Winter of '63 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 My first game since January...I should have known better from Ross County's previous visits to Firhill - they are well-organised, disciplined and "professional" outfit but it makes for a pretty tedious day out...watching footballers walking slowly to take goal kicks and throw-ins is not great entertainment. Scully made three good saves, Cairney and to a lesser extent Sinclair carried a bit of a threat in the second half and Rowson gave his usual hard-working performance but Christie was poor and I wasn't sure what role Erskine was supposed to be playing...and neither was he. Hutton started impressively but disappeared. An obvious flaw in the way the team is set up is Paul Paton's inability to go past a defender...it makes us predictable and easy to defend against. I guess I just find it difficult to accept that Thistle are a mid-table First Division side now and that the likes of County, Hamilton and Inverness have better sides than us...they used to be several divisions below us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle4tw Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 County were poor imo, we weren't good at all, but how could we ever get going when the opposite team dived and timewasted at every oppertunity. county have always been a pain in the ass at firhill whenever they have gone 1 up at firhill on 1 of 4 occasions we have equalised but there is no doubt that they are very experienced in the art of timewasting and cheating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 county have always been a pain in the ass at firhill whenever they have gone 1 up at firhill on 1 of 4 occasions we have equalised but there is no doubt that they are very experienced in the art of timewasting and cheating and a clueless ref who let them do it didn't help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 and a clueless ref who let them do it didn't help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I don't think Ross County were that much better than us yesterday. We just couldn't seem to get going. Maybe if Cairney was playing on the right and Erskine on the left it might have been different or if O'Donnell had come on earlier ? We still had as many chances as County did all game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Passenger Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) "Clueless ref" "Cheating" Have we turned into Dundee fans overnight? We were beaten by a better team, no doubt. County are a well-drilled side. They're by no means the prettiest side to watch when they're on the road, but they're the the team best equipped to win the title from what I've seen of the opposition. Why would we expect them to go all open and attacking at Firhill? Win your home games, take at least a point on your travels and you'll win the league. Look at them at home; they completely pissed on us until they went a man down. Good side. Edited November 6, 2011 by Dark Passenger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 and a clueless ref who let them do it didn't help Clueless could be wrong. He might just have been indifferent or totally disinterested, which more or less results in the same thing. Why I say that is that on numerous occasions he allowed free kicks and throw ins to be taken from anywhere but the correct spot. While I hate when refs are pernickety, that in itself can spoil a game, but there has to be a happy medium. Yesterday we took one free kick at least twenty five yards from the foul and both teams got away with something similar if not quite so extreme throughout the match. On one occasion I even found it amusing. County were lining up their wall about eight paces from where the free kick was to be taken from. When the ref had failed in a half hearted attempt to move them back we simply moved the free kick back a yard or so. If the referee shows little interest to where deadballs and throw ins are taken it stands to reason he'll be indifferent to time wasting and all sorts of gamesmanship. Then of course perhaps he was trying his best and was just a completely clueless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honved Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I'm still enjoying watching a team that tries to play football as opposed to the wilderness years of Dick Campbell where we watched a team that hardly knew what football was. Yesterday was annoying and disappointing, but look at what happened when Falkirk came and played an open game against us. Great entertainment, but Falkirk are second and County are top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennythistle Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I don't think Ross County were that much better than us yesterday. We just couldn't seem to get going. Maybe if Cairney was playing on the right and Erskine on the left it might have been different or if O'Donnell had come on earlier ? We still had as many chances as County did all game. Cairney has been having a great season to date, playing on the left. Wasn't there yesterday so won't comment on performance but it seems from what I've read that we just didn't get going yesterday and too many had an off day. We're dropping a few points at home, so pressure on for next couple of games away from home. Couple of wins and we're at right end of table. Couple of defeats and we could be looking up at everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firhillista Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 To take one positive from yesterday, Aaron Sinclair is the most promising young player I've seen at Firhill in years. He's got strength, height, pace and he can play a bit too. It's no surprise that he's being watched by so many clubs. The only time I thought we might do something yesterday was when he went on a run into the box. Cairney plays well with him, but I'd like to see one of the front two make more of Sinclair's moves. He's only young and still very raw, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him in a Scotland jersey in a couple of years. (After he's swapped a Thistle jersey for something else, no doubt.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Incognito Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I thought our first half performance yesterday was as poor as I have seen us play all season. We at least showed some fight in the second half but County were resting on their laurels by then, having taken the lead, and just killed the game off. I thought Ballatoni had a pretty good game (for a change), ditto Ryan Scully. Paton's confidence seemed shot to sh*t, passing the ball inside instead of taking on his marker. Chris Erskine, the only attacker we have who seems comfortable running with the ball at his feet, also looked out of sorts, resulting in a complete lack of creativity. I think we are going to miss Kyle Hutton badly when he returns to Rangers, because he is the one midfielder who looks capable of playing an incisive forward pass. I also think signing a player capable of taking a half decent corner should be McNamara's next priority! Equally disappointing was the away support. I know it is a long way to travel but with their team at the top of the league you would have thought they could have at least brought enough fans to justify opening the north stand! All in all, a game to forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 "Clueless ref" "Cheating" Have we turned into Dundee fans overnight? We were beaten by a better team, no doubt. County are a well-drilled side. They're by no means the prettiest side to watch when they're on the road, but they're the the team best equipped to win the title from what I've seen of the opposition. Why would we expect them to go all open and attacking at Firhill? Win your home games, take at least a point on your travels and you'll win the league. Look at them at home; they completely pissed on us until they went a man down. Good side. agree with you completely & the ref was nothing to do with us losing, but he never had control of the game, the Ross C players were doing whatever they wanted & he didn't seem to care. He should have booked Archie in the 2nd half as well, just to show that I don't think he was biased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Equally disappointing was the away support. I know it is a long way to travel but with their team at the top of the league you would have thought they could have at least brought enough fans to justify opening the north stand! To be fair I'm not sure I'd make the journey they must've to do every second week and I go to most away games. Then, because of our inane league system, they're expected to make the same nine journeys all over again. If come March they're still up challenging and don't turn up in decent numbers then that will be disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Maybe a bit of a learning curve for the manager there also.Could have changed some things a lot earlier and was out thought and out organised by the opposition.Poor display from most of the team though.If teams close us down quickly our passing game goes to bits and we didn't up the tempo enough.Despite critisism I felt Balatoni had a very good game today and Scully a couple of vital stops too to keep us in it. We're not clicking up front either,don't think the manager knows what his best combination is. We lost to a team that were just a bit more professional in all they did than us on a very dissapointing day. and their nos 3's dive to try to get Paton booked or worse was shameful I think the above post points nicely to what happened. It's no surprise that County are top of the league. Best team I've seen us play against this season. Great defensively, and excellent fast passing on the move. Yes, we can do the tippy-tappy side to side stuff, but it takes us no further forward and gives the entire opposition time to take up their defensive position. I was becoming demented every time I saw Paton in the first half run forward a bit then stop. He didn't even cut inside as he often used to do (due to two players getting in on him fast); instead he simply turned back and passed the ball back. It was like watching a 5-year-old girl getting her yoyo stolen from her by a couple of big boys. Worst of all is the overhit passes to our forwards who need to run back to get them with their back to the opposition goal. They generally can't control the ball when they receive the overhit pass and in any case there's a defender right on their backside. I feel sorry for Doolan and Elliot because we're almost never getting the ball into the box to set them up with a chance. Final rant: It seems almost criminal that they way we are playing, with all the slow nonsensical passes in our half, that the guys who have pace in the team: Sekhon, Elliot and Erskene, need to try to start any run at the defence from a standing start. It's handicapping them. County were excellent at passing the ball fast onto guys who were already on a run at the defence yesterday. They'd hit the bar, had five corners, and had scored before we even had a single (very weak) effort directed on goal. As an old punter said to me on the way out: "Boring and predictable." I think he was talking about the team, not me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Just so poor today,have been for weeks now. Our football is so crab like,side to side all day. Nobody willing to run with the ball. Yep, crab football has become our speciality. Too much more of it and we'll be floundering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 From what I have seen this season there is not that much between any of the teams. Quite often results come down to a flash of brilliance, a bad mistake or a bit of luck on the day. As Honved has said I am enjoying watching a team that wants to play an entertaining style of football. Does it always come off as planned - no but that should not be a shock with a young team and a manager in his first job. We need to stick with the team and the club as, in my opinion, we are at the start of what could be an interesting period for our us. We lost the game on Saturday lets not lose our heads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 "Clueless ref" "Cheating" Have we turned into Dundee fans overnight? We were beaten by a better team, no doubt. County are a well-drilled side. They're by no means the prettiest side to watch when they're on the road, but they're the the team best equipped to win the title from what I've seen of the opposition. Why would we expect them to go all open and attacking at Firhill? Win your home games, take at least a point on your travels and you'll win the league. Look at them at home; they completely pissed on us until they went a man down. Good side. It's frustrating when the timewasting starts early, but we might just do the same. Remember trying to run the clock down at the corner flags against 10 men last week? If Thistle don't get promoted (apart from the Morton game, when they collapsed as much as we played well), and that does seem beyond the current squad and manager, then I'd actually like to see Ross County go up, if just to get it up ICT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) The manager's thoughts: http://www.ptfc.co.uk/news/2011-2012/november_2011/after_match_reaction Jackie does seem able to put an accurate assessment toghether after games which is some comfort at least considering we have had managers in the past who seemed to have been watching a different game in their post match reactions. It must be frustrating for Jackie, or any manager, when players do everything that is asked of them in training but then do something else on matchday. Edited November 6, 2011 by Fawlty Towers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted November 6, 2011 Members Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 The manager's thoughts: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/home-and-garden/food-and-wine/ Jackie does seem able to put an accurate assessment toghether after games which is some comfort at least considering we have had managers in the past who seemed to have been watching a different game in their post match reactions. It must be frustrating for Jackie, or any manager, when players do everything that is asked of them in training but then do something else on matchday. I think you might have the wrong link there Martin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 The manager's thoughts: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/home-and-garden/food-and-wine/ Jackie does seem able to put an accurate assessment toghether after games which is some comfort at least considering we have had managers in the past who seemed to have been watching a different game in their post match reactions. It must be frustrating for Jackie, or any manager, when players do everything that is asked of them in training but then do something else on matchday. From the link, Jackie should be concentrating more on the team and less on his belly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Just testing guys Post edited with the correct link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Good to see JM at least acknowledging the over-crabification of much of our play, and Paton's infuriating habit of stopping in his tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillresigned Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) From what I have seen this season there is not that much between any of the teams. Quite often results come down to a flash of brilliance, a bad mistake or a bit of luck on the day. As Honved has said I am enjoying watching a team that wants to play an entertaining style of football. Does it always come off as planned - no but that should not be a shock with a young team and a manager in his first job. We need to stick with the team and the club as, in my opinion, we are at the start of what could be an interesting period for our us. We lost the game on Saturday lets not lose our heads! Couldn't agree more, I know supporters are fickle, but we are not entitled to look for miracles, a 1-o defeat at the hands of the leaugue leaders is hardly the end of the world as we know it. Disapointing yes, but we must get up and go again. I'm fully appreciate how annoying it is but in many years of watching Thistle, false dawns I'm afraid have proved more common than glorius success. However, I think we have to be more realistic, a look at the resources available to the manager, will I think show that our position in the league is about where we could honestly expect it to ne. Mind you who ev ever said that being a football supporter, being a Jags fan in particular has ever had much to do wih cold logic or indeed rationality. Edited November 6, 2011 by stillresigned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Elliot's first touch is horrific. I don't think he's very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Elliot's first touch is horrific. I don't think he's very good. I've noticed that the first touch seems to be a problem with several of our players, especially when they have to take a pass when they're facing towards our own goal. As for our throw-ins, well they're even more embarrassing than our corners. Edited November 6, 2011 by Jaggernaut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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