Ayr v Queens

[Mod1967]

Confident we'll reverse this result against this dung gloating cheating shower O shite, weeks of big talk faded as their relegation battle kicked in,  hope this time the ref picks up on the continual nudge every time an Ayr player left the ground, fair play to the Dumbgluff non league  team with no support they enjoyed their moment, but it didn't last and now the battle of the minnows with Alloa ensues!!! 

[Taz]

Only just remembered that Ross County play Dundee Utd on the same day so this is an absolutely must win as there’s potential for County to drop more points.

Think I’d hope for a draw with county and united, I firmly believe the biggest threat is from the latter now

[Iain]

Draw there suits us well, but both teams will still expect to finish above Ayr whatever the result.

[Thumper]

27 minutes ago, Iain said:

Draw there suits us well, but both teams will still expect to finish above Ayr whatever the result.

In fairness, find a Falkirk fan who didn't expect to finish above Ayr this season.

[Skyline Drifter]

9 hours ago, Mod1967 said:

Confident we'll reverse this result against this dung gloating cheating shower O shite, weeks of big talk faded as their relegation battle kicked in,  hope this time the ref picks up on the continual nudge every time an Ayr player left the ground, fair play to the Dumbgluff non league  team with no support they enjoyed their moment, but it didn't last and now the battle of the minnows with Alloa ensues!!! 

^^^^^^^^

the nick of this guy.

[AUcal]

Confident we'll reverse this result against this dung gloating cheating shower O shite, weeks of big talk faded as their relegation battle kicked in,  hope this time the ref picks up on the continual nudge every time an Ayr player left the ground, fair play to the Dumbgluff non league  team with no support they enjoyed their moment, but it didn't last and now the battle of the minnows with Alloa ensues!!! 

Deary me. What even is this

[AYRSHIRE_ANGUS]

A home game on a Saturday. About time!

[pandarilla]

Confident we'll reverse this result against this dung gloating cheating shower O shite, weeks of big talk faded as their relegation battle kicked in,  hope this time the ref picks up on the continual nudge every time an Ayr player left the ground, fair play to the Dumbgluff non league  team with no support they enjoyed their moment, but it didn't last and now the battle of the minnows with Alloa ensues!!! 

[emoji849]

[palmy_cammy]

They make a good point. Queens fans are notorious for gloating and talking up their team. Northfield is a prime example.

We won 5-0 last time and missed a penalty so really anything less than 7-0 will be a massive disappointment and a sign that we’ve regressed.

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

They make a good point. Queens fans are notorious for gloating and talking up their team. Northfield is a prime example.

We won 5-0 last time and missed a penalty so really anything less than 7-0 will be a massive disappointment and a sign that we’ve regressed.

You ARE away from home this time remember, so possibly beating us only 4-0 will still be a half decent result for you............

[Jeff Venom]

Has Harkins been injured recently? If so has been a big miss? He's such a good footballer when he's fit and his head is in it.
My pal (Utd fan) was at Tannadice yesterday and thought he was looking pretty beefy again.

[palmy_cammy]

16 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

You ARE away from home this time remember, so possibly beating us only 4-0 will still be a half decent result for you............

That's a good point.  I suppose I would settle for 4-0 if I really had to.

Anyway lads what the hell is going on?  What an unbelievable season you are having, I am massively jealous.  I used to enjoy when the Ayr promotion/relegation yoyo saw you in our division because it was usually a guarantee points would be coming our way.  Instead I'm really concerned we might be on the end of a doing on Saturday.

Obviously the turn to full-time has made a difference, and you have Shankland.  But we are full-time and have Dobbie and we aren't exactly pulling up trees.  Momentum and confidence from last season must be a big factor?  I'm still pissed off we weren't able to get a shot at this division after Allan Johnston's record breaking year in the seaside league due to him buggering off to Killie.  Your squad on paper doesn't look overly intimidating but McCall is known for his man-management so I'm guessing he has found a system that suits and is eking every last drop of ability from every player?

What were the targets pre-season, and what have they changed to now?  I suppose it was a case of trying to stay up, and take it from there?  Realistically you have to assume Ross County and Dundee United will be too strong over the course and finish above you.  Third would still be a tremendous achievement in your first year back up, but given the start you've had it would be disappointing as well.  Are you likely to keep Shankland in January?

[Fae_the_'briggs]

If Harkins is fit to start I would reluctantly drop Jacobs for this one.  No doubt he (Jacobs)  is a worker and can be a valuable player when involved  but his performances lately have been poor.  The 1st half of yesterday's game completely passed him by.  Norman has shown up well  in the last two games,  good work-rate,  can tackle and can maybe even find a team-mate with a pass, a thing Jacobs often  struggles to do.  The goalkeeper situation,  although far from being crisis,  is a cause for concern in my view.  Alan Martin's reluctance to come for cross balls into the 6 yard area is a concern and has arguably cost us two or three goals at least already this season.  His goal-kicking/clearances  also reaches Lee Robinson levels of ineptitude at times.  He is a good shot-stopper though and has made a few good saves in recent games.  The question up for discussion  though is,   would Leighfield be any better? At right back,  Mercer has had a torrid time in the last couple of games,  against speedy wingers closing him down quickly he looks nervous.  He's another who should maybe sit out for a while.  Doyle was signed as a right back,  let's see what he can do there. 

Up front we know we have a game winner in Dobbie but he has to have decent service and a bit if help,  playing him as a loan striker helps neither him or the team.  Dykes has to play higher up and do the legwork which will hopefully set up some chances for Dobbie and others. 

Dropping Jacobs an Mercer to the bench gives a bit of experience to call on if needed,  the Manager obviously doesn't think the youngsters there are ready to be thrown in.  

Ayr Utd have certainly kicked-on since our meeting earlier in the season (better not go on about that though as it upsets some people) and will obviously be confident of keeping their good run going especially since we've struggled to match that display,  but if our Manager had a bit of faith in his players ability and approaches the game to make best use of the likes if Dobbie,  we might just cause an upset. 

In response to Jeff Venom,  yes Harkins has been out injured, came on as a sub yesterday and looked OK.  We've lacked  a bit of creativity while he's been out so hopefully he can add some of that.  As for looking beefy,  he looks just the same as earlier in the season,  never going to be a sprinter but hardly waddling around either. 

[D'Jaffo]

That's a good point.  I suppose I would settle for 4-0 if I really had to.
Anyway lads what the hell is going on?  What an unbelievable season you are having, I am massively jealous.  I used to enjoy when the Ayr promotion/relegation yoyo saw you in our division because it was usually a guarantee points would be coming our way.  Instead I'm really concerned we might be on the end of a doing on Saturday.
Obviously the turn to full-time has made a difference, and you have Shankland.  But we are full-time and have Dobbie and we aren't exactly pulling up trees.  Momentum and confidence from last season must be a big factor?  I'm still pissed off we weren't able to get a shot at this division after Allan Johnston's record breaking year in the seaside league due to him buggering off to Killie.  Your squad on paper doesn't look overly intimidating but McCall is known for his man-management so I'm guessing he has found a system that suits and is eking every last drop of ability from every player?
What were the targets pre-season, and what have they changed to now?  I suppose it was a case of trying to stay up, and take it from there?  Realistically you have to assume Ross County and Dundee United will be too strong over the course and finish above you.  Third would still be a tremendous achievement in your first year back up, but given the start you've had it would be disappointing as well.  Are you likely to keep Shankland in January?

There seems to be a myth that we are largely a one man team with Shankland which isn’t true. In the last week we’ve beaten Partick and Falkirk and Shankland wasn’t nearly at his best in either game yet we still managed to win.

I think the momentum has carried over from last season and not making massive changes to the squad has helped. There also seems to be a brilliant togetherness amongst the players which extends to the fans. Never in my time supporting Ayr have I seen players more loved and connected with the fans than these ones.

McCall never explicitly revealed any targets but any time he’s been asked he’s said it’s all about reaching 40 points then we’ll take it from there.

If Shankland was going to go he’d have gone in the summer. Can’t see any teams stumping up the cash when he’s only got 6 months left. He’ll likely sign a pre-contract in January with a team down south.

[palmy_cammy]

19 minutes ago, Jeff Venom said:

Has Harkins been injured recently? If so has been a big miss? He's such a good footballer when he's fit and his head is in it.
My pal (Utd fan) was at Tannadice yesterday and thought he was looking pretty beefy again.

Went off with a hamstring injury against Alloa on October 6th, made his comeback off the bench yesterday.  We have missed his creativity massively and without looking up the stats I think it is fair to say that Dobbie's goal ratio since he dropped out will have fallen considerably.

We knew we weren't signing a whippet when Harkins joined, he definitely falls under the "luxury player" category due to his lack of mobility.  But we have no-one else who can unlock defences in the way Harkins does and given the lack of chances we have created of late he is a luxury we can't do without.

[UpInTheAyr]

I think the target still is 40 points for most and then reassess after that. If we're still in the mix come the end of the year then at some point I think you're gonna have to come out and say yeah, we're going for it. Anything else would be showing a lack of ambition. What Livi did last year threw everything out of whack as I don't think this talk would be happening as much without their achievement. But a few of the big clubs will have funds to strengthen in January and I think they will big time.

As for Shankland I do think we rely on him a bit too much and it's hard to judge what we'd be like without him as he's basically played every game since joining. There's a few in the team who'd I'd expect to have scored by now, or scored more, but it's not just goals Shankland offers, on the pitch he really sets high standards and seems to drive the team on

[ayrmad]

57 minutes ago, UpInTheAyr said:

I think the target still is 40 points for most and then reassess after that. If we're still in the mix come the end of the year then at some point I think you're gonna have to come out and say yeah, we're going for it. Anything else would be showing a lack of ambition. What Livi did last year threw everything out of whack as I don't think this talk would be happening as much without their achievement. But a few of the big clubs will have funds to strengthen in January and I think they will big time.

As for Shankland I do think we rely on him a bit too much and it's hard to judge what we'd be like without him as he's basically played every game since joining. There's a few in the team who'd I'd expect to have scored by now, or scored more, but it's not just goals Shankland offers, on the pitch he really sets high standards and seems to drive the team on

40 points is not the target of most that I speak to, that's just manager speak to quell fan expectations, if we're not going for it this season after the start we've made then we'll never be going for it.

Anyone that seriously thinks the home and away crowds are creeping up due to folk getting excited about us finishing 8th needs their head examined.

As for McCall, he did state in an interview at the beginning of the season that we were aiming for the play-offs, no doubt he's considering upgrading that at the moment. 

[Mgc1910]

Don’t know what the stats are for previous seasons, but I seriously doubt you’ll need 40 points to finish 8th this season.  

[UpInTheAyr]

9 minutes ago, ayrmad said:

40 points is not the target of most that I speak to, that's just manager speak to quell fan expectations, if we're not going for it this season after the start we've made then we'll never be going for it.

Anyone that seriously thinks the home and away crowds are creeping up due to folk getting excited about us finishing 8th needs their head examined.

As for McCall, he did state in an interview at the beginning of the season that we were aiming for the play-offs, no doubt he's considering upgrading that at the moment. 

I didn't say 40 points is the target for the whole season, it's more like the mini target and after that's secured kick on. Crowds are creeping up because we're winning and playing well, and folk, at least the ones I know, think it's a bit too early to be jumping on the title bandwagon, and are more just enjoying what's on offer at the moment.

[ayrmad]

32 minutes ago, UpInTheAyr said:

I didn't say 40 points is the target for the whole season, it's more like the mini target and after that's secured kick on. Crowds are creeping up because we're winning and playing well, and folk, at least the ones I know, think it's a bit too early to be jumping on the title bandwagon, and are more just enjoying what's on offer at the moment.

I'd rather just win every game then you don't need to kick on, I'd be surprised if many of those that you know aren't interested in the County and Dundee United results far far more than the Falkirk or Alloa results, if that's the case then they're jumping on the bandwagon whether they like to admit it or not