Our first away game of this league season also saw our first league defeat in 40 games as we would fall to a 1-0 defeat at Tannadice. In what was this teams’ second defeat in succession, yet again there were many aspects of the game that have fans scratching their heads, wondering how a team that was so reliable in getting the job done last campaign could start this one so…differently. It’s tough to accept. The result was not unfair, given the way we performed, any sort of point from the game would have been a positive. It’s purely the performance levels of so many individuals that have fans worried. Yes, it is a perfectly acceptable argument to say that it is too early in the season to be hasty about individual players, and that results like this can happen to the best of us. But at this club you are only as good as your last win, and all roads now lead to Tuesday night and a massive Champions League qualifying match at Ibrox.
You always want to try and look for something to cling to from a match like this. To say “if we can just sort this out then we will be fine because the other parts of the game are absolutely fine.” For me there was only one positive to take away from the game in terms of an individual. Everyone else, I expect more, and in some cases, a lot more. Early pressure was dealt with but the lack of a real goal threat was a bit concerning, Dundee United looking to have the more dangerous opportunities in the first half of the early kick off (this team and early kick offs by the way, same as last season). The same concerns as before crept in, the lack of using the ball well enough, just waiting that second too long to release, set pieces that like night and day from the real threats they posed last season. There was no threat from the middle, a midfield that looked far more like one you would line up with if you were going to need to sit back and defend for long periods, Dundee United played the game exactly the right way to combat that. The goal concession could have come a bit earlier for us in all honesty because we needed the team to react a lot sooner than what they did, although in saying that only one opportunity that went just wide just after we went behind, and other than a shot from outside the box that was parried away, we did not threaten enough. How we lost the goal is also deeply annoying. Not because of the way the ball finds it’s way to the player (at the end of the day, you make your own luck) but it’s the lack of tracking the runner all the way. You cannot let a player have that much space as they close down and look to finish, it is criminal. And the fact that it is our right hand side again that has caused the problem, and the same three players are in that area, that is something that needs to be addressed.
Here is how you rated our players from a very annoying day in Dundee.
Jon McLaughlin – 5.9 (6)
During the first half Dundee United made McLaughlin work a bit more than what he would normally expect but I felt he stood up to the challenge well, looking assured in dealing with the threats as well as well as dealing with the ball on the deck in his usual calm manner. The goal itself is again one where it is hard to put all of the blame on him, he rushes forward to try and close down the attacker but the shot evades him. It’s still only a handful of goals that he has conceded for us having made many more appearances, so there is little to be concerned about regarding him.
James Tavernier – 4.8 (6)
Calling him our biggest attacking threat is a compliment to him but also a worry in regards to others in front of him. His desire to be at the centre of things in that respect is always to be admired, and unfortunately on this day nothing came off, despite a couple of good runs from deep and a shot that was the toughest thing Siegrest had to deal with. A lot of people are now worried that the old defensive frailties of the skipper are creeping up again, because his area is where we lose the game again. United bring the ball forward down their left and at no point do you think that the captain is going to take charge of the situation, he just feels like a body in there and nothing else. A chance he has late on to get a goal back for us sums up perhaps where his head is at. Cross from the left and he has time to take a touch and shoot, instead he tries the spectacular and it backfires. Composure required there. That said, I’m surprised by how low his overall rating is here.
Connor Goldson – 4.9 (5)
More defensive issues. Again, look at the goal. The space that the Dundee United left back has to run into should not be afforded to him, and I feel that Goldson simply stops and allows the player to run through (not literally but it’s as good as). It’s another moment where it’s either a brain fart or a lack of concentration. What annoyed me more was the lofted balls that would continually be played which just were not working. Yeah, I get trying that as another means of attack, but it gets to a point where, after it is clear that is not working, it becomes lazy. Playing every single minute of the last 75 games for us is an incredible achievement, and we know just how assured he can be, but you wonder if there is a mental fatigue setting in given the last couple of matches.
Filip Helander – 6.4 (6)
I will say this for Fil. Our defensive errors have had nothing to do with him. He is doing his job and still looks like a solid defender, in spite of the fact that we are leaking more goals at the back in the last two games (remember, only as good as your last win). His first league defeat, a sore one for him and all of us to see that amazing run come to an end. Sure, he claims the man of the match here, but we have seen him put in some outstanding, dominant defensive performances. That was not so much the case today. But he will not be one of the ones blamed for this.
Borna Barisic – 4.3 (5)
Two games in a row where the team has looked miles off what we know they can do. And you can say exactly the same for Borna. The consistency of his deliveries has disappeared, the occasional decent ball in yes, but still a long way off what we expect. He also looks weaker at the back, and will be thankful that Helander is not suffering the same issues as Goldson, otherwise our left side would be equally as exposed. Nothing to write home about defensively, very little to be proud of going forward. I don’t think we are at the stage where Bassey should be coming in for him, but if we have another display like this on Tuesday and Calvin takes his chance on Friday (seems highly likely he would start that game) then who knows.
John Lundstram – 3.0 (4)
Yikes. It’s quite clear that the support wants to see a whole lot more for Lundstram, and to be honest with you they are absolutely right. Many who have watched him before would class him as a box to box player, yet you rarely saw him do anything positive in either box. He would try the long range passing thing and that didn’t work. He did not look like he was going to dominate the centre, and he seemed shocked at the fact he was being put under the pressure he was being put under. The goal is an awful moment for him as well. He is with the runner up until he releases the ball, then he just stops. How can someone of his experience not think that the best thing to do is carry on tracking him, because anyone in their right mind would know that the player is going to carry on that run. You don’t just stop. It was very “that’s no longer my problem.” Him coming off as early as he did was the right decision. This is far away from what everyone feels he can do. He needs to step up.
Steven Davis – 5.9 (6)
It almost feels like insulting someone’s sainted mother when you make any criticism toward Steven Davis right now, and I want to make it very clear that I think a lot of the reasons for why he struggled more here are not of his making. You have to remember his age, the role he has in the team and how he executes it. He kept going for the full 90 minutes, and the fact he had to do that again is not going unnoticed by the support, and I think at points in this game he looked like that was catching up on him, that he needed a chance to regain his energy. It would have been wonderful to have had a player to take his place for this game so that he could be ready to go for Tuesday at 100% stamina, but the simple fact of the matter is there is no one who can match what this team needs from that role. It just shows you what the team looks like when he is not at his absolute best.
Glen Kamara – 5.4 (5)
If you’re going to attack a game and look to dominate the ball, you wonder what the need for a Glen Kamara in a game like that is. Here is the perfect example of why we need to sign a proper attacking midfielder for this role. It doesn’t need that extra protection, and you are then asking Kamara to do other things that we know he does not do as well. He stands out in the biggest games, because they require exactly what he does, and I am sure that if we play really well and go through on Tuesday he will be someone we thank for that. But we rarely, if ever, see that same Glen in games like this. I rarely shout at the tv during a game but the lifetime he took to try and play the ball to a completely open Kent did make me lose my cool a bit. A more comfortable attacking player would have done far better.
Joe Aribo – 5.8 (7)
For me, Aribo was the only player that looked good for us here. Playing in the final third, his feet were causing the United defence all sorts of problems, and there was a lot of intent in what he was doing. I thought he used the ball well, he was moving quicker both in possession and without, and that overall he looked far more comfortable in that area. There has to come a point where we fully commit to him only playing in that role or as a 10 in a 4231. That’s where he is most dangerous. That’s where he will provide the most influence. It is, however, fair comment for anyone to turn around and say that despite all the good things I talked about, there was still no end product.
Alfredo Morelos – 5.5 (5)
A welcome return to the side for Morelos when the line up was announced, and the thinking could well have been that you give him 45-60 minutes before bringing on someone else ahead of Tuesday. But he was on the field for way longer and failed to make a mark. One or two concerns over whether he allowed the crowd at the game to affect what he was doing, I don’t buy into that, I think we just saw a player just back from a shortened holiday working toward getting to that level again. Circumstances out with anyone’s control meant that the option of replacing him with Roofe during the game were not available. These things happen, these things are more important than football. Let’s hope that Morelos can use the crowd to his advantage in his next game.
Ryan Kent – 3.6 (4)
It’s not unfair at all to say that Kent has been pretty crap the last couple of games. Trying to beat a man with some silky skills where in fact he would often end up beating himself, and not doing the basics first and foremost, are what is really frustrating us at the minute. At full steam he cannot be matched, but he seems to be playing like he thinks he is back at that level already when the truth is far removed from that. No end product at all.
Scott Wright – 5.3 (5)
When I looked at the bench I thought that Wright was the only guy who could come on and make a positive impact if we needed it. He was the obvious candidate to come on when we went behind, but in his stint on the field he did not make enough of an impression to make the difference.
Cedric Itten – 4.0 (4)
He came off the bench so often last season that it’s not a surprise to see him used in that role again when we were in need of a goal. The sad thing is, again, we rarely saw him on the ball and he looked like no threat at all.
Jermain Defoe – 3.3 (4)
There is a bit of a concern that we are turning to player/coach Defoe to try and turn a game around. He likely would not have been named on the bench had it not been for a family issue for Kemar Roofe, but it leads to ask where someone like Fashion Sakala was? It just summed up what a frustrating day it was when we look at that as our only real option left in a game. He should be starting the occasional league game at home post Europe. That’s about it really at this point.
