Caley Stan

1 hour ago, Yngwie said:

Interesting that after that remarkable run of clean sheets (10 in 11 matches) we’ve now gone 6 games without one. Not that I’m complaining, as overall the team seems to be playing better now.

We went back to basics after the Dumbarton travesty and have slowly introduced more attacking intent. 

I really enjoyed watching us today, particularly in the first hour when Doran, Polwarth & Vigurs were a cut above anything Queens had in midfield. While I remain an Oakleyskeptic, I thought he did a good job of hassling their centre-halfs and the creative players had more space as a result.  

We retreated & tired in the last half hour, but Calder & Donaldson deserve a mention for going full pelt right to the end. Excellent performances from both.

The standard of refereeing is the same for every team in the league and Robbo needs to take responsibility for failing to have us prepared for it. The likes of Dumbarton, Morton and Livingston are clearly coached to play a physical game which is constantly on the edge of the rules and they apply it with discipline. We try to play more football than those sides, and when our play is thwarted and decisions don't go our way, certain players lose their heads. 

Vigurs' red seems harsh, but he has been the worst culprit throughout the season. Robbo suggests he's got a reputation for being "talkative". If that means aggressively swearing in faces of the officials then it's hardly surprising if they bear a grudge.  

I'll lay out this team just to try and get my head around it. Many surprises:

                           Ridgers                          

McKay  Donaldson  Warren  Chalmers

                   Trafford    Vigurs                  

       Mulraney    Polworth    Doran

                            Oakley                             

Polworth and Vigurs.

I would continue with Baird over Oakley until we make further signings. While Baird is clearly not a goal threat, he puts in a power of work and links well with the midfield. Oakley is also hard working, and has more physical presence, but he offers almost nothing in terms of link play. Whether he's competing in the air or receiving the ball to feet, it's a complete lottery as to whether we will retain possession. 

Very poor management from Robbo to leave us with such poor options up front for the first half of the season. 

A very poor performance. Morton were carving us open at will until they scored and could've had the game wrapped  up inside twenty minutes had it not been for some excellent goalkeeping from Ridgers. Thereafter, they sat off us and saw the game out very comfortably without conceding  a single shot on target. Whilst i agree that the referee was abysmal, i think we should also recognise that Morton were far more disciplined than us - all the holding, pushing, time-wasting, winding people up and cynical fouling is clearly coached and well controlled. We, on the other hand, have Vigurs lunging with two feet in the centre of the park for no good reason and Baird pushing Quitongo right in front of the referee while waiting to be booked for a previous retaliation on the same player.  I gave Baird a bit of an earful at that point as he seemed to be losing his head and he gave some back as well. I was quite embarrassed later in the game to discover that i had been seated next to Mrs Baird, Mama Baird and Baby Baird throughout. 

The play-offs are starting to look out of our reach now. The likes of Morton probably have a smaller budget and inferior players but they're just much better drilled for playing in this division. 

A special mention for Cappielow. It's a delightful time warp, the kids got in free and were presented with a big bag of free sweets from youth team players on arrival, and they played Frankie Laine. It's just the best ground in Scottish football. 

Obviously we're crying out for physical presence up top but I don't think it's up for discussion until we bring someone in. Oakley just doesn't offer nearly enough to justify a starting place.

No, that's a Crown accent.

It was a bit disjointed & we defended far too deep in the first half but we still look pretty solid & kept the run going. Polly & Vigurs at the heart of all our good play again. Can't believe Polly's still getting stick - there will be bids for him in January on current form. Great to see Doran coming on.

Rae's won me over with the dolphin analogy.

A very tight competitive game in which we had the better chances. Mulraney played well but should've scored when clean through in the 1st half. Bell was more composed with his 1 on 1 in the 2nd but Alexander made a brilliant save. Polworth and Vigurs stood out again, although perhaps not quite at their best. They were both down with knocks during the game and you wonder what we'd be without them.

Superb support. 

When i first saw Joe Chalmers prancing along the Forthbank touchline i thought he looked like a dud of Vetleesque proportions. At full-back he was frequently done for pace and appeared to have  a complete lack of positional awareness. When Robbo moved him into midfield that night his sanity was questioned by most of the travelling support - Chalmers offered nothing positive there, misplacing passes and getting in the way when we tried to create openings down that side. Since then, i've caught a couple of glimpses of his fabled sweet left foot, but seen little to question that first impression. Until yesterday. 

Yesterday he was one of our best players, making a number of interceptions in midfield, retaining possession well by playing simple balls into Vigurs and Polworth, and getting to bye line on a couple occasions including for the excellent cross that led to the corner for the opening goal. 

Did anyone see this coming? 

17 hours ago, Robert said:

This is a national event, supported by many companies and organisations.

The club should be applauded for participating.

It's not a national event - Armed Forces Day is in June. I think Renegade and Kingsmills are correct to broaden the topic to raise concerns about US style jingoism. The feting of military personnel is dangerous. It's used by governments to stir up nationalist fervour and provide public support support for imperialist foreign interventions. 

To those who say they'd be happy to support a similar day for nurses or teachers or whatever - you're not being asked to. Only armed forces. Why?

Excellent performance all round. I was particularly impressed with the composure we showed to see the game out.  Champing at the bit to see these highlights, especially Jake skinning his man on the bye line.   

On 9/25/2017 at 1:58 PM, Caley Stan said:

Robertson's failed to restore confidence to the side, and during the 2nd half on Saturday they showed a lack of desire and a loss of discipline. Some of his signings are so out of their depth (Ridgers, Elsdon, Chalmers, Oakley) that there is no trust between the players. He's changing the shape almost every week and never influences a game through substitutions or tactical changes.  

I'd take Houston or McIntyre in a minute. 

Happy to say i jumped the gun with the seething mess above. I still think Robbo made some poor signings and we are probably unable to challenge for the play-offs as a result, but he deserves a lot of credit for stabilising things. To take the side from that loss of discipline at Dumbarton to yesterday's solid, composed performance in a month without conceding a goal is some feat. 

13 hours ago, Robert said:

Agreed on that.

Have Warren and Donaldson played together as a two man central defence this season?

Could be our strongest pairing.

They played together at Dumbarton. It wasn't pretty.

12 minutes ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

I've said it before, but one solution would be to make Carl the Captain. Gary needs to focus on getting himself back to being a calming influence. I think the Captain's armband has added to his problems.  

Warren is finished. He cannot defend when the ball is below his head. Every attacking player in Scottish football now knows that if they run at him they will either go past him or win a free kick. It happened throughout last season and sadly, it's continuing at this level.

Robertson's failed to restore confidence to the side, and during the 2nd half on Saturday they showed a lack of desire and a loss of discipline. Some of his signings are so out of their depth (Ridgers, Elsdon, Chalmers, Oakley) that there is no trust between the players. He's changing the shape almost every week and never influences a game through substitutions or tactical changes.  

I'd take Houston or McIntyre in a minute. 

6 hours ago, ICTFC said:

 

Big changes next week? Obviously Tremarco, perhaps Mulraney, but i'm not seeing anyone else on that bench to improve this team.

1 hour ago, Pele_Is_God said:

Rice is an excellent coach. Manager is the problem...

All 3 of them?

Good 2nd half performance after a shaky start. We reverted to a back 4 with Trafford sitting in front. Vigurs played further forward & Polworth was again given a lot of freedom. Connor Bell came in from the left to support Baird when we attacked. The 1st half was scrappy with few chances at either end. Although Brechin didn't create much, they had Elsdon & McKay flustered on a couple of occasions & must've returned from the break thinking they could still take something from the game. How wrong they were. We dominated them completely & should've scored more. Vigurs & Trafford bossed the midfield, repeatedly sending Polworth off to drive into space through the middle. Robbo's got him playing in his best position now, & the centre of midfield looks to have a nice balance. 

For all that, i'm still a bit worried about the rest of the team. 

46 minutes ago, Renegade said:

Polworth played as a number ten in the first half as part of a 3-4-1-2 and I do thought he did pretty well on the whole - far better than last week and his previous stints on the wings.  In the second we went defensive and seemed to have him alongside Trafford in a 3-1-4-2 where he was much less effective.

Morton weren't prepared for that system & Polworth found loads of space in the first 20 minutes while Vigurs & Trafford controlled the midfield. We should have killed it in that opening spell but Duffy clearly saw what was going on & flooded the midfield. Morton were the better team thereafter & missed good chances in the second half. 

It was my first proper look at this team having only been at Stirling so far this season. Hats off to Robbo for changing the system - it definitely suits Polwarth and we look more able to create chances. Chalmers was more comfortable in a back 3 & Warren had a good game but McKay struggled. Neither wing-back made much of an impression, Trafford faded & Vigurs was good throughout. I wonder if he's upped his game or if he just looks better because he's surrounded by such mediocrity.

Oakley was very poor. If Susan is as bad as people are saying then we really need to sign someone to play alongside Baird or Bell. 

Sad news. Still, i'm off to stick a tenner on him to be appointed as our next manager. 

Charles, as you're "winding down" and "not all that fussy", can't you be a bit more explicit? Those of us with no more than a passing acquaintance with The Heathmount don't know what you're getting at. 

5 hours ago, Renegade said:

The Twitter account 'Mr Fly On The Wall' says that the striker is Curacao international Felitciano Zschusschen.  Formerly of FC Twente and now in the German fourth tier at Saarbrucken.

We were linked with this guy last year. Who actually identifies our targets?