Morton vs. Queens 15th March

[19QOS19]

Yes this is a very good point in the context of our season.

If my stats are correct we have played our key play off contenders - Falkirk, Morton, Raith and St Mirren, twice each away and have accumulated one solitary point from a max of 24. We have scored just 4 goals in these 8 games and have conceded 14. These possession and shots on target stats that are continually tabled as part of the "unlucky" theme just do not stack up. Falkirk are a good side no doubt about that but the other 3 sides are workmanlike and to lose every away game to these three teams is a poor effort whichever way you cut it.

We very often have some nice moves but we simply do not create GREAT chances that are likely to result in a goal.

Totally agree. I can't really recall many times this season we've had "Ooows"* at Palmerston. We pass it around well at times but chances have been few and far between for the majority of the games I've watched us in. For the amount of midfielders we have, the lack of creativity we possess is shocking.

* Or in other words, close chances.

[RUSTY1111]

Totally agree. I can't really recall many times this season we've had "Ooows"* at Palmerston. We pass it around well at times but chances have been few and far between for the majority of the games I've watched us in. For the amount of midfielders we have, the lack of creativity we possess is shocking.

* Or in other words, close chances.

One than springs to mind is the Millar chance that hit the crossbar.

[madton]

Yes this is a very good point in the context of our season.

If my stats are correct we have played our key play off contenders - Falkirk, Morton, Raith and St Mirren, twice each away and have accumulated one solitary point from a max of 24. We have scored just 4 goals in these 8 games and have conceded 14. These possession and shots on target stats that are continually tabled as part of the "unlucky" theme just do not stack up. Falkirk are a good side no doubt about that but the other 3 sides are workmanlike and to lose every away game to these three teams is a poor effort whichever way you cut it.

We very often have some nice moves but we simply do not create GREAT chances that are likely to result in a goal.

 We are only slightly better than that. We have picked up 2 points from 6 away games against our play off rivals. 

 

Very poor return considering we are 5th in the league.

[Fae_the_'briggs]

This is pretty accurate. I would say however, that whilst Jacobs had a holocaust of a game last night and was complicit in all three goals, he's covered right back perfectly adequately on several occasions this season, including at Ibrox when he made a decent fist of shackling Barrie McKay for 90 minutes. He also played there on occasions for Livi, it's not like he was being asked to play something completely alien to him. To the best of my knowledge Murdoch has never played there, certainly not for us. It absolutely didn't help last night that we were without both our regular full backs through injuries picked up in the first half at St Mirren on Saturday. With Higgins moving across to left back instead of centre back it meant we only had one defender playing where he usually does last night (Dowie).

All very well highlighting the fact that we were without our 2 main recognised full-backs for this game as an excuse,  but we were without Marshall from early in the first half and Kidd for all the second half V St Mirren and the reorganised defence still looked fairly solid, so it's not as if they should have struggled without those 2.  The midfield, I feel, also performed well against St. Mirren but the Manager saw fit to shuffle things around and start with Hutton and Pickard in centre midfield, two players who didn't feature in Paisley and two players guaranteed to slow down any quick attacking move. Fowler seem to view Pickard as a play anywhere type of player which is not helping the lad's cause, He and Hutton are too short of pace to  play together I would have thought. Of course he went off injured and Jacobs moved up only to have a 'mare of a game before being subbed to spare him (and us) any more embarrassment.

I know the Coaching staff can't legislate for players having an off-day but I didn't see the need to tinker too much with the side that finished the St. Mirren game.

[Skyline Drifter]

All very well highlighting the fact that we were without our 2 main recognised full-backs for this game as an excuse, but we were without Marshall from early in the first half and Kidd for all the second half V St Mirren and the reorganised defence still looked fairly solid, so it's not as if they should have struggled without those 2.

Did you miss the two goals we basically threw in our own net at Paisley? Anyway I only said it didnt help. Which it didnt.

Changing the midfield was necessary as Jacobs had to go to full back and Tapping isnt yet ready to start two games in three days.

[Fae_the_'briggs]

Did you miss the two goals we basically threw in our own net at Paisley? Anyway I only said it didnt help. Which it didnt.

Changing the midfield was necessary as Jacobs had to go to full back and Tapping isnt yet ready to start two games in three days.

Yes, I saw the goals, a dubious penalty and an og, hardly worthy of being over-critical of the makeshift defence. Higgins looked comfortable enough when he moved to left back, a position he has played on a few occasions in the past, and I thought Dowie had a very comfortable game (He got my MoM award). Brownlie, apart from conceding a very soft penalty, wasn't as bad as many expect him to be.

I don't know Tapping's fitness level but he didn't finish the St. Mirren game yet to ask him to start against Morton is obviously too much for Mr. Fowler to ask of him. Fair enough, Jacobs was moved to right back which shouldn't have caused a great deal of change to the midfield but to bring in Hutton and Pickard changed the whole approach to the game from how we played on Saturday. 

[MarkoRaj]

Im not arguing with your main point, but I would question where possession and shots on target stats are "continually tabled"? We were awful in the last game against Raith and deserved absolutely nothing from the game, I dont think anyone on here said otherwise.

We were unlucky in the two most recent St Mirren losses but I dont think theres been a huge cry to claim that as some sort of common theme through the season. Even against Morton on Tuesday, while we maybe did enough to deserve a draw, we werent unlucky to lose.

You were utter shite in the first game at cappielow as well

[Homer Thompson]

Yes, I saw the goals, a dubious penalty and an og, hardly worthy of being over-critical of the makeshift defence. Higgins looked comfortable enough when he moved to left back, a position he has played on a few occasions in the past, and I thought Dowie had a very comfortable game (He got my MoM award). Brownlie, apart from conceding a very soft penalty, wasn't as bad as many expect him to be.

I don't know Tapping's fitness level but he didn't finish the St. Mirren game yet to ask him to start against Morton is obviously too much for Mr. Fowler to ask of him. Fair enough, Jacobs was moved to right back which shouldn't have caused a great deal of change to the midfield but to bring in Hutton and Pickard changed the whole approach to the game from how we played on Saturday. 

Did it? We started the game well enough.

 

You were utter shite in the first game at cappielow as well

We were. I was sticking to more recent games though

[Fae_the_'briggs]

Did it? We started the game well enough.

 

 

Yes we enjoyed plenty of possession without troubling their goalkeeper too much. (if at all). The build-up play was nowhere near the tempo of the Paisley game until the second half introduction of Tapping. In fact all the team lifted their game from that point.   

[Homer Thompson]

Yes we enjoyed plenty of possession without troubling their goalkeeper too much. (if at all). The build-up play was nowhere near the tempo of the Paisley game until the second half introduction of Tapping. In fact all the team lifted their game from that point.   

Yes, there was a lift when Tapping came on, but we were also 3-0 down! I wouldnt argue that the performance was better at Paisley but to say two players, one of who only lasted 15 mintues, changed "the whole approach to the game" is an exaggeration, in my opinion.

[19QOS19]

I can't comment on either of the games but I have to say that when I first watched Tapping I thought he would bring creativity to our midfield. He featured in a game pre-season (Killie I think) and he played various through-balls throughout the game. It was good to see as we hadn't seen such a thing since Tosh, you could argue.

I can't imagine we'd be sitting comfortably in 4th if Tapping had been fit this season but I think we might have been a bit more threatening with him in the centre of the park.

[Homer Thompson]

I can't comment on either of the games but I have to say that when I first watched Tapping I thought he would bring creativity to our midfield. He featured in a game pre-season (Killie I think) and he played various through-balls throughout the game. It was good to see as we hadn't seen such a thing since Tosh, you could argue.

I can't imagine we'd be sitting comfortably in 4th if Tapping had been fit this season but I think we might have been a bit more threatening with him in the centre of the park.

I agree and I think you could make a similar case for Hilson, albeit he isnt a midfielder.

[19QOS19]

Indeed. It makes you have a think about Fowler as well. He's brought in two players that look able, when featured. So has he an eye for a player? Then the other side if the coin is, he's brought in players with a known history of injuries. I actually don't know what side of the fence I sit on with that particular issue

[palmy_cammy]

I don't really think any of Fowler's signings fall into the "flop" category.  This nonsense that he doesn't have the necessary "contacts" is just generic claptrap that gets spouted when a manager falls out of favour.  I doubt we would have known about Jordan Marshall without having Skelton as a "contact" for example.

 

I reckon he's done a reasonable job considering the budget available and the quantity of players needing replaced.  Flash made an interesting post in the Summer comparing the players we had lost with their like-for-like replacement.  It would be good to unearth that again.  I think the consensus at the time was that we had adequately replaced the areas in which we had lost players, but in most cases we had downgraded the quality.  Hilson was clearly brought in to replace Gavin Reilly.  Losing Reilly was a huge blow, losing is replacement arguably more so.

 

For me the only surprise about the position we are in, is that people are surprised.

[19QOS19]

For me the only surprise about the position we are in, is that people are surprised.

So much this. It's basically why I said it would surprise me if Fowler was chopped in the summer. There's no question performances have been close to dreadful at times this year, but league position wise we are doing as was expected/slightly better. Anyone who genuinely thought 4th was the least we could have expected at the start of the season was kidding themselves.

[Skyline Drifter]

Indeed. It makes you have a think about Fowler as well. He's brought in two players that look able, when featured. So has he an eye for a player? Then the other side if the coin is, he's brought in players with a known history of injuries. I actually don't know what side of the fence I sit on with that particular issue

Tapping has a career history of injuries. Not aware anyone else does? Are you referring to Hilson? I'm not aware that he has had any particular injury record of note prior to coming here. He broke his foot early on and re-broke it when he came back the first time. It's not like he's had a range of injuries with us either, in contrast to Tapping who has had three different injuries since the start of the season.

 

I don't really think any of Fowler's signings fall into the "flop" category.  This nonsense that he doesn't have the necessary "contacts" is just generic claptrap that gets spouted when a manager falls out of favour.  I doubt we would have known about Jordan Marshall without having Skelton as a "contact" for example.

Well Steven Higgins flopped but you're not going to get them all right. I agree about the contacts issue too. As far as I'm aware though Skelton had nothing to do with Jordan Marshall being here. Marshall was training with us at the back end of last season after James Fowler was tipped off about his availability by Danny Grainger who worked with him at Carlisle and was aware of his potential. A deal had been struck to sign him when his Carlisle contract expired long before Skelton was at the club. Both Fowler and indeed Marshall have mentioned the Grainger connection in the press. Which isn't to say the Manager might not have picked up the phone and asked Gavin Skelton if he'd seen him, he may well have done. Your point about contacts stands though.

[palmy_cammy]

Tapping has a career history of injuries. Not aware anyone else does? Are you referring to Hilson? I'm not aware that he has had any particular injury record of note prior to coming here. He broke his foot early on and re-broke it when he came back the first time. It's not like he's had a range of injuries with us either, in contrast to Tapping who has had three different injuries since the start of the season.

 

Well Steven Higgins flopped but you're not going to get them all right. I agree about the contacts issue too. As far as I'm aware though Skelton had nothing to do with Jordan Marshall being here. Marshall was training with us at the back end of last season after James Fowler was tipped off about his availability by Danny Grainger who worked with him at Carlisle and was aware of his potential. A deal had been struck to sign him when his Carlisle contract expired long before Skelton was at the club. Both Fowler and indeed Marshall have mentioned the Grainger connection in the press. Which isn't to say the Manager might not have picked up the phone and asked Gavin Skelton if he'd seen him, he may well have done. Your point about contacts stands though.

 

I'm getting my ex-Gretna players mixed up.

[USTon]

 We are only slightly better than that. We have picked up 2 points from 6 away games against our play off rivals. 

 

Very poor return considering we are 5th in the league.

And to be honest, similar comments about the run of play to Queens.  We have tended to play OK but lose by the odd goal, often very late goal.  Raith have beaten us three times this season with an injury time winner.  Falkirk did the same at Falkirk.  If we had hung on as we should have v Raith we would be comfortably in 4th.  

 

Is it a fitness thing I wonder?  

[Guest Flash]

I wouldn't give up on the season just yet.

According to the shirt draw leaflet, we are making the final pushes to cement the Premiership play-off position.

And according to the blurb on the OS, we have a strong enough team to compete in the play-offs and we could be in the top tier next season.

[Skyline Drifter]

I wouldn't give up on the season just yet.

According to the shirt draw leaflet, we are making the final pushes to cement the Premiership play-off position.

And according to the blurb on the OS, we have a strong enough team to compete in the play-offs and we could be in the top tier next season.

Inevitably it went to print before the Raith Rovers game, and they are hardly going to "sell" the shirt draw with a bunch of pessimism are they. What did you expect?