AyrExile

I also think a lot of the decent players in the academy get signed by the bigger teams along the way. The league we play in also makes it harder for players to break through although there can be no excuses for not having more of these players out on loan to help bridge the gap. As you say we are probably more likely to take youth players from a higher level and try to establish them in the first team. Not sure exactly but a lot of the funding comes from grants and other funding routes to encourage community involvement. There are obviously other benefits in having one for the area that don't always feedback onto the pitch. Think it will always be wise to have one running but we definitely need to get better in terms of improving it's output

As a guess i would say he gets involved in a lot when needed. This side role is probably there to bulk up his hours at the academy so there is a full time job for him and also keep a strong link to the academy. He has a lot of experience in the game and has managed before so can cover a lot of tasks. As a smaller full time club he is probably a very good asset to have when you need someone to step up to cover or help others

There have been rumours of bust ups in the dressing room since the young lad got on his toes at the start of the season. Our form has altered several times since then. Not sure 'dressing room breakdown' can be used as the reason for our current malaise without further info

The last sentence describes the situation for me and can't see any action taken unless moored at the bottom of the league or the fans simply don't turn up. Their are other projects taking resources and focus this season away from the pitch somewhat meaning some will get more of a free pass. . How many points do we still need to stay in this league? Whilst there are some shocking performances this team also manages to turn up on occasion and gather enough points to maintain the illusion. We have been here before this season but admittedly our luck may run out. With all the throat cutting between teams a win on Saturday puts us in a decent position again most likely.

A big if but should Ayr win on Saturday he will be safe until February

At the time it was Mathie who mentioned we were looking for a first team coach and he also mentioned this again after Bullen was hired. He has also spoken of the collegiate approach where they all sit around the table and discuss many footballing matters. Under the old way the manager would carry the can for everything and rightly so. As a club we aren't big enough to have a DOF so part of this falls into the MD remit. Whilst Mathie doesn't pick the team or deliver tactics on the day he still inputs into the footballing side as part of the bigger team discussion. Bullen could well be the biggest issue currently but as Mathie is both contributing to the decision making process and has the power to make changes then he deserves equal scrutiny.

We don't have a manager though. Our head coach reports into Mathie and would guess that some or all of the backroom team do likewise. I thought the way it was set up was for the coach to focus on mainly coaching the team and tactics. No doubt Bullen will have the biggest say but he may also have to work with people he perhaps didn't choose. Mathies role must take on certain elements you would normally associate with a manager. Whilst it's entirely possible that every area is sinking there are usually a few doing ok and ended up being dragged down by the rest. Whilst McGeady will be working in these areas pn top of kicking a ball his time will be thinly spread enough to avoid any major blame. I do agree that Smiths area of expertise off the pitch seems to be flying whilst the onfield stuff turning to shit

The easy option can never be discounted due to pedigree , currently working with the decision makers and on existing facets of the role. Bullen being the face of the club is getting most of the flak here but it could easily be going wrong in several places. Without working behind the scenes and seeing what happens it's difficult to tell. Also it's possible on a temporary basis whilst Mathie scours the depths of league football to locate the next unpolished gem.

Know a few people that have worked with him along the way and they thought he was a difficult character. Not nice to see this happening but it may provide some balanced opinion during the inevitable McGeady for next manager one sided bandwagon

Don't know. I wonder if he may follow Timmins at some point in the future as a back up option

The last point is a good one. We are running now with a backroom team that has people specialist in areas such as recruitment , coaching . fitness, motivation and recovery. If you are to break down those areas down further and look at specific remit i wonder how much of this is finding it's way to be a success on the park. What you describe is like a regressive method pf McCalls set up who required full time football, couple of mates ,a notebook and pencil to take the club foward.. If we are to be competitive or even more watchable next season it will require an injection of cash and some decent transfer activity in the summer. That may well happen but it's a different route from the steady ,build the foundations, long term approach that's been sold

I would say staying in the league probably trumps form when the metrics are being reviewed. At the time Smiths hand was forced into wielding the axe. Tbh that stage might not be too many results away although it could go either way. Maybe the leadership predicted another erratic league or perhaps they just got lucky. Product on the pitch may be dreadful at times but getting to the end of the season in 8th probably all that matters

A sobering speech from Mathie. If overspending has got us thus far then what does book balancing look like. Will need to have a better January than last summer to keep us competitive.

It's not a bad thing though keeping your core vote happy particularly when popularity is waning

Can we not lose Dowds if someone else decides to buy him? Unlikely as it seems but he is currently a goal scoring striker and there aren't lots of them about

Away results have shown this where it's on the other team to come out and play. It would be nice if they can step up and cause issues for the relegation contenders when we play them at home

Without looking at specific positions we need a few decent upgrades to secure our league position or avoid a scrap that might go down to the wire. Will be interesting to see if these have any long term thought behind them or a case of who is available. If we are still following our strategy then hospitality opens next season and we may look to kick on. Not sure how many of our squad have the potential to do this and equally when the time comes would we sign a new team at once or evolve over time. Probably the latter and this will take time so ideally start getting some players in that push us on

Graham usually gets injured but has stayed fit this season limiting Adeloye getting game time. They seem to be scoring goals and might also might want to give the youth players coming through a chance. Despite the twitter rant i think Dowds agent still manages another few Thistle players so the lines of communication are probably still open should they be required

With under 25s getting a free pass on their criminal activity surely that means less need for police resources. The people monitoring hate speech on the internet or compiling statistics can also work from home and save on the office space. Hopefully some shared campus type locations will pop up as your point around having a place to visit is a important.

It's not quite as simple as that with the full time wages involved at championship level. Most of the higher earners will still get a nice lifestyle from it. The rest might have other jobs , be training towards something and might not be the only wage earner in the house. Win bonuses will bump it up but they can't be relied upon. Earning a part time wage plus having a job might also be a better option than full time. The young players from down south are almost at a last chance saloon to raise profile and get a big contract in football. They are willing to take that risk and will get on with it for a period of time. More established players are less likely to kill themselves travelling or being away from home unless the cash is right or there is a specific reason for doing so

Our budget may also have changed since the very start of the season. Losing a central midfield and having a dreadful start might have forced the board to invest more to give us a shot of being competitive. The budget proclamations at the start of the season should be pinned somewhere for review. As the season progresses the estimates are all over the place depending on the narrative. As you say it would be very difficult for people to know exactly what everyone else has committed to spending

Not if the league continues in a similar fashion. A couple of results can change things like Morton have shown.

Lots of reasons why the crowd can fluctuate at Saturday home games in December. Your point is valid though and if things don't improve it will certainly be noticeable soon

Yeah i don't get this chat around change if a defeat happens at the weekend. Short memories as we were in this position earlier in the season, it then got worse but no action was taken. As others have said before unless we get cut adrift at the bottom i wouldn't expect a tough decision to be made. Looking at the way the league is panning out it might be a few weeks before that were to happen. It's a year of transition off the park and it suits the board fine to have Bullen as long as we stay in the league. Other options include sourcing some players in January to make sure that happens

Have watched Airdrie a couple of times now. They are well organised. fit and have a decent system in place. Probably a good team for the budget spent but they do lack quality players that can change games. With the way we play at home i would say they are one of teams i'd worry about getting points from. Like Morton did they could quite easily set up to frustrate us and get a goal up the other end. Not the sort of must win game that falls well for Bullen currently