Yahoo Sports Aberdeen 'need reinforcements' & Rangers 'toil' to win
BBC Sport users have been having their say on the weekend Scottish Premiership fixtures.
Here are a selection of responses.
Dons form 'nothing to be concerned about'
Aberdeen are winless in three games after their second successive draw in Edinburgh, this time away to Hearts...
Andrew: I wonder if Jimmy Thelin's use of the more fringe players was to highlight the need for reinforcements in defence and midfield in January. Despite our six changes, it was a decent enough performance. If progression is not fearing a trip to Tynecastle but hoping for a win then in a short period of time we have progressed. Second place is realistic if backed.
Malky: Three difficult away venues in a week, form usually goes out the window in these types of games. Thelin will have learned a fair bit from these games, and we need reinforcements in certain areas of the pitch. Still a fantastic start overall and we need to dust ourselves down and try and go on another run. There's no easy games in this league.
John: Our recent form is nothing to be concerned about. Every team goes through a sticky spell. Total confidence in Thelin.
Andy: I don't think the Dons deserved a draw. Their passing out of defence was very poor and if they play like that on Wednesday they will get thumped.
Chris: Watched the last two games and much as I love what Thelin has done with the team out of possession we don't seem to know whether to stick or twist. In possession we are careless. We get a lot of crosses over but struggle to convert. I think the first defeat knocked the stuffing out the confidence, so individual performances suffer.
Eric: Once again Aberdeen's defence was all over the place. We seem to have lost our mojo, and I don't think we have a system or squad strong enough to justify swapping players around with only Shayden Morris showing his worth coming into the starting line-up. We need a more settled 11 or we will continue heading in the wrong direction.
Allan: Let's get things into perspective. One league defeat since March is a superb turnaround. Also going to the Edinburgh clubs away, who are on a similar budget to ours, and not losing is okay in my mind. Yes, we are starting to lose goals but that is up to the manager to address and we have good depth in the squad and a manager who knows the score.
Brian: I don't get the overreaction. We are a work in progress and miles ahead of where we should be. The past week has proven we have no divine right to beat anyone and Jimmy will have sussed out who in the squad can come in and do well and others that can't. He'll be backed in January and we should look forward to an exciting run over the Christmas period.
Hearts fought back for a point but finished the weekend two points adrift at the bottom of the table...
Paul: It all comes down to quality up front, there's not enough of it, the real shining lights in the performance were Musa Drammeh, Cammy Devlin and Craig Halkett, who came on to add leadership to back four. Alan Forrest's lack of commitment when tracking back is woeful. What a difference having Musa up front in terms of pace and real commitment, just need somebody who can finish.
Kevo: They could have felt sorry for themselves, dominating, shifting the entire defence, losing a goal out of nothing, but they didn't. Brave, determined and perseverant. Well done Hearts.
Alan: Obviously the two defensive injuries hampered our chances but we did create enough to win the game. Unfortunately it was the same old story of playing well enough but not winning. This form is not looking to shift any time soon and we are in real danger of relegation on our own merit.
Raymond: No better than when Steven Naismith was the manager. Neil Critchley is the wrong choice for the job and his team selections are difficult to fathom.
Gavin: Musa was a breath of fresh air. Driving forward and never stopped.
Frederick: If we make the top six this season that will be acceptable given the start we've had. I think Kilmarnock and St Mirren would accept the same. We will have to have the luck of the draw in the cup though and bring back our confidence. Let's hope January brings some changes with incoming players and some leaving. We can't seem to be able to handle Europe.
Chris: I'm bemused that Critchley thought we played well. The game had little to no quality. We were fortunate to get a draw, Aberdeen were poor too which helped. We are so weak up front and the individual quality was nowhere to be seen. Lots of endeavour from Musa and Devlin did all the dirty work, man of the match easily.
'Another very frustrating Rangers display'
Earlier on Sunday, Rangers won away to St Johnstone and finished the weekend closer to second-placed Aberdeen - seven points with the Ibrox side having a game in hand. Not everyone was impressed with the Perth display, however...
George: A disgrace. Worst Rangers team I have followed.
Bill: Boring first half, a bit better second half. Ianis Hagi will improve with games. Can't see Robin Propper ever improving.
Steve: A turgid three points, but after the result on Thursday I'm happy with the points.
Peter: Decent game after a good European game. Could have had a couple in the first half but kept at it. A hard team to break down when they defend in numbers but deserved the win. A big concern is Propper, he likes European games but not our league games. Hope he’s not looking for an escape route out in January, he has to knuckle down and get to grips with the pace of our league.
Fraser: Celtic score five without breaking sweat and we toiled to score one. Philippe Clement must now go for proven strikers during the January sales, this season is all but over if we're being honest with ourselves, we must hit the ground running come the summer.
Lennie: Another very frustrating display, I don't understand why we can't put teams like St Johnstone away. We were a different team in the second half, when are we going to see 90 minutes from this team?
Ronnie: Three points but I'm not celebrating. Once again this was a painful watch against an average St Johnstone side. We didn't even score the goal. Three league goals away from home tells you everything. One bright note was Hagi, who showed touches and a bit of vision. Clement has no idea how to solve this. Rotating your number nine doesn't work.
Tim: I really hope that the new CEO starting later this month has been briefed on looking for a new manager. The supporters will not tolerate this level of performance domestically week on week and if the board fail to act they will be seen as the main cause of the decline.
Gerry: I'd like to see more of the academy players come through as we sometimes look like a team of misfits. As someone said to me during the week, Rangers are like a partner cheating on you at the weekend and then taking you out on Thursday night. Celtic would have scored at least two by half-time against St Johnstone.
Murray: I don't think the game was as bad as some fans are saying. Players were trying and although the game was won by an own goal, it was forced by James Tavernier's presence and Hagi's cross. Move on to Kilmarnock now and hopefully gain momentum.
St Johnstone supporters were similarly unenthused...
Willie: The first 20 minutes were excellent, some great passages of play against a very average Rangers. The telling difference between the teams is squad depth, substitutes make a difference in tight games and we don’t have enough quality on the bench.
Robin: A meek performance that didn't react to the inevitable Rangers improvement after half-time and defensive substitutions.
Neil: From the start Saints were up for this game but seemed to fade very quickly. We gave them too much space and too much respect. Passing was not great and we were wasteful at times with no real threat at goal. If we were at our best we could have had something out of the game. Rangers are no better than the rest bar Celtic.
Burnie: An absolutely turgid encounter, and I think both sets of fans would agree on that point. Saints lacked attacking intent and when we lost the opener we seemed bereft of ideas in order to bounce back. I was surprised by how poor Rangers were. I think that a good team would tear them to shreds.
'McCowan & Bernardo deserve opportunities'
Celtic are four points clear at the top after their 5-0 home victory over Ross County was followed by Aberdeen's latest slip-up...
Gordon: Very comfortable home win, even with changes.
Steven: Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo showed how they both deserve opportunities in the starting line-up, both were excellent. McCowan in particular took his goal well and set up three more. Fresh legs now available for midweek too.
Anon: Scintillating first half with fortitude and finesse. I’m genuinely enjoying McCowan. He looks the part, plays the part and is living the dream. The trio of McGregor, Bernardo and McCowan move through the gears with such poise, it’s all about winning with style.
Gerard: The whole team played well, but I feel McCowan deserves more time on the pitch! A joy to watch, it’s a good time to be a Celtic supporter.
Billy: Class performance from a very good side. For the life of me can't understand why Steve Clark keeps omitting one of the best midfielders in Scotland. McCowan ran the show. What more does he have to do to get a call-up?
Dundee United 'got the job done'
Dundee United beat St Mirren 2-0 on Saturday, with both goals coming in the second half...
Anon: Not a pretty sight but unlike previous versions of the team these guys are fighters.
Lee: It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done. The 3-4-3 Jim Goodwin keeps going back to just doesn’t work for us. Hopefully we can keep this run going in our upcoming games vs Kilmarnock and Motherwell.
Dave: I thought a lot of Stephen Robinson’s comments after the match. Refused to be drawn into screaming for a red card for Jack Walton or make too much of the other decisions that went United’s way. Our expected goals stat was much higher than Saints' so I reckon we were well worthy of three points. Defence was immense - again.
St Mirren fans questioned why United keeper Walton was not dismissed for a first-half foul on Toyosi Olusanya, the award of both of Dundee United's penalties (only one of which was converted) and a red card shown to Marcus Fraser...
Jim: If you can't challenge for the ball in your own box, and it was a 50/50 challenge, then football as we remember it has gone. Two very dubious decisions have spoiled a very even game. Both sides lacked the killer blow and a well deserved draw would have been just about right. A lack of striking power must be a concern for the Saints staff.
Douglas: Well... was at Tannadice and I thought I had seen bad refereeing before but that has to be the lowest of the low and in the VAR studio just as bad. Jack Walton had to be sent off and the penalties awarded were not penalty kicks. Marcus Fraser's red card, never. Wasn't even a booking.
Ian: Frankly, very poor officiating and not a good advert for VAR. TV evidence confirms this opinion. A goalkeeper who should have been sent off and two very dubious penalties. St Mirren could be careless at times but deserved something from the game. The scoreline flattered United.
'Easily best Hibs performance'
Hibernian have found some form with their midweek draw with Aberdeen followed by a solid 3-0 Saturday victory at Motherwell...
Gordon: Well done Hibs, easily best performance of what has been a thoroughly dismal season so far. Much deserved victory, many more like this and you may make me eat my words!
George: All round better performance. Used the ball well and passed progressively all over the pitch, but Motherwell were poor. We could've scored five or six. Building confidence now, which is good. Celtic next which is less good. If we give them a game, perhaps nick a point or catch them on an off day and get three, we'll see. As long as we don't collapse.
Kenny: This was a far better all round performance than what we have been used to this season. We scored at the right times and for once we never looked like losing a goal. We have obvious weaknesses but if we can put a few wins together and strengthen in January I don’t think we will be far away.
Kevin: Excellent result and display. Just what we needed coming into a run of difficult games at Parkhead and Pittodrie. We have looked mentally weak most games and it was refreshing to see a steely performance, onward and upwards.
Pat: One swallow doesn’t make a summer and this team will require significant investment in the January window. However, taking nothing away from an excellent performance which could easily have been more if we had been more clinical. Sleep well, Sir David, you deserve it.
It was a difficult day at the office for Well...
Anon: Two shots on goal against worst team in the league, too defensive. Stuart Kettlewell leaves a striker out every week who scores goals in Moses Ebiye. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos needs to be scoring.
Billy: Kidding ourselves on. No midfield and definitely no strikers. Good job we’ve been lucky enough to get some points on the board.
Derek: That must be our worst performance of the season. Abject. We looked like the side that were bottom of the league.
Kevin: Kettlewell chops and changes the team every week, sick to death with just one proper striker up top. Give us 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 and bin the defensive midfielders and have a go. Feel sorry for Stamatelopoulos coming halfway round the world to get no service!
Eric: We're certainly missing Paul McGinn and Stephen O'Donnell at the back. They are comfortable with the ball and can feed the midfield, whereas the current back three just lump the ball downfield. This is causing Lennon Miller to drop too deep to collect the ball and forcing us backwards as a unit. I also believe the captain's armband is weighing heavy on Miller's arm.
David: The results at the start of this season papered over the performances with most wins coming from late goals after being second best for most of the matches. The last two games has shown Kettlewell's team really is about the same as last season and likely to go on another 18 games without a win. Time to look at the manager and see where he is going.
Honours even in Ayrshire
At Rugby Park, Kilmarnock and Dundee shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw...
Kilmarnock responses
Anna: Absolute garbage today. When will Derek McInnes realise that a back three doesn't work for us? The midfield were totally clueless and strikers as much use as a chocolate teapot. Why wait until 75th minute to make changes? Bonkers. Drop Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins next game and try Bruce Anderson and Bobby Wales up front because they can't do any worse can they?
Scott: We need to be banking three points in these home games. The pattern of play, honking first half then exceptional display in the second epitomises our performances throughout this season. There’s a good team somewhere in there, Del just needs it to show up and fingers crossed we get some consistency and climb the table, otherwise we’re in a dogfight.
Martin: I felt that the first half was more about not losing the game than winning the game, however some subtle changes made the second half an easier watch. A point apiece was probably the right result and we finished with 11 on the park which was helpful. Wales was very good when he came on but I just wish Derek would make these changes earlier.
Anon: Overly cautious approach for the first half with the change of formation. Second half a lot better and should have taken all three points. Young Wales needs a contract extension or we could lose a major asset.
Dap: It's good to have a weekend with some positives! No red cards and a decent second half. More of that please. Could have been better but at least we got something from a decent Dundee team.
Dundee responses
Anon: It is becoming a feature of our play that we can't take advantage by scoring when we are on top in a game. We have to sort that out, along with our inconsistency in defence. The league is so tight between the last European place and the relegation spots, with no team out of either situation.
Rod: Good to not lose these games. Always want a win at home and at least a draw away. A win against Motherwell will keep us on track for a top-six finish. Considering the trouble we are having with clean sheets, we are doing pretty good. If we can improve our defence we could be looking top four.
Anon: Decent point away from home... would have bitten your hand off for that a few weeks back. Why move Josh Mulligan from where he is effective on the wing to facilitate taking Mo Sylla off and bringing on Ethan Ingram? Ingram directly responsible for the Killie goal and lets players beat him again and again. Poor tactics and Dundee just got away with it.
Dean: Thoughts on the game are very mixed with us having pretty limited options on bench due to injury. The Dee absolutely dominated first half, having better chances. Simon Murray should finish in first half and it probably would of killed the game! Think Scott Tiffoney is a big miss in this squad, he brings absolute fire.
