The League Cup 2018'19 Thread

[Kmcalpin]

1 hour ago, steelboy said:

And it's the same for Bigi?

There will be a reason why Bigi isn't being picked. I don't know what it is but there is a reason. We have to trust Robbo and Keith on this. They see the players far more than we do. They will not be leaving a "good" player out just to be contrary and awkward.

[weeyin]

Not that I enjoy these "fiascos"  but, like last season, you only need to look at the results from our Premiership colleagues to see how precarious games are at this point in the season. 

Win our last two and we'll still top the group. 

I was more concerned about Dunne's injury and Kipré reportedly playing hurt for a part of the game. 

[stv]

19 hours ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Well I went to 35 matches last season I went nearly 6 months without seeing us winning a league match.

So cup runs aside.....

Said it before .... You must be clubs jinks . Iv an Airdrie season ticket waiting for you.

[Shaka]

1 hour ago, Kmcalpin said:

There will be a reason why Bigi isn't being picked. I don't know what it is but there is a reason. We have to trust Robbo and Keith on this. They see the players far more than we do. They will not be leaving a "good" player out just to be contrary and awkward.

There IS a reason, he isnt suited to our "style" of football! Which makes his initial signing all the more puzzling. 

 

Personally I think Bigi and Campbell could link real well with either Cadden or another DM depending on the team were playing but it aint gonna happen unfortunately. Bigi was signed to Newcastle for 7 figures and was Coventry's POTY and one of the best midfielders in league one when we signed him so I simply do not believe he isnt talented enough to break into our team. Robbos priorities just dont involve him

[Yorkyred]

22 minutes ago, Shaka said:

There IS a reason, he isnt suited to our "style" of football! Which makes his initial signing all the more puzzling. 

 

Personally I think Bigi and Campbell could link real well with either Cadden or another DM depending on the team were playing but it aint gonna happen unfortunately. Bigi was signed to Newcastle for 7 figures and was Coventry's POTY and one of the best midfielders in league one when we signed him so I simply do not believe he isnt talented enough to break into our team. Robbos priorities just dont involve him

Personally i’m not convinced he’s as good as many think he is, he’s come on and made a difference at times but i’ve never thought wow this guy is good. However I can understand the call for him given he does have a higher level of creativity than most at the club. Sadly it was obvious a good six months ago he was never going to nail down a starting place with Robinson. A baffling signing to be sure given he’s not close to being a Robinson type of player.

[well_said]

2 hours ago, stv said:

Said it before .... You must be clubs jinks . Iv an Airdrie season ticket waiting for you.

It would be much better sending to hamilton

[wellwell91]

 

Think we’ve used 19 different players in first 2 games 

The same underlying problems as last season are still very much in evidence 

Lack of creativity

Lack of guile

Lack of pace, 

Are McGuire, Turnbull and Scott now classed as first team squad members?

Youngsters seem to being pushed further down the pecking order.

In his 2 starts towards the tail end of last season, David Turnbull for example was excellent  wasn’t even in the squad yesterday with McHugh being moved from centre half to midfield 

 

[Busta Nut]

I won't make a game until the Clyde game and I if we are out by that point I might not bother.

[weeyin]

12 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I won't make a game until the Clyde game and I if we are out by that point I might not bother.

I haven't seen us win a game at Fir Park since I moved to the US in 1997 (and that's not because I haven't been to any games).

I have seen us win games away from home - but Fir Park remains my jinx.

[Gadgey]

2 hours ago, Shaka said:

There IS a reason, he isnt suited to our "style" of football! Which makes his initial signing all the more puzzling. 

 

Personally I think Bigi and Campbell could link real well with either Cadden or another DM depending on the team were playing but it aint gonna happen unfortunately. Bigi was signed to Newcastle for 7 figures and was Coventry's POTY and one of the best midfielders in league one when we signed him so I simply do not believe he isnt talented enough to break into our team. Robbos priorities just dont involve him

Whilst I agree that I’d like to see Bigi getting more game time, he was most certainly not one of the best midfielders in league 1. If he was, he wouldn’t have come to us.

[CoF]

On the ball Bigi is probably our most talented player however think he's left out because off the ball, he's one of those players who are simply a gap on the field. 

You could see he upped the effort in that area after Robinson made a few thinly veiled digs in public, however I just don't think he has it in his game. 

[Lobey_Dosser]

17 minutes ago, CoF said:

On the ball Bigi is probably our most talented player however think he's left out because off the ball, he's one of those players who are simply a gap on the field. 

You could see he upped the effort in that area after Robinson made a few thinly veiled digs in public, however I just don't think he has it in his game. 

With 3 centre halves starting and umpteen ballwinning midfielders to choose from, I’d like to think we could give one creative player a bit of freedom. 

[Kmcalpin]

I'm not a fan of our thread on Pie & Bovril.  Whilst there are some very good and thought provoking posts its also bedevilled by more than its fair share of trolling and a condescending attitude to some on here.  However, one of the best posts I've read recently was written this morning by Welldaft and it pretty sums up my view (we might disagree slightly on Bigi).  I hope you don't mind if I quote you Iain.

"In all honesty you could debate our style v substance all day long as Ya Bezzer likes to do on occasion. 

We have a players wage budget and one that is lower than almost every other team bar Hamilton for the season just gone. Probably will be above them Livingston and St Mirren for this season. 

I am not sure what players we are expected to sign at that level ? A team full of silky creative types just like Luka Modric... The reality is that our Manager is trying to use the budget to get a team on the park to avoid relegation first and foremost. On the budget we had we had no right to reach 2 cup finals and beat Rangers and Aberdeen in the semis. It is almost as if that did not happen and that Robinson is getting almost no credit for that. 

The compromise is that our football is robust and not always a lot of fun to watch at times. But I have said it before and I will say it again. Would we rather have a team full of Bigi’s for example and find ourselves bumping along the bottom of the table. I am sure the usual glass half empty on Steelmen and on here would be content with that as long as we were trying to play football the correct way - NOT. 

For all that I do agree with a number of points. I would like to see the likes of Turnbull, Scott and Maguire given a little more opportunity. Quite frankly Scott looked better in pre season friendlies than Sammon has so far. Time will tell as I still think Sammon will be a decent enough signing for us. I also like Bigriamana and the few times he has come on as sub end of last season we improved immediately as a team. I am surprised and disappointed there appears to be no place for him. I can see him leaving and us regretting it."

 

[steelboy]

"No right to beat Rangers or Aberdeen"

That's a ridiculous statement about a one off game.

[Kmcalpin]

2 hours ago, steelboy said:

"No right to beat Rangers or Aberdeen"

That's a ridiculous statement about a one off game.

Why? We have no right to beat any team even the bottom team in the senior leagues.  We have to earn wins. 

[CoF]

3 hours ago, Lobey_Dosser said:

With 3 centre halves starting and umpteen ballwinning midfielders to choose from, I’d like to think we could give one creative player a bit of freedom. 

I absolutely couldn't agree more. Bigi is a joy to watch on the ball and Im as frustrated as any that we cant fit him into the team. Unfortunately it appears Robinson doesn't see it that way. 

[Happy Dosser]

Bigi's situation is a strange one. I think he was Robinson's first signing but he seemed to go off him quickly, probably because he didn't perform well enough defensively in the boss's eyes. Didn't he see this supposed weakness in his game before? Surely a midfield is a balance of abilities: strength, pace, skill, vision, etc? We seem to have sufficient of the first two so there's no reason Bigi couldn't slot in there, unless it's a clash of personalities which is the problem.  He played well in the final and a funny memory is Bigi harassing McGowan so much in the last home game  that he blew a fuse and wanted to start fighting (admittedly not a rare occurrence).  The signing of Gorrin seemed to me to represent Bigi's marching orders since the Spaniard seems to relish a tackle.

Nevertheless our budget is extremely modest and Robinson's first duty is to keep us up among a lot of similar teams. IIRC, he made a comment (perhaps a dig at Dundee's whinger manager) that playing nice football is fine but you have to win games somehow with the players you've got and DFC came very, very close to relegation. Barton of Partick was also vocal about our "no football" style and look what happened to them. Nevertheless, there should be a place for a player like Bigi, particularly with Tanner still out.

As for our youngsters, Robbo has shown with Campbell that they'll play if they're ready IHO, so draw your own conclusions.

We have a tough game tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how the player and the manager react.

[Lobey_Dosser]

Tomorrow is the first time I’ll see us this season but amidst the desire for a wee bit more creativity,  I think it’s worth bearing in mind that none of our strikers, despite their stature, actually excel at attacking the ball in the air. 

From what I’ve seen of Main, Bowman and Sammon, they are more likely to score from a nicely threaded pass. Yet Robinson often talks about crosses into the box. 

[Welldaft Mk1]

5 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I'm not a fan of our thread on Pie & Bovril.  Whilst there are some very good and thought provoking posts its also bedevilled by more than its fair share of trolling and a condescending attitude to some on here.  However, one of the best posts I've read recently was written this morning by Welldaft and it pretty sums up my view (we might disagree slightly on Bigi).  I hope you don't mind if I quote you Iain.

"In all honesty you could debate our style v substance all day long as Ya Bezzer likes to do on occasion. 

We have a players wage budget and one that is lower than almost every other team bar Hamilton for the season just gone. Probably will be above them Livingston and St Mirren for this season. 

I am not sure what players we are expected to sign at that level ? A team full of silky creative types just like Luka Modric... The reality is that our Manager is trying to use the budget to get a team on the park to avoid relegation first and foremost. On the budget we had we had no right to reach 2 cup finals and beat Rangers and Aberdeen in the semis. It is almost as if that did not happen and that Robinson is getting almost no credit for that. 

The compromise is that our football is robust and not always a lot of fun to watch at times. But I have said it before and I will say it again. Would we rather have a team full of Bigi’s for example and find ourselves bumping along the bottom of the table. I am sure the usual glass half empty on Steelmen and on here would be content with that as long as we were trying to play football the correct way - NOT. 

For all that I do agree with a number of points. I would like to see the likes of Turnbull, Scott and Maguire given a little more opportunity. Quite frankly Scott looked better in pre season friendlies than Sammon has so far. Time will tell as I still think Sammon will be a decent enough signing for us. I also like Bigriamana and the few times he has come on as sub end of last season we improved immediately as a team. I am surprised and disappointed there appears to be no place for him. I can see him leaving and us regretting it."

 

Very nice of you Dave. I actually dont mind Pie and Bovril. If you think our thread is bad you should see the car crash that is the Dundee, St Johnstone and Hamilton threads.....Some good posters on the Motherwell thread such as Capt Oats and Swello to name but 2.

As for beating Rangers and Aberdeen. My point was not about those games individually as of course we can beat any team (bar Celtic it would seem) in a one off knock out games.

My point all things considered was that reaching 2 cup finals and beating Rangers and Aberdeen en route was a hell of an achievement on our wage budget compared to theirs. 

Anyway this message board and Pie and Bovril is very much along the lines of the team are only as good as their next game or last ! 

[Yorkyred]

7 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I'm not a fan of our thread on Pie & Bovril.  Whilst there are some very good and thought provoking posts its also bedevilled by more than its fair share of trolling and a condescending attitude to some on here.  However, one of the best posts I've read recently was written this morning by Welldaft and it pretty sums up my view (we might disagree slightly on Bigi).  I hope you don't mind if I quote you Iain.

"In all honesty you could debate our style v substance all day long as Ya Bezzer likes to do on occasion. 

We have a players wage budget and one that is lower than almost every other team bar Hamilton for the season just gone. Probably will be above them Livingston and St Mirren for this season. 

I am not sure what players we are expected to sign at that level ? A team full of silky creative types just like Luka Modric... The reality is that our Manager is trying to use the budget to get a team on the park to avoid relegation first and foremost. On the budget we had we had no right to reach 2 cup finals and beat Rangers and Aberdeen in the semis. It is almost as if that did not happen and that Robinson is getting almost no credit for that. 

The compromise is that our football is robust and not always a lot of fun to watch at times. But I have said it before and I will say it again. Would we rather have a team full of Bigi’s for example and find ourselves bumping along the bottom of the table. I am sure the usual glass half empty on Steelmen and on here would be content with that as long as we were trying to play football the correct way - NOT. 

For all that I do agree with a number of points. I would like to see the likes of Turnbull, Scott and Maguire given a little more opportunity. Quite frankly Scott looked better in pre season friendlies than Sammon has so far. Time will tell as I still think Sammon will be a decent enough signing for us. I also like Bigriamana and the few times he has come on as sub end of last season we improved immediately as a team. I am surprised and disappointed there appears to be no place for him. I can see him leaving and us regretting it."

 

Yep, Robinson thinks it’s the best use of a small budget and frankly I probably agree. When we are at our best we can beat just about anyone in the league, if we drop the energy levels we struggle. We don’t have the budget to go for technically gifted players and would be taking a real  risk of  being relegated if we went down that route in my view.  Saying that I know many don’t agree and feel we could strike some form of middle ground.

[mfc]

I don't think it's down to budget but more down to just how robinson wants us too play,we're badly needing an attacking option in the middle of the park but it's just not going to happen,I think if it was down to budget and we didn't have the money to sign a creative type then we would have seen bigi and to a lesser extent turnbull more often than we have.the writing was on the wall as to how we were going to play this season when both rose and grimshaw signed new deals and then you throw in the signing of sammon,we can only play one way and if teams have sussed us out after last season then we could be in for a bit of a struggle this time around.

[steelboy]

Too poor to pass the ball

[Kmcalpin]

4 hours ago, Lobey_Dosser said:

 I think it’s worth bearing in mind that none of our strikers, despite their stature, actually excel at attacking the ball in the air. 

From what I’ve seen of Main, Bowman and Sammon, they are more likely to score from a nicely threaded pass. Yet Robinson often talks about crosses into the box. 

Yes very much so.  All 3 are "physical strikers", but no more so than Stevie May for example who isn't classed as being one, but none are especially good in the air.    Tomoorrow's line up will be interesting and Robbo may place his focus more on beating QoS than giving players game time - we'll see. 

[stuwell]

10 hours ago, CoF said:

On the ball Bigi is probably our most talented player however think he's left out because off the ball, he's one of those players who are simply a gap on the field. 

You could see he upped the effort in that area after Robinson made a few thinly veiled digs in public, however I just don't think he has it in his game. 

I think that the coaching staff have spent last season trying to bring more to his defensive side of the game but so far we haven’t seen - unfortunately as he is a talented lad but some players just can’t mix it. 

[texanwellfan]

I predict we will beat QoS by 3 goals.