wellsince75

That's about as good a team as we can put out and a decent bench which I think we'll need by about 60 mins. Think there will be lots of tired bodies after midweek effort.

Goal Difference speaks volumes. Those in the bottom half of the league range -8 to -22 with both Dundee and StJ having the worst. Conceding 60 and 53 goals respectively. Given they've been so poor defensively I can't really see them being anywhere other than the bottom 2. Selfishly as long we avoid 11th or 12th I don't really care who takes those spots.

Got to add that the FP faithful when Dundee scored created the energy that had been missing in the 2nd half. The crowds reaction to Dundee's goal really lifted the team. Well done to all who were there.

Thank god for that excellent first half , ran out of puff second . defensively thought we looked much better - kept Dundee to - shot on target lots of very decent performances in there - including SOD and Halliday as well as some of the new lads

lots to enjoy in that first half. good energy and effort and well deserved lead.

I heard tombola was close to securing the job and did quite well as shortlisted candidate.

we've moaned our backsides all season about lack of midfield - good to see that addressed. Really want to see us hitting the back of the net and give us something to cheer.

I much preferred your 5-0 win prediction on the Dundee thread :). Lots there that I agree with and when I look at the squad the majority of better players are those that were around before SK - with exception of Gordon. I do think the +30 players we've signed under his tenure reflects poorly on SK. Our signing policy for me is horrendous. and has been since GA era I.e since Dawes. Head of recruitment lives down South and recruits in the main a bunch of journeyman who care zero from the club. We've done from 70/30% Scotts players to 70/30 English players and I just don't see many players who really care or are any better standard that we can pick up here. For me we lack both talent and guts. Not a good mix , at best it's squeaky bum time until the end of the season.

I liked the gaffers pre match conference - an offensive team who care about possession. Yes please. Be interesting to see who makes the starting 11 in coming weeks. With likes of Kaleta, Koutroumbis, Thomson, Slattery, Andrews, AP, Masawanhise, Plange, Disckson all being attack minded players we could well see wholesale changes . Even likes of Paton, Watt may have something to offer with a different approach. One things for sure there's a reasonable amount of options to pick from.

I can't believe we gave Nicholson a 2 year contract. He hardly kicked a ball for us last season, to give him 2 years is wasteful. Think Stuparevic is also contacted until '26. Another player hasn't seen the light of day. Thankfully Barney is out of contract end of this season, that should be the end of his time. Got to say out of the dozen or so who are injured there's really only Ox, McGin, Stam that impact starting 11. So many poor signing choices , appreciate a couple of the injuries were hard to foresee but many of them are not surprising.

Anyone know when Stam will be back ? last I read he was due out for a couple of weeks back in Jan , is he close to returning ?

I don't disagree - was thinking more about the options it provides - moving away from a back 5 would really help fill up the midfield - be interesting to see what the gaffer goes for.

Personally I'd go 4-3-3, drop playing 3 centre halves for this game enabling an extra man in midfield . Would likely go with something like Balcome Sod/Koutro. Gordon Casey Thompson Paton Miller Haliday Plange Armstrong/Watt Maswanhise Push wingbacks forward and ask Haliday to hold - get more energy from Paton & Miller moving back/forth. Upfront we need pace and energy together with Armstrong/Watts ability to bring in others. I'd seriously consider 4-4-2 add Slattery or Sparrow to midfield . Dropping Plange to the bench.

Agree that there's problem areas - this is where having a set formation can cause issues as we put the best person available into the role. For me we don't have a good back 3 with McGinn injured. Nor do we have a decent LWB. As such I'd rather we change formation to suit what we have right now. This year we've conceded 13 goals and scored 4. (9 games). We need to create a team/formation that attacks teams without giving cheap goals, which may be easier said than done but with 8 forward thinking players fit it should be possible.

Huge ask for the gaffer . 1) he knows nothing about the league 2) only a week with our squad 3) lack of creativity in the team . We’ve scored 4 goals the last 9 games. unless some of the loanees have energy and pace it’s going to be difficult .

I think need need a different formation and significantly different starting 11 there’s almost zero creativity in the team

nice to see summer signing Koutroumbis getting a start and a few other changes. If nothing else provides people with an opportunity to show what they can do

There was a long slow demise where it looked like the job got to him . From the cup semi onwards a similar decline to the previous season . personal view is he was overworked and would benefit from having balance . CEO applauded him for being in the office from 7am to 8pm - I don’t see this as a plaudit - the guy came across more and more stressed as the weeks went on . Working all hours isn’t good for anyone . wish him all the best but tired of listening to his rhetoric .

I'd be fine for Obika and Foster to go - Did Obika get a job to help cancel out his 2 year player contract. I'd also send Dawes on his merry way. Lead of recruitment who doesn't live in the same country doesn't work for me. Keep Clarkson - but that's purely based on him being a Well man.

could be - stop pumping this up in the air and keep in on the deck lads.

I'm not sold the next 10 days will shape our season. Dundee game is important but that's not long to give the new mgr time to assess the team, formations etc. Not losing the Dundee game feels important.

It's the same squad now that had us 4th in the league albeit with lack of entertainment. Long term there's probably 4-5 players I'd retain and the rest can go, 9 other SPL clubs will be saying the same. Short term can be turned around, we've proven to be good enough and with a decent manager it's not inconceivable that we'll secure another 3-4 wins this season 3 things need to happen before end of season, 1) New manager gives us something to cheer for on the park 2) sort the squad out - who stays and goes 3) sort the broader roles out eg I'd like to see majority of backroom staff who came in in last 3 years leave. (example - Dawes and Foster)

Graham Arnold. He got himself a new job in Aus - suspect he touted himself to show open to offers. https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/graham-arnold-joins-rabbitohs-as-for-2025-season

Just watched the lowlights - very poor defensively . That could the last game for several players , why anyone thinks SOD should be in central defence is beyond me. Not his fault but he’s not suited to that role. there’s several players not offering anything , Paton and Davor aren’t the long term solution but at least they’d put in a shift . new gaffer has a pretty tough gig for now - sorting the wheat from the chaff we need to change formation - even just to do something different

The CEO needs to sort both the manager and the broader senior roles within the club. A few folk have mentioned McCall being one of the last decent managers we had 10 years ago. just comparing some of the squad from then to now (on McCalls last season when the wheels came off) Lee Hollis, Steve McManus, Shaun Hutchinson, Simon Ramsden, ZFA, Stevie Hammell, Chris Cadden, Keith Lasley, Faddy, Lee Erwin, John Sutton, Lional Ainsworth. Majority would breeze into our starting 11. We're probably not that different but it was clear we had 1) better quality 2) several players who came through the youth team 3) 22/30 from the squad were Scotts now 1) quality lacking 2) Miller & Wilson from youth team 3) 10/30 are Scotts. Majority now from England. Overall I feel we've really lost our way, the model of brining in journeyman from all over has lost our identity. We were always known for being a little bit amateurish but had plenty of folk around who cared. The core of players I'd question how many really care about the club. Same for some of the senior roles. In addition to appointing a new manager we need a long hard look at our strategy and getting back to our core. I know people often joke about having Van Der Gage, Nijholt, McFadden, Craigan, Lasley etc all back but at least they gave a damn.