Gnome on the Bing

Because, fundamentally, we have more quality in our squad than other several teams. We've had a rotten run of fixtures followed by an injury crisis. It's not great, obviously, but we won't get relegated.

Can't accept that. I don't believe we'll get relegated this season.

The injuries are killing us. Our attacking play since McNamara has relied heavily on extremely attacking full-backs. Archie took that approach and added pragmatism and defensive solidity. Unfortunately, this means that when your first choice full-backs are injured, and you have to replace them with someone who isn't a great crosser of the ball (Nitrianski) and someone who is playing out of position (McGinn), you've got serious problems. Add to that injuries in the centre of the park, creating an enforced inflexibility in terms of formation, and you end up with today's performance.

Most would have taken a point before the game, so in a strange way the fact we're disappointed now is a positive thing. It reflects the fact that we could have taken all three points. For me, it's clear that injuries are taking their toll on our pattern of play. In particular, the injuries to Booth and Dumbuya mean that we're less effective down the flanks, which is particularly problematic when playing with wing-backs. Elliot does a solid job on the left but his attacking play is curbed by being on the 'wrong' flank. And while McGinn has made a solid start to his Thistle career he's nowhere near a fit Dumbuya in terms of providing an attacking threat. Staying on injuries: the value of Osman should now be clear to his detractors. He shields the back 3/4 more effectively than Barton/Edwards/Bannigan and is more composed in possession than many give him credit. But perhaps the most significant detrimental impact of his absence concerns the relocation of Barton to the middle of the pitch to fill the Ozzy-shaped gap. As I've argued previously, Adam is a far more effective as the central defender in a back 3. We could really have done with him there today, as we needed someone who could distribute the ball effectively from the back and who could also step into midfield to create options further up the field. I've noticed in recent weeks that teams will stand off of our central defenders when they're in possession. I doubt that would be the case if Barton was in there, as his distribution is far more polished. But, at the end of the day we've got a point in spite of these injury issues. The back three were sound defensively and Spittal was superb again (what were Utd thinking?). It's true that we dropped too deep too early in the second half, but halting that is easier said than done.

There's a lot of pessimism on here, and the evidence obviously justifies that mindset, but I feel we might do something tonight. We've been the better team for long stretches in the last couple of games against this lot at Firhill. I'm daring to dream. 2-1 Thistle.

That was a crazy game of what approximated football. Aberdeen looked as ropey in defence as they did dangerous in attack. I don't think our performance merits some of the wild reactions I've seen on various media. Sammon had an excellent game and we caused them real problems for prolonged periods. Yes, we dropped too deep too early, and yes a couple of the goals were given away cheaply, but we'll only play one team better than Aberdeen this season. We knew when the fixtures were announced that we had a stinking early run of games, so while I'd obviously have preferred us to have picked up a few points, now is certainly not the time to panic.

Some of the criticism of Ozzy is harsh to say the least. He's clearly not match fit at the moment. Also, while his contribution is less flashy than others, none of our players shield the back line like him. His positional sense is superb in this regard. When he's not playing he's conspicous by his absence, and by the increased space the opposition enjoy in front of the back four/three. As for Barton, I think even he'd agree that being the left-side centre-half in a back four is not his ideal position. I think he's best as the central defender in a back three, where he has the licence to step into midfield and carry the ball forward. He's both a defensive and offensive asset in such a role.

Even though St Mirren were desperately poor this afternoon it's always good to record a comfortable victory and boost squad confidence. Loads of good performances - Banzo, Stevie, Spittal, Devine, Erskine. Spittal's direct running and movement of the ball was particularly encouraging. Looks like he's going to be a very good signing. Osman looked off the pace but that's understandable to an extent given that he hasn't played at all pre-season.

Would definitely take McDonald. Proven performer at this level and adds a bit of experience. I take LIB's point about needing to add a bit of pace to the front line though. So McDonald + 1 would be nice, particularly as we're playing with two up front more regularly now.

It's like the Brexit vote all over again...

A patchy performance, as you would expect. Some players have a bit to go to be ready for the start of the season. There were plenty of positives though. Banzo looked to be easing himself back to match fitness; Elliot was as dependable as ever and did well to create the chance from which Nisbet scored; Devine was largely unruffled; Lawless showed some nice touches; and Spittal was spritely and direct. I was also really impressed with Lamont when he came on. He was composed in possession and was prepared to receive the ball even in tight spaces.

I'm no fashion expert but Option A is a car crash of a top. Awful. I'm surprised that the club are still going ahead with this. Option B looks marginally better if you ignore the fact that it's supposed to be a Thistle top... Ah well, I can always spend the cash on a new retro top.

It's a long time since I enjoyed a half of football as much as I did the second half this afternoon. After looking jittery and out of sorts in the first half, we came racing out of the blocks in the second and were clearly the better side. Oddly, when we conceded I wasn't overly concerned. There was something in the air this afternoon. It was Doolan's day. And what a cracking couple of goals to take him to 100 and beyond. Special mention for some other star performers though: Elliot was fantastic, as were Lindsay and Keown at the back. Fantastic.

I've had to leave it a couple of days before putting my thoughts on virtual paper, such was my frustration with the spectacle that assaulted our eyes on Wednesday evening. In the first half I thought we played relatively well, despite appearing slightly jittery at times. We were creating chances while limiting them to the odd foray into our box. When we conceded I was relatively calm, naively thinking we had enough to overturn the deficit. Then St Johnstone proceeded to absolutely ruin the game. I won't criticise opposition teams for playing a direct style of football. We should be good enough to overcome such tactics and at the end of the day it's up to the opposition fans, who have to watch such eye-vomit every week, to decide if they're willing to sacrifice aesthetics on the altar of top-six 'respectability'. However... what I do object to is time-wasting. None of us pay to see St Johnstone players use every trick in the book to restrict the amount of time the ball is in play. They must have started time-wasting in around the 50th minute. Imagine you were in the cinema and the projectionist decided to randomly chop sections out of the film, replacing them instead with scenes of 22 people standing in a field looking bored. You would rightly complain. Ultimately this proved immaterial, as we could have been playing for another 45 minutes and wouldn’t have been any closer to scoring. Unfortunately we played right into their hands and started thrashing high-balls towards Azeez and Amoo. This was the only likely outcome of Archie’s substitutions, which I assume were motivated by the perception that we were being out-muscled. Osman provided some cover for the then back three, admittedly, but both Azeez and Amoo looked hesitant, bereft of confidence and utterly incapable of ruffling the St Johnstone back line. All the substitutions served to do, therefore, was strip creativity from the team, as we gradually morphed into the enemy.

As the others have said, that was an enjoyable game and it was great to see Muzzy back. He'll be important to us in the second half of the season. And how nice it was to be able to relax at a game!

Looking forward to this. I reckon we'll field a strong team with a bit of tinkering around the edges. This tie should enable us to get the lads back up to speed and hopefully bag a few goals. Wouldn't mind seeing McDaid get 90 minutes in the first team.

Season's greetings to Jags' fans everywhere.

It seems to be the minority opinion on here – or perhaps it’s just being overlooked due to the understandable frustration at losing in the last minute – but I thought we played extremely well yesterday. Our pressing was so effective their ‘keeper and back line looked lost at times, utterly bereft of an outlet. We played more directly than normal, in that the transition time from winning the ball to releasing it behind their back four was much quicker than is often the case. The lads broke with pace and purpose and we were causing them all sorts of bother. Elliot put in an incredible shift down the left flank, as indeed did the entire team. But Elliot, Welsh, Erskine, Booth and Dools stood out in terms of work rate. And what about Adam Barton, eh? Absolute class. When Adam holds on to the ball or sidesteps a striker he’s not doing it to showboat in any way – he retains possession almost every time and spreads calm throughout our defence and midfield. When he steps forward with the ball he creates a numerical advantage in the middle of the pitch and with every game is having more of an impact in terms of launching our attacks. He’s an absolute joy to watch. Of course, it wasn’t all rosy. A bit more composure in terms of our final ball and finishing and we would have been out of sight by the time their first hit the net. There were also some misplaced passes under pressure, although this is expected when the midfielders are trying to move the ball forward with greater alacrity. So I’m gutted at the result. Absolutely gutted. But if we’re looking for an hardworking, attacking team with no lack of skill, which is able to compete with teams with far superior resources, then that’s what we’ve got. I really enjoyed the game yesterday. Perhaps if some of my fellow Jags fans could temper their unrealistic expectations slightly they might enjoy it a bit more too.

I quite enjoyed that, despite the loss. Aberdeen controlled possession for long spells in the first half, yet I didn't get the impression we were conceding too many clear-cut chances and we certainly created a few of our own. It goes without saying that we need to be more clinical in front of goal. It was unfortunate that their goal came at a time when I thought we were beginning to come back into the game. The second half contained a dizzying number of tactical and formational changes. We seemed to start with a 4-3-1-2, with Barton moving into midfield, but this clearly wasn't working, so Archie moved Adam back into defence, with Devine moving to right-back. There were then numerous alterations before we ended up with three up front as we chased the game towards the end. I felt these constant tweaks disrupted our play somewhat, and the midfield seemed quite disjointed at times. With hindsight it might have been worth sticking with 3-5-2 for a bit longer following half-time. We were creating chances after all. In terms of individual performances, I thought both Christie and Booth had good games on the flanks. Barton looked composed in defence, if a bit outpaced during his brief stint in midfield. Azeez's hold-up play was decent, but he made the wrong choice when through on goal in the first half. Doolan was perhaps a bit quieter than normal and Edwards struggled to make much of a mark on the game. Declan looked good when he came on and showed a nice bit of skill to lay the ball off for Erskine, whose shot was unfortunately too close to the 'keeper. All-in it was an enjoyable evening at Firhill. It's a pity we didn't grab a point but Aberdeen are a more than decent team and stand a good chance of finishing second.

I think he's played quite well on the odd occasion I've seen him play in a deeper role. He compliments Osman well, but I take your point regarding passing accuracy. He would perhaps need to simplify things and take fewer chances if deployed in a more withdrawn role. If it's Erskine or Edwards I think we have to go with the former. That would be really harsh on Edwards, who has been one of our best players this season, but Erskine provides that spark of creativity.

Yeah, Archie's got one's of those welcome headaches approaching. Until recently I'd have said Edwards should move deeper and replace Welsh, as this would allow Erskine to claim the attacking midfield berth, but Sean's return to form complicates that. An on form Sean Welsh is a very handy player.

I questioned the calls for a switch of formation, as in most cases the preference expressed by its advocates was a move to 4-4-2, which for me surrenders control of the centre of the park and exposes the back four. I was also sceptical of moving to 3-5-2 but, like yourself, for different reasons. The squad hasn't been built with this formation in mind. It is, however, working incredibly well. We look infinitely more solid when employing three at the back and the blend in centre-mid is superb. Our passing game has improved immensely. I do wonder, though, if the limited personnel for this formation may become a problem at some point. We have no out-and-out striker or experienced centre-half on the bench when using this formation. A couple (more) injuries and we may be struggling. Hopefully Nisbet can be recalled in Jan. But hell, as long as it's working and we can keep Ade, Dools and our defensive trio fit, I'm a happy jags fan.

Not sure about the formation, but I had a good laugh at the idea of a central midfield of Amoo, Edwards and Lawless. Or, if your intention was for Amoo and Lawless to play wide, a central midfield of Edwards. Either way, Ryan is going to be busy.

Absolutely. The S*n is a poisonous rag.

Doesn't look good. Saw a tweet of a bookies' odds that had him as clear favourite for the job.