Walking Down The Halbeath Road

[The Toun Clock]

I like it being a total free for all. Yesterday I looked at the 40 teams in the draw and there was certainly a lot of interesting potential ties, good days out etc. We got the bum draw, an away game to a team in the division where we certainly wouldn't be favourites but we have had some really good ones in recent years. Last season we got Morton away which is on par with yesterdays draw but before that we had Stranraer away, a derby away at Starks, away to Queens Park at Hampden and away to Buckie Thistle. The results of the first two not worth mentioning but scoring 4 at Hampden despite it being -500 and the day out up in Buckie was fantastic.

[HoBNob]

The fact that you get a few all Premiership ties helps with progression for smaller sides though. I wouldn't be complaining if we drew another championship side in the quarters... 

[Stellaboz]

I'm all for it being completely unseeded and stick everyone in at the first round. That'd be absolutely tremendous.

[smpar]

I get shot down for this every season but get it seeded like the LC.  Far more interesting ties, far more cup shocks, far more small clubs getting a massive away day at a Premiership club.
Nah, we'll just have the usual 2 or 3 all Championship ties like we have every year.  Fucking great.

The rule should just be if two teams from the same league are drawn, they just pick a different away team. Should have put the Dunfermline ball back and picked a different one.

I'm all for it being completely unseeded and stick everyone in at the first round. That'd be absolutely tremendous.

Aye I could get on board with this. Imagine someone like St Cuthbert Wanderers, Golspie Sutherland or Broomhill being drawn against - and knocking out - a Premiership/Championship* team.









*most likely Peter Grant’s Dunfermline Athletic.

[Cardle is Magic]

30 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

It would stop over half the ties being horrendously boring and shite.

Our last 10 opening ties in the Scottish Cup:

21/22 - Partick Thistle (A) TBD

20/21 - Morton (A) LOST

19/20 - Stranraer (A) LOST

18/19 - Raith Rovers (A) LOST

17/18 -  Queen’s Park (A) WON

16/17 - Buckie Thistle (A) WON

15/16 - Ayr (A) WON

14/15 - East Stirlingshire (A) WON

13/14 - Elgin (A) WON

12/13 - Partick Thistle (A) WON

I’m not sure seeding would give us a massively improved set of games tbh.

Bizarrely, our opening SC tie hasn’t been at EEP since the Stenhousemuir debacle where we won 7-0 but selected an ineligible player.

We were absurdly made to replay at Ochilview instead of just getting a fine or - more logically - kicked out of the competition.

[Cardle is Magic]

While I was looking up those Scottish Cup draws, I looked up Alloa’s record from last season under Grant.

He managed 7 points from his first 10 league games last season. So, full-time training, a better squad of players etc has resulted in him doing even worse than he managed with Alloa. Remember, they were meekly relegated with barely a whimper.

Still in a job, still protected by the Board and an ever dwindling number of happy clapper sycophants.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Cardle is Magic

[101]

8 hours ago, parsforlife said:

New floodlights too(which better work after all the laughing we did at rovers) Can't expect players to get used to them right away, need a few games ...

We had them on against Killie...

[Stellaboz]

Normally I don't mind disagreeing about anything, but when I see someone still sticking by Grant, with his record and the embarrassments against Arbroath and Thistle at home, it actually angers me a bit. What the f**k is going on, is it stubbornness? Just admit you're wrong you fucking fandan.

[parsforlife]

11 minutes ago, Stellaboz said:

Normally I don't mind disagreeing about anything, but when I see someone still sticking by Grant, with his record and the embarrassments against Arbroath and Thistle at home, it actually angers me a bit. What the f**k is going on, is it stubbornness? Just admit you're wrong you fucking fandan.

I’m almost beginning to feel sorry for them, being that far removed from reality must bring problems for them in day to day life.

But I’m also slightly jealous with how easily they can be happy.  Waking about with a spring in their step cos when their wife left,  shagged their best mate, took the house and the kids she left them keep the toaster.

[DA Baracus]

Mind how when we drew 0-0 against a very ordinary on the day Inverness that some fans insisted there were huge improvements and that it gave us something to build upon and to be positive about?

Mind when we then drew 0-0 against the worst Hamilton team in a generation and some fans insisted that it was positive and something to build upon?

Mind when we then drew 1-1 with a Raith team who should have been out of sight at half time and some folk insisted it was positive and something to build upon?

Mind when we then lost 1-0 to a dire Queen of the South team and those same fans were a bit quiet?

Mind when we then drew 2-2 with a Kilmarnock team who were pretty poor on the day, and in which we scrambled in a last minute equaliser, and that last minute equaliser was definitely, this time for sure, going to lift the team and players and was something to be positive and build upon according to some fans?

Mind when we then instead drew 0-0 with a Partick team who were really ordinary on the day, and some folk insisted we are improving and there are things to build upon?

There's some sort of pattern there. Strangely I wouldn't be surprised if we won tomorrow, but I would then fully expect us to lose on Saturday. A win tomorrow isn't enough.

Grant must have a wee notebook filled with shite excuses. So far he's complained about COVID, injuries, the wind, the length of the grass on the pitch, the type of surface and other nonsense I've probably forgotten. He must be absolutely delighted we're at Gayfield on Saturday, as he can roll out a whole load of excuses about the wind and conditions, much like Crawford did last season in that abysmal game we lost up there.

 

Grant never had his contract renewed at Alloa, and it was announced in March he would be leaving them. Were there talks with Alloa to get him to stay? Or did they tell him they wouldn't be offering him a new deal? Either way, I don't get the impression they were particularly sad to see him go. It also seems that precisely no clubs approached him before we appointed him, and clubs were pretty much able to discuss roles with him since March.

 

Anyway, the board really are playing this terribly. They really are sacrificing the goodwill of a large number of fans, and are sacrificing the support of these fans, not just for them but for the team. The longer Grant stays and we play pish football, the less fans will turn up, and some of them won't come back for a long time, if at all. And for what? A failed manager who so many didn't want in the first place. The board are lying to themselves and to us that season ticket sales are down (and seemingly massively down) due to COVID, but the fact that many other clubs have actually improved season ticket sales, or at least not see a reduction, shows that up for the nonsense it is. The appointment of Grant utterly killed the enthusiasm of the fanbase. They know it fine well too. It's why they didn't ask for more 2000 for the early games when attendances were still restricted, whilst across the country many other clubs asked for, and got, increases due to demand. This season should have been such an easy sell too. Just talk about how fans will be back and how it's a new era. Whip up some excitement. Plenty of folk would have bought in to that. I know of quite a few folk who were raring to get back to East End. The board didn't push the return of fans to games at all though, and then the Grant appointment killed sales. We all know plenty of folk who didn't renew or buy a season ticket once Grant was announced.

What a massively damaging appointment. It's so fucking baffling why they've done this and why they persist with it. They still need to answer very serious questions about this. Just what the f**k are they playing at?

[parsforlife]

4 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

. A win tomorrow isn't enough.

serious questions about this. Just what the f**k are they playing at?

Picked out the two key points for me.

1. Absolutely.  Typically 4th requires about 1.5 points per game, 1st 2 points a game.   Those are the two main targets of this club. The first being the minimum standard we should accept from any manager.

To be on 1.5 points per game at the half way point we need to win 7 of the next 8.  That’s how far behind we are of an acceptable standard.  

The earliest chance we have to get to 2 points a game is be winning out next 14(fourteen) matches.

2. this is the biggest question and I’d love to have an answer.

[101]

32 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

We all know plenty of folk who didn't renew or buy a season ticket once Grant was announced.

When we were changing over the season tickets reservations on the seats I would say for everyone we took off we put a new one on. 

[smpar]

Picked out the two key points for me.
1. Absolutely.  Typically 4th requires about 1.5 points per game, 1st 2 points a game.   Those are the two main targets of this club. The first being the minimum standard we should accept from any manager.
To be on 1.5 points per game at the half way point we need to win 7 of the next 8.  That’s how far behind we are of an acceptable standard.  
The earliest chance we have to get to 2 points a game is be winning out next 14(fourteen) matches.
2. this is the biggest question and I’d love to have an answer.

Yep. I’d love to know if the board *genuinely* believe we can get 14 wins and 6 draws from our remaining 25 games.

I’d also love to know exactly what ‘evidence’ they may have to believe that kind of form is in any way likely.

We should accept absolutely nothing less than a top 4 finish, and the fact that that is so extremely unlikely after just 10 games is a fucking disgrace.

The more I think about the entire situation at the club right now, the more angry, confused and disconnected from the club I begin to feel.

[Cardle is Magic]

Even the talk about Top 4 is a bit daft tbh; we finished 4th under Crawford and I’d argue it’s an easier league this time out. We should have been at least challenging for the title.

Since the play-offs started, no side that’s finished 4th has even won the opening tie, never mind got promoted. Which isn’t surprising really, as 4th in a league of 10 is basically a mid table effort.

[parsforlife]

6 hours ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Even the talk about Top 4 is a bit daft tbh; we finished 4th under Crawford and I’d argue it’s an easier league this time out. We should have been at least challenging for the title.

Since the play-offs started, no side that’s finished 4th has even won the opening tie, never mind got promoted. Which isn’t surprising really, as 4th in a league of 10 is basically a mid table effort.

That's why I consider it a minimum standard. Its not a particularly good season,  but if we were to finish 4th and have a good effort at the play-offs,  developed youth players, or maybe had a cup run it would be something we can get behind.  

[CallumPar]

Even the talk about Top 4 is a bit daft tbh; we finished 4th under Crawford and I’d argue it’s an easier league this time out. We should have been at least challenging for the title.
Since the play-offs started, no side that’s finished 4th has even won the opening tie, never mind got promoted. Which isn’t surprising really, as 4th in a league of 10 is basically a mid table effort.

100% agree with this. For me, 4th is mid table. Whether you get a playoff spot or not, 4th in a 10 team league isn’t impressive and certainly doesn’t merit a chance at promotion. The manager and chairman clearly stated in pre-season that we were targeting the title. To shift that target to mid-table within the first quarter, without acknowledging that the wrong man was put in charge is just mental. If we sack Grant soon, I think the new manager should be told top 4 this year and challenge for the title next year are the expectations.

[Stoo61]

Here, youse aren't actually talking about finishing top 4? 

[parsforlife]

2 hours ago, CallumPar said:

100% agree with this. For me, 4th is mid table. Whether you get a playoff spot or not, 4th in a 10 team league isn’t impressive and certainly doesn’t merit a chance at promotion. The manager and chairman clearly stated in pre-season that we were targeting the title. To shift that target to mid-table within the first quarter, without acknowledging that the wrong man was put in charge is just mental. If we sack Grant soon, I think the new manager should be told top 4 this year and challenge for the title next year are the expectations.

Top 4 at this stage requires near title winning form from the start for a new manager. A tough ask.

Realistically we have fucked things that badly 8th would be 'success' at this point.

[Chubbychops]

The season was ruined the day Peter Grant walked in the front door with his harebrained ideas and awful decisions in the transfer market. Complete disaster of an appointment

Avoiding relegation is all I'm looking for after the shambolic decision making from the board and football management team. Stay up then there should be a major review of how decision making is approved on footballing matters going forward. 

[CallumPar]

Top 4 at this stage requires near title winning form from the start for a new manager. A tough ask.
Realistically we have fucked things that badly 8th would be 'success' at this point.

Hadn’t done the maths when I sent that. We would need a minimum of 1.8 ppg from this point to get top 4. Fail to win our next 2 games and it very quickly goes up to around 2ppg required, over a 24 game period. Based on that, I have to agree it’s not possible.

For survival, we’ll likely need around 40 points. At this stage that will require 1.3ppg. Given we currently average 0.6ppg, that’s going to be unlikely under Grant. Given we haven’t won a game yet, it’s easy to work out that our point average over any run of games will be below 1ppg right now.