MarciaBlaine

Or Raith suspect he isn't quite good enough for the top flight, and are a lot more confident of getting promoted than we are.

Implication here that we could get Byrne in January if Dundee are looking for a deal https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/dundee-fc/4856032/dundee-raith-rovers-somewhere-else-next-shaun-byrne/

Yeah I agree but as @Dick Dastardly says I'm quibbling based on a question of allocating resources rather than disliking him as a player. I've seen him play better than 3 of the 4 potential number 10s I mentioned in my post, the exception being Robinson - though that was for Killie, not us!

I've often thought Thomas would be a great addition. Having said that, recruiting a number 10 when we have McIntory, Alston, Robinson and Lyon picking up a wage feels like overkill. I'd be happier if we were trimming the squad in that area before recruiting there, or sticking with what we have. If he's signed for the wing, I'd again question the need when we have Lawless and Fitzy who are both better than him imo (though, to reiterate, I do rate him highly). Thomas feels like the right answer to the wrong question.

I can't fathom why Robinson isn't being tried out there more, from the start of games. He was tremendous there for Killie against us not too long ago. Alston blows hot and (very) cold, whereas McInroy, for all his evident talents, drifts through games and has the least urgency I've seen in a player for years.

Yes, all three have left. Loans ended for Williamson and McGinley, McDonald left by mutual consent.

Presumably we were paying little to none of the loanees' wages? Certainly I'd be surprised if we were paying Williamson, McGinley maybe less so. So of the three departures it's only one wage freed but does create gaps for other additions nonetheless.

I'm pleasantly surprised at where we've ended up, given pre-season doom and gloom. I'm also frustrated at where we are, given how good we can be when everything clicks. And I'm realistic about where we are, given the top 2 are demonstrably better than us.

One interesting thing from last night is that we're usually beaten by teams slowing down the pace of the game to something that suits them and stifles our attacking verve. That's certainly a recurring observation I have at Firhill, though I don't go to many away games. In contrast, DU (and Raith before them) were very good at quick concise passing with great movement off the ball to make further passes available. The game was played at their pace, which was too much for us to handle. Which probably is another reliable indicator of us being the third-best team in the league.

Great spot, but club have since tweeted that he's got a knock. (Could be one of those "don't get me injured, I'm about to sign for someone" knocks, right enough!)

Much as I appreciated what Tiff and Turner did for us, I feel re-signing them now would be a bit of a regression towards McCall's 'sweetie shop' approach to signing players - gathering up undeniable talent somewhat indiscriminately and then being left with a quandary on how the hell to play them effectively/not having talent wasting away on the sidelines. Doolan has used the word 'strategic' a fair few times when describing his approach to building and maintaining a squad, so I hope he'll be more strategic than McCall in the player market. We have gaps in our team, particularly left CB and DM, so he's got to plug those gaps first and foremost.

Same starting line up as last week, so Banzo is on the bench again after all.

He had food poisoning

No match thread, so may as well start one. We played them in a televised game this time last year and romped home 5-1 winners. Don't think it will be as easy this time and also don't see it being as free-flowing a game. A tight Thistle win would certainly be the upper end of my expectations. No absence worries besides Ngwenya. Suspect Bannigan will come back in - Doolan doesn't often tend to drop players due to form, but will usually bring trusted senior players back in after an injury spell. Of the midfield 3, I hope Stanway for one keeps his place. Pushing McInroy further up and benching Alston?

He comes across well here. A genuineness about his fandom and seems to have an achievable, long-term vision.

Agree with this and others who note our need for a defensive midfielder. However, as folk have said, Neilson could play there, and Muirhead has in the past. Williams may also be a shout as mentioned in another thread. The issue is that all three are CBs, and right-sided ones at that. So imo bringing in a first choice left-sided CB frees us up to try out other options in the midfield, therefore if we prioritise that position first, it gives us breathing space and shores up the defence anyway. (An Abdul Osman type would still be gratefully received too, of course.)

I'm guessing as well that the international break followed by a weekend for the SFA's cup competition means the SPFL are in no rush to do all the paperwork regarding suspensions. Though the potential for violent conduct reds leading to an immediate ban, as @partickthedog says, might counter that idea?

How long is Graham suspended for? If it was a yellow during the game plus a straight red after being subbed plus another yellow for celebrating our goal after he was sent off, does that equal 2 reds and a significant ban?

Suspect Doolan was being a little coy with his injury updates. I'm expecting another one or two to be unavailable. Would also like to see Lyon playing in a 3 with Stanway and McInroy sitting deeper. The latter should never play on the wing again after QP but has a lot more threat when central.

Will the usual streaming restrictions apply within the UK or is that only for Saturday games?

To echo others, DU were pretty average and we didn't make them work hard for any of their goals. The differences were their press and their energy without the ball (though strangely they didn't have the same energy in possession), and our dithering when we had the ball - time and again players were letting it bounce or taking their time instead of meeting it. McInroy the biggest culprit for me, though Ngwenya, Bannigan, Milne and others also guilty. Fitzy looked our biggest threat despite being man-marked, so he was a loss. We had absolutely no width, hence no zippy crosses into the box. Goodwin clearly saw that you nullify that and you stop us playing. Notable that when Lawless got up the park, Ngenya was consistently behind him as opposed to McMillan who would be bombing up in support. Have to say Stanway should come in for Bannigan. Our midfield was empty today. And the comparison in quality between their CBs and ours was night and day.

This, more than any of the specific issues, is what is getting to me. Liberally washing our dirty skants on bloody Facebook makes us look completely tinpot.

Yep. It’s not an argument against fan ownership. But it’s a pretty convincing argument against the petty squabbles of rich men.

That’s just a tweet promoting it. It’s a Herald thing - the link points here https://www.heraldscotland.com/newsletters/sport/2606/ (you need to look for the OTIG ‘tile’ on that page to sign up)

There was always a cracking ‘warts and all’ book to be written about the Jacqui Low/PTFC Trust/fan ownership saga. I like to think that somewhere out there is a grizzled journo looking forlornly at their just-finished manuscript and pouring themselves a large one…