Jaggernaut

That's pretty much what Chris Erskine does to try to beat a defender. He points one foot straight, and the other one the opposite way. Or is it both the opposite way? No, wait a minute, he points one foot to the left and the other to the right. I mean both to the left. Ach feck it, you all saw the end result on Saturday.

Great, Hamilton Accies and Man Utd considered together! I don't have the stats at hand, but somehow I doubt whether Accies lost only 3 away games in 15, which is currently the case for Utd. When Accies won the league they, like everybody else, were no great shakes. But their artificial pitch gave them a great home advantage.

Unfortunately, with little left to play for, I don't see our attendances improving much, if at all. Falkirk, Dundee, Dunfermline: all have been getting much bigger crowds than us, and there have been some bumper gates for Raith Rovers too. And yet, those clubs face the same general issues as us: the monotony of playing the same teams several times each season, weather, cancellations, midweek games etc etc. I'm afraid it has to come down to the simple fact that more of our supporters have deserted, for one reason or another.

With all the talk of more "high earners" (in Thistle terms) being either released or offered reduced wages, and even further reductions in the player budget, I wonder whether the overall aim of the Board isn't to arrive at what will essentially be a part-time squad. Well, there may be some youngsters on a full-time pittance of a wage, but more experienced players with families to provide for will need to seek employment elsewhere at the same time as playing for us. If it comes to that stage, then if it was me and I wanted to make at least a decent earning as a full-timer, loyalty to the club wouldn't come into it. I'd be offski.

Why not? A couple of wayward kicks on Saturday due to bobbles, but his kicking is generally excellent. And seriously, when is the last time we had somebody who was really likely to score from free-kicks. Boab McCulloch? Simon Donnelly's effort on Saturday was, well,... like a Simon Donnelly effort.

Archie is good for another season in central defence. Hope we'll see him next season.

About 95% of songs by the Cocteau Twins!

Click on the wee thumbnails at the top right.

I wonder what Michel Plantaini will have to say about this?

Taking our games at Hamilton as the most recent occasions when I watched professional matches on an artificial pitch, it was clear that Thistle players in particular had problems dealing with the way the ball bounced and the speed of passes along the surface. Nothing different there, one might say, but Accies' home record that season showed clearly that they were at an advantage from being so experienced on it. More recently I've watched some lower-level matches, including Thistle youths, and nobody seems to want to slide in to tackle on these surfaces. And I'm not talking about potentially dangerous tackles from behind, I'm talking about perfectly legitimate, sometimes last-ditch tackles that are a part of the enjoyment of the game. Yes, of course a form of football can be played on artificial pitches, and it can even be entertaining to watch, but it's not exactly the same as what you might hope to see on a natural surface, whether that's a lush lawn or a tattie field. So the question is whether people are happy to watch a different type of football.

A couple of his surging runs through the middle were superb. At each one I immediately wished he was a permanent member of the squad!

59th Street Bridge Song (Simon and Garfunkel).

I think that East End Park is an excellent stadium.

Good article, with some excellent points. He is of course right about the hype.

Excellent photies.

I thought it was a pretty disappointing crowd, given that it was a nice afternoon and they have an excellent chance of winning the league. But I guess at least they're getting over 3,000, which we just don't these days. And we're not as big a draw for them as Raith Rovers, Falkirk or Dundee. I'd reckon around 450 Jags fans.

Excellent action photies. That sky-high effort from Erskine had several hundred Jags fans shaking their heads in unison.

I only caught 5 minutes or so of the last 10, and in that time I don't think Scotland even managed more than one pass, whereas Brazil were pinging it about with absolute ease and confidence. It looked like adults against toddlers.

Now Sunday evening, and just in from Dunfermline.... Thought it was a really good 0-0 draw, with both teams having several excellent chances. Fox's 1st-half save was breathtaking, and I thought that Doolan's header was going in all the way... In fact we had a few more real chances than them, and just about everybody put in a real shift. It just wasn't working for Erskine, so McCall did the right thing. Thought that Balatoni and McGowan both had excellent games, and Rowson never stopped either. What a contrast between two substitutes: one youngster who got stuck in, looked dangerous, and was eager to get involved at every opportunity, and one old-timer, no longer interested, looked like a part-time pub league player, and didn't even think about running into space. If I remember rightly Hinchcliffe played his last 1st team game at Dunfermline. Based on yesterday, I wouldn't at all be surprised (or upset) if the same wasn't true for Donnelly.

I'd reluctantly accept an artificial pitch. But only if it was in the Thistle tartan. Why do they all have to be green, when people know that it's not grass? It's like vegetarian soya products being made to look and smell like sausages.

You mean for promotion? Me too! Would love to hump them tomorrow.

They seem to change in random fashion. But at least it's good to go to a stadium that looks like a football stadium.

Maybe more to the point: if Gerry Britton can play in that match, then stick him on alongside Doolan tomorrow!

Tomorrow's HT is for Grehan.

I know what you mean. Unfortunately, they are in a win-win, any-publicity-is-good-publicity position in Scotland. Though you could also say it's a win-stay situation, as they ain't going anywhere!