fat_tony

A lot of big performances today, from the defence and goalie keeping May quiet, to the midfield creating chance after chance, and the front two pressing and harrying and not giving Saints a minute to settle. Sutton and Anier caused them all manner of problems, while Ainsworth, once he got a grip on the game, proved to be unstoppable. Also thought Vigurs played his best game for the club so far, lots of energy, some trickery, and numerous sublime passes. But, it's Ainsworth that just shades it for me. Once he got up to speed, he gave them nightmares and probably deserved another goal for his efforts. If he can sustain this level of performance for the rest of the season, it just might be what we need to secure a European place.

So, like Saturday then? Vigurs created numerous crucial chances, including a sublime pass for the third goal. Lawson came on to shore up the midfield in place of Lasley, protected the back four and hit a cracking effort from outside the box, something all the fans have been screaming at our midfield to do all season. Lawson especially has been castigated any time he's put in a bad ten minute spell as a sub, so why shouldn't he take the plaudits for a good ten minute spell?

To his credit, I actually thought he had a pretty decent game on Saturday. I'm not saying he's at the level of which he's capable, but I thought he was more effective and a bit more involved than he has been at other times this season. He also played a few fantastic passes out to Ainsworth, completely cutting out the defence. We've been missing a decent option more often than not, and if Ainsworth stays, and can keep putting in a similar level of movement to Saturday, we may find that Vigurs starts becoming more productive if we have a genuine out-ball.

I think the biggest difference between this summer and previous windows was the sheer number of players we lost at the same time. I'd say over the last 10 years or so, the only other people who have had to cope with a rebuilding job of that size have been Terry Butcher and Jim Gannon. McCall has done a great job in replacing players in twos and threes, but having lost more than half our starting XI this summer, it was always going to be a big ask to replace the departures with a similar quality. Vigurs (Law), McManus (Craigan) and Lawson (Jennings?) were all good signings on paper to replace players we'd lost over the previous season or so, and we added Ainsworth (Humphrey) and Anier (Ojamaa) to try and help add some creativity. Too many of those players aren't performing and we quite simply don't have the depth to carry injured/underperforming players. McCall deserves more time to try and build a team. Replacing half your starting XI (and previous losses) in one transfer window is a massive ask, and it'll take time to build the squad he needs.

Yeah, it's so gutting knowing how good we were last term, and thinking where we could be had we kept that team together and had the chance to build on it. Very sad to think that we may not see such a good team again for some time.

You've got to love how this excuse is wheeled out whenever it suits their inaction. This "rule" didn't stop them getting stuck right in to a group of teenagers at St. Mirren earlier in the season. The brainless element in the Celtic support know they're untouchable. The only people who have any way of identifying who some of these people are, is Celtic FC. If they wanted to eradicate (or at least disempower) this element of their support, they could start by taking a hard line against those in their Green Brigade section. I'm sure those who have done nothing wrong would be quick to point out the troublemakers. But of course, Celtic won't do that, as they won't want to risk further alienating a powerful element of their support.

Good, sensible summary there Pingu and covered it well I think between yourself and MelvinBragg's post on the other page. Disheartening that we lost by so much after keeping things reasonably tight for the first half, but as soon as we tried to push up, we were immediately exposed by their pace. It didn't help losing Kerr so early, and Ramsden looked like he pulled something as well. Add in Neilsen's injury, and it was really a tough night all round. I really hoped we were going to pull something out of the hat tonight, but as much as it's a sore one to take, especially so close to last Saturday and all the justifiable anger surrounding that result, it's not matches against Celtic that we should be using to judge our progress (or lack thereof). It was one of those games tonight when every loose ball and ricochet seemed to land at a Celtic player's feet. We got a bit of luck with the penalty not being given in the first 5 minutes, but after that the referee did what Scott Brown told him. No backbone, and constantly allowed Celtic to get away with what our players were being penalised and booked for. There were a couple of encouraging signs tonight though, however fleeting: Moore looked lively and direct, if a little naive, although he had a very tough job tonight against Dick Van Dyke; Tin foil hat on here, but I thought Vigurs had a good game, and showed touches of what he can offer - he worked hard, and tried to create something every time he got the ball. Also good to see McCall try something different to make use of the players we have. It didn't work out that well, granted, but against a less clinical team, we may have seen a bit more success. The next 4 games (Ross County, St Mirren, Aberdeen, Partick) are massively important, and we really need to be looking to pick up 7-9 points out of those to halt the current slide. Tough week, and I'm going to struggle to put it behind me. But I'm sure by 3pm next Saturday, I'll be back full of hope and expectation for another match! Oh, and their fans really are complete and utter animals. Contemptible to a man. Not seen so many blue flashing lights before a game in a long time, and no surprise that it's before a Friday night game involving that mob. Lets hope this is the last time the league try that one out.

Evidence, or it didn't happen...

I'd rather we get a response on the pitch on Friday night than an email apologising for Saturday. The manager's got enough to do picking the team up and preparing for the next game without having to spend it grovelling to the baying mob. Aside from the fact that I don't think there's any footballing justification for dismissing McCall at this stage, look at it from a logistical point of view. You only have to look at the likes of Morton to see the type of shit situation sacking your manager can put you in. They got rid of Allan Moore and had to blow what little budget they had left paying his compensation. Getting shot of a manager costs money that could be better spent investing in the squad during the next window.

I'd say either Ojamaa or Humphrey for me. Humphrey's pace, and the threat of his pace are something we sorely miss. Even games where he didn't do anything, his presence took two men out the game. If we still had that, it would be freeing up the likes of McFadden to get one on one. As for Ojamaa, his ability to take people on, his directness, pace and energy are something we could sorely use right now. We need a spark, and he certainly provided one when he first joined us. As much as I liked Jennings, we're overstocked in the central midfield department, and I don't think he could bring us anything we don't already have. Law, also in the same area and while undeniably a level above what we have at the moment, I don't think it's the centre that needs addressed in our current team.

We're in a bit of a sticky spot in terms of the level of performance and style of football we're playing at the moment. Everyone can see it, and most are getting frustrated with it. Looking at previous seasons under McCall though, we're currently achieving a similar level of performance in terms of results (after the first 14 matches). 2010/11: W7 - D2 - L5 - F20 - A16 - Pts 23 - Final Position 6th 2011/12: W8 - D2 - L4 - F18 - A17 - Pts 26 - Final Position 3rd 2012/13: W5 - D5 - L4 - F22 - A19 - Pts 20 - Final Position 2nd 2013/14: W8 - D1 - L5 - F16 - A18 - Pts 25 We had an horrendous sticky patch in 2010-11 between mid-November and mid-February,as Craig Brown left us and McCall had to come in and try and build on the team. In 2011-12 we didn't really have too many bad patches (although I remember so many complaints at the time). We were looking like we were starting to struggle from mid-December to the end of January until Ojamaa joined the club, and gave us that extra dimension we needed in attack. Last season we were fortunate enough to get our worst spell out the way in September/October, and even then people were moaning like fuck at the likes of Murphy, Law, Humphrey and Ojamaa for not having any ideas, or any speed in the build up. So, it's not anything hugely new, struggling around this time of year. The difference, in my opinion, is that we don't have the options, or the attacking verve that we had in previous years with the aforementioned Humphrey/Law/Ojamaa, all of whom were capable of moving quickly and creating space. We've had pretty successful January transfer window (and after) dealings the last few years such as Ojamaa, McFadden and to a lesser extent, although they did a job for us at the time, Gunning and Ross, so hopefully we can replicate that success this season and bring in the pace/creativity we need in January. McCall was quick off the mark last year with Higginbotham, so hopefully he can get someone arranged as quickly this time round. So the trick seems to be to address the elephant in the room. How to get the best out of the players we currently have. We've got some talented players. I don't doubt that for a second. But given our abundance of central midfielders and lack of fit wide options, McCall has to change his tactics. It's the only thing we have available at the moment to halt the slide. We don't have the pace and directness we had in previous seasons, so we can't expect to play like it. A lot of people have said it already, but McCall needs to realise this and change his attacking approach to suit the players we have, not try and force something that doesn't work. I don't for a second think it's time for McCall to go. He's done a good job over the past few years and has his biggest job yet in building an effective unit out of our new team. If we're still playing like this in February with no sign of change or improvement, then maybe that's a question that has to resurface.

Could be, and probably will be wrong, but I've got a funny feeling about this one. Fancy a massive performance and a 1-1 draw or 2-1 win. Celtic's domination of Hearts, coupled with our gutless performance against Albion Rovers, and the general feeling of despair around the fans at the moment, just suggests to me that we might be in for a result. Anything less than a full-on performance though, and I doubt it will be long before a large portion of the fans turn on the team.

From reading the posts since yesterday, I'm definitely in the minority, but I actually thought we played well for the first 45 minutes. Anier had some great chances that on another day would have gone in, and there was some nice play from the front men and from both wings. I actually though that McFadden, in the first half, was having probably his best game so far this season. He was taking people on, played some lovely passes, and looked dangerous. Again, I thought we started the second half well enough, but just before Hammell's injury, and then for the rest of the match afterwards, we looked increasingly nervous in defence and just couldn't hold onto the ball. Perhaps, given the previous two results, the crowd reaction to those, and the importance to get back to winning ways led to the team being even more nervous about conceding. McFadden tired and started making the wrong decision, Ainsworth fell away completely and stopped covering Kerr, and the middle two kept getting caught up the park, leaving the defence wide open. Fortunately, some decent performances from Nielsen, McManus and Kerr, we managed to keep the ball out of the net. We certainly caused problems for ourselves more than Hibs created chances, but given the way the first half went, you could probably say that we just about deserved it. We could have been out of sight by half time, with a little luck in front of goal. Given the number of injuries mentioned by McCall on the radio after the match, I'm happy enough with the win, gives us something to build on. Saturday's a worry though, given that by the end of the match we had Ramsden, McManus, Hammell, Lasley, Carswell, McFadden and Ainsworth carrying injuries/knocks, and Hutch suspended. On a positive note, I thought Fraser Kerr was solid when he came on. I've been critical of him in the past, but he covered the entire back line and made some crucial blocks, mostly without any cover from Ainsworth. Hammell/Angol, McManus, Cummins/Murray and Kerr for Saturday then. Oddly, I'm strangely optimistic for this one.

Unfortunately he hit it straight at Langfield, so there wasn't much he needed to do.

Well said, Andy & SteveDiggle. Pretty much sums up how I'm still feeling this morning. I don't even know where to start with all the negativity around here. Sounds like we might as well take half our team out the back and shoot them. I actually thought Lawson had a decent enough game last night, it just became apparent that we didn't need three similar midfielders, and he was the one who was sacrificed. In hindsight that was maybe unfortunate, as he's shown that he's willing to spray passes out wide and get the ball moving quickly, something Lasley and Carswell, much as I like them, don't tend to do. Angol wasn't great. Didn't offer much in the first half and by the time he started running at people in the second half, he was being marked by two or three men every time. We just weren't quick enough moving the ball to take advantage of the gaps this opened up. I was incredibly frustrated with Ainsworth last night. Put in a couple of decent deliveries to be fair, but he was so static that Ramsden seemed to be playing right mid at times rather than him. On that note, I'm quite liking Ramsden at right back now. He seems to have settled into the role and looks to be much better in there than Hateley ever was. Also nice to see him yelling at Ainsworth to push forward. Neilsen didn't do much to improve his confidence after Sunday's display, and flapped at a fair few balls. I still think there's potential there, but he and the defence have a lot of work to do to improve their communication and understanding. I wonder if all those calling for Hollis to be dropped and Neilsen to step in have changed their minds, or will still persist? Not playing Faddy was still the strangest point of the night for me, and concerning that he wasn't brought on when the game needed a moment of magic. I don't think for a second that he "couldn't give a fuck either way", or that he's not putting the effort in during training (call me a sycophant if you like). He's been struggling all season, so the question needs to be: "was he fit enough to play last night"? If he was, then that has to go down as an absolute howler of a substitution by McCall. If he wasn't, then he shouldn't have been on the bench and the spot should have been available for Moore or Vigurs. Very galling night at the office, and still hurting this morning. But the fact is we were beaten by a better, more organised team, who simply wanted the result more than we did, and were prepared to fight for it. It's now a case of putting it behind us and taking our frustrations out on Hibs on Sunday. They'll be reeling after their result, too, so it's important that we pile the pressure on.

So much for that theory. First of all, the referee overturns the linesman's ruling for a perfectly good goal, then denies what looked like a strong penalty claim from Anier. Shocking performance from a referee who looked completely out of his depth tonight. However, unlike Stuart McCall, I'm not going to dwell on those, as the referee's performance wasn't our biggest problem tonight. Where to start on that? I've had an hour's drive home to calm down and I'm still livid. The red card was probably the worst thing that could have happened. We were on the front foot, and the sending off galvanised Aberdeen and gave them something to fight for. But for some timely interventions from Hutch and McManus, we could have gone in behind at half time. Taking Lawson off was probably the correct decision, given that we didn't need the protection, and Ainsworth was probably the right choice to bring on, to let him run at Aberdeen with his pace and take men on.....only he didn't. I lost track of the number of times that Ramsden would receive the ball and start running, only to find Ainsworth standing at the half way line waiting for him. I don't remember the last time that I saw a winger with such an aversion to venturing towards the bye line. As a result, the delivery into the box was predictable, and left Sutton feeding off scraps. Anier looked the most likely to create something given the fact that he was the only man actively looking to move into space. The fact that on a couple of occasions he had to track men all the way back to our 18-yard box summed up how static our midfield was today. Wasn't keen on taking him off, but he must have been absolutely knackered by that point. So, you replace our most dynamic, direct player with? Bob McHugh. Nope. It was obvious to everyone in the ground except for Stuart McCall that McHugh was the wrong choice for a game like that one. We needed someone direct to have a go at the Aberdeen defence and try to create something. Why would he not bring on Faddy? I keep coming back to him not being fit, and McCall not wanting to risk him, but if that is the case, then Moore should be on the bench instead. Extremely disappointed in that tonight. Not just the result, but the manner of the defeat. We had so much possession and time to break them down, yet time and again took the same approach, firing deep crosses into the box which their defence lapped up. We needed someone with the ability to take a man on, or unlock the defence with a clever pass tonight. We had nothing. At least Lawson was willing to try from range, even if he didn't get it right. Simply not good enough tonight, and we need to get a reaction against Hibs on Sunday.

However, might be a good move as it serves to highlight the fact, however jovial he may have been, that we haven't been getting penalty decisions going our way this season, and should an incident occur tonight, that may be in the back of the ref's mind.

The new Chris Humphrey (or Humphries, even)?

Went for Lasley as he was at the heart of everything positive today. Closely followed by Sutton who worked his socks off as usual and linked up superbly with Anier. A shame the big man didn't get the goal he deserved today.

To be fair to Clarky, he did score on his Scotland debut.

I can't make this one, so quite fancy us to put in our highest-scoring performance of the season so far.

The badge on this year's shirts is higher up, so actually sits well above the nipple for a nice, chafe-free experience! Bought the home shirt on Saturday and I definitely agree about the neckline though. It's very tight and I can barely fit my oversized noggin through it.

Agreed. I thought he looked a lot more dangerous against Killie and made the "right" decision a bit more often than he has in previous weeks. Definitely still seems to be struggling a bit but it's still worth keeping him in the team. The fact he was being doubled up on looks to have left the space for Ramsden to swing in the cross for the second goal. If we start taking better advantage of the space he frees up it makes his inclusion worthwhile, even if he doesn't do anything himself (just like with Chris Humphrey). Of course, still not anywhere near what he's capable of, but given the fact he seems to be carrying an injury and is playing out wide, I was happy with his contribution on Saturday. Hopefully the international break gives him the rest he needs to shake it off.

Trust is a two way street though, and as Haggis says he's had enough bother with goal-bound efforts from the two centre backs. Happy with Hollis so far though. He's done absolutely nothing wrong, and with the exception of one or two slight slips, has taken the ball out of the air well and contributed with some top class saves. Not worried about him at all. His biggest crime so far is not being Darren Randolph, but then we were blessed to have such a quality goalie for so long.

Happy with that today. Maybe a bit tougher than it should have been towards the end but delighted with the win which I thought we deserved. Some pretty suicidal defending for their goal, but responded well. To be fair, it never should have been a free kick in the first place. There seems to be a bit more understanding developing in the team, and we looked better in attack than I've seen so far this season. Sutton and Anier took their goals well, and we could have had it wrapped up with several valid penalty claims (I counted 3 at least). If Ramsden's first yellow was for diving, then it was a disgraceful decision, as it should have been a penalty (either for the push on him, or for the one on Sutton about a second earlier). Unsure about the second, as it looked to me like two players just sliding in for the ball and one getting their quicker, but I didn't have a clear view. Missed his early tackle, so I can't really comment on that. Yet another terrible refereeing performance. At least two, really bad foul throws, several invented free kicks, multiple strong penalty claims, and a habit of ruining any momentum the match threatened to build. I really worry about how bad it's going to get if the likes of Bobby Madden are the best officials available at the moment. Ainsworth looked lively, although not really enough to judge he seemed keen to make an impact. Hope to see more over the next few games. Was surprised by him coming on up front though. Final word just to say how impressed I've been by Stuart Carswell this season. He's really turning into a great prospect. Solid defensively, strong on the ball, and with a wee touch of class about him too. I originally thought he was being groomed to replace Lasley, but I think he's potentially a better natural talent than Lasley, and has the potential to offer an attacking threat a la Nicky Law.