FyldeCoastDoonhamer

Not so sure about that. Still scarred by that 7-0 drubbing at Palmerston and that was just meaningless end-of-season stuff (1993?)

One approach which really hasn’t worked is the one year contract mentality meaning we’ve so little continuity from one year to the next, especially when the manager is working with a low end full-time budget. I’m not sure the squad this year is anywhere near as bad as the league position suggests, but no, not a ‘championship squad’ either.

I’m grateful to the outgoing board for lots of positives such as the all weather pitch and the arena which have probably kept the club sustainable and full-time on the playing side. Can’t really argue with their managerial choices although some haven’t worked out. Equally I can’t credit how little has visibly been spent on the upkeep of the ground in recent times. On the less positive side the reticence to allow potential new investors to become involved is reminiscent of the old Harkness school of management so maybe this is just an opportunity to move forward. Would be nice to see a supporters rep incorporated onto the new board. And yes, staying in Division One is also something of a priority!

It wasn’t great was it? No excuse to set up as if we are the away side. The lack of ambition is a worry, with a large - if rather unbalanced - full time squad we should be offering better. Note the step up in tempo, albeit too late at 0-2 down, with an extra attacker on the pitch. No complaints about effort though. On the plus side Kyle Doherty absolutely worked his socks off up front with no service and very little support. As a minus we need to be hugely better at keeping the ball - it was an issue throughout but Harry Cochrane’s little cameo at the end summed it up with passes to the opposition and being caught in possession. In fairness he’s probably not match fit and maybe unfair to single out individuals in a poor team performance. Hamilton were proficient but not outstanding opposition. I don’t think they were worked anywhere near hard enough for the three points.

Fair enough, I think I’ve been lucky this year to see a couple of really decent performances, and appreciate there might not have been many overall. Of course it feels like we should be doing much better but I do wonder whether expectations are higher than they should be these days?

Slightly surprised at the response to a narrow defeat at St.Mirren who seem to have established themselves in the Premier League. I wasn’t there - so happy to be corrected - but that’s a respectable result for Queens however nice it might have been to be in the next round. Bit more bothered about being first division also rans, that’s where we should really be aspiring to do better.

Very popular ex-player at Pool too and has his development team playing decent football. Really hope this works out for all concerned!

Tempted by another day out, much prefer away games these days, odd combination of awful home form and no longer having the family connections in town. And not been to watch Queens at Alloa since I was a spotty teen.

Well that was unexpected and something of a pleasure! 400 mile round trip rewarded with a fine performance. Commiserations to the home team (whatever they’re called this week), offered a warm welcome but not great on the pitch and the facilities are, to put it kindly, a bit Lowland League . . .

Maybe we were unlucky. He’s now signed for a club nearer home (Kings Langley - english Southern League) and seems to be playing regularly.

pure coincidence, can’t even claim to have had a word with the great man

Had a really good loan spell at Bamber Bridge in the northern premier league, scored quite a few. Two subsequent loans elsewhere didn’t work out quite as well, one though was around a change in management just after he was signed. Will definitely offer something different. Seems to have been around forever down here because at youth level he was always playing a year or two above his age bracket. Has already got a season’s experience at open age level so not too much of a risk.

Potentially a very good signing, he’s the big centre forward but one that can play a little and score goals. Needs game time so probably in everyone’s interests. I think we’ve been done a massive favour here and hope it works out.

In the meantime I can’t help but notice an interesting omission from AFC Fylde’s retained list.

One of my local teams, not particularly taken with the club but shall certainly be paying a visit to see how their new signing is getting on. It’s seaside league level, he ought to do very well.

I thought this was a half decent performance. As mentioned Akinbuine made an impact, and the move where he won the free kick saw him turn and almost completely lose his marker, who had to resort to an unsuccessful tug and an eventual lunge to stop him. Dobbs as ever was lively but it feels like he needs more support, Dykes isn't the answer to anything other than 'who is the tallest player on the club's books?' For all I've heard about our defensive woes I thought they were pretty solid yesterday - the weakness is at right back, Rooney looks like a centre back being played out of position and Mercer visibly lacks pace. Midfield also looks ok to me - the much vilified Rankin picked some fine passes and ran miles - noted the amount of work he did off the ball too, Jacobs got stuck in and the two complemented each other well. I can see why Jacobs gets slotted in at right back though, and if that happens it will leave us short in the middle. With another attacker to maybe alternate with Derek Lyle and a little more defensive cover I think that the team could exceed expectations, but then again I'm basing a lot on a pre-season bounce-up* Shall be at the EK game to see whether my optimism works in a more competitive game, although for a practice match yesterday's was a good watch-obviously a big bonus for me being only four miles up the road. * and an alarming 40 odd years (on and off) watching Queens!

Interesting draw in as much as it's some different opposition. Might be tricky to progress though... New lad from Carlisle is a midfielder they signed from Penrith, from recollection a box-to-box player who scores goals. May provide the balance to Tapping & Millar. Happy with this as a positive start to the summer.

If no-one minds, I think I'll close this thread. It seems to have run its course in terms of discussing the management team Isn't that the other thread though? This is the optimistic one where we speculate on new signings and the like . . . Probably fair to say that we have moved on from JC's appointment when we were rock bottom and almost any signings, from anywhere, would have likely constituted an improvement. Our new manager has the basis of a decent team with the right additions and a more adventurous approach out on the pitch.

Managed not to see Blyth for two or three seasons now. They lost in the play-offs having finished comfortably in second place in the NPL. Scott Allison at Workington, whose goals helped end Blyth's season, is the forward I was thinking of, looked like he would be the right sort of partner for Lyle.

Absolutely! There's certainly a lad up front for Workington who would fit in nicely for Queens, plus any number who might be worth investigating from the Northern League in the Durham/Newcastle/Northumberland direction . . .