BobbyBiscuit

Can't see anything coming of that this window - Alan Archibald said he'd resign if Bannigan was sold in this window.

Only 8 teams in our division manc, play in 3 cups though - out of one, through to the quarters in another and about to start the third but have drawn a team from the Premier Division which will be very, very tough (the Scottish Cup holders are in the premier, we played them in one of the cups this season and they're a very good team for amateur). Mid table in the league just now but with the majority of our matches still to play. Been a long winter lay off this time round. Got a lot of new boys in the squad too this season and they've settled in quickly which is good.

Really hope there is contingency

If anything that should be directed at yourself, Mr "christ is it so hard to look him up"

As Al and yourself knew who he was, i thought you could give some background information because, you know, this is a chat site and for that to prosper chat has to be present. But it doesn't matter as you're obviously having a bad day of it and instead of giving us information about the player you've got to act like a fucking spangle.

May I ask who the fuck Blair Alston is please?

Not sure about that. Undoubtedly a superb coach etc, but in the two jobs he's had so far he's walked into already successful sides needing little work done to them. That certainly isn't the case at United where a full overhaul is required.

Is Tansey any good? He's a player who has completely passed me by I have to say.

Billy Davies is a horrible man. Had the misfortune of being coached by him when I was a teenager when he was doing his badges. A bigotted, tragic little man. Daniel Taylor of the Guardian has said previously that if people knew the real reason Davies was sacked at Nottingham Forest, he would never be employed in football again. I'm presuming he couldn't say due to legal reasons.

Shame about Griffiths. He had been pulled out of the Roda squad on Sunday - thought that may have been a sign he was coming to us. Don't know much about him but from what I've read he's a hard bastard, 6'2"...exactly what our midfield is crying out for.

Some great pictures of Dons-Tims through the years: http://www.afc.co.uk/matches/7337 http://www.afc.co.uk/matches/7338 http://www.afc.co.uk/matches/7339 Particularly like the one of Miller scoring from high up on the corner of the Merkie/Mainer, never seen that before.

Angela Haggerty now sacked by the Herald because she had the audacity to support Spiers. Huns back to doing what they do best - bullying anyone who takes them on.

Sorry, where have I said that or even suggested that? Don't put words in my mouth. And I'm not struggling to handle anything thanks but you're clearly struggling with my original point.

Jesus wept. How many times have I said in this thread that this season has not been a good one for him? Sticking bland facts up like that never give the full picture. I remember when people used to form their opinion on a player on what they've seen on the park.

Exactly, one start (in that period, at least). But you're using your stat as if he's had 13 full matches. It's misleading. As with Smith, if he's not doing it in training then he doesn't deserve a start and he may well be for the off. However, my original point about him was that our fans have been very quick on the negative stuff with him - 'get rid' etc while not taking into account that he has been a good player for us in the past, something I'm not sure can be levelled at Smith, who at best has showed glimpses of potential. Don't get me wrong, Smith has some lovely touches and movement, but we don't often see an end product.

And? That's a very basic stat that really doesn't paint much of a picture at all. How many of those were from the bench? As has already been said it's not been a great season for him but he has credit in the bank so to speak, something that Smith doesn't have.

I'm just amazed that anyone still watches this. But, he's certainly right about Nevin, he's a pompous wee prick and generally says fuck all but takes some amount of words to say even that.

I really hope Smith makes it with us and shows my concerns to be a load of nonsense but he broke through under Brown and has never really had a run of games (or if he has, they certainly weren't that memorable). Admittedly that may purely be down to the manager and his lack of confidence in youth as you point out, but you would think that even given that, over that period of time we'd have seen more of him. Smith started the first league game of the season, and I thought that was a good sign for him. That was a big game too, season opener against United away so DM has put faith in him, at least to some extent. But, to put it in context - how many of our star youth products of yesteryear needed the best part of 3 years to make a mark? Hewitt, Black, Simpson, Jess, etc... obviously all better players, but its all relative - they were playing with better players and against better players than Smith. Pawlett - I think he may have been a victim of his own success to a degree. In DM's first season, PP played centrally and teams could not handle him mostly due to the fact it was somewhat unexpected. Oppositions now know what to expect from him and its down to PP and DM to handle that - to look to see how they can get the best out of his talents now that element of surprise has gone.

I think people have been incredibly harsh on Pawlett recently. Not had a great season but has done well enough the last few times he's featured. Certainly not poor enough to warrant some of the criticism he's had. I'd also say that PP has done far more for this team than Smith has and that deserves to be respected. I also don't quite understand the love in for Smith. He's been around the first team now for a good few years and you could count his meaningful contributions on one hand. I hope the faith re Smith is repaid, but I do wonder if he's going to make it at AFC, DM has seemed reluctant to use him, particularly this season. There must be a reason for that.

I think for the Celtic game we'll see Goodwillie drop out and revert to Rooney up front and the (potential) new guy slotting in beside Storie and McLean moving up one. The thing I like about Storie is that when he passes the ball his immediate thought is to move into space ahead of him, rather than - like Jack - playing the ball and immediately drop ten yards. (That's not necessarily a criticism of Jack - it is at times but at other times it's exactly what we need). The last time I saw Storie before this spell of games he looked like a wee boy, but he's certainly filled out and it looks as though he's physically ready for the first team. Seems to like a tackle too which is good to see, he put in a cruncher on Friday night which I particularly enjoyed seeing.

Van Gaal's jacket has surely dropped off the shoogly peg and is now being trampled on the floor. Another defeat at home, another goalless performance with only one shot on target and his team has scored the same amount of league goals this season as wretched Sunderland. Even van Gaal, the arrogant, stubborn van Gaal must admit his 'philosophy' isn't working and in retrospect never even got off the ground. He has bought poorly but expensively. Time to go surely?

It's alright... Jelavic is coming on...

Watching West Ham v Man City, good game 1-1 just coming up to ht. Dimitri Payet is an absolutely superb player, lovely skill and good vision. Hammers scored after 55 seconds, Aguero equalising from the spot. Hoping it gets a bit 'tasty' in the 2nd half as I'm on West Ham cards

I'm maybe just comparing Consi's performance to his Tynecastle one in fairness and that out of the three centre halves we've used in the last couple of matches, he's looked the best over that period. Storie did well again and I hope DM rewards him with a start v Celtic. Corners For: We need to be doing better with our delivery and movement at corners. Corners Against: Dundee really crowded Brown tonight at corners and guaranteed Celtic will do similar in our next match. Celtic have had a lot of success doing this to Brown in the past - is it time for Collin's debut?