RicoS321

Was just about to say that I expect Duncan will get the blame for the first half. Shame for the lad.

You've got snow and an orange ball.

Drinking on a Thursday?

Hopefully that half will put to bed any shouts that we should be using the squad much more! That team would struggle against any SPFL side. Polvara a very poor replacement for Shinnie, Milne isn't Devlin and Rubezic being asked to play football is just downright dangerous. Top marks to the front two though, who are competing admirably for the position of fourth pick striker. Duk playing like he's never played for, and Gueye is what I imagine it would be like to play a young Zander Diamond up front. His legs seem to be being controlled by someone watching the game on a dodgy stream eight seconds behind. We're still in it though, thanks to that peach from MacDonald.

^ Pish. MacDonald should be centre forward

Turned it on just in time to see their goal. Not sure about the thinking behind playing Rubezic right of the three instead of MacDonald. Surely MacDonald is the more obvious replacement for Gartenmann, whilst reducing the number of positional changes?

Yep, agreed, great to see them get a run out. I can't fathom the line up. We could be playing a back four, because these lads weren't up to much, but it would seem a little unusual to bugger about with formations and personnel. Milne at right wing back (as opposed to right back in a four) seems a lot to ask of him. A large part of me would like to see Rubezic marauding that flank for a laugh. Would like to see Duncan play in behind the front two, but expect it'll be Hayes there. Has the distinct air of a preseason friendly about it, so looking forward to it.

Sokler and Miovski worked really well together against the Hun. Constantly communicating and pushing as a pair. Miovski is a fantastic team player, and it looked like Sokler has the making of one too. Duk is a reactive player, who doesn't really bring others into it. Obviously he has other great attributes, and that reactivity serves him well when a chance just lands to him. I wouldn't hold out much hope of him forming a pairing with anyone though. Not in any real sense. Even last season I got the impression that him and Miovski were scoring independently of one another as they rarely linked up, but just having two goalscorers is good just the same.

Ahh, that's shite. Much as I think he has his limitations, he's been good this season and is exactly the type of aggressive player we need. He's had a real hard time with injuries in his short career.

You think we should do a rotation system for the fans too? Not a bad idea. I think the guys that you mention probably just aren't good enough. It's not unusual when we have such a large turnover to have a few duds, and I think these guys are probably just that. For all intents and purposes, I'd probably just pretend they don't exist. The question then, is, where does that cause an issue? I think the back three will play every game except in cases of injury, as they cover much less ground. That means Williams is an irrelevance in terms of rotation. We have MacDonald and Milne in case of injury, with McKenzie also able to play instead of Jensen when necessary. Key areas for me are right wing back, centre midfield and striker (specifically Miovski). I also think that left wing back is an area in which we're weak, but have plenty cover. I panicked when Devlin went down yesterday, as there was no conceivable cover there (Hayes, probably, but it could also have been MacDonald into centre and Gartenmann into wing back), and he's fairly vital. Obviously Morris coming back can help to an extent, despite obvious limitations. I have a lot of sympathy for Robson though, no other manager we've had has had to deal with this scenario, and it's a lot for a young manager. Europe doesn't give us enough money to operate two squads, or even one and a half. It's such a fine balancing act, because it's not as simple as saying: "use the squad". He has to consider whether we're strong enough to win games whilst changing that first eleven, and that will mean switching out players at different times in order to conserve as many of the best eleven as possible in every match, as well as using subs efficiently if we're ahead in games (of course, due to tiredness, we're unlikely to be significantly leading in many games). He also has to consider the style of play too, and opt for formations that conserve energy, which is what I think he tried to do in the second half yesterday to limited effect. For example, we cannot afford to try the number six position with Clarkson or Barron, as that will ruin Shinnie, it has to be a conservative two sitting and one in front until January. We have Barron to switch for Clarkson, and Clarkson can play in the role McGrath played first half yesterday (I'd be interested to see Duncan there more often, as I think that will be his best position, and Hayes can play there if we're ahead in games and just need someone to chase people). Polvara can come in here and there to cover a few areas of the pitch, and so can Duncan, but both are a step down and too many Polvaras and Duncans in the side at once will see us losing. Whilst we spend a lot on our side comparative to other SPFL teams, we're nowhere near good enough to rest several players against most teams, especially if one of them happens to be Miovski. Our goal must be to get ahead in games and manage the substitutions well from there. Keep things very simple and don't ask too much of guys like Polvara, Morris etc. Rotate, but not too many in one game.

I've not seen anything of McGarry so far to suggest he's better than Jack Gurr, but I hope you're right!

Just back, not a bad game. First half performance was very good. It was a 3-4-2-1, which worked really well. Sokler and Miovski worked perfectly together, with McGrath excellent in behind. They couldn't deal with the ball over the top at all. Second half we dropped McGrath and Sokler back before the subs into a flat four. McGrath struggled a bit wide left. McGarry looked like an amateur player when he came on, hopefully just lack of match time. Duncan wasn't great of course but at least held position. As Panda says, we played narrow at the back and allowed the crosses in and also allowed them to wander about our box. That said, Sokler's early chance was easily as good as anything we produced. The last five minutes of the ninety we began to hold our shape and looked like seeing it out comfortably. Then VAR intervened. Once again, nobody in the crowd or on the pitch spotted anything, and the Huns got their opportunity and missed it. The ref saw exactly what happened, and - in context - decided it was a nothing incident that didn't merit a penalty, with the play continuing until their miss. Three minutes later, and with all context stripped out, a penalty is given. Every pundit then reviews the incident without context and agrees that there is a tug so it must be a pen, completely oblivious to context as always. Richard Gordon mentions on the radio that he's surprised that Walsh didn't give the pen in real time as he was looking right at it, completely missing the point that Walsh did clearly see the incident and chose not to give a penalty because it wasn't one. Again, VAR not fit for purpose. Anti football bollocks that needs to be fired into the sun. I wish Robson was a little more articulate in moments like these. I'd like to see someone from the club take all footage from the game and produce a montage of tugs on shirts in the box throughout the ninety minutes. For both sides, no partisan shite, simply to show how ridiculous the decision was. Anyway, great to see Sokler adding something and another option in setup. We're very light on options from the bench to see out games like this one. Like Duncan, Polvara held a position well, but offered little else. McKenzie will be a miss for the final in this setup.

I'd guess at a 3-4-2-1? With Sokler and McGrath getting close to Miovski. Duncan left wing back.

Wild. Duncan and Sokler.

Even with the break, I can't really be arsed with this one. With European games, I think there's just too much football. It's completely saturated. Can't wait for the winter break! I'm going of course. I think we'll lose.

Aye, it's interesting. I'm hoping that the club realises that, after two failed attempts, that employing a younger manager requires a lot more support and a lot more patience. Robson is exactly the type of guy (local, former player) that the club could publicly state that they're being patient with, with a view to him learning in the role. Not via an unhelpful burst on sportsound of course! The turnover of players has a huge impact on the manager and it's still too high at the moment. It means you're constantly clearing out the shite, and the inevitable shite that you accumulate each window is exacerbating the problem. I'd stick with him as long as we can to give him every opportunity to continue building. I'd really like to see another face behind and above to hold that build to account though.

McGarry isn't fit yet, only just returned to training.

Off after 75 minutes ahead of the more important weekend fixture. The English couldn't handle him anyway. Edit: although what sort of team doesn't put Miovski on pens?

That's fucking bollocks. It makes a European night having away fans there.

I meant that he's a known quantity in terms of his style and what you get from him. He's a goalscorer, akin to someone like Kris Boyd. He's not going to suddenly develop another string to his bow, and he's playing at the highest level he's ever reached and ever will reach (he wasn't there with utd and obviously coming off the bench for us was the pinnacle), which is only now good enough for the international squad. That level is low end international level, good enough to be a backup striker, which is what he is - deservedly. I think that Clarke will be comfortable explaining to Shankland what his role is in the squad and when he's likely to be used. He might walk away, but it's not nonsense. Jacob Brown plays in the premiership and barely gets a look in and could also walk away. That's what happens with fringe players that aren't at the level of the rest. However Shankland is 28 and might get the opportunity to go to a European championships, so I doubt we'll see him pulling out.

It is, but he's also probably a fairly decent manager. Twice at Morecambe and now three times at County, I think we know where his next gig will be.

Wow, that last statement wouldn't look out of place in the daily mail comments! Anyway, I can see why Shankland didn't start. He's decent, but only in the last couple of years has he got anywhere near the physical presence for international level and maintained it. He's not a target man like Dykes and nor will he do the running like Adams, taking it in the channels and so on. I suspect that this was Brown's opportunity to show what he can do, and he failed for the most part. Clarke will be concerned that if Adams doesn't make it (gets injured I mean) then we don't have someone to do the shift against better opposition, and probably hoped that Brown would at least manage that (he sort of did for a spell at the beginning of the second half). Shankland is very much a known quantity, Clarke will have felt that he probably doesn't have much to prove. His role will only be coming on as a sub when we're chasing games or to play against poorer opponents in qualifying, where we can afford the luxury of a goalscorer. Ten minutes to get a goal is exactly what Shankland can and should expect, and it's a fairly vital role. Clarke is loyal to the guys in his squad, but I think he'll do the right thing and leave Brown at home, leaving the door open for Shankland (assuming Nisbet isn't doing the business down the road). It'll be interesting to see how loyal he remains though, as I think there's a few players in that squad who've been brilliant servants, but could easily be left at home without little noticeable effect. We're going to need guys that can provide a spark and offer something different when we're struggling against the big teams, and I'm not sure that Shankland will manage that, as well as some of the others on display last night: McLean, Armstrong, Brown, Jack. I'd like to see us take a gamble on Doak like we did with Gilmour at least, and maybe one other young player that might take us beyond next qualifying. I see Clarke as being more in the Craig Brown mould in that regard, and I expect he'll remain loyal to the guys who qualified (although injuries will obviously allow him some movement).

Good to see shankland getting his massive coupon on the equaliser. Really upped his game with the diets over the last couple of seasons and deserves to be in the squad. They were a fucking disgrace though, as was the ref. That wasn't football they were playing.

You're right, I apologise. That is the view of the sports department from the outside. Of course, that's not particular to all of the sports department, or probably even the majority. The work done on the Hun case was from a news reporter, and the overwhelming take on it by the outward facing radio staff was that we need to move on and the world needs a strong rangers (apart from Jim traynor originally). The overwhelming majority of coverage on the radio goes to two teams. Two teams dominate the premiership and Scottish football web pages (unless someone has been sacked). At present, there isn't an article discussing the cup final allocation from the angle of fairness on the BBC website (with Off the Ball being the main dissenting voice). I've never seen an article challenging fairness and meritocracy in the Scottish game on the website. By that, I mean one that isn't "embedded" in the conclusion before it even starts (it's just the way it is, nothing can be done). Outwardly, the BBC's position is one of status quo. I have no doubt it looks, and is, different on the inside. I've worked for oil companies for twenty five years, completely aware of the effects of climate change, I know what it's like to be carried along by systemic forces.

He would just release a statement, at which point they keep going with it. Utilise the less craven BBC departments (remember the ones who actually did the outing of the Hun, quickly swept under the carpet and hung out to dry by the sports department?) to go properly after it. Remind him who televises the championship, who pays for the radio coverage. Of course they have clout over Doncaster, they just choose not to use it. The reason they choose not to use it is because nobody at the BBC sports department (nobody important anyway!) actually believes that things like the ticket allocation is unjust. They believe that the SPFL is a meritocracy. They believe that there is nothing wrong with the status quo in Scottish football. Which is also why they take their Tim banning just like they took their Hun one. In return, giving them 7,080% more airtime than any other clubs combined, further exacerbating the unfairness. Becoming more obsequious rather than less. Which is a shame.