Neil lennon

[Colr]

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Definitely. Always seems to make the right tactical calls in the big games but just doesn't seem to get it right against smaller clubs.

Like Stubbs before him?

[Allant1981]

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Definitely. Always seems to make the right tactical calls in the big games but just doesn't seem to get it right against smaller clubs.

apart from possibly taking off holt im not sure what else he could have done tonight, the players are 100% to blame for that, they should have been cruising after going 2-0 up

[ED Hibee]

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Like Stubbs before him?

To a certain extent although Stubbs didn't seem to change his system much it just seemed to be more effective against bigger clubs. Lennon has made some big tactical changes in both games against Hearts and the most recent Dundee Utd game which made the difference. He just doesn't seem to be able to get it right against wee teams.

[Dashing Bob S]

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Like Stubbs before him?

Different approaches but similar outcomes. There seems two schools of thought about NL:

1. He motivates players for big games, but goes to sleep at the wheel for smaller ones. At Celtic, his rep rested on punching above their weight in the CL, bossing the Huns, but he often lost Hampden semis/finals to clubs who outfought his team.

2. He inherited an iconic side in the cup winning team, which he couldn't get rid off, but one which he identified as unfit to win the long grind of the championship. He has tried to make adjustments, and has got us in a comfortable, but uninspiring position.

If we had a grinder outside like Hearts/Rangers as competition, we would be in serious trouble. We are fortunate that the opposition are beating each other.

[houstonhibbee]

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To a certain extent although Stubbs didn't seem to change his system much it just seemed to be more effective against bigger clubs. Lennon has made some big tactical changes in both games against Hearts and the most recent Dundee Utd game which made the difference. He just doesn't seem to be able to get it right against wee teams.

Although frustrating I wouldn't blame anyone today. It wasn't like Raith Rovers last week.
It was a bit like the Alan Freeland game v Falkirk game a few years back. The referee gave us no protection at all.

[pedroorange1875]

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apart from possibly taking off holt im not sure what else he could have done tonight, the players are 100% to blame for that, they should have been cruising after going 2-0 up

Thats exactly the problem. They thought they were and the games over, We just beat hearts you know, we are billy big baws in this league no problem

Disgraceful attitude and performance, and its not even the 10th time

[SlickShoes]

Lennon had the team organised and up for the game, as you can see by us going 2-0 up. What happened then is down to the players.

The only mistake I think Lennon made today was having Bartley at centre half for so long, we looked immediately better when he went into midfield.

[Moody Blues]

I am no manager, but feel we should have strengthened in the transfer window.

[Stevie Reid]

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Thats exactly the problem. They thought they were and the games over, We just beat hearts you know, we are billy big baws in this league no problem

Disgraceful attitude and performance, and its not even the 10th time

Given that we lost a goal (from an individual error) immediately after going two up, I don't think you can really say that the players thought it was over at 2-0.

[Scorrie]

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Lennon had the team organised and up for the game, as you can see by us going 2-0 up. What happened then is down to the players.

The only mistake I think Lennon made today was having Bartley at centre half for so long, we looked immediately better when he went into midfield.

I think he could have freshened us up top as well perhaps using Keatings

[Nicho87]

It was a sham keatings came on at 88. Should have been 10 minutes earlier

[ehf]

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apart from possibly taking off holt im not sure what else he could have done tonight, the players are 100% to blame for that, they should have been cruising after going 2-0 up

He could have hooked Fyvie at half-time; I was astonished to see him come out of the tunnel for the second half.

[pedroorange1875]

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Given that we lost a goal (from an individual error) immediately after going two up, I don't think you can really say that the players thought it was over at 2-0.

Nothing wrong with concentration, set up and positioning of the defence then? Not to mention the shocking attempt at an easy clearance for a back 4/team who were fully focused and still up for it as if it was 0-0

Ill think you will find the same attitude that caused Lennon to go mental is still very much prevalent

[Canon Hannan]

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Lennon had the team organised and up for the game, as you can see by us going 2-0 up. What happened then is down to the players.

The only mistake I think Lennon made today was having Bartley at centre half for so long, we looked immediately better when he went into midfield.

Thought the players gave everything and the manager played what he could. McGinn looked tired but can't fault them. Good point and nothing lost in real terms due to United.

[FitbaFolkKen]

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Thought the players gave everything and the manager played what he could. McGinn looked tired but can't fault them. Good point and nothing lost in real terms due to United.

Good point? I think going from 2-0 up to scraping a draw is anything but good.

[greenlex]

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Good point? I think going from 2-0 up to scraping a draw is anything but good.

Sorry but that is a great point at the end of the day not just good.

[Heisenberg]

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Thought the players gave everything and the manager played what he could. McGinn looked tired but can't fault them. Good point and nothing lost in real terms due to United.

This attitude that it's ok because United didn't win could come back to bite us. Yet again some only too happy to rely on others to drop points/hope they drop points.

[The Harp Awakes]

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Definitely. Always seems to make the right tactical calls in the big games but just doesn't seem to get it right against smaller clubs.

So what tactically could NL have done differently today?

He made 1 change from Wednesday with Fyvie coming in for Bartley. We started the game well and went 2-0 up so it looks like the initial team selection was sound. Our Captain dependable then gifted them a goal and we lost 1 of our centre backs and had to improvise bringing on Bartley.

Our players then decided to down tools in the 2nd half and we were run ragged by a very good Dunfermline side. NL then changed it and brought Crane on shifting Bartley to midfield. That stemmed the tide and the last 15 minutes was more even although we probably got a point we didn't deserve.

Sometimes you've got to take the hat off to the opposition and credit them for playing well. It's not the end of the world and we go again on Wednesday.

[wookie70]

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So what tactically could NL have done differently today?

He made 1 change from Wednesday with Fyvie coming in for Bartley. We started the game well and went 2-0 up so it looks like the initial team selection was sound. Our Captain dependable then gifted them a goal and we lost 1 of our centre backs and had to improvise bringing on Bartley.

Our players then decided to down tools in the 2nd half and we were run ragged by a very good Dunfermline side. NL then changed it and brought Crane on shifting Bartley to midfield. That stemmed the tide and the last 15 minutes was more even although we probably got a point we didn't deserve.

Sometimes you've got to take the hat off to the opposition and credit them for playing well. It's not the end of the world and we go again on Wednesday.

He could have left Bartley in after his terrific display on Wednesday and kept FF on the bench as he has been poor for weeks. Bartley and Mcginn has looked our best midfield partnership imo. He could have tried to give us more legs up top as there was a good chance an older player like Holt would struggle after his Derby efforts. He could have brought Crane or Donaldson on for Fonts instead of Bartley. He could have brought Martin on for McGinn who was honking and breathing out his arse. He could have given Keatings more than 2 mins(to be fair Keats was stripped a few mins beforehand).

He deserves some credit for changing to the back three relatively swiftly after the Bartley centre half "experiment" but equally he could be criticised for making that change in the first place. He also had half time to have a think about it but decided to stick with something that looked doomed to failure. I would argue that cost us the second goal.

He could have done lots of things but ultimately what he and the team did was not enough to stop us dropping two points. We were also very fortunate to get that point. If the team did down tools then there may be two reasons. One is the tremendous effort they put in on Wednesday. If that is the case then Lennon perhaps needs to shoulder some blame as he really didn't freshen the team up much. The other is that this was a negative reaction or complete lack of reaction to his comments after the Raith game. I'm hoping for the former but am worried about the latter. Time will tell. Wednesday is going to be very tough against St Mirren who seem to be hitting a bit of form and have much to play for.

[greenlex]

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This attitude that it's ok because United didn't win could come back to bite us. Yet again some only too happy to rely on others to drop points/hope they drop points.

This post makes no sense. It is actually in a literal sense ok because its as you were but another round of fixtures played. I dont think anybody is too happy we didnt stretch our lead at the top but I for one am delighted to be no worse off. I continue to hope the teams chasing us leep dropping points. Im not relying on it but will be delighted when they do. My attitude at the end of the day wont come back to bite us. Losing games might but me being happy about other things certainly wont.

[Stevie Reid]

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Nothing wrong with concentration, set up and positioning of the defence then? Not to mention the shocking attempt at an easy clearance for a back 4/team who were fully focused and still up for it as if it was 0-0

Ill think you will find the same attitude that caused Lennon to go mental is still very much prevalent

It was an individual error, these things happen - thankfully not much from Gray, or any of our back four.

We were ahambolic at times today, the only point that I was contesting was you saying that Dunfermline got back into the game because the players thought the game was won at 2-0. There simply wasn't enough time between us going 2-0 up and them scoring to possibly know if that was the case.

[jacomo]

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This post makes no sense. It is actually in a literal sense ok because its as you were but another round of fixtures played. I dont think anybody is too happy we didnt stretch our lead at the top but I for one am delighted to be no worse off. I continue to hope the teams chasing us leep dropping points. Im not relying on it but will be delighted when they do. My attitude at the end of the day wont come back to bite us. Losing games might but me being happy about other things certainly wont.

Well said.

We need to finish in first place in this league. We are in first place. Another round of fixtures gone and we are still 7 points + massive goal difference clear.

So long as this situation continues, all good.

[J-C]

We're coming to that part of the season that always seems to haunt us, Feb/March. These months always seem to bite us where it hurts, either through suspensions, injuries or lack of form and it's looking to down that road again unless we get a wee bit luck.

Another 2 points dropped to a team we've beaten fairly easily already this season, another bitterly disappointing performance after the game on wednesday. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what actually happens to these players between matches, is it a case of complacency or are they just not good enough on a regular basis.

90% of this squad are Stubbs players, is Lennon getting the best from these players and likewise is Lennon managing to his best? We all wanted a bigger target type player and Lennon got 2, both seem to not be the answer, was a big target man really the answer? Or maybe we should've looked at getting a Malonga type player who complimented Cummings far more.

When we go up we will need a good 5-6 players to compete in the premier league, many of these players are far too inconsistent or just not good enough, with games like today and against Raith/Ayr proof of that.

As for Lennon, I'm still to be convinced.

[houstonhibbee]

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He could have hooked Fyvie at half-time; I was astonished to see him come out of the tunnel for the second half.

where did you expect him to come out of?

[houstonhibbee]

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So what tactically could NL have done differently today?

He made 1 change from Wednesday with Fyvie coming in for Bartley. We started the game well and went 2-0 up so it looks like the initial team selection was sound. Our Captain dependable then gifted them a goal and we lost 1 of our centre backs and had to improvise bringing on Bartley.

Our players then decided to down tools in the 2nd half and we were run ragged by a very good Dunfermline side. NL then changed it and brought Crane on shifting Bartley to midfield. That stemmed the tide and the last 15 minutes was more even although we probably got a point we didn't deserve.

Sometimes you've got to take the hat off to the opposition and credit them for playing well. It's not the end of the world and we go again on Wednesday.

To my mind that's where I'm at and that's a very fair and balanced view of todays game. I don't think you can fault anyone for lack of effort. I think we tried to continue the swashbuckling style from Wednesday and no-one can say it wasn't entertaining with two teams going for it. It was more like a cup tie