SPFL Trust Trophy 2024/5

[irnbru]

6 hours ago, LargsTON said:

Aye bizarre 'resting' a guy that has such serious fitness issues.  If indeed that's the reason he's not playing.

90 minutes of football isn't going to get anyone fit or make any difference whatsoever to fitness levels. 

[vikingTON]

Playing one full pace football game is not more effective in terms of gaining fitness for JET or anyone else than a full two weeks training. Because the players who are intended to play on Saturday will have recovery time after (and possibly cotton wool before) that game. 'Resting' any player from first team football shouldn't mean they actually get a physical fitness break unless injury requires that - ideally, it's the opposite way round. 

The reality IMO is that the manager will pick a 'solid' team to reduce any key injuries or critical suspensions in this competition. For example, Ian Wilson. Delaney getting a straight red card against a stupid wee outfit is testament to that. 

Edited September 7 by vikingTON

[dunning1874]

Job done ultimately but that was an abysmal performance, which could easily have turned into an all time humiliating stain on this football club's history. We simply don't have a squad good enough to not struggle to break down a poor Lowland League team.

While we're good enough defensively to not be near a 13/14 level rabble in terms of goals conceded, today was the day I became fairly sure this squad will be doing exceptionally well to make a 30+ points total, because we simply aren't going to score goals from open play against Championship teams. Garrity is lightyears ahead of Emmanuel-Thomas, McGinn, Davies and Reynolds as a centre forward, it's not even his position and it's still to be seen whether he's good enough for this level in his actual position. That is our biggest threat at centre forward and it says far more about those four than it does about Garrity. Until we sign a footballer who's worthy of even claiming to be a striker we won't get near winning league games, and if that doesn't happen until January we're already down.

We also remain horribly short in defensive options, next week with Delaney suspended will be a right laugh. King or Blues as full backs against a Championship team is not a remotely credible option yet here we are, a million anywhere across the front three attackers stockpiled so we can have no full backs.

Edited September 8 by dunning1874

[LargsTON]

9 hours ago, irnbru said:

90 minutes of football isn't going to get anyone fit or make any difference whatsoever to fitness levels. 

Absolute bollocks.  

[Tink]

I’ve just watched Dougie’s post match interview. How can a professional football club, with a large and increasing admin staff, not know that Gillespie was suspended until the Friday afternoon before the game? So much for the proclaimed “professionalism” of the club and the 3 year plan, 75% of which has already been implemented. 
Why are we paying all these staff members if they can’t even get the basics right? I don’t think this has ever happened at the club before, even during Covid when the staff were all furloughed. What a shambles. 
Time for Dale and Laird to answer some questions about what they are doing to the club. The buck stops with them.

[RossMcC1874]

Pretty tinpot to not know Gillespie was suspended for the game until the last minute. 

With all due respect Cowdenbeath are three leagues below us and we struggled to get over the line it's simply not good enough. 

Same mince from Imrie team still gelling, players getting up to speed, always difficult in these games as it's a banana skin for us, pitch was sticky. 

Garrity is a good player and I'm glad he got a goal to give him a boost for his confidence but the harsh reality is he the best option for us as a striker and that is very worrying. 

The fact that Davies and Reynolds still can't get a start says it all. 

[TAFKAC]

1 hour ago, LargsTON said:

Absolute bollocks.  

90 minutes of football at match pace will reduce fitness; to suggest it would improve fitness is difficult to fathom.  The reason that pre-season is so important is that gradually builds up fitness in a match environment.  There is a reason that few players do 90 minutes in a pre-season.  

It's also why players coming back from injury used to gradually build up fitness in reserve games by playing 60,70 etc.  

 

1 hour ago, Tink said:

I’ve just watched Dougie’s post match interview. How can a professional football club, with a large and increasing admin staff, not know that Gillespie was suspended until the Friday afternoon before the game? So much for the proclaimed “professionalism” of the club and the 3 year plan, 75% of which has already been implemented. 
Why are we paying all these staff members if they can’t even get the basics right? I don’t think this has ever happened at the club before, even during Covid when the staff were all furloughed. What a shambles. 
Time for Dale and Laird to answer some questions about what they are doing to the club. The buck stops with them.

It is very worrying but we're never going to beat signing a player that we couldn't play.  That's a depth we'll never reach again.  I hope.

[Tink]

4 minutes ago, TAFKAC said:

 

It is very worrying but we're never going to beat signing a player that we couldn't play.  That's a depth we'll never reach again.  I hope.

I’d forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder!!!

[Boogs49]

The Gillespie suspension should really have been known well in advance of yesterday. Although the SFA haven't posted any Suspension Lists this season their last update on 25th April has a list of Outstanding Cup suspensions. I'm assuming from Dougie's comments that Morton were not emailed or texted until Friday but if I knew about his suspension back in April then surely someone at the Club must have known.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11798/los42-spfl-shfl-slfl-25-april-2024.pdf

[SpoonTon]

14 hours ago, dunning1874 said:

Job done ultimately but that was an abysmal performance, which could easily have turned into an all time humiliating stain on this football club's history. We simply don't have a squad good enough to not struggle to break down a poor Lowland League team.

While we're good enough defensively to not be near a 13/14 level rabble in terms of goals conceded, today was the day I became fairly sure this squad will be doing exceptionally well to make a 30+ points total, because we simply aren't going to score goals from open play against Championship teams. Garrity is lightyears ahead of Emmanuel-Thomas, McGinn, Davies and Reynolds as a centre forward, it's not even his position and it's still to be seen whether he's good enough for this level in his actual position. That is our biggest threat at centre forward and it says far more about those four than it does about Garrity. Until we sign a footballer who's worthy of even claiming to be a striker we won't get near winning league games, and if that doesn't happen until January we're already down.

We also remain horribly short in defensive options, next week with Delaney suspended will be a right laugh. King or Blues as full backs against a Championship team is not a remotely credible option yet here we are, a million anywhere across the front three attackers stockpiled so we can have no full backs.

It was always going to be a tough job to replace Oakley, and not easy replacing Muirhead either, but there's a worry at this stage that we've struggled to even improve upon Quitongo and Bearne. JET, McGinn, Reynolds, Davies, and Shaw (will he ever be fit?) don't look like the most inspiring collection of attacking players at this point. I'd swap all five of those for a player like Oakley, and use Lyall, Garrity and Moffat as the other attacking players. Obviously a little more depth than that is needed in attacking positions but we've got, as you say, a stockpile of unconvincing attacking players right now and gaps elsewhere. 

We're a proper centre forward away from a pretty good starting 11, but there's not much beyond that at all. We better hope that Wilson stays fit this year. Players like Oakley and Wilson were vital to any success we had last season, Wilson and a lack of a proper striker still feel quite vital. 

Not that Imrie has had an easy job this summer, I can only imagine how many players have turned us down, but it's clearly been a struggle. 

[HamCam]

The highlights are up on line if anyone wants a bout of depression. I have no idea how Imrie can keep rambling on about how we are progressing as an exciting team to watch when all I can see is a team devoid of character and negligible goal threat. Cowdenbeath are a step up from a pub team but can count themselves unlucky not to at least take it to penalties yesterday. As for the Gillespie debacle, has Gillian Donaldson been employed by the club as a consultant?

[Jamie_M]

4th Round

Away to Hamilton.

[dunning1874]

To be played 12/13 October. We're already away to them in the league on 26 October, as if it wasn't boring enough already.

[Boogs49]

On 9/10/2024 at 1:13 PM, dunning1874 said:

To be played 12/13 October. We're already away to them in the league on 26 October, as if it wasn't boring enough already.

Will be played on Friday 11th October, selected for TV coverage on BBC Alba

https://gmfc.net/hamilton-vs-morton-selected-for-tv-coverage/

[vikingTON]

On 9/8/2024 at 10:34 AM, TAFKAC said:

90 minutes of football at match pace will reduce fitness; to suggest it would improve fitness is difficult to fathom.  

Not played once per week it won't. Call it fitness or sharpness but there's no question that players and clubs can do all the aerobic preparation they want, but the player won't be up to the pace of a competitive match without getting (as good as) 90 minute segments in matches under their belt. 

[dunning1874]

The excitement is palpable for this one tonight.

Interested to see what we do at left back without Delaney.

[vikingTON]

Would very much like to see us target this competition, given our league campaign is unlikely to involve any serious promotion tilt. That said, I'd still rotate to avoid risking any key players with ongoing issues: Mullen, Wilson and Garrity in particular; possibly Stuparevic too. 

[TopCat]

This competition is usually a non-starter for us, so it's not exactly edge of the seat stuff. Another 90 minutes to give our new forwards a chance to gel wouldn't do any harm though. 

[Jamie_M]

As tinpot as it is, it's about time we had our tinpot day in the sun winning this thing.

Are we the biggest overall underachievers in this competition?