Gallowgate Toon

Been very, very slack on the ball recently.

Needs a run of games.

Cairney is so good at this level.

They're getting ragdolled at the moment. Looks a bit like academy players vs. a first team.

Watch some of his compilations on YT, if you can be bothered , and there are rarely any great passes in there that you'd expect from a player in the mix for best in his position imo. Agree that he can progress the ball very well when dribbling into space though. Most of my experience of watching him is for England where it feels like he's not been great when we've had a lot of the ball but it feels like he comes alive when games get stretched & he mops up, but this could be tactical.

The price tag is what obfuscates the Rice conversation. He just simply isn't worth £100m. He's very good at breaking up play and largely playing simple passes but that's where it ends - I think he'd be pretty crap for us in games where we're the dominant possession side. Other DMs can do his defensive work to a good degree while being way more influential at the other end of the pitch - Neves, Casemiro, Bruno etc. He could be useful in a possession team that expects some dangerous turnovers in the opposition's third because the full backs are pushed right up.

I'm in pot 3, but my dad, who has attended all of the same cup games + is a ST holder, didn't receive an email. When I bought the Leicester ticket, we missed the pick your own seat deadline and booked elsewhere, but I didn't link him to the booking in the new seats. Spoke to the box office and they said there's nothing they can do, even though he can prove he was at the game. I get why they can't change retrospectively but it's still pretty crap. Best hope for my sake that he can get something in the ballot

Seems like a really nice bloke - iirc, he did a lot back in his home country with his money. Really hope for the best outcome for him.

There's still a lot to look forward to the rest of the season with the current squad. Isak actually being available and now fit again is really big for us, the unpredictability of what Gordon will bring. Hopefully, we can keep Maxi healthy as he can win us points. Plus, we get to watch Bruno play a couple of attacking tweaks and I think we'll go on another run as our underlying numbers are generally still so solid. We really need a plan for Isak. We can't have a player that talented just sitting on the bench as we struggle to score, especially when Wilson is seemingly bulletproof. He's the key.

I hope the players & staff aren't going around thinking 4th isn't achievable anymore with 17 games left to play

That's not necessarily an endorsement of him. Attacking play maybe flowing through him more this campaign but they're one of the lowest scorers in the league. Is he creating quality? Would be interesting to see their XG performance.

Rice seems very built to a counter attacking side, to me I think we've seen with England that when he's in a possession team he lacks range and sometimes seems to play within himself. Very energetic for when games are more stretched though. I think Bruno does the defensive side just as well while also providing excellent possession and final third characteristics.

Going to be sod's law this season that we barely see Bruno and Isak on the pitch together.

Didn't realise he was so quick. There were comments from Everton fans about him gassing out a lot - we might find he doesn't play 90 mins much until he gets a full preseason under his belt.

Start both. We aren't blessed with natural goalscorers in the squad - play the 2 that are when we can. I think it's more important to get Isak in the team over ASM.

Time to tweak the shape, imo. We've got to get Isak in the XI.

Needs a run of games but made it harder for himself today. He's not instinctively looking to move the ball quickly often enough. His game when not on the break is more about opening up gaps to run into by baiting defenders. It can be really effective but is hard when a team is sat deep.

The header was very poor.

That must be the first time we've had under 10 shots at home in ages?

Yup. We either drop him for Isak or tweak the shape to give him more support.

Considering some of the circumstances, I'm ok with a draw. I felt we did well to get control back in the last 30 mins and seemed to be finding nice gaps only to then start launching it in the last 5/10 mins for some daft reason. Gordon looks very well suited to Howe-ball. His first thought is to get the ball into space and go forward, whether pass or touch. Regroup for the next one with Isak back.

Yup, same.

This will definitely change once the day comes but I'm more relaxed about us not winning this with the thought that this is just the start for us. Unless something goes drastically wrong with the ownership, I don't think we'll be waiting another couple of decades to reach the next final.

It's pretty fucking rich that fans of teams owned by billionaires who have effectively formed a cartel are crying because an even richer billionarie has come along to 'ruin the game'

I think it'll be a good game. They're slight favourites and that's fine, we're more suited to that, imo. Last time we played them we were missing some serious attacking options in the squad. Hopefully, we go in close to full strength. They'll rotate for their schedule, it's not like they're going to turn up not being able to run or owt.