Hopefully two up top today as we have looked toothless with just Stockley in first two league games. Not been convinced by Stockley so far so would like to see us go with Rooney Storey as front 2. At the back I would hope we continue with Reynolds and OConnor as Taylor looked like an accident waiting to happen again last week.

 

In

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Town for a couple of beers.

2-0 Rooney and McGinn.

 

Anybody know what's up with Jack?

I'm going for 3-0 Aberdeen, Rooney x2 and O'Connor

http://cricfree.sc/watch/live/aberdeen-vs-partick-thistle-live-streaming

 

Jack has a knee injury

Glad to see we've managed to get off the mark finally! McGinns goal was decent

Good free kick from McGinn and horrible mistake from Thistle defender to let Storey in should have us in easy street at 2-0 however McIness decided to again try and manage the game out by brining on Taylor and moving OConnor into midfield. This allowed Thistle back into the game and in the end we ended up hanging on. Good to get a win but should have been more convincing than it was.

Good free kick from McGinn and horrible mistake from Thistle defender to let Storey in should have us in easy street at 2-0 however McIness decided to again try and manage the game out by brining on Taylor and moving OConnor into midfield. This allowed Thistle back into the game and in the end we ended up hanging on. Good to get a win but should have been more convincing than it was.

 

Agree with you Jute but I have a feeling the set up at the end involving Taylor and O'Connor was a rehearsal for next Saturday away to Sellick.

 

Reynolds allowed himself to be bullied by Amoo too often and on another day it could have led to us conceding more. One passage in particular early in the first half was particularly embarrassing.

 

Stockley wasn't on for long but the ref was pretty quick to give fouls against him - really hope this isn't going to be another Lee Richardson situation where he's practically booked before the match has even started.

 

A general point though... we were playing Thistle at home today, is there really a justification for Consi at left back? One up front? Two 'sitters'?  It would be really nice to see the team let off the leash, especially given the number of attackers we have at the club.

Good win against a tab that has been hard nut to crack in recent times. Thought MacLean played pretty well

A general point though... we were playing Thistle at home today, is there really a justification for Consi at left back? One up front? Two 'sitters'?  It would be really nice to see the team let off the leash, especially given the number of attackers we have at the club.

 

Did you not see Considine skinning their right back on the goal line and dinking in a beautiful cross? It was class. To be fair, Shinnie had another excellent game in midfield and with Jack missing I'm not sure we'd have had any bite in there with McLean being poor again. I thought Considine was okay too, offers a target at the back post, more so as the game wore on.

 

I thought yesterday highlighted (to me, anyway!) that O'Connor is not the answer in midfield. A great player, who can pick a pass, but he doesn't have the mobility and seemed to get pushed further back as the pressure came on to him. He reminds me of Arneson a lot. A great player, very comfortable on the ball, but just a wee bit slow for midfield. What we benefit from having him in midfield, we lose twice as much by him not being in defence. I think McInnes might try a back 3 against the Tims. We need another midfielder to ensure O'Connor plays his best position.

 

You're right though, it was very conservative. More so when we went 2 up, the subs were terrible. McInnes obviously felt it was more important to practice for next week rather than going for more goals and getting the attacking confidence up. Pawlett was playing far better than McLean, but was predictably subbed on 60 minutes. McInnes has his favourites and that was obvious when he couldn't even leave a deservedly dropped Taylor on the bench for a full 90, with a contrived substitution. We seemed to lose any momentum after the atrocious piece of refereeing to stop the game for a leg injury on the half way line while we were on the attack. That incident highlighted a lack of leadership from the bench. The ball was right up near the corner flag, but we allowed the drop ball near the halfway line lamely allowing the pass back to our keeper. The decision by the ref was terrible. You can't talk to refs anymore as it's a booking* so we need to target our frustrations in other ways. McInnes should have been screaming at them to contest the ball right up the other end of the pitch and keep the pressure on, there was really nothing to lose and a good chance we'd have got a corner at worst. It set the tone for the rest of the game, where we just sat back and did nothing.

 

Finally, we need to accept ICT's loan request for Wright. He's not going to get any game time. He should have been on that pitch with 20 minutes to go (for McGinn) if we're going to trust him at all. It was crying out for a different attacking threat and someone who'll take the game to them at their end of the pitch. The predictable sub of Rooney for Stockley (to play up front on his own - it doesn't fucking work Deek) was embarrassing. I thought McInnes got a lot wrong yesterday, and it prevented us winning easily. A lot to prove next week.

 

 

*does not apply to Scott Brown

Good post Rico, although Wright wasn't on the bench yesterday, but that reinforces your point about letting him go out on loan. 

 

I'd personally rather see O'Connor in defence simply because he is absolutely the best option for us in that position now.

Agree totally about O'Connor's lack of mobility. While I still think he was initially signed as our holding mid based on the number of centre halves we have, I think performances have shown he needs to stay at the back.

 

Don't think we should be sending Wright out on loan, we just don't have a big enough squad. If anything, we should have kept Smith and sent Wright on loan. Didn't see the game yesterday but sounds like Shinnie played well. With Jack out and McLean off form what other options do we have in there??

Agree totally about O'Connor's lack of mobility. While I still think he was initially signed as our holding mid based on the number of centre halves we have, I think performances have shown he needs to stay at the back.

 

Don't think we should be sending Wright out on loan, we just don't have a big enough squad. If anything, we should have kept Smith and sent Wright on loan. Didn't see the game yesterday but sounds like Shinnie played well. With Jack out and McLean off form what other options do we have in there??

 

Wright adds numbers to the squad but that's all - the reality is that he is extremely unlikely to play any meaningful part in our campaign.  As Rico pointed out, DM has his favourites and substitutions are based around this and as a result are entirely predictable.

 

I'd like to see Wright given a chance, he is a zippy player, but while DM has the options of Burns, Stockley, Storey, McGinn, Hayes and Rooney, Wright is extremely unlikely to get any game time as DM sees it as a pecking order.  The alternative way for him to see it is that it mixes things up for us and provides a young promising player with much needed experience.  That's the way Fergie would see it. Unfortunately, it's just not DM's style.

Bobby, fully agree with you. However, we're playing 3 or 4 attacking players per game, add subs, and we've got Burns, Stockley, Storey, McGinn, Hayes, Rooney, and Wright. That's only 7 players, factor in a couple of injuries and a couple of suspensions, we don't have the numbers and Wright is needed. In my opinion Wright should be sent out on loan but we need to add 2 players before that can happen.