Skyline Drifter Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Just wondered what you guys thought of Willie McLaren? Did he play well last season and do you thnk he'll be a good/bad signing for us? I've not seen him in action since his Airdrie Utd days and he was always a player who caused us problems. Airdrie fan at work said that if he managed to screw the nut, he could play at a higher level. Your thoughts? Willie McLaren, on a one year contract, with a manager who knows how to handle him and in the right system, would be an excellent first division signing. He has an attitude problem at times but he's also capable of winning games single handedly when he's in the mood. There aren't many at this level who can do that. To be fair to Kenny Brannigan, handling Willie McLaren was one of the few things he proved to be extremely good at but even he had spats from time to time. McLaren's form once Chisholm and Dodds left was simply outstanding from March 2010 through to about October / November. At times he was simply unplayable and he must have won us 4 or 5 games on his own. However, though still capable of occasional flashes of brilliance (Partick Thistle game at Palmerston springs to mind) his form in 2011 has largely been lousy. I would have liked to have kept him personally but maybe more in hope of seeing him recapture the 2010 form rather than the recent stuff. If we are going to be struggling next season and needing players who can work and grind out results rather than occasional inspiration but largely anonymity then he's probably best away. I'm not at all convinced he's a Hamilton Accies / Billy Reid player though. Have they worked together before anywhere? Considering Accies binned Rocco Quinn because he didn't work hard enough for their style, signing McLaren seems bizarre unless there is a change of style imminent. We shall see. I liked Willie for all his faults, I wish him well. From the summer transfer thread. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Read elsewhere that Brian Reid is fancied and an announcement will be made next week. Internet rumour disclaimer To me, he seems a manager not able to make the jump up into the First Division. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkyblue2 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 To me, he seems a manager not able to make the jump up into the First Division. Brannigan did ok, but he did have a decent squad right enough. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YER SISTERS YER MAW Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 As a player he is capable of magic after 85 minutes of doing f**k all proven by his goals against Ross county and Dunfermline. Don't expect him to be chasing anything down and If he takes the hump he'll be like that for a while. He's a gamble but if he plays to his ability then at times he's unplayable in this league. Lazy player with attitude. On his day can be brilliant but unfortunately has too few good days. Usually I like players with ability, and don't mind a bit of laziness, so long as they can deliver on the creative side. McLaren doesn't deliver frequently enough though (even allowing for the inconsistency which often characterises such players). I'm also led to believe that he's a childish wee ned. Willie McLaren, on a one year contract, with a manager who knows how to handle him and in the right system, would be an excellent first division signing. He has an attitude problem at times but he's also capable of winning games single handedly when he's in the mood. There aren't many at this level who can do that. To be fair to Kenny Brannigan, handling Willie McLaren was one of the few things he proved to be extremely good at but even he had spats from time to time. McLaren's form once Chisholm and Dodds left was simply outstanding from March 2010 through to about October / November. At times he was simply unplayable and he must have won us 4 or 5 games on his own. However, though still capable of occasional flashes of brilliance (Partick Thistle game at Palmerston springs to mind) his form in 2011 has largely been lousy. I would have liked to have kept him personally but maybe more in hope of seeing him recapture the 2010 form rather than the recent stuff. If we are going to be struggling next season and needing players who can work and grind out results rather than occasional inspiration but largely anonymity then he's probably best away. I'm not at all convinced he's a Hamilton Accies / Billy Reid player though. Have they worked together before anywhere? Considering Accies binned Rocco Quinn because he didn't work hard enough for their style, signing McLaren seems bizarre unless there is a change of style imminent. We shall see. I liked Willie for all his faults, I wish him well. Cheers for the reply's! Your verdict; a lazy player with a bad atitude, but on his day he's capable of being brilliant and unplayable. I spoke to a guy who knew him from Easterhouse where he lives/lived, and he said he was always acting like a wee ned, and hung about with a bad crowd. Like Skyline Drifter has said though, he doesn't sound like the usual type of player that Billy Reid would normally go for if he's not willing to put in a shift, track-back and do his defensive duties. Lets hope he can finally grow up and knuckle down under Billy, and he manages to get the best out of him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airdrieman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Like others have said Willie McLaren on his day can be an outstanding player and can win you game single handedly like he did with Airdrie. However he does have an attidude problem and can just not turn up (literally) during games and is apparently a bit of a ned. However if he was to screw the nut he would be a great player and would be a stand out at 1st div level. Queens fans, we are interested in signing David Lilley. From what I've seen on here he had a good season the season before last but last season had injury problems and, was quite poor. However some said he'd still be able to play at 1st div level so would he be a stand out at 2nd div or would he just be a good signing? Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Like others have said Willie McLaren on his day can be an outstanding player and can win you game single handedly like he did with Airdrie. However he does have an attidude problem and can just not turn up (literally) during games and is apparently a bit of a ned. However if he was to screw the nut he would be a great player and would be a stand out at 1st div level. Queens fans, we are interested in signing David Lilley. From what I've seen on here he had a good season the season before last but last season had injury problems and, was quite poor. However some said he'd still be able to play at 1st div level so would he be a stand out at 2nd div or would he just be a good signing? Thanks. I think Lilley would stroll the 2nd division, to be honest. I'd be a little worried if Airdrie can afford him but we cant - no offence to Airdrie of course 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airdrieman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Also it's a shame to see what's happening at QOS. Always liked QOS they're a likeable club with a good old - fashioned ground and decent supporters. Hope the problems going on down your way can get sorted (sorry don't know the ins and outs of it). Best of luck for this season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airdrieman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Also it's a shame to see what's happening at QOS. Always liked QOS they're a likeable club with a good old - fashioned ground and decent supporters. Hope the problems going on down your way can get sorted (sorry don't know the ins and outs of it). Best of luck for this season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 (edited) Queens fans, we are interested in signing David Lilley. From what I've seen on here he had a good season the season before last but last season had injury problems and, was quite poor. However some said he'd still be able to play at 1st div level so would he be a stand out at 2nd div or would he just be a good signing? Thanks. Others will disagree with me and point to his injury problems last year, or claim he was unfairly exposed in a back three. On the evidence of the season just ended however, I'd say he's past it, I'm afraid. Whether dropping a division will help, I don't know. Edited May 28, 2011 by Monkey Tennis 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I think Lilley would stroll the 2nd division, to be honest. I'd be a little worried if Airdrie can afford him but we cant - no offence to Airdrie of course I don't think there's any doubt about it, if Airdrie can afford him then so can we. In releasing the three players that they did without making an offer to them, it's pretty clear they simply chose not to do so. I'd suggest our Board of Directors were of a similar opinion to Monkey Tennis. Whether it proves to be correct of course remains to be seen. -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkyblue2 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Which is the main problem at the club at the minute sadly. Dont see any problem regarding the players released. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Agree with FC_1919. The board shouldn't be making any decisions regarding the squad, should be left up to the appointed manager. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Agree with FC_1919. The board shouldn't be making any decisions regarding the squad, should be left up to the appointed manager. Well that's all well and good, but the fact is we haven't got one. We can debate the rights and wrongs of that all we want, and I've said all along I think Brannigan's position should have been clarified at least a couple of months ago, but regardless of how we got here, we have to deal with the position as it is now. We'll have a manager shortly but not before contracts expire so it falls to the board to make some sort of offer to those players they feel we might want to keep. It's not like there are any major footballing question marks over their respective abilities anyway. With the possible exception of Lilley (and I suppose whether Johnston has gone on long enough) we know they can all cut it at this level. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkyblue2 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Well that's all well and good, but the fact is we haven't got one. We can debate the rights and wrongs of that all we want, and I've said all along I think Brannigan's position should have been clarified at least a couple of months ago, but regardless of how we got here, we have to deal with the position as it is now. We'll have a manager shortly but not before contracts expire so it falls to the board to make some sort of offer to those players they feel we might want to keep. It's not like there are any major footballing question marks over their respective abilities anyway. With the possible exception of Lilley (and I suppose whether Johnston has gone on long enough) we know they can all cut it at this level. Tend to agree they shouldn't be offering contracts before the new manager arrives unless it's provisional based on how the two parties will get on with each other. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 McLaren and Holmes can clearly cut it at this level.... Where did I suggest they couldn't? -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I thought you were meaning Harris et al, but that's why I think it's a shit situation to be in. They can cut it at this level but the new manager doesn't have a chance of keeping them. In reality the new manager will have the same chance of keeping them as he would anyone else in that formally released or not he could still offer them a deal if he wanted to. Ok, McLaren has already agreed to join Accies and will presumably sign for them on Wednesday so he can't keep him but then he couldn't have done anyway even if a deal had been offered since clearly Accies deal will be better than what we might have been able to offer. I'm not really sure why they bothered making a formal release of the three players they did. Come Wednesday all the players will be in the same position whether they've been offered deals or not. They will be out of work footballers looking for a new club willing to pay them as close to their current salary as they can get (or more in a few cases). If we have a new manager within a week or two (as seems likely) he'll be able to approach our (ex)players as well as any other unemployed players to start forming a squad. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Sending the formal release letter, might make Holmes mind up for him. It may well do though I doubt it would make much difference in his case anyway. I know he was deeply unhappy with the abuse he got from the a fair proportion of the crowd latterly and didn't take a lap of honour with his team-mates after the last game for that reason. I imagine it's also why he didn't go to the End of Season Dance. In his case his impending departure was a formality regardless of what he'd been offered. I hope he does well wherever he ends up though because he really is a decent guy. -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 On the manager front, McBookie have taken down their selections. Do they know something we don't? Connolly was fav. with Chisholm just behind. Scally and Thomson were a good price at 4/1 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUMFRIES_CREW Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 (edited) On the manager front, McBookie have taken down their selections. Do they know something we don't? Connolly was fav. with Chisholm just behind. Scally and Thomson were a good price at 4/1 Pub rumours from last night that its Connolly Edited May 29, 2011 by DUMFRIES_CREW 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkyblue2 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 On the manager front, McBookie have taken down their selections. Do they know something we don't? Connolly was fav. with Chisholm just behind. Scally and Thomson were a good price at 4/1 KB will be right, 2nd division here we come if any of them get the gig. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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