lady-isobel-barnett

Perhaps just a coincidence but Area 51, with its reported extra terrestrials, mutants etc, is just a mile or so to the east of Airdrie Town Centre. Or am I getting a bit muddled up here?

I could've just edited my post to "senior clubs" but I thought I'd give you some latitude. Oh! And I haven't checked but I hope Stranraer is further south than Annan or Gretna.

Echo this. Wouldn't want him in the top tier* but Devine's looked decent enough down a level in the Championship. Much prefer we sign younger players but there's always need for at least one experienced defender. Could be a sort of "Andy Dowie" type signing. *Anyway we're winning the play offs this year. Aren't we?

On a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

Fitzpatrick has scored away at both the most northerly and southerly based Scottish clubs we have faced in competitive football. We've never played Elgin, right?

I think you'd really have to finish 2nd in consecutive seasons to be considered bottlers. Finishing 4th-4th-3rd/4th you're merely considered an "also ran".

Just had a quick look at Marco's return for season 2006-06. Haven't double checked but his league goals appear to have accounted for 15 points (i.e. if he hadn't scored in certain matches we'd have been 15 points worse off). Not that we'd have qualified anyway but on top of that we wouldn't have got past Stranraer in the play offs. Further Albion Rovers would've knocked us out the Scottish Cup. Instead his 6 Cup goals in ties & replays (plus his penalty in the shoot out v ICT) were largely instrumental in us getting much needed income from the game at Tynecastle. I've always said Mark Roberts saved us that season. Had we not gone up things looking bleak would've been an understatement. The incremental income thru the Scottish Cup, something I'd forgotten about, must have also been very significant.

Echo Woodstock's comment re not squaring the ball. Good to see a young striker being decisive. And clearly making the right decision at that.

That's now two shots from Stanway that have resulted in a follow up goal.

What's also remarkable is Big Brian playing a full 90 mins every game. I always thought he'd be an automatic starter this season but reckoned he'd be routinely subbed half way thru the 2nd half. If someone was to say he's fitter now than previous seasons with us, I wouldn't argue with that person.

Think it was also against Airdrie. The away game very early in the season?

My prediction of both sides cancelling each other out was spot on. Well, at half time anyway. I couldn't have been more wrong thereafter. 😀 Liked the way we easily changed to three at the back to see the game out. I've been critical throughout the season of the poor way we've protected a lead. No complaints today. From 2-0 on we bossed the ball and when it was lost we didn't defend over deep. Milne had a great game from start to finish and I also thought Young Ben played well. But overriding that was the way we played as a team with the subs fitting in effortlessly Also that's now five games we've gone without losing a goal from open play. Changed days!

Robinson hasn't been out long enough to need a game, even a run out. So he can be omitted even if fully fit should Doolan be looking at the big picture*. I'm thinking Doolan will prefer to keep the usual starting formation, and I sense without Stevie he'd prefer to start a natural leftie somewhere up the park. So that would mean McInroy plays either centrally or out on the right. As said Zander did well enough at Starks to merit retaining his place. However what's unknown to me is just how effective Kerr would be as a direct replacement for Lawless and how much Doolan want's us to retain our default formation. *My guess is we'll get this game out the way before we start to prioritise the play offs.

Definitely our two were deserved. Maybe under a different formation there would've been a place for Wee Stevie. If we could have any three from the remaining eight I'd go for Ferrie, Holt & Paton.

Think there's a fair possibility that we'll draw tomorrow. By that I don't mean both teams will play out a draw, just these sort of games tend to drift towards stalemate. The so very likely fact that this is the first of three games against each other kinda negates things. Maybe tho player bonuses will counter that and it'll be more a battle than I expect.