Katboy

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.

Was over at Palmerston this afternoon. The sign has still not been changed. Not sure why we need a 3rd party to do something so simple. On another note I was there to pick up my season ticket card. The email said they were open to 430 all week, at 330 the office/shop was all closed up. Unprofessional. However, back to football matters. Hopefully we can continue in the same vein from Saturday. If we can manage this we should be ok. Alloa usually make it difficult for us though and I expect this Saturday to be no different.

Ambrose is a good short term signing. Suits both parties in so far as it can be reviewed at January. I would assume that he still has a bit to offer on the pitch or he wouldn't have signed. He has a lot of experience under his belt which will be good for the younger players around him.

Thanks for the reply. Pretty much along similar lines to what I was thinking. I'd like to see a bit more of a physical presence as for me we were bullied too easily and often last season. Not having seen any action I might well be wrong but I don't see any of the signings so far providing this.

Very much this. With the real action starting on the Tuesday night I think it is unlikely to be a strong team finishing the game, although we may see a few first team players featuring first half. We can't afford to take too many chances with injuries. I haven't had the chance to see this squad in action over the preseason, and will be unable to make Tuesday night due to work commitments. Elgin away will be the first opportunity for me. Looking forward to getting back in to it. As I haven't seen any action so far I can't really comment on the make up of the squad. Based on how it has gone so far, what do you think of the balance of our squad? Interested to hear peoples views.

He's a decent technical player who will get the odd goal. However he doesn't like the physical side of the game and you won't see him getting stuck in to challenges. During last season he went in to hiding more often than not (to the extent where you forget he's even on the pitch). He'll be ok as a squad player, but if you're looking for someone to dig you out of a hole when things are not going well then best look elsewhere.

On the face of it this is a decent fixture draw. We could have done worse. In terms of the squad assembled so far however. I'm sure that we'll be better organised than we were in the 1st half of last season (maybe not too difficult ). I think that last season we were too easily bullied on too many occasions, and I don't see anyone in there providing the necessary steel. It's a young squad, and ideally I'd like to see a bit more experience added.

To an extent I've held my own counsel regarding our recruitment thus far. Now though the squad appears to be taking shape. I think it is fair to say that the signings thus far will hardly set pulses racing. However I can see what MB is trying to do. He obviously feels that he can improve the players he has signed, and we have to trust him in this at this time. Recruitment last close season was done relatively quickly and in a scattergun manner. MB by contrast has taken time and identified areas to try and improve and acted on that within the resources available to him. Only time will tell how effective these signings will be. I am confident however that we will see a considerable improvement from last season.

This may well have been answered already. However last close season saw a somewhat random and scattergun approach to signings, and was all done relatively quickly. A number of these signings proved not to be good enough, at which point he panicked and brought in more players. Most of these turned out not to be good enough either. End result was a top heavy and unbalanced squad. After Gibsons departure things started to pick up a little. Thankfully MB has managed to get rid of a good number of these players, and we should see a different team next season. Difficult to predict how we will fare at this stage as there are still players to come in. Early signs are encouraging though. It has been a while since QOS and Stirling have played each other, and I am looking forward to the away trip. Are there any decent watering holes in fairly close proximity to the ground?

Admittedly I'd never heard of him. However, if he can play effectively at right back then it is a welcome signing. By the sounds of it he has had his share of injuries last season. Hopefully he can stay fit with us. Is he any good at stopping crosses? Stopping and defending crosses have been big issues for us in the last couple seasons.

Very much agree with this. Better perhaps that MB takes time to assess the available options and get the recruitment right. Last season the recruitment seemed to consist of a random and scatter gunned approach. The squad was also assembled relatively quickly. We all know how that turned out. In scouting the North of England there may well be a few unknowns joining up. In the same way that these players are unknown to us they may also be relatively unknown to our opponents. The unknown quantity factor may yet catch a few teams cold.

Happy with the Johnson signing. Hibs obviously rate him highly given that they have tied him to a long term deal. He had a short term deal with Airdrie last season, and by all accounts done well there. Hopefully this move will prove beneficial to all parties. Good to see our manager is not wasting any time.

Happy enough with this. McKechnie has come on a lot since MB took charge. Playing on a regular basis has undoubtedly helped, I think that we could yet see further improvement here. Botterill while inexperienced has shown that he is capable of playing at this level. As is to be expected there are rough edges in his game. However, good coaching and regular game time should soon iron these out.

Not on twitter so I missed this. Is he at the wind ups again?

Agree with this. Some of the reaction to Mr Bartley's post match comments has been a bit over the top. I get that it might not be the done thing, and can understand where some of the criticism is coming from. I for one however, find it a refreshing change from the "nothing between the teams/individual errors" stuff we have been largely used to. There is a time and a place for critical interviews, and last Saturday was definitely the time and the place. Like you I don't want players whose fragile ego is bruised by this playing in our team. Wherever we may stand on this as individuals I challenge anyone who endured last Saturdays 2nd half in the flesh to remain impassive.

Very much this. Following Saturdays 2nd half debacle the slight sense of optimism I had prior to the game has now gone. This gang of players we have seem to have a bit of a hey-ho attitude win or lose. Dunfermline although they may not have been particularly impressive have continued to grind out results. Historically this is the sort of game that Queens would win. While we may be pleasantly surprised come 450 on Saturday I very much doubt it.

Totally agree. Better to go out and get some game time instead of hanging around when he's not wanted. A successful loan spell could yet see him back in contention for next season.

On the other hand a spell at part time level may be the catalyst that he needs to get back on track. This season although scoring the odd goal he has flattered to deceive. His whole body language gives the impression that he has fallen out of love with the game, and looks to be lacking confidence. A couple months in League 2 where in terms of ability he should stand out might be enough to boost this confidence.