Quote:

msgribbin, Sun 11 Aug 00:44

I live down in England and go to a fair number of matches down there. Mostly Aldershot in the National League and Farnborough in the National League South, the league below. The standard’s fairly similar to the Scottish Championship. Every now and then there’s a dud match but almost always I come away well enough entertained. It’s an enjoyable experience, nearly always.

So I don’t often get a spare couple of hours in Fife on a Saturday afternoon. Last time I did was the 0-5 Morton game, wasn’t in a rush to repeat the dose ! All 4 Fife league clubs were at home today. And Cowden. Quite a rare thing. Was tempted to pop up and see Kelty in the hope of some entertainment but, in the end, couldn’t just drive past East End on the way up the road. Wish I had…..

I haven’t followed the detail of the concerns about the board. Sure they’re well founded, but I’m not close enough to know. I can only speak about the team on the pitch.

On today’s showing, there’s a fundamental lack of ability, energy and belief.
I wouldn’t say they weren’t trying. I think they were. But there was very little drive or urgency. No collective heart and spirit. Apart from maybe 10 – 15 minutes at the start of the second half, no sense of trying to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and make something happen. Poor options chosen time and again.

Yes, there was the occasional flash of skill and promise but there’s the rub. Higher level players don’t always have better skills but they produce those skills more consistently and do the basics reliably well. Most of the Pars team weren’t at any high level. Couldn’t consistently move and control the ball at pace, couldn’t spot and execute good options.

The occasional flash of something better looked more like their high-water mark – every now and then something comes off, but it’ll never become routine – than a glimpse of any real potential. One or two do have that sort of potential - particularly Otoo, despite his torrid start – and some, like Wotherspoon, did once have it but not so much now.

It isn’t difficult to spot cohesive, well drilled teams. The Pars are far from that. There’s a lot of talk here about McPake’s tactics. I wonder whether his caution flows from knowing this team just can’t play more expansively, just can’t move the ball quickly and accurately enough. Even if so, it’s his team. And there was a collective lack of heart, drive and resilience today. Those qualities aren’t easily recovered.

As much as today was bleak, leagues aren’t won and lost in August. But it isn’t all about that for me anyway. It’s really basic. I want to enjoy the match, I want to be entertained. And today I really wasn’t. Falkirk were ok – not brilliant but they had a go, created a bit. But the Pars barely even threatened to entertain. And that’s just not acceptable, not remotely good enough. Anyone can lose a game but at least give it a good