exiledjag

The comments about being beaten by the OF could apply to just about any team in Scotland. Granted some teams have a little purple patch against the OF, eg Kilmarnock perhaps one ot two others but its hardly sustainable. I agree we do seem to have a problem with Dundee Utd but they are another club that have been living way beyond their means - Shankland was an example of that - while we live within our means (not helped by the SPFL). Didn't we just knock Dunfermline out of the cup! I get what you are saying but I believe with a decent manager who has an eye for a player there isn't a team in Scotland we can't beat on our day with the possible exception of the OF who are light years ahead of us. We do though need to get back to the stage where they know they have been in a game when they play us. We will know that when the referees award 10 minutes additional time, red card one of out players, give clearly offside goals or penalties for dubious hand balls and not do the same for the above at the other end of the park. Come on be a bit more positive. I know we are still work in progress but we are much better than we were in the (later) Archibald or Caldwell days. God that was suffering!

St Rugby Park now 1 - 1 Lafferty gor Killie. Come on Stevie another one please

Yeah was just going to post that. Interesting game he is having.

Lawless missed a penalty for Dunfermline v Killie. Pity!

Just checked. The hapless striker *** England CH was Dave Watson! Sunderland were in the old English second division at the time. Watson's move to CH coincided with Sunderland winning the FA Cup beating Leed 1-0 (Ian Porterfield scoring the goal).

Agree with this. Turner could well be the best player we will ever sign and who can't get a game. He is head and shoulders a better player than Smith. But Managers see the game differently! I recall many years ago when Sunderland were going through a bad patch yet according to their fans they had a decent team. The problem losing too many goals, the cause a poor centre half. They also had a really hapless centre forward. To the fans the solution was obvious drop the CH and move the CF to this position. The club sacked the manager, brought back Bob Stokoe and the first thing he did was the above. The club survived in the old English First Division and the hapless CF now a CH went on to play for England .... as a CH! Sometimes the fans know!!

I have the same attachment to Maryhill/Firhill as other Jags and I agree we are a Glasgow Club and should stay in Glasgow. So that kills East Kilbride as an option. Having said all that I have always thought it strange that a Club with the name Partick Thistle has its home in Maryhill. Would a move back to Partick be viable. Is there a fan base in Partick (and the surrounding areas) that we could tap in to? If we did move to Partick the communication links to the City Centre are good and should be just as easy to get to as Firhill for fans travelling via the City Centre.

You have, i think inadvertently, 'loaded question (b) by including the word 'lovely'. Frankly I am not too bothered. The Jags have had many 'homes' in the club's life so another would make no difference. The advantage of moving would possible include: a) a new stadium, b) an area that gives us a bigger fan base (than Maryhill) but is also convenient for existing supporters to travel too ; rules out Springburn but perhaps not a return to Partick, c) a 'lovely" grass pitch. I have to admit that sometimes when I go to Firhill I find the place depressing. The derelict bing and the main stand which looks neglected remind me of former glories and seeing them now is soul destroying.. However if there is a plan to regenerate the canal area the authorities will not want a crumbling old football ground sitting in the middle of a modern communications network, or a designated eco and nature reserve area. As we don't have the money to modernise the stadium we may have to sell and move. What we must avoid is becoming like Clyde a nomadic club finally settling at Broadwood!

Apologies for quoting myself. So results failed to turn out as I thought they might. Arbroath won, ICT and Raith failed to win and we failed to play! Results though generally went our way. How about the following league table: 1. Arbroath - 1.91 ppg 2. Kilmarnock -1.74 ppg 3. Jags - 1.71 ppg 4. ICT - 1.58 ppg 5. Raith Rovers - 1.52 ppg I think we should call the leagues right now and go straight into the play-off stage. Tough on Raith though!! Our catch-up games are now Morton (H) ICT (A) Arbroath (A) Queen of the South (H) Morton under Imrie are still getting the new manager bounce but perhaps by the time we play them it hey will be getting back to normal! I still think 7 points is attainable though worry about the stop-start nature of playing for our momentum, rustiness and confidence and generally about frustration setting in!

What I call a perfect scenario! Given that they are now in sole possession of bottom spot of the SPL 'on merit' I wonder if McPake, Neames etc are considering a bid for Goodwillie and perhaps Greenwood! Could be the most potent strike force in the SPL!

There are so many myths about pitches which have poor drainage that if they persist become fact. As a youngster I recall watching us play a summer cup match at Cappilow where the ball brought up a spray of water everytime it was kicked/passed. This happened in the middle of a long dry spell! Asking why there was so much water I was told the pitch is always like that because it lies below the level of the River Clyde. Years later I heard this was rubbish and that upon inspection it was found that nearly every drain under the pitch had, over the years , become blocked or broken. All the drains were renewed, problem solved! Similarly at Firhill I watched ground staff, players from both sides and volunteers sweep water off the pitch to get a game played. It had been raining heavily all morning but cleared to become a lovely sunny afternoon. I was looking forward to watching my heroes, under a clear blue sky, trounce the opposition. The referee inspected the surface and it was game on. The setting perfect a warm sunny day with a verdant surface. 30 minutes into the match the referee decided to abandoned the game due to flooding. Apparently it was subsequently discovered that roughly a metre under the surface there was a rock hard layer of clay. Water drained down, hit the clay and came back up!! I thought the clay was removed when we installed the undersold heating but perhaps its still there. If so then no wonder games are postponed as this would in addition to overuse certainly contribute to the pitch becoming easily waterlogged.

Interesting. You could see and feel this sense of team spirit and togetherness in the second half of last season when we faced that punishing run in. I think it was very noticeable during the demolition of Montrose and Falkirk, in the general celebration of goals which involved all the players and the connection between players and fans.. This team spirit etc has clearly continued into this season and its good that new players like Crawford feel they are welcomed into the dressing room. Hopefully this team spirit and togetherness will see us through a similar second half of season this year. I suspect the need to protect team spirit and togetherness might have contributed to IMC's recommendation to the Board to let Rudden go.

Interesting. You could see and feel this sense of team spirit and togetherness in the second half of last season when we faced that punishing run in. I think it was very noticeable during the demolition of Montrose and Falkirk, in the general celebration of goals which involved all the players and the connection between players and fans.. This team spirit etc has clearly continued into this season and its good that new players like Crawford feel they are welcomed into the dressing room. Hopefully this team spirit and togetherness will see us through a similar second half of season this year. I suspect the need to protect team spirit and togetherness might have contributed to IMC's recommendation to the Board to let Rudden go.

Sorry but this is not accurate. When Clyde signed Goodwillie there was a similar public outcry and expressions of disgust even by some Clyde fans. The public reaction and disapproval was such that the Clyde Board issued a pathetic statement about giving this young man a second chance and thereby immediately attempted to claim the high moral ground. The controversy rumbled on for weeks. The difference between the two clubs was that Clyde were already at an all time low so there wasn't the same internal rebellion from fans, sponsors or other stakeholders that we have seen at RRs. I recall a few Clyde fans throwing in the towel but as the Club was well on its way to oblivion I think the majority of fans were prepared to tolerate the signing in the hope the player could help arrest the decline. RRs on the other hand are on the up, albeit stuttering a little bit at the moment. Both clubs though have something in common in that they have sacrificed their values, principles and reputations to sign a player who in normal circumstances wouldn't even look at them. As Clyde are now a mid table League One Club it could be argued that signing Goodwillie was a success. Another common factor is that neither Club gave a thought to the impact of their actions on the young woman involved - the victim of the rape. When Goodwillie,s record is taken into account, convictions for violent assualt in 2008, 2009 and 2012 (the latter for an incident which took place in 2010), then the rape incident in 2011 I fail to see how this individual deserves any sympathy.

I think Falkirk are a an honest Club. They apparently discussed signing Goodwillie but quickly pulled back because of the possible impact signing him would have on their standing as a community based club. Your right about Dunee being an option. I have no time for this bunch of back stabbers and one look at the SPL table shows exactly why they would consider such a signing. Hopefully they will have learned from the Storm Goodwillie that hit Raith Rovers in the past 48 hours.

I think someone on Pie and Bovril said Goodwillie declared himself bankrupt. I don't recall him doing this at the time. I do recall though an article suggesting that most of the award (£100000) would be eaten up by legal fees. This surprised me at the time as I understood the losing parties (Goodwillie & Robertson) would have had the cost of fees awarded against them as well as compensation to the victim. I think Clyde would take him back in the blink of an eye! The shitfest they would face will be an external one. What moved Raith Rovers was the flak from people connected to the club. Agreed - they failed to act in the best interests of the club.

Second this! Midfield 5: McAllister/Docherty/Turner/Bannigan/ Tiffoney Or McAllister/Bannigan/Turner/Docherty/ Tiffoney

A must win game for us Saturday. With the exception of Arbroath v Killie (Friday night) the fixtures on Saturday have a top half verses the bottom half of the league look. If Arbroath v Killie is a draw and ICT, Raith and the Jags win the table will look like: Arbroath 42 pts (23 games) Killie 41 pts (23 games) ICT 41pts (24 games) Raith 40pts (25 games) Jags 39 pts (22 games) Our catch up games are Morton (H) and ICT and Arbroath (both A); so perhaps not as good as the above looks. However our record at ICT isn't too bad and surely we are overdue a result against Arbroath! Given Queens result v Raith I think we are looking at a very hard game on Saturday. If the team with a good attitude turns up then I would hope that would be good enough to give us a win.

Uou said it!

I agree with all of the statements on this thread about Rudden. We could, perhaps should, have told Dundee that if they are not prepared to meet our valuation then we will keep Rudden until his contract expires in June. Rudden wouldn't have liked that but that's just tough. If subsequently he didn't show the level of commitment expected and which he has shown in the past, then I would have him nowhere near the first team squad, However, and there is slways an however, I have been really impressed by the team spirit IMC has created at Firhill. It's obvious when we score a goal that the team congratulates everybody involved not just the player who provided the assist. This team spirit will see us through, and has seen us through, difficult moments on the field. IMC has to take this into account in deciding whether or not to keep Rudden. A disgruntled employee can cause a lot of problems and be divisive. Perhaps to the point of eroding our team spirit! Probably better to let him go. My last however! Should Dundee be relegated and the Jags promoted I hope there is no road back to Firhill for Rudden. He has made his bed so now he lies in it!

I loved higgy. He brought an excitement to Firhill that has been missing for a long time. I was going to give examples of exciting players but most on this thread would recognise the names but not have seen them play. His ability to cross a ball with the outside of his right foot was sublime. I think his weakness was in often not releasing the ball quickly enough (Lyle Taylor's offside goal in the 4-2 win at Tynecastle) and a tendency to opt for the complicated pass or move over the obvious or straight forward option. I would describe him as mercurial but loved watching him because generally he made things happen.

Does Jakubiak kook heavy(ish) in the Jags top or is he just muscular. The guy who dislocated Jakubiak's shoulder in that nightclub altercation must have been really fit! Goalkeeper and another striker and that's us - champions!

Agree.

McAllister until end of season - looks a good signing. My worry though is that our midfield options are starting to look very congested as per the Caldwell era Turner, Bannigan, Docherty, Tiffoney, Smith and this month Crawford and Mc Allister. Quality of player though is much better. Strikers Graham and McIver, assuming Rudden leaves and rumours are correct Jakubiak

Jukubiak's shoulder injury was due to him bring involved in an altercation in a nightclub! As a sportsman and athlete that's not good to have on your CV whether or not he was an innocent party in whatever fracas took place. It would be interesting to know if Dundee initiated this move or we did. If the former we could politely reject the player and hold out for a cash deal. I had a quick look at his goal scoring record and it's domething like a goal every 6 games. Hardly prolific. I wouldn't mind the 2 St Mirren players. There was a time when Erwin did score goals and perhaps we could help him find that form again. We will see what happens.