ascender

I think Letizi looked OK when he first came in, but I think his confidence took a knock when he made a couple of gaffs and then the crowd got on his back. When he came back for the Livorno game, he played the first 15 minutes or so like a car crash waiting to happen and I really thought we were going to get a doing, but he pulled it back together and played well for most of the game. I don't think he's a bad keeper, but circumstance hasn't been on his side. He's certainly professional enough, I remember some of his positive comments about McGregor for example surprised me. Good luck to him if he does have to move on. As for McGregor, like Boyd and our full backs, they are all very young. Would anyone have imagined we'd have so many young Scots lads as first XI players this season, let alone guys who are more than holding their own? I think if we stick with McGregor he will keep improving, just as Craig Gordon has done.

Letizi made a few mistakes before he got injured, then came back and made another clanger unfortunately. Craig Gordon? We can't afford him and there will probably be much bigger clubs than us in for him. Klos? He's not interested in playing any more, so why give him a chance of any sort?

We've also got Ricksen's wages we could spend on other players, so I'd hope to see 2 or 3 coming in as the squad is looking a bit thin at the moment. I think we had 2 centre halves on the bench on Sunday.

He's a dick alright and those comments prove it, but it was a stonewall penalty.

Its all gone a bit quiet on this story, but he's supposed to be letting Celtic know if he's joining them today. Oh, but if PLG doesn't rate captain-type figures on the pitch, then there's even less chance of us being in for him.

Looks like this is front page news in the Scotsman today which will keep lots of Bears happy.

I'm sure it would be, but the media picked up on the Boruc thing last time where he was obviously trying to wind the fans up didn't they? So no doubt they'll mention this, especially if some of our lot follow through on their threats to go to the polis about it. TBH its like we always want to get one over on C*ltic at any cost. Can we not just concentrate on the footy instead? So what if players try to wind the fans up? I get the feeling some people use the sectarian thing when it suits their agenda, but then conveniently forget all about it to justify their own actions.

Who cares? Can we not be the "bigger man" for a change and just ignore this sort of crap? Someone posted a video on YouTube earlier, but that didn't seem to show anything of any note. We really don't do ourselves any favours sometimes. Its just another case of us giving the wider public and media ammunition to use against us and say we're the only ones with a sectarian problem.

I saw this earlier, its a total non-story and it makes us look really bad bringing it up. Some of the reactions to it are unbelievable really. And people wonder why we get the reputation we do.

I think McGregor has shown that he's improving all the time, so who knows, 3 or 4 years down the line, if he stays as number 1, he might be a better keeper than Gordon? Gordon is benefiting from the experience he's been given over the last few years at club and international level, so McGregor is really a few years back on him. Our poor defending is obviously down to a few different reasons, apart from the lack of a commanding centre half. I know from watching the game against Hibs, we could still have made it difficult for ourselves if Hibs had taken a couple of their chances we gifted them. I'm confident PLG has his eyes on someone to come in and sort the back 4 out though.

I didn't realise Webster was so young, maybe he's worth another look although PLG seems keen to go the foreign route. I can't see Gordon coming to us for the reasons mentioned above, mainly that there will be much bigger clubs than us going in for him.

I think the 4-4-2 was a big part of why we played so well on Saturday. If PLG keeps that formation and we can tighten up at the back then we're on the right track.

Totally agree. I've seen this on a couple of other forums as well, I think some Bears still think we could sign the current equivalent of Terry Butcher (John Terry anyone?) in the January window. A lot of fans need to wake up and realise just how far we've dropped as a club, on and off the pitch, in all respects. You'd have thought the fans would like this after complaining for the last 4 years or so about wasting money on unknown, overpaid foreigners. Maybe not.

According to the Evening Times he's Celtic bound. Oh well, back to the Laurel & Hardy show in central defence.

I'd sign them both and I bet we could afford to pay them out of the savings we've made from Ricksen's departure and still have money left over. The problem is that would leave us with 6 centre backs (if you include Hemdani). I know people have likened this to the Colin Hendry situation, but this one seems fairly clear cut and obvious, a no brainer if you will. If PLG can't see that he needs to sort out his central defence, then that is very, very worrying. I've still not watched the whole of the Hibs match, but I saw a few of the chances that Hibs wasted and again it seemed to be down to poor defending, with a total lack of a commanding centre half. Like I say, its worrying.

Looks like PLG doesn't want him and that Gers are just wanting to keep informed of what Pressley's plans are. Not really sure why, but there you go. I still see a lot of people saying we should hold out and sign someone else in the January window. But the way I see it is that we're missing out on the chance to sign a proven player, whom we know all about, for free and on reasonable wages. With the way our defence is playing, his capture (or someone similar) could be the difference between getting second place and CL football next season, or not. I'd rather take a small risk and sign him, than a bigger risk on an unproven player in the January window. But its academic now anyway.

That central defensive position just makes me nervous as hell, no matter who the pairing is. I'd have Amoruso back, that's how bad we are at the moment. I'd like to see N'Diaye given a chance. Why did we sign him if he's never going to get a chance in the first team???

Apparently he was having a chat with Strachan. Great.

I'd just like Burke to get a decent run in the team and stay injury free. He's shown a lot of potential, but he just needs a settled period I think. You could play him on the left and get him to cut in? Only downside with that is that full backs can then just try to force him on to his left foot.

Its strange to see Celtic's defensive record. Personally I think its a combination of SPL experience and the big bruiser approach.

I don't think he can sign for a new club until January, but I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe because he was employed by a club and has been released during the season rather than at the end of a season? George Burley has now come out and said he'd like to sign him in January. Any chance of a mod merging this thread with the one in the Gers forum please?

Personally I think our acceptance of completely average players is more indicative of how low our expectations as supporters have been. Look at J-Rod as a perfect example. He's been nothing better than average since he arrived, but we've come to believe that he'll get better over time. How many games has he now played? I just think its a bit of a no brainer, to steady the ship a bit. Svensson might be a long term prospect, but he needs someone alongside him to get him through games and none of our current centre backs seem capable of that.

Do you not agree he's a better-suited SPL centre half than any of the 4 I mentioned? He'd also be free and not have huge wage demands and for once, we'd know exactly what we'd be getting rather than gambling on foreign players. He's not long term, but we need to stabilize our defence asap.

I have thought an 18 month deal would make sense, til the end of this season and then next. Stumbling blocks as I see it are.... 1. I don't think PLG will necessarily want to sign him. We've got J-Rod, Svensson, Papac and Hemdani who have all played centre half. Maybe PLG will want to keep faith with them first? 2. Is he a PLG sort of player? I don't think he is, but hopefully he's seen that he is the sort of player we need for the SPL. 3. George Burley will be in for him which I'm thinking might sway him. 4. Would he want to return? 5. Will he want to play for another SPL club? Maybe he would, just to make his point to Vlad and get one over on him. But he clearly loved Hearts and their supporters, so who knows. On the flip side, it wouldn't mean a house move for him and his family. I'm guessing wages wouldn't be a problem as we've made good savings in that department recently. European football would be an attraction. Maybe he feels like there's unfinished business for him? Bottom line is I think he'd be a great short term signing. We badly need someone like him and I'd hope that even if PLG isn't interested, that someone on the coaching staff would have said that Pressley is someone he should maybe have a look at. We'll see, but I think its all too good to be true and I can see him going somewhere else. I really hope not though as I think it could save us wasting more money on an expensive foreign centre half who can't defend if we sign Elvis.

Noises today saying that PLG wants to keep the current defenders he has and give them a chance to prove themselves.