buba3d 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 demarcus does his job marking however gets knockeddown and ajax get the free kick hutton went through his man like a bad case of the shitters. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buba3d 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 final whistle 1-1 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Ajax's number 5 Davids look-a-like seemed to be a player. Hard to make and genuine evaluations of the game, the team and the players due to the stop-start buffering of the stream. Hutton beaten on his flank twice early on but settled and seems more composed on the ball. JCD absolute tank and lightning but one hell of a temper, although Clark only saw his infringement when he could've seen red. McGregor made some good saves, maybe could've done better at the goal although my stream buggered up a lot around their goal. Had to make any other judgements due to afore mentioned problems. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 850 Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Does anyone think that will more or less be Smiths first pick XI? If Thomson was available would he have played instead of 1 of the strikers?? Im glad its a 4-4-2 but I didnt think McCulloch could play right midfield, Im sure this is a fill in but we'll see how he does. Darcheville seems well up for the challenge, I like the fact he is "over-committed", he just cant be silly or dirty about it, but he is exactly what we need - a solid "tank" to get in about the rough SPL defences while playing with another striker. EDIT: Apparently Smith agrees with me 32,000 at the game BTW WALTER SMITH will not try to curb Jean Claude Darcheville's aggression after he was involved in another on-field altercation in tonight's 1-1 draw with Ajax. The powerhouse striker was furious after a heavy challenge by George Ogararu and then got involved with Ajax scorer John Heitinga to earn a yellow card from referee Kenny Clark. It was similar to an incident last week in Germany when Darche took exception to a challenge against Hannover 96 and was also cautioned for his reaction. Smith, however, feels that he needs that kind of spirit in the team - as long as it does not go too far. He said: "There is nothing wrong with Jean Claude getting involved. A competitive edge has to come. He has a level of aggression and he likes to use that. "As long as he doesn't get anything more than a yellow card - as he did tonight - then we don't mind it because you need a level of aggression." The manager was pleased with the tough workout he expected against the Dutch giants, who had gone behind in 19 minutes to Carlos Cuellar's header but equalised in 61 minutes through Heitinga. He said: "I think we took a lot out of the game. We had to work very hard against a team who lost the Dutch championship last season by one goal. "They have a reputation for playing terrific football and they showed tonight in terms of possession of the ball that they are very accomplished. "It was a strange situation in the first half of the game because we had the majority of the chances but they had the majority of possession. "I was pleased with the way we worked. While they might have had the craft we had a lot of graft. "We were disappointed to lose the goal which gave them an equaliser but we can't really complain about the scoreline. "It was great to see Carlos scoring and we had seen him do that for Osasuna. Hopefully he can pop up with a few more in the season ahead. "I think we got the competitive edge we were looking for. We wanted to face a team of quality that we don't come up against every week and I felt we handled it fairly well. "We will take a look at how the players are before choosing the line-up for the Chelsea match on Saturday." 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,552 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Decent performance last night if lacking in a little bit of creativity (as if we didn't know). We are looking a reasonably solid unit though and with the addition of another 2 or 3 players there's no doubt we have an improved squad. Does it genuinely have the quality to challenge for honours? The proof will be in the pudding...! Early signs regarding Cuellar, JCD and McCulloch are encouraging. Beasley wasn't as effective but he will give us much-needed depth on the left-hand wing. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 850 Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Decent performance last night if lacking in a little bit of creativity (as if we didn't know). Where does that come from Frankie? Buffel when fit? Maybe give Gow a chance? But my concern is it will be a striker who makes way for the creative player and worse again JCD will make way ahead of Boyd. Should it be Ferguson who makes way? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CammyF 8,010 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I believe that the 4-4-2 formation and personel on display last night will be what we go with at the start of the season. The only change would be Thomson in for either Adam (or Hendami). The positives from last night were the solid performance by the defence and especially Hutton and CC. JCD had a very decent Ibrox debut and showed that he will be an asset over the course of the season. He is stong, fast and linked up well with Boyd. IMO McCulloch had an outstanding game last night - he is solid, can tackle, is good in the air and linked up well with the strikers. Maybe he will justify the �£2M price tag...... Another positive is that we looked a genuine threat from set-pieces. With Adam's pinpoint delivery and the ariel threat of Weir, JCD, CC, McCulloch, Hutton et al..... As others have said tho, still get the feeling that there is 'something' missing. Cammy F 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thinking about it, the "something missing" to me would be a creative midfielder who can quickly switch the midfield from defence to attack. Barry used to be able to do that but no more and Thomson and Hemdani are too defensive for that role. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CammyF 8,010 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thinking about it, the "something missing" to me would be a creative midfielder who can quickly switch the midfield from defence to attack. Barry used to be able to do that but no more and Thomson and Hemdani are too defensive for that role. Actually, Fergie did this in the first half - linked up well with JCD, Boyd and McCulloch. Was only when we made tactical changes at half-time did the 'something missing' become 'more evident'. In fact, it was Hendami who looked off the pace last night - I know it is only pre-season, but he looked sluggish all game. However, the signing of an attacking midfield player is a must - it would help Fergie (remember his link up play with RDB) as well as the forwards and the team in general. Cammy F 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Walter Smith post Ajax interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU-Jc2Yv51o 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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