Francesc Fabregas

Pretty sure we picked up Ciaran Summers after Rangers let him go. I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of youth football or where Stenhousemuir fits into the Forth Valley Academy but for all the financial outlay on both instances, I don't think we're seeing the benefits on the pitch (although I'm sure the work the club does in the community is sound). How many boys have come through the youth team to make a lasting impact in the starting XI in recent years? Off the top of my head, Gary Thom, Robert Love, Sean Dickson and Summers. Anyway, I'm not sure what point "Happy Pebble" is trying to make about junior clubs and youth football (and supporting a local team), the whole thing's a bit of a non-sequitur.

I don't doubt Bomber and his staff are trying their best to bring players in - I've mentioned it before but I spoke to him at the Player of the Year event and he intimated centre-back (as well as goalkeeper and striker) was a position he would be dealing with as quickly as possible - but it's frustrating to see all the "names" joining other teams. There's still plenty of time for them to sign up the eight or nine boys we need to put a team together and I know it's important to remain patient, but it's not easy sometimes.

Good on him, good to see him coming back to the SPFL with Queen's Park. We picked Josh Watt up after he'd been released by Motherwell in 2013, I think, but Martyn Corrigan never really used him and punted him on a short-term loan to East Stirlingshire. After Corrigan lost his job, Watt came into the team under Brown Ferguson's temporary charge before really cementing his place in the starting XI under Scott Booth. For the last three months of the 2013-14 season he was excellent and genuinely exciting to watch. He was a pure winger - he could beat people, drive forward, put in crosses and he was generally our most dangerous player. There was a match against Brechin City on the final day of the campaign and he was superb, a real thrill. Booth offered Josh a new contract for the next season (2014-15) and everyone had high hopes for him but it never happened at all. Josh had his moments - he scored the winning goals in consecutive games against Stranraer and Peterhead to give the team back-to-back victories for the first time in over 18 months - but he never seemed to do the right thing when he was on the ball. He'd try to beat his man again when he should have fired the ball in first time, and he should have held up play rather than crossing, that kind of thing. His decision-making was particularly poor and fans were pretty quick to get on his back; he seemed to become a target for supporters. Josh was excellent in the play-off semi-final first leg against East Fife but that was another rare high point from that year. It wasn't too big a surprise to see him leave when our safety was confirmed against QP. I recorded a podcast with Colin McMenamin a couple of months ago and he spoke really highly of Josh Watt and his abilities but said by the time Bomber replaced Booth, his confidence was shattered and he never quite regained the form he had at the end of 2013-14. Get him going and you've got a good asset there. Come to think of it, he reminds me a bit of Sean Burns.

I'm wracking my brains for anyone who might be available at centre-back and up front and I genuinely can't think of anyone. Everyone I would have wanted to join us seems to have signed for Alloa Athletic instead! I'm really hoping Bomber and his staff can pull some rabbits out of some hats because, compared to most of the other teams in the division, it's beginning to look a little bleak.

Interesting stuff. Bomber gave an interview on the club website a couple of weeks saying Euan Murray had an offer of full-time football from a team in England and left to pursue that; it would be a little strange seeing him pitch up against us next year (albeit at a full-time side). Murray's alright. He's a big lump of a boy, built like the gable end of a house, and he's very aggressive when it comes to aerial duels and 50-50s and the like. He can also fill in at left-back (and up front, where I believe he played for Clyde the season before). He can be a little too rash at times and his willingness to pile into all-or-nothing challenges can sometimes leave him exposed. He's also capable of making some horrendous mistakes - last season against Cowdenbeath he tried a dragback 30 yards from goal, lost the ball, and let them in to score, and in a game against Ayr United he made a square pass on the edge of the penalty area straight to one of their boys. There's plenty to work with there, though. He's certainly got the natural attributes to make a success of himself.

To be fair, not everyone's going to watch the Family Day videos; that kind of news merited its own story. I see Andy Graham's signed for Alloa Athletic. Are there any decent, experienced centre-backs out there?

Liam Henderson was very ropey during his time at Stenhousemuir and I'm surprised he's found another full-time club, to be honest. Mistakes are to be expected from young players but I can't remember a loanee who made so many errors in such a short space of time. He was always pretty bad for playing slack backpasses, allowing balls to bounce inside the area, or getting drawn to the action rather than track his man. I don't remember him being great going forward (although he did score in a 4-2 win over Cowdenbeath) but he's still got loads to learn and a lot of filling out to do if he's to establish himself at Falkirk.

Yeah, that was sensational. The run of songs at the end, from Working on the Highway onwards, was just incredible and the sequence of big hitters in the encore was just perfect. Properly lost it during Born to Run.

Whereabouts are you seeing this information on McCabe (and indeed Paterson and Stirling)? There's nothing on the website. I can only add to what Beaver1 said about the goalkeeper - he's infinitely better than Jamie Barclay and capable of pulling off brilliant saves now and again but he's still pretty green and will need an experienced head in front of him (Andy Graham?) to help him keep the defence in check. A step in the right direction.

Good stuff, pleased to hear that. Stephen Stirling's form went up and down over the course of the season but on the whole he did us a very decent turn, while big Jim Paterson looked very capable when he took over at left-back from Liam Henderson; having someone with that level of experience around the club can only be a good thing. So far we have signed up: Goalkeepers: Defenders: Ciaran Summers Jim Paterson Ross Meechan Jamie McCormack Midfielders: Alan Cook Mark Gilhaney Kieran Millar Stephen Stirling Liam McCrory Strikers: Colin McMenamin Allan Smith Two goalkeepers, two centre-backs, a central midfielder, a winger and two strikers and we'll be good to go for the season ahead, I'd reckon.

Come back in from a hard day down in the coal mine and my goddamn Sky+ box only recorded 25 minutes of the show. What an awful way to start the evening.

Yesterday's Family Day was tremendous. Although it lacked a real main event like last year's wrestling, it was superbly attended and everyone looked like they were having a great time. What better way to spend the afternoon than by drinking on the Ochilview pitch? Magical. No news on any signings.

You think? What makes you say that?

Take that kind of chat to the Stranraer thread; this topic is to discuss which of Clyde's released players will be pitching up at Stenny this summer.

Don't be ashamed mate, everyone always seems a little embarrassed when it's revealed their team are paying good wages.

While I appreciate there's no point in the club giving us transfer updates if there's no news to give us, I will admit to feeling a little anxious about the new season ahead. I've been impressed with some of the retentions and recruitment elsewhere in the division (in particular East Fife's capture of Wullie Muir and Jamie Longworth's move to Alloa Athletic) and was hoping we'd be able to boast some smart signings of our own, but that hasn't been the case just yet. I think Neilly might have made this comment on another thread but ourselves and Albion Rovers (and probably Queen's Park*) will probably be picking up whatever's left in due course. I've no doubt Bomber, Davie Irons and Colin McMenamin are working hard to secure the eight or nine players we need for the season ahead, though. (* Queen's Park's recruitment under Gus MacPherson has seen them bring in players almost exclusively from the juniors and supplement them with academy graduates; I don't think any other club in the league will build a team that way.)

I'm really looking forward to the Family Day. The last one was fantastic and I'm hoping for more of the same (although I'm a little disappointed there's no wrestling this time around).

Seth Rollins returns as a heel, eh. Fair play to him for getting some solid heat but he certainly came back to a massive pop, and it seemed a little forced (although Rollins is a fantastic bad guy, mind). I'm not sure why they don't just commit to Roman Reigns being a full-on heel and allowing things to happen naturally, but here we are.

Jon Robertson has signed for Alloa Athletic. Will Stenhousemuir ever sign a player? Can I ever love again?

Yung Bobby has certainly made the most of his push and his recent booking has seen him ascend to the lower end of the top card. Fair play to him.

Bit shite nothing's happening at the moment, I'm choking on a new signing.

World-class performance last night from Big Match Phil. I think that might have been his finest 30 minutes.

I see. It was a pretty crap way to word it, if that was the case.

That's very unfair on Buist. He was pretty handy at Alloa Athletic and Brechin City long before he pitched up at Ochilview.

How many decent centre-backs have we had on loan? Gordon Lennon and Michael Devlin are the only two that spring to mind. We've seen lads like Paddy Mailey, Alan Gilbride, Joe Mbu and Ross Smith, to name just a few, pitch up with little success. I'm reasonably comforted by the fact that Bomber has acknowledged centre-back has been a problem position for us all season so I'd imagine (I'd hope!) he would have had a few targets lined up long before now.