Clark is not good enough deep or upfront, we very much need another striker as can't rely on what we have only, Shankland can't do it all on his own and I like Appere but he is only coming into the side recently
There goes the chance to qualify from the group and start the season with a feel good factor. Same happened last season and fans were on players and managers back before the league had started. Im all for wanting a manager for as long as possible but if Neilson continues with Clark deep then im fine with him being punted. Ive seen a lot of poor results at Tanadice over the past 2 years especially but put whatever spin on it you like, pre season, doesn’t matter about cup because we need to concentrate on league etc, we just got turned over at home in a competitive match by East Fife!! Very well done to them and their manager because it was well deserved!! First 4 games will dictate which way our season goes.
Clark is not good enough deep or upfront, we very much need another striker as can't rely on what we have only, Shankland can't do it all on his own and I like Appere but he is only coming into the side recently
And yes never seen us beaten at Tannadice by a team from below the top two divisions
Unacceptable performance and result... Surprised how bad we were, worse by far than anything second half of last season, but then we aren't playing our best line up all at once either yet... Can't just be an off night though for all of them at once
The lack of desire from the players though was a worry, disinterested, again not acceptable from them
Manager and players need to get a grip, Tannadice is a great place to play if you are giving it your all and doing well, half arsed or piss poor like tonight won't be tolerated long
I obviously want Neilson to succeed and start the league season well, stability is what we need however as its never a guarantee my main worry is if the worst did happen and we lost a few games early season, mcculloch being assistant, now that would be a disaster if he ever got a sniff of the job.. So hopefully that worst case doesn't transpire and we are looking back at right as a quad have everyone a much up the erse
However big big improvement needed a week on Saturday for the to be the case, ICT will be well up for it, they have kept most of their side together and robbo will be wanting revenge for the play offs
Appere was the best player on the pitch tonight when he came on simply because he chased everything and made runs in behind. We don’t ever threaten teams over the top. I don’t have any idea about Cammy Smith’s attitude etc but if he trains hard and keeps his head down and Neilson is just picking Clark in the deeper role ahead of him for the sake of playing Clark then i feel for the lad. Twice now he has been at the club and twice he has never been giving the chance to play his favoured roll for a sustained period. Mcmullan will have one decent month in the season, Pawlett will spend 4 months injured, Sow will play 25 games injured and you cant rely on kids in this league. Add to that Clark’s poor over all play and i realy don’t see where the goals are going to come from with the lack of service to Shankland. Its going to have to be a massive season of clean sheets to take us anywhere near the title at the moment. Roll on a 3 nil win v Inverness hopefully....
“The next five games are crucial.....the next five games are crucial.......the next five.....”
Repeat until playoffs.
Clark is certainly not good enough when played deep, but how can you form an opinion of him as a striker when he rarely gets played there? Being our resident stat man, im sure you are well aware of his QotS scoring record.
What is killing my optimism though is we are not into the league yet and we all of a sudden dont look like we have a bench capable of changing a game. Injured or on their way out are Sow, C Smith, Pawlett and Bouhenna, with Frans and Booth told they can find other clubs, yet we cant field a team that can match lower league opposition, never mind what comes in just over a weeks time!
If we can ship the unwanted out and get some decent replacements, then im all for it, but its looking like we aint ready. Prove me wrong United!
That was just a bad dream - right?