the_bully_wee

Looking forward to hearing about how EK are a great side and this result/performance is, once again, not at all concerning.

I just can't believe there are a couple of pages of discussion about QP fans singing. These truly are bizarre times we're living in

Well, we are going to be streaming matches, so this point is null and void off the bat. That's before you even consider that after the past 16 months, the preference for most folk (home and away), by some distance, will be to actually attend matches in-person rather than continue watching on a delayed, poor-quality stream with pretty insufferable commentary. I couldn't believe how bad the Broadwood Cup streams were. Overall, it's just complete laziness from the club and they've essentially admitted that by claiming it requires "a large amount of manual administration". Quite why other clubs can either stomach this - or automate the process - and not ours is a complete mystery.

Don't expect there will be much at all between East Fife, Clyde and Dumbarton at the bottom. There's certainly a feel-good factor around Dumbarton at the moment which isn't matched at the other two sides, but I don't see their squad overall as being much (if at all) better, and into the bargain their manager is the least proven of the trio. If the OP genuinely believes that Dumbarton will finish above Montrose this season, then I'd politely like to request two of what he's had. Still way too early to get specific with it, but there are clearly three poor sides as things stand (Clyde/Fife/Dumbarton), Peterhead likely comfortably safe of them (again) and then six that'll be battling it out for the four spots at the top. If QP flex their muscles with a few more good signings then they should have more than enough to win the title, but with a rookie manager there's always a higher-than-usual level of risk and uncertainty there.

Really, really poor that the club isn't bothering its arse to implement a facility for ST holders to have access to match streams - particularly given the very real possibility of restrictions returning, at which point they'll then be scrambling around in a farce having had all of the close season to put this in place. £17 as a walk-up price is also not great at all.

Probably not quite as hard as some will have laughed at the suggestion of not attending games if the club signed a Conservative voter, mind. I fully understand the desire to be optimistic at this juncture, but tonight simply served to confirm many of the fears we have about this squad, especially those at the back.

Was it definitely Broadwood you were at this evening? Docherty is an absolute liability defensively, Splaine constantly gave the ball away/got caught wrong side in the first half and we mustered only a few credible chances against a bang average (at best!) League 2 side. Serious cause for concern all-round, between our paucity of creativity and the regularity with which Stranraer cut us open.

Seriously bad stuff, warning signs if there weren't plenty already. Didn't look as if we had any kind of clue about how to build up at any stage during the game. Still - great to be back at Broadwood, was actually a little bit surreal during the first half.

Docherty is absolutely miles off it, again. Looks a complete waste of a wage. Splaine not a great deal better, in fairness.

This, on the other hand, has to go down as the finest evening in my career of supporting England's opponents.

He's a penalty box striker and Italy have barely gotten anything past Rice and Phillips. He has had a poor game but that's because he's had to do all of his work outside the box.

This all tallies up with some whispers I've been hearing about pretty damaging losses for Mr. Haughey in the past year and a half. Sincerely hope this doesn't end badly for QP.

A lot of players tend to favour gripped socks these days, so their feet don't slip around (or slip around less) inside their boots

Owen Andrew looks like a bit of a find, I have to say. It'll be interesting to see how he settles in moving forward. We looked nowhere near as good without Gomis, and of all the new signings Mortimer and Docherty are the ones I still have serious concerns over - the former just doesn't look comfortable at all. Splaine did well today but faded, perhaps the result of a combination of tired legs and Gomis' substitution. Balatoni looks good and Page seems rather steady alongside him. I wasn't overly impressed by, and don't think we will see a great deal of, Jones but he's a decent option to have and will occupy defenders and free up Goodwillie in games where we find ourselves having to play more direct and off of second balls. All in all though, hard to read too much into that game given the opposition and the fact it's pre-season.

When he first arrived he simply wasn't up to speed at all and was blowing out his arse after any kind of exertion. When he eventually reached a good level of fitness, he then picked up a recurring neck injury at the turn of the year and missed large chunks until he recovered and played a big part in the play-offs of our promotion season. He was still a wee bit slight in build so was almost exclusively played out wide, but over the next pre-season he clearly bulked up and impressed in the first few games of pre-season as a striker. He then picked up a bad knee injury in the League Cup against QP (I believe) which completely ended his 19/20 season. Last year, he looked one of our brighter players again after returning to fitness but picked up another injury up at Cove in December (not totally sure, but I think it was another knee one - no idea if it was the same knee) and wasn't seen again. He was very much liked and rated at Clyde, but I think we just couldn't afford to take the gamble on him again when he missed far more games than he played for us. If Dumbarton do sign him then you'll be getting a big, handsome, ambipedal maverick who is a cult hero in every sense of the term. I just hope for his sake he can stay fit.

Syvertsen is frighteningly talented, but it was always one step forward and then two back with him being made of glass. Brilliant to watch, but a complete liability in terms of fitness unfortunately.

Depends what you're after really, does having a waterproof one matter to you? If not then Bose SoundLink minis are fantastic, I picked one up last year, but they RRP at £170 and only about twice a year do they drop into the ~£100 bracket. If it's an urgent need then that's probably not your best bet, mind. Ultimate Ears are also a good brand and some of the mid-range Sony ones are good pick-ups. Ultimately, I would recommend just identifying a few in your range and watching a couple of YouTube reviews for each, which will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each in terms of sound, build and features.

Big Bad Conrad is based in Edinburgh, works in finance, carries a bit of excess weight and appears to be suffering from rapidly-progressing hair thinning. This particular Pat Scullion stan is more than happy to acknowledge all of these similarities and declare him the second coming after seven tough years.

Not at all. We could've conceded about 15 goals in that game on another night, and the main players we had worries over (Nicoll/Rumsby/Mortimer/Docherty) all looked pretty horrific in their time on the pitch.

Morgaro has already got that status locked in (I've completely forgotten who Ray Grant even is after that), but we should be aiming for the stars and bringing in another to supplement him if at all possible.

Tadé must be signed. That rampaging run down the left channel has convinced me beyond all doubt.

Let's get Tadé on to wrap this one up.

Splaine does look to have a wee bit of talent and Mortimer does look ropey, but hard to read too much into the former particularly given the nature of the game. Cannot believe we have chucked Rumsby another deal. Only one thing truly matters tonight though and that is the [emoji1593][emoji405] of Mr. Tadé tomorrow afternoon.

Announce Tadé. Now.

Anyone keen to get a glimpse of our assortment of hand-picked lower league starlets can do so in around ten minutes' time, when coverage of tonight's friendly begins on RaithTV prior to a 7:30pm kick-off. The link to their channel is below: https://youtube.com/user/RaithRoversTV