Willie Wastle wrote:Heart in my mouth for this one, and still more than 24 hours to go.
St Mirren aren't the team that came up, they've changed manager twice since then, and I refuse to believe they're world beaters because they kept a clean sheet at Celtic Park (as we nearly did). But that just means we should be beating them: this sort of game should be a home banker. If we're to stay up we need to win games like this.
Can we beat them? IMO, only if we control the midfield. Our defence is strong enough to keep them out; we have forwards who can score; so the game will be won or lost in midfield. And I'm not convinced we can do that. Our only midfielder I currently have confidence in is Daz, and we need at least one other to step up. Scott Martin? Tom Taiwo? Sam Kelly? Aaron Smith?
Our season won't be over, not this early, if we don't win. Even if there's the nightmare scenario where we lose, Dundee somehow beat Hibs, and we go bottom, we shouldn't be running up the white flag. But it would be a massive setback. The alternative, where Accies and Hibs both win, opens up a six point gap over the bottom (plus GD) and drops St Mirren into the play-off spot. That's what we want. But the contrast couldn't be more stark.
I hate using the term "must win", but sometimes, even six games in, there's a game we really need to win. This is it.
Swift Frank wrote:Willie Wastle wrote:Heart in my mouth for this one, and still more than 24 hours to go.
St Mirren aren't the team that came up, they've changed manager twice since then, and I refuse to believe they're world beaters because they kept a clean sheet at Celtic Park (as we nearly did). But that just means we should be beating them: this sort of game should be a home banker. If we're to stay up we need to win games like this.
Can we beat them? IMO, only if we control the midfield. Our defence is strong enough to keep them out; we have forwards who can score; so the game will be won or lost in midfield. And I'm not convinced we can do that. Our only midfielder I currently have confidence in is Daz, and we need at least one other to step up. Scott Martin? Tom Taiwo? Sam Kelly? Aaron Smith?
Our season won't be over, not this early, if we don't win. Even if there's the nightmare scenario where we lose, Dundee somehow beat Hibs, and we go bottom, we shouldn't be running up the white flag. But it would be a massive setback. The alternative, where Accies and Hibs both win, opens up a six point gap over the bottom (plus GD) and drops St Mirren into the play-off spot. That's what we want. But the contrast couldn't be more stark.
I hate using the term "must win", but sometimes, even six games in, there's a game we really need to win. This is it.
It wasn't Celtic Park.
It was St Mirren Park.
TerracingTomas wrote:I agree that defence is not the problem it was. I think it will only get stronger as the players build up an understanding of each other. I also think we have a few attacking options. Certainly no worse off in that respect than last year but the midfield hasn’t turned up yet and that’s worrying. Taiwo was described by one Falkirk fan as great at breaking up attacks but not so good going forward, Aron Smith might be back in the fold but at the moment that’s a reserve one. Don’t agree re Daz. He is a long way off last seasons player. So it’s a big ask of Martin and Kelly. St Mirren under Kearney seemed to have relied on the original squad last week rather than stubb’s signings so not sure what to expect but the appointment of gus McPherson essentially to mentor Kearney is exactly what Accies should have done with canning. Too late now ☹️
Bluesy wrote:Lewis Smith has the creative ability. Where is he now?
Yummy Fur wrote:Bluesy wrote:Lewis Smith has the creative ability. Where is he now?
Playing reserve football and trying to make the step up from u17 football, nowhere near ready for first team football yet.
Willie Wastle wrote:About that midfield...
Playing 5-at-the-back, we have 2 wing backs pushing up to help flood the midfield. That definitely helps. And this year, we have several players who can play the system: McGowan or Ziggy at RWB, McMann, Sowah or Dougie at LWB. So that's good.
Between them we need 2 solid midfielders who can control the game, break up the opposition, and spray passes around. Whatever Daz's form so far this year, he's one of those 2 for me, and the other should be a bit more adventurous, looking to break forward more. Last season that was Docherty, then Ferguson. I'm hoping Martin's that man, because if he's not, I don't think Kelly or A Smith is, from what I've seen so far.
Ahead of them we need a more creative midfielder. Like Andreu, Crawford or Templeton. I don't see that we have a player like that at all. Perhaps Kelly or Smith? Which is why we've been playing 3 forwards, with 1 or 2 of them dropping back to fill that role - Boyd, Miller, even Bingham. I'm not convinced this will ever work, but we can only use the players we have.
Whatever Hughes could have contributed, we won't know for a while, now that he's out on loan. Ditto Cunningham (who's probably more of a forward anyway). I don't know about Lewis Smith - could he do a job anytime soon?
I'd like to see us playing this system, that the club's management clearly prefers, with a good pool of players who understand it. Like we now have in defence. But if we have a target man (Brustad, Oggy or Bloomfield), with a 2nd striker behind him (Miller, Bingham or Boyd), we seem to me still short for the remaining 2 midfield places I've described. Martin or Taiwo, plus Kelly or one of the Smiths, and that's it. The way Canning's been giving those places to anyone else - strikers or even Dougie - suggests to me he lacks confidence in the options who are meant to play there.
Just as I finished typing this, I realised I've forgotten Gogic! Straight into the XI alongside Daz, as soon as he's fit, please.
Euan wrote:I wouldn’t say today is must win, but it's certainly must not lose.
A 0-0 draw would suit both teams and that’s a likely outcome.
We need to go into next weeks crunch game v. Dundee (who’ll hopefully have lost to Hibs but not sacked McCann yet) having stopped our own losing streak.
That’s not a must win either but it will be our most significant game of the first half of the season and probably the game we need to win most, if we hope to have another successful campaign.
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