Fae_the_'briggs

Joe Thomson, excellent signing. That is all.

Anyone know who we play in the first league game of the season? Hope it's not a trip to Morton.

Enough bloody advertisements on here.

A good effort SD but no gold star. Can't see Alan Martin on that list.

I think it's becoming general practice that several players are invited along, or players ask if they can come along, for pre-season training with us. This gives us a chance to see if they are worth offering a deal to. One problem is that some players use us to do a pre-season and get fit but have little or no intention of signing.

I think you get the general feeling about him from the last few posts but he may do a job at a lower level. Good luck with that anyway.

Maybe the rot setting in before he left was linked to the rumoured interference from his backroom staff starting up. Anyway he did give us a few weeks excitement early in his reign. Our training was based in Hamilton last season so probably is again as our Manager said it had excellent facilities. At or next to the David Lloyd Centre AFAIK.

Hardly in the hotseat long enough for here to form a solid opinion as far as I'm concerned. Promoted from assistant manager when James Fowler moved on so many viewed his appointment as the cheap option. He started the season quite well and we were holding our own at the top end of a division which had some BIG teams in it. Rumours of too much interference from other backroom staff leading to a little player unrest finally resulted in him leaving for "personal reasons" about one-third way into his first management season and we plummeted down the table after that. Like Fowler, maybe another good coach/assistant manager rather than manager. I wouldn't say he was up to Premiership managerial standard.

Leaving a note would cut into the time the staff have available plus would incur cost of paper and ink. Thank you, my fellow 6-fingered friend. It's really a mixture of poor English, arthritis and senility (on my part anyway)

Good point, well-made.

I think a few posts on here demonstrate why the club is in the position it is with supporters numbers falling and a general apathy surrounding the place. Is it any wonder that fans of other clubs label us a bumpkin outfit if our own fans themselves view the club as basically a small time outfit with little appetite for improvement however minor, with seemingly no ambition and happy to lurch along season after season. No-one is asking the Board to splash out thousands in cash to compete with Falkirk, Dundee Utd, and the like on the PR/Media operations but the fact that some fans think there is a problem in this area surely indicates that there is a level of concern that needs addressed. We're getting bogged down in talk about the lack of pictures of new signings waving scarves but that is just one small example of the need to put the club more in the public eye and push ourselves forward as an "established Championship team" not just a makeweight. We've probably been spoiled a bit media-wise over the past few seasons with the likes of Hearts, Hibs and rangers in the Championship, which heightened everyone's profile without too much effort. With the greatest respect to Partick Th., Ross County and Dundee Utd, general media coverage is nowhere near as much so clubs have to promote themselves a bit more. Despite what some think this should not mean throwing bucketloads of cash at it but are least trying to implement slight improvements within the current structure. If you continue to think "small time" you will be happy to accept "small time." (I'll give you that slogan free of charge)

Barnhill on the other side of town, handier for Palmerston.

So cameras don't work in central Scotland then?

I wouldn't think so. The SLO aren't employed by the club AFAIK but I'm sure they do try and promote the Club by various means but are essentially go-betweens between the fans and Board. (That's my take on it anyway). As I said in an earlier post we used to have a Press Officer but I've no idea if we still do. That position would surely include using all available media to inform the fans and promote the Club.

I wonder who arranged that?

Sad to say but I feel we are getting more amateurish in the general running of the club, not to mention the 1st team set-up. For instance the club shop/office advertises opening hours yet sometimes is closed during those times. As Bluenortherner says calls to the office go unanswered. Recent posts about new signings being photographed may be petty to some but it keeps supporters informed as well as keeping the club in public eye not only locally but nationally too. Would it be that much of a hassle for someone to submit a photo whether it's at Palmerston or "up the road". Surely the more positive press you can get the better, the club has had quite a bit of negative press lately. I'm sure we had a Press Officer, Bill Goldie, but don't know if that post still exists. Maybe just my imagination but there seems a general malaise about the place just now, and in the lead up to a new season the Club should be doing all it can to keep supporters onside and promote itself positively.

I doubt it would about the first part of your sentence. and quite agree about the second part.

IF we had a goalkeeper who could get the majority of his long kicks to find a wide player, or even keep it in the playing area, and IF we had a such a wide player who could actually make good use of these kicks it wouldn't be so frustrating. In reality we give away possession on most occasions because we try and play it into such a small target area too near the touchline. I get what you're saying about the ability of the players at this level who wouldn't be here if they had better control but how long should you persist with a tactic that clearly doesn't suit us. Is it OK to do it just because the opposition are just as unsuccessful and we cancel each other out. As for other teams playing it out from the back, when Naysmith plays one man up front (ie Dobbie) the opposition seem to have a lot of space to play from the back especially if the midfield is sitting deep.(Naysmith's negativity). Even Dobbie can't cut out balls to every defender. I've noticed that happen on a few occasions albeit mostly against the so-called big teams. When we play two up or with the midfield pressing we restrict their supply from the back and actually try and force them into mistakes. Watching goalkeepers at either end if the park continually sending goal kicks and clearances into the stands isn't my idea of an entertaining game.

So didn't work at all well for three-quarters of the season yet was persevered with. Also Dykes may win a good few headers but he rarely knocks it down to a teammate, not always his fault of course, but flicks it behind himself where it's easily dealt with by defenders.

***Tell me you're joking. Lee Robinson continually launching balls into the crowd was one of the main reasons fans turned against him, as well as his clownlike behaviour of course. Kicking prowess is probably the last thing you would associate with him, in the latter phase of his Queens career anyway.

Grant Anderson (pre-Naysmith) is another example of a winger who is "not there to win headers" being used as a wide target man to win headers. Most of the niggling injuries he picked up when he was here came as a result of him landing awkwardly or being caught by the opposition when jumping for headers. Lyndon Dykes, when deployed out wide, is also used a a target man for heading the ball down (mostly unsuccessfully) for his teammates. Our goalkeepers actually practice long kick-outs to the wings in their pre-match routine so it's not as if the management discourage this tactic.

Read that in one of today's papers. Not sure if it will make the Competition any more exciting tbh. Including Colt teams, Norn Irish, Southern Irish and Welsh teams hasn't exactly boosted attendances significantly, or raised the profile of the competition. It all seems a bit gimmicky now.

If he's under contract the BoD must have given Carlisle permission to talk to him so they will probably have some names in mind if he does leave. I certainly hope they're more on the ball than they were when searching for a Manager the last time as it seemed to drag on then they made what appeared a hurried/panicky appointment.

Kevin" The Dude" McCormick.