Waspie

Henderson is very capable when running at defences and on his day way too good for L1. Have to say I found him hugely frustrating though, seemed disinterested if things weren't going for him and even pulling out of runs if he wasn't sure to get the ball. If he wasn't scoring he wasn't doing anything. Not surprised that he hasn't broken through at Hearts. Perhaps Marvin Bartley can get a tune out of him, there is certainly a good player in there.

Really good once again. Have to put a word in for Luke Strachan though, he was the man who made that outstanding challenge in the box against Falkirk and not Daniel Church! Don't understand the situation with Durnan either. Unless he is injured (or emigrating) it's very hard to see why he hasn't featured. I'd have him back in the team.

They would be fine in L1. Clearly have a better side (and budget) than some L1 sides. Obviously already horsed Montrose 5-2 and they are considerably better than Peterhead and Clyde. I'd be very happy to have the likes of Kilpatrick and Meggat back at Alloa. We have people looking at it and seeing tier 6 and that it's the greatest shock ever but has to be seen in context of Darvel's huge budget. It's not a tier 6 squad or anything near it. While still a great achievement, it definitely isn't the greatest shock ever. Not even Aberdeen's worst defeat, I'd say Stenny's win over the Dons in 94 was a bigger shock given Stenny weren't financially doped (and Aberdeen had a good team then, even if they weren't having a good season). I'll throw in Alloa's Central League team of 1921 who beat top flight Falkirk (after 4 games) and top flight Clydebank (after 3). Then drew 0-0 at Ibrox with Alloa fans claiming a late effort crossed the line. Only lost after the board agreed a pay off to play the replay at Ibrox as well. Alloa made it back there as First Division equals of Rangers within 18 months.

Would appear that the ref did indeed get a penalty shout wrong in the first half . Can't get them all right.

I'd still have Kirkie and Meggat in the Alloa team now. Goodwin signed them both for Alloa (for second spells) and Andy Stirling? He'd have managed us against a load of other Darvel players from tonight too, certainly can't claim he didn't know what he was going to be facing . To be fair to Jim, his post match comments were really classy.

Jack Ross signed Kirkpatrick for St Mirren from Alloa. Jim Goodwin brought him back to Alloa and he scored the goal which got us promoted, which was also key for Goodwin's managerial career. I'd have Kirky back at Alloa now, like most of the Darvel team he is playing miles below the level he could be. They are doing great here but clearly not a typical non league side.

Incident had no impact on the final result in a game Falkirk deserved to win after defending well and tucking away their chances, so no reason at all for any perceived bias from me or for me to defend the ref. But he called it bang on. Perhaps you were standing behind someone again. The highlights aren't conclusive at all but if I was watching them and having not been behind the goals I'd say it probably was a pen. With a clear view and much closer to the incident though it was an excellent tackle which won the ball. Didn't "go through Rowe" either. To be honest Rowe dithered and gave the defender a chance but it was still a high risk tackle and had to be executed perfectly, which it was. Great defending and great refereeing.

Yeah it didn't look even debatable behind the goals, it was an excellent tackle.

Falkirk obviously still a work in progress under McGlynn and that isn't a surprise given what he inherited, but even if they weren't at their best yesterday, they still looked better than Falkirk teams I've seen in recent times. They were well organised, hung in and took their chances when they came. The wide men were contained pretty well but you can see they could be very good on their day. If McGlynn could find a striker or two that would be a good team. They are miles ahead of the team who were relegated from the Championship. That side somehow beat us twice on our terrible wee pitch of the time but they were a dreadful team. I think McGlynn will get Falkirk up, if not this season then next. I was encouraged with Alloa yesterday, we looked like a team. Robbo was his old self in midfield and Scougall and Donnelly in particular brought a real creative threat. Kev was also very good and he could easily slot into that midfield if he wasn't at RWB. Keep that template and move Taggs out wide and we'd be very good. Debate to be had about Church and Strachan in the same back 5. If you felt it was bringing enough of an attacking threat then maybe, but personally I'd like to see three CBs there. Strachan and Church both did well in their spells on the flank. Thought Stanger was very good too yesterday. Encouraging all round though, looked more settled and constructive.

Thought that was a decent cup tie. We played well in the first half once we found our feet and probably deserved to go in ahead. We switched off for the Falkirk goal right at the end but it was a cracking cross. Second half started much the same and chances were there for us to go ahead. We immediately looked weaker when Donnelly and Scougall went off and Falkirk took advantage with the second goal, again a nice ball in. But it was good from an Alloa point of view that we bounced back and despite not flowing as well without the two playmakers we still came close to forcing extra time. More encouraged with the team after watching that. Keep that shape (and get Taggart out to RWB) and hopefully keep the key men fit and we won't lose many games in the league. Could do with another pacy striker too if possible. Fair play to Falkirk, clinical when the chances came.

Really good book! I see St Mirren have recalled Kieran Offord. Can't blame them, little point in him sitting on the bench for us. You could argue he didn't make the most of his chances, despite promising signs here and there, but he also didn't ever get a decent run. Bit strange given we apparently made a real effort to get him in. Certainly looks like there is a player in there and good luck to him. Really enjoyed the podcasts again this week too. Impressed by Allan Salvona, he speaks really well.

Some rain that day! Although looking at those pics from Darvel, the Railway End at the Recs is outstanding in comparison. Still think we should have got a replay at least, missed opportunity. Would expect an easier game in Darvel.

AlloaStats would know for sure but did that game also smash the Alloa never lose when Andy Graham scores record? Edinburgh certainly have form going all the way back to the 1930s of making life difficult for the Wasps.

Afraid I'm still scarred after starting the match thread for the last Edinburgh game.

Heard that the other day. The attempt to get Neil makes more sense in the context of Howie heading off. Good luck to him, a player who didn't unfortunately ever get a good run in his favoured position at Alloa for various reasons. Looked very capable on his day. Really enjoyed the Edinburgh preview podcast (didn't get to today's one yet). Agree strongly that Durnan should go into the team now and stay there. We know what he can do and should just give him games to get him match fit. We desperately need settled and established partnerships in key positions, the lack of which was one factor in our total collapse last time against Edinburgh. Church has done well this season (although still a work in progress defensively for me) and deserves a lot of credit, but don't see him as a CB unless in emergency, which isn't the case. But also wouldn't be surprised if the manager stuck with last week's defence. Enjoyed Sammon debate too. He shouldn't have started last week but after scoring and getting a lift I'd probably leave him in and hope he is set for a run of form, that's the kind of player he is. Strong case for MacIver up there too though, certainly been bringing more to the team than Sammo of late. Once Donnelly is 100% and presumably back behind the strikers, MacIver will be hard to leave out up top. Offord should start tomorrow too (and get a proper run) and I'd also give Rodden last 20 or so every week, that's where his strength is. But extremely hard to guess the team! Would be great to beat Edinburgh after the last time in particular, but while I think we do have better players overall, they are more of a team and I'm sure will be confident of doing us over again. Mon the Wasps.

Pretty much impossible to guess what the manager thinks. Church at CB is a cracker. Puzzling call to start Rodden too, a player who should be an impact sub but who hasn't been seen even off the bench for a while then suddenly back in from the start. There was mention on the excellent podcast recently that strange team decisions only get flagged up when we lose. I'm sure people are bored of me raising it but here are I am saying the team was weird today even in victory . You beat us last month in a game in which we had more chances than you. Anyway, a welcome victory today whatever the circumstances and hopefully we can build on it. Big game next week. We certainly owe Edinburgh but can't say I'm overly confident given our two displays against them this season. Good luck to the lads predicting the team on the podcast! Anybody hear how Morgyn Neil got on today btw?

Hetherington first came to Alloa as quite a young player and a squad filler initially. It looked like he was on his way out a couple of times but he eventually settled into DM role under Jack Ross and went from strength to strength. His partnership with Iain Flannigan in centre midfield was class in the Championship, Stevie doing a lot of the ball winning and Flanny as the playmaker. Hetherington also capable on the ball though and really driving on from midfield. He was very rarely dominated in the Championship when the standard was higher than it is now (IMO) and should have got a better move than Falkirk at the time. He probably wasn't helped by being installed as captain immediately on arrival there but the move was obviously a disaster. I thought he might well settle under McGlynn and he did get rave reviews against Hibs at the start of this season, but clearly wasn't able to build on that. A strange one as the Hetherington who played so well in tier two for us was a class above the level Falkirk have been at in recent times. If Arbroath can get him back to where he was he'll be a terrific addition.

If you believe the rumours Brown already turned us down before ultimately ending up at Stenny. That loan ended very quickly with a statement from Stenny that they didn't expect him to play for them again due to an ongoing medical issue. He is a good player and hopefully he is on the mend but pretty sure he won't be coming to Alloa. Neil deal probably unlikely too given he had been a regular under Hartley before being frozen out under Mcintyre. I think we already have CB options just as good if not better anyway. Agree that another CM option would be good and also that we need to be giving Offord more games.

I was wondering that too. I like Howie and think he has been pretty unfortunate at Alloa. Obviously wasn't Ferguson's signing and was used at DM by him, then covered at full-back at times when Rice came in, then injury in the summer set him back this season. Hasn't really had a run at CB and wonder has he suffered from being there the day of the Meadowbank collapse. Perhaps he still has a role to play. CB would have been very low on my list of priorities have to say and don't think Neil is really an upgrade on what we have. But in fairness Rice has already signed a very good CB in Stanger and hopefully this is equally successful, if it does indeed go through.

I certainly don't think Alloa shouldn't be here. The third tier is pretty much our natural level as a club since the four league setup began. Interesting point about the standard. I felt the level in the Championship was dropping over our most recent three years in that league and it didn't appear to be particularly strong last season, or indeed again this season. There are some very average looking sides in contention for promotion there too. I didn't think last season in this league was great but Cove were a pretty solid outfit and I wasn't surprised they went up. QP were a pretty poor team but things fell into place nicely for them and they took advantage. They are clearly a better team now, although the fact they are sitting 2nd in the Championship is perhaps again a reflection of falling standards there too. And as an aside, I don't think a poor Brechin side fluking promotion in 16/17 is a reflection on the standard of the league that season. We made a mess of the play-offs that season but we finished miles ahead of Brechin in the league and actually beat them 6-1 a few weeks earlier. Indeed while we weren't as good post Jack Ross, the Alloa side of the first few months of that season was class. Knocked 2 Premier League sides out of the League Cup and gave the Celtic team who went unbeaten a very tough game. That team and the side who went up the year after (after a slow start in fairness) were absolutely miles ahead of the current Alloa team. Standard is subjective though and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

For the play-offs. Although I don't expect us to finish in the top four.

A lot better than last season for Alloa in that we are safe from relegation concerns and in contention for the promotion play-offs, but in truth we haven't been great at all and often pretty disjointed as a team. Frequent changes in shape and personnel haven't helped and we aren't as good as we could be given some of the players we have. It's a reflection on how poor the league is that we are in contention. The standard has been dropping for a while but this season is particularly poor. Of the three sides I expected to be competing for the title, have to give Dunfermline credit for being top and losing just one game. Good at the back and enough further up to keep collecting points. In truth though, they haven't been particularly impressive and with the resources and players they have - in a shit league too - could be a lot better. Maybe they will kick on further but as it stands they are probably the leaders the league deserves. Falkirk can argue they are making some kind of progress under McGlynn after years of regression, but again they really haven't been great either. Perhaps more to come from them as McGlynn continues to sort out the mess he inherited. QoS have been really grim. Big job for the new manager there but with the right appointment they are certainly still capable of getting to the play-offs I expected another group to be battling for fourth. Montrose look to have plateaued a bit this season and it seems to be the first real challenge for Petrie in his successful reign there. By no means a disaster and still in contention but they aren't as good as they were and perhaps a rebuild required. Airdrie have gone backwards a lot from last season and questions remain about their rather radical decision on the new management team. Kelty might be happy enough to be consolidating but like Alloa, have players to be doing better than they are. Of the three I thought would be at the bottom Edinburgh have done fantastically well. Maybury spent his budget well and would appear to have improved players he inherited too. All this amidst turmoil off the field. By far the most impressive achievement in the league so far. Surely bigger clubs are keeping an eye on Maybury. Clyde and Peterhead have been terrible, two of the weakest sides at this level for a long time. However tough circumstances were, the two managers who departed those clubs left a real mess behind them and a huge challenge for the new men.

Playing a steady team and shape for a few weeks would make a huge difference I think. We have never bedded in a settled side or shape this season and the team lacks identity. I noticed the manager in his programme notes yesterday saying injuries had led to Taggs being out of position and partnerships being disrupted, but in reality he has used Taggs at CB even when he had other natural options there, and partnerships have frequently been disrupted by his own choice rather than injuries. Some hope perhaps in those comments that he sees the importance of players in their natural positions and steady partnerships in key areas of the team. I'm not particularly confident based on the last 9 months that we will indeed find any real consistency in selection, but you never know. Even without new additions I do believe we have a team well capable of the top four if we find the right mix. That's a good shout. There is an ex Alloa player currently out of favour at Falkirk who could do that job very nicely. Not sure he'd want to go back part-time when he has the option of seeing out his deal though, and I'm sure others are looking at him too. He'd probably end up playing LB if he came back anyway. Happy New Year to all Wasps (and Kelty fans).

Was certainly pretty grim! I was happy to see Taggs at right back in a back four and Kev in midfield but we still looked very disjointed as a team. Such frequent changes in shape and personnel a factor there but so many individual players were off the pace today too. About half of our team had made basic errors inside the opening 15 minutes. Stanger was our best player I thought. Scougall worked hard and buzzed about without being able to make a key contribution. MacIver busy too although he should have done better with his chance at the end of the first half. Thought Miller did well off the bench, otherwise not convinced about the changes. Poor Sammon way out of form at the moment. A draw was probably the right result. Kelty might argue they deserved to win if anybody did, but like Alloa they look a team not making the most of the players they have at their disposal.

20 years . I also came over from Scottish Football Online. The lower league forums over there were quiet initially but they grew and really took off here. P&B is a great forum with so much really good stuff posted across lots of the forums, easy to get lost in it. For totally selfish reasons my P&B highlight definitely the Alloa 3 Rangers 2 thread. Remember a Stirling poster saying they had just had the strange sensation of yaaasing an Alloa goal . Div for the New Years honours list.