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Lee Mair Signs For Partick Thistle


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It's interesting. Most people have spent all season moaning about our defence and our average centre halves, the league table suggests this is actually one of the strongest areas of the team. We conceded less goals this season than second placed Motherwell aswell as 4 teams out the bottom 6.

According to the goals against column we had the 7th best defensive record in the league. Meanwhile, according to the goals for column we had the 11th best attack in the league.

Thank goodness for our defence I say, if it wasn't for them we'd have been in even more big trouble this year.

But that is only half the story. ..

We had to sacrifice attacking midfielders to have babysitters stay back and protect a very fragile defence... hence the favourable goals against but poor goals for.

How did Motherwells goals for column compare to ours?

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But that is only half the story. ..

We had to sacrifice attacking midfielders to have babysitters stay back and protect a very fragile defence... hence the favourable goals against but poor goals for.

How did Motherwells goals for column compare to ours?

Think that's confirmation bias there. If we had the worst goals against in the league but the best goals for would you be blaming our attackers?

That's the point I'm making regarding Motherwell. They scored 25 more goal than us but conceded 2 more. If only we had the Motherwell forward players!

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But that is only half the story. ..

We had to sacrifice attacking midfielders to have babysitters stay back and protect a very fragile defence... hence the favourable goals against but poor goals for.

How did Motherwells goals for column compare to ours?

And Motherwell don't have holding midfielders....... ?
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Lies, damn lies and statistics....I will trust what I see with my eyes week in week out - our central defence needs improving big time.

It's more the poor goals we lose than the amount.

It's easy to say EVERY goal could be prevented but there have been quite a few "schoolboy errors" which tend leave our current defenders open to criticism.

It's been said before and I agree we need a real leader in the heart of our defence.

Over to you Tommy.

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Many of the "schoolboy" error goals we concede come as a result of attempting to pass the ball out of our own defensive third then losing the ball.

If our defenders just blootered the ball up the pitch we'd get the double whammy of less mistakes plus creating more goalscoring opportunites in the final third.

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Many of the "schoolboy" error goals we concede come as a result of attempting to pass the ball out of our own defensive third then losing the ball.

If our defenders just blootered the ball up the pitch we'd get the double whammy of less mistakes plus creating more goalscoring opportunites in the final third.

Yup, clearing your lines is schoolboy stuff. Passing the ball out of defence effectively requires players who are able to do it. It they aren't, just leather the thing. Too often we see players trying to change to their better foot to make a pass, and all this does is afford the attacking opposition players the opportunity to put them under pressure, at which point, our guys flap and give the ball away.

Sometimes it is safer to take the most obvious route out of defence.

Edited by Drew
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Many of the "schoolboy" error goals we concede come as a result of attempting to pass the ball out of our own defensive third then losing the ball.

If our defenders just blootered the ball up the pitch we'd get the double whammy of less mistakes plus creating more goalscoring opportunites in the final third.

Wasn't that a tactic we used a few years ago when we used to lose late goals on a regular basis?

TBH it's a mixture of both, recognising when you have to "blooter" it and keeping possession can lead to us scoring and the other team not.

Suppose it's horses for courses.

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Wasn't that a tactic we used a few years ago when we used to lose late goals on a regular basis?

TBH it's a mixture of both, recognising when you have to "blooter" it and keeping possession can lead to us scoring and the other team not.

Suppose it's horses for courses.

No, its not a tactic that led to us losing late goals on a regular basis.

There is no mixture.

If the ball is in your defensive third then you are at risk of losing a goal and have no chance of scoring. If the ball is in the opponents defensive third then you have a chance of scoring and no chance of conceding.

Its simple.

Blooter the ball up the pitch, get players forward and put the opposition under pressure.

Its not about who has possession. The only possession that matters is when the ball is in the goal.

Its about where the ball and the players are. Whoever has possession is irrelevant.

Edited by Isabella Duke
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No, its not a tactic that led to us losing late goals on a regular basis.

There is no mixture.

If the ball is in your defensive third then you are at risk of losing a goal and have no chance of scoring. If the ball is in the opponents defensive third then you have a chance of scoring and no chance of conceding.

Its simple.

Blooter the ball up the pitch, get players forward and put the opposition under pressure.

Its not about who has possession. The only possession that matters is when the ball is in the goal.

Its about where the ball and the players are. Whoever has possession is irrelevant.

I hope I'm not being wooshed but jeeso! Is this from a coaching manual from the 1870s? Why is the football world wasting money on coaching anyone?

Blooter it up the park, fight for possession and if our boys are bigger and stronger than the opposition then we'll win!

Scotland used to be good on the european and international stage in the 60s, 70s and 80s, when our mixture of skilful, high tempo and not being afraid to mix it at times, brand of football couldn't be handled by foreign teams. Over time, these countries have learned how to combat those tactics and have continued to develop players who are skilful and comfortable in possession. Scotland hasn't moved on, as your suggested 'tactics' demonstrate, and there's still too much emphasise put on height, strength, stamina. That's why we've not qualified for any tournament since the 90s.

From the sounds of it, you're going to be very unhappy with Tommy's playing style!

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No, its not a tactic that led to us losing late goals on a regular basis.

There is no mixture.

If the ball is in your defensive third then you are at risk of losing a goal and have no chance of scoring. If the ball is in the opponents defensive third then you have a chance of scoring and no chance of conceding.

Its simple.

Blooter the ball up the pitch, get players forward and put the opposition under pressure.

Its not about who has possession. The only possession that matters is when the ball is in the goal.

Its about where the ball and the players are. Whoever has possession is irrelevant.

Oh, what a simple world you live in. bye1.gifbye1.gifbye1.gif

There's no point, as has been mentioned above, you bleat on about this year after year, way beyond tedious. snore.gif

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If you look at the top level of football these days, very few teams play possession football. The era of it seems to be over.

Look at Chelsea v Atletico, both teams spent most of the tie trying to give the other team possession so they could win it back and counter. Real beat possession playing Bayern easily by picking them off on the counter, just like Bayern had done to Barca the year before.

I'd like us try to play that way. To do so we need some flying wingers on either flank, Wylde could be one and hopefully we bring in another in the summer.

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No, its not a tactic that led to us losing late goals on a regular basis.

There is no mixture.

If the ball is in your defensive third then you are at risk of losing a goal and have no chance of scoring. If the ball is in the opponents defensive third then you have a chance of scoring and no chance of conceding.

Its simple.

Blooter the ball up the pitch, get players forward and put the opposition under pressure.

Its not about who has possession. The only possession that matters is when the ball is in the goal.

Its about where the ball and the players are. Whoever has possession is irrelevant.

That's hoofball a la Wimbledon circa 1985 - not exactly thrilling to watch and the game has moved on a fair bit with very few teams playing that way nowadays.

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If you look at the top level of football these days, very few teams play possession football. The era of it seems to be over.

Look at Chelsea v Atletico, both teams spent most of the tie trying to give the other team possession so they could win it back and counter. Real beat possession playing Bayern easily by picking them off on the counter, just like Bayern had done to Barca the year before.

I'd like us try to play that way. To do so we need some flying wingers on either flank, Wylde could be one and hopefully we bring in another in the summer.

Picking a few examples hardly proves your point.

The fact is their is no magic solution, teams play to their strengths.

Man City play possession football as they have the players who can do this.

Using teams like Real or Bayern (or Man City) is hardly applicable to any Scottish teams. whistling.gif

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I think a mixture of passing out from the back and blootering it into next week would work well. When we have stuck to one method it has not proved succesful over time.

Take for example three seasons ago when TC arrived. We started playing the best football I have seen the Saints play since the early eighties. To begin with it worked, other teams didn't know how to play against us, then when they worked it out that method stopped producing results.

Look at last season, mainly hoofing it apart from the odd time. A late surge of form and we escape the play off slot at the last minute.

By mixing these two styles (having a plan A and a plan B) I think we would be a very difficult team to play against. When teams press us and we hoof it up to Thommo, there will be a lot of space behind their defence and when we knock it about they'll sit deep and invite us in.

Simple punk.gif

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I hope I'm not being wooshed but jeeso! Is this from a coaching manual from the 1870s? Why is the football world wasting money on coaching anyone?

Blooter it up the park, fight for possession and if our boys are bigger and stronger than the opposition then we'll win!

If our boys are quicker and more skillful then we'll win... but when they are doing their business in the attacking third and not the defensive third!

John Barnes made his name at Watford - check out some of his Watford wonder goals on youtube... and check out how the ball arrived in the attacking third.

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That's hoofball a la Wimbledon circa 1985 - not exactly thrilling to watch and the game has moved on a fair bit with very few teams playing that way nowadays.

On the contrary, watching the game getting played in attacking thirds is far more thrilling to watch than a teams attempting to keep possession in the middle of the park!

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If you look at the top level of football these days, very few teams play possession football. The era of it seems to be over.

Look at Chelsea v Atletico, both teams spent most of the tie trying to give the other team possession so they could win it back and counter. Real beat possession playing Bayern easily by picking them off on the counter, just like Bayern had done to Barca the year before.

I'd like us try to play that way. To do so we need some flying wingers on either flank, Wylde could be one and hopefully we bring in another in the summer.

Spot on

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The fact is, that teams who can control matches, are the best teams. Whether that is soaking up pressure through good defence and organisation and counter attacking, or not allowing the other team to have posession, as long you are in control of the situation, then you will win the match. That is the magic solution! Teams will play to their strengths to ensure they have the most control of situations in matches.

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