Pull My Strings

Yeah, apportioned as £750k for Pressley and £250k for Robertson. Marginally less appalling to think that we paid £1m for Pressley and got Ribertson thrown in for free but that would mean we paid £1m for Pressley and then let the c**t walk for free three years later. He was a good player, tbf, just an awful human.

An utterly pointless signing for us. Think we spent £250k on him from Coventry. Ooft, you'd expect an actual football player for that sort of money these days.

Well, you could buy on your phone whilst you're queuing at the turnstile but there's no cash gates. Dunno whether you can buy away tickets at the club shop. Probably not. You're online, buy it online.

40 seems very young to be considered middle aged. I've got another decade, I reckon, before I turn middle aged. That's predicated on living to 120 though, tbf.

Is he out of contract next summer? They paid a fee to sign him in January this year when they already had an established first choice keeper. He must surely have been considered one for the future but then why give him only an 18 month contract, and then loan him out for 12 months of that? I ken the English clubs can be profligate but that's a very odd way to do business.

Yeah, fair enough. Moult has been absolutely brilliant and his fitness has held up better than probably any of us could have hoped for .. BUT he's played more games this season than in the previous 4 (5?) years combined so it's only prudent to give him a wee rest every now and then. On the bench, so if we need him (as at Starks Park) he can come on but otherwise he gets a chance to rest and recover. Glass has been excellent and is unlucky to have lost his place after his own wee injury. Watt's probably in better form now than he's ever been for us so is an able deputy right up front. Airdrie are obviously a decent team, albeit a bit one dimensional. Might be a long night if we don't get an early goal but we don't need to be chasing these sorts of games away from home. Be patient, hold your shape and they'll eventually give the ball back. I'd fancy us to be better at breaking them down than they are breaking us down. No need to win the possession stats again, just the goal stats.

Once a Dee, always a Dee.

Think he means Asghar. The clown behind the clown(s).

Nah, not booked. Only thing which stops it being a clear red is the fact that Cudjoe gets back up and scores. Even then, it's incredibly dangerous so might still have been a red. Thought the challenge on Middleton around 30 minutes could also have been a red - very deliberate foul from behind when Middleton was about to either shoot or roll in Watt. Not the last man but we were 2 on 1 on the edge of the box.

Not for me. That's just playing guys for the sake of it. Denham is behind Graham for a reason and isn't our player. He'll surely be gone in January. Graham is first back up to Gallacher and Holt and needs to play to ensure he's ready to step in when required. Likewise Tilson, who we'll need when Docherty and Sibbald aren't available. We're absolutely steamrollering teams just now because the team are totally focused on winning games and keeping clean sheets. There are already lots of young guys getting regular game time. If Moore deserves a place then he'll get it in due course.

Fifth goal? Easy to lose track. It was Docherty.

Well that was fun. Think that's the best we've played this season. We've had a lot of big, comfortable wins but even in those games there have been periods when the opposition have steadied the ship, or looked dangerous, or at least held the ball for a period. This was just utterly dominant for the whole game and looking to score every time we had the ball, which was a lot. Good performances from everyone but I was particularly pleased with Watt and Middleton. I think its fair to say that both were pretty underwhelming for the first couple of months of the season and were probably quite fortunate to keep their places every week. It's no great insight to say that Goodwin was trying to play them into form but I wasn't at all convinced that it would work. It has though. Both have been excellent since the Queens Park game and Middleton in particular looks like a man reborn. Absolutely unplayable today.

That's a shocking lack of attention to detail, tbf.

Is the game actually in doubt tonight? Been a long time since we had a game called off for a waterlogged pitch. I can't recall the last one. Maybe the Rangers game which was abandoned at half time.

Not sure I agree but that's a perfectly reasonable complaint. One for the SPFL though rather than United.

Honestly lads, what's the conspiracy that you guys keep angling at? Do you doubt that United wanted the game this Friday to give it a special feel for the club and fans? If so, what's the ulterior motive? You might think that it's a silly reason to request a change to the scheduling (that's your right) or that the SPFL should have paid more heed to the view of Arbroath before making a decision (perfectly fair), but this persistent whining as if there's been some dreadful injustice visited upon your club because the game was moved for a reason other than the usual, bog standard ones (TV, weather, fixture clash, policing, etc.) is really unbecoming.

Oh no, I can see the outline of that man's nipple.

It is not. Oh you.

Aye, well you're entitled to your opinion.

It was Moult who was booked for leading with his arm and who tried to kick the ball when your man was lying on the ground with it in his hands. Not sure there was much in either incident.

Can we criticise Barton himself? I think that would be fair. Like, if I pretended to be a pilot and then crashed the plane, oopsie.

What about Kevin Holt though, eh? I mind him, albeit obliquely, from his time at Dundee. A lanky, rather feckless left back. I did not expect this guy to pitch up from Partick in the summer. Impeccable centre half, no nonsense, tidy, and loads of goals. Cheers.

Only reason to bring him back would be to give him a new contract and play him. If I were Logan Chalmers I wouldn't sign a new contract. He's approaching his mid 20s and hasn't been trusted under numerous managers, why would he think that would change now. I can see him staying at Ayr or going to another Championship club and really kicking on but he's either just not quite good enough for United now or, maybe he is good enough, but it's taken longer than either side are happy with.

I hope that's true. It wasn't true at United but if the penny's now dropped then that's fantastic. I think its probably too late for him to come back in at United but he's clearly a very talented boy and it's nice to see him doing well elsewhere. Edit: Missed the second part of your post. Fotheringham and Cudjoe are both much younger, at least as talented going forward and also contribute more defensively. Both are well ahead of Chalmers in terms of goal contributions over a much shorter period. Watt and Middleton are the senior guys ahead of him. Glass, Meekison and Mochrie can all play that position and have contributed more in fewer appearances. Then you've got the really young guys who are out on loan but likely to come back in January, Macleod and Thomson.

He's a luxury player and the guys he's competing with at United are either better, harder working or both. Most United fans would have been happy enough for him to stay but not at the expense of the guys who are already ahead of him in the queue, imo.