Jump to content

Passionate

Gold Members
  • Posts

    1,887
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Passionate

  1. The great debate. Grass or plastic, we live in a constantly moving world with hi tech being the norm throughout every part of society, but we are still happy to pay (overpay let's be honest) to watch Football on a 'grass pitch' with 40% grass on it the majority of the season, the rest hard caked mud... Or you can play on the latest gauge of an artificial surface, the same surface players mostly train on during the week, But I am not a member of the elite SPL where not for the first time Dundee have been the victim of an 'act of god' and has to cancel a televised game due to an unplayable surface. Dundee eh must have it's own micro climate, haud on, there is another pitch 100m away at Tannadice that's like a bowling green, (well it was 2 weeks ago) with a team in a lower league who even if they win their league will not even earn a fifth of the prize money Dundee will earn finishing 6 or 7th in the good old SPL.. We can moan about the 400k Doncaster earns etc, there are clubs throughout the pyramid who are putting our top clubs to shame with the state of their grass pitches, With the generous prize money (compared to the rest of the leagues) surely the league can insist that if they want a no plastic rule in the SPL , then every club must have an amount of money put aside every season for pitch upkeep, relaid start of season or through the season as required, Aesthetics.are important in football, better players might want to come, better TV deals could be sought, have we really tried anything different apart from moan about everything, the good old days of Scottish Football weren't that great if you remember.... Back to the main point if you want Grass make sure it's on the pitch, or it not really a grass pitch... OR. As a lot of fans think when Livi and their 'dreaded pitch' go, and Dundee United and their very decent facilities come up, the drawbridge will get pulled up , with a 2 fingered salute to the rest of Scottish Football......
  2. Thought that at the time and also seemed lost with Innes Murray's shot off the post late on.. any word on how long Josh will be out for.
  3. To be fair, to the keeper, he saved us just before the equaliser when one of the many misplaced first half passes by Fordyce was intercepted , crucial save that could have put us 2 down, As you say Lyall was excellent throughout closely followed by Telfer, McMaster continues to disappoint, when under pressure he tends to go into his shell and gets very negative and panicky and doesn't offer an out ball , when we are up comfortably in games.he.is a different player , Rhys rates him highly though... A very good important 3 points, last week's point in Inverness looks massive all of a sudden..
  4. To be fair you gave us a s much as we could handle for 35 minutes, up front and wide players is decent enough and have our defenders are really tough game throughout, but your defence and midfield are painfully slow, Little looks done and TOB who everybody admires was poor again.. Bird up top looks a decent player.. ICT look a club with a lot of issues going on, surely must have an outside chance for 9th
  5. So that's our last 2 games of the season on Friday nights, as you say the United game could and probably still will be a decent money spinner especially if United have the chance to win the league that night, it's hard to be to critical as all these games help the club gain publicity, which was basically zero in the barren years of League 1.
  6. Noticed on the website a couple of weeks back, advertising for a First Team Physio, (looked decent salary 40k). Is J D moving on to pastures new or are we planning in expanding our physiotherapy dept. As like most clubs Physios can be worth there wait in gold to get players back out on the pitch ..
  7. There is a lad called Cade Melrose who is the reserve keeper, he has been on the bench a few times this season, don't know anything about the lad, The reserve team have been getting hammered most weeks, so probably not a fair assessment in a struggling team, Pruntys boy Liam is the under 18s keeper... Would still think we would need a loanee to get us by if possible.
  8. I see George Oakley was out with an oblique injury, nasty that could be his season gone... Good player too,is he signed up for Morton next season.
  9. I am not a financial expert (just ask her indoors). We are having a decent season financially, just getting promotion and finishing 8th in the championship we will get double our prize money from last season, that with 100k prize money from Scottish Cup not including gate money from saints and hearts games, a decent run into knockout stages of League Cup, and a possible 40k to come if we win the Trust Trophy, I don't think we can maximise much more out of the playing staff, they have exceeded expectations this season,n and let's not forget a 40 percent increase in home crowds alongside increased admission prices, Sounds good doesn't it, it is still pretty perilous, for us to increase all players wages by 100 pounds a week, say from 500 to 600 (no idea our wages just an example) that would mean a playing budget increase of roughly 250k per annum ..... For all the hopefully many tears to come of Championship football it looks like our crowds and relevant income will always be at the lower end of the league, which as Colin says this could be as good as it gets for a club our size.... For all his previous faults, PH is at the controls and since he has taken over, he has done a pretty damned good job..
  10. Lewis Vaughan at Raith has had 3 or 4 ACL ops in recent years, don't know if same knee etc.. but was before and still is a quality player at championship levels.... Good luck to the lad, saw him a few times in a poor Peterhead side and always had a touch of class about him..
  11. Yeh I would think 43 could get 8th, the league is still their to be won not for us sadly, that's my next point if DU or Raith want to lift that trophy and get promoted, they have to win football matches, if they could go on a run it lessens the points available to the bottom sides, and with everybody else cutting each others throat, 40 like it normally is could be the safe zone... People always said how good and close this league was and is, it is in a different world to League 1 which after Falkirk leave will be a total barren wasteland.....
  12. I will rephrase it, you are quite happy for Morton players to be over physical (your words). But get a tad upset if opponents get over physical with Morton players.. Is that fair enough comment...... Where's Oakley off to next season ( recovery permitting)
  13. Ah yes, your players do seem to like to leave a bit on opposition players. 82 league bookings so far this season, the highest number by any team in Scottish Football so far...surely that is indefensible....
  14. I hope Oakley recovers for you in time for the Cup tie a good player, it was a physical game which Morton didn't hold back in, remember the cynical challenge on Lewis McGregor which could have put him out for the season, or will we not talk about that.. ATS clipping Oakley was part of the game, retribution you decide, an eye for an eye and all that macho bollocks.... Good luck against Hearts with a fit Oakley (surprise,surprise) leading the line..
  15. We are as a club probably punching well above our weight, this isn't the 80s or the 90s Scottish football left Airdrie behind, we all no the off field troubles we had felt like continually for about 20 years until PH took the helm, We just have to look at the average attendance figures in this league ours was 1881 last I checked a couple of weeks back, that has increased over 30 percent on last season, we still have the second lowest average attendance in the league .. The attendance last night was over 4k (they must have been counting double(.. If we stay up( let's not get ahead of ourselves) Falkirk will be there big crowds ( cannot wait for the crowd wanks) . I think our budget will always sit second lowest or Indeed lowest when in the Championship does that mean we will struggle, eventually Yes, but the way we are working the loan market and blend of youth and experience with a very talented player. Manager is working very well and probably the envy of many 'bigger clubs saddled with debt and high wages. The club always have additional levers to pull to increase revenue and budget , that is increasing admission prices, cost of living etc I know, but to get charged 25 notes behind the goals at Tannadice and an average of 22 notes most other places, we charge 20 to me it's a no brainer, it won't close the budget gap , but will increase ours ... We will have to trust the process, although it can be frustrating at times.. Onwards and upwards
  16. Noticed a bit of building work at the corner of the away stand and the old enclosure, what's the plans guys, hopefully nothing that will change EEP too much still one of the best grounds to watch football win or lose...
  17. It was a very professional performance by the entire side, special mention to Hancock who showed he can defend as well , very good player, Frizzell who has been off it recently, probably had one of his best performances in a long time, playing on the old no 6 role, nothing flashy but very effective, Watson again was nearly faultless and covered for IMO an unusually erratic Fordyce.... But the jewel on the crown was Charlie Telfer who I thought was outstanding..... Todorov and Gabby showed the reason why they start, Todorov is a handful and worries championship defenders a lot more than Gall does, and McGills beginning to show how good a finisher he is, although he has had a very stop start season... Well done to Rhys and push on, who knows where we could end up....
  18. Could be more but Gals goal in the last home televised game against QP was a great finish outside the box I am sure
  19. Queens Park are a different outfit under a decent manager, a talented side indeed, with probably a better upside than Airdrie, Danny Wilson looked a class act at the back and won every header, that type of quality doesn't come cheap though, a draw was probably a fair result over the 90 minutes. I am sure it was an Arbroath fan that said last close season, that every game in this league feels like a big game, and not a truer word spoken... Is Savoury back soon or is he just planning for the new season..
  20. The games are coming thick and fast, Queens Park played well and could feel a little unfortunate not to away with 3 points, good game though and we fought our corner, giving free goals away is simply not good enough at this level, and when you struggle to score , you are just shooting your toes off.. Onto the team, the entire left side and midfield was a struggle , Cammy is struggling, was he brought back too quick from injury, he just lacks the snap he normally has, McStravick is an enigma, he has talent but struggles when to use it, he offers nothing defensively and with Cammy struggling behind him, it was a problem.. Frizzell I have been saying for months has hit his ceiling, the championship is a step too far pace wise and looking at his body language he knows it, when we shuffled the pack second half he played better in a wider role and put in many a decent cross though, maybe try him on that position.... It looks like Rhys McCabe is managing his load, but we miss him badly in the middle of the park when missing. , McMaster has potential but was well off it today again just like at Morton... Today was a must not lose, and we have to be happy enough with a point.
  21. It's a difficult one, Gall is a modern day streaky goalscorer , he still has it, style of play this season doesn't really suit any of our strikers and it has showed, he will get more goals eventually it's just how gall is, he was the same in League 1, As we know all strikers have roughly a 1 in 3 strike rate Gall basically falls into that category.. but the problem when you go up a league your number of chances per game reduces and therefore productivity drops.. For example. Oakley last week first chance goal, he missed 2 after that, still a 1 in 3 statistic , can Gall take that first opportunity maybe even a half chance, not convinced he might score his 3rd attempt, still 1 in 3 ratio get my drift, it's the ruthlessness of the striker look back recently to goals conceded Shankland, Dowds, Adeloye, Paton all first attempts hit the net all teams in this league struggle if they don't score the opening goal , I read the stat is 78 percent of teams who scored first do not lose the game in this league, that is where we lack a quality championship striker... Do we cut him and Gabby loose at the end of the season, who knows, but we need more goals from somewhere...
  22. What can you say, team were rightly criticised on Saturday, but the drum the club was beating afterwards another game just round the corner to even things came true, and it's all down to the players and a very brave player manager Rhys McCabe I don't many would have picked that line up, very brave indeed, and as they say fortune favours the brave... This is a crazy league.QP rode Arbroath 6 nil going on an easy double figures apparently, Ayr seeing off Thistle in a shoot out, Morton stopping Raith going top and ICT and Dunfermline having a predictable draw.. I have been trying to work out different permutations of teams historically finishing 8th and 9th,, due to a lack of clear leaders it's nip and tuck at the top, with plenty points being dropped, what do we think the points will end up, This season I think 9th will be around 43 this year, which is unusually high, Time will tell. One thing I do know this Championship is a helluva league..
  23. It's all about opinions, everybody sees the game differently, but we all want the same goal 8th or better... Just going over a couple of points Watson and Fordyce , with Megwa and Hancock either side coincided with our upturn on form, Saturday we shoehorned Megwa in and pushed Cammy in one, it didn't work and I don't actually see why we tried it, it showed how exposed we were in forward areas , What do you think about Lyall replacing Frizzell who has been subbed off the last couple of games, Lyall played the same role as Frizzell at Rangers, we need a spark from somewhere,
  24. We have to play players that fit the way Rhys wants to play, we will lose goals if we play Cammy or Megwa and even Hancock at CB, Cammy and Megwa are too small and Hancock cannot defend, although Hancock is probably our best option off the left, why on earth would you want to play him CB.. Watson, Fordyce is our best CB partnership and that has been proven over the season, question.. would Oakley have been able to bully Watson the way he did with Fordyce, I don't think so.... And while we are at it, the midfield was a complete mess. McMasters lack of commitment was glaring and just wanted to play square passes to players.who were marked or getting closed down, Frizzell offered nothing again, as the skipper he should be leading by example but his legs are gone for this level, Telfer was our best player covered every blade of grass trying to make play, he failed but is that due to him or the reluctance of his team mates, Lyall who I like, was supposed to play on the hole behind Todorov that hole was a 40 yard area because we were playing so deep,. impossible to be effective that far apart and we criticise Todorov but like Lyall what exactly do we want him to do he had scraps at best to work with... The striking options that came on Gall, Gabby and O Connor that has a League 1 strike force written all over it, that says enough....
×
×
  • Create New...