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Thistle vs. Morton, 29/12/18


Jaggernaut
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The worst of it is that both Caldwell and Low seem absolutely oblivious to the reality unfolding. We had those two jokers mention the word "promotion" in a video just released yesterday. I'm sorry, but I don't think someone off their tits on ketamine and poppers is as disconnected from reality than our board and management staff. Talk about burying your head in the sand! Jesus! 

When Archie left, the expectations for the season should have been altered accordingly. That is what any sensible person would have done. Therefore a member of the old-guard should have come in as manager, and with no-frills, managed to draw enough games to see us safe in lower mid-table. 

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That first half was awful. No creativity whatsoever until erskine came on. Never want to see storey in a thistle shirt again he is absolutely honking. Two centre halfs badly needed along with a centre forward. Unfortunately McCarthy is not good enough either- he doesn’t have the energy required to play centre mid never mind ability. I think Caldwell will be given the window but I have to say he does not endear himself 

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That was horrid to watch today. As many have said so far what's rhe point in having defenders who can't defend. Started with erskine tho and we didn't have the pace to get back.

 

Storey is a complete waste of space. What's the point in being fast if you can't pass, can't see the pass and can't cross. The continual selection of him by caldwell shows me caldwell is out of his depth. That said we are where we are and have what we have for the rest of the season and have to get on with it.

As y&r says low etc don't have a clue.

We played well for first 25 minutes of second half but we need that for 90 minutes. NOT FECKING GOOD ENOUGH CALDWELL/LOW/BRITTON

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1 hour ago, Gary Peebles Tackle said:

Dreadful, dreadful stuff. Defending the worst I’ve seen for many years. Sorry, change needed again. Not up to the job. Players & management. No plan.

Got to agree with you , Gary Caldwell’s coaching is absolutely shocking, was happy just after half time that we went 4 4 1 1 but surely the instructions should have been we can’t hold a ridiculously high line because we’ll get hit  it on the break or tell Elliott and Penrice they can’t bomb on as the system has now changed and they’ll have to defend a bit .

You could see what was going to happen, basic amateur coaching and Caldwell wasn’t up to it, we shouldn’t have lost that game .

Time’s up Gary , you’re embarrassing yourself and our Club.

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Another major letdown today. Total silence in the car on the way back. All scunnered after over a year and a half of pish. It was pretty clear early on today that our 3-4-3 set-up was not working and I was hoping that Caldwell would make a change earlier than half-time. Dools had a chance just before their goal but it resulted in a pretty tame shot straight at their keeper. WTF was going on for their goal. Elliott had the chance to punt the ball out of the park or play it back to Sneddon. But, another instance where our defence tries to play out when under pressure and loses the ball. Both Elliott and Keown should know by now that they regularly get caught-out and to play it safe.  Sneddon didn't have to come off his line either. Stuck in no-mans-land and was equally at fault. That's a couple of goals we've lost where I though he's come off the line too quickly. Apart from that I think he's done well. Second half we were much better. 4-4-1-1 was good and we started to get some momentum going forward. I thought that Erskine's quick passing and link-play helped us move forward quickly - and that McArthy played well in stopping any counter-attacks and keeping us on the front foot. Slater, Spittal and Elliott were linking well down the left during this phase as well. Then, a good finish to bring us level. After that it looked like only one team would go on to get the winner and we had Morton on the back foot. Dools had a goal disallowed for offside but it looked like it was going in before he touched it. Then,  we manage to lose the ball (loose pass from Slater) and not deal with a quick break up field.  There were another two golden opportunities. One when Dools touched the ball back to Scobbie but he fired to close to their keeper. And another Slater shot that McGinty deflected and it scuffed the wrong side of the post. I think we were unlucky to lose the game. We could well have won it. But, the defense really needs improved in the transfer window.  I'd bring in a whole new defense. 2 central defenders and 2 full-backs please. 

 

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We were terrible for 60 minutes. We had a bit of pressure on their goal and we equalised. We then kept the pressure on . The offside goal was going in before Doolan touched it. We then had a good shout for a penalty, when Doolan was pushed in the back going for a cross. They scored from a breakaway and although we had a couple of half chances we didn't look like scoring. 1 win and only 5 points from Caldwell's first 10 games is a very poor start and we are now 5 points behind third bottom. Also the crowd was very subdued today. I feel a lot of fans are expect us to go down,

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23 minutes ago, Hugh Janus said:

Another major letdown today. Total silence in the car on the way back. All scunnered after over a year and a half of pish. It was pretty clear early on today that our 3-4-3 set-up was not working and I was hoping that Caldwell would make a change earlier than half-time. Dools had a chance just before their goal but it resulted in a pretty tame shot straight at their keeper. WTF was going on for their goal. Elliott had the chance to punt the ball out of the park or play it back to Sneddon. But, another instance where our defence tries to play out when under pressure and loses the ball. Both Elliott and Keown should know by now that they regularly get caught-out and to play it safe.  Sneddon didn't have to come off his line either. Stuck in no-mans-land and was equally at fault. That's a couple of goals we've lost where I though he's come off the line too quickly. Apart from that I think he's done well. Second half we were much better. 4-4-1-1 was good and we started to get some momentum going forward. I thought that Erskine's quick passing and link-play helped us move forward quickly - and that McArthy played well in stopping any counter-attacks and keeping us on the front foot. Slater, Spittal and Elliott were linking well down the left during this phase as well. Then, a good finish to bring us level. After that it looked like only one team would go on to get the winner and we had Morton on the back foot. Dools had a goal disallowed for offside but it looked like it was going in before he touched it. Then,  we manage to lose the ball (loose pass from Slater) and not deal with a quick break up field.  There were another two golden opportunities. One when Dools touched the ball back to Scobbie but he fired to close to their keeper. And another Slater shot that McGinty deflected and it scuffed the wrong side of the post. I think we were unlucky to lose the game. We could well have won it. But, the defense really needs improved in the transfer window.  I'd bring in a whole new defense. 2 central defenders and 2 full-backs please. 

 

Agree with this. Two horrendous defending mistakes. Don't think you can blame Caldwell for that....but it's all about results. I'm getting the feeling that he's doomed. The only thing that will save him is 6 or 7 new players as the current lot simply don't have the steel to get results.

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I was late today and heard the cheers for Morton's Goal as I was at the turnstile. Maybe Morton sat in after that but they looked like a relegation side as we plodded laboriously for the rest of the half with plenty possession and no goal threat.  We improved after the break but still managed to contrive to lose to a breakaway sucker punch from our misplaced cross when we were well on top.

Three at the back can be an effective formation when at least one of the players is good on the ball. In the first half, we shunted the ball slowly along the back line giving Morton plenty of time to pack their defence.  In the second half, we were better with two rather than three poor central defenders.  It would be an interesting statistic to find out how many times possession is lost after a McGinty "pass".

Elliot was rightly criticised for his early season form but he had a decent game today and our midfield was ok - McCarthy made some tackles and passes and Slater and Spittal had some good moments - we have Banzo to come back and I don't see where Harkins fits in unless he plays sweeper. Doolan and Erskine don't look as if they are enjoying their football.

One of the current coaching cliches is "game awareness" - Storey has absolutely none...crosses without looking, runs into blind alleys, can't find a team mate with a simple pass and has no positional sense. He starts every week.

Some Posters have previously claimed to have seen signs of improvement under Caldwell...my view is that the current squad properly managed and motivated should at worst be around the promotion play off spot..we are now in  serious danger of being relegated.

Edited by Winter of '63
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5 minutes ago, Winter of '63 said:

I was late today and heard the cheers for Morton's Goal as I was at the turnstile. Maybe Morton sat in after that but they looked like a relegation side as we plodded laboriously for the rest of the half with plenty possession and no goal threat.  We improved after the break but still managed to contrive to lose to a breakaway sucker punch from our misplaced cross when we were well on top.

Three at the back can be an effective formation when at least one of the players is good on the ball. In the first half, we shunted the ball slowly along the back line giving Morton plenty of time to pack their defence.  In the second half, we were better with two rather than three poor central defenders.  It would be an interesting statistic to find out how many times possession is lost after a McGinty "pass".

Elliot was rightly criticised for his early season form but he had a decent game today and our midfield was ok - McCarthy made some tackles and passes and Slater and Spittal had some good moments - we have Banzo to come back and I don't see where Harkins fits in unless he plays sweeper. Doolan and Erskine don't look as if they are enjoying their football.

One of the current coaching cliches is "game awareness" - Storey has absolutely none...crosses without looking, runs into blind alleys, can't find a team mate with a simple pass and has no positional sense. He starts every week.

Some Posters have previously claimed to have signs of improvement under Caldwell...my view is that the current squad properly managed and motivated should at worst be around the promotion play off spot..we are now in  serious danger of being relegated.

As you say you didn't see the first goal. Elliot was caught in possession and Sneddon came out to help(Sneddon should have stayed in his goal) and the Morton player got the ball of Elliot and lobbed the ball into the empty net. So a combination of Elliot and Sneddon at fault for first goal.

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7 minutes ago, Winter of '63 said:

I was late today and heard the cheers for Morton's Goal as I was at the turnstile. Maybe Morton sat in after that but they looked like a relegation side as we plodded laboriously for the rest of the half with plenty possession and no goal threat.  We improved after the break but still managed to contrive to lose to a breakaway sucker punch from our misplaced cross when we were well on top.

Three at the back can be an effective formation when at least one of the players is good on the ball. In the first half, we shunted the ball slowly along the back line giving Morton plenty of time to pack their defence.  In the second half, we were better with two rather than three poor central defenders.  It would be an interesting statistic to find out how many times possession is lost after a McGinty "pass".

Elliot was rightly criticised for his early season form but he had a decent game today and our midfield was ok - McCarthy made some tackles and passes and Slater and Spittal had some good moments - we have Banzo to come back and I don't see where Harkins fits in unless he plays sweeper. Doolan and Erskine don't look as if they are enjoying their football.

One of the current coaching cliches is "game awareness" - Storey has absolutely none...crosses without looking, runs into blind alleys, can't find a team mate with a simple pass and has no positional sense. He starts every week.

Some Posters have previously claimed to have seen signs of improvement under Caldwell...my view is that the current squad properly managed and motivated should at worst be around the promotion play off spot..we are now in  serious danger of being relegated.

100 pc agree with storey comments. Unbelievable how he is a regular starter. I don't agree any other manager could motivate this group to challenge for the play offs. The results clearly show they just aren't good enough. 

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6 minutes ago, Auld Jag said:

As you say you didn't see the first goal. Elliot was caught in possession and Sneddon came out to help(Sneddon should have stayed in his goal) and the Morton player got the ball of Elliot and lobbed the ball into the empty net. So a combination of Elliot and Sneddon at fault for first goal.

Thanks AJ - there's a lesson for me...either get there in time or stay at home and avoid the pain.

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11 minutes ago, Auld Jag said:

As you say you didn't see the first goal. Elliot was caught in possession and Sneddon came out to help(Sneddon should have stayed in his goal) and the Morton player got the ball of Elliot and lobbed the ball into the empty net. So a combination of Elliot and Sneddon at fault for first goal.

The goal was a great spot by Morton keeper. Who saw there was a gap behind the defence to exploit and executed his lockout to perfection. He gets an assist as much as Elliot and sneddon do. 

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6 minutes ago, dl1971 said:

100 pc agree with storey comments. Unbelievable how he is a regular starter. I don't agree any other manager could motivate this group to challenge for the play offs. The results clearly show they just aren't good enough. 

The standard in this Division is not that high. From what I have seen at Firhill this season Morton, Falkirk and Dunfermline, were really poor sides,  we were far better than Queen of the South and about level with Inverness and part-time Alloa.  Scobbie, McGinty and Storey are not up to standard but you don't need phenomenal players in this Division...Ayr have Mark Kerr, Declan McDaid and Jamie Adams in their side.

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Storey actually does a good job making runs, using his strength and getting to the ball. It's hard to see who else in the team could fill that role. The problem is when he gets the ball there is very, very, very, very rarely any end product. Caldwell has to figure out that it doesn't matter if he's fast and strong because he does not produce any opportunities. 

Our defense needs to both move the ball quicker and learn how to commit an opposition player. Too many times a defender (McGinty) who's under no pressure just punts it forward. Why is he not bringing it forward and committing one of their men to open up space for one of our other players. It's just basics! So feckin' frustrating!!

 

 

 

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That was my first game since we got beat 5-1 in Greenock. I swore I wouldn't go back whilst Caldwell was the manager but my need to see Thistle was greater than my resolve.

First half was absolutely rotten. Dick Campbell levels of rotten.The players fears taking responsibilty as they have had it drummed it to them to keep possesion at all costs.

Second half, Erskine being on quickened our passing slightly and game more space for Slater to play in. However we didn't seriously look like scoring and had to rely on a very good Slater strike to get back into the game. We have no attacking plan other than put more attackers on and hope the come up with something. We need a manager who can implement an attacking plan. Either we go for balls down the channels for faster players like to Storey to run onto or we're going for quick one touch passing as per Erskine  or we're going for width and early crosses into the box for a Doolan to get onto. Today we had no observable plan.

First goal we lost looked like Elliot made a hash of defending it and Sneddon went for a ball that he probably should have left. Second goal was predictable after the halftime subs. Whilst Keown isn't quick he's faster that Scobie or McGinty and playing four at the back with Elliot and Penrice pushing up meant it was always likely we would get caught for pace through the middle at least once.

Last time I watched Thistle away at Morton Christie sold at least one goal and then the managers defensive tinkering cost us the game. 7 games later its almost the same. The only thing that saved us from getting more comprehensivley beaten is that Morton are a poorer team than the last time. If Tidser had been playing today we would have lost by a few.

After the game at Greenock I said Caldwell should have been sacked as his half-time subs were incompetent. Today was worse because he no longer has the excuse of saying he was just getting to know the squad and he's also had a number of weeks to bring in a right-back. Is there anyone still saying we should keep him?

P.S. When did the banners on the floodlights saying "Just Score" and "Just Win" get put up? Really naff half-baked phsycological nonsense. Would be better saying "Just don't be p@sh"

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5 minutes ago, elevenone said:

The best run Storey can do is down Maryhill Rd very quickly one way.

He rarely gets a cross past the first man, in the 2nd half today when Dools went front post he fired it over his head perfectly into the middle of the box with none of our players there. He really is useless, although it seems he would have scored a goal today if Dools decided not to touch it.

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