Sons' sorrow

[super-son]

I highly doubt that Layne will be joining us, especially as we have signed 2 other tall strikers. I would be pretty concerned if we were looking for a third 6'2+ striker.

The only players left that I would hope to maybe keep on would be Wardrop, McKee and Hutton (probably away but I think we will miss him).

We could be doing with a quick nippy striker as an option up front.

[Jan Vojáček]

1 minute ago, super-son said:

I highly doubt that Layne will be joining us, especially as we have signed 2 other tall strikers. I would be pretty concerned if we were looking for a third 6'2+ striker.

The only players left that I would hope to maybe keep on would be Wardrop, McKee and Hutton (probably away but I think we will miss him).

We could be doing with a quick nippy striker as an option up front.

I wonder if we might see PJ playing through the middle a wee bit more as that option. I quite liked him up top, he's a decent finisher and it means he isn't just trying to beat the same full-back with the same skills all the time.

[lorenzo71]

Just now, Jan Vojáček said:

I wonder if we might see PJ playing through the middle a wee bit more as that option. I quite liked him up top, he's a decent finisher and it means he isn't just trying to beat the same full-back with the same skills all the time.

Was effective in that role vs Forfar away and raith away in December.Especially after Layne went off injured.

Could be right about Brennan many other decent keepers out there.Someone mentioned Rohan Ferguson but that could be a wind-up.Certainly plenty keepers out there.Danny Rogers is free i believe.....

[super-son]

4 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I wonder if we might see PJ playing through the middle a wee bit more as that option. I quite liked him up top, he's a decent finisher and it means he isn't just trying to beat the same full-back with the same skills all the time.

You could be right.

In that case we need another winger in to fill the opposite side from Forbes, who I imagine will be played wide again, although if Forbes played centrally with Carswell it might not be too bad. The problem last year was there was not a chance in hell we could play Forbes with Hutton in the middle.

Guess we will need to wait and see what other players come in before we can piece together who is playing where.

[cameron2000]

I wonder if we might see PJ playing through the middle a wee bit more as that option. I quite liked him up top, he's a decent finisher and it means he isn't just trying to beat the same full-back with the same skills all the time.

I agree with this. I feel he’s not quick enough to be a consistent threat out wide - he just struggles to have much impact against competent full backs.

He’s definitely not slow though and is fairly strong. When played up top he’s effective holding the ball up, spinning centre backs and releasing it plus his shooting isn’t too bad at all.

[lorenzo71]

2 minutes ago, cameron2000 said:

I agree with this. I feel he’s not quick enough to be a consistent threat out wide - he just struggles to have much impact against competent full backs.

He’s definitely not slow though and is fairly strong. When played up top he’s effective holding the ball up, spinning centre backs and releasing it plus his shooting isn’t too bad at all.

He can score from distance which is always a plus.His goal at Links Park was a peach.

[sarti pooh]

1 hour ago, lorenzo71 said:

Was effective in that role vs Forfar away and raith away in December.Especially after Layne went off injured.

Could be right about Brennan many other decent keepers out there.Someone mentioned Rohan Ferguson but that could be a wind-up.Certainly plenty keepers out there.Danny Rogers is free i believe.....

Killie snapped Danny up

[Jan Vojáček]

1 hour ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I don’t think we’ll be seeing Hutton or Layne again tbh and I’m alright with that. I’m actually quite looking forward to seeing who we replace them with.
 

As for Brennan, I sincerely hope we’re looking for a new keeper. He’s a solid backup option but I’m far from convinced with him as a No 1 and I’m not sure our defenders are either. 
 

Now that Crossan has signed up and Layne and Hutton are as good as gone it’s only really Joe McKee I’d want to retain from last year’s squad.  I also wouldn’t be against chucking a deal Sam Wardrop’s way. 

Speaking of right-backs, I noticed big David Ferguson's name popping up on the PFA website the other day. That's not to say he's definitely available - but I'd be really pleased if we could bring him back. Ferguson/Neill/McGeever and Rico would be a pretty solid, reliable back four.

His move to Peterhead didn't seem to work out, he only started 13 games last season, so I'm guessing he might be keen on a permanent return too.

[The Moonster]

2 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Andy Graham told me last year that he thought PJ Crossan was a good player. 

I can't remember who it was, I think it was a member of our squad (maybe Carswell or Hutton) that said PJ is more than capable of playing at a higher level. I fully agree with that but...

2 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

fire up his attitude 

...he needs to sort this. I actually don't think his attitude is bad, perhaps just misguided. You can't ever accuse him of not being interested, if anything he tries immensely to do too much. But I think the problems start early in games - if he can get past his man or start with something positive, he grows into a game. If something goes wrong early, he'll get frustrated quite quickly. I do think playing him out wide adds to his frustration, which leads me quite well to the next point...

1 hour ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I wonder if we might see PJ playing through the middle a wee bit more as that option. I quite liked him up top, he's a decent finisher and it means he isn't just trying to beat the same full-back with the same skills all the time.

...I'd agree with this. PJ said himself he doesn't like doing the defensive work and he much prefers playing as a striker. I think the frustration he shows on the wing might be lessened if he was playing up front. He is also definitely, 100% the best finisher we have on our books at the moment, so I'm all for giving him a go up front in a 4-4-2 formation.

We all just need to cross our fingers and hope that super Joe will sign on the dotted line shortly. If we get him signed up I'll be really pleased with the core of the squad we've got.

[lorenzo71]

9 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I can't remember who it was, I think it was a member of our squad (maybe Carswell or Hutton) that said PJ is more than capable of playing at a higher level. I fully agree with that but...

...he needs to sort this. I actually don't think his attitude is bad, perhaps just misguided. You can't ever accuse him of not being interested, if anything he tries immensely to do too much. But I think the problems start early in games - if he can get past his man or start with something positive, he grows into a game. If something goes wrong early, he'll get frustrated quite quickly. I do think playing him out wide adds to his frustration, which leads me quite well to the next point...

...I'd agree with this. PJ said himself he doesn't like doing the defensive work and he much prefers playing as a striker. I think the frustration he shows on the wing might be lessened if he was playing up front. He is also definitely, 100% the best finisher we have on our books at the moment, so I'm all for giving him a go up front in a 4-4-2 formation.

We all just need to cross our fingers and hope that super Joe will sign on the dotted line shortly. If we get him signed up I'll be really pleased with the core of the squad we've got.

I think most of us would echo that sentiment but it is truly amazing that with those same players last year we thought we would be cannon fodder.

A lot will depend on the next 8 or 9 signings we get as to whether we will be in with a shout of a play-off spot.(top 4)

[lorenzo71]

37 minutes ago, sarti pooh said:

Killie snapped Danny up

Ok cheers missed that.

[The Moonster]

9 minutes ago, lorenzo71 said:

I think most of us would echo that sentiment but it is truly amazing that with those same players last year we thought we would be cannon fodder.

A lot will depend on the next 8 or 9 signings we get as to whether we will be in with a shout of a play-off spot.(top 4)

Absolutely. Everyone tipped us for bottom spot last season but after the first few weeks we got into gear and proved we were a capable League 1 side. We could still end up cannon fodder this coming season, but I am hopeful that with 6 loan spaces available and a gaffer who is almost universally liked in Scottish football that we'll see some decent quality arrive on loan.

[Jan Vojáček]

1 minute ago, The Moonster said:

Absolutely. Everyone tipped us for bottom spot last season but after the first few weeks we got into gear and proved we were a capable League 1 side. We could still end up cannon fodder this coming season, but I am hopeful that with 6 loan spaces available and a gaffer who is almost universally liked in Scottish football that we'll see some decent quality arrive on loan.

I also think that our squad building has felt far more planned, positive and less rushed than last season.

Look at the players we have signed; Carswell, Crossan, Forbes, Johnstone, Jones, Langan, McCluskey, McGeever, Neill and Rico. With the exception of Jones they are all proven League One players.

Last season we had the likes of Tierney, Zata, Pettigrew, Scullion, McMillan, Crawford and Shiels. All of whom were either unproven or had been playing at a far lower level. I had totally forgotten about Jordan McMillan until I was typing that list too.

[PWL]

I might be wildly exaggerating but I don't recall us in re-signing quite so much of a previous season's squad in the one year contract era. It's usually an annual merry-go-round. 

A reflection of the way the club approached things during lock down perhaps? Or am I just over egging it and folk are taking any contact offered in these trying financial times.  

A positive start nonetheless.  

[The Moonster]

5 minutes ago, PWL said:

I might be wildly exaggerating but I don't recall us in re-signing quite so much of a previous season's squad in the one year contract era. It's usually an annual merry-go-round. 

A reflection of the way the club approached things during lock down perhaps? Or am I just over egging it and folk are taking any contact offered in these trying financial times.  

A positive start nonetheless.  

We kept a lot of the Championship side after our first year up there but you're right that we seem to be looking to avoid huge changes this time round. It can only be a good thing IMO. If you look at Arbroath, they don't have a huge number of players you looked at and think "they really were too good for this level", they've just had a tight group of players who were used to each other, a good manager and some quality scattered in key areas. That doesn't appear unachievable for us right now IMO.

[microdave]

I might be wildly exaggerating but I don't recall us in re-signing quite so much of a previous season's squad in the one year contract era. It's usually an annual merry-go-round. 
A reflection of the way the club approached things during lock down perhaps? Or am I just over egging it and folk are taking any contact offered in these trying financial times.  
A positive start nonetheless.  

We've signed nine of last season's squad so far which is the highest since 2014 when 14 were signed up by the time the window closed.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

We kept a lot of the Championship side after our first year up there but you're right that we seem to be looking to avoid huge changes this time round. It can only be a good thing IMO. If you look at Arbroath, they don't have a huge number of players you looked at and think "they really were too good for this level", they've just had a tight group of players who were used to each other, a good manager and some quality scattered in key areas. That doesn't appear unachievable for us right now IMO.

Absolutely this. I’ve been sayin this for a while now and its good to see the better players being retained. I just hope some of the less effective players from last season aren’t also retained, if we upgrade on them we’ll be in a decent place. I wouldn’t have kept McCluskey but as an option from the bench against tiring defences he could be handy. Is Andy Stirling still at Stranraer? Someone of his ilk to walk straight into the team would be ideal tbh. 

[sonsism]

Pretty pleased with the business done so far. If we could get McKee signed up it would be brilliant but I can imagine a few other clubs catching his interest (if I remember correctly we weren’t his first choice last season).

The shorter season is slightly worrying me since we always have a rancid spell during the course of the season before picking up a lot of points later on. I suppose on the flip side starting in October might mean we avoid the usual slow start to the season.

As has been said if we are clever in the loan market this season we could really have the makings of a good team.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Are Turnberry continuing as shirt sponsors or has that deal now ended? I’d imagine we have something sorted if we are taking pre orders etc. 

[Jan Vojáček]

As those of you who rushed out to buy your copy on Tuesday morning will know, there's a fair bit of DFC stuff in this week's Lennox.

My chat with Stefan McCluskey is now up online, so give it a read and kill a few minutes of your Wednesday morning if you haven't already. He's very fired up about this season, and certainly honest about not being pleased with his own showings last year.