Yoss

I don't believe Queens would have released him this week if they thought he might be signing for us. Sounds like he's got something else lined up, so that gives some credence to the Falkirk rumour.

I assumed people were at least half-joking about the Malpas thing - but in case they weren't, yeah, what Andy said. Despite having lost the two games before that, we actually showed some improvement in those games too. (One of them was against a Hibs side who have now hit form and against Dumbarton I thought we were just plain unlucky.) So there has been a bit of a response since the Livingston game, which will hopefully prove to be the nadir. Don't want to read too much into a couple of 1-0 wins, but there's a real chance over the next three games to pick up another win or two and put any relegation worries to bed. That being so, we can reassess come the end of the season.

If he's available and wants to come, get him signed. I don't give a shit what sort of form the Queens fans think he's been in, he seems to play his best football in games featuring Raith.

As far as the 'keeper situation goes - if McGurn stays he's the number one and I imagine we'd struggle to keep another 'keeper of Cuthbert's quality once his own current contract is out (presumably in the summer?). Laidlaw is indeed young for a 'keeper. That you can point to others who are already great at a younger age is neither here nor there - there are loads, McGurn included, who never really established themselves until quite a bit later than that. I don't know how good Laidlaw will be or how long it might take him to be it but to write him off at this stage is just daft. He's got many of the attributes of a potentially good 'keeper, but he needs to learn not to let it get to him when he makes a mistake. Loaning him out would probably be a good idea if there's an offer available.

Good news.

Mid-point of the season, then, played everyone twice. I don't think anyone would argue that the report card will say must do better. But our record against our direct competitors, that is all the teams outside of the big three, reads P12 W6 D2 L4. Not spectacular but not too bad. Enough to keep our heads above water anyway.

Given that almost everyone on here has been calling for the club to pay Murray off and replace him, the raith-p&b community at large would be on a pretty sticky wicket to criticise them on that front.

It's obvious what the thinking is, make a change to the set-up without sacking anyone, and Smith's earlier departure gave them some scope to do that - albeit he was part-time and Malpas will be costing rather more. Could be a smart move. Or a might be a disaster. Such is football. Hopefully that's going to be the set-up now until the end of the season at least.

17 guests on the thread. Hello, journalists. Merry Christmas.

Well, blimey. Didn't see that coming.

Wasn't it Davo's dad who was reported to have made those comments about the club? I'd take that with a pinch of salt. He's always at the game if we've got a home game when Dundee aren't playing. I don't know what our best midfield pairing is at the moment, but there's been general agreement in recent weeks that we're missing a bit of strength of character, or whatever phrase you want to use.

Anyway, absolutely the right decision from the SFA today. The Premier League have been thwarted in their attempts to set up a B team league lower down their own league set-up, but there are a few that would love to own a half-decent Scottish side to use, effectively, as a feeder team to loan out kids too or whatever. Regardless of whether or not that's Ashley's intention for Rangers, it's not something the SFA can or should entertain.

Why yes, yes it does. Particularly the bit that says "The automatic transfer principle does not apply and therefore the seller’s employees will not automatically transfer to the buyer. As a result the buyer may cherry-pick which, if any, employees it would like to employ following the purchase of the business. However, any employees that are kept on will retain their continuity of employment." He's also a c**t. Anyone who has read anything much about his career in South Africa and still wants him anywhere near their club needs to take a good look at theselves.

Sinky was embarrassing. But I love him anyway.

What's "PC management"?

This season is a slightly unusual one. Targets would have been, in order of importance: 1. Improve the financial position of the club 2. Avoid relegation 3. Be better than we were in the second half of last season and challenge for top four Looks like number three has already gone begging, but so long as we manage the first two the season won't have been a write-off.

They didn't refuse to discuss "if finance is the reason" - they refused to discuss the details of his contract, which is fine; and they expressed their confidence in him which implicitly answers the other bit. As RATM says, what do you expect them to say? As far as targets go, I have come across some jobs that are based entirely on specified targets - I always thought it was a shit way of judging performance, and I've never worked in such a job. Nor have I ever set specific targets for my own staff - which is not to say there aren't minimum things and standards I expect from them, but those are based on their own input and not on a crude measure of outcome. Any suggestion that football managers are simply being treated the same way as anyone else in other walks of life is palpably ludicrous - there's no other industry where senior managers are hired and fired with such gay abandon. Ravy - I'm not anyone involved in the club and I'm not close enough to know any of them personally. I just don't agree with you. Anyway, it's only a day or two since I said I was going to stay out of such conversations from hereon, and I've got sucked back in already. I'll give it another go. Meantime I'll be there tomorrow. Play as we did last week and we're perfectly capable of beating Hibs. Play as we did the week before and we're perfectly capable of getting horsed. That's football, and I still love it.

"I've always thought supporters were there to support" is not an especially well-judged way of expressing it, but I'm basically happy with what he's saying. Especially this bit: That's the sort of club I want us to be as well. If this is a genuine expression of confidence and not just game-playing or a way of putting off a decision for a couple of weeks then that's fine for me. Happy to put it to bed and see where we are at the end of the season.

Also, when he was 16 months into the job and doing pretty well, did you think because things had been going well for that long then there was no chance of it going pear-shaped?

Like I said, I dislike the sacking culture in footie - I understand how it works. And I do mean that culture, not just the even shorter-term stuff as per later in your post.

For the avoidance of any doubt, my dislike of Man United remains entirely unaffected.

If you're suggesting - and I think you probably are - that I'm maybe a bit less emotionally committed to Raith than many on here then I'd say you've probably got a point. I'd dispute any suggestion that that has an impact on the substantive issue.

No problem and no offence taken. I was a City fan as a kid but we moved from Manchester to Markinch when I was seven. Raith were the nearest team and thus they're the ones we started going to watch. I carried on calling myself a City fan for quite a while, but even although I used to go to Maine Road as often as I could manage in the 90s I've seen many many more Raith games than City ones during my lifetime. (And I've now given up on City entirely, particularly since they sold out to the big money.) The move to Dunfermline came rather later for work reasons. And yeah, I live very near East End Park and it'd be much easier if I were a Pars fan, but I'm just not. I go now and then when opportunity arises (just as I watch other local teams sometimes) but you can't force these things.

Last week: ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30395680 ) This week: ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30510604 ) Sorry, I know this is hardly an original point - but there's a part of me that really actually admires this level of chutzpah. And then there's most of me, which just wants to see the c***s shut down.

Yeah, I nearly said something on those lines too. Statistically the studies I've seen have shown - unsurprisingly - virtually no impact (on average) of club's changing manager during a season. Chances are it'd just be money down the drain, particularly when all we need to do this season is stay up.