All Activity
- Past hour
-
A fortnight off so time to recharge batteries. Longelo will be back and I would start Big Thor and maybe have Maswanhise on bench as could be tired after internationals. Just could be tired also so a lot of thinking for JBA. I wonder if Nicholson due a start
-
I think JBA would be best staying another season and making stock higher. These last 7 games are where we see his credentials even more hopefully as teams are sussing us out and he needs to vary it. Yesterday his time in making changes was very poor. Big Thor should have been on a lot earlier and I would have taken Watt off before Priestman
-
There’s no certainty that JBA will leave us for another club this summer either imo. I mean there probably as as good a chance of him being here as not next season but is his pedigree as a manager that high or his performance with us this season really been that exceptional that bigger clubs would be circling him? That’s not a slight on him, I think he’s been really good for us, but he’s been knocked out of both cups in really poor fashion and his record against the top half of the league really isn’t that impressive. A lot of lovely football, yes, but also a lot of draws and from being talked about as title contenders a few weeks ago (ridiculously albeit) we’re now looking over our shoulders to stay in 4th place. Put it this way, if he was to go to Celtic as has been mentioned by some then he would flop spectacularly in my opinion.
-
Falkirk are a good, solid team and we will struggle to break them down again. Our problem all season long is that we just aren’t strong or clinical enough up front when it really matters and that is why we were never seriously in contention for a top three finish. As someone highlighted in the match thread yesterday, our record against the top six sides is actually pretty poor. 2 wins in 13 albeit only 4 losses. As has been the case most of the season it’s the inability to turn draws into wins that has been our downfall. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the end of the season sort of mirrors the start, with a lot more frustrating draws.
- Today
-
I don't disagree but I think what you also have to take into consideration is that these players are playing at this level for JBA there is no guarantee they will remain at that level under a new manager. For Example McKinstry under Hammell probably our best player under Kettlewell he barley played. Slattery under Wimmer/JBA to Hammell/Kettlewell. We also have to start planning replacements for each player for example if Elliot Watt leaves I'd like to see us sign Dean McMaster from Airdrie he's really impressed me every time I've seen him on the Friday night Championship game and is a similar profile to Watt. I think we could replace any of Watt, Longelo or Said with a similar player the ones we'd stuggle to replace are Just, Fadinger, Maswanhise because their profiles are quite rare and probably can't be replaced like for like. We would now probably struggle to replace Ward as his kicking this season has been excellent.
-
Hibs were well organised yesterday, they stopped us playing through midfield, two lines in front of us all the time. It forced us to try to go round them down the sides to get in behind and thats not our game. And i though VAR had done away with the big toe or half a boot being offside, that decision was a joke.
-
Just certainly does appear to being singled out for "special treatment" the referees should be doing more to protect him. If they dont, guys like Said will end up getting booked or sent off trying defend their team mate. Dickinson is a really poor referee which, given the pool he swims in, is really saying something.....
-
A fair summing up Joe. I thought JBA made some mistakes today with his line up and appraoch. It looked to be an overly cautious approach designed to ensure we didn't lose. Longelo was a huge loss, the midfield looked congested and we lacked venom up front. The early plan of shelling long balls over the top for JT to run onto was fine in theory but the execution was very poor and was rightly stopped. For most of the game we lacked any penetration up front and Hibs were happy to soak it up and their keeper was larlely unemployed. Ward was slightly busier but again didn't have much to do. Not sure why Priestman was taken off as he was our most industrious midfielder. I thought we were too late in making changes. Our chalked off goal was very tight and certainly not clear or obvious. Thought David Dickinson had a poor game. Both Cadden and Suto were very lucky to escape 2 yellow cards each with the latter being substituted to save him. In my view, if you lift your hands to someone. Not quite sure how the 4 minus additional time was calculated. 7 second half subs @ 30 seconds each; blatant timewasting and several 2 protracted injuries. Overall, 2 points dropped. A slight blip is now gradually turning into a bit of slump. Other teams seem to have sussed us out. A change in plan now required for remaining games? Some positives though: another shut out and a 9,300 attendance. 2 asides. The media now needs to starts to start calling out cynical thuggery when teams target Eli Just (but it won't for fear of offending old boys) and the POD was an accident waiting to happen at half time (queues down the stairs for the kiosk, those wanting to visit hospitlaity and those wanting the toilet).
-
We're currently 6 points above Hibs with a 13 goal advantage. That seems a fairly safe cushion. However, before the break we face Falkirk at home and Hearts away. I reckon we'll take 1 point from those games. Hibs have Killie at home and Aberdeen away. They should be good for 4 points from those games. IF, and it is an if, it pans out like that, then our lead is cut to 3 points. That then takes us post split and we'll be due Hearts and Celtic at home. Maybe one point from those games? We'll play Hibs at Easter Road and they'll fancy their chances. On top of that, our record against current top 6 sides isn't great nor is our away form. We might well secure 4th spot, but it will be very tight and the game at Easter Road will be crucial. Yesterday, was defintiely 2 points dropped. In short, a 50/50 chance is realistic.
-
Thats what it looks like to me. Falkirk will change their approach and they might not win, but they'll be good enough to nullify us. We've taken one solitary point from them in 2 attempts and at the moment, we've gone off the boil.
-
Another draw.
-
Point v hibs isnt thevworst result. While we were better than them, we were short of our best. Huffed & puffed a fair bit too with no penetration up top. For me first half we seemed determined to go down the right side. Very rarely did we switch it over to sparrow on the left. Hibs doubled up down their left(our right) and we were boxed in tight. 2nd half we swapped Tawanda left & concentrated efforts down there. When Said came on he mustv been 10 mins before anyone sent the ball his way. Not our best day at the office but no real damage
-
It absolutely IS our selling point. But that doesnt mean we have to sell all our good players at the one time. They all signed contracts they were happy with. The club wont stand in their way, but we WILL manage the squad to ensure we remain competitive. The manager said as much the other day.
-
Priestman for me. Should never have been subbed as Fadinger and Watt both had off games. Hope Jens isnt doing the seniority thing. That only works up to a point.
- Yesterday
-
I felt the team looked so out of sync with each other this season players have sort of known where each was going to be pass after pass today by far was the poorest in positioning from us I have seen. Tj needs to be moved back to the right think he is far better cutting in and a wee change up front. Good turn out aswell which is fantastic to see.
-
2 week break to re-charge the batteries and think up new strategies. Just and Maswanhise being away will hamper preparations and maybe rule them out of this one, depending on how much gametime they get and flights back. Could do with Koutroumbis and Longelo being back. Falkirk losing again today keeps them off our tails, but we could do with 3 points when we are off to Tynecastle before the split.
-
Thought we were decent enough first half without being exceptional. The offside goal.was hard to take but the right decision and we didnt carve out any other clear cut chances. Second half, the drop off.was considerable and probably the poorest half since Falkirk at home. Thought Fadinger looked outnof sorts today, not sure if it was the mask/sun giving him problems but he wasnt his usual self. I thought subbing Priestman was a mistake as he was having a much better game and we looked worse after he went off. Too many stray passes, although Hibs press caused us problems and closed off a lot of space, which slowed us down and caused us to go backwards. Nice to get the clean sheet and maintain our unbeaten run at home, but it feels like 2 points dropped and Jens is gonna have to think up a new plan as teams have started to get organised around what we do. We may not lose many more games, but at the moment its hard to see where we win one.
-
We’ve set such a high standard but today was disappointing, possibly the least enthralling game at Fir Park under Jens. Tiredness may be playing a part and the opposition are far better prepared now, but the absence of both Longelo and Said made us much easier to play against. Hopefully we can rediscover our zip in the final third or it is going to be an underwhelming end to the season. Our record against the top 6 so far is P13 W2 D7 L4 so there is plenty room for improvement.
-
That's exactly what's happened. Other than Just we are devoid of creativity. The fact it's took till March to feel the lack of Lennon Miller in our midfield probably speaks volumes about how good Watt and Fadinger have been but today our midfield were poor. We also need someone who can shoot from range, we're overplaying on the edge of the box at times and Preistman and Fadinger both lack the shot power to score from outside the box.
-
We have to beat Falkirk at home after the break. I think after that if we pick up 7 points in the last 6 games that will be enough to get us 4th.
-
We have been sussed out how to stop is playing Dundee did it and hibs done it today restricted to passing backwards a lot and jt up front himself is nae use. Need to mix things up a bit more. But a point was fine think we were happy we didn't loose.
-
Should have another big crowd for this one. Back to winning ways, or draw? I think our team is tired the pace that they have been playing at has caught up with us. COYW
-
Rangers and Hearts were able to get the job done again today. It would appear that they have just that little bit more about them than we do. The table does not lie although I thought up untill 2 weeks ago that just maybe it did. 50/50 is pessimistic in the extreme. We are 6 points ahead of Hibs with a superior goal difference. Taking the subjectivity out of it, that in no way relates to a 50/50 chance. In the same way that the table does not lie in favour of Hearts/ Rangers/ Celtic, it does not lie in relation to our position either. Falkirk next week is a game we should have some hope of winning. The facts speak for themself in that regard.