Kmcalpin

My thoughts exactly. Just lets get the 3 points and worry about the method afterwards.

I was thinking of Donnelly as a midfielder and therefore young Dean Cornelius would come into the reckoning. Incidentally, Stephen Robinson has said that Hylton hasn’t featured much so far because he wasn’t fully fit.

That's not good news. Maybe the only upside to that is that it'll open the door for a fringe/young player?

Very much so. First goal will be critical. Defence will be the same I'd guess, unless there are more injuries. In midfield I'd play Polworth and Turnbull for 45 minutes each. Maybe time to drop Hastie? Perhaps scope to play Watt & White up front? Doubt it will turn out that way though as I think we'll retain the 4-2-3-1 formation and go with a single front man. I thought I'd read somewhere that Donnelly was the player who is self isolating so its doubtful if he'll feature unless rumours are wrong.

Am I right in thinking that Glentoran, in common with other Irish teams, will not resume league fixtures until some time in October? Consequently, they may be a bit ring rusty.

I’ve been following the team for a wee while myself and have seen some far worse squads. The team of the late sixties being relegated to the old second division comes to mind. Alex McLeish’s team? Maurice Malpas’ team?

Welcome back Stephen.

I wouldn't say that it was worse but it was certainly poor. All in all the United goal was a team effort.

The defending on our left flank was far worse. The United player was afforded all the time and space he could reasonably ask for to whip over his cross. I just wish our wingers were given that degree of freedom.

Hartley was poor last season as was Tait, and Grimshaw, faults and all, replaced him on merit. We've got off to a poor start this season not helped by injuries. New players settling in - maybe. On paper we have a strong squad but that hasn't been translated to the pitch yet. Many keep on referring to our formation as a 4-3-3 but its not. More accurately its a 4-2-3-1 with a lone striker most usually Long, left a bit isolated. To play that formation well you have to have good link up play with the guys immediately behind but thats not happening. You also need to have specific skill sets, espcially in midfield. Long doesn't have the skills or physique to play in that role as others have said. I like him but not in that role. The wingers too aren't setting the heather on fire. The problem is that we don't know our best formation or line up. David Turnbull will obviously take some time to recover his form. There's a good quote from a post on FPC "As a deep playmaker is unlikely to work because we don't have the players around him for it do so. If he's not yet fit enough for him to play his proper game more dynamically we should either be asking him for just 45 minutes of it or leaving him out until he's actually ready." I think thats very true.

The first question is "Is Donnelly fit to play". If he isn't then its academic. We would have a choice of Mugabi, Maguire, Devine or Hussain. Personally I'd opt for one of the first two but management will know the fitness and readiness of individual players.

I’ve thought that our preferred formation was 5-4-1 but that’s. A crude assessment. Apparently it’s 4-2-3-1. The fitness of defensive personnel will be crucial tomorrow. If Donnelly is fit to play I hope it’s not in central defence.

If Sky decide to change things at the 11th hour, it shouldn’t. McGinlay now out for 4 to 6 weeks. Donnelly doubtful too.

Access fine for me with no problems.

IF we field 2 wingers on Saturday then we have to play with a pairing of Watt/White/Long up front i.e. a 4-4-2 formation or start with either Watt or White on their own up front but not Long (just seen your post WEllwell91 after posting myself) Looking back on last night I just wonder if our disrupted pre season led to a lack of preparation? I had thought that Robbo would have tried to give his preferred 11 a 90 minutes run out beforehand to iron out any snags or issues or finalise experiments. Maybe he was like a kid in a toyshop; just too many players from which to choose a starting 11. Certainly he overthought things. Anyway lets hope we don't repeat organisational mistakes from last night or indeed last season. Right back? Maybe time to test Donnelly there or give young Dean Cornelius his much overdue chance.

A disappointing but, not entirely, unexpected start to the new campaign. I was a bit surprised by the amount of pre game optimism but thats a new season for you. Like many I was surprised by the formation and team line up both in midfield and up front. Surprised that Campbell didn't feature and am looking forward to an explanation for that. I can only assume that we badly underestimated Ross County beforehand by selecting both Turnbull and Polworth. Turnbull out wide??? Long and 2 wingers???? If we play Long he needs to play alongside someone like Watt or White. I thought we'd learnt that lesson last season but obviously not. Likewise, although I'm a big fan of Polworth, a corner kick taker he isn't as he proved last season. If you try something and it doesn't work don't be surprised if you try it again and it still doesn't work. Tonight was one of those games that was lost before kick off. The best you can hope for is no red cards and no bad injuries and we almost achieved that. In a season you get games like this - in our case it was the first one. On paper we have a good squad but we need to play to its strengths. Most things can be rectified but I still have fears about our defence, especially right back. We do have options there lets use them early on to tease out the best solution. McGinley did ok at left back. We go again on Saturday and must be prepared to win a battle first before we can bring the squad's undoubted talents to bear on the proceedings. We should be under no illusions, United will be formidable opponents.

Is McGinley not a central defender? Are the full backs receiving any protection on the flanks?

Steady on there that’s a step too far.

Yes but Steven Thompson comes with 2 not inconsiderable pluses. He did play for Sevco and St Mirren. You shouldn’t underestimate that.

Welcome. Enjoy following us, the Steelmen, or to older fans, the Dossers.

Thats what I would think given that Robbo has said that Long is behind the others fitness wise. I still think we'll go more with a 4-5-1 set up or a variation of that. Lang will need some game time to get him up to speed.

Yes. I hope though that our midfield is good enough this year to take a lot of pressure off them and offer them a protective shield until they settle in.

Very sad. Willie was part of the the first Well side that i can remember watching. A very talented player. RIP Willie/Billy.

Welcome to the forum. You're spot on I think. With no reserve side this season, players have been competing for gametime and very few have notched up a full 90 minutes in a game, so fitness will be an issue - for Ross County as well I presume. 5 subbies will allow us rotate the squad and freshen it up during a game as legs tire as you say. At this stage, fitness may be a key factor in team selection. At the moment there's questionmarks over the fitness of players like Gallagher, Turnbull, Hylton, Seedorf, White, Long and Lang. However ultimately management will know best about how they want us to play and who is fit or not fit.

Yes he can play right back Andy. However it’s only in truly exceptional circumstances that I’d move him out of central defence. He’s the massive rock on which our defence is founded. If we were to move him out wide it would destabilise the middle of our rearguard. We do have a couple of more preferable options to fill in for Grimmy should he be indisposed.