Buddist Monk

You knew this was coming.

So it's been a few hours since the announcement of the stadium sponsor, has everyone agreed on a suitably insulting nick name for it yet?

This. My main issue is not necessarily the messy pre-season or the format of the LC but more that we put in a decent shift against Killie, even when nobody expected it, then threw all that good work away by our performances against QP and Spartans. If players were capable of combining well enough to see off (just) a Premiership team then where the f**k did that go against much much weaker sides.

I remember us beating East Stirlingshire in the very first round and Hearts in the semi, but I can't remember us playing against Motherwell or Killie, so much so that I had to look that up! The final, though, I would love to erase that from my memory. Not least because I was seated right next to the segregation and it was nothing more than some plastic tape and a couple of (clearly) Rangers supporting stewards. Anyway, onto Willock. If he was good enough to play for the fakes last season then I guess he's good enough for us. We played well against Killie in a 4-3-3 and I've a feeling that's the formation Stubbs favours - you'll need to check with the Hibs fans as to the formation he played them - and if that is the case are we looking at a central 3 in the midfield of McGinn holding and Magennis and Willock pushing on? This would free up Flynn to go out wider in one of the 'front' three. He was a winger before, and I'm not convinced he's got the pace to play the position all season, but he had a decent enough delivery last season so let's hope if played there he can replicate that. You then have Smith and/or King playing on the wing. Not Smith's best position but in this formation there isn't room for a #10 behind the striker role. King has looked lively the couple of times I've seen him and I want to see more of him. Finally, up front, we have Mullen or Cooke. I've not seen enough of Cooke to know just what he offers other than height. We aren't scoring goals but then we just haven't been consistent across the park to provide the service needed for either front man. Finally the defence, which I would presume would continue with McGinn, Baird, Heaton/Kpekawa(?) and Coulson. The latter is clearly not an out and out LB but then this is basically making the players fit a formation. We could swap to a 3 or 5 at the back but when a team is still coming together I much prefer a back 4. The question for me is who is going to run that defence? Baird has never struck me as being an imposing figure that will lead the line. As junior to a more senior and vocal player (MacKenzie or Davis for example) he has worked well however we now have 3 central defenders in their early 20s. Will Baird step up and take charge. He could do, and perhaps this is the season for him to push his game on. Finally the keeper. Got to say I'm glad Samson has kept the gloves rather than being dropped for Rodgers if only as reward for his sterling efforts last season. He has his faults and I'm sure we'll see Rodgers between the sticks soon enough, he is dependable and you know what you get with Samson.

Glad you agree..

Stewart's wage demands? Yeah, they probably are..

youd be better having dee man running your transfers than stubbs Dee Man leading Dundee to a cup final win over Rangers was quite an achievement, I'll give you that! Seriously though, this is just so P&B. I had the temerity to suggest that Stewart would be a decent addition to our squad but would likely command some hefty wages and we've had nigh on a page of *autistic_screeching* in reply.. ..roll on the season proper.

^^^ this was the valid point i was referring to Well I forgive you then, I didn't realise Dee Man was such ITK regarding our finances. Maybe he should be the one discussing player transfers with Stubbs than GLS.

Sure, I more meant was he in their future plans rather than an aspiring youngster. I don't think anyone other than The Sun has suggested we are going to get him. My only comment was that he'd be a decent addition.

I would expect every single loan not to be at full price. From some of the figures banded about when he went to Aberdeen though, it was still a hefty chunk. It all depends on where Birmingham see him. Is he one for the future, in which case a heavily subsidised loan wouldn't be an issue, or are they of the mind he's not going to cut it and they want to offload him. With the latter you'd expect them to push a hard bargain to get the most return on their investment. I'd also suggest that if Stewart is up for loan, and that's still not certain, there would be others in front of us in the queue.

You tried to make a funny point, failed and are now desperately trying to clean up your mess. Keep digging though, it's clear you are pretty annoyed at being made to look a bit daft.

He may or may not be, but it's still interesting it's got you so worried you're all over this thread. I'll certainly bookmark this comment though for a hefty point and laugh session should it happen. Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting he was, more that he'd be lovely but expensive. The only thing this little interchange has done is shown up the concern of certain posters from the East Coast. That is definitely interesting indeed, especially as they've been given their team dog's abuse. Seems like they are not set up at all well for the first game and it's showing..

What point would that be? That wages denote the quality of player in comparison between the leagues, because that's not shown to be the case, or the one that we can't afford Stewart, of which there is some truth although the potential chagrin delivered between the lines is all too evident.

Ah, I get it now. I initially thought you were making an asinine point because you were a bit dim, but it actually turns out it's because you're shitting it. Understandable.

Exactly, wages does not denote whether a player is good or not purely because of the gulf in finances over the border. We have absolute haddies playing in League 2 and the National League down South earning more than players at Dundee (or St Mirren for that matter).

^^ Doesn't understand the disparity between player quality and their wages, based on whether they play in the English or Scottish leagues.

It's a shame Stewart is on a King's ransom, as I feel he would be an great addition. Sitting 2nd in the group, not lost a game and in line to qualify for the next round. Yeah, it's been fucking terrible. I can only dream of getting back to last season where we got hounded by both Thistle and Livi.

Good thing too, I prefer the players to be alive when wearing one.

He's a difficult player to gauge.

You are a p***k, get to f**k.

Had a quick look last night, found the tweet and neither Eckersley nor the lad Hunter have replied. To me this just sounds like a misunderstanding. Perhaps Stubbs said to Hunter that Eckersley was injured, perhaps Hunter just assumed he was. I feel that some people would start a fight in an empty room, the problem here is that empty room is in our house. The only interesting thing about this, until either Eckersley, Stubbs or Hunter clarifies the position is the fact Eckersley was with Hibs while Stubbs was there but never played a game. I believe that was due to injury then but maybe the Hibs fans could clarify.

Hmm... your argument seems to be getting a little stretched here.. Ultimately the way we are set up and the service being provided would make for a nightmare for any striker regardless of their ability! I mean you're right, but essentially it just ended up being one loooong loan rather than two.

I have two things to say to that: 1) What league were Ayr playing in last season? 2) Shankland wasn't the "saviour" for us the first time round, he wouldn't be the second time. I wish him all the best, mind, I have no reason to dislike the guy or Ayr for that matter.