BallochSonsFan

You're only a couple of posts away from turning into the letters you used to get in Razzle aren't you.

Weird game tomorrow. We should be confident following a very convincing win over Bonnyrigg. Unfortunately we're so inconsistent that you just can't shake the feeling that we're just as likely to win 2-0 as lose 2-0 tomorrow. Farrell has to stick with the same team and formation as last Saturday,. I know he experimented with a back 3 earlier in the season, but last Saturday we looked organised and comfortable with our set-up. We genuinely looked like a proper team that knew what we were doing. Settled side and any kind of win and I'll be happy. Farrell starts tinkering and there's every chance we could lose. You just never know what Dumbarton team is turning up at 3pm on any given Saturday.

Rosey Posey? More like Easy Peasy.

Another Saturday and another attempt to guess which players Farrell will pull from the mystery bag to start the game. I'd probably go: Long Shiels Chrighton Lynas Carlo Wallace Malcolm Gray Orsi Wallace Ruth

How did meet the manager go tonight? Did Neilly turn up, or does the restraining order still prevent him from going within 100 yards of his favourite football gaffer?

Big test of the groundskeeper if this weather doesn't ease up before the weekend.

Maybe a double header, if face off time works out. Annan in the afternoon. Dumfries for a Solway Sharks game in the evening.

We stole that. 20 minutes saved the tie. Just because we scraped through, doesnt change my view that we were garbage today and that Farrell is exceptionally lucky that Ruth bailed him out.

We're going out. Zero urgency. Ross MacLean hiding. Gray offering almost nothing out wide. Tony Wallace is absolutely done. No idea how he changes this? Ruth wide? Wallace or Byrne through the middle? Orsi wide right? He needs to do something because as it stands we're not getting back into this game. As bad as I've seen for some time.

Tomorrow is definitely a difficult game for us. Durnan missing is a blow. I actually wouldn't be against Ryan Blair dropping back and playing as an emergency centre half. He's a defensive minded player and I think you could use him almost as a sweeper, with Crighton and Lynas playing as the centre half players and Shields/Carlo playing as wingbacks.

So what exactly is your relationship with Stevie Farrell? Brother? Father? Secret love child?

There was a shortage of candidates who were willing to take on the role.

The situation at Dumbarton is deeply frustrating. We go from being very good to really pretty bad in such a short space of time. i'm not as strong on the squad as some fans are. I think we've got a few outstanding individuals. Carlo is one of the best players in the league. Gray could be. Durnan and Crighton should be a solid enough defensive partnership. And yet at times we lack pace and we lack creativity. I also think we lack urgency. I don't think narrowing the pitch did us any favours at home. I think that we struggle for confidence when we lose the first goal. We don't have a reliable double digit goal scorer in the team - I'm not convinced that Ruth is that striker - and that puts a massive amount of pressure on us not to concede first. The Greg Young injury was a major blow as that impacts how we play. Shiels has done pretty well, but I'm still not convinced that there's an identifiable best 11 and best formation in that squad. The back 3 that has emerged seems to be more through necessity than design. Its a way of accommodating Carlo in midfield and of making up for a lack of a genuine threat wide left by playing Young there before his injury. I don't think Ruth is a lone striker. I don't think Wallace is either. Byrne doesnt carry enough of a goal threat and I'm not convinced he'll ever be properly fit. Hilton isn't a lone striker. Ross Maclean is the definition of inconsistency. I think Farrell needs to change things. As much as it might sound like a contradiction, I also think we need a bit of consistency in selection and formation. For me the best Sons 11 right now is probably Long - Lynas, Crighton, Durnan, Shiels - Malcolm, Carlo, Gray - Ruth, Wallace, Orsi. But that lacks a proper target man forward and we're not particularly strong on the left. I think our narrow pitch stifles us at home and takes away the threat we've got wide right. It should have been binned over the summer as the mythical Aaron Lynas long through just isnt a threat. I think we're in serious danger of mismanaging Gray. A lot of blame can probably be attributed to the player and it's clear that he's struggling to settle after having his head turned in the summer. But on his day he's a great player at our level and Farrell needs to find a way of getting him back on track. This is a really competitive division this year. Probably 5 or 6 teams that'll fancy their chances as genuine promotion contenders. We need to make sure that we're well in the mix and whilst it's still early enough that we can be, I think Farrell needs to convince us that he really does have a proper plan for how to deliver. Far too often it feels like Farrell is getting luck with his results and that if it doesnt go his way then he's clueless on how to change things. He doesnt fill you with confidence and throughout his time in charge we've looked like a team that can often struggle for confidence.

If Durnan isnt fit enough to start then I wouldn't be against a back 3 of Shiels and Lynas either side of Crighton. Puts an awful lot of pressure on Crighton to organise things, but i think that back 3 could be relatively solid. The problem would be who plays left midfield?

The only reason we're talking about offside is because UEFA changed the referee's decision from a foul to offside. The referee called it as a foul. UEFA called it as a foul. They then realised how weak a decision it was and tried to cover it by claiming offside. They've since gone back to calling it a foul. Beyond the goal? Ref was at it all nigiht. Laporte allowed to foul at will but only booked in the last few minutes. Patterson? Booked for very little. McGinn wiped out on the edge of the Spanish box and deemed not a foul by that ref. Christian Daily would have said it like it was last night.

It's wetter than Rod Hull's roof out there. f**k it. I'm staying in this afternoon.

Bigger concern might be the roads and public transport network. Serious problems with trains. Lots of roads are flooded or getting that way. The pitch might just about be playable, but getting to the game would be a bit of a problem and there's a real doubt if the game would finish.

Days like this are why artificial pitches are a necessary evil. Pissing it down all night and no signs of stopping. Not a day for pretty football. Just as well it's 2 teams who don't play pretty football.

First double header of the season. Football in the afternoon and hockey at night. Surely to god I'll see at least 1 of my teams win on Saturday?

It shouldn't be. There should be absolutely no risk of this game going ahead and finishing. Just wondering what kind of state the pitch will be in given that it's been pissing it down regularly since Wednesday.

What do we reckon - pitch holding up to the first bad weather test of the season?

Theres certainly a danger of malaise setting in. We've had a few good results so far. We've also had a few bad ones. I'm not convinced that we've had a full 90 minute performance since the League Cup group games. More than just results, we need to start putting in improved performances. Not just 20-30 minutes. We need to be paying well for 70-90 minutes. That starts this Saturday against Stranraer, because we can't afford to keep struggling from one game to the next and the thought of losing 3 league games in a row is a worrying one.

Gretna were only ever a professional side because they happened to be Brooks Myleson's plaything for a few years. Current club bears little resemblance to that freak show.

Another sudwest derby yesterday - Saarbrucken v Mannheim in 3.Liga. 1-1 was a fair result. Saarbrucken with more possession without threatening nearly enough. Left it late to get the equaliser after Mannheim had taken the lead with a very effective counter attack.

Or he's heard it first hand from the club on several occasions.