Tek wrote:

I'm thinking there might be a pitch inspection planned for this.

A whole load of snow/rain coming to the country from Wed-Fri night.

Hope they have their covers on early in the week.

 
You'd imagine the national stadium would have some decent drainage and undersoil heating though right?

Any news on the defence? Don’t really see how either of the two centre backs from Saturday could be dropped on performance, but no doubt they will be if there is an option.

Docherty and Sibbald have probably been our best players over the season. So have to start. But sick of Tilson coming on instead of Mochrie. Mochrie is already a better player, is young, is our player and I think he will improve a lot if he is played. Different styles but often played in same position and if the object is to keep possession for last 15 mins (Saturday) surely there is only one winner. Mochrie reminds me a lot of Armstrong - the way he glides, technical ability, and how direct he is.

FAO our Kitman or anyone connected to our club.

This Saturday we play at the national stadium,  under No circumstances unless we lose the toss of a coin should we wear anything but Tangerine.

Leave the green kit in Dundee please.

Same 11 unless we pick up more injuries in training, fuck knows what we do there but every Friday someone on any of the message board will say that so and so ain't playing due to....... in training.

I definitely see a player in Mochrie. He has to work on the defensive side of his game but he has the ability to go past a man , a dying art in modern football.
Whether he will go on to have anything like the impact Armstrong did is unlikely. But Armstrong like Mochrie got plenty of abuse from the tactical experts in the GF in the early part of his UTD career

For me Tilson doesn’t even get wired in. He hides from the ball and looses it when he has to pass. Maybe his positional sense is better. grieve is also terrible btw…cudjoe every time for me over him. Terrible and on loan for another few games. Hopefully not coming back. Why are play them.

Mochrie no idea if he will make it to be anything like Armstrong. I know for sure that will never happen if he doesn’t get a proper chance and run of games.

Funnily enough Armstrong was one I didn’t appreciate nearly enough when he was here. Always thought he was inconsistent.  Much more worried about losing GMS when they left. I was wrong.

Slotbadger wrote:

Any news on the defence? Don’t really see how either of the two centre backs from Saturday could be dropped on performance, but no doubt they will be if there is an option.

Docherty and Sibbald have probably been our best players over the season. So have to start. But sick of Tilson coming on instead of Mochrie. Mochrie is already a better player, is young, is our player and I think he will improve a lot if he is played. Different styles but often played in same position and if the object is to keep possession for last 15 mins (Saturday) surely there is only one winner. Mochrie reminds me a lot of Armstrong - the way he glides, technical ability, and how direct he is.

 
Tonight Goodwin says we may not see Holt again this season and Gallagher’s away to see a specialist for his groin tomorrow. Not worried after Saturday but wouldn’t mind Gallagher back for the bench.

Last time we played QP away (22/12)

We went 442.

This was the team.

Walton

Grimshaw
Gallagher
Holt
McMann

Cudjoe
Tillson
Sibbald
Middleton

Moult
Watt

We never looked like conceding on the night, but never created much either. Awful game tbh.

 

If Wotherspoon is fit I would get him back into the side. The bigger pitch at Hampden would suit his ability to pass the ball.
I would put Fotheringham on the bench.

United Arab Emarite wrote:

I'm not sure about Gallagher & Holt being written off so easily. You know what I mean, Holt out for the season, so what? Gallagher, yeah, maybe find a subbie spot for him.
If we'd been told that the rocks of our defence were going to be missing for the last 6 games we'd have been very concerned.
As I am now, yeah Graham & McClelland got all the plaudits on Saturday & rightly so but one swallow does not make a summer. It's a tricky one for Goodwin, it could be a no-win situation for him. If he persists with Graham & McC and they're not as good as they were on Saturday or he brings in Gallagher for one of them & it doesn't go well, either way he's going to get more roasting.
I hope I'm wrong with Graham & McC catapulting us back into the Prem & are given 3-year contracts.
Gallagher & Holt can be bench warmers.
 

For me by a million miles both Holt and Gallagher are the best defenders in the league, the stats will back that up I am sure.

The reason that Raith went direct on Saturday I suspect was partly due to big Grahams at Staks Park in November where he lost every single header from memory when he came for the injured Gallagher.

Both guys really grew into the game last week but the match and styles suited both the big lads very well where it was aggressive and we certainly never messed around at the back.

These two will have lots of different challenges in the weeks ahead, Airdrie for example will drag them all-over the place in a way them two big cart horses weren't capable of but let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

Saturday on the biggest pitch in the league will be a tester but one that I am sure the manager will be planning to protect them as much as possible,  Docherty will have a big role in this.

Hopefully Fotheringham and Middleton who showed signs of recovering some of their early season form last week can kick on and finish the season strongly.

Sam McClelland from Derry, NI, was at Chelsea youth from 2018-22, age 16-20. His last season there was on loan to Barrow where he played a whole season. He won an Intl cap for Northern Ireland by coming on as an 89th minute sub at Ukraine in 2021. He moved to St J at the start of this season & played 7 games before coming to us on loan. Just turned 22 in January. No sign of injuries in his career.
 

Shedtastic wrote:

He's just recovered from a serious ankle injury.

If this is true I stand corrected.
 

Well tbf it doesn't say 'serious'.
Injured on NI duty? He played 1 minute + time added on in Ukraine. Unless injured in NI training.