Managerless Plastic Whistle v Raith Rovers nil

[baillieinleeds]

Bugger. 

[TxRover]

Just now, Hank Scorpio said:

Missing Brown a huge amount here. He’s a massive, massive miss. 

Snap. I think the end of the Raith playoff hopes for this year can be squarely placed on the absence of Brown starting this week…if we don’t see him back within a few weeks we’ll be scrapping to hold sixth.

[oneteaminglasgow]

7 minutes ago, Against The Machine said:

Certainly looked to me like Milne had run that out of play again but Connolly has got to play to the whistle and make a proper challenge. 

I thought that too, but from then on it was a really well worked goal.

Makes up for not getting what certainly seemed to be a pretty blatant penalty kick.

[Hank Scorpio]

We’ve never been in this. Got nothing up front and missing Brown in the middle. Crap. 

[pub car king]

Formation doesn't work without brown. 

[mrpaddyx]

Connolly is trying hard but we have very little going forward. I don’t think the Thistle keeper has had a save to make. 

[TxRover]

Just now, pub car king said:

Formation doesn't work without brown. 

 

1 minute ago, Hank Scorpio said:

We’ve never been in this. Got nothing up front and missing Brown in the middle. Crap. 

I think with Matthews it might work…so there is that. IM small squad philosophy is cracking here…too easy to miss a critical player with no structurally close sub, and even on our small squad, the one position with options is our weakest…striker. Next season we HAVE to have a signed true CF, or this broken record will just repeat again.

[Raith Against The Machine]

We're playing without a defensive midfielder, and with a 10 and a 9 who aren't good enough to be starting in the Championship. Unsurprisingly, we've not been very good. 

The couple of half decent things we've managed have been accompanied by the linesman's flag. Beyond that, Connolly and Millen have gotten down the right hand side a couple of times, but barring McBride being allowed to run clean through early doors, we've not threatened at all. Akio, in common with every other member of our cavalcade of lone strikers this season, looks lost. 

Thistle haven't looked as ragged as us, but haven't created too much either. Mostly because they spent the first 20 minutes trying to go over our weakened midfield rather than taking the game to them. They've not given MacDonald much to do, but it wouldn't have been a huge surprise if they'd managed a second before half time, given the fragility in our defence. Nolan must've been having flashbacks to the last time we were here as he hesitated under a long ball and was caught out again. Lucy to get away with it. 

[Michael W]

1 minute ago, TxRover said:

 

I think with Matthews it might work…so there is that. 

Maybe, but he's a long-term absentee. Unfortunately, there is currently no replacement for Brown if he's unavailable. 

[jagfox]

Well deserved lead. The Rivers not getting much going up front but have managed to get a load of offsides. 

We need another goal as a one lead is nothing ij this league.

Hopefully, get an early second half goal and move on to victory 

[renton]

3 minutes ago, Michael W said:

Maybe, but he's a long-term absentee. Unfortunately, there is currently no replacement for Brown if he's unavailable. 

There aren't many formations in football that work without some kind of competent holding midfielder tbf.

Might have been less of an issue if we were able to take the game to them, but Akio as a 9 is like playing with a man down.

[TxRover]

1 minute ago, Michael W said:

Maybe, but he's a long-term absentee. Unfortunately, there is currently no replacement for Brown if he's unavailable. 

Which is the flaw in IM small squad, we need a squad with a reserve DM and CB available…for now our reserve CB is Dick and our reserve DM is out till nearly seasons end.

[grumswall]

4 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Which is the flaw in IM small squad, we need a squad with a reserve DM and CB available…for now our reserve CB is Dick and our reserve DM is out till nearly seasons end.

You do realise he said the whole small squad thing because we have a smaller budget this season eh? 

[Raith Against The Machine]

Millen hasn't had a worse game than this, for us. 

[baillieinleeds]

Scott Brown is a massive part of how we play. Did he break down in training. We need him back and pronto. Partick are tearing us apart. 

[jagfox]

Yaaaasssss.

Great goal. It's good to get goals against the bottom half teams who can be stuffy opponents, especially on the road.

One more please Jags

[VictorOnopko]

1 hour ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

No Brown = home win. 

Massive blow. Hopefully not serious with the fixtures we have coming up. 

 

1 hour ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Hmm, that’s a blow missing Brown. Really could’ve done with him being fit. Gullan and Goncalves out as well. Squad suddenly looking thin again. 

 

1 hour ago, mrpaddyx said:

The bench looks really weak and we are not the same without Brown in midfield. At least the pie was decent. 

 

1 hour ago, Against The Machine said:

Said it before when we thought he might miss the Motherwell game, but I think Brown is the single most integral player we currently have. He's probably not the best player, but he's the most irreplaceable. 

Huge onus on Brad Spencer to (symbolically) shift across and fulfil that more controlled, conservative role in the base of the midfield. I'm a huge Spencer fan and he's definitely got the footballing intelligence to know how to do it, but it's not his natural game. Presumably he'll have Stanton to help him out, but we'll miss Sam at 10. McBride hasn't looked as completely lost recently, but he's undeniably a downgrade on Stanton. 

 

29 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Missing Brown a huge amount here. He’s a massive, massive miss. 

 

29 minutes ago, TxRover said:

The defending today is certainly showing Brown’s absence.

 

21 minutes ago, pub car king said:

Formation doesn't work without brown. 

 

1 minute ago, baillieinleeds said:

Scott Brown is a massive part of how we play. Did he break down in training. We need him back and pronto. Partick are tearing us apart. 

I hear you're missing Brown, is that correct?

[TxRover]

4 minutes ago, grumswall said:

You do realise he said the whole small squad thing because we have a smaller budget this season eh? 

Not so much just because of that, as he also liked a smaller squad at Airdrie (yes, they had limited funds). Hopefully we’ll have the funds for next year, but IM certainly likes a (small) consistent team whenever he can have it,

[TxRover]

1 minute ago, VictorOnopko said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hear you're missing Brown, is that correct?

(Checks team sheet) Maybe

[Raith Against The Machine]

Hahaha! You'll never see a goal that better epitomises a team without a defensive midfielder. Lawless starts that move being tackled by two Rovers players at the same time and just ambles away with the ball.