pondsman

Real game of two halves for us yesterday. Team was very poor in the first half. Looked like JG's tactic was the same one he used against Rangers - defend solidly and try to catch the other team on the break. Worryingly, that didn't seem to change after Livi's first goal when it was obvious we would need to attack more to get something from the game. Complete turnaround in the second half when we attacked from the off and had some excellent moves. However we struggled to put the ball in the net and only scored thanks to a piece of magic from the captain. I agree with the criticism of the pitch and the ref. In particular, the ref was very poor, missed a number of fouls by Livi in the first half and a decent shout for a penalty in the second half. Also agree that our team needs time to settle. Maybe the strikers will find the target better when they're away from the artificial pitch. However, decent results in the Highlands next week and against Accies after that are now badly needed. Four points (or more) from those six would be good.

As someone else has already said, I think the inclusion of some of our new signings means that Hibs won't have any idea of how we will play. Against that, the new boys will have had very little time to gel with the others, so I'm going for a draw (1 - 1) and a very welcome first point in our quest to finish further up the table than last season. COYS!!

Finally got my season ticket renewed after several failed attempts with IE browser. Had to change to Firefox this morning and it went through first time, no bother. Why does such an important website not work with ALL common browsers? If season ticket sales are so important to the club, as they proclaim on the official club site, they have to look at this, I think.

Same complaint as some others above. Went online a few minutes ago, only to find that the Quick Renewal button links to a page that tells me there is no ticket available for me to buy at the moment. Not a good look for the club when they make a big splash on the website, asking for the fans' support etc,. but can't get the ticket system to work properly!

I'm genuinely puzzled by this outburst by Tom English. I'm not on Twitter or other social media outlets, so I get all my information from the traditional media, newspapers and radio. I listen regularly to this journalist on the BBC and have always found him to be measured and sensible in his assessments of what is, after all, a pretty crazy industry at times. I'm disappointed to hear/read about his reaction to St. Mirren's success at the weekend, for that is undoubtedly what it was. As a reputable journalist, he only had to check what the difference was in money terms of staying in the Premiership rather than dropping to the Championship to see what that would mean for players' salaries and for the jobs of other people at the club. The week before, most of the Queen of the South players appeared less than enthusiastic to celebrate when they defeated Raith Rovers to stay in the Championship. That was probably because QoS had been in the mix for playoffs at the top of the division earlier in the season, and the players probably felt that they had underperformed and should never have been in the playoffs in the first place. Most pundits agreed with the players' reaction and said it was quite understandable. Fair enough, but our position was very different. We had been fighting relegation for pretty much all of the season. Sunday's result was the culmination of a huge effort from a manager (and some players) who had been parachuted into the club part-way through the season. After a sticky start in February, the team picked up momentum and produced a fine end to the season. I'm disappointed that a Senior Football Reporter for the national broadcaster shows so little understanding of the situation of a club in the lower regions of the country's top football division.

Great night in the end, but we huffed and puffed to no great effect after the early sending-off for Accies. The subs made the difference, with all three making a real impact. First time I've seen Cooke really contribute to a game, Baird was totally reliable and Flynn brought real impetus to the midfield. Stephen McGinn also greatly improved in the second half. Not sure why OK persists with Lyons. I've watched him quite a few times now. Can't fault him for effort but don't feel he brings an awful lot to the party. Would prefer to see Dreyer get more game time. As usual, fans were fantastic - even better as there were more of them last night! On to Dens Park, and hope that St. Johnstone do us a favour at Hamilton. COYS!!

Big chance missed last night. St. Johnstone were nothing like at their best and were there to be challenged, but we were not good enough to do it. Lost the game in 5 minutes of madness in the first half by missing the penalty and gifting them their goal. Too many of our players underperformed. Only pass marks to McPherson, McGinn and Nazon when he came on. Upped the pressure on the opposition in the second half but still created hardly any real chances. Worried about Saturday, but unlike some others, will be there to support our team. Despite the performance and the result, it was wonderful to be among the away support last night. Just another great performance of backing the team. Credit to everyone who made the trip (especially the guy in front of me who fell over the seats even before the game started). Pity the supporters' enthusiasm and determination wasn't replicated on the field.

With respect to other forum members, arguments on here about which team played better yesterday are irrelevant. We desperately need POINTS, and we got three yesterday in some of the worst weather most of us have seen for many years. Livy clearly came for a draw but our lads deserve huge credit for fighting right to the end of the game and still having enough grit and spirit to score a winner at the death. Main concern is still the inability of our frontmen to score. We had chances earlier in the game but were not able to convert them into goals. If our strikers don't improve immediately I fear we will be found out by Killie and St. Johnstone in the next two games. Great credit also to the fans who turned up yesterday and stayed right till the end. As for the lads in W7. How good is it to see them perform like this instead of the controversy they were involved in a few weeks back? As someone above said, we need everyone, players, fans and management, pulling together in the next few weeks if we're to have any chance of surviving in this league. So let's get behind the team and...... COYS!!

Great application and grit shown by all the players yesterday. Some meaty tackles from both sides, and we were maybe lucky to finish with 11 men, but given our situation, a fine performance by the team. We looked and played like a team. Main concern is our failure to capitalise on the chances we made. Looked like our frontmen lacked the confidence to put the ball in the net. OK needs to sort that out so that we can take some points from the 3 home games in the next 4. Against Livvy and Killie we will need to play with the same determination as yesterday PLUS take our chances! COYS!!

Have to agree with others who think we were outplayed last night. Got the feeling that, after scoring early (great goal by the way, but we were far too slow in closing him down), Motherwell took their foot off the gas. That allowed us to come into the game a bit. Had we scored with either the Dreyer or McAllister chance, things might have been different, but for much of the time in the first half we were second to the ball. I thought OK took the wrong man off as Ferdinand did very little to justify his position in the team. In the second half we did put some stuff together and eventually scored. It then looked like Motherwell just changed gear and came back to score within a few minutes. I'm with those who want to give the new players time to gel, but that may not happen soon enough to save us. Saturday's cup-tie will be interesting. A team full of new players who seem to have gelled quickly and who are moving up in the Championship against a team rock bottom of the Premiership and where the new players are still looking as if they need to get to know each other. Can we do it? Odds look to be against us but...……. COYS!!

Tansey looks to be a good signing as long as he stays fit. Could put some bite into the midfield and, as others have said, help McGinn in there. Credit to OK and/or the others who have found him. Looking forward to more signings and seeing them gel into a team to get us up the league a bit.

Good Luck to Ian McShane. Not the most gifted of players, but always gave 100% and should be remembered as an important part of the Championship-winning team.

Happy New Year to all supporters of SMFC! Looking forward to seeing what new faces OK brings into the club this month. No doubt there will be some surprises, but whoever turns up, let's get right behind them as they shoot us up the table and away from relegation threats in the next few months! COYS!!

This pretty much sums up my feelings. It seems quite clear that Hammill came to kickstart his career and get a move back south. We've been fortunate to benefit from that. If he goes, it should be with our thanks, but it would be great if he stayed till the summer. Anton has had a few fine games for us and has clearly been a good influence on the younger defenders, but he does lack mobility and also seems a bit injury prone. Having said all that I'd like him to stay till the summer. The goalie seems to be a bit of a find and should be signed up.

Disappointing result today. Thought we had some good spells of pressure and had more of the game than Hamilton. However, we were bullied off the ball at times by some physical play and our defence of set pieces was obviously poor. Seems clear that the defence is stronger when Ferdinand plays, so let's get him back asap. As has been said above, I thought the goal just before half-time and the bright start to the second half gave us a real chance to get on even terms, Don't know what happened after that, but we seemed to let them back into the game. I think it's not helpful to criticise players when it's clear that they gave 100% effort. When that's the case they deserve to be applauded at the end of the game, win, lose or draw. What's the alternative? Boo them? That's not going to improve their confidence. We're called supporters. The clue is in the name. It didn't help that we were on the wrong end of some inconsistent refereeing (e.g. the free kick which led to Hamilton's second goal and the decisions to issue yellow cards to some players and not to others). Not an excuse, just a statement of how I saw the game.

Not a great game, I'm afraid. Plenty of effort from both sides, but it was clear that their league positions have left them bereft of confidence. Too many passes went astray. Couldn't see the penalty because the guy in front of me stood up at the vital moment, but Jackson's dive in the second half makes you wonder about the earlier effort. If he is a diver, we don't want him. Also thought P. McGinn and Erhahon had a difficult time. Felt sorry for Erhahon - young lad, still learning the game. Plus points for us were the performance of S. McGinn when he came on and the 90 minutes for Magennis. Thought it was a risk to put him on from the start after such a long absence, but it paid off with a fine return to action. He was behind many of the good things we did. Players definitely trying hard but not sure how we get the confidence back. Without that we're unlikely to get the results we need to move away from the bottom of the table.

I can understand supporters on here being exercised about Killie's second goal and our disallowed goal, but refs and linesmen (assistant refs, for the younger generation) sometimes make poor or wrong decisions, as we all know. Perhaps it was just our turn to be on the wrong end of them. Nothing to do with political affiliations, I'm sure. In any case, no amount of complaining is going to change a result which is already in the record books. I think we should concentrate on the improvement in the team's general performance, which was considerable. So, let's get behind our new manager as he tries to improve the team further and move on to the next game, against St. Johnstone. We can reasonably expect to take something from this game if we play as we did for most of the game on Saturday.

As mentioned by someone above, OK has had another week to get his ideas and plans across to the players. Ferdinand has also had a week to form a partnership with Baird, so I expect a disciplined and organised performance in defence, although I also note what others have said about the plastic pitch. As for the result, we'll need to find someone to put the ball in the net. I'd start with Mullen and Smith who never give less than 100% and had chances last week. I'd keep the big Dane in reserve for later in the game and bring him on to offer something different in attack. Like others, I think it will be tight. A win would be great but this is a game that we mustn't lose! Keeping in mind that Accies get pretty poor crowds, a big travelling support might make the difference. COYS!!

Without re-printing here the whole of Dibble's long post, it pretty much sums up what I've been feeling about our progress this summer. The failure to bring in players who are well-known names with experience of the Scottish game was disappointing, but Jack Ross put together a pretty good team with some players we didn't know, so we shouldn't rush to judgement on that front. Yes, results haven't been too bad but performances have been variable. We played well against Killie and Dumbarton, but were fortunate to beat Dundee, who missed a number of good chances and gifted us a goal. The performances at Ibrox and Pittodrie gave cause for concern. It looked as though the team had decided beforehand that they didn't have a chance and wouldn't be able to compete. As for the manager, opinions remain divided. Dibbles says he's heard that he doesn't communicate with the players, while the new loan player from Ibrox says he's come to the club because he's heard what a good coach he is. He certainly seems a bit diffident in his post-match interviews, but maybe we were spoiled by JR who was very strong in that department. In any case, the manager won't be judged by his interviews, but by performances and results in games. I wasn't sure about his appointment but now that he's here, I'm happy to let him get on with the job and see how things turn out. It's still too early to judge him, so let's back him as much as we can and see what happens. That's the job of supporters. COYS!!

Hard to disagree with this. Not sure that Miller is what we need. His best days are clearly not in front of him. Would not a big centre forward, in the style of the lad Madsen, complement Cammy Smith and Danny Mullen better than another wee guy? Or would Miller displace Cammy or Danny? If so, which one? Also, don't like the way Stubbs has been all over the media indicating his interest in Miller. Could be left with egg on his face. Surely he should have learned his lesson after talking in July about 'marquee signings' which never materialised. Needs to go about his business quietly.

According to reports from Dens Park on Saturday, Aberdeen weren't much better than Dundee who seemed to play fairly similarly to the way they played against us the week before. Made some chances but couldn't take them. The Dons scraped through with a penalty. However, I don't think that we have the cohesion yet that we had last year, and we definitely need more quality in defence and up front. Aberdeen still have many of the fine players they had when we met last season, and remember how they played through our defence and the quality of the GMS goal on that day! As a Buddies supporter I always feel that we have a chance, but we are certainly not favourites. So, Bring it on and...…………………….COYS!!

Can relate to all of this. Not a bad wee team at all....and there is more to come, I'm sure.

Just adding my appreciation for the lads in W7. Their work at games over the last two years has been excellent and definitely adds to the match day experience. Thought Saturday's effort was superb, their best yet. Well done and thanks to all involved! On the topic of the turnstiles, I arrived at 2.30 to find the readers had been changed and I had to present my season ticket in a different way from last year. Caused a bit of confusion and a few moments delay to the folk in the queue behind.. I know I'm not the sharpest when it comes to technology, but did the club produce any explanation of how to use the new readers before the start of the season? If so, I must have missed it.

Would be delighted to have Liam Smith back at the club. He knows his way around the club and also well-acquainted with the players who are still here from last season. As has been stated above, he was an important part of a strong back four last year, was also strong in attack and contributed at least a couple of great goals from distance that I remember. Not surprising that he has been part of Scotland's Under-21 squad. However, he may prefer Ayr as it gives him the same kind of environment as he had with us last season - a team on the way up, where he will get opportunities to push forward and be an attacking full-back.

Was worried about this first game in the Premiership, but we couldn't have had a better preparation than yesterday's fantastic performance. Clearly, we'll be playing better opposition on Saturday, but the same level of skill and team spirit will allow us to compete, so...……………………...COYS!!