Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone

[tm4tj]

Worst game of football I have ever seen. Thank you.

[+DoofersDad]

Injuries are an issue but yesterday was much more about tactics and the style of play.  As usual it was all about keeping possession.  We keep possession at the back and try to work the ball forward by playing balls to the feet.  We rarely create anything because the slowness of our build up  allows the opposition to get men between the ball and the goal.  We also keep it narrow and try to play through the middle.  Even when they had a player sent off  we kept it narrow rather than trying to stretch them.  Tremarco was often wide in acres of space but far too often if the ball ever did get to him it was played to feet so that defenders had plenty of time to get wide and cover.  Tremarco would then often cut inside and simply give the ball to someone else rather than take on the defender.  What should be happening in these situations is that the ball should be played well in front for Tremarco to run onto and to take the ball into the final third.  Getting into the final third gives players good options particularly if players like Tansey, with good shots on them, are providing support - but with Yogi, keeping possession is far more important than taking risks in the final third and therefore we create few chances and even less excitement for the fans.  I can't blame the players for the lack of ambition because this is obviously the way they are told to play.

St Johnstone did what most teams do against us - because we lack a cutting edge they kept it tight defensively and looked to exploit defensive frailties.  The sending off made them even more negative still and they were clearly settling for the draw.  However, the inevitable defensive error gifted them a win which the didn't really deserve. Despite our dominance of possession and their going down to 10 men, their keeper must have had the easiest pay day of his career.

The net result of this is that we were subjected to a particularly boring game of football.  We didn't even have the half time pitch watering to entertain us.  I would have had more fun had I stayed at home and done the ironing.

[IBM]

Your last line sums it up perfectly DD  lets hope it will be different on Tuesday night!

[Renegade]

Don't agree with Renegade about putting players on the bench just to fill places though, it does nothing for their development to my mind.

While you may believe it may not help their development, is their any harm in having them there?  There's also the scenario of us being 4-0 with 15 minutes to go.  Would giving one of them some game time at that stage help their development?  It absolutely would.  Let's change the tables here.  Imagine we had filled the bench with U20 players.  Would anyone be moaning about it claiming we should just leave the spaces blank?  Of course not.  Jason Brown was on the bench for the Astra games with little chance of seeing any action and no-one complained about that.

There's also the case of us going into away games unable to fill the bench, but with Cameron Mackay (or Daniel Hoban) travelling with the team to help with the warm-up.  Where's the harm on putting them on the bench?  Imagine Fon Williams got injured or sent off early on and replaced by Ryan Esson, who was then forced off shortly after as well.  I think I'd rather have Mackay come on than playing potentially over an hour with an outfield player in goal.

Seemingly, Hamilton Accies had an interesting approach to this sort of thing.  Under Billy Reid, they'd fill the bench with five first team players and a sub-keeper.  The seventh spot was then reserved for an up and coming U20 player, with little chance of coming on.  Following the game, the coaches would observe how they benefited from the experience and what they could use from it for their development at the club.  To your mind it might do nothing for their development, but to a successful and highly respected youth set-up like the one at Accies, it certainly does.  I think I'll take their word for it.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Renegade

[RiG]

Without meaning to sound like one of those hilarious #ITK types I had been told that the reason we don't often fill the bench with youngsters is because they get a bonus for making the match day squad so to avoid paying that we don't call any more up than we need to.

[12th Man]

On a positive note.

I heard today that some youngsters from Aviemore went to their first football match on Saturday and really enjoyed themselves.

[Sir C the 3rd]

On a positive note.

I heard today that some youngsters from Aviemore went to their first football match on Saturday and really enjoyed themselves.

Were they St Johnstone fans?

[Donview]

Utter pish...............goodnight!!

and hopefully it's goodnight from the "disgruntled one"as well

[12th Man]

On a positive note.

I heard today that some youngsters from Aviemore went to their first football match on Saturday and really enjoyed themselves.

Were they St Johnstone fans?

No, ICT fans, I believe it was an ICT backed  initiative for youngsters in the Strathspey area.

Got the feedback from a parent today.

Edited October 26, 2015 by 12th Man

[+DoofersDad]

Perhaps they are used to watching Strathspey Thistle.  Hopefully they'll come again and see some proper football.