Midfield performance today - awful

Other than Dorrans our combined total spend on midfielders currently at the club is 0, or there abouts. This has to mean something.
 
I thought Arfield was the best player on the park in the first half. He never hid, always took the ball and tried to get it moving quickly but the options in front of him were lacking.
 
It was a truly abject performance from he 10 outfield players today. We were poor in every department.
The poor display from the midfield unit definitely contributed to our front men getting a very poor service today, and the defence being on the back foot all too often. And here was me thinking that we had an embarrassment of riches in that area. More fool me......
 
That comes from the management imo , arfield tried and was ok, I thought the big mistake was leaving Ejaria on and taking coulibaly off at half time , to much time wanted on the ball from Ejaria and went round and round in circles instead of popping it off, that is what frustrates me as the lad is talented but wasteful as he looses it too often imo.
Was Coulibaly ever on the park today.Some people are getting carried away with this guy.Im struggling to think of him contributing much at all since he came.Apart from Kent I don't rate any of the loanees ,particularly when the going gets tough.
 
He had two, three players on him all match.

Livi countered us today. They completely parked the bus, they are the most negative team I have watched in a long time.

8 players in DM, Defence all match long. They punted the ball up the park and sent three MF chasing the second ball. An utterly shit set of tactics that seem to work.

They are all over our players and as soon as we react they throw their hands up and plead innocent. Ref played right into their hands.

The pitch was absolutely dead, the ball lost momentum instantly, so players like Ejaria, Middleton and Kent to a lesser extent found themselves with the ball under their body instead of on their toe.

These pitches should be banned from Div 3 and up, they ruin football and as long as we play on them, the game will not see skillful players grow.

Shit pitch, shit opponent and shit day all round.
Hard to disagree.
 
Missing a 10 today. All 3 midfielders wanted to drop in and then pass it off to the full backs. We needed someone between the lines.
 
Wouldn't say disappointment. He's had some great games, he's had some average games and he's had some shite games. Today was one of the shite ones but there's no need to act like he's just there doing nothing every match

Each to their own.
 
Not playing Kent from the start was a bad decision; bringing on Middleton and leaving Candeias on, with Lafferty off, was another; in my opinion.
 
I don't know exactly what the 3 midfielders are meant to be.

None of them are defensive mids, none are attacking mids, none are hard in the tackle and none are particulary creative.
 
There's no real point in singling anyone out after yesterday.

None of our starting front 6 performed.

As Gerrard said, we very poor middle to front.

Lafferty or Morelos in future through the middle please, with a genuine wide man on either side.

It has to be Laff or Fredo, not both.

Don't want to see big Kyle shoehorned in wide left again ahead of natural wide men like Kent, Middleton and Grezda.

It simply doesn't work.
 
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I thought Arfield was the best player on the park in the first half. He never hid, always took the ball and tried to get it moving quickly but the options in front of him were lacking.


He was very poor for the goal mate.

He just switched off and allowed their lad to get away from him and square the ball across way too easily.
 
They sit in bang high balls into space knowing the bounce is strange and defenders get no time to bring it under control, they never had to deal with that. Clever on their own pitch, doesnt excuse our anept performance
 
I don't know exactly what the 3 midfielders are meant to be.

None of them are defensive mids, none are attacking mids, none are hard in the tackle and none are particulary creative.
This is my thinking. And why I think our best combo has yet to find the field.
 
No excuse as the better team won yesterday and we simply didn't turn up, but I do wonder if our players have some sort of psychological block when it comes to those pitches
 
i said before that i dont think our midfield is good enough.. arfield is a great squad player but not good enough to be first choice imo.
 
He was very poor for the goal mate.

He just switched off and allowed their lad to get away from him and square the ball across way too easily.


The ball Arfield played to Barasic in the first half was sublime, unfortunately that was the end of his contribution.

Candieas let the goal scorer run off him too.

There was a slackness through the whole team yesterday that meant we were getting nothing.
 
We could do with a fit Ryan Jack for starters.

However, there is real competiton for places in the middle of the park.

Our inability to match the fight and desire of a team of journeymen was completely unacceptable.

This is a concern.

Against Celtic, Motherwell and Livingston yesterday the midfield has struggled to impose itself against opponents who are eager to get in their faces.

It was what we criticised them for last season and it’s still evident now.

We know we’ve improved because we’re in the group stages of the Europa League and unbeaten away from home in five tough games (we also beat Kilmarnock away in the League Cup, so it’s not as abject as some are saying) but we do still look short of the quality needed to fight on all fronts, IMO, and I’m not sure the likes of Jack, Dorrans and Rossiter necessarily change that a great deal.
 
The midfield just isn't dynamic or creative enough at the moment. Jack must play in the holding role with either two of Coulibaly/Arfield/Ejaria in the attacking roles.
 
Would have stuck with the same midfield as the St Johnstone game. Big McCrorie should feel aggrieved not to have started after a couple of good performances.
 
We have a few players to come back in that position. So I am not overly concerned about that.

However I am concerned about Lafferty/Morelos partnership. They just don't go together. They seemed into each others game. Laffertys hold up play and his flick on's are horrendous. For a big guy he is terrible in the air, most of the headers he wins he just ends up heading them up the way.

I think we are pretty sticking with one or the other.
 
Arfield was invisible for about 80 mins of that game.

Ejarie recieves the ball half the time and spins round and round until he falls on his arse.

Coulibaly did nothing either.

We're seriously lacking something.
Coulibaly has been poor since he came back from injury .
He looks lost at times.
Hopefully his for returns Quickly .

Arfield is very hit and miss goes missing in games infact a few games its been 45 minutes plus
 
I would like to see Jack in the anchor role with Arfield and Rossiter (when he's fully fit) sitting ahead of him and see how that midfield does

Of course we need to address the formation and tactics first and foremost and going into games with a plan

Though for the league I think we want to find a 3 that can form a solid partnership and build some understanding. I'd like to see how those 3 get on I suggested, plenty of energy and bite. And for Europe I'd be experimenting a bit more and giving the likes of McCrorie and Dorrans a chance
 
Games like yesterday are why I will never fully invest into Canideas as a player.

He oft lives on a stereotype of performance and reputation which is a hard working, covering the park, tenacious grafter – yet he far too often turns in displays like yesterday.

There was literally no point in him being on the park, just rubbish.
 
Arfield is becoming polar
either terrific or terrible - no middle ground really

Coulibaly clearly is still recovering from the assault by the St Mirren yahoo
 
Never strung 2 passes together, we were terrible.

Candeias and Arfield both trying to pass the buck for hitting a shot towards the end pissed me off big time. Ejaria back to his casual stuff, wanting too much time.

Scunnered with that. Livi were far hungrier today.
What midfield talk about no stringing 2 passes together we try to many passes thats whats wrong trying to walk the ball into the net aka as warburton style and you know where that got us.
 
We could do with a fit Ryan Jack for starters.

However, there is real competiton for places in the middle of the park.

Our inability to match the fight and desire of a team of journeymen was completely unacceptable.

My worry is about Ryan Jack's fitness, how many games are we going to get out of him.One minute he's in the team, then he disappears for a few games.

How can a manager build consistency in a team, when the same players aren't fit.i.e.
Dorran's, Jack, & and Rossiter.players that would make a big difference to our powder puff midfield.?
 
Games like yesterday are why I will never fully invest into Canideas as a player.

He oft lives on a stereotype of performance and reputation which is a hard working, covering the park, tenacious grafter – yet he far too often turns in displays like yesterday.

There was literally no point in him being on the park, just rubbish.

His tenacity and workrate is suited to away games where we're likely going to be up against it. He's decent as well when the game is opened up and he gets space to put crosses in.

Yesterday was the complete opposite of what he enjoys doing, Livi didn't give him an inch and as you say it was a waste of time playing him.
 
I would describe our midfield as midfield defender's no one creates in the opposition's half so the ball goes to the wing men who try very hard and if the ball reaches the box Morrels is on his own ,very predictable we badly need a playmaker.
 
These physical away games are tailor made for Jack and McCrorie and dare I say a fit Rossiter.
 
We also need someone who can carry the ball and try and break the game line...no one gets forward with ball.

Kent and Middleton do

Both should have started

Thr pitch is dreadful for carrying the ball though

Sg picked the wrong team
 
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