joewarkfanclub

I did notice the ball at the corner thing last night and wondered about that. However, I think its like the ball over the goal line. You need to see the ball from directly above. The ball can be over the corner arc from above without actually touching the line on the grass.

Not sure I would read too much into that. The rest of the squad are still together. Evidenced by the fact that we nearly scored another late winner last night. Id guess SK wasnt happy it never stood because of Butchers push. And Butcher is just a torn faced destroyer who hates losing. Pretty sure they all shook hands later once the red mist subsided......

Ah bollocks! Id kinda forgotten he was on loan as we have him next season. Thats a bit shite really!

Not sure Blaney is the answer, but we havent been any more secure with Butcher at the back. He is supposed to be the organiser, but I havent seen any improvement in that area and he is as slow as a week in the jail. Certainly not the player he was at the end of last season. Really hope its not one injury too far for the fella. Given his age and how serious it was, I suspect he is done. Quite like the rest of your selection, although I do hope Halliday is fit. Bit more bite in centre of midfield than Miller and he will have a point to prove. Nice to have options though. Lets hope SK can use them wisely.

I really liked some of the football we played tonight. There is no doubt the midfield and strikers are buying into the managers philosophy and it is quite pleasing on the eye at times. I just wish he was able to get the same level of buy in/performance from the defence. This is where ours and SKs real problems lie.

I agree. Feels like an extended trial. Otherwise why sign Devine and put him straight into the team?

Love us to win this one, but I suspect it will be another in a long line of draws. Still, will keep us unbeaten in the league this year.

Thought Jack Vale had a very good first half but tired badly second half. Gent had a good game going forward but not so great defensively, particularly at their second goal. Bair scored 2 but was largley anonymous second half. For me Spittal was our MoTM. His work rate is incredible, always looking to create and play a forward pass and desire to win is second to none. We really need to be working hard on getting him to sign a new contract.

Would have taken a point before the game, but that really is a disappointing capitulation at 3-0 up. Our game management is shocking and we seem to lose the same types of goal over and over again. Im not sure if its uncertainty over Kelly, lack of communication or just a lack of desire to take responsibility to defend your area, but the goals we lose always seem to be really poor. That said, we played some really good football at times, scored some good goals, and might have sneaked it at the end if hadnt been for a stupid push by Butcher. Thought Vale looked a real handful on his first start. Has a good first touch and a bit of pace. Looking forward to seeing how he develops. Gent and Devine were both very good going forward, not so good coming back the way, particularly Devine who got a bit of a roasting from Duk. It was pretty pleasing that Duk didnt get much of a sniff after SOD came on after Stevie Tosh dissed him so much on coming on. It was the only sub that SK made that I really agreed with. Bringing Nicholson on I guess made sense, but I wouldnt have taken Davor off as it left us weaker at the back. Obika for Vale was also such a poor substutution as it rendered 2 up front practically useless due to Obika having no pace whatsoever. I get Vale had run his race and is still short of match fitness, but I didnt feel any of our subs (other than SOD) improved what was happening on the park. Overall, we have kept our noses ahead of Aberdeen, gone above Hibs and gained a point on Ross County. Not the worst day at the office. Just could have been so much better.

Who is the twat on Red TV with Rob McLean?

Yup. Works fine!

I think you can register for one same as you do with MFCtv. I had a few accounts during the Covid season. Not sure if Aberdeen is one of them but I will check.

As someone who has supported SK more than most, I agree with much of this. He was asked to do a job at the start of the season. Cull the squad, get the playing budget down, keep us in the league. He is still on course to do this. It has without doubt been a bumpy ride and we are not there yet. But there needs to he some realism shown to the cards dealt to him and some slack given. That said, my main issue with SK is his in game decision making which has at times been left wanting and on occasion quite baffling. He needs to get better than that and show he can effect games positively on a more consistent basis. What is not in doubt are his man management skills and his ability to keep the players with him. Queue Liam Kelly having a blinder tonight (please).......

Even if there were, they wouldnt stay with us very long. A bigger club would come and offer them more money and we would be back to square one. That doesnt mean we should stick with a manager who is failing miserably and WILL get us relegated. But it also doesnt mean we should be pulling the trigger on a manager at the first sign of adversity when the outcome isnt yet certain.

Oh, no doubt about that. I think Livvy are gone. Just dont see any way back for them. Play off place should be between ourselves, Ross County and St Johnstone. However, despite our awful run, our form since Xmas has managed to drag Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee into the equation. Given how much more money all of them have spent, Id be pretty concerned if I was them. The fact that all these teams need to play each other and will cut each others throats is a plus for me. We just need to try and make sure we are the last man standing. Big few weeks coming up.

Not sure how you can come to that conclusion when you look at the form of the teams around and behind us. They have won just as few games as we have over the course of the season and our form since Xmas has been better than most of them. We have games against Aberdeen (twice), Hibs and Livvy before the split and another round of fixtures against the bottom 6. Not saying we have any right to think we will definitely beat any of them, but by the same token, none of them have any right to think they are going to beat us.

You've made this argument before. And I agree with you up to a point. You just need to look at Derek Adams and Ross County to see what happens when you throw your players under the bus. But its a fine line to tred if a players mistakes keep costing you points. You have to carry out a profit & loss analysis and look at your alternatives. Personally, if Oxborough was a credible alternative, then I would have reached the point where Id be putting him in. SK obviously feels that Kelly does more good than bad and that Oxborough isnt good enough for our level, otherwise the scales would have tipped in his favour. Its a big call, and I hope it pays off for all parties.

I agree with this. We have roughly the 8th biggest budget/attendance in the League. Finishing 8th is par for the course. Finishing higher than that is a good season. Finishing lower than that is a poor season. Cup runs and young players coming through are the wee extras that make things enjoyable and gives you the energy and enthusiasm to keep going. So far this season we are on course to finish 8th and we have seen Lennon Miller come through and look like our next big talent. Its the Cups where we have been really disappointing.

Not much to disagree with there. I think what happens with CEO / Chairman is the most important part for me. It will dictate who the manager is and whether recruitment process is revamped That will ultimately decide who stays and goes. For once though it feels as it might be quite an exciting summer, as we have a fairly blank canvas to work with and no real dead wood. Provides at least the hope of something better next season. Whether it turns out like that though is another matter!

This is a far more nuanced response and one I wouldnt argue with. I think we all want whats best for the club and we would probably all point towards the same deficiencies. The difference would be who or what you attribute those deficiencies to and how we fix them.

Absolutely this. You can include the much bandied about "run by amateurs" in that. These guys may not be taking payment (or much of one at least) but they are successful in their own fields and doing their best to secure the future of our club. Looks to me, from the outside at least, that there is a plan in place and they are desperately trying to get it over the line. It would be great if it had been done by now, but we got a 40 minute interview explaining why that hasnt happened.

Looks like Kelly starts if todays presser is anything to go by. Manager doubling down on his support for his Captain. Loyalty is a great quality to have. But it can be blinding at times. Hopefully not the case here and Kelly repays him with a good performance

Not too many changes. But I would be sorely tempted to give Oxborough a start. I get that we dont want to upset the dynamic in the dressing room by dropping the captain, but you can also do that by making someone undroppable regardless of how many mistakes they make. Any outfield player would have been rested by now. I'd give Devine a start at RWB as he earned it with his cameo on Friday and we need that dynamism at full back to make our system work. Midfield wise Davor and Spittal are stick on's. The others would depend on whether Halliday is fit again and whether we want to play 1 or 2 up top.

Hard to put in a long term plan when everytime we hit a bad run some of our fans are screaming for the manager to be sacked. There are clearly changes requiring to be made in the structuring of the club. However, that is now underway. Once that is done hopefully the new incumbents will carry out a root and branch review of where the club is at and make the necessary changes. I get its been a shit couple of seasons and many mistakes have been made. But the darkest night is just before the dawn. We just need to get to the end of this season still in the top flight and take it from there.

Hopefully see a reaction to Friday night and a few changes to freshen things up and give Aberdeen something different to think about. We have a decent record at Puttodrie so could see us getting a draw which would keep them below us. 3 points would be tasty.