porcupine wrote:Accies4ever wrote:Wasn't at the game today, so were we really as bad as reported on tv and radio?
Also, I'd like to hear from the "pro-Canning / give Canning until next season" brigade.
Not having a go at you guys, but can you offer us "doubters" reasons to think things are or will improve.
What signs of improvement are happening, as I can't see them?
I have left my responses until 21.00hrs in the hope of being more objective. However, my support for the board's original decision has now evaporated. Having missed both the Aberdeen & Celtic games, I was sure that, going to Paisley today, playing against a team at the foot of the SPFL table, AND not having had a home win this SEASON, then we would come away with three points. How wrong can one be?
St Mirren are a poor, poor team, but wanted the points more than we did. McGovern kept us in it with some great saves, Ziggy gave his usual 150%, and McDonald had a good game, within a 'team' of disjointed individuals. Midfield was almost non-existent, and we were second to the ball on most occasions. Long high punts up the park, to a ineffective Hasseless and a slow Scotland, were mopped up by a tall defence. We had about 10 minutes in total trying to play it on the deck.
As others have said, McKinnon was a liability (again). He is, IMO, a robust Championship player at best, and he cannot control his temper for 90 minutes. He should have been subbed early into the second half. But, here's the question. Who decides?? Is it the captain, who is playing in goals, and furthest from the action/incident? Or is it the Manager, who is desperately trying to avoid another nail in his coffin? Or is it the bench, who arguably, can see the entire play developing, or fizzling out, from the centre line? Canning finally tells Ziggy to run over to the bench, which then send the subs out in the howling rain, only for them to be returned to the dugout to sit there for another 10/15 minutes!! Brophy finally gets onto the park, once we are a goal down, and is subject of a crunching tackle/foul within 30 seconds which must have left him both soaked to the skin, and bruised from a slide of about four metres on the side of the pitch. Redmond was the obvious choice to replace McKinnon after the first incident, but, No, he remains a substitute and never plays. At least he has some talent. Super-sub Longridge, who has done absolutely nothing this season, gets game time near the end. Why??
Imrie tried too hard near the end. Routledge, McKinnon & Crawford were really poor, with Devlin & Canning just getting pass marks. Why we signed Nigel, is beyond belief, other than some old pals act, as his touch is dreadful. Even before the game started, he only hit the net with one of about
eight attempts in the warm-up.
At The end Ziggy came over to the fans, looked embarrassed for his team-mates performance, but had the balls to face the support, which is more than the rest did, apart from McDonald.
Yes, I know we have lost 22, Neil & MAC, all of whom contributed significantly to out teams previous success. BUT, that is four/five weeks ago, and the new management team seem to have neither the ability, the skills required, or the management 'bite/acumen to stop the free-fall. Results elsewhere were a miracle in that all others around us lost too, other than St J. Before today, I thought the Ross County game looked to be a possible banana skin, given their two previous results. Now, I cannot see where we can see a win until the split. I was both supportive of the board's appointment, and of the need of time to play a team where we should roll over them the way we did up to Christmas. I now conclude, Accies4Ever, that Martin Canning should face up to the reality that he just does not have the skill-set for this task at present, and, more importantly, Les & Ronnie should have the 'balls' to recognise that, if we are to survive this free fall, then one of the "many outstanding candidates" should be approached to kick the team into shape, for the remainder of the season, regardless of the Club's "Ethos" from now until May 2015.
Today,was like watching Accies of 10/20 years ago in the lower leagues. Desperately, desperately poor!!! Has it been 2 points from a possible 27??? or are my maths wrong????
As above although I still have hopes for Hasselbaink to come good - any striker would struggle in that team but with hardly a ball kicked in 6 months it's a huge ask.
I suppose my patience finally cracked this afternoon with the MacKinnon episode expertly described by Porcupine. It was clear that McKinnon had completely lost the head to everyone apart from Chris Swailes on the Accies bench who had to be told by Ziggy to send his bench out to warm up. McKinnon only avoided red due to the inexplicable lenience of Crawford Allan but yet we finally make the change with 3 minutes remaining! I could understand the desire to keep him on if he was having a good game but he was abject.
There is clearly a problem with the Canning / Swailes dynamic with Swailes either unwilling or unable to make changes, to make our 2nd change with only minutes remaining and not even use our 3rd sub in a day where we only had 1 attempt at goal and where we were ridiculously poor is hard to understand.
We are a team with zero confidence, zero ideas and on today's evidence little effort. Change is needed and if it's done now maybe top 6 is still possible.