Tekel Towers » Kucherenko

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 4:34 pm

That’s 3 mistakes too many for me.

He’s costing us near enough every game. He can’t play again otherwise we’ll sleepwalk into another Birighitti situation.

Craig Gordon will be looking for a club to get football ahead of the World Cup, go get him in January.

Esselink needs binned as well, I think cause folk like his song, they’ve failed to notice he’s absolutely shite.

Morphman · 22/11/2025 4:50 pm

You must've been creating this thread at the same time I posted in the v Falkirk thread.

100% agree on all points, although I think an incredible amount of nerves about the keeper is also making Esselink and Co play worse.

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 4:56 pm

Morphman wrote:
You must've been creating this thread at the same time I posted in the v Falkirk thread.

100% agree on all points, although I think an incredible amount of nerves about the keeper is also making Esselink and Co play worse.

It probably doesn’t help but he’s cost us at least 3 goals this season where he goes following the ball where he doesn’t need to and leaves massive spaces for the other team’s attackers to run into. Iovu’s had a lot of stick but I think Esselink is much much worse.

Arabdownsouth · 22/11/2025 4:59 pm

JerryDungle wrote:
That’s 3 mistakes too many for me.

He’s costing us near enough every game. He can’t play again otherwise we’ll sleepwalk into another Birighitti situation.

Craig Gordon will be looking for a club to get football ahead of the World Cup, go get him in January.

Esselink needs binned as well, I think cause folk like his song, they’ve failed to notice he’s absolutely shite.

Every word spot on! Jim can fuck off too for me,team is going backwards fast. How he kept that clown on the park for the second half is a mystery and a complete joke. Picked the wrong team again too,schooled at home yet again! Turned us into a laughing stock!

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 5:01 pm

I honestly think we need 3 or 4 players in January. Good ones

A keeper, a Centre Half, a midfielder to replace Pappoe, seeing as he won’t play again and Vicko’s been absolutely stinking this season.

Hopefully we get that Kazakhstani winger as well, cause outside of his wee purple patch, Dolcek’s been absolutely anonymous. You’d be as well playing with 10 men if he’s not interested. I’d definitely be holding off on making that one permanent.

Last edited by JerryDungle (22/11/2025 5:10 pm)

Arabdownsouth · 22/11/2025 5:06 pm

Morphman wrote:
You must've been creating this thread at the same time I posted in the v Falkirk thread.

100% agree on all points, although I think an incredible amount of nerves about the keeper is also making Esselink and Co play worse.

That the manager can't see this is an absolute dereliction of duty. Ross Graham and Keresztes or big Sam for the next game, Richards has to start now and we need to bin that imposter in January, dont care how much it fucking costs. We need an actual keeper and some defenders who know how to defend! Seriously disillusioned with this shower now. Fatah and Ferry get pass marks for keeping going and any chance we had was gonna come from one of those two. Stephenson plenty of effort too and Trapanovski tried to get us going. The amount of times we give the ball away and leave ourselves wide open is absolutely criminal and thats down to Jim!

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 5:07 pm

Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
That’s 3 mistakes too many for me.

He’s costing us near enough every game. He can’t play again otherwise we’ll sleepwalk into another Birighitti situation.

Craig Gordon will be looking for a club to get football ahead of the World Cup, go get him in January.

Esselink needs binned as well, I think cause folk like his song, they’ve failed to notice he’s absolutely shite.

Every word spot on! Jim can fuck off too for me,team is going backwards fast. How he kept that clown on the park for the second half is a mystery and a complete joke. Picked the wrong team again too,schooled at home yet again! Turned us into a laughing stock!

I wouldn’t say Jim’s under pressure yet, he has a lot of credit in the bank and I trust him to sort things. But I don’t think he knows how to control games with these players. Every game bar Aberdeen at Home and The Fun we’ve allowed the other team to dictate the game, and we just react to it. Every formation he’s tried has failed. He needs to figure it out quickly, we’ve been absolutely embarrassing at home this season.

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 5:19 pm

Allan Preston said the same thing on Sportsound regarding Gordon.

SuperMario · 22/11/2025 5:20 pm

Get on the phone to hearts tonight for either zander Clark or Craig Gordon sorted for 1st of January

SuperMario · 22/11/2025 5:21 pm

Never even looked at above messages.

Arabdownsouth · 22/11/2025 5:22 pm

JerryDungle wrote:
Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
That’s 3 mistakes too many for me.

He’s costing us near enough every game. He can’t play again otherwise we’ll sleepwalk into another Birighitti situation.

Craig Gordon will be looking for a club to get football ahead of the World Cup, go get him in January.

Esselink needs binned as well, I think cause folk like his song, they’ve failed to notice he’s absolutely shite.

Every word spot on! Jim can fuck off too for me,team is going backwards fast. How he kept that clown on the park for the second half is a mystery and a complete joke. Picked the wrong team again too,schooled at home yet again! Turned us into a laughing stock!

I wouldn’t say Jim’s under pressure yet, he has a lot of credit in the bank and I trust him to sort things. But I don’t think he knows how to control games with these players. Every game bar Aberdeen at Home and The Fun we’ve allowed the other team to dictate the game, and we just react to it. Every formation he’s tried has failed. He needs to figure it out quickly, we’ve been absolutely embarrassing at home this season.

Our form is relegation event stuff, he has to be under pressure as far as I'm concerned. Our home form is embarrassing because he gets outwitted every fucking time, and it was absolutely criminal not replacing that keeper at half time. I'd have hooked him sooner than that myself.

Slotbadger · 22/11/2025 5:22 pm

He shouldn’t play again. Parallels with our other recent relegation seasons are clear.

It is depressing United and other teams keep taking crazy risks on random players and especially goalkeepers from far flung corners (Japan, Australia, Ukraine) who were always shite. No coincidence the national team doesn’t have any options in goal when the situation is like this.

I don’t think any of our academy keepers would have been as bad as those 3. Not even close. But they are never given the chance and the difference is our academy players might get better. The players I am talking about were shite and will always be shite.

Arabdownsouth · 22/11/2025 5:45 pm

He's scored 3 own goals in a dozen games as well as all his other flogs, fucking unreal stuff!

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 6:40 pm

3 fucking own goals in 12 games! That’s fucking tragic. He must be near our top scorer this season.

I was a bit nervous about bringing in an unknown quantity in goals after the previous, but thought “nah, no way lightning strikes twice”. Lo and behold, we seem to have signed the only clown on the planet more blunder prone than Birighitti.

Arabdownsouth · 22/11/2025 7:11 pm

JerryDungle wrote:
3 fucking own goals in 12 games! That’s fucking tragic. He must be near our top scorer this season.

I was a bit nervous about bringing in an unknown quantity in goals after the previous, but thought “nah, no way lightning strikes twice”. Lo and behold, we seem to have signed the only clown on the planet more blunder prone than Birighitti.

Remember when Scottish goalkeepers were the standing joke? I'd bite your fucking arm off for one now!

Last edited by Arabdownsouth (22/11/2025 7:12 pm)

Tek · 22/11/2025 7:20 pm

JerryDungle wrote:
3 fucking own goals in 12 games! That’s fucking tragic. He must be near our top scorer this season..

It's a quite shocking stat.

I wonder if another United player has even scored as many as 3 O.G's in their career, never mind a dozen matches.

dyed in the wool · 22/11/2025 9:22 pm

At fault for 2 goals today. Likeable guy, and is actually a very good shot stopper but he's not good enough for our level. Without trying to be dramatic, keeping him in sticks will result in a relegation battle.

JerryDungle · 22/11/2025 9:27 pm

dyed in the wool wrote:
At fault for 2 goals today. Likeable guy, and is actually a very good shot stopper but he's not good enough for our level. Without trying to be dramatic, keeping him in sticks will result in a relegation battle.

In fairness to Goodwin, I don’t think he will continue to play him. Whatever gripes people have with Goodwin, he’s isn’t stubborn about playing boys just cause he signed them. I don’t think we’ll see him in the goals in the near future.

Shakey Isles Arab · 22/11/2025 10:12 pm

Think I saw the laddie came from Ukrainian 10th Div. Not fit for purpose.

Ok so now we're stuck with him, braw enthusiastic laddie that he is. Let's get him out on loan.

Better or at least no worse keepers in the wings.
Richards & Scotland U21 goalie and we're weeping goal and shitting ourselves every corner kick.

And echo sentiments on Esselink/central defence.
Cleall Harding/fit Ross Graham in.
Not to mention you can see the heads drop amongst the rest of the team with continual lapses in the foundation of the team.

Tek · 22/11/2025 11:38 pm

dyed in the wool wrote:
At fault for 2 goals today. Likeable guy, and is actually a very good shot stopper but he's not good enough for our level. Without trying to be dramatic, keeping him in sticks will result in a relegation battle.

That's not dramatic at all mate. It's the reality.

We've all watched this movie before.

15/16 - Luis Zwick, Mihail Szromnik, Kawashima

22/23 - Carljohan Eriksson, Jack Newman, Mark Birighitti

Poor Goalkeepers get you relegated.

FACT.

We must play Dave Richards in the month of December and then sign a solid Keeper (British based) in January.

Lessons must be learned this time.

Shedtastic · 23/11/2025 4:01 am

Believe me, Richards isn't better than the current keeper.

Always_United · 23/11/2025 8:13 am

Shedtastic wrote:
Believe me, Richards isn't better than the current keeper.

Dave Richards had a few games at the tail end of last season and did well. He might not be a great keeper but he comes across as confident, predictable and capable of doing the basics well. He absolutely must play the next few games until the window opens at least.

JerryDungle · 23/11/2025 8:44 am

Shedtastic wrote:
Believe me, Richards isn't better than the current keeper.

He’s probably not a better shot stopper than Kucherenko on a good day, but he isn’t gonna punch the ball into his own net 3 times in 12 games.

SlatefordArab · 23/11/2025 11:18 am

Gonna be a pedant and say that to credit him with the OG v Hearts if very harsh, he tipped that shot onto the post and it comes of post an hits him in the back. But still, yes he needs to improve big time or we need a replacement in Jan.

RE Gordon or Clark. Sorry but for me Clarke is just as much of a bomb scare. I'd take Gordon though.

Slotbadger · 23/11/2025 1:15 pm

Just watched it back. Horrific. Worse than I realised at the time.

People say he is a good shot stopper. The first goal yesterday would suggest not. The stats the bbc have just put up suggest he is an average to lower than average shot stopper.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvg15276v70o

He is an upgrade if we want to play a possession based game and build from the back. It is clear after playing a full round of games we are among the worst in the league at this and don’t have the midfield for it. We play well when we are sitting in and playing on the counter attack.

On Richards I will trust what I saw with my own eyes from end of last season. Especially V Aberdeen I remember a few good saves. Nothing too shaky. Dependable. The fact is if he is worse than Kucherenko he should be binned immediately.

Kuch is 26. He is no young lad. Just like the Aussie and Kawa. Meant to be experienced, first choice players and I would assume on good wages. He should not be a project or need the level of coaching he quite clearly does to improve. I would try and loan him out or get rid at Christmas. If we could get one of hearts 2 backups then great. If not let Adams and Richards fight it out.