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I don’t think it’s any surprise that one of them very likely had a first name of Ian as well 😂

Thats my fear as well- that he only knows players at the English lower leagues and we have a similar situation to concentrating down south similar to Dunfermline and Falkirk under Hartley several years ago. But who knows I’m merely speculating. NI could be interesting - I can’t remember if that’s where Kevin Holt Don Thomas and Callum Morrison moved too and others who had done okay up here before.

Interesting appointment. You cannot look at his Management record to compare with his Sporting Director role so as others have said. Clean slate. Experience inside and outside Scottish football. Let's see who the next manager is now! (I'm always interested to know who just missed out.)

Wouldn't know him if I bumped into him on Firhill Rd. What does a Sporting Director actually do. Couldn't name one from any club.

His experience with Northern Ireland teams, especially their U21s, should be of benefit. Of all the home nations NI have had to scour the leagues more than others to find players. That process alone should be of value.

On the plus side someone with no previous ties with the club so hopefully able to bring a fresh perspective. Downside his own managerial record is patchy at best and we don't really know his abilities as a Sporting Directors as he has only had 2 months in a similar role. However now he is in the building so I wish him well and I take it that his attention turns to who the new head coach is and recruitment for next season. I do have a slight fear that his recruitment will see more lower English league players come and we haven't had huge success with that. Perhaps his experience in Ireland might mean he has some good contacts and able to unearth some talent but again we have had limited success in that area. If he is looking at players from outside of Scotland then perhaps that requires a different type of Head Coach and maybe not someone that has spent most of their career in the Scottish Leagues?

Good luck to him. His CV of management in Scotland,England and International look to be as good as anything we could expect. I hope the role pans out as expected

High priority in the summer will be to replace Martin. Problematic getting a quality player on a one year contract, so likely a loan deal. One for Ian Baraclough to get started with.

Gotta admit I was ill informed myself https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/20/590x/1986062_1.jpg

No strong views either way, apart from being pleased to have a new face without previous Thistle connections. Glad to give him the benefit of a clean slate and wishing him all the best in his new responsibilities and challenges.

Can't help but have my initial reaction being underwhelmed but all the best to him.

Barraclough is not his mate sadly a piece of nonsense from an ill informed fan…. lets hope he is a success

Yeah, I noticed that. Good luck to him anyway.

Says in the article that he met him for the first time during the application process.

Nepotism at every turn. Just when you think you have got rid of the old boys, a brand new bunch of pals turn up.

Levi's pal? 🤔😉

Looks like it https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/partick-thistle-welcome-ian-baraclough-as-their-sporting-director/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJgb2VleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHqRhF7QM68ydXPpKx5HGC7IFY4DxLQf8fx5k_dSJJbRLADjVrBgM2Mk2u5Cd_aem_hi1M49d29VTaSTFgOL5Utw

James Cairney (Herald Thistle writer) saying it could be an interesting day at Firhill today... 👀

The season is no more over after that result than it was before it. If anything, it is more on with Raith now only 3 points behind us. We still want to get 4th place even if it is just for the extra prize money. It looked like we had a functioning midfield just before Martin got injured.

True but it’s complicated when you’re: 1) Trying to gauge when the inevitable age-related decline happens. 2) Trying to find a long-term successor (potentially Diack) willing to sit the bench until that decline happens.

Some might say that Graham is still in such good shape because he only plays half of every game; the other half he spends sitting on his erse with his hand up claiming for a foul. Needless to add: no foul took place. Having said that, I'd like to have him around as a player for a while yet!

Digressing somewhat but wonder when was last time Ugly Sisters, us, Queens Park and Clyde all lost in same weekend? I blame the new Glasgow Cup format. 😁

Strange how people are ok to lose the joint top scorer in the league for next season. The man is an athlete. Looks better than a lot of players half his age.

Graham and Wilson have done well enough, yesterday was always going to be quite tricky given the dry pitch and the upturn in Airdrie's performances. I think if they guide us in to the playoffs and the unthinkable happens (we go up) then they have obviously done more than enough to get the gig full time. However, with the squad at their disposal, playoffs should have been the minimum we achieved this year. I'd be inclined to look elsewhere for a new manager. I would imagine that would mean Graham not sticking around but I can't say I'd be too worried about that, another year is probably too far for him as a player any way.

McCabe is only 32 years old, so could have several years left of playing at a relatively high level. The Sporting Director dynamic could be well-suited to a Head Coach who is also a player. (I should say that I am not trying to draw any direct parallels with Brian Graham, but in his case, although he has remarkably exceeded all normal player longevity expectations, it is difficult to imagine that he has many more seasons left as a regular player).