Tommy Craig had a fortnight to think about how to approach a trip to New Douglas Park - and the best he could come up with was to send out a team of kids? Craig's selection, which included two debuting teenagers, was not a courageous "if you're good enough, you're old enough" decision, but instead a desperate one based on the hope that it might appease the fans and stop them getting on his back. This wasn't about giving youngsters experience - this was about throwing lambs to the slaughter. It was cowardly.
So there was no surprise that it backfired spectacularly; the Buddies offered nothing until they were three goals down and even their late rally came as Accies had taken their foot off the gas. I seem to remember a similar teamsheet being picked by Craig Brewster at the end of his Dundee United tenure - they lost 5-1 and he was sacked the next week.
In his post-match interview, Craig yet again took the opportunity to hang himself with the minimal rope offered, claiming his 4-5-1 formation "would have been 4-3-3 in attack" if they had got any control in midfield, but hadn't worked; however, when asked if he should have tried a different system, he insisted otherwise.
In his defence, it would be difficult for any manager to get a string of results with this squad, even more so given the chronic injury problems. But Craig is clearly out of his depth. It would take a brave man to suggest that things will get sufficiently better when everyone is fit. If St. Mirren are to stay up, they need a new manager. LS
Telfer stars for impressive Dundee United
Few clubs have developed as much exciting young talent as Dundee United over the last few years. While they have undoubtedly had a good start to the season, especially at Tannadice, they perhaps haven’t been as easy on the eye as they were last year.
Hopefully, Saturday’s win against Kilmarnock is a sign of things to come, as they continued their good home form thanks to three lovely goals. Stuart Armstrong and Charlie Telfer particularly impressed, and Nadir Ciftci’s opener was as sweet a strike as you would have seen anywhere in Scotland this weekend.
As a Rangers fan I find it difficult watch Telfer play well. The idea that the likes of Stevie Smith and Ian Black would be seen as better options in any team is obviously deeply troubling, and no doubt the circumstances behind his move are as much a source of joy for Arabs as his good performance on Saturday.
Let’s hope the good form continues, along with that of Inverness and potentially Aberdeen, and Celtic are kept under a bit of pressure into the new year. IM
How long can the good times last in Inverness?
The ever informative @SPLStats twitter feed noted that there has never been a draw between ICT and Motherwell in Inverness. For a long time on Saturday that statistic looked under threat as Motherwell held ICT at bay for most of he second half despite offering zero attacking threat. But the relentless pressure from the home side told and Marley Watkins and Josh Meekings struck late for the home side.
It was another fantastic win which keeps Inverness level with Celtic at the top of the league. John Hughes continues to confound his critics; having established a passing game to great effect. he has now meshed it his predecessor's more direct style of play, so that his side have multiple foci of attack. Marley Watkins maintained his great form and was unlucky not to get a hat trick with two late efforts that crashed off the woodwork. With Billy Mckay also passing up some good chances and Dan Twardzik making several saves in the Motherwell goal, the scoreline could have been much more lopsided. This ICT side is playing some fantastic football that deserves more attention from the local population than it currently gets.
The question is - how long will all of this last? We've already had the agent of Graeme Shinnie, a player who deserves to be playing at a higher level, suggesting that the left back is unlikely to sign a new deal and will move on in the summer. Fortunately, none of this seemed to affect Shinnie who turned in another excellent performance but the Caley Thistle fans must accept that the chances of keeping him are slim. That is likely also true of the aforementioned Watkins, Mckay and Meekings. All are out of contract in the summer and not likely to be short of admirers given their performances over recent months. Having overcome the doubters, Hughes now faces the potential challenge of reshaping the squad next summer. All the more reason to appreciate the present; this is a terrific team, and it is a travesty that they aren't playing in front of a bigger local crowd. The people of Inverness don't know what they are missing out on by staying away. AS
Dons find a way to win
My first thought when Aberdeen's recent highly-praised annual report came out was "shouldn't they be doing better with a wage bill that high?". After the disappointing end to the 2013-14 season, their form in recent months has been a bit stop-start, and even after their victory at Firhill they lie fifth in the table.
What that wage bill does buy you, though, is a bit of depth. Derek McInnes was without six first teamers- Shay Logan, Russell Anderson, Clark Robertson, Willo Flood, Nicky Low and Barry Robson - and had to rejig a fair bit to compensate - though not in the crazy 3-4-2-1 formation that Sky Sports suggested before kickoff. But he had Andrew Considine at right-back, Jonny Hayes at left-back, Cammy Smith in central midfield, and Adam Rooney on the wing. And it just about worked...enough, anyway, to grind out the win thanks to Rooney's penalty.
Hayes in particular did well - as he has done on several occasions as a full-back this season. Whilst the Irishman's sheer pace is missed further up the pitch, he is sound enough defensively that McInnes must be tempted to use him in the position long-term, especially with Niall McGinn playing in front of him and constantly cutting in from that flank. If Logan can return to last season's form, Aberdeen could get frightening attacking width from their full-backs.
As for Partick Thistle - well, no shots on target in a home game tells its own story. They completely failed to impose themselves on their patchwork opponents - although Stuart Bannigan's horrendous headed miss (not really, it came off his shoulder when he tried to head it) late on should still have got them a point. They only got going when Gary Fraser and Kallum Higginbotham came off the bench, which begs the question of why neither started. And as for Ryan Stevenson's haircut - well, that's just about worthy of a points deduction. LS
Even in defeat, Dundee impress again
Even when two down at Celtic Park, former Bhoy Paul Hartley stuck to his guns and remained convinced that the team and tactics he had chosen would get the job done. They nearly did, too. Dundee created chances with a surprising ease against the Champions and had spurned several before David Clarkson (seven goals in seven games!) hit the net and gave the home support a rather nervous half an hour.
The Dark Blues are still sixth in the table, and thoroughly deserve their place in the top half from what we've seen so far. In fact, I reckon that they're even better than that, especially now Simon Ferry is available after a long illness. If Dundee can find a bit of decent home form, starting with Caley Thistle's visit in a fortnight - they've only won once at Dens Park so far - they could finish well up the table.
Celtic? Only three times have they won a league game by more than the odd goal - and one of those games was goalless till Kilmarnock had a player sent off. This was unimpressive yet again from Ronny Deila's side, who are churning out results only because John Guidetti is a class above the SPFL and because Anthony Stokes' return to form seems to have coincided with his poor recovery from hair-replacement surgery - a kind of Reverse Samson, if you will. LS
County are up for the fight
With eight points from their last four games, St. Johnstone can now start to look upwards at the top six, rather than worrying about a relegation battle, especially with a nine point advantage over their opponents this weekend. Tommy Wright appears, at least for the time being, to have found the answer to his striking problems; Michael O'Halloran has hit a nice vein of form, while his fellow scorer on Saturday, James McFadden, has started showing a few glimpses of what we all know he is (or was) capable of. Murray Davidson's return to full fitness should give them the drive they need to move further away from the bottom.
So at the moment it looks like a three-way fight against the dreaded drop, but with St, Mirren have been dreadful, and Motherwell look devoid of direction, Ross County appear to be the best bet to avoid even a relegation playoff against Rangers or Hibs (probably), Jim McIntyre has correctly realized that they are scrapping for their lives, and he has picked a team to scrap. That's not to say they lack quality to go with their heart, as they showed during an excellent second half display which should have rescued a point. But the players do seem to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in, which will serve them well over the next few months,
Mind you, if County do want to move up the table, they could do with improving the central defence. Brian Graham won far too many headers in this game, whilst Scott Boyd was terribly culpable for O'Halloran's strike. LS
Andrew Sutherland (AS) occasionally writes for When Saturday Comes. He would never miss an ICT match unless he was offered a date with the lead singer of CHVRCHES...who he would then take to said ICT match.
Iain Meredith (IM) is technically a Rangers fan, but these days he tends to support them ironically. He only agreed to help with this blog because now he can tell his wife that he's "only watching the game to help a friend out".
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
Dons find a way to win
My first thought when Aberdeen's recent highly-praised annual report came out was "shouldn't they be doing better with a wage bill that high?". After the disappointing end to the 2013-14 season, their form in recent months has been a bit stop-start, and even after their victory at Firhill they lie fifth in the table.
What that wage bill does buy you, though, is a bit of depth. Derek McInnes was without six first teamers- Shay Logan, Russell Anderson, Clark Robertson, Willo Flood, Nicky Low and Barry Robson - and had to rejig a fair bit to compensate - though not in the crazy 3-4-2-1 formation that Sky Sports suggested before kickoff. But he had Andrew Considine at right-back, Jonny Hayes at left-back, Cammy Smith in central midfield, and Adam Rooney on the wing. And it just about worked...enough, anyway, to grind out the win thanks to Rooney's penalty.
Hayes in particular did well - as he has done on several occasions as a full-back this season. Whilst the Irishman's sheer pace is missed further up the pitch, he is sound enough defensively that McInnes must be tempted to use him in the position long-term, especially with Niall McGinn playing in front of him and constantly cutting in from that flank. If Logan can return to last season's form, Aberdeen could get frightening attacking width from their full-backs.
As for Partick Thistle - well, no shots on target in a home game tells its own story. They completely failed to impose themselves on their patchwork opponents - although Stuart Bannigan's horrendous headed miss (not really, it came off his shoulder when he tried to head it) late on should still have got them a point. They only got going when Gary Fraser and Kallum Higginbotham came off the bench, which begs the question of why neither started. And as for Ryan Stevenson's haircut - well, that's just about worthy of a points deduction. LS
Even in defeat, Dundee impress again
Even when two down at Celtic Park, former Bhoy Paul Hartley stuck to his guns and remained convinced that the team and tactics he had chosen would get the job done. They nearly did, too. Dundee created chances with a surprising ease against the Champions and had spurned several before David Clarkson (seven goals in seven games!) hit the net and gave the home support a rather nervous half an hour.
The Dark Blues are still sixth in the table, and thoroughly deserve their place in the top half from what we've seen so far. In fact, I reckon that they're even better than that, especially now Simon Ferry is available after a long illness. If Dundee can find a bit of decent home form, starting with Caley Thistle's visit in a fortnight - they've only won once at Dens Park so far - they could finish well up the table.
Celtic? Only three times have they won a league game by more than the odd goal - and one of those games was goalless till Kilmarnock had a player sent off. This was unimpressive yet again from Ronny Deila's side, who are churning out results only because John Guidetti is a class above the SPFL and because Anthony Stokes' return to form seems to have coincided with his poor recovery from hair-replacement surgery - a kind of Reverse Samson, if you will. LS
County are up for the fight
With eight points from their last four games, St. Johnstone can now start to look upwards at the top six, rather than worrying about a relegation battle, especially with a nine point advantage over their opponents this weekend. Tommy Wright appears, at least for the time being, to have found the answer to his striking problems; Michael O'Halloran has hit a nice vein of form, while his fellow scorer on Saturday, James McFadden, has started showing a few glimpses of what we all know he is (or was) capable of. Murray Davidson's return to full fitness should give them the drive they need to move further away from the bottom.
So at the moment it looks like a three-way fight against the dreaded drop, but with St, Mirren have been dreadful, and Motherwell look devoid of direction, Ross County appear to be the best bet to avoid even a relegation playoff against Rangers or Hibs (probably), Jim McIntyre has correctly realized that they are scrapping for their lives, and he has picked a team to scrap. That's not to say they lack quality to go with their heart, as they showed during an excellent second half display which should have rescued a point. But the players do seem to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in, which will serve them well over the next few months,
Mind you, if County do want to move up the table, they could do with improving the central defence. Brian Graham won far too many headers in this game, whilst Scott Boyd was terribly culpable for O'Halloran's strike. LS
Andrew Sutherland (AS) occasionally writes for When Saturday Comes. He would never miss an ICT match unless he was offered a date with the lead singer of CHVRCHES...who he would then take to said ICT match.
Iain Meredith (IM) is technically a Rangers fan, but these days he tends to support them ironically. He only agreed to help with this blog because now he can tell his wife that he's "only watching the game to help a friend out".
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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