LIVIFOREVER Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 33 minutes ago, Cptn Hooch said: Going by the highlights and commentary, we created plenty of chances again. Feels a bit like our first season in the prem where we were getting decent results and looked like we'd suddenly smash someone by 4 or 5 goals Like last week it was the 2nd half we did all our best work. First half stats was something like us 3 shots - QP 9 shots. If we can put 2 halves together with the same intensity and purpose going forward we'll have cracked it. Imo our starting XI isn't as good as our finishing XI, and how we play in the first half needs to improve, too slow in the build up with backs to goal all half, putting diagonal balls into the box. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 14 hours ago, LogieLivi said: Yengis hold up play was "good"? Did we watch the same game? He was absolutely f**kin hopeless tonight. I've never seen a player with a worse first touch than him. His hold up play was serviceable enough even in a match he didn't shine in. He was a constant menace to QP and got the touch on to Clarke for our goal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) 8 hours ago, LIVIFOREVER said: Think it's signing Shinnie that'll cost us, because Martindale will keep on starting him over Green or Lawal, and both are far better on the ball getting us forward. Kelly swapping to the wing was better than having Shinnie there too, and we were more balanced with Sole on one wing and Kelly on the other, both can take players on and turn defenders. First half esp we were always taking the ball with our backs to goal, and having to pass it back the way. QP on the other hand were always going forward with th ball, and looked a lot better on the attack. Sole made a big difference, ut why not start him playing with Muirhead, we keep swapping one for the other, i'd like to see us playing both of them. Think we've got the players, but like last season, i can see Martindale stubbornly sticking to a system that isn't going to get us many goals,, slow ponderous build up play with Yengi as the target man firing balls to him. Big man struggled with his first touch getting the ball down, and was always stretching for it with his long legs. He's much better being on the front foot running at goal when he gets the pass, with the likes of Kelly passing it to him in a shorter pass. Anyway, like last week, poor first half, much better 2nd half, and a draw was a fair result. I assume Sole wasn't able to start for fear of exacerbating his groin injury from last week. The thinking will be that as the body tires its more likely to strain so only playing him for 20 minutes was safe. He's a player we're really going to need this season, he looks so sharp and there's a buzz every time he gets the ball. Martindale will be seeing this too so it was surely just the injury concern that limited his time last night. On Shinnie, he was the target of those lofted Muirhead crosses first half which wasn't ideal. He did manage to take one down and cross it low which Kelly nearly reached. I don't think Shinnie's selection blocked Green out the team. Green is competing for the holding mid role. We saw Dom Thomas damage Falkirk in that area so Brandon was always going to start there due to that defensive concern. Instead of Lawal, McAlear got the sub appearance last night and did well. Yet Lawal is clearly in the reckoning now and has already displaced Korboa in the pecking order. Two games into a long season so plenty of time for him to break into the team. Edited August 10 by Freedom Farter 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy.1995 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 10 minutes ago, Freedom Farter said: I assume Sole wasn't able to start for fear of exacerbating his groin injury from last week. The thinking will be that as the body tires its more likely to strain so only playing him for 20 minutes was safe. He's a player we're really going to need this season, he looks so sharp and there's a buzz every time he gets the ball. Martindale will be seeing this too so it was surely just the injury concern that limited his time last night. On Shinnie, he was the target of those lofted Muirhead crosses first half which wasn't ideal. He did manage to take one down and cross it low which Kelly nearly reached. I don't think Shinnie's selection blocked Green out the team. Green is competing for the holding mid role. We saw Dom Thomas damage Falkirk in that area so Brandon was always going to start there due to that defensive concern. Kelly did look good on the left but different game state by that point. QP had gone into a shell intent on seeing out a draw so Green had space in holding mid which wasn't there first half and Clarke could push on providing the left-sided width. So Kelly was really still in his normal inside left advanced playmaker role. Instead of Lawal, McAlear got the sub appearance last night and did well. Yet Lawal is clearly in the reckoning now and has already displaced Korboa in the pecking order. Two games into a long season so plenty of time for him to break into the team. Still early doors.Cant wait for many who've been mentioned to gel.Theyl have to if we're to challenge at the top end of the table.Early points are vital . Reasonable so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLIS Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 An away point isn't the end of the world, it's games like those that last season we would've lost. Turned 0 points into 1. Home wins and away draws with some wins would be enough. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozam76 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 6 hours ago, ATLIS said: An away point isn't the end of the world. Indeed. Certainly not in this league. If anyone thinks that any team is going to run away with it, I’ve a bridge to sell them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 On 10/08/2024 at 15:34, Freedom Farter said: I assume Sole wasn't able to start for fear of exacerbating his groin injury from last week. The thinking will be that as the body tires its more likely to strain so only playing him for 20 minutes was safe. He's a player we're really going to need this season, he looks so sharp and there's a buzz every time he gets the ball. Martindale will be seeing this too so it was surely just the injury concern that limited his time last night. On Shinnie, he was the target of those lofted Muirhead crosses first half which wasn't ideal. He did manage to take one down and cross it low which Kelly nearly reached. I don't think Shinnie's selection blocked Green out the team. Green is competing for the holding mid role. We saw Dom Thomas damage Falkirk in that area so Brandon was always going to start there due to that defensive concern. Instead of Lawal, McAlear got the sub appearance last night and did well. Yet Lawal is clearly in the reckoning now and has already displaced Korboa in the pecking order. Two games into a long season so plenty of time for him to break into the team. Yeah Sole takes players on and makes runs down the wing, Kelly could do that too if we'd play him there instead of Shinnie. I just think Shinnie takes up a place the likes of Lawal or Green could get to have a starting place, and others can play in the position Shinnie plays better. Which also changes how we play and makes us more direct and quicker going forward, something we need to be doing from te start in games. If Green isn't fully match fit then split the halves between him and Lawal, both buzz about getting on the ball and their first thought is to go forward, looking for players making runs. I saw Muirhead making runs and having to turn back because nobody spotted him, as our player on the ball always turned back playing safe. Maybe that will come with more games played together and players getting to know each othr, hope so. I can see we have a good set of players, and once they gel we'll look pretty decent, my one concern for the season is i've lost confidence in Martindale after last season, and worry he'll not play our best starting XI, even after everyone is match fit and can play a full 90 mins. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 (edited) 4 hours ago, LIVIFOREVER said: Yeah Sole takes players on and makes runs down the wing, Kelly could do that too if we'd play him there instead of Shinnie. I just think Shinnie takes up a place the likes of Lawal or Green could get to have a starting place, and others can play in the position Shinnie plays better. Which also changes how we play and makes us more direct and quicker going forward, something we need to be doing from te start in games. If Green isn't fully match fit then split the halves between him and Lawal, both buzz about getting on the ball and their first thought is to go forward, looking for players making runs. I saw Muirhead making runs and having to turn back because nobody spotted him, as our player on the ball always turned back playing safe. Maybe that will come with more games played together and players getting to know each othr, hope so. I can see we have a good set of players, and once they gel we'll look pretty decent, my one concern for the season is i've lost confidence in Martindale after last season, and worry he'll not play our best starting XI, even after everyone is match fit and can play a full 90 mins. My reading of it is that Martindale is intent on providing the optimum platform for Kelly at all times. The team attacks in a 4-3-3 shape with Kelly to the left and Pittman to the right, Brandon behind them holds. When they lose the ball they go into a 4-4-2 shape and Kelly joins Yengi. This is done to give Kelly minimal defensive duties. Because Kelly doesn't drop back in that inside left channel, the left mid has a bit more defensive work than the right mid does (who has Pittman infield of him). That's why we're seeing more of a midfielder being chosen on the left (Shinnie) when its an outright attacker on the right (Sole or Muirhead). There's also that when we have the ball, Shinnie is a good foil for Kelly as he stays narrow and close to Kelly, always giving Kelly a short pass option. We also see Shinnie actively looking for Kelly most times he gets the ball. Lawal could do this same job but Muirhead and Sole are less suited to it so I'm happy with them staying on the right. Kelly was good on the left at the end of the match but did you notice how narrow he was? He could come that narrow because Clarke was overlapping constantly, keeping the left attacking width. Clarke could bomb on like that because QP were hardly attacking by that point, they were just sitting in trying to see the game out. Clarke wasn't able to overlap like that earlier in the match because Davidson (he did this at St Johnstone too) looks to spring you in the wings on the counter. So if Kelly had started at left mid he'd have been stuck wider without Clarke overlapping and probably just getting those same Muirhead crosses lofted at him which Shinnie got. Kelly was much better off in his central attacking mid position where he could get on the ball regularly. Green hasn't been fit enough to start. I don't mean injured, I mean literally not fit enough, his stamina levels aren't there yet as he missed most of pre-season. Once he is fully fit he'll be a huge option for us especially in home matches. If he came in, Brandon would go to right back and Finlayson would miss out. There's a trade-off to consider there because Finlayson has been good so far. Yengi's role is to run horizontally or sometimes to drop off, dragging the centre backs around. Pittman, Kelly, Shinnie, Muirhead/Sole, whichever of them isn't directly involved in build up, need to then get into that centre forward space if Yengi has vacated it. I agree that this needs improved. We're possibly not penetrating down the wings well enough, not getting close enough to the byline so we have a good crossing angle. Sole can beat a man or two, tear it down the line and put a cross in but Shinnie/Muirhead/Smith/Lawal/Kelly not really. The solution can be the full backs but we're not wanting to overcommit them currently due to the counter attack threat. If we can win a few games, get the confidence up and the defence has proven itself solid, we'll probably see more adventure from the full backs. Clarke and Finlayson have both shown themselves capable of overlapping and crossing well. Edited August 11 by Freedom Farter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi La Vida Loca Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 4 hours ago, LIVIFOREVER said: i've lost confidence in Martindale after last season I could not agree more with this statement. We could pump someone 5-0 one week and be playing bottom of the league next week and he'd pull another Bartley at Left back stunt just to nullify the opposition's one good player. 12 minutes ago, Freedom Farter said: My reading of it is that Martindale is intent on providing the optimum platform for Kelly at all times. I noticed against Spartans in the cup that after subbing on Green, Martindale wanted everything to go through him which was to our detriment so I just hope it doesn't end up the same with Kelly. Kelly is probably the best player in the league but he doesn't need to touch the ball in every move. In a couple weeks once the players have gelled we will know more as to how we will play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieWhisky Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 How many times are we going to play f**king Spartans this season?! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 41 minutes ago, CharlieWhisky said: How many times are we going to play f**king Spartans this season?! Never know, we might yet manage to actually score against them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 3 hours ago, CharlieWhisky said: How many times are we going to play f**king Spartans this season?! How many times are we gonna get beat by Spartans 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Quote Livingston want to sign out-of-favour St Johnstone striker Stevie May. The experienced frontman has the option to spearhead Livi's Championship push, with Davie Martindale keen to bring in May to add even more quality to his frontline. Championship rivals Partick Thistle are also interested but Livingston look favourites to win that fight. It would be a loan deal with May's Saints contract up in the summer. The 31-year-old former Preston and Aberdeen player's second stint at McDiarmid Park looks to come to an end. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Last time it was reported us and Partick were after a player, Raith signed them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 He was getting linked with Raith a few weeks back. Can't say I'd be upset if Livi "win the race" for May, tbh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 18 minutes ago, Claudia Gentile said: He was getting linked with Raith a few weeks back. Can't say I'd be upset if Livi "win the race" for May, tbh. Must be the 3 teams they like linking players too. He might be a good signing at this level, always a nuisance that runs about a lot, but wasn't scoring goals in the top flight, might do in the Championship. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieWhisky Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 You’d hope he would find it easier to score at this level, but lots of people say the top half of the championship and the bottom half of the Premiership are more or less the same standard. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 10 minutes ago, CharlieWhisky said: You’d hope he would find it easier to score at this level, but lots of people say the top half of the championship and the bottom half of the Premiership are more or less the same standard. Didn't look the case last season when we beat both Raith and Partick in the cup, despite being rank rotten in the top flight, and County easily won the play offs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecocme Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 How’s Reece McAlear getting on for you guys. I had high hopes for him when we had him on loan last year but didn’t really do it at all for us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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