A disastrous defending display in the first half gave Motherwell a three goal mountain to overcome but despite Bowman and Tanner scoring Patrick Thistle deserved their 3-2 win. - External Link
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A disastrous defending display in the first half gave Motherwell a three goal mountain to overcome but despite Bowman and Tanner scoring Patrick Thistle deserved their 3-2 win. - External Link
Yip, it was a disastrous first half but its wrong and simplistic to pin the blame only on 3 defensive mistakes. The team selection was wrong, the attitude of many many players was wrong and the set up was wrong. Yes, we rectified things at half time but once again the damage had been done. We really must start to get things right in the first half. All that said I didn't think we'd get anything from last night's fixture, although we scored 2 goals more than I thought.
With a bit of luck Fisher will be back for Saturday although that might not be game changing. Further change, especially in midfield and in overall attitude will be required if we're to avoid a drubbing.
We really need to start turning up at the start of games rather than wait until half time. That's a number of games this season we haven't turned up until the second half. We've got away with it in some games, but that's the Ross County game and last nights game where we've threw points away by not being switched on. The good thing is, Robinson will get a reaction from the players in time for the next game. I also think the three games we had against Celtic are coming back to haunt us somewhat. That was a big effort and i think it's told on the players as injuries have crept in after those games due to tiredness.
That's probably not unfair.Quote:
Originally Posted by wellin
And even if Robinson picked the wrong XI for Thistle, he's entitled to say he can't do anything about Griffiths going the wrong way at a free kick or the errors for goals two and three which quite frankly professional players just shouldn't be making.
However, I think he's doubling down a bit much on picking battlers at all costs...there has to be a balance - particularly in games where we can reasonably claim to be the better team. And the failure to get the first XI right has been a theme all season.
Hammell is clearly getting past it but in games where we're likely to have the ball, I find it hard to believe he's not still a better option than Dunne. If we're playing three guys in the middle of the park and two are from McHugh, Grimshaw, Campbell and Rose, are we really that unsure of ourselves we can't trust even one guy you'd really back to make a pass?
The questions and criticisms of Robinson should not be overestimated however - everyone would agree he's exceeded all expectations to date and even with our dodgy run of form, we're on the brink of being safe already. That scenario before Xmas and with a cup final thrown in would have been beyond our wildest dreams in summer.
But with Moult going, some major thought is required for planning the future and in making sure the next six months are not a total misery. Robbo and the club have been excellent with the 'our season doesn't end here' stuff since the final but they need to start proving it.
First and foremost the players need to remember the game is played on the pitch not in the papers,I know they are reacting to the questions they get asked.But fed up reading how disappointed they are with results and how desperate they are to turn things around. Actions always speak louder than words. IMO Tanner has also got to play from the start against Kilmarnock