dennyc

Craigen as by no means the worst player in the first half. That honour clearly goes to Hammell. Sutton was left on his own up front which meant any ball he did win from the long punts up the park just fell to the Saints defenders. A thankless task. Murphy could not get going in the first half and was not effective. Pity because Hateley did well going forward and often looked to link up with Murphy. Credit to JG for the changes he made at half time......unlike previous Managers he seems prepared to alter things if HIS original tactics are not working. Also, again unlike previous Managers, if players do not follow his instructions he has the guts to substitute them. We started playing football on the deck and players such as Murphy and Forbes were able to contribute much more. It was good to see us going at Saints and giving them something to think about. It's also a learning experience for JG as he finds out how the other teams in the League approach games. First time round I guess we will see tactics being changed quite often. I think the problem Gannon has with Craigen is that he expects his central defenders to play or carry the ball forward through the midfield whereas Craigen wants to plays the long ball most of the time which completely ignores the midfield. Reynolds is much more confident about pushing forward from defence and playing through midfield. I find the left back position more worrying as Hammell is a better player than he is showing at present and his time must run out soon if he does not get back on track.

Was at the game and just finished watching rerun on Alba. two great goals from us and two poor goals conceded. Mostly agree with the comments made re our shambolic defending. But let's be honest......the defending was just as bad in the second half and that was without Craigen on the pitch. Second half we were better going forward because we played with more than one man up front and the midfield players were more able to link up the play from defence to attack. Reynolds looked out of place in midfield but was much more assured when he moved back. Most...if not all... of our problems came from the left back position with Hammell getting caught out of position or just plain missing his tackles. And sure, Ruddy did not look as assured as he has in earlier games but let's not forget the fantastic save he made just before Saints scored their first goal or the one handed save he made at the end to keep the scores level. And the deflection of Craigen meant he had no chance whatsoever with the first goal. Once he gets a settled defence in front of him Ruddy will prove what a good goalkeeper he is.

Agree with earlier post regarding need for a right back. Was there not a mention of a Man U youngster on loan? Saunders is promising but needs another season before he is ready to take the role full time. Working with JG over the season will improve him to the point where he can eventually make the position his for years to come. There is time for Saunders and overplaying him in the first team could do more harm than good. Particularly if he defence is under pressure. As for Stevie H, he is the best left back we have and cannot be replaced unless we get someone better. JG does not take prisoners so Hammell and everyone else who wants to be part of our future will need to earn their place, train hard and consistently turn in good performances.