It’s been a failing on and off for decades. Porterfield signed Charlie Nicholas to try to circumvent the cloggers’ log-jam, Smiffy did the same with Gillhaus and was fortunate enough to have Banffshire genius Eoin Jess breaking through. Broon’s capture of Hayes and McGinn made the difference to the awful “punt it to Lee Miller” dreck which was Calderwood’s only tactic. McInnes improved upon it by signing Rooney to benefit from the width and pace, then Spreadsheet Dave starved him of the cash for similar quality replacements.
Managers and scouts get wise to opponents quickly. There will be at least one representative from each of our next four opponents in the stand today, with notebooks and laptops noting strategies for dead ball situations, fluidity of formation, which short-tempered grafter to wind up and all that.
I’ve always said that with the frequency teams play each other, and the constant analysis by video and attendance at upcoming opponents’ matches, only the very best (apologies, but Laudrup, Gascoigne, Larsson and a few of our own eg Strachan, Weir, Jess) get more than a season and a half before they're found out and negated by industrious journeymen hammer-throwing cùnts. Shearer was nullified by keeping him out of the box with his back to goal, Rico by walloping him a couple of times early on and getting him booked, Andy Harrow and Keith Edwards by just giving them the ball.
It’s still about the dosh. It’ll always be about the dosh. Helped of course by a Stinkies-complicit SFA, a toothless SPFL led by a fúcking moron, and the farce that is VAR.