pandarilla Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 1 hour ago, ayrmad said: I'm surprised at some of the differing views on players performances yesterday. Gilmour was head and shoulders above anyone in the 1st half. Cairney looks unfit and slow. Harkins walked about disinterested for large chunks of that game, when you throw in missing a couple of sitters it really highlights how little he brought to the team yesterday. Perhaps the heat had a wee bit to do with the performance of Cairney and Harkins, hope so as they've both comfortably got the talent for this division. In my opinion anyone that disagrees with my assessment of those 3 players wasn't watching the game through sober unblinkered eyes. Yesterday was the 1st signs that we might just manage to survive in this league, time and a few signings will tell. Did anyone think Gilmour played well in the second half? I can't comment on the first half at all and by all accounts he was excellent - but I watched him closely (particularly) in the last half hour and it was shocking how little he contributed. If it's just a case of him flagging and lacking match fitness then fine - I'm certainly not writing him off. I would defend Harkins as well yesterday. He lost the ball a few times (more than he did last week) but still - he clearly offers us something that no-one else in the team does. The nature of his game means there'll be inconsistency. I thought Saints did create plenty - and certainly got into positions where they could hurt us. From that point a combination of poor delivery, poor finishing, last ditch tackles and very good goalkeeping meant we didn't concede but I certainly didn't think we were comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzdrk Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I find most of McCall's interviews quite strange tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Problemo Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 1 hour ago, pandarilla said: Did anyone think Gilmour played well in the second half? I can't comment on the first half at all and by all accounts he was excellent - but I watched him closely (particularly) in the last half hour and it was shocking how little he contributed. If it's just a case of him flagging and lacking match fitness then fine - I'm certainly not writing him off. I would defend Harkins as well yesterday. He lost the ball a few times (more than he did last week) but still - he clearly offers us something that no-one else in the team does. The nature of his game means there'll be inconsistency. I thought Saints did create plenty - and certainly got into positions where they could hurt us. From that point a combination of poor delivery, poor finishing, last ditch tackles and very good goalkeeping meant we didn't concede but I certainly didn't think we were comfortable. Gilmour missed quite a chunk of pre season; but with Cairney, Harkins and Gilmour all fading in the second half its not ideal. Harkins wasn't great but at the same time wasn't given many options at times and tried to take on several players as there was nowhere else to go. His miss in the first half was far worse than the one at the end though. I have no idea why McCall didn't have him drop back into midfield towards the end of the game though? Surely would help the team get a foot on the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandarilla Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Gilmour missed quite a chunk of pre season; but with Cairney, Harkins and Gilmour all fading in the second half its not ideal. Harkins wasn't great but at the same time wasn't given many options at times and tried to take on several players as there was nowhere else to go. His miss in the first half was far worse than the one at the end though. I have no idea why McCall didn't have him drop back into midfield towards the end of the game though? Surely would help the team get a foot on the ball. Yeah I agree, that would've been a sensible change to try and regain some control. The only thing I can think of is leaving him up for some presence - which was gone when Forrest came on.I couldn't see how bad a miss the one late on was but the one in the first half was a shocker. It was on a plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrExile Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 6 hours ago, No_Problemo said: Completely agree with this; he's said it a few times now. Anyone who doesn't think Gilmour is up to it is in the minority now. Showed yesterday that he's good enough for this level even with him still lacking in match fitness. One game proves he's good enough for this level? His passing and vision are well above this level whilst some of the other stuff is well below. Being good enough for any level is about being able to turn in a regular performance over a period of time. He reminds me of Murphy in that some weeks he's a cut above and others out his depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Problemo Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 10 minutes ago, AyrExile said: One game proves he's good enough for this level? His passing and vision are well above this level whilst some of the other stuff is well below. Being good enough for any level is about being able to turn in a regular performance over a period of time. He reminds me of Murphy in that some weeks he's a cut above and others out his depth. You're just being picky really but the first half where he was a mile in front of everyone on the park showed he has the potential to be a good player consistently. Murphy on the other hand was decent enough yesterday but was caught out a few times and needs to be replaced if we want to stay up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum-ayr Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 For Gilmour to be at his best, it is imperative he is played in the correct position with the correct personnel with him. A midfield 3 of Doc, Gilly and Adams is where he is most effective. Having a role that allows him to get forward with the other 2 covering and being able to drop into holes and provide passes to the attackers. He also can dig in and win the ball/retain it in midfield. When all are fit, I'd love to see that midfield 3, with Harkins in behind Moore and Nisbet. Think it's time we accept we're not getting the wingers we crave and look at options that fit our current crop of players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrExile Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 25 minutes ago, No_Problemo said: You're just being picky really but the first half where he was a mile in front of everyone on the park showed he has the potential to be a good player consistently. Murphy on the other hand was decent enough yesterday but was caught out a few times and needs to be replaced if we want to stay up. Potential and consistency are two entirely different things. Take Harkins for instance. He has the potential to play for one of the better teams in the spl however now finds himself at this level because it's 8 games a season he shows up. St Mirren looked like a team lacking confidence in the first half and gave us lots of space which Gilmour used well. Hopefully he will produce this now weekly and against some of the better teams in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzdrk Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 20 minutes ago, callum-ayr said: For Gilmour to be at his best, it is imperative he is played in the correct position with the correct personnel with him. A midfield 3 of Doc, Gilly and Adams is where he is most effective. Having a role that allows him to get forward with the other 2 covering and being able to drop into holes and provide passes to the attackers. He also can dig in and win the ball/retain it in midfield. When all are fit, I'd love to see that midfield 3, with Harkins in behind Moore and Nisbet. Think it's time we accept we're not getting the wingers we crave and look at options that fit our current crop of players. That's exactly what i had been thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mgc1910 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 That team would get beat. A lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzdrk Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 That team would get beat. A lot. So will any 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum-ayr Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 53 minutes ago, Mgc1910 said: That team would get beat. A lot. Compared to our current winning streak of 0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eez-eh Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Devlin and Boyle would get torn to pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandarilla Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 It's worth trying everything when we're struggling like we are - but I would seriously worry about our full-backs in that system. I think Boyle's been poor recently and that's with a bit of protection in front (although admittedly not much). What about giving Doc a wee rest and playing Gilmour and Adams in the middle? On the right we just need someone with defensive ability and encourage Devlin to bomb forward as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logie55 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I seen O'Connell at the top of the pile and couldn't go any further , dreadful . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Problemo Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Felt Docherty was far better on Saturday; broke up play well. Plus if we play Gilmour in the middle there's no one for out wide as he's the best in the squad st playing out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diegomarahenry Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Thought defensively we were still a bit suspect but were up against a league one style attack, we have spent 5 years playing teams lumping balls in to the box so it was only the odd time Meggat charged in to things that we seemed to struggle. Gilmour and Cairney covered both full backs well meaning we weren't getting caught on the counter and also slowed the play down towards them. Doc was back to the way he played before, nipping at heals and breaking up things, Adams getting booked maybe curtailed him, Gilmour had a good game, Cairney basically babysat Boyle, he did it well but not much else of note. Harkins is a class act, but I think he struggled because there was nothing in front of him to pass to, as soon as he got the ball, he either passed it back the way, passed to Nesbit who was being crowded out as the lone forward or tried to do something himself. The lack of support has been the problem all season, forward players dropping back to get the ball or moving out wide in to space and not having anyone in the middle to aim at, we probably could have had 2-3 more attempts on goal if someone was making a run to the back post......a bit like St Mirrens goal. Having a 19 year old with not much experience at this level up front on his own against Andy Webster was always unlikely to pay off. St Mirrens midfield looked full of decent ball players but with no ball winners and very little width meaning instead of cross balls to Sutton it was just long balls, the guy up front with him did nothing all afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby_F Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 If the apathy from St Mirren fans gets any stronger, the only posts from us on match threads will be Shull making crowd predictions that are only a little more outrageous the correct score predictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrTroopMajor Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 We got what we deserved on Saturday for sitting back in the second half and inviting St Mirren to attack. Absolute nonsense considering the chances we got in the first half when we did try to attack. Our defence quite simply aren't good enough to sit on a lead, the equaliser was utterly predictable and we were lucky not to lose it at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergie's no1 fan Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 We got what we deserved on Saturday for sitting back in the second half and inviting St Mirren to attack. Absolute nonsense considering the chances we got in the first half when we did try to attack. Our defence quite simply aren't good enough to sit on a lead, the equaliser was utterly predictable and we were lucky not to lose it at the end. Meh Sutton missed a sitter but Harkins was a baw hair away from getting a winner 30 seconds later.At the time a draw felt like robbery to me, we didn't create much. Ayr dealt with the hoof ball quite comfortably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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