lady-isobel-barnett

some excellent suggestions. Gut feeling tells me it would be better not to get too interlinked with the Club or the official site. I think it would give fundraising thru networking etc that bit more latitude. We don't really know who the Club may be approaching for sponsorship etc and without knowing conflicts of interest could arise. Btw there could be mileage in running a mini e-bay type operation. Could sell all sorts of items (DVDs, books, CDs, Jags tops that a kid may have outgrown etc etc). Drop off item at a central collection point (eg Aitken Suite on a match Saturday). Wearethistle.co.uk Fundraising takes a commission on the sale and, on occasion of using the drop off point, a handling fee. Think it could be a win/win thingy. If you're buying something on e bay you usually have to pay postage so instead of postage you pay wearethistle for using the collection point.

Aye, but that's not till January.

Let's be having them!

That would be ideal I don't even want to play them,, go to their ground again. But sadly we are forgetting the Motherwell Rule where if they finish bottom of the league the powers that be re-arrange things to ensure they still play in the top flight. Iirc the Motherwell Rule has been successfully applied at least three times.

Aye, you're probably right there. One thing tho', the term "stay away fans". I don't think anyone on here knows what we can do to bring fans, who live within distance and can afford to come along, back regularly. I guess it would be fair to say the enthusiasm for next season lies mostly within the supporters who attend games on a regular basis. Let's hope that within that base we can sell more season tickets. If that occurs it would be reasonable to suggest that some of those who have chosen to previously stay away will at least become more frequent visitors. Little steps in the right direction

Who are you accusing of being misty eyed, MWM? Btw looks like Moffat from Girvan can easily be the equal of Erskine or Doolan as a bargain from the Ayrshie Juniors. Quite ironic given Ayr have a much lauded youth/academy set up that the lad arrived on their doorstep outside of all that.

I read Twinny's post re Fifa official rules and I see I may be wrong in thinking that a deliberate handball is an automatic yellow card. I'm equally stumped as to how any situation arises where a player deliberately handles the ball and it can't be deemed at least as ungentlemanly conduct.

The irony as I see it was, while we were justified in releasing Roberts, a club with a little more finance would have been daft to let him go. Also if we had guys with genuine pace playing up front alongside Mark then we'd have been just as daft not to have kept him. Off the park I don't know if Marko will make it as a coach but on the field I reckon forwards who've played alongside him will have learnt one helluva lot. Gotta strong feeling we won't be seeing Roberts play 1st Div football next season. I just wish we had more dosh to have him back on the books as some sort of player coach.

Tuesday 19th KO 7.30pm

Twinny, think you're wrong. I'm sure a deliberate handball is enough to warrant a yellow card. A deliberate handball preventing a goal is an automatic red card. Certainly seen countless guys get booked for handling the ball when there's no obvious goal scoring opportunity.

Brilliant to see these clips again. Most of them naturally showing his goals but like a lot of truly world class forwards if he'd hardly ever scored Best would still be very highly regarded. Best didn't need to go "to ground easy" simply because of his incredible balance and of course confidence. In a roundabout way that's maybe why so many of today's "stars" fall over at a touch. They lack anything remotely like Best's balance.

Yip. The only thing I can take solace in is if/when we go back up we won't make the same mistakes. By that I mean not having our SPL class players on longer contracts. I'm not sure why I just said that as I've no real confidence we do/will learn from our mistakes. Craigan, Burns, Archie, Hardie should've had extended contracts tied up almost from the outset. edited to add...great tho' it is seeing that clip again there really should've been a CDA* warning posted. *Chick Dung Appearing.

Traditionally in cup finals refs are nearly always over lenient. Tackles that would normally be routine yellows go unpunished and really wild ones that would be reds on another day get downgraded to yellow. Nothing untoward about that and I'm probably in favour of refs using that latitude in such games. However a deliberate handball is an automatic yellow or red and the ref not sending off the big Celtic centreback (already cautioned) is incredible, or more correctly if it didn't favour one of the ugly sisters should be incredible. I'd love to note what the ref puts in his report about that instance.

63 days and counting.

So what? FFS this isn't about column inches.

Agree entirely. I think there's a fine line between promoting an event and glorifying in it. The Club have handled this well. I wasn't aware of any fundraising directly thru PTFC and so imo this remains an enterprise instigated by twelve individuals. The fact eight of those twelve have direct links to the Jags is thus immaterial. We should be both respectful and in admiration of each of the twelve participants. It is tho' great to support a team that can muster so much support for this most worthwhile event. Jags fans everywhere will agree but, deserved or not, it's not the sort of thing you want to court publicity over.

Quite a big if.

Smyth & McCaffrey look a useful pairing. Add in Ross Forsyth at left back and Morton's defence is taking shape. Btw there's a story in the Greenock Telegraph headline "'Ton's Cash Cuts Cost Me Contract" but you need to register to read it. Maybe means Morton think a lot about McCaffrey.

Not too sure you could call Higgins a traditional centre forward or not but he's a nice line in the traditional cliché “It’s all about putting the ball in the back of the net.” (courtesy STV online).

Do you know something we don't. Should we be heading to Willie Hill's before 3pm Sunday?

If you look at it from a positive point of view we're doing this as youngsters have moved up into the first team squad thus weakening the under 19s. I think Bannigan, Fraser, Scully, Lochhead & McGrotty would all have been eligible for next season's under 19s (I'm assuming anyone not 19 by July 11) so requiring trials could be seen as a good think.

I think you're splitting hairs. If we hadn't sold Harkins we'd have owed HMRC so the debt would have been that amount higher.

I can see many a situation arising where we sell a younger player to an SPL or a major English league club and he's immediately loaned back for a season. I wouldn't particularly want to see that with Erskine as he's potential and enough of a contract left to get serious money but it makes financial sense wherever poor cash flow is evident. The buying club are jumping in to get a player that's not quite reached their playing level and the selling club are buying a bit of financial stability against the risk of just potential. The more financially stable a club like us is then the more we can hold on to our prospects and chance realising serious money. To get to that stage of stability first we've got to sell players ahead of that level. I don't want to see that with Erskine but I fully understand why we might have to sell him at a lower fee.

Hot potato, off his drawers, pluck to make amends.

I'd rather see it go towards a beech hedge.