The Alloa Athletic Thread

[laughing gravie]

Let's hope we have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Edited December 25, 2021 by laughing gravie

[laughing gravie]

Six minutes gone and 2 down.

BF GTF, please

[liammcintosh01]

Get him to f**k! Had more than enough of this absolute shite, something needs to change!

[Magic Hat]

Come on Mulraney, you completely f****d up with this appointment have the brains and balls to put him down the road. 

[OldCrabbitWasp]

Do we have an aversion to having shots on goal? This is a shambles of a team. 3 defensive midfielders and none can cover the space. Just lumping up hoping they make a mistake.

[Vegetableman]

 

the system has been a shambles for a while , BF does not have the know how to change 

where is Scougall and boyd  ?

[waspyfaeleith]

1 hour ago, Vegetableman said:

 

the system has been a shambles for a while , BF does not have the know how to change 

where is Scougall and boyd  ?

And what the f**k has happened that Trouten can't get near the team.? We need to get rid of BF NOW before he does any more damage. If Mike Mulraney can't see that it isn't working with BF then he needs to take a good look at himself too.

[Taylstheref]

I will await full comment from one of the brave souls who attended this shambles! 

[Vegetableman]

10 minutes ago, waspyfaeleith said:

And what the f**k has happened that Trouten can't get near the team.? We need to get rid of BF NOW before he does any more damage. If Mike Mulraney can't see that it isn't working with BF then he needs to take a good look at himself too.

we don't know do we ? and we don't know why boyd and scougall are missing do we ?

getting to the point where i am past caring now anyway . Mulraney will give the manager till well after january at the very least  our only hope is BF takes flight of his own accord , till then i will be taking a break from this , it is not good for the health .

Edited December 26, 2021 by Vegetableman

[OldCrabbitWasp]

If BF is still the manager after today then it's obvious he is here for the Jan transfer window and the season. I fear we are gonna do a Brechin city with continuous relegations. Is it a coincidence that all subs today were players he didn't sign??? Never looked like getting back into the game and could easily have lost by 4 or 5.

[laughing gravie]

No offence to LeodhasXD, but since the official website was taken over by him, the information not coming from the Indodrill is baffling.

It's grotesquely worse than ever this season since BF took the reins. It's unbelievable how someone supposedly a pundit is so uncooperative in giving post match interviews or simply explaining what went wrong/right/his ambitions for the he club are/why he has systematically dismantled s decent footballing team/nevermind 0plan B, but what his plan S is!

It's a shame his managerial ability isn't matched with his ego or inability to communicate with anyone bar his reflection, we'd be on the verge of a play off place for promotion rather than to avoid relegation. 

[Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)]

We were well beaten today, no complaints about the result. Worst possible start with the 2 goals that looked absolutely preventable. Airdrie bossed much of the first half, Henderson had a good turn and shot but that was all really from an Alloa point of view.

Graham and O'Donnell were hooked at half time. I actually thought Durnan was worse than Andy in the opening half but couldn't complain about the changes at the break.

We were better second half but Airdrie still looked the more likely to score. The Airdrie third was a pearler and they also struck the woodwork 3 times- once from the penalty spot. We had a couple of chances, and Sammon had a great opportunity after Airdrie keeper fumbled but somehow headed over.

Cawley played well and got passmarks but still look really lacking in midfield. Players also look really low on confidence and its starting to really affect them.

A bad day at the office and it's starting to look quite ominous. Next Sundays game is massive against a Falkirk team in similar dire straits.

 

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Father Barrys Sign (Top Half)

[Taylstheref]

2 hours ago, laughing gravie said:

No offence to LeodhasXD, but since the official website was taken over by him, the information not coming from the Indodrill is baffling.

It's grotesquely worse than ever this season since BF took the reins. It's unbelievable how someone supposedly a pundit is so uncooperative in giving post match interviews or simply explaining what went wrong/right/his ambitions for the he club are/why he has systematically dismantled s decent footballing team/nevermind 0plan B, but what his plan S is!

It's a shame his managerial ability isn't matched with his ego or inability to communicate with anyone bar his reflection, we'd be on the verge of a play off place for promotion rather than to avoid relegation. 

Think it's totally unfair of you mate to direct your ire toward Leodhasxd and the lack of information from the club. He to my knowledge is probably not qualified as a PR, spin doctor or marketing executive. He can only produce what he is fed. I'm no polis but I'm guessing if he's not involved in Go fm or the Daily Record he ain't getting much to share with the now long suffering, ticket purchasing small fanbase that we are!

This shambles is football related not comms and marketing. Our, the fans, anger has and should be directed in the first instance to Ferguson. Thereafter if not removed from his post toward the board, chairman and owner. 

This has now gone too far. We have plummeted to our lowest league position in years. His win ratio is a disgrace, his signings equally uninspiring and his total disdain, lack of class and ignorance toward fans and players is clear for all to see.

No matter what I've heard about how hard working he is there is no tangible result on the pitch or within the structure of the club as a whole. The players do not give a toss about him, fact. His rants, arm waving, kneeling down and negative body language, neither would I.

His treatment of the young community kids stinks of arrogance and disrespect. They are the future fans(not players as he has no respect for our young squad members) of this club. If you shut them off now they won't forget that and will not follow the club. There are too many distractions for kids, we need to engage them, not make them make negative comments about the leader/face of the club!!

Serious bridge building is required now. Not one more game to get it right. The time has come to empty this baffoon before his over inflated opinion of himself destroys the fabric and league status of this great wee club. It would not surprise me if he attempts to bring his own son to the party, that would be the icing on the cake.

A new manager NOW in order to stabilise the disaster and rid the club of the wage collectors he has assembled. This coming month is the most important in years, manager wise and player movement wise. Do the right thing board and save us from League 2 football probably with another mass turn around of players.

I don't even wish to be wrong on this front, I'm sick of this and never ever thought I would be willing other teams to beat us. I now want them to nail the lid shut on this absolute disaster soon before it's too late.

Edited December 26, 2021 by McCulloch No.5

[laughing gravie]

I'm not pointing my finger at LeodhasXD, if he hadn't grasped the moment, we'd have hee-haw.

I'm disappointed in the club in general. We seem to have taken more steps backwards than is humanly possible for a community club.

MM has been great for the club, but it's all gone Pete Tong in recent years.

[Mr November]

2 hours ago, Father Barrys Sign (Top Half) said:

We were well beaten today, no complaints about the result. Worst possible start with the 2 goals that looked absolutely preventable. Airdrie bossed much of the first half, Henderson had a good turn and shot but that was all really from an Alloa point of view.

Graham and O'Donnell were hooked at half time. I actually thought Durnan was worse than Andy in the opening half but couldn't complain about the changes at the break.

We were better second half but Airdrie still looked the more likely to score. The Airdrie third was a pearler and they also struck the woodwork 3 times- once from the penalty spot. We had a couple of chances, and Sammon had a great opportunity after Airdrie keeper fumbled but somehow headed over.

Cawley played well and got passmarks but still look really lacking in midfield. Players also look really low on confidence and its starting to really affect them.

A bad day at the office and it's starting to look quite ominous. Next Sundays game is massive against a Falkirk team in similar dire straits.

 

 

I thought Durnan was surprisingly good in both previous games between us this season but today he was back to the Falkirk player we all know and love. He never seemed comfortable with Gallagher and particularly Smith pressing him and was always causing himself and his team mates problems. Andy Graham wasn’t much better as you say, it was a bit sad to see him play like that in such a poor performance but I have no doubt that’s at least partially the manager’s fault. Fernandy Mendy was a good laugh when he came on, almost scoring an own goal within seconds of being on, but he was actually ok most of the time. 

From the outside, like most I was never convinced by Alloa appointing Ferguson and I thought their recruitment was quite poor over the summer. I was surprisingly impressed by them in the game in September, while Airdrie won Alloa definitely played some nice football while dominating possession and I certainly couldn’t have complained if they had taken a point. The game in Alloa was the reverse of that, Alloa were solid defensively and good on the counter and after that I thought they might be able to make a push for the top four. I was expecting another tight game today but Alloa’s performance was a massive drop in standards from the previous two games. As you say, the Alloa players lacked confidence and were a rabble at the back and there was no threat from midfield. The good news is you probably couldn’t pick a better team to have next given your record against them this season and the state they’re in.

[Kevchenko]

First 25 minutes or so was as bad as it’s been all season, and in the end I think we were fortunate it was only 3 they ended up with. 
 

Seemed to be a bit of ball watching with Andy and Durnan for the first and Hutton sold himself on the second, third was a peach of a strike to be fair. 
 

Was pleasantly surprised that Ferguson for once actually made a change of shape early enough, although I would question the personnel change - he could have taken off any of the 3 central midfielders as they were completely bypassed in the first half. Although Gilmour improved in the second, I thought that was probably Robbo and Sena’s poorest performances of the season. 
 

Did think Sammon played well enough when he came on, and he should have scored. Henderson is far too lazy to play up top on his own so hopefully a change of shape comes for a run of games to get Sammon up there with him. 
 

Unfortunately it’s relegation form at the moment and a Dumbarton game in hand win away from being in the relegation playoff spot, he’s more than justifying getting his jotters. 

[KierenAAFC]

The three were not available to play. Trouts hasn’t been fit for a wee while. 

I didn’t see much to give us hope today. Airdrie have come on since we last played them and looked really fluid, we’ve regressed a lot. It’s a worrying picture when we’re not really making any sort of impact on the game until a few half chances when it’s too little too late.

Have to say thought it was very bold to hook Andy. Did play his part in the first goal but no reason to hook him, like mentioned above, the other defenders didn’t cover themselves in glory. Was tough game for Cammy and I did think Sammon would make a difference. He did with nearly a wonderful skilled goal,  albeit he couldn’t take the chance when it fell to him near the end. 
 

It’s pretty grim viewing at the moment. I wonder what January will bring. Thankfully Falkirk are as calamitous as us, so next week should be a barrel of laughs. 

[LeodhasXD]

1 hour ago, laughing gravie said:

I'm not pointing my finger at LeodhasXD, if he hadn't grasped the moment, we'd have hee-haw.

I'm disappointed in the club in general. We seem to have taken more steps backwards than is humanly possible for a community club.

MM has been great for the club, but it's all gone Pete Tong in recent years.

Except the fact that you conflated me with the lack of information. 

I spent lockdown working on a new website mainly because I was bored. John who did the old one, didn't want to do a new website. Fair enough.

Although, John then got covid and soon after tore a ligament. He's only just recently started coming back to games. He used to always collect the manager's post match comments for the programme when he was at games although no grudge he can't do that now as he's not able. 

My priorities lie on showing the football - which is generates a healthy income for the club. I'm far less invested in the usual management cliches. Barry is well drilled with media stuff - he's been doing higher profile stuff all his career and has got bigger fish to fry than us on go radio. I'm either not waiting around for him at games - especially out in the cold when I've been out for 4 hours like today or I'm still streaming the game and then packing up if we're at home so I can enjoy the rest of my weekend without thinking about the football.

I'll speak with Barry on Tuesday for the programme. Which you like to ignore...
I can already predict: "This is the hardest run I've ever been on in management, we're looking to add in the window, we're looking to work hard in training, turn it round"... etc etc. I'm not there to add any more pressure on the manager - I'm not going to harshly criticise any of our players. I'm going to try to be positive - which in the circumstances of today probably only includes that the window is open in 5 days and reinforcements are most likely coming soon. I'll make sure you hear about that.

You can give the "but I emailed the club to volunteer, but they didn't reply."  There's not a volunteer coordinator at the club. I've certainly going to teach anyone how to wipe their own ass. Far less when I couldn't trust them to do it unsupervised.

[Waspie]

At times like this some people lash out at the wrong targets. As Oweny said in an excellent post the other day, Mike Mulraney has been a brilliant owner for us. You're never going to agree with everything a chairman does, but his work in improving the Recs, getting the community more involved, and hiring good managers and backing them has transformed the club. The best decade in the history of Alloa Athletic just wouldn't have happened without him. We are a wee club who have overachieved massively and the chairman has been absolutely key to that. And as for singling out Leodhas, that's utterly bizarre. 

The one problem here is the decision Mike made to hire Barry Ferguson. I think we were all surprised and worried about that one, but hoped the chairman had seen something that made him feel that Ferguson had progressed as a manager. Unfortunately we saw very quickly that he hadn't. Scattergun summer signing policy with several players simply not good enough coming in. Strange team selections and lambasting players from the touchline. Deciding Neil Parry wasn't his number one was never going to be popular with the fans but it was his call and he was entitled to make it. Freezing Neil out and not being open with him was totally unnecessary and caused a lot of bad feeling. Running over to confront the fans at Dumbarton added to that. Our best managers have always succeeded in getting people pulling together. This one from the start seems to have been sowing division. He inherited a great dressing room, albeit it needed freshening up, but one full of players who you could be sure would empty themselves for the club. To turn it into this rudderless mess within a few months, and spend a significant amount of money at the same time, is quite incredible. I'm not convinced he has any of the qualities required to be a good manager. 

It was a mistake appointing Ferguson. Everyone makes mistakes. But the club really need to address the issue now and not allow things to get any worse by allowing Ferguson to oversee the transfer window. 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Waspie

[Generation4]

For me, the saddest thing of all concerning the past two results is that not only was I not surprised, I wasn’t even disappointed. That, actually, is more saddening than losing. I really hope something changes very soon, and that something HAS to be the manager.