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With the majority of the season now gone for Queens it has become pretty clear who would be worth keeping and who should be punted this summer. Some player are still open to debate so are playing for their futures.

Under contract are Lyndon Dykes, Jordan Marshall, Stephen Dobbie, Lee Robinson, Scott Mercer, John Rankin, Kyle Jacobs and Owen Bell. In general I'm happy with that but if Dykes doesn't show some improvement soon the manager might look to transfer list him. I also feel the Dobster might review his position if we continue playing in the same brutal style. To me he doesn't look as happy as he did at the start.

The rest are out of contract and out of them I would definitely look to keep are Darren Brownlie, Connor Murray, Derek Lyle and Jim Atkinson. I would also give Moxon another year.

I feel the players pretty much certain to leave are Callum Tapping who although is a good player he is perma injured so unless he was willing to compromise and take a pay as you play deal will leave. Steve Rigg who is another long term absentee will be punted. He isn't particularly good anyway. Scott Hooper and Jamie Hamill will also certainly be punted.

Dan Carmichael, Ross Fergusson, Chris Higgins, Andy Dowie and Dale Hilson are all playing for their futures. If Hilson could stay fit I would certainly keep him, he may well be injured again though? I feel Higgy and Dowie are fighting for a contract as I cant see both being kept. I would prefer Higgy as he is younger and more solid I feel. The way its going can see wee Dan being released. He hasn't been able to replicate his previous form on his limited showings so unless things take a sudden turn it looks like he will be punted. Not sure if Fergusson is good enough to keep. Never seen him much so hard to judge on the odd cameo.

The loan boys will also return although McManus may be available as his deal expires this summer.

How are things likely to shape up for your club?

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3 minutes ago, DumbartonTheSons said:

I think given that yourselves are pretty much the only side in the division who know what division they'll be in, most others won't be able to make such judgements on their squads at the moment.

Your own run in analysis on the other thread shows us within a point of the relegation play off on form and you think now we "know which division we'll be in"?

I'm fairly confident we'll still be in this one but we're a long way off proving that yet. We need at least three and possibly 4 or 5 points to be safe.

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Your own run in analysis on the other thread shows us within a point of the relegation play off on form and you think now we "know which division we'll be in"?
I'm fairly confident we'll still be in this one but we're a long way off proving that yet. We need at least three and possibly 4 or 5 points to be safe.


I understand your point looking at it mathematically and the small points advantage you hold over others, but it'd take an almost unprecedented set of results for us, Raith, Ayr and St. Mirren to see Queens even involved in the play-offs, let alone anything worse. So I think Queens are the only ones pretty much guaranteed to be in this division next year at this stage.
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It will all depend on what division we are in, but no matter what league we end up in I'd like to see us attempting to keep:

Alan Martin - Absolute must-keep, our best player this season by some distance

David Smith - Developed into a pretty decent right-back, would stroll League 1 too

Tom lang - Has the potential to be an excellent player

Gregor Buchanan - Solid and dependable

Stuart Carswell - Quietly brilliant

Andy Stirling - Proved me wrong big time, is a joy to watch at the moment

Jamie Ewings - If he's happy as No.2 then I'm happy for us to keep him, clearly has a connection with the club too now

Christian Nade - The Prince. Still a very handy player and seems to genuinely love playing for us. I had my doubts when he came back, but he's been decent (if not as prolific) as last time. Again would stroll League 1

I'm undecided on

Mark Docherty - Struggled to get in the team of late, headbutt gate too

SeaGal - Looks a handy player, but hasn't featured a great deal, I'll decide later

Garry Fleming - Our talisman, arguably still our best striker, but something hasn't been right this season - if we keep Aitken I wouldn't be shocked to see him move on

Darren Barr - Can opened, worms spilling everywhere here. He's alright, but he's probably on a decent wage and I reckon we could do better. If we go down I would move him on

Leaving

Would love to get any of our loan players back, but would imagine it's unlikely

Daniel Harvie - Excellent, don't realise how good he is until he's missing. Three goals too from LB

Ross McCrorie - Fancy him to be a big player for us between now and May

Sam Stanton - When he plays well so do we, quality player. Will be full-time next season if he leaves Hibs

Lewis Vaughan - Nice player, glad we have him and Raith don't. Has struggled for regular gametime with us playing Raith and Stanton's form though

Others

Grant Gallagher - Reports I've kidnapped him aren't fully accurate, punt.

Mark Brown - Leaving to join the Police

Robert Thomson - Leaving to join Morton

Amadou Kassarate - On loan at Stranraer, can't see him coming back

Donald McCallum - Not ripping it up at Arbroath, time he moved on for his own sake

Ryan Clark - Unseen since pre-season, hope he's alright

Kyle Prior - Aitken rates him, so I'd imagine he'll stick around

Ross Lyden - Looked handy against Raith as a late sub, still very young so hopefully he'll kick on next season

Big job for whoever our manager is in whatever division we end up in with a lot of players already confirmed to be leaving. In fact only after typing that out did I realise how tough a summer we could be in for if we stay up.

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It will all depend on what division we are in, but no matter what league we end up in I'd like to see us attempting to keep:
Alan Martin - Absolute must-keep, our best player this season by some distance
David Smith - Developed into a pretty decent right-back, would stroll League 1 too
Tom lang - Has the potential to be an excellent player
Gregor Buchanan - Solid and dependable
Stuart Carswell - Quietly brilliant
Andy Stirling - Proved me wrong big time, is a joy to watch at the moment
Jamie Ewings - If he's happy as No.2 then I'm happy for us to keep him, clearly has a connection with the club too now
Christian Nade - The Prince. Still a very handy player and seems to genuinely love playing for us. I had my doubts when he came back, but he's been decent (if not as prolific) as last time. Again would stroll League 1
I'm undecided on
Mark Docherty - Struggled to get in the team of late, headbutt gate too
SeaGal - Looks a handy player, but hasn't featured a great deal, I'll decide later
Garry Fleming - Our talisman, arguably still our best striker, but something hasn't been right this season - if we keep Aitken I wouldn't be shocked to see him move on
Darren Barr - Can opened, worms spilling everywhere here. He's alright, but he's probably on a decent wage and I reckon we could do better. If we go down I would move him on
Leaving
Would love to get any of our loan players back, but would imagine it's unlikely
Daniel Harvie - Excellent, don't realise how good he is until he's missing. Three goals too from LB
Ross McCrorie - Fancy him to be a big player for us between now and May
Sam Stanton - When he plays well so do we, quality player. Will be full-time next season if he leaves Hibs
Lewis Vaughan - Nice player, glad we have him and Raith don't. Has struggled for regular gametime with us playing Raith and Stanton's form though
Others
Grant Gallagher - Reports I've kidnapped him aren't fully accurate, punt.
Mark Brown - Leaving to join the Police
Robert Thomson - Leaving to join Morton
Amadou Kassarate - On loan at Stranraer, can't see him coming back
Donald McCallum - Not ripping it up at Arbroath, time he moved on for his own sake
Ryan Clark - Unseen since pre-season, hope he's alright
Kyle Prior - Aitken rates him, so I'd imagine he'll stick around
Ross Lyden - Looked handy against Raith as a late sub, still very young so hopefully he'll kick on next season
Big job for whoever our manager is in whatever division we end up in with a lot of players already confirmed to be leaving. In fact only after typing that out did I realise how tough a summer we could be in for if we stay up.


I'm in agreement with pretty much all of that, although I'd add Mark Docherty to the 'keep' list.

Presumably you're referring to the loanees leaving as 'a lot of players already confirmed to be leaving', other than them, it's just Thomson so far is it not?

I fully agree on Lang though. He's not had a lot of game time, but in the small snippets he has had, he's looked solid, level-headed and shows maturity beyond his years. I'd be happy if we could keep him and I think he could be a very decent player.
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23 minutes ago, DumbartonTheSons said:

 


I'm in agreement with pretty much all of that, although I'd add Mark Docherty to the 'keep' list.

Presumably you're referring to the loanees leaving as 'a lot of players already confirmed to be leaving', other than them, it's just Thomson so far is it not?

I fully agree on Lang though. He's not had a lot of game time, but in the small snippets he has had, he's looked solid, level-headed and shows maturity beyond his years. I'd be happy if we could keep him and I think he could be a very decent player.

 

Aye, I sort of forgot how many loan players we had :lol: Thomson (and if you count him) Brown are the only two permanent guys leaving.

If we are to go down I reckon Martin, Lang, Carswell, Nade would be an excellent base to build a team around. 

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Mark Docherty is a keep for me, a bad few weeks doesn't undo all the good work he has done for us. I'd keep Barr too, I genuinely don't think he's as bad as some of our fans think.

Think you're harsh on Grant Gall too, he looked like he was settling into that "Carswell" role before his iniury and was used as a Phil Neville last year. Actually enjoy the thought of him and Carswell partnering each other in midfield.

SeaGal is probably the only one I'm undecided on as we haven't seen enough of him. 

Garry Fleming should never be punted for as long as he wants to play for Dumbarton. The guy's had a really tough year away from football and I think it has shown in his football. Spoke to him before the Ayr game and he was disappointed about his playing time but was eager to play, a bit too eager as it turned out. He scores important goals, never stops trying and we wouldn't be in this division without him, something a club like ours can't turn our noses up at.

On your last post, S08, if we go down Alan Martin will not be with us.

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Mark Docherty is a keep for me, a bad few weeks doesn't undo all the good work he has done for us. I'd keep Barr too, I genuinely don't think he's as bad as some of our fans think.
Think you're harsh on Grant Gall too, he looked like he was settling into that "Carswell" role before his iniury and was used as a Phil Neville last year. Actually enjoy the thought of him and Carswell partnering each other in midfield.
SeaGal is probably the only one I'm undecided on as we haven't seen enough of him. 
Garry Fleming should never be punted for as long as he wants to play for Dumbarton. The guy's had a really tough year away from football and I think it has shown in his football. Spoke to him before the Ayr game and he was disappointed about his playing time but was eager to play, a bit too eager as it turned out. He scores important goals, never stops trying and we wouldn't be in this division without him, something a club like ours can't turn our noses up at.
On your last post, S08, if we go down Alan Martin will not be with us.

I doubt Alan Martin will be with us regardless of what division we are in next season. The guy has been different class for us and by far and away our player of the year. Surely there are teams out there looking at him and ready to pounce come the end of the season.
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4 minutes ago, pleslie99 said:


I doubt Alan Martin will be with us regardless of what division we are in next season. The guy has been different class for us and by far and away our player of the year. Surely there are teams out there looking at him and ready to pounce come the end of the season.

He said previously he was happy being part time and enjoying working under Stevie Aitken, if we stay up I think we've got a good chance of keeping him. I don't doubt full time offers will be coming his way though.

On the subject of Stevie Aitken, it would be good to see him commit himself for next season now that the offer is on the table. Get him signed up and it becomes easier to convince players to stay, Martin and Nade being two I imagine being happy to sign up and play for him again.

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This will be very much dependent on whether or not we stay up. If we stay up I can still see us losing a couple of players but if we go down there will be big changes.

Players I'd keep

Greg Fleming - had his critics last season and this season after the 4-4 game with Dumbarton but he'd be my pick for player of the year. He's saved us a lot this season with his penalties and just last week with two superb saves against Dumbarton.

Nicky Devlin - been excellent this season although he's still got a lot to develop. He's our captain and to lose him would be a big blow. Hope he stays but I've a feeling Premiership teams are looking at him.

Conrad Balatoni - good centre half, usually reliable, hope he stays but I think this was always a short term thing as he wants to play abroad.

Daryl Meggat - same as Balatoni, very reliable and has been our best defender the past couple of weeks.

Robbie Crawford - think he's signed up already and was mentioned in the AP by McCall saying that he's not going anywhere.

Ross Docherty - not been the same player as last season but he's shown glimpses of his quality last few weeks. His mastery at the arts of scissor kicks is a joy to watch.

Michael Rose - didn't expect him to stay but he's been a different player altogether in the last couple of matches. Looks comfortable in midfield and could be our new Jamie Adams.

Alan Forrest - like Crawford I think he's signed up so I can't see him leaving. Had his critics this season but he's our top goalscorer so I'd keep him.

Paul Cairney - useful player at times and has plenty experience at this level. Good shot on him too but keep away from penalties.

Declan McDaid - not see much of him except his goal against Clyde. Hopefully he can get rid of his injury problems and become a better player.

Craig McGuffie - my nomination for young player of the year. Impressive debut season and he's already written himself into Ayr history with THAT goal vs Hibs. Will be a crucial player for us next season regardless of division.

Farid El Alagui - decent player, knack of popping up with a goal. Think he's leaving end of the season though.

Mick Wardrope - he can't be happy with the lack of playing time but a loan spell might be the best thing for him

Jordan Hart - seen him once this season but from what I've heard he's a pretty decent goalie with a lot of potential.

Meanwhile I'd punt

Paddy Boyle - good player last season but I just don't see him as a Championship left back. Doesn't get up the park enough and had been susceptible this season defensively.

Jamie Adams - oh Jamie, Jamie, Jamie I'm sure itzdrk will be on to defend your honour as you are truly a magnificent lad. We will never forget that glorious day at EEP where the whole of Fife was rumbling as you strode across the park. Injuries have got the better of you I think and no one really seems to know what wrong. Goodbye old friend.

Brian Gilmour - just no. Please leave

Gary Harkins - good player when's he's arsed but doesn't fit into our team and sort of messes up the whole formation when he plays.

Craig Moore - good player last season but injuries have ruined him this season. Just not reliable enough for a team like Ayr.

Peter Murphy - wouldn't punt him but I expect him to retire anyway. Good player though.

Have I missed anyone ??

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So, assuming we heard back down to league one. Devlin and Balatoni will be away either way while Docherty and a few others will be if we go down. I know some are under contract but just ignored this.

 

Keep:

 

Fleming

Meggatt

Boyle

Devlin

Balatoni

Docherty

Rose

Cairney

McGuffie

Forrest

Crawford

Farid

McDaid

 

Leave:

 

Adams

Moore (like them both but we need to move away from injury prone players)

Harkins

Wardrope (on loan)

Murphy

Gilmour

 

 

 

To be honest if we somehow manage to stay up I wouldn't change that much above, just the likes of Rose, Boyle, Cairney, Farid and Crawford would be back up players. Whatever happens we need to play with some genuine width next season.

 

 

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Under contract for the Rovers are

Kevin Cuthbert
Jason Thomson
Kyle Benedictus
Craig Barr
Ross Callachan
Ross Matthews
Iain Davidson
Bobby Barr
Mark Stewart
Lewis Vaughan.

Regardless of what league we're in next season, I'd punt everyone else apart from possibly Penksa as he looks like a very decent keeper for this league.

I'd also look to see if there's any premier clubs still looking at Callachan and try and offload him as well.

I'd also tell Jason Thomson to find a new club as well.

When Hardie inevitably gets released by Rangers in the summer, I want us to try our damned hardest to bring him back and build the team around him.

I can also see both Baird and Graham leaving their current clubs in the summer so I'd look at trying to bring one of them back as well if we do end up causing a miracle and surviving in this league.

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It really depends what league we're in, but I'll be delighted come the end of the season when it comes to the end so we can empty the squad and start again. It's never a good sign when players within your own squad irritate you the moment you see their names, but that's how i feel with several of our current squad. 

As pointed out above, the following are under contract for next season. 

Kevin Cuthbert
Jason Thomson
Kyle Benedictus 
Craig Barr
Ross Callachan
Ross Matthews
Iain Davidson
Bobby Barr
Mark Stewart
Lewis Vaughan

I wouldn't be at all sad to see a couple of them invited to find other clubs regardless of whether or not we stay up. 

Of the rest, the only player I'd definitely keep is M'Voto, and there's no way he'll be staying with us next season. There are arguments for maybe a couple of others staying if we're relegated, but I'm not really that fussed if they go.

I will take particular delight in seeing Skacel, McManus and Roberts leave.  

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Find the two Ayr posts interesting there. One would keep 14 players the other 13. For a team looking like they may well finish rock bottom I'm surprised to read that and not "total clear out required". We're looking like finishing 5th/6th and I think a few QoS posters would struggle to rattle off 14 players they'd really like to keep*.

If you feel that's a good bunch to keep then what's went wrong this season? And if the answer is "they just weren't good enough for this level" why would you want to stick with them?


* Hypothetically. If you were to assume no players were under contract next season.

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(Ignoring contracts)

Keep:

Hart

Devlin

Docherty

Rose

Cairney

Crawford

Wardrope

McGuffie

McDaid

Forrest

Farid

 

Leave:

Balatoni

Boyle

Moore 

Harkins

Murphy

Gilmour

Fleming

Meggatt

McKenna

....Adams :bairn

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On 4/1/2017 at 10:32, somerset_lad00 said:


Jamie Adams - oh Jamie, Jamie, Jamie I'm sure itzdrk will be on to defend your honour as you are truly a magnificent lad. We will never forget that glorious day at EEP where the whole of Fife was rumbling as you strode across the park. Injuries have got the better of you I think and no one really seems to know what wrong. Goodbye old friend.
 

How did that one work out for you?

kiss.gif

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21 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

Find the two Ayr posts interesting there. One would keep 14 players the other 13. For a team looking like they may well finish rock bottom I'm surprised to read that and not "total clear out required". We're looking like finishing 5th/6th and I think a few QoS posters would struggle to rattle off 14 players they'd really like to keep*.

If you feel that's a good bunch to keep then what's went wrong this season? And if the answer is "they just weren't good enough for this level" why would you want to stick with them?


* Hypothetically. If you were to assume no players were under contract next season.

They're assuming that they'll be playing League One football next season. For a yo-yo club it makes far more sense to keep most of the squad and maintain continuity over the summer, rather than releasing lots of players only to end up with few better options.

That's how permadiddies like Livingston keep returning at the first time of asking, only to get shoed back down to where they belong again. 

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