The Arbroath Thread

[ExiledLichtie]

51 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

Mate the guy is 26 years old and has played 42 games. Who have Raith Rovers got that’s even anywhere near similar to that, or to Fosu / Corfe / Isiaka? 
 

Every signing DC makes like the above and Bakare / Ford just makes me lose faith in him even more, this isn’t how Dick got to where he is today. It’s the exact opposite of how he got here.
 

All of our successful signings have been steady solid lower league players, none of them tearing up trees just good guys and steady footballers. Players you want to keep around the place, our success has been built up with consistency and a strong team spirit built up over time with guys like that. 
 

These short term random gambles just reek of desperation, there is absolutely zero stability with any of them, the chances that any of these guys will be here a year from now is extremely low. I would love this guy to be good but on paper this is just up there with the rest of them, 26 years old and 27 games played in the last 6 years. 
 

He seems to be a YouTube footballer, extremely skeptical that’ll transfer well into the Scottish Championship… Deri Corfe would be good on the old YouTube I bet…. Acted as a body double for Neymar, great, let’s go sign that boy fae Goal and the lassie from Bend it Like Beckham while we’re at it 
 

 

What did Bakare do wrong?  He had one start in his entire time here, in which he looked pretty good (game against Morton near the end of the season).  Guy barely had a chance.  And yet if you ask some of our fans, he seems to be one of our worst ever signings.  

You know, Arsene Wenger used to say that he gave foreign signings a year to adapt.  Here, its apparently 3 games.  What has Isiaka done wrong?  And Fosu, who has played plenty of games and looks fine. Corfe hasn't been brilliant so far to be fair, but the way you spin it, everyone who isnt Scottish is apparently a disaster for us.

And now you have this guy, who was one of those racially abused by Beardsley, and was rewarded for coming forward by coincidentally not having his contract extended.  He might give us something different, he might not be a success, but no doubt you've made your mind up before he even gets near a football pitch.

And why don't you have a look at the Raith thread.  They've taken a punt on a Faeroese striker, seemingly as there are no goalscorers in the Scottish league (sound familiar?).  He's barely arrived, and already their fans are sceptical.

[1320Lichtie]

52 minutes ago, ExiledLichtie said:

What did Bakare do wrong?  He had one start in his entire time here, in which he looked pretty good (game against Morton near the end of the season).  Guy barely had a chance.  And yet if you ask some of our fans, he seems to be one of our worst ever signings.  

You know, Arsene Wenger used to say that he gave foreign signings a year to adapt.  Here, its apparently 3 games.  What has Isiaka done wrong?  And Fosu, who has played plenty of games and looks fine. Corfe hasn't been brilliant so far to be fair, but the way you spin it, everyone who isnt Scottish is apparently a disaster for us.

And now you have this guy, who was one of those racially abused by Beardsley, and was rewarded for coming forward by coincidentally not having his contract extended.  He might give us something different, he might not be a success, but no doubt you've made your mind up before he even gets near a football pitch.

And why don't you have a look at the Raith thread.  They've taken a punt on a Faeroese striker, seemingly as there are no goalscorers in the Scottish league (sound familiar?).  He's barely arrived, and already their fans are sceptical.

A better question would’ve been what did Bakare actually do? It was a total waste of a signing

 

And we don’t have the luxury of allowing anyone a year to adapt, fucking hell, our situation and Arsenals situation isn’t even remotely similar?

 

And Fosu needs to do more than be ok, he just looks like he fits in. Corfe / Fosu / Isiaka / Shanks / El Mhanni all these guys play in areas that need to score goals and create chances. End of 

 

And can you stop trying to insinuate that the reason these signings are getting criticised is because these guys aren’t Scottish? It’s very weird 

 

That Faroese striker is ONE player, one punt, not 5/6 of their squad. The guys also played International football 4 times 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by 1320Lichtie

[lichtie23]

Fosu has not been ok. He’s been ok in 1 game. 

[1320Lichtie]

10 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

Fosu has not been ok. He’s been ok in 1 game. 

I would tend to agree too, he’s looked fit enough and not totally out of his depth but we need much more than that, he has contributed very little in any meaningful way

 

Also just to touch on what Exiled Lichtie said I’ve not written anyone off I would love to win 3-0 the night with Fosu, Corfe and Isiaka scoring but basic common sense tells you that is not happening. Before we signed them basic common sense told you that they’d probably struggle. I thought we would just run with maybe one or two of them and see what like but it’s scary we’ve filled our forward areas with players like this 

 

New guy fits the mould of all of the above and gives off red flags right away 

[Lichtie78]

1 hour ago, ExiledLichtie said:

What did Bakare do wrong?  He had one start in his entire time here, in which he looked pretty good (game against Morton near the end of the season).  Guy barely had a chance.  And yet if you ask some of our fans, he seems to be one of our worst ever signings.  

You know, Arsene Wenger used to say that he gave foreign signings a year to adapt.  Here, its apparently 3 games.  What has Isiaka done wrong?  And Fosu, who has played plenty of games and looks fine. Corfe hasn't been brilliant so far to be fair, but the way you spin it, everyone who isnt Scottish is apparently a disaster for us.

And now you have this guy, who was one of those racially abused by Beardsley, and was rewarded for coming forward by coincidentally not having his contract extended.  He might give us something different, he might not be a success, but no doubt you've made your mind up before he even gets near a football pitch.

And why don't you have a look at the Raith thread.  They've taken a punt on a Faeroese striker, seemingly as there are no goalscorers in the Scottish league (sound familiar?).  He's barely arrived, and already their fans are sceptical.

Yeah right enough everyone thought nouble was a disaster last season, and you've ignored everyone saying how well Bitsindou has started. What a load of absolute shite you are speaking, the point is that these players have never played in Scotland before and will need time to adapt (if they manage) rather than slot straight into the first team, which is what we need. Point about Bakare is absolutely laughable if he was any good he might've started more than one game heard enough about his fitness to know that he was nowhere near the level required. 

[danlichtie]

I don't buy this line about people not willing to give the new players a chance. Absolutely they will be supported, but the signs don't look great.

Deri Corfe has 0 goals from 141 minutes of football (out of 900 minutes possible)

Danny Fosu has 0 goals from 641 minutes of football (out of 1350 minutes possible)

Kareem Isiaka has 0 goals from 34 minutes of football (out of 450 minutes possible)

Either these players are not fit, not trusted, or are not at the required level. This is now our fourth signing of this nature while we sit rooted to the bottom of the league. Concern is obviously understandable - we finished 2nd last season FFS.

 

[1320Lichtie]

You can defend these types of signings all you want but the proof is in the pudding and having a go at guys like myself and others who are criticising the signings is just bizarre. We would all absolutely love to be wrong but so far 10 games… speaks for itself. We are very much reliant on the guys that were here last season and our loans 

 

Fans have put a lot of money into the football club, Dick has been given a healthy budget by the board 

 

The minimum I expect is guys who don’t look out of their depth at this level and guys who can actually play in the Scottish Leagues. Our bench recently has been absolutely grim, full of guys who can’t make an impact or who are not trusted to make an impact because they’re not even getting the opportunities. That’s unacceptable 

Edited October 19, 2022 by 1320Lichtie

[lichtie23]

I just want someone other than Bobby Linn to score tonight……. Or have a shot on target 

[SotesBornalichtie]

I don't think it's fair to judge players on 10 minute appearances here and there in occasional games. They really need to be given much more time on the pitch to see if they can fit in the team and make any sort of contribution.

Sadly the position we are in at present doesn't allow for that to happen. If we were winning games and in the top half of the table we could give Corfe, Isiaki, etc maybe a full half without too much pressure on them, but we don't have that luxury. So we are stuck with playing Hilson as a pretty much lone striker and hoping that goals will come. Hilson has been much improved this season but needs the ball played to his feet, especially when he's up against big defenders.

So this new guy will maybe get a few minutes near of a game and not be able to make any more of an impact that the other signings have and we will be no further forward than we are at the moment. But I really hope I'm wrong about that.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by SotesBornalichtie

[1320Lichtie]

14 minutes ago, SotesBornalichtie said:

I don't think it's fair to judge players on 10 minute appearances here and there in occasional games. They really need to be given much more time on the pitch to see if they can fit in the team and make any sort of contribution.

Sadly the position we are in at present doesn't allow for that to happen. If we were winning games and in the top half of the table we could give Corfe, Isiaki, etc maybe a full half without too much pressure on them, but we don't have that luxury. So we are stuck with playing Hilson as a pretty much lone striker and hoping that goals will come. Hilson has been much improved this season but needs the ball played to his feet, especially when he's up against big defenders.

So this new guy will maybe get a few minutes near of a game and not be able to make any more of an impact that the other signings have and we will be no further forward than we are at the moment. But I really hope I'm wrong about that.

 

The thing is if they were any good they would be playing more because as like you have just said recently our only real option has been Hilson with Mikey out injured. The fact they are not getting that much time is a concern in itself, think we have lowered our standards a lot too.
 

Seen plenty of Corfe and I read some people saying he’d done well when he came on against Cove. I think I even said that but in hindsight and actually thinking about it he did absolutely zero except hit a shot 20 yards over the bar, took one good corner and then skinned a guy before passing it to their keeper. People including myself are going out their way trying to find positives. Don’t think anyone has been overly harsh or too quick to judge 
 

If we win games of football too nobody cares about any of this but when results have been as bad as they are these glaring flaws and weaknesses in the squad will be brought up

 

Morton was good, Dundee was good and QP was decent, 3 out of last 4 games I don’t have any complaints but we need to start picking up results. These next 3 games are huge for me

 

 

[Smokerson]

Id still applaud our thinking out the box strategy but there’s no doubting it’s been a real mixed bag so far. We’ve brought in 11 new players since the end of last season and I think only 3 have really showed up well. Whether that changes with more time let’s hope so.

Gill - back up keeper

Hancock - back up defender, not better than Hammy

Oakley - been impressed 

Allan - not played enough

Bitsindou - too early but looks decent

Fosu - hopeless 

Jacobs - very  good and getting better

Tait - very good 

Corfe - looks well short for our level 

Isiaka - think he has something and looks a threat when he’s came on

Shanks - again, not at our level 

[Lichtie78]

I think calling Jacobs very good is a massive stretch. Has 2/3 brain farts a game which lead to opposition chances and not that impressed by his all round game either.

 

ETA - definitely improving as the season goes on though

Edited October 19, 2022 by Lichtie78

[ExiledLichtie]

Jacobs is a good example there.  After 1 game, everyone had decided that his legs had gone and he couldnt cut it.  After 3 games, he was still too slow and full of mistakes.  Thanks to injuries and the like, he ended up getting a fair amount of game time, and now we've all decided that actually he is all right after all.

Edited to add, or apparently not all of us!

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by ExiledLichtie

[lichtie23]

Jacobs can be tidy on the ball but then will have an extended spell of not looking anything like a professional footballer. The criticism he has received has been justified IMO

[1320Lichtie]

11 minutes ago, ExiledLichtie said:

Jacobs is a good example there.  After 1 game, everyone had decided that his legs had gone and he couldnt cut it.  After 3 games, he was still too slow and full of mistakes.  Thanks to injuries and the like, he ended up getting a fair amount of game time, and now we've all decided that actually he is all right after all.

Edited to add, or apparently not all of us!

 

It’s not after one game people are saying these things though is it that’s just not true. 
 

What’s really frustrating me as we are having this conversation is the fact that this is by far our poorest window after coming off our best season by far. We will have had a much improved budget and we have 4/5/6 guys in the squad (substantial number for a squad of 20 who are all in attacking areas) who have no long term future here and do not look like they can or will contribute in any meaningful way while they are here.
 

This off season we should’ve been shoring the squad up with steady signings from the Scottish leagues on longer deals and then aiming for our usual 4 loans for that wee bit extra like we have done every single season Dick has been manager.
 

You also just cannot say there weren’t players out there, I was saying to @Lichtie78 on a daily basis that I would’ve taken them or that x y or z would’ve been a good addition to the squad while they were signing for teams further down the food chain but I think we just assumed DC had bigger fish to fry and that maybe after our success last season we were looking higher.
 

I think we were looking higher and for options out of the box which is fine but feel like we’ve completely taken our eye off the ball on the things we are (well Dick and Pink) usually good at which has been the foundation of our success. 
 

Feel sorry for feeling the way I do about El-Mhanni it’s not really fair on the guy but finding this all incredibly frustrating. We were in such a position of strength before a ball was kicked and I feel like the squads much poorer than it’s been for the last 4 years 

[ExiledLichtie]

On 19/08/2022 at 21:42, lichtiekev said:

Jacobs is one of the ones that has to be moved on, very harsh but I bet deep down he knows himself the legs are gone, it was the same situation with Harrison who was played last season just because he was signed buy he cost us goals and points before Hamilton stepped in, 

I think everyone is agreement it should be hilson and donnelly who are obviously well liked by the management team buy unforgettable this is a level to high, if you had donnellys ability with hilsons work rate then there would be a decent player there,

Unfortunately I think it will be Patterson and Shanks tho, still unsure why we signed Corfe who I feel was a panic buy 

 

Just did a quick search, this was mid August.  Legs had gone, apparently.

[Lichtie78]

It really is a wonder we are rooted to the bottom of the table when we have all these seemingly wonderful players. Must admit that on Friday night when jacobs made a c**t of it and forced Gaston into making save of the season, I wasn't thinking "wow he's actually brilliant now!"

[Smokerson]

Yeah on 2nd thoughts, "really good" is probably a stretch but he has been finding his feet recently and on Friday he started the game like a man possessed , he was everywhere, getting to every ball first and offloading it well and  now we are starting to see the player we thought we were getting with the level he had played at.

Its also worth noting that Chris Hamilton isnt getting a game at Dunfermline despite being arguably our best player last season. Players take time to settle. 

[1320Lichtie]

1 hour ago, ExiledLichtie said:

Just did a quick search, this was mid August.  Legs had gone, apparently.

First game was 25th June. So that’s a good 6 / 7?weeks after that. Someone I’ve always stuck up for and given benefit of the doubt, not even one of the signings I’ve criticised at any stage but you cannot deny the fact that he is prone to some big mistakes in the middle of the park that can and have lead to other teams getting good chances. On the whole I would say he’s been ok though and the signing at the time 100 percent made sense and fitted our strategy in terms of recruitment. We had a model and it seems to have been thrown out the window  

Edited October 19, 2022 by 1320Lichtie

[lichtiekev]

I think if everyone was being really honest they would admit the signings haven't been good enough, 

Tait has been the only one who has done enough to deserve any real credit,

Couple of the others have had the odd good game but that's it, 

Corfe, Fosu, Isiaka aren't good enough, 

There was nothing buy praise on here last season and rightly so, but the signings this season deserve critism