Smiley Meter Thing

[RiG]

Fraser - 3 - Did what he had to. Never really under much pressure. Assured when coming to collect the ball and good distance on his kicking to relieve us of pressure.

Tokely - 3 - Anyone know who Aberdeen had playing down the left hand side? Never saw much of them! Coped well with whatever was thrown at him and got forward well. Sent in a wonderful ball to set Barrowman up for the opener.

McGuire - 3 - Never really did anything wrong but lost a few aerial battles as Aberdeen turned the screw a bit in the 2nd half. Partnership with Munro will be under scrutiny.

Munro - 4 - Fantastic performance. Showed good leadership at the back and throw himself in at the deep end to help preserve our lead when he blocked a cross attempt by Miller/Mackie to Miller/Mackie (delete as appropriate) which would have led to a certain goal. Excellent showing from the Captain.

Hastings - 3 - Again, solid and did what he had to do. Was often too keen to lump the ball back up the pitch and thus turnover possession but Smith didn't give him much bother unless he cut inside and attacked from the centre.

Cowie - 4 - Non stop running and linked well with the midfield and Barrowman. Looked keen to get on the ball and run at the defence. Played some intelligent passes that nearly resulted in goals for us and showed yet again why he will likely be playing at a higher level next season.

Black - 4 - Our best passing midfielder. Hosed on Mark Kerr in midfield and took out about 3 Dons players with a nifty little turn. Sprayed the ball about intelligently and always offered himself for a pass and supported the attack a lot than I have seen him too.

Duncan - 3 - Some good runs and simple passing and really broke down a lot of Aberdeen attacks but still misplaced some key balls that lost us the chance to get a goal. However, on the whole, a solid performance on one that is typical of your "dirty" deep lying midfield player.

McBain - 3 - Never saw he was playing until 10 minutes in but he gave us some extra width on the left when we broke and Imrie was elsewhere on the pitch. Still needs to try and use his right foot more often but he was dependable and di what he had to do well. Stunning finish when put clear at the end.

Imrie - 4 - I thought we paid too much for the lad but he is fairly justifying his fee. A wee bit of pace about him, strong when needing to win the ball back or holding off players and can put in a good ball. Another good showing from him but if he can keep a cooler head then he would have had a goal today to show for his efforts. Shame he couldn't keep the effort down.

Barrowman - 3 - Predators finish for the opener which is why we have bought him. He is looking like the penalty box goalscorer we didn't have last season. Got into some good positions in the area but the ball never found him. Was sometimes caught dwelling on the ball but when he adjusts to the pace of the SPL he will be even more dangerous.

Subs:

Wilson (for Black) - 2 - A thundering challenge on Diamond (?) was the highlight of his brief appearance.

McAlliser (for Barrowman) - Never knew he came on. Was too busy celebrating.

Edited August 9, 2008 by RiG

[davieB]

I'd disagree about McBain Rig. I thought he was absolutely outstanding on the left, out MOTM in my opinion. He never stopped all game, and was supporting Barrowman throughout.

McGuire is a liabilty I reckon. Quite a few times he screwed up horribly.

I thought Barrowman was superb, he held the ball up brilliantly and really gave their defence a hard time.

Other than that, I agree

[caley100]

Couple of mysterious scores there.... to give Mcguire the same score as Russell? Duncan was almost down as my ICT best of the day, Mcguire was poor, lost out in most of the aerial challenges, and almost gave the game away with a loose challenge on Mackie at 1-0 - he needs to be replaced.

Also though Cowie was not up to scratch today, did not get as involved as he usually does, licky get a 2.

Mcbain can use his right, he scored twice with his right, one was disallowed, he also had 2 other shots with his right foot.

[Glebeict]

There is no higher level for Cowie -- He is already playing for the best team > NO????

[RiG]

I'd disagree about McBain Rig. I thought he was absolutely outstanding on the left, out MOTM in my opinion. He never stopped all game, and was supporting Barrowman throughout.

McGuire is a liabilty I reckon. Quite a few times he screwed up horribly.

I thought Barrowman was superb, he held the ball up brilliantly and really gave their defence a hard time.

Other than that, I agree

I thought McBain was quiet in the 1st half but came into the game much more in the 2nd half. I wouldn't say MOTM for me (that remains tightly fought between Munro, Black and Imrie for me) but he did have a good game. Maybe I should have rated this out of 10 instead of 5?

Couple of mysterious scores there.... to give Mcguire the same score as Russell? Duncan was almost down as my ICT best of the day, Mcguire was poor, lost out in most of the aerial challenges, and almost gave the game away with a loose challenge on Mackie at 1-0 - he needs to be replaced.

Also though Cowie was not up to scratch today, did not get as involved as he usually does, licky get a 2.

Mcbain can use his right, he scored twice with his right, one was disallowed, he also had 2 other shots with his right foot.

Surprised about your thoughts about Cowie Richard but it's all down to opinion and that's fair enough. I thought he had a good game and supported Barrowman well throughout most of the game. He was direct in his play and helped to pack the midfield when we were under the cosh.

The rating I gave for McGuire I thought might cause some debate but at the end of the day Miller, Mackie and MacGuire did hoop all for Aberdeen and that isn't just down to Munro and Co. at the back. McGuire had a role to play and while he wasn't perfect I thought he did the majority of what he had to do well. Hopefully he can go on from here.

[tm4tj]

We are no all goin to agree on player ratings, but it's always a good guide for others to work from whether we agree or disagree.

So here is mine

Fraser... :015: :D ...Solid when required, handling and kicking was pretty good, unlike the Don's dodgy kicker.

Tokely... :P :021: :D :D ...I thought he had a solid game and kept the Dons wingers mostly in check and provided a great ball in for the first goal, found time to get forward and overlap.

McGuire... :D :D :o ...He will be the subject of much discussion this season, but overall he did OK, but he should have attacked a couple of balls better but allowed them to bounce through causing much grief at times.

Munro... :D :D :D :D ...Captain courageous today, immense in the heart of the defence with timely interventions and clearances, the right man for the job today.

Hastings... :D :D :D ...Like Tokely on the left fairly sound game today, still prone to hoof it when keeping possession looked to be better options, but as part of a defensive unit he played well.

Cowie... :D :D :D ...Again not one of his best games, but nevertheless still worked extremely hard and did nothing wrong really.

Black... :D :D :D :D ...This guy is a giant, kept his temperament in control and just simply ooooozed class.

Duncan... :D :thumb04: :018: ;) ...Russeldinho started off in loose mode, but by the end of the game he was in superstar mode, brilliantly setting up the attack for the first goal with blocking tackle and quick feet, well done my MoM for today.

McBain... :D :D :D :D ...The invisible man was quiet in the first half but had a stormer of a second half, he made lots of deep runs and scored a great goal.....with his right foot, well done Roy, keep this up for another season please.

Imrie... :D :D :D :D ...Another good day at the office for Dougie, I do like the way he tries to get the fans involved, good lad. Might have done better when keeper duffed his kick out, but he lashed the ball over from eighteen yards, still, good running and kept Dons on their toes going forward.

Barrowman... :D :D :D ...As said elsewhere, cheers for that County. Took the goal well........well he took it, was in the right place and thats what striking /poaching is all about, also held ball up well when isolated at times.

Edited August 10, 2008 by themann4thejob
spellnigging

[RiG]

Good point about Imrie Mannie - at half time he applauded the fans for their backing of the team and at the end he was one of the first players to get across to the South Stand to thank the supporters for their support.

[Alex MacLeod]

All fans take note. When the fans make noise the players react.

[RiG]

All fans take note. When the fans make noise the players react.

Likewise, when the players give us something to shout about we make (more) noise.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Its a feckin Smileymometer RIG

Thanks fer the feedback - What formation did we play ? 442 or 451 or was it a 4-1-3-1-1 (I hope) Duncam sitting deep and Imrie in the hole behind Barrowman ?

All in all it looks like we just about deserved it and the only one missing out on any praise was Maguire - correct ?

[tm4tj]

You will need more feedback to get the overall picture. Difficult to crticise anyone after a good away win. We know about our defensive frailties, but McGuire does leave himself open to crticism, and justified I believe, as he does allow the ball to bounce which causes problems when the attacker nips in. He did this last year and Proc was then the scapegoat and was red carded. However, playing as a unit, Grantie stayed deep and marshalled the defence brilliantly leading by example and ticking off guys who stepped out of line, notably McGuire and Hastings. Duncan did a superb job yesterday after his initial burst of slack passes, he started the attack for the goal, and generally kept it simple but effective. Imrie and Cowie were quick to back up Barrowman and Roy played like on Olympic sprinter in the second half. I suppose we started 4-5-1, with Cowie and Imrie in support, Black filled the gap and Duncan mopped up. Rossco looked sharp yesterday keeping the wingers under control.

Still, it's only my observations, if others would care to post and complete the picture we will see the gameplan better. Dons ended up chasing the game and we could pick them off at will. Only disappointing feature for me was that we could have lost a goal or two right at the death, even after Roy scored when they hit the post then someone lifted the ball over the bar from three yards.

Overall, we were well worth the three points and could maybe have won by more, but I'll settle for that.

Edited August 10, 2008 by themann4thejob

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Cheers mate. I suppose that I am hoping that we vary the formations this year but I have always felt that we are alwatysuch better with a 4-5-1 type situation away from home - using pace, width and movement from midfield - and we appear to have that with Cowie and Imrie. That leaves a problem if we do land Rooney as I would look at it as either Barrowman or Rooney up front away from home and both at home in a more conventional 4-4-2 system.

I suspect that Proctor may well replace Maguire next week but I still have my doubts about his propensity to play in central defence.

I am glad to hear that Duncan played well and I have always felt that he is more suited to away from home, especially when he has ball players, like Black, along side him. Royster is so feckin inconsistent it is untrue - hope he is the one who warms the bench at home.

[alternative maryhill]

Got to say the tactics and motivation looked excellent yesterday. It took the team about 10 minutes to find their feet and Aberdeen had slightly more of possession (exaggerated to 20 minutes by Tangoman post-match). At first we seemd to lack a little width, but as soon as Imrie started getting the ball in wide positions, we dominated. Cowie provided most of the support for Barrowman, but occasionally he dropped deeper and Blackie pushed up. This flexibility, and the fact that we pressed Aberdeen really hard when we didn't have the ball, meant they couldn't really pin us down and couldn't develop any fluency in their own play.

If this is a formation we are going to use regularly, then Barrowman looks tailor-made to play on his own up front. He's a classic goal-hanger, hardly dropped back at all yesterday, but he was constantly looking for the ball, dragging the defenders around with him and received the ball well with his back to goal. Also seems to have reasonable pace, although it was difficult to judge how much skill he has beyond sticking the ball in the net.

As for the rest of the team: thought Imrie's workrate was superb and he showed a few flashes of great ball control at speed. Definitely looks most effective as a winger IMO - he looked genuinely dangerous on a few occasions; Cowie saw less of the ball than he did for much of last season, but he still worked really hard, closing down opponents and creating options for his team-mates; Duncan was superb in the second half in particular when we had to defend a bit more - read the game excellently, making important interceptions and tackles and not misplacing too many passes; Hastings for me deserved more than the 3 stars most supporters have given him. Now and again he let attackers in behind him a little too easily (as did Tokely on the other side, but like Duncan he made some vital interceptions in the second half and also showed an aggressive streak which I've never seen before in him and which seemed to wind up the Dons players; McGuire didn't do a great deal wrong but he really does lack the dominance in the air that we've missed since Dods left - as someone else pointed out, he's prone to let the ball bounce and then misjudge it, and another thing which irrritates me is his tendency to barge into the backs of players when he's challenging for a kick-out, thus giving away free kicks.

Yesterday wasn't a perfect performance - not enough fluency from midfield to front and still a tendnecy to let opponents in too easily at the back - but the fight from the players was superb, the tactics and formation were well thought-out and effective, and although there was some long-ball stuff, there were also some genuine attempts to play the ball on the ground and build patiently. Early days, but I'm more confident than I was 24 hours ago,

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Like the sound of that Mary - I am looking forward to seeing Barrowman - That is another thing that we lacked last season and that was the centre forward who stayed up front and provided movement and effort - It sounds that Barrowman does not have the touch of the mercenary or the headless chicken approach of Bayne - but it does sound as if he may well be something in between - which would be good enuff fer me - and a goal scoring touch as well - and a bit in the Wyness mode ? You dont need oodles of skill if ya know how to stick chances in the onion bag mun.

The rest sounds similiar - and hopefully Brew has enuff spondoolachs to grab that feckin extra defender or two. It is difficult fer the likes of Cowie and Imrie to always support away from home - but both have the pace and the engines to do so - and that is another reason why Royster may be invisible away from home but he does a hell of a lot of covering and supporting.

[TheresNoEsInBlack]

By accounts on here everyone is saying Fraser was fairly solid, however the BBC commentator suggested that he was dodgy when cross balls came in. I wasn't at the match myself so I don't know. Does anyone think this is an area he needs to work on?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

It always has been.

[TheresNoEsInBlack]

Ok, everyone missed that aspect of his game on Sat then! Aw well. I'm sure he's on the case in training. Talking of existing problem areas, how was his kicking yesterday?

[+Wanderer]

Ok, everyone missed that aspect of his game on Sat then! Aw well. I'm sure he's on the case in training. Talking of existing problem areas, how was his kicking yesterday?

Kicking was fine and he was winding up the Dons fans and then the players with some lengthy preparations. Got a bollocking from Munro (who didn't?) for not kicking quickly from hand when we had a chance to break quickly. But overall put the ball back into play or to safety well. Cross balls? Hmmm the jury's still deliberating.

I agree with a lot of the above. It was a great day out - passion, commitment and we made Aberdeen look very ordinary in the first half, Calderwood was puce with his team's performance. I also think Langfield was looking really edgy in the Aberdeen goal.

Not much more to add to all the above other than to thank the team for an outstanding performance and I've rarely seen an ICT team look so together and elated and in tow with the support at the end of a league game.

[tm4tj]

His kicking was superb yesterday, really long and all in play I think. Unlike Langfield who sclaffed three or four clearances, one which should have led to a goal for us.

His handling was sound. One moment they may have referred to was a chipped cross that was slightly high for him but he fingertipped it to safety, another low ball curving away from him but Hastings took the initiative and cleared the ball anyway.

edited to say..........don't you just miss the we reminder that pops up when someone else posts just before you do.

Edited August 10, 2008 by themann4thejob
post reminder

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Mikey has picked up the "virus" from Mark Brown in respect of commanding his area but has gradually improved. His kicking is superb at times.

[RiG]

I thought he was fine and he was very quick off his line to come and collect the ball. Kicking good, looked fine under pressure. Who was commentating for the game on the radio?

[TomCaleyJag]

Thought I'd do my own smiley-o-meter rather than comment on others':

Fraser :thumb04: :018:

Didn't have an awful lot to do, but what he did he mostly did well. A couple of nervous moments, once flapping at a cross, and another racing off his line but was beaten to it. However, a clean sheet at Pittodrie is a good achievement for Ikey ;)

Tokely :015: :D :021:

Good cross for Andy's goal, and a good moment in the second half, where he made a fool of an Aberdeen player with a clever flick past him. Beaten on the wing too easily once or twice, but a good performance overall :022:

McGuire :D :D :D

I thought he was decent enough. In Grantie's shadow a wee bit but dealt with most of what was thrown his way. I agree a couple of dodgy momenths though.

Munro :D :D :D :D :D

Brilliant performance. A couple of very good headers, and I remember an incredible goal-saving tackle in the second half. Let nothing get past him, Captain's performance :022:

Hastings :D :D :D

Solid enough performance from Hastings, I remember a good crunching tackle in the second half. There was a couple of moments in the second half however, when he wasted possession by just hoofing it rather than looking for a pass.

Black :D :D :D :D :D

Another fantastic performer. Skills on the ball, passing, tackling, everything spot on Blacky. Kept his temperament under control too. Top performance :P

Duncan :D :D :D :D

Very good, passionate performance from Russeldinho. Loved the slide-on-knees celebration for Andy's goal, and two or three stunning tackles. Broke up the play well, and seemed to get better as the game went on.

Cowie :D :D :D :D

Worked hard, didn't do anything wrong, but not one of his best displays.

McBain :D :D :D :D

Was annonymous for parts of the first half, but a good second half display. Unbelievable run for his goal, intelligent play and a great finish. Overall, a good display from Roy.

Imrie :D :D :003: :003:

Very good performance from Dougie and great to see him applauding the fans at the end of both halfs. Some great runs, very good part in the second goal.

Barrowman :003: :003: :003: :003:

Surprised and impressed with Andy. Good finish, and he never stopped running. Held the ball up well, stayed cool under pressure, and looked every bit the SPL player. Well done Andy :022:

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

At last - A feckin fine example of the art of Smileymometry. Just look at the lay out, the brevity but conciseness of the individual summaries. A bit more work to do around the post match craic, the mangers tactics and MOM award but this is definitely promising. In a few years Tom you could be the new IHE.

[TomCaleyJag]

A bit more work to do around the post match craic, the mangers tactics and MOM award.

Post Match - Dont really remember much between McBain goal and arriving back in Sneck

Manager's Tactics - For once he appeared to have some.

MOM - Grantie :thumb04:

In a few years Tom you could be the new IHE

Erm... Thanks...?? :018:

[TheresNoEsInBlack]

I thought he was fine and he was very quick off his line to come and collect the ball. Kicking good, looked fine under pressure. Who was commentating for the game on the radio?

I didn't catch his name when he was introduced because my old dear in the back seat insisted on talking through the entire match report. Something about me finishing painting the ceiling in my bathroom.

Pleased to hear his kicking has improved!