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Why has it went so wrong?


Auld Jag
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The teams below us last season have improved.

Archie as a manager is very easy to figure out by the opposition.

injuries to key players.

Archie failed completely to reignite the team after our disaster in the top six  .

The spell playing Barton in midfield .

Fitness levels.

Our "Big" signings have been p1ss poor

Lack of a leader on the park.

All season ,piss poor substitutions.

Awful team selections

The attitude of the players has been a disgrace

An obsession from the manager of hitting the ball continually from side to side instead of even occasionally going through the middle.

No Liam Lindsay

Kingsley.

Edited by angry gaz
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Every opposing manager knows we will sit deeper as the game goes on and are likely to concede. This happened previously but is worse than ever this season.

Archie doesn’t seem to know his best 11

Archie signed Storey and Sammon and took far too long to figure out where to play Sammon. This means Storey is played out of position. Also means Dools hasn’t had enough game time.

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The injuries to the full backs have killed us which was a big part of our play and our lack of creativity in midfield has cost us dearly.  Erskine,Lawless and Spittall and Storey haven’t done enough and playing a midfield consisting of any 3/4 of Woods, Osman, McCarthy, Edwards, Barton has gave us no support to our forwards and having such a defensive line up makes us drop deeper and deeper.  The Dundee Utd fans were glad to see the back of Spittall and said he wasn’t up for the fight and too inconsistent and they were right. 

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The warning signs were all there in the League Cup group stage. Struggling against the likes of Stranraer and Livingston did not bode well. And that was before injuries to key players so let's not pretend it's all due to injuries. Signing duds like Woods and Cargill and consistently playing players who are clearly off form (Osman for example) hasn't helped his case either. P45 in the morning for him and Patterson.

Edited by Big Col
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Was at game tonight   - score did not reflect the game wholly but county were up for it and Jags poorer than ever and never looked like scoring

Scully just wont stop what Cerny might and Barton was 'stand out poor' and utterly guilty for the third goal that ended the contest

 

Change is needed starting from the top sadly and if we are relegated (which after this evening looks most likely) AA has to fall on his sword

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Everyone will have their opinions but...

The fluke of getting into the Top 6  papered over the cracks that appeared in the last 5 games.  1 point from 15, 3 goals scored and 16 conceded should have been ample evidence that we were unlikely (ever?) to compete at that level.  Teams around us have managed to take points off the top teams but our results against Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen etc remain desperately poor. 

The squad wasn't sufficiently strengthened relative to other teams.  Signings have either proved disappointing to say the least or haven't maintained their earlier form. 

The opening fixtures were tough and while they even themselves out over the season, 1 point out of 15 is bound to have had a psychological effect.  

Long-term injuries played their part.  The players out had made over 700 appearances between them but it was wildly optimistic to expect them all to come back and hit the ground running after being out for months rather than get new faces in at the turn of the year.      

The club has been more than generous to long-term injured players.  All very laudable but there comes a point when hard-hearted business considerations need to be an option.

Lack of success in developing young players - or willingness to consider them for selection. 

No adequate cover for an excellent goalkeeper but who is injury-prone.

The team is completely devoid of a natural leader on the park.  Someone who will bawl and shout when things get tough. 

I can't be the only one who believed that the squad was the best in some time but it's a pity football isn't played on paper. 

 

 

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11 hours ago, angry gaz said:

The teams below us last season have improved.

Archie as a manager is very easy to figure out by the opposition.

injuries to key players.

Archie failed completely to reignite the team after our disaster in the top six  .

The spell playing Barton in midfield .

Fitness levels.

Our "Big" signings have been p1ss poor

Lack of a leader on the park.

All season ,piss poor substitutions.

Awful team selections

The attitude of the players has been a disgrace

An obsession from the manager of hitting the ball continually from side to side instead of even occasionally going through the middle.

No Liam Lindsay

Kingsley.

This - well, apart from Lindsay, who I don't think could have rescued this team, nor Kingsley.

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Top six wasn't a fluke. We'd been knocking the door for a couple of years. Don't understand why any Thistle fan would want to diminish the club's achievements.

Confidence is everything. Always think its importance is underestimated by so many people. I know that my own ability to operate effectively in anything is massively affected. So you get in a rut and it's hard to get yourself out. You go on a good run and the results seem to come more easily. In a team environment this can be amplified. I'd say that's the biggest change since last season. Archie wasn't a miracle worker then and he isn't an idiot now.

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Others will disagree but two thingies to me stand out.

Firstly for much of the season not being able to play three at the back with any form of  positivity as we didn't have dedicated wingbacks. McGinn, Nitriansky, Spittal and Lawless for fairly obvious reasons weren't effective enough.

Secondly those returning from injury, Dumbuya, Booth, Osman, Fraser haven't turned things around for varying reasons. 

I don't see it so much as not being able to play a consistent starting XI. Tweaking the squad is normal practice when done positively. Just that most of our changes have been for negative reasons.

 

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There are sadly guys there that should be nowhere near a 'top flight' football team.

Osman being the absolute stand out here - sure he's a lovely chap, but sorry, he's not contributed on the pitch all season & I don't know what 'leadership' qualities he has as, for me, he's hidden in the games he's played and looked a liability - either for a mistake or a stupid foul / card (often both).

Defence not as bad as we may think (at full strength), but the lack of a spine to the team has cost us massively, regardless of personnel changes. And we've no leader at all to drag us through the bad times (Scott Brown is a total f*d, but I'd have him on my team every week - that's the type of player we need).

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I think it is unfair to say that the players aren't good enough. It is more a case that Archibald has not got the best out of them this season. We all know that they can play better, Barton was an SPL player of the month last year. We were all saying we needed Osman back when he was out injured. Erskine can be unplayable when on his game. Dumbaya was a revelation when he first arrived. This squad can and has played so much better, but since the start of the season it has just not happened and players have failed to play to their potential. I don't see any alternative but to change the leadership team.

I know it's a long shot, but Alan Pardew's stock is at an all time low. I wonder if he would be interested in resurrecting his career by saving us ?

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thought that we missed the boat at the january window

somebody at firhill with a sharp pencil could have worked out that if we go down the loss in revenue against taking a quality midfield player on loan or whatever was surely worth a punt

for players coming back from long term injury and being back playing at their best maybe was too much to expect 

Edited by watties wallies
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There has been a number of things that have gone wrong this season.

1. The new signings haven't fitted in very well.

2. We don't pass the ball as much as we used to.

3. Injuries in the 1st half of the season cost us some points.

4. Archie keeps making too many changes to the starting line up

Don't think it is one person's fault.

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2 hours ago, Dick Dastardly said:

I think it is unfair to say that the players aren't good enough. It is more a case that Archibald has not got the best out of them this season. We all know that they can play better, Barton was an SPL player of the month last year. We were all saying we needed Osman back when he was out injured. Erskine can be unplayable when on his game. Dumbaya was a revelation when he first arrived. This squad can and has played so much better, but since the start of the season it has just not happened and players have failed to play to their potential. I don't see any alternative but to change the leadership team.

I know it's a long shot, but Alan Pardew's stock is at an all time low. I wonder if he would be interested in resurrecting his career by saving us ?

Unfortunately you’re wrong, our record since the split last year is 26 points from a total of 111 , are you seriously telling me our players and manager are good enough ?

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When the fixtures came out at the start of the season it was the first in a long list of excuses.

Take Hamilton for example:

Who did Hamilton sign in the summer?

Crawford who is arguably one of their best players has been oot most of the season injured.

When we signed Milan, i immediately cancelled my direct debit to the player fund. It was a desperate piece of business which was nowhere near the ambition we were promised and far below the standard of a junior team never mind our beloved Jags.

We had far too many passengers who were never capable of doing a job, namely Fraser, Muzzy, and Banzo.

There was no balance to the team from very early on and the loss of booth and more so elliott exasperated that. We dont play with any purpose or intent and more importantly dont know how to win. There are no leaders out there, and haven't been for some time.

This hasnt just happened overnight. When concerns were raised, and rightly so early on, we were all accused of being pish the beds. Well it gives me absolutely no pleasure at all in saying, its time the rest of ye's got oot the rubber mattress and keep your fingers crossed that we get in a manager who has a clue what he's doing. Its unthinkable watching another season of this shite

Edited by MonehJags
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1- Our tactics are too well known, with no flexibility or adaptation 

2- Our fitness and stamina is atrocious 

3- Ditching  a player when he’s been a standout the match before

4- Consistently playing guys that aren’t performing/ interested

5- Benching Doolan

6- Bizarre substitutions 

7- No leader on the park

8- Lack of January transfer activity even just to freshen it up

9- Summer signings too late

10- Not knowing where to play summer signings 

11- Not being able to deal with a dead ball situation

12- Injuries 

13- Dressing room issues???

14- No fear to lose in the team, no one gets binned, released, slated, regardless of performance, fitness, injuries, social media tweets

15- Being too defensive when our defense is crap

16- The manager is completely out of ideas

 

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In the context of the importance of the game, the 4-0 loss to Ross County was possibly the worst defeat in the entire time I have supported Partick Thistle...the loss to Ayr United in the Play-Off game is the only one  I can think of which comes close.  The management and players have let us down very badly.

I sensed we were in real trouble when Ian McCall who is the only Jags-Minded Pundit and a friend of Archie commented recently that for the first time  he was worried about Thistle. Had he heard that the spirit at the club was not good?  It's a shame but Archie has lost his way this season - what previously came over as quiet determination now sounds passive and uninspiring.  

We picked up additional money for finishing sixth last season - not a fluke, we were clearly the sixth best side in the League.  We also collected a reasonable transfer fee for Liam Lindsay. There were warning signs towards the end of last season  but these funds have not been applied to good effect.  Bannigan, Fraser & Dumbuya are talented footballers but with known injury problems.  Storey has pace but little footballing ability  - Sammon has been ok but neither of them fit the quick passing and movement style of play which has made Thistle worth watching over the last seasons. 

I don't particularly rate many of our players - McGinn and Woods are journeymen,  Devine lacks composure,  Keown was decent last season but less impressive this year, Edwards is not very good, Barton poor in midfield and his confidence looks shattered.  I would liked to have seen more of McCarthy and I haven't ever seen Penrice play. I want to see players with skill and creativity but whether through injuries or non-selection Erskine, Doolan, Lawless and Spittal have not contributed enough - the fact that Lawless's commitment as an emergency left back is noteworthy speaks for itself.

Osman has been a declining force for some time but his defensive  cover was missed when he wasn't playing.  However, the defining moment of the season  was late in the game against Dundee - Osman who clearly prides himself on his physique, lay down "injured" leaving the space for their crucial equaliser.

It's been a disjointed season - players out injured ( why is Bannigan's fitness a secret?) and  Old Firm games, International Weekends and weather postponements has made attending Firhill an irregular occurrence.  The most galling thing is that in most games although we haven't played well, I didn't leave Firhill thinking that Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee were better than us  - Hamilton, Ross County and St Johnstone were worse. The standard in the Championship seems to be poor this season, and if we finished eleventh,  I would expect us to win.

Posters who are accusing the players of lacking fight seem to have themselves  already accepted we are relegated, with the Training Complex abandoned and the club confined to years  in the lower Leagues. I haven't given up yet - we have taken 12 points out of 15 from the post-split fixtures  - but the general negativity does not bode well.

The worst thing about the season has been the gleeful "I told you so" enthusiasm of some posters after every bad result, simply parroting "Archie must go"" without any insight into the problems or sensible suggestions for a replacement - Steve Clark, Jack Ross, Peter Houston, John Hughes?? Sacking a manager is no guarantee of improvement - Owen Coyle  was not a success  at County or John Hughes at Raith.  The most fervent and repetitive critic has not as far as I can tell been at a single game this season.

They are all going to feel stupid when we finish the season with six successive victories

 

 

 

 

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Considered yes.

Tongue in cheek of course. 6 successive victories for a team that scores no goals would literally be a miracle.

I’ve given up on Archie in the last few weeks.  But will still turn up, support and celebrate like a dafty when we score. Nothing in the world could be better if we stay up.

But I’m on the Threshold of a Dream.

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We are not down yet. Archie will be manager until the end of the season. He will not be sacked and he will not walk. Football’s a funny old game and if we stay up he will be hailed a hero.

Any sport at the highest level is tough and cruel and Archie has not learned fast enough

Players like Scully and Nisbett with respect are not premier league players but he keeps giving them chances. Players like Frazer, Bannigan and possibly Dumbuya do not look as if they are going to recover too well from repeated injury but he keeps giving them contracts.

Azeez, Pogba, German, Nisbett, Amoo, Mukendi……………. he really needs to look at how he sources his strikers. These guys have been given almost 200 games as our goal threat but between them given a return of roughly a dozen goals. Generally speaking we never offer an attacking threat. We have one of the most gifted goal scorers in the league in Kris Doolan but he’s been left on the bench instead of trying to find a suitable partner ( I actually think Storey has all the attributes to be a good striker but somebody has to take him aside and coach him. Instead he is close to joining the above list).

I expect we will lose on Saturday but Archie should watch and learn. Stevie Clark took a shite team and turned them into a team that may yet qualify for Europe. Alan Archibald’s problem is he doesn’t address obvious problems and is running out of time - trouble is you just know he’s going to put out the same players and play the same way……..falling deeper and deeper until the roof falls in.

Off form players walk straight back into the team week after week while players like McCarthy and Penrice are left growing frustrated so if Archie’s problem is his loyalty the players need to take a long look at themselves and start repaying it. Saturday would be a good time to start.

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