What A Shambles

[Chris]

Was totally confused by yesterday. Issues we spent the 1st half of last season establishing raised themselves again with no need.

Millen in the center of midfield, I know im not the first person to say it but it really did beggar belief, especially with Reilly and Corky on the bench (although Corky failed to impress when he came on)

Van Zanten on the bench. To be honest, despite playing about 20 mins, I thought he was comfortably our best player. Was Gus trying to prove something by leaving him out? I wasnt at Dundee so I dont know how he played but no one seems to have complained too much about him.

And why was Mcgowne finding himself out wide right so much. Frequent nose bleed territory from someone of his pace and ability. When he sticks to defending he fine! Maxwell also, shouldnt have been playing winback, left of a back 3 and left fullback only i think. 

Next week I'd be tempted to drop Millen and McGowne and go with Maxi Potter and Broadfoot in defence. Corky left wing, DVZ right, Lappin, Reilly Murray midfield and Kean & McGinty upfront. It cant be any worse than this week, we were truly awful! Im not panicking yet, I just feel some player left us and themselves down yesterday. This is not an easy league, the quality is far better this season and i think the players should realise that

186152[/snapback]

DvZ was poor against Dundee, I wasn't surprised to see him left out, to be honest. I think it's a good thing that we now have the option to leave players out, unlike last year, and it is also good that Gus is willing to leave out established players.

The only problem with playing Corky out wide in a 3-5-2 is that he isn't a defender. Making him track back will blunt his game, much as it seemed to do with Lappin.

McGinty looked dangerous when he came on, he had several good runs beyond the defence, and at least gave us something to aim long balls at. Still don't see him playing as an out and out striker though. Mehmet will probably start next week anyway.

[div]

In answer to the topic title. The natives are not all becoming restless, I am very relaxed and have great belief in the team and the manager.

Please don't put me in the same bracket as the emotive knicker wetters (copyright Sid) who throw all their toys out of the pram because we don't carry out our apparent divine right of humping Stranraer.

[buddygreat]

Gus out now before we have another JC scenario...Time to move on up!!!

186154[/snapback]

Again, this guy is also an imposter...onwards and upwards Gus's Black and White Army

[Reidy1987]

Again, this guy is also an imposter...onwards and upwards Gus's Black and White Army

186164[/snapback]

Now there's a chant for next week...

"onwards and upwards black and white army". Yep, it's got a ring to it.

[Wemyss Bay Boy]

Or as the Spanish would say Negroblanco!!

[santaponsasaint]

Or as the Spanish would say Negroblanco!!

186193[/snapback]

Just back from your hols in spain. saints para seimpre conejo

[Wemyss Bay Boy]

NO Greece lol

[santaponsasaint]

NO Greece lol

186199[/snapback]

Did you meet spanish tourists,,thats like seeing the loch ness monster

[eightball]

i am not a boo boy , as that doesnae help a bit , but can some body out there please tell what the f'ck Lappin is supposed to be doing masquerading as a football player, is he just there to please the ladies in the crowd ??????

[Guest Ton2Midden0]

A few weeks ago Gus was the man for the job

Now some of you want his hairless head to roll ! Classic !

[billyg]

In answer to the topic title. The natives are not all becoming restless, I am very relaxed and have great belief in the team and the manager.

Please don't put me in the same bracket as the emotive knicker wetters (copyright Sid) who throw all their toys out of the pram because we don't carry out our apparent divine right of humping Stranraer.

186161[/snapback]

A lot of the natives are becoming restless , take it from me . There is no way that that team will even come close to winning the league .We are devoid of ability , creativity and depth. FFS ,surely we didn't sign maxi to play wing-back, we could have signed someone like Ian Ross to play there, or someone else who is comfortable in the position. Gus will need to get it right quickly or his head will be on the block!

[HSS]

A few weeks ago Gus was the man for the job   

Now some of you want his hairless head to roll !    Classic !

186214[/snapback]

At least our natives are only restless.

The Greencock natives are revolting

[elvira]

i am not a boo boy , as that doesnae help a bit , but can some body out there please tell what the f'ck Lappin is supposed to be doing masquerading as a football player, is he just there to please the ladies in the crowd ??????

186209[/snapback]

Naw, he could never replace Yardley in that capacity!

[Guest Captain Sensible]

Putting out a team with 5 central defenders at home to Stranraer was a disgrace.

Gus Macpherson has a boring and negative attitude - its little wonder we only drew 0-0 at home to Stranraer.

Why on earth do we not have a left wing back? Why did Gus not sign one? Why did he let Ellis go? What on earth is Maxwell doing at left wing back?

Why on earth did Gus let Ricky Gillies go when he keeps playing that ghost Lappin every week. If it wasn't for the fact that Lappin has a left foot, I'm certain he'd have been binned long ago. He's rubbish.

Why was John O'Neill freed when he ws our top goalscorer? O'Neill would provide a better goal threat from midfield than tha ghostly Lappin.

And why was Corcoran not on from the start with Kean & Mehmet in a front 3? It was a home game against Stranraer after all.

Gus Macpherson achieved 2nd place last season in the worst First Division in history with dull, negative, defensive tactics. The expectation level has now been raised by that 2nd place and its up to Gus to take us to the next step. But he won't achieve it unless he is more attack minded. And if we carry on like we did on Saturday then the fans have every right to boo.

Booooooooooooo.

[billyg]

Putting out a team with 5 central defenders at home to Stranraer was a disgrace.

And why was Corcoran not on from the start with Kean & Mehmet in a front 3? It was a home game against Stranraer after all.

You have hit the nail on the head , far too cautious an approach to a game the likes of which we must win to have any chance of success this season. We have now put pressure on ourselves to get a positive result at Perth while if we had won on Saturday we could have played more cautiously next week!

[Tennant's Lager]

Putting out a team with 5 central defenders at home to Stranraer was a disgrace.

Gus Macpherson has a boring and negative attitude - its little wonder we only drew 0-0 at home to Stranraer.

186234[/snapback]

As usual, pretty much on the money CS. Hopefully it was just a knee-jerk reaction from Gus after the piss poor defending in Dundee.

The more worrying thing is I don't think Gus has a settled formation or 11 in mind yet. And in that sense, we're still playing like we were in pre-season. Bugs like that should have been sorted out so we could hit the ground running instead of stuttering.

As I and others have said before surely we should continue with the 3-5-2 we had last season? I wanted 4-4-2 at the start of last campaign, but it ended up being so effective last time out you couldn't not like it. While it's true we have lost O'Neill, Gillies, Russell, Mixu, Ellis etc...we should still have the players to make it work:

Hinch in goal, perm 3 from 5 for the defence (I'd go for Potter, Millen & Kirky - not a McGowne hater but prefer Potter)...Reid at LWB, DVZ at RWB, central midfield of Murray, Reilly & Corcoran with Corky being advanced and given license to roam the width of the pitch. If he doesn't take to playing there then surely either Jinty or Bairdy would with their energy levels....all behind a front pairing of Mehmet & Kean at the moment. Or if we sign someone better to replace either of them, great.

That should give us a balance between creativity in the middle and on the flanks which is sorely needed, as well as being strong defensively AND with good attacking options.

[Bill Lees]

so we could hit the ground running

186239[/snapback]

Sorry, Dave, but I think that that expression should be banned forever. In my experience, if you try to "hit the ground running" you generally fall flat on your face.

[Guest Delivery Boy]

There was a creative attacking midfielder at the club and he was let go even though he was the top goal sorer for the past two seasons. What other club would let this happen and then have no better replacement.

[Tennant's Lager]

Sorry, Dave, but I think that that expression should be banned forever. In my experience, if you try to "hit the ground running" you generally fall flat on your face.

186245[/snapback]

I've never felt it to be a problem, hitting the ground running - while doing the hurdles for example.......

That you have a problem with it has more to do with you being an unfit, rotund, middle aged chap than anything else.

[Alba]

Personally, I hate the close season and I'm delighted to see all the aggro back on the board. The Captain stirring away like a Magimix 2000, Reidy as withering as a very withering thing, members of the great Greenockian unwashed contributing their ill-considered slabberings. And to top it all, out traditional pish start to the season allowing the usual bawheids to call for the manager's head and write off our chances after two games.

It's great to be back.

[The Original 59er]

I'm with you CS , even to the most obvious eye, unless there is a transformation, there is not a lot of chance that we will be challenging for top spot this year.

I'm sick of the pass back approach, the total lack of creativity in midfield, and as for a finisher, I haven't seen a true regular, fit goal scorer at Love St for maybe 6+years.

What's all this crap about needing a 6'2" + partner for Kean. When Celtic were at their peak in the 60'6 and early 70's they had Lennox, Johnstone, Wallace, Auld, Hood, McBride, Deans etc etc and none of them were anywhere above 5'9". What you need is someone who knows his way to goal, pure and simple - height isn't necessarily the answer, all it encourages (as was evidenced with Mixu in the team) is the reliance on the long ball, in the hope you got a knock down. Any team with a big defence could mop up these long balls as Falkirk did last year.

Now get a winger / wing-back to the by-line and cross a ball properly into the box at any height and it causes mayhem.

I'm getting to the stage when it is difficult to encourage my son to come to Love St, if for no other reason, he doesn't want to see negative tactics or for that matter, an ineffectual display against teams who have no aspirations to get to the SPL.

[A Pedant Writes]

I've never felt it to be a problem, hitting the ground running - while doing the hurdles for example....... 

186258[/snapback]

If I may intervene, my dear boy.....

I do believe that my good friend and colleague Mr. Lees was inferring from the phrase (and the context of your original usage of it) - correctly, in my view - that it signified striking the surface of the earth with the legs approximating a running action whilst being held in mid-air and then subsequently being dropped onto the surface, effectively from a static start, but not at rest - at speed (thereby usually rendering it exceptionally difficult to gauge the required speed in order to ensure a smooth transition from mid-air to the surface of the ground without falling flat), although of course, doing the same from an actual static start often has the same result. I do not believe that the subsequent landing on the ground after leaping to vault a hurdle - when the forward motion of one's body is inherent, and the momentum is therefore easily maintained, is what is implied by this particular metaphor.

I do hope that this has been helpful.

[santaponsasaint]

If I may intervene, my dear boy.....

. 

I do hope that this has been helpful.

186280[/snapback]

No

[Guest G00gle.com]

I do believe that my good friend and colleague Mr. Lees was inferring from the phrase (and the context of your original usage of it) - correctly, in my view - that it signified striking the surface of the earth with the legs approximating a running action whilst being held in mid-air and then subsequently being dropped onto the surface, effectively from a static start, but not at rest - at speed (thereby usually rendering it exceptionally difficult to gauge the required speed in order to ensure a smooth transition from mid-air to the surface of the ground without falling flat), although of course, doing the same from an actual static start often has the same result.  I do not believe that the subsequent landing on the ground after leaping to vault a hurdle - when the forward motion of one's body is inherent, and the momentum is therefore easily maintained, is what is implied by this particular metaphor. 

186280[/snapback]

I could not have put it better, myself!

[div]

What a load of old bollocks this is about playing with five central defenders in the team. Andy Millen made a career out of playing in the middle of the park and was clearly put there to do the role that Mavis usually does.

Reilly was injured, Millen deputised in his position. Potter moved to fill Millens role.

Broadfoot and McGowne are absolute stalwarts of the side.

Maxwell is a left sided player who can fill a number of roles, hence why I believe he was brought to the club.

David Van Zanten was clearly not fit enough to start, hence Alan Reid covered right side and Maxwell slotted in on the left.

If Kirk Broadfoot had played midfield I bet nobody would have said "oh crap, there's a central defender playing out of position".

None of the players we released were any good except Alan Russell - the rest were all pish who added nothing to the squad. We are much better off this season than we were last term.

When we add two more players in to the squad we'll be good enough to win the league and I remain utterly confident that we will.