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Walking Down The Halbeath Road


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I'll always defend AJ's record - he's improved our position, gradually, every season he's been in charge - but I totally accept it's not been a thrilling time to be a Pars supporter.

I don't think we're likely to get relegated with AJ in charge but promotion also seems quite far off. We're currently a middling Championship side, whose form will sometimes be good and sometimes be poor.

Things could be much worse, both on and off the park, but I'd highly doubt anyone has been really excited for many of our games in the past two seasons. 

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Nothing is decided after 9 games. However, those 9 games mean that how we perform over the next 5 is likely to decide whether we will be in a playoff battle at the top of the league, or whether we should be looking over our shoulder at Alloa/Falkirk.

 

We play 3 of the top 4 as well as each of the bottom 2 in our next 5 games. If we don’t win the games v Alloa and Falkirk, we could be in trouble. Likewise, if we don’t get anything from any of the games v United, Inverness and Ross County, we will really struggle to mount a challenge for the playoffs.

 

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It’s difficult to play attractive football when the likes of QOS come with the game plan they did on Saturday. It’s frustrating but as the adage goes, you have to play what’s in front of you. A bit of luck and one less mistake and the result would have been different and there wouldn’t be this furore calling for the managers head (you’d still have a few dissenters). He’ll fix it, I have no doubt. The problem is that due to financial constraints and one year deals, by the time he gets us firing on all cylinders, the season will end, some players will move on and he’ll need to rebuild once more.

ANY replacement would have the same problem. Voting with your feet is anyones prerogative, but less money into the club just adds to the problem no matter who is in charge. A couple of results and we’re back in the mix for the playoffs, as that is how tight this is. Anyone who thought we should be title challenging this season after losing so many players (to rivals) close season, and having our most creative player out through injury for a number of weeks has no concept of the difficulties AJ faces.

Now is the time for fans to put aside any desire to have the manager changed and get behind the team this coming Saturday. That means if it’s not going well and we go a goal down you stay, and you support.

Not going to games and hoping for bad results to force a managerial change is arsehole behaviour. I thought our support was better than this.

Before I get the happy clapper retorts, and “the dot net may be more to your taste” jibes, no one is more disappointed in some of the current performances and results than me.

I am thankful that I have a team to support and some folk have a very short memory. Steady progress is good, rather than upheaval, turmoil and chaos. Look at Falkirk to see where that leads.

AJ has a desire to play attractive attacking football - we’ve all seen it, so he’ll be frustrated with the current performances. And as for criticism of his after match interviews, what exactly do you expect hear? He can’t say “well I tried this and here’s my thinking about how I’m going to set up next week” ... that would be lunacy and the go to place for rival managers to start a game plan. You’re going to get mundane “try harder, more work” statements when things are going badly, that’s how it is.

Now is the time for strength and patience, not weak, knee jerk, foolishness. Leave that to Falkirk.

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It must be frustrating for Pars fans to see teams like Livingston, Hamilton and St Johnstone comfortable in the premier league. I still don't think you have fully recovered from your admin meltdown. I also don't think Alan Johnston is an overly inspiring manager, always comes across as quite placid and looks like he couldn't motivate anyone. Tough times.

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It must be frustrating for Pars fans to see teams like Livingston, Hamilton and St Johnstone comfortable in the premier league. I still don't think you have fully recovered from your admin meltdown. I also don't think Alan Johnston is an overly inspiring manager, always comes across as quite placid and looks like he couldn't motivate anyone. Tough times.
That was going okay until you started with the speculative stuff about Johnston. Sowing seeds of doubt, when it is doubtful you have ever been at an AJ training session or sat in on a team talk. Media and private personas can vary. Widely. Successful management style is not necessarily shouty and ogre like either.
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Some soul destroying Saturday afternoons of despair are part of being a Pars fan, did you not realise that when you signed up?

Hope we rout United and you are left remorseful at missing it. Probably won't happen, but yours is a risky strategy...


I hope we pump them too and I shall drink a cold German beer to the boys on Saturday night if they do.
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Like the boy Cyrill was saying. It's a bit frustrating watch St Mirren win the league after nearly being relegated the season before. Livi with back to back promotions, It doesn't have to take an age. On the other hand there's Utd and Falkirk who are struggling too and they've not come from as dark a place as us in recent years.

I was mildly please with what AJ was doing up until this season.Nothing spectacular, but find this season to be a good step backwards so far. Really need to start seeing a more coherent looking team by Christmas. The strikers are not working and the wide players are not hitting the bye line. The centre mid is too deep also. Just seems that a lot needs to be sorted still.

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It must be frustrating for Pars fans to see teams like Livingston, Hamilton and St Johnstone comfortable in the premier league. I still don't think you have fully recovered from your admin meltdown. I also don't think Alan Johnston is an overly inspiring manager, always comes across as quite placid and looks like he couldn't motivate anyone. Tough times.
Nail on head.
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Genuinely not bothered about 'smaller' clubs playing in the premiership.

Only really the big 5 can feel they can expect to watch their team at that level and even then 3 of them have played here recently.

We have spent significant spells of our history at this level and that's absolutely fine.

I find it quite odd that if you swap livi, Hamilton and st Johnstone with United, cally and partick that our situation should be judged different.

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Not sure why you find it odd.

Dundee Utd a co have greater resources.  Livi and Hamilton  have gained promotion with a lot less than us.  Teams are spending much less than us and getting far greater success, whereby it's more understandable if a team like Dundee Utd are in the Premiership ahead of us.

Of course money doesn't guarantee success, but I can see what Cyrill means. 

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