Sao Paulo

Some never before seen bounce game footage in there...!

Be pleased with Petkov. He'd bring both the sheer stature we're missing in the middle of the defence and a reasonably level 'distribution head' if his midfield experience has rubbed off at all. Wee compilation video here (playing as a defender, Levein confirmed that he's only been playing there for the last season or so, having been a midfielder before):

And there's been talk of Ian Beale.

Kilsyth recently beat us to Willie Sawyers signature.

Fitness levels were great - and much better than Rose's, if you wanted a positive.

All of the trialists were worse than shite, Howie aside. And even he didn't look like he could hit the ground running in League 1. Coyne beat him in the air three times. Just a friendly and wouldn't read much more into it than that. Opener was a classic exhibition of absent-minded defending and goal-keeping. Rest of the goals were just meh. Needing a big centre-forward, a left-back, another goalie, another centre-half, and maybe - now that I've seen them today - a Banks replacement. A midfielder with real pace to put the cat among the pigeons when overplaying becomes a problem.

Another creative midfielder!? We've got no end of those: Rankin, Lamont, Johnston, McStay, Svyersten, Love. You could even lump Wallace and Smith into the pile; Smith has played in midfield before (wide). We need another goalie, a left-back, a centre-half... And a target man if we want not to be one dimensional. And we should want that if we want a play-off spot.

And they... ♫

He's played all over the shop, including at the back. As things are, I'd rather him than McNiff there. But again ideally, we'd have a proper left-back and move Wallace up.

I'd be happy winging it with a young lad, to be honest, but aye. Ideally.

Losing Lang and McStay makes putting a good team out very difficult. We'd still probably be strongest in a 4-5-1/4-3-3. The new backline being: Wallace, McNiff, Rumsby and Duffie/Cuddihy. The five across being some mixture of Johnston, Lamont, Rankin, Grant, Cuddihy, Love or Syvertsen. I suppose Smith could play in midfield too, behind or in place of Goodie up front. I don't like the look of that though. Not at all. We'd be a toaty wee team beyond the midfield. And we'd be a lot less dynamic minus McStay. I reckon a left back, a centre back, a centre mid and a centre forward would complete us, but that's quite a shopping list. And it'd still be a headache, though probably a good one to have, to find the best XI and shape.

Aye. Know what actually... Going down the road of benching our player of the year in order to prolong the career of some has-been would be the wrong thing. We went through our ex La Liga right back phase a while back anyhow. Miguel... There's only one Miguel... ♫

He'd be a great addition.

We'd be getting a readymade Lang replacement, really. Be a coup if he remained fit.

Release Barabbas! Fuckin' get um tae f**k.

While not quite as 'marquee' a signing, Mats Hummels would be even better for us than Broadfoot. Well done Danny.

Foun' me a good E-regy Nissan Cherry bunnet but.

That'd be some signing, that.

I've previously said McStay's the best midfielder we've had since Craig Bryson and I stand by it. I originally made the comparison not just because Bryson was another outstanding centre midfielder who we've had play for us but also because of the two players' similarity in terms of their style, strengths and weaknesses. The argument Clyde85 makes above about McStay's low return on goals and assists is an easily defeated one. If your opinion of a centre-midfielder is based only on those things, then you'd have a negative opinion of everyone from Craig Bryson to Claude Makelele. And, in a stark and amusing irony, you'd have an especially negative view of Ray Grant who does not, and will never, contribute many goals or assists. But who is of course an utterly superb player. It isn't every player whose value can be captured in one or two statistics. And statistics aren't kept on the quality of decisions made in possession, whose inteception begun a passage of play leading to a goal, willingness to take a risk in order to open up play, and so on. Grant is, in the here and now, better in possession than McStay in so far as his decisions and technical ability lead, more often, to keeping the ball. However, McStay's guile, his dig, his box-to-box capability, and his ability to find a yard or open play up with a turn or a trick... Looking at his age, too... There's a truck load of potential there. Both guys have full-time football in their future but McStay, at the minute, would be the most ready for it in my opinion. Neither player would be set back by another season with us however, if it guaranteed them a jersey.

Easily the best player ever.

We could promise that Maltese lad a start at left-back though, couldn't we? Might be enough. Probably a bit good for us, mind.

Good cu'la boays them.

Two offers out with players from last season's squad according to the OS tonight (Lennon commenting). Presumably McStay and Lang. Some free agents invited to pre-season. And loan players being looked at from "esteemed" full-time clubs. Got to think Danny's talking about eh berz there.

Aye, I think said host was just keen to see what a Clyde player's perception of the support was, given his experience of them on this messageboard. I'm guessing here... I'm guessing.

I'd recommend the podcast featuring Scott McLaughlin. A good listen for Clyde fans wondering what it was like for the players to work under Barry Ferguson. McLaughlin's very candid throughout and his account of things confirms a lot of what was widely thought about why Ferguson ultimately failed at Clyde. Also, as I remember, the podcast's host - horrible man - suggests to McLaughlin that the Clyde support have a certain notoriety in so far as they're difficult to please and sometimes antagonistic toward players and management. McLaughlin, rightly and admirably, brushes the suggestion off, adding that the Clyde support of the time were right to be displeased. And that is really the only attitude a player should have toward a support in the circumstance where the team hasn't gotten good results. And it speaks to McLaughlin's quality as a professional that he'd say as much.