Ross. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 What are Luzern like away from home Ross? Do they travel well? Do they play the same style?From what I've seen in the last couple of years, Swiss teams don't travel well in general. I think with the weather being 10-15c cooler in Perth you should be able to play at a far higher tempo which will hopefully cause them problems.Didn't realise before it that Luzern had signed 2 new centre backs, but it was reassuring to see that they are still utterly shite at dealing with set peices and balls played into the box. ETA - I see they are drawing 1-1 with Sion. Last season there was a 3 or 4 month period where Sion were one of the worst teams I have ever seen, pretty much the Swiss Hibs during that spell. They just got lucky that Lausanne were the Swiss East Stirling. Not sure how many changes Sion have made over the summer but early signs are that Luzern won't be finishing 4th again this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 1-1 up at half time. Again from the unofficial twitter feed, Anderson is out of Thursday always a blow when you are missing your best centre half but even more so after watching the highlights and seeing how purely we defended at times in the first leg. I think we will have to win this game to go through hopefully we have a big performance in us this early in the season. Yeah Anderson being out is massive, I like Mackay as a centre half, but hes sometimes too weak physically and doesn't seem completely used to how to defend while playing that role. He looks like a full back playing in the centre, which isn't ideal. May being back is a boost though, and will hopefully help us push Luzern back, I imagine we'll see O'Halloran in the team aswell. I worry massively about this Schneuwly though, from the admittedly small amount of highlights I've seen of him, he reminds me a bit of Rosenborgs Soderlund who caused us a problem or two. This worry is compounded by the aforementioned central defensive pairing we'll have. We can't be reckless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marly Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Yeah Anderson being out is massive, I like Mackay as a centre half, but hes sometimes too weak physically and doesn't seem completely used to how to defend while playing that role. He looks like a full back playing in the centre, which isn't ideal. May being back is a boost though, and will hopefully help us push Luzern back, I imagine we'll see O'Halloran in the team aswell. I worry massively about this Schneuwly though, from the admittedly small amount of highlights I've seen of him, he reminds me a bit of Rosenborgs Soderlund who caused us a problem or two. This worry is compounded by the aforementioned central defensive pairing we'll have. We can't be reckless Dave Mackay is weak physically? You do blether some absolute pish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widge Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Dave Mackay is weak physically? You do blether some absolute pish. I don't know what you're problem with RandomGuy is, but he's correct. Mackay is SOMETIMES physically weak, there's a key word in there. Look at the goal he lost in Switzerland, turned far too easily. He was being held off by their main striker a bit too easily for my liking out there. So yeah I kind of agree with the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Dave Mackay is weak physically? You do blether some absolute pish. Do you actually post anything these days? Or do you purely come on to quote me and try and get a reaction? Its utterly bizarre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radford Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 The comparison to Soderlund of Schneuwly is an accurate one and he reminded me of him a fair bit on Thursday. He rolled our centre backs more than just at the goal - so it's maybe a bit harsh to be too critical of Mackay, the striker is just a strong player - but not overly concerned at Anderson missing as happy with the defence we'll put out. There's no doubt some of our defending was very nervous in Switzerland but we did settle and after playing them once I suspect we'll be better prepared on Thursday. Their defence though won't know what to expect from Stevie May and to a lesser extent Michael O'Halloran, who only got a short run at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Who do we reckon will drop out for May? Have to assume one of Caddis or Brown, but both seem to be getting plenty of praise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marly Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Who do we reckon will drop out for May? Have to assume one of Caddis or Brown, but both seem to be getting plenty of praise Mackay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marly Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I don't know what you're problem with RandomGuy is, but he's correct. Mackay is SOMETIMES physically weak, there's a key word in there. Look at the goal he lost in Switzerland, turned far too easily. He was being held off by their main striker a bit too easily for my liking out there. So yeah I kind of agree with the point. Ok, if that's how you feel fine. I don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Ponce Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Who do we reckon will drop out for May? Have to assume one of Caddis or Brown, but both seem to be getting plenty of praise Caddis was my first thought, Brown is a more natural holding player and a big physical presence but again I don't know how either played on Thursday which could be a factor. I was hoping to see O'Halloran come in he played 60 minutes yesterday so should be fine but I'm not sure Wright is going to drop Croft for him. An excellent option from the bench if he doesn't play not sure you can say the same about Croft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Caddis was my first thought, Brown is a more natural holding player and a big physical presence but again I don't know how either played on Thursday which could be a factor. I was hoping to see O'Halloran come in he played 60 minutes yesterday so should be fine but I'm not sure Wright is going to drop Croft for him. An excellent option from the bench if he doesn't play not sure you can say the same about Croft. Based purely on the MOTM poll on WAP then Brown was the better of the two, and as you say he does seem better defensively, so have to believe it would be Caddis as you say. And yeah, Wotherspoon is a cert to start on one wing, I just feel O'Halloran offers more than Croft. The point about coming off the bench is valid though, and if we do end up going to extra time again, O'Hallorans pace against a tiring defence would be more effective than bringing Croft on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb46836 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I doubt the weather is going to play a part - it's to be 25 degrees in Perth on Thursday, haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marly Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Official site confirms that any unsold tickets on Thursday will be sold at turnstiles. So I would imagine say 250 east stand tickets left. One gate in east stand will sell them to cash payers on the night. Then apply this to all stands. Yeah I noticed the Official site said this and the club's FB page also says this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Based purely on the MOTM poll on WAP then Brown was the better of the two, and as you say he does seem better defensively, so have to believe it would be Caddis as you say. And yeah, Wotherspoon is a cert to start on one wing, I just feel O'Halloran offers more than Croft. The point about coming off the bench is valid though, and if we do end up going to extra time again, O'Hallorans pace against a tiring defence would be more effective than bringing Croft on Brown was our best player in Switzerland IMO. He's clearly worked on his fitness over the summer and has an outstanding engine on him. I agree about O'Halloran over Croft too. Both Wotherspoon and O'Halloran like to drift across the park and I think they compliment each other really well. Croft is probably better than O'Halloran defensively though, so I can see the merit in starting with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widge Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Brown was our best player in Switzerland IMO. He's clearly worked on his fitness over the summer and has an outstanding engine on him. I agree about O'Halloran over Croft too. Both Wotherspoon and O'Halloran like to drift across the park and I think they compliment each other really well. Croft is probably better than O'Halloran defensively though, so I can see the merit in starting with him.[/quote Regarding that Scott Brown point. Yeah he came back after to preseason having lost weight by all accounts and had increased his fitness. Mainly due to the fact IIRC his dads a triathlete who was making him go put and train with him in order to get fitter. Clearly it's worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radford Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I wasn't surprised that he went for Croft over O'Halloran after the friendly at Raith. O'Halloran is exciting but can be guilty of just putting his head down and running into dead ends, Croft has a lot more game intelligence, which is understandable given his experience. What a shift the fat, balding man put in as well, still getting up and down that right side in the closing stages. Because of the environment they were thrown into, more than fair to single out Brown and Caddis for most praise of the outfield players though. Alan Mannus was probably our best performer IMO though. Thursday is really tough for the manager and the sort of situation where a good manager really proves himself. As he's said, we don't need to win the game but at home maybe a more offensive outlook is the best approach? Sounds like ticket sales are going really well. You have to think after the cup final that the people of Perthshire will come out in their numbers again. Could be first 10,000 crowd since April 2000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmadrid Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 it all depends on how many tickets they need to keep aside for FC Luzern and how many of their fans actually travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I actually think we could sell the stadium out entirely with Saints fans, thus is the buzz for this match. A few people now saying that all 3 stands where tickets are currently available are nearly sold out for home fans. Great going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenrothes 1884 saint Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I wasn't surprised that he went for Croft over O'Halloran after the friendly at Raith. O'Halloran is exciting but can be guilty of just putting his head down and running into dead ends, Croft has a lot more game intelligence, which is understandable given his experience. What a shift the fat, balding man put in as well, still getting up and down that right side in the closing stages. Because of the environment they were thrown into, more than fair to single out Brown and Caddis for most praise of the outfield players though. Alan Mannus was probably our best performer IMO though. Agree Croft's guile at Kirkcaldy stuck out the whole game,wish Standfree had seen his last two games!And Steven Maclean,one of Aberdeens worst forwards has scored in two consecutive away European games,and a cup final,not bad for a sheep reject! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamamafegan Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Sounds like ticket sales are going really well. You have to think after the cup final that the people of Perthshire will come out in their numbers again. Could be first 10,000 crowd since April 2000? What game was that, Radford? One of mates got our tickets today, all 9 of them. Going to be some atmosphere - can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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