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Robertsons big changes


Moogthurso

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What are our big options as who is fit....

Goalkeeper i am lost. Cammy Mackay if no ofw but is he available?

I would say chalmers at lcb with warren.

At least he listens is a lot quicker than  brad and can tackle.  He can head the ball distribution could improve but think mackay needs dropped. Have supported him but think he is part of the problem. Think we need warren. Cant put elsdon in (no jason brown should never have got rid) and dont trust donaldson.  Only other option is to go three at back with raven. 

Obvious lwb in tremarco. Rb in raven or seedorf when fit. 

Trafford (who is backup)

Vigurs polworth is there any better options?

Mulreany                   bell

                      Foy

Oakley not fit. Baird missing chances susan.........

Cant see any other big changes we can make.

Anyone else have ideas?

 

 

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http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/15543236.John_Robertson__Experienced_players_have_let_down_Inverness/

 

Interesting piece on who should potentially be left out for Dumbarton, given Oakley and Mulraney were the 2 used subs (as well as Tremarco but no blame there):

JOHN ROBERTSON let rip at experienced campaigners in his squad who have piled early season pressure on Inverness Caley Thistle through basic mistakes.

In a scathing assessment of Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Livingston, the Highlanders’ manager said he understood why supporters had booed his team from the field.

Robertson, while acknowledging a positive performance for the first hour, berated his players for squandering goalscoring opportunities and making simple defensive mistakes.

 

He was also highly-critical of the lack of impact made by substitutes who had previously demanded to know why they were not being selected.

After just one win from six opening Championship matches, last season’s relegated Premiership club sit nine points behind the leaders and two points off bottom place.

Robertson said: “We’re asking players to do basic things and these basic things are costing us.

“Players get free from set pieces – basic. Players not going with runners – basic. Players not pulling the trigger to shoot – basic.

“There’s a mental block we’re going to have to get over, and quickly.

“That’s two weeks in a row where, had we taken our chances at the right time, we could have been sitting on the coat-tails of the leaders.

“We’re not. We find ourselves in the bottom three, looking over our shoulders at what’s below us.

“The last half hour against Livingston was a performance that puts everyone here under pressure. It puts players under pressure, coaching staff under pressure – but we have to deal with it.”

Robertson, addressing the jeers from the stands, said: “Listen, the fans are quite right. We’ve got to give them something to cheer about.

“We did that in the first half, even after we went behind. I thought the fans were behind us and knew we were unlucky not to be in front.

“When Livingston went 2-1 ahead, you could understand them starting to grumble because they’ve seen us spurn many opportunities.

 

“There was a wee spell at 2-1 where we’ve created some wonderful chances but not pulled the trigger.

“Liam Polworth has a glorious chance where, in training, he’d have curled it into the corner. Instead, he tried to pick somebody out in the middle.

“That’s when the frustration starts. We’re trying to score the perfect goal rather than just smash it into the back of the net.

“You could hear the frustration growing and when their guy hits the third goal you can understand why the fans aren’t happy.

“I’m not happy. The coaching staff are not happy, so why shouldn’t the fans be unhappy? We have no issues in that regard.

“This is where players have to be strong and stand up to it.

“That was the disappointing aspect. At 3-1 behind, we started to chase the game without discipline, running into positions which were not natural.”

Turning his wrath on the substitutes, Robertson exempted Carl Tremarco, back after April’s cruciate injury, from criticism.

But he said: “You’re asking substitutes to go on and make an impact – and we got nothing.

“Carl Tremarco got forward down the lines, but the other two went on and barely registered a touch, barely did anything.

“And these are the guys who are knocking on your door asking why they’re not in the team. When they are given their opportunity, they show you nothing.

“We’ve been loyal and have worked hard to get the right people for the right positions. We seemed to be making progress.

 

“But once we lost the second goal, we fell apart – and that’s the worrying thing. Experienced players are making basic errors.”

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Fully support those comments from Robertson regarding the lack of impact from the subs (excusing Tremarco obviously). Whilst he is still only 21 I am stunned at how easy a ride Mulraney seems to get from our support. For such a potentially exciting talent with bags of pace and a decent bit of skill he has zero end product. I can't recall a time when he has either scored or set up a goal for us. He could be a game changing player for us yet he seems to just let games pass him by.

Edited by RiG
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Players get free from set pieces – basic. Players not going with runners – basic. Players not pulling the trigger to shoot – basic.

Seems to heavily overlook a keeper that has no command of the area, poor at shot stopping, doesn't seem to communicate to organise his defence and every clearance or out ball is a panicked hoof upfield. A clean sheet starts from the back and if the defence have no confidence in the man behind them and no instruction its not going to help either. 

As for players not shooting, when you look at the squad its hardly got a player with a history of being prolific - look at Baird, he seems to be our main striker option and he's been at this level for years and barely gets double figures every year.

Its fine to point out the faults and be critical of the players but ultimately the formation, starting line up, recruitment and tactics rest at the managers door and if we have a disorganised team, without shape who chase the game then he has to take responsibility and blame as well. 

 

 

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I wasn't at the game on Saturday but am surprised to hear Robbo aiming the public criticism at Oakley and Mulraney equally. From what I've seen of him in other games he seems to have put a decent shift in.  

Criticism of Mulraney is fair game though. Clearly the lad has pace and great ball skills but he doesn't get any end result out of anything good he does. He's had over a season to prove he can cut it and must be close to the manager saying enough is enough. For all his skills, he seems to lack both the motivation and a footballing brain. 

At the Q&A session earlier in the year Robbo referred to some of the youngsters and said that if they are good enough they are old enough. Time to give youth a chance I think rather than keep hoping against hope that Mulraney will come good. 

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Youth/development players who went on loan to Wick came back last week not sure who they were but surely brought back for a reason, as DoofersDad says good enough old enough.

Who is our defensive coach?  Must look strongly at the coaching staff as they seem to be the mainstay Kellacher/Rice of the last 2 and a bit seasons where we have gone downhill surely Cathro would like a job with Robbo in the Highlands!

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Not to be too critical but what, exactly , can Mr. Cathro bring to the Highlands? He also seemed to fail in the" motivation of players department"  and Hearts couldn't spare enough time to allow him to make his mark. I fear he is a bit too cerebral compared to a perhaps more down-to-earth Manager.  He would also command another big salary and probably would not stay at a lower level club like ICT . I just don't see him alongside J. Robertson who has a mind of his own.                         .Last, but by no means least , seriously, do you think that this "High Flyer" manager would admit that he is not as great as he might think by coming to a relegated team who is still not consistently winning matches?

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What has Hughes(his last season) Foran Rice Kellacher Shearer or Robertson brought to the Highland's for that matter?  2 managers that are out of there depth clearly and backroom staff that are stagnating.  When a manager moves on so should the backroom staff.  Cathro was just an idea, the club's coaching needs an overhaul from top to bottom.  Suggesting a young manager out of work wouldn't jump at the chance to reinvigorate a failing team is a bit naive, think plenty would like the chance to manage in Inverness if given the proper structure by the board but clearly that hasn't been the case so far.

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3 hours ago, Yngwie said:

I think I heard Robbo say in his post-match interview that we are playing Brora tonight. Would be interesting to know what changes he makes as it might give clues for Saturday and beyond, but will this be a closed doors match?

Aye it will be a closed doors game. I asked on Twitter a few days back 

 

Screenshot_20170919-140251.png

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A few thoughts:

As I wrote on the Livingston matchday thread, we have a real lack of quality at the back and up front.

Out of the back four and keeper that played on Saturday, only Raven can be trusted.  Tremarco is a huge upgrade, both defensively and going forward, on Chalmers.  In the centre we have a real problem; Warren and McKay are both really struggling - I worry that the former's decline is now irreversible (much like Grant Munro around the time County binned him), while McKay has the physical tools but can't put a solid 90 minutes together without several errors.  However Elsdon doesn't look ready and Donaldson is a bit of an unknown quantity so I don't know what we can do here.  Moving Raven or Tremarco inside would weaken us in the full-back areas.  As for in goal, Robbo needs to make his peace with OFW, and fast.

Up front, part of the issue is players seem to have been brought in without a specific role in mind, as shown by the frequent changes in formation between matches.  The lack of pace is a real weakness - Baird used to have some but, like Warren, he looks to be past his best.  Cooper is neat and tidy but offers very little creativity or threat.  Bell looks a clever customer who could work well with a partner, but I was disappointed by how knackered he looked after an hour on Saturday.  

Oakley?  He had a good hour against Dundee United; I often feel it is harsh to criticize sub strikers for a lack of impact as it can be hard to pick up the pace of a game.  If we were to play him along with a clever creative player and a pacy winger (Bingham-Ritchie-Wilson anyone?) I think that would be a decent combo.

Which brings me to Mulraney - I'm going to go against the grain here and defend him a bit.  Too rarely is he put in a situation where he can make a major impact - 20 minutes against a packed Livingston defence is no good for a player who is all about building up speed and dribbling past players, as there is no space to operate in.  His few good performances have been against teams who have been playing wing backs (Accies in May) or have very adveturous full-backs (Rangers in January) - Livingston fell into the former category and in hindsight he would have been a far more useful option than Cooper from the start.  He's not done a lot to justify my faith but I do feel that he shouldn't be written off until he's actually started a few games in succession, rather than a cameo here and there.  And he's the only quick attacker we have. When Doran is fully fit I'd play him, Oakley and Mulraney as the front three.

 

(Puts on tin hat, awaits incoming...)

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Last year Mulraney had 13 starts and came on a a sub 19 times.  This year it is 3 starts and on as a sub 5 times.  That is 40 games he has been a part of and he has yet to score a goal and yet to make an assist.  It's up to him to make an impact when he is given a chance.  He has been lucky that he has had so many chances to impress but unfortunately he continues to flatter to deceive.  It really is time for someone else to get a chance.

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Ridgers - Does he realise he CAN come out of his six yard box and try and win the ball? He is totally useless and has no presence in the box. Can I go in goal next Saturday as I would do better!!!!

As for Mulraney, what does he do but run with the ball a bit, fall over and get stupid bookings. He certainly has had hardly any assists, and what comes round more often, Haley's Comet or a Mulraney goal????  The former for sure. 

Aaron Doran please hurry up and come back. 

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Don't know about you, but I'm really starting to feel that Robbo is going to chuck it quite soon. If things get any worse, he could easily resign and then head back down the road and get a job at Hearts again. The more time goes on the more convinced I am that that'll happen before the season is out. 

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18 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

Last year Mulraney had 13 starts and came on a a sub 19 times.  This year it is 3 starts and on as a sub 5 times.  That is 40 games he has been a part of and he has yet to score a goal and yet to make an assist.  It's up to him to make an impact when he is given a chance.  He has been lucky that he has had so many chances to impress but unfortunately he continues to flatter to deceive.  It really is time for someone else to get a chance.

Mulraney on Saturday looked completely dis-interested and in my mind raised the question of whether he was one of Richie's bad apples.  

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