joewarkfanclub

Thought the defence was pretty solid today so it has to be one of them. Blaney and Casey much better than in recent weeks helped by Gordon who is going to be a real asset to the team. Wilson had his best game to date and really grew into the game. Really unlucky not to score. I went for the much maligned SOD. Thought he got up and down the wing well today to give us an out ball and his delivery was pretty decent. But for some poor finishing and great goalkeeping he might have had a couple of assists.

I like Nicholson. I think he has ability. But he is a different kind if player and Im not sure he has the number of assists in him that Spittal provided. I actually dont see Spittal stuck on the bench all season anyway. Hearts have a lot of games to play this season and will need to rotate their squad with injuries, suspensions etc.

The ideal situation would be for a young player to come through, play 100 games for us and then be sold on for a decent fee, even if that is just the development fee. That way we get the feelgood factor of seeing one of our own come through, get the benefit of having them in the team and the icing on the cake at the end. Unfortunately modern football makes that much harder to achieve with the many variables that exist. Im hopeful we will get close to that with Lennon Miller. But players like him are becoming the exception to the rule. I do agree with Steelboy to an extent though, in that I dont view the risk on trying to develop a young player through the first team is necessarily that much greater than some of the lower league imports we have relied upon in recent years to fill our bench.

Not bothered with Kelly so much as I dont think we will miss him. But if Spittal spends the whole season on the Hearts bench it will be really annoying. I get that Hearts will be paying him significantly more than we can afford, but a player of his quality should be getting first team football every week. He will be a miss for us this season and Im not sure yet that Nicholson, Callachan or Stuparevic will be able to fill the void.

Absolute worldy from Dom Thomas last night..... https://www.facebook.com/share/v/3fFxhNYPK8K1Avhm/

I think its always best to remember someone for the good that they did rather than the occasions they let themselves down. So I thank Jim for his service to the club and wish him well for the future. I do wonder though, given his parting words, whether he now regrets the way it ended...... "The overall effect of this operational and managerial professionalism has left the Club in a very stable financial position. The combination of income from future player sales and the additional growth and investment promised in the Well Society’s business plan, means the Club has never been in a better place."

Didnt we have that rule a few years back. I seem to recall a lot of young players on the bench but never getting game time, which harmed their development more than putting them out on loan. I realise there are financial implications, but the demise if the reserve league hasnt helped player development.

Was the meet the manager event filmed? And will it be available to view on the website? Id certainly be interested to see content like that as I dont live locally. Similarly if the AGM was available online Id probably watch that.

Of course, it IS the SPFL we are talking about so.........😆😆😆

Well, its not been the greatest pre season, primarily because too many of our new signings for key positions are injured leaving us no choice to play those already in the building and some development players. Ive been impressed with Dylan Wells. I think he has something abd we could do worse to keep him around. I think Wilson is solid enough and wouls be fine in a back four but expect Seddon to start in front of him. Ferrie still isnt ready. He needs a season long loan as he wont be getting many minutes when fit. Given that SK seems hell bent on 3 at the back, I think our best starting 11, not counting longer term injuries could be....... Heygi/Ox McGinn Gordon Balmer Kaleta Seddon Miller Davor Robinson Stama Stuparevic

I was joking! The smiley faces and choice of venue were a clue bud!

Replay at a neutral venue. Probably Dingwall on a Tuesday night! 😆😆😆

The time to judge SK will be once he has had a run of games with HIS players in the starting 11. If we get to October and Heygi, Kaleta, Balmer, Gordon, Seddon, Callaghan, Sparrow, Stuparevic, Robinson, Stamatelopoulos etc are still all firing blanks and we are bottom of the table then there is a discussion to be had. Aye the League Cup group stage was shite to watch, but its rarely anything more than that and we have a winnable home tie against a team with bigger fish to fry. The real stuff starts Saturday.

I concur. But McMahon, Dickie and Feely have to go. They are the negative distraction.

Him being a Celtic fan doesnt bother me. Disrespecting the club that gave him his start in the game does. As the captain of the only team to lift a trophy in my lifetime he should be in my top 10 Well players. The fact that he isnt says a lot. I dont hate him. Just dont like him very much.

If only we had someone who could deliver a long throw...... Oh wait! 😆😆😆

Im just gonna keep practising his name until he gets here! STAM-A-TE-LOPOULOS! 🧡❤️🧡❤️🧡❤️🧡❤️🧡

Some very good videos of the boy over on P&B. Looks very good in the air. Finished well with his left and right foot. Seems to have a really good attitude towards the game and both he and his missus seem like really nice people! Clearly we arent paying a fee for him to be a second choice striker, so he must be getting viewed as a first pick. His stats are also encouraging. Obviously a little bit of a health warning, as its the A-League, but when youve been used to fishing around the lower tiers in England, I dont think we can be too sniffy about that. It also puts into perspective the fact that our outgoing chairman was willing to give away control of our club for the price of this guy. Just need a proper Spittal replacement now to back up/support Nicholson and to elect a new executive board and I think we are in decent shape going forward!

Thought Halliday did ok when he came on and Stuparevic looks to have something about him if we can get him fit. But Lennon Miller was MOTM again for me by a distance. His weight of pass at times is just sublime.

All a bit ponderous again today. Thought we started poorly and caused ourselves problems with poor concentration at the back. Two up front certainly helped fashion a few more chances but we didnt take enough of them to put the game to bed and it gave us much less control of the midfield. Still not a fan of 3 at the back without the dynamic wing backs to support it, but no signs of SK going to a 4 even with his current limited options. Still, we got the job done and its another 90 mins closer to full fitness. Just hope some of our injured/new players are a bit closer to a start for next week. Onwards and upwards.....

Its not horrible, but..... The tartan trim on the sleeves is too big. They shoulda made it more subtle like the trim round the neck. Also not too fussed on v neck shirts. And Id pay more to get it without the sponsor!

Not a lot to add to the comments already made. I didnt think it was a shocking performance. But it had training session vibes for the most part and in truth Montrose didnt trouble our defence at all until about 80 minutes. The fact that we didnt press hard enough for the second goal and missed the couple of decent chances we did create was ultimately our downfall. Thought big Oxborough looked decent with the little he had to do. Took one cross ball very competently, made a good save for their first shot and saved a pen. He looks an absolute unit, which is a good start for a goalkeeper in my mind. I thought of all our players Casey had the poorest game. Just didnt look comfortable on the ball. Looks the centre half most at risk once SK settles on who his final 3 are. Halliday looked fitter to me than last season and did ok, but as others have said, neither he nor Paton have the legs to perform that role. Here's hoping this game doesnt come back to bite us. But we will need a different team selection and improved performance on Saturday.

The league cup is always tricky as you have to navigate getting players minutes, no aggravating any minor injuries, whilst at the same time trying to win games and top the group. Already having 6 players with injuries before we started only made things that bit trickier. I would hope as players return to full fitness we will see some changes to personnel. Until then we just need to stay patient and see what transpires. If we go into our first league game with a loan striker supported by Paron and Halliday, then I will start to get concerned. Clyde are a step up from Edinburgh and Montrose, hopefully we will see the same progression from our team. A new signing before then would help improve the mood!