Robert

We will come up against a couple of loan players as Scott Allan is now at Kelty and Kai Kennedy is now at Queen of the South. Jay Henderson is on loan to Ayr from Ross County. Reece McAleer has joined Livingston. Dan Mackay and Logan Chalmers have joined Partick.

For me, survival as a club comes first, anything positive on the pitch is a bonus. That said, some of the feedback from Saturday is encouraging. In Bray and MacLeod we have youngsters with great potential and others may start to shine too, such as Mackay and Thompson who both looked good at Clach and Nairn. We’ve also Nicolson to come back which will strengthen us. On the other hand, Ferguson said that he played Brooks, Gilmour and McKay for longer on Saturday than he had planned to, given they’d had injuries. That is a major worry that we are asking too much of players who are not fully fit. I’m cautiously hopeful that they may surprise us this season and at least make the promotion play offs but, as others have said, it is very early days and we do not yet know the level we are at.

He looks to have had a decent scoring record in the last couple of years, mainly when at Clyde and then back on loan to them from Falkirk.

Is that a credible rumour? Does he have any American links and does anyone know much about him? At least he has a local connection.

The fundraiser is now closed. £4150 was raised out of the target of £5000.

I interpreted it that “exclusivity” meant that they are the only party the club is actively talking to at this time, and that there will be no active discussions with the other interested parties unless this deal does not go ahead.

I saw that but assumed it was lazy reporting by the BBC etc. Bray and Strachan played as wing backs in the friendlies so I assume that’s where they played yesterday. Other than the Clach game, where he was in midfield, Davidson played on the right of the back three in the friendlies so I’d be surprised if he, Devine and Savage were not the back three yesterday too.

Thanks for the report IHE. You have summed the situation up perfectly. As fans we need to separate our thoughts about the club’s situation from how we feel about the players. The players need and deserve our full support and we need to understand that the younger ones may make mistakes whilst they will all be affected by the uncertainty at the club. I’d heard that Savage was a target at Brora so it’s disappointing to read that it was the same at Annan. He needs our support in the same way as the others do, but it’s good to hear he had a good game.

Going off good old Google, the distance between the stadia is: Stranraer 254 Annan 240 QotS 234

Meanwhile a goal and an assist for Roddy MacGregor who our Manager clearly didn’t rate last season.

A goal and an assist for Roddy MacGregor for Queens Park today, and two for Jordan White for County.

Ferguson has said we will build from the back, so the tactics will be the same. However, with our youngsters, whilst we must accept that they will make mistakes in games, there is plenty enthusiasm and pace. We should play to our strengths and, from what I saw in the Clach and Nairn games, that’s using the pace of guys like Bray, Thompson, Mackay and Brooks to stretch teams and make space that we can exploit. We need to play to the strengths our players have, not try to fit them into a system that doesn’t suit them. I look forward to hearing the post match views of those who have travelled all the way to Annan, and hope they have an enjoyable day.

Ali Nixon has joined Strathspey Thistle.

David Wotherspoon has joined Dunfermline.

I know it’s pre-season but that’s an embarrassing result, and worrying given the season proper starts on Saturday. How can we limit Raith to 1 then get battered by Brora?

It’s been reported on another Forum that there is a problem with the new (SFA, I think) system for registering players which basically is not working right and is delaying registrations of signings by all teams.

Brad Mckay has joined Brechin City, joining up with Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald.

Thanks for posting. Based only on the highlights, 1-0 flattered us. A different ref could easily have let the disallowed goal stand or given a penalty for the challenge by Haspell. We will get a better feel for where we are when the cup games start on Saturday.

For me, the key thing is not the ownership of the Battery Park company itself, but the agreements that are in place to deal with the proceeds if the appeal is successful and the company is sold on. If it raises, say, £3m, what happens to that sum? How much, if any, goes to Cameron, Morrison and Munro (eg paying off loans, charges on assets etc) and how much does the club get? Cameron was said to be gifting the ground, but whether that remains the case we don’t know. I’m sure any potential investor will be needing to understand this and it may well be a key element of the negotiations, which do seem to be dragging on.

And the full draw: NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP - FULL DRAW - 2024/25 First Round: Brora Rangers v Ross County Clachnacuddin v Strathspey Thistle Forres Mechanics v Rothes Fort William v Lossiemouth Golspie Sutherland v Inverness Athletic Halkirk United v St Duthus Invergordon v Wick Academy Nairn County v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ties due to be played Wednesday 21st August 2024 Second Round: Brora/Ross v Invergordon/Wick Golspie/Inv. Ath. v Halkirk/St Duthus Forres/Rothes v Fort/Lossie Nairn/ICT v Clach/Strathspey Ties due to be played Wednesday 4th September 2024 Semi Finals: Brora/Ross/Invergordon/Wick v Forres/Rothes/Fort/Lossie Nairn/ICT/Clach/Strathspey v Golspie/Inv. Ath/Halkirk/St Duthus Ties due to be played Wednesday 18th September 2024 FINAL Due to be played Saturday 12 October or Sunday 13th October 2024

Drawn away to Nairn in the North of Scotland Cup first round on Wednesday 21 August. Time TBC Win that and it’s Clach or Strathspey on 4 September, in theory at home. Semi final is 18 September and final 12 or 13 October.

It all really depends on whether those relevant parties insist on receiving what they are owed, either upon any investment taking place or at some point down the line (eg conditional on Battery Farm approval). I still think there is a deal that can be done.

But knock off £100k (if the rumours are true) for Gardiner, understand the reduced wage bill and accommodation costs, revitalise sponsorship and fan engagement, and suddenly the gap has closed a bit. Yes, it would still be a loss, but take away the legacy of past bad management and it becomes a less daunting proposition.

What a change in tone from Ferguson though: has someone had a word? He is praising the youngsters and talking them up. Now we need him to keep that up.

Good first half performance, second half pretty even. Well taken goals and we could have had a few more before the break. Some rough challenges by Nairn. Picks for me were Bray, MacLeod, Thompson and Mackay, but all the players worked hard. Yes, MacLeod made a poor pass which led to the Nairn goal, but these things will happen with the youngsters as they learn, and otherwise he was controlling the midfield. I was within earshot of Ferguson and he was positively encouraging and coaching the youngsters, which was good to hear. Raith will be a tough challenge, but there is hope. Gilmour will be back for it. Nicolson a month or so away from returning.