Jag

John Buckley and Andy Dunlop.

The problem is, the manager is clearly unable to get the best out of Fitzpatrick. He has neither improved the way the player approaches games nor the way he plays on the park. If he can't get the best out of him the only way to deal with it is to drop him - and he doesn't have the balls to do that. As long as Fitzy gets away with it, he will continue the same way. I never have a problem with a player if they are not good enough but give everything they possibly can on the park. Ability doesn't come to everybody but anybody can improve fitness and effort. As I said before, there is a reason that Fitzpatrick is playing for a mid table Championship team. His ability and pace should have him playing at a higher level but his lack of desire and work ethic - along with Doolan's inability to influence him - is costing him a better career in the game.

I said the other day, I believe that this match will show us how far we have come. Morton aren't great but Cappielow is a horrible ground to go to and they really don't like us - so they will be up for it. I think it will be tight and expect a good few bookings. Need 3 points here to keep the momentum going. Remember a brolly. Or a poly bag for a hat. Why do people never wear poly bag hats anymore?

David Byrne?

That's very sharp growth. I know, over time, Kids Go Free has had a more than significant effect on this, but that hasn't been the only contributing factor. I'm aware the club have actively promoting through schools and unis etc but again, it can't all be freebies. It's definitely the case that more youngsters are turning up but I think the environment in the John Lambie has helped with this, rather than all being down to letting kids in for nothing. The play offs, and the atmosphere created at them, has helped. I Know a lot of adults have moved in there too. We now have over 3000 season ticket holders - again with a lot of kids - but this is way up on where we were a few years ago. After seeing attendances of over 4000 in our first two home fixtures this season, I was disappointed that our results were poor and it home numbers dipped slightly but they've been pretty steady since. To put this in perspective, in our Friday night play off match against Inverness CT in May 2022, the crowd was less than 3000. Now we are getting over 4k vs Queens Park. Whatever it is, long may it continue. Apart from helping the club financially, it is a much more enjoyable atmosphere at Firhill these days.

Good point. Like Mo Johnston and Celtic? 😄

This is something I can never understand. We train on a synthetic surface most days yet we seem to struggle a lot when playing matches on it. I can get that we prefer grass but our record on plastic over the years is terrible.

Attendance on Saturday 3845, which was 1242 more than the corresponding match from September 2012.

Yes, assists are important - and that pass for Robinson on Saturday was his first of the season. I'm probably down on the manager more than the player for constantly playing him, when his form hasn't been good enough. Probably not Fitzy's faulty because he gets away with it, as he continues to play most minutes of most games. The same can be said for last season when being taken out the team for a spell would have probably done him a lot of good. However, we didn't really have an alternative. As Jagfox rightly pointed out when talking about Logan Chalmers, sometimes a player needs a wake up call. Jagfox also mentioned that BG had to have a word with Fitzy after the 4th goal on Saturday to gee him up. Clearly he recognised the player wasn't pulling his weight. Three times in a ten minute period in the first half on Saturday he had his hand up, apologising to his team mates for not tracking back. Nobody notices though, as nothing came of it. He has an abundance of pace and skill, but has a really poor attitude and lacks effort. Anybody that says Fitzpatrick is trying his best is delusional. That starts away from the pitch and he looks unfit and overweight - and that leads to laziness. On his day, he is a fantastic player and is a real threat to the opposition but do we see it often enough? Others have mentioned that defenders often double up on him, as they see him as the danger - and I get that - but I still think we don't get enough from him, for the ability he has. I think if Fitzy really applied himself, he could be playing at a higher level. But he doesn't. That is the reason he failed at Norwich and that's the reason he is playing in the Scottish Championship. However, as I say, it's Doolan that keeps picking him. I'd like to see him get more out of the player and give him the kick up the arse I think he needs. Fair point about Brian Graham and one I was making earlier this season. Out with scoring goals, BG rarely does too much of note (with the ball) in a match. When he is scoring goals everything is fine but, when the goals dry up - as they did earlier this season, his overall play gets scrutinised.. I'm not his biggest fan but I know what else he can bring to the team, even when not scoring goals. One thing Brian Graham can never be accused of is lack of effort. Before the happy clappers come out to reply, I was delighted with our performance on Saturday - it was easily the best of the campaign and it was great to go home happy. We are going in the right direction and recent results mean we are not too far adrift to mount a challenge. I believe we have the best squad in the league, but it's up to the manager to get the best out of them for the rest of the season. I'm still not convinced he can, but will be more than happy to be proved wrong.

Agree with this. He's definitely had a wake up call. I think most of us knew his capabilities and were excited by his signing, he just didn't hit the ground running.

We now have four of our five wingers available. The improvement in form of Chalmers is very possibly down to Stevie Lawless being back, and him having to up his game. Interested to see how it pans out as they both fight for that spot. Would love to see Chalmers on the left and Stevie on the right but clearly Doolan is never going to drop Fitzpatrick, while playing that formation. Hope McKay is back soon.

I don't think people realise what Crawford brings to the team. Very good again yesterday.

At last we had a convincing victory to enjoy. Good performance, great result and could have been more. Dominant display, out with the last ten minutes of first half. 19 shots on goal, which far exceeds any 90 minutes this season by far. Good to go home happy. Thankfully the shambolic goal we lost didn't cost us. Roberts was again great throughout the game, but didn't cover himself in glory here. However, it was a poor pass by O'Reilly and, in turn, he should never have been receiving the ball from the attacking position we were in. We looked a danger from just about every set piece, deliveries from Turner and Chalmers much improved. Our pressing was fantastic as well, intensity was a lot higher than it has been in recent weeks. We recovered the ball well all game. All goals, especially Graham's two, were well taken and Logan Chalmers deserved his for the effort he put in. Difficult not to give MOTM to a forward player - given there were two doubles - but Lee Ashcroft was absolutely outstanding. A flawless performance that deserves more credit. Banzo and Robbie Crawford were strong and Kyle Turner was more of a threat going forward at RB than anything we've seen since Jack McMillan left. I would have preferred getting subs on earlier. If you're not going to give guys a decent run out when you're 5-1 up and cruising, when are you going to? Two assists from Fitzpatrick but the less said about the rest of his performance - especially off the ball - the better. Big test next week at Cappielow that I think will tell us how far we have come. I said earlier in the season that I didn't think we were capable of going on a winning run that would see us challenge at the top but four out of the last five and unbeaten in seven is great form, on paper at least. The last two weeks have seen much improved performances and fans will now be more optimistic of our chances. Especially if we go to Greenock and win.

Rumours of Megwa being out are true then?

I think Crawford would be the fans choice to miss out but I get the feeling Dools has not been too happy with Turner's recent form. He's taken him off every game of late, with him making way before Crawford in the last two. Just a hunch and I'll probably be wrong! However, 99% sure it will be one of them that makes way for Fitzpatrick.