The LOTW Diary- Hoops 0 Fawkirk 1

Blur V Oasis…It’s 1994 Again.

So GS team 2 has matched the feat of the legendary Luigi era at CP when his team of charlatans, journeymen and the not very guid went 3 matches withoot a win or a bloody goal. Fact is Kenny Miller would fit perfectly into that side, as would GS management and tactical ability if the last two games are anything to go by.

Withoot a clue is an understatement.

But, then it was different. Then it was terminal, now, for me, it is a blip that has been coming for months. We were always going to end up paying for oor indifferent performances and the fact that we are too inconsistent in front of goal. Oor lack of creativity and the reliance on oor flair players was always going to come undone. Mind you, we pay oor flair players to produce but they are always going to lose form.

The last time we lost at Fawkirk, it was at the sesh pool that was Brockville and funnily enough was in 1994. An intimidating place where if you didnae fancy it you got a shooing. Westfield is another hell hole but in a different way. In no way is it intimidating, surreal but not intimidating.

You have to ask ourselves did we fancy it? It didnae seem so.

GS yer having a laugh

Wie this quote……

"On a good day, on a better finishing day, a better decision day, we'd have won the game easily.
"It just seemed to be 90 minutes of making chances and dominating."
"So it's concerning just now, but what I'm not concerned about is the attitude of the players," added Strachan.
"We're having a problem time in terms of results right now, but we've not got a real problem in terms of our attitude or the way we're playing."

Was he watching the same game as us? His “dominating and making chances” quote is the funniest thing I have heard in years. Yes, possession wise we dominated but creating chances? We had a few before they scored but after that, apart from the few half shouts for pens, we were left to hump aimless balls into the box for centre forwards who never showed or looked interested all day.

What was the plan B? Well oor ending formation reeked of a punter who has lost his wages on a Thursday night and was doon to his last fiver. He needed a big win so he backs a rank outsider so that he has sheckles to take hame to the wife.

Hartley in a back three, Elvis upfront, Lenny still on the park, looking back it was chaos. The team lack shape and cohesion and urgency. There was no oot the box thinking from the coaching staff yesterday just a kind of forlorn hope that the changes might have worked. Sometimes they have worked this year and credit where credit is due but last weeks 2nd performance and yesterdays 2nd half performance was well embarrassing wie the riches we have on the park.

And that’s all doon to attitude. But GS is happy wie that……

Walk a Million Miles

Oor lack of centre forwards is coming home to roost. We have been creating chances for months and not taking them. In the last wee blip we had- the series of drawn games in December- not killing of teams was the problem. Thing is now when you are not playing well you maybe only get one or two chances and do us and the players trust the strikers to take them?

If Kenny Miller wisnny Scottish the meeja would be ranking him alongside Sebo, Van Vossen etc. he is that bad I think the green brigade should add him to their banner. GS has been proved he was right to drop him but why recall him? He offers nothing to the team expect an outlet ball. Even then he loses it.

Hate to say but oor doubts have been proved right aboot oor Kenny.

And where the hell is Derek Rioirdan? Natural finisher was in a great run of form before he got injured and he can sniff oot a chance like Kate Moss can sniff oot an indie superstar in a sweaty nightclub. Wisnny quoted yesterday. Maybe he was at Hampden right enough….

Now I’m one to eat humble pie or any sort of pie, so here it goes, it we hadn’t sold Hartson we would have won the league by today. The style we try and play and the amount of aimless balls we put in the box would have been cannon fodder for the big fellow. Hell, it we had someone like Boydchenko the league would have been wrapped up by now. Think I’ve took that too far there.

But it's clear where or troubles are and maybe the midfield have been getting a raw deal.

Paddy Cregg

After ma slice of humble pie, still huvnae mentioned Jaro yet, cast yer mind back to January and when we lost oot on the Hibee twins. I said Patrick Cregg was always ma first choice for the wee nark role as, well I’m not beating aboot the bush, he is one of us.

Yesterday proved again he could add something to oor midfield. With Lenny being increasingly petulant I feel wee Paddy could be the perfect replacement. I mean we replace one Irish hot heid for a younger, quicker and less ginger version. Jobs a guid un I say.

International Week.

With two weeks before the next game we have time to dwell on oor crisis. For me this break comes at the wrong time and the build up to the united game will heap pressure on the team. In fact the Dundee Utd game is now monumental and a must win.

I hate being hard on the team. Moaning during success makes me feel, well, hunish. The team have done superbly getting us to this position where we can lose two league games in a row and it really disnny matter. They have shown tremendous attitude to pull us oot of the mire at times but that isnny always going to work. Defeats make you question things that you always doubted anyway.

Think it has also proved that even though GS has afforded himself leeway to build team 3 his vision of team two has failed to materialise. We will win the league and more inlikley the double but the doubts that we should being doing so much better in a better style remain.

We all know we can’t play well in every game. We know we can’t win every game. I think all we want to see is a bit of effort and style. Unfortunately style disnny always win things.

Next two weeks are going to be long so I’m going to go for a boat trip wie Freddie Flintoff to see if we can find the ghost of wee jinky. Mair interesting than internationals anyway.

Forza the stuttering hoops