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RAITH versus FORFAR


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12 minutes ago, Frank conner said:

Probably a good idea to punt Allan of to Kelty! Surely Mcglynn sees what everyone else can see? The last two performances have been simply atrocious really can't see getting any away to Montrose. 

Is this the new version of the naughty step?

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After missing Saturday, I hoped we'd show up tonight and look to put things right based off what people here said. We were utterly abject. 

In terms of formation, a 4-4-2 doesn't suit us in the slightest. McDonald is the only player in the back line who looked remotely interested in doing anything tonight. Anderson and Benedictus were both content to smash the ball up the park, often out of play or for long diagonals to forwards who aren't target men. Dave McKay offers no forward presence and is very much a utility player fitted in whenever we have an issue at the back. f**k knows when Miller is back but it can't be quick enough. 

In midfield, Tait looked energetic in the first half but faded as the game went on. He tried a few ambitious passes but was the best of a bad bunch. Both Bowie and Gullan were very quiet and didn't really have any opportunities of note aside from the chance at the end. Armstrong has looked good for two 45 minute periods (Falkirk and Clyde) since he came back but let down his team mates by shooting rather than passing. Tony Dingwall hasn't shown anything to suggest he's a good player at this level yet. As for Gullan, that's the second game he's had an excellent opportunity and not managed to score the winner (after East Fife). We could be in a really good position but for those chances. 

Up top, Baird had a poor game but it's to be expected when he's chasing long balls all game. Allan is simply dreadful: his goals have dried up and he's effectively a mediocre target man. I'm not sure what message it must send to Joao Victoria that he can't get a chance on the pitch tonight. 

McGlynn isn't doing himself any favours. We're nowhere near shoogly peg territory and we were missing key players like Spencer but surely our players should be capable of better than that. 

 

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So Miller was missed badly, and that was probably why JMcG tossed out that turd of a 4-4-2. If we used the 3-5-2 template, opinions on:

1) Can McKay work best at CB with two others, or is he best as a wingback wide?

2) Watson is the backup wingback, in my understanding, so he probably wasn’t fully healthy?

3) Tait showed energy and some flashes, but is certainly wasted as a plain mid, perhaps another wingback role for him if attacking mid is filled?

4) While Miller plays well as a wingback, he seems a better natural wide mid...if MacDonald, Watson and Tait could fill those back roles...

5) Baird and Gullan don’t work well together without that spark that Bowie provided...we may get to see if Smith can do it too.

6) Spencer and Miller were hugely missed, more so than we guessed, which tells us just how much more Hendry might be able to provide when he returns.

7) Victoria needs run out there, even if only for the last 20-30 minutes, so we can see if his early form was as threatening as it looked.

8) I’m afraid we’re about to see how our attack looks without Bowie for a game or two...hopefully no more, and the timing still sucks.

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7 hours ago, Frank conner said:

I'd rather we brought back Mendy and play him up front.

 

7 hours ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

Lewis Allan makes me pine for the days of Jamie Mole up front.

 

7 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said:

I compared him to Graham Weir earlier this season. I retract that. He's a shite Stephen Reynolds. 

 

6 hours ago, RaithTheRover said:

I remember when Allan and Gullan arrived. All I thought was, “Two strikers, same academy, must know each other well, what could go wrong?”

Maybe Lewis Allan is just not quite up to speed yet after being injured? He did well at the start of the season, holding the ball up to bring others into play and even scoring a few goals.

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Maybe Lewis Allan is just not quite up to speed yet after being injured? He did well at the start of the season, holding the ball up to bring others into play and even scoring a few goals.
Possibly. If so, McGlynn shouldn't be starting him while pushing the likes of Bowie and Gullan out wide to accommodate him.
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We had a little dip in form when Allan got injured and I wondered if maybe he was one of those players who you only really miss when he’s not there. Maybe his work off the ball and what seemed like clumsy hold-up play was helping us up the park, and bringing the ball players into the game.

Turns out he’s just rotten.

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47 minutes ago, Scary Bear said:

 

 

 

Maybe Lewis Allan is just not quite up to speed yet after being injured? He did well at the start of the season, holding the ball up to bring others into play and even scoring a few goals.

That's fine if Vaughan was fit. He isn't, and as a result we are now relying on Allan to be a genuine goal scoring and creative threat. He isn't. 

Feel a wee bit of sympathy for the defence. Their options for out balls were a left back marked out of the game, a right back who isn't and can't play right back, 4 centre forwards who aren't good in the air, or Matthews and Tait. Matthews was poor, and whilst Tait looked okay, he wasn't particularly productive with the ball. 

We look every bit a team built round Hendry and Vaughan, and taking them out really hurts us. As does only having one actual full back. I've no doubt that when Miller, Hendry and Spencer come back in we will win more games like last night than not, however it shows we don't have the depth to really make ourselves credible title challengers. 

The one saving grace is that we are defending well. Munro coming in has made a massive difference, and whilst we've put in two dreadful performances we've come away with two clean sheets having defended well. 

 

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23 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

That's fine if Vaughan was fit. He isn't, and as a result we are now relying on Allan to be a genuine goal scoring and creative threat. He isn't. 

Feel a wee bit of sympathy for the defence. Their options for out balls were a left back marked out of the game, a right back who isn't and can't play right back, 4 centre forwards who aren't good in the air, or Matthews and Tait. Matthews was poor, and whilst Tait looked okay, he wasn't particularly productive with the ball. 

We look every bit a team built round Hendry and Vaughan, and taking them out really hurts us. As does only having one actual full back. I've no doubt that when Miller, Hendry and Spencer come back in we will win more games like last night than not, however it shows we don't have the depth to really make ourselves credible title challengers. 

The one saving grace is that we are defending well. Munro coming in has made a massive difference, and whilst we've put in two dreadful performances we've come away with two clean sheets having defended well. 

 

Vaughan was nowhere to be seen at the start of the season and Lewis Allan was doing well then alongside Bowie. 

Unsurprisingly I wasn’t at the game last night - I looked at the weather and just said “naw” - but I see we were missing Hendry and Spencer. That essentially is our midfield.

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1 minute ago, Scary Bear said:

Vaughan was nowhere to be seen at the start of the season and Lewis Allan was doing well then alongside Bowie. 

Unsurprisingly I wasn’t at the game last night - I looked at the weather and just said “naw” - but I see we were missing Hendry and Spencer. That essentially is our midfield.

I must have seen different games, I really have not been impressed with Allan at all. You only have to look at his goal tally to see where the issues are. 

 

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One league win in six, with Montrose away, Airdrie at home and Falkirk away in our next three. Would it really be a surprise if we failed to win any of those either?

Vaughan getting injured at Forfar has been the catalyst for this run of form. It doesn’t feel so bad because we’ve beaten Glenavon, Elgin and Peterhead in the cup over that period, and we’ve only lost once so you could spin it as ‘one defeat in thirteen’ across all comps.

I suspect we’ll look back at this period come May, assuming it doesn’t totally unravel.

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In the cold light of day having watched the highlights, yup! that's still pish!

Obviously having 5 1st team regulars missing at kick off and 6 once Bowie departed was too much, they were all sorely missed but Bowie was missed as I thought our attacking threat mostly went with him. 

What was that line up all about? 4 across the back at home against the bottom of the league, surely play McKay as part of a 3 with 2 wingbacks would have given us more options in the middle and more critically more width. Maybe I'm wrong but every time we revert to a back 4 we look a shadow of the 3-5-2 formation.

Actually didn't bother to vote on the app last night as I felt I couldn't pick a deserved candidate, yes young Tait did ok but in reality was he any better than Munro, MacDonald or even Bene? Sorry but not for me he wasn't.  I thought we really  missed Davo last night, for all his faults he is our only central defender who can actually play a long pass (ok, short ones not so much!!) SAndo couldn't kick his own arse! that was another abject performance from a guy that started out so well, seems we have well and truly Roversed him!  Now I'm not advocating the big punt up the park (though many in the South stand seem to be) but John McGlynn and Paul Smith have to come up with a new strategy for getting the ball out of defence when the opposition have all got us sussed and sit on the 18 yard line anytime Munro has the ball who it seems also hasn't the strength to kick it long btw. Tait might have been ok but boy did we miss Spencer, he might have been fairly poor these last 2 or 3 games but last night showed even when he's playing poorly it's still better to have him there than not. John Baird of a season ago just might have buried that last chance but not these days it'd seem.  On the subject of forward's is there one in the side that can actually hearer a ball?  Neither Allan nor Bowie can time a jump and a header and Baird never wins anything nowadays when closely marked. Surely Anderson would be a better option through the middle for knockdowns and flicks?

In short we lacked any quality where it counted, too many misplaced passes and stopped runs, can't wait to see Hendry and Spencer back in the midfield.

Also if Victoria isn't good enough we'd be as well to get rid of him in January (a loan or whatever) as we have enough abject midfielders already in Armstrong and Dingwall without holding on to one that cant even get a run out off the bench.

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2 hours ago, CALDERON said:

I must have seen different games, I really have not been impressed with Allan at all. You only have to look at his goal tally to see where the issues are. 

 

He's second top scorer after Bowie.

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