DMAA

Conte uses it too doesn’t he. I generally prefer a back 4 but a good manager can always use a 3 at the back based formation effectively.

"Worth discussing" is a low bar and I'd say yes, largely due to Patterson being on bench when he is one of our best outlets on either wing. Tavernier Goldson Bassey/Helander Patterson Barisic Kamara Jack/Davis Kent/Hagi/Aribo Roofe/Sakala Morelos A team along those lines could do pretty well in games where it's mostly a matter of breaking down a low block, it doesn't look solid enough for tougher opposition without Helander at the back though. There are some obvious problems with it, by accommodating Patterson you are negating a lot of Tavernier's threat, though with the low block we play most weeks and given how much of the ball defenders have these days I think he could contribute quite a lot in breaking the lines and the opposition wouldn't know who should be picking him up. A second problem is how solid are you defensively with potentially two full backs in your back three. The third big one is that we do currently have a number of attacking midfielders and it's not easy to fit them into this system.

I haven't watched Mayo but you'd have to say someone with only 2nd tier experience is unlikely to be good enough. His clean sheet record when he played CB this season is outstanding though and that is very encouraging, especially as the season has gone on.

Another encouraging win, considering it was played on plastic. Hopefully another confidence boost for Sakala too who could surprise me and play a bigger role than I expected this season. Roofe's injury certainly gives him the chance to do just that. I still see him as a centre forward though and not a wide player. His dribbling and overall technical game isn't good enough to flourish there, his strength is using his pace to stretch the play and scoring goals one way or another.

Not to mention a certain header. Old firm goals are so memorable that they go a long way for fans. Katic was never good enough for Rangers, average at best on the ball and a terrible habit of ball watching and losing his man.

It certainly seems a good appointment. It can be a good age for an assistant too, a young guy who is full of enthusiasm, energy and is hungry to prove himself and doesn't have a reputation as a player to fall back on. Maybe harsh but a bit of contrast to McAllister?

I’m nervous with Bassey at CB because I don’t think he’s a natural there but he was fantastic last night. So much hunger and desire, great to see. That kind of thing is infectious.

It’s a good start. This is the team who lost to Hibs a few days ago so it was never going to be perfect. We looked more creative last night but we do lack a goal scoring touch up front. There aren’t many goals in the three of Aribo, Kent and Hagi and that showed last night with very good chances not taken.

Great effort from Hagi to get that assist, after a shaky start from him. A very good first time finish from Morelos. Sometimes he takes too many touches, when he’s at his best he just finishes it. He’s clearly aware of the criticism he has received from fans judging by that celebration.

Disappointed in the lineup tbh but hopefully we see a better attitude from them tonight.

Ryan jack has come off the bench twice now and is hopefully close to being ready to start games. Our goals conceded numbers will definitely improve when Ryan Jack is starting every game.

McCrorie is not the answer anyway. His stats are terrible and his performances at Livi were a massive disappointment. I think McLaughlin is a safe pair of hands and his record is good. McGregor has been playing this season based on reputation alone. The position needs investment and maybe we can improve on McLaughlin. I don’t find it an easy position to assess tbh.

I’ve actually wanted McLaughlin to be our number 1 since last season. Last season he was only exposed in Europe but this season I don’t understand why McLaughlin hasn’t been given a proper chance to become our number 1. McLaughlin has conceded 5 in 8 domestic games. McGregor has conceded 11 in 8 domestic games, several of which he was at least partly culpable for. That is a very quick and dirty comparison of course, but the goalkeeping stats you sometimes see on Twitter haven’t been kind to McGregor for a while. I did a quick check on their goals conceded rate for last season and there is a significant disparity too.

Another reason to love the Spectator. And at least someone is asking him to prove it.

I guess Gerrard’s departure at least gives us a chance of winning this cup

Looks like it’s happening one way or another. It will be very interesting to see what I means in terms of ins and outs in the next couple of transfer windows.

He made public comments at the end of last season about his excitement for the board’s plans for the new season, and then made public comments implying he felt he should have had more support in the transfer window at the beginning of this season. I have little doubt the relationship had deteriorated somewhat and as soon as you have even a hint of an excuse in the back of your mind as a manager there just isn’t the same drive to fix things on the pitch. It is hard to explain the lack of improvement in our performances this season without something changing in the mindset of Gerrard and his team.

I don’t think so compo. I think they were unhappy with the way we surrendered our chance to get £30m+ in UCL money in a pathetic fashion, to a smaller team with a smaller budget and then failed to get going even 3 months into the season, and chose not to put up any fight at all when AV came calling and SG wanted to speak to them. Receiving £4.5m+ and getting the chance to start a new era with, hopefully, an exciting new manager was likely a very attractive prospect for the board because we have been the second best team in this league (and second best Scottish team in Europe) since our old firm win in August, a win which only served to pull the wool over the eyes of a surprising number of fans in the months since. There is no chance Ross Wilson wasn’t actively preparing for this because it wasn’t hard to see coming.

I wonder who the other two candidates were, and if they are serious candidates. I'm surprised at how little we've heard of anyone except Gio. Gio's record isn't so good that it should be a coronation. One incredible season followed by two par for the course seasons at Feyenoord and then a poor season in China.

I'll be sceptical of every story linking AV to our players, but Kamara is the most likely one to be targeted imo. I think he'd do well in the EPL.

Disappointed re Knutsen. Not a massive surprise but I was holding out hope. I didn’t believe Lampard was involved for a second.

Wow that’s a depressing list. Hopefully we are looking at some options the press hasn’t got wind of.

I’m still hoping Knutsen’s name comes up! Style of play is a match. Norwegian season is almost over, 4 games left. Top of their Europa League, thrashed Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 and then drew 2-2 away to them. All of this is despite selling their best players (like Hauge) every season and spending next to nothing. Only question is whether we are big enough for him, and maybe whether he would want to move before he gets another title to his name and before he sees how far he can take them in Europe. From the outside looking in it seems a ridiculous achievement to have broken the dominance of Rosenberg and Molde. They have been a second tier side for most of the last decade and he’s taken them straight the top and actually managed to maintain it for a second and third season.

Lille offered us £16.5m and we turned it down. I said on here that day that we better have a plan if we’re turning that down but we didn’t and they walked away and we won’t get anything like that for him now.

It was 3 weeks ago and it was in relation to the Newcastle job. He answered the question honestly at that time and dealt with the press the way he should deal with them when they are asking questions like that. The Villa offer came in weeks after that and just because he took it it doesn’t mean he was dishonest on October 21st. I can understand Celtic fans being all over that but I find it weird the way Rangers fans are going on about it.