Something to 'Clingan' to?
On the face of it, Saturday was another rotten day for Kilmarnock, shipping five goals to Celtic in front of a home crowd that could generously be described as sparse, as supporter anger at Michael Johnston's running of the club boils over. But the positive response to going three down is reassuring, and having got back to 3-2, they gave the Hoops a real headache in the second half before two late goals embellished the scoreline. On his first appearance of the season, Sammy Clingan looked far more effective in midfield than any of his teammates has in recent weeks, and curled in a lovely free kick into the bargain.
Motherwell are quietly getting on with it
After a poor opening few weeks, Stuart McCall's side have, without much fanfare, picked up 13 points out of a possible 15. And that's with James McFadden still to find his best form. They must increasingly fancy that they can repeat last year's second place finish.
Gorgeous Georgios
So effective in the Champions League last year, Georgios Samaras has rarely looked as interested when on domestic duty. Before his hat-trick on Saturday, he had only scored 16 goals in his last 76 league appearances. But the Greek striker has hit form at the perfect time for Neil Lennon, with Barcelona coming calling on Tuesday night. Celtic need Samaras to put in another big performance if they are to get anything from that game.
St. Johnstone need to start faster
The Perth Saints don't seem to realise that matches start at 3pm, rather than 3.15. They were one down at home to Partick before they really got going. Given their lack of spark early on, it was a surprise to see the energetic Nigel Hasselbaink deployed only as a substitute, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him on from the start against Inverness next week. St. Johnstone are going through a right rough patch at the moment, with only 2 points from their last 5 games; it's their worst run since the opening 5 games of last season.
Tommy Wright's central defensive duo of Frazer Wright and Stuart Anderson are normally so solid that it was a surprise to see them make a hash of Partick's goal; poor Anderson slipped to let Kris Doolan in, and to add insult to injury he dislocated his thumb in the process. Wright, meanwhile thought the striker's shot from a tight angle was going wide, and left it when he could have cleared. Given their excellent partnership over the last two seasons, you can forgive them this blunder; the problem is that the backup for the injured Anderson consists only of right-back Dave Mackay.
Grant Munro's legs have gone
The Ross County defender was never particularly pacey, even at the peak of his career at Caley Thistle. But it was a bit of a shock to see him thoroughly beaten in a sprint by John Sutton for Motherwell's second goal on Saturday. Two weeks after his thirty-third birthday, it may be that his days at the top level are numbered. So solid at the back last year, the Staggies have really struggled defensively this time around. Eight games in, Derek Adams has used seven different defenders already this season, suggesting that he still doesn't know who his strongest back four are.
Hibs could learn from Caley Thistle's recruitment policy
ICT's lineup on Saturday includes players brought in from Luton, Tranmere, Newport, Macclesfield, Southend, and Northampton plus the youth teams of Blackburn and Ipswich. Most of them have come to Inverness to try to impress and earn themselves a move to a higher level. In contrast, the Hibs team is full of players who arrived at Easter Road with their career on a downward trajectory. The difference in hunger between the two sides was stark. In particular, Pat Fenlon could really do with a centre-back like Josh Meekings, rather than one like Michael Nelson; Horatio Nelson would have given Billy McKay a greater challenge.
Change is a bad thing
The number of players who have started a league game for each club this season: Kilmarnock 22, Celtic 20, Aberdeen 19, Ross County 18, St Johnstone 18, Hibernian 17, Partick 17, Dundee United 16, St. Mirren 16, Hearts 15, Motherwell 14, Inverness 11.
That's right. Caley Thistle have used the same starting lineup in every game this season. But that may change next weekend as Jamie Vincent went off injured in the first half against Hibs. Ben Greenhalgh gave a good performance off the bench; ICT will inevitably need their reserves to step up and do a job at some point if they are to continue to compete at the top end of the table.
My kingdom for a goalscorer
If Alan Archibald was a Shakespearean actor, that's what he'd be shouting out. Kris Doolan at least got a goal in Perth, but spurned a ton of chances as well. Partick keep creating opportunities for their forwards; too often they are being wasted. The Jags have done enough already to suggest they can steer clear of a relegation battle, but how far could they go with a Premiership-quality centre forward?
Referee Watch
Both Dundee United and Hearts were left aggrieved by disallowed goals in their match at Tynecastle - Nadir Ciftci was denied after Steven McLean spotted a push by David Goodwillie in the build-up; it looked pretty soft to me. That decision was certainly debatable; the ruling out of Dylan McGowan's tap-in for a foul on Radoslaw Ciernziak certainly wasn't - there was clearly no infringement at all. It was apparently given by an assistant referee, who managed to spot this apparent foul despite having several bodies between him and the incident. In light of his x-ray vision, he has now presumably been signed up for this Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show.
Given how well Dundee United have been playing recently, the draw bodes well for Hearts. They host St. Mirren next week, and a home win would make the sides just above the Jambos very, very nervous.
Monday night football
I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to put on St. Mirren v Aberdeen at the same time as Everton v Newcastle. The handful of people who do choose to watch it will see whether Danny Lennon's side can turn the tide; it's worth noting that a win would put them above Kilmarnock in the table. The Dons, however, are in good form and I'd fancy them to expose the Buddies' extremely frail defence.
L.
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