RicoS321

I disagree. It's the equivalent of saying Billy Gilmour isn't good enough. You adjust the team to get the best out of players like Clarkson, because if you do then they'll create numerous chances. They're the difference between being a sideways, laboured, slow build up team, that hopes for a mistake from the opposition, and a team that makes the incisive pass and brings the attacking players into play when they have their best chance of scoring before the opponent gets back. The fact that we didn't sign anyone to compliment Clarkson, even as an option during games, is criminal. Even Robson knew how to get the best out of him. Clarkson taking the ball from defence and immediately getting the strikers involved, with Ramadani and Shinnie pressing high was a great setup. That, with the option switch and play two defensive midfielders and a number 10 like Armstrong would be a great way to build a squad (midfield). We really only needed one additional signing to do that. There isn't a chance on earth that Marshall is close to the level of Clarkson (that's not a criticism), and the Icelandic laddy looks to me to be a replacement for Nilsen in the squad, but I doubt he'll be getting much time this season. If Polvara is open to being a utility player, then he's worth his weight in gold. Palaversa can leave with many thanks for his only good game.

Me too. Now that Hedderman has left, and the lads at Brewdog are on board, I'd like to see us trial a back four during the upcoming Kilmarnock game.

I'm confused. Because of the beer?

I don't want to talk about VAR specifically, so I'm including here. Does anyone have an idea of the boundaries of "clear and obvious" in a general sense?

What are everyone's thoughts on the paintwork in the south stand? I think it needs re-done.

I think we should define whether we're sticking with a back five permanently or not, because the difference between a guy that can play left back, and a wing back is quite significant.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of having a test run of alcohol sales in one stand is? It seems like a good idea, but if we haven't got the ability to stretch to the other stands then it seems a little short sighted.

I don't mind a few of the brewdog beers, but it's clear that the guys - or at least one of them - running the company are dicks.

What are everyone's thoughts about the problem of left back? Obviously I don't want to start a new thread, or include in the threads assigned to other left backs, or the squad in general. I specifically mean just left back, but it's probably not worthy of its own thread, so I thought it would be best to mix it in amongst the thread for stuff, because it's such a good catch all. Of course, it doesn't relate to brewdog, or alcohol at the football in general, but if we have it interspersed with those discussions it will be really helpful and easy to follow.

Seems like we could have had an "alcohol at football" thread. Think I'm going to get onto the lads down at Reform to discuss the issue of forum immigrants.

I'm sensing a deepening split in the moderator camp. Exactly the sort of thing that happens when dangerously miscellaneous threads are introduced to a forum. 263 people were killed in 2022 due to forum related violence, of which almost all were down to the lazy categorisation of topics. Forum moderator was the third most dangerous job in the UK that year.

I'm not an authority on these things, but it doesn't seem any more ridiculous to have a brewdog partnership thread than an individual player thread. Although a sponsorship and marketing thread might be a good catch all in this instance. The issue with a miscellaneous folder, as anyone who works in an office knows, is that folk abuse it by throwing shite in that could easily come under another category, and it never gets tidied up. It becomes a dumping ground for irresponsible posters. It's a bit like VAR. Nobody can actually define what clear and obvious actually is, or the boundaries of clear and obvious, and so everything is up for scrutiny. If you can define the boundaries of "stuff", then you should start a new thread. If you can't then you shouldn't. I teach a Masters in forum philosophy if anyone's interested.

You've even gone with the American spelling. Nice touch.

Because they were invented in 1746 by Sir Barry Mince. Ironically, he died on Christmas day a year later, after choking on a bone in his beef mince pie. Back then, Christmas Eve was the time for drinking, and Barry had had a skinful. Hungover on Christmas morning, he sneaked down to the kitchen before everyone woke and stole a pie reserved for the servants. The beef mince pie was their treat, not being allowed to share in the eight bird roast of their masters. The staff found him dead when they arrived for work. The local press went with the headline "Barry Mince-meat pies dies!". Many believed he would have gone on to be Prime Minister, had he not been taken to soon at the age of 74. He was knighted posthumously for his services to Christmas culinary tradition.

A few trips to Leith and they want their money back? No real surprise.

We should have been going into the Motherwell game with two fresh (ish) midfielders in Shinnie and Clarkson. We went in with two knackered ones. We're good enough to not play a low block against Motherwell, but not when breathing out our asses. We started higher in fairness to Thelin, but we quickly regressed as we were getting overrun. Same with any team playing the Thursday - Sunday fixtures in our position, we don't have the fitness or squad depth. The biggest problem is, of course, that the majority of our central midfielders aren't good enough, and it's the most important part of the pitch. However, JT should have known the issue going into this season and should have either addressed it in the window, or sought to mitigate it tactically. For me, it's fairly obvious that allowing two to sit deep is not an issue, as long as you have someone like Armstrong (or even Karlsson) playing centrally ahead of them. The 3-4-3 isn't meant to have two sitters as far as I can tell. Although I notice that Karlsson omitted any right sided forward from his comments! On the whole, I don't think he's said anything that isn't being said in the changing room, I think Thelin's intention will be to support the front two. He could make it easier for them though.

Michael McPeadophile - Heal the World

Aye, I agree. I actually found it more frustrating that we played two up front and yet we never give Nisbet the opportunity of playing with a partner. Not sure what player Thelin was watching last season, but he was almost always better with Gueye alongside him. I said before we resigned him that unless we were playing a two then we might as well not bother with the transfer. It's frustrating that we can apply the available evidence, but a manager can't. I remember watching Bruce Anderson break through for us, and McInnes would almost always take the striker off for him, leaving him as a lone striker which he inevitably couldn't do. It'd be like a form of torture, which it's like watching Nisbet lead the line. It leads directly to comments about him being lazy, or shite, when neither are particularly true.

Dropping like flies

We did go with two up front from the start though. We played a 3-5-2, with Karlsson next to Lazetic, changing half way through the first half as they were overrunning us in midfield. If we're playing two up front, it has to be Nisbet and Lazetic, at the expense of Karlsson in my opinion, but it seems that Karlsson will play every game. Also, Shinnie and Armstrong (mainly the latter) struggled with being stretched between wing back and midfielder when playing either side of Polvara, and we were much better when they reverted to Shinnie and Polvara sitting, with Armstrong breathing out his arse out of the way a bit. I think we'd have to address the midfield three if playing two up front. I would suggest a 3-4-1-2, to allow the sitting midfield with one in front, that will sort of match most teams.

Absolute shite. Gordon is 42.

Back when Fergie was manager, if a player asked for a day off he'd chain them to the side of the pier. After high tide, he'd untie them, and if they weren't dead he'd fine them a week's wages.

That's because they've got better players, and a balanced squad. We've signed badly. I don't think Thelin could be getting significantly better out of what we have got because what we have got isn't very good. It was really a response to the budget comments, as if spending more money means that we should be being better whilst ignoring how we've actually spent that money. I'm not saying that he couldn't get slightly better out of them, just not a huge amount. There's a ceiling to the sum total of that squad, and to me it looks about fifth best in the league, maybe sixth. We've ended up with some individual players who would get into any team outside the scum, but as a squad it's not better than Motherwell. Key areas of the park are missing good players, and we've got zero options to throw on as a wildcard that could get us a few points to push us higher than the quality in the squad merits.

Another window, though, where I think that the first priority has to be shipping players. I'd like to see us go full clear out, and get rid of Clarkson*, Polvara, Palaversa, Nilsen, Ambrose and Yengi. We won't have Europe, and that clear out will set us up nicely for the summer. *I think Clarkson is our best player, but I hate seeing him on the bench. Just get rid of he's not happy, or the manager is unhappy with him.

Who do you think we've not assessed adequately? The Icelandic laddy and Bilalovic are the only two I can think of, and I'm prepared to accept that they might not be ready for the first team. The rest have all had plenty of minutes. A bounce game might be a good idea to test a new formation perhaps, but the biggest problem is that St Johnstone - our designated friendly team - are in the championship and probably don't have the week off. I guess there are other teams, but it would seem a little unfaithful to the saints, who might feel left out.