CallumPar

Airdrie were deservedly 3-0 up. We had been shocking up to that point. What was Smith doing though, 3-0 up mentality should be “don’t do anything stupid” and he threw his team under the bus. An attacker getting sent off shouldn’t cause your defence to implode like that. Credit to Pars players. The mentality to win that and keep driving on. That was fantastic in the away end. The scenes were mad. Also, get it right up Gavin Duncan. Still no idea why he disallowed Wighton’s goal, or didn’t give the Airdrie keeper his second yellow for a handball outside the box.

Don’t be ridiculous. Wighton is obviously going to score too, so 4-0 seems more likely.

Good news. Hopefully the guy comes in and does well. Really pleased that it’s someone who can cover LB too. On paper, sounds like some very good business for us. edit - do Celtic B not play their home games at Airdrie? Should know the pitch well, if so.

I see we’re in the east stand - is that opposite the home fans, rather than sharing the stand?

Same here. Not sure how Breen is, but there’s no way he’ll be 100% after being stretchered off last week. Also not convinced by Comrie as a longer term option in the back 3. To be honest, I’m not totally sure how we’ll set up. Airdrie have some decent attacking players and Clyde exploited space behind the wing backs, so would imagine Airdrie will be able to do that more effectively. Back 4 might be a ‘safer’ option this week.

Need to make the most of the Falkirk result tonight.

Not sure what to expect of Airdrie. They played well first half at East End. But that was so long ago now. They seem to score goals, but concede a lot too. Feels like it could be the kind of game that, if we score an early goal we could blow them away. If we don’t score, every chance they get a goal or two, then we’re left chasing the game again. Closer look at results shows that Airdrie have 7 clean sheets in their 12 home games, so maybe not conceding as freely as I first though, but still conceded 11 in 2 home games v FC Edinburgh! We have 8 clean sheets in our 12 away games, other than Montrose our away form has been very good. If Airdrie come out to attack, as I expect they will, it could play into our hands. Could be a good game for Mochrie, if there’s going to be space in that final third.

I think the ‘weirdness’ in this thread is trying to say we’re a “big strong side”. If you honestly think that, I can confidently say that you know absolutely nothing about our squad, or how we play. We’re a well organised side and have kept it tight at the back. But we lack physicality, outside of our 2 CBs and McCann/Todorov (who rarely play). Airdrie had MacDonald and Edwards before, did they make you a big strong side? Is it 5’4 Chris Hamilton that’s big and strong? Or will it be Chris Mochrie? Im going to be honest. I’d rather be ‘inspired’ by watching my team keep 13 clean sheets in 22 games, leading the league by 5 points. Airdrie have conceded 14 goals in 3 games against FC Edinburgh. We’ve conceded 12 goals in our 22 league games and you’re trying to say you’re more ‘inspiring’ to watch?

Honestly think you’ll be looking at around 700-800 Pars fans. Seem to have a core away support of around that number. Doesn’t seem to be a great deal of enthusiasm amongst our wider fanbase. I’ve enjoyed watching the team this season, but it seems like some of our fans expected us to dominate every week - which is unrealistic in this division. It’s more competitive and the standard of players are better than they were in 2015-16. We’re winning most weeks, we’re well organised and battling hard. I just like seeing us win, regardless of performance. Next 2 games will be a good test for us. Airdrie played well at East End. Looking at results, it seems like Airdrie have a lot of attacking threat, but are vulnerable at the back. Given our strength is our defending and scoring goals is a weakness, it has the makings of a decent game.

Personal favourite was when McAllister charged right through the back of Hamilton. Ref correctly booked McAllister for it. Then when Hamilton got up (after receiving treatment), ref decided to book him as well. Genuinely no idea what that booking was for.

First half was scrappy. Great header from Breen, but not much between the teams. Mehmet made a brilliant save from McAllister, after he beat Benedictus with a lovely bit of skill. Breen then stopped McAllister’s second effort on the line. Todd also had a decent effort that the keeper put out for a corner. Second half, I thought we were the better team and could have scored more. Todd couldn’t control the ball when played through, McCann had a fresh air swipe and we had a couple of other chances. Mehmet made a couple of good saves again though. Lovely second goal. Great play from Todd, great ball from McCann and Wighton got into the right area.

By the way, what’s going on? We’re now reporting it’s a one year extension! https://dafc.co.uk/story.php?t=Joe+Chalmers+contract+extended&ID=14209 “This week Dunfermline Athletic were pleased to announce that midfielder Joe Chalmers has signed a year long extension to his contract with the club.” “On talking about signing his one year extension Joe Chalmers praised the team spirit and the feeling of togetherness that exists within the squad at Dunfermline.”

Chalmers was far from the only poor player last season. Somehow though, some of our fans have noticed the improvement in Mehmet, Breen, Todd, Wighton etc, but refuse to acknowledge Chalmers’ contribution this season. Chalmers is clearly an important player in McPake’s team. Beside Hamilton, I think he’s a real asset. Hamilton excels at the things Chalmers isn’t as good at. Chalmers is the best passer of the ball on the team though, which is Hamilton’s weakness. There seems to be a deliberate tactic to get him on the ball to spread the play and start attacks. Anyone at Hamilton last week will also appreciate Chalmers’ ability to take set pieces.

Club just announced on Twitter too. Good news, Chalmers has really turned it around and become a key player in McPake’s team. Good news.

Just seen that. If he was keen to come, I’d imagine everyone was pretty focused on getting that over the line. But sounds like it’s Hartlepool failing to get someone else that meant it didn’t happen. That’s just bad luck and not the fault of anyone at the club. Here’s hoping we can get a backup option in the near future.

What conspiracy? I think you’re looking for something that’s not there in my post. I have never said that they are “refusing to pay wages” or “lied to fans”. I don’t believe either of those to be true, so no idea why you’re making that up. I just replied to your post claiming that the man identifying players is to blame. Reality is, we have no idea what the issues have been. It’s most likely partly McPake’s fault, partly the board’s fault. There’s probably been multiple issues here. Board are probably (understandably) more cautious after the money wasted on Grant/Hughes signings. McPake could be identifying targets that don’t want to come to this club/this level, in which case, we don’t want to pay premiums for players who don’t want to be here. I’m sure there are lots of issues that have come into play. But it’s hard to deny that something’s gone wrong. It seemed clear from the manager’s interviews that we were wanting to make signings and we haven’t. Regardless of who is to blame, it’s something that needs to be sorted.

I was under the impression that McPake/scouts identify targets and it’s the board that discuss contracts/compensation with the players/selling club. That was certainly the case pre-covid. I know that it was always Ross McArthur that negotiated contracts. The manager just said who he wanted them to be offered to. This is fairly standard in modern football, I believe. Would imagine Cook/Meggle are the people that would take on that role at Dunfermline. This is why I mention the board regarding signings. McPake’s interviews certainly sound like he’s done his part of identifying the targets (that’s been the same both windows), but for some reason the transfers never seem to be completed.

I think it would be good to get an update on this. This time last year, we were expecting it to be ready for pre-season last year. Obviously these issues were unforeseen, regarding the length of time this took. But I’d been told that we haven’t started the work to sort the drainage, which is what I meant regarding not starting the work to have planning permission. Since we don’t have approval to install the artificial pitch until that’s completed. To be fair, you’ll probably know a lot better than me. If you’ve been told that there’s been progress, I’d believe that and accept that my info was obviously wrong. I do also understand that cost of materials and labour has increased astronomically since plans started. With that in mind, it would be foolish if they hadn’t scaled plans back a bit - at least for the time being. Prioritise the basics - pitches, security, changing rooms etc. I still have questions around the transfer policy. However, I don’t doubt that they are still working hard to bring in players. Need to wait and see if they bring in players that were worth waiting for. What I will say, is that I haven’t seen Falkirk or QoS bring in anyone that I wish we’d signed. So I don’t feel like we’ve missed out on anyone. After last year, where they let Grant and Hughes sign masses of duds, I can understand a bit more caution. But 3 permanent signings in 2 windows isn’t great. Hopefully they find a decent middle ground for the summer. As I’ve said already though, we’ll find out come the end of April whether they got it right with transfers. If we win the league, they will deserve credit for not spending more than required to get out of here.

Not ignoring the finances at all. But having our own academy and training facilities will not be sustainable if we don’t earn promotion from league one. McPake has given the board no reason to doubt his credentials/ability to get us out of this league. However, it doesn’t seem like he’s been given resources to bring in players he feels he needs. I’m glad we haven’t gone out and signed lots of new players. But it’s definitely disappointing that the squad is weaker than it was at the start of January. I was hoping we‘d strengthen. Instead, we’ve lost a key player and brought in nobody. If we see a decent CB come in over the next few days, I’ll be happy enough. Until that happens, I think it’s fair to question the lack of investment in the first team. 3 permanent signings in 2 windows combined doesn’t really suggest we’ve done enough to try and bring players in.

Not going to lie, happy to wait if they’re worth waiting for. But we need reinforcements and we can’t wait too long. At some point, we have to compromise a bit. Also kind of wondering what’s going on with this German investment. Clearly none being spent on first team budget. Training ground also seems to have stalled. As far as I’m aware, they haven’t even started the work required to get the planning application approved for the artificial pitch. Never mind starting the actual work to have the place fully functioning. Must be costing a lot of money and be a pain for the players to be all over the place for training facilities.

Craig Cairns reporting any activity at East End tonight is unlikely. But to watch out for loans (that may become permanent) in the next few weeks.

From memory, McGlynn/Raith were quite bitter about his/Nisbet’s departure? Obviously more Nisbet than Murray. But the double transfer did not go down well. Seem to remember Murray talking about being frustrated when Raith rejected our first 2/3 bids as well. I got told at the time that he submitted a transfer request to try and force a move here. That being said, McGlynn wants to win and knows that Murray would improve his chances of doing so. Probably won’t even be Murray’s decision. More likely to be a case of who offers Hartlepool the best deal.

That would be fantastic, if it can be done. Would be very disappointing if he went to Falkirk. He’s far too good for this level.

Just saw that myself. Still believe that one is Fisher. Not sure how realistic that is though. On the other, maybe a midfielder? Would also be happy with a striker/winger, if they can either consistently put decent balls into the box or put the ball in the net. Actually, even just someone other than Mochrie who will run with the ball would be decent. Him and KRH are the only players that seem willing to run with the ball and we seem to be restricted to playing one of them at a time. Everyone else is very static with the ball.

Not sure of the name. But he’s been promoted from academy coach. McPake brought in Alan Main, who then retired/left football. Then McPake confirmed the academy GK coach was joining first team full time. edit - found his name now. Andrew Collier.