The WSC Championship season preview 18-19

[AyrshireTon]

When Saturday Comes does an annual preview of "every" club -  in the four English Leagues and the top flight in Scotland.  Here are the questions they ask this season - let's hear your responses.

 

How will you do this season? We are almost a completely new team this season, so it's hard to say. The play offs may well be beyond us given almost everyone else thinks they can get there too, but I hope that we can at least play beyond February this time. I'll go with 5th.

Which teams did you like and dislike last season? Had to admire Livingston for going up for the second season running, despite them not being great to watch. Disliked Morton in the two months which followed our 2-0 win in Inverness. We'd had a great run of results and proceeded to flush the lot away.

Best moment of last season? Last season ended up being very "meh" so for me it's the false-hope-providing  4-1 win over 10-man St. Mirren at Cappielow on the second week of the season.

Worst moment of last season? Jim Duffy deciding that a home tie against (at the time) promotion rivals Livingston was less important than a cup tie at Parkhead. This forced us to watch the same home defeat by Livi that we'd seen twice already. 

What single act would make your club more popular with the fans? Set up a complaints department which actually listens and then acts on what they're told.

[D'Jaffo]

How will we do this season?  We've made the bold decision to run with basically last years title winning squad plus a few additions in Andy Murdoch, Daniel Harvie and Ross Doohan. Pros of this is that everyone in the squad pretty much knows everyones strengths and weaknesses and they're well gelled together but it remains to be seen how we cope with opposition like Dunfermline, Ross County and Dundee Utd. If the three games we've already played against Championship opposition is anything to go by then I'm confident we'll have a good season and if we get lucky and stay clear of a lot of injuries then I have a sneaky feeling of 4th. However we've had injury issues in the past and although we're ok right now when it gets into the nitty gritty of the season I think we may suffer. I'll say we'll finish 5th.

Which teams did I like and dislike last year? Apart from Ayr? From the handful of games I watched on the tele I really liked Livingston. Although they didn't play the most glamorous of football it was a style I like watching. A lot of grit and determination coupled with really direct back to front football. Also Hibs were impressive when we played them in the cup last season.

Don't think I disliked any teams last season. Maybe Raith. We had a long running battle with them last season for the title and at least 3 of the 4 games were pretty decent spectacles for a neutral viewer and great for an Ayr fan. Think the rivalry was a bit more intense due to us losing the league to them a few years back when they were managed by John McGlynn. 

Best moment of last season? The derby win over Killie was great as were the 2 victories against Raith but I'd have to go with the Albion Rovers game on the last day of the season when we won the league. I'd give anything to relive the last 10 minutes or so of that game and the resulting scenes when the Raith score came through. Utterly brilliant. And this time round I would go to the title party in Harleys instead of having an early night and thinking of work the next day. 

Worst moment of last season? Probably the penultimate game of the season up at Alloa when we pretty much handed the league to Raith before they ultimately dropped it. Although I think to get the full effect of the Albion game you'd have to experience the Alloa game. We also had a couple of bad spells the first of which saw fans wanting McCall sacked early after we lost to Montrose in the cup then Arbroath and Raith in the league. Things looked quite bleak but we turned it around.

One thing that would make the club more popular with the fans? Fans are fickle and there's a few at every club that will never be truly satisfied. For me I'm happy with everything that's going on at the moment and this seems to be the case with the majority otherwise we wouldn't have sold a 1000 season tickets for the first time in ages. 

Maybe telling the clubs looking at Shankland to f**k off and tying him down to a 10 year contract would be a good idea 

  

[Fuctifano]

How will you do this season? With the caveat we’re one league game in, it looks like being a struggle. Only the diehard optimists had us threatening to go back up and a threadbare squad- albeit with 4 or 5 waifs and strays still to come in- and a management team who seem to have run out of ideas does not bode well. Don’t think we’ll go down but nearer the bottom than the top points-wise and end up 6^th.

Which teams did you like and dislike last season? Liked: Motherwell, they showed how not to absolutely shite it against the OF and Aberdeen which was our default mode any time one of those teams pitched up at Firhill. Hibs were good to watch on occasion as well. Disliked us as we ruined most of my weekends.

Best moment of last season? Slim pickings here. Probably has to be Doolan putting us 1-0 up aginst Dundee on the last day to avoid automatic relegation and give us a second chance in the playoffs, which bring us neatly to...

Worst moment of last season? The playoffs after the first 10 minutes. Even after the first leg when we’d escaped 2-1 down goin on 4 or 5 I thought “we can’t be that bad again”. I was right, we were worse.

What single act would make your club more popular with the fans? There’s a (currently unused due to us not being in the top division) TV gantry at the south east corner of Firhill that looks like a gallows. Public executions after each match would probably satisfy some of the bloodlust kicking about North Glasgow.

[Skyline Drifter]

How will you do this season? 

Depend how fortunate we get with injury. Our first 11 is decent enough and if Dobbie and Harkins click more often than not and we avoid any serious injury then top half is more than possible. However we have a small squad and a bench full of more or less u21s. We are going to struggle if we need to dip into it. In particular our only out and out forward cover for Dobbie and Dykes is a 19 year old with one ten min sub appearance to his name in his career!

Which teams did you like and dislike last season? 

Liked Dumbarton. Smashing club with some good people who punched above their weight for years and were about one minute from doing so again. Lots of ex Queens players there too.

Disliked nobody really. St Mirren were irritatingly good but I didnt dislike them.

Best moment of last season? 

5-2 away win at Dunfermline when we looked like world beaters. Although possibly as an isolated moment, Ross Fergusson equalising against Thistle in the Scottish Cup.

Worst moment of last season?

Connor Sammon bundling in a late winner in the above mentioned Scottish Cup tie. Also losing 3-2 from 2-0 up inside 10 mins v St Mirren at Palmerston. Doubly disappointing due to the manner of the goals we lost.

What single act would make your club more popular with the fans? 

Will leave that to others. Probably sitting the wrong side of the fence for that one.

[AyrTroopMajor]

How will you do this season?  The answer to this depends on whether or not we keep Sit Lawrence of Ayrshire. Not that we are a one man team, far from it, but he is our talisman and, with him leading the line, ANYTHING is possible. Keep him and I believe the Playoffs are within reach. Sell him and the feelgood factor around the club will evaporate immediately.

Which teams did you like and dislike last season?  Very much enjoyed our own style of play in League One last year, it was fairly sexy. Dislike would have to be Stranraer. Scraped a win at Somerset when we went down to 10 men and celebrated like it was a title win. They then followed that up by bending over for Raith Rovers at Stair Park the following week in a blatant attempt to keep us in that division (Black and White £ etc..). Ferryless diddies.

Best moment of last season? Horsing Killie on national television was decent, 1-0 going on 5-0. In terms of importance though, dishing out two absolute pumpings to Raith at Somerset was special, could plainly see who the better football team was. Didn't enjoy one single minute of the title-winning game at home to Albion Rovers, it was hazardous to my health.

Worst moment of last season? Alloa away on the penultimate weekend. The stuff of nightmares.

What single act would make your club more popular with the fans?  Ignoring f***** Dundee and any other club that 'enquires' about the availability of Lawrence Shankland. Keep him regardless of any offers and let's see what this team are capable of.