Coventry Saint

I think when they looked dangerous, they looked more dangerous than we did when we looked dangerous. They pulled us out of shape in every direction in the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half. Although we did dominate in other periods, I never had that feeling that a goal was inevitable for us. They should arguably have been two up with Clark's chance in the first half too. I've been thinking more about the way we've been playing, today and previously, and I think there's not enough chemistry among the players. You don't feel like any of them really know what runs any of the others will be making. We HAVE to find a settled team. I really can't work out why the line-up was changed from midweek. Obika was brought in and played out of position, McGrath was dropped deeper/wider and didn't do a great deal. I genuinely think we've got a decent squad, yet we seem to be less than the sum of our parts. The responsibility for that lands with one man. He's got to get it sorted soon.

Being as objective as I can, it was about the right result. I don't think it flattered us, but United certainly deserved the win.

I'm not sure we can blame Stubbs for losing a player that Jack Ross released, and who was never actually our player anyway.

When's our next game? I think we'll sign someone. While losing Tait isn't as bad as losing Shaughnessy, surely we can't attempt to keep muddling through like this. Also, when can Alnwick come back? Assuming he's symptomless and fit, of course.

Nice words for Connolly, by the way: he looks dangerous. His only thought is beating his man and whipping low balls across. As long as we can get men into the box, he'll get a few assists this season. Generally, though, such an odd game. We actually played pretty well, but there's something not quite right. Shankland took his goal well but he was allowed to find space (quite why Jon Obika was marking one of the league's better in-the-box strikers I don't know). The second goal came after we just couldn't get or keep the ball, and suffered a succession of brain farts in defence. Aside from those spells, and Tait's ridiculous and unnecessary challenge, we were actually decent. But something still isn't right. I'm really worried it's the endless tinkering. Goodwin just needs to calm the f**k down a bit.

We helped Utd to look outstanding for that spell after the break. Some of their passing and movement was very good. Our heads completely gone for their second goal, and then Tait ended the game for us. Credit for coming back into the game, but Erwin looked shagged by the end. No wonder, he put in some shift. Few decent players on the Utd team, I thought. The utter no sooner have we got Shaughnessy back than we're going to be left scraping around again. It's utterly fucking ridiculous.

The United commentators are some laugh.

I'd give the ref credit for playing advantage there as yet more wrestling went on by the Utd CH, but we all know he was never giving that as a foul anyway. Well played by Connolly. I love the look of him.

FFS. Game over. Ridiculous challenge. (Although hardly any different from Butcher's, tbf.) At least we've got plenty defensive cover.

f**k me dead. Has a goal ever been more 'coming' than that?

I'd say so. Foley and McGrath have been kinda floating either side of Ethan. Edit: obviously we won't know for sure until randomguy confirms it with heat maps for us.

Interesting to see 4-3-3 come out of the St Mirren formation tombola this afternoon. I mainly think it's worked pretty well, though Obika's been disappointing. Staggering to see the amount of manhandling that the ref's allowing in the box there. The Tait chance only came because he'd been wrestled into position to head the ball. McAllister has been brighter today, without producing much. On the basis of this half alone, I'd go so far as to say this is his best position. At least he looks interested. I'd give him 10 more then bring Connolly on. That chance for Clark, though... If anyone wants the cheat codes for scoring against us, a ball pulled back to a free man on the edge of the box is it.

Obika letting Shankland get away, then turning his back, is fucking criminal. Wonderful finish, though.

£100. Just send me the money and i will sort you out with a link I'm not falling for that again.

How much is this on PPV? Just doing some DIY but could be finished sooner than I was expecting. Might tune in.

Mind that time the DUFC chairman said he resented the use of video evidence to grass on players retrospectively, only for his club to go on and do exactly that about two months later? What a c**t. #SaintsArabsMatchThreadBingo

I can only imagine. You've almost certainly got another season of that to look forward to, albeit with Hearts instead. I'd whisper that, mate. Some of them have been very touchy this week. The idea of actually maybe not getting 10IAR is causing some issues.

Well, true. But my point was about how ridiculous possession stats are in isolation, so I think we agree...

Hadn't really thought of Cammy playing out wide. Guess that's an option - but I can't see him getting in before Morias. Obviously, ideally, that will be Magennis or Flynn eventually. Agree with the rest, though; Shaughnessy's return has brought some proper shape back to the team. My feelings about not having a back-up CH have been made here already.

Is that LB still meant to be coming in? I had wondered, if he proved to be an improvement, whether that would mean Fraser perhaps missing out and Tait moving to RB.

Good on you.

We were utterly and completely abject up to the Jan window in the 18/19 season. The arrivals of Hladky and Popescu, with a few others, were the lynch-pins in what turned out to be a very narrow, but highly unlikely, escape from relegation. For an on-loan centre half to have such an impact in a team at the wrong end of the league speaks volumes. He should be majestic in a team that will be operating at the right end of the division below.

To be fair, there's an element of forum posturing in both those posts of mine you've quoted there. I wasn't really 'happy' to take the defeat, but I was keen to make some cash from what looked like a sure thing (Narrator's voice: it wasn't). The second post was more about needling Romeo than anything else, tbh, because he's clearly feeling the strain and I thought it was funny. My overall position is more that I want to finally be in a position where we're not completely shitting the bed in these fixtures, before a ball's been kicked. We went through a phase under Gus McP and occasionally under Danny Lennon when we at least looked like we believed we had a chance of taking something. I'd broadly be happy with that, because that attitude tends to leak into other games. Here's a scary stat (for us): that Erwin goal last night doubled the number of goals we've vs Rangers and Celtic combined since we got promoted in 2018. We've got to get better in that regard, and I see a game where, yes, we rode our luck, but in which we took the lead, and should have had a penalty, and only lost by the odd goal in three, as improvement.

I'm hoping for a far more impartial refereeing performance than the last time we met, now that United's place at the top table isn't at stake. Would definitely place United as marginal favourites, but it'll be close and we certainly have nothing to fear. I think we'll go the same line-up as yesterday.

Poor, very poor. I understand the ref missed a clear handball in the box, too. So we probably deserved the draw.