Livingston - all the threads merged

[Menga Bus]

Was very surprised with loaning crane back out to the same league as he previously played in, was impressed with him in the games he played. Signing bobby burns instead of playing crane really made no sense to me. I have faith and believe management had their reasons, but I’m pretty sure his family weren’t happy about the loan

[crispy]

Big Henk has had a mention yet. There’s not a lot to go on, admittedly.

[LIVIFOREVER]

2 hours ago, crispy said:

Big Henk has had a mention yet. There’s not a lot to go on, admittedly.

Been keeping an eye out for Dumbarton fans comments on him and it seems to be that he's prone to a defensive mistake or two in games, but has also done well at times. So doesn't look like he's ready to step into the team playing 2 levels higher than he is just now. Still a young player though so hopefully he does what Kelly has done and improves greatly over the next again season.

[Cptn Hooch]

9 hours ago, thruthenight said:

 if he was up for a coaching role, I'd offer him that in a heartbeat. As you say, he's clearly a great figure to have around.

Could be the striker coach we appear to need

[ATLIS]

9 hours ago, Cptn Hooch said:

Could be the striker coach we appear to need

We've already got Bingham in

[ATLIS]

John Ward stepping down as CEO and Director at the club, absolutely huge loss for us. Apparently stepping aside to let fresh 'investment and talent' into the club. Hopefully that's a sexy way of saying we're being bought by Saudi billionaires.

Says "If the town and the fans are serious about being a top flight club then it's time to move forward". Here's hoping we can get folk through the turnstiles into the ground now. Massive chance we need to seize as fans and get folk on board

[thruthenight]

2 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

John Ward stepping down as CEO and Director at the club, absolutely huge loss for us. Apparently stepping aside to let fresh 'investment and talent' into the club. Hopefully that's a sexy way of saying we're being bought by Saudi billionaires.

Says "If the town and the fans are serious about being a top flight club then it's time to move forward". Here's hoping we can get folk through the turnstiles into the ground now. Massive chance we need to seize as fans and get folk on board

Just saw that. That's a blow. He's overseen a phenomenal job. The directors all got a lot of abuse at Kenny Miller's departure, but it's been shown that they made an outstanding decision there. No idea how involved he was, but you can't deny that the club has gone on leaps and bounds under his stewardship.

[LiviLion]

Mind when folk were talking about replacing Gary Holt with David Hopkin?  He's got Celtic sussed anyway, full season with him and we'll win the league IMO.

[LiviLion]

8 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

John Ward stepping down as CEO and Director at the club, absolutely huge loss for us. Apparently stepping aside to let fresh 'investment and talent' into the club. Hopefully that's a sexy way of saying we're being bought by Saudi billionaires.

Says "If the town and the fans are serious about being a top flight club then it's time to move forward". Here's hoping we can get folk through the turnstiles into the ground now. Massive chance we need to seize as fans and get folk on board

Like you I'm hoping that means someone else will be taking his place and doing the same, if not more, than he has done. Will be a big loss to the club.

[Menga Bus]

Personally not sure how big a role a ceo has within the club but I’m gutted, hope we get someone in with investment, who actually has an interest and cares about the club. It has been great to see John at every away game with us, it makes him seem equal to every other fan, showing heart and passion together, hope he still comes along to all the games. 

[LIVIFOREVER]

He's done a marvellous job at Livi, taking us to the top flight and sticking to a budget that was as low as possible for a FT club with a small fanbase. At a time when we had barely recovered from Massone's reign of horror, and Livi5 were beginning to crumble with infighting, Ward came along and brought stability to the club, success on and off field, the fans sure as heck appreciated having calm brought to the club these past few years, and i'm sure the players and management team appreciated his steadyness at the helm too.

I really hope that whoever come in after him follows in his footsteps and sticks to those same ideals.

[EdinburghLivi]

I very much hope he is stepping down because there is someone else coming in. I have associated John Ward with stability off the field (after so many years of instability) so it is a concern if he is leaving without a plan in place.

Hopefully AndyLivi can put my mind at ease. 

Edited April 6, 2019 by EdinburghLivi

[crispy]

I hope someone comes in and we can kick on.

My fear is that he’s going out thinking we’ve managed as good as we can. With 1,000 supporters at the last home game I’m not sure Livingston will support a premiership size club - we’re 25 years down the line here. I’m sure we had 3,000ish season ticket holders during the first years in SPL so maybe, just maybe, we can grow to that?

[BarryMcgeorge]

A little write up from a sport journalist on Lyndon Dykes for your info.

 

 

“Lyndon Dykes, the Australian terror who can do a job for any team in Scotland

It’s easy to look at a team like Queen of the South, an Ayr United, an Edinburgh City and sing the praises of their top and pretty much only goalscorer and act like every game involving these “one-man teams” is pretty much a 1 v. 11, but that’s not the case, is it? I propose a small experiment you can do next time you watch a game involving a one-man team: work out the top-man’s weaknesses as they all have some, and see who’s picking up the slack for them. No doubt you will find 2 or 3 players who are doing all the running, all the passing, all the hold-up play for the star man, and that’s proven by the fact that even when the top player in these teams turn up on the day in big fashion, they are still beatable, some even… very beatable. Ayr have Moffat and Murdoch, Edinburgh have Smith and Shepherd, but there’s one man who can do all of these players’ jobs, and then some. Lyndon f***ing Dykes.

Queen of the South play a rather strange system, with the big guy up top dropping back to get the ball, allowing Scottish Messi to roam and find the gaps. You would assume this wouldn’t work, and you’d ask yourself “What in the world is Naismith playing at?”, but if there’s one thing the Queens gaffer has nailed down is how to utilise his strikers. Dykes is a workhorse, he does the running for himself and for Dobbie effortlessly and even though most of the time it’s as pretty as a St. Mirren - Hamilton game, it’s effective, and he receives no props for it. It’s a thankless job which he performs week in, week out. Let’s take for example, Queen of the South - Dundee, Scottish Cup replay. Granted, Dobbie scored a hat-trick, one of which was an absolute pinger, so it’s easy to say Stephen Dobbie won that game for Queens. Incorrect. You may think I’m mad, but there’s method to this madness, pull a chair, make a cup of tea or coffee, and let me enlighten you.

Goal number one, Stephen Dobbie screamer. The story of this goal begins with a Dundee corner, dealt with by the Queens defence, and so begins the counter-attack. Dykes is there to pick it up, with Dobbie being allowed to roam in the attacking third, wherever he can find a gap, in this instance, very wide on the right. Dykes is quickly closed down by two Dundee players, makes some room for himself and has the vision and self-awareness to find Dobbie on the right, as let’s be serious, if he kept running he would’ve lost that, but he knows that, which is why he unleashed God on the right. This isn’t where his part in the goal stops however, as Dobbie is surrounded by four Dundee players, Lyndon, along with Todd and Stirling make excellent runs forward to ease the pressure off Dobbie, who finds some space and does what he does best. 1-0. Job nowhere nearly done. Dykes continues to drop back and link up with midfield, bring Dundee players with him wherever he goes, leaving Dobbie acres of space to roam into up top. When defending, Dykes eagerly rushes Dundee defenders, leaving them no room to play the ball, putting in unreal effort to tire out the defence, leaving them clueless when it comes to playing the ball. This influence on the defence, wearing them down minute-by-minute eventually leads to Dobbie’s second. After being pressured for most of the first half by Dykes, an exhausted Innis plays a horrific pass intended for Dieng which Dobbie intercepts and easily puts it past the Dundee keeper. Innis is then subbed off and sent back to Crystal Palace the next day. Dykes’ running ended a player’s Scottish football career. If that isn’t a testament to the effort this man puts in, I don’t know what is. Just before half-time, Lyndon Dykes is there again to get the ball and turn defence into attack, spotting Dieng off his line and thinking “What if I scored from my own half?”. He misses, but it goes to show that he’s a star man, he wants to put on a show, and most importantly he has unreal patter. Throughout the second half Dykes again collects the ball from the halfway line on four occasions and finds Dobbie every time, 1 on 1 with Dieng. One of these, Dobbie miscontrols, the other three Dobbie can’t quite hold his run and is found to be offside. This goes to show the Queens star man isn’t infallible and that Dykes continuously provides for him. You cannot underestimate this man’s service. This leads us to the third and final Queen of the South goal, Dobbie hat-trick. A long ball from the Queens defence finds a Dundee player, and 2-0 up, only two QoS players are the opposition half: the best player on the pitch and Stephen Dobbie. Dykes keeps the pressure on, chasing the Dundee defender for 30 yards which leads to a wayward pass, putting Dobbie through to seal his hat-trick and the Queen of the South victory.

You may look at this last paragraph, with a look on your face resembling that of Sir Isaac Newton upon discovering gravity, and I cannot blame you. In a one man team, it is incredibly hard to find other players who have great impact week in week out, and in this small example, which just so happens to be a game against a Premiership side in which Dobbie found the net 3 times, I think I have made a strong case why Lyndon Dykes is the most impactful player on the pitch for Queens. He doesn’t score goals, but that’s not his job. His job is to run down, press, collect balls from midfield, and most importantly annoy the opposition defence to a level of exhaustion that allows Stephen Dobbie to be the God that he is. I can’t think of a single Premiership side that wouldn’t be greatly improved by Dykes’ unmatched workrate and dedication. If Livingston play him alongside a striker that can finish even a third of his chances, they can finish top 6. Watch out next season for the man that will terrorise your Goldsons, your Ajers and your McKennas into some of the silliest mistakes the Scottish Premiership has ever seen”

[crispy]

59 minutes ago, BarryMcgeorge said:

A little write up from a sport journalist on Lyndon Dykes for your info.

 

 

“Lyndon Dykes, the Australian terror who can do a job for any team in Scotland

It’s easy to look at a team like Queen of the South, an Ayr United, an Edinburgh City and sing the praises of their top and pretty much only goalscorer and act like every game involving these “one-man teams” is pretty much a 1 v. 11, but that’s not the case, is it? I propose a small experiment you can do next time you watch a game involving a one-man team: work out the top-man’s weaknesses as they all have some, and see who’s picking up the slack for them. No doubt you will find 2 or 3 players who are doing all the running, all the passing, all the hold-up play for the star man, and that’s proven by the fact that even when the top player in these teams turn up on the day in big fashion, they are still beatable, some even… very beatable. Ayr have Moffat and Murdoch, Edinburgh have Smith and Shepherd, but there’s one man who can do all of these players’ jobs, and then some. Lyndon f***ing Dykes.

Queen of the South play a rather strange system, with the big guy up top dropping back to get the ball, allowing Scottish Messi to roam and find the gaps. You would assume this wouldn’t work, and you’d ask yourself “What in the world is Naismith playing at?”, but if there’s one thing the Queens gaffer has nailed down is how to utilise his strikers. Dykes is a workhorse, he does the running for himself and for Dobbie effortlessly and even though most of the time it’s as pretty as a St. Mirren - Hamilton game, it’s effective, and he receives no props for it. It’s a thankless job which he performs week in, week out. Let’s take for example, Queen of the South - Dundee, Scottish Cup replay. Granted, Dobbie scored a hat-trick, one of which was an absolute pinger, so it’s easy to say Stephen Dobbie won that game for Queens. Incorrect. You may think I’m mad, but there’s method to this madness, pull a chair, make a cup of tea or coffee, and let me enlighten you.

Goal number one, Stephen Dobbie screamer. The story of this goal begins with a Dundee corner, dealt with by the Queens defence, and so begins the counter-attack. Dykes is there to pick it up, with Dobbie being allowed to roam in the attacking third, wherever he can find a gap, in this instance, very wide on the right. Dykes is quickly closed down by two Dundee players, makes some room for himself and has the vision and self-awareness to find Dobbie on the right, as let’s be serious, if he kept running he would’ve lost that, but he knows that, which is why he unleashed God on the right. This isn’t where his part in the goal stops however, as Dobbie is surrounded by four Dundee players, Lyndon, along with Todd and Stirling make excellent runs forward to ease the pressure off Dobbie, who finds some space and does what he does best. 1-0. Job nowhere nearly done. Dykes continues to drop back and link up with midfield, bring Dundee players with him wherever he goes, leaving Dobbie acres of space to roam into up top. When defending, Dykes eagerly rushes Dundee defenders, leaving them no room to play the ball, putting in unreal effort to tire out the defence, leaving them clueless when it comes to playing the ball. This influence on the defence, wearing them down minute-by-minute eventually leads to Dobbie’s second. After being pressured for most of the first half by Dykes, an exhausted Innis plays a horrific pass intended for Dieng which Dobbie intercepts and easily puts it past the Dundee keeper. Innis is then subbed off and sent back to Crystal Palace the next day. Dykes’ running ended a player’s Scottish football career. If that isn’t a testament to the effort this man puts in, I don’t know what is. Just before half-time, Lyndon Dykes is there again to get the ball and turn defence into attack, spotting Dieng off his line and thinking “What if I scored from my own half?”. He misses, but it goes to show that he’s a star man, he wants to put on a show, and most importantly he has unreal patter. Throughout the second half Dykes again collects the ball from the halfway line on four occasions and finds Dobbie every time, 1 on 1 with Dieng. One of these, Dobbie miscontrols, the other three Dobbie can’t quite hold his run and is found to be offside. This goes to show the Queens star man isn’t infallible and that Dykes continuously provides for him. You cannot underestimate this man’s service. This leads us to the third and final Queen of the South goal, Dobbie hat-trick. A long ball from the Queens defence finds a Dundee player, and 2-0 up, only two QoS players are the opposition half: the best player on the pitch and Stephen Dobbie. Dykes keeps the pressure on, chasing the Dundee defender for 30 yards which leads to a wayward pass, putting Dobbie through to seal his hat-trick and the Queen of the South victory.

You may look at this last paragraph, with a look on your face resembling that of Sir Isaac Newton upon discovering gravity, and I cannot blame you. In a one man team, it is incredibly hard to find other players who have great impact week in week out, and in this small example, which just so happens to be a game against a Premiership side in which Dobbie found the net 3 times, I think I have made a strong case why Lyndon Dykes is the most impactful player on the pitch for Queens. He doesn’t score goals, but that’s not his job. His job is to run down, press, collect balls from midfield, and most importantly annoy the opposition defence to a level of exhaustion that allows Stephen Dobbie to be the God that he is. I can’t think of a single Premiership side that wouldn’t be greatly improved by Dykes’ unmatched workrate and dedication. If Livingston play him alongside a striker that can finish even a third of his chances, they can finish top 6. Watch out next season for the man that will terrorise your Goldsons, your Ajers and your McKennas into some of the silliest mistakes the Scottish Premiership has ever seen”

Thanks, Much appreciated. I’ll have some of that, please.

[Afro]

Sounds like Ward feels he’s taken us as far as what he can, personally. If someone can fill the void and continue this sensible financial mantra then I’ll be more than happy. Sounds like he’ll still have a company involved sponsorship so he’s not stepping away completely.

Dykes comes across as a right grafter so he’ll fit in very well with our ethic I think. Just need to sign a striker who can actually finish and it’s sounding promising.

[andylivi1]

11 hours ago, EdinburghLivi said:

I very much hope he is stepping down because there is someone else coming in. I have associated John Ward with stability off the field (after so many years of instability) so it is a concern if he is leaving without a plan in place.

Hopefully AndyLivi can put my mind at ease. 

Tbh I can’t tell you much more than what’s been said already, I was aware of a rumour that he was stepping down at the end of the season to take on a new business of his own, perhaps that opportunity has came sooner than expected. 

What I would say having spoken to John many times is he is a man of principle, he wouldn’t step away from the club if there wasn’t something in place and he didn’t trust the people their to continue to run it well. 

What I would say is it would be nice for the club to make a wee statement just to keep the fans in the loop and to ease any fears about the future of the football club. 

On John himself, he’s been a tremendous asset to the football club, he has came in at a fairly turbulent time and to say things have calmed down off the pitch would be an understatement, and that has a lot to do with John and his business mind, looking back to this time in the future John Ward will be rightly hailed as one of our best ever board room members. 

Let’s hope the future is bright. 

[EdinburghLivi]

I was worried about Gallagher leaving but it seems as though Jack Hamilton is ready to step up as our resident troll.

[ATLIS]

Dykes and Hardie would be fucking lethal

[LIVIFOREVER]

1 hour ago, ATLIS said:

Dykes and Hardie would be fucking lethal

Yep, he'd have been great linking up with Hardie this season, pity Hardie will be away back to Sevco though...……………...unless it doesn't work out and he comes back for a final loan deal/pr chucks it and signs for us like Kelly and Halkett did.

 

Great looking signing though, we're not short of players who run their socks off and help strikers either, Pittman, Robinson, Dykes are all excellent at it, just need a striker to take advantage of their unselfish graft.