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hislopsoffsideagain

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  1. hislopsoffsideagain
    A wee plug for this article for the outstanding Scottish football website The Terrace (written by yours truly) I'm sure it'll bring back a few memories! http://terracepodcast.net/scottish-premiership/2014/5/15/hot-goal-time-machine-inverness-ct
  2. hislopsoffsideagain
    Have to say that I thought DD summed up yesterday really well. In the first half our play was directionless. Again, and again, and again, it was sideways, backwards, sideways, backwards, and repeat until the ball was given away in our own half. Our tempo was too slow to particularly wear St Johnstone out, or to carve them open. There was precious little width and our attacks tended to stall just in front of the penalty area as all our forwards moved into that central area. The second half was completely the opposite. We were far more direct and decisive with the ball. We were more willing to throw players forward, particularly the full-backs, which gave us width. Possibly because they had the cup final in mind, St Johnstone couldn't, or wouldn't cope with the increased pace of our play. We carved out numerous chances and it was terrific to watch. It proves we can keep the ball on the deck but still play attractive attacking football. The trouble is that the first half reminded me of many of our games in 2014, while the second half reminded me of many of our games in 2013. It seems far more likely that Yogi made the necessary changes at half-time, rather than the players spontaneously reverting to type. But, pessimist that I am, the thought had crossed my mind... I strongly believe that we are a better team - and, with these players, will always be a better team - playing the way we did in the second half yesterday. That's simply because, in my opinion, you can't play like Barcelona unless you have Xavi at the base of your midfield, rather than Tansey. If Yogi proves me wrong, then brilliant. But, with 'Butcher-esque' tactics, we will be top six next season. With Yogi tactics, I'm not nearly as confident. At least, following that win, we have now scored more points with Yogi (29 from 25 games) than without him in the dugout (28 from 13 games).
  3. hislopsoffsideagain
    Barcelona, Chelsea, AC Milan.... Though all utilised their full backs to good effect. Barcelona play with wide forwards - Pedro/Sanchez/Neymar/Tello spend a huge amount of their time out on the touchline. Ditto Hazard and Willian at Chelsea. (Can't really comment on Milan as I don't follow Serie A) In these teams, players start wide and wander infield, drawing full backs inside and so creating space for their own full backs to attack. This is different from not playing any attacking players wide at all, which is what we are doing. In addition, Barcelona, Chelsea and Milan have players who are about a million times more talented than those you find in the Scottish Premiership.
  4. hislopsoffsideagain
    1. Butcher - he took us to top six and left us with a team lying second in the league. He also did wonders for our profile! 2. Paterson - it was just so much fun. Every home game was an absolute joy, even if we didn't win 3. Christie - hugely underrated for me. Tactically astute and kept us punching above our weight. 4. Robertson - took us up, but I don't know how well we would have done in the SPL if he had remained 5. Brewster (first time round) - how much of his success was down to Brewster the player? 6. Brewster (second time round) - after an initial bounce, his relationship with the players collapsed and the writing was on the wall months before his departure 7. Baltacha - I was only about 10, but I still remember that we were rubbish, and boring, under his charge 8. Hughes - has accomplished the remarkable feat of making decent players look useless. May yet become our shortest serving manager ever
  5. hislopsoffsideagain
    Someone has written a blog on Hughes here
  6. hislopsoffsideagain
    I imagine that, if a poll was held now over whether Hughes should be sacked or not, the results would be rather different from when this thread was started. There is certainly a bit more sympathy for Mahonio's opinion now!
  7. hislopsoffsideagain
    I think anybody who attended last night's match will now be pretty certain that we are heading for disaster unless there is a change in style or a change in manager. I'm going to be sniggering all day at the thought that Yogi believes our players need "educated". He could do with learning from two people who sat close to me last night - firstly, a girl of 9 or 10 who said loudly within the first 10 minutes that "there's much too much passing!" - and secondly, my partner (who has barely watched any football in her life), who turned to me at half-time and said - "why do they keep trying to go down the middle? There's never any space." I thought it was hilarious that the pitch was watered at half-time - was that to make our 'slick passing game' even slicker?! This style of play isn't even enjoyable to watch - it is so slow that it becomes mind-numbingly boring. There were several times where we counter-attacked - only for the play to be slowed down, the ball passed back to the halfway line, knocked around a few times, then possession lost. I don't think we had an attempt on goal from inside the Motherwell box last night. That's pretty damning. It was hard for us to chase a goal, given that Hughes appeared to have told Vincent, Christie, Watkins and Mckay to play in pretty much the same position, so that they just got in each other's way. But hey, maybe that's because they need "educated".
  8. hislopsoffsideagain
    For those who are interested, this is what the table would look like where ICT if the season started on 4 December, when Yogi was appointed. 1. Celtic 49 (18 games) 2. Aberdeen 36 (17 games) 3. Motherwell 32 (16 games) 4. Dundee Utd 31 (18 games) 5. St Johnstone 24 (18 games) 6. Kilmarnock 24 (18 games) 7. ICT 21 (18 games) 8. Ross County 20 (19 games) 9. Hibernian 18 (18 games) 10. Partick 17 (18 games) 11. St. Mirren 13 (19 games) 12. Hearts 12 (17 games)
  9. hislopsoffsideagain
    Of course, as I imagine you have guessed, I don't have any coaching badges or experience of managing an SPL team. I didn't realize this was a prerequisite for having an opinion. I imagine you don't have either of these things either, so why are you allowed to give us your views? Frankly, if a complete moron like me can spot all these problems quite easily, then it doesn't reflect very well on the management team that they can't. I was trying to think of any team which had been successful with so many central midfielders playing at once. I guess Spain would be one. Unfortunately, they have Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Busquets and Iniesta. We have "guid honest laddies". Can anyone think of another team who have played with four central midfielders at the same time and been consistently successful? If not, then clearly we are lucky to have such a visionary in charge...
  10. hislopsoffsideagain
    Ditch the 4-2-3-1 formation again, even though it works and the players are most comfortable with it, in favour of a 4-4-1-1 system? CHECK. Two central midfielders playing out of position on the wing, with no wide players picked whatsoever? CHECK. Telling the players at half time to sit in and invite pressure, even though we were massively on top in the latter stages of the first half? CHECK. Not changing things around in the slightest even when St. Mirren changed their system? CHECK. Bringing off our centre-forward and replacing him with a winger, who looked like he had never played centre forward in his life? CHECK. Firing off a load of pathetic clichés in the post-match interview? (Probably - I haven't heard it yet, but it seems like a safe assumption). The thing is that I thought the players did the best they could today, even though they were held back by dreadful tactics. Vincent must be regretting signing that contract, when Hibs would have paid him more and played him in a position he's comfortable with. It's no secret that St. Mirren's right-back, Naismith, likes to bomb on at pace, but Yogi clearly hadn't scouted St. Mirren at all and so Vincent got left for dead again and again by an overlapping full-back who was so much faster than him. Our midfielders did their best to get on the ball in the first half, even though all four of them kept trying to occupy exactly the same areas of the pitch. Add in a useless referee - and they don't come more useless than Willie Collum - and you have a side who were a bit lucky not to lose to a St. Mirren team who were possibly the weakest I've seen us play against all season. They were dreadful, even when we were down to 10 men. Not happy. Not happy at all. We have a decent squad of players, you know. Their attitude is superb, and they can play a bit too. But they're being held back by a manager who doesn't know what he is doing.
  11. hislopsoffsideagain
    His team selections and tactics disappoint me hugely. He clearly doesn't do his homework on his opponents at all - when Aberdeen were 4-0 up at half-time against us, it was because he hadn't considered how to deal with Pawlett playing through the middle. Playing 4-4-2 against Celtic and Dundee United was clearly a disaster waiting to happen. He failed to restore Gary Warren to the team last night despite the fact that neither Meekings nor Devine would win an aerial battle with John Sutton. And Vincent on the wing?! He has ditched a 4-2-3-1 formation that worked, and which our squad is set up for, in favour of first 4-4-2 and now a 4-1-4-1 which leaves Mckay isolated and bereft of support, and makes us absolutely brutal to watch. We have gone from being a side who scored goals, conceded few and which played good football to a side that can't pass, can't defend and can't score. Yogi was given a winning formula by Butcher. Why on earth has he tried changing it? The only explanation I can think of is that his ego dictated that he had to make changes, so it was 'his team' and not Butcher's. Let's face it, he won't last beyond the end of next season. My concern is that we keep him on for several months after it is clear that he's not the answer - a la Brewster - and we end up relegated as a result.
  12. hislopsoffsideagain
    I'm sorry but not playing Gary Warren is lunacy, especially against an aerial threat like John Sutton. I don't care if Devine played well on Sunday - it's a blatantly stupid selection by Yogi. Not happy.
  13. hislopsoffsideagain
    The defence picks itself, in Warren's absence - Brill, Raven, Devine, Meekings and Shinnie. Mckay up front obviously. I think there's a good chance that Vincent was rested last night because he will start on Sunday, which is fine by me. In my opinion we've been best this season when Vincent has been playing between midfield and attack. He has such a great engine, and a terrific knack for being in the right place to pick up loose balls. He is capable of providing quick support for Mckay or of becoming an extra midfield player as is needed. If we play Foran in that position, he doesn't cover enough ground and it probably becomes a 4-4-2, which leaves us a man short in the centre of the pitch. Assuming he's fit, Doran is a certain starter. I always feel he is more effective in combination with Raven on the right, but playing Watkins gives us more height and an alternative option for Brill and the defenders to aim at if they need to go long. Therefore I'd have Doran on the left, Watkins on the right, and Nick Ross unfortunately misses out because I think there's too big a chance that the game will pass him by. That leaves space for two central midfielders, and Foran, Draper and Tansey to choose from (if you think Polworth should be anywhere near the lineup then you need your head examined). Foran simply has to play, not least because of the leadership he provides. He also offers an aerial presence in an attacking and defensive sense. I tend towards Draper's physical presence rather than Tansey's passing ability...as long as there is a plan in place to stop Pawlett getting behind our midfield with the ball at his feet. So, in conclusion: Brill Raven Devine Meekings Shinnie Draper Foran Watkins Vincent Doran Mckay Subs: Esson, Tremarco, Tansey, Williams, Ross
  14. hislopsoffsideagain
    It's a long time since I've been so frustrated after a match. Two points dropped without question. Incredibly Gary Locke told the BBC afterwards that "a draw was a fair result", even though we led 23-12 on shots, 14-3 on corners and 58-42 on possession. It's also a long time since I felt the need to give a referee a piece of my mind at the final whistle. If nothing else, Craig Thomson's decision to add on only a minute at the end was so dodgy that, to be honest, my first thought was "this is crooked". Hearts' time wasting in the second period was the worst I have seen since we had the misfortune to see Hamilton Accies up here. Jamie MacDonald took about a minute over every single goal kick. And as for that moment when Jamie Hamill picked up the ball and threw it away when Brill was about to take a free kick in the second half, well, it is impossible not to book a player for that.. Meanwhile, he let Paul McCallum commit five fouls before bothering to book him, allowed him to delay a free kick by booting the ball 20 yards away, and let him off with about half a dozen other pushes and shoves. That said, despite the referee, and the incredible negativity of a Hearts side who parked the bus even though a point is no good to them, we created so many good chances I lost count. We hit the woodwork four times in the first half. MacDonald made some excellent saves. Warren and Draper both should have done better with headers from corners. By the last 20 minutes you could see the players were getting afraid to shoot, given they'd spurned so many opportunities between them. That's only 9 points from 9 league games under Yogi, and only 2 points from 5 home matches. That said, it's hard to know what else he could have done - the team could hardly have created more today. My only beef was his decision to throw on Foran, change to 4-4-2, and go more direct. We were far more effective with the extra midfielder and I'd have preferred to see Danny Williams or Nick Ross on as the game got stretched. Given there's 10 points between us and Aberdeen, I reckon second place has gone, even with our games in hand. I'm increasingly concerned by how Hibs are steadily closing the gap on us in the top six race.
  15. hislopsoffsideagain
    Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth. At the back, we need to go with the strongest defence we have - which is, unquestionably, Raven, Warren, Meekings and Shinnie. Warren and Meekings are better players than Devine, and an established partnership too. Frankly, Shinnie is better than Tremarco at everything. Draper must play in centre mid. We badly miss his physical presence, all the more so when Foran is out. I'd much rather have Tansey than Polworth, again because he is a better player. Polworth might yet come good, but when he plays poorly (such as in Perth or in Kilmarnock), we are drastically weakened in an important area of the pitch. If Vincent is fit, then slot him back into his role between midfield and attack, where his workrate and engine have proven to be far more effective for us this season than Nick Ross' attempts to impersonate Andrew Shinnie. On the right, I tend towards Doran rather than Watkins, simply because the Doran-Raven partnership works so well and Doran is never as good when on the left. The downside is, as RiG pointed out, Watkins offers us an effective diagonal because he's good in the air. Maybe we could use Marley on the left, but I don't recall him playing there before and a cup semi final doesn't seem like the best place to experiment. So maybe Ross on the left, where he will cut inside and open up space for Shinnie to attack? But if we went with Williams' pace, then I wouldn't be particularly upset. And up front, Mckay, of course. Who else? So, in conclusion, it should be: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Draper, Tansey, Doran, Vincent, Ross, Mckay. Subs: Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Watkins, Williams
  16. hislopsoffsideagain
    I had to watch this on telly, which didn't make it any less stressful! It could have gone either way, and we must be grateful that Graham and Erskine both hit the post when they should have scored, while Warren got away with that last man tackle on GMS that would have given them a penalty. We'll be so much stronger when we have the midfield trio of Draper, Foran and Vincent back. I shouted "f****** hell, Polworth!" at the TV so often that I lost count - I wonder if I should put the slogan on a t-shirt. His positioning and defensive work were actually far better than I expected...but he gave the ball away so many times that it nearly made me cry. Shinnie alongside him did an excellent job filling in, but I'd rather have him at left back where Tremarco doesn't fill me with confidence at all. In my opinion, he dived for the penalty, and I wouldn't be in the least surprised to see him get a ban as a result. As stated by some already, Nick Ross is out of form just now. Neither of the penalties he had scored recently had gone in without the keeper getting at least a hand on it, so I wasn't in the least bit surprised that Ciernziak denied him. Ross would probably have offered more on the wing, where Williams had a very quiet game again. I did think our central defenders did well and the back four looked better as a unit with Raven in the side. McKay was terrific - again - I fear someone will take a punt on him during the transfer window. Doran was busy as ever, but the lack of movement off the ball from anyone other than McKay means that he seldom has the chance to play a killer pass. This result stops the rot, I guess. But I can't see us going to Pittodrie and getting a result, given our weakness in midfield at the moment.
  17. hislopsoffsideagain
    What ignorant plonker wrote that?
  18. hislopsoffsideagain
    Just to remind folk, the average Celtic first team player earns £20k/week. The average ICT first team player earns less than a twentieth of that. Some people have some rather unreasonable expectations. As Aberdeen showed in the first half last week, we are hugely vulnerable whenever the opposing midfield gets behind ours. Today, Williams and Draper were concentrating more on defending than attacking, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did. The flip side of course is that we offer less going forward, but we were still in the match right till the end, we tested Forster from distance a few times, and frankly Draper should have done massively better with his late opportunity. I was impressed by our instance on trying to pass out of defence, rather than hoof ball up the pitch; it was good to see Nick Ross coming very deep on occasion to try and get on the ball. I remain a champion of Doran, who continues to work hard and look for the ball. When he gives it away, it's usually because there isn't a pass on, not because he is sloppy. The only player I had a particular beef with today was Watkins, who only got behind the full back once, but on the other hand his defensive work was general excellent. Aside from Commons, Celtic's forwards were quiet, which is a testament to how well the defence played. There was one major lapse - and, unfortunately, it cost us a goal. There's a lot more to be encouraged than discouraged about. I'd be inclined to pick the same team for the derby.
  19. hislopsoffsideagain
    More information about "CTO Player of the Month - Sep/Oct"
    Things have been a little busy around the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium of late and unfortunately that meant the Player of the Year standings were not updated ... so now that it is almost time for the November award we can now publish the details for September and October !!! Apologies for the delay ! Richie Foran repeated as Player of the Month for September, narrowly pipping Billy McKay in the number of votes cast. Ross Draper and Josh Meekings were also in the running. Moving over to the September Player of the Year points calculations it was Dean Brill who made the biggest impact, coming out on top of the poll in 2 of the 4 matches to earn 10 POY points, ahead of Richie Foran (8), Billy McKay (5) and Aaron Doran (5). Into October and it was Gary Warren who was the standout in votes cast, beating out Josh Meekings to the monthly award, but Meekings got more POY points. A special mention has to go to Dean Brill who had 0 POY points going into September but managed to gain 15 points in SEP/OCT to sit third in the standings behind Foran and Meekings. 4 players have managed to garner votes in all 12 games played in AUG-SEP-OCT: Richie Foran, Ross Draper, Josh Meekings & Dean Brill Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in September: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 14/09 (A) 21/09 (A) 24/09 (A) 28/09 (H) TOTAL Richie Foran 12 3 1 31 47 Billy McKay 2 1 1 40 44 Ross Draper 6 11 1 16 34 Josh Meekings 3 6 5 19 33 Dean Brill 1 14 7 2 24 Gary Warren 2 3 14 19 Aaron Doran 8 1 2 11 Graeme Shinnie 1 4 3 1 9 David Raven 1 2 5 8 Nick Ross 1 3 2 1 7 Ben Greenhalgh 4 4 James Vincent 2 2 Daniel Devine 1 1 Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in October: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 5/10 (A) 20/10 (H) 29/10 (H) TOTAL Gary Warren 1 24 19 44 Josh Meekings 8 26 7 41 Ross Draper 10 13 8 31 Richie Foran 1 16 2 19 Dean Brill 15 1 1 17 Aaron Doran 2 4 11 17 Marley Watkins 8 4 12 Billy McKay 7 3 10 Carl Tremarco 9 9 Graeme Shinnie 1 1 5 7 David Raven 5 5 Danny Williams 4 4 Nick Ross 1 2 3 Torbjorn Agdestein 2 2 Ben Greenhalgh 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2013/14 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Richie Foran 17 8 1 26 Josh Meekings 5 5 9 19 Dean Brill 10 5 15 Ross Draper 6 4 3 13 Gary Warren 4 8 12 Billy McKay 5 5 1 11 Aaron Doran 1 3 3 7 James Vincent 6 6 David Raven 1 1 Nick Ross 1 1 Carl Tremarco 1 1
  20. hislopsoffsideagain
    My own thoughts on the issue (and a plug for my blog!) http://nareystoepoker.blogspot.co.uk
  21. hislopsoffsideagain
    Rumours that he stood down because the board refused to appoint Craig Brewster as manager again are yet to be confirmed...
  22. hislopsoffsideagain
    More information about "CTO Player of the Month - August"
    If ICT's start to the season isn't beyond your wildest dreams, then you have some pretty wild dreams! The Caley Jags went into the international break top of the league after five games, having dropped points only to Celtic. The results have been superb, and so have the performances. Clearly one player has stood out in the eyes of the supporters so far - captain Richie Foran has led by example and was the comfortable winner of this season's first Player Of The Month award. The Irishman has taken to his central midfield role with gusto and chipped in with goals against Motherwell and Celtic as well. He earned 121 votes, 50 clear of Billy McKay in second place. Foran has also established a commanding early lead in the Player Of The Year standings, having picked up points in every game so far. He has a whopping 11 point cushion at the top already. But, of course, there is a long way to go yet... Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in August: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 03/08 (H) 10/08 (A) 17/08 (H) 24/08 (A) 31/08 (H) TOTAL Richie Foran 30 9 49 7 26 121 Billy McKay 8 10 16 37 71 Ross Draper 20 21 8 1 14 64 James Vincent 43 7 10 1 3 64 Gary Warren 3 8 30 7 10 58 Aaron Doran 22 1 6 3 22 54 David Raven 5 24 3 32 Josh Meekings 3 3 9 10 6 31 Dean Brill 14 5 1 6 2 28 Nick Ross 1 4 1 4 18 28 Graeme Shinnie 1 4 4 3 12 Torbjorn Agdestein 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2013/14 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Richie Foran 17 Ross Draper 6 James Vincent 6 Billy McKay 5 Josh Meekings 5 Gary Warren 4 Aaron Doran 1 David Raven 1
  23. hislopsoffsideagain
    Thought there wasn't much between the sides in the first half, but we were clinical and Hearts' defending was catastrophic. After the break it was one way traffic, and could have been a cricket score. The Hearts players looked knackered after their midweek game, and badly missed Wilson in defence. No-one should ever let McKay take a penalty ever again! But until he messed up that one on one with the keeper I thought he had been sensational. Doran and Ross really stood out for me - both were energetic and keen to get on the ball. Doran in particular buzzed all over the park. A brilliant performance. Was it handball by Hamill? I have no idea. The referee had a dreadful game in general - Draper in particular was being pulled up for everything. By the Kilmarnock game we'll have been top of the league for six weeks!!!! We've never had it as good as this, have we?
  24. hislopsoffsideagain
    Sluggish first half, I thought, but after we scored we were absolutely rampant. It looked like Doran had been told at half-time to come in off the wing more and it worked a treat, opening an enormous lane for Raven to run in to time and again. In the last half hour we looked like we could score at will. Plenty of impressive performances today - I think in particular I should acknowledge Foran, not always a favourite of mine last season, who was magnificent in midfield. Penalty or no penalty? Tough one that. It definitely hit Van Zanten's arm, but at point blank range. The ref certainly thought about it before he gave it. My main concern is that, while the pace and drive we have going forward always makes us dangerous on the break, we don't quite appear to have anyone who can play the killer pass in the way Andrew Shinnie could, and I worry we will struggle hugely in games when we go behind.
  25. hislopsoffsideagain
    If you haven't noticed, it's on the articles page! http://caleythistleonline.com/page/index.html/_/news-2012-13/cto-player-of-the-year-201213-r1052 Many congratulations to Andrew Shinnie, who is the thirteenth winner of the website's annual award. I'm sure CaleyD will find an excuse to take a trip to Birmingham and present him with the trophy! Thanks for all your votes - we had 25% more than we did last year.
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