Alloa away

[laukat]

1 minute ago, Third Lanark said:

I don’t think quitongo would have been risked on the Astro given he is just back from injury but on grass next week he needs to start ahead of Doolan 

I hope you are correct but if he couldn't be risked form the start why risk him for the last 15 minutes?

I hope next week we start with Quitongo and Coulibally. We need to freshen it up and hopefully one of them can provide some inspiration

[Odd Fellows]

Exactly, I have watched Thistle for nearly 60 years and we have rarely had a big target man. Steven Craig, Ally Graham, Paddy Keogh, we had them all at the end of their careers. We seem to have relied on small forward, maybe why we don’t score enough goals. But saw Jai Quitongo up close today didn’t do a lot in the limited time he had on but looks quite physical and could work defenders, hopefully he will get a chance and stay fit.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Odd Fellows

[One t in Scotland]

34 minutes ago, Harrybriscoe said:

Miles Storey could do with some  one-on-one  coaching to get the best out of him. He has pace in spades and finds himself in great positions, but he needs to learn how to compose himself when he plays his final pass or shoots at goal.

Give me strength - I might refer to a promising player in an u-12s team in this sort of fashion, but a professional football player?

[simoncordiner]

Storey is a total waste of space. Doesn’t have the talent or the mentality for this division. It amazes me the way we’ve stuck with both him and Spittal for so long. Genuinely they are lixury players who give one good game in ten or 20. We need to get shot of these players and have guys like Quitongo playing every week who will give the same consistency of performance that you need to win a division. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by simoncordiner

[sebring44]

Seem irrational to blame Caldwell after six days in the job it's players that loose games , some of our team today didn't adapt to the ridiculously narrow pitch,Doolan had a poor game ,and Bannigan has this problem where he's not as good a player as he thinks he is and fails to do the simple things and consequently gets  himself into troubles of his own making. Coulibaly looks the goods and it's a pity Quitongo wasn't used when Doolan went off. Christie Elliott is not a wing back and as he only seem to have a right foot but and he's unable to beat a defender on the outside consquently he goes inside but his crosses with his left foot are to say the least wayward. If  we are going to persist with high  balls into the we would require a forward who is tall and able time a jump.

 

[jlsarmy]

12 minutes ago, Odd Fellows said:

Exactly, I have watched Thistle for nearly 60 years and we have rarely had a big target man. Steven Craig, Ally Graham, Paddy Keogh, we had them all at the end of their careers. We seem to have relied on small forward, maybe why we don’t score enough goals. But saw Jai Quitongo up close today didn’t do a lot in the limited time he had on but looks quite physical and could work defenders, hopefully he will get a chance and stay fit.

Mathias Pogba , Conor Sammon and even Lyle Taylor were all Archie’s preferred forwards at one point , obviously an option to have a more physical presence upfront but that’s not the reason why we don’t score enough goals.

The style of play we’ve adopted is overplaying in the midfield with the emphasis on keeping the ball,not getting the midfield players forward to either get them supporting the forwards or even making runs to get beyond our strike force. When was the last time one of our midfield players got 10 goals for the season ?

Hopefully Caldwell will see that , I still believe we’ve got good players about the Club but the style of play we’re adopting means we aren’t seeing the best of these players, the majority of whom are best attacking Doolan , Erskine , Quitongo, Coulibaye , Fitzpatrick and even Storey with his pace through the middle should be a threat .

Hopefully Caldwell can fix it 

[Norgethistle]

35 minutes ago, Odd Fellows said:

Exactly, I have watched Thistle for nearly 60 years and we have rarely had a big target man. Steven Craig, Ally Graham, Paddy Keogh, we had them all at the end of their careers. We seem to have relied on small forward, maybe why we don’t score enough goals. But saw Jai Quitongo up close today didn’t do a lot in the limited time he had on but looks quite physical and could work defenders, hopefully he will get a chance and stay fit.

Calum Campbell alongside Gerry McCoy worked a treat.

 

[laukat]

I really thought Storey was an excellent signing when he first arrived. His goal against St Johnstone at Firhill was stunning but since then he has gone backwards.

Part of the reason I think he has gone backwards was Archie's insistence in playing him as a winger. He just doesn't have the crossing or passing ability to play as a winger. He needs to play centre forward however he is so out of form that we have way better options in that position. It would be better for all concerned for him to find another club as he entirely capable but in a Thistle shirt it just hasn't happened.

He reminds me a lot of Brian Gallagher who was one of Lambie's first signings. On paper it looked a great signing. A fast striker playing at a higher level, scored a reasonable amount of goals and even a hat-trick in Europe. He puts on a Thistle shirt and he can't hit a barn door. He only scored 2 goals for us and I have vague recollections of a discussion about creating a t-shirt saying 'I was there when Gall scored'

[jlsarmy]

38 minutes ago, One t in Scotland said:

Give me strength - I might refer to a promising player in an u-12s team in this sort of fashion, but a professional football player?

Not sure you’re right there , a good coach will improve players just look at the impact Stevie Clarke has had at Kilmarnock with basically the same players he inherited.

[laukat]

3 minutes ago, Norgethistle said:

Calum Campbell alongside Gerry McCoy worked a treat.

Was it not Calum Campbell with John Flood and  Colin McGlashan?

[Auld Jag]

20 minutes ago, laukat said:

I really thought Storey was an excellent signing when he first arrived. His goal against St Johnstone at Firhill was stunning but since then he has gone backwards.

Part of the reason I think he has gone backwards was Archie's insistence in playing him as a winger. He just doesn't have the crossing or passing ability to play as a winger. He needs to play centre forward however he is so out of form that we have way better options in that position. It would be better for all concerned for him to find another club as he entirely capable but in a Thistle shirt it just hasn't happened.

He reminds me a lot of Brian Gallagher who was one of Lambie's first signings. On paper it looked a great signing. A fast striker playing at a higher level, scored a reasonable amount of goals and even a hat-trick in Europe. He puts on a Thistle shirt and he can't hit a barn door. He only scored 2 goals for us and I have vague recollections of a discussion about creating a t-shirt saying 'I was there when Gall scored'

This. Storey to me never looks confident. After his goal against St.Johnstone I thought that would have given him confidence but no.We now have plenty of attacking options I think Storey should be on the bench at best.

[Norgethistle]

13 minutes ago, laukat said:

Was it not Calum Campbell with John Flood and  Colin McGlashan?

Was Campbell and McCoy before Lambie sold McCoy (Just before we played St Johnstone at McDairmed when we were top with them) he then left for Accies the following week

[ironfist]

Positives  from today were that Coulibaly came on and looks the real deal. His effort and desire alone put several others to shame. Ntambwe has some attributes but is he a better than McCarthy? I’m not sure. Bannigan is quality but he needs movement ahead of him. Liked the fact Caldwell was not afraid to fire on the forwards when we went behind.

negatives- starting line up was a bit disappointing- probably politically amongst the squad a reasonable place for Caldwell to start but storey, Elliot and Doolan need benched for a while. Goal against was not a surprise at all. 

I think confidence counts for a lot but it’s difficult to build in a losing team. Getting Coulibaly into the starting line up would be a good step 

[laukat]

17 minutes ago, Norgethistle said:

Was Campbell and McCoy before Lambie sold McCoy (Just before we played St Johnstone at McDairmed when we were top with them) he then left for Accies the following week

My memory must be getting bad. I thought Campbell signed in the August and McCoy left for Falkirk at the start of October and they barely played together. 

Either which way we had a great team at that period. Campbell, Flood, Charnley and one of the most underated defenders in Jim Kerr.

Campbell must be one of the select few ex-footballers who's had a successful second career outside of football now he's chief exec at NHS lanarkshire

[Harrybriscoe]

1 hour ago, One t in Scotland said:

Give me strength - I might refer to a promising player in an u-12s team in this sort of fashion, but a professional football player?

Don't know why you think because he's a grown man he  should be exempt from coaching and  working on a weakness in his game. It's all part of being a professional sportsman.

Different sport, but in the same vein, the golfer Lee Trevino would reply to critics who claimed he was lucky to have been so successful by saying  

"it's funny how the more I practise the luckier I get."

 

[cyprusjag]

Sorry,iit was Gary Player not Lee Trevino

[Harrybriscoe]

2 minutes ago, cyprusjag said:

Sorry,iit was Gary Player not Lee Trevino

    So it was... but the point remains.  Cheers.

[One t in Scotland]

2 minutes ago, Harrybriscoe said:

Don't know why you think because he's a grown man he  should be exempt from coaching and  working on a weakness in his game. It's all part of being a professional sportsman.

Different sport, but in the same vein, the golfer Lee Trevino would reply to critics who claimed he was lucky to have been so successful by saying  

"it's funny how the more I practise the luckier I get."

 

I personally wouldn't expect a professional footballer to need to be shown how to 'compose himself' to pass and shoot but whatever. Maybe if he'd spent the time on the training ground rather than the tattoo parlour?

[jaf]

4 hours ago, P-R said:

BBC report having a laugh with those stats. More like 4 shots at goal 1 on target.

Cammy bell made an excellent save to stop them going 2-0 up. 

[lady-isobel-barnett]

9 minutes ago, ironfist said:

Positives  from today were that Coulibaly came on and looks the real deal. His effort and desire alone put several others to shame. Ntambwe has some attributes but is he a better than McCarthy? I’m not sure. Bannigan is quality but he needs movement ahead of him. Liked the fact Caldwell was not afraid to fire on the forwards when we went behind.

negatives- starting line up was a bit disappointing- probably politically amongst the squad a reasonable place for Caldwell to start but storey, Elliot and Doolan need benched for a while. Goal against was not a surprise at all. 

I think confidence counts for a lot but it’s difficult to build in a losing team. Getting Coulibaly into the starting line up would be a good step 

A lot there I agree with. Created so little today that a win never looked on the cards at anytime during the match. Coulibaly aside there was just about nothing in way of positives. Take the point about Brice and McCarthy. Did think tho' that Brice looked improved from previous outings and was one of our less culpable performers. 

No doubt TJR will confirm but by my reckoning Alloa have now beaten us in three consecutive league games. That is grim.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Harrybriscoe said:

Only bright spot for me today was that Souleymane Coulibaly looked pretty useful when he came on and I'm sure he'll score goals with a few more games under his belt.

At present ,I think Gary has to play some of the younger players in our squad.

McCarthy,  Mutombo,  Fitzpatrick & Quitongo should all be given a decent run in the team to see what they can do. 

I don't know if it's a mental block or frustration or they're just jaded, but some of older hands need a break until we get out of this losing groove away from home that we find ourselves in.  

Miles Storey could do with some  one-on-one  coaching to get the best out of him. He has pace in spades and finds himself in great positions, but he needs to learn how to compose himself when he plays his final pass or shoots at goal.

I'd settle for just getting in to the top four this season which is not impossible on what I saw today.  Just needs Gary Caldwell to piece together the Thistle jigsaw he's inherited, but there may be more than a few pieces missing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

I ran out of "likes" . Only thing i wanted to add/change.....i'll be happy to stay up.

Genuinely. Not trying to be  smart or funny. We are in a relegation battle so forget play offs. I know three wins and we are back challenging but so far i've seen all the opposition and i don't know who we will get points off in the next quarter of the season.

[West Ender]

Same old same old. Starting line up just an Archie team playing Archie tactics. A tad worrying, this is supposed to be a manager who has analysed the team and given his analysis of how they could be bettered and yet what did he change? Nothing! I was hoping at least for a different post match discussion as well, perhaps even an admission that he’d picked the wrong starting lineup, but no, nothing. Just the same old managerial speak, sound and fury meaning nothing. Not a good start, 3/10...and that’s just for the introduction of Coulibaly.

Edited October 21, 2018 by West Ender
Spelling

[Hankey]

1 hour ago, West Ender said:

Same old same old. Starting line up just an Archie team playing Archie tactics. A tad worrying, this is supposed to be a manager who has analysed the team and given his analysis of how they could be bettered and yet what did he change? Nothing! I was hoping at least for a different post match discussion as well, perhaps even an admission that he’d picked the wrong starting lineup, but no, nothing. Just the same old managerial speak, sound and fury meaning nothing. Not a good start, 3/10...and that’s just for the introduction of Coulibaly.

Totally agree, the similar team selection and tactics reeked of Archie. Right down to the Jagzone interview of Caldwell who thought we played well. I've not spoken to one person at the game today nor read anyone online who shares this view.

[partickthedog]

It was frustrating to see where the touchlines ought to be and then to realise where they actually were. The pitch was barely wider than the penalty box.  I think the intent was there to play a more positive passing game at a higher tempo. On many occasions the moves would have sent a player through into a threatening position, but there was just not room on the pitch for this to happen.

I appreciate that this cannot be an excuse. We have to play the pitch as it is, not as we would like it to be, and obviously other teams have coped better with the tight dimensions. Still, I would be prepared to cut Caldwell some slack on this one and hope to see some of the embryonic improvements come to fruition in the weeks ahead. Hopefully we can get some midfielders making runs into more attacking positions, and some lessons on shooting from distance would not go amiss.

We need to see much more of Coulibaly, Quitongo and Mutombo (who seems to have been rather unfairly squeezed out by players who have been less effective) as well as McCarthy and Fitzpatrick. Consequently that will mean seeing much less of Storey and Ntambwe and a bit less of Spittal, Erskine and Doolan (much as I am a long term admirer of the latter two).

 

[Charlie Endell]

8 hours ago, laukat said:

 

He reminds me a lot of Brian Gallagher who was one of Lambie's first signings. On paper it looked a great signing. A fast striker playing at a higher level, scored a reasonable amount of goals and even a hat-trick in Europe. He puts on a Thistle shirt and he can't hit a barn door. He only scored 2 goals for us and I have vague recollections of a discussion about creating a t-shirt saying 'I was there when Gall scored'

Gallacher remains one of the worst players i have seen in a Thistle shirt.