joewarkfanclub

Having Spittal and Slattery in advanced roles playing balls into the channels for him would be playing to his strengths. He is strong and has pace to burn. I think the 5-4-1 with the diamond would do that. We were able to control the midfield in those games. It was just a bit toothless with Bair up front on his own. Mika is different gravy. If we accept we arent getting any of injured players back, I think we could do worse than start with this..... Kelly (sic) SOD Mugabi Blaney Spencer Davor Gent Slattery Paton Spittal Biereth

He did more than any other player to ensure we got the last 3 points we won at Hearts. His form since then has mirrored that of the team as a whole.....

I actually like Obika. He didnt have his best game on Saturday, but of the strikers we have, I think he has the most attributes to be a decent foil for Biereth if given time. Just as he was for KVV last season. He has a good touch for a big guy and holds the ball up fairly well. Again, I think its a matter of us not playing to his strengths at the moment and the fact he has been injured and not had a run of games. He is not very good in the air but we persisted in shelling long balls over his head on Saturday. Play it into his chest or feet and we will see some joy and it well get us up the park into a more stable position to develop attacks. I think once he and Mika get to know each others game better and the rest of the team work out how to feed him, we will see better results. Our big issue right now is our results have been so honking, too few have any patience left to see if it will work. Whether he will score enough goals himself to keep everyone happy remains to be seen, but Id take him scoring a handfull if Mika can find a KVV purple patch.

PS our squad is not utter shite, pish or any other adjective folk want to label it. The St Mirren, Rangers and Celtic performances only a few weeks ago showed they can play in the right system and when their confidence hasnt been eroded to almost zero. Of course we lost all of those games and without going over old ground re summer signings, we were playing with our 5th choice striker at that point. This CAN be turned around, but it will take some good decision making from the manager interms of team selection and tactics, better decision making on the field by the players, and dare I say a wee bit of luck We've contributed to our own downfall on this run no doubt, but we havent been able to catch a break either.

I actually agree with the logic of all of that. But its still a tough watch to see someone who has been such a reliable performer for us having a mare every week. At what point do you think the player needs to be protected?

Aye but he is claret & amber on the inside! 😉

How many fit players will we have available? Casey and Butcher will almost certainly still both be out. Not sure about the timescale for McGinns return. Was 6 weeks from time of operation whenever that was. Hopefully Mika's knock isnt too serious given he was able to finish the game. Blaney also looked to be hobbling near the end. We could do with catching a break at some point!

Bring Las home?

Im still on the fence with Kettlewell after today for a miriad of reasons. The most important is that I really want him to succeed and see us end this cycle of ditching managers every 8 months as that in itself will eventually result in a relegation. We cant keep spunking money on managers and allowing them to change the squad every window. We arent flush with cash and we need to spend it wisely in order to remain competitive. If we were detatched at the bottom and/or the players had chucked it, then I would back a change immediately as relegation would be imminent in any case. But we are not there yet. We are still in touch with the teams above us and the players, regardless of how poorly they have been playing, repeatedly go to the end for the manager. Having a habit of digging points out of nothing from nowhere is a good habit to have. The same players also produced some of the best football Ive seen us play since McGhees first spell as recently as 10/11 games ago. That said, we cant ignore the run we are on and we really really need to get a win from somewhere soon. Todays team selection, albeit somewhat enforced, was closer to what we should be looking like. We were much harder to break down and St Johnstone offered nothing until Kelly gifted them their goal. Stop doing that and you get a foundation to play from. Davor looked more than decent today and if Gent hadnt had such a good game he would have been my MOTM. He, Gent and Spencer should definitely keep their places. SK wasnt fired after Tuesday, so he wont be fired after today. I think he can still turn this around. But he needs to take some ownership for the poor decisions he has made in the last few weeks and be brave in his decision making in the next few weeks if he is to make it to the transfer window. I understand how difficult it is to drop your captain when he is a Scottish international and was a major part of your early success, but at some point you need to take the player out of the firing line before his confidence is damaged ireparably. If Oxborough is that bad then he really shouldnt be at the club. I thought SOD actually had a decent enough game today at RCB but if he is to keep his place it shouldnt be at the expense of Spencer or Gent. Once Butcher, Casey and McGinn are fit, then they should be the ones in the conversation to pick the best 3 from 6 centrebacks. If he does make it to the window then SK also needs to take ownership of transfers. There is clearly a huge question mark over Daws and what if any value he brings to the club. I wouldnt be trusting him in isolation if my job depended on it. If he gets all that right, and its a huge if, he might just get thru this. If not, he will either be gone, or we could be staring a relegation in the face.

We dont employ any elite sportspeople. There is a reason for that too!

He probably deserved a booking as well, but Jayesimi was the one that really ripped ma knitting.......

PS A word for the ref today? I like a guy who tries to let the game flow and keeps his cards in his pocket, but cheesey peeps! The repetitive fouling and shirt pulling from some of their players was ridiculous! Jayesimi in particular was one of the worst offenders! Hiw he wasnt carded Ive no idea! Rant over.......

Thought it was a solid if unspectacular first half today, but given our current predicament I was more than happy with it. St Johnstone never troubled us and Kelly had nothing to do. We didnt create any clear cut chances but we definitely threatened their box more than they did ours. Second half turned on that absolute howler from Kelly. Terrible decision from a player whose confidence is clearly rock bottom. Unsurprisingly our heads went down for a period and we could have conceded a second before we steadied the ship. The subs, somewhat surprisingly did make a difference and Bair's cross for the equaliser was excellent. The players are clearly still behind the manager and that might just keep him in a job a while longer. Hopefully he will realise that Gent, and Davor can be trusted and that the goalkeeping position needs looked at. We cant keep gifting teams goals and expect to win football matches. The injuries and suspensions are a concern. We could really do with one or 2 more being available next week. The holding pattern continues.......

I went for Gent as well. Very solid display defensively and gave us the much needed width we have been missing. Thought Davor also had a very good game. Makes you wonder why neither of them have had a sniff of a start until they were the only fit players left.

I never said it never happened. Just said I never understood it. Totally counter productive. Pretty sure the fans berating the players want the team to do better. But their actions arent going to help. Players being told they are shite mostly go into their shell and become frightened to try anything remotely risky. Its why a run of results like this becomes self perpetuating as confidence drains game by game. By all means, berate away, but you arent helping the team by doing so.

So looks like Butcher, Casey and McGinn are out for Saturday. Doesnt bode well at CB, but might force SK into playing Spencer and Gent in their natural positions if we only have SOD, Mugabi & Blaney available for the back 3. Hopefully no more Wilkinson in midfield either!

He did. He would just prefer if the fans left it until the end of the game. I think thats also fair comment. Ive never understood fans berating players in the middle of a game. I dint know anyone who goes to work and gets better at their job by being shouted at whilst their doing it. By all means shout encouragement. But screaming at someone how shite they are only ever has a negative effect. Saturday is huge. Lets get behind the team for 90 minutes. If they lose and the performance is another gutless one, then SK, the players and the board become fair game.

I thought the opposite. Considering the run we are on and how much pressure he is under, I thought he sounded quite upbeat. My concern is what he means by back to basics. If he means keep it simple and hoof it forward and play your football in the final third, we could be in for a long afternoon. We have already shown that we are not very good at that and that its a total waste of Mika's talent. Hopefully he has remembered what made him and us successful last season and try and replicate that.

The 5-4-1 can work if the 4 is a diamond and Spittal is the one trying to get up in support of the lone striker who at this point would be Mika, a massive upgrade on Bair. But if we are going to create sufficient chances and not let the midfield be overun as has happened regularly during this awful run, then the wingbacks need to be dynamic enough to get up and down the park. Unfortunately for him thats not SOD. Although given our injuries at CB he might still get a place in there this week. Assuming that Casey, Butcher and Mugabi are all injured, that would leave us with.... Kelly SOD Mcginn Blaney Spencer Gent Davor Slattery Paton Spittal Biereth If Mugabi or Butcher are fit and/or McGinn isnt then the back 3 could be any 3 from 5.

Sorry, but if the board dont intervene and SK cant see the wood for the trees, what happens then? Relegation? Sack SK? I agree that the board should be reviewing matters so we dont make the same mistakes again, but we are a club. All the working parts need to be in communication with each other. That probably includes the fans given we are a fan owned club.

This ^^^

I voted. Hopefully for individuals that would push for change......

Hopefully McGinn and Mugabi are fit. Otherwise we are looking at SOD, Blaney and a.n.other as our 3 CB's....

You've got me. See you there......

As a self confessed "happy clapper" I have to agree. Faddy should be nowhere near the job. Similar to Hammell, who I didnt think should have been appointed, but backed to the hilt until the bitter end. Its kinda what supporters are supposed to do.