Westend Jag

the st mirren one springs to mind!

i think we know the outcome there... straight after ball goes out on the touchline yet ref then gives a foul to them...no doubt celtic get the benefit from refs...osman booking? never. glad craigen is on the bt show - def pen for him!

thats a penalty

Bit of an unknown quantity, looks decent finisher in youtube clips and certainly has some presence / power...lets see if we can add another up top and some more pace in the wide areas...hopefully it won't be long before we are all asking Lyle who?

Just flicked onto the site - this looks like a good idea...would be good to see it publicised beyond this forum and our official site in some way too

I got a call today from Michael at the club. I haven't renewed and can't due to a change in personal circumstances but will still be looking to get to games next season through other means - he indicated game packages will be available shortly too - that kind of thing will work for me alongside pay at the gate for next yr. I asked him how many season ticket holders we had so far this season and he said to be fair he couldn't tell me which is fine but suspect it is as stated above, under 1500. He also stated that the people who hadn't renewed who he had spoken to were down to personal situations rather than not wanting to watch the club next season which I suppose is something - if I look at my own situation, I will be taking a break from a season ticket this season but will still get to most games - appreciate its not cash up front for the club but they haven't "lost" me as a fan week in week out, I am sure there may be many others in the same boat as myself... I think it is great that the club is trying as many ways as possible to get people excited and involved in the club right now from season tickets, to kit launches, to mascots, to paying to be a player, weir academy etc etc....so many good things which far outweigh the negatives at PTFC right now and in recent yrs.

Couldn't agree more...not sure if some folk are just on the wind up on here!! I think we will see 2 new players minimum before end of August if they are the "right ones" as assessed by the management team, one will be a striker and Archie will believe that they will add value to the existing players when he signs them...if they don't then he will move them on quickly as has been the case with anyone who hasn't worked out for him.

This... Consistency pre Xmas & cutting out mistakes at the back will see us turning some of last seasons draws into wins & defeats into draws... Sellick & Aberdeen (possibly Hearts aside) not a lot between the teams - consistency is key

bound to be moved for TV as well

Until January...

hahaha magic! prefer when the main man Archie drops me a text tho

We should also be able to exploit some of his obvious weaknesses when we play them too...

Bizarre move from a career and personal perspective...but good luck to him if that's what he wants to do, no complaints about the service he gave us. Over to Archie to suitably replace

It is possible he was offered a 1 yr deal and rejected it because he wanted more £, a longer deal or both as well as being told he was a likely starter (form dependant) - clearly he wouldn't give £ as a reason for rejecting it if asked. At the same time Archie may have been keen to offer him a deal on our terms but couldn't come to an agreement with him hence we've let him go...either way both versions above probably have an element of truth to them. Liked him as a player effort wise but he wasn't top quality so clearly replaceable, it is probably too early to rely heavily on the academy at this stage but squad players (of which Craigen was) should start to be made up of these young guys sooner rather than later as part of theirs and our clubs development.

Sometimes players just want a fresh challenge, like many of us do in our daily jobs, I'd put him in this camp along with Conrad, SOD & to a lesser extent Higgy... All 4 have been good servants for the club and feel the need for a fresh move, fair enough, we have to remember they have a relatively short career and so have a limited time window to experience as much as they can. Whilst we will be sad to see them leave we can only wish them well...they will probably end up at Hearts / Hibs / Dundee Utd, if not a lower end English side - good for them if they feel a move can give them something different, actually quite like Fox being so blunt and expressing some ambition to break into the national team - even if I think he is well short of that standard.... We also have to trust the manager to replace these guys over the summer - SOD probably being the hardest to replace given the attacking dimension he brings...Archie is doing a great job and on recent history gets his signings right more often than not so I am sure he will have players in mind.

Thought the same, Seaborne and Frans looked like being the boys when signed and perhaps are still first choice pairing in Archie's head but Balatoni stays in on form and deservedly so, even if seaborne is fit I'd keep conrad in..he is prone to a wee mistake now and again and sometimes gives the ball away when he doesn't need to but last time I checked we didn't have the budget to sign top players who may have less mistakes in them.. I like the lad and not sure he will be with us next season so happy he is in and playing well.

Don't totally disagree with that, it requires more concentration from the person receiving the pass when the surface is bumpy vs. normal too but we also need to do things more at pace than we've been doing recently when we have possession...quicker passing and movement to try and hurt teams, the pitch is definitely playing a part in us struggling a bit here. point I was making is that it isn't Archie that has abandoned our "passing" style - he can't legislate for someone making a bad decision, taking a bad touch on the park or the state of the surface...look at the players who were on the pitch at the start yesterday, the majority are forward minded / attacking players including both fullbacks, it's clear the manager wants us to go play football & pass it.

Back four were a bit of a mess yesterday, especially 1st half and that along with O'Donnell's two mistakes that led to their goals & our inability to win and retain the ball in the midfield were the reasons we lost yesterday not the selection of personnel further up the field which many are keen to pull out as the reason we got beat and played badly...Taylor should have started but he wouldn't have stopped Caley winning most 1st and every second balls in the middle of the park and the fact that when they had it they retained it... Archie needs to freshen a few things up for Wed and I am sure he will, freshening doesn't necessarily mean loads of personnel changes either though, he needs to get the confidence going amongst our creative players and tighten up / get the work-rate going amongst the rest of the side....

I agree re the braveness, he still tries to retain possession but he looks like he is struggling to find a threatening pass at times (hence "square" passes that fans in Scotland really hate), this is also due to the fact movement has been limited at times in areas where he used to direct the play, i.e. the forward left full-back position / higgy etc. For me there is such a lack of consistency in our key players this yr & confidence is so fragile across them all - I can't think of anyone who has consistently contributed this season...we really miss a leader in the middle / other people on the park to help with the confidence of players, football is 20% ability, 80% belief / confidence.

I blame the pitch, its really poor and not made for much of a passing game right now

I think that is exactly what is happening here...or another club...he becomes more appealing to more clubs in the summer if there is no fee...I suppose a pre contract agreement in the window with someone would confirm that thought but he may way to summer none the less (agreements could always be made in the background I'm sure)

a choice between anything north of £80k to lose him now or nothing in the summer and I'd be taking the money now.

This, he is in a far better position personally if he holds on until summer, suspect it depends what is on offer for him from Blackpool and what advice he takes from agent etc... also if he likes roller coasters. If he goes, he will go with best wishes I'm sure, he's been a really good player for us, some great goals and darting runs up the park..if he can sort some of his positional play and consistently deliver dangerous balls into the box each time he gets forward, he has a chance of becoming a top player, clearly still young enough.

banzo or fraser in for craigen...they are both much better than james....all else remains as is personnel wise and we do things at pace and direct as per wed too..if we do that we will win...as always in this league get the 1st goal and build from there! Another 3 points please

They also have quite a shrewd guy in Ronnie McDonald who knows how to negotiate in this game and as stated above has used the success of previous sales to push the value forward of anyone who shows a bit of promise in a Hamilton top...his words on bbc on wed were interesting in that he said confidently he wouldn't let a guy like Hendrie go unless it was well in excess of £2m all in / add ons etc... Get the impression that the player who is moving on in these circumstances really trusts that club as it actually feels like Hamilton do try and do right by them...that can't be bad when trying to keep players who may be moving out of contract and encouraging them to sign longer deals too...they know if they do show some loyalty they will get the right move when offers come in and the club will benefit too rather than losing out as a result of out of contract situations...