HawkeyeTheGnu

Just watched the highlights on Alba. What a horrible team Dundee are. Low and McGowan are niggly little gits, and they were diving all over the place The equaliser was avoidable and the sending off deserved. We really need to start scoring goals!

I hope we tell them to shove it.

Not really. Wigan could have waited six months and got him for free. Dundee Utd are having to compensate Wigan for releasing him from his contract., which has about 21 months to run. If £150k buys out 6 months, then Utd should be paying over 500k to buy out 12 months! I don't think that is right. Utd do not need to compensate Wigan because Wigan are happy to let him go. It is Wigan who need to compensate Mckay for ending his contract 17 months early. If McKay is going to be paid £1500 a week less at Utd then Mckay will be wanting roughly £100,000 in lost earnings. From Wigan's perspective, even if they give that to Mckay, selling him means that they release £2,500 a week and get £200k into the coffers. For a a player who cost them £150k and has not scored a competitive goal for them in 7 months, that's not a bad bit of business. No. Wigan were only happy to let him go once a certain value was reached - remember that Utd had a couple of previous bids rejected. Clearly the player doesn't have to move if the wage is less, and at that point Wigan may well have to offer something to make up for the drop in earnings. And if they give £100k to Mckay, they won't be getting £200k into their coffers. It goes without saying that Wigan want to get as much as they can for Billy and that Billy doesn't have to go unless he is willing to go - but that is irrelevant to the argument here. As things stand with Billy as a Wigan player they are committed to paying Billy, £4K a week for a further 17 months. Utd are offering him £2.5K a week. If Wigan agree to compensate for Billy's loss of earnings in full then Wigan could continue to pay Billy the difference of £1.5K a week for the next 17 months. That is quite separate from the fee they receive from Utd. They still get £200K into the bank but would be paying Billy £2.5K per week less than they are now. Over the course of the rest of Billy's contract that is a reduction in wages to Billy of £170K. By selling Mckay to Utd for £200K and fully compensating the player for loss of earnings, Wigan get £200K into the coffers and reduce their wage bill by £170K compared to where they would be if Billy simply dug his heels in and said he was staying. Given that he seems to have dropped out of their plans altogether, that seems like a no-brainer on behalf of Wigan. Interestingly, the fact that they did not accept a lower offer previously would suggest considerably more astuteness in the transfer market than we are displaying. It is also interesting to note that if the suggested deal regarding Christie goes ahead, the money received would allow us to buy back Billy and pay him on the same basis as Utd have offered. However, one year down the line we would have no Christie and two years down the line Billy's contract would be up and there would be no money left! If they commit to pay Billy £100k, they would have to set that aside or account for it, or however you wish to phrase it. So either the whole £200k is not available to them, as they have to make a provision of £100k, or some other budget takes the hit.

Not really. Wigan could have waited six months and got him for free. Dundee Utd are having to compensate Wigan for releasing him from his contract., which has about 21 months to run. If £150k buys out 6 months, then Utd should be paying over 500k to buy out 12 months! I don't think that is right. Utd do not need to compensate Wigan because Wigan are happy to let him go. It is Wigan who need to compensate Mckay for ending his contract 17 months early. If McKay is going to be paid £1500 a week less at Utd then Mckay will be wanting roughly £100,000 in lost earnings. From Wigan's perspective, even if they give that to Mckay, selling him means that they release £2,500 a week and get £200k into the coffers. For a a player who cost them £150k and has not scored a competitive goal for them in 7 months, that's not a bad bit of business. No. Wigan were only happy to let him go once a certain value was reached - remember that Utd had a couple of previous bids rejected. Clearly the player doesn't have to move if the wage is less, and at that point Wigan may well have to offer something to make up for the drop in earnings. And if they give £100k to Mckay, they won't be getting £200k into their coffers.

Are there any plans to introduce FFP to Scottish football?

Could be worse

Not really. Wigan could have waited six months and got him for free. Dundee Utd are having to compensate Wigan for releasing him from his contract., which has about 21 months to run. If £150k buys out 6 months, then Utd should be paying over 500k to buy out 12 months!

No. Just No.

A lot of this has already been said, but here goes. A split personality performance if ever there was one. Before Hamilton scored, it only seemed a matter of time until we took the lead. We created a number of chances, but couldn't apply the killer touch. Once Hamilton took the lead we had a few chances, but never really looked like we would equalise. The first goal came via a defence splitting pass. Unfortunately, it was one of our players who split the defence. The second goal came as we were pressing. Hard to tell if it was bad defending as it happened at the other end from me. Despite our injuries, it doesn't look like the defence is the big issue. They were ok yesterday. The one thing I would agree with is that we need to change our style of play. With a makeshift team, playing out from the back puts us under too much pressure in our own final third - it's our defending in possession that is suspect. The midfield is seriously misfiring. Tansey was woeful yesterday - no surprise that he was hooked Muotombo and Lopez do appear to be improving with each game, which raises the question - if they needed games, why didn't they play in some development league games? Hamilton were the dirtiest team I've seen in a long time. Hammer throwers to a man. And where on earth did they find that ref? What a pernickety, weak, ineffectual ******. Another graduate of the Collum school of refereeing excellence.

They have to do that for kids strips. So if you want one, wait until we are sponsored by either an alcohol or gambling company, and then shrink yourself to the size of a child. Bingo!

But imagine if he scores a brace against Celtic on Saturday and we win........minds blown everywhere. There are not enough mind-altering substances for me to imagine such a thing,

On Saturday I thought I was watching in slow motion when Lopez was on the ball. His touch is OK, but his speed of execution would be inadequate in league 1.

I doubt either Motherwell or St. Johnstone would play like they did against us throughout the whole campaign, if you look at it this way then similarly minded Partick fans must be wondering how on earth we managed to finish 3rd last year based on we were the worst team they played during last seasons campaign. You could say both teams St. Johnstone and Motherwell were poor when they played us, but you can't say how good or bad a team really is based on just one game you saw, especially this early in the season when teams are still finding their feet. And we are only 3 games into the domestic season, not 5. 1 goal in 5 not 3 to exaggerate your point I suspect. Some folks have no patience. So we consider European and Domestic seasons to be separate? Even if we do, 1 goal in 3 games is hardly stellar. I guess when Yogi said he was hoping for double figures, he meant the team as a whole. Well you don't win a point in the league for drawing with Astra do we now?. No 1 goal in 3 games isn't ideal either but we are only three games into the league and other teams are also struggling to score goals as well. There just needs to be a bit of patience and we have had a lot of disruption to the team with injuries. We still have a decent side and once these players come back it will get better and we can start climbing the table. Didn't win any points in those Scottish Cup games we won last season, but I'm still glad we won them. All these players can come back, but none of them is the regular goal scorer we need.

I doubt either Motherwell or St. Johnstone would play like they did against us throughout the whole campaign, if you look at it this way then similarly minded Partick fans must be wondering how on earth we managed to finish 3rd last year based on we were the worst team they played during last seasons campaign. You could say both teams St. Johnstone and Motherwell were poor when they played us, but you can't say how good or bad a team really is based on just one game you saw, especially this early in the season when teams are still finding their feet. And we are only 3 games into the domestic season, not 5. 1 goal in 5 not 3 to exaggerate your point I suspect. Some folks have no patience. So we consider European and Domestic seasons to be separate? Even if we do, 1 goal in 3 games is hardly stellar. I guess when Yogi said he was hoping for double figures, he meant the team as a whole.

Its comparative and there is little between most of the teams. If the teams we have played are rotten then this goes for the rest as well, including us. When did we play the other 2 league games, the league table shows 3 games played? Last two Saturdays. Motherwell would appear to be poor, and I was at the St Johnstone game and they were pretty rank. There may be little between the teams, but the fact remains that we have been unable to beat anyone so far this season, which does not bode well.

I suppose a point against a team that we struggled to do anything against in the league last year is not too bad. However, a quick look at the league table and results so far would suggest that the teams we have played are pretty rotten. And one goal in 5 games is completely honking!

Aye, right.

John Collins is not quick-witted or clever enough to be allowed to speak to the media unsupervised

Five minutes earlier a Saints player did exactly the same shielding thing, and we were penalised for trying to get the ball. There was also a two-footed tackle he completely ignored.

There were three fundamental differences: 1) We don't play in green and white hoops 2) We don't have the word 'Glasgow' in our name 3) We don't have the word 'Celtic' in our name

Well, I'll take the point, even though it should have been three. Plentyvof positives today - I thought that the team was set up pretty well. The defence was reasonably solid. I thought that Draper looked good at centre back, and kept thing simple. Polworth and Horner had good games, although Horner seemed to get a nose bleed every time he got too far forward. Christie took his goal well and very nearly had another, but his distribution went to pot in the last 15 minutes. Lopez and Muotombo had some nice touches, but it did feel like I was watching them in slow motion. To be fair Lopez seemed more involved than when I saw him in the two games with Astra, so hopefully as they get more fitness and game time they will improve further. If we could have finished more clinically, then we would have won that easily. Saints were terrible up until the last 15 minutes, and even then they weren't that good. And less than 3000 fans? Guess they were either bringing in the harvest or clearing Morrisons of milk. Almost forgot - thought Ali Sutherland looked good when he came on. His pace seemed to scare the living sh!t out of those cart horses Wright and Scobbie. Agree pretty much with all your post, but these two bits are worth commenting on. Devine seems to have benefitted greatly from regular game time and I've been impressed with him so far this season. I think you are probably right about the drop, but I'd still like to see us convert a bigger proportion of our chances.

He was terrible, and that is being kind. WTF was blowing for half time before we took that corner about. Zero stoppage time played at the end of the first half. Also kept getting in the way. What a total nob

Wigan won the cup and were relegated in the same season. Portsmouth won the cup and then spent money they didn't have chasing further glory. That and then going bust is what did for them. The lesson is probably don't spend what you hope to get, rather than what you can afford.

Agree with your logic and reasoning but can also argue the opposite point of view .... that is the conundrum .... The first five or six games can define your season so is it better to act swiftly or to wait? After 6 games if we are down the wrong end, not scoring goals and 10 points or more behind the top six it can be really hard mentally to close that gap and we might spend the rest of the season in a dogfight. Alternatively, if we get in the required pieces of the puzzle and start to win and score goals then confidence soars, morale rises and fans and players alike enjoy the ride (like last year) .... finishing a single place higher in the table than we would of without those players could wipe out the outlay in your figures above (based on £70K per place) I am all for prudence and fiscal responsibility and I know our club is well run in that respect after surviving a few scares in the early years ... but if we do indeed have a rainy day fund then perhaps its time to use at least a portion of it ..... Between now and the end of the month we play Hamilton and Partick, who could well be teams we need to finish above if we want to stay out of trouble, and we also play Dundee & St Johnstone who are likely to be rivals to our more loftier ambitions. A watching brief now could at best result in a season of mid-table mediocrity, and at worst leave us well and truly behind the 8-ball. We find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances injury-wise, and I think if funds are there then the board needs to recognise the situation we find ourselves in and the importance of a solid start to the season.

His distribution was terrible. He was arguably Astras best player, even if you ignore his assist for the goal. Certainly wouldn't pick him over Wedderburn on the basis of the Astra games. Thought Wedderburn looked pretty solid in all senses.