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How long do you wait though? We took a similar gamble on him this season and it hasn't paid off.

I wouldnt say it was a similar gamble. We didnt get the best out of him last season because of his fitness, or lack of it. That obviously isnt the case this season.

 

To be honest, without knowing what the issue has been this season Im not sure I would take another gamble on him.

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If we are talking that to re-sign Millar is a gamble lets be consistent and apply the same criteria to some of the others:-

- brownlie has had a disappointing season and has probably cost the team more goals than any other player

- Hutton has started the vast majority of games in that key central midfield role and by common consent midfield is our weakest area so surely he has to be partly culpable as well. Against Dumbarton for the very first time this season he started trying to get the ball forward quickly and he even got ahead of the ball on occasions

- Tapping has been injured for almost the entire season - before I committed on him I would want to see how he performs between now and the end of the season. He played wellon Saturday as did Hutton but can he stay fit week after week? Hopefully yes but there has to be questionmarks.

- Harris has got some talent but he has been anonymous in a lot of games - he has definitely played better in last few weeks but if you had asked me about him at say end of Jan it would have been a no. It is probably a yes now but only if he keeps playing the way he has recently.

- Pickard is already signed so decision made. The Manager showed confidence in him by giving him a great run of consecutive starts - I havent seen it yet but delighted to be proved wrong.

As I say I think the word gamble applies to a lot more than Mark Millar!!

-

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If we are talking that to re-sign Millar is a gamble lets be consistent and apply the same criteria to some of the others:-

- brownlie has had a disappointing season and has probably cost the team more goals than any other player

- Hutton has started the vast majority of games in that key central midfield role and by common consent midfield is our weakest area so surely he has to be partly culpable as well. Against Dumbarton for the very first time this season he started trying to get the ball forward quickly and he even got ahead of the ball on occasions

- Tapping has been injured for almost the entire season - before I committed on him I would want to see how he performs between now and the end of the season. He played wellon Saturday as did Hutton but can he stay fit week after week? Hopefully yes but there has to be questionmarks.

- Harris has got some talent but he has been anonymous in a lot of games - he has definitely played better in last few weeks but if you had asked me about him at say end of Jan it would have been a no. It is probably a yes now but only if he keeps playing the way he has recently.

- Pickard is already signed so decision made. The Manager showed confidence in him by giving him a great run of consecutive starts - I havent seen it yet but delighted to be proved wrong.

As I say I think the word gamble applies to a lot more than Mark Millar!!

-

This.

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My bad.

It was 11/12 and yes I was using Gers as a marker.

It seemed our club didn't feel Rangers would be removed from the SPL and didn't try to get a top 2 position.

I remember arguing with a lot of supporters after the Ramsden cup final that top 2 will both go up because Rangers will be liquidated.

It seemed a lot of our own fans were head in the sand with that 1

Ah, I see what you mean in terms of Rangers though.

That was a season in which the top two eventually got up, so I can see why it felt like a chance missed.

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Any signing is a gamble to an extent. The point on Millar though is we've already gambled on him once.

His excuse this time last year was that he was fat. He doesn't have that excuse now, yet we're still waiting on the "real Mark Millar" to appear.

How long do you wait until accepting he's not as good as his promise suggested?

Edited by palmy_cammy
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Meant to add about Saturday's match wasn't the time right to bring on Moxon, Pickard or Smith when we were 4 nil up rather than Miller, Conroy and Russell. These are type of games that youth should b given a chance when the pressure is less. I'm sure even Pickard would have looked more confident playing in a winning team while gaining more experience

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Ah, I see what you mean in terms of Rangers though.That was a season in which the top two eventually got up, so I can see why it felt like a chance missed.

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) we were 2nd on April fools day.

Only a few weeks to go and you could tell we weren't treating it like 2 up.

Certainly if that was us making an effort I despair.

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If we are talking that to re-sign Millar is a gamble lets be consistent and apply the same criteria to some of the others:-

- brownlie has had a disappointing season and has probably cost the team more goals than any other player

- Hutton has started the vast majority of games in that key central midfield role and by common consent midfield is our weakest area so surely he has to be partly culpable as well. Against Dumbarton for the very first time this season he started trying to get the ball forward quickly and he even got ahead of the ball on occasions

- Tapping has been injured for almost the entire season - before I committed on him I would want to see how he performs between now and the end of the season. He played wellon Saturday as did Hutton but can he stay fit week after week? Hopefully yes but there has to be questionmarks.

- Harris has got some talent but he has been anonymous in a lot of games - he has definitely played better in last few weeks but if you had asked me about him at say end of Jan it would have been a no. It is probably a yes now but only if he keeps playing the way he has recently.

- Pickard is already signed so decision made. The Manager showed confidence in him by giving him a great run of consecutive starts - I havent seen it yet but delighted to be proved wrong.

As I say I think the word gamble applies to a lot more than Mark Millar!!

-

Of that list the only gamble on Brownlie, Hutton, Harris and Pickard is whether or not they're good enough. As Cammy said, every signing is a gamble.

 

You could add Hilson to the same category as Tapping. You could also say you're gambling on Marshall, as a 19 year old can he replicate this seasons form again. You could also argue that you're gambling on Dowie, Lyle and Russell having another season at this level in their legs.

 

The difference is, though, that these are obvious gambles, in that you know what you're gambling on. Its not obvious, from the outside anyway, why Millar hasnt hit the form he looks capable of. Maybe the player himself knows, maybe Fowler knows. If so, and he's willing to take the gamble then fair enough, I hope it works out. 

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The reason that I challenged the performances of some of the other players was because there are a number of supporters who seem to have identiied Millar as one of our key under performers.

The fact of the matter is that I dont know Mark Millar and he has a reputation of being lazy. This may well be correct but I can only comment on what I have seen on the pitch and if I compare his performances with our other midfielders throughout the season I would say that Millar would be comfortably in my starting 11 ahead of any combination involving Pickard, Hutton, Jacobs and Tapping.

I havent seen a lazy player this season quite the reverse - I have been disappointed that he has not scored any goals and he hasnt dominated the midfield in the way that he should be capable of. He hasnt played anywhere near to his capability but he has still been decent in the context of his colleagues'output.

The rumour is that he may be off to Dunfermline next season - now that wouldnt surprise me because Alan Johnston will invariably put a premium on skill and ability. i certainly dont expect him to be here but I am not greatly enthused by the prospect of losing talented ball players and replacing them with more defensive midfielders.

The question that is unanswered for me is - why can the Management team not get more out of Mark Millar?

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Probably the same reason the Dundee United management couldn't get more out of him and allowed him to drop a division.  Or the reason the Falkirk management couldn't and allowed him to drop a further level to Peterhead.  Or the reason we have been unable to.

 

He either isn't actually all that good, or he is, but doesn't have the correct attitude.

 

Or it's all James Fowlers fault.  Draw your own conclusions based on the evidence.

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The reason that I challenged the performances of some of the other players was because there are a number of supporters who seem to have identiied Millar as one of our key under performers.

The fact of the matter is that I dont know Mark Millar and he has a reputation of being lazy. This may well be correct but I can only comment on what I have seen on the pitch and if I compare his performances with our other midfielders throughout the season I would say that Millar would be comfortably in my starting 11 ahead of any combination involving Pickard, Hutton, Jacobs and Tapping.

I havent seen a lazy player this season quite the reverse - I have been disappointed that he has not scored any goals and he hasnt dominated the midfield in the way that he should be capable of. He hasnt played anywhere near to his capability but he has still been decent in the context of his colleagues'output.

The rumour is that he may be off to Dunfermline next season - now that wouldnt surprise me because Alan Johnston will invariably put a premium on skill and ability. i certainly dont expect him to be here but I am not greatly enthused by the prospect of losing talented ball players and replacing them with more defensive midfielders.

The question that is unanswered for me is - why can the Management team not get more out of Mark Millar?

I dont think theres much doubt that Millar has been one of our key under performers.

 

I cant agree with your opinion that an under performing Millar is better than the other players, who've played ahead of him in midfield. But if that is your opinion then I understand your point about the relative risks.

 

I wouldnt say Millar is lazy but theres obviously some reason why we havent seen the best of him this season. I think the answer to that lies closer to Millar himself than the management team.

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Millar would be one of the first out the door for me. Comfortably the most disappointing signing in a few years for me. I watched him destroy us on more than one occasion in a Falkirk jersey. He's had some good performances but I've never seen him once boss a game for us like he did for Falkirk. I really couldn't care what the reason is. Hopefully he's gone at the end of the season.

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The reason that I challenged the performances of some of the other players was because there are a number of supporters who seem to have identiied Millar as one of our key under performers.

The fact of the matter is that I dont know Mark Millar and he has a reputation of being lazy. This may well be correct but I can only comment on what I have seen on the pitch and if I compare his performances with our other midfielders throughout the season I would say that Millar would be comfortably in my starting 11 ahead of any combination involving Pickard, Hutton, Jacobs and Tapping.

I havent seen a lazy player this season quite the reverse - I have been disappointed that he has not scored any goals and he hasnt dominated the midfield in the way that he should be capable of. He hasnt played anywhere near to his capability but he has still been decent in the context of his colleagues'output.

The rumour is that he may be off to Dunfermline next season - now that wouldnt surprise me because Alan Johnston will invariably put a premium on skill and ability. i certainly dont expect him to be here but I am not greatly enthused by the prospect of losing talented ball players and replacing them with more defensive midfielders.

The question that is unanswered for me is - why can the Management team not get more out of Mark Millar?

As you say it's only a rumour that he may be going to Dunfermline but I must admit that thought crossed my mind after the recent Morton game when he was speaking to Eric Paton who was sitting with the Queen's fans. Alan Johnston, Pars' Manager, was also there for part of the game I understand. Maybe a bit of a weak link to assume there is any actual truth in the rumour but he doesn't really seem to feature very strongly in Fowler's plans.

Would he be a big miss for us?  I think he could be an influential player and has undoubted ability, but I think he may be the type of player who needs to be involved regularly and made to feel like one of the main players instead of a squad player. Injuries and suspensions, and the Manager's own preference of central midfield players have dictated that he is now just a squad player. As supporters we only see the players performance and attitude during games, the coaching staff obviously see more of the player's character at training.

As Palmy_Cammy says there may be a problem with his attitude and if so he should perhaps move on.  

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On the rumour front, I was talking to an Annan fan the other day who reckons Russell will be an Annan player next season, John Sutton will be a QoS player and Derek Lyle will be a Peterhead player :o The first two are far from farfetched but I've no idea where the Lyle one came from.

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On the rumour front, I was talking to an Annan fan the other day who reckons Russell will be an Annan player next season, John Sutton will be a QoS player and Derek Lyle will be a Peterhead player :o The first two are far from farfetched but I've no idea where the Lyle one came from.

I doubt Russell would go to Annan from Queens to drop to League Two. Sutton would be a good move but hopefully Lyle will stay to get further up the all-time Queens goalscoring charts.
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Trust me in this one if we are goingto sign John Sutton ( and I sincerely hope we are not) we will need to have some athletes playing alongside him up front to do the running. There is no prospect that he could be a lone stiker( a tactic that the Manager has used throughout this campaign).

Hope Russell is not leaving as he is player that can still do a job but it would not surprise me unduly as I think he has been left out quite a bit recently and I am not really sure why.

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Wouldn't surprise me if Russell went part time at Annan ( where he was brought up) as he now works for ksl hair as well as playing for Queen's and he would probably earn as much at Annan! Sutton wouldn't be a bad addition as long as we had runners like Hilson Harris and Oliver all playing.

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Wouldn't surprise me if Russell went part time at Annan ( where he was brought up) as he now works for ksl hair as well as playing for Queen's and he would probably earn as much at Annan! Sutton wouldn't be a bad addition as long as we had runners like Hilson Harris and Oliver all playing.

What does he do there?
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