Livingston - all the threads merged

[mozam76]

2 hours ago, Dav nan Gael said:

Aye Scotty Boyd is a Whitburn lad,like Ricey,LF and maself. 

Rated him to be fair,he did well at County.

Not sure where he is now ?

Stays in Bathgate.

[Dav nan Gael]

9 minutes ago, mozam76 said:

Stays in Bathgate.

Aye now,he's originally from Whitburn. 

[mozam76]

17 minutes ago, Dav nan Gael said:

Aye now,he's originally from Whitburn. 

I know. I was answering your question about where he is now.

[Cptn Hooch]

50 minutes ago, livicrazy said:

There’s Cameron McDonald as well, played over 100 times. Plus James McPake (who was a striker at youth level) but switched to CB later. 

Oh aye, Cammy MacDonald was pretty decent if I remember right. McPake too....remember him missing a sitter against Dundee as a striker then going on to become one of our best CBs

[Freedom Farter]

On 09/10/2024 at 12:59, Livi La Vida Loca said:

We get the ball to Stevie May in the right position and he will score. There's no doubt of that. 

The problem comes from as you say a lack of incisive passing but also our style of build up play. Whether he's asked to drift wide or not May needs to remain central. Far too often are our strikers picking the ball up out wide and then when we reach the box they are not in there to try and score. 

May can't be played as a line-breaking striker like Bruce Anderson or Ryan Hardie because he lacks the athleticism for that. So he instead drops off and drifts wide to take the ball into feet. Gary Oliver played the same way as Falkirk's centre forward on Tuesday night. You compensate by using wide attackers who can get beyond the centre forward. Which is largely why Muirhead has been starting ahead of Shinnie.

[hoobahabba]

4 minutes ago, Freedom Farter said:

May can't be played as a line-breaking striker like Bruce Anderson or Ryan Hardie because he lacks the athleticism for that. So he instead drops off and drifts wide to take the ball into feet. Gary Oliver played the same way as Falkirk's centre forward on Tuesday night. You compensate by using wide attackers who can get beyond the centre forward. Which is largely why Muirhead has been starting ahead of Shinnie.

Bit concerned about Muirhead's athleticism based on his showing in the second half of the Falkirk match. I appreciate the fact we sat in so much probably coloured my perception of his contribution but he looked off it. As much as some people on here don't seem to rate him as a footballer, I think Yengi would have made a big difference. With May tiring in the second half, we had nobody to chase and harry Falkirk's backline or to provide a threat on the counter. Smith and Muirhead are good players but they don't provide enough physicality. They're better suited to games where we are expected to dominate. But I think Yengi will be vital in games against the better teams in the division when we might spend decent spells in our own half. Hope he's back soon. 

[Livi La Vida Loca]

5 hours ago, Freedom Farter said:

May can't be played as a line-breaking striker like Bruce Anderson or Ryan Hardie because he lacks the athleticism for that

Aye I'm not suggesting we try play him balls in behind I'm just saying we need him in the box when we get the ball there. He's a finisher but he can't really do that from out wide or at least not in the current way we are playing. 

[LiviLion]

Not convinced it's allowed unless we've found a loophole I wasn't aware of, but we're streaming today's game on YouTube

 

[Cptn Hooch]

47 minutes ago, LiviLion said:

Not convinced it's allowed unless we've found a loophole I wasn't aware of, but we're streaming today's game on YouTube

 

I believe it's ok since it's a 2pm kickoff

[LiviLion]

6 minutes ago, Cptn Hooch said:

I believe it's ok since it's a 2pm kickoff

It's because there's no top flight games on, Sky are showing EFL games at 3pm so I'm more relaxed about us getting slapped with some stupid fine 

[Cptn Hooch]

Looking beyond the performance today....can we all appreciate just how good those penalties were....Winter's was the pick of the bunch

[LIVIFOREVER]

On 11/10/2024 at 12:12, Cptn Hooch said:

Oh aye, Cammy MacDonald was pretty decent if I remember right. McPake too....remember him missing a sitter against Dundee as a striker then going on to become one of our best CBs

McPake missed a sitter against Rangers too, was the 2-2 game where i think Snoddy scored both our goals, and McPake ran onto a ball with just their keeper to beat and fecked it up.

[Freedom Farter]

Pittman and May both assisted each other for their goals today.

Shinnie played as an "8" first half then "6" second half. He certainly has the touch, composure, passing and vision for the midfield but maybe not the legs for it. Against stronger opposition he'd have more ground to cover defensively and he'd need more movement to find space in possession. On today's evidence, my sense is he's better at left attack where he'd been playing. That Shinnie experiment was probably why McAlear didn't get a start, which was disappointing.

Lawal did fine on the right first half but wasn't comfortable trying to dribble past the full back on the outside. Playing on the left second half suited him better when he had the option to cut infield. Same thing with Smith, he maybe lacks the pace to go on the outside so he struggled first half today on the left. There's a reason he's always played on the right in his career. Sole showed again that he can play as a winger, he can dribble past the full back on the outside and put a cross in. He's our only wide attacker who can consistently do that. He's also excellent at one-twos with the midfielder inside him and combines well with Finlayson overlapping him.

Today was clearly being treated like a training drill, working on passing patterns and positioning in the build up, reinforcing it. It looked daft today due to the opposition just sitting in the whole time but it was being done with future opponents in mind. Martindale said he didn't like the lack of control the team showed away to Falkirk so today will've been about getting the midfield and defence more confident in possession for the Ayr game.

[Livi La Vida Loca]

9 hours ago, Freedom Farter said:

midfield and defence more confident in possession

I've come to realise that I'm not really sure any of our players are that confident on the ball. With the exception of Sole. Whenever anyone gets the ball it's like pure panic stations. Who can I give this to so I don't lose it? If an opposition player presses our ball carrier they simply revert to passing it backwards. When we do pass it the quality of the pass isn't great either. Very rarely can someone run on to the pass to try and build some momentum. The ball always has to be brought under control. 

Shinnie attempted a killer pass to Sole today and that needs to happen more. We are showing a complete lack of creativity and ambition with our continuous sideways and backwards passing. 

Once Sole came on today he just wanted the ball constantly asking and looking for a pass from someone but Martindale actually had the audacity to scream at Sole because we were too slow at giving him the ball or just didn't give him at all. Utterly baffling.

Once again we've come away with a good result but the performance just isn't good enough. 

[LIVIFOREVER]

41 minutes ago, Livi La Vida Loca said:

I've come to realise that I'm not really sure any of our players are that confident on the ball. With the exception of Sole. Whenever anyone gets the ball it's like pure panic stations. Who can I give this to so I don't lose it? If an opposition player presses our ball carrier they simply revert to passing it backwards. When we do pass it the quality of the pass isn't great either. Very rarely can someone run on to the pass to try and build some momentum. The ball always has to be brought under control. 

Shinnie attempted a killer pass to Sole today and that needs to happen more. We are showing a complete lack of creativity and ambition with our continuous sideways and backwards passing. 

Once Sole came on today he just wanted the ball constantly asking and looking for a pass from someone but Martindale actually had the audacity to scream at Sole because we were too slow at giving him the ball or just didn't give him at all. Utterly baffling.

Once again we've come away with a good result but the performance just isn't good enough. 

He's getting the early Penrice treatment, everyone keeps ignoring him, when he's standing with his arms up with acres of space, and the odd time we do pass it to Sole, it's always to him, or behind him, so he has to start from a standing position, never in front for him to run onto. Luckily he can actually take a player on and get past them, to start a run. Lawal also took players on, but lost the ball a few times, but at least he tries making runs and can get past a player. May too can take the ball on the run and jostle past them, that's how he got the ball for his assist for Pitts goal.

 

I like their No11 Longstaff, if he becomes available with ICT going into admin, wouldn't mind us trying to pick him up, confident on the ball and ripped us a new one setting up their 1st goal.

[Livi La Vida Loca]

28 minutes ago, LIVIFOREVER said:

their 1st goal.

Their 1st goal showed how easy and simple football can be. A little pressure to win the ball. Few passes with players overlapping and beating a man. Ball in to the box met with good contact and it's a goal. 

We lack that simplicity and attacking purpose at the moment. 

[LIVIFOREVER]

1 hour ago, Livi La Vida Loca said:

Their 1st goal showed how easy and simple football can be. A little pressure to win the ball. Few passes with players overlapping and beating a man. Ball in to the box met with good contact and it's a goal. 

We lack that simplicity and attacking purpose at the moment. 

Aye Longstaff made it happen taking on and beating our players, Lawal, Montano and Sole can do that too, and it opens things up making the opposition scramble about trying to both cover opposition players and stopping the player with the ball.

 

Our 2 goals were equally quick and direct though, ball to Lawal, who passed to Pitts, who took a couple of touches to get it under control and played in May, who then took it and scored. May's assist was a direct ball into the channel for him to win, getting the better of their defender, and putting it across for Pitts, bang 2 simple well worked goals. At the time i said to my Son in Law, those are the type of goals normally scored against us.

 

Sole put in a couple of good balls like that 2nd half too, but there were no takers,  Pittman of old thrived on those kind of balls across the 6 yard box, but he's showed dropping down a level he's still capable of scoring them.

Edited Sunday at 10:59 by LIVIFOREVER

[LIVIFOREVER]

12 hours ago, Freedom Farter said:

Today was clearly being treated like a training drill, working on passing patterns and positioning in the build up, reinforcing it. It looked daft today due to the opposition just sitting in the whole time but it was being done with future opponents in mind. Martindale said he didn't like the lack of control the team showed away to Falkirk so today will've been about getting the midfield and defence more confident in possession for the Ayr game.

First half was a bit chaotic when Caley players pressed us, but the 2nd half was well controlled, because they sat deeper and rarely came out their half unless they had an attack going. Ferguson was obv looking to take it to pens, the way he had them playing in the 2nd half.

The pass Shinnie made to Sole against Airdrie is what he needs to be looking to do more, because Sole stands with acres of space in front of him, but we work it over and then pass the ball to him, and by then he's got a man on him, and has to turn and take him on. Which he can do, or work overlaps with Finlayson, but i'd like to see us hitting the odd cross field ball for Sole to run onto, so he's getting a run on their goal.

[Livi La Vida Loca]

Danny Wilson signs until January 2025. 

https://livingstonfc.co.uk/welcome-danny-wilson/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF7LodleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHU-SKmdzdk-qWphN_6BSLmJN7jG_FVoPHdBI7wvmJ0np6Hc7mlREK4udAA_aem_TNuk5WZjWSTXv4Ro75ab9Q

A good cover option. Don't see him starting unless we get any injuries. Also seems as if he will definitely be away when the contract expires in January as he wants to go back to America.

[LIVIFOREVER]

3 hours ago, Livi La Vida Loca said:

Danny Wilson signs until January 2025. 

https://livingstonfc.co.uk/welcome-danny-wilson/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF7LodleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHU-SKmdzdk-qWphN_6BSLmJN7jG_FVoPHdBI7wvmJ0np6Hc7mlREK4udAA_aem_TNuk5WZjWSTXv4Ro75ab9Q

A good cover option. Don't see him starting unless we get any injuries. Also seems as if he will definitely be away when the contract expires in January as he wants to go back to America.

Aye the defence is settled and has only conceded 3 goals in the league, complete opposite from last season where we continually had to change the CB's with injuries plaguing us. It's a good CB pairing with Nottingham and McGowan, with Finlayson staking his claim as RB too. Only position being switched about is Clarke's, with Montano being back fit.

Clarke's doing ok defensively but Montano gives us an attacking WB option, Finlayson is doing ok getting up and down the right side too, esp when Sole comes on.