Gallus Numpty Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 7 minutes ago, well fan for life said: This league is so stupid. Typical, isn't it. People are always desperate for a competitive league, and then it finally happens when everybody is absolutely shite. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 12 hours ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: Yeah, that’s it. Gave Donnelly the nod over Ojala due to more sub appearances. You can probably litigate a few positions eg: Mugabi over SOD at RB and one of Ojala/Lamie coming in at centre back, Slattery in for Donnelly with O'Hara or whoever coming into the midfield but I'd say if everyone is 'at it' that team is broadly 75%/80% our strongest XI. What stands out to me is that the outfield player with the most starts is Woolery. He had started in 18 of 20 league games up to the break. Kelly aside, arguably our most settled area of the park was the forward 3 with him, Watt and KVV. Yet, like Slattery he seems to have been 'managed' post-winter break - he was on the bench for 6 of the 9 games directly after the break (he's started 6 of the 12 games with 3 off the bench as a sub, 3 as an unused sub - 569 mins played of a potential 1,110 mins) although (unless I've missed it) there's been nowhere near the same level of angst/conspiracy as there has been Slattery. For comparison here's Slattery (he's started 4 of the 12 with 4 appearances off the bench, 4 unused sub - 351 mins played of a potential 1,110 mins). Edited March 10, 2022 by capt_oats 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegsjoe_mfc Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 1 hour ago, capt_oats said: Yet, like Slattery he seems to have been 'managed' post-winter break - he was on the bench for 6 of the 9 games directly after the break (he's started 6 of the 12 games with 3 off the bench as a sub, 3 as an unused sub - 569 mins played of a potential 1,110 mins) although (unless I've missed it) there's been nowhere near the same level of angst/conspiracy as there has been Slattery. I'd probably say the reason for the difference in conspiracy, certainly from myself and those I've spoken to, was that largely people were convinced by Slattery by the turn of the year, but were yet to be convinced by Woolery. I know wingers are inconsistent and whilst there were flashes of brilliance, Woolery's output probably wasn't quite good enough (1 goal / 1 assist over a two week spell in September) and people have been keen enough to see if any of the other options could improve us on this front. For what it's worth, now having seen a bit more of the others now, I reckon Woolery is our best winger and he has looked a more consistent threat in the last few games I've seen him. Maybe the rest done him good. By contrast, the midfield hasn't impressed much at all without Slattery (despite the stats with and without him in the team). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliphas Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, well fan for life said: This league is so stupid. Quite the run in to the split now. I'd say ourselves and Dundee Utd (on paper) are favourites to get 2 of the 3 spots up for grabs. Hibs and Ross County will find it tough. Winnability (imo) Most winnable Dundee U v St Mirren, Hibs, Dundee Us v St J, St. Mirren, Livi A bit winnable Livi v Hearts, St J, Us St Mirren v Dundee Utd, Us, Rangers Aberdeen vs. Hibs, Dundee, Ross C Least winnable Hibs v Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hearts Ross C v Celtic, Hearts, Aberdeen Edited March 10, 2022 by eliphas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RostokMcSpoons Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, eliphas said: Quite the run in to the split now. I'd say ourselves and Dundee Utd (on paper) are favourites to get 2 of the 3 spots up for grabs. Hibs v Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hearts Livi v Hearts, St J, Us Ross C v Celtic, Hearts, Aberdeen Dundee U v St Mirren, Hibs, Dundee Us v St J, St. Mirren, Livi St Mirren v Dundee Utd, Us, Rangers Aberdeen vs. Hibs, Dundee, Ross C I was going to say "but we play on grass"... except we don't these days do we? Ball in the air for 90% of the time. I think the groundsman got a bit over-protective and managed to persuade GA to extend this to apply to the football on match days 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: I'd probably say the reason for the difference in conspiracy, certainly from myself and those I've spoken to, was that largely people were convinced by Slattery by the turn of the year, but were yet to be convinced by Woolery. I know wingers are inconsistent and whilst there were flashes of brilliance, Woolery's output probably wasn't quite good enough (1 goal / 1 assist over a two week spell in September) and people have been keen enough to see if any of the other options could improve us on this front. For what it's worth, now having seen a bit more of the others now, I reckon Woolery is our best winger and he has looked a more consistent threat in the last few games I've seen him. Maybe the rest done him good. By contrast, the midfield hasn't impressed much at all without Slattery (despite the stats with and without him in the team). I'll admit, I was being a bit facetious with that . I totally get why folks takes would be different between Slattery and Woolery. It does lend itself to the idea that players are perhaps being "managed" though, I mean that's big Bevis sat out the last two now as well (he also wasn't in the squad against Hibs and was an unused sub against Hearts - having started 19 of the 20 league games before the break). Whether that is a hangover of the wild injury situation we had last season and not wanting a repeat IDK. I'm maybe pulling at a thread that isn't even there but SOD was benched for 3 games after the 0-4 against Celtic. Sure, that may have been about form but presuming McGinley's missing on account of injury at the moment that's 4 of the 6 outfield players sitting on 20+ starts who have all been "rested" in some form or other in the period after the break (ironically we had KVV taking injections to make sure he played). Either way it feels like the winter break is something that Alexander's had a difficult time navigating, whether that's down to the outbreak of the 'vid around Christmas or it's just something he's not had to deal with before as a manager, who knows? One of the pluses of Robinson's time was that we generally came back from the winter break on the front foot. 18/19 and the introduction of Sexy Motherwell probably being the best case in point. This season it feels like a lot of it has been about "big picture" stuff and we've come back from the break and it's been a bit of a mess with trying to get players game time all over the place. In fact, speaking of Sexy Motherwell...just want Gboly back tbh. Edited March 10, 2022 by capt_oats 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allroy for Prez Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, eliphas said: Quite the run in to the split now. I'd say ourselves and Dundee Utd (on paper) are favourites to get 2 of the 3 spots up for grabs. Hibs and Ross County will find it tough. Winnability (imo) Most winnable Dundee U v St Mirren, Hibs, Dundee Us v St J, St. Mirren, Livi A bit winnable Livi v Hearts, St J, Us St Mirren v Dundee Utd, Us, Rangers Aberdeen vs. Hibs, Dundee, Ross C Least winnable Hibs v Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hearts Ross C v Celtic, Hearts, Aberdeen Not having a go, but I’d say we were favourites to achieve hee haw based on current form and tactics. We’re going to need to actually a win a game to achieve anything. Answers on a postcard as to how and when we’re going to achieve that. Edited March 10, 2022 by Allroy for Prez 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliphas Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 15 minutes ago, Allroy for Prez said: Not having a go, but I’d say we were favourites to achieve hee haw based on current form and tactics. We’re going to need to actually a win a game to achieve anything. Answers on a postcard as to how and when we’re going to achieve that. Aye, I wouldn't disagree but purely on paper we do have the easier and more winnable games I reckon. I'd rather be facing who we are facing than than having to face Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs even. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) No shade on anyone but I've seen few tweets about how great he is so I'm genuinely curious, when did Mark O'Hara become a fan favourite and given he's missed significant chunks of every one of the 3 seasons he's been at the club is anyone really surprised that we've apparently not offered him a new deal as yet? Full disclosure, I quite like O'Hara but I'm still no further in knowing what his best position is and I strongly suspect I never will. Edited March 10, 2022 by capt_oats 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'WellDel Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 21 minutes ago, capt_oats said: No shade on anyone but I've seen few tweets about how great he is so I'm genuinely curious, when did Mark O'Hara become a fan favourite and given he's missed significant chunks of every one of the 3 seasons he's been at the club is anyone really surprised that we've apparently not offered him a new deal as yet? Full disclosure, I quite like O'Hara but I'm still no further in knowing what his best position is and I strongly suspect I never will. Completely agree on O'Hara. Perhaps his effort and workrate are what folk like about him, as he has a good engine and covers a lot of ground, and on his day he can be influential too. The St Mirren cup game a couple of years ago comes to mind, when he came on at half time and single handedly dragged us back into the tie, even though we went on to f**k it on penalties. Performances at that level from him haven't been often enough though. He also performed fairly well during the spell he was deployed at the back, but again I couldn't say I'm convinced that he would be good enough in there long term. In my opinion, I like him enough and he's a very decent, dare I say utility player to have at our level and certainly does a job, but woud it be a travesty if we didn't offer him a deal/he decided to move on? I dont think so. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisGRAEME Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 1 hour ago, capt_oats said: No shade on anyone but I've seen few tweets about how great he is so I'm genuinely curious, when did Mark O'Hara become a fan favourite and given he's missed significant chunks of every one of the 3 seasons he's been at the club is anyone really surprised that we've apparently not offered him a new deal as yet? Full disclosure, I quite like O'Hara but I'm still no further in knowing what his best position is and I strongly suspect I never will. He runs about with purpose and looks like he might score sometimes. This allows him to outshine the rest of our midfield quite comfortably. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) Being out the team for a bit always improves the impression of players when those on the field are struggling - and when he then played well v Aberdeen, any port in a storm... But like many guys, the question on MOH isn't what's his best but how often he finds that form and how good is he on average? And the answers are not often enough and, well, average. Whether we keep him should depend on who we're confident of getting in midfield in summer. If we can sign a quality holding player, I'd be happy to keep MOH for his versatility and punt Donnelly. If we reckon there's no chance of a holding midfielder and therefore keep Donnelly, I would hope we gamble on upgrading in front of him. It would be rather depressing to think we've looked at Maguire, Donnelly and MOH and determined we can do no better. Edited March 10, 2022 by Handsome_Devil dropped word 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezz Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I’ll freely admit to being a fan of O’Hara but I’m not 100% sure why. Like others have said, I’m not sure of his best position and he’s been injured for large chunks of his time with us, but there’s just something about him that I’ve taken too. I think his personality might have a bit to do with it, he seems like a fairly humble, intelligent guy who speaks well during interviews. On the park he’s not the most technical player we’ve got but I think he offers something a bit unique in our midfield cast of thousands - the ability to drive 30 or 40 yards with the ball, something that Donnelly, Goss, Maguire etc don’t really offer. He’s also versatile and always puts a shift in even if things aren’t going his way. I’d like him to hang around for another couple of years and see if we can nail down a position for him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YassinMoutaouakil Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I quite like O'Hara. In previous seasons I'd have been fairly ambivalent about him sticking around or not but, given I'm 100% certain that Alexander would still end up playing Donnelly-Goss- Maguire together next season if MOH left, I'd really really rather he stayed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gianfranco Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I still don’t know if O’Hara is any good or not? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapowzer Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Handsome_Devil said: ....... and determined we can do no better. I see your Maguire, Donnelly and MOH ....... and I raise you a Nathan McGinley. McGinley was offered a deal as Grezza probably pictures him as a utility player able to cover a few positions (in the same way he views Mugabi). I think that combined with the perception/fact that due to Brexit fewer available players are going chased by a growing number of clubs means get it while you can attitude. If we weren't in a pandemic/post Brexit world then I'm pretty confident Crawford would not have been offered an extension a year ago and I'd hope McGinley would have left this summer at contract completion. Maybe the reality will be different come the summer but I get the impression the club don't think it will be rich pickings. Of course all the clubs with deep pockets can afford to hoover up players and put them out on loan in the hope one or two come good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busta Nut Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 5 hours ago, capt_oats said: No shade on anyone but I've seen few tweets about how great he is so I'm genuinely curious, when did Mark O'Hara become a fan favourite and given he's missed significant chunks of every one of the 3 seasons he's been at the club is anyone really surprised that we've apparently not offered him a new deal as yet? Full disclosure, I quite like O'Hara but I'm still no further in knowing what his best position is and I strongly suspect I never will. He's not Goss. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Aye, our left-back approach for this season was bad, to double down on it for next term is mind-boggling. I just try not to think about it tbh. I didn't actually mind Crawford bizarrely, he was signed knowing we'd replace him but we needed bodies to make sure we got to the LC knock-outs. There was limited logic to it. Though quite why we then picked the side we did at Dens still makes no sense to me six months on. As for transfers, no idea. We had our much publicized change of heart in spending money and offering better contracts. Is there any reason why Slattery, Solholm, Ojala equivalents (in principle, ignore current form) won't be available again this summer? And Brexit might complicate things but it does open the door to the rest of the world, afaik, hence non-descript Americans who would never previously have got work permits appearing. Presumably there's a whole host of agents sending highlight reels to us thinking we're potential stepping stone to the Old Firm or England. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapowzer Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Isn’t there a quota on permits for foreigners if they don’t adhere to the criteria (internationalist etc) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Not sure but it would make sense. Considering Efford here how strict can the criteria be... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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