Its not only a game

Agreed-This year is all about survival and hopefully development of the team. I slightly worry when I compare ourselves to say 3 yrs ago- a younger Smithy, a really good goalie in Brett, the best attacking midfielder in the league in Aggie,a lightning quick attacking midfielder in Dunnsy. a tough as nails defender in Meggett, and the enthusiasm of Tonks. That team beat Championship teams and the Rovers on a regular basis and was just short of a player or 2 to make the play-offs- fear this team has a lot of development to meet that standard. Here’s hoping…..

Would be genuinely surprised by that- very popular lad with staff, players, fans at EF. Great work ethic also..Simply must be the manager doesn't fancy him- happens to better players than Dowds up higher leagues than ours! Anyway wish the boy well, last time you visited us he was a shadow of the player that left us, mind you all your team were poor that day- hope he gets his mojo back and make’s it happen in a higher league…..

Agreed its too early, but would feel a lot more comfortable if our experienced injured players were back… hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later… think also Brett is a huge loss…. But I remember a few years ago we couldn't buy a win and then got a victory up at Montrose and went on a long unbeaten run……. Here’s hoping that can happen again

Couldnt agree more- a wonderful player. Even opposing fans rate him and really respect his mental strength. Hopefully he comes back again, as after every setback is does not seem to affect his returning performance. Remarkable-

Agreed. New players at the front end of the pitch so need to be given time and we did create chances which was encouraging. Same players though defensively and same ugly mistakes tend to reoccur. Hopefully we can try and find a few players for the midfield and most importantly defence as we should of at least had a draw at the weekend.

Not sure anyone to blame. Been very unlucky with a few key injuries in pre season, McGuigan decides on a new career( was pleased with that signing) and now something has happened with Wallace. Manager got a good track record of finding players- hope that continues , unfortunately time not on our side, sure loans will be part of this years solution in view of time pressure

Still gutted. Gutted because just new the Thistle late , late equaliser would come back to haunt us!Gutted because if we were able to have kept either Hamilton or Austin for slightly longer periods ,feel we would of got comfortably got in the top 5. Gutted because on our day we could beat any of the teams above us.Do feel we have been unlucky but understand the view that we have fallen short again at the last hurdle. For me, I would try to learn and go again with the same leadership. We have assembled the best team we have had in years under Darren with the Boards excellent support. Changes will be required in the team with players moving on, but Darren has a good record of finding players. Ferguson went 5 years at United and won nothing( ok wouldn’t survive that today in this social media frenzy) didn’t do too badly afterwards. Just think standing back from the day Darren came in the front door to now we have improved significantly. Change has its risks- provided Darren and Tony are still up for it- think we should go again....

Phew-!!!!!- that was a big, big win.

Feel we will go on one of our runs( a good one!). Thought we were excellent yesterday- through out the team.

Totally agree- standing back on any measure we have improved over the past few years- its a sign of our improvement that we are rightfully frustrated at our current position and indeed performances. It can all change very quickly. We need Aggie to find some form this season( at his best he is one of the best in the league and at 33 still has years ahead of him) . We need Dunsmore also back bringing much speed and energy on the righthand side. We are threatening up front and have a lethal goal scorer( though we may miss Tonks energy). It just the left side of midfield and defence that worries me- but not sure we have the personal to make the changes their unless we play a back 3 with Higgy on the left.- would also give Watt a chance. A win at the weekend is vital for team morale( and fans!)

Scratch the heed time- played really well last week and poorly this week.Dunsmore must of been carrying an injury- when fit he is one of our best players- not to be picked in first 11. We have had problems down the left for a while now. As we all know- a win next week is vital for so many reasons.....

Yip- if we keep it tight at the back we will always score. Hopefully the start of a run.

We have a history of going on long runs good and bad. Hope its the former! Last week was our worst performance so far this season. We can be a threat to anyone going forward- need to address the bad mistakes at the back. Hope Watt gets a chance on the left as he can support the left side of the defence. We also need more energy in the midfield- we have plenty of experience in the middle and the front- I sometimes fear that is at the expense of youth and energy. Will take any win- we need to keep the best forward in the league quiet which is no easy task.

Thought we were outstanding going forward last night and again really poor defensively. If we could sort our defence( we have said that for a while) we could definitely make the play- offs with our attacking threat. We could easily of got a draw against a very good - premiership quality team. Hopefully we take confidence from this performance and go on one of our successful runs( if the defence doesn’t give away too many gifts).

Agreed- we have been conceding from set pieces now for a number of years- it is so frustrating. Thought yesterday was a flat performance- no energy or pace in the side! We need to win the midfield battle first and we have not looked good here this year. A return of Dunsmore on the right will greatly help re pace . The old debate is do we put Murdoch’s steel in the middle of the park and put Watson at RB- might help with height at the back and a bit more strength in the middle ? We now need to go on one of our winning streaks- we can get goals but as others have said we need to stop conceding easy ones

Agreed. Frustrating game, at times we looked truly outstanding, other times really poor.Draw a fair result in the end. Good to see big Kev back- we have missed his guile around the penalty box. As we all know every team can beat every team in this league- thats why we need to always give 100% and concentrate 100%- I fear it will be a season of ups and downs( for others also)

Have to say having watched a few International games recently and a charity shield match,and only briefly a few SPL 0-0 draws- I am never complaining About the entertainment value in League 1 and Championship again!

Tbf- one of the strengths of our management team is their signing record whilst being here- it has been excellent and we don’t know whether they are just looking at lower leagues. We have a very strong and consistent squad that requires a few quality additions only- they will know what those are and be searching within our budget constraints.

Agreed——and he doesn’t want to look up to anyone either! He clearly has a fear of heights!![emoji23]

Agreed. We EF fans will be sad to see him go- he is one of our favourites! In the past 2 years he won 2 awards. Fans POTY in his first year and young POTY in his second year. He gives a 100%+, an excellent team player- played at times this year when he was carrying an injury as other forwards were out. His best games have been against higher opposition- namely Dundee Utd, Ross County and Morton.He can definitely play in a higher league. A number of Championship teams have been reported as interested in him. He is an intelligent lad and will no doubt be going to the F/T team that he thinks will improve him the most- so that must be down to your young coaches. If he continues the rate of improvement he has achieved in the past 2 years- enjoy him as he is likely not be there for long!If not you can always loan him back to us!!

The arbitration if found in their favour will decide timing of payments and source of penalty - you have no basis for your view. - just conjecture on your part I am afraid( by the way hope it doesn’t come to that just think this matter could if been handled better and a fairer balanced solution.) Think about what you also said- they will “ be losing themselves to pay for it”!. Forgive me if hypothetically they are awarded a £1m- don’t think they will worry that they will in effect pay a very small % as a championship team from their winnings in order to receive a much larger amount- simple Arithmetic......

Tbf- all 3 teams have been dreadful this season... but as I have said before should not of been relegated- Best solution in unprecedented time was promotion only- an additional 2 teams in the league. With talk of compensation from SPL- wonder if clubs on reflection would change their minds. I know hypothetical now , but if they had a choice between reconstruction of 2 extra teams or payment from SPFl ( ie the clubs) to the 3 relegated teams- would their have been a different vote?Some of the numbers flying around here are frightening- nobody knows what number , if any, will be decided at arbitration- but their some level of risk that clubs must find unwelcome-As i say hypothetical- chaos- very sad

Read again the post I responded to.!

Don’t understand how accepting another 2 teams in the league would “ potentially be the death knell” of your club.? For the avoidance of doubt i was in favour of those teams at the top of the league being promoted- with the teams that came second- just didn’t think it was fair that teams got relegated- and the fairest solution was to have promotion and no relegation - another 2 teams has limited disadvantages . I understand the argument that every team needs to look after themselves first( mind you there will be no real change until that changes)- therefore on that basis no one can argue with what Hearts and Partick are doing?- they are looking after” their interests “ But anyone who was pragmatic or had announce of common sense knew that those clubs who got relegated were going to go to court - arbitration to look after their interests. Result we have clubs who have no idea what their budget is next season?- bet your manager is scratching his head wondering what budget he has- what players he can sign until he has a budget- even what league he will be playing in next year? Now for avoidance of doubt I believe the leagues will remain as is- but arbitration comes with a risk and cost- result your team cannot with conviction go out and sign the players you want until you have certainty around your budget- could of been avoided- bet your manager would of preferred a reduced budget ( as a result of 2 more teams)- than the current situation where he is in limbo!. Chaos