Glasgow is tangerine wrote:

Toshney
Dixon (done)
Vds
VDV
Spittal
Fraser
Willo (done)
Dillon (done)
Zwick
Murdoch
Nicholls
Mikelssen
Murray
Donaldson
Telfer

All need to be gone next season if we are to progress as a club.

Part of the problem is that Ray signed 7 of these as well as 2 already punted. Does anybody have confidence that he will make any better signings in future.

Even if he were to make better signings presumably he will be carrying on with the "Jackie" football he's currently playing which means the new players are just as likely to under-perform as the current squad and any new striker is unlikely to be successful as United don't seem to be interested in attacking (e.g. Hibs game 3 shots in 90+ minutes, none on target) or defending properly. Once again United had more bookings than shots

Ray's a lucky guy that Thompson's around to deflect attention away from his under-performing just now - 2 wins in 10 since Christmas with 5 defeats and 21 goals conceded and nothing the horizon to suggest that he has any alternative game plan up his sleeve.  This set of results would be pretty bad if we were actually in the SPL competing against Glasgow Twins, Hearts Aberdeen etc but is a lot worse given that we're in the Championship.

Think recruitment has got to begin with a new manager and preferably some old school guy who is a bit more street wise than the last 3 and has a few options up his sleeve. 
 

PatReilly wrote:

What's Spittal done to deserve this?

Injured frequently and very poor goals return.

Unless he was to revert to a right back (which TEK would love) I just don't see him being an option in the starting 11.
 

PatReilly wrote:

A goal is lost by United every 62 minutes when Spittal isn’t on the park: when he is playing, it is a goal every 206 minutes.


Our best run of the season coincided with Spittal and Robson playing regularly.

It hard to argue against hard evidence. The stat I would add is that we have only scored 3 times from open play playing tippy tappy football when we are either level or behind, yet we keep playing tippy tappy until the last 10 when we throw Durnan forward.

Our inability to defend currently matches our inability to score, hence our decline from 1st to 4th and the liklihood of failing in the play-offs (and the Irn Bru Cup Final).

If ordinary fans can see these issues why can't a football man like McKinnon see them.

IMHO Spittal's best games for us have been as a right wing-back.  I'd play him there with Robson as the left wing back.  The problem is our central defenders aren't mobile enough to play as a back three (Remember Durnan last season for example?  Shudders).  If you played this system though it would give us the option of playing Fraser or VDV more centrally alongside Andreu behind either Mikkelsen or Murray.  Alternatively you could play Andreu in behind and a front two of Murray and Mikklesen.

--------------------------------------------------Bell

--------------------Durnan-------------------Edge-----------------------Dillon?

Spittal------------------------Flood--------------------Telfer-------------------------Robson

---------------------------------------------Andreu

------------------------Murray-----------------------------Mikkelsen

or

--------------------------------------------------Bell

--------------------Durnan-------------------Edge-----------------------Dillon?

Spittal------------------------Flood--------------------Telfer-------------------------Robson

----------------------------Andreu---------------------------VDV/Fraser

------------------------------------------Mikkelsen/Murray