Our Defensive Woes

[dougal]

Ok we are conceding an average of 2 goals a game at present which in my opinion could have increased to 4 if it wasn't for Ryan Esson in goals

Now I'm not going to come on here and tell Terry and Mo how to do their jobs but i'm genuinely worried that they haven't sussed out that we have major defensive problems

Lets Look at their pedigree;

Terry Butcher vastly experienced defender for Ipswich and the Orcs, played throughout Europe for both clubs and accumulated 77 caps for England

Maurice Malpas vastly experienced defender for Dundee Utd,played throughout Europe and accumulated 55 caps for Scotland

You could argue that both players were first class defenders so why do they seem unable to put out a defence that doesn't resemble a sieve

1.Have they signed too many kids without the necessary experience to survive in the hustle and bustle of Scottish football?

2.Is Tokely finished?

3.Is their language barrier problems Gillet,Piermayr,Golobart?

Discuss

dougal

[old caley girl]

Yes no don't know in that order imo

[Yngwie]

Dougal's questions focus on the capabilities of individual defenders, but the other key element of a good defence is of course working as a unit, building an understanding. In that regard, the constant changes mean we are effectively still at the pre-season stage.

[PaderbornCaley]

I'm not sure if it is specifically a language barrier, but possibly a communication problem. They players don't seem to be talking much to each other. In saying that, quite a few of the goals conceded have been individual errors. Golabart at Aberdeen / Dundee Utd for example. I think there are many factors.

- Lots of new young faces trying to settle in to the Inverness life (wasn't to be for Aldred)

- Injuries - which has knock on factors such as:

Back line constantly being changed. This results in players taking longer to gel (possibly here's where the communication may struggle)

- Lack of a leader in defence (again communication related). Tokely isn't really a leader. He's a good defender but not realy Captain material.

With no leader in defence, confidence may be reduced if a mistake is made. Foran has underperformed as Captain this season IMO so it's difficult to boost confidence on the park.

In terms of Tokely, i'm not too sure. Some games this season, he has been great, other games poor, so he can't be past it but is struggling to find consistency (but then again so is the whole team).

[bauhaus]

Tel and Mo are aware. Our most natural captain at the back line is injured ( Hogg ), weve used just about everyone else in the back line. Our defensive midfield is out injured ( Cox and Jones ), Our wide midfielders who should stop opponents wing backs from getting forward ( Hayes and Doran ) are out, which also reduces our attacking threat from midfield reducing scoring opportunities and assists.

Come on, take out 6 or 7 probable starters from most teams and they will be effected. Certainly the likes of Killie, both Saints, Hibs, Hearts, Arabs, Dons, Motherwell and Dunfermline wouldn't do as well, and Rangers proved against Falkirk they cant do without a few either. Look at the Englandshire league and you see the same happen in the league cup when the EPL clubs leave out several over paid stars, and then struggle or go out against lower league clubs.

Toks is still the heart of our club, and is far from " finished". Playing with a different partnership will not help anyone at the moment but what can they do with so many injuries.

And if you look at their background, Kenny has been in the UK for years, as has Golobart, should think they know English by now, especially what they need to know. Piermayr being Austrian will likely have a good level of English, as European countries do emphasize the learning of other languages, unlike our good old UK with our totally inward way of thinking.

[CaleyD]

1. Given that it's our younger players who are performing the best so far this season, then an emphatic NO.

2. I thought he was perhaps coming to the end of his time at Right Back, but since being moved in to the middle the thought of him nearing the end of his time hasn't even come in to my head...so NO.

3. Our foreign players all have very good English..so NO.

I think Bahaus has got it spot on. Our lack of (fully fit) defensive midfielders means there's a lot more pressure being put on a back line that, due to constant changes, isn't the solid unit we would wish it to be. As with anything that isn't at full strength, put enough pressure on it and the cracks begin to show.

[AJS]

I think lack of continuity is the main problem. Back four has been constantly changed due to injury or lack of form. IMO our strongest back line is Piermayr, Tokely, Hogg, G. Shinnie.

Piermayr has dipped in form since he arrived, thought he was really impressive to start with but his confidence seems to have dipped a bit which is understandable given our form. Tokely i dont think is past it but is certainly heading that way. Hogg is our best defender but crocked at present. For me G. Shinnie has been the only defender that has been consistently good this season...and has luckily avoided injury. Proctor not really a defender but does well enough when called upon, Golobart is just too fancy for my liking but he is young and may learn

IMO Grant Munro was never properly replaced, some might say thats why Hogg came back but lets not forget Hogg and Munro were both here last season. For me that would have been a great pairing in the heart of defence, with Tokely providing competition/cover for this season but no sense in dwelling on it.

Language shouldnt be an issue. Butcher has gone on record saying all our foreign players speak good english.

For me the only answer is that we try and get everyone back to full fitness asap, go with a back 4 and stick with it, we dont even know if Golobart will be here after January so that could see us dipping into the market once again.

[Alex MacLeod]

Bauhaus has the rights of it. Hogg, Cox and Hayes are the missing links in defensive problems.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

The return of David Proctor should shore up the defending faults.

[lukemackay]

The return of David Proctor should shore up the defending faults.

.

unbelievably it has

[TSTtiger]

Tokely and proctor were pretty immense today, G Shinnie is having a great season, and with the likes of Hogg and Gillet to come back, we should be ok. Right back is a bit of a problem for me but given a run without too many injuries I think we will fine. :)

[ictewd]

Didn't think i'd hear myself say this but Proctor had quite a good game today!!!!!

[Alex MacLeod]

Maybe that bang on the head last week rattled something inside him

[+bughtmaster]

Well done ICT the start has been made, just to settle down now and bang in the goals!

I would like to see Golabart up front with Tade, could be a real defence rattler. Shinnie and Ross

could do the finnishing? Our captain would benefit from a couple of games off.

[Huisdean]

Well done ICT the start has been made, just to settle down now and bang in the goals!

I would like to see Golabart up front with Tade, could be a real defence rattler. Shinnie and Ross

could do the finnishing? Our captain would benefit from a couple of games off.

And what evidence is this based on!!. We are having a hard enough time scoring goals as it is and you want to put a centre back up front. Where is the darkened room as I need to lie down.

[Renegade]

As was reported when he first arrived, Roman Golobart can play as both a defender and striker.

[MissICT]

Proctor was solid at the back yesterday. Glad he got his chance to get back in the first team.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I concur - great to see Proc back in the squad,

As Aristotle said : One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.

And as Ron Burton once remarked to me in Section G : But change must always be balanced with some degree of consistency

[WeAreSPL]

Well done ICT the start has been made, just to settle down now and bang in the goals!

I would like to see Golabart up front with Tade, could be a real defence rattler. Shinnie and Ross

could do the finnishing? Our captain would benefit from a couple of games off.

And what evidence is this based on!!. We are having a hard enough time scoring goals as it is and you want to put a centre back up front. Where is the darkened room as I need to lie down.

We have a hard time scoring goals so putting our "number nine" and his amazing tally of ONE on the bench is long overdue.

I would however rather see Mackay or Shane (or preferebly both) up front for a prolonged spell.

Our "strikers" inability to create or hold the ball results in our defence being constantly under pressure.

[Alex MacLeod]

Well done ICT the start has been made, just to settle down now and bang in the goals!

I would like to see Golabart up front with Tade, could be a real defence rattler. Shinnie and Ross

could do the finnishing? Our captain would benefit from a couple of games off.

And what evidence is this based on!!. We are having a hard enough time scoring goals as it is and you want to put a centre back up front. Where is the darkened room as I need to lie down.

We have a hard time scoring goals so putting our "number nine" and his amazing tally of ONE on the bench is long overdue.

I would however rather see Mackay or Shane (or preferebly both) up front for a prolonged spell.

Our "strikers" inability to create or hold the ball results in our defence being constantly under pressure.

Sorry but dont you think you should change the record and give the guy a chance. Adam Rooney played 36 games in his first season with us and scored six goals. He took seventeen games to score his fourth goal yet now we wish we still had him. Gregory Tade has scored three in eleven games and will probably get a few more before the seasons end.

As for our number nine, he may only have one so far this season but he also will give us more goals. He may not score them all but by christ he'll put his heart and soul into creating them.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Alex MacLeod

[Tug]

and we thought our defense had problems

OOOPPPSS dont think they meant that to happen

[+DoofersDad]

Nice one. That is really quite extraordinary.

I've played in a game when we conceded an own goal from within our own half but I've never seen a headed goal from anything like that distance. Does he have steel plates embedded in his forehead, I wonder?