timlichtie

A confusing article in the Courier this morning. Who’s fit? Hopefully everyone except Macintosh. Anyone got a decent update?

If Macintosh is our only doubt then Dick has the option of playing the team that was beating all comers just a few weeks back. That would mean dropping Hammy which I doubt he’ll do. I suspect ToB may still be out and Hammy in the centre with Ricky. Getting Hylton back in would be a big plus.

It looks like we may be close to a full squad on Saturday. Just Macintosh in doubt I believe and ToB a possibility. I’m looking forward to a decent performance at Spartans to get us going again.

A totally threadbare squad for this game and it shows. A shame for the big Lichtie support that has travelled. Hard to see us turning it around in the second half with no real options on the bench.

There are quite a few coming from the South in addition to the northern travellers. I think at least 150 in total.

Apparently they’re the Welsh Gretna. Not greatly popular within their own league.

I think New Saints will be quite a test. Full time and 14 wins on the bounce according to Dick. Hammy and Steele in the centre? Stewart and Goldy at full backs, I guess. Not ideal.

Dick saying that Ricky is out for the European clash. I didn’t notice an injury on Saturday. No suspension due. Anyone know what’s happening?

If I remember correctly we had Scott Stewart at LB, ToB in the defence and Turan starting in attack. Scott was providing a lot of support to Hylton on the left and Turan giving more physicality to the midfield than MacIntosh. Leighton always seems best coming off the bench later in the game. Clearly Hammy needs game time but is he 100% fit to start? It seemed like a better balanced side than Saturday’s.

Made his debut as sub yesterday. Looked competent. Hard to say more. Early days.

With ToB out we really needed a defensive set up to protect the defence. Instead we got 3 up front and a lightweight midfield which was bossed by Partick from the start. A midfield crying out for a combative player with a bit of pace and we’ve sent Balde on loan! The early season unease over lack of cover for defence and a defensive midfielder has returned. Our reliance on Ricky and ToB is risky and now being exposed. Our excellent run of results came from starting Kenan, but yesterday Macintosh started and really didn’t make an impact. For me the running and tackling back and physicality of Kenan gives much more impact. No complaints at yesterday’s score. Partick got their team and tactics right. I thought Williams at right back was excellent in defence and a real threat going forward.

I’m in hospitality this week so a ringside seat for Dick v Big Dunc. Should be hilarious. The Lichties will be really fired up with the prospect of a record run. Ricky in for Norey. Harsh on Jess but he’ll get more chances.

I thoroughly enjoyed that yesterday. Maybe in the minority but I wasn’t surprised having seen all the recent previous wins. Comparisons are being made with the team of 2 seasons ago. As I recall we were grinding out a lot of 1 goal wins. The difference now is the attacking options. Hylton has done much to make up for the loss of Bobby Linn and the 3 strikers all give terrific physicality and skill. It’s early days but we could be looking at another great season.

Not bad. A decent away day and all to play for.

Lyon looks like a very good signing. The more I hear about Hammy’s injury the more I think he won’t be back to full match fitness for some time. We surely need a left sided defender in.

A scrappy game that looked like it was heading for a draw. The difference for us this season is having quality attacking subs like Hylton. The Lichtie bench was ridiculously light, but we got away with it.

Great to see some real options off the bench. Balde, Macintosh and Hylton all looked well up for it when they came on. Leighton unlucky not to score again. What a difference from last season.

A great team performance. Special mention for McKenna and Touran who were both immense. A great contribution from the subs, too. Really refreshing to have quality attackers coming off the bench.

Seems to be a problem with the automated gates. Don’t leave it late.

The Scott Allan saga has been a disappointment and a distraction. I was delighted when he signed but haven’t seen much evidence of his apparent prowess. Nicky Lowe could play more good passes in one game than Allan has in all his time in maroon. It’s definitely time to move on and concentrate on developing the decent playmakers we now have.

I’m looking forward to this. Cappielow is always a good venue. Morton are probably closer to management change than us. Dougie had worked wonders and must be high on the list for a step up.

Assuming that 39% includes our 4 seasons as a part time club in a full time league then it looks a decent record knowing how many draws we’ve had. Haven’t many successful managers been binned by previous clubs? Dick definitely needs to get a grip soon. Yesterday’s first half was torture. We gave QP way too much respect in the first half and they just relaxed into a rhythm. He has to address the obvious squad problems quickly or we will be sunk.

To be honest I was expecting worse today. QP have spent a lot on that squad and look like contenders again. If we can strengthen this week we could get something from the game at Gayfield.

No admittance to anyone wearing football colours.

A 20 year old originally from Glasgow being offered a full time city club like Partick is always likely to take that over part time in Arbroath. Maybe we were pursuing the wrong player.