Kmcalpin

Gus MacPherson was quite right to highlight his side's very poor defending but he didn't mention his team's goal came from equally poor defending!

All the best Alistair. Hope you're ok.

Does anyone know if fans buying a season ticket for the first time or lapsed season ticket holders are eligible for the Early Bird discount ? Obviously they'd have to purchase a seat not allocated to a season ticket holder.

Received my renewal letter today. Being able to do the business on-line or by telephone will be a great boon for me. I didn't realise either that by renewing early, I'll save £22 compared to last season. Happy days.

At least you know about it Sarah. We all know of the problems of the season ticket holders database in the past but an element of that was fans forgetting to provide the club with up to date details. Also folk buy season tickets in a variety of ways eg one person might buy 2/3 on behalf of others. This can also cause understandable confusion. I suppose the moral of the tale is to keep the club informed of changes of contact details and be very careful how you fill in your renewal form & then keep your fingers crossed!

How can Dundee do that given that they failed to win promotion this year? Just curious.

I'm curious here. When you mention "A game of poor quality football" what are you comparing us with? Is it with us last season, is it the Hearts/Dundee United/Aberdeen teams of this season, or is it some of our teams of the past?

A speedway friend of mine confirmed that Lanarkshire Eagles used the stadium from 1954-58. It was also used as a trotting track in the 70s and for junior football after that. It appears to have been on the site of a former colliery bing. I'm trying to track down some old photos.

Yes, Lanarkshire Eagles used to ride at the Milton Street Stadium in the fifties. I'm sure MFC also used to train there in years gone by. Heard it said too, that the stadium was potentially larger than Fir Park.

Agree 100% Jim. I'm not expecting to see many young lads in the team for the last 5 games and I won't decry MMcG if that turns out to be the case. Its down to him to decide if he thinks any of our young lads are up to it - he'll know better than any of us. Our promising youngsters may come good in 2/3 years time but are they ready now?

It won't affect me for a years yet I'm happy to say but this is a good move and a further indication of a change of attitude at Fir Park. For someone in their early 60s and on a tight budget this might just make all the difference between renewing or not. Chances are too that a fan of that age would have been going to Fir Park for a good number of years.

Much has been made recently of our strikers' inability to put the ball in the net and yes there's something in that. There has been a lack of movement up front. However its not just been a lack of goals but a lack of chances. We've been pressurising teams but not hurting them and not creating much. Potentially Stephen Hughes is our best attacking midfielder and its great to see him on song but this season he's been anonymous in just too many games, especially the crunch ones.

Very well summed up Special. I can live with finishing in 7th spot but its the manner in which we've failed this season thats hard to take. This season we've bottled virtually every crunch game. Its not just that we've lost or drawn them but they've been characterised by bizarre, and IMHO needless, team selections/tactics. In quite a few of these games we've exerted loads of pressure but failed to turn them into chances or goals. In others there's been a distinct lack of fight. I've got the feeling that we were punching below our weight this season.

I'm with you on that Steve. He's quite entitled to hedge his bets and I understand that. By the same token though Mark McGhee has a new season to plan for and would be quite entitled to withdraw the contract offer. As others have said he's a good shot stopper but has weaknesses in other parts of his game which have caused us problems this season. St Mirren's first goal last Saturday was by no means all his fault but he was flapping about helplessly and he was badly caught out for their second. If he can do better elsewhere then good luck to him but MFC should now move on.

I think that side would be involved in a relegation dogfight Neil. We might be solid at the back, but there's no substance to the midfield, and we'd be overrun in the centre. Little firepower up front, as we've seen of late. The front two might even have even less ammunition than at present. I think I'lll wait and see the comings and goings first before forming a conclusion.

Yes, I'd agree with that. Maybe Willie MacLean's team of the mid 70s was better to watch but thats up for debate. For all his success, Tommy MacLean's teams were rarely great to watch - some exceptions of course like cameo performances from the likes of Davie Cooper. I did however take a perverse delight in watching wee Tommy's sides take an absolute pounding for 89 minutes and then sneaking a 1-0 win.

A very frustating player, Neil. He has talent in abundance but is very inconsistent. Yesterday was the perfect stage for him to perform and he simply didn't rise to the occasion. He had perhaps about a couple of very good runs but apart from that did virtually nothing. At Kilmarmock recently his name was hardly mentioned by the commentators. These were 2 huge games for us. Also in the cup replay at Paisley, on a decent pitch he didn't really come to life until very late on ...just too late as it turns out. Maybe its the players round about him that don't suit his style...who knows, but he isn't the same player he was last term.

To be honest I wouldn't be overly concerned if both left. It would free up some wages. Neither lad has shown consistency this season, especially in critical games.

My letter arrived on Saturday morning, as did one or two other Fife ones. In some cases after we'd left for the game though.

Good points FC. The team selection yesterday was reminiscent of Craig Brown's Scotland reign. "If your 5 best players are centre backs then you play them all." I agree and can only assume that, unlike last season, MMcG reckons our strength this year is at the back and so you select more defenders. As it was we had these two lads both playing out of position, but both playing nonetheless.

Andy Dorman, although not quite the same type of player as Stephen Hughes, is a better one in my opinion. No disrespect to Saints but he is playing consistently well and scoring regularly in a side that isn't one of the top SPL ones. In my book that shows his true value. Had he been at Fir Park, even since the turn of the year, we would have made the top half comfortably. It was a stick on he'd score yesterday. By comparison, Stephen Hughes is very talented but in too many games, particularly crunch ones, simply doesn't show up. I honestly can't see us blood many youngsters in the last 5 games as we don't have many, if any, who are quite at that stage yet. That may well change in a couple of years though.

I made that very point when he first broke into the first team but was told by many that his skill would more than compensate for that. Having felt that he was due a run in wide left midfield I'm now reconsidering that. Today he was all too often caught out of position and perhaps he might make a decent central midfielder. He always seems to want to play inside so give him a chance to do that.

Good post Grew. I don't necessarily agree with every individual observation but it wouldn't unduly worry me if Stephen Hughes moved on. Unquestionably he's very talented but totally inconsistent and tends to disappear when the going gets tough. Today, as was the game at Rugby Park, was tailor made for him to take the game by the scruff of the neck and set it alight...but he just disappeared for long spells. John Sutton doesn't cut it for me. He's simply not mobile enough and doesn't cause enough damage to opposing defences.

I'll second that. I've bought my season ticket and intend to use it, and I'll be renewing. If I only wanted to watch my team play well and win most weeks I'd go to Ibrox or Parkhead or be an armchair fan of the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool. Gloryhunting is not for me. We bottled it big time today and, yes perhaps shot oursleves in the foot. I'm gutted but I'll be back. Fortunately for MFC there's a lot more like me.

The same thing happened last season with both Craig Levein and the Octopus declaring publicly that we simply didn't have the bottle to secure European football. I've no time for these "mind games" as journalists call them.