match thread (image) [FT] St Mirren 0 - 1 Rangers (Barisic 59)

[Frankie 8,562]

13 minutes ago, Gaffer said:

I saw that Ian and couldn't quite believe they'd have the audacity to distort it to that extent.  I also saw that the number of shots and fouls was completely wrong too.

 

Its just pathetic

I assume they got it the wrong way around.  Bizarre but not unexpected.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

51 minutes ago, pete said:

Listen to the podcast I am not alone in knowing that Katic is a far better defender than Goldson. Ross and Graham discussed it  without any prompting from me. Can't remember what Johns position was. Just another point Vuckic scored for FC Twente last week and is playing well.

Did they win? scoring was never his problem. 

[pete 2,499]

11 minutes ago, Frankie said:

That's not what they said at all and it's unfair to represent it as such.  Please desist as it's unfair to the lads.

 

What Ross suggested is that he's worried that Goldson allows the ball to bounce too much and prefers Katic's no nonsense style.  He also reckoned Katic had been our best defender so far this season.  Fair comment and some people will agree as his form has been good.  But there was no suggestion from anyone that he's 'far better' than Goldson per se.  That would be silly.  Only you thinks that, that was clear the other night.

 

Ross did offer fair criticism though and I think we've all said Goldson occasionally overplays the ball on occasion.  However, let's not forget the manager will expect him to do that and that's why Helander was also bought because our back two spend a lot of time in possession so they need to be comfortable on the ball and use it well.  Goldson does do that by and large but certainly needs to avoid taking unnecessary chances as he did in Poland the other night in the second half.  Meanwhile, although he's improved a bit, Katic does need to improve his use of the ball.

 

The discussion also centred around the purchase of Helander and why he wasn't playing regularly considering his price; specifically should be play in our two biggest games of the season coming up this week?  John remained happy with Goldson and Katic as our first choice pairing but both he and Graham were also comfortable with perming any two from four as they all look solid enough.  Again reasonable comment from balanced contributors.  Oh, and John said he voted for Goldson as his PotY last season but you decided to forget that alongside his whole contribution which shows just how disingenuous your analysis is on this subject.

 

Now, I decided not to reply to your post the other night as I'm sure the issue is boring everyone else as much as me but as you insist on continuing this again and you're beginning to really annoy me with what seems to be deliberate trolling, please stop misrepresenting and spoiling this defence debate with your one-sided and unsubstantiated nonsense. 

I reacted to a post from Gunslinger who called me out. Surely John picking Goldson for POTY is his opinion and not a measuring block for what is right and what is nonesense. I have and others including yourself have all mentioned situations to substantiate that Goldson is liable to make mistakes so no idea  why it is unsubstantiated nonsense  I did say in an earlier post that Goldson played well yesterday. I would certainly play Goldson and Katic for the 2 oncoming games. Anyway I will leave it at that and go and work in the garden.

[Bill 13,717]

Is criticising Goldson or Katic going to be a feature of every thread from now on? Give it a rest guys, they're both our players and undermining their confidence like this is as stupid as it's tedious.

[DMAA 3,658]

On the topic of centre backs (but not Goldson and Katic), I was hoping Edmundson would have featured a bit more by now. He really impressed most of us pre-season and in the two games he did get in the qualifiers. It isn't easy to rotate the CBs of course but I hope he gets his chance in a league game soon because he looks more than capable.

[weebluedevil 1,239]

Healthy debate. 

Both Goldson and Katic can and will improve but neither of them should be guaranteed 1st picks every week. We have two other capable CBs waiting in the wings and will get their chances so this is the ideal and will spur both on, and why Gerrard has spent heavy on Helander. 

Goldson has been really solid, can sometimes just hesitate too much with ball at feet - and I’m not sure if it’s lack of confidence in those situations or complacency or over confidence if you like. 

Katic, more aggressive and quick to act but still not as comfortable covering from a positional sense if the full back is caught out of position. 

Both provide equal goal threat at the other end. 

I don’t think we need to rank players that play alongside each other in different positions. I’m happy with both those guys starting most weeks until Helander and Edmundson displace either on merit. 

We’ve progressed massively defensively each of the last 7 seasons but still much improvement still to be made - and include the FBs in that. 

Final third is I’m sure still giving SG more headaches when trying to counter low block teams. 

 

[Frankie 8,562]

5 minutes ago, weebluedevil said:

Healthy debate. 

Both Goldson and Katic can and will improve but neither of them should be guaranteed 1st picks every week. We have two other capable CBs waiting in the wings and will get their chances so this is the ideal and will spur both on, and why Gerrard has spent heavy on Helander. 

Goldson has been really solid, can sometimes just hesitate too much with ball at feet - and I’m not sure if it’s lack of confidence in those situations or complacency or over confidence if you like. 

Katic, more aggressive and quick to act but still not as comfortable covering from a positional sense if the full back is caught out of position. 

Both provide equal goal threat at the other end. 

I don’t think we need to rank players that play alongside each other in different positions. I’m happy with both those guys starting most weeks until Helander and Edmundson displace either on merit. 

We’ve progressed massively defensively each of the last 7 seasons but still much improvement still to be made - and include the FBs in that. 

Final third is I’m sure still giving SG more headaches when trying to counter low block teams. 

 

Perfect, balanced analysis which I think 99.9% of posters would agree with.  Many thanks!

[the gunslinger 3,366]

1 hour ago, pete said:

I reacted to a post from Gunslinger who called me out. Surely John picking Goldson for POTY is his opinion and not a measuring block for what is right and what is nonesense. I have and others including yourself have all mentioned situations to substantiate that Goldson is liable to make mistakes so no idea  why it is unsubstantiated nonsense  I did say in an earlier post that Goldson played well yesterday. I would certainly play Goldson and Katic for the 2 oncoming games. Anyway I will leave it at that and go and work in the garden.

now your misrepresenting me. 

[JohnMc 2,754]

2 hours ago, pete said:

Listen to the podcast I am not alone in knowing that Katic is a far better defender than Goldson. Ross and Graham discussed it  without any prompting from me. Can't remember what Johns position was. Just another point Vuckic scored for FC Twente last week and is playing well.

I think I said Katic should be freed, or used as a makeweight when trying to sell Grezda. Maybe my memory is playing tricks with me... ? 

[Gribz 850]

Im a Katic fan but it was last season I had a slight gripe when loanee Worrall was picked ahead of him.

 

I think we have 4 fine centre halfs at the moment.

 

Gerrard has so much options in rotating the squad but defensive formation doesnt seem to be an option. Id like to see us try a 3 at the back sometime, perhaps a home league match against Killie or the likes. My preference at the moment is the back four due to the amount of good options in the midfield / wings but a plan B with a 3 would be interesting.