exiledjag

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.

Just read Doolan's comments (had a power cut since early hours of this morning courtesy of storm Otto) and he seems to be making the right moves with the squad. Game v Ayr is a tough start though to his management career!

That's what I thought - the capacity of Firhill in the early 1960s was just under 40000. I attended the Rangers game in 1963 when we were league contenders and finished 3rd and the crowd was stated as 37500. The Brechan crowd with no obvious vacant areas must have been well over 15800. Perhaps a tax dodge or like Ross Co. attendences some poor arithmetic! Great footage.

I am getting ry confused here. Are we saying that Doolan, appointed interim manager on Sundsy evening to be assisted by Paul McDonald has been sacked on Tuesday Motning at 4.00am and is no longer with the club.

I read a comment made by IMC that JL usually sought and followed his advice. That suggested to me that he had some influence with her. Perhaps you know otherwise?

I think this is a terrible decision, shabbily executed. and I hope we don't regret it! This does not reflect well on the club and I look forward to a fuller explanation. I am on record supporting IMC and wanting him to remain as Manager but I am first and foremost a Partick Thistle supporter. As far as the timing is concerned it would have made perfect sense to me if the Board (whoever they are) had brought in someone new to the club. Such an appointment would have given the new manager the rest of the season to assess the players and decide who to keep and who to release. Doolan must have some idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the players so the timing is to say the least strange. I suspect IMC and his assistants are the victims of the power struggles at Firhill. IMC enjoyed a lot of influence with Jacqui Low and her Bosrd and lost this influence when they were replaced. Not a good start to fan ownership. I will though wish Kris Doolan all the best for the future. Oh well at least Bobby Houston will be happy.

I have been saying this for ages. We have a strong squad of players when we don't have 6 or 7 injured at the same time - like when weost 5 in a row earlier in the season and more recently the two 0-1s.

Great so far but a Long way to go +15 mins injury time!