Well i thought we played some absolutely brilliant possession football today.

[vegas-voss]

Thought we were brilliant today except for having a killer touch some of the football was a joy to watch and i can't believe St. Mirren almost got back in as it would have been a travesty if they had taken anything from that game i mean there first shot at goal was 64 mins and they scored.Obua is going to be a star(what about that 60 yrd cross field pass in the 2nd hlf),Kingston was back on his game and Stewart was great again.In fact i don't think i could say anyone had a bad game even Thomson was getting forward at will.

[Guest jambomickey]

Thought we were brilliant today except for having a killer touch some of the football was a joy to watch and i can't believe St. Mirren almost got back in as it would have been a travesty if they had taken anything from that game i mean there first shot at goal was 64 mins and they scored.Obua is going to be a star(what about that 60 yrd cross field pass in the 2nd hlf),Kingston was back on his game and Stewart was great again.In fact i don't think i could say anyone had a bad game even Thomson was getting forward at will.

 

the defence and midfield worked well as a unit but we need to play 2 up front in my opinion

[jambo121]

Agree we played some nice stuff, but it we need an end product. With a descent quality strike force we could have scored 5 or 6 today.

[vegas-voss]

Agree we played some nice stuff, but it we need an end product. With a descent quality strike force we could have scored 5 or 6 today.

 

Agreed

[Ryan Gosling]

This is why I was bored. It's all very well playing possession football but not in your own half.

[Only a Game]

Thought we were brilliant today except for having a killer touch some of the football was a joy to watch and i can't believe St. Mirren almost got back in as it would have been a travesty if they had taken anything from that game i mean there first shot at goal was 64 mins and they scored.Obua is going to be a star(what about that 60 yrd cross field pass in the 2nd hlf),Kingston was back on his game and Stewart was great again.In fact i don't think i could say anyone had a bad game even Thomson was getting forward at will.

 

If we can learn to keep the ball like that all the time and play it with a bit more pace and urgency, some teams wont get a kick of the ball against us.

 

It was painfully slow at times, especially in the second half where we lulled ourselves to sleep and lost a daft goal.

 

But overall YES, it was superb that we were able to keep the ball for long long periods. Karapidis and Stewart were different class today.

[Rattatooi]

I like that we are playing some more controlled football but I think we would benefit from having the two strikers. All the nice stuff can fall down when we're too "buzy" in the middle of the park and there's not enough outlets up front.

[shaun.lawson]

Was it 'more controlled than under Burley'?

[vegas-voss]

Was it 'more controlled than under Burley'?

 

Yes but not as exciting

[Only a Game]

Was it 'more controlled than under Burley'?

 

Not as pacy as Burley or anywhere near as exciting, but there were several spells of 5 minutes or so where St Mirren didnt touch the ball.

 

I'm not sure we ever played controlled football under Burely, not like this anyway.

[Guest jambomickey]

Was it 'more controlled than under Burley'?

 

totally different mate! burley played with 2 strikers and getting the ball forward as quickly as possible! csabas playing with 1 striker and a man off him but trying to play more through midfield than burley, given time and patience csaba will give us entertaining attacking football

[shaun.lawson]

Not as pacy as Burley or anywhere near as exciting, but there were several spells of 5 minutes or so where St Mirren didnt touch the ball.

 

I'm not sure we ever played controlled football under Burely, not like this anyway.

 

Interesting. Early days, but are these the green shoots of the kind of football Vlad told us he wanted all along?

[Only a Game]

Interesting. Early days, but are these the green shoots of the kind of football Vlad told us he wanted all along?

 

Could be interesting once he gets someone in up front who can make a bit of space for himself and has a bit of striking talent. Tullberg maybe ?

[magicTs]

We did play some decent stuff and but for 2 poor misses in the first 20 minutes or so we would have won very comfortably. A blind man could see what we are lacking in the final third and that is a proven poacher.

 

If we were to sign someone with the instinct to get on the end of the numerous balls flashed across goal as well as two fullbacks we would be 3rd this season for definite.

[murdo_b]

totally different mate! burley played with 2 strikers and getting the ball forward as quickly as possible! csabas playing with 1 striker and a man off him but trying to play more through midfield than burley, given time and patience csaba will give us entertaining attacking football

 

I agree

It is early days but with some better finishing it should have 4 or 5 nil.

I am really pleased with the team spirit and confidence last season we would have drawn or lost after conceeding an equaliser .

[Konrad von Carstein]

We did play some decent stuff and but for 2 poor misses in the first 20 minutes or so we would have won very comfortably. A blind man could see what we are lacking in the final third and that is a proven poacher.

 

If we were to sign someone with the instinct to get on the end of the numerous balls flashed across goal as well as two fullbacks we would be at worst 3rd this season for definite.

 

Wee edit to make it read like I would have written it.

[magicTs]

Wee edit to make it read like I would have written it.

 

Think that's impossible given the relative resources (nevermind the other influencing factors ) but there is no reason that without another couple of additions and particularly the all important striker that we can't be a good 'best of the rest'.

[Jocam2325]

Its not doom and gloom far from it, but I think St Mirren were very poor and indeed were a man short most of the time. That assisted us in playing possession football given the extra space available.

I think we really should have chased a second goal rather than playing boring going nowhere football.

Zal played well and Stewart looks like a new player.

I cannot understand why Karipidis was on the park in that position when Palzuelos was there.

[portobellojambo1]

Agree with what most are saying, I too thought we played very well in spells, but would agree that a lot of our possession and passing movement was in the wrong areas of the pitch.

 

Once again I thought we failed to have much impact in the final third, we were lacking wide men with the capability to deliver accurately into the box, and need someone who can play the penalty area well and convert a high percentage of ball coming into the box.

 

But all in all I was reasonably happy with what I saw, and the 3 points were very welcome, although could have been tied up much,, much earlier if we had a killer instinct.

[Flux]

Good passing but two defensive against 10 men.

 

4 defenders vs 1 striker...

[Dazo]

Agree with most of what has been said I think it is obvious we have a severe lack of cutting edge. We really need to invest in a decent striker.

[Only a Game]

Its not doom and gloom far from it, but I think St Mirren were very poor and indeed were a man short most of the time. That assisted us in playing possession football given the extra space available.

I think we really should have chased a second goal rather than playing boring going nowhere football.

Zal played well and Stewart looks like a new player.

I cannot understand why Karipidis was on the park in that position when Palzuelos was there.

 

Karapidis was outstanding today and I'd be gutted if Palazuelos was played instead of him. I dont see what people see in Palazuelos.

[Dazo]

Karapidis was outstanding today and I'd be gutted if Palazuelos was played instead of him. I dont see what people see in Palazuelos.

 

Don't necessarily agree about how Karapidis played today but completely agree about Ruben. IMO he would offer nothing to the team at the moment.

[Konrad von Carstein]

Think that's impossible given the relative resources (nevermind the other influencing factors ) but there is no reason that without another couple of additions and particularly the all important striker that we can't be a good 'best of the rest'.

 

Hear what you're sayin' (well I'm reading it but you get my drift) but a couple of decent signinga and the OF are there for the taking (not just by us). Yes it's early days etc but our 2 home games thus far have got me actually looking forward to going to Tynecastle on a saturday after bein miserable for most of last season.

[john brownlee]

The trouble with playing possession football is it lulls the players into a false since of security and as always it contributes to a mistake which leads to a goal against the run of play. as we have seen today Good that we managed to pull ourselves up and get in front again abit like the first home game I wont worry to much if this happens on a regular basis but its a trend I hope can be ironed out. well done to day come on the JTs

[fc-1874]

Hear what you're sayin' (well I'm reading it but you get my drift) but a couple of decent signinga and the OF are there for the taking (not just by us). Yes it's early days etc but our 2 home games thus far have got me actually looking forward to going to Tynecastle on a saturday after bein miserable for most of last season.

Shhhhh

[Le Chat]

 

Once again I thought we failed to have much impact in the final third, we were lacking wide men with the capability to deliver accurately into the box, and need someone who can play the penalty area well and convert a high percentage of ball coming into the box.

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

Our crossing is pathetic.

[CalMac]

Karapidis was outstanding today and I'd be gutted if Palazuelos was played instead of him. I dont see what people see in Palazuelos.

 

In what way was Karapidis outstanding today?

[Thunderstruck]

We played some delightful football today but let ourselves down by not making better use of the wings and getting to goal line to put pressure on a well organised defence. Chesney showed it could be done when he came on.

 

The Saints' defence was very solid and they covered each other very well. They also got a very good performance out of Howard in goals who prevented three or four good attempts from counting. They came with a point and were set up to go away with one. It is very hard to break down teams like this when they crowd in defence.

[Statto]

I totally agree, I love seeing football being played that way, keep the ball, if your opponents don't get the ball, they can't score.

 

Even if you're just playing it around our own 18 yard box, we don't need to punt it forward and hope for the best, there is then a risk that you give it back to the other team and you're on the back foot, we need to pick our way through their players, precise passes, off-the-ball movement etc.

 

 

On the point above wide players, I feel we are alright just now, for an SPL team we don't need world-beaters to be successful. If we started to get into Europe on a regular basis then yes, I'd agree we need players that have an end product. Driver, Kingston, Miko, Cesney, Obua, we have enough wide players that can do a job in the SPL, all we need is a bit of luck eg. strikers or midfielders getting into the right position at the right time or if the coaching team practices set pieces and crosses then we will improve without adding to the wage bill.

[Glasgow Jambo]

Good passing but two defensive against 10 men.

 

4 defenders vs 1 striker...

 

And even then, Mehmet was winning headers against Thomson and when Hamilton came on, that could have cause problems.

 

But overall, I took alot of positives from the game, especially Stewart and Obua (first half) for their passing and willingness to look for the ball, and also Chesney when he came on, a few intelligent runs into good areas.

Also liked the short balls from the keeper to retain possesion instead of lumping it up the park and losing it in midfield as usual.

[gowestjambo]

Nearly lost 2 points today when St Mirren could and should have equalised in the last couple of minutes when they had a free header in the box and put it wide.

 

All our possession football was played in front of st mirren, and with all our possession we never got in behind them and hurt them.

 

Wallace and Driver with all their possession NEVER put one decent ball into the box, and our final ball was woeful!

 

Why our manager, or captain allowed us to stroll about the pitch with no plan reminded me of last season. Can you imagine either of the o/f playing at home with a man advantage and not making it count?

 

We all saw the danger Jim Hamilton posed as he has continually done against our defence, but we allowed him to be one on one with Thomson, which he was always going to dominate. With an extra man, why did we not put a real defender against Hamilton?

 

They were down to 10 men, yet towards the end of the game we failed to leave 1 man up front when defending a corner, when even their goalie was in our box!

 

I left very disappointed with our performance, which could have cost us with our lack of urgency, and I am also a bit let down with our lack of tactics for the last 10 minutes when we were under unnecessary pressure to 10 men.

 

I see some commending Karapidis, but to me is was a competition between him, Zaliukus and Wallace as to who gave the ball away!

 

This game should have been won at a canter once they went down to 10 men!

[Statto]

This game should have been won at a canter once they went down to 10 men!

 

When teams go down to 10 men they make it difficult, they stick together as a team, it makes it hard for passing teams like Hearts to break them down.

 

St Mirren played it well with 10 men, they kept the scoring low then threw on a couple of strikers late on to try and nick a point, it nearly worked but for Hearts' new-found determination that kept us going at a time we would have crumbled last season.

[gowestjambo]

When teams go down to 10 men they make it difficult, they stick together as a team, it makes it hard for passing teams like Hearts to break them down.

 

St Mirren played it well with 10 men, they kept the scoring low then threw on a couple of strikers late on to try and nick a point, it nearly worked but for Hearts' new-found determination that kept us going at a time we would have crumbled last season.

 

Agreed in part, but if we had played at more than a practice game pace the game would have been over with 30 minutes to go!

[jamtartsandbees]

I think we are moving in the right direction. The possession play is a good step forward but the reason its boring at time and a little slow is that we haven't sussed the movement off the ball yet.

Crack that and improve the situational awareness of the individual players and we will become a team to be feared .

[Statto]

Agreed in part, but if we had played at more than a practice game pace the game would have been over with 30 minutes to go!

 

I do agree it was played at a slow pace, the only defence I have of that is we have just changed our entire set up, we were used to playing the long ball, they players had played it for 2 years, we now have a new focus, quicker play will come with time I would imagine.

[Thunderstruck]

On the point above wide players, I feel we are alright just now, for an SPL team we don't need world-beaters to be successful. If we started to get into Europe on a regular basis then yes, I'd agree we need players that have an end product. Driver, Kingston, Miko, Cesney, Obua, we have enough wide players that can do a job in the SPL, all we need is a bit of luck eg. strikers or midfielders getting into the right position at the right time or if the coaching team practices set pieces and crosses then we will improve without adding to the wage bill.

 

Don't disagree that we have enough wide players or players who can make overlaps but they need to make better use of the space and stretch the defence - apart from two or three attempts we didn't pull the defence out wide. There was one tremendous raking pass from Stewart that did let Driver get in at the back post in the first half but too much of the rest of the time was spent trying to work in through the centre. Saints' defence was a bit too strong for that.

 

It's points that matter after all and don't forget that Saints with 10 men came closer to getting a draw at Darkheid than they did today.

[Flux]

according to BBC site it was 50% - 50%

[Imeantasong]

Well, we were told at the start we'd be playing this way, although a guy behind me hadn't read that and was shouting for punts after about 10 minutes.

 

I thought playing it about and switching it in the second half was all about tiring them out.

 

But you have to go forward and have them chasing back, and make better use of the ball from wide. Even in the first half, Driver's attempted cross to Mole???

 

Mole has ran tirelessly without too many chances, and could have done with better service on two occasions from Driver, against Motherwell and today.

 

We really need to score more of the chances we do create, or we will drop points from games we should canter some time.

 

Over all though, pleased with the way it's going. It is early days.

 

Playing that way on bogged down bumpy pitches in winter will present it's own challenges mind, when it comes.

[Cade]

It seems that our midfield has finally started to get sorted out after two terrible years of powder puff nonsense.

 

All we need (same old same old) is good full backs and two scoring strikers.

[jamboinglasgow]

I know it is a bit boring but thought they way we controlled the possesion (I dont believe the bbc saying it was 50/50) was good as we passed it around looking for the opurtunity to slot it into a chance. Think thats where the problems were, we need players to create oppurtunties by moving into spaces. I would love 2 strikers up front but problem is I also like our midfield 5, cant figure out how we will do that.

[monkfish1979]

I know it is a bit boring but thought they way we controlled the possesion (I dont believe the bbc saying it was 50/50) was good as we passed it around looking for the opurtunity to slot it into a chance. Think thats where the problems were, we need players to create oppurtunties by moving into spaces. I would love 2 strikers up front but problem is I also like our midfield 5, cant figure out how we will do that.

 

3 at the back?

[jamboinglasgow]

3 at the back?

 

I know thought that after I posted but I would fear being too leaky at the back.

[Only a Game]

I know it is a bit boring but thought they way we controlled the possesion (I dont believe the bbc saying it was 50/50) was good as we passed it around looking for the opurtunity to slot it into a chance. Think thats where the problems were, we need players to create oppurtunties by moving into spaces. I would love 2 strikers up front but problem is I also like our midfield 5, cant figure out how we will do that.

 

Sky Sports says it was 64%/36%

[Five to One]

Very encouraged even though a moment of madness from Chesney almost threw away two points at the end. The best sign for me is that Csaba is making steady progress with, in all honesty, an average set of players. Still a long way from the finished article, but at least we're moving forward.

[Coco]

The best sign for me is that Csaba is making steady progress with, in all honesty, an average set of players. Still a long way from the finished article, but at least we're moving forward.

 

Agree with that.

 

Though I think he should have thrown Gary Glen up to play beside Mole for the second half. Mole was isolated, and for all our pretty pattern midfield stuff we barely created a chance after the St Mirren player was sent off.

[jdl2002]

Sky Sports says it was 64%/36%

 

The BBC says it was 74% Inverness - 26% wee team.

[Munch]

Thought we were brilliant today except for having a killer touch some of the football was a joy to watch and i can't believe St. Mirren almost got back in as it would have been a travesty if they had taken anything from that game i mean there first shot at goal was 64 mins and they scored.Obua is going to be a star(what about that 60 yrd cross field pass in the 2nd hlf),Kingston was back on his game and Stewart was great again.In fact i don't think i could say anyone had a bad game even Thomson was getting forward at will.

 

Agreed, but my overall emotion after the final whistle was releif, St midden almost nicked a point with that header at the end, we were all over the place after they brought Hammy on.

[Spellczech]

If we can learn to keep the ball like that all the time and play it with a bit more pace and urgency, some teams wont get a kick of the ball against us.

 

It was painfully slow at times, especially in the second half where we lulled ourselves to sleep and lost a daft goal.

 

But overall YES, it was superb that we were able to keep the ball for long long periods. Karapidis and Stewart were different class today.

 

On the whole Karapidis was fine but I counted 3 shockingly bad passes from him - real horror ones.

 

IMO the catalyst was Kello's distribution. I don't think he kicked long in the first 70 minutes. Allll the defenders were looking for the ball from him and the midfield wanted the ball from the defenders - that was the key difference from last season when everyone was hiding except Stewart who was then giving the ball away willy nilly as nobody else wanted it.