Ayr Ayr @@@@ yer Ayr

[Cagey]

Replace Gordon with a decent centre half and we have a half a chance.

Just like last season , lose a goal and we lose the game.

[Saints11]

Absolutely embarrassing. Losses of this manner are confidence sapping for the players and supporters alike, impact financially and do nothing other than create a huge sense of negativity around the club

[mike_gain]

Embarrassing stuff really given all the hype. Very few getting pass marks.

 

Their 2nd goal was pathetic from our point of view. Yet again we are slow to move the ball and end up putting ourselves under pressure. But the lad on the edge of the box was given acres of space and an age to set himself. The team just seemed to revert to last season's low work rate, slow reactions and total lack of communication.

Midfield is totally unbalanced but that back four will leak goals every single week, Gordon has regressed so far, Drey is better as a winger and Galacher is so weak against players running at him at pace.

Management have a huge job ahead of them in recruitment and coaching out whatever pish Davidson drilling into them. MacLean may not think players can stay focused for long during a game analysis but the bunch can get their arses in tomorrow at 9 and spend the morning going over why they are out of the cup in July.

Positives are then keeper looks solid, Ballantyne looks raw but certainly has potential and I really like the look of Jephcott who will make and score goals once team are on his wavelength. 

 

 

 

 

[Cleveland-Saint]

League cup games still have the feel of 'pre season' versus actual competition. Macca still new, working on his formations, slow getting the full squad built, have to expect spotty performances.

It's a shame, as we leave money on the table, but we will regroup and I'm not worried yet. Just need to get a few more guys in quickly and shows me that we will need to spend more to stay in the spfl. Money that you have to compare against cost of relegation.

Thought Ayr were up for it in the 30 mins I saw second half, just pressed better than us and pushed us back.

 

[saintee in exile]

SM has been left with a thankless task.It would take any manager never mind a rookie one to sort out Davidsons mess.

[blueheaven]

TBH I didn't think the performance was all that different from Saturday's, but this time we didn't take our chances and we were punished by a much better opponent.

Lack of options really killed us last night as Macca had *nothing* at his disposal for either moving things around on the pitch or bringing game-changing subs on. I've never seen us look so lacking in depth and really that should have been remedied by this stage. Obviously getting targets in isn't easy but the season has started now and for me we're out of the cup as a direct result of our failure to strengthen quickly and early.

Macca gets a bit of leeway in my eyes as he wasn't confirmed as manager until the last game of last season and he's still new to all this, but the whole club just seems to hibernate during much of the summer and that's been apparent for a few years now, and we're now paying the price for that on the pitch.

However the coming season goes, the club really needs to learn from this and start preparing *much* earlier.

[blueheaven]

8 hours ago, Cagey said:

Replace Gordon with a decent centre half and we have a half a chance.

So you're fine with Considine?? 😶

[The Kinross Saint]

23 minutes ago, saintee in exile said:

SM has been left with a thankless task.It would take any manager never mind a rookie one to sort out Davidsons mess.

He must be starting to realise the gravity of the situation. 3/4 signings won’t cut it.

We’ve been left with a mix of ageing players who frankly don’t want the ball the second we go a goal down and youngsters who are not ready.

I think relegation is the obvious reality now so I kind of get chucking these youngsters in but if they are to have any chance they need the experienced players to perform which just isn’t happening. 

The mess Davidson and Flaherty left this club under Steve Browns disinterested stewardship won’t be fixed for a long long time.

[Havana Saint]

10 hours ago, Shaggy Jenkins said:

Two center Halfs a right back, two center midfielders and probably a striker needed as minimum I would say 

That's before the probably better to have left back and winger as well

A new team effectively.

Big decision, but bringing in a centre half who can defend and actually pass to a St Johnstone player is essential. Liam Gordon is not bigger than St Johnstone. 

[Cagey]

4 hours ago, Cleveland-Saint said:

League cup games still have the feel of 'pre season' versus actual competition. Macca still new, working on his formations, slow getting the full squad built, have to expect spotty performances.

It's a shame, as we leave money on the table, but we will regroup and I'm not worried yet. Just need to get a few more guys in quickly and shows me that we will need to spend more to stay in the spfl. Money that you have to compare against cost of relegation.

Thought Ayr were up for it in the 30 mins I saw second half, just pressed better than us and pushed us back.

 

Their goalie was almost on the halfway line most of the second half. Why we couldn't get in behind them when they were pressing do high is because we have no pace.

[Cagey]

1 hour ago, blueheaven said:

So you're fine with Considine?? 😶

We are not going to get 2 new centre back. A centre back to cover Considines lack of pace would be a start.

[PSJ.84]

Think some people are going over the top on the performance last night. The total collapse around the 80th minute and the result gives it a totally different complexion, but Macca summed it up pretty well. 
 

We’re (still) desperately crying out for a midfielder comfortable taking the ball from the centre halves - not entirely sure that MacPherson or Phillips are consistent enough to be the answer to that. Agree with everybody else regards Considine and a new right back, if not to improve the defence but to get Drey Wright further up the park. 
 

The squad is in an absolute state and costs are being cut - that’s the legacy left behind by Davidson x Flaherty. 

[rik2304]

At the very least Gordon needs to lose the captaincy and be allowed to just play and work on getting the basics right again.

But then...who comes in as captain? There's no obvious candidate.

[Indicator]

3 hours ago, rik2304 said:

But then...who comes in as captain? There's no obvious candidate.

How about 'Mitov' might be worth a throw once he gets settled in. Looked very confident and commanding, in his area and not afraid to be shouting instructions to players, even after such a short time at the club. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Indicator

[HertsAgain]

3 hours ago, rik2304 said:

At the very least Gordon needs to lose the captaincy and be allowed to just play and work on getting the basics right again.

But then...who comes in as captain? There's no obvious candidate.

That may work.  Did that not happen to Ando, and when the captaincy was taken away he returned to form?

 

[PSJ.84]

1 hour ago, Indicator said:

How about 'Mitov' might be worth a throw once he gets settled in. Looked very confident and commanding, in his area and not afraid to be shouting instructions to players, even after such a short time at the club. 

Was my first thought too, although I’m always a bit iffy about new signings becoming the captain - no idea why. 

[Saintdunc]

Poor performance in the workplace should be rewarded by giving them extra training as they are obviously not doing enough! 

I am sure Larky, and others, who received the Queens Shilling will tell you the same. 

We might not have liked it at the time but we knew what we had to do next time. 

As for Liam Gordon, he has never been the same since his minder left for Wigan. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Saintdunc

[Linky]

The performance was better than the result, but still bad.

The positives: there were some ok passages of play. We seem to have more energy and drive than last season. Some of the youngsters were ok. Gallacher looked more like a first team player.

Negatives: centre backs are poor. I’m not sure what has happened to Gordon but he’s always caught the wrong side, he’s slow & prone to mistakes. Considine is probably better at the moment. We really need MacPherson and Phillips back in the middle (or to sign someone else). Carey is just awful - falling over, kicking the ball out of play, disastrous set pieces. Max was struggling.

If we’re looking realistically at 3 signings - a centre back, so that Wright can move to right wing; a left winger & Carey can stick to the bench; a centre back. I think we’ll just have to go with Phillips and MacPherson as the centre midfield pairing.

[Cagey]

13 minutes ago, Linky said:

The performance was better than the result, but still bad.

The positives: there were some ok passages of play. We seem to have more energy and drive than last season. Some of the youngsters were ok. Gallacher looked more like a first team player.

Negatives: centre backs are poor. I’m not sure what has happened to Gordon but he’s always caught the wrong side, he’s slow & prone to mistakes. Considine is probably better at the moment. We really need MacPherson and Phillips back in the middle (or to sign someone else). Carey is just awful - falling over, kicking the ball out of play, disastrous set pieces. Max was struggling.

If we’re looking realistically at 3 signings - a centre back, so that Wright can move to right wing; a left winger & Carey can stick to the bench; a centre back. I think we’ll just have to go with Phillips and MacPherson as the centre midfield pairing.

I thought Max was OK especially as he was asked to play right mid/wing. At least his corners and free kicks stayed on the park. Carey's wand of a left foot can ,get to, as far as I am concerned.

[Linky]

43 minutes ago, Cagey said:

I thought Max was OK especially as he was asked to play right mid/wing. At least his corners and free kicks stayed on the park. Carey's wand of a left foot can ,get to, as far as I am concerned.

What is Max’s preferred position, I’m still not sure?

[Gekko]

9 hours ago, rik2304 said:

At the very least Gordon needs to lose the captaincy and be allowed to just play and work on getting the basics right again.

But then...who comes in as captain? There's no obvious candidate.

Agree about Gordon losing the armband. Ever since he got it, he's been half the player he was.

Some people are better without the responsibility. Anderson was a great example.

As for who takes his place, I also went through the whole squad and shockingly couldn't think of one obvious candidate.

Talk about a lack of leaders on the pitch. No wonder we struggle when we go a goal down.

So, even though he's only in the door, Mitov seems to be the stand out candidate.

He seems to be fairly confident and loud.

Might shake the rest of them out of their slumber.

[Wendy Saints]

Oh meh gawd! Think I’ll be swerving this forum! Hate when players are singled out! That being said everyone is entitled to their opinion! I thought at Alloa we looked more like ourselves when Phillips came on! (whatever that is these days!!) 
Remember we support the best wee diddy team in the league .. COYS 

[Gekko]

1 hour ago, Wendy Saints said:

Oh meh gawd! Think I’ll be swerving this forum! Hate when players are singled out! That being said everyone is entitled to their opinion! I thought at Alloa we looked more like ourselves when Phillips came on! (whatever that is these days!!) 
Remember we support the best wee diddy team in the league .. COYS 

I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't agree that it was singling him out, more hoping that by taking the pressure away from him of being club captain, that it would help him recover his best form.

Agree with you about Phillips. It's a shame he's so injury prone.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Gekko

[slf]

15 hours ago, Linky said:

What is Max’s preferred position, I’m still not sure?

Ooer 

 

[Havana Saint]

13 hours ago, Wendy Saints said:

Oh meh gawd! Think I’ll be swerving this forum! Hate when players are singled out! That being said everyone is entitled to their opinion! I thought at Alloa we looked more like ourselves when Phillips came on! (whatever that is these days!!) 
Remember we support the best wee diddy team in the league .. COYS 

Players will be singled out for praise continuously on this forum and other social media. Credit where credit is due. It is only fair and reasonable to make comment if fans are of the opinion that potentially players are not good enough for the club. In speaking to fans and reading different threads it is clear our centre halves are not of the calibre needed to perform in this league. Macca knows that and we know that, to ignore commenting on that serves nobody well, but especially the club 

I do not feel comfortable with your interpretation of our club as being a "diddy team". Our aspirations back in the 1980s have got us to where we are today. Let's have more ambition and balanced views. 👍

All voices matter.  

St Johnstone FC is not some kind of joke.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Havana Saint