Dundee United 23/24

[Zetterlund]

My particular gripe with the defence is that we're genuinely awful at stopping crosses. Which is unfortunate, because we're also awful at defending them.

I still remember playing for my primary school team in P6, when the 'manager' (PE teacher) assigned me RB position and told me my job was to stop the left winger crossing the ball into the box.

I must have been shite at it, as later I became the goalie.

Undeterred, at 17 and playing for the local boys club, I found myself now a half-decent right back. I particularly remember an opposition manager congratulating me after a game for giving them absolutely nothing down their left side.

If there's a defensive coach position going I may know a guy.

[Tannadeechee]

1 hour ago, ArabianKnight said:

And now every team is going to target him in this way. Which begs the question, and it's a big question which at this point may even define our season here in the championship.

 

What will Goodwin actually do about it.

Don't want to write the guy off, as he has played 9 times in Championship and against Liverpool in FA Cup, and has been in Wales squad BUT he does need to llearn and learn quickly. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt at the Spartans game that it was a simple misjudgement but Graham out foxed him with the dark arts. I do think Graham went over the line at times, but you have to be in it to win it as it were. Graham when he came on he showed he was stronger and didn't let Brian Graham have his own way.

I'd start Graham on Saturday, but I'd get the Denham to work with Moult & Watt with them throwing everything at him to get him used to it before the league opener.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Tannadeechee

[ArabFC]

2 hours ago, VanBasten said:

Graham was not moving towards the defender, that’s the complete opposite of what strikers do. They try to find as much space as possible in which to operate. Denham was right beside him the whole time he was on the park. 

I’m slightly offended you’ve dared to name yourself after Van Basten with this lack of understanding of fitba.

[VanBasten]

3 minutes ago, ArabFC said:

I’m slightly offended you’ve dared to name yourself after Van Basten with this lack of understanding of fitba.

Offended?  

[ArabFC]

One of the greatest forwards of all time and you went and said that.

[VanBasten]

2 minutes ago, ArabFC said:

One of the greatest forwards of all time and you went and said that.

I’m sure you’ll get over it soft lad. Give it time  

[Liam899]

Had a wee look at Utd’s squad. On paper, it looks absolutely abject.  Complete opposite of last season when your team was brilliant on paper. Maybe bodes well? 

Reminds me of Dundee teams under Alex Rae, and McPake latterly.  Can’t see you being good enough to go on sustained runs. 

The biggest coward move for me was giving Watt vice captain status. Clearly trying to keep him on side. He’s a bad apple is he not? 

Good luck

[Chrisrush1471]

11 hours ago, Zetterlund said:

My particular gripe with the defence is that we're genuinely awful at stopping crosses. Which is unfortunate, because we're also awful at defending them.

I still remember playing for my primary school team in P6, when the 'manager' (PE teacher) assigned me RB position and told me my job was to stop the left winger crossing the ball into the box.

I must have been shite at it, as later I became the goalie.

Undeterred, at 17 and playing for the local boys club, I found myself now a half-decent right back. I particularly remember an opposition manager congratulating me after a game for giving them absolutely nothing down their left side.

If there's a defensive coach position going I may know a guy.

Big fan of your plan to fix full backs not stopping crosses is just to chuck them in goals

[Zetterlund]

2 hours ago, Chrisrush1471 said:

Big fan of your plan to fix full backs not stopping crosses is just to chuck them in goals

If Mark Birighitti and Kieran Freeman had swapped positions last season we might've stayed up.

[Glen Scotia]

18 minutes ago, Zetterlund said:

If Mark Birighitti and Kieran Freeman had swapped positions last season we might've stayed up.

If Birrighitti didn't play we would have stayed up 

[Big Shedboy]

I might sound like a dinosaur, but I think most teams would improve results by focusing on a few basics

1. As mentioned, stopping crosses. (Liam Smith stood out as being really bad at this)

2. Free-kicks within 50 yds of the opposition box. Big men up and get it in there. Almost every free kick was short v Partick...drives me nuts!

3. Similar to above...get the squad working on long throws. Doesn't have to be like Rory Delap, just whoever can throw it the longest. Get the ball into the box when we have a throw 20 yds from the byline.

 

[ArabFC]

30 minutes ago, Big Shedboy said:

I might sound like a dinosaur, but I think most teams would improve results by focusing on a few basics

1. As mentioned, stopping crosses. (Liam Smith stood out as being really bad at this)

2. Free-kicks within 50 yds of the opposition box. Big men up and get it in there. Almost every free kick was short v Partick...drives me nuts!

3. Similar to above...get the squad working on long throws. Doesn't have to be like Rory Delap, just whoever can throw it the longest. Get the ball into the box when we have a throw 20 yds from the byline.

It wasn't a standout moment in the game against Partick, but I remember Tony Watt getting the ball near the corner flag and we had players in the box. The thing is, those players were Cudjoe, Glass and Fotheringham.

Launching the ball into the box will be essential pointless this season - our average height looks to be about 5'8"

[mishtergrolsch]

Keep saying we need a 6'6 nutter of a battering ram either up front or in defence (or both) that will stick the head on any and everything. 

Till then, long balls, crosses and long throws aren't going to be hellish much use - is Moult decent in the air? If so that'll be one aerial threat I suppose. When he's fit.

[Junior_Arab]

5 hours ago, Big Shedboy said:

I might sound like a dinosaur, but I think most teams would improve results by focusing on a few basics

1. As mentioned, stopping crosses. (Liam Smith stood out as being really bad at this)

2. Free-kicks within 50 yds of the opposition box. Big men up and get it in there. Almost every free kick was short v Partick...drives me nuts!

3. Similar to above...get the squad working on long throws. Doesn't have to be like Rory Delap, just whoever can throw it the longest. Get the ball into the box when we have a throw 20 yds from the byline.

 

I absolutely love watching good teams play good, passing football, playing out from the back and being good enough to get out of ridiculous situations by not panicking, trusting their teammates and passing through a press. 
 

I absolutely hate watching mediocre kids / amateur / Championship / even Premiership teams trying to play the same brand of passing football when they are nowhere near good enough to do so, and are probably playing on a surface resembling a ploughed field. It’s madness. At a certain level it’s perfectly fine, and still “good” football albeit in a different way, to be more direct. When the opposition is as poor as you are, get the ball into their box and let them make the mistake there. 

[Derry Alli]

Liam Smith has signed for Cheltenham. Quite a decent move for him. 

[ArabFC]

1 hour ago, Junior_Arab said:

I absolutely hate watching mediocre kids / amateur / Championship / even Premiership teams trying to play the same brand of passing football when they are nowhere near good enough to do so, and are probably playing on a surface resembling a ploughed field. It’s madness. At a certain level it’s perfectly fine, and still “good” football albeit in a different way, to be more direct. When the opposition is as poor as you are, get the ball into their box and let them make the mistake there. 

That’s a pretty bleak picture you paint. Professional footballers incapable of passing the ball between themselves.

It’s not true of course and even good amateur teams in this day and age prefer to get the ball down and play. I mean, the most common drill you will see at any football club’s training is the rondo - an exercise designed to improve players ability to resist the press.

Players like Glass, Mochrie, Meekison, Fotheringham, Freeman, Graham, Chalmers et al have spent years getting coached how to do this, then we chuck them in the first team and ask them to play ‘percentage fitba’. Or at least, the fans demand it.

I used to be a launch-it advocate, principally because I wasn’t a technically good player and it suited my game. Then around 10 years ago my club went on a post-season jolly to Spain where we interrupted our drinking to play a friendly against a local amateur team, who basically humiliated us by passing the ball around us. They weren’t player for player better than us - they were just years ahead of us in this country to cottoning on the most effective way of playing the game.

The club with the biggest budget in the division should have no problem finding players capable of playing fitba.
 

[Liam899]

2 hours ago, ArabFC said:

That’s a pretty bleak picture you paint. Professional footballers incapable of passing the ball between themselves.

It’s not true of course and even good amateur teams in this day and age prefer to get the ball down and play. I mean, the most common drill you will see at any football club’s training is the rondo - an exercise designed to improve players ability to resist the press.

Players like Glass, Mochrie, Meekison, Fotheringham, Freeman, Graham, Chalmers et al have spent years getting coached how to do this, then we chuck them in the first team and ask them to play ‘percentage fitba’. Or at least, the fans demand it.

I used to be a launch-it advocate, principally because I wasn’t a technically good player and it suited my game. Then around 10 years ago my club went on a post-season jolly to Spain where we interrupted our drinking to play a friendly against a local amateur team, who basically humiliated us by passing the ball around us. They weren’t player for player better than us - they were just years ahead of us in this country to cottoning on the most effective way of playing the game.

The club with the biggest budget in the division should have no problem finding players capable of playing fitba.
 

I think the budget needs to be significantly more than others team to outplay them with good football and win this league. Utd will have the biggest budget but it’s not astronomically bigger to guarantee a level of play that will win the league playing free flowing football. 

[Big Shedboy]

To clarify (although I thought I was pretty clear), I'm not advocating launching the ball into the box at every opportunity.

I'm specifically talking about set pieces and throw ins. 

[Pens_Dark]

On 19/07/2023 at 22:55, ArabFC said:

One of the greatest forwards of all time and you went and said that.

To be fair it's not the worst thing he's said this week.

[Fife Arab]

Grimshaw at right back today. Moult starts