Leaderboard

Yes, it was. What was key about that match? Shinnie was missing. In order for Clarkson to play his direct, quick passing he needs the left to right space. That requires the two Flood-like midfielders doing their thing. Breaking up play, being first to everything and feeding off the second balls from the direct punts. Just as Barron couldn't be that second Flood in the last game, McGrath couldn't be yesterday (and neither can Polvara). We're banging our heads against a brick wall though, and it seems that nobody at the club is asking the fucking obvious.

I'm aware of that, that's why I'm wondering why he's making such basic errors? There are plenty of very good footballers who don't actually understand tactics and struggle to articulate and pass on what it was that made them good. We'll not know, because nobody actually asks managers pertinent tactical questions, deciding instead to focus on gossip and speculation. For what its worth, I believe Robson does understand, as evidenced by him immediately switching Ramadani's role and making Clarkson a number six with an emphasis on playing it forward quickly for the runs of Miovski. It's completely inexplicable that he's continuing to try the same tactic without Ramadani there, trying to force McGrath to play a game he can't, putting huge physical pressure on Shinnie and expecting Barron to do the same role that Clarkson is failing in this season (because Ramadani isn't there). He seems, without evidence, to believe that by continuing to do the same thing, the players will somehow learn physical attributes that they don't have. The change to a 4-3-3 was also ridiculous as that, too, doesn't play to the strengths of our midfield and appears to be a tactic designed to allow all our number nines to get game time, rather than to play to their abilities. It's not up to me to give Robson a break, he's heading towards what could be the end of his management career before it has even started (see Glass). I would hate to see that. It has nothing to do with number of games either, he's not correcting rudimentary errors and hasn't recognised that the key to his 3-5-2 success is missing. Really, really simple stuff that we (including Robson) watched Goodwin get wrong throughout his tenure. Most of my criticism still lies with the club though. Robson is a young manager who may just be too close to things to gain perspective (a bit like a 100mph young midfielder learning their trade). I think he's said himself that he needs people that can come in and challenge him, and it's unforgivable - given the events of the last few seasons - that that doesn't exist. We've got an entire recruitment team looking for players for a 3-5-2, and seemingly nobody sought to question why McGrath was being brought in to replace Ramadani (I made the stupid assumption that the scouts had seen enough of him to suggest he could be converted), nobody thought to ask him what plans B and C were and if having four midfielders with the same deficiency, and three strikers that play a remarkably similar role was a good strategy. Once again, we seem to be letting a manager hang himself out to dry without anyone at the club asking the basic questions (I believe Robson would happily accept challenge and advice). If we're going for the inexperienced Robson (and I still think we should), then we need somebody to manage the manager. A devil's advocate reading back every move he makes and forces him to stop, think and understand everything he's doing. It's fairly clear that's not happening. The errors he is making are of his own doing and he's not being helped. If I was to adopt your stance of saying "give him time", "only five games", it would be to ignore all the warning signs (big, massive alarm bells). It isn't a time based issue, he could keep doing what he's doing for years and have zero success.

Bastard employers of mine seem to think only working 1 week in 4 is unreasonable for some odd reason.

I'm glad I didn't catch any of this one. An away loss at tynecastle isn't the worst result, but I suspect there is a lot more to it, as has been the case in every game so far this season. This season was always going to be a bit pot luck with the signings, but I assumed Robson would at least give himself a fighting chance. He doesn't appear to be doing that. There seems to be, once again, structural and strategic issues. I assumed recruitment was a joint thing. To me that means people raising serious questions. That's asking what our plan b is, and if we've got players that can play in those roles. We start with a 3-5-2, for which we have a completely unsuitable midfield. We finish with a 4-3-3 with an unsuitable front line. Are we just buying players and not players for positions? Does Robson think a midfielder is just a midfielder and a forward just a forward and that there's no nuance between roles? I assumed he'd have taken stock in the international break and accepted that the players in the squad aren't the required fit for what he's asking and we'd see a plan C. I don't see how we turn it around without a change in strategy. I don't see how Robson can't spot this.

Not that I'm tipping us to win, but it wouldn't surprise me if we put in a credible performance in Frankfurt because the way we're set up under Robson is suited to playing a team likely to dominate possession. It's when you give us the ball we embarrass ourselves. We'll press them, hound them, the likes of Duk will find space to run on the counter. Be a bit like the Celtic game which was our best performance of the season. Frankfurt would be better just letting us have the ball, laugh as we try and pass it at 100mph, make mistakes, and then just pick us off.

Thing is, I disagree with all this. We were up for it, we just - like we did under Goodwin - had no obvious game plan. We had two attacking tactics today. The first: Collect the ball just inside the Hearts half, launch it to the front two, and hope they can turn into Dennis Bergkamp and take a touch, turn the defender, create a yard of space and then add a sublime finish, all while hoping the defender stands and watches them. The second: Anyone who gets the ball within 30 yards of goal, take a shot. I've been defending Robson and urging people to give him time, but this is no way to play. We have players who can actually play football and we don't need to be shelling the ball forward from the first minute.