Slipmat

I think we'll do well to get over 800 at Saturday's game, in other words probably around the average pre-Norman Blount attendance. To be fair to the board they appear to have given WG decent funding and he has assembled a large squad - despite him making an early statement that we would be running with a first team squad of no more than 20 we currently have 28 named first team players. For some reason though he seems to be sticking by a hardcore of around 14 players and when things don't go to plan it's the formation that changes, not the faces. When personnel IS changed via substitutions, it is tiresomely predictable. As soon as the team is announced you can almost guarantee what players will be hooked and who their replacements will be. McGrory and Connelly haven't played the full 90 minutes in a single league games this season. If Cochrane starts, he will be subbed off after an hour if he even lasts that long. For some inexplicable reason Murray will be the first go-to sub if he isn't in the starting XI. Guys like Muir, McKechnie and McMahon are struggling to get a place on the bench when they are at the age where they should be getting the chance to develop by being on the pitch. It's now getting all too predictable and I'm certainly being far more picky regarding which games I choose to attend. I for one will be giving Saturday a miss.

Careful now. You're not allowed to be negative on social media. You might upset the players.

Even our substitutions are tiresomely predictable.

Not at the game but I think it's odds on that the first sub will be McGrory or Murray for Cochrane after an hour tops.

Cheers!

No updates on the BBC (national broadcaster my arse...) so all of us at-home fans are relying on your man, Homer. Not that I'm putting any pressure on him of course...

If only, if only...

That's exactly the team and formation I would like to see tomorrow. Is Paul McKay still suspended? Even if he isn't I would still hope we persevere with the above back line.

Talking of creating something from nothing, that link provides a perfect example of "standard" (please excuse the pun!) sensationalist tabloid football journalism where a non-story gets blown totally out of proportion and is then given full back page coverage, even to the extent of including cliched textbook terminology such as "slammed", "confrontation" and "battle" in the article. From what I read of the original tweet, our jolly chum from on here appeared to state that he thinks Wullie has his favourite players who are guaranteed automatic starts, and Wullie politely but firmly refuted the suggestion in his reply. No mention of any fall-out with Connelly, but the reporter must have decided that was the story he wanted to get out, pressed Wullie on the matter and he seems to have somewhat naively mentioned his conversation with Lee and his mother. Possibly a lesson in media management for Wullie then. Don't reply to social media posts from fans and keep team matters in house when journalists are fishing for stories.

We do. Connelly has started seven games, come off the bench three times and scored 5 goals.

Despite the lack of full-stops I tend to agree with this. Graham Weir and Stuart Kean were hard workers who couldn't hit the proverbial cow's arse with a banjo. When Dobbs first arrived on the scene some accused him of being fat and lazy. I know who I would rather have in the team out of those three. I'm not saying Paton should be dropped - Reilly isn't exactly proving to be a goal machine either - but I'm not sure why he's ahead of Connelly in the queue unless WG is trying to drive the petulance out of Connelly before he gives him a regular starting place.

Nick Hancock disappeared from view at around the same time as this bloke: No idea where they buggered off to, but it's a shame they didn't take Lineker with them.

That moment of Lewis Gibson trickery is worth multiple viewings at 0.25 speed

First name on the teamsheet for Saturday should be a certain W.Gibson.

I gather the reserves lost 4-2 to Ayr last night. Did anyone catch the game or know who was in the team? Any first team stalwarts on show? New boy from Blackpool get some minutes maybe?

My biggest issue with Max Johnston was that he was an automatic pick at right back/right wing back from the moment he arrived at the club meaning that arguably the division's best RB/RWB over the previous 2 seasons (Gibson) was moved into various other positions to accommodate him in that role no matter how poor he was in comparison. It's fair to say Max's initial performances were very, shall we say, shaky, yet he seemed undroppable which angered the support, but after a short spell in midfield around November he reverted to RB and was a much improved player until his injury and fully deserving of his place.

We (well at least I) tend to think of Muir and McMahon as young lads when in reality Muir is only a week younger than Ruth and McMahon just over a week younger than Cochrane. For some reason despite Wullie's mantra that underperforming players would be dropped and have to fight to regain their places in the team he does seem to be sticking by certain players who haven't been cutting the mustard this season. If he rated McMahon and Muir enough to award them new contracts maybe he should give them more game time at the expense of say Cochrane and McKenna who play in similar positions but have been generally poor to date.

Here's a novel suggestion. With the pitch having his own, em, "unique" qualities, in the week leading up to a home game, why don't we actually use some of the cash stash we have apparently accumulated to ferry the central belt players down to Dumfries (and here's the controversial bit) to train on the actual pitch they're going to be playing on? They are full-time, professional players so don't have to worry about taking time off from other jobs, and most businesses don't choose their work premises based on where their employees live but vice versa. It's not as if the pitch is block booked day-in day-out, and it may even mean - but I wouldn't hold my breath on this - that our players actually get to know the pitch's foibles and can use them to their advantage. I know, I know, shoot me down in flames for airing such a leftfield, crazy idea.

Unchanged personnel from that which started against Rangers today but they looked like they had only been introduced to each other half an hour before kick off. Once again we didn't turn up in the first half at all which has been the story of the majority of games I've seen this season. Playing better after a half-time bollocking is all well and good but we're giving ourselves mountains to climb. There is something severely amiss as to how we start games, whether it's poor selection, motivation or preparation or a combination of all three I don't know. Wullie may not be keen on the idea but he 100% needs to be starting ahead of McKenna who is poor in the tackle and far too easily fooled or beaten by opponents. I thought Cochrane was one of our better players last season but he just hasn't turned up this season and as a result it's like playing with 10 men from the get go when he starts. Yet again a supposed centre forward by trade looks like our most competent defender despite us bringing a raft-load in over the summer. Reilly is looking isolated and having to resort to buying cheap fouls in an effort to get other players up the pitch in support, and unfortunately he isn't looking much of a goal threat. Currie must be averaging one clanger per game which is proving very costly. Other clubs have been quick to spot that if they press us we panic and give the ball away cheaply. I'm not sure what we do at training but a team that has supposedly been built to play a short passing game needs to do a hell of a lot more work on ball retention. We were embarrassingly bad today until Wilson, Gibson and latterly Ruth came on. A host of changes are required for next week, starting with Currie, Cochrane and McKenna being punted. With a squad of around 28 players now it's time to give others a chance to impress. We've got Kelty who are starting to get their shit together, Edinburgh who knocked in 6 at Airdrie today and our bogey team Alloa coming up to complete the quarter and I can see the peg that Wullie's jacket is on getting a bit shoogly even before those three games are played out.

Well that was another absolutely atrocious first half from us there. No fight, no idea how to defend. Our mob want way too much time on the ball before they inevitably give it away. Reilly and possibly East the only two looking up to this level at the moment. Cochrane's downward trajectory continues. Get McKenna hooked for Gibson and Wilson on for any of the midfielders for the second half.

You're being a bit harsh writing the boy off before you've seen him play for us (other than in a handful of 10 minute cameos when he was 17/18 years old).

CM yes, as our current batch seem quite injury prone. Ross Irving - remember him? - could fill in in a winger/attacking role unless he's done a Chima and disappeared off the face of the earth.

Our board specialise in bizarre decisions. The insane loyalty to AJ and the George Galloway fiasco spring to mind (unfortunately). Shades of Harkness? They're certainly taking us back down to the playing level we were at when the walking blazer was chairman.

Emilio Jaconelli scored 9 in a Queen of the South Reserves 13-0 South of Scotland League win at Crichton in 2003. Annan Athletic Reserves' Simon Tucker also scored 9 in a 14-1 league win over Abbey Vale in the same competition in 2006/07 - he also missed a penalty and had 2 goals chalked off in the same game!