ffcsam Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Smith was poor, McGrandles was poor, Duffie had no will to get forward(first goal apart) . Haworth looks like a Moutinho kind of player, if involved, great, if not, totally missing. Kinglsey was also caught a few times. Whilst I realise this was a friendly, there seemed to be no 'dig' . Perhaps understandable but I thought there would be more. Fwiw, we missed Dods 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Smith and Flynn had no positional sense. You could have got an oil tanker between them, and Boro exploited that. Entertaining though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Fitzgerald Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Agree with last 2 posters, wee bit of dig wouldn't go a miss, and would have been a great game for the neutral. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falkirk-Bairn22 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Haworth will rip 1st division defences open. That is all I'm going to take from the game today. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 We won't play a side as good as that again this season but that was as poor a defensive display as I've seen from a Falkirk team. Some of the stuff we were doing at the back was bizarre, you'd think two guys who are tried and tested in the lower leagues would be able to defend a long ball if nothing else but there were a few occasions where we were completely hopeless at that. I'm not sure who I'd go with as our two centre backs in all honesty, there are pros and cons to both Smith and Flynn. Dods would certainly be one of the two. Kingsley is still young and may improve but at the moment he is nowhere near the quality required for the first team. Going forward though I think we'll do a lot of damage to teams in the First Division this season. Haworth looks a player, Leahy has been in good form in pre-season, Taylor looks like he can finish chances and Craig Sibbald is the boy. Weatherston's still to come back in there as well. My prediction for the season is that we will score a barrowload, concede just as many and be involved in a few cracking games. We'll be upper half but I don't see us winning the league, unfortunately. If we're entertaining and the young players are able to progress with a view to winning the league next season then I'll be pretty pleased with the campaign. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDust Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Perhaps the good start and scoring when McManus was off perhaps gave us false hope, that said It was a friendly an very open at that, no nasty tackles to get it like it was a real competitive game. These games are about gelling and fitness, that said defence over gelled and it was very loose, It is going to be interesting to see what defence will line up over the season, last season we started I think with Dodds and Bennett and ended with Dodds and Wallace. Its only one game but I am not too sure with the Murdoch and Fulton middle pairing, Fulton has all the skill in the world but at times needs space to actually show that, my thinking was perhaps a tweaking of the formation so that we could have three in the middle with Sibbald in there, Sibbald has a quicker brain for me That said Middlesboro prob have two players on money out there that would pay 8,9 or 10 of our first 11. The wee cant McDonald was always gonna score, the same mould as Boyd as they always score against us, he is never always in favour down there and would walk into every team bar maybe Celic up here.. Im not too concerned after today, the players will learn from today and outside the Partick game we have a good start with Elgin and Stirling A to get into the mode for the season....A good goalscorer can make all the difference in this league and hopefully Taylor takes that into the real season.... Edited July 22, 2012 by MrDust 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gav-ffc Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 We won't play a side as good as that again this season but that was as poor a defensive display as I've seen from a Falkirk team. Some of the stuff we were doing at the back was bizarre, you'd think two guys who are tried and tested in the lower leagues would be able to defend a long ball if nothing else but there were a few occasions where we were completely hopeless at that. I'm not sure who I'd go with as our two centre backs in all honesty, there are pros and cons to both Smith and Flynn. Dods would certainly be one of the two. Kingsley is still young and may improve but at the moment he is nowhere near the quality required for the first team. Going forward though I think we'll do a lot of damage to teams in the First Division this season. Haworth looks a player, Leahy has been in good form in pre-season, Taylor looks like he can finish chances and Craig Sibbald is the boy. Weatherston's still to come back in there as well. My prediction for the season is that we will score a barrowload, concede just as many and be involved in a few cracking games. We'll be upper half but I don't see us winning the league, unfortunately. If we're entertaining and the young players are able to progress with a view to winning the league next season then I'll be pretty pleased with the campaign. Also still have Blair Alston to come in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggerG Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 If we defend like that all season we'll get relegated! Still think we should go with a back 3 based on the personnel available. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThankCrunchie Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I actually thought Kingsley was the best defender we had today. Duffie was well off the pace and both Smith and Flynn look like absolute bombscares. The first half we were lucky to go in with even a slight chance of getting something from the game, but in typical Pressley style started the second half better, probably because the innefectual McGrandles was replaced. I felt we really came into the game then and controlled it for a ten minute period or so, during which our useless defence conceded two goals which I think was harsh given the balance of play at that point. But then Falkirk seemed to give up the ghost and just lie back and accept their humping. In the end seven was very flattering on us, as was our goal tally of three. We really did ourselves no favours today. What a terrible representative we were for Division One. What impression is this going to give of the standard of our league and players? A Middlesbrough fan I know says Falkirk are of pub team standard based on that showing. Unfortunately, he's probably right A special note for the Falkirk fans who applauded Boro's second goal. I understand that sometimes you just have to stand back and applaud truly spectacular goals, but to applaud one that was so easily preventable and solely down to incompetent defending seems wrong. Unless you were applauding its comedy value, in which case it was fully deserved. The "You score one, we score two" mantra will have to be revisied this season to "you score four, we score five" Lyle Taylor will have to be in fine form this season with our defence... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 That said Middlesboro prob have two players on money out there that would pay 8,9 or 10 of our first 11. The wee cant McDonald was always gonna score, the same mould as Boyd as they always score against us, he is never always in favour down there and would walk into every team bar maybe Celic up here.. Much as I dislike McDonald, I'd never class him the same as Boyd. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Playing both full backs halfway up the park was a recipe for disaster & so it proved. Time & again, a simple through ball found Flynn & Smith with too much space to cover & McGovern exposed. I'd have thought they may have changed things after going 3-1 down, but they persisted with the same pattern of play for the 90. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundermonkey Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Look, last season we played a high line with Dods in the defence and were wiped by Peterhead. Why panic over a friendly? We were playing a Championship side, not a third division team. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falkirk-Bairn22 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Playing both full backs halfway up the park was a recipe for disaster & so it proved. Time & again, a simple through ball found Flynn & Smith with too much space to cover & McGovern exposed. I'd have thought they may have changed things after going 3-1 down, but they persisted with the same pattern of play for the 90. It was obvious today that the result didn't matter. I suspect Pressley persisted as he wanted to continue to develop the players in this formation, If this game was for points and not a shitey glass football he probably would have changed his tactics. Friendlies are just for development. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Unfortunately I missed it today. Middlesbrough being my English team makes it more disappointing than the scoreline! Aside from the scoreline, what did most people think of Boro? Do they look like promotion challengers? They have added few for this season and I don't think last seasons team is up to it, unless the ones he has brought in are all Mogga thinks is required. Good to read Williams looked good. Bound to be Boro's next Downing/Johnson. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFC 1876 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 If thats the one that scored the two goals he looks a player. Emnes is just pure class. Your midfielders bossed the game today leadbetter and thomson just dictated play all day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadwell Dog Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Pressley for me just doesnt seem to understand that to win the first you need to be able to dig and play a bit. We badly need a real hard b*****d in the middle of the park or im afraid it'll be the same old story this season. When you look back at previous championship winning teams they could all play football and mix it with the best of them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Fitzgerald Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Pressley for me just doesnt seem to understand that to win the first you need to be able to dig and play a bit. We badly need a real hard b*****d in the middle of the park or im afraid it'll be the same old story this season. When you look back at previous championship winning teams they could all play football and mix it with the best of them. I think he does. If you listen to his post match interview on Falkirk TV after both the Hearts game and the Boro game, he talks about playing with more aggression, in terms of playing our passing game quicker but also to shut down opponents too. I think yesterdays problem was that Boro players already knew what they were going to do with the ball before they'd even got it, sharper in the head. Falkirk midfielders in particular had to wait on their touch before deciding what to do with the ball, before being shut down and losing possession. I think Murdoch has the potential to be the tough tackling midfielder needed in our team, but he needs help from the rest of the midfield. Unfortunately for Pressley, he had to prioritise strengthening in other positions. We lost 3 defenders, a midfielder and a striker from last season so shoring up at the back was top of the list. We have quite a lot of midfielders, especially in the middle of the park with Murdoch, 2 Fultons, Faulds, Comrie, Alston can play in there too. So i can understand why he didn't invest there. I think we're asking a lot of Jay Fulton but he's had a years experience under his belt now and should really be stepping up to the plate. Had time to calm down a bit yesterday and analyse the game. One thing Chris Smith said was that with the strikers dropping off and oncoming midfielders making bombing runs forward, it was hard to decide positionally what to do, for that I can understand. But if we have good attacking wide players I would be tempted to keep the full backs back as defenders, despite how good Duffie is bombing forward. Edited July 23, 2012 by Trump 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Fitzgerald Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Unfortunately I missed it today. Middlesbrough being my English team makes it more disappointing than the scoreline! Aside from the scoreline, what did most people think of Boro? Do they look like promotion challengers? They have added few for this season and I don't think last seasons team is up to it, unless the ones he has brought in are all Mogga thinks is required. Good to read Williams looked good. Bound to be Boro's next Downing/Johnson. They were good, really fluid formation and great movement on and off the ball. How good they are in terms for next season I couldn't tell, we were giving goals away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Can only hope our players were told to take it easy on tackling to avoid injuries in a friendly. Don't think I saw a committed slide to take the ball from an attacker the whole game, we just kept backing off until they'd gone past. We looked leaky in defence up in Turriff too. Strange that Elvis, with his playing background, hasn't made defence a priority. Should be an entertaining season though.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBairn Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Can only hope our players were told to take it easy on tackling to avoid injuries in a friendly. Don't think I saw a committed slide to take the ball from an attacker the whole game, we just kept backing off until they'd gone past. We looked leaky in defence up in Turriff too. Strange that Elvis, with his playing background, hasn't made defence a priority. Should be an entertaining season though.. I don't have any doubt. The Falkirk of last season were much quicker to close players down as a team and put a foot in. Yesterday was played as an exhibition match with very little tackling at all. I'm not overly worried to be honest. They are miles ahead of anyone in our division, absolutely miles ahead. I think we also missed Dods badly yesterday. He wouldnt have allowed the gaps to appear between the CHs and woudl have ensured that simple balls over the top wouldn't have caused us that much bother. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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