Jan Vojáček

That was Sean Crighton was it not? I'm sure the goal came from the free-kick where Crighton absolutely pole-axed Ross Taylor.

I actually couldn't have asked a great deal more from us today. I thought we were the better team for large spells, we created chances, we defended well for the most part and both teams left absolutely everything on the park. There was no shortage of effort, nobody hiding and it got quite tasty and physical. The game totally changed with the introduction of Ross Taylor and Matty Yates. Two players who I was surprised (and delighted) to see on the bench. Bradley Rodden was trying too hard to make an impression and I thought he looked really poor. He was also possibly a bit lucky with a silly kick out at Cian Newbury in the first-half, albeit it was more petulant and frustrated than violent. Adam Brown, set pieces aside, offered very little. Taylor and Yates brought a pace and dynamism to the game that we couldn't match. We were playing well, but we were a a bit short of speed - and those two exploited that. The 15 minutes between them coming on, the goal and Ryan Blair's second booking was the sort of stuff you'd expect from league winners. The were insatiable. Taylor is a wee dick. Of that there is no doubt. But he's also absolutely tremendous at football. I was asking a few Stenny folk why he wasn't starting, and they said it was because he can't fully be trusted not to lose the plot. And that was evident today. He had Gallagher Lennon on toast, yet got involved in silly wee slagging matches, where he ended up winding himself up - picking up a daft booking and then fizzling out the game as a few teammates told him to chill out. He brought a chaos factor, for sure, but I think we saw the very best and very worst of him in his cameo. Matty Yates was excellent. As he usually is. A really classy player who I expect to move into full-time football in the summer. Bringing them on won the game for Stenny. But aside from that crazy 15/20 minutes where they landed the knockout blow, I thought we gave a very good account of ourselves. And can feel a bit disappointed to come away with nothing. We created some good openings; Ryan Wallace missed a one-on-one, Sean Crighton and Jinky Hilton both missed excellent chances in stoppage time - and there's no denying we went for it. It was like a 3-3-3 for the last 10 minutes or so. My big frustration is that we just don't shoot enough. We only shoot when there's no other option on, and Darren Jamieson only really had a couple of saves to make. In the first-half, Ryan Blair was excellent. Mikey Anderson looked Stenhousemuir's biggest threat, but he wasn't in the game as much as he would've wanted and a lot of that was because of Ryan Blair. But his bookings were incredibly stupid; and I've no complaints about either. The first was for mouthing off after a pretty clearcut foul on Gallagher Lennon wasn't given. It's done. Shut up and move on. The second was for a sort of half-arsed tactical foul on half-way. The sort that is fine to make if you aren't on a booking. But just stupidity to do when you are. I thought Michael Ruth led the line superbly as per usual; but without scoring. As per usual. My God, if we could find a way for him to hit 12-15 goals a season we'd have the best striker in the league on our hands. Everything about his game is great, he just doesn't score goals. You could probably same something similar about Ryan Wallace. It wasn't his best game, but he had a golden chance one-on-one and tamely fired at Darren Jamieson. You need to score when you're on top, and we're really bad for not doing that. As frustrated as I was with our finishing though, I think Gregor Buchanan deserves a lot of credit. He was the best player on the park today by some distance imo, and when he's playing like that he's quite possibly the best player in the division. Aerially he was sensational, especially from dead balls. He read danger and covered for his teammates and he was flinging himself at everything. He looked like he'd rather die than concede a goal and you have to admire that. It was a real captain's performance. In terms of us; Cian Newbury once again turned in a very good showing. He was calm and measured with the ball when the time was right, he walloped it away when the time was right. He didn't give Matty Aitken much sniff of goal and for someone of 18 I just can't speak highly enough of him. I'm an enormous fan. I thought Carlo Pignatiello had his best game for a while. But I still want to see more crossing and less dribbling from him. He looked excellent when he moved into midfield too; I'd love to clone him and just play a team with 10 of him and a goalkeeper. In terms of our new additions. Gallagher Lennon had a tough game against Euan O'Reilly and then Ross Taylor. Both are blisteringly quick and Lennon just doesn't have much pace about him, he looks like a centre-half playing at full-back. And I wonder if we might need to switch to three at the back to make things work. It took Marc Kelly a fair bit of time to settle into the team; and I'm going to make two statements about him. I don't think he has the pace to be a winger at this level, but I do think he looked like he could be a handy #10. He glides past players inside, his touch looks good and he looks like a nice passer of the ball. He's maybe got a bit of finesse and quality on the ball that Kalvin Orsi doesn't have wide, but doesn't have the pace and physicality that makes Kalvin such a threat. I really liked what I saw from Aaron Healy. He's absolutely tiny (as in Stevie Murray sized) but he was very direct, always wanting to take people on and looked like he could create. Yeah he lost the ball a few times dribbling in tight areas, but I liked what he was trying. I'm excited to see more. He also dug out a cracker of a cross in injury time on the run for Jinky Hilton. But he tamely fired right at Darren Jamieson when anything with a bit of power and pace probably ends up in the back of the net. As said above, we've played Stenny three times and they haven't blown us away on any occasion. But the last two games have been exactly what champions do. Grinding out results with grit, determination and just a wee sprinkling of quality at the key moment. And their defensive record speaks for itself, it really is remarkable. They deserve to be where they are for that alone.

He said to me he's played most of his football either as a #10 or wide on the (I think) left. Just not as an out and out striker. My only worry would be T.Wallace/R.Wallace and Kelly somewhat lacking pace.

Forfar sign Finlay Allan on loan from Dundee https://twitter.com/ForfarAthletic/status/1753538813459083361?t=W3DcT4rucmJwfyV7BCAhkw&s=19

Totally agree. He was simultaneously our best and worst player last week. Everytime he got the ball he drove at the defence and looked to make something happen. He set up the goal and went on a crazy run before sending Mikey Ruth in to hit he post. The fact that every other time he lost the ball he either tried to beat a man four times and was tackled, shanked it out of play or ran down a blind alley and lost possession is probably why he's in League Two. But wingers are about entertainment, and Kalvin is someone who pretty much guarantees that. In saying all that, we now have both Marc Kelly and Aaron Healy who can play wide. And I'm optimistic about what they can both bring. It's certainly an area where we look a good bit stronger on paper than having Ross MacLean there, or pushing someone like Gray/Div or Jinky out wide where they clearly aren't comfortable.

Mods, plz.

I've never met Mick, but I've got family and pals who have - and who have played against his teams, and they were all really positive about him as a guy. He's good natured, engaging and passionate. Just generally a people person I think. My dad and him had a good chat when he was at Darvel and my brother was at Clydebank before the game, and he said he wasn't at all like he expected - and certainly not a Billy Big Baws type. I think the EK fans on here seem like a good bunch, and there's no doubt that A) They are unfortunate not have been promoted before and B) EK is a town that should have an SPFL football team with a decent support. But - to paraphrase Sister Michael from Derry Girls - EK, you will go far in life, but you will not be liked. Mick's Darvel team weren't liked. Cove weren't liked as they brought in superstars and bought their way up the pyramid. And I don't think Kelty were flavour of the month either; albeit they do have an SPFL size following and a terrific ground, which is something Cove and EK don't have in their favour. I find the whole approach this season really scattergun. It's clearly unsustainable to turnover a squad every few months, and if EK can get up then I'll find it fascinating to see how Mick recruits when he has transfer windows to deal with. The calibre of player needed for League Two will also cost a fair whack more, and (from the outside looking in) it's easy to compare Edinburgh City to EK. Large catchment areas, small supports, plenty of money. But when those money men pull out, lose a bit of interest or realise that (at whatever level) they are putting in more than they planned for limited success then it appears (again as an outsider) that the club will find itself in a sticky situation with a small core support.

Roundup from yesterday: Robbie Thompson in on loan at Spartans from ICT https://twitter.com/spartansfc/status/1753131119623475481?t=0Nm5hRbPVIdyQssH0kb_kA&s=19 Scott Mercer to Bonnyrigg from Edinburgh City https://twitter.com/BonnyriggRose/status/1753146091481014514?t=IJl35VlPSbNTbFiV5JvRfA&s=19 And some kid from Bradford has joined Elgin on loan, in one of the more unusual moves this month! https://twitter.com/ElginCityFC/status/1753218606073065919?t=uMkP4p-vci_FKIvXa22dGw&s=19

Joe McKee (along with Leigh Griffiths and Andy Halliday) went on trial at Parma from Livi when they were just breaking through.

You can still get loans in until the end of February I'm sure. So no business tonight doesn't mean no business.

Yes mate. It's the SNP's fault. Finally someone says it. GSTQ

I can only echo this. If I was a player I think I'd have signed for Faz after a chat with him. He's really engaging, he's positive, he's quite intense (but not in an overwhelming way) and I'd say he's very much a people person. That was evident from the very first meeting I had with him as our boss; and it was night and day from Jim Duffy. Who was never rude to me or anything, but who I'd describe as a lot more distant. Obviously I've no idea what goes on inside the dressing room, or on the training pitch. But I can imagine Faz being a really strong coach, and Stevie Aitken being stronger on the tactical side and the decision making during the game. Although when they split at DFC, Ian Durrant made a really positive impact for the second-half of that season, and we played some superb football. Over the summer though we lost almost all our best players and didn't replace them with the same quality. I do wonder if that was the impact not having Faz there made; he seems very well connected. And maybe Aitken and Durrant just didn't have the same contacts or ability to sell a dream to a player; Durrant's contacts book seemed to consist solely of Rangers' offcuts; some were good (Ross McCrorie, Tom Walsh, Calum Gallagher) some were fine (Kyle Hutton, Scott Gallacher) and some were bloody awful signings; the dreadful Grant Adam, and perma-crocks Andy Little, Ross Perry and Rory Loy. We also (apparently) turned down Lawrence Shankland to sign Greg Morrision under Aitken and Durrant. Something I think about every single day

I've been out all day, but I'm quite pleased to see us add Aaron Healy. We tried to get him last year I believe, but obviously QP could offer full-time football in the Championship and a 4-and-a-half year deal. So we didn't really stand a chance. He looks like the sort of player capable of a bit of matchwinning magic out of nowhere. Even if he might be inconsistent and frustrating. And that's probably something that this squad lacks; it has quality, it has grafters. But it doesn't have that player who can do something that wins a dire game out of absolutely nothing. Hopefully Healy can be that man. Matty Yates at Stenny is probably the best in the division at that - and if he can get near his levels then we'll be onto a winner. If he was able to rip things up at Dunterlie then he should have no issue with our pitch either I'd like to think. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. We have quite a youthful squad now, which feels like a major change in approach from Faz to the previous two seasons. Hopefully it's one that is a bit more effective when it comes to the playoffs. Edit - This thread is good reading.

Jaze Kabia in at Clyde too. Busy night https://twitter.com/ClydeFC/status/1752399103953076454?t=8g9JMRTndFEeuc1jRXseJA&s=19

Lewis Duncan in at Elgin from Iowa Lakes (as far as I can see online) https://twitter.com/ElginCityFC/status/1752402601172185193?t=msvA7Y3pIV47U66FUq2b2A&s=19

Aaron Healy in at Dumbarton on loan from Queen's Park https://twitter.com/queensparkfc/status/1752300644545724435?t=M8lzhI0jECE3pGTSjjxdLg&s=19

Blair's been poor this season, but he played well up at Elgin so deserves to keep his place is more my point. Over the course of the season, Malcolm has been better - but Blair put in a good showing in a 1-0 victory, including a block after about 85 minutes that denied a clear goal. He deserves to keep his spot for that alone if nothing else. Imagine Faz explaining to him that he was dropped - despite playing well in the game previous for someone who does a broadly similar job. I actually think that the Malcolm x Gray combo was trying to be Nicol x Agnew, but it was let down on two key areas. Neither are as good at keeping the ball. Kevin Nicol knew his limitations and very rarely lost the ball, most of the time he'd win it back, give it to Aggy and we'd start playing. But neither Ryan Blair or Blair Malcolm keep it that simple. Both try and do things that break down 80 percent of the time. The reason they do that? Finlay Gray isn't Aggy. He's much quicker, much more direct, much more box-to-box. But his use of the ball (which has improved a hell of a lot this season imo) isn't as good as Aggy's - although lets be fair, Aggy was probably the best player in the league above at the time, so that's to be expected. Kevin Nicol knew he could give the ball to Aggy and he'd unlock a defence with one clever, raking pass. Finlay Gray can't really do that (certainly not with a pass, with a surging run or a cross, but not a pass). So it falls down when he tries and loses possession, or the other midfielder tries and loses the ball. You need to have one midfielder taking risks and giving the ball away (which is why Hutton x Carswell never worked), but not both. Div Wilson is probably the most Aggy-like player we have in our squad in terms of his vision, touch and range of passing. But he's so inconsistent. Ideally you'd have him in a midfield three to pull the strings a bit, with Gray darting about and a destroyer behind doing the ugly stuff (like we did for large spells last season). But then it becomes a bit defensive for more liking and you'd have to drop Ryan Wallace, who has made himself pretty much indispensable this season after a very hit and miss first year.

Ryan Blair had a good game up at Elgin I thought. He was breaking play up really well especially, so I'd be keeping him in the side for this one. With it being on an astro park it'll suit him too. Blair Malcolm has shown he can be a good destroyer, but I've just not been convinced at all with the way he uses the ball. And that's been the case for a good few weeks now; he'd battle hard to win it back impressively. Then just pass it straight to an opposition player.

As Moonster says, this is somewhere beyond last chance saloon for us. We need to hope we can get a win and that starts some sort of Stenhousemuir death spiral, where they suddenly turn into Dumbarton for the final 16 games of last season. I don't think that will happen. But another defeat for Stenny might just start to unsettle their very stable ship a wee bit and give the rest of us some excitement for a few weeks at least. I'm looking forward to the game ; I think it'll be a good test of our January additions and give us a good marker of how we're shaping up and what they are made of. Cian Newbury has been superb since he arrived against some tricky opponents ; Rory McAllister, Kieran McGachie (and Bonnyrigg's park) then Dayshonne Golding. But Matty Aitken will be his sternest test so far; he's clever at using his body, good in the air and on fire in front of goal. Which are all McAllister traits, but he's got a bit more agility and pace about him. So it's going to be interesting to see how he does. It's a good test of Jay Hogarth too. I like most of what I see from him, aside from how he deals with crosses - where he seems a bit flappy. Stenny are probably the biggest threat from corners in the division (albeit Jamieson being out takes that down a fair bit). I have been really impressed by his handling and composure so far, but this is likely to be a busy afternoon for him. Family pride at stake too, with his old man Stenny's goalkeeper coach. Gallagher Lennon will likely be a busy man with the likes of Euan O'Reilly and Ross Taylor to face. I spoke to him on Saturday and, my God, is he the most mature 18-year-old I think I've ever encountered. I'd imagine he'll have done some extensive homework on how best to play them, but he didn't look the quickest. And I hope he knows how to play around that; pace can cover a multitude of sins in a defender. Especially a full-back. I'd like to see us stick with the same side that faced Elgin, I don't see any reason to change it and I think we're at the stage where we need to start putting out a settled team for a run of games again. Jay Hogarth Carlo Pignatiello Cian Newbury Sean Crighton Gallagher Lennon Kalvin Orsi Finlay Gray Ryan Blair Tony Wallace Ryan Wallace Michael Ruth That would leave us with: Paddy O'Neil, Aron Lynas, Blair Malcolm, Div Wilson, Luca Vata, Jinky Hilton and Marc Kelly in reserve. Plus the new signing due this week (assuming that gets across the line).

As a group of players (and assuming everyone due back this season returns on time) yes, they do. We've beaten Annan in a game where our squad was tested across 120 minutes and where Aron Lynas played at centre-half. We haven't beaten Peterhead or Spartans, but all the games between the sides have been tight - with five of the six goals they've scored against us coming in the final 10 minutes. So I'd say there isn't a great deal between the teams. The playoffs will come down to who is in the best form at the time I reckon. Annan finished well behind us last season, we beat them three times out of four. And we all know what happened at Galabank. For our past two playoff campaigns we've gone in, in dreadful form. If we do that again then we'll get the same outcome. Between now and then the focus has to be on getting a settled and winning side, with a clear gameplan focused on the playoffs. Faz also has a lot of critics to prove wrong; with both our previous campaigns under him basically over by half-time of the semi-final first leg. That can't happen again. If that means shitfesting a 0-0 away from home then so be it. It was good enough for the class of 2011/12 at Arbroath, so it's good enough for this group.

That is a truly stinking list of forwards it must be said when you see it written down. Good grief. I'd mentioned it on The Terrace the other week, but I actually feel Bonnyrigg's pitch holds them back now. First season it was a leveller, but now they are a League Two team. You can't win promotion with a hopeless pitch, science has proven that. So I'd not be surprised at all to see Bonnyrigg going down the astro route (if that's what you're hinting at, and assuming they can lay an astro on a hill).

I was thinking about this on the way down the road, and I think that's more down to injuries than squad changes. We've lost our captain and best centre-half and we've lost our goalkeeper and (probably) outright best player. That hurts. Mark Durnan and Brett Long are two of the best players in the league, will be two of our highest paid players and would walk into every squad - if not every starting 11. With only Stenny the exception. But this month the business has been good imo. Kelly is an unknown, but I'd fancy him to offer more than Ross MacLean did in the first-half of the season. Jay Hogarth is an upgrade on Harry Brown and Cian Newbury has so far been our best performer in the three games he's played and looks a hell of a lot better than Aron Lynas at centre-half. Matty Shiels' is a huge loss. Of that there is no doubt. And Gallagher Lennon has a big task on his hands to replace him, but we've signed a player who is captain of his country at his age group and comes extremely highly regarded after a terrific loan spell in the league below where he looked a class above. Our bench yesterday had four players who could quite easily have started and nobody would've batted an eyelid (Jinky, Kelly, Div Wilson and Blair Malcolm). Three of those being hugely experienced players at this level. You'll be able to add Callum Wilson to that next month as well. Whilst those guys might not be the type to come off the bench and score and create a couple (Jinky is to be fair, as he's shown), Div Wilson and Blair Malcolm are both handy players to have in reserve in the fourth tier. Malcolm came on with us under the cosh yesterday and just helped dig things out a bit. And both have made a good impression on games from the bench (Div at Annan, Malcolm at home to Forfar in August). With one addition this week, Wilson back next month and Durnan hopefully in time for the final run-in I'm hopeful we'll be able to avoid the situation last year where we had two subs - and ended up with Edin Lynch on left-wing at one stage.

I think Declan Byrne is a big upgrade on your current forward options, if you give him chances he'll score goals. He's a very natural finisher (see the goal at NDP last April in our 2-0 win for evidence of that). He's also strong and clever at using his body for quite a small guy, and his headed finishing is absolutely terrific. Probably the best aspect of his game, three of his six goals for us were headers I think, and they were all bullets. He set up our goal at NDP earlier this month too, springing up to head the ball to Carlo Pignatiello. He's a grafter and a scrapper who'll put in the hard yards, never just stand with his hands on his hips sulking and who'll relish getting stuck in to a physical battle. He doesn't always have the quality in terms of hold-up and link play. And there are games where very little comes off, but you'll always get effort. His biggest issue (and fans of Albion Rovers will testify to this) is his fitness. This season he missed eight games for us through injury, and that's in a season where he's only started three times and hasn't completed 90 minutes once. Last season he missed 10 games through injury. Came back and took a few to get back up to speed, started against Stenhousemuir in February and was outstanding. Then he missed the next four games. In fact, in his whole time as a Son he only completed 90 minutes twice. In a 0-0 midweek with Stirling Albion and the 6-0 loss to Annan in the playoffs. The season before he joined us he missed 25 games at Albion Rovers through injury. So he hasn't really played regularly since the Covid season with Stirling Albion. If you keep him fit he'll be a popular player at NDP, and certainly one of the first times you've had a League Two quality forward. The only concern would be putting your eggs in his basket when he breaks down so frequently.

Of course I do! These are my personal ones, so might differ from official figures. 2021/22 - two goals, three assists. 2022/23 - zero goals, seven assists. 2023/24 - one goal, six assists. He's currently our leading creator and was our leading assister last season. But with the attributes he has, he should be easily passing double figures a season at this level imo. (They are in a spreadsheet actually, although this season's are in my brain @Clarko_son )

Wasn't giving any hints I'm afraid, but I'd imagine so with Byrne away aye. Wouldn't make sense to be any other position I don't think.