Now hold on there FPUSA.... a wee bit premature with the doom and glum.... three games undefeated, expect the manager will be buoyant tonight. 😀
Now facing a loss (as first game as the manager), this is a more realistic indicator to set expectations - have to ignore the immediate bounce after Hammell's sacking. Let's see how he speaks after a losing game & hope it's not just like the last 2.
Now hold on there FPUSA.... a wee bit premature with the doom and glum.... three games undefeated, expect the manager will be buoyant tonight. 😀
The first half was awful, let's be honest. Not the worst this season but not far off it.
The second was strange - there was almost no point when we seemed to have real control but suddenly Killie weren't making chances and by 89 minutes we'd missed two sitters and had a couple of other decent hits saved. When Slattery missed in the lead up to the fk, that was a third 'must score' gone and by that point despite the performance you'd be very annoyed to have lost. The fk obviously wonderful...
Of course we could have been dead and buried by half time. You give Kettlewell credit for turning it round at ht - equaliser or not - but at the same time he gets the black mark for that first half performance in a six-pointer. Whether or not one cancels out the other I'll leave to the philosophers but the fact is we needed a point today and got it so back slaps and beers all round as far as I'm concerned.
Get another next week and we've got a couple of near free hits either side of a week off in the cup so SK really has time to put his own mark on things...the performances against Livi and United will probably tell us much more about our long-term prospects under him than the first six.
Edit to add I also find it extremely interesting that even in chasing a game he had no use for McKinstry, Crankshaw, Danzaki and Tierney. Crankshaw fair enough, he can go no problem, but McKinstry was the near only bright spark for months so that's rather curious. And while I don't necessarily question SK's judgement on the other pair, with them being contracted so long he probably needs to find some way of integrating them a little in the coming months.
Last edited by Handsome_Devil; 25-02-2023 at 07:13 PM. Reason: addition
well it wasn't looking likely, and I was more frustrated with poor internet acting up, but fair enough and kudos to the players for not giving up in the end. That's something that's been absent.
To another comment, I also have been curious why McKinistry has been out of the team. Thought he had been doing well.
He has no position in a 3-5-2. You're not going to play him at wing-back and would you play him as the most attacking of the three in the middle? Massive risk as even that guy has to track back, Spittal has made that place his own under SK and you've got more natural guys to ahead of him there anyway.
I'd really like us to re-sign McKinstry permanently but if we're persisting with this formation he will have very limited time on the pitch.
He was, till two weeks ago, probably our poty - but the best player in a losing team is still a loser and if winning games means there's no place for him 'so ist profi fussball' as they say over here to explain such harsh decisions.