joewarkfanclub

Fans will still be unhappy. But not on the same scale as they will if we go down doing the same thing and in the same gutless fashion. Your loyalty to the club and the manager is admirable. But here is a question for you. At what point does your critical thinking kick in and question whether he is still the right man for the job? Or does he have your unwavering support regardless of the circumstances?

I think thats a fair point. Alexander failed to learn a single thing from the Sligo home game and played exactly the same way in the away leg and got the same result. If SK does the same, he should expect the wrath of the fabs to come down on him. It would be an absolutely ludicrous thing to do.

We played some good stuff when he immediately took over and some of the football we played last year with Spittal, Miller, Paton and Slattery/Nicholson was excellent. So it hasnt all been awful to watch. This season has been a different matter, with the odd exception here and there, its been pretty ugly. Robinsons Thunderdome team wasnt the prettiest, but it was still exciting. Thats the difference hear. Its ugly AND boring. We are also way too passive.

I would say Robinson and Kettlewell are similar in a lot of respects. The main difference is that when Robinson finally realised his preferred way of playing wasnt working, he did change it up and did something different. Obviously that also went tits up in the end. SK still has time to show he can re-invent himself and this team, but he needs to do it soon before he totally loses the support, or the booing will only get louder.

Thanks for the clarification, and I dont disagree with most if it. Modern life in general is far less tolerant than it used to be. Society has been groomed to want the next best thing now and that you dont necessarily have to wait or work hard for it. No doubt Wee Tommy would have found it tough in the current circumstances. I dont think you are in the minority though wanting SK to get it right and turn things around. Ive been beating the Slattery, Nicholson, Paton, Miller drum for a while. I (and a number of our other more patient posters) just think time is running out and the manager needs to show a realisation that there are more ways to win a game of football than the one currently being employed. He needs to buy himself time until his favoured midfield / set up is fit and available to play. Saturday is a must win. Any way possible. I dont care how ugly it is or what tactics require to be employed. But we need to give ourselves some breathing space again. That said, the same passive long ball tactics which have been failing, would be unacceptable.

I normally enjoy your posts as they are always thoughtful and well reasoned, but I think you are off the mark with this one. The manager and the team may or may not be in turmoil, I would say thats quite a subjective assessment. But things in the garden are certainly not rosy. We have a squad with 9 injured players, several of them long term, a situation which has been pretty much ever present since the start of the season. The team is misfiring badly and is struggling to create any meaningful chances, far less score consistently. We cant keep a clean sheet. We have a manager who is wedded to a system he doesnt have the players to implement and shows no sign of changing it. The style of football has been terrible for large parts of the season and we just got knocked out of the cup by the worst team in the league without so much as a whimper. Ive defended SK on here for the most part as there has been plenty of mitigation for performances and the circumstances he has had to face. We ARE still in a reasonably healthy position in the league, and until that changes he does deserve the opportunity to turn things around. But lets not pretend its a conversation that shouldnt be happening, because its getting talked about plenty in the stands and in the pubs. Thats not to say the discourse surrounding the subject cant be more respectful. But we shouldnt be comparing this place to Twitter or Facebook.

Exactly this. Simo knew exactly how we were going to play on Saturday, regardless of the personnel and he set his team up accordingly with a high press, knowing our 3 x CBs wouldnt be able to cope with it and would end up hoofing it long. SK has shown that he is willing and the players are capable of changing things up later in games. He needs to change what we are doing from the start and pose teams different questions. We are currently less than the sum of our parts. He needs to find a way to build a better collective.

Agreed.

Its the risk vs reward thing. Its a much bigger risk sacking a manager sitting 5th, even if the form is patchy and football honking. If we were producing the same and we were sitting where St Johnstone are you really have nothing to lose as you are going down anyway. That and the injury situation are the main reasons Im sticking with him for now, but if nothing changes in the next few weeks and we get dragged back down into the pack, I maybe forced to re-evaluate. Saturday is huge for the manager.

It was awesome. Fair took my mind off the fitba!

Nicholson. The only player who showed any fight, spirit or footballing ability.

No interest in going to this one. Or any other away game until the manager and the team prove they are worthy of such support. Might not even bother watching a stream if there is one. The manager needs this one. Win, and maybe the players are still with him. Lose, in another gutless performance devoid of evidence of any tactical shape and I may be forced to cross the floor to Wellfan's side of the chamber!

At the Trail West gig trying to forgive myself for deciding to go to Perth and witness that horror show in person! There's no arguing from me that it hasnt been a shitshow all season. The only debate is whether SK can turn it around, or whether we think anyone else would do better. The latter shouldnt even be a consideration until the former reaches its natural conclusion. Yesterday was definitely a huge tick in the against column for me. Im broadly sympathetic re the injury situation and the limitations that puts on the side, but you cant go into a cup game against the bottom team in the league with such a big away support and not want it more than the other team. Yesterday was the first signs Ive seen that the manager might be losing the dressing room. The body language was poor all over the park. If that happens he is done for. Thats why next Saturday is huge for him.

A broken clock is right twice a day.....

Took a night off to digest that yesterday and offer thoughts when less emotional. Firstly what a great away support yesterday. Large in numbers, but also started the game in good voice. Much better than the team. Couldnt really argue much with the starting line up due to injuries and differing levels of fitness, but it wasnt long before the same old mistakes reared their ugly head. Slow ponderous possession. Wing backs way too deep to help an overun midfield and literally zero secure possession to build any play from. The worrying thing for me was the body language of some of the players. Something has changed and some of them clearly look like they no longer believe what the manager is telling them. Others look like they dont understand what they are being asked to do and as a result you get the impression of a team that isnt trying. I dont believe that to be the case, but its very difficult to give your best if none of the building blocks are there to allow you to do so. Felt really sorry for Kai Andrews yesterday. He was having a poor game no doubt. But he is one of the few actual footballers we have at the club and he was left cruelly exposed yesterday with little or no support. Hooking him felt harsh, and I felt there were other options that could have been explored to support him rather than remove him from the game. Thought the one bright spot in the first half was Nicholson. I had forgotten what a good footballer he is. Hopefully he can build up his fitness and become an integral part of the team in the second half of the season. Second half was a bit better, was just a shame Nicholson couldnt last the 90 minutes as it would have been nice to have seen him and Slattery on the pitch together but clearly they need their minutes carefully managed to prevent any relapse. Overall, a depressingly predictable performance and result which reduces the second half of the season to a scrap towards safety. The supports patience with the manager is clearly wearing thin and he will have to dig out some results in the next few weeks if he is going to avoid it all turning a bit toxic. Our league position keeps him safe for now, but if we get dragged down into the battle for the play off place, the wolves will rightly start to circle. He needs a tactical re-think or a big window (or both) to stall the immediate decline in our fortunes until he can get our better players back fit and into the first team. If he does that he will survive. If he doesnt, then this happy clapper will have to admit its time for him to go.