Tattie36

I dread to think how many death threats will be made…. Also hope all attendees wear waterproofs and take umbrellas to protect them from the floods of spit.

Shouldn’t this kind of thing have been done weeks ago to try and get the fans on board, when we actually still had a chance of survival? Shut the stable door once the horse has bolted.

Up until a few months or so ago I would have put as down as one of, if not THE best run club in Scotland. Even when we started to struggle on the pitch it still seemed like things were going very well off it. How times change. A really bad feeling around just now. The board need a big period of introspection in the summer as they are in serious danger of losing a lot of what has been built up over the last few years.

I said this before but can anyone, especially the “give him more time” brigade, ever remember a manager - at Arbroath or anywhere else for that matter - go from having an atrocious record to turning things round? I can’t. Yes, there have been guys who’ve had a less than spectacular start at clubs who have eased into it given time and money to spend on their own players, but I can’t think of anyone who’s ever been backed with a record like his - P20 W2 D5 L13 F18 A47 pts 11 (out of 60)

Unfortunately I can see us losing most or all of our un-contracted players. Arbroath is a club going in the wrong direction and with a less than positive feel about the place. Plenty of ambitious L1 and even L2 teams that could be an attractive proposition for players looking for a new challenge. A new manager and clean slate is the only way we can avoid this imo. Sticking with McIntyre is just delaying the inevitable.

As an aside - I notice in the Stirling 1 Alloa 5 game today that Donnelly was an unused sub for Alloa and Hilson was subbed off for Greg Spence for Albion. These are guys that have found their level yet Donnelly and Hilson were overly used by Campbell last season and the season before. Simply not good enough for the Championship and barely good enough for L1. Today is the result of 2 years of poor signings and over reliance on sub standard players…. As well as poor managerial decisions of course.

What a fight we put up in the last few weeks. We’ve thrown absolutely everything at the opposition leaving nothing in the tank week on week. The drive and motivation that this amazing management team have instilled has been a sight to see. Continue with this standard of performance and this never say die attitude and we’ll have L1 tied up by Christmas. NURSE!!!!!!!

Magic. Congratulations to all involved with Stenny. A long time coming but the first title will always feel the most special, no matter what’s to follow in future.

1 shot 1 goal - now that’s efficiency for you.

What absolutely astonishes me is that there wasn’t an advanced succession plan in place. The writing was on the wall for Campbell for the guts of 18 months and it beggars belief that him leaving seemed to catch the board unawares.

Can’t we just call off the rest of the season?

Agree with the Campbell stuff. I just wish he’d jacked it in after 21/22 saying he’d taken us as far as possible. He would have left as an absolute legend with freedom of the town, a statue, and free pints and bjs for life. Of course his planet sized ego would never have seen him quit at the top, he needed more adulation, more worship, more power. What he achieved will never be forgotten but his legacy and reputation has, sadly been massively tainted. As far as the current situation goes - the board aren’t daft and they must see how things are collapsing. Last nights crowd was the lowest, non Covid league attendance we’ve had in years and that included 700-800 season ticket no shows. They will be budgeting for next season and the thought of losing all of that revenue and all the associated income must be terrifying. People are asking “can we afford to get rid of McIntyre?” when the real question is “can we afford not to get rid of McIntyre?”

I remember when Campbell came to us and started turning things around immediately. There were one or two Forfar fans who came on and warned us that it would eventually turn sour as it seemed to at every club he’d been at - some of our fans laughed it off, probably including me. Don't get me wrong when it was good it was very very good but the last 18 months of his tenure was grim on and off the pitch. It was like something changed in him/them after that fateful night in Kilmarnock. Best of luck to EF though, he will definitely bring success - not sure for how long or to what extent but be prepared for the inevitable fall from grace. It’ll be a blast though while it lasts though and certainly won’t be dull.

I’ll ask a question - can anyone ever remember a manager at Arbroath (or anywhere really, aside from Ferguson at Manchester United), that started off with an atrocious record but turned it round by being given more time, transfer windows etc? Because I can’t. I believe that you can tell in a pretty short time if a manager is going to be a success or not at a club. Our most successful managers in the last 25-30 years (Bakie, Brownlie, Sheerin and Campbell) all came in, mostly while the club was at a pretty low ebb and turned things around almost immediately. We are getting worse the longer McIntyre is here and that isn’t going to magically change imo.

Astonishingly ill judged. I thought it was a spam account at first but it’s not.

McKenna needs to step away from his phone/laptop.

yeah, I can see us winning all our remaining games about 8-0

Not at the game but nice to look at the stats and see that we’re really throwing the kitchen sink at Airdrie in such an important game. f**k me! Get McIntyre to f**k…. Tonight.

I know it feels like some of us have been saying this since about October 2022 but this really is a must win game for us. Even if we do win I still think it’s just delaying the inevitable, it would be nice to get a few more points before the end of the season though and some meagre crumbs of positivity.

Hope so. His usually very high standards have definitely dropped this season but that’s down to injury and playing behind an underperforming defence. I was just saying on Saturday that the goalkeeping situation is worrying for next season if he was to go so it’s great news if he stays, gets fully fit and has a good pre season.

Yeah, you’re right it was St Johnstone, he went to Aberdeen after us.

Perhaps if he had an experienced team around him. Sheerin had experience as youth/reserve coach at Aberdeen before he came to us. We were also in L2, pre the threat of relegation so there was really nothing to lose. I see next season as a consolidation season. I know it sounds negative but I’d be pretty happy with a safe mid table to playoff position come next May. Obviously I want promotion and the title but a season without much drama would suit me just fine.

Seeing as we’re pretty much down, I see no reason why we can’t punt McIntyre and give Gold etc a chance for the rest of the season. If he fancies it that is. Not sure if I would want to take a gamble on him or other players permanently though. A big job for a first gig. I would rather bring in someone with a good bit of experience and maybe have someone like Gold as player assistant. One for the future perhaps.

So who’s still on for keeping McIntyre?

Yeah I agree. I would like to give McIntyre the benefit of the doubt but there are absolutely no positives that I can see to merit it. Insipid performances week on week, crap signings, awful tactics etc etc. I would be all for giving him more time if we were seeing something positive every game but, aside from 25 minutes v Raith, it’s been eye bleeding stuff for months now. For the record - I don’t blame it all on him, he inherited an absolute shambles but he’s had ample opportunity to at least show a hint of positivity for the future but has failed miserably. I would rather a total clean slate now or in the summer at latest.