{"id":16922,"title":"Waiting For Robbo","description":"Boy oh boy, remember how long we spent in the first half of the season sweating with a back three against teams we'd expect to be comfortably putting away on our road to a top six? That was rough.","content":"

By Andrew Christie<\/em><\/p>

Boy oh boy, remember how long we spent in the first half of the season sweating with a back three against teams we'd expect to be comfortably putting away on our road to a top six? That was rough.<\/p>

Now to sit back, relax and take in a lovely bit of Ross County vs St Mirren.<\/p>

Oh\u2026\"\"
Typically, when a new manager joins a club like St Mirren, they are replacing a binned predecessor; let go as a result of poor form, league position or simply for the unforgivable act of being Alex Rae.<\/p>

Following Aberdeen\u2019s pursuit and subsequent hiring of Jim Goodwin, Stephen Robinson inherited a St Mirren side on a run of eight games unbeaten. On one hand, an enviable position to be in, on the other, however, a tricky balancing act between wanting to drip feed your style and authority on your new squad without changing a winning formula.<\/p>

With Robinson\u2019s first two games (70+ minutes vs Hearts with ten men and a trip to Parkhead) going down as a false start, all eyes were on Saints\u2019 trip to Dingwall as the new boss looked to properly announce himself to the travelling fans.<\/p>

Unfortunately for us, this was an announcement Robinson chose to make with five at the back.<\/p>

While this was the same setup that we saw against Celtic, trips to Parkhead tend to be tactical anomalies for managers, where setting up too defensively can often be as ill-advised as going gung-ho. However, the 4-2-3-1 saw us unbeaten in eight games, and - while a trip to Dingwall is never one to be sniffed at - the feeling going into Saturday\u2019s game was that it was a formation very much to stick with.<\/p>

In Robinson\u2019s 5-4-1 we toiled and struggled, failing to offer any real attacking threat; the resulting 1-0 defeat ultimately going down as thoroughly deserved.<\/p>

It was a poor game overall, decided by a 49th minute Joseph Hungbo penalty after the striker was brought down by a clumsy Alex Gogi\u0107 challenge. There was not much quality on show from either team, but the three points now see Ross County move into the top half of the table, and in a healthy position to solidify their place there before the split.<\/p>

Conversely, St Mirren have been left rueing what feels like a tactical miscalculation at a time of the season when we can ill afford it.\"\"
Looking at it objectively, you can see the thinking behind Saints\u2019 formation; in Hungbo and Regan Charles-Cook, County have two of the league\u2019s in-form attacking wingers and can pose a real danger going forward. A back five, supported by central midfielders Gogi\u0107 and Alan Power did effectively nullify the host\u2019s attacking threat, however, it also offered very little in the way of forward impetus for us. The system did not allow for anywhere near enough support to be given to lone striker Alex Greive, who managed just six touches in the 45 minutes he was given, with only one of those coming in the opposition\u2019s box.<\/p>

Robinson\u2019s half time additions of Ethan Erhahon (for Greg Kiltie) and Curtis Main (for Greive) did little to change the side\u2019s attacking woes.<\/p>

Main in particular was one that had many in the stands scratching their heads, having seen the big forward struggle in that role on a couple of different occasions so far this season. Main\u2019s attributes simply don\u2019t lend themselves to the lone striker as we can see from the following touch map from Saturday.<\/p>

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The above paints a picture of a player not fully comfortable with his role, having to drop far too deep to make up for a lack of midfield support. Main completed just six passes in the opposition half and failed to complete a single dribble. While the striker\u2019s physical capabilities typically lend themselves well to the role target man, Main won only 3\/9 of his aerial duels attempted and lost possession three times. While there may yet be a place for Main in Robinson\u2019s squad, this isn\u2019t it.<\/p>

One thing this game showed was how much we need a player like Connor Ronan in our ranks. Since the midfielder\u2019s red card against Hearts, we have all but lost the ability to link midfield to attack, sorely missing Ronan\u2019s ability to drop deep and provide that bit of creative spark going forward.\"\"
When the game in Dingwall on Saturday opened up slightly in its closing stages with St Mirren looking to attack, but with three defensive midfielders on the pitch, all of the attacking onus fell to a<\/p>

frustrated Jordan Jones on the left-wing and an exhausted Richard Tait on the right. With Ronan returning from suspension on Wednesday night against Dundee, the hope among many fans is a return to the 4-2-3-1, where the Irishman\u2019s ability to drive attacks is a real asset.<\/p>

Of course, it should be noted that we currently sit three points from the top six with a game in hand (against the league\u2019s bottom side) and have a Scottish Cup Quarter Final with Hearts to look forward to at the weekend. By Sunday morning everything could look entirely different. However, if anyone is questioning our fanbase\u2019s commitment to doom and gloom, I\u2019ll leave you with the best thing I came across while reading a St Mirren forum this week:<\/p>

\u201c(Alan) Stubbs had four league games in charge, won one of them (against Dundee funnily enough) and got binned. Robbo needs to win on Wednesday to match the start made by Stubbs.\u201d<\/p>

So, yeah\u2026\"\"
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