DUFCFAN

We’ve just signed Callum Booth from you guys, what like is he? Can’t possibly be any worse than Jamie Robson who we’ve just handed a new 2-year deal to. I dare say Spittal’s not been up to much in his time at Firhill?

No he doesn't, he scored a couple of them in the space of two or three weeks, about 18 months ago and hasn't even come close since. We've not had anyone that could be described as packing a great free kick since Barry Robson left us. What's the story with the boy Welsh from you guys? I see he's out of contract and remember him looking pretty decent whenever we've played you, is he gonna be offered a new deal, or is he getting punted?

Hi guys, been a while since I've posted on here. I'm hearing that we're close to signing Stephen O'Donnell. We've just released Mark Wilson, so that may be an indication that we're trying to get him tied up in this transfer window. What can you guys tell me about him? Is he a modern day attacking full back, or is he more defensive minded? Is he any good? Also, Chris Erskine, who last year I came on here and slated, begging you guys to take him back, has been an absolute standout for us this year, what a turnaround in fortunes it's been for him at Tannadice. I suspect his loan spell at Firhill gave him the belief that he could perform at this level. It's amazing what a bit of confidence can do, definite POTY candidate for us, so far.

Got yourselves a very good signing in Prince, was a big part of our cup winning side in 2010 and had a terrific partnership with Jimmy Gomis. Quite surprised that it never worked out for him down south, definitely has the ability to be a decent Championship player. Was a pretty important player for Watford before their Italian owners came in and signed about 20 loan players from the other clubs that they own. I've no doubt whatsoever that he'll be a big success at Firhill and will hopefully help push you's up the table, I'd happily have him back at United if we weren't so stacked in the middle of the park. Hope to see him feature for you tomorrow, He'll definitely get a great reception from our fans, we have a lot of fond memories of The Prince. I remember a game in the run up to our Scottish Cup win, we had Motherwell at home, Paul Dixon got sent off early for a daft challenge, Prince put in one of the best individual performances I've ever seen from a player, he was absolutely magnificent, we won 3-0.

If Paton was disrespectful towards you guys on Twitter then the hate is totally understandable, at the end of the day Thistle plucked him from relative obscurity as an amateur at Queen's Park and gave him the stage to showcase his talents. No need for him to be a chunt once he leaves. I agree that he is a fairly limited player and because of this, won't go much further up the footballing ladder, what he can do though, he does well and most United fans have been pretty happy with his contribution. Think you guys are in a bit of a false position at the moment, signing guys like Taylor and Erskine should only help you push on, from what I've seen you're a better outfit than the likes of Kilmarnock, St. Mirren and Ross County (although we've taken hidings from the latter two in recent weeks, grrr...). It's only a matter of time before you get the rub of the green, hopefully tomorrow night, with a late Erskine winner. PS. Third Lanark, appreciate the kind words, mate.

If he'd shown this side of him early in his time at us, things would have possibly went his way, but we're blessed with a group of attacking players who, when fit, are better than anything in this country, so he has to grasp the opportunity whenever he gets a chance, and he just hasn't done that. The fact that you're all so delighted to have Erskine back shows that he obviously has something. I'm disappointed that it hasn't worked out for him at United and there's obviously no better place for him to get his confidence back than a place where he's held in such high regard. Arabest Chris. On a another note, Paton's been a really solid addition to our squad. Nothing fancy and his left peg is only for standing on, but does what is required of him very well. The fact that he's kept Morgaro Gomis (Who is to us, what Erskine is to you) out of the team, is testament to the job he does for our us. I'm curious to know why Paton get's a bad rap with you guys, he and Erskine both left at the same time and Erskine still has hero status at Firhill, while Paton seems to have been vilified a bit by you guys.

Can't agree more with you on that. It was shameful stuff from some of our support.

I can assure you, I'm most certainly not talking out my arse. There's a reason he's not been able to get a run in the team - anytime he's played, he's been phucking hopeless! He runs 5 yards and as soon as he comes up against a defender, instead of showing a bit of bottle and taking on the defender, he turns around, attempts to play the ball backwards and passes it straight to an opposition player. He refuses to track back, takes no responsibility on the ball, gives the ball away at every opportunity and is slower than a month of Sundays. I don't agree with the fans that get on his back (and it's nowhere near as widespread as you make out) but there is a reason that he gets the stick while guys like GMS, Armstrong etc. don't - because while from time to time, these boys give the ball away, they are generally very productive players and are capable of making things happen for the team. Erskine, on the other hand, loses the ball and does NOTHING productive whenever he get's in the team. I too, am glad he's back where he's loved and would like to be proven wrong when it comes to him, but whenever he's pulled on a United shirt, he's been absolutely Shite!!! As for calling our stadium a shithole, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. That death-trap of a main stand at Firhill is hands down the worst stand at any stadium in this country, an opinion shared by many supporters of many different clubs.

Good to see him going to a club where he's obviously loved, he seems like a decent guy. I'll be honest though, you should tamper your expectations for his return, because he hasn't looked even remotely good enough to play at this level during his time at Tannadice, He's looked far too slow, both physically and mentally, whenever he's played for us. I'll be honest and say he's quite possibly the worst player I've ever seen pull on the Tangerine shirt, and we've had our share of diddies over the years. As I say, really hope this move works well for him, but I'd be pretty surprised if it did.

Haha, sorry, I'll refrain from using Partick from now on. As I say though our fans don't have a problem with you, Most would agree that we should have handled the McNamara situation better than we did, Stephen Thompson is cutting the cloth after years of overspending, so any loophole he could find in terms of compensation he was always gonna take, in general he has done well for our club (More than halving the debt in two years) and has carried on his Father's good work. I do understand your stance on Jackie as I've seen similar situations happen all too often at my club but he is our manager now so for that I have to back him. In terms of finishing above us, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, although I do think you have a good season ahead of you, as you look like you play the "proper way" as Jackie puts it, unlike they hammer throwers you beat at the weekend.

I really couldn't say, I haven't seen enough of your players to really make an informed decision on this. Both your full backs looked good against us and we are light at centre half, so possibly Balatoni. In terms of players you could have from us, I'd maybe go with Michael Gardyne, he's a decent player who's never been given a chance in his proper position (Behind the striker). Houston played 442 and used Midge either up front or on the right hand side, he was pretty ineffective but has never had an extended run of games to show what he's worth. The formation Jackie plays now is possibly better suited to him but he appears to be so far down the pecking order that I can see him leaving before the end of the month. He'd certainly enhance most SPL teams as he definitely has the required quality but it just hasn't worked out for him at United. With the greatest respect to you, as long as we get our act together we will finish ahead of Partick and in the top 4 at least. Guys like GMS, Armstrong, Goodie, Gunning are still top drawer SPL players. I saw some were saying GMS is just a show pony, this isn't true whatsoever, GMS on his game is unplayable, the things he can do are ridiculous, he could easily play for any lower end (English) Premier League/ Upper Championship side, he is slightly more wary now due to some of the assaults that guys like Richie Foran put in on him on a regular basis, he is truely head and shoulders above 99% of this league on his game. Stuart Armstrong is sheer class and will excel at a higher level in a a year or two, he's a similar type of player to Steven Gerrard, obviously I'm not saying he's on his level but in terms of their style of play, he's had a drop in form recently but he just lost his Mum earlier this year, the maturity he's shown for a 21 year old is incredible (He put in a MOTM performance against Sevco the day after her funeral). Goodie will score plenty once he gets his first out of the way, he's a greedy barsteward and has been snatching at chances a bit but he'll get back to his usual self, soon enough.

I'm not on the wind up here at all, but you're wrong, Mark Kerr is a pathetic excuse for a footballer. The fact that the fans of a very poor Dundee side say the same should be enough evidence of that. Give him 15-20 games and you'll see what I mean. I've never seen someone so incapable of the basics. Headless chicken is the phrase that comes to mind and not in a good sense. He will make stupid mistakes that'll cost you points this season, of that I have no doubt. "Bottler" would be a polite way of describing him.

I sincerely hope that Kerr isn't far better than Paton, if he is we are in real trouble. Mark Kerr is absolute murder, as fans of all of his previous clubs will attest to. There is a reason he is almost unanimously despised by The Sheep, The Fun and ourselves. He is absolutely one of the most clueless panic merchants to ever pull on a jersey at Tannadice, cannot do the basics whatsoever. I was genuinely surprised when you took a punt on him this summer as he is dire in every sense of the word.

I like what you all have to say about Erskine, but he really needs to show some quality, quickly, our fans won't show him the patience he got with Partick, you obviously knew he had that bit of magic to him whereas he's an unknown quantity to most of our support so may be written off quickly. What is his best position though? Behind the striker? Left winger? Regarding Jackie, I'll give him his due in that he certainly hasn't shown much of an ego yet, he seem's fairly modest and humble in his interviews, worried that he only talks a good game though.

Houston's time with us had simply run it's course. Houstie done a lot for us and I'll always be grateful for that but he completely lost interest by the end, Hardly ever took training, lost the dressing room and his relationship with Stephen Thompson was sour to say the least, all parties need a change. Houston's biggest problem was his ego and it got the better of him in the end, he expected to waltz into a job down south and is now spending his Saturday's doing commentary for the 'tic games on sportsound. Can't honestly say I've seen enough of Paton so far to comment, looked tidy enough in pre-season though.