On the merits of the transfer dealings, firstly I don't buy that McCall was some sort of genius. He got some absolute duds as well as some decent and some average players. On the whole, pretty average. I think that Doolan has been a bit unlucky. Alston, McInroy and Robinson all looked good on paper and have played at a higher level, so should have been better than they have been. For some reason it hasn't worked out at Thistle and we have a long history of players who were good elsewhere, before and after their time with us (and equally some who were great for us, but failed elsewhere). Ngwenya and Adeloyi both looked to be decent signings, and nobody was sad to see Dowds leave. That said, the gaffer needs to do better next summer as we always looked to be very light weight at the back, and this must be addressed.
But the biggest difference between McCall and Doolan is hope. Under McCall, you always thought this was as good as it was going to get. With Doolan he has time to learn from and rectify his mistakes and I still think that he has the nous to get us to the Premier League, maybe not this season, but a good shot at it next. That said, he needs to do something to halt this horrific run, and I'm not sure he has too many options other than changing the keeper. McBeth is an interesting one. I don't think he has played that bad, but maybe his role disrupts the midfield.