to their striker. Against the run of play, however, they put the ball in the net from an attack down the right and a low cross, but the offside flag was raised - tight call! ICT played some neat football in midfield and were combining particularly well down the left, with Shinnie always making himself available. However, they created few goalscoring opportunities, the best of which were a free kick from Tansey which deflected off the wall after Christie was brought down and a shot from Billy from 10 yards after his put in behind by Christie's pass. Fleetwood forced a couple of corners on the break before an excellent run and cross from Raven was converted by McKay from 6 yards just before half time. Fleetwood started the second half better than the first and had some possession of their own. Watkins and Ross came on with about 30 min to go (replacing Doran and Christie) and the threat switched to the right, where Watkins made several dangerous breaks from midfield but failed to find the final pass. Fleetwood always looked dangerous from the set-piece and scored mid-way through the half from a free kick on the left that was neatly headed past Brill. Shortly afterwards, another break from Watkins was missed by everybody, but was pinged back in by Williams: his shot was saved/hit the post and the rebound put in by Vincent. Vincent and Williams gave way to Polworth and the trialist. The only chance of great note came from Fleetwood on account of a mistake by Tremarco in a dangerous spot - the resulting low cross was put narrowly wide of the near post. The match finished tamely. A good workout, but few chances for either side.

Meant to say: Doran looked like he's lost about 5 yards of pace (and put on 5 stone!) and Nick Ross had a sub's appearance to forget. Polworth had a couple of scary moments too....

Good possession football, but not enough chances created from it all. Fleetwood were a big side, but were not very good and yet they created as much as we did off scraps. There was also the usual loss of possession deep in defence (Tremarco), which could have led to a goal - too many of them last season. Shinnie and Christie stand-outs in first half, Raven, Tansey Williams and Warren also looked good. My biggest worry is that all we heard from the bench all afternoon was "keep it" - no mention of actually trying to make things happen or quickening the pace. We'll be easy to play against, I fear: just let us have it and hit on the break. You win nothing for possession!

Another left back? Worrying, if you ask me: either Shinnie is moving to midfield or Hughes is taking out insurance. Hopefully not the second option! Let's wait and see when this is confirmed.....

Hamilton away for the opener is tough: plastic pitch + new boys wanting to impress. For me, those first 5 games have banana skin written all over them! Hope I'm wrong - would be great to get a start like last year!

Agree. McKays excellent goalscoring in the first half of the season relied upon really quick breaks, defence in disarray, incisive ball into the 6-yard box - GOAL! Slow patient build-up play is not going to suit his style of finishing and Hughes needs to recognise that.

Don't think its a case of 'can't' have #13, its not banned or anything, think its a case of superstition for some players or teams and they just don't choose to wear the number. I know that, I just think it's silly that people still have these superstitions in this day and age. It's like people who number their house 12A! I think in China number 4 is considered unlucky. People scared of these things need to get a life. Eusebio wore #13 in the '66 World Cup - didn't seem to do him any harm (Golden Boot)!

....that day at Easter Road in November is indelible. He got what he deserved after his graceless exit from ICT.

Would love to be a fly on the wall at ER this afternoon. TB's in the unenviable position of (a) being sacked or (b) having to accept that he'll have no say on the running of the club except the hoofball side. Sacked, left by mutual consent, resigned or staying and toing the line of the CEO - which way will it fall?!!!

I remeber watching highlights of one of the early rounds of the Scottish Cup and couldn't believe how many snthetic pitches were available in the lower leagues. I used to be dead against these (anyone remeber the shambles at Loftus Rd many years ago with one of the early versions - like playing in a car-park!), but having actually had a shot on one of the 3G versions, I think it is sensible. Our pitch was dire last season for a few months and it doesn't suit the Barca style.....

No! ....and I know I need to get out more, but 2% conversion rate from free kicks and similar from corners: maybe time to try something different?! Let's face it, we've got a 0% conversion rate to beat, so it is impossible for a wee bit of inventive trickery to be worse!

STV have some really interesting stats section for the football spod (like me!) The latest looks at the prem season as a whole. As I thought, the stat that really stands out is our failure to score a single goal from a direct free kick situation. In our defence, no team scored more than 2 goals in the whole season from free kicks, which I find astonishing. Assuming 2 direct free kicks per game in scoring positions, 2/76 shots at goal seems pretty appalling, never mind 0/76!!! http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/276915-stats-zone-the-story-of-the-scottish-premiership-in-201314/ Is the Premiership technical ability so low that we can't get a couple of guys, with practice, to hit the target more often than that? You might think so, but actually the best in the world don't fare all that much better - conversion rates in EPL and La Liga look like they are around 4%. I'll not be getting out my seat in a hurry next time Greg Tansey lines one up from 20 yards next season....

...I actually meant the one in the ER stand, but this one is pretty funny too!

Stanton. The rest are absolute gash.

Can somebody please post up that unforgettable photo of Butcher at ER in the dirty old man coat again: the caption should surely read "will the last one out please turn off the lights!". Well done Accies - appearently by far the better team today and thoroughly deserving. So, no war chest for Butcher as promised: will this push Hibs over the edge? They surely won't have budgeted for this and, with the compensation for Fenlon and ICT.....

Superb. I like the policy of long term contracts. Just look at the year-on-year turmoil over the bridge!

Excellent news

Top 6. We should have an advantage over just about every other team at the beginning of the season because we have a settled squad - get off to another flyer and we could even do better than this year...............much will depend on the manager!

Exactly - the competition needs to be recognised and Scottish Football in general cannot compete with the quality that is available on TV. I never thought I'd say it, but the answer is summer football to avoid the competition altogether. Also, I would be kkener to go to a match on a barmy summer's evening than to freeze my cajones off in mid-February!

Interesting statistics. I don't think this has much to do with cost: when the club tried to attract crowds with cost incentives for midweek games late in the season, it had little apparent effect. As others have noted above, I think we have not been well served by the SPFL "computer" and by postponements this year. First, only one home game against County at New Year - the away support was pitiful for that. Second only one home (3 away) game against Celtic (on a Sunday with TV coverage IIRC). Third, no Sevco. Then came the postponements which meant a series of games in March/April midweek and competing with Champions League QF/SF. That, added to the drop in form was catastrophic for our average crowds: I think less than 3k were at Hibs, DUFC and Motherwell midweek games, for example. We are particularly badly hit by midweek games because the away support is understandably decimated. Sadly. all of this means we were the worst supported club in the Premiership behind St J and County. I think next year will be better because we should have 2 games at home against both County and Celtic: ~5k at all of those will have a significant impact. I wish the SPFL would recognise the competition from televised Champions League + travel issues for midweek games and do everything in their power to avoid them.