Sons' sorrow

[The Moonster]

50 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

It was a decent game, and both teams looked fairly even...which probably isn't a great thing given the league difference, but I'm not too concerned. If we'd kept on the starting XI for a bit longer we probably would've won, but that's fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

In reality, Stranraer will probably be closer to our standard than we think and given it was our second game in two days and we are still trying out players then I'm not bothered that we've lost. I expect decisions will be made this week on our trialists, by the sounds of it Rab and Gibbons are the only two who have shown any sort of quality - I don't think we need both of them so it may come down to who costs the less. Having said that, if we plan on playing Gaz in deep midfield then perhaps signing Gibbons or Rab isn't needed. Tough decisions for the Stevie's coming up I reckon.

[Jan Vojáček]

8 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

In reality, Stranraer will probably be closer to our standard than we think and given it was our second game in two days and we are still trying out players then I'm not bothered that we've lost. I expect decisions will be made this week on our trialists, by the sounds of it Rab and Gibbons are the only two who have shown any sort of quality - I don't think we need both of them so it may come down to who costs the less. Having said that, if we plan on playing Gaz in deep midfield then perhaps signing Gibbons or Rab isn't needed. Tough decisions for the Stevie's coming up I reckon.

With Gaz in that deep lying midfield position, and Thommo limping a bit it did make me think that we're hugely weak in the striking department. If Thommo had, had to go off then we had Peters - who barely gets a touch - or McCallum - who the jury is still out on - and that was really it. Thommo will get injured or suspended over the course of the season you'd imagine, so that could hurt us a bit.

I suppose Andy Stirling or Stevo could maybe go upfront too, but Stirling's never been a goalscorer and Stevo's nowhere near mobile enough I don't think.

Realistically Barr, Sparky, Gaz and Gallagher can all play in CDM which is making me think we maybe don't need either Romanian Rab or Gibbons, even if they are decent players.

Like you say, it's up to Stevie. It's decisions like this that a manager will be judged by - and I'm glad I'm not in his position! 

[thomas 62]

2 hours ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

Right, let's see if the new P&B can survive long enough for this

 

I don't know how much we learned last night that we didn't already know to be honest. None of the trialists stood out, and the first Xi showed some promising signs.

We lined up a bit like this, although players often switched positions:

Jamie Ewings

Craig Pettigrew Gregor Buchanan Frazer Wright Mark Docherty

Garry Fleming

David Smith Ryan Stevenson Andy Stirling

Grant Gallagher

Robert Thomson

 

Gaz was outstanding - particularly in the first half - in that deep midfield role. He protected the defence and then buzzed forward with the ball bringing the wingers and Thommo into the game. Ahead of him Stevo showed a few nice touches, but he never seems to run and doesn't dictate play anywhere near as much as I'd want him to. In saying that he played an absolute beauty of a ball to David Smith which very nearly lead to the opener. More like that would be great.

The most promising looking thing for me however was the way that Smith, Stirling and Thommo linked up. This would've been the 2nd game they've started together and there already appeared to be an understanding between them. They know you can fire a ball at Thommo, he'll control it, hold it up and then either fire Smith - a direct old fashioned type winger - the ball to cross, or Stirling - a more tricky strong wee guy, almost a bit like Stevie Murray - who can squeeze a clever ball through or have a shot.

Stranraer's opener was a bit of a mess. A certain Sons' man (who I will not name in the interests of fairness) made a hash of an attempted shot in the box and they broke with pace. Craig Malcolm went one on one with Jamie who could only palm his powerful shot up into the air, over him, and into the net.

Before that we'd missed plenty of chances. Thommo had been inches away from connecting with a couple of crosses from Smith and Mark Docherty - who looked very fit last night fwiw - and Andy Stirling had blazed well, well over from another low Smith cross.

If I had one criticism of Thommo it would be that he isn't hugely clinical, but that will come with match sharpness. He picked up a wee knock on his ankle as well, which was pretty concerning when you realise we literally have no other option.

The equaliser was quite beautiful. Thommo chased a lost cause that looked destined to go out for a goal kick. Somehow - with his weirdly fast, Peter Crouch-esque strides - he caught it. Two Stranraer players closed in and he backheeled it past both of them to Smith. He darted inside - in that way he runs all kind of hunched over - and passed to Andy Stirling who took a touch and curled a belter past Max Currie. R1 + Circle on Fifa (or it was a few years ago) if that means anything to you. It was a classy finish.

A few minutes later Smith burst past Frank McKeown and went one-on-one with Max Currie, but hesitated and had his shot blocked. He's got some turn of speed on him, especially when you see it from such close range!

We were definitely looking the more dangerous and, despite the fact Stranraer had made a few subs, we looked perfectly fit - not that I'd expect anything else from Stevie's teams.

Then arrived our subs. Thommo - who seemed to recover from his knock at HT - Stevo - who'd again been tidy enough without influencing anything - Smith, Stirling and Gallagher all came off. As you may have gathered Smith and Stirling were up there with our top performers, Gallagher started well enough before dropping off. Kind of like his performances last season.

On in their place came Kasubandi, Josh Peters, Kieron Gibbons, Romanian Rab and McCallum.

Romanian Rab lasted about 2 passes before limping off and being replaced by Ryan Clark.

Peters had a good chance as he flew clear, but then tried a speculative dipping volley from the edge of the box, which he didn't really make proper contact with and it rolled harmlessly wide. Gibbons was fine, but the rest of the subs did very little.

Stranraer won it again on the break. Aggy drove forward and played a lovely outside of the boot ball to Calvin Kemp who produced another very decent finish across Jaz and into the net.

It was a decent game, and both teams looked fairly even...which probably isn't a great thing given the league difference, but I'm not too concerned. If we'd kept on the starting XI for a bit longer we probably would've won, but that's fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Looking forward to the Motherwell match now.

A little bit bias reporting there sonsteam, your hinting in your post subs lost you the game. Stranraer used up 4 trialists and 3 of their young players last night, are you saying your subs are not up to their standard.

[thomas 62]

2 hours ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

Right, let's see if the new P&B can survive long enough for this

 

I don't know how much we learned last night that we didn't already know to be honest. None of the trialists stood out, and the first Xi showed some promising signs.

We lined up a bit like this, although players often switched positions:

Jamie Ewings

Craig Pettigrew Gregor Buchanan Frazer Wright Mark Docherty

Garry Fleming

David Smith Ryan Stevenson Andy Stirling

Grant Gallagher

Robert Thomson

 

Gaz was outstanding - particularly in the first half - in that deep midfield role. He protected the defence and then buzzed forward with the ball bringing the wingers and Thommo into the game. Ahead of him Stevo showed a few nice touches, but he never seems to run and doesn't dictate play anywhere near as much as I'd want him to. In saying that he played an absolute beauty of a ball to David Smith which very nearly lead to the opener. More like that would be great.

The most promising looking thing for me however was the way that Smith, Stirling and Thommo linked up. This would've been the 2nd game they've started together and there already appeared to be an understanding between them. They know you can fire a ball at Thommo, he'll control it, hold it up and then either fire Smith - a direct old fashioned type winger - the ball to cross, or Stirling - a more tricky strong wee guy, almost a bit like Stevie Murray - who can squeeze a clever ball through or have a shot.

Stranraer's opener was a bit of a mess. A certain Sons' man (who I will not name in the interests of fairness) made a hash of an attempted shot in the box and they broke with pace. Craig Malcolm went one on one with Jamie who could only palm his powerful shot up into the air, over him, and into the net.

Before that we'd missed plenty of chances. Thommo had been inches away from connecting with a couple of crosses from Smith and Mark Docherty - who looked very fit last night fwiw - and Andy Stirling had blazed well, well over from another low Smith cross.

If I had one criticism of Thommo it would be that he isn't hugely clinical, but that will come with match sharpness. He picked up a wee knock on his ankle as well, which was pretty concerning when you realise we literally have no other option.

The equaliser was quite beautiful. Thommo chased a lost cause that looked destined to go out for a goal kick. Somehow - with his weirdly fast, Peter Crouch-esque strides - he caught it. Two Stranraer players closed in and he backheeled it past both of them to Smith. He darted inside - in that way he runs all kind of hunched over - and passed to Andy Stirling who took a touch and curled a belter past Max Currie. R1 + Circle on Fifa (or it was a few years ago) if that means anything to you. It was a classy finish.

A few minutes later Smith burst past Frank McKeown and went one-on-one with Max Currie, but hesitated and had his shot blocked. He's got some turn of speed on him, especially when you see it from such close range!

We were definitely looking the more dangerous and, despite the fact Stranraer had made a few subs, we looked perfectly fit - not that I'd expect anything else from Stevie's teams.

Then arrived our subs. Thommo - who seemed to recover from his knock at HT - Stevo - who'd again been tidy enough without influencing anything - Smith, Stirling and Gallagher all came off. As you may have gathered Smith and Stirling were up there with our top performers, Gallagher started well enough before dropping off. Kind of like his performances last season.

On in their place came Kasubandi, Josh Peters, Kieron Gibbons, Romanian Rab and McCallum.

Romanian Rab lasted about 2 passes before limping off and being replaced by Ryan Clark.

Peters had a good chance as he flew clear, but then tried a speculative dipping volley from the edge of the box, which he didn't really make proper contact with and it rolled harmlessly wide. Gibbons was fine, but the rest of the subs did very little.

Stranraer won it again on the break. Aggy drove forward and played a lovely outside of the boot ball to Calvin Kemp who produced another very decent finish across Jaz and into the net.

It was a decent game, and both teams looked fairly even...which probably isn't a great thing given the league difference, but I'm not too concerned. If we'd kept on the starting XI for a bit longer we probably would've won, but that's fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Looking forward to the Motherwell match now.

A little bit bias reporting there sonsteam, your hinting in your post subs lost you the game. Stranraer used up 4 trialists and 3 of their young players last night, are you saying your subs are not up to their standard.

[The Moonster]

1 minute ago, thomas 62 said:

A little bit bias reporting there sonsteam, your hinting in your post subs lost you the game. Stranraer used up 4 trialists and 3 of their young players last night, are you saying your subs are not up to their standard.

Pretty much aye.  Is that not possible?  Anyway, it was a training match, who gives a f**k.

[Jan Vojáček]

10 minutes ago, thomas 62 said:

A little bit bias reporting there sonsteam, your hinting in your post subs lost you the game. Stranraer used up 4 trialists and 3 of their young players last night, are you saying your subs are not up to their standard.

Apologies if it came across as disrespectful, but most of the subs we brought on wouldn't get near either of our respective first teams.

Ours were 3 trialists; a guy from Clydebank Juniors, a guy who played for Strathspey Thistle, and a guy who couldn't get in a woeful Cowden team last season along with two youth team players. McCallum's had a few starts, but still has yet to fully convince and Ryan Clark who only made his full debut on Monday night.

So aye, your subs were almost certainly better. Certainly Agnew, the 11 (Mcloesky or something?) and Kemp.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Sonsteam of 08

[thomas 62]

Liked the look of Smith, could be a great signing for you ,always looked a danger.

[Jan Vojáček]

7 minutes ago, thomas 62 said:

Liked the look of Smith, could be a great signing for you ,always looked a danger.

Agreed. I know the Falkirk fans weren't in the slightest keen on him, but he looks like a proper winger. Some of his deliveries - especially in the first half - were excellent.

Any idea who your trialists were? Noticed Reid wasn't too pleased with the big lad upfront when he went straight onto the bench without asking the ref for permission to leave the field!

[thomas 62]

1 hour ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

Agreed. I know the Falkirk fans weren't in the slightest keen on him, but he looks like a proper winger. Some of his deliveries - especially in the first half - were excellent.

Any idea who your trialists were? Noticed Reid wasn't too pleased with the big lad upfront when he went straight onto the bench without asking the ref for permission to leave the field!

Don't  know his name, but 2 of our trialists were ex premier players with a lot of top flight games under their belt, about last night's game was only a friendly, but it was refreshing to see two teams keep the ball on the deck hardly any hoofball played last night. Hope you do well next season, I always look for the Sons results.

[revendarkness]

Would loved to have to see Jon Cunningham coming up with donny think we need one more striker maybe

[Jan Vojáček]

6 minutes ago, thomas 62 said:

Don't  know his name, but 2 of our trialists were ex premier players with a lot of top flight games under their belt, about last night's game was only a friendly, but it was refreshing to see two teams keep the ball on the deck hardly any hoofball played last night. Hope you do well next season, I always look for the Sons results.

Aye, it was a decent enough game for a pre-season between two teams (and coaching staffs) who clearly know each other inside out!

All the best to you too, with a bit of luck if we go down you'll come up so we don't have to start the season on -12 points!

3 minutes ago, revendarkness said:

Would loved to have to see Jon Cunningham coming up with donny think we need one more striker maybe

Pretty sure Cunningham's been let go, I noticed someone of that name playing in the PFA showcase. I'd never seen him play to judge him, but he did seem to score a few for the 20s.

[Jan Vojáček]

Wonder if there's any other players we're in for permanently who we haven't seen on trial, Stranraer had a few decent guys last night with no names on their shirt who I take it were trialists...I remember Ross Forbes playing as a trialist for us against Thistle before they signed him, maybe we could do something similar!

I've decided I want us to sign a striker, so if anyone wants to start firing names around then that'd be great.

[optimistic]

I do reckon Thomson needs an experienced guy to compliment his hard graft and hold up play, maybe it could be a little and large combination with mccallum, cos it seems Fleming is going to be one of our midfielders this year

[The Moonster]

17 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

Wonder if there's any other players we're in for permanently who we haven't seen on trial, Stranraer had a few decent guys last night with no names on their shirt who I take it were trialists...I remember Ross Forbes playing as a trialist for us against Thistle before they signed him, maybe we could do something similar!

I've decided I want us to sign a striker, so if anyone wants to start firing names around then that'd be great.

Do you know of a released list for Preimiership clubs?  Had a look on the forum up there but the useless c***s haven't even bothered to be helpful and do an "In/Out" thread.  Unacceptable really.

[Bankies Alive]

6 hours ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

Apologies if it came across as disrespectful, but most of the subs we brought on wouldn't get near either of our respective first teams.

Ours were 3 trialists; a guy from Clydebank Juniors, a guy who played for Strathspey Thistle, and a guy who couldn't get in a woeful Cowden team last season along with two youth team players. McCallum's had a few starts, but still has yet to fully convince and Ryan Clark who only made his full debut on Monday night.

So aye, your subs were almost certainly better. Certainly Agnew, the 11 (Mcloesky or something?) and Kemp.

There`s no club called Clydebank Juniors?

[The Moonster]

Some right touchy Bankies floating around this summer.

[Jan Vojáček]

12 minutes ago, Bankies Alive said:

There`s no club called Clydebank Juniors?

I'm well aware of that, but I wanted to point out the fact that he wasn't from Clydebank. He played for Clydebank, who are a Junior side.

Just join the Lowland League so we can play you in the diddy cup, eh?

2 hours ago, The Moonster said:

Do you know of a released list for Preimiership clubs?  Had a look on the forum up there but the useless c***s haven't even bothered to be helpful and do an "In/Out" thread.  Unacceptable really.

I've no idea if it's as comprehensive as my list here, but give this STV one a shot: Clicky

[The Moonster]

Rafa De Vita. There's name for ye.

[The Moonster]

Rafa De Vita. There's name for ye.

[optimistic]

El hassnoui?