Not sure where to start regarding last night's tanking so I'll give it a body swerve and also drop the subject of the performance and tactics which were obviously shocking.  Personally I think it goes a lot deeper than just the aforementioned points and it really is stunting the growth and progress of our team.

 

There seems to be an agenda by the powers that be, to pull in as much cash as possible (which is great) but at the expense of the product on the park.

 

We lost our team captain and although we pulled in a fee of £1m, we've not replaced him in any sense of the word.  Sure Zander seems to be getting there but he was there alongside Anderson and nobody has slotted in beside him.

 

We've now lost 2 of our regular starters who were guaranteed to be playing each Saturday come hell or high water.  We've taken in around £300k(?) for the pair but yet again we haven't replaced them.  Surely we'd have made that sum, or possibly more, if we'd have let them go for free at the end of the season and reaching a final.

 

Lovell looks set to walk, dropped again last night and no doubt Mackie will be seen as a 'new signing'.  I've absolutely no doubt that Stevie will be another that won't directly be replaced and we'll bring in another utility player so we can juggle the squad around to attempt to fill the gaps.

 

Nicolson I thought would eventually sign but I'm beginning to doubt it and I very much doubt we'll replace him with another 10 goal a season midfielder.

 

This season we had the potential to lay down some granite building blocks on the solid foundations that were laid down last season.  But planning permission has been denied, the site manager is struggling with the workforce he's been handed as they're just not skilled enough to replace the previous lot.  (See what I did there Stewartie?  I put it in builder's terms so you might fucking twig the fans aren't happy you soulless fucking cunt!)

 

I'm fully aware what happens when you 'speculate to accumulate' but there's also got to be some sort of give and take.  The fans are now fed up of giving and it's reflecting in the attendances.  The club have made a fortune this season between tv, extra games, extra rounds in competitions and player sales so surely a few quid to bolster the squad in January wouldn't have been too much to ask?

 

People can harp on about JC, his tombola and his tactics but when the club, not the manager, the club, are selling players like Anderson, Clark and Hart.  Only to replace them, if at all, at crucial parts of the season with the likes of Mair, Duff, Smith, etc... then there's only so much we can expect.

 

To get back to last night's game... Miller is being carded almost every game now which tells me he's frustrated whereas a few months ago he was enjoying his football.  The fans headed for the doors early and we didn't even have a striker on the bench, let alone a player, who could have dug us out of that hole.  Frustration all round.

 

Personally I wish it were those in charge that were on the pitch being pelted with coins last night.  At least the fuckers would have posed a larger target to hit when they were on their hands and knees filling their pockets for the next round of 'speculate to decimate'.

 

Too many words dude.

 

fortunately I have read them all before only in a different order.

 

Well apparently pictures say a thousand words so...

 

 

 

 

 

We really need an experienced central defender to partner Diamond. As hard as he tries, he still makes huge errors and there's far too much pressure and responsibility on his shoulders. He needs someone alongside him like Russell Anderson had with Derek Whyte. If we use the wages earned by Lee Mair, Dave Bus, Richie Byrne and Karim Touzani, we should be able to get someone of decent quality while keeping Considine as back-up. Severin could drop back as a very last resort.

 

Between McNamara and Maybury, we should have the right back slot position covered for the short term, but the combination of both their wages should enable us to bring in a right back of decent quality. Back-up may be a problem, but it's about time we started getting some return from the youth team.

 

Left back position has been a shambles ever since McNaughton left/stopped being played there. Again a good quality player should be sourced and backed up by someone coming through the youth team, or perhaps sign another player who can play both full back positions.

 

If our defence continues to be a shambles, there's not even a point in strengthening the rest of the team.

Jimmy quoted as saying "We used to be a tough outfit to beat....But we got done from two dead-ball situations, which they live off, and it was sloppy defending from us."

 

As you say, the club decided to cash in on Anderson and Hart, neither have been adequately replaced, end result is a team that is no longer a 'tough outfit to beat'.  Of course Jimmy has his part to play in all of this, even an average defensive line up will perform reasonably well if they are settled and playing together every week, which ours are not.