eljaggo

Who is Silvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her?

Perhaps it's the perfect opportunity to play the best available 1st team players in their "normal" positions and fill the gaps with Development team players, rather than shoehorn in players to suit. That would possibly improve the performance of 1st team players, and give a confidence boost to the young players brought in. This idea might be total *****.

Given the amount of injured players, maybe the small number of games in November is a blessing in diguise.

Since the OF have dominated Scottish football in terms of results, they must also have been in opponents' penalty area for longer than their opponents were in theirs. Consequently it is inevitable that they will have been awarded more penalties than any other teams. The critical question is, is their share of total penalties awarded greater than their share of oponents' penalty area occupancy by all teams?

Talking about East Fife, I have to confess that I had a colleague George Anderson, who played in the Scottish Cup winning team of 1938/9. He was a lovely man, very modest and had to be coaxed to recount his experiences. I should also add that I played cricket for Irvine with his two sons, so I'm not quite as old and decrepit as you might imagine.

Perhaps not but if the managers there move the ripple effect might mean Archie might move.

A good performance and result to cap a good week. Thank goodness that there is now some stability surrounding the manager after these results. Let's hope that if McInnes takes the SEVCO job (the BBC has him odds on favourite), there is no domino effect among Scottish club managers.

Doolan and Esrkine on the bench.

A surprisingly small number of posts on this thread - maybe a bit foreboding. I thnk that it will be a hard game to win, given St Johnstone's usual negative tactics, so midfield will be critical. Subs should be used to refresh the midfield not the strikers, and we have to play at pace and press sensibly without exposing the back line too much to their long punts. I think Erskine and Spittal should start with Doolan and Storey up front - the last thing we want are big gaps between the midfield and the strikers.

Step forward ....... Gordon Strachan!!!!

Yeah he's really good at running forward. Question was does he have quick feet for tackling?

Great idea for attack, but maybe a tad vulnerable to a quick winger running at Sammon.

A bit surprised that there is no topic for this. I guess the key question is whether we change Saturday's starting 11 to reflect the improvement that the subs made, or stick with the starting 11 and use the early subs again to keep/increase the momentum. I think that another striker from the start would pay dividends.

PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD.

What a difference from last week. Much more movement off the ball in the centre of the park, much faster movement of the ball, plenty of 50:50 balls won, and most of the mistakes made were made when attacking at pace. This win should make a big difference to the confidence of both the team and the management. A good performance at Hamilton on Tuesday - even a well fought draw, will put the dismal performances against Motherwell and Kilmarnock in perspective.

Yep, not a keeper - catch and return.

Yes - a corner turned. That should give some much needed confidence, which I think will re-vitalise the team.

Yea, keep us all in the dark, never mind that the opposition won't exactly be chewin' their bunnets over Bannigan's state of health.

Since the eejits at the SFA obviously cannae add up (botched Cup draw on Saturday), I fully expect them to make an offer to Mourinho at Man U, who is finding it hard to get by on £15m a year, and wants even more spondulaks to persuade him to stay for a little longer.

No one underestimates the manager's difficulties, LenzieJag, and its blindingly obvious that he has limited resources. But the point almost everyone bar you is making, is that Archibald is too rigid in his selection, tactics and substitutions. You seem to be content to let the injuries play out, hope that by that unknown date we are not too far adrift at the bottom of the league and can claw our way up the table and out of trouble. That is not a credible strategy. If I am wrong about your strategy, please tell me what it is.

Try Turnbull and Mccarthy for starters. Barton is not and never will be a midfielder - too slow in thought and deed! Put him back where he belongs.

Are you seriously suggesting that he continues with the present selection/tactics and hopes that the presently injured are not joined by others before Christmas, and that everything will be hunky dory when Santa calls. I don't want Archibald to go, but he has to ring the changes NOW.

Fair point. Maybe next time BowenBoys can spice things up a bit by giving odds for each tie, and calculating each punter's accumulator.

I've supported Thistle for 40 years, and over that period there have been some dreadful spells, much worse than the present one - I can remember playing Alloa at Recreation Park, and the team being so poor that spectators were telling the players what to do, where to pass, and the players (especially the Callaghan brothers) doing as they were told. Archibald has recently benefitted from sentimentality linked to his playing days, but he has also been more successful over a longer period than any manager I can remember. He seems however to be very conservative and cautious - cup ties at Firhill and Tannadice with no striker, and repeatedly slow to bring on subs. To survive, he needs to throw caution to the wind. He needs to bring in fresh, younger faces and recognise that tinkering with the positions of established players will not be enough. He's tried that - it hasn't worked. He has now to be bold and experimental, and that won't come easily to him. It is his only hope.

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