exiledjag

Agreed - although not very long ar Raith it doesn't show much in the way of loyalty or consideration for his O'Reilly and this would be noticed by the rest of the squad. I think the absence of Stanton is also a factor. On Pie & Bovril fans are saying he is their best player. Seems he is now injured and could be out for a few weeks.

Agree with comments about Carson and SOD. The former will be totally comitted to the cause and the latter will bring experience and composure to, at times a panicky defence. According to the Courier Byrne has decided to sign for Raith Rovers. Looks like he won't be coming to Firhill. Obviously he is being ill advised turning down the chance to become a Jag!

2nd would be great. If we had finished second last season (and required to play only 4 play-off games) I believe we would be playing in the SPL this season. My Airdrie supporter friend firmly believes Raith will fall away in the second half of the season. This belief comes from his dislike of Raith (and ex-Airdrie Manager) Ian Murray. He thinks Murray is a flash-in-the-pan type manager and incapable of Managing at an effective level for a whole season! Time will tell.

Well we got our point ansd Welsh did the business for Queens Park. My apologies to QP and their fans for doubting them. I just couldn't see them doing anything away to Raith! A big well done to QP. Also to the Jags and the travelling support our 12th player! Must have been a big travelling support as the attendance is reported as just over 3500. Well done everyone.

Welsh the scorer!!

See Dundee Utd won a poor game at Inverness with a Watt goal in the 87th minute. Pity. Neither of the top 2 are looking convincing at the moment - but keep getting these late goals! Difficult game for us tomorrow but a must win if we are to stay in touch with the top 2. I don't see QP doing anything v Raith.

Agree with above. Turner's strength was playing high up the park and running beyond our striker(s). So notwithstanding he is better than our current bunch of midfielders he is not the type of midfielder we need right now. Perhaps in the summer when Doolan reshapes his squad for SPL football and if he is available!

As said above (Dick Dastardly) Turner is not what ee need just now. However he had better not score against us or I will put a curse on him.

I see on pie and bovril that some Raith fans are speculating about signing Tiffoney or Turner Some favour the former others the latter! I wonder if either player would want to sign for a championship club albeit one of the top two. With regard to O'Reilly the majority of Raith fans consider him a player who did well for the Club. He was though considered to be a bog standard championship CH who wasn't up to SPL standard - hence the contract offer to the end of the season.

I would love to win the play-offs and gain promotion to the SPL. The system though is against us and I am confident the SPL hierarchy will make sure a 'suitable' referee is appointed for the finaL game as they did at Dingwall.

If the rumours about our interest in Thomas are true and we are successful in signing him then I suspect the prospect of further signings will be at most one or probably none.

As everyone on this thread knows I have never really rated Muirhead. I have also stated that I don't think he is up to the task of being our main central defender. However with a good central defender at his side, eg Holt he becomes a different player, a much better player. If O'Reilly is in the Holt mould I am sure Muirhead has it in him to be a good partner. However one of Neilson or Muirhead needs to be rested for a few weeks. One point about O'Reilly. According to Wikipedia he is 5'11" tall. Not exactly the tallest CH but he must have something given the interest in him. Welcome to Firhill Dan and all the best of luck with the Jags.

I agree withvtje majority view on this thread that Thomas would be a great signing. However I can't seecit happening for three reasons. Firstly, if a transfer fee is required I doubt we could outbid either Dundee Utd (if they were in the race) or Raith Rovers (assuming they still have money to burn). Secondly, at 27 years of age Thomas will, I think, be looking to sign for an SPL club and 3. If he is thinking about voting to the Jags hexeill have doubts about replacing Fitzpatrick or Lawless. We could of course change our formation to 4-4-2 to accommodate him. Graham and Adeloye as our Strikers. Our Midfield could be Fitzpatrick Thomas McInroy Lawless The defence: Milne, Neilson, New CH, McMillan Our left wing would be Milne, Fitzpatrick & Thomas! - impressive I think!

Home tie v Queens Park or Bonnyrigg Rose. I guess we eill be favourites to win and get into the quarter final draw. The 'choice' tie looks to be Glasgow City v Hibs. So one of the top 6 will be out of the cup.

Great result today and found Brian Graham's post-match comments very interesting and appropriate given the first half performance. A well deserved win. Carla Boyce looks like a great signing and I wish her the very best of luck with the Jags. I dont doubt her pedigree but my only reservation is that at 25 yrs of age she seems to be a bit of a rolling stone having played for Glasgow City, Rangers , Hibs and Motherwell. I hope she can continue scoring goals and settle down with the Jags. Welcome to the Jags Carla.

I can sympathise with both players for leaving us for the above reasons. It's just a pity they aren't exactly cutting it at Dundee and Ross County respectively! Both have spent a fair amount of time on the bench however, recently, Tiffoney has made it into the starting 11. I wish them both better luck in the SPL in the second half of the season!

Doolan did say recently that "planning for the January window was well advanced". To me this suggests a bit more thought has gone into January signings than those made in the summer. Hope so anyway.

Not really clear about above - has Williamson left as well as McGinlay and McDonald?

How about McCall. He did sign Docherty, Tiffoney, Holt, Turner , Milne, McMillan and Graham and brought back Lawless, Fitzpatrick and Muirhead. Some really good players in there!

Agree that Sneddon wasn't to blame for the first 2 goals but I thought he should have come for the cross for the 3rd goal. At least that would have put some pressure on Watt. As for the first goal it was a scramble but Stanway and Neilson were standing like statues instead of moving towards the ball or blocking Watt. The second goal was a good strike aided by a limping Muirhead not being mobile enough to block. Though DU were clearly better than us I think we paid them too much respect by standing off them all night instead of getting close to them and actually making tackles. Back to the drawing board.

I thought we tried hard and managed to stay in the game but in the end we ran out of steam and were simply outclassed. If anything this game highlighted all the weaknesses we have raised, discussed and debated since the start of the season so no point in repeating here . Tonight though I thought we also looked slow and not as fit as we should be. At least we are, perhaps, the 3rd best team in the championship but miles off RR & DU who have too much football in their squads, at the moment, for us.

Finishing 3rd or 4th in the play-off places is no great reward under the present system which is heavily loaded in favour of whichever SPL team takes part in the play-off final. We need to finish at worst in second place to have any chance of winning promotion. To do that we need to get closer to RR & DU and stay in touch with them in the hope that they both have poor runs like the one DU are in at the moment! So to make the Championship a 3 horse race all our games fall into the 'must win' category until we are well and truly in the mix!

Prior to reading your post above I suggested on the tonight's game thread that the Arabs fall from form might coincide with Dochertys absence from the team so without knowing the stats I do recognise his importance to Dundee United as a ball winning midfielder and captain. However I don't think its as simple as saying that because of Dochertys contribution to DU we should have him back or I shouldn't has some doubts about him. The point has already been made about Bannigan's role in helping Docherty recycle the ball etc. Also DU have different strengths and weakness from us. In our case I think we need someone in midfield who has Docherty's leadership attributes but who has a greater physical presence. So your points are noted but doubt I will be changing my mind about wanting him back as a Jag. I wish him every success for the future, but just not tonight.

I may well be wrong with this comment but has Dundee United's stuttering run not coincided with Docherty's absence from the team? Is he out due to injury or suspension or both? As far as tonight's game is concerned its really a must win for us. I live in hope that we will win, we certainly have the players who can hurt United, but we must play for 90 mins! When was the last time.within did this? I can't say I an confident about our chances and notwithstanding our much debated need for a defensive midfielder I also think we need a strong central defender. I am not particularly convinced of the Sneddon, Muirhead, Neilson triangle in the centre and see Muirhead in particular as the most vulnerable. If ever anybody is missing Holt it's Muirhead! Let's hope that Dundee Utd's lack of form and our strengths, of which there are many, can outweigh our weaknesses and we can look forward to 90+ mins of a full-on Jags performance. C'mon the Jags.

I raised the question about Tiffoney and Turner bring possible loan acquisitions solely because they were very good players for us under Doolan and are not certain starters at their clubs. I also asked would we want them back not because of anything to do with the manner of their leaving or doubts about their commitment but solely because of the squad we have and whether their return would create and overload of midfield and wide players. I agree a defensive midfielder is a priority but I would have Tiffoney and Turner (and Holt, not sure about Docherty) back in a jiffy!!