Kmcalpin

In terms of names yes Cadden has replaced Grimshaw but I'm not quite sure who is filling in for who in terms of formation. Pearo seems to be playing far deeper than he was before Grimshaw's departure and his game is suffering for that. We lack his experienced support for the front players, but Cadden is shaping up nicely. Although he's passable, Pearo's strengths don't lie in defence. In short we have two decent box to box energetic types in Cadden and Pearson, an ageing all rounder in Keith Lasley but no defensive player or creative one. On Saturday in the second half we were crying out for a midfielder to show some determination and leadership and lead his colleagues out of the box; make purposeful blocks and tackles; fill gaps and spaces and close players down but that never really happened. My memories of an early Keith Lasley were that he was a decent footballer but didn't appear to do very much. However on closer inspection he read the game exceedingly well and mopped up after others around him made the mistakes - a kind of quiet unassuming midfield sweeper. In those days he'd move to seemingly inexplicable positions and it was only after he'd intercepted a pass that I'd realise that he'd read an opponents mind. A lot of course was down to the type of colleague he played alongside - the midfield balance if you like. In his latter days with us Grimshaw was a bit more eyecatching but he was excellent at closing players down, tackling and disrupting and harrying the opposition. He excelled at the unglamorous work. Often he couldn't prevent an opposing player from having a crack at goal but he'd make damn sure it was a rushed effort in which the player couldn't pick his spot.

I've now less worries about Pearo being missing as young Cadden is developing nicely as his apprentice; early days though. Its more replacements for Grimshaw & Lasley we need. Grimshaw was never going to be the star of the show but did all the basic, unrewarding, dirty jobs very well and his absence is now affecting us. We need someone like him and aslo a mobile defensive midfielder along with a creative type .....but all that is asking a lot. Not sure why Tam Scobbie's name has cropped up; hopefully only an unsubstantiated rumour.

Thats my idea of defending. Limit the opposition to 1 or 2 very long range shots at most and gobble up any desperate high balls slung into the box.

I wouldn't be too hard on Moult. In the second half he received dismal service. Lasley I'm not sure about. At the moment, Cadden and Pearson are both box to box attacking midfielders. Right now we need to be looking at a replacement for Las but who else have we got unless unless we pitch in Louis Laing. A lot will depend on who we sign tomorrow, if anyone. Cadden looks to be staking a claim but Pearo already plays in that role. Our midfield is a bit mixed up just now and it shows.

Agree 100% Add to that list Hammell (I'm not singling him out BTW) and Law. All too often when Dundee had the ball they were afforded acres of space to do as they wanted. By way of comparison when our lads received the ball they were immediately closed down. This is what is costing us big time. Maybe some players think they only need to work when we have possession? The gaps we left down the flanks was very worrying yesterday. Maybe its lack of confidence, maybe lack of positional awareness, maybe laziness, or a combination I don't know, but we need to get it sorted. That said, our off the ball work has improved under MMcG, although there's along way to go yet.

Almost certainly, the likes of Killie, Dundee United Partick and Hamilton will be panicking and so its likely we will see a flurry of signings tomorrow.

Pretty much agree with this. I'm hopeful we'll bring in a player or two tomorrow to stiffen our midfield although others will be doing the same. No doubt Ripley, Hall and McManus will be thinking the same. We've had a tough run of fixtures lately and a fair chunk of bad luck. We're still very much part of the pack but we will need to pick up points, referees permitting that is.

Not entirely sure but the officiating yesterday was shocking was start to finish and we got nothing all day. A minor point perhaps in the great scheme of things yesterday but indicative of the officiating - Dundee won a throw in, in their own half, just where the linesman was standing. He had a great uninterrupted view of where the ball crossed the line. The Dundee player took the throw in 10 metres up the pitch in our half. The linesman stood like a dummy and did nothing. Its high time this form of cheating was stamped out, although I know most teams are guilty of it to some extent. In such situations the ref should indicate a foul and award the throw in 10 metres nearer the perpetrator's goal.

Interesting also that at the point the penalty kick was taken there were 3 players well inside the box led by Dundee's No 22. No retake ordered.

First half was entertaining in difficult conditions but despite kicking uphill Dundee had the bulk of the pressure. Still we scored 2 good goals with Cadden and Pearo taking them well. We counterattacked very well on a shocking surface but defensively we allowed the home side far too much room and space. The second half was virtually all Dundee as we sat back / were forced back but although Dundee had a lot of pressure they rarely troubled Ripley thanks to sterling work by McManus and Hall. The central midfield all but disappeared and there was a lot of desperate defending on the six yard box. Worryingly, Dundee managed to hit the by line all too frequently. Both full backs had a difficult afternoon on the wide pitch. I thought Cadden made some good runs up the right but he ran out of steam when no-one went with him. When you defend as deeply as we did you invite trouble and all it takes is a defensive mistake/deflection/freak effort/wonder goal or a refereeing blunder to lose a goal. Very much a jekyll and hyde performance from us - good on the attack but poor in defence. We also have to work far harder in closing opponents down. The referee had a shocker from start to finish and gave us nothing. An early very bad tackle on Lasley set the scene when the perpetrator escaped a card. Most teams steal yards at free kicks and throw ins but Dundee took it to extremes - all allowed to go unchecked. One player was pulled up for it - yes one of ours! Again I counted two handballs (outside the box) similar to Keith Lasley's penalty against Hamilton but no action was taken. The penalty baffled me completely and looking at on TV it was a shocking decision. It cost us 2 points and yet the ref will escape censure. Mark McGhee was clearly livid and with good reason. We've been on the end of a constant stream of bad penalty decisions and it never seems to end. Positives today were the performances of McManus, Hall and Cadden. We really need to sort out the midfield though as the mix is not right. Pearo is not effective in a deep defensive role and he and Cadden are similar in style. Surely a first pick mobile defensive central midfielder will be brought in over the next few days.

Absolutely. Sitting back by accident or design today cost us dearly. The midfield was largely anonymous in the second half although Cadden made some eyecatching but unsupported and ultimately sterile runs out of defence. Midfield still looks very unbalanced. It seemed as though the wide pitch caused us problems and we didn't work hard enough to cope with it. Penalty decision was baffling although I haven't seen a replay yet.

A toss up between Big Mick and Ben Hall for me. Despite receiving little protection from their full backs and midfield they held firm in the face of unrelenting pressure. Mick shades it because he did his best to organise others.

I assume that the Police are quite happy for us to travel? Heavy snow where I am here in the east.

We've heard that kind of story before haven't we? Probably an agent involved somewhere to stir up a salary auction.

A reasonable team line up and probably my choice - maybe only other option is Laing coming in to replace Cadden, and that could be a double edged sword. Yes, we did lack confidence last week just look at the first goal - we were like a tortoise in its shell. The players also need to work a bit harder but I think that is gradually coming. I like Pearo and Cadden looked very promising but the problem is that they seem to be very alike in that they're both box to box players. We still lack a defensive central midfield player and Pearo looks most uncomfortable in what is an absolutely critical role. If Mark McGhee can solve that problem short term we're in with a shout if he can't then we'll struggle.

It depends if Mark McGhee rates of any of them though. Lets see who have we got? Josh Law (first choice but just ok); Kieran Kennedy (largely untested but didn't play well there last week); Craig Reid (totally out of favour); Luke Watt (a right back but not ready yet in the boss's eyes); Stevie Hammell (not a right back). You may well be right time will tell. If we sign 2 or more players and none is a right back it'll be interesting which positions are targetted.

Presumably centre midfield and right back? If its right back we have to decide if its to replace Josh Law or to deputise for him. If we aim to sign more than one this month, I'd rather invest in 2 quality ones than in 3 "ok" ones. In the medium term we also need a left back.

I suspect we'll some late activity. Yes, last minute steals can and have happened but I believe the club usually draws up a list of targets for each position the manager wants to fill. Its just a case then of working our way through them - maybe at the last minute if we are gazumped.

AF = acronym fatigue?

Point AF??? Single Point Autofocus?

Good moves so far that will free up some wages. We will be a bit light up front but I guess central midfield will be a priority along with a right back maybe?

I just got round to watching the highlights tonight and no way is Cadden to blame for the first goal. We packed the 6 yard box and our right side but the left side was totally exposed and unoccupied. In short we defended far too deeply and young Cadden was left to cover 2 men yards apart. Not right that he was left to carry the can.

Fair comment. Many of us suspected that he might be shifted on during the transfer window. As you say it'll save a wage albeit that he'll receive some compensation.

Really? Please don't patronise me. You obviously know me better than I do myself!

Hammell and Lasley are different kinds of players. As far as Hammell is concerned, he is very much a mixed bag. First and foremost he is a defender and full back. Defensively however I would say that he is lower Premiership / Championship standard. It has never been the strong part of his game. All too often he is caught out of position, and by that I don't mean up the park when we are on the attack. He's also prone to being caught out frequently on the wrong side of a player for example. I've no doubt that he is one element (of many to be fair) in our poor defensive record in recent years. That said I do prefer him to the likes of Straker or Chalmers. Attacking wise he is a different kettle of fish and is a good mid Premiership standard. He had a bit of pace, and has always been good bombing up the wing or as an option for out ball. All this is only my opinion of course although I know some others agree and yet others disagree. But... the proof of the pudding and all that. If he likes playing in Scotland fair enough nothing wrong in that. However if he was of an upper Premiership standard you'd have thought the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen or Dundee United would have snapped him up but they never have. So that tells us something. To be fair they may have spoken to him but he refused to move because he likes out club so much ...I don't know.