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Brechin v Livi


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I can see everyone is absolutely buzzing for this game.:thumsup2 

We didn't suffer any back to back league defeats in 2017 so i'm hoping that stat remains in tact all 2018, and that this is the time of the season for Brechin to really feel their PT status in a predominantly FT league, and the vigorous efforts of playing in it catch up with them.

You can tell i'm nervous about this game can't you, trying to talk myself into a positive state of mind here. :lol:

No idea where our goals will come from but hopefully like the Dumbarton game we pull together and bang in a few.

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Would like to see Robinson and Boyd start up top, Mackin can GTF - too inconsistent. I'm sure that'll come back to haunt me when he somehow scores two goals here. 

To be honest, I still think we need to play Rafa up top. Can beat  a man, can score from outside the box, can finish and can hold the ball up well. He's good at winning the ball back as well, it seems to be everything Hoppy wants in a striker

I think we need to bring in a forward or settle on a preferred top 2 to start so that there's some consistency. 

Honestly, Brechin might have us here if some players like Byrne play like they did last week - felt he was absolutely anonymous against QOTS. Hopefully Halkett has his head up and can recover from the mistake (that was really Toddy's mistake giving it to him again). 

Alexander
Gallagher Halkett Lithgow
Mullin Pittman Byrne Jacobs (if fit) Thompson
Boyd De Vita

If Jacobs isn't fit, move Thompson into the middle and play Nicky out on the wing or Longridge.

Bench: Maley, Knox, Mackin, Todorov, Robinson, Longridge and Cadden

Will also be interesting to see when Brown is back from his injury, shouldn't be too long now surely

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It was Halkett fault for goal , he should have cleared it. Rafa has hardly played a game upfront lately always been out wide. I can’t name a player who played good on Saturday so pretty harsh to single out byrne. What’s up with Keags just now been missing since Dumbarton... would imagine gallagher will come in for Toddy. Be very tough game Brechin been very close last few games to winning games , hope first isn’t Saturday 

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24 minutes ago, Livilion28 said:

It was Halkett fault for goal , he should have cleared it. Rafa has hardly played a game upfront lately always been out wide. I can’t name a player who played good on Saturday so pretty harsh to single out byrne. What’s up with Keags just now been missing since Dumbarton... would imagine gallagher will come in for Toddy. Be very tough game Brechin been very close last few games to winning games , hope first isn’t Saturday 

Todorov should've played the ball up the wing and away, not bounced a half arsed ball back to Halkett and put him under pressure. If it was Gallagher the ball would've been up the wing. 

Pittman chased everything for the full 90 minutes and actually did work breaking up the play. I'm usually one that sings Byrne's praise but he was dire on Saturday with so many wayward passes and a couple needless fouls. Normally he's one that will break up play and distribute the ball well but the entire game passed him by. I thought on Saturday that Mackin and Byrne were the worst on the pitch. There were a few that did well, Pittman, Alexander, Lithgow. It's just that a silly mistake put us under pressure and we can't score with a big lump up front who has no work rate past 30 minutes. 

Keags still injured after being booted into the air by Nade I'm sure

Honestly, I wish we'd give Rafa a chance up top though, great player with good ball control who can actually produce something from nothing, Boyd is similar and has pace for days and can do something with it, it seems (unlike Carrick who can GTF). Two tricky players up top, throw in our wingers and we might have something. It's no secret that we look a better team when we play the ball on the ground (re:goal v Dumbarton). We have a tendency to boot the ball into the air for 70 minutes and panic for 20 when nothing works. It's worked for a good while and we're in a good place but I'm fearing that teams are getting wise to it and gearing up for a fight in the middle of the park. We have the players to play the ball on the ground and play some nice stuff, Lithgow's diagonals are near enough pin point every game as well. It's better being direct in that way rather than hoofing it.

In saying that, trust in Hoppy that we'll pick up three points here and resume our natural spot in the playoffs ;) 

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Really tough game this, with the league tightening up from 9th to 3rd i think it’s vital we get the win here. 

Brechin all season have been close, not quite getting the break of the ball and have mostly been losing by the odd goal, they played better than us at Glebe Park in the first game and although we went 2-0 up I was never comfortable and they pegged it back deservedly so.

They have already scored 4 against us this season, so they are more than capable of scoring, We really will need to be at our best here. 

Gallagher will undoubtedly go back into defence, Alexander, Longridge, Lithgow, Halkett, Gallagher,  Mullin, Byrne, Thompson/Jacobs, Pittman, Boyd, Carrick. 

Think I’d give Carrick a go from the start, I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but he’s for the most part a poacher and that may come in handy in this one. Boyd just behind to give us that bit of trickery we’ve been lacking the last couple of games. 

That would leave Mackin and Todorov to come on if that route isn’t working, and also gives us De Vita who has played a lot of football hence why I’ve left him out, Robinson and Cadden too. Think Jacobs is still out but may be wrong. 

 

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1 hour ago, ATLIS said:

Todorov should've played the ball up the wing and away, not bounced a half arsed ball back to Halkett and put him under pressure. If it was Gallagher the ball would've been up the wing. 

Pittman chased everything for the full 90 minutes and actually did work breaking up the play. I'm usually one that sings Byrne's praise but he was dire on Saturday with so many wayward passes and a couple needless fouls. Normally he's one that will break up play and distribute the ball well but the entire game passed him by. I thought on Saturday that Mackin and Byrne were the worst on the pitch. There were a few that did well, Pittman, Alexander, Lithgow. It's just that a silly mistake put us under pressure and we can't score with a big lump up front who has no work rate past 30 minutes. 

Keags still injured after being booted into the air by Nade I'm sure

Honestly, I wish we'd give Rafa a chance up top though, great player with good ball control who can actually produce something from nothing, Boyd is similar and has pace for days and can do something with it, it seems (unlike Carrick who can GTF). Two tricky players up top, throw in our wingers and we might have something. It's no secret that we look a better team when we play the ball on the ground (re:goal v Dumbarton). We have a tendency to boot the ball into the air for 70 minutes and panic for 20 when nothing works. It's worked for a good while and we're in a good place but I'm fearing that teams are getting wise to it and gearing up for a fight in the middle of the park. We have the players to play the ball on the ground and play some nice stuff, Lithgow's diagonals are near enough pin point every game as well. It's better being direct in that way rather than hoofing it.

In saying that, trust in Hoppy that we'll pick up three points here and resume our natural spot in the playoffs ;) 

I don’t think pittman had a good game either on Saturday. Was probably one of the worst performances from Lithgow this season but we all have difference opinions , I would say Alexander and probably Robinson only 2 players to get pass marks rest were below par and it’s not like them. Was one of them games where first goal was always going to be crucial 

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I have the most awful feeling that Brechin are getting their first win here. I would like to see De Vita up front as he is, IMO, the best option we have up front at the moment. Definitely in with a chance give the usual back 3 are in place.

Must win. No doubt about it.

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14 hours ago, Livilion28 said:

I don’t think pittman had a good game either on Saturday. Was probably one of the worst performances from Lithgow this season but we all have difference opinions , I would say Alexander and probably Robinson only 2 players to get pass marks rest were below par and it’s not like them. Was one of them games where first goal was always going to be crucial 

Funny how people see things differently; I thought the only players to get pass marks on Saturday were Robinson and Byrne with the possible inclusion of Lithgow and Alexander. As far as I saw Pittman offered very little; kept running backwards and losing the ball.

I am also unsure as to why people think Thompson and Boyd deserve a start; Boyd in my opinion offers less than Knox and Thompson appeared worse that Longridge which is saying something. We suffered particularly with Robinson going off as our tactics seem to then rely totally on lumping it forward.

For Saturday I'd like us to start with playing down the hill; that way hopefully our supposed superior fitness should shine through in the second half. It's forecast for light rain most of the day so the low sun shouldn't be a problem.

Despite the results I still think Brechin are a cracking wee club and shouldn't be taken lightly; their luck has to change as some stage and I just hope it isnt this week.

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23 minutes ago, Durnford said:

Funny how people see things differently; I thought the only players to get pass marks on Saturday were Robinson and Byrne with the possible inclusion of Lithgow and Alexander. As far as I saw Pittman offered very little; kept running backwards and losing the ball.

I am also unsure as to why people think Thompson and Boyd deserve a start; Boyd in my opinion offers less than Knox and Thompson appeared worse that Longridge which is saying something. We suffered particularly with Robinson going off as our tactics seem to then rely totally on lumping it forward.

For Saturday I'd like us to start with playing down the hill; that way hopefully our supposed superior fitness should shine through in the second half. It's forecast for light rain most of the day so the low sun shouldn't be a problem.

Despite the results I still think Brechin are a cracking wee club and shouldn't be taken lightly; their luck has to change as some stage and I just hope it isnt this week.

I find it astonishing that you can make a conclusion on Thompson after a 20 minute substitute appearance in what was one of our poorer performances of the season all round, I thought he came on, whipped a couple of excellent balls into the box and done ok. 

Boyd is tricky, needs to get his head up more absolutely as he tends to run into players but he can see a pass and has good technical ability which is what I think we need just now. 

On last weekend I thought only Robinson and Alexander got pass marks, but that’s gone now, we need to look forward. 

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16 minutes ago, andylivi1 said:

I find it astonishing that you can make a conclusion on Thompson after a 20 minute substitute appearance in what was one of our poorer performances of the season all round, I thought he came on, whipped a couple of excellent balls into the box and done ok. 

Boyd is tricky, needs to get his head up more absolutely as he tends to run into players but he can see a pass and has good technical ability which is what I think we need just now. 

On last weekend I thought only Robinson and Alexander got pass marks, but that’s gone now, we need to look forward. 

Conversely I find it strange that for 20 minutes virtual anonymous performance people have Thompson as an automatic starter. I'd need to see a lot more of him before making up my mind. Part of his performance will doubtless be down to the fact that he'd not played with the team before and possibly only had a couple of training sessions but never the less I feel he currently only warrants a place on the bench.

Boyd wasn't going to do well last week with so much high ball going on; without doubt he really needs the ball played on the ground (as indeed many of our player do) however he hasn't exactly shone in other games to allow him a starting berth in my opinion. His skill-set seems similar to Pittman and Knox however his ability to really exploit it still needs to be fully developed; in the meantime his small stature is really playing against him particularly against big physical teams. That being said maybe playing against a less mobile side is exactly what his confidence requires?

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20 minutes ago, Durnford said:

Conversely I find it strange that for 20 minutes virtual anonymous performance people have Thompson as an automatic starter. I'd need to see a lot more of him before making up my mind. Part of his performance will doubtless be down to the fact that he'd not played with the team before and possibly only had a couple of training sessions but never the less I feel he currently only warrants a place on the bench.

Boyd wasn't going to do well last week with so much high ball going on; without doubt he really needs the ball played on the ground (as indeed many of our player do) however he hasn't exactly shone in other games to allow him a starting berth in my opinion. His skill-set seems similar to Pittman and Knox however his ability to really exploit it still needs to be fully developed; in the meantime his small stature is really playing against him particularly against big physical teams. That being said maybe playing against a less mobile side is exactly what his confidence requires?

The only reason I think he starts for me is because we no longer have Penrice and Jacobs is still injured, if he was fit he’d be starting, and if Penrice was still here he’d start infront of him too.

If you don’t start him who does ? Robinson ? Not in the CM for me, Boyd, again similar to Robinson is more of a number 10, then you’ve got Knox, and personally I just don’t rate him. 

Gallagher started in midfield up in Inverness and was all over the place, I suppose you could stick De vita into the centre where he played earlier in the season against Brechin ?Thompson or De Vita the only options to go into CM imo, unless we change formation. 

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If we went for our midfield triangle and Jacobs wasn't available then I'd prefer a Byrne/Pittman/Robinson trio with Byrne in the defensive role and Robinson and Pittman playing the more attacking positions. Maybe Thompson will turn out to be better than any of the other three but, at the moment, starting him is a definite risk unless he's really stood out in training. 

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Funny how people see things differently...

Boyd in my opinion offers less than Knox


You’re not wrong there Durnford, after about 10 minutes against Falkirk I would say now Boyd is probably our most creative player since Scougall. He’s not really had much game time, and subsequently hasn’t gelled with squad, but I reckon when he clicks it’ll be massive for us. Not sure if he’s a front man in the traditional sense but having him off someone like De Vita would be decent.

We’ve seen him for Albion Rovers, and by all accounts he was performing well in the Premiership earlier this season. He’s well worth a chance in a team devoid of goals recently.
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I'd start Mackin and De Vita up front and play Boyd in midfield just behind them. Despite the criticism Mackin gets  (from me too about his fitness), his hold up play is good and we tend to play a lot of high balls so he'd be good at bringing them down to feed both Rafa and Boyd. I read Boyd likes a 25 yarder, and Rafa isn't afraid to have a pop from outside the box, so again Mackin laying it off for them is ideal. And maybe he would get in for a tap in from the other two having shots on goal, which is more Mackin's area of prowess in scoring goals. He isn't going to last the full game though and instead of the like for like subs bringing Toddy on i'd rather we went with Robinson replacing Mackin around the 60 min mark and having him and Rafa finishing the game.

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I'd start Mackin and De Vita up front and play Boyd in midfield just behind them. Despite the criticism Mackin gates (from me too about his fitness), his hold up play is good and we tend to play a lot of high balls so he'd be good at bringing them down to feed both Rafa and Boyd. I read Boyd likes a 25 yarder, and Rafa isn't afraid to have a pop from outside the box, so again Mackin laying it off for them is ideal. And maybe he would get in for a tap in from the other two having shots on goal, which is more Mackin's area of prowess in scoring goals. He isn't going to last the full game though and instead of the like for like subs bringing Toddy on i'd rather we went with Robinson replacing Mackin around the 60 min mark and having him and Rafa finishing the game.


Mackin’s a funny one. Some games he looks absolutely dynamite at holding the ball up, like against Dumbarton, others, looks totally dug shite, like Queens on Saturday. I really want to like the guy, and I know you’ve been championing him from the start LF, but I really don’t think his physical attributes match the hard pressing style we had in place at the beginning of the season.

If having De Vita and Boyd off him yields result then I’ll happily eat the humble pie, but I’ve not seen much to suggest it’ll be the silver bullet to our goal scoring problems.
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Just now, Afro said:

 


Mackin’s a funny one. Some games he looks absolutely dynamite at holding the ball up, like against Dumbarton, others, looks totally dug shite, like Queens on Saturday. I really want to like the guy, and I know you’ve been championing him from the start LF, but I really don’t think his physical attributes match the hard pressing style we had in place at the beginning of the season.

If having De Vita and Boyd off him yields result then I’ll happily eat the humble pie, but I’ve not seen much to suggest it’ll be the silver bullet to our goal scoring problems.

 

I thought he did well against QoS, noticed a big improvement from the Falkirk game anyway, where he got pushed over and bullied all game, he was managing to stick his arse out to hold off defenders (typical Hartson move) which allowed him to bring the ball under control. He faded badly 2nd half though but still thought he had done a lot better than Toddy when he came on.  My main criticism is how slow he is and his fitness, I don't think he's ever going to be a McNulty/Russell/Mullen running onto balls and running at players but he is improving, till his fitness goes 2nd half and he gets knackered.

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2 hours ago, LIVIFOREVER said:

I thought he did well against QoS, noticed a big improvement from the Falkirk game anyway, where he got pushed over and bullied all game, he was managing to stick his arse out to hold off defenders (typical Hartson move) which allowed him to bring the ball under control. He faded badly 2nd half though but still thought he had done a lot better than Toddy when he came on.  My main criticism is how slow he is and his fitness, I don't think he's ever going to be a McNulty/Russell/Mullen running onto balls and running at players but he is improving, till his fitness goes 2nd half and he gets knackered.

We can't really afford that though, we can't afford passengers and wasting a sub on him every game and hoping the good Mackin turns up. If he wants any future at the club or at this level then surely he has to be a lot more consistent. He seems to be pretty huffy as well, coming off with his face skelping as if he's on a hat-trick and has been ripped off the pitch. In the truth of it, he lounges about doing f**k all and complains when he's taken off. Toddy is decent at holding the ball up and can last a full game

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22 hours ago, ATLIS said:

We can't really afford that though, we can't afford passengers and wasting a sub on him every game and hoping the good Mackin turns up. If he wants any future at the club or at this level then surely he has to be a lot more consistent. He seems to be pretty huffy as well, coming off with his face skelping as if he's on a hat-trick and has been ripped off the pitch. In the truth of it, he lounges about doing f**k all and complains when he's taken off. Toddy is decent at holding the ball up and can last a full game

Seeing as how Mackin has twice the goal tally of Todorov I wouldn't really call him a passenger.  

My issue is that his acceleration is worse than even White; by the time he's up to full speed the defenders cut out; cleared the ball and had a cup of Darjeeling and a Kitkat. Virtually all of his goal are point blank headers or tap ins; hence he's best a corners and similar set pieces.

Todorov will never have a huge goal tally but it really depends on the striker that feeds off his knockdowns and similar.

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