joewarkfanclub

In the last game we played nobody up top. We played 2 banks of 5 for 70 mins and when we lost the goal and did change the answer was Jordan White. No offence, but the change came too late and when made it was the wrong one. I dont think we can play open against Rangers as they have the quality to pick us off. But that doesnt mean we should just sit back and invite them onto us. We could play a high press and try and keep Tavernier and Barisic from pushing up. But thats a long shift as well and we still have Kent and Morelos to take care of. On the plus side I think Arfield and Roofe are still injured so thats 2 less to be concerned about. Particularly Arfield as I think he is the type of player that really gives our defence problems with late runs into the box. Its a fine line playing good teams. Hopefully we can get the balance right for once.

On the balance of play, St Mirren were the better team in the 2nd half, just as we were in the first.

Id play Watt up top. I think he is the most likely to make it stick long enough for the midfield to get up and support.

Now that we have all seen Sportscene, can we agree that it wasnt a penalty, Mugabi did nothing wrong and actually played the ball? Still doesnt change the fact that St Mirren probably deserved their point, just not like that!

Hopefully given the fact that he has lived and played his entire life in England he wont be tarnished with the "we have no right to expect to beat them" mentality. I dont mind if we set up to be really hard to beat, but we need an outball allow us to counter attack.

I thought Carroll looked much more assured today but clearly still has a bit to go sharpness wise but it will come. I was impressd with O'Hara and he stuck to his task despite the yellow card, albeit he rode his luck at times. Great free kick. However, went for the much maligned Mugabi probably just to swim against the tide a bit. Thought he had an excellent first half defensively and his striding purposefully out of defence with the ball is something to behold! Second half I thought he stood up to the increased pressure pretty well. I need to see the pen again, but I didnt see much wrong with it on first viewing. The guy is still young, and with the right support and playing partner I dont think he is an absolute write off just yet.

Thought today totally encapsulated our season in 90 minutes. Good first half. Controlled the play,. Played some nice stuff without carving out too many clear cut chances. Took one, couldnt press home our advantage by converting another and giving ourselves breathing space. Totally allowed the opposition back into it 2nd half. Made some dubious substitutions that didnt improve much. Lost a goal to a really dubious refereeing decision. Failed to win 3 points. On the plus side, we didnt capitulate. We actually seemed to react a little after the goal and finished strongly. Mugabi, Carroll, Polworth, O'Hara, Hastie, Cole all put in vastly improved performances. Plenty for the new gaffer to be encouraged about but plenty of scope for further improvement.

Just read McFedz post on the other thread! Great minds and all that....

I wonder if Alexander might try something totally different? Play 4-4-2 in a diamond? Both Carroll and O'Donnell have the legs to get forward and can deliver a cross. We have the defensive midfielders to make it work. Maybe having 2 up top not having to track back would give us more of a threat? Worth thinking about until we can get bodies in and out. Maybe too big a change for one training session right enough. Kelly SOD Deccy OHara Carroll Maguire Crawford Campbell Polworth Watt Cole/White

Campbell is the engine room of our team. Unfortunately having a great engine doesnt do you any good if the wheels are falling off and the bodywork is severely damaged.....

Kelly SOD Deccy OHara Carroll Campbell Crawford Hastie Polworth Watt Cole

More than happy with this appointment. Looking forward to seeing how he is going to rebuild/reshape this squad. Players will have to shape up or prepare to ship out. A nice early win on Saturday would be a bonus!

He could be the answer at left back!

That would be my understanding.....

Surely the recruitment team identify the targets and the manager gets to say yeh or ney?

Approximate timing?

I have to say Im fairly comfortable with whoever gets the job. They each have their own merits. Lasley knows this squad inside out so he will have a head start in respect of knowing who is good enough, has the right temperament or needs moved on quickly. He also has a deep love of the club so his motivation can never be questioned. He was clearly angry at the weekend performance so I dont think he would lack the resolve to wield the axe. But he is young, inexperienced and therefore a bit of a risk when we are currently in a relegation dogfight. Tommy Wright would appear to be the safest pair of hands. Knows the Scottish game. Is experienced at out level and had a reasonable amount of success with a provincial club. It is a bit of an uninspired choice however, and although Ive no doubt he could steer us clear of relegation, would he be the man to rebuild the squad and develop our youngsters? Simon Grayson, vastly experienced and obviously managed at the highest level of the 4 with Leeds and Huddersfield to some success. But that was a long time ago. Could he rekindle that or is he yesterdays man? Graham Alexander is the one that intrigues me most and I dont actually know why. Really liked him as a player at Burnley and with Scotland. Good old fashioned no nonsense fullback/midfielder. Very underated. I really had no clue about his managerial career until I read this thread, and although you could view his sackings negatively, he would appear to have been unfortunate on at least a couple of occasions so I might cut him some slack there. It would be interesting to see who he would want as backroom staff with his Scotland connections. Ultimately, its down to the board and how each interviews. I know some on hear have strong opinions on our board and some of their decision making, however, I always feel much of this is unfounded and based on supposition. Given that the majority are Well fans and also have the interest of the club at heart, I trust them to make the most informed choice they can. I look forward to getting fully behind the successful candidate.

We all know how that works.....

Not blaming Robinson at all. He made a decision. Thats what he was paid to do. But he got rid of Lionel and we have had a procession of wingers come throught the club who couldnt lace his boots and werent any better in terms of consistency or defensive capabilities.

Darren Fletcher. Faddy can put out the cones!

Could we just have a young energetic manager with some playing pedigree and fresh ideas? Not asking for much!

Jason Cummings has talent and bags of confidence but much like Watt, I would question his attitude. However, given than Robinson has managed to get into Watts head and keep him focused, it would certainly be an interesting signing. Ross Stewart is an interesting one too. He has always impressed me any time we have played County, so I would be surprised they would be willing to let him go. I see his contract is up in May though, so maybe he was already going to sign a pre contract and we have been able to tempt them with Seedorf and White! Edit: Of course, there was talk that Polworth wanted back north.....

I presume we have been pretty frugal with our money this season due to Covid, but now needs must as a drop into the championship would be disastrous financially. I do expect a few players to be moved on though.

Tony Watt. Really feel for him right now. Finally got himself fit and his head in the right place and he is surrounded by mediocrity.

Lionel was a very frustrating player. His work rate and desire to track back and defend were always questionable but when you watch that back no one can deny his quality. We have no one in our current squad with that level of technical ability. Id have him back in a heartbeat.