#Sonshamers v Sons

[palmy_cammy]

23 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

And Tosh.

Tosh was great for us, but I'm not going to be any nicer about McCall than I have to.  He signed plenty of good players.  Jamie Adams and Neil Scally instantly spring to mind, and presumably the vast majority of the cup final squad were McCall signings.

The Dobbie signing stands apart on it's own though.  You've got guys who have watched us for 50+ years saying he is the best player they have seen play for us.  I doubt even the delusional McCall could have expected it to turn out like that.

[Skyline Drifter]

33 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

and presumably the vast majority of the cup final squad were McCall signings.

He certainly would like to claim so. There are a few grey areas in there though.

Cup Final team was: MacDonald, McCann, Harris, Aitken, Thomson, Macfarlane, Tosh, Burns, Dobbie, O'Connor & McQuilken. Subs Used: O'Neill, Robertson & Stewart. Unused: Grindlay & Paton

Thomson and Burns (and subs O'Neill, Paton & Robertson) pre-dated McCall whilst McCann, Harris, Macfarlane, Grindlay and Stewart were undeniably Chisholm signings.

Tosh, Dobbie & McQuilken were definitely McCall signings. There is some grey in the area of MacDonald, Aitken and O'Connor though.

Jamie MacDonald was brought in by McCall the previous January following the Corr debacle but he went back to Hearts at the end of the season. Chisholm went back out after his appointment and persuaded Hearts to let him come to us on a season loan. There had been a break period and personally I'd count him as a Chisholm signing but others may disagree.

Andy Aitken and Sean O'Connor were both signed during McCall's period in charge but both were deals that had already been arranged for the transfer window under Iain Scott before McCall's appointment. He could have vetoed them if he'd wanted of course and the final say was his. He was technically the manager who signed them but again I'd be inclined to include them as players he fell heir to.

Basically he signed somewhere between 3 and 6 of the starting eleven and none of the subs, depending on your point of view.

[Monkey Tennis]

2 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Without disagreeing with any of this per se, I think there's an implication that McCall's comments above, which followed a St Johnstone away game where Corr basically chucked about 3 in his own net, were the start of things. They weren't. The fans had been on his back since he lost a goal from distance on his home debut in the Challenge Cup or League Cup (I forget which). McCall did back him initially and resisted calls to drop him for a long time before finally losing patience after that St Johnstone debacle. 

 

Any such implication was accidental.

You're right.  Corr was never convincing for us.  He had a nightmare at about this time of year in a Cup tie as you say and it took a further couple of months for McCall to act in the ways outlined above.  

There really was a vindictive side to McCall though.  I remember another game when Scott was in goals.  He'd lost a goal by coming for a cross he didn't get to.  It was his fault and he was getting some stick from the terracing.  McCall responded to this by sending out the sub 'keeper to warm up - I can't remember who it was - to cheers from the crowd.  It was humiliating for Scott and must have really undermined him in the game he was still attempting to play.

One other thing I remember about Corr in the fateful cup tie with Dundee, was that it so nearly wound up being another disaster for him.  He did make some good saves on the night, but I remember him dropping a cross in extra time that JT managed to steer past the post off a striker's toe.  Corr got away with it and became the hero.  His reaction was a bit less heroic though and I still think McCall carries some responsibility for that.

[Homer Thompson]

I think we all know whos to blame for the whole Corr situation

[Monkey Tennis]

6 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I think we all know whos to blame for the whole Corr situation

Can we really blame Naysmith for that one?

I'll give it a shot.

[The Moonster]

When I saw this thread title I thought this could go either 1 of 2 ways - 1. We all have a big love in about the players we've shared over recent years or 2. Sons fans reject the loving outstretched hand of our Dumfries friends (Dumfriends?) because Gary Naysmith is a fucking dick.

Instead what do we have? 3 pages on Ian McCall's handling of the Barry John Corr situation. It really is a wonderful site this.

[palmy_cammy]

2 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

When I saw this thread title I thought this could go either 1 of 2 ways - 1. We all have a big love in about the players we've shared over recent years or 2. Sons fans reject the loving outstretched hand of our Dumfries friends (Dumfriends?) because Gary Naysmith is a fucking dick.

Instead what do we have? 3 pages on Ian McCall's handling of the Barry John Corr situation. It really is a wonderful site this.

I feel a bit bad for being involved in encouraging that particular tangent.  Let's get it back on track with a sexy pic of Aldo looking glorious in our pink goalkeeper kit. 

[The Moonster]

2 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

I feel a bit bad for being involved in encouraging that particular tangent.  Let's get it back on track with a sexy pic of Aldo looking glorious in our pink goalkeeper kit. 

No need to feel bad, I enjoy reading about situations like that. But since you're trying to move us on, hows about a picture of big Dowser looking like he's been told a light-hearted joke and wants to murder whoever told it...

[palmy_cammy]

That is a very busy shirt, quite a lot going on there.  Perhaps that is the reason he is looking less than amused?

How has he been for you so far?

[The Moonster]

3 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

That is a very busy shirt, quite a lot going on there.  Perhaps that is the reason he is looking less than amused?

How has he been for you so far?

The shirt has grown on me, and so has Dowie. In the preseason games I thought he was a bit shaky and he seemed take a lifetime to change direction but in the two games so far he and Dougie Hill have been solid as rocks at the back and we've only conceded from a penalty so far. Obviously he's less mobile than a lot of strikers he's up against but he reads the game so well that it's not really been an issue yet. He'll be a fine captain for us.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

I feel a bit bad for being involved in encouraging that particular tangent.  Let's get it back on track with a sexy pic of Aldo looking glorious in our pink goalkeeper kit. 

Was going to Google "pink snake" to post an image of a pink coloured snake as a witty response.

Thought better of it.

[Jan Vojáček]

14 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

That is a very busy shirt, quite a lot going on there.  Perhaps that is the reason he is looking less than amused?

How has he been for you so far?

He looked seriously nervy against Albion Rovers in our first open door friendly of the season, and then fired the ball into his own net half an hour into his competitive debut. Fortunately it's been pretty much all good since then. He was a close second to Craig Barr in the battle for (my personal) Man of the Match against Morton on the opening day, and put in another sturdy performance last week.

He seems like a real winner too, which I like. He dishes out rollockings to everyone, including himself when he mistimes challenges or makes mistakes, and the players seem to respect him. There's no way he's only a year or two older than Dougie 'fresh-faced' Hill though.

[The Moonster]

15 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

 

Was going to Google "pink snake" to post an image of a pink coloured snake as a witty response.

Thought better of it.

 

This is no place for dick pics, BBPF (unless it's of Craig Barr, in which case, I'll allow it).

[Monkey Tennis]

41 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

The shirt has grown on me

It's probably just stretched a bit.

[George Parr]

Eke out a point here and I'd say that's a very satisfactory to the season for a team in transition.

[Poet of the Macabre]

Andy Dowie is a surprisingly decent defensive midfielder. As long as he's not alongside Alex Keddie he's an acceptable centre-half.

[The Moonster]

35 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said:

It's probably just stretched a bit.

I genuinely wish I had enough weight on me to stretch a shirt. Every single football shirt I wear makes me look like a coat hanger such is my non-existent build.

6 minutes ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

Andy Dowie is a surprisingly decent defensive midfielder. As long as he's not alongside Alex Keddie he's an acceptable centre-half.

I did wonder if Dowie could play in there, good to know he's done it in the past although I expect Craig Barr to continue in midfield when we're short of bodies. I note from our Irn Bru Cup Preview on the OS though that Danny Handling is now fit and ready to play, that coupled with Stuart Carswell coming on in the second half last week means we currently only have Grant Gallagher missing - which means Barr shouldn't be required in midfield. It does give Aitken a bit of a selection issue though, I'd argue that Mark Stewart is the only one worthy of being dropped. That said if I were Aitken, this is the team I would select this weekend;

Gallacher

Wardrop -- Dowie -- Barr -- McLaughlin

Carswell -- Wilson

Walsh -- Handling -- Roy

Nade

That leaves a subs bench of; Ewings, Prior, Hutton, Hill, Stewart, Johnston and Calum Gallagher. Dougie Hill would be very unlucky to be dropped but I don't think Stevie saw him as a starter when he brought him in and if Barr and Dowie are available they'll start together. Before Saturday I would have had Kyle Hutton starting over Wilson but Wilson produced a bit of magic and was largely solid on Saturday, he's maybe not the donkey we all feared he was.

Having said all that, I fully expect Aitken to carry on with the same team. He never ever changes a team line when we get a decent result which at times I understand but I'm not sure it's the right approach. Nice to finally have a full bench mind you!

[HoBNob]

I was a big fan of Dowie St defensive midfield. Big fan of him in general.


Apart from when he's beside Keddie.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

I did wonder if Dowie could play in there, good to know he's done it in the past although I expect Craig Barr to continue in midfield when we're short of bodies. I note from our Irn Bru Cup Preview on the OS though that Danny Handling is now fit and ready to play, that coupled with Stuart Carswell coming on in the second half last week means we currently only have Grant Gallagher missing - which means Barr shouldn't be required in midfield. It does give Aitken a bit of a selection issue though, I'd argue that Mark Stewart is the only one worthy of being dropped. That said if I were Aitken, this is the team I would select this weekend;

Gallacher

Wardrop -- Dowie -- Barr -- McLaughlin

Carswell -- Wilson

Walsh -- Handling -- Roy

Nade

That leaves a subs bench of; Ewings, Prior, Hutton, Hill, Stewart, Johnston and Calum Gallagher. Dougie Hill would be very unlucky to be dropped but I don't think Stevie saw him as a starter when he brought him in and if Barr and Dowie are available they'll start together. Before Saturday I would have had Kyle Hutton starting over Wilson but Wilson produced a bit of magic and was largely solid on Saturday, he's maybe not the donkey we all feared he was.
Having said all that, I fully expect Aitken to carry on with the same team. He never ever changes a team line when we get a decent result which at times I understand but I'm not sure it's the right approach. Nice to finally have a full bench mind you!

I thought Hill was outstanding on Saturday. I wouldn't be against resting Barr and allowing the Hill and Dowie partnership to blossom further.

I thought Barr was a bit off the pace on Saturday and one of his wayward passes nearly cost us a goal. I certainly dont think it should be held against him, given he's one of our best players and was technically playing out of position but giving him regular rests may be a good thing.

[The Moonster]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

 

I thought Hill was outstanding on Saturday. I wouldn't be against resting Barr and allowing the Hill and Dowie partnership to blossom further.

I thought Barr was a bit off the pace on Saturday and one of his wayward passes nearly cost us a goal. I certainly dont think it should be held against him, given he's one of our best players and was technically playing out of position but giving him regular rests may be a good thing.

 

Don't disagree that Hill was excellent, he made two blocks in quick succession on Saturday which were point saving blocks and had an all round good game. Sad fact is that either him or Barr need to drop out to accommodate our players unless we go to 3 at the back (which thinking about it might not actually be the worst idea with the players we have).