[BaggieSteve]

I am not sure why people keep complaining about Mickey Johnstone not starting, as I posted following the last game, he is suffering with a repetitive strain injury, 'Osteitis pubis', which affects the area above the pubic bone,he has been suffering with it for some weeks and trying to play through it, it causes chronic groin and/or lower abdominal pain. So I think it only fair to stop criticising Ramsay for not starting him, I am sure given a choice he would not even be on the bench.

I'm critical of Ramsey for not selecting Johnston because I think he's one of our best players. He's the only player we have with the ability to beat someone one-on-one.

And I'll remain critical of him, because I don't buy that Johnston is injured...

He came on in the 62nd minute against Stoke and the 60th minute against Blues. That means he's played over an hour of football in 3 days.

I don't think you play that much football if you're injured.

So while it might be true that he's playing through pain or carrying a knock, he's clearly able to play. Therefore, I think he's being selected on the bench for tactical reasons.

I believe that Ramsay is leaving him on the bench in favour of a more defensive option. Although Ramsay hasn't been here long, it's very clear already that he's quite a negative coach.

Let’s hope that the ten days before our next league match allows MJ to fully recover as I assume he won’t play in the Cup on Saturday. If he does pick him, I feel it would kinda demolish the argument that he’s not fit enough to start at present.
As you say, Slick, he is our most creative player and, when fully fit, should be one of the first names on the team sheet.

As an aside, plaudits also for O’Leary last night who has come in for a wee bit of criticism since he joined us. He had a couple of flappy moments last night on crosses but some outstanding saves; for those who remember him, reminds me a bit of Jimmy Cumbes when he first joined us back in the late 1960s… showing my age now ?