Lenziejag Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 United's goal was brilliantly created but the positioning of McMillan and Elliot was not great... not to mention Mair totally missing the tackle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Wragg Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Think this game proved how limited Ratnamara actually is , he's got Dungunited playing the same style as he got us playing and it worked until he was rumbled by the halfway point or so with a much bigger budget than we have and an inheritance of experienced top flight players along with some very talented youngsters, the wheels have come off and he's now struggling to get it right, I'm so glad now that he left us when he did coz I doubt very much if he'd have won the league for us, Archie's doing a great job under restrictive circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 A lot of talent at Dundee Utd, some cracking young players. Unfortunately looking like they're being ruined by a manager who is feeling the pressure, and encouraging his players to cheat and feel cheated in equal measure. Let's hope that these boys can get a move away in the summer and go on to better things. The young boy Gauld looked a class apart when he came on. Thought the Jags battled well throughout and was starting to worry that we were having a second half a la the St J game. I was crying out for us to just get a little break of the ball, and we eventually did. Think a draw was probably a fair result, either team could have nicked it. First draw at home this season that I've viewed as encouraging, given our 2nd half performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 From the highlights there were plenty of near-misses for both sides. Our keeper did well in those slippery conditions. I see in today's ET that Taylor is asking Archie to let him and Doolan play together. Go on Archie, you know it makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 From the highlights there were plenty of near-misses for both sides. Our keeper did well in those slippery conditions. I see in today's ET that Taylor is asking Archie to let him and Doolan play together. Go on Archie, you know it makes sense! Glad he's come out and said it, particularly in the home games this must happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Glad he's come out and said it, particularly in the home games this must happen. I reckon this is key. The home games is where this could make a difference. Our usual system seems to be working away from home, but at home the striker is far too isolated up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) A manic game. Our formation in the first half wasn't working. I think the idea was to play Prince and Bannigan in more advanced positions to a) press high up the pitch; and b ) make up for the absence of a dedicated no.10. Unfortunately it left Fraser exposed. In the second half we moved to our standard 4-2-3-1 with Bannigan playing next to Fraser and Prince moving closer to Taylor. This made us more solid and was clearly more familiar to the players. When Doolan came on we changed to a mangled 4-4-2, as we didn't have anyone playing on the left. Bannigan scarpered over occasionally to cover but ATS had the wing largely to himself. It was an exciting, gung-ho approach but Utd really should have picked us off on the break. I'll say it again: if we play like this from the start of a game we'll get a horsing. The most disappointing aspect of the last few weeks is the way we've ditched our passing game. I'm not sure if this is a conscious tactic or the unintentional consequence of having a dedicated target man. Again, in the first half the pointlessness of the long-ball game was there for everyone to see. Positives: Fraser had a good game, as did ATS. I'd be tempted to give Taylor a rest next week, as Doolan looked sharp when he came on. A crazy game. A point each was probably a fair outcome. They'll all get a rest next week as we don't play until the 8th so maybe Taylor will be sharper. With two tough games - tougher than average anyway - v Motherwell and Aberdeen coming up I don't want to change our formation, we need to be solid against them. A new formation should be tried out against a team we can afford to take a bit of risk against, not teams which have already given us a going over this season. However we now have the option of playing Bauben or/and Erskine in the "attacking" midfield three and I would think one at least of these two ought to be told to get close to Taylor as much as possible when we attack and make sure he has proper support. There's nothing wrong with our formation which gave us lots of attacking threat last season, it's just maybe poor results have made some players less confident about getting forward quickly leading to the lone forward not getting the quick support he used to. Edited February 3, 2014 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hate top criticise a Thistle player, but if Lyle Taylor is really saying this then he should shut up and get on with doing his own job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Passenger Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Taylor's quote: "I'd love the chance to develop a partnership with Dools. We play in training every week in the young versus old game and we know we can make a good pairing and that we both have goals in us. "So far since I came to Thistle we haven't had the chance to match-up but I hope we have shown enough for the gaffer to give us that chance. "We need to be scoring more goals and it is a hard shift playing one up and you are not as threatening when you are going solo. "We need to get away from the foot of the table and I am 100% sure Kris and I could get us clear." Nowt wrong with that. Some might see it as a criticism of the manager, but it's a thoughtful response to a question posed and quite compliementary to Kris in the bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 John Lambie Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Nothing wrong with those comments, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) I'm afraid I think there is. I think they're measured and reasonable but I don't think they should be the subject of a discussion between a player and a journalist. Oops, I may have dribbled in my pants slightly. Edited February 3, 2014 by allyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I'd rather hear what a player thinks as opposed to bland sound bites lifted straight from 'media training 101' like you get most of the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Hansen Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I'd rather hear what a player thinks as opposed to bland sound bites lifted straight from 'media training 101' like you get most of the time. A decent game and I thought a draw was about right nice to see Fraser scoring is we have missed goals from the midfield so maybe the start of more goals from this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyprusjag Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 If nothing else this game proved just what a good player Doolan is.He is probably the most intelligent player at the club in a football sense and it's obvious he should never be out of the team.Create the chances and he will put them away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I'd rather hear what a player thinks as opposed to bland sound bites lifted straight from 'media training 101' like you get most of the time. If nothing else this game proved just what a good player Doolan is.He is probably the most intelligent player at the club in a football sense and it's obvious he should never be out of the team.Create the chances and he will put them away. agreed x 2 doolans touch and movement is a joy to watch, and its not just create chances for him to score he's good at, look at him away to hibs for example. taylor and doolan playing off one another, swapping throughout game dropping deep or in the hole behind, would reap us rewards especially if we can get the right formation behind them (with erskine and fraser as two must starts too). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Doolan, and I like Taylor too, but I think Archie's taking a bit of a gamble as it is, running with just two strikers in the squad, and I don't think he'd have done that if he had any intention of playing two up front. And if it's not his intention then I see no benefit in a player suggesting otherwise in the press. I don't think it's a huge deal, I doubt that any harm or disrespect was intended (and it doesn't read that way), I just think it's unhelpful, and even more so when it's something that many fans are calling for. Players and manager have to show unity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigthepict Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Brilliant comments from Taylor, well done that man! I love the determination and confidence in the statement. I'm sure Archie will also appreciate how keen he clearly is for success. This is all about positivity! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) Very refreshing to hear what a player actually thinks for a change, rather than sitting on the fence as they all seem to do these days. ETA - He hasn't criticised Archie in any way shape or form. Absolutely nothing wrong with his comments Edited February 3, 2014 by ian_mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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