ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds

Would bite your hand off for 4th and playoffs right now.

To quote Homer Simpson - "See, because of me now they have a warning."

Emailed the Montrose office and I've been advised that I was supposed to buy the PPV and been offered a refund for the subscription I bought. Now bought the PPV and ready to watch the game. Thanks to Montrose FC (and Davey in particular) for the quick response and advice.

Bought a 3-day subscription on Montrose TV for £12.50 thinking that was just the way it was working. Looks now like I was supposed to buy the £12.50 PPV instead. Will the subscription allow me to watch the game or should I buy the PPV and request a refund for the subscription?

I wouldn’t go that far. I think we have better players than Deveney but he puts in a shift and has had good games, I just don’t think he’d make our strongest 11. He’s good when we’re on the front foot, but I’d trust the likes of ATS, Ballantyne, Watson to defend at full back over him. Jamieson I think has the opposite issue if anything. Talented, but doesn’t really put in the shift the other forwards do. He also seems to easily become frustrated when things aren’t going his way and last game against Kelty he was far too predictable and easily defended against. He had a fantastic game against Alloa earlier in the season though. I’ve no doubt he’ll start a lot of games this season and contribute well, but I’d not start him tonight.

Now that I’ve had a few days to mull over Saturday’s performance and result I’d say I’m probably not as pessimistic as I was on Saturday evening, although that may change tonight after what will be a very tough game. There’s obviously quality in our squad. I think my major concern (other than the obvious concerns over squad size) is the fact that only one sub was made in that second half when Kelty were very much on top. It’s a concern I think we all had when McCabe was appointed. With our manager and assistant on the pitch, how do we go about making changes when things aren’t going our way? The positive is that we’re still very much within touching distance of Dunfermline, and I hope we still are by January and then we can add the necessary quality. For me the midfield needs the right balance. Last year we used a sitter (usually Agnew, but often McCabe), an engine/box-to-box player (Frizzell) and an attacking playmaker (Easton). On occasion we played a midfield diamond and a second engine came in (McInroy before January, McGill on occasion afterwards). We sometimes used McCabe as that extra midfielder and I don’t think it ever worked very well as I don’t think he’s suited to playing that role. Looking at this season, Frizzell is now being used as that primary playmaker in the more advanced role, and he can’t be expected to be that and a box-to-box player, so we need to replace that midfield engine. For me, McCabe and Telfer cannot play that role, but Devenny can. That means playing one of Telfer or McCabe as the sitter, and I think it would be worth playing Telfer there with McCabe returning to defence. That would see us return to our most used centre back pairing from last season (Fordyce and McCabe) with Ballantyne replacing Watson as our first choice right back and Taylor-Sinclair replacing Patterson as our first choice left back. In theory, that team (particularly given that the option is there to field the most used front 3 from last season as well) should be as good as last season’s, albeit without perhaps the same level of talent on the bench (or Dylan Easton on the pitch). The alternative for me would be for Frizzell to return to that midfield engine role. Let me make it clear that I’m not advocating for this, as I think Frizzell has played very well in his new role and it might not be the best idea limit his attacking potential by playing him a bit deeper, but it’s a role he’s obviously capable of. If we did that we could potentially use Telfer as the more attacking playmaker, but I’m not sure how well-suited he would be to that role. That might allow McCabe and Telfer to play in the same midfield as Frizzell would act as an energetic link between the two, rather than the two trying to play the same game as they did on Saturday. While they haven’t yet shown the level of ability of the others my early impression is that McMaster might work as a box-to-box player linking a holding mid and a playmaker, and Wylie might work as the attacking playmaker, but both need to show a bit more than what they have so far (especially Wylie as McMaster has the excuse of getting injured early on in the season). Tonight I’d go for Henderson Ballantyne McCabe Fordyce ATS Frizzell Telfer Devenny McGill Gal Smith

We shouldn’t force the two into midfield together but it might be worth trying a different shape to see if it works. You might be right though and McCabe in defence might be the best idea. McCabe and Fordyce were our centre back pairing last season so it’s tried and tested and shouldn’t be an issue (although I was hoping for a more natural centre back to join this season).

I think a shift in formation might be a good idea after yesterday’s match, with a forward dropping out in favour of Devenny and maybe a shift to a 4-2-3-1 to accommodate both Telfer and McCabe. Henderson Ballantyne Watson Fordyce ATS McCabe Telfer Devenny Frizzell Smith Gallagher I reckon that shape makes the squad look a bit more balanced. You’d still have a couple of midfielders on the bench, as well as two forwards. Devenny played on the right in the NL Cup game against Stirling Albion and even though that was a meaningless game he done well there. That shape would potentially allow Frizzell to be a bit more influential as well. The alternative would be to play a midfield diamond with two up top but I’m not sure how well that would work with McCabe, Frizzell, Telfer, and Devenny all in there. It would be a bit congested especially with Telfer and McCabe trying to do the same thing, and I think 4-2-3-1 would give them both a bit more space to play a similar midfield role.

It’s fair enough releasing these guys when they’re being replaced, but when our squad only has 17 players you have to feel they’d contribute. We have four forwards and play 3 at a time so we are short there, and Allan (who I certainly wasn’t bothered about losing at the time) would be a decent option off the bench. One injury/suspension to a defender and we’re really light there too, and if I’m being honest I think a fully fit Kerr would easily start in this team. Always liked him and seems to be doing very well at Bohemians from what I’ve seen.

Ironically the lack of signings actually makes McCabe more secure in his post. If we had a good sized squad and results were so poor that sacking McCabe was seriously considered then it could be done, but with such a small squad and McCabe being one of our better players we can’t really afford to sack him, even if results were very poor. I think the major concern most of us had about the player-manager setup was the difficulty in changing games that aren’t going our way and we’ve seen that with the lack of subs both today and in the FC Edinburgh game. At what point do guys sitting on the bench not getting a run out start to become disheartened by the manager and coaching staff when they’re watching us struggle and we only make one sub? Honestly I’m worried. The squad is far too small and I don’t really have confidence in us getting results unless we score first. I think if we get to January and are in a title race still then we can maybe bring in players to improve the situation but we might be off the pace by then if another side starts to get results more consistently. Probably another year for the playoffs, but maybe more likely by finishing 3rd or 4th than 2nd like the last two seasons. I miss Murray and Easton (I’m sure we all do), but I also think given our squad size that we’ve also made a mistake releasing guys like Kerr and Allan. Even guys like Scott McGill who Kelty subbed on today, why wouldn’t we have had him back on loan? Done a job for us covering several positions and instead was loaned out to another team in our division. Surely he’d have been available to us if we enquired? I’m afraid we’re nowhere near where we were last season.

Seems a crazy decision to loan a player out without bringing anyone in when our squad is already small. Not holding my breath for us to announce that we got a signing over the line at the death there but just haven’t announced it yet. We’ve made some quality signings and held onto some cracking players but 5 defenders and 4 forwards isn’t good enough when we play 4-3-3. One injury and we’ve no back ups in defence or up front. We can’t even fill the bench without using boys from the development squad. I personally don’t think that’s good enough.

Thought out of contract players could sign for anyone, as long as they didn’t play for more than two clubs within 12 months (Goodwillie never played for Raith). Hope he never gets a club again anyway.

I’ve certainly not heard anything. Just saw that Goodwillie had been released and had a moment of dread and worry. I’d like to think there’s no one at the club stupid enough to consider signing him.

We’ve just loaned out a striker so will almost certainly be trying to sign one. Raith Rovers have just released a striker. I hope to f**k there’s no connection between these two stories.

I think prosecco’s quite nice and I never get offered any. What a world we live in!

I notice the new home kit’s been changed from “due at the end of the month” to “revealed on the 7th of October”.

Surprised by the number of people that prefer McCabe at centre half. I think he’s fine there but I’m more of the opinion that Agnew dropping out for Kerr and McCabe pushing up into midfield might have made the difference at the end of last season. I expect Watson and Devenny will be dropped to the bench tomorrow. Henderson Ballantyne Fordyce ATS Deveney Telfer McCabe Frizzell Jamieson Gallagher Smith That’s how I’d line up but I think McCabe will start McGill over Gallagher. Obviously this lineup assumes no signings will be made before the game, although even if there is a signing announced tonight it’s probably unlikely that they’ll start tomorrow.

Would take him in a heartbeat as I think we definitely need another centre half but the question becomes whether he’d be willing to relocate to the central belt. Montrose are probably more likely to get him (if they have an interest that is) than us for that reason alone.

Not a lady myself so I suppose it’s not really my place to decide what’s acceptable and what isn’t but the club’s “Lady’s Day” in hospitality comes across as a bit outdated, particularly the awards for best dressed presented by the man of the match. I think it’s a good thing to try to encourage women to come to the games, and I think the heart’s in the right place, but not convinced this event is the best way. Just seems a bit condescending with the focus on prosecco and dresses. Also seems a bit overpriced at £72 but I’ve never attended hospitality so I don’t know how good it is in terms of value.

Hello Rovers fans! Curious as to how the team has looked early on this season. Judging by results it’s been a fairly inconsistent start but does Murray seem like an improvement on McGlynn? Also curious as to how Easton and Connell have been getting on. Easton obviously was phenomenal for us last season but I was never sure how he’d find the step up to the Championship. Connell’s a player I liked a lot when we had him on loan during the Covid season and he seemed to do very well with East Fife last year, but again unsure how he’d find the step up.

Think McCabe being at centre back will help, I think our style of high risk high reward is a factor, but Dycey and Watson were making basic errors, when I played football at like 10 year old we were taught 'never let the ball bounce' and that happened on more than one occasion. With Telfer coming in might be worth playing 4-1-2-1-2 putting in an extra midfielder which help us be less open, but play possession based football which suits us. Not against this idea but Smith is much much better on the left of a front 3 than he is as part of a pair, and he’s one of our best players.

5-0 seems harsh thinking of the first half when there were a few moments I thought we might go behind. For the majority of the second half it probably was a 5-0 game however. Harsh to criticise players after a 5-0 win but Watson and Deveney had a few howlers each. Not completely convinced by Taylor-Sinclair but he was fine. Telfer had a good game and Smith and Frizzell were characteristically a level above. Good to recover five sixths of the goal difference lost last game and happy that Dunfermline have dropped points. Clyde were very poor but given how bad Peterhead and Kelty have been I think they’ll be fine.

I feel for Wylie a bit because he’s not really had a fair crack at it in my opinion. Subbed on for a few minutes here and there and when he finally gets a start we go down to ten men early on and the whole team capitulates. From watching him I’ve felt like he still needs to adapt to playing senior football at this level as opposed to the likes of U21 or Lowland League. He’ll have a good touch but then try to do too much and end up losing the ball when he should be releasing it earlier. I’d like to see him start because I think he’s a talent and a run of games will help him adapt and get to the required level, but if we’re picking our strongest 11 (something we really have to be doing) I don’t think he makes it at the moment. I expect McCabe to drop into defence and Watson to play right back in Ballantyne’s absence, although I’d prefer that to be a temporary measure and another centre back to be signed as I much prefer McCabe in midfield. Would be good to see ATS but Deveney hasn’t done much wrong and should come back into the team. Same goes for Telfer. I’d like to see him but it might be a bit soon for him and I certainly wouldn’t be dropping either Frizzell or Devenny for him. McMaster returning from injury to play the holding midfield role makes sense to me. I’ll always want Gal and Smith on from the start and even though he’s been poor the last couple of games I think this could potentially be a game well suited to Jamieson. The fact he specifically struggled against Dunfermline (strongest team in the league early on) and Edinburgh (after we went down to ten men) is slightly worrying though as it suggests he might disappear in big games or big moments. He certainly doesn’t seem to work half as hard to track back as Smith does on the other side. Hoping he proves me wrong over the course of the season because he looks like he could be our most exciting player this season in much the same way Easton was last season with his dribbling ability.

Thought that was the case, but I wouldn’t be happy with that if I was a Montrose fan!

Assuming Saturday’s game against Clyde goes ahead and the Montrose game isn’t played until a later date, will Ballantyne’s suspension be delayed? Will Ballantyne now miss the Clyde game or will his suspension not kick in until the rescheduled game comes around?