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.

All true. Also for the integrity of our league there has to be significant advantage given to the team finishing second over the teams in the third and fourth places. Clearly there's not enough prize money in the kitty to do it on a purely monetary basis hence the additional games. Besides coming fourth in a tiny league of ten means that team is often likely to be only marginally above being classed as mid table. It shouldn't then be made any easier for that club to "get lucky". Anyway I'd much prefer it if we had larger normal sized leagues. Two up, two down automatically and play offs to decide if a third club could progress or not.

So sad to hear that Jags fan Willie Limond has passed away.https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/national/24253546.former-british-commonwealth-boxing-champion-willie-limond-dies/ RIP, Willie

I reckon a more likely approach won't be to rest key players as such. More likely to prioritise those with niggling injuries etc. Players who would/could play if the outcome of the game was crucial but to the detriment of following matches. Last season's play offs were exceptional, but it's extremely difficult for a 3rd or 4th placed club to get promoted. Almost impossible without a workable squad. Put simply County or St Johnstone will most probably be able to call on all five subs, all of whom are regular 1st team players. Somehow to offer up a reasonable challenge we'd have to be able to come close to matching them.

Also got to mind that the players themselves are likely (almost certainly)to be incentivised to finish 3rd. So what may be preferable to our overall chances of promotion may not be necessarily preferable to the players. Gut feeling is we'll all be reading from the same hymn sheet against Airdrie. Not so sure after that.

Overhead conditions much the same as last week but far less football played today. Difference between playing on grass and plastic no doubt. Tho' we played better in the 2nd half think some of that down to shooting south to north looked preferable. A draw probably fair but under these conditions any team playing the better football could still easily lose the game. Fitzpatrick had two marking him all game but handled it well. On the other flank McMillan rarely pushed forward, presumably a tactical decision. Thought a goal likely to come from a set play, which were much harder to defend today. Raith had more of them so a wee bit of credit to our defending.

Again, and possibly less arithmetically, they could drop to 9th place. So maybe their next season status isn't quite so assured?

Jamie Mitchell

😀 Too true. Grand National Day and he was carrying top weight.

Does anyone here remember the last time we played at Starks Park on Grand National Day? Scenario.- Season 2004/05. Raith already relegated having previously accumulated only 13pts beat us 1-2, effectively relegating us as well. One person on here (let's call the poster, me) on leaving the ground spots three unselected regular team members sauntering back into Starks having forsaken our match for the lure of Aintree. This poster who lived a relatively short journey from Kirkcaldy and still irate at the result (and no doubt the world in general) too promptly posted observations on the then current Jags forum. Didn't foresee that some web lurcher from the Daily Record would pick up on this. By Monday said paper would deem such an incident worthy of headlining import. Looking forward to tomorrow's game in full knowledge that whatever the result I won't be on anything like the downer I was on 19 year ago.

A not unlikely possibility but it's still a case of playing someone out of position. My guess would be McInroy fills in for Stevie since he's also a leftie. Probably keep the current set up as the default start. Feel tho' we'll have to be adept at switching formations in game time. If O'Reilly is fit and on the bench then we could switch to a back three without too much upheaval.