Motherwell v St Johnstone 18/12/2021 3pm

[rik2304]

7 minutes ago, Shibbydoo said:

Fair point.

So he didn't sack Tommy you mean?

 

 

Presumably you're privileged to know some gossip that he was sacked?

[Shibbydoo]

3 minutes ago, rik2304 said:

Presumably you're privileged to know some gossip that he was sacked?

No

[akuram]

Well that was another awful 90 minutes. I feel for the saints fans who travelled through to Fir Park having to sit through it in the cold etc. I watched it via the Motherwell stream ( £12 ) in the comfort and warmth. There was very little to get excited about as we created very little due to our build up play being far too slow and laboured. Did we ever look like scoring apart from a terrific shot from Liam Craig. Can't see what Glen Middleton brings to the team at all. The state we are in is all our own fault because from a position of strength after winning two cups and europe we should not have been signing six loans and must have been able to find a decent striker for what whey are costing us. Now who will want to join a team struggling like we are.

Ali McCann should have been told that he had to stay at least until January whether he was happy or not. He would have had to keep playing as well as he could or his International place and future would have been affected. His vision and tackling have been sorely missed.

The team today after they scored the second just seemed to be going through the motions and waiting for the ref to blow for time.

I have watched Saints since Muirton Park days and can't ever remember being so depressed.

Really can't see us staying up.

[rik2304]

Just now, Shibbydoo said:

No

He's had three. All of whom had really bad patches and it's likely that other clubs would have bulleted the manager.

Lomas had one horrendous run then turned it round extremely well.

Tommy had a few and always turned it round.

It's generally paid off and he's been rewarded by not sacking a manager.  My feeling is that Callum will be given the chance to turn it round and then to get promoted.

[john.w]

Just listened to managers post match interview same clichés bloody depressing, a least he never singled out a particular player

[Rob]

Saints are easy to play against at the moment because opponents must be looking and realise all they have to do is score one against us. Dont think Saints played particularly awful but the approach to scoring looks all wrong. This slow build up and skirting around the box waiting for the perfect opportunity is rubbish. It doesnt need to be well worked pretty goals. It needs low dangerous balls into positions that are awkward to defend against and players in there causing a nuisance and forcing mistakes. We are just not getting the ball into these areas at all. Creating almost no attacking threat at all.

The league position is concerning but at least we are not getting cut adrift at the bottom.

[akuram]

Tommy Wright sacked by Killie today.

 

[Cagey]

Well 2 shots on target 2 goals.

Saints 1 shot on target 0 goals.

[south inch]

2 hours ago, Abernethy Saint said:

Other results pretty good for us today. Dunno if that makes me feel better or worse.

Yes, at least we have yet to reach the dreaded "cut adrift" stage.

[Saintdunc]

“At the moment, we're not competing well enough basically and I take the brunt of the responsibility for that. It's something I've got to look at. It's my responsibility, I take it on the chin. I won't make any excuses."

Is this the first match this season  in which we never got a yellow card? We won that battle!!!!!

[sideline]

In the second half we have our main striker Stevie May back in the half way line picking up passes to do I am not sure what.

[Rob]

33 minutes ago, Saintdunc said:

“At the moment, we're not competing well enough basically and I take the brunt of the responsibility for that. It's something I've got to look at. It's my responsibility, I take it on the chin. I won't make any excuses."

Is this the first match this season  in which we never got a yellow card? We won that battle!!!!!

Yeah but Rooney probably should have been booked within the first few mins for a dangerous high foot.

[sixties saintee]

Nae mention by Davidson aw the piss poor defending by McCart that led tae the first goal, and May which but fir a deflection would have been another goal.

[andrew]

3 hours ago, sixties saintee said:

Nae mention by Davidson aw the piss poor defending by McCart that led tae the first goal, and May which but fir a deflection would have been another goal.

Or the same player being turned inside out for the second goal.

[akuram]

15 hours ago, Rob said:

Yeah but Rooney probably should have been booked within the first few mins for a dangerous high foot.

Think it was a pure accident.

[blueheaven]

I felt there were a few alarm bells as soon as I saw the team line-up yesterday. Devine's performance against Rangers was one of the few positives from that game yet he was dropped straight back onto the bench. Middleton continues to walk straight back into the team at every opportunity, despite having done nothing for a long time. Certain others appear to be undroppable. I'd have expected Butterfield to start but I guess benefit of the doubt says that he might not be up to the level of fitness to start two close consecutive games yet. Also feared Eetu had been completely frozen out and to be honest I still think that might be the case regardless of what's been said about Covid rules.

More than a few of our players look lethargic, surly, devoid of ideas and often disinterested in actually trying to create and play football. They spend the games moaning at refs and punting high, hopeless balls forward and hoping that by some stroke of luck we'll get a goal, rather than actually making a goal happen. 

Last season, even when we were doing badly, you could tell there was a togetherness and fighting spirit in the squad. Our team looked fit and sharp and were brilliant at pressing and our opponents struggled to handle that. The fact that that seems to have vanished is arguably even more worrying than our complete inability to score goals. I think back to season 2014/15 when we only scored 34 goals all season and yet still finished fourth because everyone dug in and ground out results and we made a success of what we had. If we can't even do that any more, we really, really are in trouble.

I'm not sure if Davidson has lost the dressing room, is too stubborn to make proper changes or simply doesn't know what he's doing. It may well be a combination of all three. But this is easily the worst we've looked since our promotion 12 years ago and I can't honestly say that I have faith in him to turn it round. I can only hope my instincts on that are completely wrong.

[dunblanemike]

We generally have struggled when teams press us but last season we had enough players on the field with sufficient nous to on occasion pass our way up the field keeping possession. Punts were also a feature but I believe less so than this season. Without the likes of Kerr, McCann and Conway (IMO a valuable player for us last season) the long ball is the only option on more occasions, putting us under pressure again. The addition of Butterfield to the midfield looks, on limited evidence admittedly, to help. 
 

[R.B.B:- Adz]

St. Johnstone have lost their last 5 matches.

St. Johnstone have failed to win in their last 6 matches.

St. Johnstone have failed to score in their last 4 matches.

Edited December 19, 2021 by R.B.B:- Adz

[Cagey]

From what I have seen on highlights and comments May seemed to go wide left all time. If so I assume  Middleton was centre. He plays that position for Scotland under 21s, not very successfully.

To me Middleton should only be played wide. Has he lost his pace this season ?.

[ballbogba]

It was a poor watch and we looked inept up top as always. My only bit of positivity to take from the game was that Butterfield looked decent when he came on and that because he and Devine didn't start, then they ought to start on Wednesday night which should help. But up top we are so poor right now, difficult to see where the goals are going to come from. 

[sixties saintee]

2 hours ago, andrew said:

Or the same player being turned inside out for the second goal.

Very true Andrew.

[mainstand]

Thought the change to a 4 helped us but I think the wrong player was taken off and it should have been Rooney. Like Butterworth in the middle. 

4-4-2 on Wednesday 

[RandomGuy]

2 hours ago, Cagey said:

From what I have seen on highlights and comments May seemed to go wide left all time. If so I assume  Middleton was centre. He plays that position for Scotland under 21s, not very successfully.

To me Middleton should only be played wide. Has he lost his pace this season ?.

Middleton was right, May central, Viv left.

May floated about but surely nobody is surprised by that? Its his game and has been for years.

[R.B.B:- Adz]

2 hours ago, RandomGuy said:

Middleton was right, May central, Viv left.

May floated about but surely nobody is surprised by that? Its his game and has been for years.

And there is the problem.
 

We spend so much time and effort ensuring that we have a striker who can run a fu***** marathon in 90 mins and tackle every pass that a goalkeeper or defender tries to make, that we have completely neglected the fact that a striker needs to be in the six yard box to put the ball in the back of the net. Or at least have the energy to think about what position he should be in to be able to put the ball in the net. 

[RandomGuy]

1 hour ago, R.B.B:- Adz said:

And there is the problem.
 

We spend so much time and effort ensuring that we have a striker who can run a fu***** marathon in 90 mins and tackle every pass that a goalkeeper or defender tries to make, that we have completely neglected the fact that a striker needs to be in the six yard box to put the ball in the back of the net. Or at least have the energy to think about what position he should be in to be able to put the ball in the net. 

Biggest thing for me is we had the same issue last season, yet the club didn't sign anyone to resolve that.

I don't think Vertainen was signed to be the main central striker.