Claudia Gentile Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Midfield is going to be the key puzzle to be unlocked going into the new season for me. Doolan likes a 'screener' like Neilson and McBeth. Then we have the playmaker (in terms of passing and setting the tempo). This was Bannigan and occasionally McInroy. Stanway tended to play in there for a good bit too. As said none were wholly convincing in there. Aside from McInroy the other two aren't confident taking the ball forward and are more likely to play a short pass or up the flank to the winger or full back. Then we have the #10 and again a raft of players have been tried with varying levels of success. McInroy had some good games in there, but Robinson was the pick for me when fit. Alston was tried but tended to do too much off the ball work apart from his playoff cameo against Raith. Crawford will come into the mix now too so I'd assume Alston may not get a contract offer which I wouldn't be too disappointed with due to his overall contribution. We really need a couple more wide options so that the sitters in midfield have another outball rather than just recycling possession. There may be another midfielder added depending in who goes and who stays but I feel they need to glue the midfield together but have a bit of something going forward. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raith Against The Machine Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 4 minutes ago, Claudia Gentile said: Midfield is going to be the key puzzle to be unlocked going into the new season for me. Doolan likes a 'screener' like Neilson and McBeth. Then we have the playmaker (in terms of passing and setting the tempo). This was Bannigan and occasionally McInroy. Stanway tended to play in there for a good bit too. As said none were wholly convincing in there. Aside from McInroy the other two aren't confident taking the ball forward and are more likely to play a short pass or up the flank to the winger or full back. Then we have the #10 and again a raft of players have been tried with varying levels of success. McInroy had some good games in there, but Robinson was the pick for me when fit. Alston was tried but tended to do too much off the ball work apart from his playoff cameo against Raith. This is interesting to read, because I was talking with someone before the second leg and wondering out loud if both Alston and McInroy are a wee bit of a throwback. As you've detailed there, your modern midfield basically has three specialists. There's always some bleed between exact roles, but if you look at the Rovers midfield from Friday night, you've got Scott Brown's dynamism, Shaun Byrne screening and passing, and Stanton as the number 10. Both Alston and McInroy seem more to me like 90s "do it all" central midfielders from a 4-4-2. You can't define them into any one specific role, and the suffer for that, but they'll get off the bench every week to fill a gap somewhere in the middle of the park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said: Both Alston and McInroy seem more to me like 90s "do it all" central midfielders from a 4-4-2. You can't define them into any one specific role, and the suffer for that, but they'll get off the bench every week to fill a gap somewhere in the middle of the park. That's a fair point the only issue being, I don't think the two of them reached double figures in tackles during the regular season. Otherwise McInroy would be a decent #6 with Alston playing in the #8 role. I cannot recall if Blair and Liam Polwarth were a regular pairing with Kilmarnock at any point. A positive with Alston is that he does get into decent attacking positions by making off the ball runs and seems to have the knack of alluding markers. Even when he had games where he seemed to not even touch the ball he would usually get at least one decent chance in the opposition box with a wide variation of success. I am not sure of their effectiveness as a pairing. I also cannot work out what type of player could fuse them together in a modern three man midfield. Both have talents and could improve some teams but overall they haven't done it consistently for Thistle this season. I couldn't fault any of the players on Friday but Doolan has a job working out how he can get that level of performance on a regular basis next season. Edited May 19 by Claudia Gentile 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptrp Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Big rebuild this summer few names id like us to be looking at realistically top of the list would be logan chalmers always looked dangerous against us. Lee connelly at qots might be worth a look also always liked the look against us. Josh rae at airdire gk always rated him at his peterhead days against us not sure if hes actually out of contract and if compo would be a problem. Wallace duffy at ict right back not sure on contact situation not played much this season with injuries i suspect worth a look at. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baba douche Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 41 minutes ago, ptrp said: Big rebuild this summer few names id like us to be looking at realistically top of the list would be logan chalmers always looked dangerous against us. Lee connelly at qots might be worth a look also always liked the look against us. Josh rae at airdire gk always rated him at his peterhead days against us not sure if hes actually out of contract and if compo would be a problem. Wallace duffy at ict right back not sure on contact situation not played much this season with injuries i suspect worth a look at. I made a point of watching Chalmers the last we played Ayr - he was garbage. Wouldn't take him if judged on that game. From what I've seen and read, I think he's been very inconsistent, not sure if it's because Ayr were rotten, or if that's just the way he is. However, I don't think he'd do enough in the good moments to justify carrying him when he's out of form. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimBob Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 On 18/05/2024 at 10:28, jasperellon said: Easily the best away support to visit Kirkcaldy this season. A privilege to hear and see your passionate fans. Two great play off matches. Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneteaminglasgow Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 1 hour ago, Claudia Gentile said: Even when he had games where he seemed to not even touch the ball he would usually get at least one decent chance in the opposition box with a wide variation of success. Otherwise known as Shea Gordon syndrome. I agree that Scott Robinson is the best option we have as a number 10, but the issue is that both his Thistle spell and his entire career to date show that you just cannot rely on him to stay fit consistently. Other options are needed in that role. That might be Crawford, but I personally see him as the more #8 role. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Clavdivs Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 18 minutes ago, baba douche said: I made a point of watching Chalmers the last we played Ayr - he was garbage. Wouldn't take him if judged on that game. From what I've seen and read, I think he's been very inconsistent, not sure if it's because Ayr were rotten, or if that's just the way he is. However, I don't think he'd do enough in the good moments to justify carrying him when he's out of form. Indeed,add to that his Poundshop Grealish image ...no thanks . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Clavdivs Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 The big question for me is who ,apart from young Diack ,will be BBG's understudy ?....think we dodged a bullet by not nabbing Oakley . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMMjag Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 I've went baw-deep into Wyscout and wallpapered the house with post-it notes and have generated the following list of transfer targets: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 9 minutes ago, AMMjag said: I've went baw-deep into Wyscout and wallpapered the house with post-it notes and have generated the following list of transfer targets: Its happening. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cilitbang Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 The lack of creativity without Lawless really showed in the playoffs. If we don’t find another player to unlock teams, we will find ourselves in the same position if Lawless gets injured again. AM/2nd ST, DM, GK + CB starters would be my shopping list. And throw in a utility player to cover for injuries. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmare Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 10 minutes ago, cilitbang said: The lack of creativity without Lawless really showed in the playoffs. If we don’t find another player to unlock teams, we will find ourselves in the same position if Lawless gets injured again. AM/2nd ST, DM, GK + CB starters would be my shopping list. And throw in a utility player to cover for injuries. Seeing as McMillan is likely away and Lawless won’t see the field again until some point in 2025, RB and RW are massive holes as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Gentile Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 On one one hand I kind of want Raith Rovers to go up through the playoffs but I definitely wouldn't want Ro$$ Count¥ coming down and buying their way to promotion. Mmm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Clavdivs Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Claudia Gentile said: On one one hand I kind of want Raith Rovers to go up through the playoffs but I definitely wouldn't want Ro$$ Count¥ coming down and buying their way to promotion. Mmm Plastic pitch v Uncle Roy's Biscuit tin ....on balance Raith to stay down . Edited May 19 by I Clavdivs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggy McJagface Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 I fancied our chances of winning this league next season with St J looking like they were coming down with Livi, but County will just buy the league leaving us to rely on playoffs again. Raith staying down would be preferable but they would still be a tough opponent to finish above judging by this season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 There was a point in the not too distant past when I'd have rather welcomed Sevco to Firhill than gone within one hundred miles of Dingwall. The pain has somewhat healed, but I'd feel much more comfortable facing Raith next season than them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) St Johnstone if they had come down might have had money to throw about as well with new owners. You'd expect County to do so if Raith relegate them, but they'd still need to be competently managed. Probably makes more sense for us if Raith stay down but I'd still rather they went up. One Fife team per league is plenty. I originally thought County would easily win if they ended up the playoff team but they've just chucked a lead on Wednesday that would have seen them safe then had 25 minutes today against ten men with nothing to play for and not found a goal so they might be rattling a bit. Edited May 19 by Fuctifano 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirJimmyofNic Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Did you guys have to have VAR installed for the play off last season ?? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneteaminglasgow Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 3 minutes ago, SirJimmyofNic said: Did you guys have to have VAR installed for the play off last season ?? Aye. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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