Dick Dastardly

Welcome to Firhill Brice. I hope you have a long and successful career here. It’s an important role you are filling and one we have missed for over a year.

Wow ! Stunned !

Another whoosh ! Who he ?

Legend !

Is there an investment opportunity for someone like the Weirs ? Do a deal with the Egyptian mob .... sign him on a 2 year deal where he scores a bucket load for us .... sell him after 1 year for more than it cost There May be issues with 3rd party ownership, but if I had a spare $2m then I might be interested

And does Andre get all 5 goals tomorrow ?

Archie, if you’re reading this then he fits in. Give him a 5 year deal now !

Connah’s Quay away please

Do we need a holding mid v Stanraer

Jambos beat them at the weekend and I think that even the most sceptical would rather have our manager than theirs

or perhaps Erskine ?

Penrice ?

And I suspect that might be the problem with our recruitment this season. I don't believe for one minute that the management have been sitting on their collective arses and waiting for players to come to us. More likely we have been targetting players of better quality and therefore been competing against clubs able to offer more. You could argue that they should have had a plan B, and then been accused of buying dross, but it is also possible that with options running out before the window closes, that we might have some news of players we want coming in the next few weeks. My glass is still half full (but no more than half)

Am I alone in being not particularly bothered about how we fill a reserve team. It would be fantastic if we could develop a Scottish Messi, but I have no expectation of that. The first team is the priority and 3 or 4 (depending on Keown) are needed there.

As others have said, it is too early, and we don't have the full squad assembled. The jury is out, but I do think that Archie is a bit stuck with the tactics which won promotion last time round. It hasn't really worked for a while, so I personally would like to see a change, or a sign of a plan B. Our best football was played with 3 at the back last year. That said, I don't know what goes on in training. Are the players carrying out the instructions they were given ? The board are better placed than me. They backed Archie and got rid of much of the squad, so perhaps there were some bad apples and the new squad might put the master plan into action. We should know by the end of September.

Paul Paton was a right back until he was moved to midfield. Jukha Santala was .... (lets just leave it at that) I am puzzled my the addition of Melbourne, not that he isn't a good player, but it is a direct competition for a place that we already have covered. I am wondering if there is a thought that Penrice could play as the holding midfielder. I know he has played in midfield at this level, so it might work

If we got a rightback, a holding midfielder and a striker (plus a replacement for Keown if he leaves) then that will probably be it. We would then have a solid core, plus enough versatility and youths to fill in in emergencies. We are a Scottish Championship club. We need to be realistic.

He sounds like the perfect foil for Doolan although I can see some saber rattling with the support

We’re supposed to be laying “the Thistle way” so it will need to be more than one

TV money as well. What’s not to like ?

Above the second i of ignis could be Paul Paton, and I suspect that the long name to the left of the sponsor is Craig Hinchcliffe. I don't think that Higgy was in that squad

Also, that is a 2010-11 home shirt, so 2 years before we won the championship.

below and to the right of the logo, could that be Simon Donnelly ?

Out of interest, what draw would you have been happy with ? we are highly unlikely to win the cup, so old firm at home is about as good as it could get in my opinion.

Consider the groups as being a replacement for the traditional pre-season friendlies, and the competition really starting with the last 16.