Before Sunday night, my paragraph on this game was going to focus on Stuart McCall's decision to play a back three, and how it seemed a risky strategy going forward. But that's all been rather superseded by his resignation.
In the modern game, most managers hang around long after the game is a bogey, interested only in securing themselves a payoff by getting sacked, even as their club continues to slide. McCall, in contrast, resigned well before there was any serious danger of being pushed, and then on Monday released a remarkably personable and personal letter to Motherwell fans explaining his actions.
McCall is one of Scottish football's good guys. Not one for jumping up and down or vitriolic screaming - his worst crime in a dugout was the horrendous tracksuit-top-and-shorts combo that he would persist with even into the winter months - his behaviour and attitude made it very difficult to begrudge him or Motherwell their recent successes. One hopes he bounces back quickly.
As for Motherwell, to quote Blackadder, "This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour portage, and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'." There are lots of good reasons why they are eleventh in the league. But if McCall couldn't solve their problems, then who on earth can? LS
Yogi gets it right again, even though ICT lost
Under John Hughes, Caley Thistle have an unenviable record at Celtic Park. Played 3, Lost 3, Scored 0, Conceded 12. But given that last season saw 6-0 and 5-0 defeats in Glasgow, this was a huge improvement.
This time around, Inverness flooded the midfield by moving Graeme Shinnie up from left back into midfield, with Carl Tremarco coming in at left back. Surprisingly, Billy Mckay was left out with Marley Watkins starting up front. It was a selection that had many scratching their heads but Hughes proved the doubters wrong as, although the game ended in defeat, ICT could count themselves unfortunate not to sneak a point.
Whilst Celtic did have chances most were easily repelled by the Caley Thistle defence who looked resolute until slack playgave Celtic a way in just after half time. Appealing for a foul on Williams, Ross Draper stopped and appealed for a free kick; nothing came and Celtic piled forward ruthlessly exploiting the lack of numbers back for ICT . The in-form John Guidetti turned the ball home as Caley Thistle were taught a harsh lesson in playing to the whistle.
By the end, though, it was Celtic who were hanging on as chances to equalise were spurned by Mckay, Tremarco and Danny Williams as Inverness came desperately close to grabbing a draw. If the result didn't quite vindicate Yogi's tactics, the performance certainly did. Maybe he does know best after all. AS
It never rains but it pours
Given the biblical downpour and dreadful conditions, the game in Dingwall was always destined to either finish a goalless draw or to be decided by some sort of defensive error. And it always seems to be the way that, when one of the teams in this sort of game is down on its luck, the misfortune inevitably hits them. And so it was the case for Paul Quinn, who sliced into his own net to give Aberdeen the three points and leave County still rooted to the bottom.
Maybe we shouldn't read too much into this match, given the circumstances. But under Jim McIntyre's leadership, seven league games have yielded but a solitary win and just five points. If this is a 'new manager bounce' then god help them when the novelty wears off. On the other hand, John Maxwell of Tell Him He's Pele was relatively positive about their performance on the County fans forum - and he's consistently proven himself a superior judge of teams than me in the past. So we'll see! LS
Tommy Craig sounds like a stuck record
'St. Mirren: Tommy Craig bemoans lack of firepower'. The BBC used this headline for their piece on Craig's post-match interview after his side's drubbing at Dundee United...which I'm sure they just cut-and-pasted from previous post-match interview articles. It might be reassuring to St. Mirren fans that Craig seems to have finally twigged that a high possession percentage does not score any points, but less so that he still doesn't have a solution to the problem - Saturday was the seventh time in twelve league matches that they've failed to score. Steven Thompson is due back in December sometime, and the survival hopes of the club, and the job security of the manager, will depend on whether Thommohawk can roll back the years once more when he's got over his chronic groin problem.
Oh, and by the way, Dundee United are top of the league. Not that you'd notice, what with the media all obsessing about a League Cup semi final tie that is still a few months away... LS
Never a dull moment with Hamilton Accies
What was it I said the other week about Partick Thistle needing to play right up to the final whistle? So, of course, they concede a 94th minute equalizer to Tony Andreu, having hauled themselves back from two down to lead 3-2 at New Douglas Park.
Accies, meanwhile, remain hugely potent in attack, but the last couple of league games have seen their back four start to falter; their defending in this game was just dreadful. It'll be interesting to see if Alex Neil makes a change or two for a tricky trip to Inverness next weekend, with Mikey Devlin and Stephen Hendrie both deserving of a return to the side. Either way, I'm thoroughly looking forward to that game - with Hamilton always keen to have a go, it should be a cracker. LS
Clarkson and Stewart are a deadly duo
In my horrendously inaccurate season previews (Motherwell top four?! Killie eleventh?! Accies bottom?!) I suggested that Dundee would struggle unless German striker Luka Tankulic turned out to be a goalscorer. Well, Tankulic was pretty hopeless initially and then injured his foot. But Dundee haven't struggled at all, even though perentially injured veteran forward Peter McDonald has also been, well, injured. That's because the goals have been flying in courtesy of David Clarkson and Greg Stewart.
It shouldn't be that much of a surprise that Clarkson is banging them in - five in five games now. After all, the former Motherwell starlet is still only 29 and there was no reason to believe his skills would have started to drop off. But Stewart?
This is a guy who was playing for Syngenta Amateurs 4 years ago, when Cowdenbeath picked him up. He scored 37 goals in four seasons for them - and last season he wasn't even their most impressive attacker, with Kane Hemmings' exploits overshadowing him. But Paul Hartley signed him not so much for the goals, but for his ability to put in a shift on the flank and maybe pop up with a goal or two.
Five Premiership goals later - including two at Rugby Park (the second of which has to be seen to be believed) - and Stewart has proven that he belongs at this level. He's also proven that his manager is a very astute judge of a player. LS
Andrew Sutherland (AS) occasionally writes for When Saturday Comes. He would never miss an ICT match unless he was offered a date with the lead singer of CHVRCHES...who he would then take to said ICT match.
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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