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Pereira and the guy that was between the sticks for Killie when they went down (Doyle was it?) were both abysmal, but Birighitti is the worst of the bunch for me. It's the range of howler's he had that are impressive, there's a bit of everything in there - shite decision making, bullied at set pieces, lettuce wrist shot stopping, shite footwork meaning shots right at him seem to go in, getting clattered by Stevie May. He's got it all.

Covid was better than the Covid thread...

*Ridiculously long post warning* Now that the whisky haze is starting to lift (sort of), I’ll try and make sense of what was a bonkers day on Saturday. I’ve been reading around and green dotting a number of takes from fellow Diamonds, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly and not too sure I can add much more, but here goes… I went into the game with that same weird sense of optimism I’ve had in the previous three and, much like the Wednesday game, that had evaporated within 20 mins. It was basically a reversal of the first leg - I actually thought we started much better than on Wednesday and were the better team until Connor Smith’s goal. We had debated whether it was fair that Justin Deveney had lost his place but Charlie Telfer had earned it with his showing on Wednesday and was our best player in the first half. Of course, the script very much played out like you’d expect an Airdrie playoff final to until about the 91st minute - we’d been comfortable, probing away at Hamilton’s defence, when our short corner routine leads to a goal for Accies - classic problems of our own making stuff. From then on it felt like we were ice skating up hill - save for Rhys’s free kick that hit the bar and a corner Smith did well to get a hand to. Then the sucker punch - that late Hamilton goal that I truly believed had killed us. I must have this innate thing in me now where when an Airdrie collapse is on the horizon, I just go into a trance-like state of hopeless acceptance, as I kid you not, I sat in complete silence just staring into space for the last 10 mins of the 90. Then Gabby McGill showed up. Gal has, deservedly so, taken a great deal of the plaudits this season but I have to say that Gabby has been magnificent. Think it was 18 goals he finished on, not to mention his number of assists. The way he caught that re-bound was sweet as, and that snapped me out of the familiar malaise. I was obviously delighted when we went on to win, but that moment for me was probably the most relieved/excited/happy I’ve been watching Airdrie in a long time. ET was probably a decent watch for a neutral but it was hellish for us - it felt like both teams were going blow for blow by this stage and, although we had our chances, I felt we dodged a couple of big bullets ourselves. You never want to verbalise it at the time but we’ve been where Hamilton were (a lot) and it did feel like they’d end up rueing some of those missed chances. I hate penalties, I hate Airdrie in penalty shootouts and I did not feel confident. However, apparently we’d been saving them up all season, as our takers were excellent, to a man. Always feel modern shootouts are a nightmare as very few penalties are missed (not sure if it’s better takers or poorer keepers) and they seem to go on longer and hinge much more on one miss. Really feel for the Hamilton lad in that sense. The moment we won, and everything since, as others have said, just seems too unreal. I genuinely don’t think the reality has kicked in for me, and probably won’t until our (Championship) campaign kicks off next season! Others have said it but Rhys, Dycey, Prunts, Hutts, and every single one of the players/staff have my eternal gratitude - it hasn’t been a season of plain sailing (it was never going to be) but we’ve done it and done it our way, which was by playing exciting, attacking football. They’ve ended a 26-year playoff heartache for myself and so many other Airdrie fans, making them a historic Airdrie side. I also think it’s important to acknowledge guys like Paul Hetherington, Scott Russell, and our wonderful board of directors and staff behind the scenes, as it isn’t said enough. They’re often criticised for their perceived standoffishness and lack of communication but they go about their business quietly and efficiently, as is their right and as it should be at a football club in my view. Since they took over, they loyally respected and backed Stevie Findlay and the Trust (despite the fact that turned out to be a mistake), acted when they saw that project wasn’t working, sensibly appointed Murray and stuck with him even when others wouldn’t have, and then they took a shot with Rhys and believed in him. For all of those reasons, I truly believe our club is in the best hands, run by people who want the best for Airdrieonians, the town, and the community - I think it’s a very exciting time to be a Diamond!

This one is dedicated to every single one of you! Thank you, enjoy!

Its the, erm, Aberdeen FC highlights channel.

Courts spotted in Dundee

I'll be on the park running along behind him. I fucking love SOD.

Belated congratulations to you all. Think McPake said it all when he commented that Airdrie were the best team we’d faced all season - he was right. The way you play football at times, you’re in danger of becoming likeable

Amazing to think Justin Devenny has already made 50 appearances for Airdrie and is still only 19. Easy to forget he was around for the latter part of last season and made a few appearances off the bench. I think he’s been outstanding this season and is definitely one of our best prospects.

Ross Sinclair is definitely playing the last two fixtures.

Happy Double Day.

There's more negativity than I expected on this thread. The season as a whole was a weekly pleasant surprise. The number of posters on here predicting doom with our manager and squad at the start of the season was probably in the majority. Yes things hit the buffers hard after Christmas and the Falkirk game was a massive disappointment - but the team dug it out up in Inverness and got us an unexpected 2nd place finish. Friday hurt bad. Really bad. But for me there's much more optimism than is being shown in here. We've got a huge asset up front, and a manager that's proved he can build a good team out of not much. Off the pitch there's a lot of good things happening too. I'm going along on Friday to thank the players for a great season, and with that tiny kernel of hope that something insane might happen if we're leading at half time (atmosphere and fear can have big effects).

Keep up the good work. Are you walking past tomorrow by any chance?

The most important take from the ST email... The two cheeks getting just the one stand next season.

VAR in la liga last night cherry picking an image from a set of handbags to send off a player being racially abused. A classic example of VAR losing all context of a situation and seeking to send somebody off, this time with really bad consequences for the game, particularly in Spain.

Super sexy TEN for Monday.

I’d have mcglynn gone. Didn’t lay a glove on our rivals, no title challenge, the arse fell out our season after defeat at EEP and to top it off he watched us go 5-0 down (something I still cannot believe). The 2nd leg - the players clearly had no belief and just went through the motions. He cannot change a game when things are going against us and cannot deal with opposition managers making changes during the game - see mcpake & McCabe. My reason for getting rid of him is he won’t change next season - it’ll be the same tactics, formations, passive football full of over playing in ineffective areas. His interview post Airdrie 1st leg didn’t do him any favours either. The “improvements” we’ve seen aren’t as impressive as made out - they are only impressive compared to our worst ever season. Considering the whack of cash he’s been backed with - I’d expect some improvements.

The Lawn Ranger

Hallberg is possibly a step up from guys like Simon Lappin and Gary McDonald but what we achieve next season isn't going to based on whether we still have him or not. If him going will provide more opportunities for Ferguson, Kucheriavyi and now it seems again Ballantyne then I'm comfortable.

I would say the chances of that being the starting 11 is zero

Yep, where you see people getting pumped.

I thought Dugbhoy entered into this thread quite sensibly, but has now descended into a devil dug version of the American Gun Lobby. The only thing that can stop a bad guy wi a big dug is a good guy wi a bigger dug

I'm sure Ianis Hagi getting a few games against Queens Park B and Brora is going to propel Scotland to glory in the 2030 World Cup. If only Beale had the authority to give these guys more minutes in the 1st team.

^^^

Don't understand the Leon chat at all. Cammy is a far better left back than him and he's not even a natural left back. Let's set our sights a bit higher than that please.

Was expecting Hartlepool to release Paterson and wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in for him. Would love Turner who I believe is out of contract but Thistle will want to keep him. If they lose in the playoffs would he consider a move to another team in the Championship? Possibly. Would we be able to offer as much money as Thistle? Probably not. Is he represented by Consilium Sports Group? You better believe he is.

Also spotted Courts

That's an excellent bit of business. Versatile, wants to be at the club, and fits the ethos of what we're looking for moving forwards. If anyone is unhappy with that as a bit of business, they need to get their head checked.

I am in favour of having different standards at the different levels (similar to the English non league set up). Here is an example off the top of my head. Tier 10 (Div 4) Secure ground tenancy within a ground no more than 2 miles from your home area, ground with a barrier around it, catering and toilet facilities in the vicinity of the ground. Show that you are making the club part of the community through links with other community organisations. Tier 9 & 8 (Div 3 & 2) As above but with the addition of a covered enclosure and improvement to toilet and catering facilities Tier 7 (Div 1) As above but with stepped terracing and be showing that you are working towards your licence with an agreed timeframe with the league Tier 6 (Premier) As above and and SFA Licence Clubs would be relegated if they do not make these improvements within 1 season of entry into the league. This would stop clubs coming in and spending their way to the top while not having either the facilities (Rossvale/Loccos) or using someones else's while spending cash on the players (St Cadocs) Whatever anyone thinks of Darvel (and by the looks of it Burgh) at least they are spending the cash and making improvements to their facilities so I have no problem with them doing what they do. I know this probably isn't the right thread but it worries me that 2 new clubs can enter and make their way up the leagues without the necessary infrastructure off the park.

Is that really true though? Seen it mentioned a few times and I don't really buy it. It's not as if these managers are being sacked harshly and not given a fair chance, they've been sacked for, at best, not meeting entirely reasable aims, and at worst falling miles behind the required targets like finishing 6th in the league. Any manager going into Falkirk in League 1 knows the aim is to get promotion and that they will have the budget to do so. I don't see the problem with them knowing that if they fail they'll be sacked and I don't think any self-respecting manager would see a problem with that either. They'll know that they should be getting promoted and will back themselves to do that. Not saying that McGlynn should or shouldn't be sacked, but I don't really think the above reason is a valid reason not to sack him.

Count me in for pepper in Bovril too, caveat is that it must be white pepper!

The player from Accies that I really thought we needed was Scott Martin. He's the kind of player we've been crying out for. I thought he was great in both legs, we got hardly anything in that area of the pitch in either match because he shut so many things down and was very physical (entirely within the laws). He would be a cracking signing. Thr biggest difference between us and Accies was that physicality. I thought we looked a slightly better footballing side but they were much stronger and more physical, we'll definitely need a bit more of that next season.

We’ve obviously got a better squad than them and I’d have thought it was clear to anyone with a functioning brain that wasn’t the point I was making. Ferguson is 18 and would clearly be our starting number 9 if he was Scottish.

I would keep McGlynn. There is risk on both sides of keeping or not keeping. The last quarter of last season was very concerning, we absolutely imploded and played very poorly, poor tactical decisions, inability to change tactics during a game when we all knew they weren't working. Picking wrong formations, didn't know our best formations and team and players that didn't always look entirely motivated IMO. Not beating our key rivals in the big games (1 win in 10 versus Airdrie and Pars) is simply unacceptable next season. These rivals games are effectively 6 pointers and create a bigger swing that beating or losing to lower and mid table teams. Our record against the bottom 7 sides wasn't too different than Dunfermlines I'd wager but losing twice to them (ignoring the 2 draws) rather than winning created a 12 point swing in their favour rather than ours. Having said all of that, we did improve playing wise for large chunks of the season and league position wise (I'm ignoring the cup). We scored more goals, more points, better goal difference etc. I also think changing managers every season hasn't worked and while there is improvement we should give that improvement time to continue improving. To get rid of McGlynn would mean buying out his contract and Smiths contract which wont be cheap, so I'd rather that money was used on McGlynn bringing in another 2-4 players? While I don't particularly like McGlynns tactics I do like him and want him to do well. I think he also communicates well with the fans post match and that hasn't always been the case since Houstie. In summation I'd keep, however on the strict remit that he is top of the league 9 games in and top by a minimum of 3-6 points after 18 games. We've let Cove beat us by a margin in this league before and that simply cant be acceptable to happen again, there are no excuses this season, same manager, his own team, biggest budget etc.

Btw...

I still haven't even processed what has actually happened yesterday. A moment that will certainly live with me for the rest of my life. Games like that are the reason why we all go to the football, my mates that support the old firm will never understand the joy and emotion that I felt watching my team get promoted after 10 years of being stuck in league 1. From frying myself in Dumfries last August in 34 degree heat to freezing my bits off with horizontal rain at Kelty in February made the day feel extra special. In typical Airdrie fashion the emotional roller coaster of feeling deflated at 2-1 down then Gabby's goal in the 91st minute was just a feeling of pure ecstacy. When all of the penalties were going in I was thinking 'typical we are gonna fall short yet again' but when I watched Josh Rae's hand palm the ball put I just went completely crazy, I think I must've hugged and celebrated with half of the stand . What was amazing to see yesterday was players like Byrd and Prince, two players that have barley featured, being front and centre doing the 'Broomfield Stomp' with us fans on the pitch. It really shows a togetherness within the team and a genuine connection with the support. As a relatively young Airdrie fan at 26, I would go as far to say that Rhys McCabe is certainly up there as being my all time favourite Airdrie players. His leadership on the park, communication with the players, his awesome free kicks, he's just a complete legend and also and all round great guy.

Still not totally sunk in what happened yesterday, from McGill's goal until Rae's save was a bit of a blur! Firstly the job that Rhys has done has been incredible. Everyone at the club was totally scunnered by the play-off defeat last year, far more than any previous one. We had the best team we'd had in years and finished miles ahead of everyone bar Cove, yet still couldn't do it. It felt like we would be stuck in League 1 forever. McCabe had to pick us up from that and came in and got us playing a much more possession based style of football (as opposed to Murray's attacking, chaotic style) which at first was over the top, we took too many risks and were a bit naive. However as the season has gone on he has managed to keep that attractive style of football but added some real solidity to the team, which is why we ultimately went up. There have been some big bumps in the road but what has impressed me has been that he has learned from them. The 2nd leg against Falkirk was a great example, we basically sat in and played a low block and grabbed a 1 nil win. If you'd said to me after 10 games of the season that McCabe would be willing (or able) to set up a team to do that I wouldn't have believed you. But crucially, 3 days earlier we'd blown Falkirk away with great football, that adaptability is something that wasn't there early on. The other important thing to say is that as well as McCabe has done, there has been a lot of great groundwork done by lots of people to make this happen. In the last 4 seasons we've finished 3rd, 2nd, 2nd and 3rd and reached the play-off final every season (couldn't in the first year due to covid). It's only larger, full-time clubs that have finished ahead of us (plus a well backed Cove) and beaten us in play-offs. If you put yourself in position enough times eventually you're likely to get a break like we did yesterday. Our 'best 11' that started 3 of the 4 play-off games only contained 2 McCabe signings - Rae and ATS, plus Ballantyne who was signed by Murray but hadn't joined at that point. Most of McCabe's work was around developing a style of play and developing a squad who could contribute - both of which he has done superbly. But most of the parts of a promotion winning side were already there. Again, I don't mean that to take away from what he's achieved, but there are fine marginsin football and this year in the final they went our way. We'll see what happens next season, but whatever happens we have now removed that mental block that was promotion from League 1. Got to say I thought the support we had during the play-offs was brilliant, given where the club has been for the last decade it's great to see so many people turn out and that it means so much to people. Days like yesterday are vital to bring in the next generation of supporters, hopefully we don't have to wait another decade for a day like that!

The only people who have been banned for their posts in this thread got banned for posting obvious bigotry (being trans is a mental illness etc.), they all also have a long posting history in this (and often other) threads which makes it very clear that their posts were not misunderstandings or innocent mistakes, they just don't like trans people. People would get banned from this forum for posting obvious racism or obvious homophobia. Transphobia should be no different. This entire thread is a long form debate on whether being trans is even a real thing and whether trans people should get to keep the rights they already have, so lets not pretend that anti-trans viewpoints are being oppressed here.

McIntosh seems a good fit? Played similarly with Cove to how Dowds played for you, just slightly worse on the ground and better in the air. Won't be doing much passing stuff but, and this will sound more insulting than I mean it, does that really matter for a Dick Campbell side? Looks like he'll be rough and tumble, and give defenders a long afternoon, so aye, seems a smart punt.

4 handfuls?

Holmes or Schofield, Schofield or Holmes........................

Bevis up front though.

Drove past the stadium this morning. Those Kibble boys don’t hang about. The monorail station at the 1877 Club is complete already. Work continues at the other end of the main stand to complete the station there. Will cut hours off the journey from one end of the stand to the other. Up the Kibble. (This post is brought to you by ClumsyJoke Inc.)

Their other keeper is the runner up in the competition Birighitti won

It was Cyndi Lauper, FFS.

Is there anything lazier than the 'ambitious' clubs patter? Maybe PossilYM can clarify what he means when folk like him use that. That lumps everyone who has been promoted into the same boat. When they are very different clubs. Imo Bonnyrigg are the best addition there has been to the league. They are a club with a very good support who have done it without a sugar daddy. They were always a big junior club and are the sort of team I think we'd all have no issue with being promoted. Ground aside, they are very much a League Two side in every aspect. Then you have Cove. Cove have put much better teams on the park than anyone else promoted, but ultimately they are a vanity exercise. A team with a tiny support that's being heavily backed. When the money men pull out they'll sink like a stone. I suspect Edinburgh City will do likewise unless they can get some investment this season. I'm sure I read that they had circa 20 season ticket holders. The Vale have more than that. Kelty, to be fair, have a good support and with their money men gone I expect they'll become a fairly established club bouncing between top half League Two and bottom end of League One. But does that make them any better than the likes of Stenny? Should they then move into the establishment pile and be replaced by a flash in the pan investing big bucks in an unsustainable way like Johnstone Burgh maybe? Who will become flavour of the month with the 'great to see a club showing ambition' folk this season. Of course I'd love for someone to come into Sons and start throwing silly money at us. It would be a great ride as long as everything didn't fall apart at the end of it. But I wouldn't say the sheer luck of having someone pouring money into a club makes us any more deserving of a place in any league than anyone else. I imagine tunes might be changed if the Saudi royal family began pouring money into Aberdeen or Hearts, upsetting the Old Firm and beating them to trophies. Can you imagine the reaction if Aberdeen were able to fire £20m on Kyogo?! Nobody would be saying 'ambitious' and everyone would be saying 'unsustainable'. Fwiw I don't know enough about Spartans off the park to know where they fit it. With the amount of kids and coaches there I assume they are what clubs like Cumbernauld Colts and BSC Glasgow (before the split) have tried to be. And that's an interesting model. But again it looks like a different one to Cove, Kelty, Bonnyrigg and Edinburgh City.

If you can't trust a TV personality/children's entertainer these days, who can you trust?