allyo

I think they may still have the majority. Seriously though, I like your thinking.

I quite liked it.

Sounds like yesterday's result was actually pretty good.

I think it's too expensive. I'd be interested to know why Scottish football is so expensive compared to overseas. Is it policing costs, rates and other overheads? Because I don't think anyone's making huge profits and I don't even think the players are generally getting paid huge sums these days.

Rarely (certainly up until a few weeks ago) have I seen so much rubbish on the one thread. Discussing other managers is a joke. I'm not even convinced that the criticism is valid. Most people reckon that our best two players this season have been Archie signings, and after yesterday it seems that Gabriel might turn out fine too. All this insistence that we need a plan B and to change the system is all very well, but we have players who were successful all last season and for the first months of this season playing a system that we all loved watching, and I'm happy if Archie is prepared to try sticking with it despite a few heavy defeats. As has been said, of our last six games five of them have been against top five teams, and that top five seems to be out in front of the rest this season. It's not time to throw everything away.

Effort will only get you so far.

For me you have, over recent weeks, become the worst poster in the history of Thistle forums. An achievement in some sense, particularly as it seems that this may have been your intention.

I accept that it's difficult at this stage to remain positive. But I still think we have to show a bit more belief in this team. They were comfortably the best team in the First division last season, and earned the right to play in this league. And on getting there, they showed an ability to compete. They don't become bad players over night, or over the course of a few weeks. What clearly has happened in that time is that they have lost confidence. Unfortunately, and to some extent understandably, many of the fans have also lost faith in this time. But the recent run of games has been incredibly tough. A couple of decent results could turn it back around. Hard to see it coming at this stage maybe, but if the players can grind it out (against lesser teams), and the fans show more faith, it can be done. Time to hit the reset button and get right behind them. I think the players need the fans more than ever right now.

Absolutely 100% spot on. I feel the need to say that I don't just "like" this post. I would like it 1000 times if I could.

Yep. That's correct (though I could argue that it's not "plus out of a cup", since you've included that in the defeats). And between 22 September and 23 October we won one, drew one and lost one (very unfortunately) in the league, and went out of the cup. Three of these four games were away from home. I'd say that's okay for a team just promoted. So I would maintain, we've had a bad month. If you want to twist statistics to extend our bad run and undermine the team's previous achievements then you go for it.

Seriously fed up with this forum. Team's struggling and all anyone wants to do is write them off. We won't finish bottom and we're probably in a three or four team battle against the play off spot. Ross County and Kilmarnock are hardly making up ground. Confidence is massive in football and I reckon our team is capable of getting that back, but it'll be much harder if the fans start turning against them. We've had 14 great months followed by a bad one. By all means tell me I don't have read it. I probably won't be and I hope more than anything that our players don't.

I'd have said that in tonight's match Norway were Thistle.

I fear you are right. I think he knows what he's doing. But no fear from the Jags and we've got a good chance against anyone.

I do agree with this. I like the five year education rule and I'm fine with the parent rule. I don't like the grandparent rule, it's stretching it too far. However I do think that the management's job to pick the best team within the rules and I'm glad to hear them being open about this and not apologising. And what I think is very important is that when a player is picked he has to be treated equally. I don't like the idea of Scottish born players being given preferential treatment, which a lot of fans, even those who are ok with "non scots" being picked, seem to favour.

Looked it up. 4th April 1992. It actually pushed us towards promotion. The rest is accurate. Party Politics (the horse).

Can't forget Geordie Shaw's late and slightly dodgy winner at rugby park, virtually ensured survival and put Killie in trouble. Killie fans were going mental. Thistle got a throw in near their goal and Don McVicar put his head in their crowd to run up for a throw in. These moments live with you forever. I think I won money on the National that day too.

Fair enough, don't really disagree with that. Consequences though, rather than punishments. Maybe I'm being pedantic. I do think the fact that being a top level football player is a very attractive proposition to most of us, and being a top level referee is not, is significant. If there isn't the same pool there won't be the same level of talent. And the constant trial by TV experts, and whinging managers and fans, doesn't help that situation.

Players shouldn't be allowed to question referees' decisions. They should accept them, that's the game. And to suggest that a referee's mistake is equivalent to a sending off, and should be punished similarly, is ridiculous. A referee's mistake is equivalent to a striker missing a chance or a defender losing his man. It's a misjudgement, a moment of failure. It may be worthy of criticism, but not disciplinary action.

I'm afraid he's lost more than that, but I shouldn't dwell.

Are you Alex Ferguson in disguise?

Okay. Disagree. This thread's turning into a Balatoni bashing session today. I can't see the positive in that, even if he did make a few mistakes. Last season's back four plus Fox, when playing together, have been pretty solid this season. That's a valid argument. Fox has made good saves but he isn't a one man show. A defensive unit builds an understanding. The fact that Gabriel isn't part of that shared experience isn't his fault and doesn't make him a bad player, but it's fair to suggest that our 'regular' back five have a better chance of competing at this stage. That's not bias and it's not necessarily because they're fans' favourites.

Worst at peeing our pants when the team loses a couple of games. Or best. Whatever.

Agree with this. By all means defend Gabriel. As has been said, he's a young guy coming into a new team in a new country. But there's little point in doing this by pointing out the mistakes of others.

If all the referees are terrible, which seems to be the common view among football people around the world, then I'm not sure that we can punish them too severely, as to do so would leave us with no referees and no game. They make mistakes but they're doing a virtually impossible job that I reckon few of us would want to do, so I'm afraid I'm in the tiny minority that thinks we should give them a break, even when a terrible decision goes against our own team. I get really sick of pundits who contribute little to the game and take a lot out of it, constantly getting stuck into the referees while they sit with their instant slow motion replays and multiple camera angles. Having said all that, I was giving him pelters on Saturday because my angle from the front of the JHS was almost as good as his own. By the way, who says the Edinburgh derby is the biggest in the country? Rugby town.

Fair enough. You can argue that. But it's not the plan B that everyone's talking about. Yes, I want us to tighten up at set pieces, and get better delivery into the box. But I don't want us to start believing that thistle's style of football doesn't work, or we can't cut it in this league, on the basis of a couple of bad games. And the players have earned a bit of respect and patience that I'm not seeing from many on here.