Striking Solution

[potty trained]

Talking to my dad yesterday and he thought that looking at the Spanish lad in the warm up he could have plenty goals in him.

 

But who do you drop, craigan has been one of our best players so far! Banzo is a one of the best players in the league and a fit welsh is a must start based on the first 3 games.

Edited August 26, 2013 by potty trained

[sb1876]

Can you imagine an inform Toastie, or Albert Craig or King of Spain, or Callum Campbell in that team with 27 corners in 4 games.......... we'd have the keepers union up in arms (No pun intended)

I was watching a youtube compilation of toastie and it reminded me how great he was for us, Gereee looked amazing too in some clips, all legs and arms but he could hold it up great, lay it off perfectly and scored more than a few in his time. Also talking about his flailing arms just remembered me about the game against the blue ugly sister that he got sent off for waving his arms about after a poor offside? decision, he didn't know the defender had walked right up behind him and he accidentally caught him in the face. Really, really poor refereeing.

[stillresigned]

Total Shots

Celtic 50 (3 Games)

Thistle 45

Motherwell 44

Inverness 39

St Johnstone 39

Hearts 32

Hibs 32

Dundee Utd 32

Ross County 31

St Mirren 30 (3 Games)

Aberdeen 28

Killie 26

 

Shots on Target

Thistle 20

Celtic 16

Hibs 14

Motherwell 14

Dundee Utd 14

Hearts 12

Ross County 12

St Johnstone 12

St Mirren 12 (3 Games)

Aberdeen 11

Kilmarnock 11

Inverness 11

 

Corners

Thistle 27

Celtic 23 (3 Games)

Dundee Utd 23

St Johnstone 21

Hearts 19

Motherwell 19

Ross County 18

Aberdeen 17

Hibs 16

Killie 14

St Mirren 12 (3 Games)

Inverness 10

 

 

Goals Scored

Inverness 8 (From 39 Shots = 1 in 5 shots goes in)

Celtic 8 (From 50 Shots = 1 in 6.25 shots goes in)

Aberdeen 6 (From 28 Shots = 1 in 4.7 shots goes in)

St Johnstone 5 (From 39 Shots = 1 in 7.8 shots goes in)

Dundee UTD 5 (From 32 Shots = 1 in 6.4 shots goes in)

Ross County 5 (From 31 Shots + 1 in 6.2 Shots goes in)

Thistle 4 (From 45 Shots = 1 in 11.25 shots goes in)

Hearts 4 (From 32 Shots = 1 in 8 shots goes in)

Killie 3 (From 26 shots = 1 in 8.7 shots goes in)

Hibs 3 (From 32 shots = 1 in 10.7 shots goes in)

Motherwell 3 (From 44 shots = 1 in 14.7 shots goes in)

St Mirren 1 (From 30 shots = 1 in 30 shots goes in)

 

 

Our shots on target, total shots and corners are top of the league stuff, but our finishing rate is 10th in the league

Sure doesn't look like the stats of a team with problems. As others have said its a matter of faith, keep faith in the players and the way we play, you know its right.

[Norgethistle]

Sure doesn't look like the stats of a team with problems. As others have said its a matter of faith, keep faith in the players and the way we play, you know its right.

 

Our only problem is goals to shots ratio, but that is also down to good keeping, at this rate even by the law of averages someones gettin a skelping

[Barney Rubble]

I was watching a youtube compilation of toastie and it reminded me how great he was for us, Gereee looked amazing too in some clips, all legs and arms but he could hold it up great, lay it off perfectly and scored more than a few in his time. Also talking about his flailing arms just remembered me about the game against the blue ugly sister that he got sent off for waving his arms about after a poor offside? decision, he didn't know the defender had walked right up behind him and he accidentally caught him in the face. Really, really poor refereeing.

 

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to remind the forum of the rat that is Kevin Muscat.

 

Just glad that the current Jags side is an order of magnitude better than that Jags side (sorry Toastie and Gerry) and of course way better than Sevco 5088 can ever be.

[Juan Kerr]

Talk of a "Plan B" makes me sad. It suggests a return to that old Scottish staple of lumping the ball up to an isolated centre forward and more often than not losing possession. Should our Youth teams be practising that too?

 

Our true "Plan B" when the full-backs are pegged back, as they were in the 2nd half Vs Hearts and the first hour Vs Motherwell, should involve a midfielder dropping back to collect the ball and passing through the middle where space will have opened up.

 

As to Baird sclaffing a chance on the TV highlights, I also noticed, Balde, Watt, Vernon, Heffernan and at least one striker per side doing exactly the same in their game highlights. Maybe we should be spunking £3M on someone more like that?

[Jaggernaut]

Talk of a "Plan B" makes me sad. It suggests a return to that old Scottish staple of lumping the ball up to an isolated centre forward and more often than not losing possession. Should our Youth teams be practising that too?

 

Our true "Plan B" when the full-backs are pegged back, as they were in the 2nd half Vs Hearts and the first hour Vs Motherwell, should involve a midfielder dropping back to collect the ball and passing through the middle where space will have opened up.

 

As to Baird sclaffing a chance on the TV highlights, I also noticed, Balde, Watt, Vernon, Heffernan and at least one striker per side doing exactly the same in their game highlights. Maybe we should be spunking £3M on someone more like that?

 

Good points. The statistics provided by Norgethistle make for very interesting reading. We are creating a more than decent number of chances, but haven't managed to convert as many as we'd all like, so far. In one game the opposition goalie made several outstanding saves, and in other matches we've been no more than an inch or two from scoring. The goals will soon start to flow, from Doolan, Baird, and others too.

 

It would be interesting to see a similar table but with shots on target against each team, corners conceded etc.

[Dick Dastardly]

I think that is the real problem. Well organised sides have worked out how to nullify our threat. QotS, Hearts and Motherwell all managed to put pressure on the wingbacks to stop us going out wide, and at the same time pressing the central midfield to prevent us passing through the middle. It gives us few options and we haven't got the players for a "lump the ball" game. Now if some genius tactician can work on a plan to use the space behind their midfield then maybe we will have a plan B.

 

Buying a big target man is not the answer.

[Paulo]

I think that is the real problem. Well organised sides have worked out how to nullify our threat. QotS, Hearts and Motherwell all managed to put pressure on the wingbacks to stop us going out wide, and at the same time pressing the central midfield to prevent us passing through the middle. It gives us few options and we haven't got the players for a "lump the ball" game. Now if some genius tactician can work on a plan to use the space behind their midfield then maybe we will have a plan B.

 

Buying a big target man is not the answer.

 

I tend to agree. I'd hate to see us buy a big, immobile lump and change our option. I think Doolan can actually be a really good out-ball when we're under pressure. It's up to Archie to recognize that other teams will press us like this and utilize the space that will appear either in the middle of the park, or further up the wing. The likes of Lawless and Higgy should be useful players in this situation.

[Lambies Lost Doo]

Our only problem is goals to shots ratio, but that is also down to good keeping, at this rate even by the law of averages someones gettin a skelping

 

They did. It was Ross County and we'll dish out another hiding soon.

 

The Motherwell game was a learning curve for a team made up of players who are from a lower division (but many have potential to play higher than Scottish Premiership) and are more than holding their own in the past few games. The last 35 minutes gave me satisfaction when we started playing our way and using the full width of the pitch and passing what we now expect. The team were clapped off by over 1000 fans. You don't get that often in a 1-0 defeat. The day we bring on a Kevin Kyle figure (and no disrespect to the big man) is when we go backwards with this new club philosophy.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Lambies Lost Doo

[ThickAsThieves]

We've lost once in four matches - no need to rip up the blueprints.

[stillresigned]

They did. It was Ross County and we'll dish out another hiding soon.

 

The Motherwell game was a learning curve for a team made up of players who are from a lower division (but many have potential to play higher than Scottish Premiership) and are more than holding their own in the past few games. The last 35 minutes gave me satisfaction when we started playing our way and using the full width of the pitch and passing what we now expect. The team were clapped off by over 1000 fans. You don't get that often in a 1-0 defeat. The day we bring on a Kevin Kyle figure (and no disrespect to the big man) is when we go backwards with this new club philosophy.

Couldn't agree more, our method of playing is the future for Scottish football that is if we want to entertain the supporters and enjoy a modicum of success. If you want to see big braw lads humping the ball forward, I suggest you watch another team. Let me be honest,, our style of play will not always be rewarded. Particularly, on cold windswept afternoons, nor will it be universally praised I'm afraid the Chick Dung's of this world will always find Coisty's tie, a subject of far more pressing interest, than the football philosophy of a small club. C'est la vie, unfortunately that's always been true in this neck of the woods and I detect no change in the footballing mores of the West of Scotland anytime soon, unfortunately. Therefore, its up to us as Jag's fans, to be advocates for our footballing style, accept that there will be times perhaps even quite a lot of times when teams set out to nullify our style. Far from being down we should be flattered. If this style can be embedded, in the soul of this club, then I believe we're merely at the beginning of something special. However that does require patience and support from the stands, please provide both.

Edited August 27, 2013 by stillresigned

[Mr Bunny]

Couldn't agree more, our method of playing is the future for Scottish football that is if we want to entertain the supporters and enjoy a modicum of success. If you want to see big braw lads humping the ball forward, I suggest you watch another team. Let me be honest,, our style of play will not always be rewarded. Particularly, on cold windswept afternoons, nor will it be universally praised I'm afraid the Chick Dung's of this world will always find Coisty's a subject of far more pressing interest, than the football philosophy of a small club. C'est la vie, unfortunately that's always been true in this neck of the woods and I detect no change in the footballing mores of the West of Scotland anytime soon, unfortunately. Therefore, its up to us as Jag's fans, to be advocates for our footballing style, accept that there will be times perhaps even quite a lot of times when teams set out to nullify our style. Far from being down we should be flattered. If this style can be embedded, in the soul of this club, then I believe we're merely at the beginning of something special. However that does require patience and support from the stands, please provide both.

 

Hmmm. looks like I should tell the idots that sit a few seats along from me to shut up ... very time we pass it about at the back for more than 2 seconds they are on their feet sreaming "punt it up the park!" We could be playing like Barcelona every week and they would still be screaming the same thing. Guys like that are the reason why we have WWF wrestling. Some folk don't want to see good football, just a battle.

 

Personally I think we have both - good football players who work their socks off and fight (in a football sense) for everything.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Mr Bunny

[lady-isobel-barnett]

I think we're guilty of slightly overplaying it in and around the opposition box. Ironically Baird is least guilty of that but his snap shots on goal have tended to be weak and on occasion he would have been better advised to play a lay off. So it's a delicate balancing act to get that decision making improved.

Over the last few seasons Doolan has had a respectable enough goal tally. Records don't tell of his assists, which we all know have been many. Imo apart from his excellent first touch it's his decision making of when to go for goal, when to lay off that's made him so important a player for us. That's why, tho' sometimes guilty myself, I'm not a fan of judging strikers purely by their goal to game ratio. Doolan & Mark Roberts are two examples of players who may have scored say 12-15 goals a season but been integral to assisting in as many again. Other strikers may score a few more goals but rarely provide any assists yet get more lauded. Think if you're going to look at a player's goal scoring record you're well advised to look at the gaps between goals. If the gaps are wide and the team had a successful season that's perhaps an indication that the guy's got more to offer.

 

That's rather a long winded way of saying we're unlikely to come up with this extra proven goalscoring-offering us something different kind of striker. Anyway as Juan Kerr points out there's SPFL strikers well outside of our budget playing last Saturday sclaffing away The answer will have to lie within and I for one am not the least despondent about our chances. Just feel we need to get both the decision making in front of goal and the snap shooting that bit sharper

[yoda-jag]

Who knew a old woman could be so wise, knowledgeable & right when it comes to football and analysis of it

 

Even if she is a typical bird who waffles on incessantly in a long winded way

[Armand2]

I've read a lot of sh*te on this forum but saying Doolan is of "limited ability" really takes the excrement covered biscuit. I can only deduce that I watch a different game every week if that is the conclusion that some people have arrived at.

[The Legend Blows]

If he was average he wouldnt have won first divison player of the year, Im afraid it takes a bit above the average to win one of those

I stand by my comments. He scored 13 goals in the 1st Division the season he won players player of the year. He then preceded to score 4 goals in 35 appearances for Dundee. The guy is 1st Div standard, maybe top half but still 1st Division. He's also more of a forward than a striker so god help us if we're pinning our hopes on him this season. Remember Raith Rovers were at the top for a lot of the season so the old 'good return for guy in a struggling team' patter canny be trotted out either.

[The Legend Blows]

Talk of a "Plan B" makes me sad. It suggests a return to that old Scottish staple of lumping the ball up to an isolated centre forward and more often than not losing possession. Should our Youth teams be practising that too?

 

Our true "Plan B" when the full-backs are pegged back, as they were in the 2nd half Vs Hearts and the first hour Vs Motherwell, should involve a midfielder dropping back to collect the ball and passing through the middle where space will have opened up.

 

As to Baird sclaffing a chance on the TV highlights, I also noticed, Balde, Watt, Vernon, Heffernan and at least one striker per side doing exactly the same in their game highlights. Maybe we should be spunking £3M on someone more like that?

Bairds sclaff at Motherwell summed him up from what i've seen. Agreed that his game time is limited but his inability to strike a decent shot in the direction of the goal is very worrying for a top level stiker. Analyse his attempts so far and you'll see that SPFL goalkeepers will be already thinking about where to place their goal kick as Baird lines up to shoot.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

I stand by my comments. He scored 13 goals in the 1st Division the season he won players player of the year. He then preceded to score 4 goals in 35 appearances for Dundee. The guy is 1st Div standard, maybe top half but still 1st Division. He's also more of a forward than a striker so god help us if we're pinning our hopes on him this season. Remember Raith Rovers were at the top for a lot of the season so the old 'good return for guy in a struggling team' patter canny be trotted out either.

If you're going to use statistics all very well but Baird at Dundee is a prime example of what I said in my last post. Do you really think Baird went something like 25 games in a row not scoring goals playing as a striker? He was played in midfield for virtually the whole of Smith's time as manager. When Heid the Breed took over he was then deployed more often upfront. It was only then he scored a few goals.

I'm not defending Baird, I've already made a criticism, which I think stands up but that's based on what I've seen of him so far not on limited statistics of games I never saw him play in.

[stillresigned]

I can't work out why some Jag's supporters appear to spend their time, devisingf reasons to criticise or rubbish their own team and players. Maybe, if they put as much effort into being positive, as they do do articulating negativity we might see better results on the pitch.

Edited August 27, 2013 by stillresigned

[read'n'yell]

I believe Baird scored 7 goals last year, as mentioned he played mainly on the wing in the first 3/4s of the season. He was also playing for a terrible Dundee side that made hardly any chances and were always playing on the backfoot. Much like what happened with Doolan at Clyde - where he failed to score.

[Dick Dastardly]

I can't work out why some Jag's supporters appear to spend their time, devisingf reasons to criticise or rubbish their own team and players. Maybe, if they put as much effort into being positive, as they do do articulating negativity we might see better results on the pitch.

 

Well said that man

[The Legend Blows]

118:28 John Baird's low shot skids wide of goal.

[Barney Rubble]

118:28 John Baird's low shot skids wide of goal.

 

Yep - he needs a goal or two. Doolan as well.

 

Fortunately we play St Midden next.

[allyo]

118:28 John Baird's low shot skids wide of goal.

 

There should be a "don't like this" button.