Has Derek Adams lost the plot?
In August, I'd have said that Adams' previous achievements at Ross County made him unsackable. But is that still the case now? The defeat to Motherwell was County's tenth of the season in the league; they only lost eleven all last season. They have won only two games out of thirteen in all competitions since 24 August. Gone are the solidity and team spirit of the last two seasons. Adams' team selections have become increasingly erratic, which is surely a worry. Against 'well, he used winger Melvin De Leeuw at centre forward, a ploy which failed miserably against Celtic and which worked no better this time. By the time he brought on a striker as a first half sub, the damage had been done. Also, there was no logic to dropping keeper Mark Brown for his clearly inferior deputy, Michael Fraser. Adams' trademark scowl is now seen so often that you'd think the wind had changed; Will the wind of change blow through Ross County soon?
Trial by TV?
The SFA has previously been accused of only taking retrospective action regarding incidents that are discussed on Sportscene - so it will be interesting to see if Anthony Stokes gets a letter from Hampden this week. Numerous journalists noted that, after being booted in the air for about the tenth time by Hibs defender Jordan Forster, Stokes took an off-the-ball swipe at the youngster which couldn't have been more obvious to onlookers if it had been preceeded by an impromptu performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" in a beautiful tenor voice. Referee Bobby Madden took no action - and I can't tell you how bad that decision was because absolutely zero reference to the incident was made in the BBC match report or highlights. If Stokes gets away with it, then a few managers and fans may file this in the mental folder marked 'preferential treatment for Celtic' which tends to get depressingly large over the course of a season.
Reuben Gabriel's an international player?! You're kidding, right?
Believe it or not, Reuben Gabriel - or is it Gabriel Reuben? It's not clear - is a Nigerian international with a good chance of playing at the World Cup next summer. Yet he barely looks capable of holding down a place in a rancid Kilmarnock midfield. It's only a month since Allan Johnston claimed Gabriel wasn't good enough to get in the side, so his elevation to the lineup in the last few weeks stinks of desperacy on the manager's part...as did Gabriel's rather brief performance on Saturday, where he received two yellow cards in the first 22 minutes. An international midfield player really should know better than to commit a cynical foul whilst booked - and frankly, any Sunday League player would know better too. I wouldn't be surprised if the next time we see him, it'll be in the green of his country rather than the blue and white of his club.
Going to Tynecastle? Take your boots
Jamie Walker limped off on Saturday, and looks set to be the latest addition to an injury list that Hearts can ill-afford. With Jason Holt and Ryan Stevenson already out, the Jambos have bugger all left in midfield. And, with Danny Wilson playing through shin splints, their only fully fit outfield player aged over 22 is Jamie Hamill, who, was the situation not so desperate, would surely be Left Back In The Dressing Room, rather than Left Back. Barring the unlikeliest of wins at Celtic Park next week, Hearts will still have a negative points total at Christmas; the club now only has three things left to focus on - a League Cup semi final, coming out of administration, and deciding what season ticket prices should be for a season in the Championship.
The obligatory weekly Dundee United/Ryan Gauld love-in
Yes, I swoon over Dundee United every week. But Saturday was the fourth time in a row, and the fifth time in six league games, that they've scored four times. They also stuck five past Kilmarnock in the cup at the end of November. Their performances are not so much sexy as they are proper top-shelf pornography. Meaningless stat alert: Keith Watson's goal now means that United's full backs have already scored a total of five goals this season.
Motherwell will beat St. Mirren next week
That claim is simply on the grounds that the Steelmen's league record against the sides in the bottom six this season is a remarkable nine wins out of nine after they saw off Ross County. Against the other top six sides, they've managed just one point out of twenty-one. So they'll probably get beaten by Aberdeen on Boxing Day, then.
An important first win for Yogi
To some extent, John Hughes is on a bit of a hiding to nothing at Inverness - he can hardly take them in any direction but down from their current second place. So getting a win under his belt early will have been very handy, particularly given a run of tricky matches over the Christmas period which includes home games against Aberdeen and Celtic, a derby with Ross County, and travels to Partick and Motherwell. Given Hearts' current travails, it's becoming increasingly the case that a win over them is a necessity rather than a good result. It was another masterclass in movement and finishing from Billy McKay, who has now scored five times in three games against Hearts since his infamous miss in last year's League Cup semi final. I'm not convinced that he won't have moved on to better things by the time the sides meet again at Easter Road in February.
St. Mirren can't afford to lose McGowan
I was interested to find out today that Paul McGowan, the St. Mirren forward, has pled guilty to charges of assaulting police officers - and it's not the first time either. A solicitor friend of mine tells me that the judge's decision to ask for reports could be meaningful, as these are a prerequisite for a first custodial sentence. Whilst, unlike most employers in the real world, I can't see the Buddies sacking him, they certainly would struggle if Gowser, unquestionably their best player, was missing for any time - remember that his logical replacement, Gary Harkins, hasn't been on the winning side in any of the six league games he's started for the club, and might as well not have been on the pitch most of the time.
Partick still can't win at home
Yes, I am being harsh - the match at Firhill was abandoned - but Partick Thistle still haven't won a home league match this season, and after their bright start to the season they now have only one win in thirteen games in all competitions since the end of August. With St. Mirren having picked up in recent weeks, it looks increasingly like the Real Jags will face a three way battle for eleventh place with Killie and Ross County.
Refereewatch
No complaints about Useless Euan Norris' decision to send off Reuben Gabriel as discussed above, but he turned down a very good shout for a Killie penalty later for handball against John Souttar. Bobby Madden apparently had a mare at Celtic Park - but the only big decision to make the highlights was the one he got right - booking Emilio Izaguirre for a dive. It wasn't as bad a dive as the first half swoon by ICT's Marley Watkins though, which inexplicably escaped sanction from Brian Colvin; however, it may have contributed to Watkins being denied a second-half spot kick after he was rugby-tacked by Kevin McHattie! Meanwhile, in Dingwall, no-one knows why a Ross County equalizer was ruled out by Crawford Allan except, it seems, the official himself.
L.
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