Post Tannidice / Pre Sporting Rants

[CammyF 8,003]

Changing Formation

 

Well, the ââ?¬Ë?Walter Smith is too negativeââ?¬â?¢ brigade got their wish on Saturday when our esteemed manager finally changed his formation, tactics and preferred starting line-up. What happened? Well, we lost 3 very poor goals, looked nervous, didnââ?¬â?¢t play particularly well and can count ourselves lucky that we escaped from Tannidice with a draw. In saying all of the above, lets take nothing away from Dundee Unitedââ?¬â?¢s performance as they were exceptional. They were full of running (out paced us all over the pitch), creativity, movement and no little skill ââ?¬â?? we on the other hand were devoid of the above. So what positives can we take from Tannidice? Well, we ended the weekend 1 point better off than we started it (a very unexpected bonus) and we can take heart and encouragement from the (dare I say it!) ââ?¬Ë?Never Surrenderââ?¬â?¢ attitude of the players. A lesser team would have lost that game.

 

For me, and itââ?¬â?¢s easy to say with hindsight, we donââ?¬â?¢t have the personnel to play 4-4-2 at the moment. Our midfield looked weak and were easily overran ââ?¬â?? that was a direct result of having 2 players exposed to 3 fast DUFC midfield players. Our wide men were terrible yesterday and contributed nothing to the game. When playing 4-4-2 you require genuine ââ?¬Ë?wide-menââ?¬â?¢ in midfield and / or in the full-back positions. Players like Burke, Hutton, Beasley, Adam even Naysmith or Novo (who were unavailable to play these positions for varying reasons) would be preferable to SW, Daily, McCulloch and Papac who were deployed against Dundee United. We left Novo and Boyd isolated upfront and offered them little service or support. Novo, as usual tried his heart out (and took his goal brilliantly) whilst Boyd was his frustrating self. He really does split the fans down the middle, but in my opinion did little on Sunday to enhance his reputation or chances of securing a continued starting place. Yes he took his goal well (his 50th SPL goal for Rangers) but continues to give the impression that he has never before been introduced to a football. He loses possession to easily for a striker and MUST improve his hold-up and link up play. Yesterday, as in the CIS Cup Final, De Vries showed how to play as a ââ?¬Ë?target manââ?¬â?¢. He hustled and harried our centre-halves and didnââ?¬â?¢t give them a minutes peace.

 

In conclusion I for one hope that WS has learnt his lesson regarding altering / tinkering with his preferred formation and we can only speculate as to weather we would have emerged from Dundee with 3 points if we had gone 4-5-1. One thing that is certain, playing 4-5-1, we wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have lost 3 goals. Coming home from the game, we had a discussion on our bus regarding an eventual replacement for Walter Smith ââ?¬â?? personally, I think we would be mad not to consider Craig Levin ââ?¬â?? he has bought some fantastic players and has DUFC playing some wonderful football (and they look fitter than our squad at the moment).

 

So What�s The Agenda This Week?

 

So we can leave the disappointment of Tannidice behind and concentrate on this weeks upcoming fixtures. Thursday sees us in Portugal for the return leg of the UEFA Cup Tie with Sporting where we are trying to secure a semi-final spot. The tie is not beyond us and itââ?¬â?¢s surprising to see that we actually secured the best ââ?¬Ë?homeââ?¬â?¢ result of all the quarter final ties. We know what we need to do, keep the game tight and try to score an away goal. This game will follow a familiar pattern as itââ?¬â?¢ll be a carbon copy of the Pana away tie (hopefully with the same outcome). We will revert back to 4-5-1 and play with 3 defensive midfield players (Fergie, Thompson and Hendami) with McCulloch out wide left and possibly Novo out right. Daily will replace the suspended Weir alongside CC with Broadfoot and Papac playing fullback. JCD will start as the lone striker with Cousin replacing him if and when required.

 

I cannot believe the stick we have taken from some quarters (even very close to home) over the first leg result and performance. As I said above, just look at the outcome of the other ties to see that we actually secured a decent result against a more than decent team. Some (thankfully small) sections of our support really need to think before they start ââ?¬Ë?booingââ?¬â?¢ the players. We have over achieved in Europe this year ââ?¬â?? we gave decent account of ourselves in the CL Group of Death and are doing superbly well in the UEFA Cup. Just have a look at our coefficient points tally to see how well we are actually doing.

 

On our return from Portugal, we have a tricky Scottish Cup reply against Partick Thistle to negotiate. This game will NOT be a walkover, as the original tie at Ibrox proved. We will inevitably have to make changes in this tie and fringe players may have to be relied upon to ensure that we are still on course for a domestic treble come the end of the Sunday.

 

Appeasement

 

So Celtc lose another OF game and the fans are showing an increasing disillusionment with wee Chesney. Okay, a mass (sic) exodus to the car-park isnââ?¬â?¢t imminent, but of they continue to drop further behind us, it looks inevitable, Peter Liewell and John Reid hatch a wonderful plan to appease the restless natives. The biggest criticism of Wee GS from the Tims is that he isnââ?¬â?¢t ââ?¬Ë?Celtc Mindedââ?¬â?¢ (what ever the hell that means ââ?¬â?? well, I could give you my thoughts but thatââ?¬â?¢s for another day!!!!) so what do they do? Well, they got on the phone to the Lurgan Bigot and ââ?¬Ë?createââ?¬â?¢ an opening for him. As predicted, Lennon jumps at the opportunity and the Tims fall for it hook, line and sinker.

 

Hey presto, they have their favourite bigot back (after Saturdays defeat, I wonder if thereââ?¬â?¢s room for their favourite Nazi, Mr PDC?) and a ââ?¬Ë?Celtc Mindedââ?¬â?¢ coach to keep Wee GS in check. Now, Liewell will tell you that Lennon is being ââ?¬Ë?groomedââ?¬â?¢ and that a ââ?¬Ë?real roleââ?¬â?¢ will be created in the summer. Cynical me just thinks Lennon needs the cash to pay child support for all the illegitimate children (I toned that down as this is a family publication) he spawned in his time in Scotland.

 

Cammy F ââ?¬â?? Support The Dublin Loyal - We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

[calscot 0]

Great post Cammy and I agree with your points. Dick Advocaat couldn't get us to the semi with a much more expensive and probably talented team with a reputation for playing fancy football.

 

I think Dundee Utd did look great, especially in such a short time and on a miniscule budget. But, the fact that they are 25 points behind us having played 3 games more, have one trophy less, out of the Scottish cup and struggling to finish behind a Motherwell with even less money to spend, all suggests that they are still not really in our league.

 

They've played well against us but the evidence suggests that they raise their game for Rangers and are not suffering from playing anywhere near as many games. They seem more like our bogey team than technical equals.

 

I'm sure they will improve and Levein may be able to do far more with the kind of spending money that Smith has had but that does not mean you can guarantee he'd put a team together to make such a good go of the quadruple, including dominating a half decent Celtic side with a reputable manager.

 

They ran a few rings round us at times but there's nothing to suggest they could do that to us or any other team on a regular basis, especially without us looking jaded and off form.

 

I can seriously see us spanking them next season.

[Gribz 847]

Changing Formation

 

Well, the ‘Walter Smith is too negative’ brigade got their wish on Saturday when our esteemed manager finally changed his formation, tactics and preferred starting line-up. What happened? Well, we lost 3 very poor goals, looked nervous, didn’t play particularly well and can count ourselves lucky that we escaped from Tannidice with a draw. In saying all of the above, lets take nothing away from Dundee United’s performance as they were exceptional. They were full of running (out paced us all over the pitch), creativity, movement and no little skill – we on the other hand were devoid of the above. So what positives can we take from Tannidice? Well, we ended the weekend 1 point better off than we started it (a very unexpected bonus) and we can take heart and encouragement from the (dare I say it!) ‘Never Surrender’ attitude of the players. A lesser team would have lost that game.

 

 

What is the reason for WS changing things around? Did he give into fan pressure or just saw that the team may need a freshen up?

 

Whatever the reason he may have changed the formation but he also changed the personel and got that wrong. If he put the correct players in with the changed line up we still well have taken 3 pts away. But Whittaker is not a midfielder and Dailly is far from his best at RB. With having so much defensive players (especially on the wide position) it invites the opposition to attack us.

 

In saying that the point about never say die attitude is spot on. We would have left Tannadice with nothing in this was still Pre-Walter Part2.

 

As for Thursday, Im pretty worried about it. I find it hard to understand how fans can boo after what we have achieved thus far but I still share there sense of frustration that we had to take the home leg by the scrub of the neck and win the tie. The away leg is going to be tough IMO.

[gisabeer 409]

walter got his personel wrong on sunday. a full back in midfield? why? we have plenty of midfielders who could have fill the roll. but whittaker wasnt in the role to to supply the strikers he was there to defend. Lee Mcculloch too hasnt kicked his own arse in weeks but gets picked no matter what. we could have went with burke and naismith just for a change but such flamboyancy is right out of the question with walter.

 

The fans have a right to question our tactics, especially the ones who fork out money to see them. just ask my son who got his first season book this term and after half a dozen games hed had enough and didnt want to go anymore. Why? at five years old he told me it was boring and hed had enough. thats the problem with kids though, they tend to tell you the truth.

 

As for DA not producing the goods. Rangers in my opinion played the best football ive ever seen in my time as a supporter and he was very very unlucky when it came to the European scene. Remember the dodgy free kick that bayern munich scored with a wild deflection? we totally outclassed them home and away and got nothing in return. but sometimes lady luck just doesnt smile your way

[Gribz 847]

walter got his personel wrong on sunday. a full back in midfield? why? we have plenty of midfielders who could have fill the roll. but whittaker wasnt in the role to to supply the strikers he was there to defend. Lee Mcculloch too hasnt kicked his own arse in weeks but gets picked no matter what. we could have went with burke and naismith just for a change but such flamboyancy is right out of the question with walter.

 

 

Yip, its like we have a list of players and if those players are available then they will be put in the team in any role ahead of others who could do a more natural role at it.

[calscot 0]

Have we forgotten that Whittaker was bought for the right midfield role with the option of cover for Hutton.

 

He was considered a full back who was great going forward but tracking back wasn't his best and many thought he would make a great right winger.

 

Walter just played him in the position that many have vaunted him for, so complaining about him being out of position is just being picky and not seeing or remembering the whole picture.

 

IMHO Walter changed the tactics for the Arabs as our usual formation does not seem to work against DU. He tried something different hoping for a different result but it didn't quite work out that way. He was also freshing up the team, trying to get some of the more fringe players to show some hunger and energy.

 

DU are playing really well at the moment, especially against us and have a European place to play for. The were well organised, fresh and up for it.

 

We've lost many games in the past against teams like that, with many managers and many formations and many team choices. Hibs used to be our bogey team and Aberdeen away was always a hard one.

 

We've lost these games in the past and our 13 game winning streak isn't an SPL record for us for nothing.

 

We've always lost or drawn games and can't win every week. It's easy to criticise on hindsight but few managers have achieved the results that Walter has this season and if you took away our dodgy early season form due to being a new team, we'd be looking at 100pt this year.

 

I don't understand how anyone can be so persnickety about the tactics of a manager who, this late in the season is odds on for a treble and a good chance of a UEFA cup semi place.

 

We may have played some good football with Advocaat but in the end it was ineffective. He never got us to a Euro quarterfinal and only won the league in 2 out 4 seasons with the most money an OF manager has ever had.

 

He could sign players we've no chance of competing for now as our income then was in the top 10 in Europe. We have to live with the fact that the best players are unavailable to us now and we have to win by putting together a fighting team that can compete against technically superior players in Europe.

 

At home, it always gets a bit turgid - including when DA was manger. I saw some terrible games where a �£12M substitution made no difference against a staunch St Johnstone team.

 

We had some good games in Europe with DA but this season we've had good games: Stuggart at home, Lyon away and Bremen at home, but we've also have the knack of getting through when we're not at our best or luck isn't quite going our way.

 

I'd like to see what DA could do on our current budget in such a short time. The Dutchman is a good manager but needs higher quality players than we can afford right now.

 

Walter is performing miracles and many fans are judging him incredibly unfairly while looking through rose tinted spectacles at our past.

[gisabeer 409]

we never take the game to the other team and if the opposition can muster 3 or 4 passes together as du can, then we tend to find our selves on the back foot. everyone we play looks good against us. as for the uefa cup, were getting through each stage by the skin of our teeth. in fact we have been nothing short of embarrasing in the tournament.

[fraser54 0]

We may not be the most entertaining team in europe but we got the best home result out of the Uefa Cup and Champions League quarter final first legs

 

As long as we dont concede at home i am more than confident we can go away and score 1 goal

[Gribz 847]

Have we forgotten that Whittaker was bought for the right midfield role with the option of cover for Hutton.

 

He was considered a full back who was great going forward but tracking back wasn't his best and many thought he would make a great right winger.

 

Walter just played him in the position that many have vaunted him for, so complaining about him being out of position is just being picky and not seeing or remembering the whole picture.

 

 

Why would we sign a full back for midfield??

Agree he was back up to Hutton but then Broadfoot was bought for back up for the centre halfs.

 

Would Barcelona sign Gary Neville for midfield??

[Super_Ally 0]

 

More importnantly for me, Boyd yesterday, as in the CIS cup final, showed De Vries how to do what really matters. And whilst in both games De Vries had the support of a fluent midfield and defence behind him to help him and support him, Boyd was essentially ploughing a lone furrow (Novo aside).

 

in fact we have been nothing short of embarrasing in the tournament.

 

With fans like these. Frustration at performances is fair enough. Comments like these show a lack of understanding about European football and the economics and politics of football on this continent.