St Johnstone v Ross County 20/3/21

[tree house tam]

7 minutes ago, sophia said:

I'm really happy for the force of nature that is S Rooney.

Top six and cup winner, that's a long way from being described by a Ross County supporter, I can't recall who*, as a "jobber".

 

* I can, it was @yoda

And McCart, they've both contributed a lot since they signed.

[sophia]

2 minutes ago, tree house tam said:

And McCart, they've both contributed a lot since they signed.

Yes indeed.

McCart, unlike Donaldson, seems to have prospered.

[yoda]

I was correct in my analysis. If you play for a second-rate Championship team then you are, by definition, a jobber. 

If you move on up to a decent level and do well - like he has - then you are no longer a jobber.

[Kyle]

2 hours ago, sophia said:

Yes indeed.

McCart, unlike Donaldson, seems to have prospered.

McCart is a Rolls Royce of a player. Still flying under the radar but he’s so important to how we play. Very good in the air and at the basics of defending and essential to how we distribute the ball from the back. 

Rooney is a complete one off. Can’t believe how good they have both been for us. 

[sophia]

4 minutes ago, yoda said:

I was correct in my analysis. If you play for a second-rate Championship team then you are, by definition, a jobber. 

If you move on up to a decent level and do well - like he has - then you are no longer a jobber.

That appears to be a particular poor effort that doesn't bear scrutiny but if you are saying that you got it spectacularly wrong then fair play to you.

[The Marly]

This top 6 bottom 6 split really is a nonsense. There is a strong possibility of the team finishing 7th at the end of the season having more points than the team finishing 6th. And what's the point of it ? It doesn't improve the quality of the football. If you get excited about being in 6th place after 33 games and having another two games against the Bigotry Brothers then so be it. 
 
 
 
 
 

[Jamie_B]

I can’t find the County thread so just here to say that John Hughes is an idiot, he has made his team worse since he came in and that that was probably the most abject opposition performance I’ve seen since we played St Mirren at home last August. And that was bad.

Hughes’ reputation in Scottish football is absolutely wild given how objectively shit a manager he is.

[Radford]

I'm going to stick up for John Hughes a little bit. I think they are better than they were under Kettlewell, although yesterday was very bad.

I think he has a problem (and I know he added more himself in January) that he has too many players. You are trying to keep people happy but equally trying to pick teams to win games. 

For all we can moan about having the smallest squad in Perth (and we'd have issues if injuries struck) it means that everyone gets plenty of minutes plus it's largely like-for-like replacements in a lot of areas.

What I would say though is for a guy that is such a character, I'd back Brian Rice and Tommy Wright more to get a big performance out of their teams if they really need it. 

I'd guess Yogi versus Chipper on the last day is the poetic finale to the season. 

[Jamie_B]

18 minutes ago, Radford said:

I think he has a problem (and I know he added more himself in January) that he has too many players. You are trying to keep people happy but equally trying to pick teams to win games. 

The real trick is having a squad of worthwhile players so that when you make changes they have an impact.

When Saints changed it up all of the subs made an impact - May, Tanser and in particular Middleton (I really hope there’s a chance of making that move permanent). You also had the likes of Conway, MOH and Bryson there who could all have come on and changed our style or direction of play for the better.

County brought on a walking yellow card in Vigurs and a past it Michael Gardyne. Both players who have been around that club for years as well.

If we ever appointed John Hughes as manager I’d send back my season ticket.

[Radford]

2 minutes ago, Jamie_Beatson said:

County brought on a walking yellow card in Vigurs and a past it Michael Gardyne. Both players who have been around that club for years as well.

Actually thought the only 10 minutes where they weren't abject came after those changes but that was maybe more by luck/freshness than design. 

Does he know his best side? Probably not and that's a worry in March. 

He had a really good side at Inverness but he has a lot of work to do with that County squad. 

[Jamie_B]

1 minute ago, Radford said:

Actually thought the only 10 minutes where they weren't abject came after those changes but that was maybe more by luck/freshness than design. 

Does he know his best side? Probably not and that's a worry in March. 

He had a really good side at Inverness but he has a lot of work to do with that County squad. 

That ten minutes of not being abject is all relative.. even then the only chance they created had its roots in launching it forward from a free kick on the half way line (awarded from what was - in a low key way - one of the more ridiculous refereeing decisions you’ll see ).

Agree re: not knowing his best team. The big issue is that they don’t have long to work it out. Depending on how the fixtures play out when they’re announced that could pose a huge issue. Whichever one of the bottom three gets Dundee United - who I think are the best side left in the bottom six - first could suddenly find themselves playing catch up and that won’t be easy.

[frankthetank22]

John Hughes MIGHT just keep County in the top division but under no circumstances should he be incharge after his contract expires at the end of this season. 

County have improved since the Kettlewell experiment ended but Hughes' teams selections/performances are a joke (a bit like the man himself).

 

[RandomGuy.]

Hughes always seems fine when he's going somewhere where there's a set team. His issues come when he tries to figure it out himself by changing things and/or signing players to slot in.

I'd be surprised, and delighted, if County kept him on beyond this Summer.

[PauloPerth]

I burst out laughing listening to BBC sportsound yesterday after our game finished and Hughes came out with "one of my favourite sayings in football" chat and Michael Stewart slaughtered him. Would like to hear it back.  

Hughes has always slavered a lot of nonsense in interviews, but he's improved County since he took over as they were 4 points adrift at the bottom at the time. He must be a better appointment than Tommy Wright has been on points so far, though you feel killie could kick on a bit after yesterday's performance.

[frankthetank22]

He's improved from the Kettlewell experiment certainly but he's refusing to play the clubs top goalscorer, Oli Shaw for some unknown reason. It is the same with Hylton who we signed from Motherwell, he was coming onto a really good game, looking confident and dangerous running at the opposition defence, not started in weeks, came on as a 90th minute sub yesterday! 

McKay, always works hard for the team, couldn't get near the pitch for weeks since Hughes' arrival, was able to score from a last throw of the dice, subs appearance against Accies and is now getting a run. Draper, fit enough to start every match from the bench, never gets a chance in starting XI. 

He's only playing Watson (a good steady player) captain yesterday because all other defenders are injured, he was never given a chance before. 

It's like after having the squad for 3/4 months he's still working out what players can give to the team, then stumbling into obvious good players due to injuries to others. The man's an imbecile and it's very frustrating when he is coaching your team. Thankfully his contract expires at the end of the season. 

[yoda]

Aye we're obviously better than we were but the squad is mostly rubbish. Hughes isn't totally at fault for that but the January window was frustrating. Naismith was an excellent signing but other than that? We didn't really strengthen in the right areas. We didn't get any worse off but we weren't any better off either.

Andreu has been rubbish and pointless given Spittal came back and looks okay (he's not great but at least he runs about and tries to pass the ball forward). White has been mostly rubbish too (but he scored against Celtic!). Oli Shaw was looking like a guy who could be a 10 goal a season forward and he's been dropped. 

Maouche has been an unfortunate one. Signed. Then returns to France for personal reasons. Then presumably returns and has to quarantine. But he's another midfielder. 

There's no genuine left-back. The centre-backs are dreadful. We'd actually have the basis of a decent back five in Naismith Grivosti Morris Hjelde (plus a left back) but two of them are always breaking down.

There's no width going forward either. Gardyne has been reasonably good this season but you can't be relying on him as the main source of width. Hylton has been inexplicably dropped. And Charles-Cook has been rubbish but he's not had a consistent run in the team, so it's not entirely fair to judge him on 20 minutes here and there.

The midfield is a mess. Spittal, Lakin, and Paton are basically the same player. That's not necessarily a criticism but they all do the same job. The other three or four..  I prefer not to speak. 

It's all a bit familiar. There's elements of Coyle, late-stage McIntyre, and Kettlewell.

I still think County will stay up but there needs to be a serious overhaul if we don't want to be in the same position this time next season. You could easily bin 10 players and be no worse off.