Dav nan Gael Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 He's lost the dressing room................. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 45 minutes ago, Dav nan Gael said: He's lost the dressing room................. Last time folk were saying that we had a good game against Hearts then came back from a goal down to beat Raith in the cup. Only one game has been played since those two games, i'm not convinced he has. There are def still some players playing for him, Bradley had one of his best games, and Shinnie was putting in a shift, so was Holt, MacKay and Anderson. Id say the only players that are suspect whether they're trying their best or not are the defenders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIFOREVER Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, Dav nan Gael said: Tonight is massive,lose and there's no way back,its the championship for 24/25. Agree with some,don't see the point of him leaving as it stands just now. Summer however different ball game surely !!! I think we'd need a clear out next season whether we go down or manage to stay up, apart from this season he's done pretty well bringing in players on a small budget. It has went tits up this season for him but think i'd stick with him to see if he can start again from scratch and turn it back around next season. Maybe getting back to how we used to play, just getting it up the pitch quickly to cut out defensive mistakes, and winning 2nd balls. Think he's tried to play differently this season, playing it out from the back, which is fair enough if we played it up through our midfield, but we end up either fannying about with it and making mistakes, or just hoofing it and not winning 2nd balls. Maybe better sticking with what worked so well for us and going back to how we used to play. Big job next season whoever is in charge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) 2 hours ago, Durnford said: Thought Davie's interview was okay but there still something about the players' body language that I'm not comfortable with. On Saturday we saw numerous examples where players lost the ball but then failed to chase it down and harry the opposition. That use to be our hallmark; never give the opposition a minutes peace. Tactics etc, are all very well but, at the moment, we need the player to be prepared to play out of their skin. I'm probably wrong but I have a fear that some of them are looking not to get injured in case it nobbles their chance of a move to another club. I recall Yengi got a bollocking for not chasing after a ball that was intercepted. I’ve seen so little of him that I’m unsure whether that represents a change in attitude or not. Any players you thought consistently weren’t chasing the ball down? Edited January 30 by crispy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durnford Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 13 minutes ago, crispy said: I recall Yengi got a bollocking for not chasing after a ball that was intercepted. I’ve seen so little of him that I’m unsure whether that represents a change in attitude or not. Any players you thought consistently weren’t chasing the ball down? No; I'm reluctant to single player out; other than Holt and Anderson I think they were all guilty to some degree. Actually there seemed to be a number of cases where the ball ended up in no-man's land and none of our players rushed for it as if they assumed someone else was going. Maybe that's poor communication or lack of team knowledge but most have been around all season so its difficult to assume the latter. Talking of Yengi I thought he had a good debut for us but that was when he was playing in the centre when his height really showed. That being said; one thing that irritated me about Saturday was that whenever we put a high ball into the area (corner etc.) it went railing over everyone over to the far side of the Penalty area - with the likes of Nouble and Yengi in the side surely thats a waste. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durnford Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, LIVIFOREVER said: Last time folk were saying that we had a good game against Hearts then came back from a goal down to beat Raith in the cup. Only one game has been played since those two games, i'm not convinced he has. There are def still some players playing for him, Bradley had one of his best games, and Shinnie was putting in a shift, so was Holt, MacKay and Anderson. Id say the only players that are suspect whether they're trying their best or not are the defenders. Yes; I'm not convinced about the lost the dressing room line. I can see it if you have some strong leaders in the team that feel they know better than the manager but I'm not sure we have that. You can certainly imagine the likes of Pittman and Holt would back the manager to the hilt. Actually Id also expect the same of Obileye and possibly Shinnie. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav nan Gael Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 It came from one of the players............. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdinburghLivi Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) Nouble showing shoots of recovery after 6 months of being wasted in the wrong position but Martindale has absolutely ruined Anderson. Terrible man management of a genuine goalscorer. I'd be starting Guthrie or even Mackay through the middle every day of the week before Anderson right now. Lots of bad from that result but there's something in that system if we can just get a win over the line from somewhere. Mackay is a great player and if we can find the right combination of players around him (3 of Shinnie, Nouble, Guthrie and Stephen Kelly), I think we will continue to score goals. What needs to happen at the other end is Nottingham being dumped as far away from the team as possible. He is rotten. If Martindale doesn't fancy Donnellan there, I would be shelling out as much money as possible for any competent loanee centre back tomorrow. Edited January 30 by EdinburghLivi 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLIS Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 8 minutes ago, EdinburghLivi said: Nouble showing shoots of recovery after 6 months of being wasted in the wrong position but Martindale has absolutely ruined Anderson. Terrible man management of a genuine goalscorer. I'd be starting Guthrie or even Mackay through the middle every day of the week before Anderson right now. Lots of bad from that result but there's something in that system if we can just get a win over the line from somewhere. Mackay is a great player and if we can find the right combination of players around him (3 of Shinnie, Nouble, Guthrie and Stephen Kelly), I think we will continue to score goals. What needs to happen at the other end is Nottingham being dumped as far away from the team as possible. He is rotten. If Martindale doesn't fancy Donnellan there, I would be shelling out as much money as possible for any competent loanee centre back tomorrow. Genuinely thought tonight was one of Nouble's worst games for us. Utterly woeful, cost us the second goal when he went down like he'd been shot after the ball bounced off him. I'd rather he went before the window shut than stayed. Felt like Obileye was worse than Nottingham tonight as well, he's carrying a defender that can only use one foot. Obileye caught sleeping for the first goal, I don't think I've ever seen a lazier lump of a CB than him. Jogs around and looks so so passive. This isn't the answer either. This looks more like prepping for Championship next seasons which sounds like where our heads are at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 All that work done bedding in Boyes and De Lucas last season only to boot Boyes in the summer for Devlin then later to force out De Lucas for Nottingham. Two cheaper, better players (especially Boyes) replaced by two more expensive, worse players on account of "experience". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi La Vida Loca Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 18 minutes ago, Freedom Farter said: replaced by two more expensive, worse players on account of "experience". Yup and now we'll lose a young CB which we could have developed further and De Lucas had more years left in him than Devlin and Nottingham as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav nan Gael Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Championship it is then. We had to win end off and we didn't, time to start planning for next season in the 2nd tier. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, Livi La Vida Loca said: Yup and now we'll lose a young CB which we could have developed further and De Lucas had more years left in him than Devlin and Nottingham as well. The Boyes decision last summer was mad. He was on his way to developing into at least as good a player as Fitzwater became. Arguably, he was already showing up better than Fitzwater by the end of last season. Probably what happened was Martindale reflected on the two Top Six near misses and felt the team needed extra psychological edge. Well more experienced players can bring that. The thing is, though, we didn't have experienced players for a reason, we couldn't afford ones who were good enough. So last summer we went and signed two experienced players who weren't good enough. Edit: Signing one of Nottingham or Devlin could've worked. I'd choose Devlin as he's four years younger. The killer was signing both. Devlin came in first and it should've been left at that. To then bring in a 34 year old who was injury prone and unproven in this league while we still had Tom Parkes on the wage bill. That was an awful decision in itself made even worse by it causing Boyes' exit. Edited January 30 by Freedom Farter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Calder Lion Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 So Martindale says he will still be manager on game 38 no matter what. I think he and Rice need to go now. Some people thinking there was something positive in last night's performance, I don't agree, particularly once you reflect on where Ross County are in the league and the run they have been on. Martindale has ruined Anderson, St.Kelly and Bradley, how much more damage will he do between now and the end of the season? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi La Vida Loca Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 14 minutes ago, East Calder Lion said: Martindale has ruined Anderson, St.Kelly and Bradley I wrote something similar on the match thread for last night. His man management of Anderson in particular ever since his diabetic seizure has been awful. I think the inexperience of Martindale and our coaching staff is really starting to show. As an example I've nothing against Gary Maley but he really shouldn't be our GK coach. Whilst having a competent coach we've seen many goalkeepers come and go and even if they've not always been great they have shown some improvement. Whereas now we have thrown money at Shamal and he's not really improved but I don't think that's entirely all his fault. Rice may not set the world on fire but his experience as a coach was much needed but it still doesn't seem to have made an ounce of difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durnford Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I know I'm in the minority but I was quite heartened by last nights performance. Yes; a draw feels like a loss but for months the team has been on zero confidence; half hearted attempts only to let in a sloppy goal and then everyone's head drops you could actually visibly see it happen on the pitch. I use to criticise Nicky Devlin a lot but, at such times, you would see him clapping his hands and shouting at everyone to pick their game up. Last night there was a moment when the first goal went in that you could see the team collectively deflate; then they picked themselves and each other up and got back into the fray. The second goal was a particular case in point; any time in the last three months that had happened and we were beaten. Not last night; the boys picked themselves up and battles; not just to get a point but it was obvious they were after all three. Of course there are problems, having re-watched the highlights from last night I am now convinced that Nottingham shouldn't have even been on the bench let alone starting in the team. Previously for large parts I thought he'd done okay but his positioning last night was awful; Obileye could have reacted faster for the first goal but I have to admit it was beautifully taken. Another thing that gave me hope was actually the amount of chances we had; we had far more that the stats actually show (remember Andersons miss will show up as on off target as will several others). Plus we actually also looking like not ont a team that can score goals in open play but a team that believed they can score goals in open play. I continue to be frustrated by our set pieces; for example why does every single corner have to be blasted past every player into the goal area into the far end of the penalty area where no bu@@er is? There's still a lot of work to do but leastways I've started to see a team with a bit more confidence. There's ten more games before the split and five after - we play both St Johnston and County twice more but likely both at home after the split. There's still hope! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiviLion Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Annoyingly the point means it still feels doable, but considering that was a good attacking performance (by our standards) and we've still only managed a draw at home to the team closest to us probably puts it out of reach, realistically. Assuming Boyes isn't coming back we need someone in at CB, by Martindale's own admission there is money there - best chance would be a young player in on loan, I can't really see someone coming in being worse than Devlin or Nottingham, at least their age and having their parent club to go back to could make them eager to impress. Can't see Martindale sticking with a 4-2-3-1 at Ibrox, I just hope he goes back to it in the games after. Set up properly and we could still beat Partick and maybe get a lucky draw for a Hampden trip; it's about the only thing keeping this season interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieWhisky Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Agree with LiviLion that a draw was the worst result possible. Lose and we know we’re going down without a hope, win and unbelievably we’re right back in it.. with a draw our position looks perilous but not impossible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durnford Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Ultimately the problem still lies with the central defence. We score two goals last night and it could have been more; that would have been enough to get at least a point from most games this season; its the leaking goals at the other end that will continue to kill us. Currently the proper central defenders we have *that are presumably injured) are Devlin and Welch Hayes plus Montano, Kelly both injured) and Sangare have played there and done a better job than Nottingham honestly. Not exactly sure why Nottingham was given the shout ahead of Donnellan. Has anyone seen Ledingham play; I know he's young but so long as he's not injured.... Frankly if our midfield and attack played like they did last night for the rest of the season I'd be happy. Continue to ship silly goals though and confidence will plummet again. Saturday's trip to Ibrox is often described as a free hit; for me its more than that. The score line is almost immaterial; its how the team perform; play as a team and support each other. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livi La Vida Loca Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Although we were better going forward last night we still weren't clinical enough. Both Anderson and Bradley should have scored their chances last night. The change in formation means more chances created but we have to start scoring more to make up for the fact that our defence is god awful. For me the last 2 games were win or bust and my opinion hasn't changed so sadly I can't see anything other than us going down. I hope to be proven wrong and we pull off a miracle escape but for me some focus must turn to next season and making sure the club can stay in the championship as we will have a big squad rebuild on our hands. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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