Kmcalpin

To be meaningful, we should also look at the attendance graphs for other clubs. I'd also like to see attendance figures going back to the 1960s. The loss of Rangers, in purely financial terms, has been a blow in the past 3/4 years. In some years we had 4 home games against the former Old Firm but last season we only entertained Celtic once at Fir Park. So the figures need to be interpreted with caution. Figures this year will be up.

Good post. Yes MMcG did name Eric Dier. Given that there's been no news at all about Liam Grimshaw I suspect you're on the money - negotiations are continuing.

I don't know. Like you I don't think the boss has backed up his comments with his team selections. He did say though that Laing was a big powerful lad with a great future ahead of him as a midfield player. He picked out him, Dom Thomas and Dylan Mackin as the 3 young players most likely to make it. He did compare him to a midfielder with Spurs - his name meant nothing to me as I don't follow English football. Time will tell I guess.

Like today, there was always one or two dissenting voices and the support never agreed 100% between themselves on anything, well almost anything. In general the support would back the Chairman's view and even if the manager was in charge during a bad run of defeats they would not question the Chairman or the manager himself. They were different times and society was much different to what it is today. I can only ever recall my father leaving a game early maybe twice and on both occasions we were winning the games comfortably and for many that just wasn't what they wanted to see. Like today money was tight for many, and our fans wanted to see 2 evenly matched sides battle it out, with us winning of course. Interest in English football was very limited and those who did buy magazines like "Shoot" only did so for novelty value. Football like society in general has evolved and moved on especially since the late 70s and the arrival of Thatcherism. Up until then there was more camaraderie and less "whats in it for me" attitude. Interestingly though our attendances in the late 60s was usually between the 3,500 - 5,000 mark much what it is like today.

He played him in midfield a few weeks back and commented on it in the media after the game. Then, at the Society evening in November he commented that Laing had the potential and attributes to make a very good midfielder.

To a large, but not exclusive, extent its fans themselves who are demanding more information and clubs are simply reacting to this. Clubs are under more scrutiny now than ever before. When I first began going to Fir Park the vast majority of fans simply wouldn't dare to question Bobby Ancell's tactics or team selection. They were what they were. Likewise the running of the club was the sole prerogative of Mr Hepburn and his directors and again no-one would dare question how the club was run. If I'd gone to a game and dared to ask where a transfer fee had gone I'd have been met with icy stares. The world has moved on and new technology has changed football and life in general forever. My father and uncles were diehards but they would not discuss football outwith matchday, with the possible exception of Supporters Club meetings. They respected the Manager and Chairman and had 100% trust in both of them at all times. We'll never see those days again.

Its just a rumour thats all. I have no problem in bringing back ex players as long as they do the business for us. It doesn't matter a jot to me if a player is new to us or a previous one returning - its their on field performance that counts.

The product we have now is no worse than it was in much of the the 60s, 70s and 80s when crowds were much higher. Expectations have however increased markedly.

We are still due money from Jamie Murphy's move to Brighton as its being paid in installments.

What happened to the culprit? Was he given a red or yellow card?

Mark McGhee picks the team Iain and he rates Laing highly as a midfielder, so he must be a serious contender whether we agree or not.

Well said. Usually there is a lady at the corner of the Cooper stand car park, Wendy I think she is known as, who sells tickets. However from time to time she has not been available and so no tickets were sold but on Saturday, for the first time, someone else stood in for her. As far as the Main Stand is concerned, I can't ever recall anybody selling tickets there. In effect this excludes anybody approaching the Stand from Edward Street. In short the club must have lost several thousands of pounds every season by overlooking this. Not a fortune granted but the extra cash would be very useful.

I'm not sure that your assumption is correct. Given that Las was booked it would seem that the referee took the view that it was deliberate handball. Going by the above photo I'd say that Las is about 8-10 feet away from the ball, which doesn't give him a lot of time to react. Were his arms up to protect his face? Interestingly of the 15 outfield players in the photo, excluding Conor Ripley and the striker hitting the ball, about 10 could be deemed to have their arms in an unnatural position. What would have happened if the shot had cannoned off Las's leg and hit a Hamilton player on the arm or another of our defenders on the arm? Our officials need to use more common sense here in their interpretation. Generally speaking a penalty should only be awarded if its a case of hand/arm to ball or a player adopts a stance with his arms spreadeagled quite deliberately to block a shot - which would be clearly unnatural. We will see many more incidents like the above this season where no penalty will be awarded. If more referees take such a strict interpretation then what is to prevent a manager from instructing a player who is on the edge of, or in, a packed penalty area and with little or no prospect of getting off a clear shot on goal, from deliberately aiming at a defender's arm which wasn't by his side?

Or Laing?

Interesting, I wondered if this would come up.

Going by the above guidance the referee clearly decided that it was a case of hand to ball, ie Lasley's premeditated intention was to handle the ball. He does not appear to have taken into account the very short distance between the attacker's boot and Lasley, nor the power with which the ball was struck. As regards the clause "an arm moved from the player’s side, risking being struck by the ball", I would say that its almost impossible to move or jump without moving your arm from your side. The only way for a player to avoid that scenario is to move carefully with your arms at your side or simply avoid trying to block a shot - both clearly absurd. Going back to last Wednesday and Marvin Johnson's cross, and applying the above interpretation then it was a clear penalty and a yellow card. The referee gave neither. The difference in opinion between us on this forum is perhaps understandable but what isn't understandable and very worrying indeed is the difference in interpretation between individual grade 1 referees.

Scunthorpe's TV cash will be way above what we receive - maybe twice or three times. Maybe someone else at the club wants to move Ainsworth on.

Absolutely Allan. Some young players, maybe Faddy, on the bench to bring on once the business has been done. Maybe five from from Samson, Watt, Laing, Thomas, Cadden, Fletcher, Mackin and Faddy.

Just watched TV highlights on BBC. Two observations: * No evidence of a handball by Skippy at his second goal. Camera angle isn't perfect but nothing obvious. * Technically a penalty but a very soft one. Given that the ball hit Las's arm at point blank range there was nothing he could do about it. Probably the same as Stephen McManus's red card penalty against Aberdeen. The conclusion though is now that every ball in the box that hits a defender on the hand or arm, that isn't by his side is a penalty. We had a similar claim last Wednesday when Marvin's attempted cross struck a defender's outstretched arm in the box - no penalty. From now on our players should be instructed to claim vehemently, and in numbers, every time a ball strikes an opponent's arm or hand in the box.

Yes, although a physically big guy would be more important. Someone able to withstand a solid challenge and capable of flattening an opponent fairly. Good players who fit that bill don't come cheap though. To some extent though Pearo fits that bill, although he's not defensive.

Interesting you say that. We timed the penalty at about 93 minutes. After Crawford scored the ref allowed Accies to celebrate for a full minute. When the game resumed he blew for full time a few seconds after. Refs usually add on about 30 seconds for every goal scored. By my reckoning he blew his whistle at the 93:30 mark, despite the 4th official indicating a minimum of 5 minutes extra. Anyway, 2 points dropped but can we really be surprised? We did not match Accies' workrate off the ball and allowed them too much space and time. Not for the first time recently we were the better footballing side but couldn't match our opponents endeavour. A tremendous goal by Louis Moult was the highlight of the game for me. At times our defence looked a bit disorganised and again the central midfield went missing when it mattered. I felt a bit sorry for Marvin Johnson as he looked to be in the mood but received poor service. Accies were able to mark him out of the game after half time and were happy and indeed able to deploy two men to do this. The referee was weak and inconsistent and most of the ground knew a red card was coming to us at some point. The TV evidence on the penalty is inconclusive but it was galling to see Crawford being on the park to take it and score - that was the big disappointment for me. Both he and Imrie ought to have been given 2nd yellow cards and the ref's failure to do this influenced the outcome of the game. This was always going to be the hardest game in our run of 3 home games.

If Ainsworth's move turns out be true and Dom Thomas goes out on loan, as I would expect him to, then we will need to bring in another wide man. That said I expect a few fringe players to depart and that may make room for us to bolster our defence and midfield.

Didn't know it was Scunthorpe but heard a rumour on Wednesday that he was off. Another 3 fringe players to follow?

Probably true Iain although it may also hinge on whether any of our better players leave.

In terms of Faddy, money is not an issue, and that speaks volumes for the man himself and his connection to the club.