Kmcalpin

Am I the only one who is a bit concerned about our central defence? Ben Heneghan may move on and we don't know yet. Stephen McManus is 35 in September and has long term injury problems. Thats our central defence apart from Carl McHugh who was signed as a midfielder. No rumours yet about bringing in new central defenders.

I agree 100% Denny. The lad is 23 years of age; still young and inexperienced in football terms. Looking back over the past season he was being mentored by an experienced pro in McManus, who was eventually sidelined for months. Carl McHugh, hardly a veteran at 24, then stepped in to the breach. So his mentoring was hardly a success. Add to that, that he had to cover at times for a defensively weak Tait (when he's been fit) and a different picture begins to emerge. If that wasn't enough he, along with his central defensive colleagues, have received little or no defensive cover from a weak central midfield. And, if even that wasn't enough he's had to adapt his game to protect a much more experienced but unreliable keeper who wouldn't venture off his line. Yes he's made mistakes but we need to cut him some slack. Would Burnley be interested in a central defender who had limited ability? I doubt it. I'm also puzzled at comments about Stevie Hammell's replacement. No manager has seriously tried to replace him. ZFA a young erratic potential long term replacement didn't work out. Tony Straker, a bombscare, was brought in to solve a crisis, which he didn't. Joe Chalmers was brought in as a cheap medium term replacement, who just didn't work out. In short, Stevie has never been challenged by a serious competitor - no manager has really tried to challenge his position.

A bit OTT and condescending I'd say. Spiderpig has expressed a perfectly reasonable argument although you may not agree with it. If Las is appointed there will be pros and cons. On the plus side, he knows the club and many of the players inside out. He's got his coaching badges and has some relevant experience with the Under 20s. He's also been captain for a number of years. On the debit side, he may be too close to some of the players and yes take an old boys view to some extent. He may also not be able to take a fresh view of things and does lack experience. Remember too that Robbo isn't an experienced manager. My view? I'm hedging my bets - not a bad appointment, if it comes to pass, but yes a bit of a gamble.

Well done again Iain. I'll send £15 to you.

I don't know much our new signings but good luck to each and every one. In terms of the type of midfielder we've signed I don't know that they could be described as being "creative". Attacking yes but not creative in the purest sense. We have lacked someone who can make killer passes or spot gaps in packed defences, when teams park their buses against us. Time will tell.

Home kit is fine but I don't like the away one. I don't see the connection with our club. The colours are more suited to Clyde perhaps?

Certainly encouraging yes, but its early doors. Hopefully we'll see an overall increase in season ticket update. However it could just mean that folk are renewing earlier. We'll know which one it is by early August.

From comments picked up so far I'd say something along the lines of Goalie, Right Back/Centre Back, Left Back, Centre Back and attacking midfielder.

No. No doubt the likes of Lee MacCulloch, Neil McCann, Alan Archibald et al will know all about our signing targets. Still, things should be kept quiet until everything is signed sealed and delivered. Speculation in the close season is fun though isn't it?

He's ok but better going forward than defending. However, what if Robbo doesn't fancy Jack MacMillan or doesn't think he's ready yet? We do seem to be short in that area. Left back is more of a priority though.

Pretty much agree with that and with other posters along the same lines. Although we seem to have a surfeit of midfield players the balance or mix has been all wrong. In the centre we've lacked pace and creativity. In many games even against inferior opposition we've struggled. It now seems as though Stephen Robinson is getting to grips with that deficiency. I know its academic now but I can't believe just how lazy or inadequate our recruitment process was last year. It seems our almost our whole support has been aware of our midfield problems for years and yet nothing has been done about it until now. Better late than never! Its encouraging that that seems to be changing.

My goal would be to finish mid table, maybe even 6th. Certainly well away from the relegation dogfight. A decent cup run too, based on good cup draws.

I too am impressed by the way the boss, and our club, have gone about their business. Good to see some signings early on and that will help us prepare for the new campaign ahead. I'd be very wary about taking ex Tannadice signings. Looking at the names who were freed I really wouldn't want any of them.

Ah well we'll receive a nice fee for the game. £££££££££

Apparently so. I'm totally gobsmacked. Its not unlikely that Stephen Robinson will simply not play him unless in an emergency. He may of course play with Under 20s in a playing / coaching role.

Just listened to Stephen Robinson's interview and although I've been unsure of him in the past he did speak well. Maybe significant he talked about strengthening both full back positions. Good to hear him say also that a club needs to do something different each year - I couldn't agree more. One things for sure, a club's competitors don't stand still.

Quite. I get the impression that both Frear and now Tanner are speed merchants but we still lack a creative midfielder. Midfield is all about balance; the right mix of skills and talents if you like and over the past few seasons we just haven't got it right. Good to see Carson sign. He seems a decent keeper.

Maybe not a priority right now but I'd like to see Stephen Craigan source an up and coming left back for our Under 20s. This will probably be Stevie Hammell's last year with us and there doesn't seem to be any young left back on the horizon to act as back up next season (2018-19). I'm sure the management will be aware of this deficiency.

I agree about defence being our priority. It should not just be about filling vacancies though; it has to be about strengthening it too. Lets not forget we had one of the most porous defences in the league last season. A stronger central midfield and a decent keeper will certainly help. Yes, we do need 2 keepers. Right back? A lot depends on whether the boss rates MacMillan or not. If not we need cover. Tait is not the best defensively either. Central defence? (assuming Heneghan doesn't move on): We need one experienced player at the very least, maybe two if McManus has serious injury problems. I really don't want to see McHugh hauled out of midfield again.. save in an emergency. Left back? We need a first pick left back. Top priority for me is an out and out defender.

Absolutely!

Agreed Allan. I think we need a few more players than that though. As things stand, and they may well change, we need: a first keeper a depute keeper a right back depending on whether Robinson rates MacMillan a left back at least one centre half, maybe two depending on McManus' fitness. an attacking or good box to box central midfielder. We may need to supplement that if players like Moult or Heneghan leave. A lot will depend too on the progress of our young lads like MacLean, Campbell, Hastie, Watt, Livingstone and Maguire. Interesting times ahead but good to see us rebuilding early on in the summer.

I go along with that. That formation just doesn't suit us despite the like of McCall, Baraclough, and McGhee playing it at various times.

Indirectly connected to us - St Johnstone seem to operating in the same market as us, surprise surprise. Stefan Scougall has rejected their advances and Rangers have turned down their approach for O'Halloran.

More than a bit of truth in that. As I see it he'll be a squad player not a regular first pick. His record and statistics certainly doesn't seem overly impressive. However the mark of a good manager in my eyes is someone who can take an unfancied player, who perhaps wasn't used correctly by his previous club, and then get the best out of him; getting him to punch above his weight. The proof of the pudding and all that......

Its been said already by the Society that we don't need to sell a player to survive this coming season. However longer term, in terms of repayments and day to day survival, yes we do need to sell and Moult will be part of that planned income stream.