Coventry Saint

If McCarthy's away, I could see us going down this route for the 'replacement' - young promising lad who may well end up going out on loan straight away.

Yeah, was about to say something to that effect. Truth is, we'd probably take the 250k without Kennedy, so would definitely take the deal with the player.

You've been gone so long, things have changed.

Might need to revisit this based on the confidence of the Dundee fans in our matchday thread. Just unsure whether they'll pip Hibs to third or have to settle for fourth.

Why on earth would I want to do that?

I see having the eighth-best defensive record in a Championship that included Morten has gone to the Dundee fans' heads here.

Hi James, awright pal?

Such was the footballing lesson Dundee were given that day, that Cody Cooke spotted his vocation and has literally retrained as a teacher now.

Pretty sure he dropped one onto Fraser's chest at one point, too. Fraser barely had to adjust his feet. You're right, though, we need to mix it up more. I'm all for a bit of direct play, but if we become predictable we'll become very easy to contain.

I was mostly impressed with Dunne, but I think it's fair to say he needs to find his touch again. He overhit quite a few balls. That said, the thought was there so I think if he can take 10% power off some of his deliveries (and stay fit, etc) he could turn out to be a hell of a player for us.

Looking at the way England set up in a similar(ish) formation (albeit they played a 5-2-3), they heavily relied on that solid platform you've mentioned. We absolutely did look better when Erhahon came on.

Both Goodwin and McGrath have spoken about McGrath perhaps being more of an 8 than a 10. He was definitely playing more alongside Power than Kiltie was. I dunno, there's still something amiss about the way we play and I can't put my finger on what it is.

I agree - but it's a bit concerning given that both McGrath and Kiltie were on the pitch.

Joking aside, I've actually not seen him play very much, aside from him tipping the semi final in your favour. Real talk: decent singing or not? Bearing in mind we're completely copying your style of play from last season and he doesn't necessarily have a home in that system. Could he play centrally if McGrath was away?

So aside from all the times he's been mentioned, and the fact this thread is now full of St Johnstone fans, he's never been mentioned and you didn't fancy him anyway?

Calling it: 21-year-old reserve on loan from an English Premier League club. Goes on to make a maximum of eight appearances for us and gets sent back in January.

Bizarre.

Strange game. Never really felt threatened, though Thistle did move it about nicely. We looked better when Erhahon came on, though that could have coincided with Thistle tiring slightly and the game being more stretched. Not sure what to say about our strikers; Main actually had an excellent game but he seems allergic to hitting the target. Brophy also did loads of good work outside the box, and his hold-up/link play was good, but that's not all he's on the park for. I actually think we needed more from midfield. Kiltie and McGrath both barely got past the front two. Main was livid when he won an astonishing knock-down but there was nobody near him. The commentators blamed Erwin but I'm inclined to suggest it should have been McGrath hitting that space. Our wide players were decent. We just need to start doing something with these balls into the box.

Straightforward 3-5-2. Strong line-up. No McCarthy again.

You'll know more about it, but I tend to think any team that's just been down - especially a bigger club - will be quite trigger-happy in order to avoid a repeat. It's a big season for Nielson: he turned down replacing Jack Ross with us, and then opted out of sticking with Utd in the top flight. It'll be interesting to see if he thrives or gets utterly found out. I happen to think you'll have a good season, just not necessarily with Nelson in charge after October.

* Any more

That's a great move for him. I think upper-tier Championship sides is definitely the ideal destination for loan players. Hopefully Clyde>ICT shows his career's heading in the right direction. Will be watching with interest.

Aw, FFS. Yeah, what's the only thing a new agent can do to impress his new client? Tout him around the press. Hopefully the Wigan talk is just a random jobber club he's pulled out the air to get things moving.

Isn't that where Fraser played the vast majority of his games last season, and did so very well? I happen to think the right-hand slot of the three suits him down to the ground.

Not sure what Wigan's finances are like. The Sun article suggested there was another team looking at him. I'd be surprised if League One was the best he could do - he's at the very least a lower-end Championship player. However, if we can include a sell-in fee, then him going to L1 first might be best for us as there's more chance of a Champ teams spending money on him after a season in L1.