The Arbroath Thread

[lichtiekev]

Would prefer Hester to be in the squad over some of the Strikers we have seen lately, 

Would prefer him over Shanks too, Yeh Shanks is young and has some potential but Hester is only 27 and probably would be on similar wages 

[RedLichtie86]

Just looked over Hesters stats for his time at Arbroath and Elgin.

For every 145mins on the pitch he got a goal.

Recent strikerd have been far far worse than that

[1320Lichtie]

4 minutes ago, RedLichtie86 said:

Just looked over Hesters stats for his time at Arbroath and Elgin.

For every 145mins on the pitch he got a goal.

Recent strikerd have been far far worse than that

Seen him score a lot of good goals too in fairness. Said on Cove thread I think him being here before is clouding my judgement of him but 5 years of regular games and scoring a lot of goals would make him one of the best part time strikers out there on paper. 
 

 

[ExiledLichtie]

Fun fact, Shanks scored as many goals as Hilson this season.  Are we just scrapheaping him now?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arbroath/top-scorers

[Tattie36]

I wasn’t going to get involved in the Hester chat but I couldn’t resist. I was unsure before but the more I think about it, the more I would like to see us sign him.

Does anyone think that any of the “strikers” we’ve signed in the last couple of seasons (not including loans) would score anything like 20+ goals for a struggling L2 side? Especially with all the off-field distractions? Not a chance in hell. How many would he have scored for a team on the front foot, Stirling for example, and not a team struggling for survival?

Any player with his stats should be given a chance at a higher level and I can’t see any reason why he couldn’t score a few in the Championship. Dundee have signed Charlie Reilly from Albion Rovers ffs. So they obviously think he has the ability and potential to do well coming from the worst team in L2 to the Premiership. Reilly’s more than likely one for the future and will probably go out on loan but still, everyone has to start somewhere.

Back to Hester - I watched him for Elgin last season and he’s not the same skinny wee laddie that played for us before. He’s bulked up and is pretty physical and definitely has a natural eye for goal. Even though he never scored when I saw him, he was involved in everything and had a load of decent chances, a few created almost single handedly. He is far too good for L2.

Even though I don’t think he’ll be banging in 20+ goals at this level, I reckon he’s definitely worth taking a chance on. Hester, Austin and Shanks sounds like a far more exciting strike force than what we’ve put up with recently.

[1320Lichtie]

8 minutes ago, ExiledLichtie said:

Fun fact, Shanks scored as many goals as Hilson this season.  Are we just scrapheaping him now?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arbroath/top-scorers

Don’t think anyone’s doing that it’s just clear that at this stage Hester would be a better option than him right now. Hilson is a funny one, a proper enigma his scoring record is pretty terrible but just watching games you can see how good he can be for the team. 

[afc_36_0]

21 minutes ago, ExiledLichtie said:

Fun fact, Shanks scored as many goals as Hilson this season.  Are we just scrapheaping him now?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arbroath/top-scorers

Grim viewing that when your second top scorer is a left back.

I like shanks, I just think highland league to championship is too big a jump and although he got plenty of game time in league 1 he was part of a very poor peterhead side. Depending on our signings it would be good for him to go on loan to a team like montrose for half a season, he definitely has potential though and in hindsight should never have been put out on loan.

[clashcityrocker]

I think we will be aiming to sign 3 strikers before the start of the season ( along with loan players) - I would expect Hester to be a better fit than any of strikers we had this season - but have not seen him playing in recent years.

Should we sign him ? Yes, he has speed, ability and is a proven goal scorer and would give DC more options up front.

Edited May 11, 2023 by clashcityrocker

[Lichtie78]

3 minutes ago, afc_36_0 said:

Grim viewing that when your second top scorer is a left back.

I like shanks, I just think highland league to championship is too big a jump and although he got plenty of game time in league 1 he was part of a very poor peterhead side. Depending on our signings it would be good for him to go on loan to a team like montrose for half a season, he definitely has potential though and in hindsight should never have been put out on loan.

If we are keen on Hester I wouldn't be surprised to see us offer Shanks on loan?

[Arbroath36.0!]

I'm all for the hester bandwagon...Mon come back to gayf Mr Hester 

[TheRoundO]

2 hours ago, RedLichtie86 said:

And what style would that be? Lump it up the park to a target man like we did all season. Then yes he wouldnt fit that.

But maybe. Just maybe. We might be looking to change that for next season. Possibly have different options in the team to give us more tactical choices.

 

Yes please.

[lichtiemike]

I have to admit I have my reservations about Hester, has he really proven himself in Iceland or the Uzbekistani Prem? 

[timlichtie]

2 minutes ago, lichtiemike said:

I have to admit I have my reservations about Hester, has he really proven himself in Iceland or the Uzbekistani Prem? 

Agree. Nothing on YouTube worth watching.

[Tattie36]

18 minutes ago, lichtiemike said:

I have to admit I have my reservations about Hester, has he really proven himself in Iceland or the Uzbekistani Prem? 

Yeah, sure he can control the ball and score goals but how fast can he even run 100m? Hopeless.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Tattie36

[Smokerson]

We should be looking for someone in the same mould as Anton Dowds / Jack Hamilton / Craig Whighton not shanks and Hester. 

Hilson has done well the past few months but just doesnt score enough and Adwarka looked good but injury prone. Confident Dick has learned his lessons from the other duds.

 

[Tattie36]

27 minutes ago, Smokerson said:

We should be looking for someone in the same mould as Anton Dowds / Jack Hamilton / Craig Whighton not shanks and Hester. 

Hilson has done well the past few months but just doesnt score enough and Adwarka looked good but injury prone. Confident Dick has learned his lessons from the other duds.

 

Apples and oranges. I think we would all agree that players of that calibre would be great and hopefully we get one or two quality loans.

However, we’re talking about actual signings, players that are ours and that won’t be recalled by their club after 3/4 months, leaving us back at square 1.

IMO loans should be to complement what we already have and are the cherry on top. I think it would be great to get to the January window knowing that we have a core of decent strikers/players without relying on the lottery of loans.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Tattie36

[1320Lichtie]

9 minutes ago, Tattie36 said:

Apples and oranges. I think we would all agree that players of that calibre would be great and hopefully we get one or two quality loans.

However, we’re talking about actual signings, players that are ours and that won’t be recalled by their club after 3/4 months, leaving us back at square 1.

IMO loans should be to complement what we already have and are the cherry on top. I think it would be great to get to the January window knowing that we have a core or decent strikers/players without relying on the lottery of loans.

Yeah agree we were kind of hanging on and holding out for Innes Cameron or Euan Henderson etc last year and ended up playing Daniel Fosu upfront for an extended period of time because we never managed to bring anyone in at all on loan uptop last year. 
 

 

[Leicesterlichtie]

Ok, big question. Why did DC let Hester go in the first place?

1)Obviously thought he wasn't good enough.

2)Didn't notice any potential.

3)Another poor management decision. 

[1320Lichtie]

10 minutes ago, Leicesterlichtie said:

Ok, big question. Why did DC let Hester go in the first place?

1)Obviously thought he wasn't good enough.

2)Didn't notice any potential.

3)Another poor management decision. 

5 years has passed. A whole lot of player development can take place in 5 years. 
 

I love how you’ve put point 3 as - another poor management decision 

 

Imagine the long list of great management decisions there will have been in 

 

15/16 - keeping us safe in League 2

16/17 - winning League 2 

17/18 - 4th in League 1 and promotion play offs for Championship 

18/19 - winning League 1

19/20 - finishing 5th in Championship

20/21 - 7th In Championship 

21/22 - 2nd in Championship and promotion play offs for Premiership 

22/23 - 8th in Championship 

 

I know last year was frustrating and a lot of mistakes were made but come on now that kind of criticism is just mental for me - ‘another poor management decision’ - like his entire tenure has been full of them when he’s achieved an absolutely ridiculous amount here and completely transformed the club we support. 
 

Who or what in any walk of life has year after year of endless flawless success? Nobody. We or Dick Campbell aren’t any different
 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by 1320Lichtie

[Smokerson]

2 hours ago, Leicesterlichtie said:

Ok, big question. Why did DC let Hester go in the first place?

1)Obviously thought he wasn't good enough.

2)Didn't notice any potential.

3)Another poor management decision. 

Not really, he just wasnt good enough. Now scoring a few goals against Albion Rovers and Bonnyrigg Rose doesnt mean he is going to light up the championship. It may have been Kane himself that wanted to leave to get games.