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Rovers v QP


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Rovers manager has walked, leaving behind a shambles, having just been pumped out of the cup at home to a Highland League side. We’ve won three on the spin, two of which were on the road. What could possibly go wrong?.....

It’s got to be a case of keep on doing what we’ve been doing in the last three games. We can’t allow Rovers’ poor record this season to lead us into anything even close to complacency. We’re not a good enough team to be complacent against anyone. They’ve scored three at home on a couple of occasions, so there’s a threat in there that we have to be wary of.

If we go in with the application that we have in recent weeks, we’re more than capable of winning the game. Don’t care how that’s achieved. Would cash out right now for a disgustingly scrappy 1-0 win like the first game at Cliftonhill last season.

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11 minutes ago, SLClyde said:

Fancy an away win at 4/6 for the coupon. 

On paper and on form, aye. We used to have a terrible habit of dropping points to Shire when they were really toiling. I’m never, ever comfortable going away from home with the favourites tag. Always just that lingering uneasy feeling that goes with it.

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21 minutes ago, The man with no name said:

You do realise that the Formartine United budget for players is 5 times that of Albion Rovers. It would have been a huge upset if Rovers had won! 

The level they play at is below League Two level. No Highland League club has yet managed to get the better of the worst team in League Two in a playoff. It’s a shocker of a result, however you spin it.

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I don't think Rovers fans need telt how dull their days are at the moment. Hopefully a new dawn will come soon...but obviously after 5pm on Saturday.

I commented to my son on Saturday, just before half-time, how exciting it was watching the Queen's. There's a real buzz at the moment but let's not be too demanding of the young bucks. Fortunately, the spine of the team (the most important part said Shankly & Paisley) is mature and strong - Hart's been a real find and exudes confidence to his defenders.  Gibby and the fag-swallowing old baldy in front of him. I think Gerry has rubber legs; they seem to stretch just a few inches more right at tackle-time. Jambo and Roberts as the anchor men. And now an arial ballwinner upfront. A raft of clever, young ball movers (almost enough for a Colts team) around them and the likes of Kindlan, Lachlan, Osadolor and Fotheringham waiting for a chance. It's a powerful squad.

Exciting times. 3-1 QP.

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3 hours ago, an86 said:

The level they play at is below League Two level. No Highland League club has yet managed to get the better of the worst team in League Two in a playoff. It’s a shocker of a result, however you spin it.

It's not spin, a 300k budget against a 60k one. If Rovers finish bottom of the division, they are doomed. A lot of Clubs paying big bucks in the Lowland and Highland leagues. They want Senior football. A lot of teams are in danger in the years ahead.

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47 minutes ago, The man with no name said:

It's not spin, a 300k budget against a 60k one. If Rovers finish bottom of the division, they are doomed. A lot of Clubs paying big bucks in the Lowland and Highland leagues. They want Senior football. A lot of teams are in danger in the years ahead.

Big bucks doesn't equate to quality. Brora, EK, and Cove all had bigger budgets than their league opponents and were beaten by the worst team in League Two over two legs. I've thought every team who finished bottom looked doomed, but I think the truth of the matter is that the jump from Highland/Lowland to SPFL is definitely bigger than a lot of people think. 

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Big bucks doesn't equate to quality. Brora, EK, and Cove all had bigger budgets than their league opponents and were beaten by the worst team in League Two over two legs. I've thought every team who finished bottom looked doomed, but I think the truth of the matter is that the jump from Highland/Lowland to SPFL is definitely bigger than a lot of people think. 

It is a jump - the Non League team are used to winning though, will have a settled team and often a budget advantage. The SPFL team though are playing for their lives and don't want to let down a club which has a long league history and are used to playing at a higher intensity most weeks - there are no easy League games really in SPFL but in the non leagues there are many weeks when you can cruise to an easy victory.
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10 hours ago, an86 said:

Big bucks doesn't equate to quality. Brora, EK, and Cove all had bigger budgets than their league opponents and were beaten by the worst team in League Two over two legs. I've thought every team who finished bottom looked doomed, but I think the truth of the matter is that the jump from Highland/Lowland to SPFL is definitely bigger than a lot of people think. 

I disagree about the jump being bigger than people think, I think it is getting smaller. The top Lowland and Highland League sides have squads that would make most League 2 sides envious. There is a huge gulf in class now between Albion Rovers and these teams.  With Formartine going to Cliftonhill and winning in 90 minutes, whoever is bottom and in the play-off is in big trouble. Teams like Formartine, East Kilbride, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers are not spending money to win the Highland or Lowland leagues. They desperately want Senior football.  If these 4 get it over the next 10 years that's 40% of the current League Two sides relegated!

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36 minutes ago, The man with no name said:

I disagree about the jump being bigger than people think, I think it is getting smaller. The top Lowland and Highland League sides have squads that would make most League 2 sides envious. There is a huge gulf in class now between Albion Rovers and these teams.  With Formartine going to Cliftonhill and winning in 90 minutes, whoever is bottom and in the play-off is in big trouble. Teams like Formartine, East Kilbride, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers are not spending money to win the Highland or Lowland leagues. They desperately want Senior football.  If these 4 get it over the next 10 years that's 40% of the current League Two sides relegated!

As I said in my post on the Rovers Thread, it's for the incumbents to react to the threat and make their position safe. To balance your point I'd cite Montrose, for some years anchored near the bottom of the leagues and only made to look good by the Shire. At the very point they were hovering over the trapdoor their Chairman announced a planned investment in a new artificial pitch would go ahead regardless of the outcome of the play-off.  Brora Rangers were everybody's favourite after stomping through the HL. 1-0 down after the first leg and the Grim Reaper sniggering in the tunnel, the footballers, inspired by the bold decision by the club, decided it wasn't their time to die. 3 years later they win the league and sit in L1.   

Inspiration is a motivator. Fear is a killer.

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I disagree about the jump being bigger than people think, I think it is getting smaller. The top Lowland and Highland League sides have squads that would make most League 2 sides envious. There is a huge gulf in class now between Albion Rovers and these teams.  With Formartine going to Cliftonhill and winning in 90 minutes, whoever is bottom and in the play-off is in big trouble. Teams like Formartine, East Kilbride, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers are not spending money to win the Highland or Lowland leagues. They desperately want Senior football.  If these 4 get it over the next 10 years that's 40% of the current League Two sides relegated!

Brora, Cove and East Kilbride had spent that money and assembled squads but still didn't make the jump. Play offs are also different from cup ties - the stakes are much higher and it is a different mindset. I am not so sure that most League 2 clubs are all that envious of the squads of these other clubs. League 2 clubs respect these clubs but are not envious or in fear of them. They may though have a couple of star players who are funded at higher levels. The Shire were a different beast - a club that was well below the standard of the rest of League 2 for many years (apart from the Fearn backed time). 4 winning promotion in next 10 years doesn't prove anything about the strength of the Leagues - Edinburgh City don't have the same players as they had in LL taking them up League 2. Again it isn't necessarily 40% of current league 2 clubs relegated. League 1 and even Championship clubs can drop into League 2 and be threatened- see Cowden and Albion Rovers. The Lowland League though will strengthen in next few years as the junior entrants to EOSL make their way into it - that also makes it a "better" league for league 2 clubs to drop into

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2 hours ago, The man with no name said:

I disagree about the jump being bigger than people think, I think it is getting smaller. The top Lowland and Highland League sides have squads that would make most League 2 sides envious. There is a huge gulf in class now between Albion Rovers and these teams.  With Formartine going to Cliftonhill and winning in 90 minutes, whoever is bottom and in the play-off is in big trouble. Teams like Formartine, East Kilbride, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers are not spending money to win the Highland or Lowland leagues. They desperately want Senior football.  If these 4 get it over the next 10 years that's 40% of the current League Two sides relegated!

It would only be 40% if they all survived in League2. 

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The point CC makes about the Lowland League is a good one. It’s likely that someone going down in five or six years won’t take the hit of a team going down now. It’ll be full of clubs with stadiums and a fan base, as opposed to nonsense clubs like Edusport and BSC, who have absolutely no connection to the communities around them in terms of where they play their home games.

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Anyway........back to the game. 

Last year's 1-0 win at Cliftonhill was the first time we had won a league match there in 7 years. It's been an even longer time, no matter how good a side we've had, since we've gone there and played really well (imo anyway), probably the 4-0 midweek win when Paul Harvey scored an outrageous chip. The last few weeks have filled me with confidence that Saturday could be different.  

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We have a long history of losing to the struggling clubs in the league and performing against the better ones. Our record at Cliftonhill is not great and whilst on form we should win I am personally very afraid of this fixture. I would take a draw providing it was a good game. At least that keeps the points difference steady. Of course I hope that I am made to look like a bumbling idiot at 5.00pm on Saturday. I wish Albion all the best for better times after Saturday.

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7 hours ago, The man with no name said:

I disagree about the jump being bigger than people think, I think it is getting smaller. The top Lowland and Highland League sides have squads that would make most League 2 sides envious. There is a huge gulf in class now between Albion Rovers and these teams.  With Formartine going to Cliftonhill and winning in 90 minutes, whoever is bottom and in the play-off is in big trouble. Teams like Formartine, East Kilbride, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers are not spending money to win the Highland or Lowland leagues. They desperately want Senior football.  If these 4 get it over the next 10 years that's 40% of the current League Two sides relegated!

We will see how long they can afford to spend at the level they do without getting where they want to be. I think Cove and Spartans can sustain it for longer, but not many others.

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