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Peterhead. Season 23-24


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Joe McKee is a lovely football player who we didn't get to see the best of in his second spell.

He's a gorgeous passer of the ball, he's got a great long range pass on him, he a terrific crosser and he's the best corner taker I've ever seen at the club. But he needs someone alongside him to do the scrapping and the ugly side, and someone who'll let him play a bit.

In his first spell with us he was absolutely superb. And I've still no idea why he didn't win our POTY award. I think only Ryan Christie had more assists in the country than him when Covid hit.

He's good at driving forward a few yards and playing a really incisive pass. And at his best playing deeper with the game in front of him.

His first season back was a write off. He had Covid twice quite badly and struggled to get back fit. When he did he was then hit with niggling injuries and a team in disarray. He also couldn't play his game on our disgrace of a pitch in the state it was.

Last season he started very well. In fact he was probably one of our best performers in the seven straight wins we started the season with. Then he picked up an injury and dropped out the team, and we didn't ever really see him get back to his best.

I think Stevie Farrell signed him as a #10. But he can't play there. He's also wasted out wide. So you need to play him deeper alongside a hardy, defensively minded player. And that was never a role he quite fitted in during his two seasons with DFC.

I've got a lot of time for Joe. I rate him really highly as a player, but also as a person. I got to know him pretty well across his time with us and he's a lovely guy. He's also a player quite easily summed up - get him playing with a smile on his face and he'll be one of the best midfielders in the league. It's getting him fully fit, match sharp, in the right position, confident and with a run of games under his belt on a good grass park that we failed to do in his second spell. And that's why we didn't ever see the best of him.

Edited by Jan Vojáček
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11 hours ago, strichener said:

We have that with Andrew McCarthy.

Play him and McCarthy deep in a 4-2-3-1, get someone who will make driving runs in front of him and you'll be onto a winner.

Failing that, just sign a couple of bloody huge centre-backs and watch Joe ping corners right onto their head. It was a tactic that served us well under Duffy. See also, below:

 

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3 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Play him and McCarthy deep in a 4-2-3-1, get someone who will make driving runs in front of him and you'll be onto a winner.

Failing that, just sign a couple of bloody huge centre-backs and watch Joe ping corners right onto their head. It was a tactic that served us well under Duffy. See also, below:

 

Hopefully we'll have Hamish Ritchie to make the driving runs.  I'll have to stop posting now, I feel a sense of optimism has infected me.

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2 minutes ago, strichener said:

Hopefully we'll have Hamish Ritchie to make the driving runs.  I'll have to stop posting now, I feel a sense of optimism has infected me.

Hamish will be a huge boost to Peterhead this coming season, as will McCarthy. Both are far too good for L2. Hamish is one I hoped we would be interested in but another year left on his contract? Looked so impressive against Aberdeen in the LC back in July.

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Totally agree about Hamish Ritchie.He was a massive loss to us being out for the whole of last season. O'Keefe and Jack Brown are quite capable of getting forward and causing problems and McKee will make up for the loss of Jack Wilkie who was taking most of the corners and free kicks towards the end of last season. The only new signing I can't find much about is Kieran Gibbons.We've signed him from Broomhill so I suppose Si must have put a good word in for him but I can't find any record of him playing last season and the only comments on here are a big negative from his time at Cowdenbeath. The photo of him on the website is an old one from his Aberdeen youth days clearing from Gary Fraser. There's a player I would love to have seen back at the club.

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43 minutes ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

Hamish will be a huge boost to Peterhead this coming season, as will McCarthy. Both are far too good for L2. Hamish is one I hoped we would be interested in but another year left on his contract? Looked so impressive against Aberdeen in the LC back in July.

Was really begining to show what he could do the end of the previous season, got a bad injury in that Aberdeen game that ended his season hopefully raring to go this year.

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1 hour ago, Pedro Cabeza said:

Totally agree about Hamish Ritchie.He was a massive loss to us being out for the whole of last season. O'Keefe and Jack Brown are quite capable of getting forward and causing problems and McKee will make up for the loss of Jack Wilkie who was taking most of the corners and free kicks towards the end of last season. The only new signing I can't find much about is Kieran Gibbons.We've signed him from Broomhill so I suppose Si must have put a good word in for him but I can't find any record of him playing last season and the only comments on here are a big negative from his time at Cowdenbeath. The photo of him on the website is an old one from his Aberdeen youth days clearing from Gary Fraser. There's a player I would love to have seen back at the club.

Stenhousemuir signed Kieran Gibbons after winning promotion to League 1 in 2018. Gibbons had apparently been the Lowland League Player of the Year with East Kilbride the previous season and was billed as an aggressive ball-winning midfielder. In the first league game of the season against Brechin City, he collected two garbage yellow cards and was sent off before half time and I think everyone immediately lost faith in him from that point onwards.

Gibbons is a real "nothing player". He's quite good at keeping things ticking over in the middle of the park but he's not a goal threat, isn't creative, is positionally unsound and easily turned over in transition. I remember he always liked to "show" for the ball only to have it taken straight off him by an opponent. We signed him on a two-year contract and allowed him to leave after just one. He returned to East Kilbride before his spells with East Stirlingshire and Open Goal Broomhill. I'm really surprised he's back in the SPFL - he might have improved in the four years since I last saw him but I think this level is just too much for him to compete at.

Signing mediocre players from mediocre Lowland League clubs is not a recipe for success!

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13 minutes ago, Pedro Cabeza said:

A couple of signings today. Conner Duthie from Clyde and Aaron Reid on a season long loan from Aberdeen.

 

Aaron lives around the corner from me. A young lad, but clearly got potential given the Dons handed him a 3 year deal. Good height and physicality so should link well with Shanks IMO.

Edited by CoveRangers1922
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13 hours ago, Pedro Cabeza said:

A couple of signings today. Conner Duthie from Clyde and Aaron Reid on a season long loan from Aberdeen.

Conner Duthie is very much a style over substance winger. But he's good fun to watch and I hope he does well after a really serious health scare last year.

He came to us after a drug ban and was fairly ineffective in the Covid season. But that summer he got himself into absolutely sensational shape and turned up to pre-season like a prime Gareth Bale.

He went on to win our POTY when we were relegated. Although I wasn't really convinced by that decision in all honesty. But he's the kind of player who catches the eye of fans.

He loves taking players on, he's absolutely rapid, quite skilful and will happily get up and down either wing all day. He can also put in a shift as an out and out centre forward in case of emergencies.

What massively lets him down (which is why he's playing at this level despite having all the physical attributes to go much higher) is his final ball. His finishing is absolutely horrendous and probably about five in 10 crosses go flying straight out of play. It's no exaggeration to say that he should've scored 13/14 for us in our relegation season. Instead he got six. One of which was a penalty.

He's probably quite similar to our own Kalvin Orsi in that regard. But I'm sure if you get him fit, sharp and playing with confidence you'll enjoy watching him.

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Can not be far off with our squad now and am pretty happy with recruitment this year certainly compared to last season. One player who we dont seem to have replaced is Jack Wilkie at left back who turned into an important player last year while on loan from Dundee, not sure if his future has been decided but would happily have him back

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3 hours ago, Neilly said:

Strange one that on a two year deal. Poor player who has struggled again at Cowdenbeath last season.

Yeah, strange. We finished 15th in the Lowland League and we released him. Was ok when playing at start of season, but as I said, we finished 15th and could have been worse if it wasn't for Dalbeattie and Edinburgh Uni.

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