Katboy

I too was at the St Mirren game, and agree with the points that you have made. Taken in isolation a narrow defeat away to opponents 2 leagues above us is not a terrible result. The game plan may have been understandable had we been playing Celtic at Parkhead. However St Mirren although decent are hardly at Celtics level, and were very much there to be got at. Once we went a goal down we should have opened up a bit more and tried to get back in to the tie. A continuation of Plan A was never going to achieve that. At least trying to make the keeper work is a reasonable expectation. I wasn't at the Motherwell game due to work commitments. Annan away we were ok for the 1st half then completely fell out of it 2nd half. Montrose away was a decent performance. Sadly performances of this nature are in the minority, with utter dross being the normal. I see it as a sad indictment of how far we have declined when not having a shot on target (or a shot at all) is seen by some to be acceptable.

I think it is very obvious to most people who have watched us this season that players are needed in this window. The problem we have though is that the squad is already too big. I think players will have to move on first. Therein lies the biggest issue. Given how poorly some of these players have performed would anyone really take them (loan or otherwise)?

I kind of agree with what you are saying. I think the time for getting rid is overdue. Abject performances and a couple car crash interviews should have seen to that. The few weeks prior to last Saturday (while little more than papering over cracks) have however bought him a little time. I now don't see our board acting anytime soon, even if we lose farcically on Saturday.

A fixture in which we never seem to do well. Hopefully we can add some quality over the week. However given his poor recruitment this seems unlikely. Following yesterdays turgid watch I can't see anything other than 3 points for Alloa. Bartley should be punted now following his latest car crash of an interview.

What annoys me most is his rigid approach. Players are expected to conform absolutely to the system and individuality is clearly not encouraged. Even when the game plan is obviously not working he refuses to change. Every week his interviews consist of variations of "its not my fault" Had we tried to make a game of it yesterday and gone down 3-2 or 2-1 , it would have been more palatable. Attending games now is becoming more a test of endurance.

He is clearly deluded.

Can't bring myself to watch the post match interview. Yesterday was a harrowing enough watch for those of us who attended. Back to the tried and failed negative tactics. I've always liked away days, but now I am starting to question if it is worth spending all that money to watch s**t shows like that.

Pretty fair assessment of the game. I was there too, and the wind was a big factor in the game. Fair to say we were never going to be treated to a classic in far from ideal conditions. Once we got back level both sides went pressing for a winner. Can't say I noticed much on the way of time wasting other than that shown by the first aiders. Over the piece a draw is probably a fair result. I would gladly have accepted it had it been offered before the game. Overall a good away day, and it was good to talk to a couple Stirling fans in the Springkerse before the game.

Provided we continue in the same vein from yesterday we should have an excellent chance of winning .

Like you I was happy with his appointment. I'd agree that it was stretching it a bit to say he was a great capture. Like any rookie manager the appointment is not without its risks. I had high hopes that he would recruit in a sensible and targeted manner, instead we got more of the scatter gun approach we had become used to. Being a rookie manager he needs to find his feet and refine his approach. For this reason I gave him plenty of leeway. However, this ship has now sailed. The constant blaming of others when it goes wrong (to me) shows a manager out of his depth. Next up is Montrose at Links Park, and I will make the trip more in hope than expectation.

Yesterday was yet another case of it being a good day until 300 arrived and the game started. Accies seldom got out of 2nd gear. They didn't have to as we were that bad. We were ripped apart down both flanks. Bartley couldn't fail to see it, but he done nothing to address it. The triple substitution at the end was just baffling. We proved in spectacular fashion that last weekend was just a temporary blip. This bunch of shysters that Bartley has recruited seem to be incapable of doing even the basics. Surely not even Bartley can survive this? Change is needed now or League 2 could be a very real possibility.

Hopefully a draw against someone we don't play all the time. Celtic or Rangers away would be great for the revenue.

Agree with this. I think the cost involved in creating another layer of football management would outweigh any benefits that might be derived from it. Cheaper to dispense with our manager (and his assistant), and recruit someone else. I think he now knows his time is up and is just waiting for the inevitable.

Well reading this thread has certainly livened up my Sunday! That interview to me was one of a man who knows his time is up. Spent half of it focusing on basic errors at the back while ignoring his own failings, and failings in the rest of the team. While he is right to call out instances of unprofessionalism from some players his very public condemnation isn't really the best way to go about it. After that this is never going to end well. Very surprised that the club has allowed that interview to be published. Its a shame how it has worked out for him and the club. I like the man and find him intelligent and articulate. I genuinely wanted him to do well. However, there is no way back now, and change has to be made.

He is very rigid in his philosophy. It's very much his way or no way which is stifling creativity, and individuality is clearly discouraged. A number of our team seem to be playing with fear. To answer your question I would say that he doesn't have the players to play the style he is trying to implement. Its League 1 and we're not Barcelona, the players available at this level generally lack the technical ability. Yesterday was a very painful watch for those of us who made the trip. Endless sideways passes followed by an aimless punt up the park is making us predictable and easy to play against. Injuries have clearly played a part and in some cases have forced his hand to an extent. However setting up not to lose is not likely to get us out of the mess in which we find ourselves. Like a number of us I was happy with his appointment and I genuinely want him to do well. However improvement is urgently needed to halt the decline.

Yesterday was yet another case of it being a good day until the game got in the way. A very enjoyable couple hours in The Old Brewery and then we were subjected to that performance. Off the back of a good result against a decent Falkirk side our manager again sees fit to mess with the starting line up. The insistence on passing the ball to death in our own half is making us predictable and easy to play against. We created little against an Alloa side who without being particularly impressive always looked more likely to score. Anyone who elected not to go to watch us yesterday definitely got the better end of the deal. Bartley's post match interview is full of the same talk of basic mistakes. Its time he accepted that his current approach is not working and makes the necessary changes. Sadly I think he is too stubborn to do so. Lose next week and I think his time has got to be up.

Have to say I didn't see that one coming. Who have Alloa put in charge for tomorrows game? Also do Alloa still do pay at the gate?

Very much this. Good start but never managed to regain his place following injury. Towards the end it looked like he had downed tools completely. Can't entirely blame him there given that the player preferred to him wasn't doing very much. On to this Saturdays game, I think all being well Bartley will start the same team as last week. Although I doubt Alloa will give us as much scope to play as Falkirk did I would hope that we set out to take the game to them. I like away days at Alloa although results haven't always went the way we'd like.

James Fowler inherited a strong squad, and done a steady although unspectacular job. At times the humble 4-4-2 was used to great effect, and we produced some good results along the way mixed in with a few not so good results. With hindsight perhaps he did not get all the credit due to him. Were he to be appointed I think he would be a steady pair of hands for you. Certainly worse options out there.

Probably the worst draw we could have got. A home game though so at least I don't have far to travel to watch the inevitable defeat.

I think any team that has had us watched in the last few weeks would fancy their chances right now. If we stop trying to complicate it though, and get back to a basic system more suited to our players we could yet turn this round. It is a derby match, and if we can't get ourselves up for that then we are a lost cause. I can see this being a tight game. However, there is still a long time to next weekend, and my thoughts may well change depending on the outcome of our game against Arbroath. I'll be making the trip down to Annan and am looking forward to a few drinks in some of the local hostelries.

Bit early in the season to be talking about must win games. However, I do agree that a win is needed to get back on track. The last few weeks have not been good enough through a combination of negative tactics and players not performing. Big improvement needed for Saturday. It will be far from easy as Kelty naturally will be looking for a win in front of their own fans. Looking forward to this game though, was easily one of the best away days last season.

Looking forward to this game (although coming straight off nightshift it will be a long day for me), having only been to Balmoral Stadium once. Our opponents in the league games so far have been pretty much content to sit in, defend in numbers and try and catch us on the break. I expect this game to be more open, so it will be interesting to see how we fare against opposition who I think will try to take the game to us and play.

Pretty much this. As nice as cups are it is the league that is the bread and butter, and that has to remain the priority. This cup only serves as a distraction, and as much as progression would be welcome I wouldn't be too bothered about going out at the first hurdle. On the subject of Iain Wilson. It's clear that he didn't really want to be here so makes sense to loan him out. I'm only interested in seeing players who do want to be here. Hopefully this will free up space to bring someone else in.

In order to get something from this game we will have to defend an awful lot better than we did in 1st half on Saturday. I'm not sure that Edinburgh will be as bad against us as they were last season. We need to hit the ground running for Saturday to avoid a repetition of last seasons 1st quarter.