Time to drop Fraser

[Kingsmills]

With some regret, I agree it may now be time for a change. Fraser probably cost us two points yesterday which would have elevated us to 8th place at least in the short term.

[blobs]

i thought fraser's error for the 1st goal was one of the worst i have ever seen in the spl, equal to if not worse than boruc's against hibs. fraser looked shaky the whole game, and he shanked a few kicks, had a bad view of the killie second goal but it didnt look good. definatley time to give zibbi a game. the majority of his mistakes in hibs shirts were in the big games, and lets be honest, he's not gona be playing in half as many high pressure games i.e. the edinburgh derby. think he might do okay with basically no noise in the stadium

[Guest TinCanFan]

Lack of experience may be a factor here because both Fraser and Ridgers are inexperienced and Malkowski doesn't look much better.  Hopefully CB will buy a quality keeper in the transfer window.  For me the number one choice has to be Tony Bullock.

I think this topic may come up again in the not too distant future because MF seems to constantly take risks and could turn out like ICT's very own Barthez and could become a liability.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

To start with I have to laff at some of the feckin hypocrits who have a "leave it alone-he will read it-you are doing him damage-you are not being fair" response to me and are at the front of the queue giving Mike the savaging. That was mainly when I criticised CC fer not signing an experienced goalkeeper both in January and pre season. I felt that it was too soon to throw MF into the cauldron of the SPL and that it may may lead to permanent damage. And now I am the one supporting him  :017:. His kicking and distribution is generally better than Browns ever was. His shot-stopping is close to a par.

First here is my match report smiley on Mike.

Poor Mikey - a feckin nightmare. Got to say that Rosscoe was sleeping for the first goal, the attempted clearing header from McGuire was terrible, the shot was hit into the ground and Mike finished a Monty Pythonesque shot. He basically crumbled and his nerves were shot at. The second was another mistake from Granty but for the first time this season Mike decided to come off the line. Apart from one excellent shotstopping save and two held crosses in the second half he was dire. He knew it, our players new it, the Killie fans knew and I have never seen the away fans cower so much when the ball headed into our goalmouth. I have said it all season - he stays on his line too much and does not control his area - shurely that is what is coaching should be aiming to remedy. His next game will be the biggest test of his career. Best of Luck son.

So - he had a feckin shocker - but he has been playing better lately and apparently improving. He was not helped yesterday by an equally non-confident central defence, a Killie crowd baiting him throughout and apparent "bollickings" from Messrs Duncan and Niculae. McGuire apologised to him after the first goal as did Granty at the second.

This club fed this young lad to the lions and they have to stand by him now.  He has to play in the next game and he needs all the support he can get. If he gets through the Dons game unscathed he may just have turned a mighty feckin corner in his career. It is undoubtedly the biggest game of his career and I fer one am backing him all the feckin way.

[Guest donmac298]

I could not agree more IHE.  It all depends on how he can cope with Mackie.  (don't know if Caley approves of this post seeing he likes to monitor me!)

[Guest pompeyjags]

dunno if this has been said already but some people seem to think its open season when it comes to pointing out mistakes zibi made when he was with a different club. but these people seem to think mikey is above criticism when he too is makin mistakes. the blame for some mistakes has been laid at the feet of defenders with some singled out for abuse. why should fraser be any different if he is makin mistakes too??? fact is zibi is our player for now and deserves a chance to show what he can or cant do just like every other player in the squad... doesnt he???

[+Tree]

Why should any of our players be singled out for abuse?

It is fair for any player to be criticised by the paying fan in the right circumstances. For some however there appears to be a desperate need to pick at least one player and give any form of negative comment that seems fit.

Having just seem the highlights, yes Mikey made a blunder for the first. The second is one of those 50:50 calls which can be wrong either way.

Over the past few games MF has been very consistent. If howlers continue then changes will need to be made. The fact that defender blunders have led to much of the confusion in the penalty box this season is agreed in principle by most.

As we are up to 10th it would seem to make more sense to focus on the positives for a while and leave the negatives to Brewster behind closed doors (and I bet that a few harsh words are going to be said tomorrow morning when the players and management review the game).

[Guest kieranstewart]

gotta admit fraser does have a habit of bad positioning

[TSTtiger]

frasers got a tough job being a rookie replacing broonie but think he's done well on the whole and looks the part. its easy to over analyse his performances when in truth every player has both positive and negative attributes.the mistakes yesterday were errors of judgement rather than real clangers where you might question his ability.more down to lack of experience for me but dont think we'll see the same again any time soon. definately not the time to drop him, more a time to see what he's made of and shut out the sheep shaggers next week

[caley100]

I think Frasers not up to it, the problem in my mind is that the defenders have no confidence in him, now that is a worry.

He has never looked like he commands the box - never.

Drop him now.

[Kind of Blue]

I think Brewster will keep faith Fraser and play him against Aberdeen.  I just hope he can regain some confidence and learn from his mistakes yesterday.

The bottom line is that we are leaking far too many goals and this cannnot continue.  Brewster has previously shown, by replacing Caff, that he is not afraid to make difficult decisions - the goalkeeping position is vital and Brew will have to change things if we continue to concede goals at the present rate.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Why should any of our players be singled out for abuse?

It is fair for any player to be criticised by the paying fan in the right circumstances. For some however there appears to be a desperate need to pick at least one player and give any form of negative comment that seems fit.

Totally agree. It should all be constructive criticism with evidence to back it up. But it should also be tempered with a degree of positivity.

[Caley]

I could not agree more IHE.  It all depends on how he can cope with Mackie.  (don't know if Caley approves of this post seeing he likes to monitor me!)

Well as you're not being insolent or asking someone for a fight, I will have to give you my seal of approval this time.  :003:

As for Fraser I say stick with him for the time being. Dropping him now may effectively end his ICT career, at least as our first choice 'keeper. I'd like nothing more than to see a local lad between the sticks for us, and I think he should be given the chance to work through this dodgy spell.

[tm4tj]

:029:

I thought Malkowski was a local.

[caley100]

'Integrated' is the word mannie.

' As for Fraser I say stick with him for the time being. Dropping him now may effectively end his ICT career'

Dont know about that, stick with him? can we afford to stick with a keeper that does not inspire confidence in the defence, can we afford to lose more stupid goals?

If any outfield player has a drop in form, he will be shunted into the reserves PDQ.

[hrw1]

I know what people are saying here but am I the only one that has noticed that Frasers apparent downturn in form has coincided with Darren Dods leaving the club, don't remember much, if any, criticism of him after Brown left in January. Is there not also a case for it being the defence that aren't filling Mikey Fraser with confidence therefore he is unsure whether to come for the ball or stay on his line.

[Mrs Pauliebee]

Dont know about that, stick with him? can we afford to stick with a keeper that does not inspire confidence in the defence, can we afford to lose more stupid goals?

If any outfield player has a drop in form, he will be shunted into the reserves PDQ.

What about the Keeper being able to have confidence in his defence? - they've been a feckin shambles since Dodds left!!!!!!  No wonder Frasers confidence is shaky!

I'd stick with him, plenty goalies have howlers and come back out fighting!

C'mon Fraser - time to silence your critics!

Mrs PB

[+Wanderer]

3 games, 7 points, drop the keeper...good to see the armchair managers out in force!

:017:

[KingBeastie]

When was the last time Fraser kept a clean sheet?

Midden end of last season I think?

I like Fraser but something has to be done - if he has another bad game against the dons then he should be dropped and have to earn his place back.

As for Zibi being a dodgy keeper - you're only a dodgy keeper while you play for hibs - Simon Brown, Andy McNeil, Yves Ma-Kalambey...

(the exception is fridge who was just dodgy full stop)

[Guest TinCanFan]

Now I've seen the mistakes it's even worse than I first thought.

Mistakes by Fraser as well as Cowie Goal

[SMEE]

3 games, 7 points, drop the keeper...good to see the armchair managers out in force!

:017:

Funny that.......i must have dreamt the other 6 games :017:

[+Wanderer]

3 games, 7 points, drop the keeper...good to see the armchair managers out in force!

:017:

Funny that.......i must have dreamt the other 6 games :017:

Funny that I didn't notice you going after him after 6 games. If you can give me the thread address I'd be grateful. Cheers... :017: :017:

[SMEE]

My doubts about Frasers ability have been around and aired since he took over from Mark Brown....long before this season started!

[+Wanderer]

My doubts about Frasers ability have been around and aired since he took over from Mark Brown....long before this season started!

OK. Clear. So you don't like our keeper!

Just so we're clear...is the 'ability' of the remainder of the squad up to your standard?

Crivvens!  :024:

[Guest neksor]

How do you replace Fraser without destroying his limited ability and confidence?

We were very lucky with our previous keeper.

Thoughts on the matter?

neksor