Auld_Reekie

No way Bene gets back in at the moment. Just hasn't been good enough and an extended time out helps keep him fresh for when he is needed. Really liking the look of Fogarty who keeps the ball moving way better than Bene. Don't want to get ahead of myself with Young but he looks very composed so far. Tobi behind them is really helping. Mobile, high line, good with feet. I wouldn't be tinkering with the defensive setup unless I had to.

Dunfermline Ath 0 v 2 Raith Rovers (13/7001) Airdrie 1 v 2 Falkirk Ayr Utd 2 v 1 Partick Th Livingston 3 v 1 Hamilton Queens Park 2 v 0 Morton

Being honest, I'd take a draw. Our form has been absolute garbage for as long as I can remember now and I'm just not convinced there's been enough change in tactics, mindset or form to see us beating Rovers on national TV. Would need a repeat of the Dundee United game to convince me things are genuinely improving.

Is this really true? I didn't make the Ayr game but by all accounts, we did compete for decent portion of the game and there were a number of promising individual performances. The Falkirk game on the other hand was pretty abject and on another day, we could have been beaten by 3 or 4. Was hard to come away from that game with many positives. Obviously, the performance levels continue to be below where we need them to be generally, but that's on McPake IMO. But there's at least an indication that recruitment might be making a difference and that can only be a good thing whether McPake remains as manager or not. The delay in approving any serious recruitment means we are at least a month behind most other clubs, maybe more.

Dunfermline Ath 2 v 1 Ayr Utd (5678/34) Morton 0 v 3 Falkirk Hamilton Acc 1 v 2 Airdrie Partick Th 1 v 1 Queens Park Raith Rovers 2 v 2 Livingston

Agree about Mehmet - until there's a reason to drop him, I don't see Mehmet losing his spot. Threshold will be low though and he's never far away from making a mistake. I'm hoping Benedictus is fit as I think he and Fogarty could be a good partnership - Bene with the physicality when required and Fogarty giving us a bit composure and pace. Certainly expecting Fogarty to be an upgrade on Fisher (needs more development time I think) and Breen (who's perma-crocked). The lack of a solid third centre-half might force McPake to continue with a back 4, so Comrie and Ngwenya to continue as full backs. Ngwenya I thought looked OK against Hamilton but does have quite a raw look about him. Something needs to change in midfield and attack. If it were me, Wotherspoon would be out. He's a luxury player in a squad that needs grafters. Straight swap with Cooper who unfortunately doesn't feel like he's a winger so feel we'd be shoe-horning him out there - while he has dig, not convinced he's getting up and down that line to be effective. I also don't like McCann playing this role either - was mostly to blame for the Falkirk goal because he lapsed on defensive duties but that's being harsh on McCann as it's not playing to his strengths. This is where our recruitment and tactics are failing - probably got away with it last year as Edwards was very strong and could compensate for weaknesses on the left, while this year, it's a gaping hole. I want to persist with 4231 but Hamilton and Otoo not offering enough in attack, and Wotherspoon, KRH, McCann just not elevating their game. Ultimately, McPake has to gamble on a more attacking setup that presses the opposition back and has their back line worried. Digs' 442 works for me with Sutherland alongside Kane. Could probably propose a decent 433 too but being a good attacking threat can't just be about positioning guys further up the field. McPake has to coach them better as a team to attack the opposition more effectively. I just don't see that happening.

Too deep and setup is too defensive. One up front isn't helping. Balance in the squad continues to be poor. I want to drop McCann and play Cooper but they are not the same type of player. I'd like to see Kane and Sutherland up front and work back from there. Possibly straight 442, drop Wotherspoon and give Cooper a run out left. That doesn't look like his natural position though. Totally deflating how anonymous Otoo and KRH looked. We continue to leak goals so the whole defensive approach is not working.

He wasn't. That was clearly Fisher. But McCann, KRH, Hamilton, Otoo, Wotherspoon all equally culpable.

In a very precarious position. McPake absolutely is done. The players confidence is at an all time low and none of them are fighting for the team or McPake. If we were not in transition at board level he'd absolutely be going. But I do agree that unless the sale is expected to take more than 3 months, it's unlikely McPake gets sacked before a buyer is found. Any new owner will want to assert control over coaching recruitment, not inherit a coaching team that was hired by a compromised board. Only way I see him get sacked is if someone in squad is in a position to act as caretaker until sale completes. Not really seeing any candidates though. With every passing week, the urgency of getting a sale increases. The more we wait, the worse our situation will get, and the less interest we can attract.

Airdrie 1 v 1 Queens Park Ayr Utd 1 v 2 Raith Rovers Falkirk 1 v 2 Partick Th Hamilton Acc 0 v 2 Dunfermline Ath (37/2000) Livingston 3 v 0 Morton

This is the most ridiculous part. Even if they attached lesser priority to on-field performances or results in the short to medium term, surely it is really ****ing obvious that relegation to league 1 would have hugely detrimental impact on the finances of the club, and in turn, threaten the entire viability of what they were trying to do? Surely on this point, the fans and investors were aligned - Championship football was the minimum the fans expect; league 1 was catastrophic to the club as a business. I was happy to be patient - I didn't expect to be challenging for the league this season and I could even tolerate missing out on the playoffs. I just wanted to be sure they invested enough that the squad was strong enough to stay clear of a relegation battle. They've embarrassed themselves by claiming that this is an unreasonable position to take. We should be thankful of one thing: yesterday's statement has probably helped galvanise the support and made it very clear to everyone - including those like myself who supported them - that this group are not fit to run Dunfermline Athletic.

Pros: Access to players better than we can afford Reduces exposure to multi-year contracts Can benefit from discounted wages Try before you buy Loan players often have a key incentive to impress, either to parent club or other potential parties Cons: Delayed addition to squad Limits longer-term planning - need to replace at end of loan No inherent player value to club In general, if there's financial concerns I think club are quite right to prefer loans rather than permanent signings. We're no longer in a great position to attract good players on contract and there's a number of players on contracts from League 1 that need to be moved on at the end of this season. Unfortunately, whatever is going on at the club is continuing to leave us exposed in the transfer market. Can only hope for a very strong loan window or some other major change in strategy.

Friday 17th Aug Ayr Utd 2 v 0 Hamilton Acc

Is that really the case? Every club has a streaming service and as you've noted, it can turn a profit. So there's a market for it and while the skills are reasonably niche, not irreplaceable. Brian seems to have advantage as the incumbent, but if he hadn't started the service or stopped providing it, pretty sure someone could offer an alternative.

I don't expect Kane to start, and between Otoo, Hamilton, McCann, KRH, Sutherland we absolutely should not be sitting deep and letting Falkirk dictate play. Some of the best parts of highlights in Livi first half was of the team pressing play and we were trying to press them high up the park. We're at our absolute worst when we're passive. Get it in the bin.