Pars vs Arbroath - Tue 28th Nov

[Heaton]

1 minute ago, VinnyPar said:

Pretty sure we never went to a 4 but a 3 with Comrie, Hammy, Otoo with MoH and Edwards as the wing backs.

Yup

[parsboi]

19 minutes ago, Wacky said:

IMO, that’s not the kind of player we need. If other teams can see that then he isn’t worth a wage. I think he has one decent game in 5-6, and we shouldn’t be settling for that. He was good last season in the level below, but going by what you’re saying I’m thinking that this level is a step too far for him? 

I think it would help if he had the right midfield partners with him too.  We miss Otoo in there in my opinion, a result of our poor signing policy in the summer which continued to make us heavily reliant on keeping centre backs fit.  Just because in an emergency Otoo and Hamilton (and Comrie) can play there, doesn’t mean we should structure the squad to make that a regular occurrence!  Bizarrely I think Chalmers would be ok in some Premier League teams, if he had space and time.  League 1 we dominated games and he had space and time to dictate games, in the premier league with better players round him and more time on the ball, he’d be fine.  At blood and thunder championship level, when teams press up against us, he will struggle, and I’ll go one further and say Allan is of the same cloth.  Neither are bad players, but both require different midfield partners to help bear the load.
 

I don’t think Chalmers is alone in this issue at this level either in our squad.  I think Mehmets confidence is too fragile, and as an opposing manager I’d have the ball right on top of him early doors as he simply doesn’t cope well with pressure like that.  
 

When it comes to the crunch, I don’t think McPake has dealt fully with some of the recurring issues from our relegation in 2022; the two examples above illustrate that.  What I found very interesting was the new contracts and lengths handed out to some of the more senior players like Mehmet and O Halleron for example.  Last night O Halleron was decent.  In fact him, Wighton and Jakubiak all did very well when they came on.  But as senior pros in this squad, I’m expecting so much more consistency and impact from them over the next few weeks.

When January comes if there aren’t two new centre backs appearing in our squad and a new keeper to replace Sharp and properly challenge Mehmet, then I do really wonder if McPake and the board are watching the same sport as I am.  It’s THAT obvious to me that it’s what we need.

[Wacky]

20 minutes ago, parsboi said:

I think it would help if he had the right midfield partners with him too.  We miss Otoo in there in my opinion, a result of our poor signing policy in the summer which continued to make us heavily reliant on keeping centre backs fit.  Just because in an emergency Otoo and Hamilton (and Comrie) can play there, doesn’t mean we should structure the squad to make that a regular occurrence!  Bizarrely I think Chalmers would be ok in some Premier League teams, if he had space and time.  League 1 we dominated games and he had space and time to dictate games, in the premier league with better players round him and more time on the ball, he’d be fine.  At blood and thunder championship level, when teams press up against us, he will struggle, and I’ll go one further and say Allan is of the same cloth.  Neither are bad players, but both require different midfield partners to help bear the load.
 

I don’t think Chalmers is alone in this issue at this level either in our squad.  I think Mehmets confidence is too fragile, and as an opposing manager I’d have the ball right on top of him early doors as he simply doesn’t cope well with pressure like that.  
 

When it comes to the crunch, I don’t think McPake has dealt fully with some of the recurring issues from our relegation in 2022; the two examples above illustrate that.  What I found very interesting was the new contracts and lengths handed out to some of the more senior players like Mehmet and O Halleron for example.  Last night O Halleron was decent.  In fact him, Wighton and Jakubiak all did very well when they came on.  But as senior pros in this squad, I’m expecting so much more consistency and impact from them over the next few weeks.

When January comes if there aren’t two new centre backs appearing in our squad and a new keeper to replace Sharp and properly challenge Mehmet, then I do really wonder if McPake and the board are watching the same sport as I am.  It’s THAT obvious to me that it’s what we need.

All very good and valid points neebs. One thing we all agree on is January has to bring in some new players for the front and back lines of our squad. That in itself will help strengthen our midfield, and turn our season around 

[Salvo Montalbano]

3 hours ago, Wacky said:

So, did I just imagine it or did Chalmers play the ball forward more than usual last night? He still did the usual stuff from him, but I thought he played with a bit more forward momentum.

It was a strange performance from Chalmers I thought. In the first half a few times be broke forward, played a few forward passes and it looked like it was going to be a good night for him. Then he went back to the "must take five touches and slow it down, must use my left foot when a simple 5 yard pass with the right is on" etc stuff we usually get. Second half he was a bit better but everyone was as we had more space to exploit.

3 hours ago, Wacky said:

I felt a bit sorry for travelling Arbroath fans, you could see some of  their players heads going down when the ten minute added board went up. Their team looked ready for the final whistle in the last 10-15 minutes. 

What board? Surely there wasn't a fourth official there? It wasn't announced over the tannoy if there was an indication that there was 10 minutes to be played.

41 minutes ago, VinnyPar said:

Pretty sure we never went to a 4 but a 3 with Comrie, Hammy, Otoo with MoH and Edwards as the wing backs.

Correct, and assuming the game goes ahead on Saturday I assume that will be what we'll start with against Queens Park. Arbroath never really troubled them but QP will likely be a sterner test.

39 minutes ago, parsboi said:

When January comes if there aren’t two new centre backs appearing in our squad and a new keeper to replace Sharp and properly challenge Mehmet, then I do really wonder if McPake and the board are watching the same sport as I am.  It’s THAT obvious to me that it’s what we need

Think that's fair enough but it's difficult getting quality in during the January window. Probably looking at loan signings again which can be hit and miss, especially at this level.

[parsboi]

3 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

What board? Surely there wasn't a fourth official there? It wasn't announced over the tannoy if there was an indication that there was 10 minutes to be played.

A board was held up by the touch line at 90 minutes showing “10”, not sure by who and you’re right no announcement but definitely happened

[CallumPar]

4 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

 

What board? Surely there wasn't a fourth official there? It wasn't announced over the tannoy if there was an indication that there was 10 minutes to be played.

 

After we scored the 3rd goal, the linesman approached our bench and we put up the board to indicate 10 mins being added on.

[craigkillie]

The ref was probably keen to indicate it to the crowd since it was an unusually high amount of added time.

[Wacky]

4 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

What board? Surely there wasn't a fourth official there? It wasn't announced over the tannoy if there was an indication that there was 10 minutes to be played.

I don’t actually know who she is, but it’s a blond woman I’ve seen around EEP for years. She used to stand in the enclosure with the groundskeepers a good few tears ago, she held up an electric board with a big red 10 on it. There was no green number as in substitutions being made. I sit in the main stand and seen her clearly 

[Salvo Montalbano]

That's so weird. Never seen that at a game without a fourth official before.

[parsboi]

4 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

The ref was probably keen to indicate it to the crowd since it was an unusually high amount of added time.

An attack of common sense officiating in Scottish Football.  This will be stamped out rapid.

[CallumPar]

1 minute ago, craigkillie said:

The ref was probably keen to indicate it to the crowd since it was an unusually high amount of added time.

Thats certainly what I thought. Good on the officials for finding a way to let the fans know what was happening. Obviously there were 2 lengthy delays for injuries before the 90th minute, so I was expecting a lot of added on time. But I thought it was decent of the officials to ask someone to put up a board.

[Wacky]

4 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

That's so weird. Never seen that at a game without a fourth official before.

I was surprised myself to be honest, because I’ve not seen that for a long time at any Pars game home or away. 

[Wacky]

7 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

The ref was probably keen to indicate it to the crowd since it was an unusually high amount of added time.

Has to be this. 

[Stellaboz]

Just watched the highlights. 

Great following up by Edwards and Wighton for our goals. Been screaming all season long that we've had nobody trying to follow up on these sort of chances. I've saw a little criticism for Wighton in that he should have scored more, and that his finishes weren't particularly impressive. Doesn't matter if they go in, couldn't care if we score 5 goals and every one of them is scrappy AF. He got into plenty positions to have a decent attempt which is encouraging. The ball from McCann near the end from the right side was sublime. Great to see a shut out as well, must be confidence boosting all round.

The 3 additional injuries are just frustrating AF, especially KRH's. Sounded like they are all just horrible luck. Last season we had a lot of luck, this season none whatsoever. Hopefully all 3 will be available again ASAP. 

 

How did Edwards play? I've always been of the thinking that when he plays well, the team generally seem to play well. 

[HoBNob]

1 hour ago, Wacky said:

I don’t actually know who she is, but it’s a blond woman I’ve seen around EEP for years. She used to stand in the enclosure with the groundskeepers a good few tears ago, she held up an electric board with a big red 10 on it. There was no green number as in substitutions being made. I sit in the main stand and seen her clearly 

I beleive her name is Sammi? Beleive she assists Mo Hutton. 

[Wacky]

10 minutes ago, HoBNob said:

I beleive her name is Sammi? Beleive she assists Mo Hutton. 

Does she wear a tammi tho? 

[AlwaysAPar]

It seems I watched a different first half to everyone else on this thread! I thought the booing was harsh.
We know McPake loves a slow first half so by that standard I thought we were decent. Some nice build-up play at times and a few half decent chances. We were in control and I was confident we would be able to find a goal. It was very similar to a lot of our games last season, which isn’t a great sign for Arbroath.

Based purely off of our own interactions with them, Arbroath seem even worse than Morton and must be in serious trouble. We may be nothing special at the moment but at least we can see there is a gap in quality between ourselves and the bottom two.

[VinnyPar]

15 minutes ago, AlwaysAPar said:

It seems I watched a different first half to everyone else on this thread! I thought the booing was harsh.
We know McPake loves a slow first half so by that standard I thought we were decent. Some nice build-up play at times and a few half decent chances. We were in control and I was confident we would be able to find a goal. It was very similar to a lot of our games last season, which isn’t a great sign for Arbroath.

Based purely off of our own interactions with them, Arbroath seem even worse than Morton and must be in serious trouble. We may be nothing special at the moment but at least we can see there is a gap in quality between ourselves and the bottom two.

You definitely did.

[parsforlife]

15 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

 

Bizarre end to the game - into the 103rd minute (must be about the latest we've played without it going to extra time) 

 

Nah,  it will be well behind the games we have had to have a replacement ref, that takes ages to sort out.

[The Toun Clock]

4 hours ago, VinnyPar said:

Pretty sure we never went to a 4 but a 3 with Comrie, Hammy, Otoo with MoH and Edwards as the wing backs.

You're right, me and my mates actually discussed going to a back four when we seen Jakubiak coming on, but he didn't do that. Still, when Jakubiak came on I felt him, Wighton, McCann and MOH linked up so well.