RicoS321

Missed first half. Anyone got a stream suggestion?

Aye, it'll be interesting to see how it works out for him. He can be a bit tender at times, I expect that's because he grew up in a house, a very big house in the country.

McCowan to be the inevitable benchwarmer at the Tims? 27 year old young prospect I suppose. I'm guessing they were worried about the threat Dundee were posing after a good start.

Quality. Good to see him still playing. I expect at 60, he'll still be able to send a hearts fullback to another galaxy with a simple drop of the shoulder.

Bavidge to Ayr on loan? Good move if so.

Yep, I like to get my thoughts in early, it's good to look back on mistakes, it's fine. I've correctly written off many players, and predicted many would be good too, far more than I've got wrong. I was fairly tentative in my language when discussing Nilsen, as there was a lot to like about him. I've not seen anything to like about Ambrose so far. I've never understood why people on forums say things like "gie the boy a chance", it's just an opinion. I have no actual ability to affect his playing time. I don't think he'll get jeered off the park by the red shed because of my opinion, and I certainly wouldn't be shouting abuse at the guy. On the brief showings, I don't think he'll be good enough, and we signed another player for the same position despite already being covered (in terms of numbers, definitely not quality), suggesting Thelin knows this.

Why would he build a squad to compete in Europe when they were overwhelmingly odds against to get past the play offs? Unless he was trying to bankrupt Killie. That'd be fine.

He's pish. That's the main issue.

What the fuck would he know about it? I wish guys like him would stop sticking their oar in where it's not wanted. Sincerely, D Cormack

I'd be fairly comfortable with where we are. We don't have a European schedule, and we've got a couple of midfielders to return from injury. I'd like Thelin to take a bit more time to suss out the squad, including his new signings, and then shift some folk on before any further activity. There are still a lot of guys in that squad that are average, and I wouldn't want to bulk that up with more averageness.

Aye, I originally wrote him and Hickey, but deleted the wrong name. Hickey was the other one I meant. Think he came through it

Fairly certain Gilmour, Paterson, Ramsay and Barron all came through the JD pish.

It's not too bad. It's early in the season, and we're still in the transfer window, so some guys will maybe find new teams. If anyone, like Dykes, has had an injury you'd expect them to have less minutes under their belts at this point. The others will hopefully break in at some point. Good to see the young lads like Johnston, Doak and Forrest getting an opportunity.

Why? He's been good for Scotland, generally speaking. The red card wasn't something that can be blamed entirely on Porteous either, the rest of the defence and midfield went completely missing and he threw himself at the block. It was a rash challenge as a result of chaotic defending, nothing more, nothing less. He got his punishment.

I assume Max Johnston will be right back. Started the last two for Sturm Gratz. A serious lack of forward planning from Clarke, guys like Barron and Johnston should have been with the squad in the summer. He's not offered any bedding on or transition for this campaign. Needs to react quickly and establish a good squad of guys for the next few years. The only ageing player I'm not concerned about is Gordon.

FTFY

That's what happens when you don't force him to do the work of two players. It's testament to his fitness and attitude that he wasn't badly injured last season, which could have had consequences at this time in his career. It really was atrocious management by Robson, I don't think it can be overstated. When you're not arriving late to every tackle and not really having to worry about where your midfield partner is, you're timing has a far greater chance of being successful. Not only that, but the increased efficiency means that you make better decisions and gives you more time on the ball, so it's no surprise to see him deliver telling crosses from space. He'll still tire in games, I'm sure, and his style of play will always result in bookings, but he's been good at managing that throughout his career and will continue to do so. He's a very good SPFL player that I reckon has another season beyond this one at the level he is now. Edit to add: it was very frustrating to hear "the legs have gone" nonsense from our own fans last season, without the basic understanding of our team setup. It's not always clear on the telly I guess, you might just get an angle of Shinnie arriving late constantly, but numerous folk at the game could be heard questioning the player over the manager.

Poor man's Ringo in my opinion

Actually, you could be correct, I would fundamentally disagree though, but that's fine. The point I should have made was that it isn't what anyone wanted VAR brought in for. It was absolutely not a clear and obvious error by any normal person's view point, and not in the spirit of the game. The referee had a clear view, with full context of how the tackle was made, the entire movement, the speed, the intent, the force etc. He was in full possession of the facts when he made the call, and that incident was re-refereed. You might have walked away from today's game saying "that guy could have had a red for that tackle", but nobody in their right mind would have been calling it an outrageous decision and asking for retrospective punishment for the player. The creep of VAR in every country and tournament is undeniable, and it's ruining games (we were very comfortable today but the red ended it as a contest). Yet again, because nobody can define clear and obvious, we're getting re-reffing by slow motion replay. Inevitably, of course.

Another honking VAR decision today in our game. Re-reffing once again and making the final part of the game a nothing affair. Nobody was calling for a red. Because it wasn't one.

Aye, a good game for the Dons all round. No passengers today, but Sokler was quite poor despite putting in the work. Shinnie and Nielsen very good in the centre, Shinnie with another lovely assist. McGrath probably top Don. Couple of great strong headers from Gueye, who put in a good shift. Ambrose had his best game for us yet, holding onto the ball for more than three seconds at one point. Nisbet didn't get much opportunity, nor Palaversa, who's quite a big lad. McKenzie played well, and Devlin started well but stopped making the runs beyond Keskinen which meant we didn't get much going down that side. McGrath makes McKenzie a better player.

The attitude issue isn't just because of his Millwall stint. He was also a young player at Hibs. That does things to a man.

No! There a lot of potential negatives with him, with the positive being that he might be a temporarily good striker for us. If he is, then he'll go somewhere else most likely! It's pragmatic though, he's been good in this league before, and we need a striker in, but probably don't want to commit to anyone long term with so many in the current squad, fighting for one position essentially. Again, though, we need to see players going out the door. There is no need to have four strikers and potentially five when Duk returns with tail between legs after the window closes. If there are any minor attitude problems with Nisbet, we don't need another two or three guys making things difficult behind the scenes because they're not playing. We certainly don't need to be juggling minutes on the park for them either. As Jute mentions, Ambrose on loan would be good, he's very clearly not ready for the SPFL. He doesn't really look ready for playing football if I'm honest. Maybe we could send him offshore?

I think he'll drop Morris and play Vinnie (assuming Palaversa isn't ready yet). It's notable that Morris has been subbed in reasonably short order so far, I think he's been found out. Maybe not though. Also, surely this is the one game you want Rubi starting? Up against thon Vassell lad, I know I'd want him.

Yep, the BBC once again showing its impartiality. Let's ask two teams how they think Scottish football can improve youth development. Two teams who always want what's best for Scottish football.