Whats going on??

[Guest 1MORESEASONBLACK]

Oh dear what could the matter be..............We have two creative central midfielders, wing wizard Wilson but today all we wanted to do was hoof long balls to Bayne. No disrespect to Bayne but he's never going to score more than 3 a season, he's not an SPL player. Can we not play the ball along the ground?? Bring back Duncan please - replace Bayne with McCallister until Denzil is fit and stop the  f~~~@g hoofing the longball. Today was total gash reminiscent of the Brewster era. Dargo okay wasnt firing on all cylinders but he didnt get the service. Tokley a legend he is but in this game there is no time for sentiment - we need competition for this berth - overall the optimism i usually bestow is becoming seriously strained - i get the feeling there is something fundamentally missing from the core of the team. I am becoming increasingly worried that this season is going to be a major reality check - has the bubble burst?

[kencar]

So if we bring back Duncan which of our 2 creative midfielders should we sacrifice??

I do agree that we seem to be punting the ball far too much but that comes from having no width.

Ideally we need someone who can put there foot on the ball, look up and show some composure but maybe those days are gone with the speed the game is played at now

[tm4tj]

Whats the problem 1more, Tokely stuck to a difficult task and won his fair share of headers and tackles, did not see a problem there.  Hoofing the ball, we did a bit of that , but maybe instead of everybody criticising our own team, we should give United a bit of credit for taking the game to us.  Unfortunately wing wizrd Wilson left his magic at home today and one of our midfielders has still to turn up.

The main bubble is impregnable, maybe it is Dargs bubble that has burst.

[kencar]

This may be a first but I have to agree that Tokely did not bad under the circumstances. He didn't get much help from our 'wing wizard' defensively

[tm4tj]

Are you still awake, off tae yer bed :015:

We are a hard lot to please up north and the expectations seem to grow greater with every season.  We just need to chill sometimes.  I didn't see a massive problem with our performance today.................sometimes aye, sometimes naw, but we never lost ground on United and in fact we climbed a place in the league.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Listening on the radio today I was happy that Scott Davie was the commentator. His animated and rather erudite comments kept me awake......

Needs a change of plugs and wires at ICT--a new spark in the cylinders. Play for your places lads is what we need here.

What's wrong with  giving Morgan a full game--he always did very well in the past as I recall? :sleep01:

[RiG]

No disrespect to Bayne but he's never going to score more than 3 a season, he's not an SPL player.

He's been our best player recently. Are you honestly thinking that he will only get one more goal this season? Based on the performances I have seen I think he ismost likely to finish our top goal scorer at this rate.

Dargo okay wasnt firing on all cylinders but he didnt get the service.

No. Dargo was poor. He was wasteful in his shooting, lost the ball and tried too many daft, fancy flicks that didn't come off. Bayne was by far the better of the two up front.

[Highlandbadger]

Something is still not right in the midfield. Wilson seems to pick and choose the games he wants to play in...it looked like about 15 mins before he even touched the ball yesterday. I thought Rosco stuck to his task well against a fast and tricky youngster. Dargo had a bad day and would normally have put away a couple of his chances. Bayne is getting better in his knock downs and Dargo is reading them well....I've no criticism of that.... except when it appears to be our only tactic !  My concern is our lack of imagination and strategies for opening up defences and in this department I look to the manager. There were long spells yesterday, particularly in the second half where our midfield 4 were permanently camped on top of our defence. You could say it was wonderful Arab pressure but I think we invited it too much. We are standing off too often and conceding too much space resulting in crosses being fired in from dangerous positions.

Can we show some imagination please? Why always 4-4-2 ? Do we know what width and wing play is? What are both Black and Rankin doing in the middle? Why can't Alan Morgan get a start? Is Barry Wilson a 90 minute player?

[CaleyD]

I often get the feeling we are trying to make the team fit the game plan rather than getting a game plan that fits the team.

Week after week certain players come under criticism for having a bad game when, IMO, they are being asked to fulfill a job or execute a strategy that isn't working for us.  Whats the point of having these "creative" midfielders if they are constantly left out of the loop with long punts up the park, and whats the point of having a player like Dargo who is most effective when receiving the ball inside the box when he is expected to collect the ball from 25 yards out and then do something with it.

The players are never going to shine unless we have a system that works to their strengths.

I'm happy enough with CC's performance as manager and he has to be given time to work these things out, it may just be a case of trial and error with a touch of him wanting to stamp his own mark on the team but he has to be careful he doesn't become too blinkered on these things and keeps in mind what worked for us so well last season.

It's early enough in the season yet and considering the teams we have played to date I don't think we are doing as badly as some might have us believe.

So, in answer to "Whats Going On??" - CC is learning his trade and pushing the players to develop in the process.  What the outcome will be is anyones guess, either the players will click with the current system or CC will have to re-think and perhaps get back to basics.  I don't think he should be too quick to abandon whatever it is he seems to be trying so long as we can keep ourselves away from any relegation tangles, but that is a decision that can be taken once we are through the first round of games and have a more realistic view of the bigger picture.

It may not be too exciting for the fans, but if their is some kind of longer term benefit then so be it.  We criticised Robbo and Brewster for being far too one dimensional, so I don't think we should be so quick to criticise CC for trying something new.

[Guest Sangobeg Jaggie]

This long ball punt is a tactic that just not seem to be working, and its not working over and over again. Its the only time I have wanted to leave early from a game. I dont know why we cant keep the ball on the ground. Use our midfield players instead of belting it over their heads and then losing possession so easily. United were given us probelms yesterday because we allowed them the ball far too much.

I watched Brown kicking the ball out and most of the players had their back to the keeper either not wanting the ball or knowing that it would be punted up way past them.

If United cant beat us when we play like that they will never beat us. So its not all bad then.

Yesterday was a long round trip to watch a team not wanting the ball.  Roll on Saturday.   

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Football is created at the back. We do not have a creative defender. Ya can say a lot about Blobby Mann but he could hoof with the best but he is the only defender that we have had in yonks who could feckin PASS a ball out of defence.

Have also said it from the off but Rankin and Black are not the correct mix. It will be interesting to see our game plan when Black gets a suspension.

From what I have seen on Setanta and heard from regulars Dargo is foraging at home. He does not do that away. He holds a high line and goes to grab goals. That is where he is most effective. Let Bayne drop and forage - he has the engine.

Lets go back to the effective 4-1-3-1-1 formation.

[Johnboy]

To me, Barry is the conundrum.... Did he just not play yesterday, or did he not get too much in the way of service..??  - I think mostly the latter.... Last week against Motherwell he had a part in all four goals....

Yesterday, he hardly delivered one decent cross.....

How come he is a completely different player away from home..?? How come the whole team seems to be so much more attack minded when playing away..??  It's not just simply a case of defending for long spells, and then hitting their opponents on the break.... they are just much more comitted to going forward when away, which definitely surprises the opposition....

Final thought.... They always give 100% when playing away....  Only F*tballer's Wife can match that kind of dedication.....  :004:

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

But we rarely get fecked when we play away !!

[Johnboy]

But we rarely get fecked when we play away !!

:015: :015: :015: Welcome back....!!

[Mrs Pauliebee]

To me, Barry is the conundrum.... Did he just not play yesterday, or did he not get too much in the way of service..??  - I think mostly the latter.... Last week against Motherwell he had a part in all four goals....

Yesterday, he hardly delivered one decent cross.....

How come he is a completely different player away from home..?? How come the whole team seems to be so much more attack minded when playing away..??  It's not just simply a case of defending for long spells, and then hitting their opponents on the break.... they are just much more comitted to going forward when away, which definitely surprises the opposition....

Barry spent quite a bit of the game covering up and tracking back to cover Roscoe's mistakes.  The pair of them had a right ding-dong about it!

I'm with IHE, drop Black, drop Dods - bring Russelldinho and The Caff back!

[Johnboy]

Barry spent quite a bit of the game covering up and tracking back to cover Roscoe's mistakes.  The pair of them had a right ding-dong about it!

Sounds like one for CC & Donald to sort out then......

[The Mantis]

I agree with the old git with the fat erse.

[Donview]

I'm really surprised at you old gits, fecking slow in your old age or what ??....................it was Taste, 1970...............featuring "King Rory"  :023:

[Guest 1MORESEASONBLACK]

No disrespect to Bayne but he's never going to score more than 3 a season, he's not an SPL player.

He's been our best player recently. Are you honestly thinking that he will only get one more goal this season? Based on the performances I have seen I think he ismost likely to finish our top goal scorer at this rate.

Dargo okay wasnt firing on all cylinders but he didnt get the service.

No. Dargo was poor. He was wasteful in his shooting, lost the ball and tried too many daft, fancy flicks that didn't come off. Bayne was by far the better of the two up front.

I thought Bayne has scored only 1 LEAGUE goal this season. Correct me if i am wrong. Bayne is another  Prunty - if he drops down a level he will bang them in - hes proved that against Golspie and Dumbarton. Yes he is doing much better a winning high long balls, his work rate is second to none but he cannot shoot instead he scuffs the ball. The man is a striker and a striker scores goals simple as and until he starts scoring on a regular basis  then I will stand by opinion.

Dargo will come good again but he doesnt look as hungry as he did last season when he wasnt scoring - infact if you saw him on Saturday he was openly annoyed with some of Baynes positional play. Rossco i am sorry stuck to what task "follow my leader" because that young Conway or whatever his name is ran him ragged. Teams are getting wise stick some one with a bit of skill and pace on Rosscos side and anything could happen. However i think the defence is the best unit we have at the moment. They all know their own limitations and limitations of each other and are always there to help each other out. We just need to sort it out in the middle and upfront. Bring back Duncan for Rankin and try McCallister for Bayne. 

[RiG]

I thought Bayne has scored only 1 LEAGUE goal this season. Correct me if i am wrong.

No you are quite correct. However this is what you said in your initial post

No disrespect to Bayne but he's never going to score more than 3 a season, he's not an SPL player.

No mention there of anything to do with the number of league goals scored by Bayne.

Yes he is doing much better a winning high long balls, his work rate is second to none but he cannot shoot instead he scuffs the ball. The man is a striker and a striker scores goals simple as and until he starts scoring on a regular basis then I will stand by opinion.

Sop do you think that simply because he ins't scoring he should be taken out of the team? His hard work and graft is setting up half our chances as we persist with this long ball rubbish. As long as we do that then Bayne has to start - it really is that simple.

Dargo will come good again but he doesnt look as hungry as he did last season when he wasnt scoring - infact if you saw him on Saturday he was openly annoyed with some of Baynes positional play.

I am also pretty sure that some of the lads got annoyed with Dargo losing the ball quite often in the final third as he attempted to pull off Ronaldinho style flicks so it's not like Dargo can be overly critical of his team mates. Mind who it was who moved offside and scored for us when he should really have looked along the line? It's easy to criticise of course but it's unfair to single out Bayne.

Rossco i am sorry stuck to what task "follow my leader" because that young Conway or whatever his name is ran him ragged. Teams are getting wise stick some one with a bit of skill and pace on Rosscos side and anything could happen.

I agree with this. I still think RT looks off the pace and he seemed to be very sluggish on Saturday and had the turning circle of a battleship when Conway skinned him for the 15th time.

[Harry Chibber]

I have been critical of Bayne in the past and suggested at the start of the season that he may not have what it takes for the top division but everything I've seen from him since he started seeing this sports psychologist (I don't know if that's had anything to do with it) I've been impressed with.  I honestly thought he was the best player on the pitch in the first half but got a bit tired in the second after all the work he put in and who can blame him, he would have been aswell playing by himself upfront because Dargo was useless.... I can't think of one pass, shot... anything that Dargo did in the game apart from lose the ball and stand in an offside position for Tokley's pass.

Rossco's Rossco.... solid, gives his all for the team and offers some support upfront whenever possible.  He'd be a first pick for me every game

[RiG]

No disrespect to Bayne but he's never going to score more than 3 a season, he's not an SPL player.

*coughs*

Can we not play the ball along the ground??

We did that in the 2nd half and look what happened.

Well done Graham Bayne  :003:

[Guest 1MORESEASONBLACK]

Okay I've got the 3 goals a season wrong - I stand corrected but I stand by everything else.

I am delighted he broke my predicition but  I just wonder how many goals a Wyness/Dargo partnership would have a massed by now.

I will say Bayne is a magnificent headerer (is there such a word!!!!) of the ball as long as he is unmarked.

[kencar]

Bayne could well be on for the most goals he's ever scored in a season - just another 3 to get  :004:

[RiG]

I am delighted he broke my prediction but  I just wonder how many goals a Wyness/Dargo partnership would have a massed by now.

I honestly don't think they would have scored anymore than Bayne and Dargo to be fair.

Anyway, given that our current style of play is long ball playing Dargo and Wyness is a bit daft. However, as we saw against Falkirk if we pass it around a bit more to mix it up with the occasional good ball into the box then Wyness becomes a lot more effective.