vikingTON

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

If the club hadn't just released Adeloye while continuing to pay our array of sand dancers until Monday morning, then we would not be remotely near 4-0 down. That's on whoever - collectively - organised a clear out that has to date kept much of the biggest dross on the books while not adding anything at all.

If it weren't for Corr and 'Sonny Hart', the hologram loanee, then he wouldn't deserve to play at all. A reasonable cover option for centre/left back, but we need better as a starting option at Championship level. An enormous downgrade on the much maligned Morgan Boyes.

Now it is.

Or identifying the round thing in the opposition box as something to put your laces through and into the corner of the net. Once again when people claim the sky will fall down if Dalrada and fullll time fitba go away - I'd like to see evidence of what our full time contracts provide in terms of quality, fitness, or basic organisation advantages.

We have actually had enough chances to score 3 or 4 goals, while Stenny created literally nothing from open play in an hour of football. That's not a criticism of them, but rather points to the fact that any halfway competent football team would be winning that game, by 2-1 at a push, as opposed to the almost scripted farce that GMFC has produced this afternoon. Also not a good look for Murray in persisting with this utter dogshit 4-2-3-1, which needs outlawed from the sport at this point.

Well the new manager has just signed a contract until June 2027, so while nothing can be guaranteed (not least because MCT are the ultimate owners of the club), you seem to be assuming that no due diligence was done by Murray before reaching that deal on future budgets etc.

As opposed to running a professional business without a Finance Director or chief executive type role for months, which had us boldly striding forward to becoming a fixture of the top flight rather than stumbling towards a Hamilton-style implosion? But aye we've got Nathan Shaw and Michael O'Halloran and 17 other sand dancing wingers in the squad at the moment, these truly are golden days.

That was Graham McLennan but understandable mix up to make.