exiledjag
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Posts posted by exiledjag
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We are in serious trouble as a football team - staring at relegation for the second time in 3 seasons.
Now I believe we are in serious trouble as a football club. I smell the scent of a conspiracy here which at best will see us sharing Broadwood with Clyde or at worst a footnote in history. Heaven forbid!
I will continue going to see the Jags whenever I can to spite, to the best of my ability, whatever shenanigans Low and 3 Black Cats might have under the table. IMC and the team, however poor, need our support.
I have bought my Euro millions lottery tickets.
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Oh well and notwithstanding we are a clueless lot I just keep a mental log of the accumulating injustices so that I can blame others for our relegation to League 1.
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Probably guilty of an over active imagination but I have long held the view the SFA are anti-thistle.
This conspiracy 'hunch' of mind has been further encouraged by the abandonment of this game due to high winds.
Any thoughts or views on whether the referee in charge of our recent game at Arbroath should have abandoned or even cancelled the game.
I live in the NE and can say with confidence the wind last Saturday was nowhere near as strong as it was for our match.
Of course Arbroath were 2-0 ahead at half-time!
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Doolin, great player for us and would have liked him back but now not so sure as a player. Always a jags legend but coming round to view we have to move on.
We have a lot riding on Graham and Rudden if we can only get them both on the park and keep them there at the same time.
Jones strikes me as a tidy enough player but lacks pace, in fact, always seems slow and cumbersome to me. Therefore we need to keep Graham and Rudden fit (hopefully)!
I think IMC is trying very hard to keep us in this league but suspect he has an eye to building for the future from league 1 - Docherty, Lyons, Niang, Brownlee, Sneddon and the Academy players on loan with perhaps, Graham, Rudden, O'Ware & Penrice remaining as Jags.
I still think we should persevere with Mansell and Saunders but expect to be in a minority of one here.
I don't see a future if relegated for Cardle, Zanetta, Bannigan, Jones, and perhaps Fox!
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Yesterday my wife commented on how care free, relaxed and stress free I seemed to be.
I said it might have something to do with the Jags being undefeated. Immediately she replied 'was the game cancelled'!!
The intuition of the wife of a life-long jags fan!
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We are clearly in a mess when it comes to playing football. As regards off the park organisation and planning I don't really feel qualified to comment. Other than to say we are clearly in a transitional stage and facing a lot of uncertainty.
However looking at "where we should be' only Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs & Hearts are bigger clubs and at a level which I suspect is beyond us!
Of the others Dundee Utd could be considered a bigger club but that's a relatively recent (in the history of the game) development since about 1980s.
Dundee, Motherwell & Kilmarnock have had their moments but would I seriously doubt, pass a FFT investigation, especially the latter. I don"t see why we can't be the equal of these clubs.
Of the others we are certainly equal to and can be bigger than Livingston, St Johnstone, St Mirren, Hamilton, Ross County, ICT, Dunfermline, Falkirk, & Morton.
I rember Jackie Charlton saying that when a club starts to decline it can be a monumental task for a manager to firstly arrest the decline and then turn the club around.
I think IMC job is to arrest our decline, even if it means going into League 1, stabilise the club and move upstairs to become Director of Football. At which point a new Head Coach will be appointed to take us back to the SPL (and keep us there)
Afraid I don't see one manager doing it all as we are falling too far too quickly! If we can return i
To the SPL within another 4/5 years we will be doing well.
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I understand the feelings about Fox not coming off his line and in fact have commented, critically, about this aspect of his game.
I think though we have to put this into the context of the modern thinking about goalkeeping.
The 'old' days when the prevailing thinking was that a keeper should come for every cross ball and hold every ball crosses and when saving shots are gone.
Set pieces unless crosses are right onto the goal line are the responsibility of the defence. The keepers role today is simply to stop the ball crossing the goal line by any means. If a ball breaks from a keeper its up to the defence to clear. The keepe's other main responsibility is to be a sweeper, good with his feet and to distribute the ball thereby initiating - playing from the back.
In summary, shot stopping and sweeping/distributing - that's it!
Joe Hart, remember him, was the last of a line of traditional keepers, and he has been struggling to get a game at a PL or Championship Club.
It wouldn't surprise me if IMC plays Fox, not due to any perceived weaknesses Sneddon may have, but because he considers Fox to be one of the stronger players in the team!
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On 2/15/2020 at 1:28 PM, laukat said:
After last nights depressing performance I've tried to get myself in a better frame of mind for what lies ahead. If you're loking for an optomistic way of looking at things then I think its the following...
With Alloa drawing last night we are only 3 points off 9th and have played the same games. Considering how bad our results have been in January we're not adrift. If QOS lose today then theoretically we could be joint 8th next Saturday if results go our way and at that point QOS would only having 1 game in hand. With QOS and Morton having to play each other twice its hard to see how we get detached so we perhaps have time to recover.
Last nights performance was awful however we were missing some first team starters who will be available for Dunfermline next week (i.e. Zanatta, Brownlie hopefully Mackinnon and Rudden) and a couple of better options for subs (Barjonas and Mayo)
The performance v Ayr at home suggested that the recruitment in January was positive with perhaps the only problem being it didn't go far enough. We should have probably signed another wide player so that we weren't reliant on Cardle. Without seeing Mayo its difficult to know how reliant we are on O'Ware at left centre back or MacKinnon as a holding midfielder.
What is obvious is that the duds in the squad are still largely still those pre-McCall. Austin, Mansell, Jones, Williamson and Robson look to be not good enough and question marks appearing over Saunders, O'Ware, Cardle, Zanatta, Fox and Gordon. So far of the McCall sigings Graham, MacKinnon, O'Connor and Brownlie are clear improvements. Hopefully Rudden and Mayo will be when we get to see them. I've not been impressed by Barjonas but the early assesment of McCall's signings suggest he still has an eye for a player therefore if we can scrape by this season then next season has promise.
With the ICT game being postponed we have 10 days to prepare for QOS at home on the 3rd March which looks like a 6 pointer. QOS will have had to play Morton on Saturday prior to playing us which will be 2 6 pointers in a row for them so you would like to think we are getting them at the best time.
Overall I still think we won't really know have a sense of where we are until we play Morton at home on the 28th March. With 3 out of 5 at home in March and all the home fixtures against those around us (QOS, Alloa and Morton) it looks the make or break month. If we win our home games between now and Mortonon the 28th the situation will look entirely different.
How many games have we won at home?
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Wasn't at the game tonight (again) but value the thoughts and comments of those fans who were there.
As a life long thistle fan I have witnessed a few highs an more lows. The last 10 years have been a bit of a comeback period for me as an active fan but the last 3 years have been tough ( for all fans). Being jags fans I am sure we expect our fair share of defeats, we'll at least I do! For most of my life Thistle teams, when losing have gone down fighting and looking like a football team. Recently though there has been 3 years of apathy where players, not all but quite a few, seem not to care or are clueless!
An acceptance that defeat seems to be inevitable! Shamefully when I saw tonight's result I was totally immune from any shock, upset feelings or disappointment! I expected defeat as a likely outcome because I am starting to feel having seen only 6 or so this season that all the posters on this and other threads are correct - this particular team is at best clueless and at worst, doesn't give a damn!
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On 2/10/2020 at 9:07 PM, Blackpool Jags said:
I've been a fierce critic of his, but this is a different thing altogether. I hope he pulls through and recovers to full health.
Really sad news.
Let's all recognise the pivotal part he played in the Jags revival and express our hopes and wishes this young man can make a full recovery. Thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.
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On 2/8/2020 at 7:56 PM, Norgethistle said:
McColl is a decent manager the problem is we’ve became a basket case of a club.
2 1/2 years of downward spiral on the park
1 1/2 years of off field shenanigans with questionable decisions, statements and priorities.
The whole club needs an overhaul from top to bottom, become 1st and foremost about being a football club that concentrates on winning games with the 1st team, drop the nepotism, be professional and if need be ruthless.
Totally agree with the above.
A football club like Thistle should be playing in the middle section of the SPL! I mean somewhere between 6th & 9th. To do that we need to have a stable core of players in the team and on the bench with new signings made when necessary. We also need a steady flow of good young players coming through from the Academy.
We will never achieve the above by off loading 7/8 players and signing a similar number every transfer window.
All the off-field 'shenanigans' and decisions have created serious levels of instability and this has impacted on the playing side as well in the form of a lack stability, confidence and team cohesion or if preferred, togetherness.
From being confident in December that we could stay up I am now not so sure.
I do though have every confidence that McCall. Given the time, can sort us out but have said previously he might not be able to do it quickly enough to stay in this division.
We badly need stability in our club. I would hate to count the number of players who have come and gone since relegation from the SPL - 50, more???
Call me old fashioned but with the rate of change in the number of players I find it difficult to have the level of empathy with the team that I used to enjoy!
Bring back the old days of a settled team!
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16 minutes ago, Garscube Road End said:
Bring back Caldwell.
He'll be sitting somewhere enjoying a nice drink with a big smile on his face thinking "serves th right"!
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Are we playing against the wind?
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As per other fellow jags fans on this thread 3 at the back just doesn't do it for me.
I would prefer an old fashioned 433 or 442 with probably a slight preference for the latter. The only problem is I can't, from the midfielders we had under GC and we have under IMC. find the right balance of players for Midfield. I think we would be better defensively with the above formations but probably not so good in midfield.
For the time being suspect we will set up as has been suggested with 3 at the back, 5 spread across midfield and with Rudden injured one up front with someone tucked in just behind. A 3511 formation.
Still hoping for the best but please mark or play that little nark McGowan out of the game.
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I don't disagree with any of the comments about the scale of the job IMC has to keep us in this league (never mind get to 4th), the quality of the squad and some of the poor performances.
I also think that the reason for our collective depression plummeting to an even lower level is that we actually went to Arbroath with renewed hope only to be let down by an abject performance.
Where did this 'new hope' come from - the team showing signs of actually playing better, starting to look like a football team, a promising transfer window where the general perception was we brought it better than we off loaded!
Afraid as Jags fans we just have to keep the faith, stay strong and be positive in supporting the team.
We all know life is not easy supporting the Jags.
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I said prior to the 0-1 home defeat if we get a grip of McGowan we have a chance!
We didn't and he more or less ran the show in the midfield. He also got forward to score the goal.
So I am going to say the same again "get a grip of McGowan and we can win this game!
I have been critical of Zanetta & Cardle who apparently played well against Ayr, especially first half. Perhaps if both play they can keep the momentum going and terrorise the Dundee full backs. This will also give us a chance of winning the game.
Regarding a result - just hoping for the best
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I find all this speculation about what we need to do to stay in this league interesting, honest I really do!
I agree that generally and excepting a catastrophic collapse we can ignore Dundee Utd as they will most likely beat nearly every other team.
For the rest everyone can beat everyone else! So what do we have to do. Well, sorry to be boring and perhaps stating the obvious. but we need to focus on our own efforts by taking one game at a time, selecting the right team, getting the tactics correct and then do everything we can to win the game. No more not turning up performances.
I think if we do this we can look at the table at the end of the season and see a Thistle team sitting somewhere above 9th with around 40 - 44pts.
Then for next season we get ready for the big promotion push back to the SPL with an effective (summer) transfer window...................... or am I dreaming!!
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On 2/1/2020 at 8:01 AM, Jaggernaut said:
I wish he was still with us.
So do I.
Always liked Christie and felt some of the crigksm was very harsh. Yes his crossing could have been better but he always played for the Jersey and put the team before himself.
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1 hour ago, javeajag said:
For all those Tidser fans .....he signed for Kelty Hearts
Good
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Should have read :save more of the poorly taken etc penalties.
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13 hours ago, douglas clark said:
May I suggest that our goalkeeper merely stands up, rather that diving right or left? As his anticipation appears to be always wrong, perhaps he should tell his anticipation that it is always wrong? Standing still might have saved a few more penalties than his current nonsense.
The man needs to break with his beliefs and save at least one penalty, once.
It would be better if Fox didn't guess and waited until the penalty taker made his decision where to put the ball then dive.
It's not going to be any worse than his present stats, he may in fact more of the poorly taken and 'cute' penalties and look less of a fool repeatedly diving in the wrong direction.
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26 minutes ago, CotterJag said:
Worried about Rudden.
He seems to always nearly get there but not quite.
Feels like unless the ball is right at him, he can't adjust by more than 6 inches.
He makes many decent balls look bad.
Not sure if your post is a general comment or one specifically aimed at Rudden's performance last night! Though previous posts have been positive about Rudden but last night I thought he didn't look fit and his movement seemed restricted.
On a more general point one of my frustrations with Thistle this season has been that the players alway seen to be slow to start moving to the ball and rarely anticipating the pass or second ball.
It was refreshing to see Graham run to get to the back post to be there just in case a ball arrived there. This gave him the extra yard on the defender and made the goal an easy tap in!
Well done to Graham and I hope the other players noted his anticipation and movement.
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7 minutes ago, partickthedog said:
Amazed that Hibs have signed Paul McGinn. He was hardly outstanding for us and in no way a game-breaker, though perhaps more composed and consistent than some. Has he suddenly improved? Would you have been excited if he had signed for Thistle instead?
When he signed for us I felt quite neutral about it.
He is in my opinion a solid and dependable full-back but not a wing-back in the mould of SOD. He might be better with better players around him but need to wait and see!
The Hibs manager, Jack Ross, was St Mirren manager prior to joining Sunderland. I am sure is a factor in this signing.
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On 1/30/2020 at 10:17 AM, Semi Nurainen said:
Some unspeakable cronyism and blatant corruption in those days at the SFA.
Alan Rough's autobiography was brutally scathing about the suits at the SFA.
It was just as bad with McParland. I went to a Scottish League versus, I think but not sure, Irish League match at Hampden.
Davie Wilson of Rangers was the first choice left winger for Scotland at the time but was not at his best. A good game and McParland was in!
The left half was Jim Baxter of Rangers. He was dreadful in that game and nearly all of his passes to McParland on the left wing were over hit and Davie couldn't get to them.
As I had never seen Baxter pass the ball so badly I thought it was deliberate to protect his pal Wilson's Scotland place. There were quite a few comments in the press along these lines and especially about Davie getting another chance. Davie, being the gentleman he was, accepted responsibility and commented 'he felt a yard slow on the night'! I completely lost respect for Baxter after that game.
Some time later my father, a Morton fan and a pal of Davie, told me my suspicions were correct! He worked all his life in the newspapers and pick up lots of bits of 'inside' information but he wouldn't tell me his source other than it came from Ibrox!!
A blind man could have seen what Baxter was up to but not the SFA. I suspect they knew but didn't want to take on the mighty Glasgow Rangers by dropping Wilson.
Apologies for length of post.
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Dundee United v Partick Thistle
in Main Jags forum
Posted
Teams that have been successful against DU have managed to cut off the supply to Shankland.
This means:
1. our midfield cancelling out their midfield and
2. our full-backs dominating their wide players to cut off crosses into Shankland and forcing them in-field to present a narrow attack to our defence - can we do this?
Unfortunately our central defence hasn't been great this season!
In short we have to defend like supermen and hope their poor form of recent games continues.