Armand2

It must just be the natural pessimist in me but I'm not forseeing a cricket score nor an extremely comfortable result. I think there is a lot of potential for a slip-up tomorrow. Our terrible away form combined with Culter's habit of winning, scoring bag-full's in the process, doesn't fill me with optimism despite their lowly status. If our players turn up there with a billy-big-time attitude (which I think is entirely possible with some players), it could be a long and embarrassing afternoon. I agree with adopting a 4-4-2 and I would refrain from starting any younger players, apart from perhaps Bannigan who has been a stand-out in the Reserve games I've seen recently. I'd go with Fox, Paton, Balatoni, Archie and Sinclair at the back; Erskine and O'Donnell/Elliot on the wings; Cairney and Rowson in the middle; Stewart and Dools up top. Here's hoping my pessimism is misplaced and we stick a few past them...

That is just nonsense. I never realised having an opinion was dependent on having footballing ability. I happen to think the OP is being a tad harsh on Paton but I agree wholeheartedly that his total lack of capability with his left foot is embarrassing. Paton is paid to be a professional footballer, the OP is not, so drawing any comparison on their respective footballing abilities is totally irrelevant. I'm nowhere near being a professional footballer but I can use both feet. If I had every day to work on improving it, I'd certainly be more comfortable on my left foot than Paton is.

I recall Stevo got his knickers in a twist when I referred to Fraser as "over enthusiastic" after a Reserve match. Touchy. Back to the present, I see no point whatsoever in Fraser being out on loan at Stenny when he isn't playing and often isn't even on the bench. One of the stipulations in any loan deal for our players should be that they are guaranteed playing time; otherwise, what is the point? If Stenny can't guarantee that, recall him and offer him to Third Division teams. I think there is a bit of friction between Fraser and Jackie for some reason. Why? I do not know. As for Burns, he's not good enough for us, unfortunately. Scoring goals for Clydebank against Marvin Andrews who couldn't bloody run 10 years ago with two good knees is one thing, and he might be a good finisher, but a strong wind will still blow him over. To be fair, he's filled out slightly but still gets brushed off the ball with ease. As for other players I'd like to see out on loan would be Colin Stevenson and Jamie Campbell. I think Campbell can feel hard done by not to be featuring more often in the first team but a loan spell in the Second will do him good. Stevenson needs game-time at any level.

I think it's a wee bit harsh on Paton. He's limited, that is without doubt, but I think he is a decent enough player at this level. His one-footedness has been a gripe of mine since he signed and I would have expected him to have improved that by now. I know, as do the majority of people who have watched him, exactly what he is going to do so I suspect our opponents have latched onto that too. I said a while back that I thought Paton would make a better right midfielder than full back and I stick by that. I think we could actually build a decent threat down the right side if we were to play O'Donnell at full back and Paton at right midfield. His habit of swinging his left arm out and then cutting inside would work slightly better further up the pitch and would allow O'Donnell to overlap outside. As for comments about him "sneering at the crowd", bloody grow up. Within reason, a paying spectator is allowed to hurl whatever criticism they please at the players but "sneering at the crowd" is vindication for believing Paton should be on his way out? That is one thing that I absolutely detest about football fans, in general. They feel it's fair game to abuse players for ninety minutes yet any retort is met with sheer indignation that he had the audacity to respond. I will always remember a well-known gentleman around Firhill protesting to a Queen of the South steward to have Neil Scally reported to the police for gesturing to the fans after a bit of a touchline stramash. F*cking embarrassing.

I don't know whether the average age of a forum poster has decreased or there has been an abrogation of all common sense and perspective but it appears the fickleness of Thisle fans has rocketed this season. I mean, the fact there was even a post suggesting Jackie may be in line for the Celtic job is indicative of sheer lunacy and a total lack of realism amongst some of our fans. Yes, it was a frustrating affair on Saturday but if you havent't grown to expect that from a match involving out Highland friends then you obviously haven't seen many of our fixtures with them over the last few seasons. They are well organised and very hard to break down; like many others, I consider Derek Adams a grade-A tosspot but he knows how to make his team hard to beat. They have an uncanny knack of forcing us to play their game and we, nine times out of ten, usually oblige. If people were attending the game on Saturday with the hope of another Morton-esque hiding, that optimism was about as misplaced as the majority of our passes. A few of our important players were outshone, largely due to the workmanlike perfomance from County; they pressured us in the wide areas and let us play in front of them in the middle, resulting in a number of punts forward with which Boyd and Munro dealt with ease. If a team stops our width, they stop us full stop. But to lambast individual players is a bit harsh in my opinion; the team as a whole didn't perform and, as some have already pointed out, that is symptomatic of a young squad and you can rest assured that it will happen again unfortunately. That said, Balatoni and Archie both had decent games; the fact McMenamin, bar his clean-through chance, and Gardyne were both very quiet exemplifies this. Scully had a very good game; great block from McMenamin, Schmeichel-esque. So, merchants of doom, simmer down. We were playing, in my opinion, the eventual league winners, a team that, irrelevant of what that twat Adams says, has the biggest budget in the division and who possess players of great experience. We were outfoxed, it happens and it'll happen again.

We should just allow the media to think Sekhon did play at Dundee because that's the closest he'll ever get to the first team. Sorry to be so harsh but that boy is never a footballer.

I'm delighted Scully came through the game with, by all accounts, flying colours. I've seen him play on a number of occasions and, to be honest, each time I've been left unconvinced and questioned what Hinchy saw in order to rate him so highly. His shot-stopping was always pretty decent but his kicking and cross-balls were often of heart-in-mouth quality. Undoubtedly his performance on Saturday will give him great confidence and, as a goalkeeper, that's one of the most important factors in their game. For that reason, I'd be tempted to continue with him in goals against Ross County in order for us to get the most out of him when he's on this high. Add to that that Fox has been ropey at times this season and I reckon Scully deserves a chance. I still rate Fox highly although I've never agreed with the notion that he's the best in the league. Last season, his performances were impeccable; whenever a cross came into the box, it was like he had magnets in his gloves. I'm not sure what has changed this season but he just doesn't look as assured as he did last year, his notable howlers against Hamilton and Queen of the South for example. I think a few games on the sidelines will do Fox good and I look forward to seeing him back to his best soon.

An entertaining game that the referee did his best to ruin. Overall, I thought a draw was a fair result. I was quite impressed with both teams performances and, if the silly mistakes can be eradicated, I reckon both teams will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. Jackie’s substitution of O’Donnell and Doolan nearly cost us a point but thankfully we got that wee bit of luck that has often deserted us previously this season. O’Donnell was impressive again and his strong running was causing Falkirk a few problems down their left side, so much so that they had to make a change and take Scobbie off because he was getting a roasting. Once they moved the big lad Wallace, I think, from centre-half out to left back, O’Donnell was making less of an impact and this contributed to him being subbed, in my opinion. Today was the first time I’ve seen Kyle Hutton in a Thistle jersey and he was a cut above anything on the pitch and thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award. The announcement went largely unobserved and, around about me anyway, was met with slight murmurs of discontent - anyone who thought there was a more deserving candidate must have been watching a different game to me. He was always available for a pass and his passing range was excellent, hardly wasted the ball all afternoon. One thing that worries me is that he is only here until December and he has become an integral part of out team – when he goes, I suspect we are going to miss him dearly. In my opinion, if we had an able deputy, Fox would have been dropped already. I’m not going to blame him for the second goal as it was very well taken but his positioning must be called into question. Any goalkeeper who concedes a free kick to the side of the goal he is covering is always going to come under scrutiny. On my Christmas list would be a new centre-half and a one-way ticket to Belfast for Tommy Stewart.

Boab?

The obvious one would be Charnley; should have played at a much higher level than he ever did. Also, if he wasn't a bloody imbecile, Adam Strachan.

Can't agree with your point on McCarthy; he was 16 when he played against us and I think it was pretty clear even then that he was special. He ran off the back of players better than I've seen anyone do it since and, for one so young, he was very composed on the ball, rarely wasted possession and was able to see, and execute, passes that others at this level are incapable of. I agree that MacArthur was equally impressive, albeit with different qualities; less showy, very good ball winner. Don't think it's fair to include Neil in the comparison as he is 10 years older than McCarthy, 7 older than MacArthur and had played at a decent level in England. Easton was a cracking big player aswell, marauding full back like Kirk Broadfoot in his St Mirren days. I see he's getting a chance at Burnley now. Very much agree with your suggestion that the fees paid at this level are usually more reflective of potential rather than actual ability at that moment in time. That being said, even if he plays out of his skin until January or whenever, I can't see us getting much more than £100k for Sinclair. Hope I'm wrong. (I realise I've went off on a babble; apologies for that).

Should, and emphasis on should, be a good signing. He's played very much a holding role whenever he has played for Rangers and that role is significantly easier when you have decent players around you. I hope we don't expect him to become our saviour in the same way that we seem to expect Darren Fletcher to excel when playing for Scotland. That being said, he didn't look out of place when he played against Man United and I'm looking forward to seeing him in a Jags shirt. With regards to John Fleck, I've watched him on a few occasions and his best position, by far, is centre midfield. Two of my friends have played against him in Reserve and Youth team games, and both said that he was virtually unplayable when he played in the middle of the park. Now, I've got no idea if we are actually interested in Fleck but I would imagine we would have a decent chance of getting him with Hutton here. They could be Rangers midfield pairing in the future and having them playing together at a competitive level would only benefit them.

I was saying on the Queen of the South "Just In" thread that I have yet to see the fuss surrounding Sinclair as I missed the beginning of the season where, by all accounts, he was outstanding. Don't get me wrong, I like him but, from my perspective, he's still got a lot to work on at this level such as gaining the fitness to be able to hit the byline regularly and improving his positioning as I think he relies on his pace to get him out a lot of situations. £100k would be nice and we could go after the guy we originally wanted to fill the left back vacancy, Barry Russell at Albion Rovers.

Not sure if that's still open and, if it is, avoid it at all costs unless you want a pool cue stuck over your head by a group of Possil's finest up and coming talent. Best pubs to drink in pre-match would probably depend on what you're looking for. If it's somewhere to watch the lunchtime Premiership game with a wee bit of chat with fellow Jags then probably Coopers on Great Western Road, which is also good for post-match pintage. If you're looking for a more traditional pre-match venue then probably the Star and Garter would be the best shout. I personally don't mind Munns Vaults but it's probably not the most welcoming pub for visitors, I suppose. Just don't drink in the Aitken Suite unless you want to wait in a big queue to pay over-the-odds for a warm pint of Fosters with nothing on the television other than Midsomer Murders. For your Sunday NFL fix, I'm not the person to ask, to be honest, but I think Campus or Walkabout may show it.

McQuade Signs.

To echo most of the previous posts, that was bloody brutal to watch. We didn't seem to operate in any sort of shape and, as such, were susceptible whenever Queens went forward, in my opinion. Queen's centre halves, Campbell and Higgins, are good in the air but pretty slow on the ground so the logical tactics would have been to get the ball in behind them for the pacier Elliot and Doolan to run onto; however, we decided to punt aimless high balls forward which the defence won with relative ease. As with last week, it's a blatant error from Fox. Only he knows why he felt the need to come that far off his line to claim a largely unthreatening cross. I didn't think he was as shaky as he was last week; his kicking, for example, was much improved. His cross taking was questionable after he lost the goal and, on one occasion, he punched the ball when it was right on top of him with no Queens players around. However, we all know what a good keeper he can be and, as I said last week, if he was capable of keeping up that sort of consistency, he wouldn't be playing at this level. I missed the first couple of games of the season so have yet to see the fuss about Sinclair. Yes, it's apparent that he has potential but, from the games I've seen, he still has a long way to go; talk of him being off at the end of the season to bigger things is extremely premature. He doesn't look 100% fit yet which is understandable coming from part-time football so hopefully once he finds his feet, he'll come onto the game that a lot of people seem to think he is capable of. Going forward, he's decent; doesn't get to the byline enough for me and doesn't overlap often enough but that will hopefully come with more fitness. Defensively, again he's decent and his pace will compensate for any minor mistakes he makes. I read a couple of comments in the last few weeks from people saying they prefer Sinclair to Twaddle or Boyle. Fair enough, everybody is entitled to their opinion but, for me, he's still a good bit behind the two of them. It seems that big Robertson is becoming somewhat of a scapegoat for some people which I think is pretty unfair. He's not a world beater but I think he's competent enough. I agree that he probably doesn't offer enough to play in the middle of the park but I wouldn't mind seeing him play at centre-half on a more regular basis. He has to become a wee bit more aggressive though because he's got the physique to be a big, dominating player. He's only 23 and he's got plenty of time to develop. I don't mind the big guy at all. Cairney is playing well but I tend to think he is wasted on the left. Would rather see him in the middle, getting forward and into goal scoring positions. Flannigan had another decent game today and Rowson was his usual consistent self. Doolan took his goal well, not that he had a lot to do, but he seemed to drift wide a lot. I would have had Elliot off after an hour because he looked burst, and rightly so after not training all week, but he stuck at it and got his reward. He is very direct; once he has the ball, he's going for goal, screw everybody else. That could be a benefit but on a few occasions today, he had options to pass to players in better positions and lost the ball. He's raw but he appears to have the knack of scoring goals so I won't be complaining. Looking forward to seeing him once he has got up to a better level of fitness. Not a great performance but three points is three points. Queens looked ropey, lacking in any sort of creativity and could be in trouble this season. As an aside, one thing that pisses me off about us, and Scottish football in general, is the substitute's routine at half-time. I've been watching football for a long time and have yet to see a situation in a game where four players and the goalkeeper stand in a circle and play keepy-ups. For example, Hamilton had two coaches out at the break last week, one doing drills with the goalkeeper and the other orchestrating a pass-and-move drill with the outfield subs. I just think it would be far more beneficial to have some sort of structure to the warm-up rather than either playing the aforementioned keepy-ups or blootering balls in a straight line to one another. Also, get that useless, attention seeking, keepy-up dobber to feck.

Fair do's. I stand corrected.

Better late than never... I feel we were pretty lucky to escape with a point from the game; Hamilton probably should have been, at the very least, a goal up at half-time. In my opinion, they were very unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Fox poleaxed one of their players, who was subsequently booked for diving. They managed to cut us open regularly in the first half with Imrie orchestrating a few attacks; he played two passes in particular inside Sinclair which we were lucky not to concede from. Balatoni, who looked cumbersome at times, nearly got caught out twice, once in the lead-up to the penalty incident and the other where he waited on the bounce and was beaten to it. The introduction of Elliot gave us a boost. He looks very direct, relatively quick and he took his goal extremely well. Once he scored though, he faded out the game but he's probably still finding his fitness. I thought Fox looked decidedly dodgy throughout the game; his kicking was all over the place and he was nowhere near as assured with cross balls. However, he has been outstanding since signing and, if he kept up that sort of consistency, he wouldn't be playing at this level. Cairney was my Man of the Match and is showing signs of returning to the form of his first season. Harried the opposition well, rarely wasted the ball and tried to get forward. Need him to become more of a goal threat. Talking of goal threats, Rowson was probably our main one on Saturday and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. I questioned the signing of Robertson at first but I think he's a solid enough player. Never a central midfielder in a million years though, in my opinion. Decent centre half as displayed by his performance at Hamilton in the cup. He's a big guy and hopefully we can instill a wee bit more aggression in him; maybe get Maxy down from the office and coach him on being a proper centre-half? I'm not a big fan of Flannigan but I thought he had a decent enough game on Saturday; indeed, I was questioning whether it was actually him when he threw himself into a few 50/50's early in the first half. I don't think there's any question about it - he is a winger. However, we gave him a good few games out wide last year and he didn't do the things one would expect from a winger; try to beat his man, get beyond the full-back, get up on the overlap, etc. Tell Stewart to pack his bags and bugger off on the next ferry from Stranraer. I done a Honved and made a point of watching him for part of the first half and he does nothing, absolutely nothing. His off-the-ball movement is non-existent, he ball-watches and he lacks any sort of intelligence or intuitiveness to be considered a link-up man. I fear we will have to get used to seeing him ponce around though because I suspect he'll be one of Jackie's favourites. We've got something to build on against Queens, who have started just as poorly as us, perhaps even poorer considering we've played three of the teams who are expected to be contending at the end of the season (for what it's worth, I think Hamilton will have the league tied up long before the end of the season). Even though it's only going to be the fourth fixture of the season, I think it's quite a big game and one where we need to get the win.

He does like a wee bit of hyperbolic nonsense but I think Reid is pretty much on the money when he says Imrie was "the best player on the park". He should have been put up in the air early on but, at times, we couldn't even get close enough to kick him. I'd love to see him in a Thistle jersey.

Do Hamilton know something we don't? "However, manager Jackie McNamara has made moves to strengthen his squad this week with the signings of experienced striker Tam McManus as well as Christie Elliot from English side Whitley Bay".

McManus could play as a trialist, as far as I'm aware. If he is still keen to sign and is relatively fit then I'd imagine he will feature. Hope Jackie goes back to a 4-3-3. Even though I'm not his biggest fan, I'd start with Flannigan to give us a bit more attacking impetus from midfield. I'd also have McGrotty on the bench before Burns.

Don't mean to be a party pooper but Jackie says on the website that "Christie started playing wide right in midfield but he was moved up front and scored a lot of goals". Apart from four goals in pre-season against teams Whitley Bay beat 8-0 and 9-1, he has scored two goals. Are we that poor now that TWO goals is considered a lot? Anyway, he's obviously shown up well in the friendly and managed to score a goal. If he is as quick as Jackie says then he should be a good addition but I'll wait and see for myself. It's a big step up from the level he's been playing at.

Grehan was pretty harshly treated by some of us, in my opinion. I don't think he was anywhere near as bad as some people have made out; if he is one of the worst players people have seen, they've either not been watching Thistle for that long or they've had their eyes shut at most games. For what it's worth, I think Grehan was slightly out of his depth at this level but, had we utilised him correctly and gave him a run in the team (which McCall did fleetingly last year and it coincided with two Man of the Match performances against St Johnstone and Queen of the South, not forgetting his display against Falkirk where he set up all three goals), I think he could have done a decent job for us. Yes, he had a bit of a stinker against Hamilton last week but he was no worse than, say, Erskine or Stewart. It's unfortunate that was his last action as a Thistle player. I'll remember the Greek for being a top bloke and not being anywhere near as bad as it's being made out. He'll find another club without a problem as he has a proven record at a lower level and I, for one, wish him the best of luck. Allez ze Greek.

I've still got faith in Jackie; I think to lose that within a couple of games is a tad silly, albeit some of the reasons for doing so, on the face of it, seem reasonable. I think it's perfectly understandable that when a rookie manager loses his opening games, he becomes slightly reluctant to make bold changes to the team. However, I think that is exactly what is needed. I can understand why Jackie tried playing Erskine on the right, having him cut inside on his left foot and get a shot away. But it hasn't worked and persisting with it isn't doing anyone any good. Erskine is at his best when he's able to run at defenders and he can't really do that just now because he's uncomfortable on his right foot. Jackie stated that his preferred formation was a 4-3-3 and, when he set the team up that way against Raith on the last day of the season, we looked pretty good. But we've now reverted to a 4-4-2 and it seems he's perhaps afraid to go with a formation as attacking as a 4-3-3. In this division, you rarely come up against anything other than a 4-4-2 so adopting a different approach might give us an advantage. In my opinion, a more experienced Assistant Manager may have reassured Jackie about a couple of things and gave him a few tactical pointers along the way. I love Sid and think he has a lot to offer as a coach but I question his value as an Assistant and often wonder if he'd be in the position if he weren't best friends with the manager. Some of our patterns of play are good but often lack any sort of threat. I think if we can add a penalty-box striker, an attacking midfielder and revert back to a 4-3-3, we'll see an improvement. I think Jackie just needs to believe in his own ideas and not be afraid to implement them.

Aye, four goals in five games is reflective of a potent strike-force. The bit in bold is evidence that you live in cloud cuckoo land. Not at all. He's scored as many goals this season as our whole team have. I've heard from a few people that he's looked impressive but you're in a better position to comment on his performance yesterday seeing as I wasn't at the game.