exiledjag

With Milne, Muirhead and McAvoy out I am not too positive about our prospects and especially as Dundee have done well at Firhill (as we have at Dens Park) recently. Nevertheless we have to win this game and the following game at ICT as the next series of games for QP and Ayr will give them opportunities to put some distance between us if we don't. Thought it would help the cause to be a little bit negative amid this burst of positivity. We will miss Milne.

I wasnt at the game (not able to travel to games at moment) so didnt see the incident. However comments on the game thread suggest a studs up tackle by Muirhead. What's the extent of McAvoys injury and as it is bad enough to end his season how on earth did referee Alan Muir not see this tackle as a straight red card. Best wishes to Connor and hope he makes a full recovery. By all accounts he impressed every Jag who had the privilege to watch him.

Just watched highlights of the Dundee utd game. We played some nice football at times. IF we had shown a bit more composure in front of goal WE would have won by 3 or 4 goals. I thought the ref was very lenient toward the Utd players. Wrestling a player to the ground should surely be a red card and also the over the ball tackle should also have been a red card. The Utd players played the game as if there was some history between the clubs and wanted to settle old scores.

In my opinion Reese was correct - the ball didn't cross the line. When you look at the highlights you will see that our keeper catches the ball cleanly but steps back over the goal line as she does so. She, however keeps her arms stretched towards the field of play and if you use the near post which is behind the ball as a point of reference you will see that most of the ball is level with the post and therefore not over the line. The Assastant Ref wasn't Jordan (something). The guy who was responsible for ruling out Doolan"s ghost goal against Morton and whom I believe awarded a throw-in against the Jags following an opponent's cross which overshot everybody and went out of play on the opposite wing!!.

I honesty don't think Brian Graham will repeat Archibalds errors!

Forgot the most important bit - well done to the ladies on finishing in the top 6. A magnificent achievement. Please though be careful next season!

In my opinion Reese was correct - the ball didn't cross the line. When you look at the highlights you will see that our keeper catches the ball cleanly but steps back over the goal line as she does so. She, however keeps her arms stretched towards the field of play and if you use the near post which is behind the ball as a point of reference you will see that most of the ball is level with the post and therefore not over the line. The Assastant Ref wasn't Jordan (something). The guy who was responsible for ruling out Doolan"s ghost goal against Morton and whom I believe awarded a throw-in against the Jags following an opponent's cross which overshot everybody and went out of play on the opposite wing!!.

How did we manage 6 yellow cards from 9 fouls and Morton only 4 yellow cards from 21 fouls. Does the credit go to a not very fair Ref - Mr Alan Muir?

Yes we will be as strong......... or totally gone as in no longer existing! But if we finish 2nd all our financial woes are over ........are they not?

I have to laugh at the selective memory comment. My arguments have not been about a squad with one or two players injured but that there have been two occasions this season where we have had serious injury problems - when we lost 5 lesgue games in a row - and in January. The former was described by IMC as the worst injury situation he has known in 40 years in football.. McCall, who tended just to get on with the job, also subsequently admitted playing players who were not fully fit and who carried injuries (I assume this referred to January) My argument is quiet clear - the injury problem suffered in the above periods affected results. I don't see what so difficult about understanding this unless of course readers are of the opinion we should never have brought IMC back as manager in the first place etc. I thought it was interesting that after the Raith game their Manager, Ian Murray, was bemoaning the fact that he was missing TWO influential players and that the result would have been different if he had been able to select them. Wonder how he would have felt if he hadn't been able to select Tiffoney, Graham, Docherty, Holt, Brownlie, and from the bench, Dowds and McKinnon. I an not up on the details of the injury situation at ICT or Arbroath but if Dodds and Campbell are to be believed they are blaming their poor results this season on injuries to a number of key players. The difference though is they have not been sacked yet! In summary all I am saying is that injuries affect performances and results and we have had more of our fair share of injuries. Many will be pleased to hear this post is my final comment on the impact of injuries on our season. My best wishes to IMC in the future. The manner in which you lost your Jon was disgraceful and it will be good to see the back of this interim board. To Kris Doolsn I wish him all the best on his appointment and just say if he can get us to 65,/66 points (that means just one defeat in the remaining games and at least 7 wins including a victory over QP) we can win the league. Go for it Kris!

You have nailed my one complaint with how IMC set up the team and that is playing Turner out wide. Playing a 4-2-3-1 formation Doolan is playing to the strengths of the players and covering our weaknesses. Playing Docherty and Bannigan in front of the back 4 gives protection to our back line but with Bannigan there also, with his passing ability, helps us play the ball from the back and through the opposition The masterstroke for me is playing Turner in the centre of our advanced 3. I have advocated since he arrived at the Jags that he should be playing in a central role and now that he is we are maximising his skills. Also with Docherty and Bannigan playing in front of our back 4 it means that our advanced 3 can play closer to and support Graham.. From what I have seen Doolan plays this system with some flexibility so that we don't have too much of a gap developing between the 2 and the 3 Absolutely delighted Turner now playing in the middle in a forward position. With Tiffoney and Lawless playing in advanced positions as well we have most of our creative players high up the park where they can damage the opposition. Fair play to Doolsn for changing the playing system and clarifying individual roles within the system. All we have to do to keep this working is make sure we defend set plays as I think it will be now much harder for the opposition to play through us. Well done Doolin.

Excellent post.

You don't know that.! We played both those teams with a number of players not available for selection and in one game the situation was so bad re injuries our bench consisted of Mitchell plus 5 or 6 teenagers.

This is what every good manager does. As an IMC supporter I would be very surprised if a man of hos experience wasnt already doing the same! But congrats to Doolan on his appointment and on his success so far. I do fear though reality is just around the corner ......at Cappilow. A ground where to my recollection rarely do very well

Morton now 2-2 at Queens Park.

Things happening now - in the right direction. C'mon the Jags

Nothing much happening in the game! Raith on top 51% possession????

Thank you TTA for this data. Its very interesting and enjoyable to read. McMillan and Milne have been two very good signings (dare I say it, by Ian McCall). Although I feel McMillan is sometimes overshadowed by his fellow full back, Harry Milne, there is no doubt in my mind he contributes to a very good and very strong full back partnership.

Agreed. Would also give Turner some credit for excellent deliveries from the two corners which led to the first two goals. The second goal in particular had made on the training ground all over it. Two Jags running toward the near post, the first man being the decoy, second man getting the header directing the ball toward the back post and Graham being there completely unmarked to knock the ball into the net . Excellent!

Yes I do. With a full or near full squad McCall was doing a fine job. Regardless of what others say , it is my opinion their is little that any manager can do when they are consistently 6/7 players not available for selection. However I can't change the past so as a Jags supporter I have wished Doolan well and will support him the same way I supported IMC.

4-5-1 = Doolan master tactician!

Agree with all of this but have doubts about the score. Would settle for a draw. If we hit form we can win but when did we last hit form?

That's a blow! He will be missed. Other results seem to be going our way last night's Raith v Ayr draw for example.. If we can squeeze out a win here we will be right back in the hunt. Wind forecast to be 12mph gusting up to 19mph from the NNE. Not sure if this means the wind direction will be blowing straight down the length of the ground or diagonally across. Either way the wind should be manageable. 2-1 the Jags.

Great win - so we are still in the hunt for a play-off place! Well done to Doolan, McDonald and the Players. One game, one win, 100% win rate! Must make Doolan our most successful manager ever!

"A major failing this season has been more down to too many drops in confidence. Last Sunday perhaps backs that up. No real pressure to get a result, nothing therefore to dent nd we played fine" (Lady- Isobel-Barnett). I agree with this up to a point. However just as important a failing has been our inability to field a sufficiently strong team due to having an excessive number of players injured or unwell on at least 7 occasions, that is the 5 league games we lost in succession earlier in the season and the two games against Hamilton and Cove. I am at a loss to understand why this very important point is totally ignored on this website. Had this not happened I have no doubt the team would have pick up enough points to be sitting at or near the top of the league and IMC and his assistants would still be with us in their management position. The Team we fielded v Rangers was, with the exception of Hodson , just about the strongest team we could field and was the strongest fielded in weeks and low and behold we nearly pulled it off. Coincidence, strong team, great performance - no not in my opinion! I accept that injuries cannot normally be used as an excuse and in normal circumstances the management have to and should manage these situations. However no manager can manage having the scale of injuries we have had this season. I think that IMC had every right to use injuries as an excuse but unlike Dodds at ICT he generslly kept quiet and got on with the job, consequently to his personal cost! This club is not the Partick Thistle I have supported for 60 Years. I will be watching how the club behaves in the near future very carefully to decide whether or not, when my various ailments allow, it is worth the effort to make the 10 hour round trip to Glasgow to support them. I wish Doolan all the best.