Dons Livi

[ayrshire_don74]

GK. Lewis

RB Hernandez/Logan

LB Considine ?

CB Hoban

CB Taylor

DMC Mcrorie

CM Ferguson

CM Bryson

LW HAYES

RW HEDGES

CF ?

 

 

[CvB]

Taylor gives me the fear every time he touches the ball. 

 

How long is McKenna sidelined for? 

[BigAl]

I'm not certain that Hoban will be asked to play again so soon.

The guy has been out for 18 months or so and should be eased in gently.

The highlight of last night for me was him getting such a comfortable ninety minutes under his belt.

[Ten Caat]

The league is our bread and butter. I'm sure Hoban will play....imo he was our best player last night (although tbf there weren't too many candidates for it). 

If he needs rested then the Runavik game is the one to do it in

Considine is still suspended.

Ojo deserves to be benched after his frankly pathetic performances in the past 2 games. However McGeouch might still be in DM's bad books so wouldn't surprise me if Ojo was given one last chance to give us a performance. I can't say I noticed Bryson doing anything special last night either, but the overall team performance certainly improved in the second half, possibly just that the balance was better. Hernandez is also a worry. He did nothing wrong....because he didn't have the chance to mainly. St J correctly identified our weakness down our left side and concentrated their attacks down that way. But Hernandez seemed to be ignored by our players when we were in possession. 

And it's time Lewis was relieved of the captaincy. I've never been a fan of 'keepers doing the job. If he were a big personality I could maybe understand but he's just too "nice" a guy to do it effectively. And he can't be in the ref's face at every chance a la Broonaldo. McKenna should be the go to guy but he will be off soon (with any luck). It might be seen as a bit "off" giving the job to a player technically on loan and just in the door. But McCrorie will be with us for 4 years and I think he has the attitude to do it well. Has experience captaining Scotland U21's

Not sure if we are still being linked with Marley Watkins. But if he is the answer.....then ask a different question. Stick Ruth in against Livi. 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Ten Caat

[BigAl]

Get the league being bread and butter part TC and you are totally correct.

I just have my doubts that Hoban can/should be playing two games in under 72 hours . My point is purely time factor driven rather than competition.

[tup1]

Hoban strolled it the other night but he did noticeably pull out of one slide tackle so he's maybe not 100% confident yet.

I'd play him. He looks ready. 

[Jute]

Agree with those who are saying that we may need to rest Hoban for this one. Lad has just returned from injury and has a history of picking up injuries. Think his game time needs to be managed. Logan’s Instagram had McKenna pictured training today so looks like he will be available to spell Hoban. 

[TheDeeDon]

The thing with Hoban though, is that his knee could go at any point. I am sure the lack of games played in the past few years would be an issue, but if he is fit and he wants to play then play him. I think he probably knows more than anyone that if his knee goes again then his career is over, so may as well get him playing as much as we can for both his benefit and for ours. as he is one of our better footballers when fit.

[Ten Caat]

Exactly this. His knees aren't at any more risk playing 1,2 or 3 games in a week. Supposedly cadaver grafting (the standard repair job for professional sportsmen for the past 15-20 years) actually strengthens a knee joint, although Devlin is the proof that it doesn't guarantee that it won't snap again. The loon himself I'm sure wants to play as much as possible and let's be honest. He wants a long term contract with us but he would be of no use if we thought he wasn't up to playing twice in 3 or 4 days. His only problem is lack of match fitness so I fully expect him to be in the side tomorrow. As I've said before...we can get through the Runavik tie without him so that's the one, if he really requires it, to rest him in. But I actually think he will want to keep going anyway, so he doesn't risk losing his place in the side

[manc_don]

Nervous about playing Hoban but you make a good point TC, it could go at anytime. He's clearly the best defender at the club so we need to play him. Fuck knows who makes the team after that shambolic performance (despite 3 points).

What's the deal with the players not passing to Hernandez? Seems odd, as I noticed it in the game.

[RicoS321]

2 hours ago, manc_don said:

Nervous about playing Hoban but you make a good point TC, it could go at anytime. He's clearly the best defender at the club so we need to play him. Fuck knows who makes the team after that shambolic performance (despite 3 points).

What's the deal with the players not passing to Hernandez? Seems odd, as I noticed it in the game.

I think McKenna is a better defender than Hoban. More aggressive. I also think McRorie had a better game the other day. He's good though, and I think he'll improve.

I'm going to say it's a lack of trust with Hernandez. Not because he's a commie Venezuelan, but just the absolute panic and basic lack of fitba knowledge he showed when he first arrived. At present, I wouldn't say he's an improvement on Logan. That said, I really struggle to get a good idea of his abilities on TV. Really difficult to see if we're not passing him, or if he's not showing, or standing too close to an opponent. There was a couple of times I thought he was in space, only for the camera to pan to an opposition player a few metres away. I've yet to see him provide an overlap. Early showings suggest a player no better than we could produce from our youth setup.

 

[Ten Caat]

2 hours ago, manc_don said:

Nervous about playing Hoban but you make a good point TC, it could go at anytime. He's clearly the best defender at the club so we need to play him. Fuck knows who makes the team after that shambolic performance (despite 3 points).

What's the deal with the players not passing to Hernandez? Seems odd, as I noticed it in the game.

There was some chat around the time that training restarted by supposed "ITK" supporters that most of the squad thought he was a dud. Whether this has any credence is anyone's guess. And the rumour that he was brought in with little or no consultation/input from McInnes isn't going away. He's also taken Shay's spot in the side who was/is one of the most popular players not only with the fans but in the squad too. Counteracting all this, he was meant to be our top performer in what was a distinctly underwhelming pre-season and also probably our top performer in a distinctly shite team performance against sevco in the season opener.

I'm not writing him off just yet but it definitely is a concern. Of course our centre backs shelling the ball forward ignoring simpler short passes to midfielders/fullbacks is nothing new and it might just be  a case of the circumstances ( rustiness having not played for the best part of 3 weeks and training limited with 8 team-mates self-isolating) taking over.

[tup1]

There’s definitely an issue with the passes not going to Hernandez.

Its not surprising that he is taking a while to settle in. He looks like he has the potential. Whether we will see it I’m not sure.

[rocket_scientist]

2 minutes ago, tup1 said:

There’s definitely an issue with the passes not going to Hernandez.

Its not surprising that he is taking a while to settle in. He looks like he has the potential. Whether we will see it I’m not sure.

If true - not that I noticed as I wasn't paying close attention - then this is further evidence of the sick culture at AFC under the bearded midget charlatan.

Whatever your feelings for an individual on a personal level, failing to pass to a player in a better position than you is hurting the team and last time I looked, football is a team game.

Like not passing to him is going to make him look bad. The only one it hurts is the arsehole who didn't make the pass. 

[tup1]

I agree. He’s maybe not ‘integrated’ too well.

i.e. he doesn’t love getting blootered every weekend 

He has tremendous pace but I’m not sure we utilised it once in the 45 minutes he played on Thursday. We should persevere with him and use his pace as an attacking outlet. 

[rocket_scientist]

If the footballers have decided they don't want Hernandez on the pitch, they're basically saying that they know better than the manager.

They are prepared to sacrifice the good of the performance to show how much more they know.

The stupid thick cunts can't even work out that you give an incompetent more passes, not less, thereby providing more opportunities to fuck up.

This sounds personal to me and unprofessional footballers allowing personal gripes to affect a team performance should themselves be got rid of. 

[Jute]

[Jute]

Hoban, Hernandez and Ojo dropped to bench. McGinn and Campbell dropped completely.

[DantheDon]

Looks like a bit of a rotation. Its a bit annoying that we have Anderson available but have still chosen to bring in Watkins and start him. There definitely needs to be more emphasis on getting the youngsters into the first team.

[Elgindon]

Hopefully get the ball down and see a bit more movement/running at defence. COYR

[manc_don]

In theory it’s quite an attacking line up. Whether they’re allowed to play that way remains to be seen, but it’s an interesting line up to say the least. 

[ayrshire_don74]

bryson oot already

[tup1]

The stream quality is terrible. Blurred nonsense.

[ayrshire_don74]

reset my router working now

[tup1]

I’ve tried all four links. It’s shocking quality. I’d be looking for a refund if the whole 90 minutes is like this.