hislopsoffsideagain

Aaarggghhh...stop suggesting three at the back - have you not noticed that barely anyone plays three centre-backs anymore? Three at the back is countered by playing one striker - which leaves three men marking one man and allows the opposition to pack the midfield, which is where matches are ultimately won and lost. Your formation reminds me of one I had great success with in Championship Manager 99/00, though.

Jonny Hayes! One point is better than none, I guess.

For what it's worth, at least TB seems to think the same as the rest of us! http://www.ictfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News...1782134,00.html

Sorry, let me convey it more clearly - Bulvitis, Stratford, Sanchez and Djebi-Zadi were pi5h. Is that better? The only thing worse than their performances is Georgeios' spelling!

Just back. The only unfair thing about the result is that we got a goal - we didn't deserve it. Apart from a short spell after we scored, there was only one team on the park, and it wasn't us. County played a derby match like it should be played - at full pace, with lots of passion and guts, and also managed to play some good football too. We, on the other hand, were too slow, too one-dimensional, and too many players decided they weren't up for some meaty challenges. Even the referee can't be blamed - he had a good game, I thought. For a start, we were beaten tactically by County's 4-5-1 - our midfield was swamped and we couldn't pass it through them. Moreover, whilst Foran appeared isolated constantly, County still managed to get Vigurs and Gardyne right up to support Di Giacomo. The first half was the worst 45 we have played since Brewster's final days. Bizarrely, we made no changes at half time, so the second goal came as no surprise. Hayes' strike was about the first thing we had created all match, yet ironically we would have been level soon after had Vigurs not cleared off the line. Thoughts on the players - Esson - should he have been beaten at the near post for the third? Can't really be blamed for the others, but his kicking was guff Proctor - despite not being up against a natural winger, he didn't have the guts to wander forward much, and his passing was hopeless Bulvitis - looked in all sorts of trouble in one on ones, didn't win enough of the high balls Munro - led by example, in that he was poor and so were the rest. Didn't know how to deal with only one up front. Another one who's distribution was useless Djebi-Zadi - wonderful goal-saving block in the first half doesn't make up for an otherwise terrible performance. Constantly caught out of position, and I lost count of the number of times he gave the ball away. How about we play SOMEONE WHO CAN DEFEND at left back? Cox - worked hard but was over-run by County's numbers in midfield. Had very little support from team-mates Eagle - at least tried to get into the game, but provided very little cutting edge Stratford - I have a better first touch than he does. Gave Cox no help in midfield, and failed to protect the defence. His crass attempt at a header was responsible for the third goal. A terrible performance Foran - worked like a dog despite being fed scraps. Laid on the goal with a lovely cross but too often looked up to find no support coming from midfield Sanchez - wins the Andrew Barrowman Award For Effort. Failed to even break sweat. Chickened out of numerous fifty-fifties. Did play in Foran in the build-up to the goal, but otherwise was a complete waste of time Hayes - made an effort when the ball came his way, but apart from the goal contributed little SUBS - Rooney missed a great chance at 1-2, but at least added a bit of energy. Duncan and Ross didn't really have time to make an impact. Can't say I will have fond memories of this match

Not a bad evening's work, have to say I thought Albion were a better team than Stranraer were, but in the first half we looked like we could score at will (apart from that very nervy opening few minutes). Hayes was unplayable at times - I think TB switched him round with Eagle because it was unfair on the Albion no. 3 to have to play against him for the whole match. Eagle himself did enough to shut up some of his critics; his goal, and the build up to it from Hayes, was the outstanding moment of the game. Our whole midfield were pretty darn good tonight, but the jury is still out on the front men, especially Rooney, who probably should have had a few more to add to his one tonight. Is it just me, or was Bulvitis an absolute country mile offside for the third? Everyone was looking at the stand-side linesman waiting for him to put up his flag...

Hi Scotty, I'd be delighted to contribute if I can - I know you've been happy to use match reports from me on the site in the past.

That goal actually looks better on TV than it did at the game. The BBC reckoned it had taken a deflection but I'm not convinced... The cameraman appears to have missed good chances that both Rooney and Sanchez had.

Oh, jings, was it Allison who was the target of those idiots shouting "gypsy b*****d"? That's appalling.

Just back, what a finish and what a result! We were celebrating Cox's goal like we had just won the league. Can't argue with Harry Chibber's take on things much. As he says, Munro was immense, particularly one goal-saving block in the first half. Cox was our MOTM for me even before he scored, for, ladies and gentleman, we appear to have found a very young midfielder with a heck of a lot of quality. It feels a lot like Ian Black Mk II, it really does. As said before, Tokely and Foran were badly missed. Proctor looks short of sharpness at the moment, he came up against a livewire winger in David Graham who ripped him to shreds in the second half. The lack of Foran left us without a target man option, and while Rooney put in a shift, he looked bereft of confidence in front of goal, missing when clean through in the first half, then fresh airing a great chance in the second. It's hard to know what to make of Sanchez, who looked fabulous in the final third but struggled to get into the game. I can't help feeling that our current style is more suited to a front two of Foran and Odihambo. Can't argue much with TB today - he went with the starting XI I would have, then threw Hayes on at the right time to make an impact. Hayes looks chubby but has a real burst of pace and could be a real find as well. I wonder at what point TB decides Djeci-Zadi's usefulness going forward is outweighed by his defensive frailties? Anyway folks, we are in the results business, and that was one fantastic result.

I've put my own preview and predictions for the first division on my blog, http://nareystoepoker.blogspot.com I seem to just about agree with most posters on this thread.

I think it's fair to say there are few positives from the game, but hopefully a lot of lessons have been learnt. Compared to some minnows we have played in cup competitions in recent seasons, Montrose were pretty hopeless. Their goal was about the only clear cut chance they created (apart from one in the first half when the guy was given offside anyway). They basically packed the defence and dared us to break them down. And we failed miserably to do that. As said above, Rossco is not a centre-back. His positioning is poor, and for the Montrose goal it was if he and Munro thought the ball had swine flu, considering how unwilling they were to get it. We failed miserably to get the ball wide enough, especially considering Nick Ross looked quite useful with the ball at his feet. Foran put in a great shift, but he was doing the work of two men; Barrowman appears to still suffer from the disease known as "lazyitis" (treatment: a kick up the backside three times a day please!) and Rooney offered little better. I thought McBain made a great effort, but I can't say the same for many of his team mates. Let's hope this is just a touch of rustiness.

Loving this thread... Every so often I still look at Rankin's winner against the Gers on youtube. I've never seen the crowd at TCS go berserk like that, before or since. One of those moments where everyone was hugging everyone, acquaintance or not. Wonderful. That Bagan goal at Tynecastle got a similar reaction. If I recall correctly, he didn't quite hve the pace to outrun the last defender, so he "stopped to light his cigar" (according to Dougie Donnelly on Sportscene!) before skinning him and sticking it in. Great days.

I would happily give my left arm to commentate for this..

The translation, I believe, is "Chris De Wagt is currently training with Inverness in Scotland".

The Dutch press appear to have identified one of our trialists... http://www.erenieuws.nl/lees3297-%3Cb%3ENi...r_League_NL.htm It seems to be a centre back called Chris De Wagt.

Odi got injured in training yesterday. Looks like he can wave goodbye to pre-season.

Latest news from club website Malpas reckons we might have made a few new signings by the start of pre-season on Monday, and tied up a few more contracts. The article also confirms that Roy has signed on for another year, let's hope his 34 year old legs are up to it! Who are we still waiting on contract-wise now? Am I right in thinking that there's been no confirmation that Djebi-Zadi, Hastings and Proctor have re-signed? And of course we're still waiting on Foran and Odihambo to make their decisions.

Renewed my ticket. BRING. IT. ON!

Roy McBain has been a great servant to this club, and rarely gets the credit he deserves; that said, his days at this level are coming to an end and there's no room for sentiment. Vigurs has shown more than enough quality to suggest he should be kept on; in fact I expected him to be lining up alongside Duncan in centre mid next year. My opinion earlier in the season was that Wood was superior already to both Rooney and Barrowman; I'm also astounded that he's been dumped. And if Mihadjuks has been chucked for footballing reasons (rather than us being unable to afford him) then TB is completely mad! On the other hand, I have no disagreement with the departures of McNulty (too small and too dodgy), Byrne (too injury-prone), Gatheussi (injury-prone and not good enough for Hibs) and Sutherland (simply didn't live up to early promise). That said, if TB manages to convince Foran, Kerr and Morais to stay I will forgive him everything, as they would automatically be the best three players in the division and I would bet my mortgage on us winning the league.

I'd heard it suggested a few times that Vigs hadn't been pulling his weight in training in recent months, which is why he was out of the first team picture. However he had shown more than enough on the pitch prior to that to suggest he could do it in the SPL, so to not show faith in him for division one is mind boggling.

The Mantis makes the critical point here. Our points per game record in the league under TB was better than the average required to make it into the top six. And we still fell short. Fact is, in a lot of ways the remarkable thing is how close we came to survival. Remember, when Butcher came in we were five points adrift at the bottom and no-one could remember the last time we won a game. Yes, in the last four games we blew opportunities to get ourselves to safety. But the fact we came so close to escaping the drop is one heck of a feat. And the reason why our impressive record since January wasn't enough is - our record before January, under Craig Brewster.

Apologies, I didn't see renegade's thread. Though this one is more about who IS and ISN'T staying, rather than who we think SHOULD and SHOULDN'T stay. But if mods want to merge it then fine

I'm not fully up to date with who is under contract and who is not for next season, how do people think things will pan out with our current squad? And how many senior players can we afford to have? This appears to be our squad picture just now... 1. Fraser - definitely leaving for Motherwell. 2. Tokely - under contract; settled in the area, appears certain to stay 3. Djebi-Zadi - out of contract; appears to be first choice left back under TB - will this be enough to earn him a new deal? 4. Proctor - out of contract; TB may feel he can't afford to give Proc a deal unless he's likely to be first choice - can we afford him if he will be just a squad player? May depend on whether Rossco is kept in the centre. 5. McGuire - under contract, I think. As much as we'd love to chuck him, he is unlikely to get many offers. 6. McBain - out of contract; At 34, does he have the legs anymore? Might be overlooked in favour of youngsters. 7. Morais - out of contract; Will get some good offers from better teams, having shown plenty of ability with us. Unlikely to stay. 8. Black - definitely leaving for Hearts. 9. Rooney - under contract; might see next season as his big chance but might also be unkeen to drop down a level. 10. Barrowman - under contract; TB appears to have some faith in him, and unlikely to be wanted by other sides so will probably stay. 11. Imrie - under contract; is probably not going to get an SPL offer so appears likely to stay. 12. Duncan - under contract; settled in the area, appears certain to stay. 14. Munro - under contract; settled in the area, appears certain to stay. 16. Hastings - I'm not certain of his contract status; settled in the area, I think would be keen to stay but is out of favour at the moment. 17. Sutherland - out of contract; it doesn't appear likely that he'll be offered a new deal. 18. Mihadjuks - out of contract/end of loan; likely to get much better offers, will probably leave so he can stay in international picture. 19. Gatheussi - out of contract; likely to leave as has got nowhere near first team since return from injury 20. Byrne - out of contract; might be given his chance ahead of Lionel and Hastings if can prove his fitness? 22. Wood - out of contract; showed enough under Brew to suggest he could become a player, but new contract may depend on who else stays and goes. 23. Esson - under contract; may be on his way out if rumours of a fall out with TB are true. 24. Duff - out of contract; will fancy his chances of a new deal and becoming first choice next year. 25. Foran - out of contract; probably leaving as will surely have suitors in the SPL. 26. Odhiambo - out of contract; looks like TB wants to keep him and might be able to convince him to stay as first choice up front. 27. Vigurs - under contract; another one who will surely see next year as a chance to establish himself. 28. Kerr - out of contract; like Foran is likely to have suitors who will offer better cash and appears likely to leave. In summary: Under contract, will almost certainly stay: Tokely, Barrowman, Imrie, Duncan, Munro, Vigurs Under contract, might yet end up leaving: McGuire, Rooney, Esson Out of contract, uncertain future: Djebi-Zadi, Proctor, McBain, Hastings, Byrne, Wood, Duff, Odhiambo Out of contract, probably leaving: Morais, Sutherland, Mihadjuks, Gatheussi, Foran, Kerr Out of contract, definitely leaving: Fraser, Black Is this a reasonable assessment of the state of things? Please feel free to update and correct this to your heart's content!

Sure, some players had poor games today, but they gave everything on that pitch. What can you say? On another day, Foran scores that wonderful first half chance. On another day, Rossco doesn't panic, and manages to usher Lovell and the bouncing ball away from goal instead of having a rush of blood. Today, we were really unlucky. You can't say we were unlucky for the whole season, particularly the first half of it. But we were today. I'll be buying my season ticket again for next season. I hope there are a lot of others who will do the same.