Anthony Ralston

So you're telling me Ralston doesn't have enough technical ability to play in Scotland? SCOTLAND????

Absolute nonsense mate. I tell ye exactly what this team could do with right now - a Bobo Balde/Stephen McManus at CB and a John Hartson/Chris Sutton up front.

You can pass the ball around as much as you want, but when you have the opposition overpowering you physically........well, then you can only fight fire with fire.

 

Like I said mate, he’ll be absolutely fine against the weaker teams in the league. But against tougher opponents like the huns, Aberdeen, Hibs (when they try) etc I don’t think he’s quite there.

I agree that the team lacks fight and that’s something that needs fixed. But I don’t want us just filling the team with hard * who aren’t very good players.

 

He was better against Sevco than a full Swedish internationalist and multiple league/cup winner was.

 

He was...but that doesn’t say a whole lot. Lustig is done and has been for a while.

 

It says plenty, that a 20 year old bhoyhood fan comes on and shows up a * like Lustig! And it also goes to show that technical ability isn't * everything - even in this new age of fitba when "defenders" want to be able to pass a ball before they can defend. Utter lunacy!

Sometimes you just need a bit of a player who is a throwback - works for the Italian teams most of the time - nothing fancy, just pass to the guy in front of you, and dont let the guy attacking you get by ye.

Simplistic.

 

Fair enough.

Think we need to be aiming higher but until we sign a right back Ralston should be playing.

 

At this particular moment in time, I will take attitude over technical ability. Ntcham is possibly the most technically able player in our squad and what * use is he? We are seriously lacking in players with heart and desire and are losing games away from home to hammer throwers with loads of it.
Domestically, I think having players like Ralston will toughen up the team. We might need better for Europe, or hope for a miraculous improvement, but we need a bit of what I know as 'boot, * and bite' in the side.

 

We should, definitely.

Ralston is an average player who shows heart and determination. He’ll likely have a decent career but the game has changed and modern full backs have to have more than that. Technically he just hasn’t got it, not insulting the boy, just the reality.

 

I think we've seen enough to know that early judgements like these can bite ,although I kinda get wots being said ,he has to be given a shot .

 

Ntcham isn’t the most technically able in the squad and you need technical ability and attitude to become a good player in the modern game.

 

I disagree. I think Ntcham is a waste of space because of his attitude, but he is technically exceptional.
As for Ralston, I am not so sure. We need a couple of hard men in the team. With Broony on the wane, we have nobody with an edge in the team. One or two technically inferior players adding a bit of steel would improve us.
Anyway, he doesn't look that far off and is still young.

 

Should play before Lustig..

 

This. Plus he's come back after over a year out of playing first team football, having only had limited experience, and did his job.

He deserves to be in the starting 11 at the moment. Not that that is too hard at the moment.

 

I wouldn’t call him exceptional at anything but his technique is good.

I’d rather a player with technical ability who also comes with ‘a bit of steel’ as you put it. Having one doesn’t mean you can’t have the other. And someone with both will always be better than someone with one or the other.

 

Well, at the moment we have no 'steel' whatsoever and that is what is costing us.

 

Tierney is a fantastic fullback but I wouldn't say his technical ability is one of his main attributes. Ralston showed more dig and fight in the time he was on than Lustig has shown for as long as I can remember. Not to mention he could have been on about 5 goals from the previous 2 games. Lustig gets a nose bleed when he crosses the halfway line nowadays. A marauding full back who's an attacking threat as well as having some dig about him! That'll do me. He might not be the most technically gifted but like others have said about Ntcham, he could give you flicks and stepovers all day but he has the heart of a mouse.

 

He's the kind of player that many won't like playing against, and as a defender that is an asset.

 

Anthony Ralston was not the problem on Saturday.

If anything he was one of maybe 2 or 3 who showed any fight.

He would go through * for his team mates, sometimes that kind of grit is more valuable than a technically gifted player like for example Ntcham (who was meek, at best)

 

Play him, he's a big tanky * who is more mobile than Lustig, he may not be the answer as he still wouldn't solve the lopsided nature of our attacking play but he is worth giving time ahead of Lustig now, unless of course we sign a ready to go fully fit RB before our next game.

We won't though.

 

While I agree with your post, why are you calling Lustig a *? I don't think he deserves that.