Trotter

I’d echo everything Norge said about the now previous BoD & goings on over the past 12 months. I’d also add the training ground fiasco which although hasn’t cost the club any money as such has been an embarrassment to all involved & the name PTFC & McParland are involved in that. However I’m not entirely sure of the potential takeover. From twitter: Barnsley join a growing list of clubs who are organising borrowing from banks & other financial institutions effectively mortgaged on the club assets #Tykes You begin to wonder if we’re jumping from the frying pan to the fire. I guess you could argue with Propco in a way the mortgaging against the assets has already partially taken place. But I’m not convinced about the new consortium & what they can add to PTFC. We’re a mid to bottom half premiership team who have a (very) occasional cup run. At this moment we’re under achieving but if we’re a feeder club where is that going to take us. Are we looking at a Watford type model that we’re full of loan players & a different coach each year? Like I said, frying pan...

Colin Weir is/was a Rangers fan. Duncan Smillie has a ‘box’ at Celtic Park (or did have last season).

With apologies to the poster it was directed to: In our relegation season, Paul McGinn was signed after the budget was spent. I was led to believe that was a deal partly financed by Weir monies. Team building weekends to places like Gleneagles financed by Weir monies. As to where ‘donations’ declared. If it’s coming directly from the Weir’s then my understanding it doesn’t need to be. We’re not bound by a salary cap. In days of old when Rugby Union was amateur, you ought to have seen the amount the Australian groundsman was paid to cut the owner/committee’s grass. Of course, he never tended any grounds but was always available to play at the weekend!!

Not the name I’ve been told & I would trust the person who gave my the name. Shambolic again from the club. Everyone from the Boardroom & chief executive to the multimedia staff & football management team can go come 5pm on Saturday.

He's fit & I guess that helping his confidence also.

We all know there will be free agents available tomorrow. Problem being the ones that are half decent will be looking for £££. We haven't spent all Summer, why tomorrow? Toshney had his registration cancelled by Celtic, he's already in a bidding war between Hibs & Hearts. I'd be more surprised if something happened.

Why don't you start us off? Or are you quite happy with the squad options? Seaborne gets injured we're left with Muirhead & Balatoni. Higginbotham injured.... I dread to think!! Pretty poor from us if that's it. If we were looking at these Sunderland kids then I'd say that's a sign the manager not happy with his squad/ money still available.

We heard that this time last year. Have to say that if we are done it won't surprise me. Disappoint yes, surprise no. We're light in wide areas up top esp I f Higgy gets injured. Also short of another centre half for me. Like I said though, not surprised.

Take it Danny Graham wasn't available? In all seriousness, Ecclestone has played wide on a number of occasions. Maybe him wife with Mandron, if he signs, through middle.

Carroll the surprise for me. & from what I heard a surprise to him as well!! Expected the left back to be one of the trialists in last week or so! Ecclestone though been the panic buy. Genuinely hope I'm wrong but seems to be on a downward spiral & had a few chances to resurrect his career. Let's hope he realises that he's got a big stage to play on & takes the chance...

The manager's thoughts http://bbc.in/1wT3ck3 Players not listening to him apparently. What does get me is the statement that we didn't move the ball enough. Ryan Stevenson up there on his own I'm guessing to hold the ball up so it stands to right that could slow the game down for a start? Also he's not likely to move very far himself. Think we've all sussed that out first few weeks.

Chris Jack

As I said to Andy above, they are the ones holding the purse strings & signing off players. The manager has 3 targets lined up for each position we want to fill. They've been scouted & I'm assuming contact made to find out if they're in our price range. Now, if it's attracting players from down South up here & every single one if them has refused to up sticks & come North I'd be very surprised. Some will certainly but all of them? So why then has the manager missed out on so many? He's done his part of the job.

So by your thinking (& please understand it's not a dig, merely playing devils advocate) we'll go through this every Summer? We can't offer players deals long enough or with enough money therefore they leave us. We can't offer players pre- contracts as we don't know what league we'll be in. Therefore every Summer we'll see a high turnover of players with replacements not being able to be signed until the end of August when we are their last resort/they are our last resort? What happened to 'Together we can build this'? Doesn't sound like we're doing much building if your thinking correct.

Difference being Osbourne had played up here & said about family reasons for wanting to move back South. Quality player as he was last season, I think many are reluctant to take him on due to injuries. The way you put it with Ecclestone you could also say he's up here as a last resort. Young man with no family ties to speak of as far as I'm aware. As I said not knocking him, jury's out. He could be next Billy Mackay for all we know.

Free agents as in coming to the end if their contract & looking for pastures new? Free agents like Paton, Erskine & possibly even ATS himself who 'signed' for other clubs whilst still with us you mean? & just to be clear, once again, this isn't being critical of the manager. The BoD are culpable if they have been unable to bring in the number if players that the manager himself has suggested.

As was pointed out previously, many of us unhappy at the club/BoD. If the manager has identified targets within the price range of which has been set by the BoD & 9/10+ have refused to come to the club then I'd suggest we've either been mugged off by agents or not paying as much as has been promised. We'll never know unless those ITK can shed light on it? I think Carroll has the potential to be a very good signing from what I've read about him. Ecclestone? Well I'll reserve judgement for a while. If we were interested in him at the start of the window then I'm sure we'd have had him in the door before now but again I don't think he was anywhere near the manager's first choice -once Taylor out the running. You're saying about the manager deserving better. Do you not think the fans who were asked to put their hard earned money into the club early by the BoD to get players targeted by the manager in the door early also deserve better?

According to Chris Jack. Jake Carroll on loan from Huddersfield. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Carroll

Think I've seen it mentioned a few times on this thread about it not necessarily being Archibald's fault. Time for BoD to step up & put an extra few quid in the pot? After all I'd imagine they've saved a few quid on wages from start of Summer. I see we've gone from 'three' on Peter & Roughies show last week to a couple today. I'd argue we've only brought 3 in (at the moment) as we've sent the other one out on loan for half the year.

Not saying you take the first person. The 12 months notice period gives plenty of opportunity to head hunt the ideal candidate.

Surely not. I know we were supposedly looking at Gordon last season but to swap a CH, however poor he's been in recent times, for a full back when we're so short of numbers there...

I noticed something on twitter a while back which was a very good analogy. You're the owner of a company & the managing director is a single person role. The person has given you 12 months notice that he'll be leaving giving you plenty opportunity to find their replacement. If you haven't done so then you're being negligent to say the least. Would your shareholders or fellow board members be happy? Put the context into football, Thistle & ATS. Blame game in all walks of life & if we don't get the necessary reinforcements in by Monday then blame has to be apportioned somewhere. We'll wait & see but my money on the trialist being signed.

Can I say that's been my point about Archibald last season. An inability to change things. I know he's still a relative novice in management terms but I think he's more reactive than proactive. It was obvious after 15 minutes that we needed to play balls in behind Canning as he was more than a match physically when Stevensin attempting to hold the ball up. I'm not saying the change should've been made then but nothing happened. Higgy was on top of Keenan for most of first half. Opportunity to change at HT not taken & when subs were made it was Elliot ahead of Doolan. Why not both? Subs always made at 60 mins, 70 mins & 80 mins. I can't remember a double change to try something different since St Mirren this time last year maybe?! Ok, it wasn't the subs that lost us the game but the lack of instructions from the side but he's going to have to be more proactive or same things will continue to occur. Those comments along with 'bad day at the office' attributed to him in the BBC are nothing new. Stevenson, I think most folk agree, was woeful Sarurday but he didn't mince his words in tonight's Evening Times about what happened in last 5 mins of the game. Now maybe the manager does say those things behind closed doors & is reluctant to criticise in public but from the outside looking in its either they're (players) not listening to him or they're not good enough to take on board what's been said previously- in which case the manager should be shipping them out.

Be careful Firhillista, that's a very well thought out & sensible post. You'll have someone come on & call you a knicker-wetter soon.

I can't see us sending Keenan out on loan even if we do get another LB. McMillan seems unable (at the moment) to get a run of games for us without picking up an injury. If we put Keenan out & the new LB gets injured/suspended within a few games & McMillan not back then we're talking about moving one if the CH (likely Seaborne) or even Elliot into FB. If best case scenario happens where a new signing comes in, everyone fit & Keenan finds himself down the pecking order there's always the development squad to keep him match fit until needed. FWIW I think he'll become an important first team player for us this season.