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I wonder if GB and his staff actually watch replays of our games, because every single time I've seen us play since January there is an obvious problem that stands out a mile to me and yet GB doesn't apparently see it. What I'm getting at, is that if you watch us defend when we don't have the ball, there is a line of blue shirts across our own 18 yard line, a massive 25 yard space of nothing at all, then one or two forwards on or around the half way line. It's repeated when we do have possession and push up, in that it's usually Sweeney and Ashcroft playing one-twos on the halfway line, a massive 25 yard gap with nothing at all in it, then a string of blue shirts across the opponent's box.

We're making it much easier to defend against our play than it should be, and also making it much more difficult to get out of our own half than it should be. Whether it's by design and this is how Bowyer actually wants it, or it's down to a lack of players available to him I'm not sure, but given that he persists with the McGhee/Cameron midfield regardless of who is available, won't play Byrne, thinks Max Anderson is a CM who can play in a bank of 4, and punted Gowser out on loan, I'm left thinking that this is actually what he's trying to achieve, which I have no explanation for whatsoever. 

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27 minutes ago, Boo Khaki said:

It's not really 'one up front' when McMullan is usually as far forward as Robinson, it's a problem rooted in a lack of cohesion. We have nothing in the middle of the park at all, so it's difficult for us to keep possession and compress the play up the pitch when we have it, so McMullan's preference for playing wide anyway means he never bothers actually going that close to the central guy and whoever is up there ends up isolated and chasing speculative punts, or if the clearance is wide rather than central it's McMullan himself doing the chasing. And yes, we miss Thomas even though he's a big donkey, because Robinson clearly isn't cut out for playing the same role.

When we do finally get the ball up the pitch and keep it there the isolation up front is less obvious, but just playing another striker closer to the central guy is not going to solve the problem of having a powderpuff midfield that can't grab control of a match. It would probably make it slightly easier to do something with it once we do get it and play it forward, but it's not going to magically remedy all the problems with this system. Our midfield stinks to high heaven. That's a more fundamental problem for me than whether or not it's two proper forwards or one + a supporting player, because we're also hilariously easy to play through and run over the top of unless the entire midfield collapses back onto the edge of the box, and it's the back four and midfield having to defend as practically one solid line that is leading to a lack of outlets when we win the ball and totally isolated forwards.

I totally agree with playing Jak and Robinson together because it's clear that what GB is currently doing isn't producing any success, but I can't see that miraculously turning around the results and performances while GB persists on playing only one true CM in the middle of the park. The fact he then doubles down by playing Max Anderson in there when he's subbed on is infuriating when we have natural CM's sitting on the bench and out on loan in League One. And also, McMullan is far more effective a player when he starts from deeper positions anyway rather than trying to support a striker, so even if GB wants to persist with doing everything exactly the same way McMullan isn't even the correct player to be doing that with.

It's a fucking mess, and it isn't going to turn around overnight without some radical changes and I just don't see that happening. We've all been saying pretty much the same thing since Jan/Feb when the 'McGhee in midfield and f**k everything else' nonsense started and it's been a constant theme ever since, so I don't see GB changing it for Tuesday. Hard not to feel that the team as a whole is somewhat less than it could be and that being entirely due to GB's own decisions, not injuries or illnesses forcing his hand.

One up front is the issue if your midfield don't support the lone striker and sit far too deep.

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2 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:

Ben Williamson a doubt for Tuesday in addition to the 7 out already with injuries/illness according to Bowyer.

We are better when Anderson came on anyway. We know his faults but Anderson tries to drive forward. 

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Just now, Fifespud said:

He hasn’t had that much to work with but Robinson has been poor since his return. I also think French is well over rated by our support. 
That was fucking dreadful today. 

He had the touch of a baby elephant today. IMO.

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1 minute ago, Fifespud said:

We are better when Anderson came on anyway. We know his faults but Anderson tries to drive forward. 

Think Anderson is absolutely rotten, personally.

Agree though - Williamson along with half the team's form has dipped considerably.

Edited by Ludo*1
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9 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:

Think Anderson is absolutely rotten, personally.

Agree though - Williamson along with half the team's form has dipped considerably.

I meant we ‘were’ better when Anderson came on today - sorry typo. He’s had a lot of shite games too. 
I’m back to thinking the manager is nout special. 

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Just now, Fifespud said:

I meant we ‘were’ better when Anderson came on today - sorry typo. He’s had a lot of shite games too. 
I’m back to thinking the manager is nout special. 

I don't blame you Spud - some very questionable stuff from him recently

. Been discussing it on the DB Forum. I still think Bowyer is better than what we've had, but I wouldn't say he's exactly 'good' either. He's an appointment that I'll never have a go at Nelms for - he was an outside the box, not your usual merry-go-round type and someone from down South that I've thought was a route we should go for, for a good number of years. Bowyer's on record as saying he's found it much more difficult than expected to entice players from South of the border.

I genuinely believe he'd make a mark on the squad next season but if we don't win the league, then I don't think he deserves that chance especially when it's as poor as it is regardless of being hampered by McPake's squad.

He's got 8 games to prove he's the man - big ask that.

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14 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

One up front is the issue if your midfield don't support the lone striker and sit far too deep.

I agree totally. What I was getting at is that Bowyer is still trying to use McMullan in the same sort of support role that he was playing in when we were playing with a 3/5/2 and it isn't working because there's not only less support coming through the middle, but the lack of a more aggressive fullback occupying the wide area means McMullan spends even more time further away from Robinson. It's the lack of support, from anywhere, that is the issue rather than just the fact we are playing with only one central forward player.

It's a concept that works perfectly well if you have the correct player in the role and the team set up to accommodate it, but we neither have the correct type of striker, nor the support there to make it work.

With regard to sitting far too deep, yes, when we don't have the ball everything collapses across our own box. We win it back, and there's nowhere to go with it. When we do keep the ball it's usually because we've passed it around in our own half, we let the entire team push forward, by which time the opposition is back in their shape, we play keep baw between Sweeney and Ashcroft, and the rest of the team is strung out across their box. It's a lack of structure. Simultaneously too flat and deep without the ball, too slow to get it forward as a result, and then also too 'flat' in attack. 

I think it was Ludo who said we are totally missing a 'link' player, and that's exactly how I see it.

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Think it boils down to - any other day, that's a cracking point - but it's mixed in with uninspiring form, QP extending the gap at the top and not a whole lot of football left to be played.

If any one of those three things were different, we'd look at today totally differently but we're running out of time to 'get good'.

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1 minute ago, johnnydun said:

Robinson is hugely overrated imo. Alright as 2nd striker or playing up front in a 2, but Bowyer asks way too much of him.

9 goals, 3 of them pens.

 

I know we disagree on this as we've done so in the past. I think Robinson probably is slightly overrated, but I still think he's an excellent player and if he were our own, I'd be more excited about him than any of our other youth players. Don't think he's a natural goalscorer though and works better in a 2. Certainly being hung out to dry in a formation that's begging for Kwame.

On Kwame - just want to say, I don't particularly rate him. He's a dime a dozen utter haddy of a target man, but I don't think it's necessarily praise to say we miss him when it comes to this sort of set-up that we're going for.

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In my mind, the obvious issue is the playing pool in the main is clearly not of the standard expected by any of us to represent our club, regardless of which league we compete in next season.

Due to the majority of playing staff being recruited by James Mistake, this will come as no great surprise to anyone on here. However, how do you motivate employees to go that 'extra special' distance and clinch a league, who the majority of which are clearly not going to be retained in the summer?

Six or seven seasons of utter rancid pish now and counting, primarily due to John Nelms' ineptitude in managerial recruitment. Kindred charming polite man he is, I include Gary Bowyer in this equation.  

I recall in 2005 (after relegation) due to work commitments not renewing my season ticket and missing out on the Alan Kernaghan experience. Surely this current level of performance must be worse?

Genuine question.  

 

 

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34 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:

Think it boils down to - any other day, that's a cracking point - but it's mixed in with uninspiring form, QP extending the gap at the top and not a whole lot of football left to be played.

If any one of those three things were different, we'd look at today totally differently but we're running out of time to 'get good'.

Very true. They’re a pretty decent side, always like Brannigan. 

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1 minute ago, This Charming Man said:

In my mind, the obvious issue is the playing pool in the main is clearly not of the standard expected by any of us to represent our club, regardless of which league we compete in next season.

Due to the majority of playing staff being recruited by James Mistake, this will come as no great surprise to anyone on here. However, how do you motivate employees to go that 'extra special' distance and clinch a league, who the majority of which are clearly not going to be retained in the summer?

Six or seven seasons of utter rancid pish now and counting, primarily due to John Nelms' ineptitude in managerial recruitment. Kindred charming polite man he is, I include Gary Bowyer in this equation.  

I recall in 2005 (after relegation) due to work commitments not renewing my season ticket and missing out on the Alan Kernaghan experience. Surely this current level of performance must be worse?

Genuine question.  

 

 

No - not even in the same ballpark. 

Nor is it close to being as bad as latter day Alex Rae, Chisholm's whole spell, the Club 12 shambles, McIntyre or McGhee.

The only thing that elevates McPake above it - and make no mistake, I believe he's a significantly poorer manager than Bowyer - is the fact that Charlie Adam was able to drudge up some entertainment and drag us kicking and screaming to 2nd place in the Championship on the last day.

Not that any of that is necessarily praise for Bowyer. It's just not close to being as bad as those days.

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What was the length of contract given to Bowyer? Even if stay down it’s not the end of the world. He’ll have a blank canvas next season given your players contract situation and only then you’ll find out his opinions on your current squad. I think he’d be worth another year in this league. 

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1 minute ago, D'Jaffo said:

What was the length of contract given to Bowyer? Even if stay down it’s not the end of the world. He’ll have a blank canvas next season given your players contract situation and only then you’ll find out his opinions on your current squad. I think he’d be worth another year in this league. 

Think it's telling that he's not offered a single player a new deal.

As for him, he's on a rolling contract.

I know how it might look on the outside considering our history - but there was still an expectation to piss this league this season considering how weak it is and that's where the flak comes from. Unacceptable that a team that couldn't even win League One last season can beat us to the league title - Gretna-esque or not!

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Cameron was utter shite today and the decision to play him the whole game was a scandal. IMO Camerons been stifling us for weeks - totally sick of him starting every game. Dont care if he scored last week he was awful then aswell. Jakubiak should be on instead of him.

McMullen hooked (wasn't great) instead of Hannant who was abject was another disgrace.

We were winning games when McGhee was playing in a back 3, now we have McGhee playing behind the strikers as Williamson holds. Getting Williamson on the ball deep could be effective for starting passing moves but he's never a holding midfielder in a month of Sundays.

Shite, Bowyer. Get it fucking sorted.

League isn't over by any means but we need the win on Tuesday. Get Robinson and Jakubiak starting together and stop being so fucking negative - its not working.

Thank you.

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