Tam

I tend to think it is a sign of the - ahem! - high regard we are held in that after a defeat by us opposing managers - eg. McCoist, Grant and Duffy to name but three - get the sack. Happy with the wins of course, sad to see managers lose their jobs. I'll cope though.

Hi, Jags fans. Just wanted to say that personally I thought the insistence on relegation was grossly unfair. I hope the fact that Thistle has decided not to go down the "pay lawyers loadsamoney" route, means your club expects to be spared the drop by reconstruction. I sincerely hope that is what happens. Likewise Stranraer and Brechin. As an aside, I would dearly love to see the end of four times a season league fixtures but I ain't holding my breath. All the best.

Not fair to give the defence pelters given how makeshift it was through injuries and lack of international clearance in Ledger’s case. Non corner sees players moaning at ref while Pars play it short and the guy has the freedom of the shire to pick a cross. Symptomatic of how makeshift it all was. Why didn’t Semple play? I felt sorry for the young Motherwell lad with no experienced player alongside to help him out. He did well considering. Very disappointed to see the excellent Iain Wilson being played in defence. Up front - why play Jack Hamilton wide and give the Pars central defenders an easier time of it? Our injury list better clear up soon and the new signings hit the ground running or we are doomed.

Agree totally. Once our goal scoring momentum dissipated, I thought Alloa’s attitude and tactics were first class in not sitting in but looking to counter. Their substitutions also helped their cause. Immensely disappointing for us to get back level after such a shit first half but I wasn’t surprised when Alloa scored at the end. Alloa found it pretty easy to get behind our defence and unlike our crosses Iinto the box, theirs produced results.

I think he forgot to tell Dobbs that, given the amount of time out wide and outside the box. Also given his heading ability, how does that square with the crosses put into the box in the first half? Shambolic.

Eh? Sorry. Who’s the centre forward there? Don’t say Oliver ffs.

Just reporting what someone who works at Palmy saw when Semple arrived today.

I was told Semple limped into Palmerston today. Maybe he was carrying a knock. Like you I was surprised the young boy was pitched into this game cold. If Semple was fit, then it’s criminal on AJ’s part, along with not starting the game with a centre forward. As it was the lad nearly had a hat trick in the second 45. Imagine what he might have done with the crosses into the box to the midgets in the first half.

Scored two incisive goals. Played some decent stuff against a woeful QoS side. I have already credited them with having the balls to go for another goal after losing two in quick time. They went for it and I wasn’t surprised they scored a third. I think anybody would be delighted with that if their team did the same, especially away from home. I would add how Alloa played didn’t surprise me and Peter Grant sent the team out with a clear game plan ( Brownlie’s gift apart). I didn’t see any QoS game plan in the first 45.

I am used to watching lacklustre QoS performances but that first half goes straight into the top 10. The manager is getting it as well as the players. What was the plan? Why were we playing without a centre forward? What’s the point of above head height crosses for midgets in the box? The good points - Brownlie made the inexperienced Motherwell lad an instant star. Hamilton put the big Alloa guys at the back under some pressure at 0-2. Dobbie’s goal was a piece of class. At 2-2 and having conceded two quick goals I was impressed that Alloa started to press for a winning goal rather than sit back and defend. Fair play to them. No surprise that a side who escaped automatic relegation by goal difference last season should be struggling this time round. I am definitely looking down at play-offs, not up.

Grand result. Open all mikes came from Somerset which was great. At least Ayr is within touching distance of Glasgow for the BBC. Coverage of the Championship has been shite recently, especially for fans getting back to their cars around 5pm. Shove theSPL somewhere else every week. Having said that, I had to switch off for the last bit after the Ayr pen. Watching Queens defend their own box is bad enough watching from the Portland end ( eg. v Partick and Arbroath), waiting on updates on radio or phone 70 miles away is just excruciating. I can recommend switching off the radio and making date and ginger flapjacks instead. They take 15-20mins at 200C.

Fair question. He is irreplaceable and the best forward I have seen playing for us in over 50yrs. We did OK after he left for Swansea and the hope would be we would do OK again. However, his goals kept us up last season and it speaks volumes for him and his love of the club that a) he returned and b) he lives in NW and commutes to train and play. A special player.

What a tonic after last week’s dreadful no-show! Fantastic Dobbmeister.

Well done Queens Park! You thoroughly deserved the win. Yes, we were absolutely dire but credit to the team who looked hungry, tackled and harried and scored two goals( almost three ) in the first half. As for QoS, that was one of the worst performances I have seen since we played Partick Thistle in the must win game at the end of last season. As we have Thistle as our next home game, I am not exactly full of the joys.

Dobbie was indeed marked out of the game by Pars the week before. Two defenders, occasionally three, crowding him out. He was eventually booked for a poor defensive tackle 10 mins from the end. Job done. You are right. It’s suicide when the opposition stand back and admire a talented player. At the risk of opening a wound, that’s what happened when Ayr had their first visit last season. Shankland was tightly marked while Harkins was given five yards of space to ping passes around. I couldn’t believe it at the time. 4-0 by HT including a penalty save.

Fair point but I take it you have seen the second of Alloa’s two goals in a minute spree v us recently. Straight from the coaching manual. Look up “How not to take a restart by fannying around near your goal.”

Hmmm. I think you’ve covered some of the poor decisions which contributed to a less than stellar reffing performance imo. Too much wrestling was allowed early in the first half. A couple of cards at that stage would have calmed people down or made them think twice.

After watching a really lacklustre and uninspiring performance v Pars last week, I was wondering which QOS we were in for today. Turned out to be a really good game with both teams getting stuck in. Ayr knocked the ball around better and carried a good attacking threat but maybe the injury to Hamilton - hope it’s not too bad - made our hoof it to target man tactic redundant and eventually we took the lead with a great move ON THE DECK. Ayr equalised at a good time for them with a well worked goal too. Whipped in cross, perfect header at the back post and Moffat nipped in to blast it in from close range. Round me we were really concerned when the excellent Dan Pybus was subbed but Mc Carthy did well when he came on. Connor Murray’s goal came at a good time to end a spell of Ayr pressure (!). A class pass from Dobbmeister and dancing feet from Murray. Oliver’s goal put the tin lid on the improved second half performance. Nice move too. Straight leg late challenge from the Ayr guy was a shocker. At least the ref got that right. Not sure whether he got the Dobbs booking/ pen claim right. Big call. I hope we can maintain this sort of performance and go on a wee run in this second quarter. Would like to see some more daylight between us and the drop.

Pars deserved their win imho. We desperately needed someone in central midfield who could put their foot on the ball and pick a forward pass. Having said that, Pars take credit for their work rate in closing down our guys when in possession. Dobbie was double-teamed all game, while I thought the left side of our defence left large gaps at times with some sketchy marking. I agree about our poor ball retention. Pars were not “piss poor” but gave the ball away cheaply at times too. We certainly didn’t deserve anything. I thought Hamilton worked hard and had some success flicking the ball on but Dobbie was rarely in a position to benefit. Faisal played well until he went off and I thought Murray added a spark when he came on. The first Pars goal was well crafted and finished by the guy running into the box. I wish our midfield had shown a bit more desire to do the same. Too much plodding play from us. More pzazz will be needed v Ayr.

Blimey! He must smell something horrible.

First half - was that the smallest QoS forward line since Lex Law played? 45 minutes of ball punted in the air and lost headers. Thought our centre halves should have done more to close the guy down and make it more difficult for him to take a shot for their goal. Pars were playing with a better shape, movement and passing than Queens. Even at that we could have equalised with the last corner when Brownlie smacked the bar with a header. Like others I wasn’t too impressed with the creativity in our midfield. Only when Connor Murray got the ball did I feel that something promising might happen. If only we had had Iain Wilson in midfield too , .... Second half the performance improved with Mercer and Holt pushing forward more and the ball being played on the deck occasionally. Good skill from Oliver for his goal and I thought we should have had a pen as well. Glad we got a point after that first half though. Hope the Pars Murray is ok and all the first aid was just a case of taking the necessary precautions.

It ain’t over til it’s over, Rover(s). I’ve watched Queens lose 3 goals in 25 mins v Alloa, v Crusaders, and v ICT at Palmerston this season. With our defence the opposition always has a chance. Should be a nervy cracking game on Saturday. Would have thought there will be goals. I hope AJ keeps to his front foot policy and takes the game to Raith. His positivity has been a major plus for us in the last couple of games.

Yes, that was refreshing. I had been thinking about AJ’s first game in charge v Ross Co at the end of the awful relegation season when, with the same players, he binned the dire negative stuff and set the team up to attack. A breath of fresh air. I liked GN too but last season it amazed me to see Dobbie in the role of a lone striker, sometimes even at Palmerston. Our home record was one of the poorest in the league. This season saw an improvement in that until the new year but after that it looked like we went backwards tactically. Playing Dykes out wide seemed to mean that he and Dobbie didn’t always link up as well as they needed to. Raith will be tough but at least there’s a bit more drive and confidence about the team.

Sore one for Montrose today but credit to the travelling support. As a Queens fan I was applauding both teams at full time. Great team performance by QoS today and a huge improvement on Tuesday evening and Montrose for the amazing progress made in the last two seasons. We may well meet again next season despite today’s result. At least our doom and gloom has lifted a bit for the moment.

The centre half presented Ross Campbell with the opportunity 5 yards out. Not Martin’s fault. The stopping of crosses was woeful and that’s down to desire and work rate imo. If midfielders can’t be arsed tracking back properly, then full backs are going to be hung out to dry. First goal is going to be crucial on Saturday. Can’t see much fight in this Queens team. They look like losers. Although Montrose and Queens were well matched on Tuesday night, it wasn’t difficult to pick the side who lacked confidence and energy.