I'm sure most of you peeps on here will have seen the after match interview from last night where the gaffer is raging at dropped points. 

He was raging that players were a), ignoring instructions and deciding to do what they like in matches instead of what they get taught in training etc, he also mentioned players taking the huff at being subbed or being on the bench, which he says will change so that sounds like he is planning on a) making wholesale changes for Saturday or b) dipping into the transfer market before the transfer window Slams shut. 

I can actually see a few players leaving in the summer and a completely new team for next season, if Robertson is in charge, which is very likely :ictscarf:

Lets hope the players got an earful last night and put it right on Saturday because, if not, the calls for sackings will increase drastically.

Nothing wrong with a few home truths from the gaffer. Only time will tell if it will work. Sometimes a rant can have the opposite effect.

I'm not too sure if our squad would cope with wholesale changes though. As for the transfer market, I can't see us getting any great quality added to the squad in our financial position.

Queens will be a tough act this weekend. We've not won in 4 and they've not lost in 4. Things do have to change because on current form we'll be nowhere near a play off spot especially as there are only 27 games this season.

We don't have the budget for wholesale changes. That costs money. Generally consistency breeds success (look at our history and Rangers this season). 

I would be more surprised if Robertson wasn't in charge next season. Still feel he is doing a good job, he is consistently losing his better players and having to try and replace them on a lower budget. 

This season hasn't be great but there is lots of caveats within that including injuries and the long spell of not playing which have hampered us. 

 

Stick with it and roll with the punches

It's amazing just how often teams don't press home the numerical advantage.  There's 2 aspects here.  Firstly, the side reduced to 10 men know they have to up their effort and give 100% if they are going to get anything out of the game.  Secondly, the team with the man advantage tend to ease up a little.  It may be subconsciously, but it's there.  What is needed is a conscious effort not to ease off and perhaps to make even more effort.  It is important to constantly close down the opponents and not let them find space.  Doing that allows the extra man to tell.  This is exactly the reason so many big teams get the scares of their lives in cup competitions.  The little teams give everything they've got but the big teams think they just need to turn up.

It sounds as Robbo gave the appropriate message at half time but that it was not taken on board.  Hopefully the players will now have a better understanding of what is expected of them in these situations.  The thing is though, that the team have shown type of determination needed before and been praised for it.  Hopefully we'll see better in the weeks to come.  We'll need to, or we'll find ourselves in the wrong play-offs. 

It wasn't a very dynamic team that we had out there on Wednesday. Solid, disciplined and any other bland cliches you can think of yes but a midfield triangle of Vincent, Welsh and Allardice is fine for knocking the ball around and protecting the back four but it won't pick a pass through a tight midfield and unlock a defence. 

I like Danny Mckay and he took his goal very well but again he isn't a particularly creative wide man. Doran should offer more but it's a big task to ask him to be the main, if not only, creative force in the team. There is a massive Kai Kennedy shaped hole in the team already such was his impact when he was here. At the very least a Tom Walsh type would be very welcome as it would offer some attacking threat on the opposite flank from Doran.

No pressure Robbo...

Edited January 29, 20215 yr by RiG

Any word on Storey? Using his pace wide could help us.

Listening to Robbo, I thought he was a bit hard on Sutherland, and I wonder who he was aiming at with his comments about those subbed and those only on the bench.

We’ve not seen much of Keatings recently so not sure if he has a knock.

For tomorrow, if we are still without Storey, Mckay, Toshney and McHattie, I’d go with:

Ridgers

Duffy Devine Deas Harper

Carson Allardice

Mackay MacGregor Doran

Sutherland

If Storey is fit, I’d start him in place of Doran. 

Edited January 29, 20215 yr by Robert

From what I've been told, Robbo gave them a bit of a blasting at half time after which they seemed to have lost confidence and started the long ball nonsense. Also told that he and Todorov had a bit of a verbal collision which  if true, needs sorted quickly.

2 hours ago, RiG said:

It wasn't a very dynamic team that we had out there on Wednesday. Solid, disciplined and any other bland cliches you can think of yes but a midfield triangle of Vincent, Welsh and Allardice is fine for knocking the ball around and protecting the back four but it won't pick a pass through a tight midfield and unlock a defence. 

I like Danny Mckay and he took his goal very well but again he isn't a particularly creative wide man. Doran should offer more but it's a big task to ask him to be the main, if not only, creative force in the team. There is a massive Kai Kennedy shaped hole in the team already such was his impact when he was here. At the very least a Tom Walsh type would be very welcome as it would offer some attacking threat on the opposite flank from Doran.

No pressure Robbo...

 

This is spot on.

With Kennedy having left we are already down a wide player compared to where we were at the start of the window. Robbo has also previously said he wanted another striker, and I can understand why.

If anything, the defence is the biggest problem. We continue to concede too many soft goals, especially from set pieces. The trouble is that a chunk of budget will be taken up by McHattie and Toshney who have spent the whole season injured.

I appreciate finances will be tight just now, but the trouble is that in football you have to run just to stand still. In this window already Alloa (Innes Cameron), Arbroath (Jack Hamilton), Dundee (Jason Cummings), Hearts (Armand Gnanduillet) and QOS (Dapo Mebude) have brought in forwards who I fancy are better than any we have. If we end up not bringing in any reinforcements then I cannot see us getting anywhere near the playoffs.

There is a pitch inspection at 0900 tomorrow morning. 

We have played the lowest number of games in the league and with the recent challenges with getting matches on will have affected morale and cohesion, throw into that the ongoing Covid situation for players who have to disrupted family lives there will be factors at play. Criticism is the managers prerogative and given his comments in the media recently its fair to assume he considers how public criticisms will be received by the team.

Overall its a very tight league and if we can pick up some wins and momentum to get game parity with those around us, there is every chance we will be around the play-offs. Its worth remembering we probably have a budget that's 4th or 5th biggest in the league and right now that's aligned to where we are punching towards ending up. (not maybe where fans or even the club want to be though)

Edited January 29, 20215 yr by bdu98196

Is it a possibility that he just cant  get the best out of the players he's got.