Ridgers 

Mckay Donaldson McCart tremarco 

Carson Vincent 

Doran keatings Walsh 

Tod

I would go for the above 

Well, that was rubbish. Our defence looks poor and we don’t look that sharp up front either. Its another lacklustre disappointing opening day of the season .

Robbo has to change these tactics, Totally awful to watch and not getting results.

Didn't go to Tannadump but the two cup games I went to were rotten on the eyes.

Not looking forward to Arbroath game now...it could be a banana skin if we don't improve.

3 Headers and one shot all from the centre of the box would indicate where the problem lies , will be interesting to hear what those who were at the game have to say , and When is Robbo going to start Todorov in place of White.

Bottom of the league tonight so the only way is up

Who was meant to be marking shankland? McCart will be the same size as him in height but Donaldson is bigger but I don't think he will have the pace to keep up with him

50 minutes ago, Caley Stan said:

Can't afford Tannadice ticket prices so watching on Arabzone from the balcony of my Greek summer house.

Mental start - poor play from Trafford and Carson let United through the middle for an early chance. Heroic last-ditch defending from Brad kept them out - looks like it might be the last we see of him for a while because he went off later with what looked like a really bad injury. We responded immediately - great work from White on the left to wriggle free and cut back for Keatings who hit the post - should've done better - was in space 12 yards out. 

For the opening goal McCart was caught out by a ball over the top, he recovered well but lost Shankland when United got a cross in from the resulting throw-in.

Walsh's equaliser was a rebound after a good ?Donaldson header from a corner was saved. United went straight up the park and scored - far too easy for them to pick their passes in the final third - this time it was Coll who couldn't match Shankland's run and headed home his second from a cross. 

United are well on top without creating clear-cut chances - they ease past us through the middle and cause problems in wide areas. We are playing everything long to White (who's playing quite well) or wide to Walsh. Doran is anonymous. We are a threat at set-pieces.

Shankland's hat-trick came from another header from a cross. After that, United played within themselves and we saw a lot more of the ball. White missed a decent chance on the 6-yard line from a Trafford cut-back after 55 minutes and we didn't create another chance thereafter. The subs made no impact, Doran switched with Walsh but still couldn't get into the game. Carson had a torrid time at right-back and the other 3 defenders were all embarrassed for the 4th goal. The scoreline could've been higher but for a couple of goal-line clearances.

So, a painful watch - United were better than us in every department but i still think the main issue is in the centre of the park - there isn't a combination among Trafford/Carson/Vincent that either protects the back 4 or provides a platform for the creative players to get into the game. The long ball is a necessity as a result, and Doran and Keatings are wasted without balls to feet.

We have to hope United are just way too good for this league and we're having our usual slow start.

We were poor overall. Only matched them in second half of first half. 

I think we cleared three off the line as well so it could have been even more embarrassing.

 

Edited August 3, 20195 yr by Robert

10 minutes ago, Robert said:

We were poor overall. Only matched them in second half of first half. 

I think we cleared three off the line as well so it could have been embarrassing.

 

It was embarrassing 

Everyone knows Shanklad is a threat In the penalty box and a proven goal scorer so how on earth is he allowed to score all four goals inc!uding three with his head. Surely someone had orders to mark him or did nobody use their brain and take it on their own initiative to do the necessary. We seriously need to sign some defenders - not more strikers.

 

 

36 minutes ago, Belfast Brigade said:

It was embarrassing 

True. Have added “even more”. 

Hard to find positives. 

Ridgers was giving Robbo pelters after the first goal so not sure if he was being blamed. For some reason, he was kicking short to Donaldson or McCart a lot of the time and that led to one of the goals as we got in a tangle. 

Mckay’s injury is hopefully not as bad as it looked. He left on a stretcher. United then targeted Carson, who I thought acquited himself well given he was out of position. 

Donaldson and McCart struggled to contain the lively United front two as the scoreline shows. 

Tremarco was not the player we have seen in recent seasons. 

Vincent has a decent spell when he came on, but is not a holding midfielder. Trafford had a few moments but was largely bypassed. 

Doran and Walsh did not impose themselves. For a spell the Carson / Walsh pairing caused issues for United but they sorted that by pressing up on Carson. 

Keatings did little. 

White was actually doing ok on the service he got. I’d have left him on and taken Doran off.

Todorov and Storey did not really change anything, although Storey looked lively and had a couple of runs.

Worryingly, there seemed to be more bi keeping amongst the players than normal. Hopefully just a reflection on them knowing they were having a bad day rather than anything more untoward.

Hopefully we saw how good United are rather than how bad we are. Time will tell. 

We will get a better feel for it next week against Arbroath. 

Bottom of the league is never a nice feeling, though. 

Edited August 3, 20195 yr by Robert

We really need to pick it up. Didn't go cos £24 is an utter scam, and Bella traffic would've stopped me from getting the bus unless I left at Stupid O'clock. But if we're conceding 4 on the opening day, something's severely wrong (though, not as bad as St Johnstone who conceded 7 at Parkhead with a hat-trick from one of our own), with a squad like that, fair game, Brad was stretchered off, but some work desperately needs done to bolster the defence, from what I read, it was absolute shambles...

Dundee Utd will obviously need to start getting money in having spent so much. Not entirely unexpected that they beat us. The nature of the defeat is highlighting our lack of workable system ie- midfield pairings/defensive frailty/clinical finishing. These have been evident in recent games and cruelly exposed today. Not insurmountable issues with the right attitude and motivation. Going to be a very interesting season and it will be important that we learn quickly and do not lose ground. 

A depressing start to the league : serves to emphasise our clear shortcomings which were all too evident against the other half of Dundee last Sunday.

Oh dear Oh dear same old line up same old tactics changes needed pronto before it is too late. What is up with Coll ? is he miffed he didn't get his move over the summer he is not looking a patch on the player he was

He was getting stick all game, but seemed motivated. He did one of the goal line clearances and had one excellent tackle to prevent another likely goal, but his distribution, and that of McCart, was poorer than we are used to (possibly due to United defending well?). 

We struggled against their pace and the way they switched play all the time, which created space and chances. 

Basically they were playing at a higher level than us. 

Today really highlighted what Polly did for us. 

Edited August 3, 20195 yr by Robert

Yazz has just contacted me and her advice is - "Johndo, We've been broken down, To the lowest turn, Bein' on the bottom line, Sure ain't no fun - Hold on hold on Johndo, Hold on Johndo, ooh ooh aah - The only way is up Johndo, For ICT now, The only way is up Johndo, For you and me and ICT now."

22 hours ago, The Long Man said:

Come on, such a lack of belief for the first game in the season. We beat them last season, then ran out of puff at the end, coupled with some dire refereeing. No reason we can't match them if we play to our strengths and have a half-decent official. Good game to start with, to see where both teams are. I am assuming they will be the favourites so a good test, and a point or three would set our stall out nicely.

Sadly my concern was justified Long Man. 

We need to find out what our strengths are and we cannot blame the officials today. 

I’m trying to remember if we’ve ever had such a heavy defeat on the first day of the season?

4 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

I’m trying to remember if we’ve ever had such a heavy defeat on the first day of the season?

The 3-0 at Livi was a nasty one. 

Livi also did us 3-0 at home in Pele's first league game. 

We lost 4-0 away to Dunfermline in the opening day in '99.

And 3-0 at home to Rangers in '07. 

And 3-0 at Fir Park in '11.

This is just a thing we do. Everything will be allright. 

Ah yes, I was even at some of those, but managed to erase them from my mind until your helpful reminder. ?

4 hours ago, Polo Chick said:

Oh dear Oh dear same old line up same old tactics changes needed pronto before it is too late. What is up with Coll ? is he miffed he didn't get his move over the summer he is not looking a patch on the player he was

What changes would you make?

This early defeat will either depress Robbo in the short term or goad him into definitive reaction.

If D. United can start with such enterprise and sweeping dynamism in the first game then  it does appear that Robbo may have a real uphill struggle on his hands. So how quickly will he react with verve and a REAL plan to address the negative issues that the team has encountered so far? 

And the big question is .."does he have the  class of player and resources to provide the  answer?" 

6 hours ago, SteveA said:

What changes would you make?

I would start Todorov instead of White just to see if that makes a difference but the style of play needs to change hoofing the ball not working

Slight over reaction in the first of 36 games. Shankland was first class. Most of our players improved after the Dundee game. However, Robbo's loyalty to maintaining team spirit will surely change for next week. Todorov must start up front.

From a Dundee United perspective that was a peak performance. However, I doubt if they will sustain it. As for Shankland, he must avoid the injury he had late last season or a new one from some tough Championship defenders, or else the heads will drop at United.

And yes £24 entry for away supporters is surely a sign that they are paying to help United fund Shankland's large signing on fee and SPFL wages.

 

9 hours ago, Caley Stan said:

Livi also did us 3-0 at home in Pele's first league game. 

We lost 4-0 away to Dunfermline in the opening day in '99.

And 3-0 at home to Rangers in '07. 

And 3-0 at Fir Park in '11.

This is just a thing we do. Everything will be allright. 

Not forgetting 2017: 0-1 at home to DUFC on the opening day followed by 1-5 at East End the following week. Vigurs and Polworth both played. Mind you, so did Elsdon, Calder and Seedorf.