The club, through the official website, gave a list today of names of players staying and going, but again failed to answer all of the questions many supporters want answered. Chiefly, these concern the futures of Steven Canning and Chris Fisher, who have not once been mentioned officially all summer by the club. Canning has played in several of the pre-season friendlies, but Fisher had seemed to disappear from the scene altogether. However, apparently Fisher is injured and could well still be at the club for the new season. That may be so, but it would be an improvement if the club could be a little more open regarding the futures of some of the most promising young players we have.
In the same article on the official site, Kenny Brannigan spoke of possibly signing another couple of players, and said that the first-team squad would number a maximum of 20. Given that Queen's do not pay their players, we do not have the problem of overburdening ourselves with a heavy wage bill and so can afford to sign more players than many of our rivals. Negating this possible advantage and settling for a small squad is something John McCormack always appeared loathe to do, but Kenny seems to prefer having a closer-knit group where all players have a genuine chance of being involved regularly. In any case, he also appears to have a strong commitment to blooding players from the youth teams so this will boost the number of players available for first team duty in time.
22 July Possible return for Cairns?
Mark Cairns will not be signing for Stirling Albion after refusing to travel north for a friendly at Keith on Saturday past. Manager Allan Moore, angry with the player's lack of commitment, has decided to cancel his plans to move for the player. Cairns had stood out with his commanding presence in goal for Queen's in the latter part of last season and it will now be interesting to see if the player shows any willingness to return to Hampden; Kenny Brannigan would surely not be averse to having him back.
20 July Comfortable win in Arran FA centenary match
A Queen's Park XI secured an easy success yesterday against a select side composed of players from the five teams on the island of Arran. The match, in Brodick, was to commemorate the centenary of the Arran FA's existence and resulted in a morale boosting 7-2 victory. New signing Frankie Carroll scored twice, and two other players hit doubles; but it is their identities that are most intriguing. One was a trialist striker, not Ally Graham, and the other, Steven Canning. Whether or not Stevie's appearance signifies any commitment to play for Queen's this season is unclear currently. He had played against both Dundee United and Hearts too, so the balance of probabilities suggests that Canning will remain. The club remain reticent on the futures of a number of players but it can be taken as certain that Quinn, Gallagher ( scorer of the other goal in Arran ) and Dunning are all part of the squad for the new campaign.
Joining them as officially confirmed new signings are Steven Reilly and Stephen McAuley with Carroll also now signed. As for another new striker, the search is ongoing but the trialists that Brannigan has offered chances have certainly grasped those and the signing of at least one of these is much desired. There has been speculation that Ally Graham, scorer against Hearts, has simply used Queen's as a tool to improve his own fitness and put himself in the shop window for other clubs. If correct, then he will have succeeded in doing so and perhaps Graham will have to be written off; in any case, a striker of slightly less experience ( Graham is 36 ) is preferrable.
As far as goalkeepers go, two new ones have been tried out so far; Steven McGovern, previously of Airdrie, played for part of the Hearts match and a player by the name of Aitchison was fielded in Arran. A number of younger players appear likely to play more prominent roles in the coming season, with the likes of John Thompson, Louis Waters and Andy McGinty gaining experience in the admittedly low-key environment of pre-season matches.
So it is clear that further moves still have to be taken to extend the squad before the St. Mirren game in a fortnight; it is still true that we have lost players of quality, and whether we will be able to fill their positions with others of similar stature is debatable. On the other hand, Queen's have retained a number of players who could well have turned their backs on the club so things are far from despondent. And two of our most influential players - Tony Quinn and Steven Moffat - have both recovered from their long-term injuries of last season and while Quinn has picked up another problem that might keep him out for the first one or two games of the season, the availability of these players virtually from the off will re-engender the side with greater solidity and calm.
Soon to be posted are match details for the five pre-season games played so far; when available, these will be accessible through the 2003/04 Fixtures page.
4 July Scrimgour signs for new season
It has been reported that Derek Scrimgour has agreed to stay with the club. The former St. Mirren goalkeeper was signed in January, but did not make any appearances, partly due to the remarkable fact that he was unavailable due to work most Saturday afternoons. Given his previous no-shows, and personal doubts over whether or not to continue his footballing career, it has to be debatable whether or not he is the man to keep goal long-term, but he may be given the no. 1 jersey come August.
2 July Little transfer activity to report
Next week sees the pre-season matches get underway and the Queen's squad still has a skeletal feel to it. These games will allow KB the chance to assess any triallists he may be hoping to sign ahead of the opening cup-tie against St. Mirren on 2nd August - and new players are definitely required. Several key members of last season's underachieving squad have left and need to be adequately replaced. And not just a striker and a goalkeeper. At least two new forwards will be needed to beef up the pool and provide the sort of competition Brannigan has stated is necessary. In the wide areas, at least one new face is required to provide the creativity which the current set of players lack somewhat. Chris Fisher would, in an ideal world, be a neat replacement for James Allan but for speculative reasons this is unlikely. Along with Steven Canning, it seems that Fisher has been made expendable but the club have kept the fans in suspense thus far about their futures. One story implies that the two have been told they can leave but will be allowed to train with the retained players. This is unsatisfactory and I for one hope these players will stay on, but it seems highly doubtful.
Many of our potential rivals next season have been signing in bulk - Stranraer for one, and Gretna and Elgin, who like us will be looking for significant improvement, also. To my mind a radical overhaul was never necessary but a few players with greater experience and belief to augment the talents of those already there certainly is.
1 July Taggart may be leaving
It has been suggested that Craig Taggart may be about to quit Queen's Park. The club had reported Taggart's agreement to stay for next season, but doubt has now been cast on whether this will actually happen. The midfielder did not impress during last season and was barely used by Kenny Brannigan, who nonetheless seemed to detect hidden qualities in the player.
