Cults Jag

I think we need to ditch the approach of starting two wide men in Cardle and Zanatta, as it leaves Miller isolated, while Miller's prone to dropping deep, leaving no one upfront. They both give away possession too easily and put us on the back foot. I would also shake up the back four - starting O'Ware and Hall together - can't be much worse than McGinty and Saunders. I would try : Fox (or Sneddon) - as people have said, least of our worries Kakay O'Ware Hall Penrice Slater (roving role) Cole (if fit) Bannigan Cardle (with Zanatta coming on) Mansell (not ideal) Miller Not convinced we can rely on younger guys like Palmer and Gordon at this time.

If Miller signs, then it should be taken in the context of the overall balance of the striking options. I think Caldwell will be looking for at least 4 strikers in the first team squad, given that he normally plays 2 upfront and judging by the large numbers of strikers post January last season. I also think he'll look for a reasonably experienced striker, say at least mid twenties, with decent track record and a younger striker, probably on loan from a (Scottish) Premiership club. As an example, striking options of Graham, Rudden, Miller and Mansell would be a good blend of youth and experience, with Miller used selectively. Looking forward to seeing how the squad shapes up in the coming weeks.

With Harkins suspended, I'm thinking (and hoping) that Caldwell goes for the same formation as against Stranraer with a midfield three of Bannigan, Spittal, and Slater, the two wide guys in Cardle and Fitzpatrick and a central striker. We look like we will create chances with this approach. If so, the question is who is best placed to play the striker role at present in that formation - a currently ineffective Doolan, a headless Storey, an unfit Coullibaly, an unconvincing Roy or an untested Mansell ? Not really inspiring options, but I would probably start with Storey in this formation to see if his movement causes problems and whether he can feed off the service (rather than having to provide it), but recognising his limitations.

Sorry forgot about Brice and Mutumbo - category 4 obviously too !!

Whilst the jury is clearly out on Caldwell, as many have said, the squad really is poor and needs major surgery. I've put the players into 4 categories based on their ability theoretically to be part of a promotion winning team : 1 - at the level / would be disappointed to see them go - Bannigan, Slater, Spittal (based on improved confidence / form in last 2 games playing more centrally). Ironically all central midfielders ! 2 - should be good enough based on previous efforts, though not generally performing at present - Elliot (improved form), Doolan, Erskine 3 - Young and potentially good enough, but not proven - Penrice, McCarthy, Fitzpatrick, Sneddon (I'm not convinced that Penrice and McCarthy can get to category 1) 4 - not good enough / no skin off our noses if they go - McGinty, Keown, Storey, Storer, Scobbie, Jeffries, Bell, Gordon, plus Quitongo will go anyway The long term injured guys in O'Ware and Coulibaly should be category 1, and would clearly add something based on their track records. So in summary - not enough 1's and too many 4's, while you'd probably want just a small number of 2's and 3's in the starting 11. Tough gig for Caldwell, and, for me, comes back to keeping Archie and letting him rebuild the squad after relegation. So objective is survival this year, and rebuild over a couple of windows for promotion next year.

Surprised no one's mentioned the fundamental change in formation with a switch to 4-4-2 with Doolan and Quitongo upfront, and linking up well in the first half. Also Storey looked much more comfortable on the right taking on his man getting crosses in early with his natural foot. Team looks much better this way, despite being a bit lightweight in central midfield, though Slater worked tirelessly. It also looked like the players were playing for the manager and gave their all to the end. All in all, the loss was hard to bear, but there is promise in the team.

I think a big part of our problem has been the formation in forward areas, with guys playing out wide who lack the quality to do so (e.g Storey, Mutumbo, Spittal) and an isolated lone striker. Caldwell has persisted with this so far, but I'm hoping he goes for a 4-4-2 soon, so that we can defend from the front with two mobile strikers, who should run themselves into the ground for an hour (e.g Quitongo and Storey), then replacing them with better quality (Coulibaly and Doolan) when space has opened up. A midfield four of Bannigan, Slater, McCarthy and ideally Fitzpatrick wide could work well behind the front two. Time will tell in terms of how Caldwell sees it, but current system clearly hasn't worked for a long time.

I think the main point I'm trying to make is that the situation is salvageable if we make a change now, and set the team up differently. i agree that it is not as easy as it sounds, and a new manager needs to rebuild confidence and change the team culture. However, very doable by the right guy.

Despite liking Archie, I've never really rated him as a manager, and was always pleasantly surprised when we made, then stayed in the SPL and ultimately made the top 6 two season ago. Unfortunately he's clearly been found out now with an inability to inspire, communicate to fans (bland same old comments) and to adapt tactically, and so needs to be replaced now for the good of the club. i think his persistence with a 4-2-3-1 formation when we've had no quality holding midfielders has been a big part of the problem, and we've become a soft touch as a result, with too many lightweights in the middle 2-3. I don't think the core of the squad is actually that bad, but there are passengers, and it clearly needs 4 or 5 signings of the O'Ware type - mid 20's with good quality and experience. However, they need to be played differently under a more inspiring and tactically astute manager, and I think 4-3-3, with flexibility in the front 3 would be the way to go with the players we have. A decent team with options ( shown as / ) for some positions would be : Keeper - Bell (should be good enough for this level) Right Back - Elliot / New Signing (a decent right back should be easy to find) Left Back - Penrice / Melbourne - don't actually know if ether are good enough, but unfair to judge Melbourne on one game at right back Centre Backs - O'Ware, plus Keown / New Signing Midfield 3 - New Signing (defensive central player), Slater / McCarthy, Bannigan / Penrice (eternally optimistic about Bannigan !) Front 3 - Storey, Doolan / New Signing, Erskine / New Signing - wide player This comes to five new signings, and doesn't include Storer, who may come good. The players in the "not good enough" category for me would be McGinty, Gordon and Spittal (whom I want to like, but doesn't give enough when the team needs to battle to turn round the Keevins "sinking ship"). A new manager could cut our losses with these guys before the transfer window closes, or worse case they become squad / reserve players to at least fill the bench ! Anyway, glad to get that off my chest !!

If Booth is injured, Archie is way too conservative to bring in Penrice as a direct swap - he will switch Elliot and bring in McGinn - even though most fans would like to see the natural replacement in Penrice. I agree with KOS's 11 eleven players as being the best we've got, but team probably lacks width, so think Archie will play Spittal, Lawless or Storey instead of Edwards. Hopefully he keeps Osman on the bench and keeps McCarthy in the team.