Fae_the_'briggs

I probably must concede the point regarding the Manager relocating to Dumfries if it greatly affects his family especially in the modern climate of offering shorter term contracts. It would not suit every candidate but should be a consideration if circumstances allow. Mr. Connelly was probably outwith easy commuting distance to Dumfries when he got the job and as a friend of the then Chairman possibly thought he was here for the long haul so decided to buy, or was offered, a house locally. That does not however mean that training cannot be at Dumfries considering the number of "locals" who have to travel to the Central Belt. If you sign for a Dumfries Club you must expect most of your work to be done in Dumfries. As I stated in an earlier post as a compromise the team could train 2 days in Dumfries and 2 days somewhere else. We need to get better acclimatised to the new Palmerston surface if it is to give us an advantage. Training should not be thought of as somewhere for players to pass the time for a couple of hours in the morning. We all want the team to do a lot better and if it takes extra training sessions to achieve that then the players and coaches should at least be considering it, and the Board demanding it.

So I take it you have been present at some training sessions and studied his training methods to form this opinion or is it yet again another dig at the Manager which is not based on actual fact or knowledge.

So you obviously don't have any objections with people commuting to their place of work so why should Central Belt based players and Management not be expected to travel to to their home base which is Palmerston Park. Perhaps your boss can offer some of the players a lift down to Dumfries seeing as he's coming this way. As for the training set-up last season, we did not have the facility that we do now at Palmerston. Add to that the future opening of the indoor facility at the old Tesco and various grass pitches around the town there is no reason, apart from pandering to the Central Belt residents, why training has to be anywhere other than Dumfries. I'd be interested to know the reasoning why you think Alan Johnston would not have taken the job if training was based in Dumfries. Did he or any of those close to him tell you this, or is it supposition.

Steady on JRS you sound like a frustrated PT Instructor in the Marines. We don't want to kill them just make them hurt a bit as they become fitter and more comfortable doing the basics. It's really for their own good as well as the good of the Club.

Me again. I am not saying that all training sessions should be devoted to fitness although that is probably the most important element if you are fading late in games. One of the "benefits" of full time training should be that it gives you more opportunity to work on set pieces, passing, controlling a ball and general tactics, all of which I think this team needs serious work on. On another point, you often hear of Managers ordering extra training on player's days off after a poor result or performance but I can't remember any Queen's Manager in my time ever taking this stance. Surely there must have been instances where this was merited.

But the Club is, or should be, based in Dumfries. Maybe someone with higher connections than me can ask the Chairman why it is not part of the Manager's job description that he is based locally.

In the John Connelly era, when we were part time, he had players travelling from NE England and the Central Belt to train in Dumfries after their work and it didn't seem to be a problem. The Manager of course moved into a house locally when he was appointed so was more part of the community. When we went full time under Chisholm and training moved up to the Central Belt it used to be commented on that Jim Thomson and the other locally based players would set off about 8:30 am to go to training and were back in Dumfries about 1:30 pm. It doesn't take a genius to work out the actual time spent at "training". I think the first thing any club should do when appointing a new Manager is to move him into the local area and base the training locally. As a compromise in the meantime we could have 2 days training in the Central Belt and 2 days down in Dumfries, double sessions to make the journey down worthwhile. I don't think we have fully adapted to the new Palmerston surface and more training on it would be beneficial. The Chairman commented pre-season that, with the new surface and indoor facility, he hoped to have the training based here. Why has that not been brought in. The geography of the Club is always cited as a reason for failing to attract some players but we are better placed than Ross County and Inverness CT in that respect and they don't appear to have this problem. I would think they are the type and size of Club we should be trying to emulate. Get as many players based locally as possible so that the Club is truly a part of the Community. I believe that one of our players is still based in Aberdeen and only makes it to one training session a week plus match days although he does have Aberdeen training facilities. Not a good situation for a professional club. When we were part time we used to pride ourselves on matching or beating the full time sides we played against. Alloa, Dumbarton, Cowdenbeath are maybe approaching games with the same attitude that we used to have.

I remember he did get an injury just before half-time last Saturday when he went to clear a short passback and collided with an inrushing Cowdenbeath player. He didn't need treatment at the time. I thought to myself, rather uncharitably and wrongly, that he's getting his excuses ready for not appearing in the second half. He of course did play the whole game and made a couple of good saves near the end which helped us hold on for 1 point. If anyone thinks I am trying to defend him, I am not forgetting that it was his blunder that put us a goal down to begin with. Obviously the injury. if it was related to the same incident, must have flared up after the game.

I don't want to be accused of trying to defend the indefensible and can work out for myself that he has lost some very poor goals which has cost us points, or cup games. It could be argued however that he has saved us points on some occasions or made saves that have helped us progress in earlier cup rounds. Against Cowdenbeath yesterday he lost probably the worst kind of goal any keeper can give away, no excuses, but in the dying minutes of the game , in my view, he made a couple of good blocks to deny goals when the defence was dithering about. Give criticism where it is deserved but don't forget the positives, however few of them you may think there are. One player alone is not responsible for the current league position of the club . Just read "Broony 88'"s latest post. A very constructive and articulate contribution. The club must be proud to have you as a supporter. (Sarcasm, don't you just love it)

They'll be safe enough provided many posters to this site are on the jury. Calum Antell will get the blame even if he wasn't involved.

So obviously no blame attached to Kev Dz for giving the ball away under no pressure allowing the Falkirk player the chance to shoot. It is getting harder to defend Antell's performances, especially after Cowden's goal yesterday, but in many cases outfield players have made the simple mistakes that lead to opposition goals yet they don't come under the same scrutiny or criticism.

Showed his "ambition" by signing for Celtic Nation. From playing for Crawley Town against Man Utd at Old Trafford he seems to be moving in the right direction on a par with his ability.

Seems some are still comparing players' form from last season to their performances so far this season. Higher division, better opposition, harder games, not surprising that some are struggling to make an impression, and not just the players referred to in the above post. Too good for the opposition last season but, as the promoted side, this season must be about consolidating our position in the division, mid-table should be a realistic target and anything above that would be a welcome bonus. "COME ON YOU QUEENS"

Seems a lot of people are still trying to compare last season's achievements with our form and ambitions for this season.. IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT. We were too good for for the other teams in the 2nd division last year as the margin by which we won the title shows. We are now in a higher division, according to some not as hard a division as it has been in previous years, but a higher division none the less. The majority of teams in the Championship are full time unlike all of the other teams in last years 2nd div. The very fact that these teams are playing in a higher division means they have better players (or players who can perform more consistently on a regular basis), better facilities and better coaching. We have started this season with virtually the same squad as last season, minus TOP SCORER and BEST KEEPER in the division, adding an experienced central defender, a virtually inexperienced goalie, an experienced striker/midfielder, and an American midfielder whose is as yet an unknown quantity, but the basis of the squad is the same. Playing in a higher and better division (FACT), trying to bed in new players with the existing squad, a new manager with his own plans, a new backroom staff, new playing surface, all reasons I believe that you can't use last season's achievements as a yardstick to how we will do this season. If we have the players to do well this season it will be because they are good enough to make the step up, not because of what they did last season. Some will show they are good enough but for others it may be a step too much. Quotes of "last season we did this" or " the way we played last season" mean nothing this season. Great memories but, draw a line under it, move on, and hopefully upwards. A NEW division, a NEW challenge which in the end will hopefully give us plenty of good memories. "COME ON YOU QUEENS"

They both speak the truth "COME ON YOU QUEENS"

If you read thru' some of the posts on this and other sites, as I'm sure that you will do, there are various instances of comparisons being made between our achievements and performances then and what some expect of us this season. Granted some players are being played out of position at times, and formations may not suit the players, but even if we were somehow able to transfer last season's entire squad, management team, formations, etc, into this seasons campaign, there is no guarantee that our position would be any stronger. All you have is speculation and maybe false hopes. "COME ON YOU SOUTH"

Constant comparisons to last season's achievements against the start we have made to this season are IMO a complete waste of time such are the differences in circumstances. Let's continue to celebrate what the club achieved last season but don't make it a yardstick to gauge our progress (or maybe lack of it) over this season. "COME ON YOU SOUTH"

Sorry to correct you but we now play in "The Championship" or maybe you can see in which direction we are heading. The quality of the squad we have may not have changed much from last season, keeper and top striker excepted, but the quality of the opposition must undoubtedly be better, logically you cant say that teams in a higher division are no better than teams from a lower division. Perhaps we have let our runaway success last season cloud our judgement of our capabilities for this season. I'd give it until the first quarter of the season is over and see if we have made progress before hitting the panic button. I think that comparing managers who had different squads, budgets and played in different divisions is not really feasible in deciding which is the best. "COME ON THE SOUTH"

Personally I can't see any harm in players having a bet on the football, as long as they're not betting on a game they are involved in obviously. Having been found guilty of betting on games his team was involved in I think Ian Black got off lightly with 3 game immediate suspension and another 7 game suspended suspension. I think he should be banned for life, besides I just don't like the whining wee clogger. It now looks as if the authorities are going to revise their rules about players betting, too late, I'm glad to say, for Mr. Black.

A good start for completing the double when the first teams meet on Saturday.

If memory serves me well, George McVittie, Les O'Neil, Bobby Parker and Chris Balderstone all arrived at Queens when their careers with Carlisle Utd were on the wane. Even then they were still class players who could comfortably play in the Scottish game. As I recall, McVittie was an old fashioned type right winger who liked to take players on, get to the byeline and put crosses in. He also had a "Bobby Charlton comb-over" hair style. Looking through other posts it's surprising how many good players slip from the memory, and how lucky we are to have witnessed them in action. Can someone with better recollection than me remember which manager signed these ex Carlisle players.

Messi is undoubtedly a great player in the present days game, but I don't think he would have lasted 5 minutes back in the days when defenders were allowed to "tackle". ("The good old days" as many of us fondly recall it). As far as Queens are concerned "JRSLEFTPEG"'s obvious hero was also a great player and crowd pleaser. (When he was in the right frame of mind, which sometimes I recall, he was not) It's pretty obvious that picking favourite players is very much a generational thing, the more you've seen the more choice you have, It's probably pointless but there's no harm in trying.

Without getting into a long debate about who is/was the best Queens player, or picking a best ever 11, I would agree that he was the best player with the ball at his feet who played in that position. My opinion for other "departments": Goalie: Allan Ball; Defender: Mike Barker: Midfield; Chris Balderstone. It would be interesting to hear other peoples opinions. (Not really, I probably won't be ar**d to read them)

Have we officially got another keeper in on loan? Can't say I've seen any confirmation of this yet but it may be true.

David? Not another one, we're still waiting on Kevin from the USA to get the all clear.