Kmcalpin

Can only echo what Foghorn has said - what an excellent crop of youngsters we have coming through both in quantity anmd quality. It can't all be down to John Park!

I can see it being a low scoring game. Although we're capable of playing some good stuff and scoring from midfield we might struggle to score. Against Aberdeen and Rangers we drew 2 blanks and lacked a killer touch up front. Still JG is aware of that. Not sure of Robertson is suspended - did he not pick up 2 yellows as opposed to a straight red?

No comment about my age - I was born in the year that Hastie Weir joined the club for the first time. Seriously a lot of good points made and for me the reasons for poor attendances are many and varied. Hopefully the club will carry through Leeann's idea of an open forum for fans to look at ways of increasing our support. Over the years there's been a lot of good ideas on these fora - some may work, some may not but they're worth considering. For me its the single biggest issue facing our club and one we can't afford to ignore.

Thanks for that Brazilian. Its good to demonstrate our support with a financial contribution.

You might not, but real or imaginary, many of our fans over the years have done. This dip in home attendances at OF games has been going on for as long as I've been going to FP and probably well before that. Many fans realise that crowds can be boisterous and of course that does add to the atmosphere but they don't like explicit sectarianism or streams of foul mouthed abuse. I'm no prude but it seemed to me last weekend that some of our guests couldn't utter a single sentence without an expletive. That kind of behaviour deters many folk from going to games especially those with families. If culprits behaved in the same way in the street they'd be done for breach of the peace and rightly so.

How does £28 for a Category C game Hearts V Kilmarnock at Tynecastle sound? The Jambos still managed to attract a fair crowd.

Thanks for the support Tweed, but I was really referring to when we were defending. I can thole a player being caught upfield but last Saturday Stevie kept drifting into the middle, not marking anyone in particular whilst Rangers players were trying their damnedest to hit the by line. At times, those in front of me commented that they didn't know who he was meant to marking.

No, I was simply using the Novo shot as but one example. Stevie had a decent game going forward but all too often (not once or even twice) was caught out of position when Rangers were on the attack. As others have said he's good on the ball but not so good off it.

I thought Stevie had a poor game defensively on Saturday. Much of Rangers' danger came down our left flank. Too often Stevie was caught inside. His error in the 72nd minute almost cost us a goal. He was shadowing Naismith closely, then moved away from him allowing him to interpass with Novo who then unleashed a shot which John Ruddy could only parry. There was no need for our custodian to have to make a save at all, had Stevie stuck closely to his man.

Spot on Big Man. If a manager comes out and says the team could not have played any better and put in a perfect performance then he's not doing his job properly. Teams can always improve. We played well on Saturday but had our faults in most areas of the field. As JG said, not the finished article.

It wasn't pleasant having to sit RIGHT next to the Rangers hordes yesterday. A few season ticket holders had to move to accommodate them, although thats never never been publicised. 90 minutes of sheer bile. We had renditions of Derrys Walls, and the Sash but neither the police nor stewards seemed interested in taking any action. I can also categorically state that it wasn't one or two fans chanting these outdated ditties either - several hundred in the POD Stand. There were also Rangers fans sitting amongst season ticket holders although the ones I saw behaved themselves. Giving the Cooper Stand back to our has come at a cost.

Oh yes they did. They left at the same time as us.

I thought we earned our point today and deserved it. We simply didn't do enough to win the game and although we played some really nice stuff on the deck there was no killer insinct up front. No shots on target from open play tells its own story. The midfield played played very well apart from a 20 minute patch in the 2nd half when they retreated into a shell. For the most part our defence well and recorded a 2nd shut out in two games. Saunders and Reynolds contained Rangers' aerial threat very well and played very intelligently. They knew from the off that they'd never compete with Boyd in the air and didn't try to. Instead they worked hard to disrupt him and focused on the second ball. John Sutton worked his socks off but to little effect. A bit disappointing that we didn't test Davie Weir more - he looked slower and more cumbersome than ever. Watching Whittaker, Weir, Miller and Naismith you have to ask how any of them got anywhere near the Scottish team. A good point today and a decent overall performance with nice football, but JG will know our weaknesses today including a toothless attack and vulnerability down our left side. Still we played some decent footie and outshone Rangers' power play.

Spot on Jim. For more years than I care to remember our average home attendance at OF games is about 3,500 and it was no exception today. As long as Police as stewards adopt a laissez faire attitude this will continue.

I don't agree with you but your honesty is appreciated. Some Main Stands are used by away fans but its by no means common. We rarely get housed in the Main Stands at Easter Road, Pittodrie, Tynecastle, Falkirk, Kilmarnock or Hamilton for example.

Yes most of the larger SPL clubs run just such a scheme. I think Hibs and Dundee United offer such top ups for a "mere" £30-40 extra. The only downside is that fans may not get anything back in return if all a seaon's cup ties are away from home. Still the Hibs and United fans I know think this is a great idea.

Thats correct Tweed. ICT will be due 33% of the gate including money from season tickets. MFC was always going to make a financial loss on this game, but by cutting prices this will be minimised.

I'm unfortunate enough to sit in the southern part of the POD Stand. I eventually supported the return of the Cooper Stand to our own but sadly for many fans its a case of "I'm all right Jack". For years we had to put up with OF fans in the Main Stand but for those in other stands it was never an issue. But, when the gruesome twosome took over the Cooper Stand it was a different matter. The same kinds of problems could now re-occur on Fir Park Street and Knowetop Avenue but I suppose if its Rangers fans from the POD Stand (as opposed to the Cooper Stand) that are the root cause of it it'll be ok. Not getting at anyone, its just human nature.

I agree up to a point, but it isn't clear cut. What if both sets of fans leave the POD Stand at the same time? They would still meet up in the stand itself, in Fir Park Street and in Knowetop Avenue.

If so, will any season ticket holders have to move to accommodate them?

Have you received my payment yet Brazilian?

Ditto Reverend (no offence either Melvin). Too often in the past we've had "nice" guys in charge and that doesn't always work. JG is in charge and the decisions should be his. Yes, its his way or none at all but from what I've heard he's very much "team minded" - decisions are taken for the good of the team. Nothing wrong in that. Sometimes in the distant past players didn't always follow the manager's instructions on the field and got away with it. Not now.

Although the SPL season is only 3 games old its becoming clear that Jim Gannon is a deep thinker about the game and an excellent tactician. He's not afraid to make changes early in a match if he thinks the game warrants it. We now have a pretty strong squad and it seems as if he's a firm believer in squad rotation. Some players are suited to a particular type of game others not - so he'll switch things around. Its going to be very hard predicting his team line up and tactics.

I suppose we have Colin. He's always covered Aberdeen games for the BBC and many of his commentaries of our games at Pittodrie have been cringeworthy to say the least. We certainly don't get an informed and unbiased account of games there. I don't know why the BBC can't give us informed and unbiased commentaries. Its a national radio station after all. JWTL is keeping me updated via text! Enjoy your away day.

Who wrote the article in the Sun......none other than our old friend Scott Davie.