lady-isobel-barnett Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Didn't understand the substitutions today (even the players seemed bemused by what position they where supposed to be playing in as they need a couple of trips back to the dugout to clarify their orders). I can only assume injuries where involved. I know Higgy can turn a match from nothing sometimes but...today I've no idea why he stayed on and Lawless came off. I thought two of the substitutions were fairly obvious. In fact all three seemed logical. Huge gap in the centre of midfield when we effectively play a front four. It just wasn't coming off today so shoring up central midfield with Banzo for Stevenson and getting some extra pace into the bargain made sense. Christie took a knock so Fraser into Bannigan's position was one of only two moves we could have made. Perhaps a straight swap with Keenan would've been preferable? I don't think so myself but I would agree that was debatable. McDaid for Lawless meant Higgy could come in from the left, even play more central with Bannigan get up and down the wing. Probably a more simple reason tho' like Wee Stevie tiring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerjag Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 frustrating we cant get back to back wins but atleast we're getting the odd one unlike the 3 teams below us. 4 points from last 2 games is good lets be positive 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potty trained Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Having been to both Rugby park games this season, I definitely think the pitch negatively affects the game. The ball bounces at funny angles and speeds up / slows down unexpectedly. It even catches the Killie players out at times though it was obviously worse for our players. I understand why clubs go artificial but it puts me off going to games. Does it really do all that? Or is it just that we aren't used to watching football on this surface so look for and perceive failings? Surely the fact that the pitch is made to a certain specification and comes off a computer programmed production line that is quality tested means you get the same run everywhere in the pitch. Where as at firhill for example you have bald patches, reseeded areas and water logged areas all over the pitch. So therefore lead to inconsistency and unnatural movement of the ball. The only two pitches I've seen that you could really say are close to faultless are morton's and St Mirrens. thistle's comes close until it gets to November. Next time you walk into the North end at firhill go to the side of the main stand and look at the slope in the pitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I think that should be seven points from three games. Your version would be relegation form Ha. Was rushing to get back out, should really proof read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I don't understand this semmingly knee-jerk negative reaction to the pitch today. It looked a hell of a lot better in person today than Firhill did on telly on Wednesday night. Why is a muddy field that looks like a tractor's been over it preferable to artificial turf? I think people are too quick to blame any bad performance/goal/bounce on the pitch. If professional football players can't play on it, then they should chuck it. The game today wasn't crap because of the surface, it was because Kilmarnock insist on killing the game with awful heid-the-ball tennis, which, unfortunately, we couldn;t play around. I'll take astroturf at every stadium, and then everyone can shut up about it, and we can stop having games called off at Firhill because the drainage is absolute baws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derby Jag Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I liked the pitch and would much prefer watching football on that surface than a muddy field that grass pitches tend to resemble this time of year. Overall decent enough game although I felt we were pretty poor. I would say that we had better chances than them although they had most of the play, particularly in the first half. Also why people are calling Killie hammer throwers after that bemuses me. They kept the ball on the deck much better than us and looked a lot more composed in midfield. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Gums Murphy Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I don't understand this semmingly knee-jerk negative reaction to the pitch today. It looked a hell of a lot better in person today than Firhill did on telly on Wednesday night. Why is a muddy field that looks like a tractor's been over it preferable to artificial turf? I think people are too quick to blame any bad performance/goal/bounce on the pitch. If professional football players can't play on it, then they should chuck it. The game today wasn't crap because of the surface, it was because Kilmarnock insist on killing the game with awful heid-the-ball tennis, which, unfortunately, we couldn;t play around. I'll take astroturf at every stadium, and then everyone can shut up about it, and we can stop having games called off at Firhill because the drainage is absolute baws. You were at the game Dick? I'm shocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 That's the first time I've watched a game live on an artificial pitch, certainly for many years. I didn't like it. Not so sure about the ball bouncing at funny angles. But I thought the ball came off it far too quickly and the players struggled to control it, with everything a bit too hectic on the ground, and it therefore contributed to the ball being played in the air a lot of the time. Thistle tend to play quite a lot of short passing in midfield (something that I sometimes think is a bit dodgy, but anyway) and that was where they really struggled. I think it's no coincidence that Abdul had a particularly hard time. As I said previously, I also think the pitch speed contributed to two unspectacular but long range shots finding their way past the goalkeepers. Then again, you could put it all down to player failings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Just watched the highlights. An unfortunate bit of dithering by Stevenson in the lead-up to Killie's first. SOD is really on fine form at the moment. But shouldn't he have been at that back post when Killie got their second? Frans clearly enjoyed his goal! That's McDaid had a role in two goals in our last two matches. Good to see him getting a regular place in the squad now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I wonder if the pitch thing is as much psychological as practical. By practical I mean Killie players are far more used to their own pitch whereas other teams aren't. This means they know what will work and won't work on it. We have trained on artificial pitches but is that the same as a real game? But anyway maybe our players don't handle it well because they expect it to be a problem, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 You were at the game Dick? I'm shocked. ������ There go my sides again! You and your wit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Gums Murphy Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 There go my sides again! You and your wit. Errr, it was a factual statement Dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fearchar Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 While my older son and I were coming away from the ground, a couple of Killie fans asked us how we enjoyed the game. We answered honestly, that we thought it was too scrappy and kick-and-rush; one of them laughed and replied that, to them, that was "silky stuff". Make of that what you will, but my feeling is that the ball moves too fast on a plastic pitch and it encourages punting it up the park to run after. As has been pointed out, shots that on grass would hardly have tested a goalkeeper seem to go into the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Just watched the highlights. An unfortunate bit of dithering by Stevenson in the lead-up to Killie's first. SOD is really on fine form at the moment. But shouldn't he have been at that back post when Killie got their second? Frans clearly enjoyed his goal! That's McDaid had a role in two goals in our last two matches. Good to see him getting a regular place in the squad now. SOD is almost always outside the box during corners or thereabouts. He's usually either the least deep or second least deep defender (if that makes grammatical sense). Primarily there for counter attacking due to his pace on the ball and for late runs from opponents outside the box Memory not so good but I think our 4th goal against County was directly due SOD's positioning at a corner against us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billko Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I watched highlights of some of the old FA Cup ties (70's 80's) yesterday and some of the pitches were shocking and don't think the modern footballer could play on them. Killie's pitch isn't as good as grass but it's better than a surface that is in poor condition and that is what you get here in Scotland on alot of grass pitches at this time of year. I think in the future they will get it close to grass and more teams will use it, but if you are a team with players who are comfortable on the ball and known as a "passing side" i don't see how this surface would be a negative thing for this type of team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) but if you are a team with players who are comfortable on the ball and known as a "passing side" i don't see how this surface would be a negative thing for this type of team. Teams like Alloa can put a fair bit of their success in getting to the championship and current survival in that league down to their artificial surface, which is way past its sell by. There's clearly a life span for each artificial surface and I think it logical that to get the most out of them from a commercial viewpoint the newly laid ones will provide extra bounce. Whatever, I hate watching games on plastic from an enjoyment point of view. There's maybe a parallel with golf in so much that watching play on a natural links course is generally accepted more enjoyable than watching golf played on some immaculately presented parkland course. Traditionally it's the most skillful that succeed on the former. Perhaps that's one of the problems with artificial pitches. It makes the mediocre look good and the better footballers, who can play well on varying surfaces, that bit more average? Edited January 25, 2015 by lady-isobel-barnett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillresigned Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Watched the highlights last night (soberish!) and thought Kilmarnock looked better on the box than they did in real life. IMHO they are a horrible te am to watch with their constant use of high balls, although to be fair we were far from innocent on that score ourselves.. Heard Johnston talking crap on the radio, rapidly becoming a poor man's Derek Adam, obviously a habit picked up in Govan. Don't think we learned anything yesterday that we didn't know beforehand and after watching the highlights I'll ungraciously concede that a draw was probably a fair result. We'll just have to ensure that we put on a show against St Midden and send them homewards to cry in their beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derby Jag Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Seriously did people watch a different game to me regarding Killie's tactics? Hardly Guardiola-esq but they were hardly the hammer throwers some are making them out to be. The boys Muirhead and Slater played very well for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rid Skwerr Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think it's the bounce that's the problem. On the highlights I noticed Seaborne allow a long, high ball to bounce to a stop in front of him. The ball bounced like a marble on concrete, taking 4 or 5 decreasing stots to come to a final halt. I may be wrong, but i think the deadening effect of real grass would have stopped the bounce much quicker. It must make it more difficult for the players to get a dropping ball under control quickly. At any event I've never seen a game on plastic that I've enjoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
read'n'yell Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 If I was a Killie fan I'd be getting so frustrated with Alan Johnston. Every week he makes some rubbish excuse about how Killie didn't get what they deserved - saying they should of got all three points with their two shots on target. Both teams played equally poor in my opinion and a draw was probably right, but we did have Doolan missing two good chances and Craigen having the chance near the end that the goalie just got to. On top of poor defending for their goals. Can't think of Gallacher ever being in trouble. Anyway, point is he needs to address the problems they have rather than always saying they didn't get what they deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Wragg Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Agree with everything said so far , crappy surface only fit for bowling !! Osman didnt have a good game at all, but give him the benefit of the doubt ie., surface, thought the Thistle fans made the atmosphere yet again at an away game , for a "wee" club its admirable that almost 1,000 fans turned out albeit just down the road, and kept their part up as the 12th man. Not a good game to watch but its a valuable point which, if the referee hadn't already been criticised lately, we might not have got, Collum was woeful once again and high time he was told to walk away from the game he knows very little about . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Passenger Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Highlights now available on YouTube - the two we conceded were criminal. McKenzie's allowed all the time and space in the world for a run and pass at the first, while zonal marking means Pascali's run for the second went unchecked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Gallacher didn't do well at Kilmarnock's first goal. The shot has come from more than 22 yards and doesn't carry much power. From that distance you should be talking about a wonder strike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry gaz Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Gallacher didn't do well at Kilmarnock's first goal. The shot has come from more than 22 yards and doesn't carry much power. From that distance you should be talking about a wonder strike. Even at my right old age I still play quite a lot of football as a goalie and do some goalkeeper coaching at youth level on both grass and AstroTurf.What I always notice is that keepers seem to have a problem when balls are hit from distance in moving sideways.on the plastic pitch. I think there is a bit of stickiness and drag on your feet as you go to set yourself for the dive.I think that's what happened to both Samson and Gallagher at the goals You see goalie mistakes every week on these pitches.If they were as good as grass then every club would have them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veejag Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Both first goals were similar, as were both second goals. Pointless observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.