Tekel Towers » Connolly and Reynolds

Tek · 28/5/2019 6:49 pm

I can't be the only one who is concerned that we are potentially going into next season with these two as Neilson's first choice Centre Halves?

This isn't 'boo boy' stuff btw. Talk to a couple of Aberdeen fans and watching our last few Play-Off games they were all saying Mark Reynolds looks old,slow and a shadow of the player he was with them at his peak.

Thing is he's been the better of the two for me as well.

Connolly really worries me. Poor in the air and his distribution has been truly awful.

We need at least one really quality Centre Half. One who can not only head the ball but has decent pace and comfortable playing out the ball from the back.

I think Bouhenna would blossom at CH playing beside a quality CH.

TheShed · 28/5/2019 7:05 pm

You’re not the only one. Reynolds is ok, Connolly really isn’t. Need a 1st pick CH to come in.

PatReilly · 28/5/2019 7:10 pm

Only an opinion: I think Watson is our best centre half. But there isn't a lot of competition.

Pissed me off on Sunday looking at who I think is our best CH playing right back, and in front of him our best CF playing right midfield.

A lot of changes needed for me to be confident about our squad for next season.

Beharder · 28/5/2019 7:13 pm

What we need is a 6ft 4" plus CH who wins all his headers. That would nullify every team in league 2. Its the arial bombardment tactics manual at this level.
We are all gutted at Sunday but we have had many CHs worse than Reynolds and Connolly.

Tek · 28/5/2019 7:17 pm

Beharder wrote:
We are all gutted at Sunday but we have had many CHs worse than Reynolds and Connolly.

Maybe so. But that itself shouldn't be the barometer upon which we gauge success. I.e. 'well we've had worse Centre Halves, so you'll do i suppose'.

We've had loads of better Centre Halves too. We need to be better next season. Quite a bit better.

JerryDungle · 28/5/2019 7:19 pm

I think they’ll be all right for another season in the championship. Wouldn’t be averse to bringing in another centre half, one who can play with the ball at his feet. But I’d say a centre midfielder and the attacking areas are a much bigger priority at the moment.

Beharder · 28/5/2019 7:26 pm

Tek wrote:
Beharder wrote:
We are all gutted at Sunday but we have had many CHs worse than Reynolds and Connolly.
Maybe so. But that itself shouldn't be the barometer upon which we gauge success. I.e. 'well we've had worse Centre Halves, so you'll do i suppose'.

We've had loads of better Centre Halves too. We need to be better next season. Quite a bit better.

The full back area is in far greater need of upgrade than CH then again so is CM and the CF. Thats my point really other areas need strengthened first.

Tek · 28/5/2019 7:28 pm

Beharder wrote:
Tek wrote:
Beharder wrote:
We are all gutted at Sunday but we have had many CHs worse than Reynolds and Connolly.
Maybe so. But that itself shouldn't be the barometer upon which we gauge success. I.e. 'well we've had worse Centre Halves, so you'll do i suppose'.

We've had loads of better Centre Halves too. We need to be better next season. Quite a bit better.

The full back area is in far greater need of upgrade than CH then again so is CM and the CF. Thats my point really other areas need strengthened first.

Every area of the team needs strengthened. Let's be honest.

We concede too many goals and we don't score (nearly) enough.

motherwellarab · 28/5/2019 8:19 pm

Tek wrote:
I can't be the only one who is concerned that we are potentially going into next season with these two as Neilson's first choice Centre Halves?

This isn't 'boo boy' stuff btw. Talk to a couple of Aberdeen fans and watching our last few Play-Off games they were all saying Mark Reynolds looks old,slow and a shadow of the player he was with them at his peak.

Thing is he's been the better of the two for me as well.

Connolly really worries me. Poor in the air and his distribution has been truly awful.

We need at least one really quality Centre Half. One who can not only head the ball but has decent pace and comfortable playing out the ball from the back.

I think Bouhenna would blossom at CH playing beside a quality CH.

agree we prob need another centre half but dont think he needs to be quality as i dont think there is any quality in entire league the standard is absaloutley terrible we just need right kind of no nonsence players and we should win league but we need to set a marker early in one of first few games hammer a team by 5 to really start building confidence

SuperMario · 28/5/2019 8:47 pm

I would have liked to have seen frans play right sided centre half rather than left, not sure he’s actually that bad, but wondering if he might be away in summer so might not see him play there with Reynolds

Arab87 · 28/5/2019 8:53 pm

What about taking Harry Souttar on loan?

JerryDungle · 28/5/2019 9:10 pm

Arab87 wrote:
What about taking Harry Souttar on loan?

Not a bad shout, apparently done really well with Fleetwood last season.

28/5/2019 9:50 pm

motherwellarab wrote:
Tek wrote:
I can't be the only one who is concerned that we are potentially going into next season with these two as Neilson's first choice Centre Halves?

This isn't 'boo boy' stuff btw. Talk to a couple of Aberdeen fans and watching our last few Play-Off games they were all saying Mark Reynolds looks old,slow and a shadow of the player he was with them at his peak.

Thing is he's been the better of the two for me as well.

Connolly really worries me. Poor in the air and his distribution has been truly awful.

We need at least one really quality Centre Half. One who can not only head the ball but has decent pace and comfortable playing out the ball from the back.

I think Bouhenna would blossom at CH playing beside a quality CH.
agree we prob need another centre half but dont think he needs to be quality as i dont think there is any quality in entire league the standard is absaloutley terrible we just need right kind of no nonsence players and we should win league but we need to set a marker early in one of first few games hammer a team by 5 to really start building confidence

Sorry to disagree M'well but the standard of the C'ship is not 'absolutely terrible'.
There are a lot of very good players.
You don't happen to watch Sky football a lot do you?

MockChop · 28/5/2019 9:56 pm

I don’t get the Connolly hatred to be honest.

I know he didn’t play well in either leg there, no one did. But it’s like we round on one player then move on to the next one.

We couldn’t get at Seigrist. Butcher wasn’t there, so we go with Connolly. I too would like a solid CH pairing of course. We need wide men, actual wide men. Then the keeper can play to the full back and we can attack through the winger, either into the middle or to the bye line (a foreign concept under Neilson)

If we can maybe let the CHs off ‘distribution’ duties a bit and let them get on with defending they might just strike up a partnership

JerryDungle · 28/5/2019 9:58 pm

Might get shot down for this, but I was very impressed with the ex-funster McKenzie at centre half in both games against St. Mirren, swept up everything at the back for them. Still only 33, could get a couple good years out of him.

28/5/2019 10:20 pm

MockChop wrote:
I don’t get the Connolly hatred to be honest.

I know he didn’t play well in either leg there, no one did. But it’s like we round on one player then move on to the next one.

We couldn’t get at Seigrist. Butcher wasn’t there, so we go with Connolly. I too would like a solid CH pairing of course. We need wide men, actual wide men. Then the keeper can play to the full back and we can attack through the winger, either into the middle or to the bye line (a foreign concept under Neilson)

If we can maybe let the CHs off ‘distribution’ duties a bit and let them get on with defending they might just strike up a partnership

Think I've got a pal

Tek · 28/5/2019 10:29 pm

MockChop wrote:
I don’t get the Connolly hatred to be honest.

I know he didn’t play well in either leg there, no one did. But it’s like we round on one player then move on to the next one.

Hardly 'hatred'.

I just don't think he's very good.

But he's not the only one who has been poor. Pawlett, Sow etc have all received criticism for their perfomance levels too.

Can't expect players to be free of criticism tbqh after 2 Play-Off Final performnces as poor as that back to back.

If anything i think our supporters have taken the whole thing quite well.

PatReilly · 28/5/2019 11:09 pm

Tek wrote:

Can't expect players to be free of criticism tbqh after 2 Play-Off Final performnces as poor as that back to back.

If anything i think our supporters have taken the whole thing quite well.

That's a very good point. We've been dumbed down over the last five years as supporters, and have taken to accepting lower standards bordering on mediocrity, while being taken in with every false dawn (reaching the 2015 LC Final, hitting the top of the league just before Christmas 2016, Csaba taking us on a wee run up to Christmas 2017, the six games where Robbie took over before Ayr pumped us 5-0 AT HOME, and finally Mark Ogren's takeover, which I hope but don't expect to be lead to a positive outcome next season.....)

The players get a very easy ride, and I reckon it's because our fans simply enjoy a good day out, almost regardless of the football on show. That's it for me anyway.

Lancashire-Arab · 28/5/2019 11:09 pm

Tek wrote:
MockChop wrote:
I don’t get the Connolly hatred to be honest.

I know he didn’t play well in either leg there, no one did. But it’s like we round on one player then move on to the next one.
Hardly 'hatred'.

I just don't think he's very good.

But he's not the only one who has been poor. Pawlett, Sow etc have all received criticism for their perfomance levels too.

Can't expect players to be free of criticism tbqh after 2 Play-Off Final performnces as poor as that back to back.

If anything i think our supporters have taken the whole thing quite well.

I agree, i think he was good against weaker opposition but has been exposed a bit against stronger opponents and had we gone up would have moved down the pecking order or been a liability

In my opinion the jury is out on some of the January signing and expect a better performance this summer,

28/5/2019 11:27 pm

PatReilly wrote:
Tek wrote:

Can't expect players to be free of criticism tbqh after 2 Play-Off Final performnces as poor as that back to back.

If anything i think our supporters have taken the whole thing quite well.

That's a very good point. We've been dumbed down over the last five years as supporters, and have taken to accepting lower standards bordering on mediocrity, while being taken in with every false dawn (reaching the 2015 LC Final, hitting the top of the league just before Christmas 2016, Csaba taking us on a wee run up to Christmas 2017, the six games where Robbie took over before Ayr pumped us 5-0 AT HOME, and finally Mark Ogren's takeover, which I hope but don't expect to be lead to a positive outcome next season.....)

The players get a very easy ride, and I reckon it's because our fans simply enjoy a good day out, almost regardless of the football on show. That's it for me anyway.

You don't expect Mark Ogren's takeover to lead to a positive outcome next season?
Is that what you are saying?

PatReilly · 28/5/2019 11:30 pm

smedDUm wrote:

You don't expect Mark Ogren's takeover to lead to a positive outcome next season?
Is that what you are saying?

That's what I've written, smedDUm. I hope we are promoted, which would be a positive outcome, but don't expect it.

What's difficult to understand there?

28/5/2019 11:48 pm

PatReilly wrote:
smedDUm wrote:

You don't expect Mark Ogren's takeover to lead to a positive outcome next season?
Is that what you are saying?

That's what I've written, smedDUm. I hope we are promoted, which would be a positive outcome, but don't expect it.

What's difficult to understand there?

I just find that sad.
I do expect us to be promoted next season.
What can Mark Ogren do to increase your positivity?
And what is that he has done thus far to fuel your negativity?

You're writing off the next 12 months.

Shedtastic · 29/5/2019 12:53 am

A centre half pairing that's lost 2 goals the last 7 or so games. yeah not good enough, jeez.....

blackandtangerine · 29/5/2019 5:36 am

Tek wrote:
MockChop wrote:
I don’t get the Connolly hatred to be honest.

I know he didn’t play well in either leg there, no one did. But it’s like we round on one player then move on to the next one.
Hardly 'hatred'.

I just don't think he's very good.

But he's not the only one who has been poor. Pawlett, Sow etc have all received criticism for their perfomance levels too.

Can't expect players to be free of criticism tbqh after 2 Play-Off Final performnces as poor as that back to back.

If anything i think our supporters have taken the whole thing quite well.

Some have taken it well . I haven't. Still gutted by the piss poor performances by the players and manager over the 2 games. St Mirren are not a good team. 3 times we have played them this season and they failed to beat us over 300 minutes of open play.
Negative tactics by nielson and some piss poor play cost us promotion and that hurts.

PatReilly · 29/5/2019 8:42 am

smedDUm wrote:
PatReilly wrote:
smedDUm wrote:

You don't expect Mark Ogren's takeover to lead to a positive outcome next season?
Is that what you are saying?

That's what I've written, smedDUm. I hope we are promoted, which would be a positive outcome, but don't expect it.

What's difficult to understand there?

I just find that sad.
I do expect us to be promoted next season.
What can Mark Ogren do to increase your positivity?
And what is that he has done thus far to fuel your negativity?

You're writing off the next 12 months.

Think you are lacking a sense of proportion in what is written here generally.

'Expecting' to win football prizes, I'd be better supporting one of the Odd Firm in Scotland. I don't expect success, I hope for it. There's no sense of entitlement in my support. Nor is their blind optimism.

Mark Ogren hasn't fuelled any negativity in me. He's provided finance for Messers Asghar and Neilson to recruit different players. That recruitment, to this point, hasn't filled me with confidence. Failure in the Play Off Final justifies that position.

I hope our recruitment improves. Thus I've not written off the next twelve months.