Bully Wee v Sons (7/10/23)

[SLClyde]

15 minutes ago, GroundskeeperWillie said:

I'm a bit on the fence here, it's clear progress has been limited under McLean, probably not helped by the farce at the start as no-one seemed to know who was actually in charge (given Duffy's propensity to be in the dugout and even barking instructions at times...)

However, I am nervous about who would a) actually want the job and b) who we'd end up appointing.  Given the fact the club is a bit of a binfire at the moment, and given our league position, I'd be concerned we end up similar to Elgin, making an appointment who is completely uninspiring (sorry Elgin fans).

After the first quarter of the season it's become rather apparent we are either going to scramble towards mid-table or end up in a dogfight to stay in the league.  The glimmers of hope we saw last week against Stenny were tempered by the fact that for 60 minutes we were fairly dross and also the fact that it continued our trend this season of conceding dreadful goals through haphazard defending.

This could end up being one of the most important January's in a long, long time, and if the board does stay in its current guise, they've got an almighty job restoring confidence and hope, as the atmosphere is starting to get a bit fragile.

We are clearly not a great side, but we aren’t cut adrift at the bottom either. Someone a bit more experienced will be out there and can do better with what we have available. 

[shawfielder]

 

Shocking as bad a performance as I’ve ever seen , you know it’s bad when Forbes comes on for the last 20 minutes, and was our best player ,going to be a long season.

[WBR]

The game should never have started.  I lost count of the number of puddles I drove through to get there and my automatic windscreen wipers got to full speed at one point.  Madness.

[FREDDYFRY]

That was poor, very poor.
Nothing today would lead anyone to say that McLean can put a team on the park. Midfield is all over the place, absolutely no way that Whyte and Carswell can play together in middle of the park. Apart from the fact Whyte is certainly not a midfield player. 
McCulloch also a problem, just far too inconsistent for while 90 mins especially with Leslie in front of him, made whole right side a problem especially in first half. 

Finally up front we offered nothing today. Rennie is useless, unless perhaps as as a penalty box player which we don’t create anywhere nearly enough opportunities for that and therefore toffers nothing else and we can now see today why Young is with us in L2 and not higher level despite his so called pedigree looked pretty poor today.

Been patient with McLean but I’m afraid time is up. 

[Bob731]

There is no plan B

[O'Kelly Isley III]

7 minutes ago, WBR said:

The game should never have started.  I lost count of the number of puddles I drove through to get there and my automatic windscreen wipers got to full speed at one point.  Madness.

You should have done what I did - sat on an IKEA sofa eating Turkish Delight and cheering every time a goal was scored.

[same_ol_g35]

2 minutes ago, Bob731 said:

There is no plan B

There didn't seem to be a plan A either. 

[Replays]

For a club with a supposed magical money man, we haven’t half signed some utter gubbins.

[WBR]

1 minute ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

You should have done what I did - sat on an IKEA sofa eating Turkish Delight and cheering every time a goal was scored.

I hate Turkish Delight but I do have an IKEA sofa.  Either way, there would have been no cheering.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

24 minutes ago, FREDDYFRY said:

Midfield is all over the place, absolutely no way that Whyte and Carswell can play together in middle of the park.

To be fair, Carswell hasn’t been able to play in the middle of the park full stop, for a long time now.

[WBR]

4 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

To be fair, Carswell hasn’t been able to play in the middle of the park full stop, for a long time now.

I disagree.  I thought his middle of the park full stop was absolutely on point.

[David W]

It's still a squad full of Duffy's garbage and today you see the difference playing a squad assembled early, full of L2 players. 

That said, having an unchanged eleven somehow configured into a new setup was silly. Young had no idea what he was doing out wide, and Leslie/McCulloch were completely overmatched by Wallace and Shiels on the other side.

In fairness, he did neutralise the game after the first goal by changing to a diamond and giving Whyte and King the responsibility of dealing with the full backs. Perhaps a bit unlucky that Dumbarton got a second after that, although they deserved such a lead overall.

The second half we didn't really show any gameplan on how to chase our way back into the match. 9 subs but not much on there to change a game. Forbes did okay when he came on.

I think McLean was placed into an impossible situation and felt he needed time, but today very much has me thinking it won't work out. He has his assistant, he has a fuller squad of players; we got gubbed 4-0 at "home". Not good.

[Jan Vojáček]

That was as enjoyable and stress free a game as I've been to in a long time. We absolutely cruised it and looked like a side from a higher division turning up and doing a job on a side from a lower league. As harsh and arrogant as I'm aware that will sound to someone who wasn't there.

We had a clear gameplan and I think Hamilton's wide open astro park suits us down to the ground. We used the wings well, we were always finding space. And defensively Blair Malcolm was everywhere, plugging gaps and running the midfield. I would swap The Rock for NDP in a heartbeat!

I could go through the whole team individually, because everyone played well. But nobody can be bothered with that, so I'll stick with two guys I really wanted to highlight; Carlo Pignatiello and Matty Shiels.

We all knew that Carlo would be one of the best players in the division, but he really is an absolutely superb talent - and I still can't quite believe he's sillying himself with us on a two year deal.

He powered up and down the right wing all game. He dominated his man, he was breezing beyond players for fun and it genuinely looked like one of those matches where you get a pro playing against a bunch of primary school age kids at times with the way he held players off and spun out of tight spots. As was pointed out earlier in this thread, the difference between our full-backs and Clyde's was stark.

On the other side, Matty Shiels is looking like he could be a real gem at this level. He's playing with a swagger that I'm really liking, his decision making might verge on the brave/risky (delete as appropriate) but it's so positive and he's always looking to play a ball to feet and drive up the park. I love that.

Defensively I thought he dealt very well with everything Clyde could throw at him, and he played a key role in two goals. Sending Ryan Wallace in for the opener (which looked offside, but which the SFA observer apparently confirmed was not) and then starting a terrific move which lead to our third goal with a driving run up the line.

The full-backs were a massive reason for our success today, and having Blair Malcolm able to tuck in on either side is vital to that. He's just an excellent asset at this level.

Further forward, I was excited to see the Ruth/R.Wallace interplay after missing last week, and it definitely has a lot of promise. Both scoring and Wallace setting up Ruth for his goal is exactly  what I want to see.

Wallace could've had a hat-trick too; missing two very good chances, whilst Ruth should've had a brace when Jack Leighfield inexplicably passed the ball right to him 10 yards out, but he whacked the inside of the post.

As OKI says I think we now have a first pick team, a first pick formation and it's one that suits the players. They all looked very well drilled today, everyone knew where to be and we played the ball into some great areas. 

It also leaves us strength in depth, with Gray coming on to set up Jinky for the fourth goal. Not many sides have those options on the bench.

As good as we were, Clyde were awful. The first thing that struck me was how physically poor they looked. We looked faster and (crucially) stronger all over the park. They are a young team, but a lot of the guys out there didn't look up to the physical challenge of men's football.

They just lack quality all over the park too. They popped the ball around quite nicely on occasion in the final third, but it was never fully convincing - and Brett Long was only called into action very late on. In fact their best chances came from us playing overly risky stuff at the back.

I can see why Logan Dunnachie has earned praise, I think he looks like he has potential - but was badly exposed by the hopeless full-backs on either side. Darren Whyte at RB and Carsy at CB would improve things a fair whack imo. That aside, Kian Leslie tried to be positive but was dealt with easily enough - and that was about it.

It's like a reverse of Bonnyrigg. A physically imposing side who play very little football, but look a nightmare to play against. Clyde have a few guys who would run rings around Bonnyrigg players in training, but would then be bullied by them on a Saturday.

They'll pick up points and improve. They showed that at Stenny last week, and there isn't a lot between a lot of sides at this level. But, based on today, I don't expect to see the Bully Wee finishing any higher than eighth without some major additions in January.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

12 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

That was as enjoyable and stress free a game as I've been to in a long time. We absolutely cruised it and looked like a side from a higher division turning up and doing a job on a side from a lower league. As harsh and arrogant as I'm aware that will sound to someone who wasn't there.

We had a clear gameplan and I think Hamilton's wide open astro park suits us down to the ground. We used the wings well, we were always finding space. And defensively Blair Malcolm was everywhere, plugging gaps and running the midfield. I would swap The Rock for NDP in a heartbeat!

I could go through the whole team individually, because everyone played well. But nobody can be bothered with that, so I'll stick with two guys I really wanted to highlight; Carlo Pignatiello and Matty Shiels.

We all knew that Carlo would be one of the best players in the division, but he really is an absolutely superb talent - and I still can't quite believe he's sillying himself with us on a two year deal.

He powered up and down the right wing all game. He dominated his man, he was breezing beyond players for fun and it genuinely looked like one of those matches where you get a pro playing against a bunch of primary school age kids at times with the way he held players off and spun out of tight spots. As was pointed out earlier in this thread, the difference between our full-backs and Clyde's was stark.

On the other side, Matty Shiels is looking like he could be a real gem at this level. He's playing with a swagger that I'm really liking, his decision making might verge on the brave/risky (delete as appropriate) but it's so positive and he's always looking to play a ball to feet and drive up the park. I love that.

Defensively I thought he dealt very well with everything Clyde could throw at him, and he played a key role in two goals. Sending Ryan Wallace in for the opener (which looked offside, but which the SFA observer apparently confirmed was not) and then starting a terrific move which lead to our third goal with a driving run up the line.

The full-backs were a massive reason for our success today, and having Blair Malcolm able to tuck in on either side is vital to that. He's just an excellent asset at this level.

Further forward, I was excited to see the Ruth/R.Wallace interplay after missing last week, and it definitely has a lot of promise. Both scoring and Wallace setting up Ruth for his goal is exactly  what I want to see.

Wallace could've had a hat-trick too; missing two very good chances, whilst Ruth should've had a brace when Jack Leighfield inexplicably passed the ball right to him 10 yards out, but he whacked the inside of the post.

As OKI says I think we now have a first pick team, a first pick formation and it's one that suits the players. They all looked very well drilled today, everyone knew where to be and we played the ball into some great areas. 

It also leaves us strength in depth, with Gray coming on to set up Jinky for the fourth goal. Not many sides have those options on the bench.

As good as we were, Clyde were awful. The first thing that struck me was how physically poor they looked. We looked faster and (crucially) stronger all over the park. They are a young team, but a lot of the guys out there didn't look up to the physical challenge of men's football.

They just lack quality all over the park too. They popped the ball around quite nicely on occasion in the final third, but it was never fully convincing - and Brett Long was only called into action very late on. In fact their best chances came from us playing overly risky stuff at the back.

I can see why Logan Dunnachie has earned praise, I think he looks like he has potential - but was badly exposed by the hopeless full-backs on either side. Darren Whyte at RB and Carsy at CB would improve things a fair whack imo. That aside, Kian Leslie tried to be positive but was dealt with easily enough - and that was about it.

It's like a reverse of Bonnyrigg. A physically imposing side who play very little football, but look a nightmare to play against. Clyde have a few guys who would run rings around Bonnyrigg players in training, but would then be bullied by them on a Saturday.

They'll pick up points and improve. They showed that at Stenny last week, and there isn't a lot between a lot of sides at this level. But, based on today, I don't expect to see the Bully Wee finishing any higher than eighth without some major additions in January.

On behalf of those who weren't there thanks for that comprehensive summation Jan.  And it again poses the question as to why we didn't restore the width of the Rock pitch prior to this season, especially as the player for whom it was intended is currently on the bench !

Only one guy can answer that.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

28 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

On behalf of those who weren't there thanks for that comprehensive summation Jan.  And it again poses the question as to why we didn't restore the width of the Rock pitch prior to this season, especially as the player for whom it was intended is currently on the bench !

Only one guy can answer that.

Absolutely this.

[microdave]

33 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

On behalf of those who weren't there thanks for that comprehensive summation Jan.  And it again poses the question as to why we didn't restore the width of the Rock pitch prior to this season, especially as the player for whom it was intended is currently on the bench !

Only one guy can answer that.

That's exactly what I was thinking when reading Jan's (as always) excellent take on events.

[FREDDYFRY]

For me the most disappointing thing and I could put a whole list here, was that I said to my boys on the way to the game that today would  show us where we are and if we had actually turned a corner on the back of 2 decent results. 

Well it certainly did show us, We are a mile off all over the pitch.

I didn’t actually expect to win today but I expect us to show a competitive edge and some kind of game plan. However, we showed none of that, mainly because Dumbarton dominated and didn’t allow us into the game at all. Basically passed us off the park, not helped by team selection, lack of mobility in the middle of the park and generally poor shape. Played right into Dumbarton’s hands. 
On today’s evidence they are a very decent side. Certainly miles ahead of us. 

[FifeSons]

2 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

That was as enjoyable and stress free a game as I've been to in a long time. We absolutely cruised it and looked like a side from a higher division turning up and doing a job on a side from a lower league. As harsh and arrogant as I'm aware that will sound to someone who wasn't there.

That’s exactly what the Scottish cup tie felt like!

[FifeSons]

Another break to head into on the back of a cruising 4 goal away win. Hopefully we carry on where we left off, unlike the last one.

[Jan Vojáček]

5 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

That’s exactly what the Scottish cup tie felt like!

It was very similar to that actually. Except we were better than that night and Clyde were worse.