Kmcalpin

Yes I think if he settles in well few will complain about typos.

Agreed. I think Thomas is primarily a right sided winger is he not?

Yes, Henrik failed to make the impact we had hoped when he arrived for his second spell. When he first resumed his career with us he looked a tad overweight and unfit and took a good weeks to get up to speed - literally. I suspect Legia Warsaw told us a few days ago that they weren't prepared to extend his loan deal. It was a case of signing him permanently or he left. He reportedly received good offers from Scandinavia.

There were a couple of Scandinavian clubs interested in signing him.

Speaking from bitter experience it can take quite a few months to get over a bout of sciatica. As you say its tricky to diagnose as its a symptom and not a cause.

Coincidence?

We would need money we don't have to sign this type of player again. This strategy is now a busted flush. You simply cannot conjure up bids out of nothing as no club was interested in paying a fee for them. In short they weren't perceived to be good enough to attract buyers. We did not let the contracts run down. Guys like Nicky Law signed on the understanding that they'd stay for 2 years and then move on. If we hadn't agreed that condition he would not have signed end of. We have now to be more creative in our signing strategy as Melvin Bragg has said.

Presumably Mark O'Brien will return for this game? I'd also play Erwin and Ojamaa up front. If Erwin starts it has to be as an out and out striker and not in midfield. Will Keith lalsey be fit?

A well thought post which is spot on. We may need to change the way we play to reflect the St Johnstone or Inverness style or perhaps follow in Accies footsteps. Concentrate on hard working, strong and reliable types or try to source excellent young prospects and bring them on. Perhaps a combination of both approaches. How about a 7/8 hard working, fit, strong, reliable journeymen with 3/4 talented youngsters?

You're quite entitled to your opinion - good for you. Some much needed positivity on this board!

I make no apology for restating an article on FPC due to its importance. This week is going to be a big week for us. Firstly and most importantly, an announcement is likely to be made about the club changing hands with Les Hutchison and the Society confirmed as the way forward. Secondly, the transfer window comes to a close and we can expect 1 or 2 new signings, hopefully. These could have a big impact on our season on the pitch. Finally a big game against St Johnstone coming up on Saturday. Exciting yes, but no time for the faint hearted.

A good question Greg and one I've been thinking about. The problem is that we're not in full possession of the facts. It would be a risk because IB has seen Craig Moore in first team action for less than 90 minutes. Its not a lot to base an assessment on. Ojamaa aside we have 4 strikers with first team experience Sutton, Erwin, Moore and McHugh. We've heard or seen nothing at all on McHugh except that he seems to be long term injured - we don't know when he'll be back, if indeed he is back. Is 3 strikers enough? Where do we need to strengthen? Where do I start? A lot will also depend on Steve Hammell's and ZFA's injuries about which we know little. Priorities? I'd say centre back, left back (maybe), and central midfield and possibly striker. Personally, I'd go for 2 central midfielders assuming that Hammell and/or ZFA do return in the next few weeks. Our central midfield is simply awful and we need 2 mobile players in there - a defensive one who can tackle and a creative one. However a case could also be made for another left back, depending on the injury situation. A lot will also depend on which type of player is available. It may also be out of our hands as Ojamaa himself may be moved on by his club.

Thanks for clearing that up. Had Pearson contested the drop ball I don't think he would have been yellow carded but red carded instead for dissent. Out of interest do you know if the referee has to explain these decisions in his report which will arrive at Fir Park in the next day or two. Is it enough for him to simply write a "factual" summary of what took place? Is it likely he will admit to making a mistake (or 3)? There is a lot of confusion surrounding these reports.

Just watched the TV highlights. Challenge on Pearo was a stonewaller but how often do we get penalties at Tannadice? Good to see Pearo still has a good engine on him. That might just give our sluggish midfield the kick up the jacksy that its needed for a long time.

Steady on! Stay off the alcohol tonight. This game was always going to be about damage limitation and 3-1 is not the end of the world. Ross County and St Mirren both got beaten and we escaped from Tannadice with no red or yellow cards. Hopefully, we haven't picked up any more injuries. It seems like we didn't get many breaks but its not often you get a penalty at Tannadice. Our season really starts next week and we have to be prepared for that.

Some serious questions need to be asked of the club Directors when City were so heavily in debt (they now claim to have eradicated it). Paying for these facilities with money they didn't have!

A Well great from long long ago, but despite that he's always been a top candidate in my book for our greatest ever player. When discussing our greatest ever player there's always an understandable tendency to only consider players of our own lifetime but surely Hughie Ferguson transcends that thinking. Certainly our best ever striker and thats quite an accolade when he's considered alongside names like Willie MacFadyen and in more recent times Willie Pettigrew. Thanks for the post Gilmour - Hughie's name deserves to be highlighted on these boards.

Presumably this is his second operation this season, the first one having taken place only a month or two back? It seems strange that his first operation did not take place until well into the season despite the fact that he was injured before the league season kicked off. Its all very odd unless he's picked up 2 serious unrelated injuries.

Thats only part of it. A youngster contemplating signing for United should know that he'll face stiff competition from many, many cohorts if he wants to make it at Tannadice. Spiderpig is correct - they throw a lot of money at it and they'll pay for the best prospects. Their set up is really quite mercenary, but it has worked.

Exactly. McManus is the whipping boy for many just now, and yes he isn't playing well. However the amount of freedom we offer to teams to fire in crosses in absolutely criminal. Cut out the avoidable crosses and corners and our goals against tally will drop drastically. By contrast our opponents, more often than not, fight like men possessed to prevent us from getting anywhere near the point of firing in decent crosses.

Yes and they're usually ushered out of the door PDQ.

Did your colleague elaborate on that? What did he mean? Is it the case that A) the players support Bara's methods but are finding hard to understand them or implement them or B) are wilfully resisting change and are being thrawn. The boss is in charge end of. In Jim Gannon's stint, it was a case of both. He upset a number of the pros, some of whom got on with it while others downed tools. As far as his tactics were concerned they were spot on in principle. However the players he had at his disposal were not good enough to understand or implement them. He was so inflexible he couldn't adjust his approach. At the end of the day MFC pays the players wages and in return the club as an employer has every right to expect them to try their best.

+1 I was expecting a mid table finish this year given our failure to clear out an ineffectual central midfield. On paper the squad looked good enough for 5/6/7 th spot.

I'm surprised that no-one has questioned whether O'Brien will be fit or not. If he isn't then, the central defence will have to comprise McManus and one of Kerr, Ramsden or Cummins. Thats worrying. Apologies I forgot that O'Brien is suspended. Still he probably wouldn't have been fit anyway.

Bang on the money. Yet a lot of folk say we've been lucky this season to pick up the points we have.