Sons' sorrow

[pleslie99]

22 minutes ago, Frank Quitely said:

That last paragraph is very concerning - where does the problem lie ?

Probably our genius manager wasting the talents of callum Wilson at full back

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

9 minutes ago, pleslie99 said:

Probably our genius manager wasting the talents of callum Wilson at full back

We had 5 (I think?) players out today. Carswell, Wylde, McGeever, Lynch and Love were all absent, some through injury and some through  “personal committments”. These games are purely for fitness and experimenting with formations. I’d be astounded if Farrell played Wilson at full back when the competitive stuff starts (although when he joined us he was credited with being competent in that position). It’s slightly concerning we’re still losing cheap goals but if Wilson has been struggling with fitness, as some have alluded to on here, then I’m quite happy to see the manage deploy him where necessary to rectify that. 

[southernboy]

Sorry Jan, but I also went along to yesterday's game. I had hoped that , given Gretna 2008 finished second bottom of the lowland league last year and with a goals against deficit of -73, this would be a comfortable, morale boosting afternoon out.
As it turned out we were fortunate to win the match at all, and for a team 'looking good going forward' , I can only remember one attempt on goal of any note in the whole of the second half(our goal). By contrast, Gretna could , and should have scored at least three during that period.
Our defence, which of course was admittedly makeshift, struggled throughout and was given a hard time by , in particular their CF (Russell Currie?) who looked exactly the kind of lad we could be doing with. Martin McNiff, who did make some timely interventions, looked painfully slow on a number of occasions.
We did indeed have five men missing and it was , of course, a friendly, but I didn't see very much by way of slick movement or interpassing. I didn't get the impression we lacked effort, just a bit of direction and organisation.
There were definitely some positives. Ryan Wallace looked to have good touch and movement but seemed to be playing all over the pitch. Aaron Lynas, though out of position, seems a decent acquisition and David Wilson did a lot of running and played some good passes.
Early, early days but there seems to me to be a fair bit of work and strengthening needed or we may well be struggling again this season.
But then, I've been wrong before.

[Jan Vojáček]

On 03/07/2022 at 11:53, southernboy said:

Sorry Jan, but I also went along to yesterday's game. I had hoped that , given Gretna 2008 finished second bottom of the lowland league last year and with a goals against deficit of -73, this would be a comfortable, morale boosting afternoon out.
As it turned out we were fortunate to win the match at all, and for a team 'looking good going forward' , I can only remember one attempt on goal of any note in the whole of the second half(our goal). By contrast, Gretna could , and should have scored at least three during that period.
Our defence, which of course was admittedly makeshift, struggled throughout and was given a hard time by , in particular their CF (Russell Currie?) who looked exactly the kind of lad we could be doing with. Martin McNiff, who did make some timely interventions, looked painfully slow on a number of occasions.
We did indeed have five men missing and it was , of course, a friendly, but I didn't see very much by way of slick movement or interpassing. I didn't get the impression we lacked effort, just a bit of direction and organisation.
There were definitely some positives. Ryan Wallace looked to have good touch and movement but seemed to be playing all over the pitch. Aaron Lynas, though out of position, seems a decent acquisition and David Wilson did a lot of running and played some good passes.
Early, early days but there seems to me to be a fair bit of work and strengthening needed or we may well be struggling again this season.
But then, I've been wrong before.

I wouldn't read too much into last season's Gretna versus this year. They've added a good few bodies over the summer; and they (on paper) are a better side than they were last season. Russell Currie was very handy for Dalbeattie last year, Jack Main is a good goalkeeper (as he showed) and our own Sam Muir should be a good addition at that level. I can't see them finishing with a goal difference anywhere near that again.

I don't disagree with large aspects of what you say though. In the first-half we had two off the line, Ross MacLean missed a sitter, Declan Byrne missed a one-on-one and both Martin McNiff and Gregor Buchanan came within about an inch of turning crosses into the net. But things absolutely tailed off offensively in the second-half. Aside from MacLean missing another one-on-one, the goal and Finlay Gray getting his feet tangled up in a good position we didn't work the keeper enough. 

That was possibly largely down to players tiring mind you. Byrne looked done after 45 minutes, McKee came off as his influence faded and Ryan Wallace drifted all over the place without Byrne to stick as a striker ahead of him.

Having said all that I'm still pleased with our attacking options. I think there's a good variety there and I liked the link-up I saw in the first 45 between Wallace and Byrne. The goal being a perfect example.

What worried me hugely was how easily Gretna (to use a new football word) transitioned from defence to attack. We could lose the ball in their full-back position and five seconds later Long was performing another ridiculous save. Meanwhile we had the ball for long spells but didn't ever really manage to turn that into chances as threatening. 

Our midfield combo of McKee and D.Wilson (as with Blair and Gray last week) was missing someone disciplined and defensive. The role Carsy played so well when he first came to the club. But aside from him there's no obvious option to do that. Which is a concern.

[the snudge]

What are the chances of shirts being onsale for the first home game?

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

43 minutes ago, the snudge said:

What are the chances of shirts being onsale for the first home game?

I reckon they’ll probably sell out quite quick and these things tend to take ages to re-stock. I was actually going to pop down today but I didn’t realise the stadium closed at 1.30pm, I always thought it was 3pm. I’ll maybe try and get down on Wednesday. 

[microdave]

Being drawn away to Rangers colts (if they beat Spartans) would be interesting considering their home ground. 

[George Parr]

5 hours ago, microdave said:

Being drawn away to Rangers colts (if they beat Spartans) would be interesting considering their home ground. 

Interesting wasn’t quite the adjective I had in mind when I noticed that draw. One to hard-swerve if our Spartan friends fail to complete the necessary. 

[microdave]

Interesting wasn’t quite the adjective I had in mind when I noticed that draw. One to hard-swerve if our Spartan friends fail to complete the necessary. 

What I meant was that we could be the away team in our own stadium. I will be swerving it if they get through. f**k the colts.

[Whiteside]

Safe journey down to Cumbria for anyone travelling tonight should take just under 3 hours. Hot food and drink is available in the bar at the ground and alcohol can be consumed on the terraces during the game. Small amount of parking at the ground but personally I've always used the opposite tesco car park with no problems. Unfortunately for myself wont now be at the game due to a change in work shift patterns but there is a interactive live scoreboard available on the reds website and social media  which regularly updates during the game. Our season doesn't start until second week in August so expect a mix of first teamers ,youth and trialists but should still be very competitive 

[Silverton End]

30 minutes ago, Whiteside said:

Safe journey down to Cumbria for anyone travelling tonight should take just under 3 hours. Hot food and drink is available in the bar at the ground and alcohol can be consumed on the terraces during the game. Small amount of parking at the ground but personally I've always used the opposite tesco car park with no problems. Unfortunately for myself wont now be at the game due to a change in work shift patterns but there is a interactive live scoreboard available on the reds website and social media  which regularly updates during the game. Our season doesn't start until second week in August so expect a mix of first teamers ,youth and trialists but should still be very competitive 

Thanks for the info, good luck for next season.

 

[George Parr]

Watching the match with a pint. What a novelty.

[Jan Vojáček]

Anyone down in Workington who fancies giving those of us stuck up here a wee report come half-time.

Good to see Waldo getting another goal. Can only be good for his confidence to have two in two now.

[Sweet Pete]

3 Nil up currently according to the club twitter.

[The Moonster]

Slash those odds @O'Kelly Isley III!

[Clarko_son]

Get the Dumbarton ribbons on the League 2 trophy

[O'Kelly Isley III]

15 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Slash those odds @O'Kelly Isley III!

Paddy Power now offering 9/4 on a ten-point winning margin.

[squeezebox-son]

So, having missed the whole of pre-season due to other commitments and things. Are any of the trialists we have had likely to (or do any of us want them to) sign on?

Anyone know who the trialists were last night and did they show up well?

[PWL]

Credit where it is due. 

The social media team are doing a cracking job with all these graphics again this year. All very professional looking for what I am presuming is volunteers using cheap limited editing packages. 

[the snudge]

2 hours ago, PWL said:

Credit where it is due. 

The social media team are doing a cracking job with all these graphics again this year. All very professional looking for what I am presuming is volunteers using cheap limited editing packages.