dl1971 Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 Falkirk game on the 26th already looking like a season definer. We were better than them last time so no great fears there. It is however about being more clinical in games. Some good signs I would argue but the lack of a goal threat from the entire midfield, bar cardle could be our real downfall. That said a long long way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muscat Jag Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 I'm honestly still in shock after that today. At least it puts our main problem starkly in focus. We are absolutely shite up front. 7 goals from our opening 7 league games in the 3rd tier of Scottish Football. It's not inconceivable we could have scored that many today if we'd taken our chances. It's been a huge problem for ages. Even last season there were numerous games we dominated and didn't win. The three games against Alloa and the last two at Firhill come to mind. Loads of chances not taken and couple of missed penalties. We even managed to outplay St Mirren in the league cup this season and lose 4-1. Anyone that thinks we have any chance of finishing above Falkirk with such a useless attack is kidding themselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow & Redneck Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 How many goals have we scored from open play this season? If anyone thinks we have the firepower to see us promoted this season, you've lost the plot completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 8 hours ago, partickthedog said: Could Ryan Williamson learn from the right back example of Stephen O’Donnell? When Ryan comes into the box he often does brilliantly to get past his man. However, he always heads to the bye-line and tries to pass or cross, so you then need an accurate pass or cross finding a teammate plus that teammate being able to finish. SOD would tend to bear direct towards the goal, thus increasing the options by including that of having a shot himself. He scored a few that way and also induced at least one deflected own goal. One advantage of this approach is that even if the shot is not precisely on target, but dragged across the face of goal into the corridor of uncertainty, there is always the possibility of forward or defender knocking it over the line or the keeper pushing it out to one of our forwards for a tap in. into the corridor of uncertainty, Brilliant phrase! Can't wait to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 5 hours ago, dl1971 said: Falkirk game on the 26th already looking like a season definer. We were better than them last time so no great fears there. It is however about being more clinical in games. Some good signs I would argue but the lack of a goal threat from the entire midfield, bar cardle could be our real downfall. That said a long long way to go. Frankly, Falkirk now look like a team of winners, whereas we look like a team of triers, but triers who don't quite have what it takes. I'd be very surprised if we beat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 8 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: Mentioned in a previous post about predictability in attack. Williamson is good at getting to the bye line and, tho' poorer today, usually puts in quality crosses. Trouble being the opposition's left side defence know exactly what he's going to try to do. If he was to take a different route, as say in above post, just now and again it could wrong foot defenders. Also, and not referring to Williamson in isolation, too many times we see our players in attack being overdependent on playing the ball on their good foot. More predictability. Foster looks to be the one exception. It hasn’t just been this season,either. I remember folk complaining about Elliot’s crossing and also in the early days - SOD. I thought in the last few games Foster has been really good. I am not sure if I would move him from left back when/if some defenders return. Whose places are under threat when we have more players available ? Murray and Penrice, probably, if Spittal and either of the strikers are among them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 8 hours ago, Jimmy McD said: Keep Falkirk in our sights , may as well give them the league title now and put us all out of our misery.....A 0 ..0. draw v the mighty Dumbarton at home while Falkirk beat them 3.0.at there place last week.. Mr Doncaster ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 8 hours ago, Auld Jag said: I know Falkirk are 6 points ahead and at the moment we are not setting the heather on fire, but i would not say give them the league now. I hope the team don't give up so easily and if they did as fans we would not be happy. I wasn’t aware that we are happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 25 minutes ago, Lenziejag said: It hasn’t just been this season,either. I remember folk complaining about Elliot’s crossing and also in the early days - SOD. I thought in the last few games Foster has been really good. I am not sure if I would move him from left back when/if some defenders return. Whose places are under threat when we have more players available ? Murray and Penrice, probably, if Spittal and either of the strikers are among them. Is O’Ware not the captain ? He will be certain to return when fit so the question is how to accommodate him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyhouston Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 How an earth we didn’t take 3 points from that game yesterday is unbelievable, most concerning aspect for me is the quality of player we actually have on the bench I wouldn’t have made a sub at all, no matter how the starting 11 were doing , the quality is bench is dross Banzo is the most composed footballer at our club with an impressive penalty strike rate , Why the fxck is he not taking penalty’s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyhouston Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 14 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: Agree with all that. We'll play a lot worse and get three points. Albeit watching from a distance but previously it's looked to me that our successful defending came at a price. Today it looked more that our back four and defensive mid were linking up well with those in front of them. Further up the park it looked more like, apart from clearly lacking a cutting edge, we suffered from a combination of poor decision making and predictability. Had a view last season that when Joe Cardle sees too much of the ball we run out of ideas. Looked like another example of that to day. That's not really a criticism of Cardle but more an indication that further up the park nobody else wants to take control of the ball. End result too much predictability. Performance wise tho' we maybe shouldn't be either too critical or too worried. that’s absolutely spot on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 3 hours ago, Jaggernaut said: into the corridor of uncertainty, Brilliant phrase! Can't wait to use it. Would love to claim originality, but the expression has been used on Match of the Day. Not sure who was first to say it, possibly Alan Hansen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 24 minutes ago, partickthedog said: Would love to claim originality, but the expression has been used on Match of the Day. Not sure who was first to say it, possibly Alan Hansen? I believe it is a cricket term first used by Geoffrey Boycott in the 1990s and picked up by football later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniesland Jag Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 4 minutes ago, Dick Dastardly said: I believe it is a cricket term first used by Geoffrey Boycott in the 1990s and picked up by football later Maybe we should name it “The event Horizon “ at Firhill....everything pours in ...but nothing comes out of it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 It reminds me of Canyons of Your Mind, and the "ventricles of your heart, my dear." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Kent Jag II Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 21 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said: It reminds me of Canyons of Your Mind, and the "ventricles of your heart, my dear." The "Warp speed "zone. The ball travels quickly, and in our case, comes out the other side!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Third Lanark Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Dick Dastardly said: Is O’Ware not the captain ? He will be certain to return when fit so the question is how to accommodate him I think he has been replaced by Docherty as captain. Edited December 6, 2020 by Third Lanark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 4 minutes ago, Third Lanark said: I think he has been replaced by Docherty as captain I assume that to be the case as well. Looks to me that Docherty will play 90 mins every game he's fit to play. O'Ware is more likely to be eased back into the side. I wouldn't be surprised if his first full 90 mins is down to injuries elsewhere in defence. So even if Tam was still the skipper it's not that unlikely that Docherty will remain captain on the pitch for the rest of the season. In any case I get the impression that the question of captaincy isn't a major issue. Whether Docherty is the "leader on the field" that we've so obviously lacked over previous seasons remains to be seen. He certainly ticks a few boxes (plays in ideal position, gets about the pitch and is vocal). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westertonjagfan Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 22 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: I assume that to be the case as well. Looks to me that Docherty will play 90 mins every game he's fit to play. O'Ware is more likely to be eased back into the side. I wouldn't be surprised if his first full 90 mins is down to injuries elsewhere in defence. So even if Tam was still the skipper it's not that unlikely that Docherty will remain captain on the pitch for the rest of the season. In any case I get the impression that the question of captaincy isn't a major issue. Whether Docherty is the "leader on the field" that we've so obviously lacked over previous seasons remains to be seen. He certainly ticks a few boxes (plays in ideal position, gets about the pitch and is vocal). Shouting at Murray to get up off his arse yesterday was a sign of a leader for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westertonjagfan Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, CotterJag said: I think the problem, at least today, is that Graham is too high up the park. It's difficult to get beyond him when he is so far up and any crosses from wide positions are often to an already crowded box. I'd like Graham to sit back a bit and time his runs better and allow players to break beyond him. He seems to be waiting up front like some kind of target man and it's quite easy to defend against. Totally agree with you. If we had someone like Squiddy playing behind him to feed him balls, you could see his positioning working, but we don't. I thought Gordon might be trying to play that role yesterday but the gap between midfield and Graham led to us trying to use width and crosses instead, but too many crosses were poor quality. Penners not overlapping also led to an over reliance on Williamson on the other wing and it didn't take Dumbarton too long to read and then nullify what he was trying to do. Edited December 6, 2020 by westertonjagfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniesland Jag Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, westertonjagfan said: Shouting at Murray to get up off his arse yesterday was a sign of a leader for me. One bright moment in an otherwise frustrating 90 minutes .Apart from a couple of misspasses thought Docherty looked the biz yesterday as did most of the team in terms of effort with exception of Graham who looked distinctly off the boil and Williamson ( who I am a fan of )who unfortunately lapsed into a baby giraffe on ice routine especially in second half...really needs a couple of good fish suppers that boy as he is easily muscled off the ball especially in the box . Edited December 6, 2020 by Anniesland Jag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebaw1 Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 Docherty is in control of most games I’ve seen. He’s the captain and should stay captain. He sets a good example to lazy barstewards like Murray although needs to curb his own zealousness. O’Ware has given Thistle absolutely nothing and should never have been offered a contract never mind the captaincy. The 2 CB’s are playing well and the guy that was injured earlier in the season (McKeown?) looked perfectly competent too. Add Breen, and O’Ware should be 5th choice. Ive seen many goals this season from the English PL scored as a result of a cut back from the bye line to the edge of the box. So Williamson needs to get his head up and the mids need to bust a gut to get there. Presently he’s delivering to the corridor of certainty but perhaps not all his own fault. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonehJags Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 I wasn't convinced by Graham's penalty in the last home game and yesterdays was a carbon copy. Its frightening really when you think that your main striker does not poses the composure to strike the ball confidently from 12 yards. Its more of a blooter and hope the keeper goes the wrong way. Yesterday the keeper did his homework and gave him a chance to redeem himself. With the rebound attempt, he didn't even really need to kick it hard, merely a feathered touch, rather than horse it over the bar. You have to pinch yourself when you think that these guys are getting decent money for that end product. Everyone can miss a sitter, but two in as many seconds is beyond belief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl1971 Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 20 minutes ago, MonehJags said: I wasn't convinced by Graham's penalty in the last home game and yesterdays was a carbon copy. Its frightening really when you think that your main striker does not poses the composure to strike the ball confidently from 12 yards. Its more of a blooter and hope the keeper goes the wrong way. Yesterday the keeper did his homework and gave him a chance to redeem himself. With the rebound attempt, he didn't even really need to kick it hard, merely a feathered touch, rather than horse it over the bar. You have to pinch yourself when you think that these guys are getting decent money for that end product. Everyone can miss a sitter, but two in as many seconds is beyond belief Agreed. I felt he was going to miss it. So the issue is is it back to bannigan who is so so, or someone else? Cardle or penrice maybe....or the keeper lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernsoul Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 The penalty yesterday is the perfect summarisation of how awful we have been since April 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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