[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

This is a two pen gif kinda day. I can feel it. 

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

Fagan-Walcott has champions league experience. Played about 30 seconds against Leipzig. Superstar.

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Really good interview, in my opinion. Reassuring to hear about the conversations he’s had with the board and the fact they’re looking to accelerate deals for targets that had been discussed for next season, if possible.

I’d still prefer experience. But we need someone in immediately. If experience isn’t available right now and someone else is, who we believe is good enough, we have to compromise and bring in the guy that’s available.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

5 minutes ago, Double Jack D said:

the injury problems you guys have can have a huge impact on league position. Also the added effects of playing players whilst not 100% increases longer term injury risk...

This is exactly it. If we’d sorted out at least one defender to come in for the opening of the window, I don’t think we’d have lost to Queens Park. The run of form we’re now on has seen us drop from well clear in 4th (think it was about 5 points), down to 6th and only 6(?) points above bottom. If that doesn’t have the manager/board desperate to get more players in, we have a real problem.

We’re also now dealing with the consequences of forcing players to play 90 minutes when they’ve got a niggle/tightness. Also had players returning and being asked to get straight back into playing 90 minutes every week, just to get another muscular injury. But, due to the size of our squad, we have no other options.

Some of it has been bad luck, I’m not denying that. But some of it seems to be due to the lack of squad depth, forcing players to do too much too soon and ending up out mid/long term again.

It’s annoying. If we’d actually brought in depth in defence in the summer - when everyone could see we needed it, we could focus on our poor attack/goalscoring return. But I just don’t think we can address that this window, as we need to focus on sorting out the defensive options.

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21 minutes ago, RAITHROVERS84 said:

Can’t lie, if we get Ashcroft it’ll be a fantastic coup and from our perspective it’ll be an enjoyable read on here, X and pars.net (or whatever it’s called) with the level of seethe. 

All our business from the summer to date, every player has mentioned Potter being an influence. I don’t know what sweet magic he’s whispering but I’m all for it. 

When Potter was here, he was very popular with the players. His spell as manager was obviously really poor, but the players all absolutely loved him and I do believe they all genuinely wanted to do well for him.

When he left for Sunderland, I know the players were all really sad to see him go. I honestly have a lot of time for Potter. He did a lot for the club and even played through injury during admin times, to try and talk the kids through the games. In other games, he was named as a sub and would stand behind the goals (where players warm up), organising the young defenders.

Rovers players that Potter was involved with at Dunfermline would include: Ross Millen, Shaun Byrne, Callum Smith. Not sure if Aidan Connolly maybe played for a very brief spell while Potter was still a coach as well. Andy Barrowman was also one of Potter’s first signings as manager. Lee Ashcroft would be another one that worked with Potter at Dunfermline when he signs. I’d imagine Gullan, Dabrowski and Stanton possibly worked with him at Hibs too?

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

5 minutes ago, DAFC. said:

It's not just defence as well though; we are having to play Chalmers with Allan in midfield. I like Chalmers, but he is a player that only works well with players like Otto, Hamilton, and Matty around him: guys that will take the game by the scruff. When you put him beside Paul Allan, they cancel each other out, and the midfield is pretty much non existent, especially on the back foot. You are then relying on Ben Summers to work magic when we have possession to progress because the other two don't do anything. 

At the moment, we have zero defenders available. That’s worse than the midfielders not being great together. Sorting numbers in defence also allows Hamilton/Otoo to move back into midfield - where they’re better and the team are better with them there.

The root of the problem you’ve described is the lack of defenders, as Hamilton/Otoo have rarely been unavailable to play, they’re just having to play out of position due to the defensive issues. Signing midfielders to keep Hamilton/Otoo in defence doesn’t seem like a decent solution to me.

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40 minutes ago, 101 said:

I agree but if I was McPake I would be very tempted to leave Ashcrofts wages open for as long as that deal remains a possability, we are unlikely to get another experienced CB that has won the league in this window.

But seeing as we need 2 defenders then I agree we should have been looking to bring in someone who is available now. To me it kind of points to the strange decision for the Germans to invest in a Scottish club post Brexit, they obviously have good knowledge of the German league and others in Central Europe but seeing as the only Europeans we can bring in are Irish or capped internationals it does on the face of it seem a waste of their knowledge and scouting potential.

Anyway I'm sure Craig has a queue of defenders to take photos off with the scarf above their head today!

You leave the wages available, until that spot in the team is filled. I would honestly rather get 2 fairly decent CBs in now though, than wait until we’ve played another 2/3 games with a makeshift backline, for a good defender.

As I’ve said, we should have had a defender ready to come in very early in the window. Simple as that. As soon as Comrie went down last Friday, it became even more desperate and we’re now needing at least 2 CBs as soon as possible.

The lack of preparation, despite the fact Breen/Benedictus have missed 75% of the season, is very disappointing and we definitely need to be asking why something wasn’t sorted, to ensure someone was coming in when the window opened. For 2/3 months, we’ve had guys playing when they really shouldn’t be, including guys returning from injury too soon, and had so many players out of position. The urgency/need to add to the squad as quickly as possible was there for all to see.

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4 minutes ago, 101 said:

Just depends if the parent club is happy for them to go, obviously not much Raith could do the guy was out of contract and Patrick obviously gave him the deal he wanted.

Turner obviously couldn't be chucked out of Ross County quick enough, he's a class player but clearly not a player you want when things aren't going for you.

Sounds like we will have competition of Ashcroft, if Dundee can get a replacement in I would hope we can land that deal but I would have hoped for a younger Mahon type loan to have come in by now as there will be less interest on that type of player.

I get that. But we should have been prepared for this window and made sure there were guys coming in early. It’s not like we can only start talking to clubs about who is/isn’t available when the window opens. We’ve had these issues for months and we’ve known that we need more bodies in.

Even John Hughes was prepared for the January window 2 years ago - Lawless was announced in December as a player who was joining in January. We’ve done the same with Callum Morris in the past. I think Coll Donaldson was sorted very early January.

For whatever reason, we’re not as organised as we should have been. It’s as simple as that. We were linked with 2 players last week. It’s been 6 days since we finished the game with Miller Fenton, Chris Hamilton and Josh Edwards as a back 3 and we’ve denied interest in one of the players and more clubs are now reportedly interested in the other.

Ashcroft hasn’t been involved for Dundee all season. If we wanted him, a deal should have been agreed for when the window opened. If that wasn’t possible, we should have been finding someone who was available. We can’t afford to wait until the end of the window, or we’re going to be in a relegation battle with a team of kids playing through injuries and out of position.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

It’s getting a bit tiresome seeing other clubs in the division making signings (in areas that we need players) and getting nothing from the club. I don’t doubt they’re trying, but it’s mental that they haven’t brought anyone in.

Honestly don’t know whether the scouting department is poor, or they’re just not willing to pay players championship level wages. Given our chief scout is in our dugout during matches and on the pitch during warm ups, I’m not sure how we’re meant to be finding potential signings. What kind of professional structure has a ‘chief scout’ that takes warm ups and sits in the dugout during games? Surely they should be out watching potential signings on a Saturday? But, even then, we’ve been linked with players and a decent number of them end up at other championship clubs. Which suggests we just aren’t willing to pay players what other championship clubs are.

Last season, we were told that the players we wanted wouldn’t drop down to league 1. I could understand that and got behind the philosophy of going with a small squad, rather than signing duds just to get out of that league. But that narrative suggested we had players in mind, or at least targets of a level that could improve the team this year. I’m not seeing any of that though. In 4 days, we’ll be halfway through this transfer window. I honestly can’t believe we haven’t got bodies in yet, given it’s been clear for months now that we need to add numbers asap.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If we aren’t competing at the top end of the championship (at the very least), running a training facility and academy just isn’t sustainable. We won’t be able to cover the running costs at all. Some investment is needed in the first team, in order to generate the funds required to pay for all of these costs.

In terms of this dream we have of selling players to generate money, having them play through injury/rushing them back and/or having them cover several positions will only hamper their development and lower their value. 

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

52 minutes ago, RAITHROVERS84 said:

Surprised to not see any incoming with you guys yet.

I remember reading a number of your fans being disappointed with the lack of summer business and that was with no injuries ! Your current situation is desperate and ludicrously unlucky, so for an outsider looking in its peculiar to not have seen emergency cover on opening of window. On assumption deals were being worked prior.

Being honest I really don’t rate McPake whatsoever and do wonder if he’s got a very narrow and restricted view when looking for targets. Players unknown to the championship from Ireland and lower leagues of England have came in but if McPake only deals with the known then it appears your shopping at a level below DU, Partick, us and clearly ICT.

No malice intended whatsoever and Dunfermline need to be a Championship club as a minimum but you cannot continue with current squad as is and expect to not finish any better than 9th imo. Suspect keeper, good defenders but all out and relying on Jak for goals isn’t too clever a situation to be in. We were in a poor situation last season with some players that haven’t even been picked up at L2 level but with Stanton, Vaughan and Connolly we had enough to be ahead of a chronic Cove and Hamilton. Abroath and QP are better than them and that’s got to be the concern..

 

Hard to disagree with this. Although, I would point we didn’t have no injuries in the summer. From memory, Todd and KRH were out from very early on and I think Breen maybe had an issue too. O’Halloran also got injured as soon as he signed. We’re obviously much worse just now though than we were then.

I was very open on here last week, that I was disappointed that we didn’t have any early window activity, particularly when we’ve been struggling for so long now.

I said at the weekend, 2 players may be enough to keep us safe. But it won’t be comfortable. One has to be a CB. I’d prefer 2 CBs, but if we signed a midfielder, meaning Otoo and/or Hamilton can continue in defence, it’s not the end of the world.

Knowing the extent of the injuries for Comrie/Benedictus/Breen, I’m tempted to say we also need a RB/RWB. It certainly seems like once Comrie’s back, he’ll still be needed in the back 3.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

4 hours ago, McMad said:

Anyone that thinks that 6 point gap is enough is deluded. 

Have I missed something, or have you just made something up, to call an imaginary person deluded? Genuinely haven’t seen anyone say that we’re safe as we are.

Everyone is well aware that we’re needing at least a couple of bodies in asap. 

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

15 minutes ago, AuldReekie said:

I didn't say they wouldn't try to sign anyone.

48 minutes ago, AuldReekie said:

if McPake and the board feel we have enough to stay safe of relegation, even allowing for recoveries for injuries, I suspect they'll want to try and maximise their options and budget for the close season window.

That very much sounds like you’re implying the board/manager might not want to add to the team this window. I’m honestly not sure what else you were trying to say here?

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

14 minutes ago, AuldReekie said:

I think there's an outside chance we sign noone. I think we're very light on money and if McPake and the board feel we have enough to stay safe of relegation, even allowing for recoveries for injuries, I suspect they'll want to try and maximise their options and budget for the close season window. Not saying I agree with it but I think expectations need to be calibrated somewhat.

No. The club will absolutely be trying to bring in new players, there is no doubt about that. This post is the sort of thing I’d expect people to make up on .net and Facebook.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

8 minutes ago, The Toun Clock said:

Wasn't aware of that, was he at games?

I know he was in helping Arbroath when they fired their dick.

He was at the Raith game at new year, in full Pars gear. Was on the pitch during the warm ups. Then on Friday, he was in the dugout. There were 2/3 times that the camera showed McPake in the dugouts and Liam Craig was sitting beside him.

 

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

Noticed Liam Craig is now Callum Davidson’s assistant at Queens Park. He’s been involved in our match day stuff the last wee while and presumably been helping out with training as well. Assumed he’d actually joined the club and just hadn’t been announced, since he was always in full Pars gear. 

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

40 minutes ago, 101 said:

Even if Sharp goes back to Dundee feel the squad budget has to be used elsewhere particularly as a goalkeeper is the only position remaining with an emergency loan option.

Feel like we should be allowed to emergency loan a full squad right now.

I think there’s zero chance of a goalkeeper joining on loan this month. We have such a thin squad, we aren’t wasting 2 loan spots on goalkeepers. As you say, even if Sharp goes back, I would be surprised if we replaced him. I can’t see why we would renew his loan, if I’m being honest. 

Right now, I’d believe any rumours of a defender being linked to the club. Could be a rumoured loan deal from Crossgates Primrose and it would seem believable. Thats how desperate we are at this point.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

No problem with players being given a break. Hopefully helps them to recover a bit. Anyone that isn’t injured played a lot of football in a short period of time. Anyone who is injured will hopefully benefit from the extra rest. Relaxation will do them all some good. 

[Pars vs Rovers Episode V - Really, again?!]

glad that 6 have been arrested/charged. Here’s hoping everyone involved is found and gets what they deserve.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

Just now, RR #1 said:

What owners sell this gear? Hope whoever it is has a re-think. Aye maybe anyone can buy the gear but no one is buying it and posing for pics in it on their socials unless they are part of the gang. 

You say you don't understand why people seem desperate to pin this on snw? It is because the attackers clearly associate with the supporters group. No-one can reasonably deny this given the pics of them in the gear and behind the flags. 

The owners of your football club sell Section North West gear. They own the soccer shop direct, who have a partnership with Section North West to sell their merchandise. There are also plenty of people who own the gear and don’t even sit in the north west. I’d also imagine that about 99.9% of people who buy it do not identify as part of any gang.

It’s easy to sit in a section of the stadium, to think you’re ‘cool’. But, again, that doesn’t make you part of any supporters group that is around you. Particularly when the photos I’ve seen are from away games, where literally anyone with tickets for the Dunfermline end can sit/stand nearby and take photos around the SNW flags.

No point arguing with you though. You aren’t interested in facts and are letting rivalry cloud your judgment.

As I say, those involved in the attack should be locked away and certainly not be allowed in a football stadium again in their lives. But I also know that the guy who organises the fan displays etc for SNW would 100% be naming and shaming these guys if he knew who they were. But those involved in the anttack are about half his age and almost certainly won’t socialise at all with the people actively involved in the supporters group.

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3 hours ago, RR #1 said:

Pish. The cretins who carried out the assault clearly were part of the SNW. They sat in that part of the stadium, posed for pics behind snw banners and posted pics of themselves in snw merchandise.

Anyone can buy that merchandise. Your owners are actually the ones that sell it - in their Soccer Shop Direct (or whatever it’s called) shop, so it’s publicly available. Owning the merchandise and having a ticket for the North West stand does not make you a member of the supporters group.

Nobody is denying that those involved in the assault on Monday are cretins and the behaviour is completely unacceptable. But I don’t understand why you and a few others seem desperate to pin this on a supporters group.

SNW need to improve their behaviour in the stadium, we’ve all agreed on that. But that doesn’t make them responsible for the disgusting attack on Monday.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

10 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

Benedictus sounded quite positive at half time tonight I thought, just waiting on the scan and hoping it's not a reoccurrence of the old injury. Who knows though, he's the kind of guy who will want to play even when he's not 100% fit.

I honestly thought he said they’re worried he’d torn his thigh again, but a bit higher up this time? Would obviously be delighted if I heard it wrong though.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

3 minutes ago, HoBNob said:

So looking ahead to Airdrie we'll have

Mehmet

Edwards

Allan, Chalmers, Moffat, MoH

Fully fit. 

Wighton, Summers and Hamilton playing through injuries. 

McCann potentially coming back from a hamstring injury so should be eased back but realistically we'll need 90 minutes from him. 

 

Even then we'll need to see how Summers and Wighton react to playing 90 tonight, christ. 

I honestly hoped that we would have been preparing to do business early in the window, given how poor the last 3 games of December were. Injury list has been really bad all season and only seems to have gotten worse. Defence been a massive issue and we now need at least 2 CBs in asap. We can’t afford to play another game with a defence like that.

[QP vs Pars - Fri 5th Jan]

Injuries or not, we’re far too soft to win championship games right now. We seem to lose every 50/50 and every high ball and we’re just making abysmal decisions.

Would genuinely say the same for most of the last 4/5 games. Against Raith, they won all of the battles. Against Arbroath, was the same until they got the red card. Against Ayr, was the same once they scored. It’s not good at the moment. Morale looks so low and there’s players clearly not fit enough to be out there, but having to play anyway. It’s hard to see how things improve without a decent number of new signings.

Queens Park deserved that win and 2-1 flattered us, in my opinion.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

Just now, TxRover said:

I’ve seen the injury list, and comments that there are a lot of muscular injuries on it…how long until a decent number come back?

McCann should be back soon. Don't really know about Otoo.

Fisher, Breen and Benedictus all sound like they’re waiting to find out more. But all likely to be at least a few weeks. Bene and Breen, there’s definitely concern it’s 6+ weeks.

Todd and KRH out long term. No idea what’s up with Andy Tod, but he’s been out since about September. Obviously don’t know much about Comrie/Jakubiak. But Jakubiak looked to be a hamstring and he looked upset, so could be another lengthy one. Calf injuries can be a frustratingly slow recovery too, but hopefully just a minor strain for Comrie.

[Walking Down The Halbeath Road]

Injury situation is a joke now. But tonight’s injuries make it even more important that we take action and bring players in asap. As I said in the match thread, we have a team of outfield players injured, that is better than the team of outfield players on the pitch

         Fisher   Bene   Breen

Comrie   Todd   Otoo   Ritchie-Hosler

      McCann   Jakubiak   Tod

Thats not even accounting for Summers, O’Halloran and Wighton, who are playing through illness/injury, that would otherwise see them on the bench/in the stands.

Majority of injuries seem like they are relatively long-term too, we need guys in now. Form and performances have been horrendous, we can’t just continue as it is and hope for the best.