SENTINELCELTS

The reigning SPL Champions enter the second of four competitions today and attempt to regain the League Cup trophy starting with an away trip to Tannadice this evening.

I would love to see a full house and I’m curious to see if their executives are wise enough to grant extra sections to the away support if they weren’t to to have a full house.

One thing we will see is a debut, hopefully two, which is always exciting despite the unwritten rule that permeates the unwritten code for a debut, don’t do anything stupid and keep it simple.

Would I like to see Hassan and Baur flung in from the start,,nothing would delight me more. I rewatched some of Baurs YouTubes then I came across yesterday’s video of Hassan doing tricks and my first thought was “good luck getting the ball off us”.
They will improve us in that respect but rather than a Brendan style possession this will be a forward thrust more akin to Ange. Yang always shows for the ball, while Benji, Duran and Hogh are great outlets to hit,,,add another two and its getting tasty.

It’s likely to be a different type of debut, two strikers playing together, unless Martin sticks Duran wide left which I think would be the wrong move as left footers on the left don’t score much due to the incoming angle. Besides he’s a striker not a winger so I hope its a partnership this evening and why not have a test run before the qualifiers.

If we play two strikers together somethings gotta give and the realistic options are 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 and Martin basically ruled out the former when he admitted Baur is not Engels replacement (good luck Arne) and that would be a box to box player therefore he still sees three in the middle. Throw into the mix the fact our first choice right-back is injured and the odds of the return to 3-5-2 at Tannadice are raised. We await the teamsheet and formation with eager anticipation.

A good winning performance would be manna from heaven and keep the good ship going full steam ahead into a crunch tie. We need to carry the feel-good factor into Wednesday night and theres 11 men standing in our way. Maybe its just me but I would much rather have Utd than say Ayr or Raith Rovers as this is a proper tie in a good stadium and surface that should require a good performance to win rather than a routine stomping. If we make it look like a routine stomping that would tell me more about our team than theirs and I would regard that a really positive sign.

We’ve been making this football lark to easy lately, 12 wins on the bounce I believe, and while 13 is considered unlucky on this occasion its up against a formidable opponent in Martin who obviously wants a Treble to retire with ergo he will deliver a great speech in Dundee demanding progression. Recently they’ve responded not only well but excellently and I pray that continues tonight.

Gub ’em Bhoys and Up The Hoops!
By Mahe
sentinelcelts@gmail.com