Kingsmills

A bit harsh. He has had the odd promising spell but does lack consistency.

What a ridiculous post. The second half was a bit disappointing and we defended poorly but there is nothing new there. Folk seem to be overlooking the fact that Hearts have a player budget almost six times ours.

A disappointing day at Hampden but a good day for us from a league point of view. Dunfermline losing at home against Falkirk puts us within touching distance of a play off place. What on earth has happened to Queen of the South ? They are in free fall. Half way through the season they looked a very good bet for at least a play off place and now they are at real risk of relegation.

I doubt that the kick off time has stopped many who are committed and determined to go. Time to stop carping about things we can't change and enjoy the experience of being in our sixth major semi final. Remember both Thistle and Caley competed in the Scottish Cup for over a hundred years with neither progressing beyond the last sixteen in all that time. We may not be where we were four years ago but these are still heady occasions and we should relish them.

As you say, without being complacent, there is every ground for optimism. Assuming we fend off Dunfermline for at least fourth spot we have no need to fear either Ayr or United over two legs and whichever Championship side reaches the final stands a sporting chance against the second worse team in a pretty mediocre Premiership. Add the excitement of tomorrow's semi final and it's the best time to be an ICT fan in at least three years. Robbo doesn't get enough credit for what he has achieved with limited resources and a sometimes inept board of directors.

I've reached the point where I have the odd lucid moment punctuation the increasingly senior norm.?

While, from a practical and economic point of view, it would be great to have more players come through our youth system and establish themselves in the first team personally, I don't care where our players come from or what their background as long as they are fully committed when they are are with us.

Does the SFA website indicate whether our special dispensation to have an outfield player make one save in the course of a Scottish Cup semi final is still in force ?

We are firmly underdogs. Over the years we have often excelled in that situation. Nothing to lose, nothing to fear. Going to be another great day out in the Hampden sunshine whatever happens.

Yup the other Thistle are in real peril of successive relegation and Falkirk, with their resources and fan base are huge under achievers. Can you imagine the moaning on this site if we were in either of their positions.

Realistically, they ended about three months ago.

A good night for us. Dunfermline using up their game in hand and not making a dent on our eight point advantage. A shame being overtaken again by Ayr but the first priority is to secure fourth place and we are a step closer to that.

The principal reason the Premiership team is effectively given a bye into the final is blatant self preservation. That said, at least we now have a top tier play off albeit one heavily weighted in favour of the incumbent.

It's what we are paying players these days.

Or, two players.

I agree with that. Unless he can quickly demonstrate that he can generate more additional income than the cost of his salary then the money would be far better spent on a player.

For goodness sake give him a fair chance before carping and criticising. He can't possibly be any worse than his predecessor.

Much of what you say is true but boycotting matches is effectively abandoning the team and will only make matters worse.

Agree. A 7.45 kick off is quite a challenge for me on a working day. 7.05 is just about impossible. I am sure many are similarly placed.

A tight schedule but Livingston did it last season on lower crowds and a smaller budget than us and are already safe in the Premiership. A tough ask but it can be done, especially if home fans return in decent numbers and good voice for the play offs.

Might be the most glamerous game of the season so far and one we are all looking forward to but I would take issue with it being the biggest. For as long as we still have promotion in our sights, the league games are bigger and more important. Getting to another major cup final would be wonderful and a fantastic achievement. However,, a third successive season out of the top division, this time without any parachute payment, could have very serious and long lasting consequences.

Some people are capable of reading more than three sentences strung together.

In either regard.

Exclude the penalty shoot out and we have missed more than half the spot kicks we have been awarded. That is not good enough and we need to be more clinical if we are awarded any more penalties this season. We should select two designated takers and have them practice for hours.

Assuming we can keep the Pars at bay, let's hope we can keep that record up for the first round of play offs.