Tree

Devine was always an accident waiting to happen. We have benefitted from a couple of ricks since he left when we played both Partick and Dunfermline

Yawn. Oh sorry, think I fell asleep 💤

Rumour is circulating that this time the appeal will not be heard by the Three Blind Mice!

It’s been pretty obvious that we have lacked firepower up front since the start of this season. Jordan is a very honest player but is not a goal scorer and is not a target man in the traditional sense either. If we had a Shankland up front we would be a shoe-in for 2nd and possibly be able to challenge for 1st.

Game is off

Oh no you didn’t!

What a manager says to the press always has to be taken with a pinch of salt so I don't read too much into Robo'scomments. I could copy and paste much of what I said after the last home game against Alloa however and Robo seems to be watching a different game in not recognising our limitations. Whilst Jordan is clearly an 'honest' player and puts a shift in it is clear that the manner in which we play is heavily affected/constrained when he is on the park and we become one dimension and not a particularly great dimension at that. The first game against Alloa with Curry up front was a different style (even though much of our play was sloppy). When we play Jordan we effectively operate with a player who lacks mobility and will only play in front of the defense. This works fine for a target man such as Higdon or Brewster who will hold up play bring others in, etc. Jordan is not capable of this and it is made worse by the number on times he is on his heals and reacts slowly to balls coming his way. Whilst the standard of ball forward to him was not great (wind had a part possibly), he will either not connect with the ball or if he does none of our players know where the ball is going hence why it breaks down. Against better defenders the physical presence is nullified and we effectively end up playing with 10 men. We also end up with the ball coming back very quickly and midfielders lack options and therefore have to play sideways or backwards. Others can be criticised from yesterday however when I saw the team before the game it was demoralising in that the game went the way I expected. I employ three Arabs in one of my offices down south and they all were hoping we would play him as they think we are an easier team to play when he is up front as we are predictable and can be stopped playing without much effort.

Gave my son a hard time for not challenging him and leaving him with a free header ?

A non story and some unnecessary personal insults!

Playing Jordan changes the way in which we play the game and this was clear from the two Alloa matches. Having movement from Curry gave the midfield and wide players options and forced the defenders to cover both in front and behind. With White there is less movement as a front unit and as a result we change to a direct long ball. Jordan is not Higdon or Brewster however and invariably we lose possession when the ball goes forward. He will not run in general behind the defence and therefore it become easier to defend in front only with a deep midfielder closing down the space and we lose possession. We lack edge up front both in terms of general play and goal threat. If we stop the errors at the back this will help but without a true goal threat it is hard to see how anything other than a playoff place is achievable. Should add that I don’t think Todorov is the answer and I don’t think the manager does either!

White’s goal unfortunately does not mask the fact that we were considerably worse up front than last week with Curry. Some of this is due to the early goal which allowed Alloa to park the bus for much of the game. We definitely lack edge in this position and have limited alternative options however with more movement we are likely to create more. For too much of the game the Alloa defence was able to keep the game in front of them.

We are a weaker team this week!

So how does Duncan suggest the club pays for 5 f/t coaches (the 6th is a paid player) required by Project Brave from less than £100k?

Three poor goals to lose however the game showed up our likely Achilles Heel in lack of cutting edge up front. Whilst Jordan scored one he also missed three other decent chances including the last kick (or sclaff) of the game. Others missed chances of course.

The negative impact of Project Brave was well trailed prior to its introduction and whilst worthy in what it is trying to achieve the requirement for clubs to have in effect six full-time employees as a minimum requirement is not sustainable in relation to the income levels in the Scottish game (as well as Academy Director and access to various facilities, etc). We have mitigated this effect to an extent, e.g.by using Carlo as one of the coaches for example, however there has also been a significant number of casulaties along the way due to background politics. A number of clubs have taken the view to in effect pull the plug on youth development. A proposal was made a year ago to try and move the development side into a Foundation however things have gone silent on progress towards this (though if the rumours about the Club under our departed CE requiring the Devlopment Foundation to pay the club for use of IP, training facilities, etc were true then this would partly explain why this has not got off the ground). Brave also does not provide a path for players over the age of 18. This is why we have looked to use Fort William as a vehicle for players. If Alan Savage is to get involved I suspect that youth will be part of the equation as he is passionate about this side of things (obviously bankrolling in effect the Clach Youth side).