DC92

Surely that isn't possible.

The OP said we were robbed in those games. I think the better team won on both occasions, even if the scores were marginal. Likewise, a lot of games we've won have been marginal, but we've usually been the better team over the 90 minutes. I'd say Saturday was an exception to that.

Maybe someone else said he's been good everywhere he's been, but I just said he's delivered results in the short term. I'm sure there are exceptions to that, but even at Middlesbrough he was appointed when they were right in relegation bother near the end of the season and got them fairly comfortably safe. I assume Aberdeen are just looking for a similar short-term boost. Maybe he won't be a good fit for them or he won't adapt to the league or whatever. Hopefully not.

It is box office, but I think it's also an annoyingly sensible appointment. He's proven just about everywhere he's been (albeit usually in the English Championship) that he can deliver results in the short term and he's the right sort of personality to lift the mood around the club. If he can get them into Europe then they'll also be on a stronger footing to bring a new manager in in the summer than they are now.

Yeah, the Scottish Cup is financially massive given the European implications and I can see the logic in hoping a Warnock type can get enough out of them over a couple of big games.

Nobody is unbeaten in the same period and we've taken more points than Celtic, so it's not really a stretch at all. To repeat before someone takes it out of context, the point is we are not that good and won't sustain that over the course of a season.

My statement was also that the last 15 games was title contention form. The point was that it's unsustainable and that's fine. Some people have been acting like we're on the verge of collapse because we're not winning comfortably every week. Still, we weren't robbed in those games. Aberdeen and Rangers created more than us over the 90 minutes and deserved to win. County you can argue because of the penalty decision, but a draw was fair in that game. Likewise, a few of our wins could easily have been draws or worse (such as yesterday). People tend to reframe all previous results based on the current mood. Trying to be as objective as possible, I think we're about where we should be or, if anything, a few points better off.

We were well beaten at home to Rangers and at Pittodrie, even if it was only by a goal. Our form over the last 15 games or so illustrates that the more pessimistic fans over the last few weeks are partly right. We aren't good enough to keep up these results over the course of a season, but that's not because we're not 3rd best, it's because we're not title contenders. Results will regress a bit at some point, but that's fine.

It's not really a stretch since the core of the squad has basically been the same since then with the exception of Shankland. Arguably this team is closer to 21/22 considering the horrendous injuries we had last season. Obviously Shankland is our most crucial player which is why we were never going to sell him last month without a huge fee and a couple of replacements lined up. They wouldn't have been as prolific as him, but you'd hope they'd have been able to get us within single figures of Killie's points tally over 15 games. Aberdeen this season are also proof that having an exceptional striker isn't enough in itself.

Hibs and Aberdeen have had plenty similar or worse teams over the last couple of decades and Livingston were lower league strugglers only a few years ago. The standard of the league is shite but it has been for ages. Watching Levein's most recent Hearts team was soul-destroying aside from a couple of months in 2018. Some of the most clueless, boring football I've seen, so I'm not surprised it's a hard watch for you guys.

The penalty was immediately given by the referee rather than being a VAR intervention. A complete nonsense of a decision, though.

Or maybe it would've been like the year before, when we didn't have him and still finished miles ahead in 3rd.

I'm sure if he took the night off and we gave you a two-goal head start you'd have no issues then.

Yeah, I was worried about that defence today (rightly, as it turned out), but it didn't matter in the end. Hopefully when we have Rowles and Kingsley back we'll be able to rediscover the solid defending and combine it with our recent goalscoring form.

I want to hear more about Hibs' brilliant transfer window.

A draw would've been fair there but that is a brilliant 3 points. One hand on the diddyship now.

Lewis Miller selling the jerseys in the Asian Cup to get our Aussies back early. He replaced Atkinson, who set up Australia's goal.

I didn't know this before, but this was my worry and it's not a surprise. He's an able deputy, but can't be relied upon to stay fit these days. We should have been after a striker anyway. I assume this information was kept under wraps until today because they were trying to bring someone in and didn't want to get gouged on price. Maybe Van Veen's fitness was a concern but he'd have been an obvious way to go. Lys Mousset it is.

Apparently he played 12 times for us. A remarkable revelation.

Being sensible is all well and good, but it feels like it's been ages since we've had any excitement on deadline day. I'm still chasing that Abiola Dauda high.

Business complete by the looks of it. Pleased with the Lembikisa signing on initial evidence and happy that Shankland's staying (although I didn't expect him to leave anyway). We'll see how Fraser is but he won't have to do much to be an upgrade on Lowry. A striker was the second priority after a RB for me and not signing one is a disappointment. The Spartans game was a grim glimpse into what a Shanklandless Hearts looks like just now. If he stays fit we'll be fine. If he doesn't, and Boyce continues to struggle with injuries, then I don't even see how we make the ball stick up front, let alone score goals.

Some of the Daily Record headlines about Shankland made more sense than this.

I also watched the game on Tuesday and both teams were pretty rotten in the first half, though Dundee were pretty impressive after the break. Aberdeen played with a lot more intensity initially against us but ran out of steam and were ultimately well beaten. I would expect a hard game, particularly if we start as sluggishly as we have been recently.

Hearts aren't in for him according to Barry Anderson.

An unexpectedly philosophical turn for a discussion on a loan signing from the 18th-best team in League One. It seems reasonable enough on paper to me. I'd prefer we sign a striker, but that doesn't look likely.