Tom Hosie

About 2:30pm. My first internet/computer led temper tantrum.

Bannigan despite his slight build is a tough player. One of the things that impressed me down at Largs last week when it was men v boys was the way Bannigan stood up to the physical side of it and at one point in the second half the tackles were flying in. Becoming physically stronger though is part of developing as a footballer. The manager talked about this back at the start of the month with reference to the importance of the dual role that Donnelly and McNamara will have at the Club. “It’s not enough just to have ability. It’s as much about lifestyle as it is about talent. Simon and Jackie will coach the boys really well but they will also lead by example when it comes to looking after themselves in terms of diet. The training that the young boys will get will be really quite intensive with two sessions a day at the start of the week and we aim to develop them not just as players but physically as well.” Ian McCall Official Site - July 1st

Chuffed to hear Graeme scored a hat-trick. Good lad with a good attitude hope he, and Ricky, continue to do well at QP.

About 2004. We should be optimistic about the quality of player coming through the youth system but equally we need to be careful not to burden them with expectation. They've all got a lot to learn about being first team footballers and physically some need to get a bit stronger. The signs are encouraging though. Okay they might not all have featured had we not about half a dozen players missing yesterday but 4 from last season's under 19 team in the 16 yesterday is got to be the cause of some positivity.

MacBeth two first team starts. Burns yet to start a first team fixture. Bannigan 18 minutes of first team football. The Adam Spark chap is right when he says we need to be careful not to build them up too much but getting "frustrated" with these three players when they have played so little first team football (less than 20 minutes for Bannigan) at the stage in their careers when they are still very much developing as players seems a bit unfair.

He got an ice pick, that made his ears burn.

And the pre-season matches are at an end for another season. Thank 'naughty word' for that!

Swine. Beat me to the Corcoran quip! :-)

Not a big betting man but I'm surprised that you can get a punt on a friendly match given that the teams can be at different stages of preparation and have different sets of objectives in terms of what they want to take out of the game.

If it is the case and it is subject to approval at the AGM (a formality I would have thought but would make me more comfortable about it) then it might be worth re-wording slightly the article on the JT website and the JT article for inclusion in Saturday's programme. You would need to be quick re the programme though.

Ironically, especially given the effort expended in getting the JT to follow the rules and regulations it is bound by, by becoming an Industrial and Provident Society the Trust has become, IMO, actually less representative for the Thistle support. At the time of the formation of the Jags Trust the intention was have representation from as many fan groups as possible. Not just from each affiliated branch of the Supporters’ Association but from groups like the old 800 Club, Junior Jags, season ticket holders etc. In practical terms I would imagine that would be very difficult to do (in reality I doubt the composition of the Jags Trust committee ever had representation from that kind of cross section of fans’ groups) but it has to be better that the present perception, an unfair one in my opinion, of the Jags Trust being dominated by a cabal from one Supporters Branch. It might be worth, therefore, the Jags Trust Board to consider co-opting people onto the JTB from groups or areas that they feel are presently unrepresented. One final word. It’s no fault of the individual, who I’m sure is very capable indeed of filling the position, that has stepped forward and it is no fault of the Jags Trust Board but I feel very uncomfortable that the Jags Trust prospective Board Rep hasn’t been elected to that position. Could it have been put to a vote at the Jags Trust AGM?

Sponsor that match? Programme advertising (though they aren't short in that respect at the moment), trackside advertising, tannoy announcements etc and a real chance to try and increase awareness the Jags Trust.

I never know what the 'correct' process re naming trialists should be. My confusion is reflected in the way the line up is given. Better to simply always give the name trialist no matter how obvious it is who the player is? Kind of think if everyone knows who they are then providing a name is fine. It is faiirly well documented that Halliwell and Flannigan are with us pre-season. If it isn't common knowledge who the player is I prefer to just use trialist (as was the case initially with Flannigan)and wouldn't give a name without the express permission of the manager. Didn't get the chance to ask about the centre back today as the manager was rushing off to the Morton game.

He only really played CB for the latter stages of the QP game mainly I would have thought to allow McGeough a run at RB.

Is this the thing that has been doing the e-mail rounds today? If so: "Alex was born into a working-class family in Liverpool. She and her two brothers - Neil, 29, and Tom, 21 - were raised by her mum, Kim"

That's an interesting concept. Would the answer to every question be 1,690.

No. No. No. I’ve reservations about that suggestion on so many levels. It works in tennis where there is a natural break between points in any case. It worked in cricket when they had the ‘review’ experiment. Again that is a sport with a natural break. Football, however, doesn’t lend itself to that in the same way. For one who appeals and to whom? You say the captain. What if the captain is, for example, the goalkeeper and the incident under appeal happens at the other end of the park? Is he in the position to make an appeal? How does he do so and to who? Should it be the responsibility of the manager? Does he appeal to the referee or fourth official? How does the message get relayed? How quickly can it be done especially if the manager, as in the case on Sunday, doesn’t immediately realise the goal hasn’t been given? It’s also, I feel, open to abuse. Let’s revisit Sunday’s game. Lampard has his shot, it strikes the underside of the bar but clearly DOESN’T cross the line. Germany quickly clear the ball and within a second or two the ball is at the other end and it is one on one with the keeper. An appeal could be used simply to halt play. Where would the game restart from in any case? Best stick to what we have. Games are often decided on human error in any case. Sure it hurts like hell if you are on the wrong end of a bad call but the fallibility of match officials is as much part of football as the fallibility of players.

Wednesday.

How many theme tunes to World War Two films did you hear being 'sung'? I heard the Dambusters and the Great Escape.

I really like the look of their new website. Found the old helpful but this looks even better.

Gordon Wylde of Kilmarnock. Without checking, I think Abercormbie lingered around until the end of the season and played a handful of matches. He and Brian Gallagher were John Lambie's first signings as Thistle manager.

Alloa, briefly, after leaving Firhill.

How far do you have to go back to be considered an older poster? Paxton was the late(ish) 80s. That dosn't mame me an older poster does it? :-)

Which I hope involves an election or some clear choice for the JT membership to make. In the meantime, and more importantly right now, best wishes Kieron. The animals gain is most surely Thistle's and the Jags Trust's loss.

Manager in all but name during that period. Hadn't heard that news.