crazylegsjoe_mfc

There's the games against Hearts and Dundee Utd that our performances and chances merited something. There's the game against St. Johnstone where you would argue if you equalise in injury time you should manage to see the game out. There's also the argument that if we are 1-0 up against a newly promoted side with 20 minutes to go, we should take at least something from the game. However, all of those examples of dropped points are our own undoing. Also, on the contrary, St. Mirren absolutely pumped us 0-1 in the opening game of the season. Since the Hearts game, none of our results have been shameful. We've beaten the one sided I would have hoped / expected to beat and done so comfortably. The rest of the results in isolation are hardly embarassing or even questionable, but it's a grim run of fixtures. I think we were bedding in a new manager and a new style (which was of course a great necessity) at a time where due to the run of fixtures, we would wanted to have been banking more points when the teething problems arose. Had the club had the bravery to part ways with Alexander in May and we'd had all summer (and more than two pre-season friendlies) we may have ironed out those teething issues sooner. My main concern is that between now and the World Cup, none of the fixtures are bankers and there's no easy points between now and then. That brings us back after the break on an awful run of form unless we pick up.

I would wonder if he’d want it. I think Bara was on a hiding to nothing. O’Neill had struck it lucky with having 6 or 7 guys playing at a decent EPL level or thereabouts, which they’ve never had before or since.

I’m not sure that it has. Clarke had the opportunity to give him a cap in friendlies in March and he didn’t. I think Scotland will take every last minute we can get out of Gordon. There’s not been much between Marshall, McGregor and Gordon over recent years and now is really the first sustained period where there is a massive drop off in quality between the 1st and 2nd choice.

I agree with that. I reckon Clarke kept him in the summer squad with a view that the World Cup, had we got there, would be his last hurrah. But given the next possible tournament for us in a couple of years, it makes perfect sense to prioritise Patterson, Hickey and maybe Ralston. On the other point, without going full "yer da", I'm not sure I want to know equates to a "unicorn" in football

I see Gallagher and Doig have been added to the Scotland squad. I'd have thought SOD being a trusted, safe pair of hands for Clarke might have got him in, especially when we've added a fourth left-back when it's a right back that's been injured. I'd have even thought McGinn would've been worth a shout over Doig. Didn't expect Gallagher to ever get a Scotland recall, but with Souttar, Cooper and Hanley out and the change in shape, you can see why he'd want more than three centre-backs in the squad. I never thought I'd utter this sentence a while back, but I pray McKenna or Hendry don't get injured or suspended tomorrow.

I’m as unagitated (is that a word) as I’ve ever been after a 0-3. Plenty of positives and everything that could have gone against us did. Defensive errors are bound to happen now and again and that’s the first Lamie has made in a while. Hearts would’ve struggled to get the lead without a mistake. One downside to today for me was Barry Maguire. Really want to like the guy and give him extra leeway being an academy player etc, but we really do drop off in quality when he plays, to the point he impedes us. Cornelius got on the ball far better when he came on. Wonder if Shields and Morris’ omission from the squad means either are going on a championship loan.

They have probably worked on the scenario where the ball goes out wide, the full back comes up in support and the number 10 comes and shows for the ball. Neither of which were things you saw in an Alexander team. His full backs were narrow centre backs who weren’t allowed past half way, there was rarely a midfielder with attacking intent in those areas and even the third option of going 1v1 probably wasn’t “percentage” enough.

I’m not going to go all “didn’t want him anyway” now he’s signed with someone else, he would definitely have made a difference to our team, but signing him would clearly have been a short term measure, albeit one I’m sure we’d have jumped at after watching Josh Morris against Sligo. At least with bringing in Aarons and McKinstry, there could be something longer term. I’m not sure what a good season at Motherwell means for either of their futures at their parent clubs, but even if they won’t be with us next season, they’re players with something to prove, whereas Snodgrass is probably the opposite. If he has an average season at Hearts, it’s not denting his future earnings or job prospects, so he has less to worry about.

It will also give us visibilty of who is coming through etc, that we used to get. When Campbell, Turnbull, Scott etc made the first team it wasn't any great shock to people as you would hear how they were doing in the reserves - but I couldn't have told you anything about Kian Speirs and had Lennon Miller not scored that goal against England and had a footballer for a dad, I probably wouldn't have known anything about him before he came in either.

The movement of the fixture means that I'll be getting merrit as the game is going on. Hoping for better luck than my good mate @Despwho also got married the day we played Rangers on a Sunday. It was just the 7-1 we lost that day.

I was dead set against it. If we signed a player who had played the equivalent of less than 23 games in the past 5 years who hadn't previously played for us, the reaction wouldn't be as jovial as what it appears to be. However, it was probably when Hearts and Hibs were getting linked (as much as it wasn't likely to happen), I began to get jealous and was thinking - as much as I don't want particularly wan't him to sign for us, I definitely don't want to see him play for anyone else. Also, in that < 23 games equivalent (over 19 starts and 36s) he has scored 9 times, so I guess if you get him on the park, there's a reasonable chance of a goal still. For me, if we are happy that he plays back up to KVV and comes on for the odd twenty minutes when we may need a goal, then it might just about work out. However, if Van Veen goes a spell without a goal and there's a clamour for his inclusion and people expect to see the work rate of the version with working knees, that's when people will probably be disappointed. I absolutely love the guy and as much as it's a signing I wouldn't perhaps have wanted, I'll definitely be singing Spandau Ballet after a few beers tomorrow.

I think rather than anywhere across the front three, Shields can actually play nowhere across the front three. He's certainly not a winger and I don't think he's a number 9 in that system either. I think he can only play off a main striker in a front two, but it's certainly not worth changing our style to try and work that out. He's obviously unlikely to leave if he's started every game, but I'm less convinced about him having an impact with us each week.

Didn't you say he was signing on Friday, too?

Speaking as someone of a fan whose best performing player is a goalkeeper, I don't think that it is the most important. If you set up relying on your goalkeeper to be brilliant, the pressure will be relentless and even the best 'keeper would succumb to errors. The best example of my own club I would use is Motherwell in 2013/14 and 2014/15. Motherwell somehow managed to finish second the first season with a combination of Lee Hollis / Gunnar Nielsen and Dan Twardzik in goals. The following season we finished 11th, yet with only three more goals conceded. What was the difference between those two seasons? In 2013/14, John Sutton was scoring freely with either Henri Anier or McFadden chipping in to help. In midfield, Vigurs got 13 assists and Ainsworth got 10 (as well as scoring 11 of his own). In 2014/15, Sutton's goals dried up, with Anier and McFadden away, he wasn't really helped out by any partner Ainsworth and Vigurs became uninterested when the going going got tough. Of course, Ainsworth's performances in the playoffs meant all was forgiven. For me the most important players are those who enable you to play the game in the oppositions half.

Lucas was outstanding that game he played against Ross county when wee won 4-1. You could tell there was a player in there but he was finished in his early 20s. Still can’t work out what he was trying to do when he got sent off against Accies. Not dignifying Vigurs’ existence with any comment.

I took that out of context as Morris being linked with Rochdale. Now disappointed.

Scott Allan has signed for Arbroath so that should quieten Tam down.

Generally agree with @Desp's take on Tam Cowan. The best way I've heard him described is that there's a difference between "Football" and "The Fitba" and that Tam Cowan is in to the latter. Someone who is only in to "The Fitba" (i.e the experience of football) is far more likely to suggest signings like Allan, Griffiths and Moult, names very well known to the club and Scottish Football, rather than a bit more depth of thought on who might actually improve the team. Him being more in to "The Fitba" than "Football" is fully backed up by the fact he posted a video of his all time Motherwell XI on his instagram yesterday, which had three left backs in it.

Yeah it was. It was shortly before he signed with Leeds. He was only 16 at the time, maybe it was a really weak attempt to try and get him to stay. Obviously having to use all 3 subs right away killed any chance of him getting on.

I don't know if it's as much confidence as it is style. I'm beginning to think he looked decent under Alexander because his objective was to win the ball and get rid of it, which played directly to his strengths. I think he is badly exposed and as a result, struggles when he's part of a team which has a lot of possession of the ball, which we've seen so far this season. I also think, as I said a few pages back on this thread, when at right back last season, he was out of harms road from making critical errors.

Ojala must be completely finished if he can’t get in the team in front of those two.

I would take Wallace on two accounts: 1. I think he'd be absolutely fine for this standard and a marked upgrade on Carroll and McGinley 2. At his age and background, I reckon he would be happy with a deal until the end of the season. Most younger players that we would look to fill that gap will be after at least an 18-month deal and I'm not sure that I would want to commit our future at left back to someone who is available with less than 3 weeks of the window left.

Last season, the two outfield players with most minutes were SOD and Mugabi, both of whom played most of their games at right-back. Add to that, our seemingly best youth product is a right-back. I actually think Paul McGinn is a good player and have no qualms about his ability to do us a turn, but what I do have issue with is Alexander signing a right-back when it was arguably our strongest area, when there are so many holes in the squad. I’m also fairly certain that whoever the new manager is will have to get the best out of largely what we’ve got at least until January. I can think of probably five areas I’d like to improve, but I reckon we’ll be lucky to get one or two through the door and at that, I think with three weeks of the window left, anybody we sign will be a punt - might be better than what we’ve got, might not be. I don’t think the quality of our squad just now and the quality of the squad on September 1st will be drastically different.

Aye, we definitely got away with that one. It was lunacy from Alexander not to hook him at half time.

Wouldn't Lamie miss two games? Pretty sure a straight red for serious foul play is a two match ban.