MockChop wrote:

Shrewsbury?

Totally forgot about that friendly.
 

Cudjoe was our best player, but yeah went off injured

Fletcher and new goalie both decent enough

Deserved better than 2-1 defeat but squad looks light as subs didn’t make much impact

Canadian Arab wrote:

Cudjoe was limping a bit as he walked round the track but he was on his feet and high-fiving the fans. Didn't see what happened to him. Thought we looked tidy when our starting XI was on the park but IMO we don't attempt to get forward often enough and we don't get forward fast enough. Fletcher looked decent and could have had a couple. Linked up well, but we didn't get the ball to his feet often enough. We allow opponents to organise their defence because of how long we take to get up the park, so the opportunities to put a dangerous cross in are limited. I think we look far better when we counter with pace and have lads like Sheep sliding the ball across the penalty spot from wide, with everyone moving towards their goal. Shankland had low productivity with this "patience" approach, Watt scored one solitary goal with a similar approach. Bringing in more strikers isn't going to help if we don't get forward with pace so there are gaps and holes to exploit.
New keeper looked decent though a few balls hit wide to high full backs were needlessly in the air, which made it far more difficult for the full back than it needed to be and resulted in a couple of turnovers. A few good stops including a really good double save near the end. Sibbald has a good engine and keeps possession pretty well. Seems happy to tackle but I don't think he is a replacement for Butcher and we could still do with an imposing defensive central mid IMO. I'd be tempted to have Edwards and Graham at the back and have Mulgrew in deep midfield, as we did near the end of last season. Cudjoe caused them problems when he had the ball, but he does slow the game down a bit as the ball doesn't move far while he has it. I'd rather see him getting possession in and around their box. He played wide right but I'm not sure he has the pace to be a winger, and he is not a natural winger. Comes inside a lot. Strong on the ball though. Levitt looked half a yard off the pace, though always looking for the ball as usual. he was playing deep again, which means we lose his threat up top. Harkes started strongly and had some lovely touches, but faded a bit later in the game and there were a couple of wayward passes.
Hard to judge the impact of the subbies, as they came on when Watt, Fletcher, Levitt, Sibbald etc. had gone off. Archie could look better if he had Fletcher looking for it, for example. Same for Niskanen. Chalmers put himself about. Sheep looks like he has lost a bit of confidence - we are not really playing the game that suits him (and that would help us). Clark seemed on the fringes of the game. Graham was solid when he came on, but also can slow the game down a bit. He was looking to play a forward ball, and I had time to go and make a cup of tea and come back before he eventually played it.
Pass marks for the lads who played. But we still need some pace wide and a ball-winning midfielder that will free up Levitt to get forward into shooting positions. Their keeper barely had a save to make. 

Thanks for that CA.

I think there is a lot for Jack Ross to address with this side, sadly. We lack pace, we lack width, we lack creativity, we lack dig. 

Your comment on Sibbald is exactly the type of player i remember him to be i.e. good engine and neat and tidy in possession, but he's not a 'ball winner' or a creator. Which is what we really need in midfield.

Feels like a pointless signing to me.
 

AlwaysUnited wrote:

Meaningless game, I didn't even check the result until hours after full time.

These games are about fitness and nothing else.

The real stuff starts next week, bring it on.

 
Delusion.

Today must be a warning sign the hierarchy of our club.

We urgently need a better quality of player.

Canadian Arab wrote:

Cudjoe was limping a bit as he walked round the track but he was on his feet and high-fiving the fans. Didn't see what happened to him. Thought we looked tidy when our starting XI was on the park but IMO we don't attempt to get forward often enough and we don't get forward fast enough. Fletcher looked decent and could have had a couple. Linked up well, but we didn't get the ball to his feet often enough. We allow opponents to organise their defence because of how long we take to get up the park, so the opportunities to put a dangerous cross in are limited. I think we look far better when we counter with pace and have lads like Sheep sliding the ball across the penalty spot from wide, with everyone moving towards their goal. Shankland had low productivity with this "patience" approach, Watt scored one solitary goal with a similar approach. Bringing in more strikers isn't going to help if we don't get forward with pace so there are gaps and holes to exploit.
New keeper looked decent though a few balls hit wide to high full backs were needlessly in the air, which made it far more difficult for the full back than it needed to be and resulted in a couple of turnovers. A few good stops including a really good double save near the end. Sibbald has a good engine and keeps possession pretty well. Seems happy to tackle but I don't think he is a replacement for Butcher and we could still do with an imposing defensive central mid IMO. I'd be tempted to have Edwards and Graham at the back and have Mulgrew in deep midfield, as we did near the end of last season. Cudjoe caused them problems when he had the ball, but he does slow the game down a bit as the ball doesn't move far while he has it. I'd rather see him getting possession in and around their box. He played wide right but I'm not sure he has the pace to be a winger, and he is not a natural winger. Comes inside a lot. Strong on the ball though. Levitt looked half a yard off the pace, though always looking for the ball as usual. he was playing deep again, which means we lose his threat up top. Harkes started strongly and had some lovely touches, but faded a bit later in the game and there were a couple of wayward passes.
Hard to judge the impact of the subbies, as they came on when Watt, Fletcher, Levitt, Sibbald etc. had gone off. Archie could look better if he had Fletcher looking for it, for example. Same for Niskanen. Chalmers put himself about. Sheep looks like he has lost a bit of confidence - we are not really playing the game that suits him (and that would help us). Clark seemed on the fringes of the game. Graham was solid when he came on, but also can slow the game down a bit. He was looking to play a forward ball, and I had time to go and make a cup of tea and come back before he eventually played it.
Pass marks for the lads who played. But we still need some pace wide and a ball-winning midfielder that will free up Levitt to get forward into shooting positions. Their keeper barely had a save to make. 

Good post. Agree about the lack of pace and ball winning midfielder.