Keeping in mind.. it was our 2nd PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY there are some definite positives to come out of the game but I'll start with the negatives..
Unimpressive performance by Cowie however i'm thinkin he's been signed us an inside right midfield player to play in a 3 man central midfield with Whitts and Gunn-show.. There's more to come from Cowie and he was highly rated by Watford fans, as I recall he pulled the strings against us in the middle last season. So playing out wide trying to offer width clearly isn't his strength. Jon "the Beast" Parkin - poor performance, heavy touch, gave away needless free kicks.. as much as the Beast is a crowd favourite (and I wouldn't say this to his face), but he was bloody useless last night.. That will have to change, i'm not convinced Malky will play with a traditional target man.. but even if he wanted to, Parkin is not that man.. He did look slightly quicker than last season but then that may have been just 3 Clarksies for lunch rather than 5.. Taylor looked slightly lacklustre going forward but let's be honest he's been signed as a LB not a LW, but he seems willing to take on a player.
The positives..Gunnarsson looked as I expected to be, hard tackling, pain in the backside, getting his foot in and breaking up play and then dispersing the ball again to keep the move flowing. Not sure who said Gavin Rae in disguise.. absolute balderdash..talking out of your backside to be fair.. again, 2nd game into pre-season aganst Celtic, please get a grip?Alongside Whitts (who suddenly became a generalissimo midfielder) I think this could be a good pairing.. not sure if it'll work every game with whitts being so lightweight and going missing every now and then and I do think he's better on the wing but let's see how this pans out.
A manager who is a lot more animated on the touchline is great to see.
Not once did I think Celtic looked overly comfortable on the ball, Malky's builiding a team that works for each other.. something we haven't seen in a few years under DJ.. i'd rather a team of dogs than a team of primadonna..
Joe Mason, boy with a bit of fine-tuning could turn into a fine prospect, holds the ball up well and his runs were quite clever.. definitely one for the future..
Couldn't agree with Iggy's post last night about the game, it was a little too negative for me.. Sorry Ig mate, but it's what forums are all about, so fair enough.. I understand the concern, but a 1-0 loss 2 games into pre-season against a big club like Celtic who have established players who are at the end of the pre-season programme and raring to go for their season next week is NOT the end of the world, there's work to do sure, but are we alone? Nope.. Getting a team to gel at this level after just 2 games is nigh on impossible and we didn't have Conway, Earnie, Macca or Quinn available last night.. Optimist Prime again perhaps.. but i'm happy with the rebuilding job so far, relegation? Not a prayer! Promotion, work to do, but it's not impossible. Keep 'em coming Malky!
Unimpressive performance by Cowie however i'm thinkin he's been signed us an inside right midfield player to play in a 3 man central midfield with Whitts and Gunn-show.. There's more to come from Cowie and he was highly rated by Watford fans, as I recall he pulled the strings against us in the middle last season. So playing out wide trying to offer width clearly isn't his strength. Jon "the Beast" Parkin - poor performance, heavy touch, gave away needless free kicks.. as much as the Beast is a crowd favourite (and I wouldn't say this to his face), but he was bloody useless last night.. That will have to change, i'm not convinced Malky will play with a traditional target man.. but even if he wanted to, Parkin is not that man.. He did look slightly quicker than last season but then that may have been just 3 Clarksies for lunch rather than 5.. Taylor looked slightly lacklustre going forward but let's be honest he's been signed as a LB not a LW, but he seems willing to take on a player.
The positives..Gunnarsson looked as I expected to be, hard tackling, pain in the backside, getting his foot in and breaking up play and then dispersing the ball again to keep the move flowing. Not sure who said Gavin Rae in disguise.. absolute balderdash..talking out of your backside to be fair.. again, 2nd game into pre-season aganst Celtic, please get a grip?Alongside Whitts (who suddenly became a generalissimo midfielder) I think this could be a good pairing.. not sure if it'll work every game with whitts being so lightweight and going missing every now and then and I do think he's better on the wing but let's see how this pans out.
A manager who is a lot more animated on the touchline is great to see.
Not once did I think Celtic looked overly comfortable on the ball, Malky's builiding a team that works for each other.. something we haven't seen in a few years under DJ.. i'd rather a team of dogs than a team of primadonna..
Joe Mason, boy with a bit of fine-tuning could turn into a fine prospect, holds the ball up well and his runs were quite clever.. definitely one for the future..
Couldn't agree with Iggy's post last night about the game, it was a little too negative for me.. Sorry Ig mate, but it's what forums are all about, so fair enough.. I understand the concern, but a 1-0 loss 2 games into pre-season against a big club like Celtic who have established players who are at the end of the pre-season programme and raring to go for their season next week is NOT the end of the world, there's work to do sure, but are we alone? Nope.. Getting a team to gel at this level after just 2 games is nigh on impossible and we didn't have Conway, Earnie, Macca or Quinn available last night.. Optimist Prime again perhaps.. but i'm happy with the rebuilding job so far, relegation? Not a prayer! Promotion, work to do, but it's not impossible. Keep 'em coming Malky!
Proph your last paragraph did make me chuckle. Yeah Beast i's going to go from cult hero to cult zero unless he's sold I think.. He was bloody useless last night!