Kmcalpin

No 1 for me is a no brainer. Hughie Ferguson.

A well balanced summary Star Sail. On the plus side, his sides play the right kind of football for us and that will aid continuity going forward. So, no great swings in style. AJ has got a good record of involvement with youth football and again that aligns with our ethos and business model. Also seems to have had a more stable career record than JBA. On the debit side, he hasn't played professional football but will that be a problem if we have no big egos at FP? His record at Rosenborg, a well respected European club, and Norways 2nd biggest wasn't great in that they didn't punch their weight; probably akin to Hearts or Aberdeen finishing mid table (again there may be good reasons for that as you outline). The big questionmark for me is his man management ability and like you I wasn't sure about his first meeting with the players. The other unknown element, to the fans at least, is Max Rogers. How will the two interact? He seemed to work well with JBA, who in fairness was a big personality. Certainly Max seems to be well respected but seems a bit unsure of himself in media interviews. Exciting times ahead.

There's still a few players who are either surplus to requirements or likely to leave for substantial fees. In the former category we have Wilson, Stam and Hendry (out for months). The Ox seems to be in no man's land. Third choice, not a bad keeper but unlikely to command a decent fee. Paul McGinn is out for the long term and his future must be uncertain. The likes of Just, TJ, Watt may well attract interest. Will Luca Ross be loaned out? So, there's quite a few potential departures and uncertainties. Central defence and the striking department certainly need attention, but presumably Nick Daws has been beavering away in the background on moves since January. As it stands we're probably 4 players short of an "improved" starting 11, and 3 short of last season's best line up.

You've nailed it sir. McGinn will be 36 by the time he recovers and you have to ask what his future contribution will be. By the time he comes back in, we will likely have a new established central defence. A bit part player at best? Its really sad as he's been great for us and deserves to go out on a high, but we have to be realistic. Hendry? His signing baffled me at the time, even moreso now. His style never suited us as he was more of a Curtis Main type; a foil for someone else and not a goalscorer. A square peg in around hole if you will. Then we have his seemingly serious injury record and yet again he's out. When did this latest injury occur? I can see both players being passengers to greater or lesser degrees this term. As for central defence - time is not on our side. Hopefully Nick Daws identified targets many months ago.

I certainly overlooked him, largely because of his subtle and sensitive playing style and I know others who did also. An easy player to overlook. I'll put it on record here though that he deserves a higher profile. Much of the great work he did was quiet and subtle and easy to miss. A small flick here or a seemingly innocuous pass there that led to goals often scored by someone else. A great player.

Very interesting. There are rumours from reliable sources that JBA had informed the Board quite a few weeks/months ago that he was moving on at the end of the season. Now if they are indeed true, it seems odd that we took so long to make an appointment. Like you I'm beginning to suspect that our preferred choice didn't come to fruition. Anyway, good luck to AJ.

100%. Our first Euro tie is just about 5 weeks away. Despite some comments on social media to the contrary, we have quite a few vacancies to fill especially in central defence.

Welcome Alfred. He seems a good fit with our style of play and hopefully will steer us along the same path. Yes, he is young, and hasn't played professional but he's managed a big Norwegian club.

There's no reason to panic, but it would be best to have a new man in place for training restarting tomorrow. Some interesting discussion on P & B just now. We ended last season on a high and its vital that the Directors continue that momentum. There's been no news on re-signings (Gordon & McAllister) and of course nothing on our new manager (kept very quiet and rightly so). Nothing on new signings (probably waiting on a new man coming in). Pre season training has been delayed by a day. I hope we don't go in to our Conference League ties half cocked. It may well be of course that theres a sudden rush of news at the one time.

Fantastic draw for the club; in fact the easiest of the opponents we could have been given. No room whatsoever for complacency though. Really chuffed tonight.

Resumption of training delayed by 24 hours now and starts on Friday. Due to unavailability of external staff.

I'm old enough to see all three play and Willie Hunter comes out tops for his ability and length of service. But I agree Ally, Just reminds me very much of Vic Davidson too. Three very talented individuals.

Maybe its all tied up bar the shouting or the presser has already been recorded.

Aye, an extra £11.99 on Sellick's offer.

Dylan Wells signs for Linfield.

Agree 100%. I don't know anything about this guy, but he won't be our new man. Sounds like an appointment isn't far off. Wednesday according to Rowsdower on P & B.

Presumably we can expect an announcement before pre season training starts? 100% speculation on my part but I'm beginning to suspect a late hitch or delay. Maybe down to contract negotiations or work permits?

I'd guess their turnover is about 20% higher than ours but they're massively in debt.

Will we see an announcement today? If not, then it'll be Monday at the earliest.

Spot on. The ability to coach the right type of footie is not enough in itself. A good manager will also have to communicate effectively and lastly, but by no means least, be a very good man manager. JBA had all 3 qualities.

I would think so too. Surely the club will want to avoid a publicity clash with the Scotland's opener at the World Cup? Probably paperwork issues as you say either involving a work permit or tying up detailed contract issues, which are becoming ever more complex.

That would seem a bit strange given that the directors knew that JBA was leaving months ago and we're now about 3 weeks past his actual departure. Nothing is impossible though.

A totally unsatisfactory, but unsurprising turn of events. I agree about the pyros, but am baffled as to how the 5 or more fans will be chosen for corrective training. Are they 5 unnamed culprits, or 5 of us chosen totally at random? The pitch invasions!! A scattergun approach to deflect blame away from Celtic. We are being fined the same amount per game as they are despite the massive disparity in budgets. If thats the case, why are Accies only being fined £1K per game. There's little attempt, to consider the number of pitch incursions (in Celtic's case 3 to our 1), the numbers of fans involved or their nature i.e. the invasion after the Hearts game. In terms of suspended punishments, I'd like to know how they define "significant pitch incursions". Also, no mention of Rangers fans invading the pitch at Ibrox. Totally unsatisfactory punishments which will only expose the authorities to all manner of allegations, not in the media of course. Are they now going to impose strict liability on sectarian activities at the games involving the gruesome twosome?

We're not that old. Hope we don't ship too many goals.