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If they're watched regularly then potential can be identified. There are definitely good players out there, as you've correctly pointed out Dundee United have done especially well out of it. A few of the players Hartley had at Alloa could probably have been snapped up early too.

I'd much rather have a young hungry striker signed from League One or Two with potential than a failed journeyman like Heffernan.

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If they're watched regularly then potential can be identified. There are definitely good players out there, as you've correctly pointed out Dundee United have done especially well out of it. A few of the players Hartley had at Alloa could probably have been snapped up early too.

I'd much rather have a young hungry striker signed from League One or Two with potential than a failed journeyman like Heffernan.

Agree with all of this. Only exception would be proven players at this level that haven't quite made the Premiership cut, Muirhead, Gardyne, Baird, Doolan etc

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If they're watched regularly then potential can be identified. There are definitely good players out there, as you've correctly pointed out Dundee United have done especially well out of it. A few of the players Hartley had at Alloa could probably have been snapped up early too.

I'd much rather have a young hungry striker signed from League One or Two with potential than a failed journeyman like Heffernan.

Thats very much the route Fowler has gone down with Queens. Only Conroy has come from another club in this division, although Brownlie and Thompson were at Cowden last season. Higgins came from Motherwell but was very much in their U20s rather than first team

If Falkirk do bring in a couple of "journeymen", like Heffernan (*snigger*) it'll be interesting to see how the two teams fare. Falkirk, of course, already have a number of quality youngsters in the squad

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Agree with all of this. Only exception would be proven players at this level that haven't quite made the Premiership cut, Muirhead, Gardyne, Baird, Doolan etc

Not sure I'd call any of them journeymen tbh, Baird has had a few clubs but was on a steady upwards trajectory for most of it. Proven at this level too.

I'm meaning guys who have looked crap for years - Heffernan, Lee Miller, Rory Boulding etc.

Thats very much the route Fowler has gone down with Queens. Only Conroy has come from another club in this division, although Brownlie and Thompson were at Cowden last season. Higgins came from Motherwell but was very much in their U20s rather than first team

If Falkirk do bring in a couple of "journeymen", like Heffernan (*snigger*) it'll be interesting to see how the two teams fare. Falkirk, of course, already have a number of quality youngsters in the squad

We'll have a bigger budget and much less turnover so the team shouldn't need to gel as Queens will. In saying that, I wouldn't be surprised if we finished behind Queens again.

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I'd be surprised if Queens are any where near us this season tbh. As long as we don't sell anyone, we'll be an improved side from last season (remember we had Loy up front on his own til January then he was out from March onwards) whereas Queens have had the quality ripped right out their side. If we can get someone better than Heffernan and given we've shifted a lot more season tickets than St Mirren, the expectation should be 3rd minimum. Another shaky start would see Houston under serious pressure imo

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Not sure I'd call any of them journeymen tbh, Baird has had a few clubs but was on a steady upwards trajectory for most of it. Proven at this level too.

I'm meaning guys who have looked crap for years - Heffernan, Lee Miller, Rory Boulding etc.

We'll have a bigger budget and much less turnover so the team shouldn't need to gel as Queens will. In saying that, I wouldn't be surprised if we finished behind Queens again.

You had a bigger budget last season too.You're right about the turnover, though, Fowler will do well to get the team hitting the ground running.

I'd be surprised if Queens are any where near us this season tbh. As long as we don't sell anyone, we'll be an improved side from last season (remember we had Loy up front on his own til January then he was out from March onwards) whereas Queens have had the quality ripped right out their side. If we can get someone better than Heffernan and given we've shifted a lot more season tickets than St Mirren, the expectation should be 3rd minimum. Another shaky start would see Houston under serious pressure imo

Thats not really true though. We've lost some good players but none who were irreplaceable and certainly not all of the quality we had last season. The biggest losses will be Holt and Reillys goals. However, we've already signed two young left backs, who only really need to be "solid" to start with and Reilly wasnt even our top scorer last season. Theres still plenty of goals in the side and, most likely, a couple of signings still to come.

You're right that Falkirk will be an improved side but an awful lot depends on who you bring in to replace Loy. Id still, though, be surprised and very disappointed if we arent as close to you as we have been the last couple of seasons

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I'd be surprised if we're not a bit weaker this season, given our departures, but that hardly means that we must be much poorer than Falkirk, considering that we finished a decent margin ahead of them last time.

Falkirk will suffer for the loss of Loy, as they clearly did during the League run-in. We'll suffer too obviously, but we've brought in replacements with some promise.

It's also true that the guys we've lost weren't world beaters. I'm not going to pretend that I'm glad they're gone, because I'm not. The fact that they've all moved on to bigger things tells us they were very capable and it's alarming that we've lost so many at once. However, apart from Holt, they were all pretty inconsistent and even during last season, were poor at times.

I don't think it's unreasonable to hope - maybe even anticipate- that we'll once more be occupying the same section of the table as the mighty Bairns.

Edited by Monkey Tennis
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You are right that the players you've lost are replaceable, but with Lyle and Russell now a year older, I think Queens might struggle for goals a bit more this season. From what I remember of McHugh from the play offs, and what I saw against (albeit a very poor) Athlone side, he will be an adequate replacement for Loy, and if the other striker we bring in is better than Heffernan, it will be a bonus imo. We'll also have Biabi, Shepherd and Thomas Grant, who featured from little to nil last season. I think all 3 will have a positive roll to play this season, and Swansea are already sniffing around Biabi. If all these can add to Baird's projected tally of around 20 (assuming he is taking and scoring the penalties) I think we'll be more dangerous in the final third this season.

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You are right that the players you've lost are replaceable, but with Lyle and Russell now a year older, I think Queens might struggle for goals a bit more this season. From what I remember of McHugh from the play offs, and what I saw against (albeit a very poor) Athlone side, he will be an adequate replacement for Loy, and if the other striker we bring in is better than Heffernan, it will be a bonus imo. We'll also have Biabi, Shepherd and Thomas Grant, who featured from little to nil last season. I think all 3 will have a positive roll to play this season, and Swansea are already sniffing around Biabi. If all these can add to Baird's projected tally of around 20 (assuming he is taking and scoring the penalties) I think we'll be more dangerous in the final third this season.

McHugh is nowhere near as effective as Loy.

Nowhere near it.

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You are right that the players you've lost are replaceable, but with Lyle and Russell now a year older, I think Queens might struggle for goals a bit more this season. From what I remember of McHugh from the play offs, and what I saw against (albeit a very poor) Athlone side, he will be an adequate replacement for Loy, and if the other striker we bring in is better than Heffernan, it will be a bonus imo. We'll also have Biabi, Shepherd and Thomas Grant, who featured from little to nil last season. I think all 3 will have a positive roll to play this season, and Swansea are already sniffing around Biabi. If all these can add to Baird's projected tally of around 20 (assuming he is taking and scoring the penalties) I think we'll be more dangerous in the final third this season.

Lyle and Russell are two of the fittest guys in the squad, so I dont think an extra year will make much of a difference. McHugh is nowhere near as good as Loy, not even close.

I think both clubs will be hoping some of their younger players will come through and contribute a bit more than last season. We also had a number of players who barely kicked a ball last season. They're either fit or been replaced, so we should have a bit more depth than last season. Whether we've adequately replaced the quality remains to be seen.

The only way Baird will score 20 goals is if you get 19 penalties :lol:

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Ryan McGeever from Queens Park and Jordan White from Clyde. Both roaring successes..............

McGeever started well and looked promising when he first came into the side. Had a dip in form as all young players do. We are fortunate at centre half that we have ample cover there (McCracken, Grant, Muirhead and Vaulks if need be) so may find it hard to get back in the team.

Jordan White was a bit of a disaster for us but has gone on to score goals in this division for another team.

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Take the point about there being good players in the lower leagues, but the ones we sign never seem to amount to much. I wouldnt even consider signing Heffernan, there will be other players still looking for teams, McHugh is a gamble aswell, although Houston has said he was a "right good player at Motherwell" mind you he said some similar guff about David Smith and we all know how he turned out. For me someone outwith whoever he signs needs to step up this year, whether it be Biabi(if he isnt sold) Shepherd, maybe even young O'Hara.

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Lyle and Russell are two of the fittest guys in the squad, so I dont think an extra year will make much of a difference. McHugh is nowhere near as good as Loy, not even close.

I think both clubs will be hoping some of their younger players will come through and contribute a bit more than last season. We also had a number of players who barely kicked a ball last season. They're either fit or been replaced, so we should have a bit more depth than last season. Whether we've adequately replaced the quality remains to be seen.

The only way Baird will score 20 goals is if you get 19 penalties :lol:

7 goals from 17 games for us so far. Minimum expectation is for him to double that, particularly considering he didn't actually score at TFS once. I'm not saying McHugh is as good as Loy, but a McHugh/other - Baird partnership over the course of the whole season should return more goals than what we had available in the last campaign. Also expecting Leahy, Grant, Vaulks and Sibbald to keep improving in what should be an 'all-round' better side.

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7 goals from 17 games for us so far. Minimum expectation is for him to double that, particularly considering he didn't actually score at TFS once. I'm not saying McHugh is as good as Loy, but a McHugh/other - Baird partnership over the course of the whole season should return more goals than what we had available in the last campaign. Also expecting Leahy, Grant, Vaulks and Sibbald to keep improving in what should be an 'all-round' better side.

14 < 20 ;)

Genuine question, how many of those 7 were penalties?

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7 goals from 17 games for us so far. Minimum expectation is for him to double that, particularly considering he didn't actually score at TFS once. I'm not saying McHugh is as good as Loy, but a McHugh/other - Baird partnership over the course of the whole season should return more goals than what we had available in the last campaign. Also expecting Leahy, Grant, Vaulks and Sibbald to keep improving in what should be an 'all-round' better side.

Think Baird's best season down here was the year Raith finished second, he got something like 12, I think, alongside Tade. Granted there wasn't much support coming from midfield for us, that year - it was basically a question of Tade tearing the defences a new one by himself - but allowing for that, Baird is not the most accomplished finisher, even with the chances he is given.

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Is a penalty not a goal?

Of course, but a striker who's going to get 15 goals a season and doesnt take penalties is worth far more than one who relies on pens for half their goals.

We, apparently, have 3 really good penalty takes in the squad for next season. I think we've had about 3 penalties in the last 3 seasons.

Without Loy, Falkirk might find the number of penalties they get goes down significantly anyway ;)

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14 < 20 ;)

Genuine question, how many of those 7 were penalties?

3? You still have to score them though. Millar and Loy cost us 4 points by missing penalties 2 years ago which might, just might, have won us the league. (Loy missed one against you last season as well iirc...and a couple of others) You can be a great player at this level but unless you have the power, placement and bottle to score a penalty, getting one is useless. And we do get a lot of penalties...probably due to having enough fans to shout for them ;) But seriously if Baird can replicate his away form in home matches, I think we can get a pretty respectable return out of him. His work rate is good as well and he has come up with a few assists

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