vikingTON

That's one defender, two fringe midfielders and Crawford, who last time I checked was back in training before the cup game. In terms of our starting XI, only Moore (though not sure what this injury actually is?) is an obvious absence and downgrade: the rest aren't guaranteed starters. Don't get me started on Corr's absence being presented as an issue in the squad... I think the standard of squad is exactly what is needed for comfortable safety this season - Comrie or Ballantyne competing for right back is a relative luxury, for example - which is why we end up getting results like tonight's among a parade of other draws. The squad lacks any genuine quality to get to the supposed promotion play-off standard set though, so the league campaign has got yet another 7th or relatively comfortable 8th place finish in the post.

Yep, a point is absolutely fine. But... what are the actual, confirmed injuries that we have? The apparent point of the summer seems to have been adding squad depth - so we can't really be making excuses (as a club that is, not Murray) for what strikes me as a completely standard, handful of absences during the middle of the season.

Will need to take advantage of the wind being mostly at our back, as the second half will be a different issue altogether.

Birthday caird pish. Who knows the guy will be any good or not, but given the past 2 weeks has involved counselling patience until the 'right' player becomes available, I'll be expecting further and more significant business.

Oh come off it FFS. It's hardly a 2013/14-esque setup, in either budget o availability terms right now.

So on the one hand the coaching staff are "quite clearly responsible" - except for in literally the same post, just above, in which shipping 3 set piece goals from just about 3 actual set pieces to defend is actually about the players 'not doing their job' with 'no sign of bad organisation or coaching*'. Make your mind up please. *Hint: A fundamental part of a football manager's job is to get the players to do their jobs properly. Which includes in-game and half time adjustment to hold those who are not dojng their job to account. It's not some optional part of their job description.

Who, exactly, blamed it all on the manager? What is actually happening is an attempt to blame none of it on the manager, with a litany of excuses about the awful squad, about lack of player availability (no Dylan Corr or Sonny Hart!), and about not having 'enough' time to train a full time professional outfit to execute an absolutely critical, basic task for a cup tie against lower league opposition. And the acid test for such excuses is as follows: what would the response have been, had Davies been 'overseeing' the interim coaches for one of the most humiliating results in the club's history? He would have been eviscerated on here both as a coach and no doubt for his personal foibles as well - despite all of the same arguments about the squad applying. Wanting the manager to do well is understandable. Being driven by that urge to apply such obvious double standards and deflection from the stark facts of Saturday's result and manner of defeat - in which there is plenty of blame to share by everyone involved - is not rational. Just like with Laird's departure, it is all too convenient and easy and wrong to just start a new slate and insist that all blame rests with those heading out the door.

If the players don't do their jobs at the first two goals, you 'reaffirm' instructions at HT via a turbo bollocking and identify any suitable ones who failed to follow instructions and hook them out of the team*. For the team to then concede immediately from the next set piece after your time to intervene is a failure of management and coaching. Murray cannot take the lion's share of blame for the first half goals: but the decisive 3rd goal is on him too. * And you can also bring on or start players with extra height to help deal with set pieces in Wilson - or, God help us, even Shaw - rather than the array of midget sand dancers who were never likely to win a high scoring game in spite of Stenny goals.

A couple of weeks in the door - with no game last weekend - is ample time to prepare defending set pieces at a supposedly professional and full time football club. It is inherent preparation for the test of playing a lower league outfit in the cup. So what were they doing over those two weeks? Was the planned setup incompetent, or did players repeatedly fail to carry out instructions? And why was a player with height of Wilson on the bench? Excuses for yet more completely predictable amateurism at Cappielow - which of course did not start with the new management two weeks ago - simply do not wash.

Stenny were late out and we were early out. Which is all fine and well until the exact same organisational failure that led you to be 2-0 down in the first place - completely against the run of open play - then turns you into being 3-0 down and tie over on the very next set piece you have to defend. In what alternate universe is the current coaching staff not responsible for that outcome?! Right now on Sky Sports there is a gubbins sport called 'NFL', in which the half time break often proves critical when competent coaches adjust their team to the opposition, as well as the game situation they find themselves in. Imrie would not have lost 4-0 to a lower league opponent; I don't even think our caretaker crew would have done so. I have zero time for this squad bloated with useless sand dancers, but competent coaching of them results in a win today, never mind the actual and disgraceful margin of result. Unless you are suggesting that utter donkeys like Gregor Buchanan are actually hidden gems that were foolishly discarded by the club before- enough. We lost the game due to a parade of ridiculous set piece failures that have got nothing to do with the underlying ability of the squad. It's a plague on all their houses - back up centre back options are irrelevant to that.

You are absolutely correct to highlight the problem in this league season - our fixture list is ludicrously front loaded in terms of opposition. We have cleared the worst of our schedule now - but we still won't see any benefit until April or May.

They all need to take responsibility, but the buck ultimately stops with the coaching staff if you cannot adjust to that basic issue - not least with a 15 minute break to do so. That's the job of a coaching staff. See the obvious problem and sort it out FFS. Yet the Morton team traipsed out 5 minutes in advance, and then contrived to chuck in another goal from literally the next set piece cross. That is an outrageous failure of coaching as much as player responsibility. If the players aren't doing their job, sub them.

No, he doesn't need 'help' to do the basics of the job. a) He put the team out 5 minutes early before the second half - before then conceding a third set piece goal out of 3 serious tests in the first hour. Any chance you could spend that time adjusting the incompetent marking and approach - something identifiable as coaching? Or at very least, a good old fashioned 'management' bollocking to make sure that anyone who lets Gregor fucking Buchanan beat them to the next penalty box set piece will be eviscerated in the dressing room and then sacked on the spot. b) Last time I checked, Ian Murray just signed a deal until June 2027 to manage the existing football club and the existing squad of players. The January transfer window was an already known factor. So don't start giving off pish about 'needing help' just two weeks into the job. If you didn't think you could avoid being fucking horsed by Stenhousemuir with the squad and resources available, then you have no right applying for the job. If Murray believes that new players are urgently needed, then that's a message that should have been given privately to the board before signing a contract, rather than being used as an excuse for incompetence in public. He's throwing the club under the bus, Gus McPherson style, for a result that is categorically not the outcome of some hopelessly weak and callow squad compared to the Galacticos of, erm, Stenhousemuir. I was quite optimistic about the Murray appointment until earlier today - but between the team performance and his subsequent interview he has laid two massive turds. The latter was avoidable.

If his big answer at 2-0 down at half time today is to swap Moffat (SD) for Garrity (SD) then he's part of the problem though. I don't care how long you've been in the job: a competent manager grasps what works and what won't, both on the training ground and in game conditions. Continuing with the same dung that was doing nothing under the temp management is on him - we could have reverted to the shape that played at Ross County instead. I am still mystified as to why none of Imrie, the caretakers or now Murray have grasped at the only demonstration of a competent first team setup in nearly 3 fucking months, and just run with that for a change.

FTFY