DMAA

Yeh absolutely, I presented it in a simplistic manner when you’ll always need to replace some players. But as a general principle I think we’d benefit more from one £4m player just now than two £2m players, and we can’t have it both ways.

I agree with that generally. I think our best chance is to put all our money into 3/4 star players rather than diluting it across 10 players like we’ve done for years. Fans want it both ways, they want quality but they also want all the players they don’t like replaced. They forget we won the league with 97 points and 101 goals with Bob Malcolm and Maurice Ross both making circa 30 appearances over the season. Ronald de Boer, Ferguson and Arteta were brilliant enough that it didn’t matter. I don’t know what we could afford if we focused our budget on only a few players but I think the principle applies. On the the other hand, that’s easier to do if you have Hastie on the bench rather than say a Candeias who is older and likely on higher wages. Looks like Hastie is gone but I felt he’d be a great player to have as a backup.

The verdict is in........not guilty! Thompson and Stewart were unanimous on Sportscene that Scott Brown’s misdemeanour wasn’t a stamp and wasn’t deserving a red. One of the clearest stamps you’ll see all season. Impunity comes to mind. Compare this to their faux outrage at far smaller incidents involving Morelos and it proves double standards and hypocrisy of the highest order.

Disappointed in the lineup. He seems determination to avoid mixing it up at all costs. Middleton doesn’t even make the bench, 4 centre midfielders start instead of Grezda getting a game. Hopefully it’s a diamond with Kent up front because if its 4-3-3 with those players I’m worried.

I was excited by this one, ideal player to have on the bench imo. Very disappointing.

I know what you mean, but I think Liam Kelly has proved that he was good enough to be trusted to be number 2 when he was here but we preferred Jak Alnwick who has no scope for improvement and no sell on value. We seem to sticking to the same strategy, buy in some older keepers to fill a hole rather than let young players fill in now and again. Surely McCrorie can't be that bad that we'd rather spend 300k-500k a year on a 27-28 year old to warm the bench instead? Is playing the Championship better experience than being number 2 to McGregor? Is that going to prepare him better for stepping up? I'm not convinced. McCrorie is 21 and he's 6 foot 4, he's not a boy anymore and maybe a taste of first team action would work for him as well as it did for his brother, who only got in after an injury crisis if I remember correctly. It's the same old debate about how our wage kitty is best split up, for me we should be spending more on our best players (allowing us to sign a better calibre of player) and less on at least some of our squad fillers to allow our young players to actually get through every now and again.

Daniel Bachmann claims we've made contact too, not to be too negative but it really is starting to look like we're trying to build a rest of the league select ?

Hard to argue with Stewart on a free. Underwhelming maybe, we’d all prefer some 21 year old African hotshot with an un-pronounceable name who is the next Sadio Mane. But we could have done with him this season, a player with creativity that we have often lacked.

Great for Barisic and great for the club. He was playing very much like a wing back pushing right up the pitch and making runs in the behind. That's where he's at his best.

I don't recognise too many of those names from the Dubai tournament, is it an older age group or something? Great to see us beating Celtic at that age group.

Replays on Sportscene were poor, didn't really show. I thought it might have been his back too.

We had 39% possession according the to BBC, what the heck happened?

I didn’t see the game but I believe this actually, he definitely has more quality than the rest of our centre mids when it comes to incisive passes and general quality, despite lacking in other areas.

Grezda was reported to be in training and raring to go a month ago apparently. I’d have expected him and Middleton to at least make the bench and ideally get some minutes. Middleton has the same number of goals as Kent with well less than half the minutes, according to Transfernarkt it’s circa 1100 to circa 2800. December was a bad month for him (bar a good assist at St Johnstone to save the game). The team was playing terribly and he lost his confidence. However he has that end product that Kent lacks, he’s an excellent finisher, great crosser and actually gets in behind the defence and to the byline. I’ve little doubt he’d have added plenty to his goal tally if he’d played as much as Kent despite not looking as impressive in build up play.

We should use the ones we have too

Thanks again for the updates. I was disappointed with the team selection, I felt a proper shake-up was warranted after such a poor run. Some players need dropped for their own good as well as the team’s.

Grezda doing any better today?

Brilliant. I’ve been hoping Kent would be played on the right forna while, Grezda has an ability to cut in and shoot from distance that Kent doesn’t have, he better be eager to prove himself

The problem is that they are not that kind of player, none of them are offensive enough.

I think it would, make all the difference to have an additional player to aim for, pulling defenders here and there and creating space. I’d second the call for Grezda. Not watching the game of course but Candeias and Kent have failed in the last two matches. Kent flatters to deceive and Candeias isn’t one for opening up tight defences.

Defoe must be watching on and wondering what’s happened to him that he can’t even break into this side

Who’s fault?

Was Worrall dropped? Most felt he played better than Goldson against Aberdeen.

Cheers for the updates @Rousseau, relying on them today ??

Why would it be 5 on two?