Third Lanark Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I dont get any criticism of Doolan he is a legend. What I dont get either is the going on about Steven Craig- he played in the fist divison when he was good he was superb, when he was lazy he was pretty terrible. What some seem to forget is Baird also had a decent record in the first and with clubs not as good as our squad last year. I dont think Craig would have anywhere near as much time as he did last year as the Premier league is far faster. Craig is probably more clinical than Baird which with a Baird running low on confidence is not difficult, but in terms of putting in effort and giving his all I would say Baird is far ahead of Craig in this area. So far I think Baird has been really good coming on as a sub like Elliot and Doolan should be the starter. Sadly its clear some have targetted Baird as scapegoat, notably Kni who despite living in Glasgow and being the biggest critic of the team on the forums seems for whatever reason to never get his back side along to the games and judges them on whats read on the forum or the live updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 It seems to be the fashion now playing with a lone striker. I wonder if Archie will ever consider trying two up front starting both Doolan and Baird from the off. Didn,t he used to start Craig with Doolan. I,d like to also see Elliot getting on a bit earlier as the season moves forward. Is it any concidence that we got the equlizer just after he came on the park. Maybe thats the role Archie wants him to play injecting a wee bit of pace and chase late in the game. Still I like what is happening.. we seem safe at the back, we are dominating teams in the midfield, it seems only a matter of time before the goals come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillresigned Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Sometimes, I despair of some of our support here we are after 5 games and sitting in fourth place in the league, and our only defeat was a narrow 1-0 reverse at the hands of the side who finished second in the SPL last year. Please, please tell me, leaving out conjecture and maybe's just what is there to get upset about. Some people need to get real and remember its Thistle we're talking about not Barcelona or Real Madrid. Don't forget it was only a short time we were being "entertained" by the tactical genius that was Dick Campbell. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Jag Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 There's a reason Hamilton and Falkirk didn't even come close to winning the league last year or the year before despite Stevie May and El Alagui romping the goals charts. Our team is a fluid unit. We will get more goals from midfield than a considerable number of other Premier League clubs this year. We as good as play with a front four with Doolan in a more advanced role. Our style of football actually lends itself to more goals for Lawless, Forbes, Bannigan, Higginbotham, Welsh and the wing backs. Just enjoy it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
read'n'yell Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I'm in no way critising the team. We have been fantastic last season and this season. Everything about what we are doing on the park is right. I just think we should always be looking to improve. At the start of the season, my only reservations came with Sinclair and our strikers. Sinclair has proven himself and outwith several bad crosses he has been very good - I think he has been told to cross less and pass the ball inside more often which is far more effective for the team. Our strikers, Doolan and Baird, I still have reservations about. I don't think either one would get a start for any other Premiership team. At the moment we are relying on our midfielders to score, which is fine in general and if it at the end of the season our goals scored is overall high then that is fine. I want nothing more than just to survive in the league this season. But I feel, if we could improve, the only thing I would change is our strikers. Doolan/Baird are fine as 2nd 3rd choice but I feel we do need that goalscorer upfront. With the way we play, it should be, in comparison to many other clubs, easy for strikers to score for us because we get the ball into threatning positions time after time. I like Doolan and Baird, but we have to be realistic and I don't think anyone could argue against us, perhaps not needing, but really wanting a better striker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulful_jag Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Our team is a fluid unit. We will get more goals from midfield than a considerable number of other Premier League clubs this year. We as good as play with a front four with Doolan in a more advanced role. Our style of football actually lends itself to more goals for Lawless, Forbes, Bannigan, Higginbotham, Welsh and the wing backs. Just enjoy it. I think this is a really good point about how we play, and while we will have frustrating games where we play like yesterday but don't score, we just have to accept that. I don't buy the Craig argument either. I dunno, he may well be a better finisher than Doolan, but he's far slower and nowhere near as mobile. Of course someone who is mobile, quick and lethal in front of goal might make us a far better side. But it's not like we can go out and buy someone to fill this role. We have to either make do with players that are available for free young guys on loan or at best promising youngsters from lower leagues. Plenty of far bigger and richer clubs than us struggle to find prolific goalscorers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javeajag Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 The manager clearly stated he wants to bring in another striker to provide competition for Dolan and Baird.....I will go along with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
distel Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Don't care where the goals come from. But I do worry and get frustrated that we can have so much possession and create so many chances and not convert a higher percentage of them. Hopefully yesterdays result will give the guys a boost. I feel if we can be more composed in front of goal someone is gonna get a right humping off of us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchanio Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I think the problem is our decision making at the edge of the box, because the style of our play we take one pass too many. Both Baird and especially Doolan make great space for others, pulling the centre back out the way of the centre of the field. if we improve the decision on last pass and start to shoot from anywhere around the "d" the goals wil come, the stikers will score off the scraps. even our warm up shooting was mixed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie247 Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 (edited) is Lee Miller not available on a free the now? *never mind his contract ends in 6 months with a optional 1 year extension* Edited September 1, 2013 by dougie247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillresigned Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Never mind bringing someone in if I was Archie I'd be looking to ensure as many of our players as possible are signed up on longer term contracts. Whilst not being naive if an when some of these players move, it should hopefully be for a reasonable price. It would break my heart to see them go to the likes of Sevco, for buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metz Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 (edited) Don't care where the goals come from. But I do worry and get frustrated that we can have so much possession and create so many chances and not convert a higher percentage of them. Hopefully yesterdays result will give the guys a boost. I feel if we can be more composed in front of goal someone is gonna get a right humping off of us! Agree with most of this we have had a significant amount of possession in most games and didn't really look like scoring. We have played 5 games and failed to score in 2 and scored from the spot in another indicating with ghat amount of possession something is wrong be it the strikers or the quality of play in the last third. For me it is both however I trust Archie and this team to win enough points to keep us in this division however this is a golden team that will be broken up as the sharks circle to pick off our talent for bigger salaries and we may regret them not achieving a top 6 finish or cup run if we can't find a solution to this problem. Edited September 1, 2013 by Metz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 (edited) The manager clearly stated he wants to bring in another striker to provide competition for Dolan and Baird.....I will go along with that I think it's fair to say that we could have done with another striker, as we are a bit short of options and cover. However that is not the same as thinking our current strikers aren't good enough. I doubt that Archie was expecting to get anyone in to take Doolan's place. I think both Doolan and Baird fit the Thistle profile. I'm not sure that Craig ever did. Edited September 1, 2013 by allyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChewinGumMacaroonBaaaz Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Another striker/forward would be a luxury. The team is performing well. The team is capable of scoring goals and winning matches. I take much encouragement that Archie and Shaggy are sticking to their stated principle that they would only add to the squad if they were convinced a prospective signing would improve on, or give real competition to what we have. I reckon our squad is big enough and talented/versatile enough to cope with what one might forecast by way of injuries suspensions. I doubt there is many players in the squad that are complacent in their first team starting place. Possibly there are one or two who might know their absence will be likely to have a detrimental effect on the team's performance overall. However, for me they not showing any signs reducing effort to what they might think they can survive on. I think there remains a real feeling of striving for improvement and success amongst them. In Archie I continue to trust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmike Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 There are only 2 teams who've scored more goals than us so far. Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) There are only 2 teams who've scored more goals than us so far. Just saying. Exactly. Our goals will come from not only the lone striker but the 3 attacking midfielders behind him. We set up to give 4 players a great chance of scoring and if anything it's the 3 behind who you would expect to get the most goals with the lone striker being used as a link up player while one of the midfielders finds the space to shoot. ETA - Most of the best teams on the planet right now are playing a similar formation to us. Apart from Man Utd (who play slightly differently to the others) how many of them are reliant on their striker being the main source of their goals? The most covetted players in the world right now are those who can play off the strikers. Edited September 2, 2013 by uberteeb 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 "We're Not Getting Another Striker....there Is No Point Going On About It" so, best way to ensure no one goes on about it, is to create a thread on it. i like your logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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