Nat Weederburn

Generally wouldn't have thought this January would be a big window for us. But given the circumstances we need to bring in bodies, Ashcroft would make a lot of sense to cover the central position since Bene looks like he's out long term. We also need a wider centre back for Breen since he's continually getting knocks. That allows Hamilton and Otoo to reinforce the midfield where they can be more effective as well. Would love a striker but not holding out hope we'll find one that's an upgrade. Really hope they can get a win tonight, would give everyone a bit of a lift after the loss and back on the right track.

Arbroath were in total control until the red card. Thought they passed and attacked with good pace and we just stayed in it at 1-0. Didn't match Arbroath's physicality at all, Otoo is usually reliable as the left sided defender so I have no idea why McPake decided he was a better option being central in the back 3 over Breen? One of our worst performances of the season but have taken a point away from home, so have to take it and move on. Need to sign one if not two defenders in January given injuries just continue to pile up. Merry Christmas to Bird and Hylton who let us back into the game for a point. A Christmas present if I ever did see one.

We got completely overrun in the first game against thistle, possibly our worst performance of the season. Fitzpatrick and Lawless turned us inside out, so hopefully McPake has a bit more of a plan to stop them this time around. We've lacked the clinical finishing to put a lot of games away but defensively have done a decent enough job at keeping teams out. I think having Todd back could make all the difference for us and give us an edge we lacked in the previous meeting, but will be interesting to see.

Hopefully some news coming soon regarding us activating the extra year on his contract. I'd be shocked if we don't get offers in January and the summer though, such a dependable player who continues improving every season. Must've played 150+ games for the pars already at 23?

To me, without another experienced centre back I don't really see Fisher or Otoo working in a back 4. Hamilton should really only be there in an emergency too imo. McPake will most likely continue on with the 3 at the back. Which makes it all the stranger that McPake didn't sign another one in the summer? Maybe there just wasn't someone available who he liked, but it seemed like an obvious requirement. The recruitment in the summer I think was lighter than it needed to be. I loved bringing in Otoo, KRH and Fisher and they all made sense given their loan spells. Moffat and Summers are raw loanees but once again you can see the potential talent. The experienced signings haven't worked at all. Outside of Benedictus I want to see more from the veteran guys who just haven't stepped up and helped out the younger ones in the squad. Hopefully in January McPake can bring in at least a solid centre back and a striker with an eye for goals (unlikely given it's January but you can hope). Big game tonight which could push us up into 4th and get a bit of breathing room from further down the table, looking forward to seeing how the team bounces back from Friday night.

Tough to call, obviously 3 losses on the bounce isn't ideal and our record at Cappielow is appalling. I think Morton having to play only a few days ago will have an impact and the Pars will run out 2-1 winners. We need to start finding a way to score goals, against the Rovers on the weekend we created plenty of chances but nobody showed the composure to finish the moves, that hopefully changes here.

I swear Comrie gets 1 or 2 great chances every game, always gets in the right position but has zero ability to slot a ball away. Allan and Otoo were much more comfortable for us than the midfield in previous weeks, especially the first half I thought the passing was much better. Breen being out is a sore one as we'll have to reshuffle the team once again. I wouldn't change much for Friday night if possible, if everyone else is fit slot Otoo back to where Breen was and bring Hamilton into midfield.

Excellent finish by Stanton in all fairness, performance wise much better (from the players that started). O'Halloran, Chalmers and Wighton just offered absolutely nothing and killed any momentum we had in the game. The shooting is just horrific, Dabrowski had 1 or 2 top saves but most of the shots were hit with little power straight at him. McPake just needs to find a spark from somewhere going forward as right now I just don't see where the goals are going to come from. Sign of a good team for the Rovers as I thought they looked poor today but punished us for slack defending. As expected we're having a bit of a rollercoaster season but that's the championship for most teams.

I thought thistle were excellent today so fair play. Fitzpatrick, Lawless and McInroy totally ran the show. I thought the first half was fairly even although we got cut open too often by thistle. The second half was completely one way traffic and probably our worst half under McPake. Otoo and Fisher are really meant to play either side of a bigger defender and today highlighted why, the squad is really thin with all the injuries and we really miss a ball carrier in central midfield such as Summers/Todd. Hamilton and Chalmers were so far off the game today but we couldn't bring them off. Special mention to the Matt Hancock looking referee and slender man linesman who were both horrendous.

I think currently 343 is the way to go. Then you could put together a squad to look like; Mehmet (if he's good to go) Fisher Bene Otoo KRH Hamilton Summers Edwards Moffat Wighton McCann Subs; Sharp, Comrie, Breen, O'Halloran, Tod, Chalmers, Allan, Sutherland, Fenton Still think we'll make at least 2 attacking signings which lets Tod/Sutherland maybe go out on loan unless McPake wants them to stay with the squad and play reserve football. I think the pointless cup game comes at a good time for us. Another week to get KRH up to speed for the league, Todd for recovery and a couple new signings to bolster the squad.

It's probably one of those things where McPake won't view that position as much of a concern given Edwards is very rarely injured and never struggles to play the full game. Fenton may not be ready for the full gig but at a pinch I think he looks like he'd do okay with some support. More likely Otoo would just be shifted there or a tweak in formation. But you never know, we may bring in a loan player to cover there as well.

We have Fenton as cover and Otoo can play there as well, think Moffat will be more likely to be in competition with McCann/O'Halloran for those wide attacking areas instead. Still think we'll look to bring in a main striker whether that's Jakubiak/Mumbongo or someone else

McPake has admitted he's extremely picky about who he signs. It's a gamble to wait out on targets, but if they come through then the squad will be better for it. I understand the frustration but you have to make sure you're bringing in signings to improve the squad not just for the sake of it. The last time we were in the championship the transfer policy was all over the place. The job this season is to consolidate in the championship, I've seen no evidence to suggest we can't do that based on the first 3 performances without arguably two of our most influential players from last season. Signings will come in to fill out the rest of the squad, it's not unusual for clubs at our level to make more signings going into September once the window is shut. I think we'll see at least one come in tomorrow but wouldn't be surprised by a double signing

I'd say he's done decent enough. Seems like a pretty solid shot stopper and has a rocket of a boot, but accuracy of kicking is a lottery and he likes a run up on back passes which has nearly caught him out 2 or 3 times. Couldn't blame him for the goal at Tannadice or the one on Saturday I don't think. I imagine McPake will still favour Mehmet when he returns but Sharp should push him if he doesn't perform.

Mehmet Fisher Bene Otoo KRH Edwards Hamilton Chalmers Todd Wighton McCann Subs; Sharp, Comrie, Allan, Tod, O'Halloran, Summers, Breen Would be my starting team if everyone was fit. It's unfortunate Todd/KRH were out on Saturday as they are the creative flair that can get on the ball in midfield and take players on but the squad lacks those sorts of players in depth just now. O'Halloran still looks miles off it and McCann struggled to have the same impact as he has for other games this season. Ideally we get at least 1 more striker to offer something different to wighton (I'd argue we possibly need 2), as well as some sort of other pacy attacking player for when O'Halloran/McCann aren't playing well/or are out. Summers has talent but will need to adapt to this level to have an impact.

Was right in line with it from the main stand, phenomenal save by Dabrowski touching it onto the post otherwise it would've settled into the corner. Maybe I'm being harsh on Comrie and should just be glad he actually got it on target, but if he keeps his shot low and central it's a goal

We put lots of pressure on their defence without creating many clear cut chances, and for the most part Murray and Watson lapped it up. Comrie should score in the first half, no idea why he hits it the only place in the goal where Dabrowski is (a great save despite that). 12 corners and I don't recall any of them being remotely close to being a goal. A few other moments where players couldn't sort their feet out in the box. We lacked a bit of luck and on another day probably find a goal from somewhere. It highlights the lack of reliable attacking quality options we have in this team, McCann/Wighton/O'Halloran all were pretty poor yesterday and we didn't have any known quantities to change that from the bench. Not going to overreact as I thought the team was uncharacteristically sloppy, with too many players having an off day. Hopefully though it highlights the need to bring in a couple of attacking signings as soon as possible. 4 points isn't a bad return on the opening 3 games, think Inverness given their current form is a game we need to go and win next week to get back on track.

Fair play to Raith, defended for their lives and were clinical. Evidence we need to add in the attacking areas as O'Halloran was mince and Wighton/McCann were dead on their feet by the end.

To me Summers looks more like a central/attacking midfielder whereas I imagine Wotherspoon would play further forward and out wider (should he end up signing). McPake likes to change up the midfield and forward areas game to game so there will be a place for different types of players. Thought O'Halloran looked decent in the first half despite not being match fit, played some neat passes and when he ran at defenders his pace was scaring them. He obviously tired early on in the 2nd half but looks a different option from what we already have.

Can I borrow the Neuralyzer from Men In Black and erase that season from memory? Early days obviously but this management team/squad is such a far cry from that season. I gave every player kept on a free pass last summer after dealing with Grant/Hughes for a year. Mehmet, Comrie, Edwards, Chalmers especially all look like completely different players now. Especially Chalmers who once again had another great game yesterday. Mention for Otoo who was excellent as well, really think we've lucked out on getting him on a permanent deal, can see him playing at a much higher level if his anticipation and heading can develop over the season. Positive to have good things to say about the pars after the misery of a couple years ago, long may it continue.

Unlucky to not hold onto the win but Euan Anderson has had it in for us in both the Killie game and today. Apparently only Chris Hamilton gets booked for cynical challenges. As for the time wasting being added on I'm fine with it as long as it's consistent, but it won't be. Over the course of the game though a draw is a fair result, given the money United have thrown at their team and we still have 3-4 first team players to come in (and missing Todd/KRH) we'll be absolutely fine this season on that showing.

I think with Wotherspoon because the rumour came about quite a while ago that he'd been training with us etc that people concluded a deal would've come about fairly quickly one way or another. McPake also confirmed interest and an offer, not sure if he was the one that they thought was close to signing but that hasn't helped fans' frustration He's a good player and I'd take him, this sort of thing happens in the transfer market all the time, players have to look out for their best interests as any person does. Agents will also be looking to see if they can drum up interest to get a better deal, so there's that as well. If the club feel they've made a strong offer then that's all you can do, if another target pops up who they like then they'll probably move onto them instead if Wotherspoon hasn't decided his future. Surely we'll hear today or tomorrow regarding at least 1 or 2 additions before Saturday? Feel like we've been saying that the last 4 weeks though...

Seeing it in person I thought it was a red card and the bitterness meant I couldn't be objective for two days. On watching the replay it's probably somewhere in-between and can understand the referee giving a yellow card. A different referee gives a red but that's Scottish officiating for you. On the subject of excessive force etc, what is the maximum number of Newtons allowed to be put into a tackle? These are the sorts of questions we really need answered by the authorities

£10 million for Dundee United, £500k-£1 million for anyone else.

Gill Comrie (no word on him leaving, he had an option for a 1 year extension) Martin Lang Edwards Murray Dow Turner McCann McGill Nisbet Are the first teamers I can think of. Still a few youth guys left over as well I believe. A pretty good spine there, we utilised the loan market last year to the maximum as well to compliment those numbers. On a side note what a total fud Robbie Neilson is, commenting openly on being after Nisbet, obviously professional courtesy goes out the window with him trying to unsettle players...