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Competent performance against a hard working, awkward opponent, away from home. These are the kind of games we need to be winning without question, so job done.
Can't pick fault in anyone really - we got the job done. No amazingly stand out performances, just a good all round team victory. Definitely needs Christie back in the starting 11, and Wright can't be too far off a starting place, but it's good to have a variety of options and competition for places. Arnason needs to earn his right to start just like everyone else - he was rotten when he got the opportunity, so he'll need to bide his time - that's how it works.
I liked what I saw of May - more mobile and better control, touch and ability on the ball than any of our other forwards - missed a couple of chances but the goals will come. I do think Maynard will have a part to play this season, but can't see how Stockley's going to fit in unless we're desperate in the last 10 mins of a game and looking to launch long balls forward. The Rooney one is interesting - can't see him getting in ahead of May as May offers more generally, but at the same time he's the best finisher / goalscorer. Will be interesting to see how the striker conundrum plays out - and what the first choice 3 in behind will be.
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That's not entirely true,McInnes has his favourites and even if they have a shocker they will still get picked the following week.Originally Posted by Don_Corleone
How many times did Taylor have a nightmare and still got picked the next game?
Guys like Reynolds,Considine and McLean can all be rotten and never get dropped.
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It would be interesting to see what percentage of games we won after conceding the first goal in the period of, say, 10 years prior to Deek coming here. My guess it'd be something like 5%. The first goal is notoriously key in the SPL, because on the budgets available to our clubs it's difficult to bring in real creativity. The team that scores first usually goes on to win or at worst draw, unless they were playing Celtic or the dead club.
Don't underestimate how good a result it is to come from behind and win. We've deserved to win both games. Most games in the league will either be drawn or won by a single goal: in almost every one there will be an incident that would have changed a win to a draw or a draw to a defeat if it had just happened slightly differently. Look at the Tims on Friday.
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I'm a big fan of Shay's but it's worrying how often he's been the player most implicated when we've conceded in the past several games. Maybe it's bad luck or coincidence, but I also have the suspicion that he gets bored with the side of the game that involves just being a good, solid defender; too often he's caught out of position trying to make stuff happen going forward, or trying to do someone else's job as well as his own. No-one would dispute he's by far the pick of our back 4 in terms of ability, but he needs to be reminded that the first entry in his job description is to be a solid defensive full back.
I tire of Conso's critics not so much because I think they are wrong but because the change they are calling for so obviously isn't going to happen. Whether they are right or wrong about his deficiencies as a full back (and I've gone back and fore on this myself) it's 100% clear that Deek has no intention of replacing him. Saying "our first priority is a left back" may be a defensible opinion but it's also total fantasy because the only man whose opinion really counts thinks it's scheidt.
I remain worried about the centre back position. O'Connor alternates solid performances with Bambi on ice impersonations, and the latter tend to come in bigger games against better opposition. Reynold's form hasn't been consistently good for 2 or 3 seasons now. I remain strongly suspicious that Arnason's signing will turn out to be a blunder by a manager too focused on replacing Hayes and McGinn to have his eye properly on the ball when it came to replacing Taylor. Top players nowadays keep themselves fit - it's not like the old days when players spent the close season playing snooker and gambling and turned up for pre-season a stone heavier. Arnason came on in Europe over 3 weeks ago. I can't see why he shouldn't be fit enough to appear in a game against Ross County over 3 weeks later. I'm remined of Storey, who we were told wasn't getting picked because he wasn't fit when in fact had Deek obviously decided he wasn't good enough.
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Considine doesn't bomb forward nearly as much as Logan. Logan would probably be better as an attacking wing back as he seems much more comfortable going forward than he is defensively.
As for Arnason, was he really all that good when he played for us first time around? Bar his goals at Ibrox and Tannadump I don't really remember many stand out performances. Could it be that maybe he's not as good as he's made out to be?
We are a long way off from properly clicking yet but already we have 6 points from 2 games, this time last season we had 2 points after 2 dull 0-0s with St Johnstone and Hearts.
It may be close between us, Hibs and Rangers for 2nd but I am encouraged by what we have produced so far as there is a lot more to come.
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You're right - he's on a 4 year deal.
Trialist
Interesting comment from Deek when talking about May. Discussing how he fits in to most team selections, up front on his own, up front as a 2, playing from the side, etc. Hopefully see a change of formation a bit more often now we have a good spread of attacking talent all round.
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His ball control & passing skills made those around him look like amateurs. Thats what I recall
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He came here after injury issues. He was at that time clearly a player who could earn more than we could pay him if he proved he was injury free. He liked being here enough to signal he was happy to stay - if we could match the kind of money he'd be offered down south. That was never going to happen, so before Christmas he'd signalled his intention to go after one season.
That's where my issues with him start. I'd no problem with him leaving - he was fully entitled to earn what he was worth. But once it was clear we weren't going to be able to keep him, his commitment levels shaded right off. We gave the guy a chance to get past his injury, he got back to form and our reward was half a season of a player who was only trying when the mood took him. He looked like he was sulking because we hadn't met his wage demands, which would have blown our budget.
Also, he played mainly in midfield for us. A few games in central defence when we had injuries/suspensions etc. To me he looked less comfortable in that position.
At 34, he presumably no longer has the pace to play midfield - but is he any better a defender? Certainly not based on what we've seen so far. Easily beaten in the air and vulnerable to the ball played in behind for a nippy guy to run on to, he's totally looked like the weakest link in a pretty ordinary defence. Even his distribution - the one area of the game I'd expect him to easily outshine guys like Reynolds and O'Connor - was like Ash Taylor having a bad day.
I'm not writing him off after a couple of games. I didn't want us to sign him but I'd like to think Deek has done his homework and satisfied himself that even at 34 he is fit enough has enough quality to be an asset. But I don't have a good feeling about it.
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Arnason will be a good player for us if he gets the chance,it's a load of shyte people are trying to make on he was atrocious last week,he wasn't great but I have seen a lot worse performances from defenders for us which have cost us games.
This is my biggest gripe with Considine enthusiasts,it seems pretty much every defender we have had is pysh and not good enough but it's ok for bloody "Consi" to be pysh because he "tries" and has "improved "
We could get rid of Arnason,O'Conner and Reynolds and bring in 3 top quality defenders and there would still be a weakness in defence and his surname begins with C.
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