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4 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:
23 minutes ago, FifeSons said:
Other than yesterday and Forfar (where we still took a point), I don't think we've played that badly in the league. Falkirk outclassed us and are a superior side to everyone in the league (despite today's result), but we still should've scored a few. We deserved far more than 0 points from East Fife and Peterhead. Partick was a tough watch, and you can disagree with how we approached it, but the players did the job they were asked to do and defended well.
We have the best goalkeeper in the league and two of the best central midfielders. Its a tight league and I don't think we'll be far off either play-offs, but I don't see Duffy taking us down.

The 'defending well' bit is the only club we currently have in the golf bag. Thistle blew a penalty and Dabrowski played heroically, Cove pounded us in the last twenty five minutes, with Clyde having already done so for forty five and Airdrie for eighty five before that. We never conceded in any of them but you simply cannot go through a season on that basis. A fact which Montrose took six minutes to remind us of yesterday.

I don't agree with that. Those were both games we played well in and deserved to win.

Clearly there are problems to fix, namely scoring goals, and its up to Duffy to fix it.

Let's see where we are after the four home games. I think that will be a fairer reflection of things.

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2 minutes ago, BallochSonsFan said:

What is our best starting 11? Genuine question because even the 11 I'd pick would have a few issues.

Mine would be:

Dabrowski; Quitongo, McGeever; Neill; Wardrop; McCluskey; Carswell; Wedderburn; Crossan; Wilson; Frizzell.

I'm not a huge fan of McCluskey and I don't know how fit he is, but at least he's a natural winger. I don't think that's that bad a team. Like I say, its a winger and striker short for me.

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32 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

We have the best goalkeeper in the league and two of the best central midfielders. Its a tight league and I don't think we'll be far off either play-offs, but I don't see Duffy taking us down.

Surely not? The 'keeper is good but I don't think he is anywhere near the best in the league. I assume you mean Wedderburn and (maybe) Carswell?? Wedderburn is a good player but there is a reason he is at Dumbarton and not playing for even Partick or Falkirk at this same level. Carswell hasn't really kicked his arse for a long, long time in my opinion. He was poor the whole of last season and apart from a couple of reasonable performances (at centre half) hasn't been up to speed this year. Far from being one of the best midfielders in the league.

Apologies if it is someone else you are referring to.

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5 minutes ago, squeezeboxson said:

Surely not? The 'keeper is good but I don't think he is anywhere near the best in the league. I assume you mean Wedderburn and (maybe) Carswell?? Wedderburn is a good player but there is a reason he is at Dumbarton and not playing for even Partick or Falkirk at this same level. Carswell hasn't really kicked his arse for a long, long time in my opinion. He was poor the whole of last season and apart from a couple of reasonable performances (at centre half) hasn't been up to speed this year. Far from being one of the best midfielders in the league.

Apologies if it is someone else you are referring to.

Yep, those were all who I'm referring to. Completely down to opinions, and mine could be complete nonsense, but that's how I see it.

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40 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Edinburgh City will hands-down also have a bigger budget. It would not shock me in the slightest if say one of Elgin, Stenny or Stirling's was too. We suffer from owner's who don't contribute a penny, which is not hard to beat, and our location, with the gruesome twosome taking all footballing interest in our large catchment area.

We had the same owners when we finished 5th in the Championship. We're doing something very wrong if half of League 2 has a bigger budget than us.

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1 minute ago, The Moonster said:

We had the same owners when we finished 5th in the Championship. We're doing something very wrong if half of League 2 has a bigger budget than us.

Yeah, that's a fair point, but we also had Championship prize money, much bigger crowds and Ian Murray/Jack Ross.

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13 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Yeah, that's a fair point, but we also had Championship prize money, much bigger crowds and Ian Murray/Jack Ross.

We've got higher prize money and more fans streaming games than every side in League 2. Nobody in League 2 will have Thistle/Falkirk levels tuning in and I'm not aware of any owners outside of Queens Park with money to burn. We have excellent sponsors and we crowdfunded a shitload of money, there's just no way we should be competing with a bottom end League 2 budget this season.

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2 hours ago, FifeSons said:

That's fair enough and understandable. 

What I do find baffling though (not saying this is the case with you, @optimistic) is people saying they won't bother paying to watch the team or spend money the way they usually would when the club is struggling most (i.e. "this is shite, I won't be back until we're good again"). How on earth do folk like that think the club is going to move forwards without all the financial backing we can possibly get from fans?

The fact is we have a group of hard-core fans that will donate, pay money and help the club when they can. We rely a lot on getting new punters in the door/signing up for streams etc. Do you honestly think new punters are going to watch us and think "yep, that's worth my money every week"? They aren't. I dont expect us to play like Barcelona every week, and I'm a huge advocate for seeing football played in different ways as long as its successful. Everyone should play to their strengths. But we do neither, its not pretty and its not successful. Everyone has different priorities with money right now so I dont think its fair to have a go at people for not putting money into the club, some aren't as fortunate as others. Unfortunately DFC will be low down a lot of peoples priority lists and the grim watching on and off the field isn't going to propel it up that list in any way.

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35 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Mine would be:

Dabrowski; Quitongo, McGeever; Neill; Wardrop; McCluskey; Carswell; Wedderburn; Crossan; Wilson; Frizzell.

I'm not a huge fan of McCluskey and I don't know how fit he is, but at least he's a natural winger. I don't think that's that bad a team. Like I say, its a winger and striker short for me.

I dont think he is.

I saw him a few times for Pollok. Always seemed to be at his best when he was playing through the middle because his pace running at centre halves was a real problem. His final ball from the wings isnt great so for me Stefan isnt a winger. Inside forward maybe, particularly if he could rely on his fullback doing the crossing for him.

That said, McCluskey is the one borderline player I'd have in my starting 11. Either a 4-3-3 if I had Hamilton ahead of McCluskey or a 4-2-3-1 if it was Stefan ahead of Hamilton. I think we really need to see Crossan and Frizzell as inside forwards - starting wide and coming in to support the striker. Wilson looks the most capable of our forward options. Still not a team that fills me with a bag of confidence, but Forbes should be nowhere near the starting 11 and neither Johnstone nor Jones look capable of scoring the goals we need to keep us up.

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13 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

We've got higher prize money and more fans streaming games than every side in League 2. Nobody in League 2 will have Thistle/Falkirk levels tuning in and I'm not aware of any owners outside of Queens Park with money to burn. We have excellent sponsors and we crowdfunded a shitload of money, there's just no way we should be competing with a bottom end League 2 budget this season.

The gap between L1/L2 is much smaller than between CH/L1 in terms of both prize money and crowds. 

The thing that sets teams apart at this level is either having a (2012-2014) Ian Murray/Stewart Petrie or a wealthy backer. Crowds and prize money are much of a muchness between the majority of L1/L2 sides.

Edited by FifeSons
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1 hour ago, squeezeboxson said:

Surely not? The 'keeper is good but I don't think he is anywhere near the best in the league. I assume you mean Wedderburn and (maybe) Carswell?? Wedderburn is a good player but there is a reason he is at Dumbarton and not playing for even Partick or Falkirk at this same level. Carswell hasn't really kicked his arse for a long, long time in my opinion. He was poor the whole of last season and apart from a couple of reasonable performances (at centre half) hasn't been up to speed this year. Far from being one of the best midfielders in the league.

Apologies if it is someone else you are referring to.

Really?

There is a good standard of keeper in this league, namely PJ Morrison, Robbie Mutch, David Mitchell and Max Currie. But I wouldn't swap any of them for Kevin. If he's not the best he's certainly in the top top or three. There's no chance I'd say he was nowhere near the levels of the guys mentioned above.

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I'm not having a go at people who are struggling financially for not backing the club, simply pointing out that I don't understand the logic behind people who support the club choosing to withdraw their support when the club needs it most.

ETA: This actually reminds me about some wee guy on the FB group a while ago saying he doesn't see why he should give money to the club when its in trouble because they don't give him money when he's in trouble! 🤣

Edited by FifeSons
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3 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Really?

There is a good standard of keeper in this league, namely PJ Morrison, Robbie Mutch, David Mitchell and Max Currie. But I wouldn't swap any of them for Kevin. If he's not the best he's certainly in the top top or three. There's no chance I'd say he was nowhere near the levels of the guys mentioned above.

Perhaps I was harsh to say nowhere near the best. What I guess I meant was - in my opinion he certainly isn't the number 1. I, personally, would have 3 of the 4 you mentioned but just because I think they are a bit better (more experienced!) doesn't mean I want to swap them for Dabrowski. I think he is a good young 'keeper who is a bit raw and has potential to improve a lot.

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2 hours ago, FifeSons said:

I'm not having a go at people who are struggling financially for not backing the club, simply pointing out that I don't understand the logic behind people who support the club choosing to withdraw their support when the club needs it most.

ETA: This actually reminds me about some wee guy on the FB group a while ago saying he doesn't see why he should give money to the club when its in trouble because they don't give him money when he's in trouble! 🤣

People can withdraw their financial support whenever they like, its their perogative. If its because they are skint, or they don't like the way the team plays, or the banging if a drum, or Jim Duffy, or Brabco (the list goes on) then its their choice. Credit indeed to those who choose to back the club regardless, others won't. The club, like any other business should be self sustainable and not rely on donations from fans and fans going out their way to do fundraising. I totally understand that we are living in tough and unprecedented times etc. If we solely rely on fans raising x amount of pounds per year then eventually that money will dry up and we will be doomed! I like many others appreciate your stance on giving financial support to the club whenever and whatever the cause. Others won't understand it and will think you are mad.

 

That comment from FB.....wow? Did someone actually say that?

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On 12/12/2020 at 23:08, aftershocker said:
On 12/12/2020 at 19:47, sarti pooh said:
Unfortunately Pixellot isn't compatible with smart tvs  emoji20.png

Seriously?

 

On 13/12/2020 at 12:10, BallochSonsFan said:

Does it work with chrimecast/miracast?

If it won't play on a smart TV directly but will play on a tablet then the answer could be to mirror the tablet screen using Miracast/Chromecast.

If you have an HDMI cable you can also plug it into your device and tele and it will work through that. We use Pixellot as well and that's what I've been doing. Has worked with no issues every time. 

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19 minutes ago, pleslie99 said:

People can withdraw their financial support whenever they like, its their perogative. If its because they are skint, or they don't like the way the team plays, or the banging if a drum, or Jim Duffy, or Brabco (the list goes on) then its their choice. Credit indeed to those who choose to back the club regardless, others won't. The club, like any other business should be self sustainable and not rely on donations from fans and fans going out their way to do fundraising. I totally understand that we are living in tough and unprecedented times etc. If we solely rely on fans raising x amount of pounds per year then eventually that money will dry up and we will be doomed! I like many others appreciate your stance on giving financial support to the club whenever and whatever the cause. Others won't understand it and will think you are mad.

 

That comment from FB.....wow? Did someone actually say that?

Yep, of course, its just a mentality I can't personally understand.

I'm pretty certain they did, though someone else may be able to confirm!

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19 hours ago, BallochSonsFan said:

I dont think he is.

I saw him a few times for Pollok. Always seemed to be at his best when he was playing through the middle because his pace running at centre halves was a real problem. His final ball from the wings isnt great so for me Stefan isnt a winger. Inside forward maybe, particularly if he could rely on his fullback doing the crossing for him.

That said, McCluskey is the one borderline player I'd have in my starting 11. Either a 4-3-3 if I had Hamilton ahead of McCluskey or a 4-2-3-1 if it was Stefan ahead of Hamilton. I think we really need to see Crossan and Frizzell as inside forwards - starting wide and coming in to support the striker. Wilson looks the most capable of our forward options. Still not a team that fills me with a bag of confidence, but Forbes should be nowhere near the starting 11 and neither Johnstone nor Jones look capable of scoring the goals we need to keep us up.

I actually think Hamilton could be pretty good for us, but him getting shunted all over the place really isn't good for his development. If I was Neilson, I'd definitely be in Duffy's ear.

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Totally changing the subject a wee bit, but I spoke to Craig Brittain earlier in the month for the Lennox - and it's now online.  I hadn't realised that how disappointed he was to leave Sons and I was absolutely gutted when he explained how his departure ended up happening. It would've been great to have him involved on the coaching staff back then.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/dumbarton-hero-craig-brittain-admits-23189576

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I actually get annoyed every time I think about our squad. I didn't think Duffy could've topped the unbalanced mess we began last season with but he's out-Duffied himself this year.

1 minute ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Totally changing the subject a wee bit, but I spoke to Craig Brittain earlier in the month for the Lennox - and it's now online.  I hadn't realised that how disappointed he was to leave Sons and I was absolutely gutted when he explained how his departure ended up happening. It would've been great to have him involved on the coaching staff back then.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/dumbarton-hero-craig-brittain-admits-23189576

Chapman and Aitken are very similar characters, both went through good spells then lost the plot, both have been bitter since leaving, and it's been exposed that both treating clubs legends with very little respect. 

It's a real shame Brittso couldn't have continued coaching with us. He'd probably still be working for us if we'd given him that chance. Piss poor.

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9 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Totally changing the subject a wee bit, but I spoke to Craig Brittain earlier in the month for the Lennox - and it's now online.  I hadn't realised that how disappointed he was to leave Sons and I was absolutely gutted when he explained how his departure ended up happening. It would've been great to have him involved on the coaching staff back then.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/dumbarton-hero-craig-brittain-admits-23189576

I always forget he was still technically a Sons player when we won the league. Gutting he wasn't around to collect a winners' medal. A true legend and one of my all-time favourite Sons' players.

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