The Toun Clock

Could go one of two ways here. As it stands, I’d put the house on an away win. However, taking away out injuries which is playing a huge part, the team was still pretty poor against Raith on 2nd Jan and then against Queens Park on Friday. Friday was the first time McPake hasn’t really credited them for their effort and I reckon a few words were had which might have a positive impact. Option 1) - Airdrie rock up full of confidence, Pars still without a large number of regular starters and Airdrie take the points. Option 2) - the boys have a rocket fitted firmly up their arse, we get a couple of signings in this week, one or two return from injury and we go out and get a very much needed win. Until I see some movement I think option 1 is most likely. No idea the seriousness of Comrie or Jakubiak’s injuries that forced them off on Friday. I think we’ll know more about the results of Bene, Breen and Todd’s scans this week. Fisher, KRH, Tod will definitely miss out. FWIW I think Todd could be out for the majority of the remainder of the season if rumblings are true. Bene sounded positive when doing the BBC half time stuff on Friday but again we’ll need to get his scan results. Breen is always getting injured anyway so if he’s back well enjoy the 45-60 minutes until he’s off again. Hopefully Otoo able to come back and I think McPake expected Lewis McCann to make the squad for this one. Summers & Wighton both looked done on Friday but hopefully they will be okay. Looking forward to it!

Big week this week. Hopefully everyone comes through training unscathed and we can get one or two in. I can already hear the groans when our newly signed centre back goes down in the 40th minute on Saturday…

Yeah playing 9/11 players out of position will do that. Won’t last forever

Why would you want to get close to a defender? He’s shite, the weak link in that team.

He’s quite easily rattled, just a shame none of the Pars boys have even tried to have a go.

Isn’t like him. What a wee shame…

What exactly did Ross Millen get sent off for?

I don’t think he’s been found out at all. Injury crisis as bad as I’ve ever seen and up until last week we were 4th in the league, still got a game in hand on those above us also. This season was about staying in the league.

Tell you one thing, he rose like a salmon in the second half for a header, really good save from their goalie. He is a bit lightweight, but last season he came up against season pro's like Rory McCallister when we played Montrose and done well. Still, I'd rather have him at wing back.

I'd quite like O'Reilly, I remember him playing for Accies and thought he was decent. However, I think he'd probably like to stay with you guys, and if not, then I think others may fancy a shot. Might not, but I wonder if rivalry thing might come out to it and he goes to a Partick or something purely because it's us, maybe not. If you were to ask me to bet where Dan O'Reilly will be come end of January I think it'll still be Kirkcaldy.

Wighton has looked a little off for weeks now. I know he had the virus, and did come on to score the equaliser at Arbroath, but since then has looked a big knackered. Otoo would be a complete nightmare. Summer's wouldn't shock me, looked done in towards the end of the game, thought he played really well. Typical!

Aye I think I mentioned it last week, but McPake always talks about how well the boys out injured are being looked after with scans, surgeries, rehab etc. It'll be costing a fortune. There'll definitely be two or three I think, some loans, maybe a free transfer or two if they get released from their club.

Aye I’m surprised too. However, could it be that he’s thinking about the other areas of the pitch that desperately need recruitments. Deniz has chucked it far too many times since coming back, and Sharp has also been error prone when given the chance. I think Deniz is suffering from a lack of Bene at the back. However I think McPake will keep playing him. Sharp won’t be play if Deniz stays fit, or he starts having even more consistent howlers.

I'd be absolutely willing to stick with the goalies we have until the end of the season if it means we can get in a 2/3 outfield players. In fairness, he's already said he wants to keep Sharp, Deniz won't be going anywhere, I can't see us having more than three first team goalies on the books unless Little is offski. I did notice he ran round the front of the Norrie to the North West just as the teams were coming out on Tuesday from HT and gave his gloves to someone.

With regards to Mahon - Really good guy, enthusiastic and enjoyed being here but not what we need right now I feel. He was very much an impact player. He would come off the bench at times and look good, then would get a start the week after for his reward and not take the opportunity. If I'm being honest, and I know this is very unlikely but I'd rather see some experienced guys in to help than guys with very limited first team experience. For example Ashcroft and May, both been linked with us. I'd take them both.

Just noticed as well as the managers pre match interview there’s also an interview talking about other players, including the loanees. McPake is hoping Sharp, Summers and Moffat are all with us until the end of the season. Suppose that puts any recall for Sharp to bed.

McPake interview with the Courier... Fisher has multiple fractures to the nose, required seven/eight stitches below the eye. Breen will be out, Bene refused surgery to continue playing but I think that was before the Ayr injury. Matty Todd will see a specialist today about a hamstring issue. McCann won't make tomorrow.

Hopefully McPake will give his pre match today, and we can see who's in and who's not. I only really expect Paul Allan to feature that didn't on Tuesday. Unless some sort of miracle comes back on the scans with Bene, Breen and Matty.

I think we've done okay given it's our first time back in the league. Last season we had great fun, clean sheet records, long winning runs which led to a title win. It was never going to be easy coming up but a good home win against Airdrie and a point at Tannadice (nearly three) and things were looking good. However, it's been very inconsistent and stop start. We played Morton at East End, winning 3-1 and looked like we could have a real impact at the top of the tree. The following week or two we played Thistle at Firhill, got emptied 3-0 and looked like we'd be scrapping around the relegation playoffs. Been said a million times and not saying we've had it any harder than others, but our injury record this year is dreadful. Mehmet was out for months, Bene and Breen out for months, came back and are both out again. Todd and KRH both out for months, came back and now both long term injury again. Fisher's been in and out with injuries, and Lewis McCann. We have Ben Summers who's looked great when available, but also missing for weeks at a time. O'Hallaron and Jakubiak took a while to get going. I think everyone in the squad apart from Edwards, Comrie and Chalmers have missed out due to injury at some point. Mehmet, Bene, Breen, Todd, KRH, McCann, Summers would all likely be starters so to have them all repeatedly missing is tough. However, was that poor planning by the manager/board? Who knows, no one could foresee the injuries. KRH for example has had three different surgeries on three different parts of the body, since thee end of last season Matty Todd could be about to have a fourth surgery, again all unconnected. I think the general feeling is that we didn't sign enough or add enough quality in the summer. McPake always talks about not signing for the sake of it, and only adding if they'll improve the squad. Great approach, but in hindsight a couple more squad players wouldn't have done any harm. I'd go as far as saying I'm disappointed with the summer window. We got some good young guys in permanently from Premiership clubs but maybe not enough experience and quality. We also didn't address the striker issue. We weren't big scorers last season, and knew something had to give with Wighton, McCann, Todorov and O'Hara. I'd have kept Wighton, McCann and Todorov but we only kept the first two and didn't really replace them. Jakubiak is a good player, but it was all very last minute and he's not an out and out goalscorer/striker. Good hold up play, but two goals so far isn't what you need in this league. I've been impressed with Raith. Good team, a lot of quality and plenty pantomime villains (from a Dunfermline point of view). Off the field stuff has been good, on the field has been better. Hasn't been enjoyable getting defeated four (for now) times but these things don't last forever. The rest of the division kinda speaks for itself. Maybe didn't expect QP being at the bottom after last season but I don't want to talk too much about that in case they give us a pasting tomorrow...

Possibly, and that would make more sense. However, when the notification pinged at 9am I did think... here we go!

I think more aimed at Section North West mate. Things being thrown, flares, pyros whatever. I wondered if the club would eventually address this, however after what has happened I think they might now. Again, I'm not connecting SNW to the incident, but unfortunately a lot of non Pars fans are. I don't think the club will do another statement on the attack until the Police have concluded there investigations. Then they'll know who was involved and who's getting banned.

To be fair, the Raith Vs Dunfermline games tend to have a very heavy police presence, especially at Starks. Whether that's Police at the stations at both Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, Police on the train, Police in between the pubs and the ground, it's usually swarming. And after the game too. I'm sure it'll be even bigger in March when the teams meet at Starks. I walked back to my car parked in Garvock after the game and passed the away end on Halbeath Road just as the away support was exiting. Very vocal, and rightly so after a derby win. However, a group of say 15 young men, well in their 20's surrounded and started battering the windows of a service bus that was stuck in the traffic. Was busy with old people, women, children etc. I don't buy that there was people not using public transport at ether if the train stations due to safety. Short walk with a couple of hundred other people, to a station that is policed.

Was having a glance at the comments/reaction on Facebook to the clubs statement and also Section NW's statement. I can't remember if it was the one for the club or the group, but in the comments, two mothers of the kids accused, names plastered all over social media have been proven not involved in the attack by the Police. I'm not sure exactly how serious, but I think it can be a fairly dangerous game to be plastering names of people all over social media, accusing them of things, especially given their age. I have Twitter notifications on for the club. A new one came through at 9am and I was gobsmacked it wasn't a bigger statement. Instead some sticker/card collection game.

Main story on the STV News, what a great 24 hours for the club...

I was skim reading your post and thought you used to take a bag of wine into East End in your jacket hood. Realistically there's about 30-40 guys that go every week from SNW and they all know each other. There all well older than the age of the people involved in the incident. I think what they're saying is there not really part of that group. Most of these guys are mid 20's, the boy arrested was what, 17/18? Aye they might have managed to get a ticket in that section. Regardless, Jason is a great guy. This has nothing to do with him, and realistically it has nothing to do with SNW, however they released a statement anyway, because people were linking the incident with them, and even offered to pay for some damages, when they didn't have to Go on any of the Pars pages on Facebook and go through profiles, you'll see loads of people with Section North West photos, a lot of them sit in other sections of the ground. The background on my phone is of a display they did last season against Falkirk, I sit in the Norrie. Anyone can buy a hoodie. They're available online from a Fife based sports kit retailer which is owned by the same guys who own Raith would you believe.