RicoS321

Yes

Ambrose has looked fairly dogshite every time he's played, since before and after his only, important, goal. He fits the position he's been asked to play well, and we have a team that are able to carry a player, but he brings virtually nothing to the team.

I think the question is whether McGarry at left back is better than Milne at right back, despite it not being his natural position. I think McGarry's natural position is somewhere in the North Sea. Also, MacKenzie is more injury prone (although Devlin is running himself into the ground at present!).

All our goalies are shite, Gordon aside, so he gets in by default. Always looked okay for the u21s when I've watched them. We should give him ten minutes when we're three up, just incase he turns into a world beater, as he was born in England.

It's not as simple as just paying them. There are a lot of other issues. Many of the players have other jobs or university studies to work around. Women's football isn't the life changing career that men's can be, in terms of money made. You need maybe 50% of your squad on board with making the move to full-time, plus the young ones coming through being aware that they'll be expected to be full-time too. That's difficult to achieve and plan and takes time. It doesn't help when three of your best players who would have been likely to have helped start the process moved to hearts in the summer. The other problem is that the part time team is probably a loss maker as it is, and the crowds probably wouldn't sustain a full-time team in the medium term. I guess you have to compare it to the decision to go full-time for a team like Cove or Peterhead. It probably wouldn't be viable without a lot of unsustainable financial backing. In terms of individual players, they had guys like Rory McAllister playing for them who themselves refused the step to professional level, which will be similar to many of the women at the Dons. Of course, you can have mix of professional and semi professional players, which will be the balance going forward perhaps.

I meant to go today, but my daughter didn't fancy it, lazy shite. There's a big gulf between full time and part time in the women's league, it's basically two leagues. Booth will be judged on his games against the bottom half of the league.

Or he's just gash.

I couldn't read it. Must need a better phone.

I don't think that Thelin will be bringing in his own players though. Maybe one or two, but I think the recruitment situation is fairly settled. He'll be buying for his system, of course, but actually the guys that are here seem to fit remarkably well into it already. The question of depth is an interesting one, because being in a position to be able to rest 5 or 6 players only really comes when you've got the additional European fixtures. Otherwise, you've got players sitting out whole fortnights. Personally, I think we've got the squad size just about perfect for the campaign, but maybe quality can improve in the backup positions. It's going to be a difficult balance to keep everyone happy though. Especially beyond January when there isn't generally a massive fixture backlog. As you mention, Gueye and Polvara returning will be good for us.

Yep, I think that's about right. Tactically we were probably okay, but its implementation wasn't there. Our system relies on the press working, and being in perfect unison among the front three and one of the sitting midfielders. We were regularly off that beat, and it wasn't just the goals, but the bookings we picked up when caught too. Duk, Devlin, MacKenzie, Rubezic and Nilsen (possibly Sokler too) all lacked the sharpness required from early in the game. I don't think it was a case of heads going down, they were definitely a little off the pace. Perhaps having Palaversa starting would have mitigated some of the jadedness, but I think we were getting done regardless, they were on top form.

We have quite a few on bookings who probably don't fancy a red. We look knackered though. This could get much worse.

Top shambles from the VAR cunts and their shite system. Embarrassing.

Height basically. Shankland over 6ft, the other two around 5ft8. Shankland can, and does, use his physique to bully defenders and hold the ball up. Anderson much less so. It's not impossible for a smaller striker to make it, just significantly harder. Especially if they're not either very fast, or very fast over 10 yards. He might be the latter, but I'm not certain. Again, I'm just offering an opinion based on the limited time I've watched him. He could very well come good.

He wasn't great, but neither were Ayr generally. I guess it's about getting minutes at his age really. When I first saw him play for us, my initial thought was that he was a young lad that had developed muscle early, which is why he stood out at youth level. He doesn't seem to have the pace to cause teams trouble, although he's undoubtedly a good finisher. He had one good shot early doors that he struck really well. If I was to predict a career trajectory at a very early stage, I'd say he'll be akin to someone like Bruce Anderson. He has a long way to go though and if he can work really hard with a sprint coach then he might carve out a decent Dons' career. He's just that awkward in-between of being not fast enough to be like Sokler or Mackie (who aren't quality players, but have pace to make them very useful), or tall enough to be like a Watkins type nuisance that can be aimed at from deep. He has a nice touch and is good with the ball at his feet, I'm just not sure that the physical attributes he has fit the role he's been assigned at a young age. Whether it's too late to convert him into something else, I don't know.

Scott Brown starts as well.

He's not going to Ibrox because he's not an idiot. Just the same as McInnes didn't. I don't think Cormack is letting Thelin run the football side of things at all. In fact, I think that'd have been made clear up front and probably a position Thelin is comfortable with. He'll be getting the same autonomy as Goodwin and Robson did. Positions required identified by the manager, passed to the recruitment team who already have an array of players that they've identified and been watching, for them to draw up a shortlist with the manager getting the final say. The manager is given leeway to sign a modicum of players he knows he wants from his recent footballing experiences (Nilsen is no different to Devlin or McGrath in that regard, just that Thelin's recent experience is in a different country). On top of that, the recruitment team will present any players that they feel are not to be missed despite them perhaps not being of a required position. Similarly, Thelin will be given little control over the comings and goings of the youth team, save for a few targets that the club will be suggesting he meets (minutes for youth products etc, which might be his only failure, if you can call it that!). In corporate speak, it'll be a flat structure, with recruitment sitting alongside football management and coaching. The recruitment guys won't be reporting to Thelin and he'll have no control over where and who they scout. They're a service department if you like. Whereas, under McInnes, Richardson was a direct report (as he seems to be at Killie). Anyway, I think Polvara and Gueye returning is huge for us. If Polvara can begin the way he ended last season, then that'll be massive, and Gueye just offers something that the others don't. If we are looking at another 9, then I think we'd have to cancel Nisbet's loan. I don't think we can accommodate another forward player. If we're serious about challenging for the title, or at least consolidating second, then we probably need better cover than Vinnie and better fullback cover, although I would ideally like to see that cover coming from our youth setup. In all, I wouldn't be disappointed to see no movement in January. Unless injury strikes between now and then. A striker and wide player if I'm being greedy.

There's no way those lads are turning down champions league fitba next season.

Harsh, he was excellent in the first half. Struggled once he switched wings though. His best game for us I thought. Nah, McGrath is usually an excellent penalty taker. He never missed one for St Mirren. It was probably the worst pen Ive ever seen though. I think what happened is that he tried to send the keeper the wrong way, but realised just as he was about to kick it that the keeper had gone the way he was hitting it and tried to pull out of it and redirect. He seemed to slow down just as he was making contact. From memory, he used to place them with power. Fuck knows what he was playing at. Also the sitter he missed too. His freekick was class though, and the keeper wasn't getting it.

Big questions need to be asked. Not sure this manager is up to it.

Well that was fun. I've not seen us slaughter a Hun team the way we did in the first half in a long time. If McGrath hadn't shat it (although pens for that sort of thing is a total nonsense) then I think we'd have gone on to score more before halftime. That penalty miss fairly rocked us and we switched off for their only chance of the half, the disallowed goal. They switched tactics, which had us under a lot of pressure, and we should have made the changes earlier before they got the chance to score. When we scored the second, there was only one winner and they offered nothing. Nicky Devlin was absolutely immense, but the whole squad was tonight. I've not seen a Hun team that shite for a long time. None of their players would get in our team.

Note to self: check kick off time before leaving the house. Too early to go in, not early enough for a pint. Since when did Wednesday night games not kick off at 19:45? Anyway, decent team. Only disappointment is no Duk off the bench if we need him. Guess we'll have to cope with a hattrick before he goes off in the sixtieth minute. Another one of those freekicks he scored against them a while back would be fine.

He's not done too much, but a lot of that is down to personnel and tactics, which I think JT will recognise. He played with Nisbet in the first half against the Tims, when they were playing a high back line with space in behind. Clarkson thrives on that opposition setup, but it needs a striker playing on the shoulder. Clarkson would equally have been looking to play Sokler in, as McGrath did, and is perfectly capable of making that pass. Him and Nisbet against a high line isn't the right call. Him and Sokler, if the Huns play high, is a good way to get a goal. I think a lot will depend on how he sees the Huns setting up. It'll also depend on whether Duk starts, or if he feels he'll be more useful from the bench. I think that @Panda's suggested lineup is a good shout. It has the right blend of keeping it tight and being quick on the break. I'd be sorely tempted to play Nilsen, Palaversa and Shinnie and press the shite out of them if it's Nisbet up front.

Amongst others that died?

Fuck that, we'll be taking our 3p in the pound from duff and phelps like every other creditor.

That's sad, he seemed a nice chap.