Saints v Celtic Sun 13th Dec 12.30pm K-O

[tucker]

Yeah this is true but at the same time you'd imagine your defenders will more than likely be picking up their biggest aerial threats, I noticed Cuptie was marking Boyata at corners and couldn't get close to him he should have really had a double today minus Mannus making a good stop to keep one out in the first half. Just takes it back to the point people have previously made that he really isn't commanding enough in the air to deal with a powerful opponent, brilliant in terms of reading the game etc but a big liability with balls Ito the box. Ando also isn't the biggest central defender around we miss Wright taking a lot of the responsibility and pressure off with defensive headers in and outside of our box.

I think saints are needing a big centre half we miss big Fraser

[Cagey]

Boyata at the centre of their defence looked good & he is the only defender that has matched Mikey for pace.

A bit annoying that a striker that couldn't buy a goal against us last season scores 2 today.

For the first time address a blank & couldn't score more than we lose but on another day we could have scored at least 3. A week bit of composure in front of goal required.

[Gazza2610]

 I reckon we had about 2500 and they had about 3900  I was actually surprised  by the size of the crowd. I thought we would not break 6000. Price wise, I think it's a great bit of business by saints who made some good money today..

 

so it didn't really affect the home support to much. Yeah decent bit of business then with a large travelling support.

[Widge]

All today highlighted for me was that firstly O'Halloran is definitely not a striker, get him back on the bloody wing. Secondly he's got a long way to go to realise his potential. I was very disappointed in his attitude second half. He got pushed off the ball way too easily and then lost all fight towards the end. He has to be up for the battle at all times, because like it or not, he's going to be in one. 

We we also hugely rely on Millar. Davidson is good, but his composure on he ball is lacking and he somewhat goes headless chicken if Millar isn't there to talk him through a game. 

Not it massively worried right enough, never expect anything from these games and I think it was maybe telling that we should have scored 3/4 and hit the post with an outrageous Easton effort. 

[Cagey]

so it didn't really affect the home support to much. Yeah decent bit of business then with a large travelling support.

Nice £100,000 plus. Thanks Celtic.

[rik2304]

You would still have gotten in for £15 in either the Main or East stand with kids.

[Jenko82]

All today highlighted for me was that firstly O'Halloran is definitely not a striker, get him back on the bloody wing. Secondly he's got a long way to go to realise his potential. I was very disappointed in his attitude second half. He got pushed off the ball way too easily and then lost all fight towards the end. He has to be up for the battle at all times, because like it or not, he's going to be in one. 

We we also hugely rely on Millar. Davidson is good, but his composure on he ball is lacking and he somewhat goes headless chicken if Millar isn't there to talk him through a game. 

Not it massively worried right enough, never expect anything from these games and I think it was maybe telling that we should have scored 3/4 and hit the post with an outrageous Easton effort. 

Hopefully playing mikey up front had been more to do with putting off watching scouts than any real belief that he is a centre forward. 

In all seriousness it may have more to do with the pitches at this time of year and TW wanting to mix things up. I was looking forward to the game once I heard izaguirre was playing at LB mikey could of had a field day

 

[PauloPerth]

All today highlighted for me was that firstly O'Halloran is definitely not a striker, get him back on the bloody wing. Secondly he's got a long way to go to realise his potential. I was very disappointed in his attitude second half. He got pushed off the ball way too easily and then lost all fight towards the end. He has to be up for the battle at all times, because like it or not, he's going to be in one. 

We we also hugely rely on Millar. Davidson is good, but his composure on he ball is lacking and he somewhat goes headless chicken if Millar isn't there to talk him through a game. 

Not it massively worried right enough, never expect anything from these games and I think it was maybe telling that we should have scored 3/4 and hit the post with an outrageous Easton effort. 

His best position is out wide, but to say he should never play up front is nonsense.  Ibrox and Hamilton away??  The two chances he missed only came about because of his pace through the middle;  if he wasn't playing there we wouldn't have had those opportunities, as we have no one else with that pace to get in behind.  His finishing was poor today, but I don't think the tactic to play him there was that bad. 

Agree a bit about the second half though, Maclean worked his socks off the whole time he was on, whereas O'Halloran seemed disinterested when he didn't have the ball and didn't do enough to get on it.

[BraveSaintsRock]

Frustrated with O'Halloran today as it looks like he had given up the cause early on and maybe the missed chances got to him.  His anticipation to running into space and look for through balls is poor.  When he has the ball at his feet he is fantastic and exciting player but I think he needs to be alert and ready to take flight and chase down some lost causes ... too often looks like his mind is elsewhere....

In contrast Davidson and McLean were their usual - awesome work rate and commitment with never say die attitude.  Millar played so well until he went off.  Hope they figure out how to manage the hamstring issue.  On his day he is our best player.

Defence needs serious work on set pieces this week ahead of Hearts match which is massive for us - they'll be watching that and looking to exploit.  Agree Brad may deserve a chance in the team but after his first match against Hearts had such a terrible start on first day of season I think he should sit out this next game.

[Broon]

Maybe today highlighted for me the elephant in the room. When we fail to score it puts a big emphasis on our defence and to be honest it's very very poor. 

Dave Mackay is a wonderful footballer but he's no centre back unless he's next to a big guy. Ando looks a shadow of the player who played next to Frazer. Their biggest problem is neither are big, aerial ball winning defenders. Dave has composure in the tackle and distribution.  Ando isn't showing much this season but he's been out alot. I think it highlights the need for a bigger central defender. A Frazer type. A header of the ball. Until then I'm going to brick it at every corner kick because that's Mannus' biggest weakness too. Parked on his line.

Other than the defence it's a shame as  I thought we played really well. Aggressive in the tackle and playing high up the pitch.  We had loads of chances and had O'Halloran had the composure it would have been a different game entirely. 

[Pat McGroin]

Nice £100,000 plus. Thanks Celtic.

Exactly, and people were suggesting dropping ticket price to £15 which would have cost the club £40k and might have resulted in an extra 100 fans

[mainstand]

His best position is out wide, but to say he should never play up front is nonsense.  Ibrox and Hamilton away??  The two chances he missed only came about because of his pace through the middle;  if he wasn't playing there we wouldn't have had those opportunities, as we have no one else with that pace to get in behind.  His finishing was poor today, but I don't think the tactic to play him there was that bad. 

Agree a bit about the second half though, Maclean worked his socks off the whole time he was on, whereas O'Halloran seemed disinterested when he didn't have the ball and didn't do enough to get on it.

I think with hindsight we lost a big opportunity when Midge went off injured.

Instead of putting Caddis on he should have brought on Kane and moved Michael wide right, Izzigerie had by that time been booked and with 2 strikers up front and MOH wide we would have cause them even more problems.

But given the problems MOH was causing them up front early on I could see why he didn't.

[mainstand]

Exactly, and people were suggesting dropping ticket price to £15 which would have cost the club £40k and might have resulted in an extra 100 fans

I think what they should have done was give a £5 voucher to spend in the club shop for all saints tickets bought, that way it shows you are not fleecing your own fans whilst allowing us to fleece them for £100k plus, although given the number of polis we had inside the ground I wonder how much of the £100k is taken up by extra police and stewards costs.

[jhq]

Thought we played well up till their 2nd goal, then fell out of the game.  If we'd taken our chance then it would have been a different story.  We didn't, they did and ultimately they deserved to win although 3-0 slightly flattered them.  Some of our players were below their usual excellent standard although I didn't think anyone had an absolutely terrible game - just one of those days really.  Move on to the next game.

[blueheaven]

His best position is out wide, but to say he should never play up front is nonsense.  Ibrox and Hamilton away??  The two chances he missed only came about because of his pace through the middle;  if he wasn't playing there we wouldn't have had those opportunities, as we have no one else with that pace to get in behind.  His finishing was poor today, but I don't think the tactic to play him there was that bad

Completely agree. The formation worked, in as much as it allowed us to get balls in behind their defence for him to use his pace to run on to. Had he taken his chances, we would have been hailing it as a masterstroke to play him in that role. Just shows you can't legislate for individuals missing chances and on another day he'd probably have put at least one of them away. He's getting a bit of stick but I think his pace combined with Macca's workrate and vision was causing them problems. It's at the back where things went wrong. Personally I was a little surprised we didn't play Scobbie, as from memory he's done pretty well against them in the past. I would also ask: have we got rid of Fraser Wright a year too early? Although I appreciate the need for new blood in defence, I suspect he could still have played quite a big part this season, especially in games like yesterday's against his old mate Ciftci. He'd certainly have played more than Brad McKay has.

Disappointing result but in the end these things happen against Celtic from time to time and we've generally done alright against them under Tommy so it's not a big worry. Need to do much better against Hearts though (and I'm sure we will).

Edited December 14, 2015 by blueheaven

[krm81]

The defending of the two set pieces they scored from was poor but not sure the defence was too bad, that apart? They caught us on the break for the third but other than the Ciftci shot straight at Mannus, did they open us up before the game was dead?

What I do agree with is the lack of physicality in central defence is a problem, maybe the most pressing one in the squad? Hard to see how the manager can sign another centre back though when he already has five guys capable of playing there and four young centre backs out on loan.

[AthensSaint]

Watching live on TV, I thought we played with complete commitment and desire. Another day and we could have been two up before they scored but luck evens itself out over the months. Defensively we were poor at set pieces. Celtic were strong and fast and thoroughly deserved their win. A similar type of performance from us against Hearts and we will bag the three points.     

[mainstand]

The defending of the two set pieces they scored from was poor but not sure the defence was too bad, that apart? They caught us on the break for the third but other than the Ciftci shot straight at Mannus, did they open us up before the game was dead?

What I do agree with is the lack of physicality in central defence is a problem, maybe the most pressing one in the squad? Hard to see how the manager can sign another centre back though when he already has five guys capable of playing there and four young centre backs out on loan.

You have to give some credit to the movement form Celtic at the 2 corners.

Cifti is tight on the goalie and is being marked by a saints player he does his job in there and at the point the corner is taken he comes of his marker, with a wee nudge, and is then free inside the 6 yard box.

Second goal Cup tie is marking him but he runs off him and has a jump which cuptie does not match.

Third one is a case of a defence not communicating. Easton is out of position Ando goes out to cover and Shaughensey has to come in one but cuptie is from memory also out of position leaving cifti the opportunity to get a run on joe.

[Kilgour]

Maybe today highlighted for me the elephant in the room. When we fail to score it puts a big emphasis on our defence and to be honest it's very very poor. 

Dave Mackay is a wonderful footballer but he's no centre back unless he's next to a big guy. Ando looks a shadow of the player who played next to Frazer. Their biggest problem is neither are big, aerial ball winning defenders. Dave has composure in the tackle and distribution.  Ando isn't showing much this season but he's been out alot. I think it highlights the need for a bigger central defender. A Frazer type. A header of the ball. Until then I'm going to brick it at every corner kick because that's Mannus' biggest weakness too. Parked on his line.

Other than the defence it's a shame as  I thought we played really well. Aggressive in the tackle and playing high up the pitch.  We had loads of chances and had O'Halloran had the composure it would have been a different game entirely. 

Pretty much as I saw it.Brad suffered from his "slip" on debut and has not really had the chances since then to prove his worth.IF we played him against Hearts and he had a great game problem solved,however if he did not do well would it adversely affect him again ??? In Tommy we trust but my nerves are shredded at crosses into the box.

[PauloPerth]

Exactly, and people were suggesting dropping ticket price to £15 which would have cost the club £40k and might have resulted in an extra 100 fans

I'd be amazed if we make £100000 profit on ticket sales from the game, stewarding and policing cost would have been huge.

if I didn't go to games and wanted to watch Saints on tv then I would agree.  But personally I'd far rather see more Saints fans encouraged along.  I know quite a few folk who decided just to watch it in the pub.  If it's your idea of celtic and hearts double ticket for £40 then fair enough, that would be an incentive.

But our chairman has often gone on about getting more Saints fans along to games, and how disappointed he is at the numbers who come along (and rightly so over this season) and Sunday was not just a case where the club didn't encourage Saints fans along, but they actively discouraged them from coming.

[Ali91]

The defence needs to have a bit more continuity to it. I know injury has played a part in it but we seem to have a different combination across the back every week. I'm still to be convinced with Super Dave as a centre back to be honest. 

I'm not convinced letting Fraz go was a decision Tommy wanted to make but more a case of Fraz wanting part time football. He's getting rave reviews at Dumbarton and would almost certainly have helped our defensive frailties but letting him leave when he wanted to was 100% the correct decision. 

[sainties sheep]

I'd be amazed if we make £100000 profit on ticket sales from the game, stewarding and policing cost would have been huge.

 

The clubs are charged only for the Police Officers in the ground, the numbers of which are decided on in consultation with the club. The amount of Officers and support units outwith are up to Police Scotland to deploy. There is no cost of those external units transferred onto the club.

Disappointed with the result yesterday, thought the first had a touch of handball by Cifci, 2nd no challenge, 3rd free header and absent marking. Not to panic though, we still put up a fight, played well in stages and constructed a few great moves which created some brilliant chances, that on any other given day might have gone in.

Anything from this game would have been a bonus.

Heads up and focus on getting back into the winning way and the teams above us.

 

      

[Aitchy]

I'm not convinced letting Fraz go was a decision Tommy wanted to make but more a case of Fraz wanting part time football. He's getting rave reviews at Dumbarton and would almost certainly have helped our defensive frailties but letting him leave when he wanted to was 100% the correct decision.

At a recent Meet the Manager Night, Tommy said that the contract that Frazer Wright signed during the summer was on reduced terms and was geared towards how many games he played.

He said that it became evident during training that Frazers standard of performance had dropped dramatically, which led to him letting him go. Tommy said he could have strung him along, but due how good a servant he was to club, thought it only fair to let him leave when Dumbarton came in for him again.

[Cagerf]

Disappointing result.  Hope and think that we can bounce back from this game.

[HOODLUM65]

I'd be amazed if we make £100000 profit on ticket sales from the game, stewarding and policing cost would have been huge.

if I didn't go to games and wanted to watch Saints on tv then I would agree.  But personally I'd far rather see more Saints fans encouraged along.  I know quite a few folk who decided just to watch it in the pub.  If it's your idea of celtic and hearts double ticket for £40 then fair enough, that would be an incentive.

But our chairman has often gone on about getting more Saints fans along to games, and how disappointed he is at the numbers who come along (and rightly so over this season) and Sunday was not just a case where the club didn't encourage Saints fans along, but they actively discouraged them from coming.

Reducing the admission price for games is a  good idea, however when this was tried a few seasons ago by the Club, it made very little difference/no significant difference to the numbers attending and the idea was dropped.