PTFC v The Loch Inverness Monster

[thornwoodjag]

16 hours ago, jlsarmy said:

A 23yr old footballer should be able to play 90 mins , taking the ball to the corner flag with 15 mins to go was a nonsense 

He took it too the corner flag because there was nobody to cross too, obv trying to win a throw in or corner. What did you want him to do cross it to nobody ? 

[thornwoodjag]

5 minutes ago, thornwoodjag said:

He took it too the corner flag because there was nobody to cross too, obv trying to win a throw in or corner. What did you want him to do cross it to nobody ? 

And it was a corner but the ref gave a goal kick for some reason.  

[jlsarmy]

27 minutes ago, thornwoodjag said:

He took it too the corner flag because there was nobody to cross too, obv trying to win a throw in or corner. What did you want him to do cross it to nobody ? 

That’s not true , he was out on his feet and Doolan took him off immediately after that .

[partickthedog]

46 minutes ago, Emsca said:

I reckon coaches will have been telling him to improve his work ethic , fitness and attitude since he was about 13 . You either have the desire or you don’t and he doesn’t .

Which in a perverse sort of way works in our favour. He does enough good things often enough to be on balance an asset for us at our level. If he did these good things on a far more frequent and reliable basis, he would be playing at a much higher level. Presumably Norwich thought that based on his ability he had at least the potential to be an English Championship player.

[thornwoodjag]

14 minutes ago, jlsarmy said:

That’s not true , he was out on his feet and Doolan took him off immediately after that .

Whats not true ? 

[jlsarmy]

3 minutes ago, partickthedog said:

Which in a perverse sort of way works in our favour. He does enough good things often enough to be on balance an asset for us at our level. If he did these good things on a far more frequent and reliable basis, he would be playing at a much higher level. Presumably Norwich thought that based on his ability he had at least the potential to be an English Championship player.

You’re right , the ability is there that we all know but modern day footballers are stuck on stats ( goals and assists) but that doesn’t tell the whole story , not tracking runners for example that lead to losing goals , unfortunately Aiden comes into that category.

[jlsarmy]

3 minutes ago, thornwoodjag said:

Whats not true ? 

Did he have to cross it all , why not square it or hit it backwards , he was dead on his feet by then , one of the reasons Dools took him off , that and not tracking his runners 

[thornwoodjag]

49 minutes ago, jlsarmy said:

Did he have to cross it all , why not square it or hit it backwards , he was dead on his feet by then , one of the reasons Dools took him off , that and not tracking his runners 

He didn’t cross it, that’s the point. There was no one to square it to, hence trying to win the corner, which he did but wasn’t given. 

[fenski]

Fitzpatrick didn't have his best game, however he nearly scored and made a couple of chances, unlike some other attacking players.

He is very obviously a confidence player. You can see him berating himself when things don't come off. I think that's the attitude problem - not backing himself and letting his head go down. Needs to learn to stay positive regardless how he's playing.

 

[Jag36]

6 hours ago, jlsarmy said:

That’s not true , he was out on his feet and Doolan took him off immediately after that .

To be fair Doolan rarely rotates his 1st 11 so not suprising a bit of fatigue is setting in now

[jaggy]

27 minutes ago, Jag36 said:

To be fair Doolan rarely rotates his 1st 11 so not suprising a bit of fatigue is setting in now

Would you rotate the normal first 11 if all available? Unfortunately most of the rest of the squad assembled aren’t good enough as first choice

[Jag36]

1 minute ago, jaggy said:

Would you rotate the normal first 11 if all available? Unfortunately most of the rest of the squad assembled aren’t good enough as first choice

Probably not but not suprising certain players are starting to tire now. Ideally secure 3rd place and rest some players before the playoffs

[allyo]

7 hours ago, Jag36 said:

Probably not but not suprising certain players are starting to tire now. Ideally secure 3rd place and rest some players before the playoffs

It's a good point. At the moment the team doesn't look capable of putting together a run through the playoffs. Secure it early and there might be an opportunity to reset, but then also the risk of lost momentum and confidence if we take defeats.

Difficult to balance. 

[Dick Dastardly]

8 hours ago, jaggy said:

Would you rotate the normal first 11 if all available? Unfortunately most of the rest of the squad assembled aren’t good enough as first choice

Taking a lead from Rugby, and South Africa, don’t start their strongest 15, but make sure that they are on at the end when the other team tires or has weaker players on, it might be worth an experiment. Admittedly they do have more subs available in rugby and the subs are probably closer to the first choice, but it might be interesting to know what Fitz,Stevie and BBG could do coming on together after 50 or 60 minutes 

[lady-isobel-barnett]

4 hours ago, Dick Dastardly said:

 but it might be interesting to know what Fitz,Stevie and BBG could do coming on together after 50 or 60 minutes 

Hitting on partly why Doolan doesn't change things about that much. If any of the three came on as subs (especially the wide two) it would also entail a forced change of formation.

I don't think there's necessarily no depth to the squad, relative to other clubs in the division. Where we are lacking is in like for like replacements down the flanks. Apart from having no one to cover (do a similar job) for Lawless and/or Fitzpatrick those two are weakened if Milne or McMillan don't play. Over the piece our strength has been in our width but that also exposes a weakness of having had to rely on those four players. 

Encouragingly tho' we're seeing signs improvement thru the middle mainly down to having plugged the defensive gap somewhat and thus allowing Robinson in particular to get further forward. 

 

Edited April 1 by lady-isobel-barnett

[dl1971]

4 hours ago, Dick Dastardly said:

Taking a lead from Rugby, and South Africa, don’t start their strongest 15, but make sure that they are on at the end when the other team tires or has weaker players on, it might be worth an experiment. Admittedly they do have more subs available in rugby and the subs are probably closer to the first choice, but it might be interesting to know what Fitz,Stevie and BBG could do coming on together after 50 or 60 minutes 

An interesting slant on things. Alas without our strongest starting line up we may be 4 0 down by the time they came on....

[Albert's Ghost]

32 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

allowing Robinson in particular to get further forward. 

 

Robinson was given acres of space by ICT - they were fixated on marking our wide men.

[jaggy]

1 hour ago, Albert's Ghost said:

Robinson was given acres of space by ICT - they were fixated on marking our wide men.

It’s happened in most games this season. Every team tries to block our wings

[Jaggernaut]

4 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Hitting on partly why Doolan doesn't change things about that much. If any of the three came on as subs (especially the wide two) it would also entail a forced change of formation.

I don't think there's necessarily no depth to the squad, relative to other clubs in the division. Where we are lacking is in like for like replacements down the flanks. Apart from having no one to cover (do a similar job) for Lawless and/or Fitzpatrick those two are weakened if Milne or McMillan don't play. Over the piece our strength has been in our width but that also exposes a weakness of having had to rely on those four players. 

Encouragingly tho' we're seeing signs improvement thru the middle mainly down to having plugged the defensive gap somewhat and thus allowing Robinson in particular to get further forward. 

 

Question: Is like for like replacements what we want when one or more subs is required? If so, then the implication seems to be that no changes in approach are to be expected, just more of the same, with slightly fresher legs. Doesn't that usually fail (at least for us), and lead to more criticisms of the manager? On many occasions (usually those where subs have failed to make any real impression, or they've come on ridiculously late) supporters have lambasted the manager for just continuing to plough the same unproductive furrow, having simply replaced one ox with another (my own simile!).

Of course there are also cases where changing the entire balance and solidity of the team due to substitutions has also resulted in catastrophe (look no further than Thistle).

I guess the question is: Is it better to try new things with subs, or to stick with the same approach, hoping for fresh legs and new motivation leading to a positive outcome? Actually, I'm sure there are examples of failures and successes for both. 

[Weebaw1]

6 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Hitting on partly why Doolan doesn't change things about that much. If any of the three came on as subs (especially the wide two) it would also entail a forced change of formation.

I don't think there's necessarily no depth to the squad, relative to other clubs in the division. Where we are lacking is in like for like replacements down the flanks. Apart from having no one to cover (do a similar job) for Lawless and/or Fitzpatrick those two are weakened if Milne or McMillan don't play. Over the piece our strength has been in our width but that also exposes a weakness of having had to rely on those four players. 

Encouragingly tho' we're seeing signs improvement thru the middle mainly down to having plugged the defensive gap somewhat and thus allowing Robinson in particular to get further forward. 

 

There’s been a huge change in dynamics which was badly required as we were all over the place defensively. It was entertaining but the Ayr game ended that style of play. We were clearly the more talented team but we lost 4 goals to a poor side.

I give Doolan some credit although the rearrangement has raised new problems. Neilson looks out of place. Jack and Harry appear more reticent to bomb forward. The wingers are missing their support. 
 

If Robinson or Graham get injured we’re in trouble because they’ve both excelled since the changes. Perhaps this will eventually remove some pressure from Fitzy who doesn’t need to do it all himself. But he needs to lose weight and get fitter in body and mind.  And maybe even enjoy himself.

[Lenziejag]

3 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

Question: Is like for like replacements what we want when one or more subs is required? If so, then the implication seems to be that no changes in approach are to be expected, just more of the same, with slightly fresher legs. Doesn't that usually fail (at least for us), and lead to more criticisms of the manager? On many occasions (usually those where subs have failed to make any real impression, or they've come on ridiculously late) supporters have lambasted the manager for just continuing to plough the same unproductive furrow, having simply replaced one ox with another (my own simile!).

Of course there are also cases where changing the entire balance and solidity of the team due to substitutions has also resulted in catastrophe (look no further than Thistle).

I guess the question is: Is it better to try new things with subs, or to stick with the same approach, hoping for fresh legs and new motivation leading to a positive outcome? Actually, I'm sure there are examples of failures and successes for both. 

If the replacements were of the same standard as the starters I think the subs would be effective more often. I think your 2nd point about changing shape also comes down to the quality/ability of the players.

[Lenziejag]

1 hour ago, Weebaw1 said:

There’s been a huge change in dynamics which was badly required as we were all over the place defensively. It was entertaining but the Ayr game ended that style of play. We were clearly the more talented team but we lost 4 goals to a poor side.

I give Doolan some credit although the rearrangement has raised new problems. Neilson looks out of place. Jack and Harry appear more reticent to bomb forward. The wingers are missing their support. 
 

If Robinson or Graham get injured we’re in trouble because they’ve both excelled since the changes. Perhaps this will eventually remove some pressure from Fitzy who doesn’t need to do it all himself. But he needs to lose weight and get fitter in body and mind.  And maybe even enjoy himself.

Regarding McMillan and Milne, I think Jack is feeling the effects of not having had a pre season. He really looks done. I also think Milne has been given instructions to be more defensive. Maybe, when/if we secure our playoff place we will revert to our more attack minded style.

[exiledjag]

Getting slightly off track here I watched my 12 year old grandson play against Raith Rovers. As the team captain and centre half was absent my grandson was captain for the day and dropped back from Central Midfield to Centre Half. The day after the game, which my grandson's team won by a 5 goal margin, the Coach issued his normal post match summary which though i have abbreviated  read something like this (i have used first name initials rather than full name):

"Although like Raith we were 3 players short today everyone played well to deliver a convincing victory. Due to Js absence we made B captain for the day and moved him from his usual position in Central Midfield back to Central  defence.  B played very well and gave a solid and commanding  performance protecting  our keeper who as a result had very little to do in the first half. With a 3 goal lead at HT we moved B forward to Central Midfied where he gave his usual strong tackling performance breaking up attacks high up the pitch, winning possession and starting our attacks".

Man of the match was awarded, deservedly, to the centre forward who put in tireless performance and scored a hat trick.

Watching this game and my grandson's performance I couldn't help but hope that in 8-10 years time  he will be in the Jags midfield because the attributes he displayed in the above game were exactly what we need in both Central defence and midfield.

Apologies for the lengthy account.

 

 

 

 

[partickthedog]

10 hours ago, exiledjag said:

Getting slightly off track here I watched my 12 year old grandson play against Raith Rovers. As the team captain and centre half was absent my grandson was captain for the day and dropped back from Central Midfield to Centre Half. The day after the game, which my grandson's team won by a 5 goal margin, the Coach issued his normal post match summary which though i have abbreviated  read something like this (i have used first name initials rather than full name):

"Although like Raith we were 3 players short today everyone played well to deliver a convincing victory. Due to Js absence we made B captain for the day and moved him from his usual position in Central Midfield back to Central  defence.  B played very well and gave a solid and commanding  performance protecting  our keeper who as a result had very little to do in the first half. With a 3 goal lead at HT we moved B forward to Central Midfied where he gave his usual strong tackling performance breaking up attacks high up the pitch, winning possession and starting our attacks".

Man of the match was awarded, deservedly, to the centre forward who put in tireless performance and scored a hat trick.

Watching this game and my grandson's performance I couldn't help but hope that in 8-10 years time  he will be in the Jags midfield because the attributes he displayed in the above game were exactly what we need in both Central defence and midfield.

Apologies for the lengthy account.

 

 

 

 

Sign him!

[elevenone]

Red card from match overturned on appeal.

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/sport/ict-successfully-appeal-kerr-red-card-347060/