porcupine wrote:We have not been good enough for the Premier Division for virtually all of this season. We do not derserve to stay up. Team selections, substitution timings and tactics have all been poor. Nobody should kid themselves that we have a team capable of competing (and winning) in the top division. We have won SIX out of THIRTY SIX games played including two wins against Aberdeen as fluke results,which leaves FOUR wins home and away. Hardly Premier League quality.
You'll have to clarify the rules for me because I don't understand them - why can't we count the 2 Aberdeen wins where we kept clean sheets against by far the 2nd best team in Scotland? If it's because we rode our luck at times does that mean we can no longer count our win at Celtic park 2 seasons ago?
The rest of it's defeatist nonsense. In all likelihood we will now play Falkirk or Dundee Utd in a play off (hard to see ICT winning twice and even more difficult to see us winning twice and even if we did unlikely to be enought) and if we do win over 2 legs we deserve to stay up in the same way that Killie and Motherwell deserved to stay up.
As for today it was a scrappy game with little chances between 2 teams with little form or confidence. The goal that won it befitted the game looping off Moult's shoulder I think and in to the Accies goal with everyone thinking it was going over - by Porcupine's rules it wouldn't of counted, I'm beginning to warm to them! So one fluke goal in a game where we were probably slightly the stronger team and the Motherwell fans get the bus home high on life and the Accies fans hurl abuse at the already deflated players and moan that it's the worst it's been for 40 years - such is football.
The biggest disappointment for me today wasn't the first hour where we showed some fight and played just about ok, it was the 25 minutes after the goal where we needed someone to stand up and be counted, show some belief, get the ball and drive - everyone hid. Particularly soul destroying was with 5 minutes left Gillespie and Imrie passing the ball 5 yards to each other several times desperate for the other one to take the responsibility and no-one did. Hard to argue that MacKinnon has been our best player this season but in a game where you thought he would revel he looked at times frankly disinterested, the way he waited for the whistle and ran off the pitch at the end was disappointing. I've picked 3 players there but frankly with the exception of Devlin and Templeton it could of been anyone.
Canning's got to take some of the blame for the lack of urgency and desire and his subs were so poor. In a game we couldn't afford to lose waiting until 6 minutes from time to bring Templeton on was madness, leaving a sub on the bench was worse especially when the game was screaming out for some pace and movement which Bingham could of brought - good enough to start for the last 5 games but not worth 15 minutes at the end of this game - unexplainable.
As mentioned pass marks to Devlin who won his physical battle with Moult, cleared his lines well all afternoon and was faultless at the goal. Being singled out for abuse on Twitter but that's always going to be the case as I believe one game he gave a loyal fan a slightly nasty look as he screamed blue murder at him - shameless! Templeton also very good for 6 minutes and showed not only what we were missing for 84 minutes but also 38 games, a player who can make half a yard of space and whip in a good ball - take note Dougie.
2 big games ahead if only for some confidence in the play offs against (whoever we play) an average team.