James Sands. Not a criticism of the player more the need.

Played 2 games and 2 games we didn’t deserve to win and only scraped 1 win from
2 of them.

Not actually blaming him but this start after another winter break we have been terrible it is really really worrying.
 
Was fresh air for me tonight. Didn’t really offer anything. Early days though so not a over critical. With Jack back and Davis coming back he’ll be down the pecking order anyway.
 
Wilkinsvolley said:
We don’t necessarily have to bring players in order of how much they’re needed. We can bring others in too.
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Absolutely. If you’re tracking a player then sometimes they become available sooner than ideally you’d want them and you’ve to make the move then or risk losing them.

Conversely you can track guys that never become available at the right time and you may be forced into plan B, or plan C-Z depending on what the need is and what the timeframe is.
 
Jorgthegreat said:
He is a DM who doesn't seem to actually want the ball. Kamala went in there and we started to get control.
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belly.gif
 
Jorgthegreat said:
He is not as good as Kamara,Jack and Davis as a CDM and he doesn't look to have much in the way of attacking play to move further forward. I struggle to see where he get a game when others are fit.
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I can see his signing , Kamara will probably be gone in the summer, Jack we don’t know how long he will last and Davis has been really poor this season when he has played. Let the boy settle and see where we are after the summer.
 
Poor starting team selection tonight by Gio imo. I had no quarrel with Itten's selection but there is no doubt that Arfield should have started ahead of Sands. No disrespect to Sands but he's had two starts and although he's been okay he is not an attacking threat. We'll have Kent, Arfield and Aribo available from here in plus Ryan Jack and Roofe. I think that Sands will need to be content with a place on the bench for at least the next few games. Still, tonight was a genuinely good 3 points. Livi are nobody's mugs.
 
ssblue said:
Very very early days and he has done OK so not a criticism of him.

However did we need a DM?

Pretty obvious that had we not swapped a DM for an AM this game was ending goalless.
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No we have loads we need a dynamic midfielder with a goal threat however if davis retires and lundstrom moves on then maybe we do .
 
I think we'll need Sands pretty quickly if Kamara goes, as I think he will this summer. Also if Lundstram goes to lighten the wage bill, as many on here seem to think needs to happen.

Should Sands be playing together with Kamara? No, not in 90% of games we play. We needed Arfield tonight, and we need another Arfield urgently. But I don't see why we couldn't be bringing in both Sands and an Arfield type player right now.

But some on the match thread and in here should be fucking ashamed of themselves the way they're talking about this guy already.
 
He was anonymous, but it's hard for a holding midfielder to stand out in a game we're dominating against a team that's mostly parking the bus.
 
JD1872 said:
A tidy enough player that we will not need in 99% of the games we play domestically

Maybe a long term Kamara replacement?

Not a position I would have been prioritising this window
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I don't think you pick and choose sometimes. At times you just need to be planning ahead.

I thought he was good tonight but Kamara isnt up to playing further forward and he's better in DM than Sands currently.
 
Same performance as Pittodrie, didn't get involved really.

Didn't do anything wrong, just didn't do much.

Hopefully we can get Jack, Davis and Aribo back in the team.so we can ease him in gently.
 
Carlton The Bear said:
Absolutely. If you’re tracking a player then sometimes they become available sooner than ideally you’d want them and you’ve to make the move then or risk losing them.

Conversely you can track guys that never become available at the right time and you may be forced into plan B, or plan C-Z depending on what the need is and what the timeframe is.
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Good to see someone recognise we're not playing football manager.
 
ssblue said:
Very very early days and he has done OK so not a criticism of him.

However did we need a DM?

Pretty obvious that had we not swapped a DM for an AM this game was ending goalless.
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I wonder if this is his best position - maybe viewed as a defender longer term but there's just a jersey available in midfield just now.

I'll hang off judging him until we play a game where we need a player to defend.

To me he just looks like your stereotypical American player: good athlete, diligent, good attitude but only plays in straight lines with absolutely zero flair or creativity
 
Sands getting stick because we didn't need another DM is poor.

Sands was brought in to settle for next season imo.

He is playing because we have players unavailable and we have Davis and Arfield out of contract and Jack injured most of the season so will need someone in the summer and he was available now.
 
He didn't really put a foot wrong, without really doing anything either. He wasn't needed tonight and that's on Gio.

I'm a little surprised at how defensively he sets up, especially at Ibrox. Yes Gio has made us a more solid unit, but at home, we can play with more dynamism and flare.
 
Don't really understand the signing tbh

Not with Kanara, Jack, Davis and Lundstram who all play the same role

It's defo not the type of midfielder we need
 
Sands and Kamara have yet to gel properly in a match environment. If we give the lad time, he will come good as he looks capable. He’s not the worst we’ve ever had, and he certainly hasn’t been a total disaster in his short time here. I think he will come good.

He looks like a calm influence in the middle, and once he gets to grips with how we play and how this hammer throwing league plays, I reckon he could be a big player for us.

Patience is key with him, he needs time and patience.
 
jimbear said:
Poor starting team selection tonight by Gio imo. I had no quarrel with Itten's selection but there is no doubt that Arfield should have started ahead of Sands. No disrespect to Sands but he's had two starts and although he's been okay he is not an attacking threat. We'll have Kent, Arfield and Aribo available from here in plus Ryan Jack and Roofe. I think that Sands will need to be content with a place on the bench for at least the next few games. Still, tonight was a genuinely good 3 points. Livi are nobody's mugs.
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Think tonight was a fine balance between getting over the line and giving senior players game time, I think Saturday might be the same in preparation for a changed starting 11 against Celtic.
 
Did fine.

Wish he’d take more risk with his passing, played a lot of safe sidewards passes which did nothing but help Livi settle into their shape. Would have been fine if we didn’t have Kamara doing exactly the same

Easy to forget the lad is only 21 and has been thrown straight into the first 11
 
essexbluenose said:
Don't really understand the signing tbh

Not with Kanara, Jack, Davis and Lundstram who all play the same role

It's defo not the type of midfielder we need
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Jack can’t really be relied on, Davis is likely being phased out and Lundstram is hit and miss who we’re probably looking to get an upgrade on. Sands is a young player on an 18month loan so it’s not like we’re splashing the cash right now on a position that’s going to need filled come summer.
 
BIGBISCUITOOO said:
Think tonight was a fine balance between getting over the line and giving senior players game time, I think Saturday might be the same in preparation for a changed starting 11 against Celtic.
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I hope nit. You get the same 3 points for every league game you play. A win on Saturday is vital. Play our strongest starting eleven.
 
I think he looks a good signing. He is competing with Kamara for the DM role. Davis is probably done by next season and Lundstram looks a mistake. He will be needed.

Hopefully we are only playing him and Kamara due to injuries or lack of a CM. If we are playing both from now on then the problem isn't the player, it's the manager.
 
Meri said:
The criticism is unfair, but I agree tactically that we should've started Arfield over Sands this game. There's going to be games we can use him, and he looks solid enough, but at home vs Livingston is not one of them. As soon as Arfield came in, we started creating more chances, which is exactly what we needed to get the winner.
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Arfield needs eased back in and sands is only playing because of injuries right now
 
I think he is cover for Goldson and Tavernier as much as anything else. Probably only in the starting eleven as we were a bit thin in midfield for a few weeks.

Can see him perhaps coming on alongside Jack or Kamara to help defend a narrow lead in something like a European game.
 
JD1872 said:
A tidy enough player that we will not need in 99% of the games we play domestically

Maybe a long term Kamara replacement?

Not a position I would have been prioritising this window
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I think that is exactly what he is. I only really realised it tonight, just how similar they are, obviously Kamara is at a more advanced stage.
 
HeyBert said:
Last thing we need is another sitting midfielder
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We don’t sit and wait until we need one before we rush to get one. It’s an 18month loan with option to buy in a position that’s going to need filled given the options we have there at the moment. It’s possible to bring in players in more than one position at the same time
 
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