Tekel Towers » Utd v Dundee

Shakey Isles Arab · 20/9/2021 9:36 am

Agree with all of that. .. What Tek said like.
Freeman looks a real exciting prospect.

Last edited by Shakey Isles Arab (20/9/2021 9:38 am)

Lilley01 · 20/9/2021 11:01 am

Would also like to see Freeman starting and thought he was hard done by having K.Smith start in his position ahead of him. I think Smith turns back too much and would like to see our full backs be more direct like Rooney, Doig, O'Donnell etc. it's a massive outlet for teams to have strong running from deep.

Thought McNulty put in a great shift for what was asked of him. Him ploughing away up there allowed us to dominate the game in the second half by having more men in midfield, whilst he still posed a threat coming short and running channels. Was key to us winning the game without being spectacular himself. Very much a team-first performance.

Was surprised by how much they sat off us for the second half. Not exactly sure what their game plan was and only really created chances when they fell behind and things got frantic. Credit to the management team for the start to the season which is exceeding most expectations.

Finn Seemann · 20/9/2021 12:19 pm

We shouldn't be getting carried away. The bottom team in the league had 4 gilt edged chances against us (2 goal line clearances, Mulgrew tackle and the Griffiths header that Siegrist was nowhere near if it had been on the wrong side of the post). We had the save from Pawlett and the goal. The defence played well, but our luck was in/their finishing was poor. 9 times out of 10 one of those 4 chances is a goal or two.

Very much a game of 2 halves. I thought that Courts was right to start with Butcher instead of Levitt as it was always going to be brutal at the start and we needed to go toe to toe in the physicality game. Not sure if the plan was Butcher to come off, but it was the right decision given the yellow and the fact he looked like he was carrying a knock by then, I thought that change changed the game in our favour and we actually played some decent stuff up to the final third where we were generally woeful. McNulty is our new starved of service striker. Yes he ran about a bit but he's a downgrade on the boy that we had before and he was mince with no service too. The lack of a proper line leader will screw our season and to not bring in somebody who might fit that role is very poor for a team that wants to finish top 6.

That said, a derby win is a derby win and if you told me that we would be ahead of Celtic after 6 games I'd have thought Celtic would need to be total mince (and they're not) and we stepped up to the next level (which we've not). So Tam's report card looks to be B+, room for improvement, but a solid start.

20/9/2021 1:34 pm

Well that's me deflated....
You're right Finn, they should have won 4-0.
Sorry for winning, must have been a massive fluke.

Finn Seemann · 20/9/2021 1:50 pm

smedDUm wrote:
Well that's me deflated....
You're right Finn, they should have won 4-0.
Sorry for winning, must have been a massive fluke.

Haha, it wasn't a massive fluke. Thankfully the Dees are worse than us (normal service). We are looking good defensively (despite the Dees having good chances to score) and not bad in midfield (jury out on Niskanen). We are fairly toothless upfront though which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone (which is, in itself, highly concerning).

Just me being realistic. In terms of positives, I think we should be able to hold our own around mid table which gives us another year of rebuild and consolidation, which permits the youth conveyor belt to improve, which should allow failure of the Project to be pushed out another year

lifesanocean · 20/9/2021 1:50 pm

smedDUm wrote:
Well that's me deflated....
You're right Finn, they should have won 4-0.
Sorry for winning, must have been a massive fluke.

All is well

Tangy · 20/9/2021 2:12 pm

Obviously happy with the win...to be them is always good.

Performances are improved compared to some others but we have the same old issues which will keep resurfacing until we sign another/more strikers.

Good to have had options off the bench and some decent subbies (both forced and voluntary) from Courts. (Said as one of his biggest doubters - as a side note to that, I wish he would come across as a little bit more passionate)

Hope to see niskanen doing more - although he worked hard.

Can't fault 1 player for effort and I think our play was generally easier to watch.

🤩 - mulgrews challenge on sheridan

Lilley01 · 20/9/2021 3:42 pm

lifesanocean wrote:
smedDUm wrote:
Well that's me deflated....
You're right Finn, they should have won 4-0.
Sorry for winning, must have been a massive fluke.
All is well

All could be better but all could be a lot worse. With regard to some of the personal and over the top nonsense that was written on here over summer, it's definitely worthwhile to celebrate the small successes whilst still hoping for improvements.

MM made a good start too before a few bad runs and a few terrible performances so we should be cautiously optimistic about how TC will pan out but so far you've got to say the bold appointment is working out reasonably well. The things within his control are looking in shape.

Beharder · 20/9/2021 5:26 pm

Tangy wrote:
Obviously happy with the win...to be them is always good.

Performances are improved compared to some others but we have the same old issues which will keep resurfacing until we sign another/more strikers.

Good to have had options off the bench and some decent subbies (both forced and voluntary) from Courts. (Said as one of his biggest doubters - as a side note to that, I wish he would come across as a little bit more passionate)

Hope to see niskanen doing more - although he worked hard.

Can't fault 1 player for effort and I think our play was generally easier to watch.

🤩 - mulgrews challenge on sheridan

For me Tangy TCs calm behaviour on the touchline is great to see. A manager needs a clear head during the game. All this shite about going crazy at the 4th official and celebrating like a supporter is not for me.

SuperMario · 20/9/2021 5:30 pm

Thought levitt was excellent when he came on yesterday, very good passer of the ball

Mulgrew and Edwards are phenomenal together, both also very good passers of the ball, what a difference it makes having them two there, Edwards in particular yesterday was hitting the diagonal to mcmann very well yesterday

Quietly optimistic about this season, fair play to tam 🙌🏼

Tangy · 20/9/2021 5:44 pm

Beharder wrote:
Tangy wrote:
Obviously happy with the win...to be them is always good.

Performances are improved compared to some others but we have the same old issues which will keep resurfacing until we sign another/more strikers.

Good to have had options off the bench and some decent subbies (both forced and voluntary) from Courts. (Said as one of his biggest doubters - as a side note to that, I wish he would come across as a little bit more passionate)

Hope to see niskanen doing more - although he worked hard.

Can't fault 1 player for effort and I think our play was generally easier to watch.

🤩 - mulgrews challenge on sheridan

For me Tangy TCs calm behaviour on the touchline is great to see. A manager needs a clear head during the game. All this shite about going crazy at the 4th official and celebrating like a supporter is not for me.

Fair play - each to their own.....genuinely can't put my finger on it....its like there's something missing. Is it rapport? Is it a heightened sense of self worth? Is it his accent? I honestly couldn't say - but get us to a cup final and top 6 and all will be forgotten 🤣

Tek · 20/9/2021 8:12 pm

Just thinking.

Where was Spörle yesterday? Not even on the bench.

Shakey Isles Arab · 20/9/2021 8:30 pm

Tangy wrote:
Beharder wrote:
Tangy wrote:
Obviously happy with the win...to be them is always good.

Performances are improved compared to some others but we have the same old issues which will keep resurfacing until we sign another/more strikers.

Good to have had options off the bench and some decent subbies (both forced and voluntary) from Courts. (Said as one of his biggest doubters - as a side note to that, I wish he would come across as a little bit more passionate)

Hope to see niskanen doing more - although he worked hard.

Can't fault 1 player for effort and I think our play was generally easier to watch.

🤩 - mulgrews challenge on sheridan

For me Tangy TCs calm behaviour on the touchline is great to see. A manager needs a clear head during the game. All this shite about going crazy at the 4th official and celebrating like a supporter is not for me.

Fair play - each to their own.....genuinely can't put my finger on it....its like there's something missing. Is it rapport? Is it a heightened sense of self worth? Is it his accent? I honestly couldn't say - but get us to a cup final and top 6 and all will be forgotten 🤣

..... Wee bit hard to please Tangy
- - - - -
Lack of target man is costing us, cannae blame TC for that
- - - - - - -
Fit (if he can stay that way) Chalmers will be great.

tokyoarab · 21/9/2021 3:01 am

Tangy wrote:
Fair play - each to their own.....genuinely can't put my finger on it....its like there's something missing. Is it rapport? Is it a heightened sense of self worth? Is it his accent? I honestly couldn't say - but get us to a cup final and top 6 and all will be forgotten 🤣

my take would be that it's a product of him skipping a few rungs on his managerial ladder and not having a fully formed manager persona - he knows that he's under scrutiny and wants to present as unflappable. probably a reasonable/safe approach - but his reaction - or lack of one - at full time did come across to me as a little inauthentic... doesn't need to be a knee-slide, but as you say, i think giving the crowd something in that situation would help him to build that rapport. showing no reaction feels detached.

fair play to him tho - i do think we're making progress and he certainly has to take a chunk of the credit for that

on the game, i thought Kerr Smith looked class again - playing a 16 year old against the dundee front line was a bold call in a number of ways, but he looks like a superstar. don't really see how he fits in the team other than at RB unless Mulgrew or Edwards gets injured, but if part of the balance this year is on developing assets then not against him getting stuck in at full back from time-to-time as he is a diamond. Freeman is someone who before going to Peterhead i thought looked miles off it, but in pre-season games he really stood out to me - given our lack of creativity his runs and crossing look sure to give us chances especially if Levitt can get on the ball. seeing Freeman on at the same time as Niskanen would also be interesting to see if that brings more out of the Finn. wasn't Niskanen signed as a left wing though..? that's what i was expecting, but he seems to have been mostly out right from what i've seen - maybe also affecting initial performances...

21/9/2021 8:10 am

Just a word on Keiron Freeman - try see the pic of his challenge on Griffiths when latter sent it over the bar from 6 yards - awesome!

21/9/2021 8:38 am

Short memories some fans....recall McNamara, Jackson & Donnelly downtown St Andrews leaving Geoff Clark to ref the 6-a-sides. I think you'll find Courts has a better work ethic.100%, no messing.

AlonsMosely · 21/9/2021 9:56 am

Thought TCs reaction was perfect, job done...move on

Tangy · 21/9/2021 12:48 pm

I would clarify that we've got more points than I thought we would at this stage and that is partly tam and partly the recruitment tony.

Is the play more exciting than last season....not really. Are we playing more youngsters than last season...not really.

Is he proving himself? It's too early to say definitively but it's going the right direction.

I wish I could put my finger on what it is I can't take to....

Lilley01 · 21/9/2021 1:01 pm

For balance, i was open to the appointment but felt it was a risk we probably didn't need to take. So far, i've been pleasantly surprised at the improvement in performances (they are definitely improved over a small sample), the level of dig, the transition from a back 5 to a back 4 and still being as, if not more, solid and his in-game decisions.

His interviews are improving too but they must be a very difficult thing to have to pick up. The level of improvement indicates someone who is aware, open to feedback and keen to improve - all good signs.