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vs Alloa 20/4


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4 hours ago, jlsarmy said:

Not so sure about that , think a lot of our problems we’ve had this season are more down to Gary Caldwell’ s perspective of how football should be played , he doesn’t generally play an expansive game which includes wingers or the creative player who might not retain the ball but has got the ability to unlock a packed defence .

Give him his due yesterday, he changed it at halftime with creative players in Harkins and Cardle coming on to win the game for us .

Most supporters looking at the starting team sheet yesterday must have been concerned at the defensive line up in a “ must win game “

If we had started with a more attacking line up yesterday and played on the front foot from the off , we win that game 2 or 3 nil  in my opinion 

Sincerely hope we go for it in the remaining games .

If we had started with Harkins, there would have been a similar amount of astonishment. However, I was surprised that neither Cardle or Fitzpatrick started as they are our most direct players. It would have meant that we didn’t have decent subs.

Incidentally, I have not been impressed with Gordon since he returned from injury.

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1 hour ago, Lenziejag said:

If we had started with Harkins, there would have been a similar amount of astonishment. However, I was surprised that neither Cardle or Fitzpatrick started as they are our most direct players. It would have meant that we didn’t have decent subs.

Incidentally, I have not been impressed with Gordon since he returned from injury.

I’m surprised we didn’t use Fitzy at all. I hope we are not keeping him in cotton wool to sell this summer?

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1 hour ago, sandy said:

I’m surprised we didn’t use Fitzy at all. I hope we are not keeping him in cotton wool to sell this summer?

Would not presume to read the Caldwell mind, but my guess is that he had intended to bring on Fitzy (as he did to very good effect at a similar juncture in Dingwall), but that plan was frustrated by McMillan being injured, and having to be replaced by Saunders.

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That was hard work just watching the match! Was dejected at half time but that early goal from Cardle was vital. Impressed with the fans from the word go. Reassuring to hear Caldwell admit 532 was not working and take responsibility. Back to Germany for me tomorrow but will be praying from afar on Tuesday (and the next two Saturdays..!) C'mon Thistle.

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On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 6:35 PM, Winter of '63 said:

Not for the first time, I was unconvinced by Caldwell's team selection and the formation predictably failed in the first half  -  we were relying on Elliot,  McMillan & Gordon to create chances so no great surprise we didn't....just as well big Sean McGinty had a few swaggering runs and sensible passes. It was like a re-run of the Livvy play-off game with Alloa taking a lead and defending in depth against a laborious Thistle build-up.

Second Half was much better - it helps to bring on decent footballers and that the man who used to be Gary Harkins played like..Gary Harkins. Slater was lost in the first half but did well in his proper position. 

I always thought Scott MacDonald was an obnoxious wee nyaff when he played for the opposition...now I have seen him for Thistle, I was able to confirm that he is. He didn't play particularly well but scored a good free kick, beating the fat-boy Alloa Keeper who showed  that he was not only slow at taking bye kicks. It was a crucial goal for Thistle but MacDonald's reaction to go to taunt the small band of Alloa Fans rather that celebrate with his own supporters was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen from a Thistle player.

A vital win but with the players we have it is ludicrous we have been nowhere even close to a promotion play-off spot.

 

Either you don't go to many games or that is the most bizarre statement I have ever read on this website (even including the sh1te that I write)!

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1 hour ago, Colognejag said:

10 mins highlights on Alloa's YouTube channel worth watching as well. 

Those highlights make us out to be far more comfortable winners than I recall. Maybe it's just my apprehension playing tricks but I can't help feeling that Alloa are doing themselves a bit of a disservice there.

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37 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Those highlights make us out to be far more comfortable winners than I recall. Maybe it's just my apprehension playing tricks but I can't help feeling that Alloa are doing themselves a bit of a disservice there.

Alloa never really offered much in attack although their corners caused chaos. They attacked like Livingston did in the playoffs and picked and choosed when to go forward. I was very impressed with their defensive organisation. We really struggled to get in behind them and when you consider both our goals were from outside the penalty area talks about a team that know how to defend.

Goodwin has done a good job of organising the team but I do wonder if they might end up in the playoff.

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3 hours ago, Colognejag said:

Back to Germany for me tomorrow.....

Thread hijack -

Lady Skwerr and myself are going to Cologne late next month for a wedding in the adjacent town of Bergisch Gladbach.

Jeez-oh! Digs are expensive round your way! Hotels seems to be about £150 a night and even AirB&B apartments are coming in about the same price.

We're meeting up with family from Italy, sharing an apartment. and have had to go as far as Seigburg to get somewhere at a reasonable price.

Will wear a jags shirt when in Cologne city , so if you see us around give us a shout and we'll buy you a beer.

 

** apologies to fans who were enjoying (?) discussing the game on this thread **

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  • Administrators

We won yesterday the forum will be all nice and peaceful I can spend a pleasant Sunday without checking on it. 

Or so I thought. 

I've belated tidied up this thread. Only the fact that I should have nipped it in the bud has prevented me from temporarily removing some posters. 

Play nice or don't play at all. 

And for goodness sake try and enjoy the fact we won a vital game. 

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On 4/20/2019 at 9:11 PM, Duke Gekantawa said:

To be fair to Azeez, he played in every league game (at least up to the split) in our best season in decades. He might not of scored many, but his single season tenure was ultimately successful.

Aye, that's fair. Who put the ball in the Celtic goal? Ade...Ade...Pogba wouldn't have got anywhere the goal in that game.

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On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 10:16 AM, sandy said:

I can’t imagine, Skippy is brilliant. I’ll also give credit for moving the dugouts and taking us lower in the league.

Sandy, I've agreed with you about loads in the past. But you're a right stubborn bu**er.

 

:thumbsup2:

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9 minutes ago, erty13 said:

Was at the game, but just watched the highlights. Sneddon played well, he looked composed. His distribution is better than Hazards.

I agree with you. I hope that Sneddon keeps his place. Jamie did have a few wayward kicks up at Dingwall, but had obviously worked on this and I cannot recall any problem on Saturday. He is quick to take opportunities to roll the ball out, especially to our new mighty man and play maker, Sean "the Libero" McGinty!

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On 4/21/2019 at 8:28 AM, allyo said:

And that team was pretty crap in the first half. We only got better when two of the new signings came on.

To be honest, Caldwell baffles me. At Christmas I'd have punted him. Then, with everyone talking about how the January window was virtually impossible to deal in, particularly for a club staring relegation in the face, he made some really important signings, which have massively improved our results. He seemed to get a formation working, with Fitzpatrick and Cardle making a huge difference. But then he chops and changes, and as you say, we're back with a starting 11 not too disimilar to the start of the season. And playing like it too.

Yesterday was ulitimately a great and very important result, and there have been many since the start of the year. Caldwell's now won almost as many games as he's lost (I make it 9 to 11) which isn't too bad considering he took on a thoroughly demoralised team and many of his defeats came early on. I'm just hoping he can drag us through to safety because right now that's really all that matters. 

 

Spot on. I agree with all of this.

While the battle rages on here between those that want Caldwell out and those that think he’s fantastic I just cant decide.

At the start of the season Archiebald had run his course and the team was a shambles. Caldwell came in and everyone wanted him to succeed. However, he changed very little and the disastrous season continued. There was no new manager bounce and the poor results kept coming. The board was never going to sack him but he looked clueless.

His dealings in January were very good. He seemed to correctly identify the problems, shipped out most of the problem players and brought in better players. Results did improve.

Yet there is still something missing. We lack consistency A lot of people on here insisting we praise him for his half time changes on Saturday but for the third home game in a row he has started with the wrong team and tactics.

The MacDonald signing was an outstanding piece of business and I actually think he will improve the team further in the summer if we stay up. There just seems to be an arrogance and a stubbornness that’s preventing him from succeeding. Too often the team has looked uncertain of their roles and players who could make a difference have been warming the bench.

So will he keep us up? After Saturday I think yes. Will he get us promoted next season? I’m not so sure.

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19 minutes ago, Legs Like A Spider said:

Spot on. I agree with all of this.

 

While the battle rages on here between those that want Caldwell out and those that think he’s fantastic I just cant decide.

 

At the start of the season Archiebald had run his course and the team was a shambles. Caldwell came in and everyone wanted him to succeed. However, he changed very little and the disastrous season continued. There was no new manager bounce and the poor results kept coming. The board was never going to sack him but he looked clueless.

 

His dealings in January were very good. He seemed to correctly identify the problems, shipped out most of the problem players and brought in better players. Results did improve.

 

Yet there is still something missing. We lack consistency A lot of people on here insisting we praise him for his half time changes on Saturday but for the third home game in a row he has started with the wrong team and tactics.

 

The MacDonald signing was an outstanding piece of business and I actually think he will improve the team further in the summer if we stay up. There just seems to be an arrogance and a stubbornness that’s preventing him from succeeding. Too often the team has looked uncertain of their roles and players who could make a difference have been warming the bench.

 

So will he keep us up? After Saturday I think yes. Will he get us promoted next season? I’m not so sure.

 

Great post. My feeling reflected in your post.

I've posted before that one minute I'm in the Caldwell must go camp, then next minutes we've chalked up an unlikely win, like v DUFC. I will concede that we have played better in parts of games than under AA at the start of the season.

I would also respectfully draw your attention to his signing quite a few diddies during january, mansell et all

I also agree he seems to struggle with the right formations and tactics far too often. You know, come to think of it he is doing a right good impression if a new manager finding his feet. Making mistakes and learning from them, you know, learning his trade. We can't afford that, we don't have time for that, or we didnt, it's too late to change now.

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46 minutes ago, Legs Like A Spider said:

While the battle rages on here between those that want Caldwell out and those that think he’s fantastic I just cant decide.

At the start of the season Archiebald had run his course and the team was a shambles. Caldwell came in and everyone wanted him to succeed. However, he changed very little and the disastrous season continued. There was no new manager bounce and the poor results kept coming. The board was never going to sack him but he looked clueless.

His dealings in January were very good. He seemed to correctly identify the problems, shipped out most of the problem players and brought in better players. Results did improve.

Yet there is still something missing. We lack consistency A lot of people on here insisting we praise him for his half time changes on Saturday but for the third home game in a row he has started with the wrong team and tactics.

The MacDonald signing was an outstanding piece of business and I actually think he will improve the team further in the summer if we stay up. There just seems to be an arrogance and a stubbornness that’s preventing him from succeeding. Too often the team has looked uncertain of their roles and players who could make a difference have been warming the bench.

So will he keep us up? After Saturday I think yes. Will he get us promoted next season? I’m not so sure.

 

Agree with all of the above, and as regards the inconsistency, I wonder if he is simply over-coaching some of our players and asking them to play in positions that are not the most suitable to their skills?

Also, If he can get his head around substantial tactical changes at halftime I think we will benefit. Some examples:- 1) Harkins on for 90 minutes on Saturday would not be as effective as he was played for 45 [as per the game on Saturday] so use him in that role, but always give him a second half when some of the pace is out of the game … 2) Fitzpatrick coming on for 45 minutes would have a better opportunity to be far more effective than the 15 minutes he seems to be getting recently … 3) bring Elliot on as a replacement striker for Dools or Skippy rather than the largely ineffective Mansell or Roy.

Ayr United will rest players to ensure they are ready and relatively fresh for the play-offs, so the Tuesday and Saturday games against them are ones we should be able to capitalise on.

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1 hour ago, Thistleberight said:

 

I would also respectfully draw your attention to his signing quite a few diddies during january, mansell et all

 

Yeah, I agree. It all adds to the difficulty in deciding his ability.

In his defence I think goalscoring had been identified as a major problem and he maybe panicked a bit as the clock was ticking and he grabbed at anything offered. I also think it is very rare for any manager to bring in so many players in one window and they all turn out a success.

Another issue is Joe Cardle. I think he was as good a signing as MacDonald and he really changes games when he comes on. I don't quite get his lack of time on the pitch.

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