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Stephen Craigan


WilliePettigrew
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JG is quoted on the club website as saying we need a right back and another alternative up front. No mention of centre backs or left backs so for the present moment neither crags or hammell are going anywhere.

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That's a bit extreme is it not :huh:

 

I did not mean that he is displaying arrogance in any way.

 

All I'm saying is that if anyone is critised in their profession it can be hard to take and to change you have to swallow your pride and accept another opinion.

 

Edit: Sorry, just realised what I said. Ooopps!

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I don't think it is the end for Crag's and I hope it's not but I would say that all is not well with the relationship between Captain and Manager at the moment.

 

As someone said about, Gannon appears to want snappy passes played on the deck. As we know Craigan likes to play long balls and his accuracy at times is woeful. Watching Gannon at some of the Euro games, you could see his frustrations when Craigan was playing these balls and what's more he was no shy about letting him know.

 

For me the alarm bells from yesterday was not the change at Half Time but Gannons comments on why he made the change. He mentioned wanting players on the park who were showing energy and enthusiasm. That suggests that he felt Craigan was showing neither.

 

I think that if Craigan wants a future at the club he will have to swallow his bride a bit and change to play the way the manager wants. The question is can he do this after playing a certain way for so long?

 

Finally it's a high risk stratagy if Gannon does make an enemy of Craigan. If things go well then no problem but if we are struggling supporters and the media (as Craigan is a bit of a media darling) will turn and use Craigans absence as the cause of the problems (as per Christmas last year).

 

I hope Craigan does adapt and goes on to have the best season he has had in years.

 

Totally agree :huh:

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NO it isn't the end for Craigan, but I'm more interested in focusing on the fact than we now have a manager who doesn't give a shit who you are or how long you have been at the club if the tactics aren't working or you are having a crap game he will sub you no if's no but's. Good on you Mr Gannon,

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NO it isn't the end for Craigan, but I'm more interested in focusing on the fact than we now have a manager who doesn't give a shit who you are or how long you have been at the club if the tactics aren't working or you are having a crap game he will sub you no if's no but's. Good on you Mr Gannon,

 

+1

 

Wish McGhee had done similar a few times last season

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Although Gannon obviously has issues with Craggs style of play , and route one football in general , I don't think it is the end for him.

With such a young squad this year his leadership and experience will be invaluable , and he will be a good calming influence in the bigger games against the likes of the bigot brothers .

I hope it just signals an end to some of the long ball crap , and a return to some of the fast flowing stuff we witnessed 2 seasons ago en route to 3rd place .

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I was being ironic , dougie had left the club for years before his testimonial . El grew was talking out his arse :whistling: .

 

I was merely expressing an honest opinion in response to a sensible question posed.

 

And I was under the impression that this board was about honest sensible debate and exchange of views etc. between fellow supporters but I forgot that there are still folk like you posting on it!

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All that's happened is JG has laid down his mark and told his squad what he expects from them. He's also shown he will make no exceptions for seniority. So all that is required fro Messrs Craigan, Hammell, McGarry, Lasley, Fitzpatrick and Smith is some graft and concentration.

 

So far some players have only been dropped from the squad. I think I'm right in saying the only mention of anyone leaving has been gossip on here.

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It will do Craigan no harm to be taken off at half time. He is experienced enough to appreciate what Jimbo was trying to do, and it will show everyone that a place in the team is not guaranteed to anyone.

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I was merely expressing an honest opinion in response to a sensible question posed.

 

And I was under the impression that this board was about honest sensible debate and exchange of views etc. between fellow supporters but I forgot that there are still folk like you posting on it!

 

The club would never have keep craggs just because its his testimonial year.Never in a million years ! Thats the point i was making .Sorry for any offence :) Edit by the way after your reply i am not sorry for the offence .

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Not much call for a 50 year old centre forward though, is there...? ;)

 

 

Excuse me Dougie Arnott is 17 days older than me and he only turned 48 on the 5th August :) So less of the 50 for a couple of years please ^_^

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Craigan doesn't seem like the kind of player to take comments to heart however it will be interesting to see if he responds and adapts on the pitch where it matters. Gannon has after all had 3 very public digs at his leadership qualities and his footballing ability and I can imagine he'll have a point to prove.

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Im a fan of Craigan. Sure he's prone to making a c--t of things at times and the odd og but anyone who was at Perth would've seen that our defence was shambolic that 2nd half without him. I'd've kept him on moved Reynolds to left back and took off Hammell and Sutton but hey what do i know. One things for sure JG'S unpredictable but fair play to him for actually using his subs before the customary 60th minute or later. Craigan will be back and so will Hammell after a preverbial size 10 up his derrierre. :) .

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Every centre half makes mistakes just like every forward misses chances. Craigan is by far my favourite player of our current squad and I don't think we can cope without him. Although on paper we took him off whilst losing and got a draw, the only way we can win without him if you ask me is by a "we're going to score one more than you" philosophy, which isn't good for the heart. I would be cut up to see him go but I have seen players I've liked go before i.e McFadden, Clarkson, Corrigan, and the club have moved on.

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The club would never have keep craggs just because its his testimonial year.Never in a million years ! Thats the point i was making .Sorry for any offence :lol: Edit by the way after your reply i am not sorry for the offence .

 

Eich bin ein . I am a Berliner <_< Class . Cheers mod for clearing it up .

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Sorry, but methinks Craigan is nearing the end of his time here.Gaffer wants a big strong centre back who commands in the air and can play a bit on the deck and not just lump high balls forward. Sutton tows a caravan every week and can only play when the ball is in the air.System did not suit either on Saturday hence the hook but I do think the end is near for Craggs. Been a great servant and will deserve a testimonial but this is the new era for the 'Well.

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I don't think it's the end for Craggs at all - but like the rest of the squad I think he (quickly) needs to adapt to the new style of play. I've watched the ALBA game back and flicked through the goals / incidents a few times and you can see during the match that we lost possesion loads through Craigan's punted balls out of defence and after one in particular whan the ball went out on the right wing you can just tell by Gannon's face that he's scunnered.

 

To be fair although he wasn't brilliant - he was by no means as bad in possession as Hammell was - I thought he had an unbelievably bad game.

 

As a previous poster said - Reynolds plays the ball out of defence more in the way that Gannon wants it done and is more comfortable pushing forward through the centre with the ball when the opportunity arises.

 

Craigan is a fine player and well capable of doing what Gannon appears to be after.

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Gaffer wants a big strong centre back who commands in the air and can play a bit on the deck and not just lump high balls forward.

Along with every other gaffer in the SPL?? Where would one find such a creature on our budget? And are there any centre backs in the SPL outwith the Old Firm who tick all those boxes?

 

I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive to have that kind of centre back playing for us, but a bit of realism is required regards the constraints we are working under. I'm not saying it's impossible (I didn't think we could afford a six foot tall, two footed midfielder with good passing and we found Coke) but I think it will be very difficult to replace a man with Craigan's qualities (and yes I know he has weaknesses in his game too). You don't get 40 odd caps for your country (I know it's only Northern Ireland before someone says it, but it's not like the Faroes, San Marino or Luxembourg) without having something about you...

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rather than being the end of craigan, im pleased our manager can make "strange" subs if he feels it will change the game. compare with mcghee who, while losing, wouldnt change anyone. the message to the players is that no one is safe, so hopefully this will give them a boot up the backside. it will also be hard for other managers to cope with changing teams, formations etc and adjust to our play which we can benefit from if they cant keep up.

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