Jump to content

Sons' sorrow


Recommended Posts

8 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

You don't need to spend unsustainable money to be successful and get fans in. Sure it makes things a heck of a lot easier, but money is no guarantee of success. Just look at Ian Murray and Stevie Aitken for evidence of that.

Edit: Arbroath obviously had a great season last year, and would pay decent wages, but I refuse to believe they spent unsustainable funds. 

344 more fans on average than us. The year before they were still at 772 average per game.

Thats a significant amount. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for today's game.

Annan were poor.

Neil absolutely strolled it at the back and looked very composed. The others at the back were ok and Crawford looks good going forward. Carswell in midfield was Carswell - played well and looked a class above anybody else in the middle of the park. Hutton wasn't terrible but he looks really short of fitness. Crossan was a real threat cutting in from wide left and Annan really didnt cope well with him running at them. Zata on the right was really poor. His positional sense was non-existent and he looked really poor. Tierney took his goal well and his movement was a handful for the Annan defence but he doesnt have the absolute pace to take advantage of that and really pull away from defenders (despite the way he scored today). McCluskey didnt really get the best of service. He looked frustrated at times and tried to make up for a lack of service by overdoing things when he did get the ball. 

 

On today's showing I was impressed with Neil, Carswell and Crossan and I'm sure that Crawford, Quitongo and Tierney will do a job for us. Not at all impressed with Zata.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Crossan impressed me the most today but bear in my mind I'm still trying to work out who's who in the team. Tierney finished his goal but was probably only able to get in that position because one of the Annan defenders was off the pitch being patched up for a head knock. The one thing I really noticed about the players is how fucking young they look but that's probably me and my age more than anything. All in all, I enjoyed being back at the fitba today and knowing that I don't have to think up stuff to do on a Saturday for the the next nine months is pleasing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for today's game.
Annan were poor.
Neil absolutely strolled it at the back and looked very composed. The others at the back were ok and Crawford looks good going forward. Carswell in midfield was Carswell - played well and looked a class above anybody else in the middle of the park. Hutton wasn't terrible but he looks really short of fitness. Crossan was a real threat cutting in from wide left and Annan really didnt cope well with him running at them. Zata on the right was really poor. His positional sense was non-existent and he looked really poor. Tierney took his goal well and his movement was a handful for the Annan defence but he doesnt have the absolute pace to take advantage of that and really pull away from defenders (despite the way he scored today). McCluskey didnt really get the best of service. He looked frustrated at times and tried to make up for a lack of service by overdoing things when he did get the ball. 
 
On today's showing I was impressed with Neil, Carswell and Crossan and I'm sure that Crawford, Quitongo and Tierney will do a job for us. Not at all impressed with Zata.
Zara surely has something which took him to Tannadice, but it may take a couple of games to properly assess him.

Hutton on the other hand has had more than enough games and IMO should have been let go.

Still, a win's a win and all that.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BallochSonsFan said:

344 more fans on average than us. The year before they were still at 772 average per game.

Thats a significant amount. 

Their average attendance in 2017-18 was 903, ours was 838 - albeit at higher admission prices (and, presumably, with higher costs). We got my prize money than them that season too - so, unless they have a big backer, I doubt our budgets were too different. If clubs were only as successful as their gates then Stranraer would be near the bottom of League Two and Clyde would probably be the best p/t team in the country. Crowds make a huge difference, but it's not as if an extra 100 folk coming through the gates will be the difference between us competiting for the playoffs, and going down.

41 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Were we wearing the new away kit?

Yup. It looks very, very Gretna. It's not unpleasant tbh. Better than the red version of that template if nothing else.

Anyway we looked very, very Jim Duffy today if that makes sense? Players were chucking themselves at the ball, not jumping out of 50/50s and the workrate was faultless. We defended well, took the chance when it came and are maybe just lacking a bit of quality - but effort and desire wise I was pleased with what I saw.

It was surprising to see Pettigrew handed a start over Brennan, but fair play to him. He didn't have a lot to do, but he commanded his area well and was solid at dealing with crosses. Given how much of a bombscare he looked from high balls last week that was a very welcome surprise. Ahead of him Neill looks a lot more solid with McMillan alongside him. He's obviously very meat and potatoes (as @Francesc Fabregas said) but he pretty much headered and cleared everything that came his way. Was very comfortable dealing with Nade in the first-half too. Alongside him Duffy wasn't kidding when he said McMillan was vocal. Jesus Christ 🤣 If he has the respect of the players then that could be a big thing, because he did not stop shouting and balling all game. Some of it was very critical, some of it seemed fair, and he looked like he really enjoyed himself when he was winning free-kicks and generally winding folk up. That's endearing - he will get sent off this season though. Quote me on that.

At full-back Crawford and Quitongo both look decent. Considering he's 19 and hadn't played a single minute of senior football until today, Crawford continues to impress - and I'm delighted for him. Sure there are a few times where his inexperience show, but he plays with absolutely no fear and twice came close to scoring the opener today. There are shades of Boomer about Quitongo too. Again he's not the finished article, and his game needs a bit of work at both ends, but he was solid enough - and showed some really nice touches going forwards. He'll have better games, he'll have worse games, but for a senior debut he can be pleased with his afternoon's work.

Captain Carsy and vice-captain Kyle were both solid in midfield. We expect that from Carsy now, he's just an excellent player, but Hutton obviously blows hot and cold. Today he was good though, barely wasted a pass, picked up possession loads and was sturdy defensively. On the right of the three was Mati Zata and, without wanting to sound harsh given it was his competitive debut, he looked to really struggle. His passing was as suspect as it had been last week, his positioning was really, really poor and he almost cost us a goal after a mix-up with Pettigrew. It's very early days though and he's still young, so maybe it'll just take time for him to settle. On that showing though Langan looks a far superior player; his touch, passing and vision really helped us when he got on.

Up top the front three caused problems. I'm not really sure how to get the best out of Tierney, but he had a good game today. He strikes me as the sort of striker who'll take chances naturally if he gets them, and his hold-up play was alright, but I can't help but feel as if he needs a Calum Gallagher-esque guy doing the dirty work alongside him. Out wide I thought Crossan looked very good. He's so direct when he's driving at players, and the way he carries the ball is outstanding. His final ball lets him down, but he's exciting to watch - and I love players like that. As for McCluskey, he was decent again. He's such a Duffy player - he works so, so hard and is capable of some lovely wee touches but maybe just lacks a bit of quality in his end product. He's a good player though, and I've no doubt he'll be important in the season ahead.

Am I probably more positive than I should be? Yup.

Was I expecting us to lose? Yup.

Was I happy with the performance? Yup.

Edited by Jan Vojáček
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s tricky to gauge how much we take out of that as Annan were mince but regardless I thought the Neil, McMillan, Hutton and Carswell spine was really  solid. McMillan in particular might end up being a notably  shrewd acquisition.

Both full backs were fine - Crawford doesn’t look out of place at all. 

Further forward, McCluskey and Tierney were industrious if lacking a little in presence. I’m pinning my hopes on Layne providing that when he returns. McCrossan reminded of Andy Stirling with his forays inside - the trick will be getting him involved more. Zata looked well short. 

Early days but a tentatively positive start.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One win and I'm getting carried away. I've been looking up the record of the best runners up in the last three years to see how many points we might need to progress to the tv stages. It's time to put the Internet down and concentrate on the beer. Copyright Old Scrotum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...