TtotheOtotheM

I was quite concerned with his signing during the summer and have seen or heard little to alter that since. He spent a similar year at Saarbrucken, where he was injured/***** and then left with little fanfare. So why did We take the risk? He's come through some sort of player agency that sends feelers out (Seedorf too, I assume) across Europe and is likely on a reasonable wage. With instability at board level and change at management level We were an easy target for agents during the summer, I just hope we can improve player recruitment in the coming years. 

oh dear! it would appear that the whole club is in turmoil at the moment. A baptism of fire for Finlayson in all fairness but hes absolutely bollocksed it. Is there anything we as fans can do? 

Where do we find these obscure strikers? Ofere, Doumbouya and now this mysterious Dutch/Curaçao guy. Is there some sort of scouting agency that clubs approach with a specific budget and are given appropriate matches? All of the players mentioned above came with quite detailed youtube videos and are represented by agencies that seem to represent lots of players; Doumbouya is represented by 'More than Sport GmbH', Ofere by 'Holland Sports Management' and Zschusschen by 'Premium Stars sportsmanagement'. I wonder are these players owned by their agencies, something vaguely akin to the Tevez/Mascherano to West Ham deal? The role of agents in football seems to be coming under increased scrutiny and i hope the club aren't just taking players based on the videos sent to them by these agencies. The case of Zschusschen caught my interest as i lived in the same town as the club he played for previously (Saarbrucken). After some digging, it appears he came to Saarbrucken in January after starting last season without a club but found himself down the pecking order as their first choice striker was in good form. It is worth noting that Saarbrucken play in the fourth tier of German football which is probably on par with the Scottish Championship. 

The Calder fella just signed apparently. Seems he is a defensive midfielder, while its a position we probably do need strengthening i just hope it doesn't mean Draper is away. Id argue Draper could be the difference between going up straight away or not, he's a Rolls Royce of a player who, in my opinion, doesn't get the plaudits he deserves. He was every bit as good as Shinnie, Watkins and Tansey in our cup winning season. 

I really hope this wasn't just the cheap option again, i'll give the club the benefit of the doubt. Football is a fickle game and managers can find themselves blacklisted after a few bad jobs and that seems to have been the case for Robbo, even if there were extenuating circumstances that led to poor results at his previous clubs. However, a few years away from professional management might have been a reset button for him where he has been able to reflect on what went wrong. Best of luck and hopefully this time next year we will look back on this as a success. 

10 minutes ago, Caley Mad In Berks said:

Can't agree with that.    While there is still a glimmer of a chance of achieving 10th spot, all the efforts should be concentrated on that aim  (manager, players and supporters alike).

Relegation I fear will definitely be a financial disaster leading to the loss of many jobs, and as I don't think we have the ability to bounce back up, I can see the possibility of us slipping into relative obscurity, part time football etc.

So, one more giant push is needed from everybody to gain us another year in the top flight, and buy us a bit of time to sort ourselves out next season.

I can see your point, and it is definitely true that there is great risk in going down (jobs etc) but i really don't think think we risk falling into obscurity. The past few years we've seen some big teams in the championship but assuming hibs and utd go up (and st mirren down) i think we could do very well. I don't think we pack the same "giant killing" punch that say rangers. hearts, hibs have had in the lower leagues and we may benefit from this. Truthfully, it depends entirely on what sort of squad we assemble over the summer, relegation or not. 

As many others have pointed out losing to that celtic team is hardly embarrassing, they're comfortably the best SPL team I've ever seen (in regards to comparison with the other teams in the league). The rangers result on Friday and the hearts result before that gave us hope but unfortunately the writing is on the wall as far as i'm concerned. This squad just isn't good enough; factor in an inexperienced manager and unfortunate injuries at unfortunate times and it seems that relegation is inevitable. We might just pull it off somehow and stay up but then next season will be even tougher with Hibs and Utd in the spl and assuming our best players will leave again in the summer, that prospect is pretty terrifying. Although a huge financial risk, perhaps going down will give us a chance to build a new squad with a new core of young players and a young manager. 

Hopefully not another summer of awful trialists and vague comments in the press about the lack of money then...

Admittedly, using pyro is a bit stupid especially if it ends up with an impressionable youth getting a criminal record. But rather than vilify and marginalise the singing section lads, why don't we give them an opportunity to positively express their support? The atmosphere has improved in the past few years to the point where it is actually enjoyable to sit in the north stand. The club could do something forward thinking and make these lads feel like a valued part of the club. Assist them in putting on a display in the big games or give them a say at supporters trust meetings, I'm sure they have plenty of ideas.

thank **** 

Who would we go for after hughes? We would be a pretty attractive proposition for any aspiring manager id say.

http://beba.tv/live/astra-vs-inverness-304172984365010.html 

solid stream

Aalborg, Denmark

Apologies if this is obvious but where can I get tickets? Do i have to go to the club shop?

Anyone on the 7.55 train tomorrow?

Slightly different formation this time

Esson

Piermayr Hogg Tokely G.Shinnie

Doran tansey jones tade

Ross/Hayes ( not sure)

Foran

Apparently the lads were all "******". Pretty busy schedule i suppose! It would have made sense for the young lads to start especially as it looks like they may be needed for next week. Can't quite get my head around the logic of putting the players through 3 games in 5 days as it really is risking injury.

If there is one common factor about most of our games this pre season its that Proctor has been ripped apart in almost all of them. Was never the best player but was always reasonably solid, he seems to be struggling though.

Proctor got a lot of stick from the gaffer after Livi. I wont go in to it any more than that as it crosses a line, but put it this way, it would be understandable if his confidence was knocked.

I've heard some of the u19s that went down will get a good run out tonight. Few of them will probably start or come on at half-time.

We signed a guy called Billy Mckay today. Apparently got injured very early on in training.

We signed a guy called Billy Mckay today. Apparently got injured very early on in training.

Are you sure? ive just heard that he's gone on trial at AFC Wimbledon

He came off injured in training yesterday so i doubt he would already be having a trial elsewhere. I'll try to find out tonight for you though.

yeah, thats him. Trained for 10 minutes today.

WIll come back if there are no other options. Which there havent been yet...

We signed a guy called Billy Mckay today. Apparently got injured very early on in training.

Bloody hell! I regret making the decision to stay at home...