Fife vs Airdrie

[DestroyedByMadness]

Loving the amount of angst on here,  it's thoroughly deserved,  that was the kind of blood curdling performance that ruins seasons and destroys fan bases.   

A few things from me:

We played an attempt at 343 with Brown and Leitch supporting Ryan.   For all the negativety about Broon,  His pass for Ryan's goal was sublime and he did what I thought he could do, very unlucky with a long range fizzer that would have been goal of the season.   Leitch was ok too but tbh, maybe Broon and Leitch bring something too similar.  Maybe someone who could run at pace would've given us a bit more threat.

When you play against big strong immobile defences you need to play with a striker who will drop off the front line and support him with wingers who will run at the defence.  Ryan fits the striker role perfectly.   That also means stopping the new Wilson long ball tactic.   Square pegs/round hole.

Hutton and Conroy were superb in midfield.

Which brings us to the back 3.    Why play 3 zonal v 1 striker?   Let 1 mark him and 1 sweep and push the 3rd man further forwards.   We were 7v9 in the final 2 thirds.   That extra man in there could have tipped the balance firmly in our favour.

I had a very good view of the dugout throughout.    Wilson is clearly stressed.   Always grimacing at his players but trying hard to say well done.    

He simply can't get his message to Boateng and Gorman.   So many times he tried to talk them through situations but neither seemed responsive.   That was a direct contrast to Stewart and McIntosh.   Boateng is just a blank expression and Gorman seems deaf and stuck in his ways.  

One classic was at a throw in, Wilson was trying to get Gorman to stick closely to Insall with Boateng coming over to fill the space vacated by Gorman.   In the end Boateng remained frozen and gormless,  Gorman backed off and let Insall take his touch, turn and run at him.  

It was just another crazy example of the team not having any set co-ordinated approach.   

The highlights are going to be fun to watch.

[DestroyedByMadness]

1 minute ago, Stevo Fife said:

You have no idea.   Sits and shouts the same verbal diarrhoea that he types on here.

Always showing his cleavage off to Frank Grimes.

[DestroyedByMadness]

Just saw the highlights.

First goal,  Gorman outjumped again and goalie rooted.

Second goal, McDonald ballwatching and backs out of challenge.   

Really dreadful

[Diamonds are Forever]

3 hours ago, sirscottyoung said:

Tell you what I really hate. Cocky "bigger teams". There's a reason your in this league, there's a reason you didn't come away with three points, there's a reason you stole a point at the death, there's a reason you are only marginally ahead of the part time teams in the league...

Disrespect the league and other teams and they will come back to haunt you. Which they are. With form like this I wouldn't be disrespectful

 

Have you actually read any of the posts by Airdrie fans in this thread? Every single one is absolutely slating our own side and saying that, at best, we maybe deserved a draw. We know exactly why we are in this position. We've picked up 4 points from a possible 18, any fans of any club in the world would be angry/frustrated at that. What is disrespectful about expecting a side with full-time training to not be in relegation form?

If you check this thread you'll see it's East Fife fans who said they would be happy with a draw against a full-time team, so I'm not sure how Airdrie fans then being disappointed at this result is disrespectful?

[Hugh Jarss]

I think the formation yesterday was worth a try and probably suits the players we have but it goes without saying we need to bring in at least 1 new central defender, probably 2 and I'm beginning to lose patience with MacDonald at left back / wing back. He's decent going forward but just can't defend. I thought our best players were Ryan, Stewart and Conroy. Brown continues to frustrate me. There's undoubtedly a good player in there but he is lazy and constantly sh#tes out of tackles. He is a goal threat though and has an eye for a pass. His delivery from corners & free kicks can be good too but not on a consistent basis. I guess that's why he plays for us. 

Leitch is a good player but can disappear from games. I was shouting for him to be subbed yesterday to get a forward on mainly because I didn't think he would get us a goal...What do I know? I'm not sure about Hutton. He does the simple things well but I don't think he offers any protection to the defence and he certainly offers nothing going forward. He had a great chance to get a shot away in the first half yesterday and his first thought was to try to get a pass away.

I think the formation is worth another try but bring in either Russell or McKay for Brown or Leitch and maybe go 3-4-1-2.

 

[waysider]

Having watched the highlights I am still at a loss to understand why Conroy was booked. Can anyone enlighten me?

[el Gringo]

Obstruction, according to the ref.

[Diamonds are Forever]

1 hour ago, Frank_Grimes said:

I thought the shape was a lot better yesterday. The problem is that whatever shape we play, we have defenders that can't defend.

 

I think that succinctly sums the whole situation up. We can debate endlessly on here what formations/systems to use, but until we get 2 new defenders in the difference it's going to make is marginal. A manager can set a team up and drill them through the week, but he can't make players naturally aggressive in the air when attacking cross balls, or change how they instinctively react in certain situations (like Gorman's want to always back off players). These are things that by this stage in a player's career are ingrained and very difficult to train into them/out of them. That doesn't mean Wilson just gets off the hook completely, ultimately he's been given a great opportunity that someone with his experience should never have got, so he has to deal with what he's got just now. But it also means until he gets the chance to bring in some of his own players I'm trying to reserve judgement.

[waysider]

Cheers El Gringo. I initially thought the ref was booking their forward for kicking the ball out of Ferguson's hands!

[Gordon EF]

29 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

If you check this thread you'll see it's East Fife fans who said they would be happy with a draw against a full-time team, so I'm not sure how Airdrie fans then being disappointed at this result is disrespectful?

I understand that bad runs breed frustration. 

I would have taken a draw because we've just won 6 games (5 league games) in a row, and we're away to a team who're above us in the league. Generally, I'll accept a draw in that circumstance and 16 points from 18 is pretty fucking fantastic.

Airdrie fans could see this as a decent result as they've got a point against the form team in the league - the first team to do that in almost 2 months. But instead, it induces some sort of existential crisis.

This may be a little harsh but Airdrie are the Clyde of L1.

[east fife for life]

I'm happy with a draw! Away from home against full time opposition and missing several key players. Huge credit to our players and management. Fingers crossed Barry Smith can use his contacts and bring some players in and I don't see why we can't battle for a play off place. Mon the Fife

[Diamonds are Forever]

2 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

But instead, it induces some sort of existential crisis.

 

 

It really didn't though, this thread is nothing compared to last week's.

[Chapelhall chap]

56 minutes ago, Hugh Jarss said:

I think the formation yesterday was worth a try and probably suits the players we have but it goes without saying we need to bring in at least 1 new central defender, probably 2 and I'm beginning to lose patience with MacDonald at left back / wing back. He's decent going forward but just can't defend. I thought our best players were Ryan, Stewart and Conroy. Brown continues to frustrate me. There's undoubtedly a good player in there but he is lazy and constantly sh#tes out of tackles. He is a goal threat though and has an eye for a pass. His delivery from corners & free kicks can be good too but not on a consistent basis. I guess that's why he plays for us. 

Leitch is a good player but can disappear from games. I was shouting for him to be subbed yesterday to get a forward on mainly because I didn't think he would get us a goal...What do I know? I'm not sure about Hutton. He does the simple things well but I don't think he offers any protection to the defence and he certainly offers nothing going forward. He had a great chance to get a shot away in the first half yesterday and his first thought was to try to get a pass away.

I think the formation is worth another try but bring in either Russell or McKay for Brown or Leitch and maybe go 3-4-1-2.

 

His folks were sitting behind us yesterday and they left before he got the late equalizer so maybe they thought the game had been lost as well. Glad he stuck around to score but I agree he does disappear for spells in the game ; he seems to have a free role to do what he wants as play develops but that is quite passive. I also remain frustrated at how often we do nothing with throw ins/indeed lose possession almost immediately. Surely that could be sorted out in FT training?

[Pesadilla]

23 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

Airdrie fans could see this as a decent result as they've got a point against the form team in the league - the first team to do that in almost 2 months. But instead, it induces some sort of existential crisis.

 

We're on a dreadful run of form and our fans are, rightfully, questioning what the f**k we're doing with our FT status.

Similar to QP last week, the opposition fans seem to think our angst is disrespectful of them somehow, Nothing could be further from the truth. 

It's really quite simple. We've got no right to beat anyone in this league but we do expect more from a FT team. We expect our manager to respond to issues on the park which even the most simple of our fans can see. We expect these issues to be addressed. We've now won a single game from the last 5 or 6. That simply isn't good enough for a team supposedly fighting for promotion. I don't see it as our fans being big-headed or disrespectful at all. We've been honest in our appraisal. The league is of a fairly poor standard and it's not a massive leap to suggest that any team that's full time should have an advantage. We've clearly got that advantage but we're nowhere near the level we need to be. Fans who post the drivel you just have come across as having some sort of "Wee Man syndrome", demanding respect when absolutely no-one has insulted you. 

[Cosmic Joe]

I can't see how full-time football is sustainable for Airdrieonians on attendances like yesterday - just over 800 was the official figure. It actually looked significantly less than that but I'm assuming season ticket holders were included whether or not they attended...  

 

Edit: Watching the highlights the crowd does look bigger than I initially thought...

[DestroyedByMadness]

1 hour ago, Hugh Jarss said:

I think the formation is worth another try but bring in either Russell or McKay for Brown or Leitch and maybe go 3-4-1-2.

You have BoDiddy and McDonald missing next game to factor in (suspensions).

One thing that was apparent yesterday was that Stewart is far better and aggressive in the air than our 3 CDs put together.

Next game?

Rohan

McIntosh Conroy Gorman

Hutton

Stewart              Leitch

Brown

McKay      Ryan             Russell

 

Play the 343 like Cruyff,  the 4 in midfield are your diamond.   

Conroy builds play from the back, can step out, keeps Gorman and McIntosh in marking roles. 

McKay and Russell hold a high and wide position to stretch the defence (and track fullbacks,  Ryan can drop off to link up or overload in midfield.    Hutton plays around opposition half of centre circle mopping things up and starting attacks, Stewart Leitch and Brown run, pass and win ball back and shoot.

Jobs a good un.

[waysider]

I've never been happier on hearing about suspensions!

[Gordon EF]

1 hour ago, Pesadilla said:

We're on a dreadful run of form and our fans are, rightfully, questioning what the f**k we're doing with our FT status.

Similar to QP last week, the opposition fans seem to think our angst is disrespectful of them somehow, Nothing could be further from the truth. 

It's really quite simple. We've got no right to beat anyone in this league but we do expect more from a FT team. We expect our manager to respond to issues on the park which even the most simple of our fans can see. We expect these issues to be addressed. We've now won a single game from the last 5 or 6. That simply isn't good enough for a team supposedly fighting for promotion. I don't see it as our fans being big-headed or disrespectful at all. We've been honest in our appraisal. The league is of a fairly poor standard and it's not a massive leap to suggest that any team that's full time should have an advantage. We've clearly got that advantage but we're nowhere near the level we need to be. Fans who post the drivel you just have come across as having some sort of "Wee Man syndrome", demanding respect when absolutely no-one has insulted you. 

It's not about lack of respect, it's about the complete lack of perspective from Airdrie fans. Half the posts here are tearing into your players saying how useless and shite they are, the other half are wobbly-lipped rants about how you're not doing better than you are.

OK, my last post was meant to be a little bit provocative but what do you guys actually expect? By your own admission, full time or not, your team seems to consist of mostly average-ish L1 players with a couple who're not really up to it and a couple of stand-outs. And, surprise, surprise, you're having a pretty average-ish season.

[diamond_for_life]

Ofcourse it isn't disrespectful to assume Airdrie at home on a 3g surface which they train on every fucking session (3g not the stadium) which is what 5 days a week should be beating part time clubs regardless of that clubs form. The fact that Airdrie are in the state they are shows how pish Airdrie's season has been but this should not not be happening given the full time status and financial resources they have. East Fife can be happy with an away point against a full time team in which they might very well have gotten all 3 points. They continue their undefeated run and are palying well. Airdrie on the other hand have been lucky to escape with 1 point from two games against the teams coming up from the division below. They have 1 point in 3 games against lower opposition and one game was a "derby". 1 win in 6 games and a 5-0 drubbing against the team at the bottom of the league at that time. Airdrie fans have every right to be furious with this pish as it is simply a position they should not be in again give their resources and full time status. 

[King Kebab]

Barry Smith's Post-Match Interview!!!