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I agree to a degree but to my way of thinking you look at each position, starter and back up, and look to upgrade where possible. From youth teams (ours and elsewhere) if possible for those back ups.. That way you achieve a constant uplift in quality on the pitch and on the bench.. And more likliehood that those bench players will elevate to first team regulars. Regards Wilson, he has been with us for a good number of years and after a very promising start has shown little to no progress. Despite loan placements to address whatever deficiencies our coaches identified. So how long do we wait before looking to upgrade? Ditto Luca Ross I guess. And if we hold on too long, are we effectively missing out on others that might improve us? Not saying it's easy or that some decisions are painful to make but eventually it will be to the benefit of all concerned to part ways. Cue Wilson scoring the winner on Thursday.

I’m sure most fans would love to see more their own coming through and to be fair there’s a virtuous cycle re playing and promoting youngsters that will encourage better quality youngsters over time. There’s a balance to be found . I’m up for youngsters going on loan which several have done . There’s an argument they’ll get ready faster for first team by doing this . The reverse must also be true where we get bigger clubs youngsters . Not all youngsters will be good enough - not just for the first team but also the squad . If we’ve had a player who’s been with us for several years , been out on loan and still lacking I don’t really accept that because they’re young and Scottish that we should keep them in the squad . fwiw I personally think the club are doing a very decent job at getting the balance right .

That's exactly my thinking, which is why I'm not so quick to dismiss some of the players we have in and around the first team already. I do think we have set a very high bar as fans, where we're looking for Turnbull/Miller/Johnston levels otherwise we shouldn't be looking to retain them. We're going to have fringe players. It's how it works for clubs our size who require a decent-sized squad of players. I'd rather those fringe players were our own youngsters than loans or free signings that aren't all that much better in reality.

Do we use this thread for Thursday as well or start a new one?

Were the POD season ticket prices not cheaper this season and in line with the Hunter stand? Jeez folk are never happy!! 🤣🤣 Yes I am joking. Club need to get the seats sorted, sounds absolutely ridiculous for the folk sitting there

I thought I read someone on here saying it was in competition rules but not sure if it was specific competition or all competitions

I really like Alfred, love the attitude and looking forward seeing how the team will develop

Makes a change from Jim Goodwin talking utter rubbish trying to say his team were unlucky to get stuffed 4-0.

Who was the other goalie warming up with connolly on sat ? Any idea ?

Do you mean for competition rules rather than just development? I wonder if the recently announced SFA summit ‘Made in Scotland?' will come up with anything radical in this direction. Tom English article on BBC doesn’t mention us - maybe us having quite a few on bench and pitch doesn’t fit his article narrative but for every Robbie Ure there are multiple Scots who haven’t made it - could they have if quotas and/or alternative competitions gave them a chance here? I’d be happy to try unilaterally to have a squad with a lot of (Scots) youngsters getting a chance.

Although don’t we need a certain amount of home grown talent on our roster?

That would have likely pissed people off, but definitely feels like the most sensible solution. Even just accepting a reduced capacity stadium (by what... 2k?) for all euro ties this season, take a year to map out options and engage with fans to implement a fit for purpose solution. We wouldnt be losing out on that much gate receipts surely? Very much has the feel of a panic/ rushed job which tbf is uncharacteristic of the board recently.

That's a good point. It could very well have been a situation where the seats were swapped out and fans forced to endure what they've endured, only for us to get papped out of Europe early doors and it to have been a waste of funds. Perhaps a better option would have been to ask fans to relocate to the top tier of the away stand for the first few rounds, then if we did make it to a tie with the likes of Freiburg we could have used some of that progression money to invest in better seating options that may even do a job for a few years, rather than what seems like a cheap option that isn't up to the job.

You're assuming that our injury list, as it stands, will improve and no one else will get injured and replace those players currently on the sidelines? We'll see injuries and suspensions happen throughout the season, so we will need a squad of players. I'd like to think that any transfer business we're doing involves players who are of a better quality than the ones we already have and could be considered first eleven worthy. I've seen us too often in the past sign players on free transfers (although they aren't really free at all when agent fees etc are taken into consideration) and loans who did absolutely nothing of note except take up a squad number and play the occasional match. Jair Tavares, Luke Plange, Will Dickson, Oli Shaw and others in recent years. We should be looking to bring in players who will make an impact on the first eleven, and then have a squad outside that consisting of a fair amount of younger players who can be drafted in and do a job when needed. Not every player needs to be someone we're priming to sell on for millions. Sometimes it's fine to have a Euan Wilson-type player who can plug gaps and fill in as and when needed. This idea that if someone hits 21 and hasn't become Lennon Miller means they're not up to doing a job is crazy.

I hear what you say about not wishing to absolve the Club, but mentioning UEFA in mitigation kind of does that. That's the first excuse Brian came up with. UEFA may have been the driver, but it was not UEFA who chose a dangerous and ill thought out solution. Plenty of other teams will have had to modify seating to meet higher standards.....some we will both have visited.....but they did so without the shambles we are now faced with. Someone at the Club got this badly wrong and the Board need to accept that fact and rectify matters before it becomes an even bigger issue. ie. Someone gets injured. Not saying anyone should be sacked. Just that a solution needs to be found. The top tier of the away Stand could possibly be used to temporarily accommodate displaced home fans as improvements are made on a staged basis. Say, 250 or 500 at a time. Maybe not ideal having to move but I think folk would understand. Plenty of home games where a tier of that Stand lies empty. Looking at our fixtures, if and when we get past HJK, Oct 10 v Celtic is the first time the full Stand is certain to be full of away fans. Is that a window that could be utilised ? Even if Freiburg could fill the stand that would only delay matters a week.

They are certainly useful right now when we still havent finished our transfer business and you look at our injury list as it stands. Whether thats still the case in a month or so is another matter.

For me, when it comes to players like Ross and Wilson is that we need a squad, not just a team. Especially with European football and cup football playing a part this season. While I agree that Ross and Wilson maybe aren't of the quality to be first-team starters, we can't expect every single player to be of the quality of a first-team starter. We don't have the budget for that. We need players who, while obviously looking to force their way into the team, are happy enough to play the role of substitute and cover for certain positions. It's easy to say "not good enough, ship them out", but then we get to mid-December and we have a fair amount of injuries and need cover, we're left stretched, asking guys to play out of position and so on. Maybe the manager is looking at some of these fringe players and thinking they can be useful squad members.

Always the most difficult to find, as every team wants a budget friendly, 15 goals a season, front man.

Its sad to hear all of this, and whilst not wanting to absolve the club from their part in this it just goes to show you how ridiculous the UEFA rule is. Im not aware of any safety issues that were raised re the bucket seats that were in place, yet they were the first to be outlawed by UEFA. We now have seats that fit the UEFA criteria, but are causing absolute mayhem and apparent safety issues. I perhaps wouldnt expect the club to be making a public statement about the situation, but an email acknowledging they are aware of the problems and are reviewing options to rectify it would help. Not sure if it would work numbers wise, but would it help if they only used every second row of seats to allow more space? There must be a way to fix the problem whilst adhering to the UEFA rule without closing down the entire stand.

They must know how bad it is they can't sit above looking down on the chaotic scenes on Saturday and not notice it. We'll maybe the can if they take their seats just before kick off and bugger off for hospitality on the stroke of half time. Then say they didn't see anything amiss. I can see bovril and hot drinks getting banned from the seated area, it's that bad an accident waiting to happen.

En fuego? Que? 🤣

Just listened to the AJ interview after Falkirk. As others have commented it’s a refreshing, no BS, take on the game and where we are at moment. plus I reckon he’s given us a steer to new song/chant at 4:11 in

On this occasion the Club are ignoring fan feedback and hiding behind Uefa considerations. And the Society are also noticeably silent. In short, MFC made an arse of this and nobody is willing to admit it. The odd person may have received a reply to letters of complaint, but many people putting a reasonable case have not. No way can these seats be considered safe but it appears that only when someone is badly hurt will anybody in authority take notice. Not a good look. Given how well things have gone on the pitch it speaks volumes that seating is the hottest topic in town. I guess many who sit elsewhere will think folk are exaggerating how poor the situation is. But I assure them it is as bad as reported. I really do question whether any of the decision makers have even tested the seats. In fact, on Thursday I offer any one of the Board members...Cub or Society.... (that includes you Brian and Kirk) who sit on those nice comfy seats directly behind me to swap seats for the match. I won't hold my breath though.

I see HJK won their game yesterday 1-0 away from home. So neither team en fuego going into Thursday.

I have noticed a number of people bringing cushions with them which I can totally understand but i find it unacceptable they’d have to do this. the bucket seats in the wings were more comfortable than the sharp plastic seats we need to ensure at the moment. I’d honest prefer sitting on a bench than the things we have.