Kmcalpin

In terms of season ticket prices I guess we'd be somewhere around the level of an English League 1 club. Prices for beverages and grub tend to be considerably higher in the English leagues. Don't forget that these clubs, including those in the English lower leagues, are benefitting from very lucrative TV deals.

All very well but is he right? Just because someone is scathing doesn't automatically mean they're right. I'd like to hear the club's point of view as well.

Really?

Or John...now that would cause problems.

I hope Dom doesn't go the way of previous players like Ramsay Bryson, John Gray and Junior Burns. He undoubtedly has talent by the spadeful but for whatever reason can't seem to translate that into the first team. Yes, it could be lack of confidence and it could equally as well be lack of physique. Thats the reason he was released from Parkhead and why Craig Moore was released by Hearts. However players can put on muscle. Just look at Faddy - he must have put on a stone and a half of solid muscle in his first two years at Everton. Top English clubs have very professional set ups - sports scientists, excellent gyms, and goodness knows what other methods. Either way Dom does need to step up to the plate.

Agree 100% Lanky. Analysing reasons for not using something is notoriously difficult as the target audience ie non users don't tend to respond. We've heard enough from frequent users now lets hear from former users or those who have never used the site. Their views will be of more interest to the site owner and Mods.

I agree with most of your post Joe but although I've never been Keith Lasley's biggest fan he's always played to his limitations. He's always known that he was never a box to box player and played accordingly ie never really supported his strikers (usually to their frustration) and always been cautious positionally. But yes, he's slowing up even more now. Stevie Hammell has never been a good defender and his offensive game was always his strength. Now that his pace is also failing that part of his game is no longer masking or compensating for his weaknesses. An interesting account. Thanks.

I read that Skippy said that the ref thought it was a goal and looked to the linesman, who was better placed, but he didn't confirm it.

I don't disagree with any of this. The Society and the club are 2 separate entities.

Out of interest how did the young lads play?

Central midfield and indeed midfield has been our achilles heel for a year or two now. I was surprised when Lasley was offered a new one year deal but thats history now. Pearson leaving unexpectedly made matters worse and McHugh's injury put the tin lid on it. I still can't fathom out why Johnson was not replaced as it must have been obvious weeks before his departure that he'd be off before the deadline. It seems to me that Clay, Belic and Lucas have all been ad hoc, piecemeal signings. I think it was Al B who said weeks ago that the "plan" might be to "muddle through" in midfield until January and hope we keep in touch with the pack. Then we can rejig things. That does indeed seem to be our only plan. Our ability to fight and compete in midfield was always going to be in doubt going into today's game even with a fit Lucas and predictably but disappointingly that proved to be the case. When Paul Hartley saw Cadden being moved infield he would know that it was a desperate last throw of the midfield dice for us and the match was well on the way to being won. Chris Cadden may turn out to be a great central midfielder in time but for now he's a wide right player end of. Other teams on a similar budget seem to be able to pick up solid workmanlike midfielders why can't we?

I agree about accountability but its unreasonable to expect reliability in transfer dealings. As long as I can recall, going back even to the days of Bobby Ancell, bad decisions have been made. Even Tom MacLean made some horrendously bad transfer decisions.

You are a fully paid up and current member end of. If you wish to make a one off payment or modest monthly contribution it would be very welcome but is in no way obligatory.

That could happen, however the plan is make the club self sufficient. A Society rep said, a months ago at a meeting that once the takeover of the club had taken place there would be still be an ongoing need for monthly donations and he hoped members wouldn't just assume that it was job done and stop giving. However the plan was make the club sustainable in the long term.

Given we're away from home this afternoon the midfield will need to be more combative and perhaps defensive than it was last weekend. It'll be a different type of game. That said I too would go with the same team.

A good bit of business by the club. Talks have been going on since the summer but these things take time.

Yes, but there are other trolls on here too. If anyone is going to be banned it should be in accordance with agreed guidelines. Online bullying and personal abuse would also have to be banned accordingly. I don't like wind ups but I dislike online bullying and personal abuse even more.

On what grounds?

Agree with your post Denny. I'm a bit puzzled though - I believe that Society income is about £8-12k per month. Allowing for normal outgoings, where is the cash going? I can only deduce that most of the monthly income is being fed to the club either as a loan or as a gift. I've no problem with that by the way. Yes, the Society has to raise its game. An update on membership would be a start.

Thought I'd start a new thread to continue this discussion. There are many and varied reasons for decreased site traffic and I wouldn't care to quantify their effect. The team isn't enjoying the success it had recently and that may be a club related reason. This influence will wax and wain. Then there's the internet effect. Generally, online football fora have decreased in popularity as fans have become familiar with them. Thats not peculiar to Steelmen online. No doubt there are other general reasons. Now on to the site specific reasons - my own opinion of course although based on the views of mates who don't now use the site. There's been an overabundance of negativity, trolling and online bullying that has put many off posting. For some posters its more about them than the club at times. For example "I'm not going to the game on Saturday" or "I'm not going to renew my season ticket". That kind of comment is perfectly acceptable if we're discussing reasons for poor sales/attendances etc but not otherwise. I've never felt the need to post that I wasn't going to a game as I didn't think it would be of general interest. Then there's online bullying and trolling eg treatment Leeanne, TrafficLight etc etc. I may not agree with theirs and other similar posts but I've never ever felt the need to get personal. Disagree fine but don't get personal. Comments should be confined to addressing comments and not about posters. Reasoned but robust debate, discussion and different opinions is what this site should be all about not abuse or petty name calling. In that respect I think the Mods could be a bit more assertive. Finally, talking further of the Mods, some of whom I know, they do a great job overall. Its an unpaid and thankless task and entire voluntary. To put matters in perspective, the site fulfils a very important role and every year helps the club financially (take a bow Iain). Without them the site simply wouldn't exist. To Ian (Bucs) and other Mods - thank you.

Absolutely Iain. Small away crowds should be accommodated in the South Stand albeit in a restricted area. Imagine the outcry if the club were to allocate a portion of the Cooper or East Stand to away clubs. POD Stand patrons are no different to other Well fans.

No, if you have joined, albeit you're paying by instalments, you are a member of the Society and as such are entitled to a vote in the Society.

I know from facebook there was a Society presence outside the ground for publicity shots - did they answer questions and encourage sign ups?

Great result today although I had to miss it. After brickbats on Wednesday the management and players deserve credit today. I hope I'm wrong about Clay and Lucas and if they can sustain today's form or somewhere near it I'll happily admit I was wrong. Is it possible that Clay and Lucas play better together than Clay and Lasley? These things do happen in football. COYW

Good post. I don't like the long balls either or the strikers playing so deep. I assume its because we have no creativity in midfield. We also defend far too deeply and narrowly and thats why we lose so many goals - 2 on Wednesday for example. I agree with UBH that theres others apart from Samson not performing. I'm not convinced of Tait, defensively anyway, and McManus is far from convincing. Heneghan is promising and left back is simply a problem. However, where I disagree with you is that I don't think we do have good midfield players, Cadden and perhaps the unfortunate McHugh apart. I don't rate Clay, Lasley and Lucas for different reasons and Ainsworth is very hit or miss. MacLean and Campbell are too young and inexperienced yet for us to rely on them and the jury is still out on the talented but frustrating Dom Thomas. In my view, midfield is our weak point. Cadden apart, there's no creativity or pace. Specifically Lasley and Clay are not competing, not supplying our strikers and not shielding our defence. That forces strikers to drop deep and it also leaves defenders, including Samson totally exposed. Their every error is therefore put under the microscope for all to see. I could even thole it if we lacked creativity but had a workmanlike and solid midfield but we don't even have that. Successive managers have failed to address the midfield, a critical area of the team.