Gnome on the Bing

An interview so catastrophic that it doesn't really require further comment.

First post in around 3 years. Thought I'd pop my head in to say I'm dismayed at what has transpired on this front. TJF are doing sterling work though. Fantastic grasp of the detail, inclusive and robust yet measured. Keep it up.

There is quality in the current squad of players. Indeed, I don't have an issue with many of Caldwell's signings. For me, player recruitment wasn't the issue. So the likes of Miller, Cardle, Cole, Palmer, Zanatta – I have no problem with these signings. Add to that players who have been with us longer and who are more than capable of performing at this level – players like Bannigan, Slater, Gordon and Penrice – and we have a decent squad. The new management team will need time, obviously, as the defence in particular is all over the place, but let's put it this way: I don't expect us to be in a relegation dogfight at the end of this season.* *This post will self destruct in the event that it's proven to be complete balls, and I will deny it ever existed.

It's an admittedly vague term that seems to cover a range of different scenarios. I've always considered it to be an acknowledgement that in the modern game having one person take responsibility for everything from taking the training, to scouting, to negotiating player contracts, is no longer viable. Aside from the immense workload, this would require an astonishing breadth of expertise. Far better, some say, to divide the role up, and there are a number of ways of doing this. You could separate coaching and recruitment for example.

This is perceptive. I can see us starting with a manager/assistant manager arrangement before moving to one where McCall has a director of football role, with Archie as head coach.

The team is clearly bereft of confidence and you could drive a truck through our defence. As others have commented, the first 20 minutes or so were encouraging. There was an urgency about our play and we looked dangerous. A better final ball would have seen us a couple of goals up. But we collapsed after the first goal. I still think the squad has quality, but the new management team (and I really hope it's McCall and Archie) are going to have to prioritise ensuring that our defence is properly drilled.

Hoping for a no manager bounce this afternoon. It's nice to have options in the middle of the park again. I'd go with: Sneddon Williamson McGinty O'Ware Penrice Cole Bannigan Cardle Gordon Zanatta Miller But, as I say, we have options. I'm not sure if Gordon has performed that well as the most advanced central midfielder, so if a different solution is found for that position, which sees Gordon play in a deeper role, I'd be fine with that. We should win this one...

Our squad is of a quality that makes our position in the league unacceptable. This team should be playing better than it is and winning more games than it is. We should be able to respond to tactical changes made by the opposition without collapsing in disarray. Being generous, yesterday's game is more difficult to draw conclusions from due to the sendings off, but even before Gordon saw red our defence looked extremely shaky. O'Ware should be starting, as should Cardle.

A good 'keeper with experience who has won this division twice. I'd nonetheless like to see Sneddon start the season between the sticks, as he's the man in possession and he acquitted himself very well towards the end of last season, but this will definitely keep him on his toes. I actually can't think of a better, realistic signing, in terms of providing Sneddon with serious competition and also someone from which he can learn.

Yeah, it was a browser issue. I managed to get on using Firefox. Unfortunately, however, my password wasn't working. I therefore requested that the system email me a new one. But nothing happened (it's not in a spam folder and all filters etc. are switched off). Fab.

I'd renew my ticket if I could get the website to work. It keeps refusing a 'certificate' or some such nonsense.

Christie's a model pro who gave his all for the club. Best of luck to him. And credit to Archie for identifying the player's best position.

I was worried at half-time, but fair play to Caldwell: he made the correct changes, and they were bold changes at that. Alloa were offering nothing in an offensive sense towards the end of the first-half. They were playing so deep that McGinty was having to charge up the field to create an overload situation, but as much as Sean's efforts were laudable, by bringing on Harkins we gained a 'quarter-back' with more creative ability. It was an obvious change but one that required a bit of bottle, as alongside the introduction of Cardle -- who was excellent -- it turned us into a very attacking side. As a consequence we played some excellent stuff in the second half and could easily have scored a couple more. My only quibble is that we lacked a bit of composure at times. Upon taking the lead we could have done with putting our foot on the ball and slowing things down. But hey - we needed those three points and Caldwell got us there in the end.

Say what you like about Paton - he provided brilliant cover for his full-back when playing in central mid.

I'd agree with this to an extent. We definitely have the personnel to play a solid three in the middle, and it would be nice to have forwards in closer proximity to each other. The only concern I would have is that we're already struggling defensively on the flanks. I'm not sure that we have wide attackers capable of tracking back for 90 minutes from an even more advanced position, so we would need to be confident that our central three have been sufficiently coached in a 4-3-3 system to be able spot and cover potential overlaps. In other words, although I've seen both systems employed successfully -- i.e. cover provided by wide attackers dropping back or by the midfield shuffling across -- but I think the latter solution is better suited to our squad.