ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds

When I started going to the games regularly it was the 2002-03 season and I was 6 years old. Vareille was far and away my favourite player and I don’t think anyone came close until Prunty. I think Gow was probably the best player we had in that era, and obviously Coyle was great even if not what he once was. I think what makes Gallagher stand out compared to good strikers we’ve had since that period is not just the longevity but also the progress that both he and the club made during his time. And in fairness, I think Gallagher last season had as good a season as Andy Ryan or Allan Russell had in the same division for us. Both him and Fordyce are club legends as much as the guys from my childhood imo.

Impossible to say really when I’ve only watched one of the teams every week. I’d say the Airdrie players that should be considered are Megwa, Fordyce, Hancock and Telfer. Based only on the games I’ve seen Anton Dowds is Pele so he’d in too.

I remember when Leon McCann left us for Falkirk he stated one of the reasons he was keen on the move was that they were fully full time so there was no nighttime training. Far from the biggest contributing factor for players choosing a club to sign for but feels like a step in the right direction given where the club are right now. Gallagher’s been great for us and I’ve always been a fan, but continuing the hybrid model for one part time player who never starts obviously wasn’t going to make sense. Wish him all the best at Arbroath. I’m excited by the prospect of next season. Obviously promotion would be exciting but if we miss out and keep hold of McCabe and all our best players (and have this season’s additional income to add to the squad) it could be a very good season.

Serious question (although maybe I’m getting carried away): who was the last player we had with the cult hero status amongst the fanbase that Todorov has at the moment?

No idea how the officials bottled the decision after that brawl in the box. A Morton player on top of Hancock with hands at his neck and somehow we get three bookings and they get two because some of our boys had the audacity to drag the man off him. Atrocious decision. As for Morton more generally, what an embarrassing shambles of a team. Biggest hammer throwers we’ve played all season and crap at football too. One of our best performances of the season imo.

Obviously we probably do lack the squad depth compared to other teams but I was actually thinking last night about how much better our depth is now than it’s been for years. The rotation we’ve had for midweek games recently would have been unthinkable for us in past seasons and Arbroath must have been jealous that we were able to bring guys like Telfer, Frizz, McGill and Gallagher on from the bench.

Thought Michael Stewart was out of order on commentary after that McMaster challenge. Definite red card and Scott Brown had every right to be angry about the tackle and the referee’s decision, but Stewart as an impartial commentator spending the last 10 minutes of the match repeatedly calling a young laddie a coward left a bad taste in my mouth.

It’s wild isn’t it? A couple of results can be the difference between 9th and 4th which can then mean ending up back in League One or in the Premiership. The difference between facing Stirling Albion and Stenhousemuir or Rangers and Celtic. I’ll be honest, after being in playoff finals every year I was kind of looking forward to the prospect of a break from them. Obviously I’ll be delighted if we finish in the top 4, but it’d be nice to have a relaxing end to the season.

Frizz got away with that one imo, don’t think there was any malice in it but if we had VAR he’d be off. Lovely ball from McStravick down the wing for the goal, think he’s having a very good game.

Agree with much of this. I still think he’s wasted in too much a wide role like he played at Dumbarton and there’s a reason he kicked on so much with us after moving more central but he played his best football when Easton was the 10 and he was playing a deeper role. I think he’s best used as an 8 that can drive the team up the park rather than as the central playmaker. Would McStravick, Lyall, Donnell be any better as the 10 though? I’m not sure. I think Lyall seems a fairly similar player to Frizzell that would be better driving from deep. Donnell looked good when he came on at the weekend I thought but he really struggled against Ayr. Not sure how he’d do in that role. McStravick might make the most sense but he’s maybe more likely to struggle physically in the middle than against a full back and I thought he got a bit bullied on Saturday although he had decent flashes.

The club are notorious for not advertising contract lengths so it’s anyone’s guess really. We know Ballantyne signed a 2-year deal when he joined so unless he’s extended that he’s definitely out of contract. I’d be surprised if McStravick only signed for one season considering we paid a fee for him so I’d expect he’s signed up for next season. Based on his tweet in the summer it looks like Watson is signed up for next season as well.

That is an absolutely massive win. Dundee Utd have been far from impressive this season but I didn’t think we had it in us to beat them if I’m honest. Huge 3 points and a massive confidence boost going into the next few games (although Saturday’s opponents will have felt a similar boost after their result tonight). Hope Hancock’s injury isn’t as bad as it looked but at least we’ve got Megwa now and Ballantyne to give us that extra cover at the back. I thought Megwa was fantastic today, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an Airdrie player that is so consistently good with his tackling.

I like Watson enough at right back but I’ve never been too convinced by him at centre back. He is certainly more experienced there than Hancock or Megwa but I am keen to see those two plus Ballantyne play. Watson (or McCabe) definitely options to partner Fordyce but that likely means one of Ballantyne, Megwa, Hancock missing out which seems such a waste.

For me when a team gets in a rut the most important thing is to get back to the basics of what you do well and work from there. Don’t overcomplicate things. Questionable whether or not we can call this a rut yet but it’s three losses in a row (including Hearts game in the cup) and while I generally like to remain positive it is most likely going to become four losses on Tuesday night when we go away to the league leaders. Three of our best players are full backs, that leaves two options: leave one on the bench or play one out of position. You could argue that a back 5 means playing all three out of position, and it’s also a change away from the system we’ve been most successful with. I think we’ve either got to have Hancock partner Fordyce at centre back in a 4, or potentially Megwa although he’s not the tallest, or push one of them into midfield. I was surprised to see McGregor dropped yesterday as I think he’s been doing well but we’re now left with very few options out wide with him picking up an injury. I think Gallagher deserves a run in the team over Toddy as well. Rae Megwa Fordyce Hancock Ballantyne Telfer McCabe Frizzell McGill Gallagher Lyall I think something like that could work. Not entirely keen on limiting Hancock since he’s been so effective down the wing but Fordyce needs a centre back partner and he might be the player best-suited to that. Could try Megwa at centre back but I’ve no idea how that would go. McCabe could drop back to let Ballantyne come inside and Hancock overlap in theory, but that might be overcomplicating things (especially considering since I’m trying to emphasise not doing that and instead getting the basics right). I thought Lyall looked good taking a man on when he came off the bench against Ayr so a wide role could work, but could just as easily drop him into a midfield diamond and play a front two to maintain the shape we’d been using recently.

Looks like it's a back 5 and interesting to see both McCabe and Watson dropping to the bench. My guess would be something like Rae Fordyce ATS Hancock Megwa McMaster Ballantyne Telfer Frizzell Lyall Todorov