wellfan

Losing Spittal to a direct rival would be a big blow. His goals and assists have been vital for us, and he's probably and deservedly one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Give me a couple of weeks to contact Panelbase.

If we sign two fit strikers and a solid centre-back, we might just start to score more than we concede.

I don't think you can equate this statement with my view that one win in eighteen is simply unacceptable. Being aggrieved by that poor record is far from being a person who believes we should win everything. It doesn't have to be a feast or a famine. We've had calm heads and supported him, as a club, by giving him another transfer window, which many would argue is undeserved.

There are probably posts of mine somewhere here where I've said no to both. No matter who the manager is/was, I'd always be calling for them to be replaced if they were responsible for the current victory drought.

He's going nowhere this season, but I’ll be extremely disappointed if he's offered a new contract in the summer. Whichever way you square it, one league win in eighteen games is simply unacceptable.

Fuck it. 1-3. Bair hat-trick.

The weather looks fine in Perth. Storm Isha and Jocelyn have passed. It's a bit gusty and drizzly, but that's due to peak by noon and then calm down into the afternoon, according to my weather app.

At the time of them both signing, Biereth came from Arsenal and Obika did not. I see your point, but let's not compare apples with oranges. Signing a promising young player with an injury history on loan from an Arsenal or a Celtic is not the same as signing an older player with an injury history on a permanent deal. Back to the thread topic, I’m heading to Perth today, so let's hope Bair proves me wrong.

Stupidity.

As I've previously posted, I think it's fairly reasonable to suggest that, as a start, it's definitely possible to avoid signing players with a known injury record or poor goalscoring record. It doesn't have to be them or a Biereth. Such an argument is defeatist.

Except we failed to understand that Biereth could've been offski after 6 months if he did well, which has left us relying on a player who was originally signed to be our 3rd or 4th choice striker. We've no other options because, Biereth aside, our striker recruitment has been far from good enough. So, if we want to naively rely on quality loanees, then we need a Biereth lined up every window. We can't allow ourselves to be blindsided at the same time as we’re trying to develop projects and nurse crocks. It's hopeless.

Correct. But that's the risk a club runs when it puts all its eggs in a loanee-shaped basket to make up for its permanent strikers being crocks or crap. No club should do business in such a way that it makes them reliant on loanees; it's too risky. Loanees should be seen as temporary solutions and bonuses.

And I'd rather have Bair than Obika, but it shouldn't have to be a choice between a player with a stinking scoring record and one with a bad injury history, but here we are because we signed both.

https://twitter.com/search?q=Alen Ozbolt&src=typeahead_click&f=live

No, but you can implement strategies to mitigate against the risk of non-contact soft tissue injuries in training and during games. Strength and conditioning training in addition to footballing drills is one key example, and another could be recovery methods or nutrition. I'd say that there's a lot more to it than just accepting that certain types of recurring injuries across an entire squad are part and parcel of the game. At the very least, we could avoid signing players with known injury records. I'd rather have an average player on the park than a good player permanently on the treatment table. Monty's previous hammy injury record was known, as was Obika's.

Mark Ferrie.

If the news about Monty is correct, it means we'll not likely see any more of Gent as a left inside forward, which is a real shame as the two of them looked good together on the left against Alloa, and Gent was excellent in that more advanced position. Furthermore, who's cursed us?

I'll see you here again in May.

He's definitely in the forward category on our website squad list. As others note, however, he's played mainly as an attack-minded left midfielder/winger. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sam-nicholson/profil/spieler/169573

I agree with you on Miller. I also think Mugabi will start this game, as his powerful heading will be needed to deal with the inevitable many balls shelled into the box and long balls over the top. Butcher doesn't seem able to deal with those (E.g. Butcher vs Sammon). So, I think we'll see the same team and starting formation as the Alloa game, with Miller, Halliday, Elliot, and Nicholson to come off the bench and change things when/if needed in the second half.

I've already addressed some of those points here: https://www.steelmenonline.co.uk/forums/topic/18449-202324-ins-outs-discussion/?do=findComment&comment=632655

As I said above, if we’re content to settle for the likes of Bair, we’re screwed.

Bair's goal-scoring record before signing for us was (I think) 8 in 95. But, if we're content to use Bair as our yardstick for success now, that is a quick race to the bottom. To see how he stacks up this season, see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-premiership/top-scorers However, to address your point with another point, other non-old firm clubs will have signed players this summer who have scored less than Bair, but those clubs will also have more than just him as their sole fit and available striker.

To address both posts, I don’t know how many times I and others have to say this, but here it is again: We're in this position because he made an arse of the summer window in terms of strikers. He's the manager and it's on him. That's my view and others can have their view, but if some people want to call me a fud then they've lost the debate. He resigned Obika knowing fine well that we was an injury risk. Poor recruitment. He signed Wilkinson, who contributed little and is now gone. Poor recruitment He signed Shaw, who contributed nothing and is now gone. Poor recruitment. He signed Biereth, which is his only good bit of business, but it's risky business to end up in the position of having to rely on loanees, and he's now gone. He signed Bair, who everyone knew had a poor record in front of goal. Poor recruitment. He put Tierney out on loan and released McKinstry, and didn't replace them, effectively meaning we could only play one style as he settled on having no number 10s or wingers. This may have been a budget decision, however. I could go on, but there's no point. The outcome of all of this is that we're 2 days away from our first league game after the window and we currently only have one recognised first-team striker, and that player was signed as a long-term project, who was likely set to be 3rd or 4th choice at that time. We're in the Premiership FFS; this is a ridiculous position to be in. Yes, he's been good at moving players on, but he wouldn't have to move players on if he didn't make errors of judgement in signing them in the first place. Yes, he's been stung by injuries to Obika, but he should've known that would happen and not signed him again. All told, perhaps some holding his hands up instead of making the usual excuses wouldn't go amiss. That would be the honesty and ownership that I want. Such behaviour draws respect and suggests an individual is capable of learning from their experiences and mistakes.