Diamonds are Forever

Definitely looked better. I'm sure before the Dunfermline away game last month he had 0 goals and 1 assist in the league from about 25 matches, in the 6 matches since he's scored 2 and 3 assists. That's not counting the assist in the Challenge Cup Final.

Once he's in the penalty box he's impossible to play against, but outside of the box, and particularly outside of the final third, he can't do much. We've been so good at limiting supply to him in dangerous areas. When he gets frustrated he's his own worst enemy because he drops deep which makes him totally ineffective. In comparison if you watch his goal against Ayr on Saturday Ayr just allow a simple pass into him on the edge of the box, gets 1 on 1 and pings it into the top corner.

I might be wrong but I'm sure since the turn of the year we have the best form in the league. I know that's essentially an arbitrary starting point but I'd say/hope 3 and a half months is more than a 'peak', it's not like we've just made a dip for the line at the end, we've been pretty good for a while. That said, we aren't even assured of the play-offs yet by any means, and I think given our squad size and having to get through 3 ties, it would be highly unlikely. Quite happy to dream though...

Brilliant result. I was totally wrong thinking we might focus more on Saturday, McCabe obviously knew he had Murray's number and fully commited to winning tonight. And huge credit to Frizz, I've been quite critical of his lack of end product this season but he stepped up tonight. A win on Saturday should pretty much secure play-offs.

Definitely, you never hear the opposite that the league is 'very high quality this year'. I think because it's almost always used in a round about way to play down another team's achievements, or in the case of this thread a supporter's own teams achievement (if you can call it that yet). For the people saying it's a poor league, what would a high quality league look like? As you say whatever shape the league table starts to take people still say that's evidence that it's poor. By definition if you are in a lower league then the quality isn't going to be the best in terms of pure skill level. I think entertainment wise it's the best league in the country, the vast majority of games are really well contested and the league table is so competitive. I'm not sure what else people want or expect from football at this level.

As mentioned he's only scored 4 goals in non-Airdrie matches. Of his 6 goals against us - 1 was a free-kick into literally an empty net, 1 was a tap-in to an empty net after us giving the ball away, another was a 1 on 1 after us giving the ball away, the one last Friday night again was a short header back to the goalie which he got to first. I think another was a free header from a corner which our goalie palmed into his own net. The one he scored early in the season was a nice strike and was the only one that wasn't at least in part due to horrific defending. Obviously a goal is a goal, and you have to be there to score it and all strikers will benefit from mistakes, but I've never seen anything like it before where we seem to continue to gift sitters to one player. His goal record against everyone else suggests that it is much more a case of our terrible defending that has resulted in the goals rather than his good attacking. That said, he doesn't seem the type of player who should be judged entirely on goals, as his assists numbers maybe shows. I'd have thought he was more a player who you use to hold the ball, win headers and disrupt defences to create space for better players around him. I don't think he's a bad player at all, but he certainly has our defence this year to thank for getting his numbers up.

What's so weird about our record against Raith this season was that until this season Raith were one of those sides I dreaded playing because I always felt/knew we'd fall to a rubbish 1 or 2 goal defeat. But in fairness to Murray this pre-dated him by years. We hadn't beaten Raith in 11 matches prior to Murray joining us - losing 8 and drawing 3. So in that context you can't really blame Murray for our poor record against Raith, he just continued an already poor record.

Agreed on ATS, but in hindsight it appears he was kept more along the same lines that Hutton was/is as a coach who could play if needed, although obviously not quite to that extreme. I think he's played 10 Championship games, and most of those were early season when we didn't have Megwa, meaning Watson was right back so we needed a centre-back. I'd be very surprised if he is still playing next season if he stays with us in his coaching role. I always thought the squad lacked individual quality in forward areas, and still do to be honest. O'Connor isn't good enough, Toddy was hopeless the first half of the season (sounds like he was carrying injuries in fairness) but has come onto a game, Gal has struggled, so has McGill at times although I think is an asset when fit, McGregor I think has a role in the squad but isn't starter quality. Frizz has his moments but has been poor in a lot of games. It's purely down to good management that over the season we've gradually improved our goalscoring without actually signing anyone apart from Lyall. Around Christmas we were lowest scorers in the league but are now up to 6th. But I'd hope/expect that's where we make major improvements over the summer. If McCabe can get a tune out of the current attackers then with some real quality we could be a real threat next year. He has already shown last year that when he has good attacking players for the level he can get them to click.

Definitely, and not least from Airdrie fans. I remember our thread back in June/July, fans having a near meltdown over lack of signings and fans being called 'happy clappers' because they refused to criticise the lack of signings by the club. Now there's a few pretending that all along they knew we'd be good... I thought we'd just stay up, but it would be a real struggle. So have no issue with anyone else who thought we'd be bottom 2.

Sure this will have been covered before, so apologies... but why were Sheridan and Welsh allowed to leave? You surely don't allow anyone to go to a direct relegation rival, even if you think they're hopeless. It's so hard to get any players in January that you're taking a seemingly needless chance that you're going to help out another team that could relegate you. Sheridan has played at a higher level his whole career and Welsh is a good player, it wasn't that unlikely that they'd both do a good job for QP for a few months. Obviously if ICT stay up Ferguson can claim it was the right thing to do, but just seemed strange.

Hard to predict as I'm sure we'll make a few changes - whether it's through the starting 11 or subbing guys who wouldn't normally come off. Obviously all games are important but if we beat Dunfermline on Saturday we could lose every other game and still have a high chance of getting 4th so it's the priority. Telfer and Frizzell were our best players yesterday and I don't think it's a coincidence that neither started on Tuesday. Frizz in particular seems to look fatigued when he is overplayed. Would expect Lyall, Donnell and either Gal or O'Connor to come in. Maybe Gavin Gallager for McMaster too. I could be way off and McCabe just goes with the same team as Saturday for 70 minutes and then decides whether it's worth investing them for the full 90. But I'd expect some changes.

I think that definition is spot on, which is why I'd say Hutton is a great shout. He wasn't bad for us, but wasn't great either, he would have been another entirely forgettable goalkeeper if it was just down to his goalkeeping ability (which is why every other club doesn't seem to remember him very fondly). But 3 factors make him arguably cult status. His penalty save/reaction against Celtic (helped by that photograph), his 'ability' to wind up opposition fans, and more recently his appearances as a substitute goalie last year when we were milking the emergency loan system, including a penalty save against Dunfermline.

Even 50% (or slightly less) of a home tie with Partick (crowd 6000+ I'd imagine) would still be a decent bonus for a club our size. But you're right not exactly a 'money spinner'. However the increase in prize money is the bigger thing, think I'm right that it increases quite significantly from 5th to 4th, nearly 100k? For us that's 2 or 3 good players next year.

96 bookings I think. The post in this thread claiming this is down to referees unwittingly treating Morton harshly due to perception is genuinely one of the most absurd posts I've seen on here. To put it in context, the average for the remaining 9 teams is 52 yellow cards. They are not far off double the league average. The other reason it's nonsense is that they only have 1 red card, if they were being treated more harshly then you'd see a relative increase in reds too, which you don't, it's the lowest in the league. I'd argue what it shows is controlled, and actually quite intelligent, aggresion. They know when to foul, when to break up play, and when to rough teams up. But they also know where the limit is and will spread bookings round the team rather than one player get a second yellow. They aren't some band of uncontrolled thugs, it's part of a game plan. A game plan which I have absolutely no issue with whatsoever, if you have a limited group of players you need to find ways to get the most out of them and that's what Imrie does, he's done a very good job there. But to deny it exists is nonsense.

Yeah looking at it if we beat Dunfermline we'd be pretty much assured of finishing ahead of Dunfermline I think. We'd be 6 points ahead and at least 9 goals ahead on GD, with 3 left to play. Dunfermline would have to get 2 wins and a draw and we'd need to lose the other 3. Morton still have a shot and have the relative gimme of Arbroath, but their other 4 matches all look very tough. If we beat Dunfermline and get another win or even a draw somewhere I'd be confident Morton won't catch us. Given all that I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a few changes on Tuesday night, even if we win on Tuesday if that comes at the expense of more fatigue to the point where we lose to Dunfermline then we're worse off. I still think we'll be very competitive with Raith but would expect the likes of McGregor, Donnell, Gal and O'Connor to start.

Our tactics away from home are now very different from at home. In the away games to Morton, Dundee Utd, Dunfermline and Ayr on 'heavy pitches' we've been much more direct. Less so against Arbroath, but that's because we've a better team than them so presumably we're still happy to outplay them. But against similar level teams we've been much more pragmatic away. Overall it's worked, our away form in the first half of the season was horrific but recently it's been much better. I think I've made the point before but for all McCabe speaks like a modern manager and not 'changing his principles' etc, he clearly does when needed, and we're better for it. At home we're still the same, which results in a mixture of excellent goals for us and comical goals against us from playing out from the back. If Morton press us high it will be a really entertaining game I think, if they sit a bit deeper it could be a boring 0-0.

We have one of the tougher run-ins I'd say with all the top 6 (minus us obviously) still to play, and no Arbroath or ICT games left. Plus we seem to be managing a few players in terms of fitness/injuries, although I'm sure everyone is. However we have our 2 biggest rivals for a play-off spot at home in Morton and Dunfermline, if we win those 2 we'd be most of the way there I think, maybe needing one other win or even just a couple of draws. Like every other Morton game this season I'd expect it to be too tight to call with 1 goal in it.

In the games McGill has played since Christmas I think he's been decent, and if he'd had a full season of fitness like last year I think he'd have really helped this year. But my concern with him is that he seems to be one of those players who just constantly picks up injuries. 2 out of his 3 seasons with us have been constantly stop/start with injuries. Obviously not blaming him for that and anyone can pick up a serious injury, but he seems more like one of those players who is going to miss various chunks of the season with different 4-6 week injuries. Feel for the guy as this would have been a big season for him after last year, but from the club's point of view it has to be a consideration in terms of getting value for money from a player. The fact he played all of last season would be enough for me to give him another shot (assuming he wanted to stay obviously), but I wouldn't be surprised if the club think otherwise.

This is the thing, part of me is still in the 'happy to finish 8th' mode from pre-season. But equally, realistically I can't see us ever having a better chance of promotion (not saying it's likely, just that we may not get a better shot). We have a young manager who won't be here forever and a squad with promotion experience. We have beaten Raith 3 times and draw once this season, shared the points with Partick over 3 games, beaten St Johnstone and drawn with Ross County in 90 mins, so we aren't miles away from the standard. As I mentioned in the post above I think squad depth will/would cost us in terms of getting there and certainly getting through them though.

Don't like taking anything for granted but I think you're right. ICT would need 3 wins and a draw and for us to lose every game. Or for them to win every remaining match if we win 1 more. That's not factoring in the other teams below us who provide an extra buffer. Until it's impossible to be caught I'll not relax fully but we should have done enough. ICT do have Arbroath at home on Saturday so the table might not look quite as pretty if we don't beat Morton. Looking at the fixtures, hopefully Dundee Utd have things wrapped up with 2 games to go (probably unlikely), and QP could easily have nothing to play for by the last game, so those games might be kind to us. Regardless we have still to play the sides around us so it will be those results that decide whether we get 4th or not. A win on Saturday would be huge as a 5 point gap with 5 games to might be needed as we no longer have the relative gimme of Arbroath to play like Morton do. I have a slight concern that we may have ended up sacrificing a play-off spot with our Challenge Cup run, those extra 5 games and particularly the final have meant McStravick and McCabe are unavailable currently, and have added to the 2 periods of fixture congestion, one on February/March and one over the next 2 weeks, which seems to have taken it's toll on the squad a bit with a few players appearing to be 'half-fit' and able to play parts of games or some games. That's not a criticism however, a cup win and safety would be an excellent season. Hopefully the budget is bigger next year to allow a larger squad that can cope with the extra games that come with being a decent side.

Unsurprisingly the amount of medical qualifications I have is precisely nil, but I'd be absolutely stunned if Rae appears again this season. Going from an injury like that back to full contact professional sport is a huge step and I can't see them taking any chances for the sake of maybe playing a couple of games. I'd assume this season was written off as soon as they realised the problem and the aim was/is to get him healthy and then see about getting back to playing. Would be delighted to be wrong obviously.

I'll never be convinced that Watson is a centre back. I really like him at right back and I thought his best games this season were playing there when Megwa wasn't with us. But at centre back he is always going to make too many stupid errors. I was just saying that after Sunday when his needless lunge tackle led to the goal, and then tonight another poor decision costs us again. His mistakes seem to stem from him trying things beyond his ability level, or at least overcomplicating things, like trying to head back to the goalie rather than clear your lines, or lunging in out wide rather than stay on your feet, or passing from the back and giving it away (although in fairness that is manager led). This makes it more frustrating because he has the physical attributes to be a good defender (and has had good games there), but he's been with us long enough now to know that these semi-regular mistakes probably are always going to be there. Like I say at right back I like him and based on Megwa's performance tonight I'd have Watson out there over him, although we then don't have enough centre backs. O'Connor took his goal nicely so fair play to him for that. However his general play is so far off the standard required. Unless he has 30 yards of space to run into he cannot do anything. He gets shrugged out the way and his touch is awful when played into feet. I know we have fitness issues up front but I'm concerned if he is playing the next few weeks. Frizz shifted between being anonymous and being dreadful, and the rest weren't much better. The team have had plenty praise recently and rightly so, but losing 4/4 to that Ayr team deserves a bit of criticism. They average a point per game against everyone bar us which is relegation form, so to lose every game really is dreadful. Very disappointing night but a good chance on Tuesday to win and keep/put is in a strong position going into the last few games.

I couldn't care less about friendly results and never go to the games. But my frustration is more that we get poor friendly results while learning absolutely nothing about fringe players or players who are challenging for the first 11. I'm certainly not in the 'lets go with youth' camp and wanting to chuck a bunch of youngsters in. But surely playing different goalies is worthwhile given we know Gunn is going and will be number 1, what if he gets injured? Surely Ferguson has done enough to earn a couple of games. I've already seen Ryan Christie float around contributing nothing for 70 minutes about 40 times in his career, I don't need another. Same applies to Shankland, we all know what Dykes can and can't do, and that he is on the plane, giving Shankland 1 game away to Holland seems a bit harsh. It's like we aren't really clear what the purpose of friendlies is. We don't generally use them to integrate new players, but we also clearly don't approach them with the same competitive edge that we do qualifiers.

If we needed any reminder to re-focus on the league it's that Accies lost 7-0 after their cup win last season, they then got relegated by 3 points. So their over-celebration arguably cost them their place in the league (although I think GD would have killed them anyway). A win on Friday would be huge firstly because I think realistically that would be us over the finish line terms of relegation, barring a total collapse from us, and ICT and Ayr going on a big winning run. That would hopefully free us up to have a real go at top 4 with most other teams still playing under real pressure to win the league or avoid relegation.

Would have been interesting had we gone up that season. Would Murray still have moved on? Would Easton? And would the club still have turned to McCabe if Murray had left? I'd say yes and yes to the first two, not sure about the last one.