Hearts V Saints. Sunday 2 August 12.30 K-O.


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That was the worst we've defended in a long time, but I think some are being a bit harsh on individual defenders. Individually I think they're all up to the job, but as a unit they have hardly any experience of playing together and I don't think any of them are leaders/organisers. McKay looked nervous and ropey but he'll learn from it and get over it. Scobbie I think is generally fine at centre-half but I can't see him ever being first choice there. As a whole, they'll work on what happened in training and I'm pretty confident in Tommy and Callum's ability to tighten up a defence. I also think Fraser will be back in the side for the next match and that will bring us a bit of stability.

 

I'm a bit more concerned about how we'll cover for Millar's absence if he's not going to be back soon. Millar takes a lot of pressure off the defence by always being in the right place at the right time, and Scott Brown just doesn't have the knowledge/experience to fill that role. Brown's also prone to making mistakes with the ball that can put pressure on the defence (there was one instance in yesterday's game that TW looked livid at).

 

It was great to see us attacking so much but I'm not convinced we'll see much of that kind of play this season. I think the way Hearts played left them open at the back and that lead to us exploiting them - but across the season I still think we'll see a very cautious approach (and if anything, yesterday's result will have proven to TW that that's still what's needed).

 

I thought Craig, O'Halloran and Sutton were all great, incidentally. Craig's playing with a real spring in his step and it made us look far more dynamic. If only he'd been signed in time for Europe I think he'd have made all the difference.

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This sounds like made up crap to me?

https://instagram.com/p/54mDJjMhcB/

 

How does she even know it was Saints fans?

 

Looked at the rest of her instagram photos, full of pictures of cats. Always a sign of a nutter.

 

Lassie is obviously not the full shilling.

 

Shame.

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Watched the highlights. Great entertainment packed in to five minutes. Alan Mannus really shouldn't be blamed for any of the goals. Defensively we looked poor but so did Hearts. All teams will now be looking at exploiting our weaknesses shown yesterday. We really need to tighten up, not many other teams will allow us to score three goals this season. Glad to see the Wotherspoon/Sutton type goal. I reckon we will se a lot of these this season. Also with Lappin and Craig having the potential to supply such quality crosses.       

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Wow

What an over reaction

Scobbie could be a great ch for us but like Mckay needs to have an experienced pro beside him

Mckay and Scobbie did not work together, i would give you that but to completely berate him is wrong, it was also first game of season, plenty time for management to sort glitches

It's not an overreaction as I have seen Scobbie play for over three years now. I'm of the opinion that he is a decent championship level defender who is costing us goals whenever he plays.

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 Glad to see the Wotherspoon/Sutton type goal. I reckon we will se a lot of these this season. Also with Lappin and Craig having the potential to supply such quality crosses.       

 

We might. But crosses - whether from set piece or not - were rarer than they should have been. Shaughnessy's delivery though was consistently good.

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I'm a bit more concerned about how we'll cover for Millar's absence if he's not going to be back soon. Millar takes a lot of pressure off the defence by always being in the right place at the right time, and Scott Brown just doesn't have the knowledge/experience to fill that role. Brown's also prone to making mistakes with the ball that can put pressure on the defence (there was one instance in yesterday's game that TW looked livid at).

 

This is what concerns me as well. Chris Miller is a massive player for us, both offensively and, probably more importantly, defensively. He reads the game so well, covers the gaps in front of the defence and has the ability to nick the ball away from the opposition, whilst staying on his feet.

 

Brown's lack of knowledge/experience, coupled with a lack of mobility (imo), leads to him being a yard off the opposition players a hell of a lot, or spending a disproportionate amount of time on his arse, therefore out of the game. Whilst Scobbie, McKay etc, didn't cover themselves in glory at the 3rd goal, Brown was also badly caught out ball watching and didn't follow Paterson's run forward. Same thing happened for Alashkert's goal over in Armenia, when their guy burst past Brown into the box to get to the cross.  

 

Hopefully he can improve his game defensively, as he's still young and does appear to have decent ability on the ball when he has time to look up and pick a pass. Possibly a bit too young and inexperienced to be playing such an important position just now, particularly without an Ando, Wright or Mackay experienced head behind him to help out? I'm fully prepared to be shot down in flames for having this view!

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It's not an overreaction as I have seen Scobbie play for over three years now. I'm of the opinion that he is a decent championship level defender who is costing us goals whenever he plays.

 

To be fair, he's a decent player who's had a few good games for us. He's fine as a stand-in, and sometimes being thrown into unusual positions counts unfairly against him. That said, I think we rushed to give him a two-year deal we didn't need to. I can't see him being on many Premiership shopping lists.

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On Brown...I agree is lack of awareness of what's going on around him when defending will certaintly count against him. Really needs to learn from the likes of Millar how to play that midfield role. Offensively he's a real plus. Good to see him take on the shot from outside the box that Cummins got onto.

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Surely everyone can see now that Scobbie is not a premiership standard defender. Every game he plays he is at fault for goals conceded, his efforts at the third and fourth goal today were embarrassing. If wright had played we would have won today IMO

I think Scobbie had a mare but he's a more than capable squad player and it's an added bonus that he can play more than one position. I don't think he'd be playing week in week out if everyone is fit.

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This is what concerns me as well. Chris Miller is a massive player for us, both offensively and, probably more importantly, defensively. He reads the game so well, covers the gaps in front of the defence and has the ability to nick the ball away from the opposition, whilst staying on his feet.

 

Brown's lack of knowledge/experience, coupled with a lack of mobility (imo), leads to him being a yard off the opposition players a hell of a lot, or spending a disproportionate amount of time on his arse, therefore out of the game. Whilst Scobbie, McKay etc, didn't cover themselves in glory at the 3rd goal, Brown was also badly caught out ball watching and didn't follow Paterson's run forward. Same thing happened for Alashkert's goal over in Armenia, when their guy burst past Brown into the box to get to the cross.  

 

Hopefully he can improve his game defensively, as he's still young and does appear to have decent ability on the ball when he has time to look up and pick a pass. Possibly a bit too young and inexperienced to be playing such an important position just now, particularly without an Ando, Wright or Mackay experienced head behind him to help out? I'm fully prepared to be shot down in flames for having this view!

Agree. Brown is a great passer of the ball and can be really good at creating himself a little space to make the pass, but as you say for a central midfielder he is poor defensively.

He is still young obviously, but to lose a goal in Armenia by letting a midfielder run off you then letting exactly the same thing happen 2 games later is careless.. He just needs to stay switched on the whole time. I thought initially he'd passed the player onto Mackay but I don't think that's the case.

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