Scrutinizer

Poor display from both teams Livi plenty of energy but no quality, continual fouling, giving the ball away, again ball control and passing was shocking. This team has no decent midfielders,lack of players willing to run from midfield Longridge,Fizzywater,Pittman,Holt,Penrice,Reilly,Hamilton,Kelly,Sibbald,all look to be struggling at this level. I said 1 or 0 points in their first 6 games,and I'm not often wrong,it's heading that way..... Stryjek 3/10 Devlin 4/10 Obileye 4/10 Fizzywater 3/10 Longridge 2/10 Pittman 3/10 Holt 2/10 Penrice 3/10 Sibbald 2/10 Anderson 5/10 Forrest 5/10

Rangers never out of second gear,so easy. First of all, Livi put plenty effort in, but never won any 50/50 balls. The standard of passing, ball control, and the continual fouling is nowhere good enough. Supposed to be a 4-3-3,never a 4-3-3 what I was watching was a 6-3-1,with all the midfielders camped in their own half The defence were terrible, the midfield were non existent Pittman,Holt,Penrice,Forrest,Fitzwater,Lewis,Kabia,McMillan,Hamilton all poor. Stryjek, Sibbald (except for his fouling) Obileye (except for his punts up the park) and Anderson were average at best.

Livi's first 6 league games = 1 point from 18 maybe even 0 points. Every game since the St Mirren semi last year has been bad,they'll struggle with scoring, and are my no1 contenders for the drop

Let's get to the point, this lot are getting worse every week, you can't let this continue into next season, the system, and about 60% of the players are not good enough. The tactics today were never going to get you a goal, far less a win, Jet the best player again for Livi was everywhere with no support from a stale midfield ,Bartley,Pittman,Kabia,Poplatnik would've been better sitting in the stand, that's how bad they were The defence today were solid enough, probably down to ST.Johnstone lacking up front The only players worth keeping Stryjek,Guthrie,Diani,Jet,Sibbald,Forrest,Devlin,Fizzywater(mabybe midfield) and McMillan. The rest wouldn't be missed, should be out the door along with Martindale, if you want to stay loyal and keep the same faces and tactics, the Championship will be calling the end of next season.

Last game let's ditch 4-2-3-1 and go 4-3-3. Keep the slow the game down defensive midfielders off the park. Stryjek Devlin Ambrose Guthrie Longridge McMillan Diani Sibbald Kabia Jet Forrest

Liv's overall 20/21 season has them achieving more than expected, for their budget, but it's quite alarming how a team heading for a great season can simply explode at the finishing line, the signs have been there in some games where the whole team couldn't string a pass together. To me, the main problem lies in the type of players, and quality, too many similar type players in the squad, and playing a system which lacks pace getting players up the park for support The amount of players that lack ball control and composure, has been evident all season Scott Pittman over the seasons has been Liv's driving force with bursting runs from midfield, weaving past defenders getting shots away, getting into the box causing problems, he's lost the ability to do what he was good at, and it's not just being off form, I think he has peaked over the last couple of years. This season he panics loses the ball as soon as he receives it, can't get by a defender, I can't see him getting any better Jason Holt, where do I start, he's so frustrating on the ball, slows the game down with his constant back and side passing, he need's to gamble more, be more direct get the ball forward quicker, he's quite happy strolling around at the back, dithering on the ball, if he's not going to be more direct he should move on John Guthrie has been a shadow of the player he was. He's lost a bit of pace, not as commanding in the box, it doesn't help when there's no quality beside him. Josh Mullin has lost his way, doesn't get forward enough, does very little on the ball, the only thing I see him good at is crosses from a dead ball, he lacks the enthusiasm of trying to get involved in a game Nick Devlin's running and ball control is good enough, he needs to spend the summer practicing his crossing Marvin Bartley honestly need's to hang up his boots immediately, not phase him out next season Craig Sibbald overall has had a decent season, good ball control, running, and always good for a long distance shot, has become better and more influential than Pittman Next seasons priority, a complete new formation (System) 2 Attacking midfielders, Central defender, 2 Forwards and a new Manager

Livi as we know have one of the lowest budgets, even so, should be able to assemble a better squad than they have Next season I can't see anything but a relegation battle, I just can't see where the points are coming from, this squad is simply not good enough A season mainly of poor setups,tactics,player choices in games, especially since the League cup semi There are too many players playing on their past reputation and successes Big questions over Pittman, is his time up, a big let down this season, Mullin should never have got a new contract Bartley should be hanging up his boots Guthrie struggles with quick forwards who can turn him easily, needs another strong defender beside him Holt, no doubt tries in games, but brings nothing in an attacking sense, far to negative in most games. Sibbald is good enough for next season Fizzywater is not a central defender, not strong enough, tends to get dragged out of position, which puts more pressure on Guthrie I would keep ,Devlin,Guthrie,Stryjek,Sibbald,Forrest,Jet,Longridge,Holt (as the only defensive midfielder, don't need 2) Bartley, Pittman,Fizzywater,1 good game in every 6 is not good enough, also A.t.s,Poplatnik,Lithgow,Jacobs,Hamilton,Reilly,McCrorie,S.k.a,DiVita,all need moved on. Stryjek 6/10 Devlin 5/10 Fitzwater 3/10 Guthrie 5/10 Longridge 5/10 Bartley 2/10 Holt 5/10 Jet 7/10 Pittman 2/10 Sibbald 6/10 Poplatnik 2/10 Kabia 4/10 Mullin 3/10

Livi,talk about slow,this is a shambles,what a heartless display,I've been saying for months a big clearout needed,nobody seems to see what I seeing nearly every week

Totally agree, couldn't put it better myself,slows the game down,losses the ball in dangerous positions,cant pass unless it's about 5 feet from another player,even then he over hits it Bartley is also a liability, trying to break up play,static, and constant fouling,can't pass, he's lost his defensive ability,slows the game down. Fizzywater gets all tangled up in defence ,can't read the game as a defender, can't tackle gets caught out of position ever game Pittman done nothing all game,his ball control was bad,panics then treats the ball like a live hand grenade. Livi can't keep playing with midfielders being static, and slowing the game down Jet,Sibbald,Forrest,Stryjek,were the stand outs

A bit unlucky overall, Pittman, Holt, Bartley, Fizzywater were all a bit of a disappointment Stryjek 8/10 Safe at crosses, good overall game Devlin 6/10 Steady enough, some good runs. Fizzywater 3/10 Unstable at the back, just doesn't look solid enough Guthrie 6/10 Caught out few times, Fizzywater not a good defensive match. Longridge 6/10 Plenty running and effort Bartley 3/10 Constantly fouling, cumbersome on the ball, not much use to the defence in this game. Holt 4/10 Can't fault his energy, passing always over hit, too much fouling, lost ball twice first half that nearly caused goals Jet 9/10 This guy has got great ball control,touch,passing, amazed at his energy, and enthusiasm .. Pittman 3/10 Set up first goal, then had no impact, very poor Sibbald 8/10 Very good, plenty running, enthusiasm spot on, fitness levels getting better game by game. Forrest 8/10 Impressive display, always running . Lithgow Looked a bit slow Poplatnik Not much impact McMillan Looked good Taylor Sinclair Never noticed much of him

Atlis I agree with some of what you're saying, but I don't hold back, what I see in a game, I speak my mind The biggest problem is this system of playing 2 defensive midfielders Bartley is finished, Holt does nothing positive, constantly hiding, passes the ball back and to the side, midfielders should be going forward, not playing in front of a defence, If the team is struggling in a game, get another defender on, and leave the midfield for getting forward. In other words there shouldn't be such a thing as a defensive midfielder. Lawson is another player we know can be good, but also can disappear more often than not Sibbald and Pittman can be good, and would benefit from another 2 good attacking midfielders alongside. Fizzywater in my opinion is not a central defender, he's lightweight, not solid or commanding enough, gets caught out of position too often. Overall there's way too many players that panic and rush passes, not enough composure, Forrest, and Pittman to lesser extent come under this category Jet could be ok for 45min if he had another striker and more attacking midfielders around him, playing up front himself is totally baffling What I've seen of Hamilton is not good enough for this league, he's not mobile enough, his lack of a good positioning sense and work rate is limited . The very first thing Martindale needs to do is look at his formation, because 4-2-3-1 is not working. You can keep changing players about, but that won't solve you're chance of winning with this system

Yesterdays result has just confirmed my thought's on a squad clear-out. It's all too clear that certain players need moved on Since the St.Mirren League Cup Semi this squad has been going backwards, the WHOLE team having an off day, not for the first time this season Martindale sticking with this 4-2-3-1 system, he certainly changes players about, with no real improvements Yesterday he starts of with his usual 4-2-3-1,which in this case turns into a 7-2-1 and Celtic still manage run through them and score six. The League cup final, a major trophy and Martindale is more concerned what the opposition are going to do, positive thinking was needed in this game ,ST.Johnstone won this too easy, Livi players and the Manager went into this with a 'can't win attitude' My opinion, first thing is to scrap 4-2-3-1 bring in If possible,3 new attacking midfielders, A new solid Centre back that doesn't hide. If possible 2 mobile forwards Fizzywater, BARTLEY, HOLT, Mullin, Reilly, Jet, Hamilton, McCrorie all need binned. There's quite a few more that could get their Jotters if they don't improve. Martindale needs to show he can change the system, not just swapping players about game to game. Livi won't win another game this season

1st half Just let Celtic run through your midfield and defence time and time again,marking,passing,and defending has been terrible, there's no positioning structure, certain player are playing where they want Sibbald has been one of the better performers, but what's his position today, he's popped up at LB,LW,RW,Centre, there's also other players that are not sticking to their positions. 2nd half Dragged about, totally crushed in every position could've been 14-1 Livi need to look at the quality of this squad at end of the season. I know finances could be a signing factor, there's too many players not good enough. Martindale might not last long, with more displays like this McCrorie 4/10 Whole defence very poor, certainly not the worst today Devlin 3/10 Tried, just not good enough Fitzwater 1/10 Was he playing first half, second half sleeping, dragged all over the place. Guthrie 1/10 Slow, caught time and time, sleeping Longridge 1/10 Anonymous, done nothing Bartley 0/10 Trust me, This guy's time is up, absolute rubbish Sibbald 4/10 At least tried to get into the game Holt 0/10 Terrible, Sets the tone for a defensive bore. His time is also up. Pittman 2/10 Lost the midfield, panic's when on the ball, passing terrible Forrest 4/10 Tried, to indecisive, also panics at times Jet 4/10 Tried, some nice ball control, just to slow for this League Diani 3/10 Anonymous, the game was finished Mullin 4/10 Tried, game was gone Ambrose 3/10 Anonymous, the game was finished Poplatnik 3/10 0% midfield service, what do you expect . Lithgow Just back can't comment from today's game

Hey monkey nut 120 minutes played today, Raith were the better team for 60min,don't know what game you were watching, if you don't like what I write don't f______ read it

Raith much better team for 60 min, every Livi player was poor 1st half, Raith should have went in 3 goals up. Overall Livi shaded the game but well done Raith, it could've been different had they took their chances, and kept the pressure on second half McCrorie 2/10 Ball distribution poor, left the goals wide open for rovers goal Devlin 6/10 Done ok, crossing could be better Fizzywater 6/10 Looks better up the park, can be a bit casual at the back Longridge 6/10 Steady, good on the ball Guthrie 6/10 Played his usual reliable game Bartley 3/10 Done nothing defensively, or going forward Holt 4/10 Still trying to work out his contribution, every time he gets the ball he passes back or sideways, does nothing creative Sibbald 8/10 Playing further up the park, seen a lot of the ball, plenty energy and running Pittman 5/10 Plenty energy just not his day Forrest 5/10 Done ok start of second half Jet 3/10 Far to slow, comes back to deep, needs plenty support. Mullin 6/10 Done ok Poplatnik 6/10 Done well enough, needs to play more in the box, tends to come deep Diani not on long enough Kabia not on long enough

Livi better team first half, Hibs much better second. Livi midfield disappeared second half, Holt and Bartley done their usual sitting too deep... Jet should have been subbed at half time. Martindale should've had subs on quicker for for some tiring players Jet,Bartley,Holt,Pittman,1 forward up top that could barely run in the second half, will never get you near Aberdeen As I've said before 4-2-3-1 is bad enough, but with these players you end up with a team of defenders, and little chances created. .Holt and Bartley's positions are a problem that's needing looked into McCrorie 5/10 Nothing much to do Devlin 5/10 Bad mistake for goal, not much attacking wing play Fitzwater 4/10 Looked uneasy with Hibs attacks, and low balls into the box Guthrie 4/10 Also looked uneasy, with low balls into the box. Longridge 6/10 Played well first half, good on the ball, can get forward. Bartley 4/10 No finesse on the ball, constant fouling. Holt 4/10 Got on the ball, back passing, side passing, gets you nowhere, poor second half Sibbald 8/10 Excellent first half, faded after 70 min, best player today. Pittman 6/10 Tried all game, not at his best, faded second half. Forrest 6/10 More lively today, better ball control Jet 2/10 Some good knock on's ,not up with play with all the crosses in first half. Second half couldn't run, played at walking pace. Is Martindale blind? Lawson Not on long enough ,done very little. Serrano 5/10 Average

McCrorie 5/10 Nothing much to do, bad sliced kick Accies could've scored Devlin 8/10 Great game, good wing play, good crossing Fitzwater 4/10 Looked shaky when Accies got forward, lost at times Guthrie 4/10 Not great, looked uncertain at times Longridge 6/10 Good game, got on the ball, managed to get forward Holt 5/10 Anonymous first half, OK second half moved further up the park, the problem with Holt is he plays in an unnecessary position. Bartley 6/10 Put in a good shift, breaks the game up, not great passing. Sibbald 7/10 Played well, managed to get forward more, seems reluctant to take a shot at goal when the chance arises. Pittman 8/10 Everywhere today, full of running, need this every game. Forrest 6/10 Anonymous first half, showed plenty energy second half, needs better decision making when taking on defenders Jet 7/10 This guy can be effective when he gets plenty of backup, holds the ball up well, good at knock on's, good ball control and passing. Showed a lot more energy today, his weak point is always going to be his pace. Poplatnik Not on long enough, but shouldn't be getting caught offside for his goal Serrano Not on long enough to judge. Mullin Not on long enough,hit the bar, good break away near end Done more in the last 12 minutes than in his last 2 games

Midfield static, constant bad passing, constant fouling, never won a second ball, players doubling up at left back and right back, Why??? Out played in every area,5 or more players just not good enough. Defence shaky full of mistakes. McCrorie 3/10 Bad ball clearance, Taking to much time on the ball Devlin 6/10 Done well enough, Tried to get forward. Fitzwater 3/10 Scored a goal, caused a goal in a mix up, looked shaky, To much fouling.. Guthrie 5/10 Not great ,bad pass across box, Motherwell should've scored, also to much fouling. Taylor-Sinclair 2/10 Out paced by Well winger, ball distribution poor, panics when on the ball Lawson 1/10 Game passed him by, won nothing in middle, little effort, lack of interest. Just Not good enough on this display Bartley 1/10 Moved into a more central area, anonymous, done nothing, no drive, plenty of fouling though ,as far as I'm concerned Bartley's time is up Mullin 1/10 The 1 points for the free kick, anonymous again, done nothing, this is another who's time is up Sibbald 3/10 Lasted 90 min, but on this display looked leggy, won nothing in the middle ,poor. Serrano 4/10 Managed to get on the ball, his ball distribution, passing was not good enough, especially first half. Poplatnik 5/10 Busy enough, hard to judge him with the lack of support.. The best strikers in the world would struggle in this team Forrest 6/10 Looked lively enough, good effort Pittman 3/10 Tried but no impact. Tiffoney 3/10 No impact

Midfield static, constant bad passing, constant fouling, never won a second ball, players doubling up at left back and right back, Why??? Out played in every area,5 or more players just not good enough. Defence shaky full of mistakes. McCrorie 3/10 Bad ball clearance, Taking to much time on the ball Devlin 6/10 Done well enough, Tried to get forward. Fitzwater 3/10 Scored a goal, caused a goal in a mix up, looked shaky, To much fouling.. Guthrie 5/10 Not great ,bad pass across box, Motherwell should've scored, also to much fouling. Taylor-Sinclair 2/10 Out paced by Well winger, ball distribution poor, panics when on the ball Lawson 1/10 Game passed him by, won nothing in middle, little effort, lack of interest. Just Not good enough on this display Bartley 1/10 Moved into a more central area, anonymous, done nothing, no drive, plenty of fouling though ,as far as I'm concerned Bartley's time is up Mullin 1/10 The 1 points for the free kick, anonymous again, done nothing, this is another who's time is up Sibbald 3/10 Lasted 90 min, but on this display looked leggy, won nothing in the middle ,poor. Serrano 4/10 Managed to get on the ball, his ball distribution, passing was not good enough, especially first half. Poplatnik 5/10 Busy enough, hard to judge him with the lack of support.. The best strikers in the world would struggle in this team Forrest 6/10 Looked lively enough, good effort Pittman 3/10 Tried but no impact. Tiffoney 3/10 No impact

If Motherwell score they'll win, Can't see Livi scoring with the usual set up of 4-2-3-1, with Bartley and Holt sitting in front of the back four doing nothing, chances will be hard to come by, On top of that, it just takes the 2 attacking midfielders to hide, in the case of Mullin that's a 90% chance of happening ,Pittman can be very good ,but very unreliable . Sibbald is good in the middle, but won't get into the box much, if he starts he's sure to be subbed . I'll be quite surprised if they get a couple of shots on target, the only other way I can see Livi scoring is big Guthrie up for a corner. Motherwell forwards are looking good 3 up top, Watt and Cole look good, with good back up from Campbell attacking midfield, The way Livi play formation wise, and type of defensive minded players in the team, they'll be lucky to get anywhere near the Motherwell box

Plenty of effort and fight last night by my most players, but ball control and passing was terrible, they are stuck in a rut with this system 4-2-3-1, which in the case of last night ends up 7-2-1,with not shot on target I think Livi need a clear-out during the summer, the problems are the type of midfielders in the squad, far to many defensive types, that are not needed, and bring nothing in offensive situations or defensive Bartley,Holt,Mullin,Forrest need moved on, along with Fizzywater,Ats,Reilly,Jet, there's probably more, but that would be a good start Pittman,Lawson,are good enough but need to be more consistent Sibbald, is suited to a more slower paced game, but still good enough in the middle They need to bring in 3 new attacking midfielders, that get stuck in and don't hide, and a couple decent forwards Robbo's fine but needs help, I don't like this 1 up front system

This is a cup Final we're talking about here,the full midfield were non existent I'm not talking about what they've done all season,Mullin,Pittman,Lawson,and Holt done nothing,on the occasions they got the ball,they panicked,made poor passes, or just lumped it up in the air anywhere,their ball control was not good enough,they couldn't even keep the ball on the deck, They just didn't have the know how to get bye the big Saints defenders who were defending near the centre circle at times. Serano never made any of his usual wing runs Any ball that went up in the air Saints won with ease Poor Robbo was left to run about all over the front line himself,so yeh I blame the midfield.You say the ball was getting lumped over their head,if so who's fault was that, ? what I saw was poor first touch control. The Saints defenders had them in their pockets. The worst players on the park Holt,Mullin,Pittman,Lawson,Serano,are the ones you usually rely on for attacking play, were invisible ... Remember not even one shot at goal in the 2nd half, couldn't string three successful passes together most of the game ,couldn't keep the ball on the deck...

Martindale got the tactics formation wrong,saying that,when Livi play bad as I've said in the past, i'ts not just a couple of players it's usually 9 or 10. Devlin,Guthrie,Robbo,Sibbald, can be please enough with their contribution and effort.. When you're full Midfield are anonymous there's something not right,this needs looked into.This has been more of a regular occurrence since the second half of the St Mirren semi.. There are to many Midfielders with a tendency to drop back too deep Barclay and Holt like the defensive midfield positions,but what I've been seeing lately Mullin and Pittman have been playing more in their own half,even Lawson who was crap today,just won't run forward with the ball. Robbo is getting no support from the midfield runners,the three forward midfielders in the team,when on the ball or not, should be getting into the box,not hanging back in their own half... Devlin a full back done more attacking than Mullin,Pittman and Lawson together. So I'm asking myself,is it just a coincidence that you're 5 midfielders are playing shite at the same time,or are there other things happening that I can't work out.. McCrorie 4/10 Not much to do Devlin 6/10 Done well,looked interested . Ambrose 4/10 Not great,at least tried Guthrie 6/10 Good enough Serrano 2/10 No strong running with ball. Rarely seen Lawson 0/10 Lazy,no enthusiasm,absolutely useless Holt 0/10 Invisible,no chasing,absolutely useless Mullin 0/10 1 shot,then done his usual disappeared,absolutely useless Pittman 0/10 Was he playing ? Done nothing,absolutely useless Bartley 2/10 Out of position Robinson 6/10 Played well,no help from a shambles of a midfield Jet 3/10 Managed to get on the ball,done nothing positive Sibbald 6/10 Done well,looked interested the time he was on. Reilly 1/10 No impact Forrest 5/10 Tried,Ok for the time on the park

Martindale got the tactics formation wrong, saying that, when Livi play bad as I've said in the past, it's not just a couple of players it's usually 8 or 9. Devlin,Guthrie,Robbo,Sibbald, can be please enough with their contribution and effort.. When you're full Midfield are anonymous there's something not right, this needs looked into. This has been happening on a more regular basis , since the second half of the St Mirren semi.. There are to many Midfielders with a tendency to drop back too deep Barclay and Holt like the defensive midfield positions, but what I've been seeing lately Mullin and Pittman have been playing more in their own half, even Lawson who was utter crap, just won't run forward with the ball. Robbo is getting no support from the midfield runners, the three forward midfielders in the team, when on the ball or not, should be getting into the box, not hanging back in their own half... Devlin a full back done more attacking than Mullin, Pittman and Lawson together. So I'm asking myself, is it just a coincidence that you're 5 midfielders are playing shite at the same time, on more than one occasion, or are there other things happening that I can't work out.. McCrorie 4/10 Not much to do Devlin 6/10 Done well, looked interested . Ambrose 4/10 Not great, at least tried Guthrie 6/10 Good enough Serrano 2/10 No strong running with ball. Rarely seen Lawson 0/10 Lazy, no enthusiasm, absolutely useless Holt 0/10 Invisible, no chasing, absolutely useless Mullin 0/10 1 shot, then done his usual disappeared, absolutely useless Pittman 0/10 Was he playing ? Done nothing, absolutely useless Bartley 2/10 Out of position Robinson 6/10 Played well, no help from a shambles of a midfield Jet 3/10 Managed to get on the ball, done nothing positive Sibbald 6/10 Done well, looked interested the time he was on. Reilly 1/10 No impact Forrest 5/10 Tried,Ok for the time on the park

Martindale =