Kmcalpin

Thats what concerns me here.

Irrespective of where we finish now, it will have have been a good season. Improved league placing; increased attendances; and more exciting football. The final judgement on JBA's reign will depend on where he takes us from here and, of course, the jury is still out on that. So far, he's done very well in a short space of time. This summer's recruitment will be a big test for him. The bottom line is that we have to build on this year's success and not stagnate.

I'd like to start by signing up Olly Whyte for an extended term. News has been very scant on that front so far. Could we blood him before the end of the season as Stenhousemuir's season ends before ours?

Pretty much as expected although the order is a bit odd. The usual factors determined the list. Home to Hearts and v Celtic (midweek) and Hibs away last game. Happy enough with that except that the Celtic game is midweek. No 3pm Saturday home fixtures. As expected, Falkirk get an extra home game; well done them. I can't see any title winning games at Fir Park.

We, and I include myself here, have forgotten that Ewan Wilson is also under contract for another year.

A few assumptions there. I'm not sure we'll lose both Just and Manwhanise. Also, Whyte 's contract expires shorlty and there's no guarantee he'll re-sign. At 24, would our squad size be slightly light?

Whats our current thinking on ins and outs in the summer? My personal view is: Oxborough: transfer out or loan Wilson: will leave either permanently or on loan Gordon: will leave at the end of his contract Welsh: will return to Celtic Slattery: will move on Halliday: will move on Robinson: will move on Nicholson: will move on. That clears the decks quite a bit and leaves a few gaps to fill in the squad, especially in defence and midfield. It would pare down our squad to about 19. Our striking department also needs strengthening. Our first 11 isn't too bad but we do lack quality in depth. Overall, we need more height and physicality in the squad as we've found out to our cost recently. That could be difficult to source as big physical players who can play a bit don't come cheap. In addition to that I'd also try to move on Charles Cook and Hendry although that might not be easy. Others like Just, JT, and Watt may also attract interest and move - who knows? Finally, lets get Olly Whyte's contract extended.

Not surprisingly, our stonewall penalty incident was not selected for inclusion in the highlights. This is where the role of the Compliance Office is random and unsafe. When the post was first announced years ago, it was stated that evidence would be used from a variety of sources but in practice it wasn't. It was limited to the Compliance Officer's staff watching TV highlights on a Monday morning and referring anything that was flagged up by programme editors. In effect the media became judge and jury and we all know we can't trust the media to be fair and objective.

I'll be rooting for the Pars to knock them out for these reasons.

Leonard now suspended following today's red card.

Good post. A clear and obvious breach of rule 77. The SFA has now set a precedent.

Maybe time to give Jordan McGhee a start at right back. SOD has had a good season but his best position is undoubtedly now at CB. Maybe needs rotating with Paul McGinn. Hopefully Priestman will get a start over Sparrow, who I think is a squad player at best. Lets hope Thor is fit and JT is moved back to his favoured position on the wing. Maybe too, Elijah Just will have recovered from his global jaunts. More of the same won't do.

Can I ask why it fell to Lukas Fadinger yesterday to mark a 6-3 in form striker at Fakirk's opening goal?

Stonewall penalty. We should be thankful for small mercies in that he wasn't yellow carded for diving.

You make some good points although your take is a bit harsh. He's been a very good manager for achieving a top six finish and introducing some very exciting and entertaining football. Thats not easy in your first season in charge. I do feel that though some fans have been OTT in their praise especially on P & B. He's not a legend yet and might never be who knows? On the debit side, he's seemed unable to fine tune our style to combat and counteract opponents evolving tactics eg Hibs and Falkirk. On the credit side he's had to impose his own style on a squad which, to a large extent, he didn't sign. Taking yesterday for example, he had to field a weakened first 11 and pick a very thin bench. It will be interesting, in the summer to find out who leaves who he moves on and who he brings in. If we are ambitious i.e. not resting on our laurels after achieving a top 6 finish then the squad needs strengthened in almost all areas of the pitch. Any circling vultures will have received a reality check of late.

I wouldn't be too hard on him today. Due to injuries, he was being played out of position against 2 big centre backs and had no support. His supply was poor as well. Not a game on which to judge him.

Thats been a feature of Falkirk's season.

Teams are now adopting a man for man approach against us and we've been rumbled. Can JBA find a solution in our remaining fixtures.

When I saw the team beforehand I was a bit worried as we had no Thor and Sparrow was preferred to Priestman. Lightweight up front. Then we were back to our old habit of offering up early chances which Falkirk thanked us for. The ref had a poor game and missed his chance of stamping his authority on the game when Just was the victim of a shocking late tackle within the 1st two minutes. Overall Falkirk had done their homework and I was sorry for JT given the scant service he was given. He had no support against a big physical defence. Once again, our long ball tactic simply didn't work. The second goal was no surprise given identical earlier blunders. I can't comment on the penalty. Overall, we were too lightweight al over the pitch and hardly won a header all day. Falkirk deserved to win, but some of their tactics were questionable under rule 77. JBA needs to do some serious thinking in the next few weeks.

I said before today that it was 50/50 we'd finish 4th and I'd now say its 20/80. To be confident of achieving that we had to beat Hibs and Falkirk and we mustered one solitary point. Our season is fizzling out sadly. It will still be a good season though.

I think we'll make Europe as I'm confident Celtic will win the cup.

Don't know where our next point is coming from.

Johnny Koutroumbis has signed a new 2 year deal. A good bit of business.

Falkirk have done very well this season so it would be churlish of me to suggest otherwise, but yes you're right, they have enjoyed a fair measure of good luck not just against us but against many other sides. Many 50/50s have gone in their favour, so for that reason alone they can't be underestimated. The match officials will be under special scrutiny given recent events.

On paper, at least, probably the most intriguing game of the season so far. So many factors at play here. We're playing the best best football we have done for decades We're sitting in 4th spot Amazing home record Excellent defensive record We haven't beaten Falkirk in 2 attempts so far Falkirk are one of the few teams to have beaten us. Falkirk are having an amazing season having just been promoted Has John McGlynn sussed us out? Both teams seem to be running out of steam (McGlynn has previous for this) The game is unlikely to be a classic but any one of 3 outcomes wouldn't be a surprise, but the most likely one is a draw. Here's hoping for a bumper crowd.