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I know we won today but i cant help wondering why Stuart McCall doesn't play with at least one maybe even 2 more midfielders. We get totally dominated in midfield and ask far too much from Lasley and Law. A team with Ojamma,Humhrey and McHugh in it has too many front players leaving big gaps in midfield. Surely ZFA at least to add another midfielder will make us more solid and maybe even Carswell too at some point in games. Our balance is all wrong and we're not protecting our defence at all meaning that especially at Fir Park as today we get totally dominated. 4-2-4 is what we effectively play and it's just giving opponents yards of space. <_>

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Would say that the 4-2-4 served us well in getting us 3 goals to the good . However at that point it was obvious that Saints were going to throw long balls forward in the hope of nicking a lifeline back into the game . At that point a double substitution and change to 4-4-2 , involving the same players who did go off/on would have been better than waiting til said lifeline had been achieved and we were under the cosh .

Right subs , wrong time .

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I know we won today but i cant help wondering why Stuart McCall doesn't play with at least one maybe even 2 more midfielders.

 

 

Because then maybe we wouldn't be sitting 3rd in the league having scored 40 goals in 23 games (just 4 off Smelltic) and have the second top scorer in the league? Your suggestions would come at a cost and I don't think sacrificing an attacking player for someone can offer only slightly more defensive cover is worth it.

 

Also, we simply don't have the players to fit the role you are suggesting. ZFA is one of the most forward thinking wingers/full backs I've seen and Carswell isn't quite ready for a regular start in the first team.

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Because then maybe we wouldn't be sitting 3rd in the league having scored 40 goals in 23 games (just 4 off Smelltic) and have the second top scorer in the league? Your suggestions would come at a cost and I don't think sacrificing an attacking player for someone can offer only slightly more defensive cover is worth it.

 

we were a better team last season with a more balanced midfield than we are right now.

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Its not the shape its the players in it. Lasley is past it and simply cannot hold a candle to Jennings in the defensive role,therefore Him + Law will be overrun no matter the formation.

 

Amd as for the "no money" patter,we offered Stevenson a 2yr deal in August,whered that cash go?

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we were a better team last season with a more balanced midfield than we are right now.

 

i agree, but the only difference is Jennings - the other 3 midfielders are the same (Las, Law and Humphrey)

we never replaced Jennings and we miss him - but this is this season, we have to go with what we have - we cant really make comparisons

 

 

30 games. 2 clean sheets :ph34r:

 

as long we we score more than the opposition - does it really matter? Ruddy achieved a clean sheet record when he was here, and then Randolph came in and broke said record............but at the time, the defence was still getting abused for its performances - particularly Craigan and laterly Clancy

 

Amd as for the "no money" patter,we offered Stevenson a 2yr deal in August,whered that cash go?

 

we might have money to bring someone in - but with a small squad, it has to be someone who can improve what we have. Hateley, Carswell and Ramsden can all play as a holding midfielder - so unless we bring someone in who can do better than them - is it a wage well spent? Maybe someone in that position is highly sought after the way most teams play these days - and we cant compete with wages

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Football Rules: Whoever scores the most goals wins the 3 points. In 23 games we have scored more goals than the opposition 10 times, scored less goals than the oppostion 6 times and scored the same as the opposition 7 times.

 

As a result of the above stats we are sitting 3rd in the league with a great chance of finishing second in the league. Of course we're no perfect but we are in a very decent position in and people still like a moan.

 

I'll take 3-2 every week over all the clean sheets we got under Brown. Don't get me wrong I was shiting myself at 3-2 yesterday but it wouldn't be Motherwell if they didn't make us sweat every now and again.

 

So aye cheer up FFS and make sure your passports are still valid. :cheers:

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we might have money to bring someone in - but with a small squad, it has to be someone who can improve what we have. Hateley, Carswell and Ramsden can all play as a holding midfielder - so unless we bring someone in who can do better than them - is it a wage well spent? Maybe someone in that position is highly sought after the way most teams play these days - and we cant compete with wages

 

True but the money can be spent elsewhere then. If Hateley is the answer,we bring in a right back,if its sicknote Ramsden then we bring in a centre half! I love going to fir park and watching goals but weve sold Murphy,if Higdons goals dry up we have no-one capable of scoring regularly then we must depend heavily on an abortion of a defence

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Have to agree our shape is poor and we struggle in midfield - not because Lasley is past it - because he is being asked to do too much. We have never replced Jenno or given Carsewell a decent run too see what he can really offer. My worry is when we lose Law or Las through injury or suspension, we revert to Daley who looks disinterested at times. Yes we score goals but hingin on again is no good for you.

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Recorded ESPN to watch when I got back. At halftime they froze a shot of the St J box just before Higdon score his 1st goal. In the shot there were 5 StJ defenders ..........and 5 Motherwell players. That sums it up. We're St J to suddenly break up the park we would have been exposed.

 

At times the gap in midfield is alarming. I sense a doing is on the way at some point when a team get their shorting boots on.

 

That said I agree 100% with other posters that we are getting great value for money. Would much rather win games by scoring 3 or 4 goals than 0-0 draws or narrow wins or defeats. Even if it is not great for the blood pressure. In fact I am 100% certain that certain posters bemoaning the shape of the team would be the very same posters complaining we were not scoring enough goals and were boring......never happy some people....

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Recorded ESPN to watch when I got back. At halftime they froze a shot of the St J box just before Higdon score his 1st goal. In the shot there were 5 StJ defenders ..........and 5 Motherwell players. That sums it up. We're St J to suddenly break up the park we would have been exposed......

never happy some people....

 

 

You've said it at the end there. To me so many players in the box looking to score shows a commitment to attack that is both welcome and refreshing, happy with that approach and long may it contiue.

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Recorded ESPN to watch when I got back. At halftime they froze a shot of the St J box just before Higdon score his 1st goal. In the shot there were 5 StJ defenders ..........and 5 Motherwell players. That sums it up. We're St J to suddenly break up the park we would have been exposed.

 

At times the gap in midfield is alarming. I sense a doing is on the way at some point when a team get their shorting boots on.

 

That said I agree 100% with other posters that we are getting great value for money. Would much rather win games by scoring 3 or 4 goals than 0-0 draws or narrow wins or defeats. Even if it is not great for the blood pressure. In fact I am 100% certain that certain posters bemoaning the shape of the team would be the very same posters complaining we were not scoring enough goals and were boring......never happy some people....

I think your 2 points here are linked somewhat - it seems like a constant complaint behind me at Fir Park that when the ball falls to the opposition at the edge of our box that they have numbers in place to keep us hemmed in, or their midfield is in position to have a shot from the edge of the box. So, have we not just done that to the opposition this time?

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Down the spine of the team, the central defensive and central midfield areas, we are weaker in three out of the four slots. Lasley is a year older and while still a good player on the downslope. Jennings is gone. Although people were critical of him I maintain Craigan was an excellent presence in the team. We would have been much better organised at the back if he had played another season.

 

My big complaint earlier in the season was the lack of entertainment. That's turned around recently so I don't have a huge problem with the tactics and team set up as long as we are scoring and winning.

 

However it's clear we are, more than ever, dependent on a couple of players to keep us competitive. What happens if Lasley gets injured or someone comes in for Hutchinson during the window? With Murphy gone we are almost wholly dependent on Higdon for goals.

 

I don't know if there is much that can be done about it in the current financial climate at the club.

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