buster.

Pretty much a textbook away win that does more than the Motherwell game to say we've got by a blip of sorts. Crucially, as far as the League goes, a performance blip rather than of results. That's 11 wins on the bounce now and half the fixtures played. Textbook is an opening goal on around 20 minutes, followed up by another before HT and then a third, early in the second half. A third of all league goals we have scored come in the period from 15 - 30 minutes. The next most productive spell is 20%, from 45 - 60. That tends to help SG&Co in offloading for players like Roofe, Kent and Davis. An important part in keeping everything on the rails. Good to see Aribo and Hagi contribute so much because we need more middle to front players on their game. Talking of which, Roofe is surely the man who is now first choice as central striker. He can link-up play and is scoring goals where Morelos on last nights half an hour, can link play but cannae score for toffee. Hibs will be an interesting challenge but we will approach the game with confidence. Hopefully Ryan Jack will be able to get some minutes. What a useless, unprofessional pr!ck #O'Halloran

As far as they go, Madden is as good as you'll get. I wouldn't be blaming Madden for past OF defeats in games he has been Ref, it's been our own fault. We are starting to win more OF games now because we are a better team, not because of the ref. We were good enough to beat them a year ago, despite Kevin Clancy.

If you want to talk about a group of games, It's going to be about a strongest XV11 - If Jack comes back in then you have a natural and solid option to rotate - Barisic has to start all games - Aribo needs minutes and an opportunity to get back to form because he is a gamechanger and we need to see at least one of him or Kent get back to early season form - Hagi is effective and merits minutes - Roofe can't be flogged - Alfie (for some he's just had his best two games of the season) remains first choice, let's see how he goes tonight - Itten will play a part - Balogun will probably get starts - There will probably be injuries - Zungu is an option although if Jack returns and Davis stays fit, he won't be starting in these next few games - Could Jones or Middleton yet be the Wingers who came in from the cold ? I do love a Middleton corner swinging in. The trajectory reminds me of being frozen on Dartmoor watching 1 in 1 tracer rounds illuminating the night sky. It's the Management that need to get it right..........Horses for Courses

Thought the same, he is now a different shape compared to the first half of last season. You'd imagine it is something to do with bulking up over the long Covid lay-off rather than simply eating more chips and biscuits. It might help certain areas of his game but IMO it takesaway from his sharpness and mobility when getting into goalscoring positions or getting ahead of a defender.

Just read this after coming from The Looking Glass War The Lounge., where so many girls are banging their drums. Despite the banter with The Night Manager, I´m sure we're really all Absolute Friends ! Going back to the football, I note Lennon back on the offensive #Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Cnut

I've only gone and let it slip........What kind of tribute to David Cornwall is that ?

For me, it's the cumulative effort required and spent. For example, we will need to go to Paisley with all guns blazing and a very strong team.....that will then have the OF game a few days later. Unless forced by injury, I don't think Zungu will start games. But is Davis capable of an intense programme? We could really do with Ryan Jack back asap.

At around 65 mins in, I couldn't watch the patient side to side passing any longer and went for a walk, thinking there would be more chance of a goal if I left them to it. Got back, saw 3-1 win,....that'll dae !!.............. and needless to say, same circumstances in the next few games and I'll be out patrolling the beach, in case the UK Navy invade Europe ?

It is, in that we need to keep winning League games but it only takes us to Base Camp, regarding an assault on the K2 of SPFL fixture runs.... 23/12/20 PRE St. Johnstone 19 : 00 Rangers 26/12/20 PRE Rangers 13 : 30 Hibernian 30/12/20 PRE St. Mirren 16 : 00 Rangers 02/01/21 PRE Rangers 13 : 30 Celtic 10/01/21 PRE Aberdeen 16 : 00 Rangers 17/01/21 PRE Motherwell 13 : 00 Rangers 23/01/21 PRE Rangers 16 : 00 Ross County 27/01/21 PRE Hibernian 20 : 45 Rangers Get it right and the post split run will likely be dead rubbers, but in a good way. No need to say what things will look like if we get it wrong. "Eight games to win a League"

That ain't nuthin on Big Cedric's numbers against Motherwell ? 41 mnutes played 3 goals scored A goal every 13 and a half minutes minutes

Agreed, I said a week or so ago that this period, up to and including Hibs (A) in January would be where we win or possibly, lose the title. Seven points (+GD) is a healthy gap but it could flip in a fortnight. On the other hand, foot on the throat and we can close the deal before Feburary.

IMO, Motherwell's mistake yesterday was not to look a little harder for a second goal when they had the lead. Any counter-attacks had almost full postcodes of space to exploit. In other words, not being able to find the keys to be able to start the bus (5-5-0) in thje end, did for them.

18 SPFL games.....20 remaining 16 wins.....................0 defeats 50 goals and 50 points That is some going !

Yes, but the reason we have gone on such a long winning run is because of those things. If we drop those, we'll drop points and winning runs will become more consistent with the last few seasons, 3's and 4's. In other words, we´ll leave the door open.

How many thought about compensatory control at some point during this 90 minutes ? ? That's 3 games and no clean sheets against provincial clubs that have all gone down to the wire. We won the 2 most important of them and lost the other. In relative terms, it's a blip of sorts but importantly, it hasn't had a negative impact on pursut of the main title. However, with a tough fixture list on the horizon, if we can't get back into the habit of regular clean sheets, we will start dropping points. Yesterday, we didn't get our now customary first half goal(s) and given the loss in midweek, I wondered if the crowd sound effects would include a few boos at HT ? With a crowd, you wonder if the players would have been allowed to stick to the patient version of wearing an opponent down. Yesterday saw our 10th consectutive League victory. By my reckoning, that is the first time we've done that since 2007/08, when Walter Smith's UEFA Cup Final team went 13 League victories IAR and it started on Boxing day with a 3-1 win at Ibrox against Motherwell. Like Roofe yesterday, Kris Boyd scored an injury-time third goal. This was less than a year since PLG sat in the dugout. Motherwell were involved then as well, with Boyd scoring a penalty accompanied by a 6 finger salute. The warning being that after those 13 wins, came a nightmare fixture pile-up, 4 league games without a win and we got pipped at the post for the title. On the other hand, we also reached a European Final, but it came at a cost. With that in mind and an eye on the big prize, not having further League Cup games into 2021 might not be the worst thing. But for now, as 26th's thread says....one game at a time.

Aribo was so far off it the other night that I don't think he will suddenly turn it around. I'd like to see Hagi play because regardless of general play, he tends to do things that lead to goals. Today shouldn't be anything other than 3 points, anything else and the other side of the city will celebrate so much that they'll probably forget to watch their Cup Final on Sunday. It's St.Johnstone (A) next midweek, where given the St.Mirren performance/result, the opposition will fancy their chances and we'll have to be well up for the game or suffer. SG again said Ryan Jack "...is close...". We could do with him back on Wednesday.

WBA encapsulate the life of a yoyo club. It must be better fun for their fans when they are winning games and challenging at the top of the Championship, than watching every EPL game from behind the couch with scant hope of return. The Blades fans must be engaging in Gallows humour by now. With McBurnie and Blake playing, they´ll need it.

IMO, the retro top could do with losing the white collar

It's good to see a league in which the teams at the top regularly drop points and affords others a chance.

Given the heart condition you have told us about,....is this you looking for a way out

I don't know if Arfield was afllcted with anything on Wednesday but it did look as though Joe Aribo was going through a bout of dissociative identity disorder. It looked like he thought he was Kyle Hutton. Not good that we still see no sign of Ryan Jack. Thanks for the entertaining preview, John ?

The memories start coming back..... !! - BDO are still on the case of D&P (C+W) regarding their time as administrators - How Grier got away with a (perceived) conflict of interest just doesn't sit right with me and was for me, at least in part, a precursor as to what would follow. The wide-ranging complexity, the long list of of chancers characters involved, the sometimes crazy moments alongside intricate legal interpretations, the very public PR battle, so many different intersected angles, ....all with at least tens of thousands online trying to keep up as it happened..... God, it would need about 25 'War & Peace' like volumes to cover it....I don't think, at least Scotland, has seen anything like it We can have our thoughts, theories...........But still, I don't think we know the half of it. Anyone know who bought the film rights from Craig Wyhte ?

On a narrow pitch and seeing that Barisic wasn't starting, St.Mirren wisely decided to stay on top of Tav and asked Connelly to keep Bassey occupied. It helped them that Aribo was so far off the pace and Zungu is understandably, still finding his feet. The result was far less creation for us and more a congested middle of pitch, where first touch and good movement weren't at the standard needed to create many chances. It was asking a lot of Itten, given his lack of gametime thus far. Regards Morelos, given his play/first touch over recent weeks, I doubt the congested centre and lack of wide attacking threat would have suited him either. Also, I would be slightly more concerned at how far off it Aribo was. However, they didn't budget for a maurading centre-half solo run and shot but when we got ahead, it felt like we didn't know whether to stick or twist. That allowed St.Mirren back in, they had hunger, belief and it went their way. After the prolonged and intense start to the season we have had, that type of game was almost due. Looking at the team line-up, the League Cup isn't as high up SG&Co's priorities as Europe and I agree with them.

How quickly some attitudes change........It's all either fantastic or sh!te, with nothing in between. I'm almost glad no fans will be at Ibrox on Saturday, just in case we aren't ahead come HT.

Poor collective peformance but not as surprising as some think. The mileage on the clock, the constant starting XI changes, etc., a slip-up was due and even likely at some point this month. As SG says, it's how we react to it that is important. You can see the narrative that is being prepared on the other side of Glasgow. In the space of 4 days we go out of a Cup and they win one, serial losers/winners. They know how to win and expect us to slip up again soon, bla bla....... We have a difficult run of fixtures coming up either side of New Year. The norm once a long run of wins come to an end is a blip over several games. We can't afford that and are fortunate to have an out of sorts Motherwell coming to Ibrox this weekend. Therafter things get more difficult and it would be good to get Ryan Jack back playing asap. Huge period coming up where the players will have to prove they have the various qualities needed to win a League title.