snorbens_caleyman

15 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

I believe that you can purchase a NOW TV day pass for under a tenner which gives you 24 hours access to SKY Sports.

Thanks, Kingmills.  I was looking at that yesterday, and as far as I could see, there are no strings attached - no other payments or subscriptions needed.  £5.99 yesterday and today, normally £11.99 - no problem since I've been paying £15 for ICT PPV.  My TV has the NOW TV app, and I have also installed their player on my PC.  Will give it a go early on Friday.

Alternatives are finding a pub (very easy in St Albans, the home of CAMRA) showing the game (not so easy), or inviting myself round to a mate's.  But then I would not be able to make use of the language that I was utilising on Friday, mostly directed at Willie Gollum 

13 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

Unfortunately for us, now that St Johnstone are safe from automatic relegation but can't escape the play off place, they have nothing to play for in their final scheduled league match tomorrow and can virtually freewheel and rest as many players as they wish.

No rules about this?  The EFL has a rule that after the 4th Thursday in March, a club's teamsheet for a league game must include 10 outfield players who were on the previous league game's teamsheet.   Of course, you could move a lot of your best players to the subs' bench, but it seems to be a reasonable rule.

40 minutes ago, Naelifts said:

Was looking to book stuff for Friday but just heard on the radio it is Thursday......better check.

Advertised everywhere as Friday, and I've just found it in the Sky Sports schedule for Friday.  I had assumed that it would be BBC.

Guess who doesn't have Sky....

16 minutes ago, buckett said:

I think the elephant in the room, which very few seem to have noticed, is that we were embarrassingly poor and couldn't string more than 2 passes together. Arbroath were way better than us and adapted to the conditions extremely well.

One might suggest that they are more accustomed to such conditions.

However, that's no excuse, and it makes me think of something that I asked in seasons past.  Is there no intelligence in the team?  Can they not see that hoofing long balls into the wind isn't working?  Are they afraid to go against what the gaffer has presumably told them to do?   Surely someone such as Welsh, the captain, or Broadfoot, with his experience, should be able to see that it's not working, and try to get the team to adapt to the conditions.  It's called reading the game.

Or maybe we are just not good or clever enough, in which case life in the Premiership would be nasty, brutish and short.

Random thoughts:

1) Are there still referee supervisors in Scotland?  That is, someone sitting in the stand, observing and reporting to the SFA on the performance of the referee and other officials.  If so, what would they make of last night?  VAR is hugely controversial, but last night surely strengthens the case for it.

2) Was surprised and disappointed that Samuels was substituted at half-time.  Hoofing long balls in his direction hadn't worked, but might have worked a lot better in the second half when playing with the wind.  Even the commentators said so.  He has to start next week - he has stature, and also acceleration.

3) Shane Sutherland - looked a bad one - I wonder if we will see him again.  Two things came to mind - at best, dislocated kneecap, but at worst, anterior cruciate ligament.  6 weeks or so for the kneecap, 6 to 9 months for the ligament.

4) Kirk Broadfoot - earlier in this thread we were saying that he had been poor recently.  So he takes the Man of the Match award, and scores the winning penalty.  What do we know?

5) Not being able to immediately replace an injured player is daft.  The rule - subs can be made on no more than 3 occasions plus half-time during the 90 minutes - needs to be amended to allow replacement of injured players.  Mind you, that would be misused - "Hey Jimmy!  You're injured - come off!" - so just scrap it.

Between injuries and suspensions, what sort of team will we be able to put out next week?

In a fair world, both reds would be cancelled on appeal.  But Collum is refereeing the Cup Final, so the SFA are not going to undermine him, are they?

3 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Willie Collum!  

....

I have a horrible feeling that it will all come down to penalties.

Cross my palm with silver and I'll tell you tomorrow night's winning lottery numbers.

2 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Willie Collum!  

Willie Collum!  

Probably the strongest team we could put out.   Understandable that Mckay is dropped, since he didn't get much out of Arbroath on Tuesday.   I suspect he will come on when Doran runs out of steam.  Sutherland, Chalmers and Samuels are all capable of banging them in.  McAlear too.

I have a horrible feeling that it will all come down to penalties.

7 hours ago, CaleyTennis said:

Can I ask what the hell Kirk got a yellow for because I saw nothing wrong ?

IIRC, deliberate handball just outside the box, pushing the ball away from the Arbroath attacker.  Fairly clear on TV.

Advice for Friday.  Broadfoot please stop making so many mistakes - quite a few in the last few games.   Chalmers, have a quick look around instead of automatically pulling the trigger.  Everyone, stop hoofing long, high balls up the field (unless there's a Gayfield gale behind you ).   And for heaven's sake, please practise penalties - it could well come down to that.

I was thinking last week that I hope we have been practising penalties, in case it comes to that.

I can't remember the last time there was a penalty in any of our games, either for or against us.  Anyone?

7 minutes ago, No Shin Guards said:

I say, it'll 99.9% be St Johnstone now for the play off final now. 

Here's hoping for a trip to Perth a week on Monday. 

Then you'll be a week early, old bean.

30 minutes ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Arbroath will be well and truly up for the next two games. They are going to be tough games with Arbroath well rested ...

On the other hand, they may have lost some sharpness.   Someone on the TV last night said "Players would much rather play than train.".

I've noticed in the past that we are sometimes dodgy after even a one-week break.

Fingers crossed.

So what did you think Dodds was doing when he took off Chalmers and Mckay and put on Harper and Hardy?

I reckoned that, having just equalised, he was settling for the draw, and saving two of his key players for Friday, protecting them from both the pitch and from Partick.

Didn't quite work out that way ....

I am so glad we won that.

A pitch that was a disgrace, and a danger to both teams.  A cynical team committing foul after foul.  A referee who let them off with so much.  Two self-entitled prima donnas in Graham and Tiffoney.  And BBC Shortbread's biased commentators.

Ah well, at least there will be a decent pitch on Friday.  Do we have the same officials, or different ones?

I thought that Partick were going to maim half our team.  At one point nearly every challenge was dangerous.  Took the ref a long time to find his yellow card.

And that was a penalty against Chalmers.  Replay from behind the goal clearly shows the defender pushing Chalmers away with his arm, having tripped him up - and also a very guilty reaction straight afterwards.

Very impressed by the way Chalmers has come on lately.  He's putting in a lot of work up and down that left side.

13 hours ago, TheMantis said:

I’m sure there are a few on this forum who think ‘beside yourself’ is the best place for you…

Mr Guards reminds me, strangely, of a North Korean dictator who used to post here, but is now "Retired".  Is it just me?  

For me, the difference last night was that, for the first 25 minutes at least, we went for the jugular.  Incisive, direct movement, straight at goal.  None of the dithering about outside the box which I have complained about in the past, passing sideways to each other because everyone was too scared to have a go.  Instead it was straight through - run at the defence and cause them problems.

Probably the best game I have seen Sutherland play.  I thought Walsh was immense too - not just his two goals, but he always seemed to be in there, usually in the middle and not on a wing, trying to create and cause trouble.  I'm pleased for him, because at the very start of the season he and Carson were a great partnership down the right-hand side, but then Walsh seemed to lose his way. 

Take the same attitude into the next couple of games, and we'll be fine.

1 minute ago, tm4tj said:

Anyone spot the deliberate mistake on the OFFICIAL PREVIEW

****, I missed it.  How did we do?

48 minutes ago, No Shin Guards said:

I say, which of the chaps should get to put their feet up on Friday night and watch Coronation Street instead?

Basically, anyone who is deemed to be indispensable for the play-offs and can't be risked.  Ridgers, Carson, Broadfoot, etc etc...

Usual aimless, unstructured game.   If we can't put Morton to bed, then what chances in the play-off?

Need to establish authority with another goal early in the second half, or this one could drift away from us.

1 hour ago, Kingsmills said:

We ourselves have to get through the first round first.

Does anyone have a a preference whether they want to face Partick or Raith Rovers ? We have had mixed fortunes against both this season.

Raith, because I like their PPV commentators

2 hours ago, RiG said:

I do see Broadfoot retiring.

Having heard reports of him mentoring other players, being a model professional, and being a stabilising and organising influence on the pitch, I wonder whether there could be a role for him as a defensive coach, whilst retaining his player's registration in case of emergency.

9 hours ago, CaleyTennis said:

its now about time we got out this league, we've been in it far too long which is unacceptable in itself.

I assume you weren't a supporter when both teams spent nearly 110 years in the Highland League?