SirJimmyofNic Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 poty for me would be Jamma, and a toss up between Broonie and Easton for goal of the season 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 What’s the overall thought on Bene? He moved on within a week or so of Murray arriving, so most of the discussion had already been had with him, but could IM have reversed his decision to move on? How would Bene in the middle behind Brown have changed the season? Despite talk, mine included, of his perhaps being not quite up to the necessary level for Championship play after looking caught out and looking a bit slow a number of times, he’s played 100% of League minutes for the Pars and is surely a contender for League One PoTY. Clearly I was wrong there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Jack D Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I think if we'd known that Berra was leaving we'd have made more of an effort to retain Bene. That said, I think the pars will realise next season what we had concluded last season. With another 2 years in the legs I would be hugely surprised if Bene has what it takes against the better teams in this league. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specky Ginger Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I like Bene, but there's a world of difference between tearing it up in league one and cutting it in the championship. Just look at Cove Rangers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raith Against The Machine Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Agree that if we'd known Berra was going we'd have looked to keep Bene. Certainly we'd have tried to keep at least one of him and Musonda. He's obviously done exceptionally well at Dunfermline, and almost certainly will deservedly be the League One player of the year, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad decision to let him go. Sometimes players need a change of scenery, and playing centre half in a very good full-time team at the top of League One is a totally different challenge to doing it in a (lower) mid-table Championship scrap. It'll be interesting (and potentially very distressing) to see how well Dunfermline do next season. Cove aside, momentum coming up from League One tends to carry a fair bit of weight, but a good chunk of that Pars squad is the same one that took them down. Now, that was primarily due to the outsized effect of two absolute walloper managers, but I'm not sold on James McPake either. Next year is a big acid test for him. Strolling League One is one thing, but a competitive Championship is another. The amount of summer business they do will be telling. The temptation will, naturally, be to stick with the players who've done so well this season, but a good number of them (Bene included) haven't exactly set the heather alight at this level previously. Right now, based on everything we know, I'd put a small amount of money on the Pars finishing above us next season. There are far too many unknowns, and I'm naturally pessimistic, but I think they'll ride a wave into at least the first quarter of next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGuigan1978 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Benedictus was absolutely fine in the Championship last season, and I’d imagine he’ll be perfectly serviceable again next term. He’s only 31, so not as if he’s entering the twilight years of his career 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ro Sham Bo Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 20 minutes ago, TxRover said: What’s the overall thought on Bene? We'd likely have been at least a bit more competent at defending set pieces with him in the team but what's done is done. I expect he'll get a warm welcome back to Stark's next season.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raith Against The Machine Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Incidentally, I've no issue with Scott Brown barely picking up any man of the match awards. In fact, even when he did get man of the match last Saturday, I'd have given it to Scott McGill! He's clearly the player of the year, but he hasn't really had many games where he's been a standout. He hasn't really peaked or troughed at all, he's just been perfectly consistent across the course of the season. Even when he's had to play at centre half, he's not been particularly notable one way or another (and I'd certainly stop short of calling him one of the twelve best in the lower leagues, unlike Danny Denholm...), but you absolutely notice him the second he's not there. The Thistle fans got a lot of fun out of it, but that game at Firhill when he was missing was just the perfect example. You take Scott Brown out and the entire team just doesn't work anymore. There's not another player in the squad like him, and he'll be a more than worthy winner. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 1 hour ago, McGuigan1978 said: Benedictus was absolutely fine in the Championship last season, and I’d imagine he’ll be perfectly serviceable again next term. He’s only 31, so not as if he’s entering the twilight years of his career In McGlynn's system he looked fairly badly exposed, was never fast to begin with and tended towards glaring game defining mistakes. Not convinced strolling league 1 in that Pars team will translate itself into success in the championship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGuigan1978 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 6 minutes ago, renton said: In McGlynn's system he looked fairly badly exposed, was never fast to begin with and tended towards glaring game defining mistakes. Not convinced strolling league 1 in that Pars team will translate itself into success in the championship. I’d have had him as our second best central defender for the first part of the season behind Berra, and arguably our best for the second half of the season. Made far fewer egregious errors last season that led to goals than Tom Lang has this season. Doesn’t mean to say he’s good enough for a side who may have ambitions to go up of course, but I didn’t think he was bad at all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael W Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I'd have kept Musonda ahead of Bene, but ultimately would not have kept both them. A change at the back was needed after last season, though ultimately none of us could foresee how it would end up. At any rate, he got offered a two year deal and we (apparently) wouldn't match that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 While he’s by no means over the hill it’s going to be interesting to see how Bene, who by all accounts hasn’t exactly been a player who treated his own fitness as a priority, does with the step back up to the Championship. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 12 minutes ago, Michael W said: I'd have kept Musonda ahead of Bene, but ultimately would not have kept both them. A change at the back was needed after last season, though ultimately none of us could foresee how it would end up. At any rate, he got offered a two year deal and we (apparently) wouldn't match that. If we'd kept Musonda we'd have barely seen him for injuries... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 28 minutes ago, Michael W said: I'd have kept Musonda ahead of Bene, but ultimately would not have kept both them. A change at the back was needed after last season, though ultimately none of us could foresee how it would end up. At any rate, he got offered a two year deal and we (apparently) wouldn't match that. 16 minutes ago, renton said: If we'd kept Musonda we'd have barely seen him for injuries... I suspect we dodged a bullet there. 43 minutes ago, renton said: In McGlynn's system he looked fairly badly exposed, was never fast to begin with and tended towards glaring game defining mistakes. Not convinced strolling league 1 in that Pars team will translate itself into success in the championship. I think the pairing of Davo and Bene for several years was as much to blame as JMcG’s “system”. Neither was “fast”, and Davo was about as maneuverable as the Kelpies, so Bene looked a bit more mobile by comparison, but he generally faired better with a more mobile and faster companion CB. 2 hours ago, Double Jack D said: I think if we'd known that Berra was leaving we'd have made more of an effort to retain Bene. That said, I think the pars will realise next season what we had concluded last season. With another 2 years in the legs I would be hugely surprised if Bene has what it takes against the better teams in this league. I’m not sure, Bene seems happy and playing well within himself at EEP. Let’s be honest, the main difference between League One and the Championship isn’t that huge, and if Berra could do it at 36-37, Bene will be OK next year. The Pars will have a difficult decision after the 23-24 season with Bene’s contract expiring, as he’s certainly endeared himself to the fans, but there will be serious concerns about how much longer… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael W Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 26 minutes ago, renton said: If we'd kept Musonda we'd have barely seen him for injuries... It's good that he learned something during his time with us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broken Algorithms Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 27 minutes ago, TxRover said: I’m not sure, Bene seems happy and playing well within himself at EEP. Let’s be honest, the main difference between League One and the Championship isn’t that huge, and if Berra could do it at 36-37, Bene will be OK next year. The Pars will have a difficult decision after the 23-24 season with Bene’s contract expiring, as he’s certainly endeared himself to the fans, but there will be serious concerns about how much longer… I'd disagree. Most teams that come up do well, but that's largely due to finances. The only exception to this have been Cove who appointed successive diddies as their manager. Apart from the top 3, League 1 is filled with a lot of dross. If you're a higher end team, the opponents absolutely suffocate games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 (edited) 52 minutes ago, TxRover said: if Berra could do it at 36-37, Bene will be OK next year. At 31 Berra was playing week in, week out in the English Championship, a level that Bene could only dream of. Edited April 21, 2023 by Enigma 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALDERON Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 7 minutes ago, Enigma said: At 31 Berra was playing week in, week out in the English Championship, a level that Bene could only dream of. Not to mention still playing for Scotland. Benedictus is not a bad player at all, but we should have been aiming to recruit better this season, and absolutely have to next season. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledLichtie Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Broken Algorithms said: I'd disagree. Most teams that come up do well, but that's largely due to finances. The only exception to this have been Cove who appointed successive diddies as their manager. Apart from the top 3, League 1 is filled with a lot of dross. If you're a higher end team, the opponents absolutely suffocate games. Hi! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 3 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said: I'd disagree. Most teams that come up do well, but that's largely due to finances. The only exception to this have been Cove who appointed successive diddies as their manager. Apart from the top 3, League 1 is filled with a lot of dross. If you're a higher end team, the opponents absolutely suffocate games. The point would be he’s the best player on the best team in League One…surely he’s at least better than 50% of the players in the Championship then. We succeeded with mostly the same core team. 2 hours ago, Enigma said: At 31 Berra was playing week in, week out in the English Championship, a level that Bene could only dream of. Correct, but then Bene is the 31 and the League is the Scottish Championship. I suspect he’s got another year or two at that level, despite my previously calling for him to be moved to reserve CB at the end of last year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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