The Falkirk FC Thread

[Bluegrass Bairn]

1 hour ago, Chinatoon Bairn said:

Far too many people in here writing off one striker formations as negative for my liking.

Oh jeez... I'm not interested in European elite teams that can play one striker formations - WE CAN'T. We're utterly inept in speed and thought, not to mention actual football ability, in playing this way or even grasping how the system is intended to function.  One isolated guy, back to goal, without support or service, ie the way we play it,  is just utter mind-numbing pish. 

Forfar and Dumbarton coped with our "goal threat" with embarrassing EASE over the last two games, as did Airdrie & East Fife before the shutdown.  We can't play this way - stop trying to polish a turd. Can't believe there's still folks on here that haven't suffered enough watching us fail miserably to employ this nonsensical tactic in recent years.   Absolute joke management.      

[MrDust]

12 hours ago, CC52 FFC said:

There is no plan B. We didn’t even change shape chasing a goal at 0-0. Only finally went 2 up front when we were 1-0 down. I’ve been quite optimistic recently in terms of I thought we’d just get over the line and it’s results over performances but with the games we have coming up it’s going to be difficult. Gary Miller should be first dropped, closely followed by Leitch. 

We did change shape for the 2nd half in pushing our full backs more forward which probably hurt us for the goal. A formation change probably would've been the best solution rather than leaving our centre halves to cope.

1 hour ago, FFC 1876 said:

Keena can't play as the lone striker as he doesn't have a big enough physical presence especially when teams are sitting in. You need to play your best players therefore Keena needs to be on the park so get someone upfront with him so he gets the space to make his chances. One upfront can be attacking we played some of our best football with Farid or Lyle Taylor up top on their own but they need to be a physical presence for that to work in this league. Keena seems to be a poacher but he's not going to hold up the play or dominate in the air.

Can anyone actually say Keena is our best striker ?

3 league starts and wayward shots from outside the box. 

The lone striker isn't just about physical presence, first and foremost it's about the rest of the team supporting him especially in our case in league one as we are not using it to scrape a point.

Dowds for me is the best option as a lone striker, doesn't have physical presence but can hold the ball up, decent with his feet. I would say Miller but he is obviously retired now but I'd rather we played 2 up top and perhaps fully judge Keena.

[Shadwell Dog]

10 minutes ago, MrDust said:

We did change shape for the 2nd half in pushing our full backs more forward which probably hurt us for the goal. A formation change probably would've been the best solution rather than leaving our centre halves to cope.

Can anyone actually say Keena is our best striker ?

3 league starts and wayward shots from outside the box. 

The lone striker isn't just about physical presence, first and foremost it's about the rest of the team supporting him especially in our case in league one as we are not using it to scrape a point.

Dowds for me is the best option as a lone striker, doesn't have physical presence but can hold the ball up, decent with his feet. I would say Miller but he is obviously retired now but I'd rather we played 2 up top and perhaps fully judge Keena.

It's difficult to make any real decision on Keena at the moment. As I've said though miller and mccracken must see him as our number one striker as they keep starting him. However, when we need a goal they take him off instead of giving him more support at first . He may be crap for all we know but I'd like them to give him a bit more of a chance first so we can really see whether he cuts the mustard or not.

[FFC 1876]

12 minutes ago, MrDust said:

We did change shape for the 2nd half in pushing our full backs more forward which probably hurt us for the goal. A formation change probably would've been the best solution rather than leaving our centre halves to cope.

Can anyone actually say Keena is our best striker ?

3 league starts and wayward shots from outside the box. 

The lone striker isn't just about physical presence, first and foremost it's about the rest of the team supporting him especially in our case in league one as we are not using it to scrape a point.

Dowds for me is the best option as a lone striker, doesn't have physical presence but can hold the ball up, decent with his feet. I would say Miller but he is obviously retired now but I'd rather we played 2 up top and perhaps fully judge Keena.

You must be having a laugh with that one he's 6ft1 and some on here were calling him too fat earlier on in the season. How can you possibly say he doesn't have a physical presence. Keena's played 3 games as a lone striker which doesn't suit him at all as he can't get any free space due to the fact he's got 2 centre backs looking after him. Hence why for the last 3 games you've seen him drop deep to try look for the ball. Keena's got goals in him it's easy to see that he just needs a strike partner to cause bother upfront with him so he can find the spaces he needs to score. 

[MrDust]

14 minutes ago, FFC 1876 said:

You must be having a laugh with that one he's 6ft1 and some on here were calling him too fat earlier on in the season. How can you possibly say he doesn't have a physical presence. Keena's played 3 games as a lone striker which doesn't suit him at all as he can't get any free space due to the fact he's got 2 centre backs looking after him. Hence why for the last 3 games you've seen him drop deep to try look for the ball. Keena's got goals in him it's easy to see that he just needs a strike partner to cause bother upfront with him so he can find the spaces he needs to score. 

 

Dowds is a wet lettuce as far as physical presence on a football pitch, height doesnt automatically mean physical presence...Taylor Morgan and many many more.

So Keena has been tracking back to our own box to get the ball......nope we are so rigid in our 4-5-1 that a lot of the time he has been covering and other times its natural to drop in, it's not bar football

I'm sorry but no one can have a realistic overall opinion re Keena based on very few games played, tactics, formations and injury

 

 

[Marshmallo]

BPM made a really good point yesterday I thought in the match thread about the midfield having to act as a shield to The Chuckle Brothers at centre back. The more I think about it that really is the root cause of a lot of our problems.

I think it started under McKinnon and has persisted since. Initially I think it was partly inspired by McKinnon's tactics of fear, but recruitment of Buchanan, Durnan and Hall has been the main factor. Because they are so poor in possession (Durnan) and/or basic defensive ability (Hall), we are having to play midfielders right on top of them to take the ball deep and to prevent them getting into any one vs ones with attackers running at or beyond them. It's necessitating us playing full backs whose primary role is to defend, since pushing up the park exposes The Chuckle Brothers. Our build up play becomes far slower, clunkier and we have less options in the attacking third because Dixon and Miller are so limited in terms of plodding forward a few steps, and Gomis is taking the ball off the defence to start every attack.

Our goals against figures look pretty strong but that's an indictment on our centre backs more than a positive for them. The tactics their inclusion leads to mean we are ultra defensive and slow getting the ball forward.

In McClelland and Dixon we have options there which could improve us but they are wed to The Chuckle Brothers and the tactics of sheer terror they lead to. 

Forget the Celtic game, against Airdrie I'd like to see us trying to introduce a bit more dynamism and go with the following team:

Mutch

Neilson McClelland Dixon Deveney

Morrison Gomis Telfer Fotheringham

Dowds Keena

Given the gap we have at the top (ie a reasonable size but precarious enough to be almost eradicated with a single bad result) I fully expect them to trundle on with the current stodgy, slow garbage while doing an impression of the "this is fine" dog sitting in the fire.

Edited March 31, 2021 by Marshmallo

[Guest Ecosse83]

Nothing wrong at all with 1 up front when you have a decent manager drilling a way of playing it into the players on the training pitch. 
 

They 2 need to realise how limited they are and play a simple 442 something the players will be familiar with the most.  Tactics last night were nothing short of a shambles! 

[MrDust]

6 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

 

Forget the Celtic game, against Airdrie I'd like to see us trying to introduce a big more dynamism and go with the following team:

Mutch

Neilson McClelland Dixon Deveney

Morrison Gomis Telfer Fotheringham

Dowds Morrison

Given the gap we have at the top (ie a reasonable size but precarious enough to be almost eradicated with a single bad result) I fully expect them to trundle on with the current stodgy, slow garbage while doing an impression of the "this is fine" dog sitting in the fire.

Morrison twice ? The early Morrison was everywhere left right central, he is now a robot in sticking to his right flank or chasing down the ball as Keena covers his right side. He is more of an athlete for me so a free role to roam suits him

Kai for me isnt ready to start, we need Connolly back pronto.

 

[Marshmallo]

If only we had two of him!

I meant to type Keena, but given his performances so far it's not too surprising I forgot him. 

[Shadwell Dog]

51 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

BPM made a really good point yesterday I thought in the match thread about the midfield having to act as a shield to The Chuckle Brothers at centre back. The more I think about it that really is the root cause of a lot of our problems.

I think it started under McKinnon and has persisted since. Initially I think it was partly inspired by McKinnon's tactics of fear, but recruitment of Buchanan, Durnan and Hall has been the main factor. Because they are so poor in possession (Durnan) and/or basic defensive ability (Hall), we are having to play midfielders right on top of them to take the ball deep and to prevent them getting into any one vs ones with attackers running at or beyond them. It's necessitating us playing full backs whose primary role is to defend, since pushing up the park exposes The Chuckle Brothers. Our build up play becomes far slower, clunkier and we have less options in the attacking third because Dixon and Miller are so limited in terms of plodding forward a few steps, and Gomis is taking the ball off the defence to start every attack.

Our goals against figures look pretty strong but that's an indictment on our centre backs more than a positive for them. The tactics their inclusion leads to mean we are ultra defensive and slow getting the ball forward.

In McClelland and Dixon we have options there which could improve us but they are wed to The Chuckle Brothers and the tactics of sheer terror they lead to. 

Forget the Celtic game, against Airdrie I'd like to see us trying to introduce a bit more dynamism and go with the following team:

Mutch

Neilson McClelland Dixon Deveney

Morrison Gomis Telfer Fotheringham

Dowds Keena

Given the gap we have at the top (ie a reasonable size but precarious enough to be almost eradicated with a single bad result) I fully expect them to trundle on with the current stodgy, slow garbage while doing an impression of the "this is fine" dog sitting in the fire.

I still think the fact the managers instill a defensive outlook on the side these days is the main issue. We had two donkeys at centrehalf last season but still managed to score 25 goals in 6 home games against forfar, Dumbarton and Peterhead without any reply.  Now we never look like scoring until the two clowns fling some attacking players on. 

[Kircer bairn]

57 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

BPM made a really good point yesterday I thought in the match thread about the midfield having to act as a shield to The Chuckle Brothers at centre back. The more I think about it that really is the root cause of a lot of our problems.

I think it started under McKinnon and has persisted since. Initially I think it was partly inspired by McKinnon's tactics of fear, but recruitment of Buchanan, Durnan and Hall has been the main factor. Because they are so poor in possession (Durnan) and/or basic defensive ability (Hall), we are having to play midfielders right on top of them to take the ball deep and to prevent them getting into any one vs ones with attackers running at or beyond them. It's necessitating us playing full backs whose primary role is to defend, since pushing up the park exposes The Chuckle Brothers. Our build up play becomes far slower, clunkier and we have less options in the attacking third because Dixon and Miller are so limited in terms of plodding forward a few steps, and Gomis is taking the ball off the defence to start every attack.

Our goals against figures look pretty strong but that's an indictment on our centre backs more than a positive for them. The tactics their inclusion leads to mean we are ultra defensive and slow getting the ball forward.

In McClelland and Dixon we have options there which could improve us but they are wed to The Chuckle Brothers and the tactics of sheer terror they lead to. 

Forget the Celtic game, against Airdrie I'd like to see us trying to introduce a bit more dynamism and go with the following team:

Mutch

Neilson McClelland Dixon Deveney

Morrison Gomis Telfer Fotheringham

Dowds Keena

Given the gap we have at the top (ie a reasonable size but precarious enough to be almost eradicated with a single bad result) I fully expect them to trundle on with the current stodgy, slow garbage while doing an impression of the "this is fine" dog sitting in the fire.

I would go for same team at Parkhead to give them a training run 

[Reggie Perrin]

13 hours ago, FFC 1876 said:

Mcracken's just said in his post match interview 'Leitchy's been doing well and was probably unlucky to be dropped in the Forfar game so he deserved his spot back in the team tonight' 

Sacking offence.

[Hank von Hell]

3 hours ago, lanky_ffc said:

This is it for me. A 433 works best when your wingers play narrow in support of the striker and the fullbacks get high to provide the width. That's never going to happen when you're asking FBs with a combined age of 67 to play 2 games a week. Either use the squad or alter the tactics. 

It might have salvaged a point last night but playing 2 strikers isn't a magic bullet either. We've turned in plenty dross performances with a 442. 

 

3 hours ago, Dennistoun Bairn said:

Oh jeez... I'm not interested in European elite teams that can play one striker formations - WE CAN'T. We're utterly inept in speed and thought, not to mention actual football ability, in playing this way or even grasping how the system is intended to function.  One isolated guy, back to goal, without support or service, ie the way we play it,  is just utter mind-numbing pish. 

Forfar and Dumbarton coped with our "goal threat" with embarrassing EASE over the last two games, as did Airdrie & East Fife before the shutdown.  We can't play this way - stop trying to polish a turd. Can't believe there's still folks on here that haven't suffered enough watching us fail miserably to employ this nonsensical tactic in recent years.   Absolute joke management.      

True.

If you watch Leeds Utd in the EPL this season they effectively play with one striker - Bamford - but both wingers are constantly in close support when they have the ball providing "the third man" strategy and then both full backs bomb forward also. I recall them being  5-0 up vs Newcastle and all 5 players were in the opposition's box in the 85th minute. You cannot get any more attacking than that yet they have only one striker.    

You need superior fitness and technical ability ,however we don't have the players or management to achieve this. And we are in League One, but imagine though if you took the chance to take young pacey players and mould them into something like this - would be great to watch rather than this turgid sh*t.  

[Gaz]

It's almost as if someone who punts Herbalife isn't actually a very good fitness coach.

[18BAIRN76]

One look at the Facebook page is enough to make you boak, by the way. All this "keep the faith!1! coyb", "let Cracks and Lee do there job!". We're in League One ffs and the standard of football being served up is genuinely brutal. I still have a feeling we'll perhaps limp to the title but at the same time I have absolutely no faith in this team to get over the line. That performance last night, against a (not even full strength) Dumbarton team - at home! - was embarrassing. 

 

I heard Allan Preston on the radio talking about the problems at Hearts the other day, and he had quite a good line: imagine you're a kid supporting Hearts, which one of their team do you get on the back of your shirt? The same question could be asked about our rabble. Even Hartley's bunch I felt a deep seated rage towards them! Bar I'd say max 2 or 3 in this squad (and that is me being kind), I can't remember a Falkirk team I have felt so apathetic towards. But some folk think it's okay to just accept it.

Edited March 31, 2021 by 18BAIRN76

[Newbornbairn]

I think I must be banned from the COYB site

[Gaz]

I got banned from it a year or two ago. I have no idea why.

[WestfieldBairn]

The coyb page is the equivalent of sitting in a burning building but not moving because  the thing is still standing. They’ll wait until they are surrounded by rubble before admitting these clowns aren’t good enough. 

[bejazz1]

Had to laugh at McCracken interview last night when he said “Dumbarton were fighting for their lives in this league” I Take it we are quite happy in this league with no reason to get our arses moving and show some drive and determination to make sure we captured the necessary 3 points?
The interviews are as bad as the performances, I don’t know who they are trying to kid!

[Marshmallo]

1 minute ago, bejazz1 said:

Had to laugh at McCracken interview last night when he said “Dumbarton were fighting for their lives in this league” I Take it we are quite happy in this league with no reason to get our arses moving and show some drive and determination to make sure we captured the necessary 3 points?
The interviews are as bad as the performances, I don’t know who they are trying to kid!

I rarely watch their interviews but did so last night. Leitch being very unlucky not to start against Forfar and "great performances" against Montrose and Forfar were the highlights for me.