docspiderman

Hi Graham, we cannot pay you the £10 million a year that you were on at Chelsea but we are sure that you will give that up to manage in the footballing backwater that is the SPFL for a fraction of your wages. However, for this and for the first time in your career you must win every game and we guarantee you will not be able to buy anyone who has a decent background of success or a non bargain basement price tag. What do you mean xxxx off?

Ewan Chester.

We demand a manager who wants to win every game yet people suggest Clarke, Potter, Dyche whose football philosophy have always been organisation to avoid defeat, hope to draw or maybe scrape an odd goal win now and again.

Spot on and shows when we are trying to "control the game" by keeping possession. Good teams do that in or close to the opponents half, play triangles and with movement there is always an option for a pass. Our players try do keep possession by playing square balls along our 18 yard line letting the opposition come forward and box them in resulting in the usual pass back to the keeper to launch and lose possession. This happens so often and I keep thinking do the players and coaching staff never watch football and learn how other teams keep possession, make runs, close down etc etc.

No we need a winner not a guy who wants organisation to avoid defeat, happy to draw and hope to maybe scrape a win. Like Moyes going to Man Utd Potter was the wrong choice for Chelsea as he would for a team like us where winning is a must.

A ball in the air headed by an opponent; if only we had some midfielders or forwards on the park who might have challenged for the ball.

Sadly it is more than that; commitment in pressing, tackling and attacking. Pace, ball control, passing ability, shooting desire and accuracy. Above all failure to learn and adapt. They see how much poorer players work their socks off to stifle us but still play into their hands with slow build up, slow or non existent movement on and off the ball and adopt the after you Claude attitude to the opposition. With our club any new manager has to have winning experience at a decent level rather than managerial promise or survival qualities.

Because it is nothing to do with the rest of the players that have lined up alongside of him? Honestly it has become ridiculous that he seems to be blamed for the shortcomings of others who fail to play at anyway near his standard and production and terrible tactics and signings outwith his control.

Because he is doing such a good job there?

So lose a striker or midfielder to protect a central defender who has always been a liability in terms of defending as well as fitness? He is not going to change or improve his awareness or concentration so play someone else rather than add another cb to cover for him.

Three of the better players subbed, muppet manager.

Mentioned earlier in the week that Souttar has a lack of game awareness and dues play opponents onside very often. He had gotten away with it a few times this season already.

Souttar played him onside.

Love the pre derby optimism but will our coaching team really improve these strikers so much that they will become decent strikers even in this footballing backwater? I looked at our forward players in the new squad and it fills me with dread that we may be depending on Roofe to be the striker to have a decent goals tally. My other fear is the way our midfield now let opponents stroll unopposed to our final third and are able to find free colleagues with so much space to make crosses, one two's etc. Also I have no clues about what sort of set up we will play or how Beale wants us to play. One consolation is that they seem as disjointed as us which gives me a glimmer of hope rather than optimism.

Like Sands before him, the tempo and movement in European games was well beyond his capabilities. I do not think he could play a box to box midfield role in that stage anyway.

Thought the momentary said the Dutch league Tav money was 180 million.

Could be wrong but I think the £30 million includes broadcasting the SPWL as well although I do not know their share.

I have no confidence in our new trio of “strikers” Dessers appears to be the number one choice but cannot hold up the ball has poor control, positioning and poor heading and shooting ability. Lammers loses possession too much. Danilo must be worse than both on the training pitch. Midfield is not pressing opponents or helping our defence which needs help. Souttar still has the mistakes, the stupid lunges and concentration lapses which I used to love when he was in the team sheet against us. Left back will be a problem with no left footed optionsThen there is the tactics.

The full backs have had no real protection from midfield this and last season and we all knew how PSV play with the wide players hugging the touch line. Bayayoko was consistently left alone with Barasic tucking in rather than staying wide. Tav was closer to Lang but with Dest teaming up as well Cifuentes needed to be more aware and more concentrated although the tempo and quality he was facing looked to be well beyond his capability and experience.

PSV paid 27 million euros for 2 players. The Dutch tv money is 6 times more than that for SPFL. Loan players from Barca and Bayern. However, they recruit so much better with a type and style in mind to suit their system while we seem to recruit from a narrow field every season, Belgian league last year Dutch this tear with no seeming strategy in mind.

Lammers worries me; has the touches but the amount of times he loses the ball so easily is terrible and dangerous against any decent opposition. Desserts is busy enough but I am not convinced of his ability to be a double figure scorer.

Agree, and I am sure our passing deteriorates when we play at a slower tempo and we stand off opponents too much giving them the attacking freedom. Also the square and back passing increases putting more pressure on ourselves.

My concern is that whilst it looks fine on paper the system can create so many negatives in practice. A lot of the time it forces a back 5 system and allows opponents free control of the game, tempo and stifles forward play. The common danger of causing confusion between wing back and wide centre back over who to go to tackle a player running between them. Since 34 plus domestic games we face teams who park the bus having 3 central defenders is an overkill and makes no sense. Playing it in specific games takes a lot of intense preparations, hard work and extreme concentration which sadly has not been a strength in recent years. The group stages last season where Gio tried it albeit with poor or I’ll fitting personnel was embarrassing. I feel our problem defensively is still losing focus, poor concentration, failure to attack set piece crosses, failure to close down in midfield quickly enough to prevent free crosses or opponents running through with the ball. Also our midfield last season seemed to stop slotting back to cover our attacking full backs although a simple idea is to drill that only one full back goes on the attack at a time, or do what Walter did for most of 9 in a row to ensure that; play a central defender in one of the full back positions. However, the suggestion of a 3 or 5 at the back or one attacking full back etc is a moot point as Beale seems to have decided how he wants to play although we can all predict what tends to happen.

Absolutely, especially since our full backs will play the same as always pushing forward. So by bringing in another cb we would omit a midfielder or a forward which reduces attacking potential.