Match Preview: General Caixinha Takes Command

[BrahimHemdani 1]

On the 31st of May 1862, General Robert Edward Lee accepted command of the Army of Northern Virginia from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, effectively becoming the Commanding General of all the Confederate Armies in the American Civil War.

 

"Lee Takes Command", Mort Kunstler

 

(Please excuse the shadows, best I could do.)

 

Just over a year earlier, at the outset of the War, Lee had been offered command of the 75,000 strong Federal Army being raised by Lincoln to suppress the insurrection in the slave States; but after a short equivocation he declined, saying to a Presidential Adviser, “Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native state?” With the benefit of hindsight, it is interesting but idle to speculate what might have happened if Lee, a veteran of the Mexican-American War and the former Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, rather than the hapless bunch of Generals who so frustrated Lincoln, had been in command of the Federal Army in the first year of the Civil War. In my opinion, the conflict would have been over a great deal sooner and a great many less lives would have been lost.

 

Lee won a series of remarkable victories in 1862/63 at Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville; before seemingly losing the plot and a third of his army with it, in the terrible slaughter that was the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. After some inconclusive battles in 1864, Lee finally surrendered to Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Court House on the 9th of April 1865.

 

But that was not the end of the American Civil War as many think; it was only the beginning of the end. There were to be four more battles in the Carolinas and Alabama in April and May 1865 at Morrisville Station, West Point, Columbus and Anderson. Finally, wait for it here’s the link you’ve all been waiting for; 152 years ago today, on the 13th of May 1865, at Palmito Station, Texas, the Confederates actually won the last battle of the Civil War. Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana Infantry Regiment is thought to have been the last of the more than 600,000 soldiers killed in the Civil War.

 

I could try to draw comparisons with the recent history of our Club but it is too late at night or early in the morning to say other than the obvious that we too are under new command. After some early successes, we too had our “Gettysburg” at home against Celtic, a “disaster” to quote General Caixinha and who can argue with that. We fared little better for most of last week’s match in sunny Maryhill until wounded pride and a wounded defender led to a double change of tactics of which Lee would have been proud, and produced a late victory of which he would have been prouder still.

 

So far this season, Hearts are beating us two games to one and 6 goals to 3, including the 4-1 humiliation in Crooks’ one and only appearance at Tynecastle in February. Such was our collapse that General Lee would surely have had some of the troops taken out and shot for desertion.

 

It is worth looking back on our team just 3 months ago:

 

Foderingham;

Tavernier, Kiernan, Hill, Wallace;

Hyndman, Toral, Halliday;

Mackay, Miller and Waghorn.

 

Foderingham remains in goal, though many would like to see the qualities that brought Alnwick to the Club. Tavernier somehow manages to keep Hodson on the bench and undoubtedly has raised his attacking game in recent weeks, though he continues to be a liability in defence. Wallace is "hors de combat". I have never rated Kiernan above English League 2 and hope that MW still believes enough of his own hype to take him to Nottingham. By all accounts Hill will be released at the end of his contract but may well be pressed into service alongside Bates today. I would have no qualms about that, he is the consummate professional, even if the years are catching up with his legs. The entire midfield is gone: Hyndman and Toral limping home to the South (get it?) whilst Halliday is out of favour and not before time in the eyes of many. Mackay shows what he can do 10 minutes at a time and Waghorn fails to show anything for as long as he is on the pitch. Rarely can a player have regressed so much in one season. And then there is Kenny Miller, the scourge of our beloved TB. Where would we be this season without his 13 goals and 7 assists in 44 starts including 90 minutes in every one of our last 5 games.

 

Pedro doesn’t have many choices especially if some are called in for 6.00am training again today, so I think we will line up something like this:

 

Foderingham

Tavernier, Bates, Hill, Beerman;

Windass, Holt, Barjonnas;

Miller, Garner, Mackay.

 

Can our depleted troops even the score with Hearts or will we surrender and be left to drown our sorrows at the Fifth Official Gersnet Dinner?

Edited May 13, 2017 by BrahimHemdani
Wallace.

[Blinkyman 0]

Why I love GersNet ............................................ Great Post !!

 

Thx

 

(posting in the middle of the night 'when all the deep thinkers are awake')

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Why I love GersNet ............................................ Great Post !!

 

Thx

 

(posting in the middle of the night 'when all the deep thinkers are awake')

 

Very kind. Much obliged.

Edited May 13, 2017 by BrahimHemdani

[trublusince1982 243]

great piece, enjoyed that

[BrahimHemdani 1]

great piece, enjoyed that

 

Cheers. I'm going back to sleep for a couple of hours.

[der Berliner 3,807]

Samstag, den 13. Mai 2017 - 13:15 Uhr

The Scottish Premiership

 

Ibrox Stadium

 

vs

 

Referee - Bobby Madden

Assistants - Brian Templeton and Graeme Leslie

Fourth Official - Don Robertson

 

Missing - Jordan Rossiter (back), Niko Kranjčar (cruciate knee), Lee Hodson (leg), Rob Kiernan (calf), Philippe Senderos (knee), Lee Wallace (stomach), Emerson Hyndman (foot & back at Bournemouth), Jon Toral (rib), Danny Wilson (knee), Harry Forrester

 

Live on - Sky Sports and Rangers TV

[geoger64 0]

Great article, just finished watching Ken Burns Civil War documentary on Netflix so could relate to the opening. Looking at the lineup shows just how light we are with options at present. In midfield especially we seem to be down to the bare bones.

 

I must admit I don't go into this game with any real confidence. Last week, barring the result, was awful, and Windass in particular looked out of his depth as well as unfit. I don't know what the answer is but maybe giving some of the lads who are out of favour, (O'Halloran and Forrester come to mind) a chance to impress or put themselves in the shop window would be an option.

 

Garner and Dodoo up top in a 442 would also be my preference.

[Scott7 6,167]

Great stuff, BH but in our present state I'd take Stonewall Jackson as manager with possibly Jeb Stuart as assistant.

[Uilleam 5,960]

The most obvious connection I can make with General Lee is that we have been watching the Dukes of Hazard, in defence, too often this season

 

(Daisy Duke, mind, Daisy Duke....That's all....)

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Great article, just finished watching Ken Burns Civil War documentary on Netflix so could relate to the opening. Looking at the lineup shows just how light we are with options at present. In midfield especially we seem to be down to the bare bones.

 

I must admit I don't go into this game with any real confidence. Last week, barring the result, was awful, and Windass in particular looked out of his depth as well as unfit. I don't know what the answer is but maybe giving some of the lads who are out of favour, (O'Halloran and Forrester come to mind) a chance to impress or put themselves in the shop window would be an option.

 

Garner and Dodoo up top in a 442 would also be my preference.

 

The Ken Burns series is outstanding.