wellsince75

Point was our defence has been really poor - the stats and data back that up . offering the same guys contracts doesn’t stack up to me , unless we’re happy to accept similar amount of goals conceded .

You're spot on. From what's been shared we made offers to S'OD, McGinn, Butcher, Mugabi and OX . Keep doing the same thing and expecting different results is insanity. From the current defence the one guy we really want to sign is Gent, which we may be able to do depending where Bair is headed but none if it inspires confidence that SK knows what he's doing in the transfer market. I'm not worried about who we haven't signed but offering so many contracts to so many who have proven not to be consistent performers concerns me.

Slattery is a much better forward thinking player as proposed to a hard working grafting midfielder. For me he and Spittal together with a 3rd midfielder was never the right balance . The watch out for me is if Nicholson and Slattery both play then we'll need a couple of other defensive/grafters to tuck in behind them and do the grunt work.

At 29 he shouldn't be passed it. I'm more enthused about him staying than I am re Halliday. He has shown some very decent skill and has had an impact on several games BUT it''s been limited and often been anonymous in many games. Is he good enough to replace Spittal ? Time will tell but we should remember the 'aw naw brigade' when we first signed Spittal.

I hear you David . The broader the net the broader the opportunity of getting good players. Re Shields - it was a massive gamble. He'd scored something like 20 goals in over 100 appearances at lower level - albeit 8 in his final season before coming to us. The data of 1 goal every 5-6 games should have been a red flag At least the likes of Parton has notched up c50 goals in 100 appearances - that's the kind of player I'd love to see us land. Guys who've actually got a decent record.

agree - would prefer not to go for someone with a proven record of not scoring I'd like to think we'd be making moves for some of the better strikers in the Scottish Championship - likes of Paton , 23years old and scored +20 goals per season. Appreciate may need a small signing fee .

I honestly don't see the point in giving squad players who aren't ever going to be first 11 a new contract. I'd prefer to have youngsters as a back up and go and recruit some decent players. Personally I'd have been more brutal and let the likes of S'OD, Mugabi and Ox go. Although easier said than done now is the time to recruit a very good goal keeper, central defenders and quality defensive midfielder.

Spittal proved to be a great signing and this season particularly was at the heart of everything that was positive. Watching the clips highlights how many assists he got. He's going to be very hard to replace .

Reflections are there's not a huge amount to be excited about. At best glad we avoided relegation. With a reduced budget 9th was always a likely outcome and after a horrendous run of 17 game it became a decent outcome. I'm struggling to see any progress as a club. When I look at the squad I don't see many young Scots coming through or many young anything coming through. The positives were young Miller , Gent, Bair & Spittal. All of whom may not be here next season. We like most of Scottish football are regressing, sadly I think we're regressing quicker than many. I'm sick of signing journeyman from lower reaches of England and equally fed up listening about the lack of funds, offering the same duds new contracts. The glimmer of hope is new investment, new CEO etc may kick us up the backside and move us forward.

the way debates are going Halliday could be in goals next season.

Given the budget cuts 9th is about where we expected for the season. Think most are in the camp that we don't want a rotating door for mgrs. SK is a decent man manager and will continue in role. I think he needs to improve though, both he and the squad need to evolve over the next period. Like a few have said we need to clear out and be ruthless towards players that simply cost us too many goals too often. Sounds like an easy job but our perm recruitment has been poor. For me it's the loan signings + Miller + Bair + Spittal that kept us safe. Will also be tough to replace likes of Miller & Spittal. With a new CEO and potential investment I really hope we start seeing a better brand of football. Not expecting total football , for now a team doing simple things well with some hope for the future will be enough.

I always liked O'Hara. There were lots of mix views about him and think he's kicked on since moving to StM

Sod has many positive attributes and imo gets a rougher time than most reason for my comment is his days of pushing up as a RwB are behind him . Very nice guy and want him around but don’t see him as a automatic start in first 11

very reasonable list. I've not see Ox enough to say if good enough to retain. I've been a reasonable advocate of SOD, he comes across well , local guy etc but as long as he's squad player only rather than starting 11.

If we have an offer in/around £1M then we should take it. I can see many championship level clubs being interested and think it's good money for someone we pulled in for free. Also helps attract other players to join us. The club and mgr are doing a great job at getting. XX% more out of players.

We will always have high/low points to a season. In terms of what he's been asked to do re league position I'd say he's delivered . To secure 7-9th with a lower budget is job done. Comes across as a good man manager, getting the most out of players. Would really like to see an improvement in recruitment. Some loanees have been very decent, could do landing some decent perm 1st team regulars.

another excellent result - great to turn them over, particularly given our performance up there earlier in the season. We started and have ended the season very well. Beating Hibs next week could see us finish 7th.

yes - feed the Blair. Good to see him back amongst the goals. Excellent start - loving that we've come out the traps hard today.

was trying to point out that although he has flaws he's better than the majority of keepers we've had on our books in the last decade. Fully appreciate we all see things differently though. You're right about developing our own keeper, Maxwell came in just after Nicky Walker was sold. From memory took him a few years to cement himself first choice v's likes of Gardiner. Was surprised to see Maxwell played less games for us than Kelly has .

Re Kelly Honestly think be careful what you wish for. Most players we've replaced in recent years have been downgraded to a poorer version. This could easily happen (probable even) assuming Kelly moves on. Understandably we recall keepers over recent times like Gillespie, Carson, Randolph Ruddy. When Kelly first appeared on the scene it was because we had Archer and Chapman and he was an immediate upgrade. Add to that he had Hartley and Gallagher in central defence who gave superior protection to what we have now. I looked through the recent list of keepers: Carson, Chapman, Archer, Gillespie, Ferguson, Ox, Griffiths, Samson,Ripley, Twardzick, Long and quickly came to the conclusion that Kelly has been one of our better goal keepers in the last +10 years. The bigger issue over recent seasons for me isn't Kelly, it's the lack of protection and allowing oppositions to easily penetrate his weaknesses. He for me is one of the good guys, with lots of quality and clearly cares about the club. Not someone we should assume is replaceable , particularly given how poor our recruitment team have been with perm signings since Dawes has come on board.

Agree with you @bobbybingo there's lots of room for defensive improvements. Not only to replace individual defenders , I'd add midfield is a big part of the problem. The amount of teams who simply cut through our midfield isn't good enough, coupled with the inability to prevent and win the balll coming into our box.

to be fair it's a long hard season and players deserve a holiday /break - think thats why we have it with a couple of games to go. young player of season will be Miller player of season for me is Spittal - when he plays well we play well and has scored some bangers.

I'd just sit Halliday in front of the defence to break up plays and give a steer to the rest of midfield. Concerned that his legs are gone, a bit like Butcher mk2.

Delighted we're in the mix with Hibs/Aberdeen for 7th. Be interesting to see if further changes will be made to starting 11 in remaining games. Nicholson and some of the other fringe players may get a bit more game time. Must be a tricky balance as finishing 7th rather than 9th will strengthen the budget for next season v's giving some players a bit more time to show what they can do. Was looking at the squad and had forgotten about Calan Elliot the NZ right back that joined until end of the season. Assuming we'll never see him.

we will miss Livi in this league - we picked up plenty of points against them in recent years. Well done today lads - further breathing space.