Mad Mull Jag

Was thinking after yesterdays Bannigan must be up there with the most booked Thistle players of all time. Is there any stats on this ?

There is talk of a midland league forming for next season with the Tayside Juniors and Tayport plus a few amateur teams. So it is liable they will end up in there.

Hes not interested in going senior has a very good job outside football- source his current manager

Looking at this it seems to me that 3 or 4 teams could really struggle. ICT, Dunfermline, Dundee, Morton. United have a decent backer and the rest make small profits. The only saving grace for Scottish clubs if it drags on is most players contracts are up at the end of may. Wider scope apart from Celtic (who have a massive surplus), Aberdeen and Hibs (with new backers), Hearts (Fans pledges) and County (who have McGregor bank rolling them) the rest may struggle if it goes on any longer than a couple of weeks.

I agree that we need a youth set up. Just look we have brought in cash wise from Lindsay and Fitzpatrick. Unfortunately not every player will make it to the first team, some will make it and not progress. Realistically you have to give it 10 years to see full extent of it working or not. That way getting a lad at 10/11 should see him progress through to the 1st team by the time he is 20/21. I would think if we good get 10 players having played 100 games in the first team for us in a decade in would be deemed successful.

Main issue for me up front. We have no central striker to hold the ball up , pressure the centre backs. Miller isn't that man, he likes to drop off and take the ball or run on to it. Mansell/jones could play this role but I don't think either of them can cut it at this level. Also as I was walking past the alloa fans (all 87 of them) on the way out I heard a guy sat, Cardel flatters to deceive and he is a greedy so and so. This is an issue he wants to score from all angles rather than just look up pass/cross to other players. We are going to need 5/6 in the window I think, positives Cole & Kakay are improving and are better than anything we have. Slater is getting back fitness.

We need an out and out striker, someone to play up top and hold the ball in. Miller can finish but he wants to drop in for the ball and that leaves no one up top for the wingers/full backs to aim for. He is best behind a front man. Doing that means either Gordon/Banzo/Palmer has to be dropped and we play two in there. There must be a free agent striker about we can get in short term

Caldwell knows his time is up. If he doesn't he is a bigger loonball that most of think he is ! Who is next ? Who knows? It depends on the takeover if its not going through Beattie & Co need to act pretty sharpish if they want a change. If its going through Caldwell will be here to its sorted out as it becomes someone else's problem. Miller till Xmas is a good shout but personally we need an experienced hand who has done this before , to stabilise and get a bit of confidence in the players.

Spoke with the Ashfield manager today and already lower league SPFL clubs are sniffing around. He thinks the lads got it make a senior player but at what level who knows

I hadnt heard of nay bust up after last week. Reading between the lines and the fact that banzo ran to oware when he scored would suggest that the palyers Caldwell didn't sign he doesn't want or like ?

its all about to kick off !!

This is the problem ay 16/17 most aren't ready for any kind of senior football but playing in a development league at 18/19 is not good either. Best way would be to have an u-18 league (regional based/financial based) to allow these kids game time and to develop with the best ones fed into reserve football and then the 1st team. I understand the financial and for all but 5/6 clubs this would be impossible to fund. Why not use the performance schools the SFA have set up and have regional development squads to allow them to play against each other and then move the better ones on to clubs at 18. That way the clubs don't have the cost of coaching a team , the best guys play with the best and they can implement some sort of national method play similar to Belgium did 15 years ago.

That's what I took it to mean, have the basis of a squad for the end of June when we start back and look to add as we go when the players are out of contract at the end of June. I envisage something like 20/21 players plus the younger guys when the season starts.

Agree to properly run a reserve team, never mind be competitive, you would need about 35 players on the books from 16 years old upwards. 18 1st team squad plus the same for the reserves to cover injuries/suspension This isn't practical for all bar about 4/5 clubs in Scotland. I think we will end up somewhere around 19/20 1st teamers with the rest being younger guys.

100% this , what is expected from a manger now is very different from Managers in the past. Too many fans think running about a lot = a decent player

I would assume we still have an under 17/18 league and that's where most of the younger guys will play. The better ones I think would transition to the wider first team squad /on loan to develop.

Morton cutting the budget hence he manager walking out Arbroath/alloa part time- will Goodwin be there Ayr- losing at least 5 players Dunfermline/ICT much like ourselves Dundee- bit like us this year depends on £££££ from the americans QOS or another part time team up from div 2 Dundee United will have to shift some players if they stay down St Mirren likewise if they come down. Its going to be just a s competitive as this season

Anyone else miss the stats watch thread? Hopefully see an end of season update

Hopefully no repeat of the 3/4 players on the bench come the start of the fredbet cup in july. We have a full month more this season to sort out what needs to be done.

Not been a GC fan since the off but I think he deserve a chance next season. The form since Christmas has been decent (odd blip aside) we stayed in the league and to be honest at Christmas that was looking unlikely and very unlikely last month. We wont have big bucks to spend but we wont be the smallest budget either. Realistically play offs for me next season.

Good bit of business to be fair. He should start ahead of Bell next season.

Storey limped off last week with what looked like a thigh injury. 4 goals in 70 odd games shows that he shouldn't be retained. I make it we have 11 signed players for next season- So some work to do either tying down some of the out of contract guys or getting new ones in. SNEDDON Bell Penrice McGinty Saunders Oware Slater Bannigan Harkins Fitzpatirck Calum Wilson With the leagues over bar the play offs most players will know if they are wanted or not at their current clubs by the end of the week. So hopefully some quick news like January.

Signed till next season

Never saw a McParland team so omitted him for this reason. Clark was that bad he deserves two mentions!! The second one is Collins

Im my time (which is 40 years) Lambie Auld McCALL/Archibald McNamara- apart from they way he left Bryce - who was done over by save the jags Campbell Briton/Whyte Cormack Caldwell Lamont rooney Macleod McVeigh Clark Johnstone Clark So Caldwell could be classed as best of the worst ?