exiledjag

I see Burchill and Gibb have left our ladies team to turn full time. The article on the official site doesn't say which club(s) they are joining! Anyone got any idea?

I think a fit and motivated Louis Moult would be a good signing but can we compete financially with Dunfermline?

Thanks FT. I recall that game and I remember thinking at the time that some of the treatment he got from the Ayr players was outrageous but the ref did nothing which was alo outrageous.

Who is the player using walking stick/crutches?

I didn't know Dougie but it is always sad to learn of the passing of a Jags legend - eg, Gordon Whitelaw my own big favourites Neil Duffy and George Niven, and now Dougie. RIP Dougie. We all know you'll be supporting the Jags from above. Once a Jag always a Jag.

I agree with the above. St Johnstone especially have no recent experience of the championship and will be bedding themselves in. Ross County will also be bedding themselves in to the championship. I think we should look forward to these two games with confidence. In the same vein Raith and Morton are not the same teams they were in recent seasons. Raith , for example have lost Stanton and not sure but have Morton signed anyone yet? We have the core ot a good team and have made two decent signings albeit the focus seems to be at the moment on the behind the scenes roles. A few more decent signings and him sure we can begin to have a more positive perception of the coming season.

A mixed reception for Reading, Budinauckas and Rae. With regard to the two players they look decent and sensible signings to me. As far as Rae is concerned I think this is a positive signing. I preferred Wilson over Graham for a number of reasons that I have already expressed. Rae, though not a particularly popular individual, has always to me seemed totally committed to what he does. If we ever wanted someone to toughen up the Jags both physically and mentally, well we have that person now. Definitely a culture change in the offing at Firhill. I think Rae's qualities sit well with Wilson"s and they should make a good team. As with all signings time will tell. Must go and get my season ticket now.

This is very sad news as this is the passing of another member of our great team that finished 3rd. Gordon was one of my favourite players in my all time favourite Jags team. Others who have passed include Neil Duffy and George Niven. RIP Gordon you are a great Jag and will be missed. Condolences to family and close friends.

Just read about the departure of Ross Stormont and the appointment of David Elliot. I have to say reading this material left me thinking that the Club and it's representative are definitely into the modern language applicable to management training/education. It was just like reading a management textbook designed for postgraduate university students. Putting the above to one side I'd like to wish Ross and David all the best and every success for the future in their respective careers. In respect of David he will have a tough job following Brian and Ross.

Just read Wilson's Herald interview. Impressive and certainly conveys he knows what he is about and expresses himself in an articulate, pragmatic and I think honest and sincere manner.. We will though have to be patient as we clearly don't have much if any money to spend. I have thoroughly enjoyed participating to discussion about the Jags and related matters and as a result I feel a real member of the Jags family. I shall miss this. My sincere thanks to admin and partner for running this site and I hope that the health issues will soon be resolved. Cheers to all.

I ditto winter of 63 & Jag 36.

I'd like to congratulate Mark Wilson on his appointment as our new Head Coach and wish him the very best of luck. This is the appointment I had hoped for and I am pleased it's come to pass. I appreciate Brian Graham's position is now delicate in part due to the comments he has made. He is though a Partick Thistle player until May 2026 and if Wilson wants him to stay then Graham should be professional enough to accept that and honour his contract. If Wilson feels he doesn’t fit our future style of play then transfer list him. We shouldn't be 'giving away' the championship's top scorer for the past two season for nothing or a nominal fee. At some point Graham may have to swallow his pride, return to the dressing room and play for the club he is supposed to love. With reference to the roles of Head Coach and Sporting Director. I see this as a developing and collaborative project. I think that Barrowclough and Wilso will get on together better than had Graham become Head Coach. I see both of them collaborating closely with regard to recruitment given ltheir different areas of knowledge and contacts. For example, don't be surprised if we are active in the Irish market! I wish the club every success in the coming season and I will purchase my season ticked now with more enthusiasm and confidence than I would have had prior to Mark Wilson's appointment.

You cannot budget for a player who makes it quite clear that he wants the job and implies that if he doesn't get it he can't return to the dressing room and would have to leave the club. If all this is true that Graham was offered the job and turned it down then before anyone or any situation can be judged we need to know the facts. For example, were the terms of the contract unacceptable and non- negotiable, did his attitude change when the possibility of joining Falkirk arose or were there other factors. From my viewpoint this situation that has developed, if true, would be one of the reasons I didn't fancy him as a Head Coach......... his behaviour (comments) can be unpredictable. At least that's my opinion. If Graham simply wants to keep playing I can understand and support this but then he shouldn't have put himself forward for the job in the first place. He might simply have changed his mind. Although he is contracted to May 2026 it looks like his days as a Jag are over and I for one will remember with pleasure his performances, commitment and achievements as a player. Notwithstanding he was playing in league one and the championship he is certainly one of the best 6 yard box strikers I have seen in the 60 or so years I have followed the Jags. For me he is still a genuine Jags legend.

Goals from midfield - Turner can do this if wevplay him in his best position which is just behind the strikrrs (whoever they are) as an advanced midfielder. I haven't seen much mention of Turner is he still a Jag or have I missed his departure?

The rumoured short list seems to me to be depressingly uninspiring. Other than Graham the only names i am reasonably familiar with are Imrie and McPake and for me the latter doesnt fit what we need. However if it's BBG then it strikes me as more of the same - appointee from inside the club. As other posters have said we need a completely new and fresh approach and this isn't it. I would though be happier with this appointment if Wilson is the principal assistant. Regardless of who is appointed as Jags I think we all have to get behind the new Head Coach. If BBG is the man then i will wish him all the very best. We will have to remember that as a manager he will be working progress and will make mistakes. I still intend to buy a season ticket. C'mon the Jags.

Has anyone mentioned Robbie Neilson as a possible candidate. What's he doing nowadays?

No apologies necessary and I agree with the point you make about money. I raised this very point earlier in response to posters who advocated a mass clear out of players when the season ended. I questioned whether or not we had the money to terminate contracts and also sign the number of players of the required quality to replace those we had released. The answer appears to be that we don't have the money to do a mass clear out etc. Regarding your comment about SDs, Analytics and Head Coaches. I was merely underlining that this appears to be the modern way.

I think Jagfox has summed up the SD role very well. If we are ever going to get to the SPL and stay there then we have to embrace new ideas and ways of doing things. I consider the appointment of a SD as a fresh approach and worth trying out. The 'normal' or 'usual' approach of appointing a manager who is responsible for the first team, recruitment and goodness knows what else hasn't worked for us, for example, in recent times, Archibald, McCall, Doolan and Graham/Wilson. We have appointed an SD from outwith the club let's also appoint a Head Coach from outwith the club. The Chairman has said that the Club is developing a Strategy that will make us a sustainable SPL Club. As the old approaches have failed to achieve this then something new is required A declaration of intent, or strategy, setting out where we want to be and how we are going to get there with measurable performance indicators would be a step forward. If this involves Sporting Directors, Analytics & Head Coaches then that's fine by me. I would love to see the Jags back where they, IMO belong in the SPL sitting above clubs like St Mirren, Ross County, St Johnstone, Livingston and Falkirk. Wishful thinking .....get Stephen Robinson as Head Coach. Apologies I've had a couple of glasses of red wine.

I'm afraid the only ladies games I have seen have been on TV. But one thing struck me as I watched throughput the season and I assume this was down to Graham is that compared to previous seasons we had less physical presence. It appeared to me that in addition to signings that were clearly for the future I thought that Graham's signings all seemed to be players who were more skillful and technically superior to players we already had. Whether intentional or not this appeared to be at the expense of physical presence. There were times when I thought we were simply being out muscled and that Longcake (is she still with us) would have been useful in mid-field or defence. Perhaps I am being influenced by seeing that all our opponents seemed to be bigger and stronger than us and more so than previous seasons. In closing I wish Docherty all the best in her retirement. She always impressed me as the one player who was a Jag through and through and who played for the Jersey. I think thats all we fans can ask of any player. Some of our current squad in the men's team should take note.

I might be missing something but have Graham and Wilson been told they are not in the running for the position of Head Coach? I am already on record of supporting an appointment from outwith the club.. My reasons are: 1. I don't think co-management appointments are successful. 2. If we were to appoint one of Wilson or Gŕaham I would prefer Wilson. While I have great admiration for Graham as a player and as an on-field leader I'm not sure of his qualities for the role of Head Coach. He wear his heart on his sleeve and as we have seen and heard speaks his mind regardless of the consequences or hurt his comments may cause. I can see his sparking division and losing the dressing room because of this. As a player he is a Jags Legend and he has my respect snd admiration. As a manager he scares me a little bit! 3. On the other hand Wison seems to have a good grasp of the game in terms of tactics etc. I think his role with the Academy players has taught him to be aware of the need for tact and how to approach situations eg full on or with discretion. I think Wison could be both 'full on' or 'considerate' in his dealings with players. His after match comments have to me been spot on reflecting an accurate assessment of how the game rolled out. 4. Perhaps my main reason for supporting an external appointment is that I agree with posters who are calling for a completely new and fresh approach (whatever that approach may be).

Thanks gor pointing out that I missed Martin and McKay. I take that on the chin. Perhaps keep Martin not sure about McKay. My comments were made on the basis we can't release everyone, can we? So I suggest we keep the players I have suggested but play them in their bestvpisitions, for example, Turner as a central and advanced midfielder. With regard to Graham's comments I understand where he is coming from and zi don't think he is trying to blackmail the club to appointing him or he leaves. I think all he is saying is that having tasted management he doesn't feel he can go back to where he was. It's not an uncommon scenario. I have already said I don't fancy a co-management appointment and of the two Marl Wilson has impressed me more. I would though prefer an appointment ftom outwith the club and someone with no PTFC history.

I acknowledge the season long grumbles and the long list of injuries - tonight we had 6 academy youngsters on the bench - that weakened the squad over the play-off games. When it comes to clear outs and major surgery my question is do we have the money to do this? I think we need to find a mid-field. IIn defence I think Mitchell (despite tonight) McBeth, Ashcroft and O'Reilly are worth retaining. In Jamie Low I think we have a player there. In mid-field Turner & Lawless. In attack I like the pace of Adlabe Chalmers and Jakubiack. Perhaps give Graham, Stanway and McKenzie another season the latter two to prove themselves. I don't know enough about the academy players to make comment. The above though still leaves us short of a right full back, strength and creativity in mid-field and a goal scorer in attack Graham can't go on forever! In closing the players and management should be given a lot of credit not only for making it to the play-offs but reaching the semi-final. We do though need a significant doze of fresh air throughout the club

When I last read comments on this thread Imrie was a shoe in for the post. Recent comments from Mark Wilson suggested that there are some very good names in competition with the Graham/Wilson duo! However I am not a great fan of co-management partnerships and think they tend to fail. I can't think of such a partnership, at least in Scotland, having any success or longevity. Do others feel the same as me that Mark Wison has over the weeks grown into the management role. I don't wish to be dismissive of Graham's contribution as i don't know to what extent either individual contributes. I have though been very impressed with Wilson's post match comments and his touchline manner. I also think he might be a better man manager than Graham. As BBG wants to keep playing would it be worth a shout appointing Wilson as our next head coach/manager and with Graham continuing his role as a player and manager of the ladies team. Thoughts!

I agree with all of the comments about protecting young players and not playing them in certain games. But most of the time the above approach takes place in an ideal world. Using Low as sn example. He was very confident and good v Ayr but suffered a bit against a more professional, disciplined and ruthless Livingston. We are still in a bare bones (sorry for repeating this) position and we have to play whoever is fit. So what do we think Low's reaction would be if Mark Wilson approached him and said "I know you had a tough time on Tuesday but I have every confidence that you have learned from that experience and I would like you to go again. Do you feel up to the challenge"? On the other hand and given that we appear to have a very depleted squad what could this do to Low's confidence if we don't play him and especially when left back is one on the problem positions. I can't imagine not playing him would be good for his confidence or self esteem going forward. As I said all of the comments about the players confidence going forward are sensible and practicable but we also have to consider the position from the players perspective as well and IMO he will want to play. Let's play him if he is fit and get on with it. He'll be very determined to do well and demonstrate he can stand up to the physical challenge. To digress I see we have away games in Arbroath and Perth next season and if Livvy beat us probably Dingwall as well.

I think this is an accurate summary of the situation and especially of what our approach.should be on Friday. If we can score the first goal the tie becomes very interesting and all the pressure falls on Livvy. Hopefully we will be able to field a strong enough team to be able to do this. C'mon the Jags