fenski

Great performance - everyone played well. Fitz probably deserved motm, but I thought Mcinroy was superb throughout. Might not be that defensive mid we go on about, but he read and broke up play really well. Ngwenya covered the ground really well - could turn out to be a really useful squad player. McDonald looked good when he came on too

Wasn't there today and by the sounds of it, lucky miss. On the goalkeepers, Mitchell is much better at distribution and does at least talk to his defence. Hope to see some changes next week, otherwise it suggests the manager doesn't trust the likes of Williamson and Alston to do a job.

Funny reading the comments on this thread evolve as the game progressed! I'd much rather have a poor first half then turn it around after the break, than the other way around. Logan Chalmers looks a player but no end product tonight, unlike Stevie Lawless. Sneddon was solid and still maturing - only area Mitchell betters him is distribution.

I would likely go to a few St Johnstone games or maybe one of the local junior teams, but don't think I'd ever call myself a supporter.

I'll make the case for Alston - he needs game time because by all accounts he's looked off the pace. Pointless having him in the squad if he's not fit enough to play. Having said that I get the feeling that Dools likes continuity, so might not be that many selection changes.

Couldn't make it today - typical! But pleased and here's hoping the team is starting to gel. The BBC has us playing 433 - was it noticably different formation on the park?

There was a post on p&b that said Mitchell might have a broken wrist.

That's a pretty detailed and specific hypothetical? You're either implying something like this actually happened, or stretching things a bit too far. Anyway... I'm going to hang on to the positivity and togetherness we witnessed at the end of last season, even if current form doesn't merit it. Hope we play well tomorrow and we get a good result to kick start our season.

Doolan mentioned him playing both full back positions, left centre back and midfield.

It looks to me that our manager is not quite so wedded to the idea of an out and out defensive midfielder as this forum is. Time will tell.

Think Lewis Neilson can play right back. Zander, Wasiri and Aero can cover there too. Think that's as good as we're going to get.

Seems to play on either wing so good cover/competition for Fitz and Stevie. Another defender and we'll pretty much have competition for places all over the park, which is the way it should be.

I hope the young guys continue to get opportunities throughout the season. The risk is as the squad fills out that minutes on park will be few and far between.

Lot's to be frustrated about on Saturday, but equally I saw lots of promise with the new players. It's way too soon to be passing judgement on them - give them a chance to bed in, and in William's case get used to Scottish football. Dowds is getting lots of stick, but he was the width of a post away from scoring on Saturday, arguably closer than Graham got.

Too soon for me to watch either Docherty or Holt in a United shirt. I'm sure once I get to know the new Thistle team, I'll get used to it.

Blair Alston signs

I heard Doolan say something about not using up the player budget earlier in window, because that'd mean we wouldn't be able to make signings if/when players become available later on. I guess there's some sort of ripple effect as clubs above us make signings. Also it might become more of a buyer's market later on. Higher risk strategy - we'll only be able to judge if has worked towards the end of the window.

So new CEO announced today. All very efficient.

I think the league cup has been devalued as a competition being played at a time when so few teams have anything near a full squad. I wouldn't be surprised if we're still a few players short until later in August...

I see from the BBC text commentary we've got someone called Ola Williams playing for us...

I find it strange that a customer expect a CEO to respond to individual emails asking questions about a recruitment matter. Am I missing something here?

Trialist might just mean a deal hasn't been done.

Mentioned on P&B, Euan East possibly playing as a trialist this evening.

If our players are fitter and less prone to injury, surely that's a good thing?

Fair enough. On the 2 year deal - no-one knows how that came about for quite a few of the players. Maybe Doolan believes players generally perform better when they have a more settled future, or maybe Doolan wasn't able to offer the same wages, and used the offer of a 2 year contract to soften the blow.