Francesc Fabregas

What's the 4-1-1 with the club at the moment? I see that Lee Murray was posting on AFTN asking the fans to rally behind the team for the final games of the season, but some of the other comments in the thread were pretty interesting - is it true he's just a front for Neil Rankine? Does he actually have any money? Interesting stuff anyway.

The great Shaughan McGuigan wrote this reflective piece on Sunday's match for Tell Him He's Pelé. He looks at its context and what the outcome means for both teams. Well worth your time. CLICK

The Morton supporters hate him, but then they hate everyone.

There's an old thread on the Infowire forum about Corr with some interesting quotes from yourself and others - CLICK HERE.

Sorry to butt in on this thread, but Ross Smith is an appalling player. I don't really like to slate players - he's a young guy and will probably improve in time - but he's probably the worst centre-back I've seen in my ten years watching Stenhousemuir. Smith had been on loan at Peterhead last season and, by all accounts, had done very well and formed part of the defence that conceded just three goals in 12 games at the end of the campaign. He looked reasonable in his first two matches at Stenny as the team kept consecutive clean sheets, but since then - the infamous 5-4 game at Ochilview, he was rotten. Not strong enough. Barged off the ball by guys like Dale Hilson. No positional sense. Would come charging out and leave big gaps in the defence. Too timid. Didn't want to get involved with the rough and tumble. Couldn't pass the ball ten yards. Could only kick the ball in the direction he was facing. No awareness or intelligence. After the 1-1 draw at home to Forfar Athletic he was dropped, with Martyn Corrigan preferring to use Eddie Malone (a 5' 9" left full-back) alongside Ross McMillan in central defence. Curiously, during our Scottish Cup second round replay with Annan Athletic, Smith came off the bench and played as an auxiliary striker and played a big part in the win. He was then tried out at right-back for a couple of games but in the 3-2 win over Arbroath - and in front of Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly - he had a poor game and was culpable for the Lichties second goal, misjudging a header and taking himself and McMillan (who had shouted for the ball!) out of the game. He played at centre-back again for the Scottish Cup third round tie against Fraserburgh and was almost embarrassed by their tubby front two and then again the following week in a defeat to East Fife. The loss at Bayview was his last match. Corrigan had the option to keep him on for the whole season but declined, sending him packing. Dunfermline's problems at defending are pretty well known and Ross Smith is certainly not the answer to their problems. No doubt he'll sign up, become an integral part in central defence alongside Callum Morris, and score a last minute winner in a 6-5 match against Stenhousemuir, running past the Warriors support with a finger pressed against his lips. Avoid at all costs. At the very best, he's a League 2 defender. The Dundee United youth academy is producing some of the most exalted talent in the country just now but remember - for every Ryan Gauld, there's a thousand Ross Smiths. EDITED TO ADD - Lawrence Shankland's got it. Saw him about five or six times at Queen's Park last season. Not fast or particularly technical but his movement in the area is deadly. He's a superb finisher too. He was badly let down by his manager, with Gardner Speirs preferring to play him on the wing. A superb signing for Dunfermline.

The team certainly looked up to the challenge last season, particularly against full-time opposition in the cups. From an outside perspective, it would appear as though a) there are problems with Calum Antell's lack of communication and confidence in coming off his line and b) there was absolutely no need to break up the Chris Higgins - Mark Durnan defensive partnership. I agree with a poster above who said that Durnan is not some kind of magic tonic that will cure the ills, but given how well the pair performed last season, it seemed senseless to break them up to accommodate Andy Dowie. That's my two cents, and you're welcome to them.

Not sure if you're having me on here or not, but at the end of the season Dumbarton won the league and Stenhousemuir were promoted via the play-offs.

Indeed. An Andy Brand goal gave the Warriors the lead but with nine minutes remaining, Stevie Murray scored with a deflected drive. Up until that red card, Motion had been superb. Just checked his statistics - before the Dumbarton game, he had scored seven goals in 11 matches and was on fire. After his suspension, he never hit the same heights. After spells at Alloa and Forfar, he's back playing at Spartans. Still, that season worked out pretty well for both of us, didn't it?

I remember that game. The referee sent off Kevin Motion for a tackle after eight minutes for lunging in and when Wilson did the same thing moments later, he didn't really have a choice to dismiss Wilson too. Made a rod for his own back, so he did.

Liam Buchanan confirms on Twitter he will be joining East Fife. Best of luck to him, but he seemed like a busted flush at Ayr last season.

One of the replies to her update is a cracker:

I enjoyed the photos from Deep Sea World. Looks like the family had a wonderful time.

I'm sure other people have picked up on it elsewhere but your username is an abomination.

Sally sames, the pre-sale was sold out but my friend, an O2 Priority customer, pulled it out the bag. I've only heard the one song (Gun) but it's absolutely wonderful. There's definitely a bit of Alphabeat in there.

Indeed, I'm sure a Dumbarton supporter will be weeping into his Frosties after Joe Mbu performances are awarded a 7 in the Monday papers.

Sorry, but that "crap" was well justified - he was absolutely rotten at Stenhousemuir during his brief spell and offered the team nothing. Grossly disappointing given how successful he had been at Cowdenbeath. He was unfit and uninterested and taking him on, in hindsight, was a mistake. As for East Fife, you can understand where everyone's concerns came from a couple of weeks ago. While they may have brought in a handful of solid players and enjoyed some decent pre-season results, some of their fans' current "get it right up you" stance is very unedifying. No competitive games have been played and the lad who believes Pat Clarke and Christian Nadé are the best striking partnership in the division, shame on you. Shame on you, sir.

I had read somewhere that Gary Thom's agent is Kevin Drinkell? I might be wrong. Smashing lad is Gary and pretty handy as a static defender (he's a great header of the ball, despite his stature) but he is prone to some outrageous mistakes. Won the hearts of the nation last season after kicking Ian Black really hard in the chest.

Cheers for the comments on the article. Here's my two cents from a neutral perspective: for me certainly, when Queens were demoted and maintained their full-time status, they were the immediate favourites to win the league, regardless of the other teams, fans or bookmakers suggested. The only real surprises this season have been how brilliant it all actually worked out (and just poor Ayr have been). I don't think it's revisionist to say that. As for the hyperbole around the word "aberration", it would have been a disgrace had Queens failed to secure the title. You're full-time, have more money than anyone else and have more time to work with and organise your players. To finish second or third behind a part-time team would have been a shambles. But still, best of luck to you all next season. There's not one inch of doubt that it won't be successful year and I can see the team finishing above mid-table.

Cheers! Must have misread it from the official site. Too many guys in that team called Chris IMO. Cheerfully updated.

Hi gang, here's a cheery wee piece about Queen of the South's sojourn in Division Two - http://tellhimhespele.com/?p=5128 - it also includes a credit for P+B's very own Skyline Drifter for his wonderful stats in this thread. Please let me know what I've done wrong - it's the only way I'll learn.

Some very good posts on this thread but honestly, anyone who responds with something from any episode beyond season eight, leave now. I know it's snobbish but The Simpsons really got shit beyond that point. Steve Sax: But there are hundreds of unsolved murders in New York City! Lou: You don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you, Saxxy Boy?

If you're not already doing it, I'd strongly recommend you follow @tellhimhespele - your one-stop shop for all things SFL. Hopefully there'll be more feature-based content on it over the New Year, but it really is a wonderful little site.

Christ. What a boob. Absolute spam. Sorry to have wasted your time.

This may be of some interest to Falkirk supporters - an interview with Ross Wilson, the brains behind FFC's outstanding youth academy: CLICK HERE PLEASE.