St Mirren v Livi 25/11/23

[ATLIS]

18 minutes ago, Monkey socks said:

I've just about had it with Martindales myopic loyalty to Shinnie, Sean Kelly and Nouble .  Struggling to find any positive about their performances today and it has been like that for weeks. The constant thumping the ball up the park brings zero results other than it coming straight back to us. Steven Kelly and Bradley are questionably two of our most talented players but they are bench warmers at the moment. Two  full backs in Brandon and MacKay  looking on when we were getting ripped time and time again down our right hand side today but the tactics did not change.  If we don't get a result against Ross County I think we will be looking upwards at 11 teams above us for most of the season.

Did you miss the fact that Danny was out injured for today?  

[btb]

17 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Grieve was the only one offside when the free kick was swung in (from my angle in W2). As far as I remember Grieve wasn't in any way involved in the subsequent play that led to the ball hitting the net. It just seems to me that the VAR 'judges' always want to find any feeble excuse to disallow goals.

Bottom line is professional footballers cheat, I reckon there won't be many goals where there isn't an attacking player bending the rules and you can then go back to when the ball was turned over, there's usually some contact involved - VAR just seems so arbitrary.

[Troy.1995]

40 minutes ago, Monkey socks said:

I've just about had it with Martindales myopic loyalty to Shinnie, Sean Kelly and Nouble .  Struggling to find any positive about their performances today and it has been like that for weeks. The constant thumping the ball up the park brings zero results other than it coming straight back to us. Steven Kelly and Bradley are questionably two of our most talented players but they are bench warmers at the moment. Two  full backs in Brandon and MacKay  looking on when we were getting ripped time and time again down our right hand side today but the tactics did not change.  If we don't get a result against Ross County I think we will be looking upwards at 11 teams above us for most of the season.

So what would you suggest . 

[FTOF]

Over the past few seasons Livingston have actually played some decent football.

Today was just hoofball and nothing else. It effectively rendered Nouble, who is a decent player, completely redundant.

If Martindale is going to persist with that all season, then you could be in even deeper shit come the end of the season.

We weren't great at all, but we did try and play some football on the ground. Unsurprisingly, it led to our better moves.

Great pass from Boyd-Munce for the goal, but still needs to contribute more for me.

Ayunga put in a great shift and Gogic had another great game. Kiltie was great in the first half.

Thought Bolton looked quite imposing in his short appearance. Liked the look of Nahmani too. I think he's going to be important for us.

With injuries and suspensions starting to bite, we're going to see a few tweaks here and there.

With a squad as small as ours we're going to have to rely on a lot of players who haven't played a lot this season to step up to the plate.

 

 

 

[Monkey socks]

1 hour ago, Troy.1995 said:

So what would you suggest . 

I'd suggest selecting a team without players who have contributed next to he -haw in the last 4 to 5 weeks and give others a chance. Thought that was clear enough in my post.

[Monkey socks]

1 hour ago, ATLIS said:

Did you miss the fact that Danny was out injured for today?  

I stand corrected.

[Micky]

Thought we dominated the first half without creating much and the second was much scrappier. Taylor was excellent till his injury ..hope it’s not as bad as it looked. Gogic and Taylor remind me of Andy Millen and a young Kirk Broadfoot. The older guy talking the youngster through every game. 
 

Gogic has been , generally, superb this season with two shockers (Hibs and Dundee). No surprise to me they were Taylor’s worst displays too. 
 

I’d love to see Nahmani get a run in the side. I  think there’s going to be goals in him but Robbo likes his big men up front. If Mandron and Jonah stay fit I don’t think we’ll see many changes till late in the game. 
 

Needed the win after a couple of v poor displays and still clear in third ahead of a lot of teams with vastly greater resources than ourselves. Strain and Baccus to come back. Mon the Saints. 

[bishoptonbuddie]

Another case of a somewhat unremarkable performance that has brought us three points. You could argue that has been the story of our season – and that isn't meant as a negative in the slightest, at the end of the day it's the points that matter. We have found a way to grind out results, with the odd cracker and the odd stinker thrown into the mix.

Always felt we were in control of the game apart from the odd few minutes here and there. Admittedly, Livingston would have got a point had it not been for a heroic save from Hemming, who is fair racking up a highlight reel. I know a few people weren't blown away by McMenamin playing at right wing back, but considering it isn't his main position, I thought he acquitted himself relatively well. Likewise, I thought Tanser was very good and some of his deliveries were superb and caused Livingston problems.

For balance, we struggled to gain a solid foothold in the middle of the park. O'Hara's distribution remains poor and has a lot of hit and hopes which result in thrown-ins and a raised hand in apology. Boyd-Munce's ball for the goal was brilliant but he really doesn't dominate games. It won't happen but I would love us to sign someone with a little bit of dig in the middle of the park  or just play Baccus every time he is fit, which hasn't always been the case.

Ayunga looked like he has never been away, and Kiltie produced one of his best performances in the stripes. Room for improvement but another three points.

Quick note on Livingston. They look a team devoid of ideas. They lack a creative spark, and even if they had one, they attempt to eliminate the midfield at all costs. Having been at the game at Almondvale earlier in the season, I can't believe Martindale continues to persist with Guthrie, he is up there with the most unimpressive players in the league, while Nottingham looked a bit of bombscare today. I know Sean Kelly has been a mainstay but surely he can't be the answer either.

[Freedom Farter]

Devlin was too slow to handle Kiltie in the first half. That was particularly highlighted when Kiltie broke away from him for the goal. De Lucas or Welch-Hayes both have the pace to have fared better against Kiltie so either should've been playing at right centre back with Devlin on the left. That couldn't happen, though, because Martindale has to have his boy Sean Kelly in the team.

Nottingham was also caught slow on the turn for the St Mirren goal, letting Mandron ahead of him who then pressured Kelly into the own goal. Yet otherwise, it was a very encouraging full debut for Nottingham. He showed he can do the Obileye role in the centre if Obileye himself isn't there. In Nottingham, Obileye, Devlin, De Lucas, Montaño and Welch-Hayes, we have competent choices for a back three.

I don't ever want to see Sean Kelly or Parkes in a Livi defence again. I'm fucking sick of those two especially when we consider their presence meant the promising Boyes was punted.

You can't play Guthrie and leave Stephen Kelly on the bench. Its a crime against football. You find a way to get your best players on the pitch not your most shite ones.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Freedom Farter

[Billy Jean King]

Best two players out and best player on the park stretchered off on a pitch that was akin to something from the 70s (was the USH just not turned on or is it not working properly?).

We ground it out which is extremely pleasing. Kiltie excellent, Mcmenamin better today and a match winning save by Hemming at the death. These are the games we have to win to challenge for Europe and we found a way. Hopefully Taylor isn't too seriously injured as we will miss him. He had the cigar out today before that incident. 

[Molotov]

32 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

was the USH just not turned on or is it not working properly?

I heard Robbo commenting on the pitch conditions post match yesterday.

Bit concerning that our pitch was not in good shape yesterday. 

Normally you see the USH system functioning at the away end when it’s as cold as yesterday.

Wonder if the club have forgotten to get it serviced once again. 

Also noticed that our new stadium screen had a number of dead pixels showing up when it displayed certain images. 

All minor issues when another victory see us on target for a European place.

I really fancy us this season for a long run in the Scottish cup. But then I feel that way every year. 

[elvis]

I noticed that  with the scoreboard should be covered under Warrenty.

[Munoz]

16 minutes ago, Molotov said:

I heard Robbo commenting on the pitch conditions post match yesterday.

Bit concerning that our pitch was not in good shape yesterday. 

Normally you see the USH system functioning at the away end when it’s as cold as yesterday.

Wonder if the club have forgotten to get it serviced once again. 

Also noticed that our new stadium screen had a number of dead pixels showing up when it displayed certain images. 

All minor issues when another victory see us on target for a European place.

I really fancy us this season for a long run in the Scottish cup. But then I feel that way every year. 

Celtic at Parkhead for us in the draw today now. 

[FTOF]

2 minutes ago, Molotov said:

I heard Robbo commenting on the pitch conditions post match yesterday.

Bit concerning that our pitch was not in good shape yesterday. 

Normally you see the USH system functioning at the away end when it’s as cold as yesterday.

Wonder if the club have forgotten to get it serviced once again. 

Also noticed that our new stadium screen had a number of dead pixels showing up when it displayed certain images. 

All minor issues when another victory see us on target for a European place.

I really fancy us this season for a long run in the Scottish cup. But then I feel that way every year. 

I suspect that was functioning fine, as evidenced by soft conditions underfoot.

However, it was probably at the setting which doesn't melt any hoar frost on the surface. The reason why most of the pitch seemed frost free on the surface would have been due to the sun hitting those parts of the pitch. The bit in front of the family stand was shaded from the sun so the surface frost persisted. This coupled with the temperature barely rising above zero degrees, led to that particularly slippy part of the pitch, which shouldn't have happened.

Looks like they'll have to put up to the setting that melts any surface ice/snow next time. Although I remember a few years ago a figure of £1K being quoted per day for the USH and it having to be switched on from Wednesday until match day. Can only think that that cost has at least doubled. A fair drain on the finances. Maybe climate change will help us out.

A lesson learned.

[Buttocks Brown]

Yeah, a quarter of the pitch being covered in frost was not too clever. There must have been a few worried members of staff yesterday lunchtime.

I just assumed that the USH hadn't been on at all and we'd been caught out by the overnight temperature.

[AW saint]

Our games relies on Strain and Tanser. An on form Strain makes us tick with his ability to move us up the park on the right. 

It was highlighted before that we are using the left side more. Tanser does what Strain does on the opposite side. With both playing we switch it about but with only one we are too one sided. 

McMenamin is an inigma. There is a player there but he flatters to deceive. I am yet to be totally convinced by him. 

He did ok yesterday but I would prefer Bolton played full back. 

[Torfason]

3 hours ago, AW saint said:

Our games relies on Strain and Tanser. An on form Strain makes us tick with his ability to move us up the park on the right. 

It was highlighted before that we are using the left side more. Tanser does what Strain does on the opposite side. With both playing we switch it about but with only one we are too one sided. 

McMenamin is an inigma. There is a player there but he flatters to deceive. I am yet to be totally convinced by him. 

He did ok yesterday but I would prefer Bolton played full back. 

I read when we signed him that he was exceptionally quick, the few times he took on the fullback for pace he didn't have it. 

I thought he did okay though, given he was being played out of position. 

[btb]

Really pleased with yesterday's result as I always feel it's a bit of a downer losing the game before an international break.

The win shows we remain competitive against our fellow diddy clubs (even it they have sussed our style @elvis).

A third of the season gone and the division is starting to revert to form, the OF clear at the top but maybe not so dominant as previous seasons and the Edinburgh teams in the Top6 with only Aberdeen lower down the table than you'd expect - I'm hopeful that we can repeat last season and be the best of the diddy clubs.

Lang may ye stay Robbo!