Luke92

I didn't see any of the game last night other than the 'highlights', sounded like a total a shitfest as predicted but what a class result from the boys. Robinson needs to get massive credit for what he is doing just now. He has us punching above our weight massively. Football isn't played on paper and all that but If you look at some of the boys playing last night. Illic, O'Hara, Mugabi & MacIver, these are boys that haven't had a huge amount of football but are doing a job against our main competition for 3rd place. This bodes really well for the second half of the season. Only one concern is the striking department, as I said last week I feel like we need another out and out striker in. I wouldn't fancy a prolonged period with Ndojli/Mazinga/Scott as our only options for #9. edit: GET THE PASSPORTS OOT

For all Donnelly has improved he is miles away from Old Firm level. The level of both of their bench/reserves is very strong nowadays. On the striker front, as a few others have mentioned it is pretty mental that we aren't looking to properly replace Devante Cole with a similar type of player. I'm pretty surprised about Robinsons comments. Ndjoli is a totally different type of player. Regardless if we can play 'up front' as well as the wings it doesn't seem like a very good solution. I don't really agree with us needing a big lump type striker, Devante wasn't just a phyiscal guy you could knock the ball up to. He could play as well and was pretty dynamic. I was happy with the Ndjoli signing as another wide option but that was with the presumption that we would be replacing Cole as well.The only explanation I have is Robinson likes what he sees of Mazinga and has faith that he is going to be a vialble option to replace Long from the bench in some matches. Fair enough if thats the case, in Robbo we trust and all that! BTW, I know its bants and that but just to confirm Nadir was pretty meh for the majority of time he was with us. He is a very talented boy and some of his play at times was nice but lets not revise history because folk are actually starting to believe he was the second coming

100% agree with this. To me, alot of the shouts to drop Gillespie immediatedly have been a bit flippant. I've always thought Carson was the better keeper and have at times have been critical of Gillespie's distrubution. With that being said I don't think we should be dropping our keeper half way through the season solely based on a contractual situation. Gillespie has for the most part been one of the better keepers in the league and we are currently sitting in 3rd spot. I'm all for bringing in Carson if Gillespie makes some mistakes but I don't think you should drop the guy just because he's not going to be here next season. 'Building for the future' sounds like a great argument and that but Carson hasn't played in well over a year. I would rather not distrupt things between the defence and goalkeeper at this stage in the season. I'm all for a phased return at some point but we need to do this sensibly. We have a chance of getting europe this season for the first time in a while, whilst I am all for the future I'd like us to be careful about how we handle things in the short-term.

I don't think there is any chance that Ndjoli is the striker Robinson has referring to requiring. He is very much a wide player, not a striker although you could put him in the 'forward' bracket i suppose. In my mind, it's been pretty clear we need both a winger and a #9 so I would suggest the striker is still to come. We still have plenty of time to do business. We only have Long, Scott (who has been playing wide) and Mazinga (unproven) so an out and out striker is a priority. I'd be shocked if we didn't get one. In regards to Ndjoli himself, I think the signing is fine. He has raw ability and is capable of moments of magic at times. From what I have read the reports from Killie and Gillingham were hardly glowing but I always felt like he could be a threat when we came on as sub for Killie in the limited games I saw of him. Ultimately it's another option from the bench for us in the wide areas so I'm pretty pleased with it. Can't be a worse option than Seedorf, he's certainly got better experience than Sherwin.

Might be slightly harsh on Tait but I wouldn't be terribly upset about him leaving at the end of the season. He's been a great player for us but he has looked slower than a week in the jail for the last while now. He was never quick but he looks so vunerable to any sort of pace these days. We can blame it on lack of game time but I'm not so sure. Judging by his IG he is in tremendous shape but maybe more sprints and less cross fit is required.. In all seriousness, I think we should look at other options before renewing. Hartley could fall into a similar bracket, we will see how they both go in the second half of the season i guess. Dunne I would be keen to keep due to this raw attributes. I have a feeling Robinson is a big fan of his and will try to keep him regardless of his injury record. His record was pretty bad when we signed him so this isn't exactly new information. I suspect we are likely to see another decent turnover of players in the summer but I think we have a decent core nailed down so hopefully not too much upheaval.

Aye, I mean in all honesty I have the feeling that as a club we are being really very cautious in order to protect our investment which i understand obviously. From memory the estimate was up to 6 months out, there was examples of quicker recoveries for similar operations. If he comes back in March thats quite a fair bit more. I believe Lasley also mentioned January recently as well. Mainly just specfulation but hopefully see him soon.

So.. is there any noise about when Davie Turnbull is expected back yet? Is he away with the squad to Tenerife? I would have thought the Tenerife break would be a good opportunity to get him up to speed for a return all going well. On paper it is going to be absolutely wild when he is back to full fitness in this team. Watching Turnbull last year was some of the best skill I've seen on display at Fir Park. This isn't just like a new signing, we will be gaining the best player in the squad by some distance. I can imagine the likes of Long and Scott will be relishing the potential chances created with him back in the middle of the park. If we could get Turnbull + new striker + new winger we could have a realistic chance of pushing Aberdeen all the way for third. From speaking to other folk I think I am a bit higher on Cole than most, I think he offers us something different and has a real presence up front. Clearly though his wages must be miles out of our reach as it sounds like we have all but gave up on trying to retain him. It's going to be difficult to replace Cole but hopefully we go for someone with a similar presence as I thought against Accies our attacking options looked a bit exposed. I mentioned another winger for the same reason. Illic has barely kicked a baw so difficult to judge and Seedorf apart from a couple of bright spots doesn't really seem to be arsed. I can see why we signed him, he definitely has great pace but his lack of tracking back, any sort of fight, zero positioning sense strikes me as someone who is finding the transiition from u20 football to the senior game quite tricky.

Right I know its very earlys and all that but I can't help but get overexcited and think we have a decent chance of getting top 4/5 (and potentially europe) this season. Aberdeen are pretty gash this season but their squad will see them finish 3rd in the end. Outwith them we are going to be competing with Killie and Hibs. I don't think we have anything to fear there. Hibs potentially have budget to spend in January but they are leaking goals for fun and we have already accrued a 9 point gap with them. Even if Hearts get their act together in the next month they are a fair distance behind in terms of points. To be honest I don't see anyone else posing a challenge. If we can continue this run of good form through Christmas we are going to be in with a decent shout. Long season still to go but a bit of recognition for the job Robbo is doing thus far. We aren't just winning games, we are skudding teams (in 2nd gear at times) Can we talk about James Scott finishes last night btw? Top quality.

I don't really understand folk moaning about Saturday night kick offs. To me, its a perfect kick off time. Great time for bevy, plenty time to get there and get back. Unless you have any great plans for a Saturday night in January I don't see the big issue. Surely we aren't going to do a hibs and start complaining that 'it's too dangerous to travel' to Dundee on a Saturday night!

Great interview with some really good insight! I hope you continue to do your 'unofficial podcast' as well. It's great the club is giving such access on a official platform but I do enjoy the more unoffical stuff as well. I know our media team like to 'control the narrative' but I think it's important - especially in times of trouble - that there is a more unoffical discussion around what is happening. I think your podcast has been a really good platform for this over the past year or so. On Cadden, interesting to see him thriving as a RB. Honestly shocked to see him do so well in this position.

I've been impressed with Polworth but it's stiil very early days. I know we all get excited sometimes but I couldn't say at this point that he is definitely going to go on to bigger and better things. He looks like a player but is 25 and there will be a reason why he has been at Inverness for so long. Luckily for us, Robinson seems to be getting the best out of him. I'm not sure he will be kicking down the door to join bottom half League 1 dirge like Portsmouth anyway. I'm quite sure they are still crippled financially so won't be offerring much in the way of cash money. Unless someone bigger comes in it sounds a bit of a non-starter to me. I totally agree with the sentiments on striking a balance between moving players on for a profit versus retaining them long enough to benefit the team. This was the main thing that pissed me off over the Hastie situation (albeit it was somewhat out of our control) We have a good track record of being fair with players and providing a platform for them to show their worth and let them move on. With respect I'd like to think that players that fall into this bracket have slightly higher ambitiions.

All the tabloids seem to be convinced that Robinson is the #1 target for Hearts and that the £120k pay-out isn't going to be much of a stumbling block. I tend to think that we could see him move on in the next week or so. Regardless of league position, I find it difficult to believe he would say no to Hearts. The only hope I have is he is holding out for something down south and genuinely wants to keep building the good things we are doing right now. Like them or not, Hearts are a bigger club with more fans, with a bigger budget and will likely double his wage. They have big potential as a club. If Robinson does go he goes with my best wishes. He has created a model for the club moving forward and has on the whole been a success. One thing I do worry about is whether his recruitment team i.e Martin Foyle would follow him. It would be good if we could try to keep a hold of him but I doubt it.

I wasn't overly pissed off after Saturday's gubbing, probably just because of the general goodwill the team has built up over the season thus far. We were really honking though, like it was a bit scary at times just how easily Aberdeen appeared to cut through us. On another day the scoreline could have been a lot more. Hartley being the obvious miss but in the middle of the park noone seemed to be there to actually win the ball. Hopefully just an off day I think we need to expect inconsistency with this group. Despite this, personally I wouldn't be tinkering too much with the formation going to Ibrox. My feeling would be to go for a more defensive looking structure of our current 433 shape so basically a 451. I'd probably stick Scott back at #9 or revert back to Devante Cole. I thought Long's hold up play on Saturday was pretty bad, obviously not his game but I think Cole atleast gives you a presence and puts himself about a lot more. On the wing I'd think we need to perhaps sacrifice one of our attacking boys for someone who can actually track back

As great as we have doing this game feels like a classic Aberdeen away win. I have no doubt we will cause Aberdeen problems but a shitfest 0-1 Cosgrove is a certainty!

I think the club are rightfully taking their time with Turnbull given his young age and value. If this was a more experienced player I suspect he would be back much sooner. In terms of timeline I would still be surprised if he's not back in training by December. The word from the club recently has been January is the goal but I would suggest that they are publically stating a later target so Davie is relaxed as possible and there is no pressure on him to rush things. I'd like to think we will see him in the squad before the New Year but maybe I'm being overly optimistic. I know we can all question where he fits in the current midfield but the prospect of this problem is really encouraging especially given our current league position. As good as we have been, you make room in this team for him (when he is fully fit) It will be interesting to see what happens in the January window. Are Celtic going to wait until he has 'proven his fitness' and if so will other clubs from down south take a chance on him? I suspect there might be a bit more urgency on Celtic's part if they remain 2nd in the league. Either way, there is no point in us waiting for him to regain fitness and then just selling him for a cut price deal when he is contracted until 2021. I don't think the club are going to roll over. Hopefully he stays until the summer if no one is going to cough up the original price.

Robinson always struck me as someone who would be more likely to move down south rather than elsewhere in Scotland but Hearts could be an enticing one for him. Say what you want about Hearts but they have huge potential as a club. As painful as it would be I honestly couldn't knock Robbo for taking that move. Fortunately Budge is unlikely to sack her toyboy so I don't think we need to worry much..

I missed the game on Saturday but judging by the highlights we ran riot at times, could have easily been 4 or 5 with the chances we had. Must say, I was really down on Hylton and Seedorf after the first few games of the season but it looks like I was very wrong. Defo a bit of a snap judgement on my part.. Generally speaking I thought physically they were well short of what was required but they have proven in the last few games to have something about them. Seedorf's strike in particular showed he has great ability. I was of the mind we were still short up front but I think our options are starting to shape up. We will probably be looking at a more varied number of forwards chipping in with goals this year rather than a single high scoring #9. We have 3 very winnable games coming up, lets temper expectations until we are through these but the signs are encouraging.

Do we need another midfielder? I thought O'Hara was a CM from memory. I would have thought we were pretty well covered there with Sloth and Maguire to come through. A #9 is still what I'm after. I think Cole could be decent, I'm encouraged by his presence upfront but it would be nice to get someone with a decent goal tally in. In saying that Mazinga is still to come in so we do have a fair amount of options. I think for me it seems like pretty much all of our strikers/wingers are unproven this year. We seem to have loads of untested guys but hey they could all turn out to be excellent.

I thought we were very good for 25 minutes on Saturday, other than that I thought we were pretty pish and really struggled to compete. It could have been a lot more in the end. I actually thought a lot of the players looked tired and therefore failed to keep up the pressing tactic for as long as we had wanted. I think a few of the new guys really struggled to handle the frantic pace of the game. Biggest disappointment from the first two games for me has been the wingers. I don't think anyone has really stood out after all the hype about them. Robinson saying they aren't completely sharp is pretty meh as well to be honest. They really should be march sharp at this stage. We will see how they do on Friday but none of them look like they are anywhere near the calibre of Gboly. Generally I think all of them are lacking the physical attributes required to play in the SPFL but hopefully they will adjust quickly. I like Charles Dunne but the whole passing from the back thing is giving me the fear. This is working for Gallagher but every time the ball goes to Dunne it really is a problem. I predict this will be a common theme this season, opposition teams are going to let Dunne have the ball because they know it is going to go nowhere. I'm not suggesting anything happens to Dunne just think we should be looking for some sort of tactical solution to this. Up front I thought Long held the ball up well at times but was blowing out his arse after about 20 minutes. We need a QUALITY striker On a more general point, Robinson was banging on about how good some of our play was. Honestly, I thought some of our passing on Saturday was pretty bad at times. Polworth and Gallagher had some nice play but we really need to pass the ball better as a team if we are going to play the sort of style we all want. Friday is a big one, Hearts are absolutely hopeless just now. They have some great players but are struggling big time under Levein. Really hopeful we can get a result otherwise it is going to be a real downer of a start to the season. We have Accies away, Hibs then Tynecastle so it's not going to be an easy next few weeks.

The Celtic support genuinely deserve nothing but suffering on Saturday for some of the utter pish they have spouted over Tierney gate. Embarrassing. Hylton ripping your new left back a new one would be pretty apt I think.

Aye, Hemmings would have been a good shout for sure! I'd be really interested to see what kind of wages Dundee/Dundee Utd are dishing out for Hemmings and Shankland. I'm defintely not in the know so would be guesing but I wouldn't be surprised if Utd are dishing out 1.5k - 2.5k pw for Shankland. Might be totally wrong but don't know if we would be willing to dish that out on this type of player. The likes of Shankland/Hemmings would seem a bit of non-brainer if we could afford it. Fair enough the Dundee clubs are big but surely we would be in for them if the money was right? I'm still hopeful we will secure that starter that Robinson alluded to. A first team number 9 is still something we require in my eyes. Scott is good but still has much to learn, Long i'm not entirely convinced is our real 9. We need someone thats going to bring 10-15 goals to table. Sad as it may be I'm still clinging to the hope we pull off a Lafferty/Moult type coup..

Lee Erwin away to Ross County I see. I know a lot of us weren't a huge fan but I wouldn't been total against recruiting him for another striking options. Tbf he is probably a bit similar to Scott. I presume we will be looking more at a target man option.. Still think we could be doing with a number 9 in

To be honest I find this really harsh on the guy. Cadden has limited options. Clubs aren't exactly knocking the door down to sign him. Despite what Craigan and co have been saying on Twitter his form hasn't really warranted any great degree of interest. Not all of this has been his fault (playing wing back and injuries have been a contributing factor) but he has failed to push on the last few years. If Cadden can get any move good luck to him, he's more than served his time at Motherwell. He hasn't just pissed off after 3 month in the team he has been with us with a good number of years. You can't blame the player here, if anyone is to blame it would be the club for relying on compensation deals and not recognising the loophole. I'm not blaming the club its a pretty unusual scenario but Cadden is certainly not at fault here. He has seen out his agreed contract. It is going to be interesting to see how this and the Hastie compensation deal plays out. I'm honestly not convinced that we are going to get as much money as we think through a lot of these youth compensation scenarios. Accies got 250k for Lewis Ferguson who was there 5/6 years with youth? Going to be interesting to see how these stack up fee wise

Class work from all involved at the club, well done! Huge win financially and perhaps just as importantly PR/exposure wise. Say what you want about betting companies but Paddy Power are basically #1 in the UK at marketing in terms of creativity. Now give me that white number asap

Nae mention of Christian Ilic.. I thought he might have alluded to him if the deal was close