CCX2 2010 wrote:

redford_must_score wrote:

Slotbadger wrote:

Hope we go back to 3 at the back. Pack the midfield with sibbald, doc, sev. I’d have Babunski playing off dalby and dropping back to midfield at times.

Play ugly. It is what has served so well this year.

Won’t be easy. Hibs are decent.

 
Agree about 3 at the back but does two of them need to be Gallagher and Graham to release Svelj into midfield?
Is Graham fit?

 
Nope, still injured.

Got two centre half ( one of them not 100%) and a young laddie.

 
Cheers, Svelj is so important to us in midfield I'd be tempted to go 451 with one of the 5 being Middleton or Trapanovski

redford_must_score wrote:

kdyteejay wrote:

CCX2 2010 wrote:

 
You could be right but hope you are wrong.

I was up at the training session the other week and the lack of depth with what he has to work with was laid out, right in front of you.

17 outfield players trained and that included Stirton. Only 2 of them left footed and one experienced centre half.

We could just have run out of steam but fingers crossed we can squeeze another 4 performances out of the limited resources we have available.

A goal from one of the January recruits would help.

Or even VDS.

Personally think we’ll lose unfortunately.

 
I want to be wrong. I'm normally a very positive person but I look at the manner of the defeats to Dundee and Celtic and I get angry.
Then I look at the 3 x 1-0 victories and I think is that style enough to beat Hibs and I don't think it is.
Then I look at the key loss of Holt's experience and winning mentality and Stephenson and I just can't see enough.

(And while I'm on a rant jogging alongside an opponent isn't a tackle. If that opponent is beside you put a tackle in ffs or hand your shirt over, that really does my head in unless it's on the 18 yard line)

I feel we've lost a bit of edge, a bit of the die for the shirt mentality. I really hope I'm wrong, don't mean to be a negative norman for the sake of it.

Sums up Glen Middleton. Does my napper in.

Just seen the starting lineup and a bit of my usual optimism has returned.
Babunski really needs to take a game here.

Morphman wrote:

Maybe JG had the right of it benching Gallagher last week FFS

 
Gallagher Strain and Adeboyega all over the place.
We can't create anything at all.
A brutal watch.
2-0 HT and we're lucky  it's not more.

Honestly, get Gallagher off the first 11. Give SCL a start. If Adeboyega is on holiday mode what difference does it make if we recall and start Dewar?

Get boys who are here past the end of season playing.
Goodwin is 7 games and 7 straight losses post split games for United.

We’re getting very fucking close to chucking Europe next season and playing Inverness away on a Tuesday in the league cup.

GFL wrote:

Arabdownsouth wrote:

Honestly wouldn't be surprised if st mirren catch us up now,they're out there scrapping for every point whilst our lot go through the motions. Piss poor today

 
Piss poor?
Are you for real?

That would be a fucking improvement on today.
They weren’t good, we held 3 double barrelled shotguns at our own feet and pulled the trigger the day.

 
? 🤔

redford_must_score wrote:

Just seen the starting lineup and a bit of my usual optimism has returned.
Babunski really needs to take a game here.

 
He was miles off it.

That's me seen enough of Dave.

CCX2 2010 wrote:

redford_must_score wrote:

Just seen the starting lineup and a bit of my usual optimism has returned.
Babunski really needs to take a game here.

 
He was miles off it.

That's me seen enough of Dave.

 
Agree. Too many times we've turned to him and he's not delivered.

We built our points total on a strong defence and today that disintegration was exposed badly. Some of the defensive positions of the back 3 in that first 25 minutes was alarming.  Manny wandering forward, Gallacher getting pulled all over the place.

We looked better after HT when Trapanovski and Middleton came on but that threat only lasted about 20 minutes and it always looked like if we got one they'd get 2 because of our poor defence. So often in that final third we couldn't pass it accurately or the bounce and deflections was beating us which is just evidence of a lack of quality.

To be fair, they have better players, deserved their victory and we have a massive rebuild on our hands.

This is not hindsight by the way but I was very surprised we told Gallacher he wasn't getting an extension with Holt already away and 5 massive top 6 games incoming.

GFL wrote:

CCX2 2010 wrote:

GFL wrote:

Honestly, get Gallagher off the first 11. Give SCL a start. If Adeboyega is on holiday mode what difference does it make if we recall and start Dewar?

Get boys who are here past the end of season playing.
Goodwin is 7 games and 7 straight losses post split games for United.

We’re getting very fucking close to chucking Europe next season and playing Inverness away on a Tuesday in the league cup.

 
What, would you just play some young laddie at 17 year old at the back himself?

We have no options at the back, none. These boys are out on their feet, all of them.

We are chucking nothing away, these boys have given their all, nobody can accuse them of past accusations that were levelled at Mulgrew/Edwards.

The better team won last week and today, that's the end of it really, shite but that the truth.

Massive game next week, one we need to be up for but really really really really could be doing with a fit Ross Graham to allow Sevelj to go back into midfield.

 
Was my assessment for next week. Boys who are here next season get them played if the ones here who looked like they aren’t arsed for us can’t be arsed.

They weren’t good today imo, all 3 were avoidable. First brain fart, second shite, second horrid defending (aka see second).

 
Aye but none of the goals we lost were due to guys not giving a fuck. Lack of concentration and guys playing out of position yes.

Ps. We don't even have eleven guys that will defo be here next season.

Richards,

Strain,Sevelj,.Graham (doibtful), Ferry.

Sibbald, Trapa

Nae strikers.

That's it I think.

Got to get behind these guys, it's sore I get it however they are on empty.

Gallagher was to blame for the first two goals today. Two down after 15mins and the game is almost gone.
Always disappointed to lose but watching that today it was clear that Hibs have a better squad of players than UTD. They will deservedly be 3rd but if JG holds onto 5th that has to been as a successful return to the top flight.

GFL wrote:

If Adeboyega is on holiday mode what difference does it make if we recall and start Dewar?
.

We can't do that i'm afraid. Nor, should we.

It is rather frustrating however  we can't recall Owen Stirton in particular, after his season is over with Montrose.

Because i'd rather bring that boy off the bench for a goal than Paton or VDS.
 

Tek wrote:

I think today it was more evident than ever that the season has caught up with our small squad.

Some look like they are playing through injury, and others look like they've ran their race and have nothing more to offer the club. Despite trying too.

Mark Ogren needs to open up the purse strings and give whoever is Manager next season a far more competitive budget that will give us a better chance to compete fairly with Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs. We haven't even played many Cup games this season. And have had many free weekends, imagine we had less of them and more games. I can't imagine what state the squad would look like, availability wise and fatigue wise. Throw some European games into the mix and we simply must have a squad with far more depth next season, and also with more quality at our disposal.

This squad has done great to win us the Championship and get us Top 6 (minimum) and our appreciation should be shown to most of these players, but it's also time for the stark reality that if we are to go on to the next level we need to gut the squad again, and in the Summer we need to try and really build a squad for the future, one with more longevity, players that might be our mainstays over the next 2/3 years, so we aren't needing yet another massive rebuild in the Summer of 2026.

It's time for our Championship players to move on -

Gallagher, Moult, Watt, Fotheringham, Thomson, Middleton and yes even Ross Docherty, sadly.

We need to move on the signings this season that clearly haven't worked -

Babunski, VDS, Odada, Meshack, Campbell, Fiorini, Paton

And there are several youngsters out of contract. Most of these will also be moved on i'd imagine, bar maybe Charlie Dewar, Scott Constable and maybe Ruairidh Adams.

It will be a big rebuild, and i'm personally quite happy we have a new Head of Recruitment. I think there have been too many failures this season. We need a better average than 50% being failures. This has been a squad that has an obvious 'glass ceiling' and has now hit against that, despite admirably trying to break it.

We need an exciting batch of new players, one's you enjoy watching and where you think anything is possible with them including getting to Cup Finals again and really going after teams by playing attacking football. Not just grinding out 1-0's. That should always be the aim, otherwise what's the point?

Finally, we need to hit the ground running and get signings in the door early. We have a lot of business to do.

 
Looking at the long list of departures the only one I would disagree with would be Docherty.  He was head and shoulders above Sibbald & Babunski yesterday.
If he finishes the season injury free that would be a long enough injury free run to get a new deal.