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ian_mac
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A load of nonsense from the start.

 

Firstly, our level of support justifies a realistic target of Europe? At the turn of the year our average attendance was the second lowest in the league. You can use last seasons figure as justification, but we were lucky enough to have two home games against all the teams valuable of bringing a big support to Firhill.

 

Next, we have been giving youth a chance to develop, see all the loans we've sent out to competitive teams. Youth development doesn't provide overnight results and only on the next couple of years would I expect anyone to come through.

 

I think we can all agree that we'd like to see longer contracts, however I can understand the business justification behind short contracts too.

 

Who cares what the manager is doing on the sidelines? We have seen an in the quality of signings by Archie in every window he's had and an improvement in league position in each season. He may well not be the best manager in the world, but he's right for us now and I believe continuity in management is more important than short term gains in facing your manager every year. Just see the recent herald article to see the detail that goes into the prep for each match, it is clear from that and recent performances/results that he is improving as a manager.

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Yeh, read this earlier today. Lincoln got it right "you can please some of the people ....etc"*. Remind me again historically what's the Jags average finishing positions?. How often have we finished below 8th? How often above 8th?

 

Strange thing in any other walk of life if you jump about wildly, gesticulating madly for over an hour they'd put you in a straight jacket and you'd end up with your arms forcibly folded for a good time longer.

 

*Just to avoid any doubt, Master McFarlane, that's Abraham not City.

Edited by lady-isobel-barnett
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The purest mince from start to finish.

 

Sounds like it was written by one of the small group of Archie-haters that have gone so quiet on here lately.

 

Don't know this Scotzine blog; I just hope it has zero following, because that load of crap is just dreadful publicity for the club.

 

Disgraceful!

 

 

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The purest mince from start to finish.

 

Sounds like it was written by one of the small group of Archie-haters that have gone so quiet on here lately.

 

Don't know this Scotzine blog; I just hope it has zero following, because that load of crap is just dreadful publicity for the club.

 

Disgraceful!

 

Pretty popular but it comes with an overwhelming Celtic bias.

 

The guy also has some spectacular, and highly entertaining, meltdowns with the gentlemen of the Scottish football press. Keith Jackson and Chris Jack have been recent targets.

 

Wonder if Scotzine would be interested in a more balanced account of the current state of Partick Thistle?

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Where do you start? I suspect that he/she is using a pseudonym, and probably posts here on a regular basis. Total garbage! We have probably the smallest budget in the league, and should finish comfortably above the play off place. My indignation about this crap is matched by the BBC's manager of the year list: No Archie but the Celtic geezer is mentioned first!!!

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I wonder if anyone is going to come on here and own up to writing such a piece of ill-informed nonsense. And to answer his initial rhetorical question, no, you don't speak for most Thistle supporters.

 

 

scott mcfarlane is an absolute mouth breather.

 

not even worthy of wasting too many keystrokes on him.

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Emailed Scotzine about the article and got this back:

 

Thanks for your email in regards to the Partick Thistle blog on the site. Our fan bloggers - no matter the club they support - write solely about their own opinions on issues and do not speak for Scotzine. We give them a platform to air their views on issues related to the club that they support.

 

As for Scott's article I have double checked the fee that Blackpool offered and you are correct - I have amended this. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Moving forward - we do not just stick with one blogger per club - we do open up each club to several bloggers if needs be and would gladly look at what you have to say about the club.

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So, so many things wrong with this.

 

1) I think I speak for most Thistle supporters when I say that although we are staying up, I certainly expected more from this season. You don't. Speaking personally, I wanted an improvement on our league position from last season (10th) and thought there was a space in the top six up for grabs (thinking Motherwell would make top six but that Inverness would falter - Hughes has made me eat my words) but we were by no means certain, or even favourite, to get it. Anything 8th and above I'd have been really happy with - and it looks like we'll get that. I was hoping we'd beat Inverness CT in the cup - and I'm still a bit miffed at Archie's decision not to play Taylor OR Doolan - but overall the season has been a good one.

 

2) The club’s foundations and fan base gives Thistle a much better chance than most in the SPFL of obtaining that European dream. Just not true, at all. This is our second season in the top flight - we're still learning on and off the pitch. Our attendances haven't been great and there are at least six teams better placed to push for Europe than us, I would say. Hopefully we'll get it soon - but the author's getting ahead of himself.

 

3) So where is it all going wrong? We've been progressing season-on-season for the last five or six seasons. Simply put, it's not going wrong.

 

4) The Thistle U-21 team seems to perform well week in week out, but where are the players being brought through?We've had four young players in and around the first team practically all season in McDaid, Wilson, Keenan and Lindsay. We've sent the latter out on loan along with Nisbet, Duggan. I interviewed Gerry Britton years ago about youth development when we had the likes of McGrotty, S. Fraser, Bannigan, MacBeth all pushing for the first team - only one made it. He stressed then that it takes years to reap the rewards of youth development - and we've got to be patient. I'm confident we'll have two or three first team regulars from the academy in the next few years.

 

5) Declan McDaid has made a few appearances this season but for all his fancy flicks and pace, he lacks first team quality and needs to face the harsh reality that he simply does not have the physicality for the league. Unbelievably harsh. McDaid has shown real quality at times and was my man of the match on one occasion that I saw him. He's probably the best placed to push for a place in the side - and to write him off because he doesn't have the "physicality" would mean we'd be writing Lawless off too. And I'd rather not.

 

6) We do need to be careful of our criticism, however. We are not, as of yet, a high flying club. I would rather be safe each year and achieve little in the league than maybe an occasional cup run – but it is imperative to give the younger lads a chance!Which we're doing right now? And you are criticising? Odd.

 

 

7) But we need to start taking risks and offer longer term contracts. A prime example in the need for this is Stephen O’Donnell. It's not as easy as just saying that. It's up to the player to accept the contract and if he doesn't want to and has made his mind up that he wants to go - like Taylor-Sinclair did last season - then there's realistically very little we can do about that. We've had four full seasons from O'Donnell and over 100 league appearances, it's not as if we're letting him slip through our fingers straight away.

 

8) The loss of players is yet another worry for next season. EVERY team loses players - regardless of who they are. It's the manager's job to rebuild, and hopefully we can tie up a few of the squad we've got and then made the right additions. Archie's track record on transfers is, in my eyes, pretty excellent.

 

9) Callum Booth’s loan from Hibs is also coming to an end meaning that we’ll be without a recognised left back and it’s unlikely Thistle will get him back unless Hibs remain in the Championship. Surely we'd have a better chance if they get promoted? As they didn't need him in the Championship - why would they now think he's right for the Premiership? I think they'll let him go regardless and I would actually say we are likely to get him back.

 

10) There are also rumours circulating of AEK Athens showing an interest in Conrad Balatoni. [...] So that would leave us a centre back short as well. It’s getting to the point where Archibald may have to lace up for next season. Or just...bring in another centre back? What's his point here? He said you can't begrudge Conrad a move if a club like that comes in but then criticises the club.

 

11) It also cannot be ignored that Lyle Taylor’s second loan spell at Firhill will also be coming to an end and as much as I would like Thistle to do everything they could to bring him back to Glasgow, it didn’t happen last time and I don’t expect it to this time. We wait and see. This is just a pessimistic view - it almost happened last time until Scunthorpe swooped in at the last minute. By all accounts he was set to sign for us. I see why he went to give it another crack in England but hopefully he realises we're a great option for him to get regular football for at least a full season. I'd say we're slight favourites to sign him, considering I read we have first option/a price agreed? But you never know.

 

12) Archibald has a tough summer ahead and if good quality signings are not made soon, he won’t have the backing from me next season. Soon? ******* hell, the season isn't even over yet. Again, he has more hits than misses in the transfer windows. It's clear he doesn't have your backing anyway.

 

13) A loyal, club legend? Yes. A good football manager? No. As evidenced by this. I think the majority of us would say he's at least a GOOD football manager. We've all had our gripes at certain instances but looking at all the evidence, he's done a very good job in my view.

 

14) I’m sick fed-up of going to watch a home game on a cold December afternoon, where the rain is pouring down and Thistle are losing 2-0 against the run of play and seeing Archibald stand there arms folded, watching the game go by as if he’s too busy thinking about what’s for his dinner. Or busy thinking about how to change it? What a bizarre point. A manager's body language during the game is largely irrelevant and people who look at the manager and criticise him for being too quiet are taking a simplistic view of the game.

 

15) Summer signings, that’s what it comes down to. I would love Archibald to prove me wrong next year but I just don’t see it. Anything less than seventh place will be a failure in my eyes next year. Things have got to change! I think a reality check is needed. Next season Hearts are replacing St. Mirren, Hibernian or Rangers could come up - both having much bigger budgets than us. So if we were to finish 8th in that league would be a failure? Pish. My hopes for next season are: stay up relatively comfortably, potentially pushing for top six, continue to play good football and hopefully progress further in the cups.

 

-----

 

In summary, I basically disagree with every word he's wrote.

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Great post T.A.T - disembowelled the ridiculous blog piece by piece.

 

Reading it again, it looks as if he is blaming Archie for the poor Scottish weather in December as well.

 

A complete imbecile.

Edited by ian_mac
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Raging that we don't have SOD on a Jim McLean style 6 year contract with an option for another 4 years.

 

We also have 2 competent centre backs under contract for next season plus you'd imagine we'll keep 2 of BRE, Lindsay, and Conrad. Probably the position where we have most depth tbh.

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Shameless plug for that Daily Record article I wrote (as a freelancer, may I add!).

 

Interviewed the King of Spain after the 2010/11 season - his tip for the player most likely to make the break through the following season wasn't Stuart Bannigan, but 17 year-old Jordan McGrotty. Who, I read the other day, has just been cleared of sexual assault and looking to get back into football.

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