Pars vs Ayr: Andy Geggan Love-In

[UpInTheAyr]

Pars fans doing their best here to the point that I'm moving  from hoping we win to hoping we hand you a scudding.

It's not our fault you're shite.

[D'Jaffo]

The “without Shankland Ayr wouldn’t be doing so well” statement is weird.

One one hand you’d expect us to have signed someone in the summer to replace him. Considering we were linked with Chris Duggan at one point it’s safe to assume we wouldn’t have brought anyone in of the same calibre as Shankland. Couple with more Moore also not being as good then it’s very safe to assume that had he left in the summer then we might not find ourselves in this position.

However that doesn’t mean we’re a one man team. You don’t get to the top of the league by only having one quality player. There’s a good mix of up and coming players and old heads that have played at this level before. The older players are obviously coming to the end of their career but the younger players like Rose, Smith, McDaid, Doohan, Harvie are top players in this league and for 3 of them it’s their first real crack at it.

It’s wrong to label us a one man team however with Shankland I don’t think we’d be top of the league however we would be playoff contenders at the very least.

[pandarilla]

McCall did all the hard work 18 months ago. Building a unity within the team, mainly around young and hungry players, with a few wise old pros thrown in.

 

Full time training helped, and the team started to play well. Then you throw in the beautiful big bonus ball shankland.

 

Big improvements were needed at certain points (last January and in the summer). The signings of Harvie, Smith, and Murdoch in the summer cannot be underestimated. All 3 have improved the team considerably.

 

But essentially the strong team unity has just continued to grow. He's certainly not working miracles or anything, just keeping things ticking over and reaping the rewards of his hard work. We've been very fortunate with injuries so we'll see if he has to tweak again in January.

 

 

 

[Poet of the Macabre]

9 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

It’s wrong to label us a one man team however with Shankland I don’t think we’d be top of the league however we would be playoff contenders at the very least.

I disagree but it's absolutely impossible to know.

I'll make a £20 charity bet that if Shankland leaves in January, then Ayr won't finish top four. Obviously that's only if he's properly gone and doesn't just get loaned back until the end of the season.

[D'Jaffo]

I disagree but it's absolutely impossible to know.
I'll make a £20 charity bet that if Shankland leaves in January, then Ayr won't finish top four. Obviously that's only if he's properly gone and doesn't just get loaned back until the end of the season.

Did you not already try to make a bet that you’d finish above us this season? I’d rather take you up on that one.

In all seriousness I’ll be surprised if he goes before the end of the season.

[Poet of the Macabre]

Just now, D'Jaffo said:

Did you not already try to make a bet that you’d finish above us this season? I’d rather take you up on that one.

In all seriousness I’ll be surprised if he goes before the end of the season.

I did and no one took me up on it. Which shows how confident the Ayr fans were of sustained success this season.

I think it would daft for Ayr to get rid of him too. Only if they can do what St Mirren did with Lewis Morgan and get him back on loan would I sell him in January.

[D'Jaffo]

I did and no one took me up on it. Which shows how confident the Ayr fans were of sustained success this season.
I think it would daft for Ayr to get rid of him too. Only if they can do what St Mirren did with Lewis Morgan and get him back on loan would I sell him in January.

Our Chairman came out and said a loan back is the only way he’d be sold in January which imo suggests he’s trying to push a deal that way. It’s the dream scenario for us as we could renew other contracts and bring in a couple of new players in January.

[parsforlife]

It must be a strange one looking from the outside in. We haven't changed the team greatly but it just goes to show what getting the right mix, balance, desire and tactics can do for what some would say is an 'average squad'.

McCall has been 'lucky' to an extent and has mentioned a few times that it has 'little to do with him'. I do think he is being a little harsh on himself but a lot can be said about timing.

Picking the right additions to a team will make or break any manager. Look at Jose!

We have the right manager at the right time with a squad who are ALL pulling in the same direction.

No Pogba's in our camp.

Fair assessment. You haven't suddenly come across great players, or a superstar manager. But it's all clicked and your riding high with a group of players who individually can be chucked into any other side in this division or even the division below and be unspectacular but together pulling in the same direction and with complete belief they can win if they fight for everything and each other, the players, managers and tactics might be not be ideal but with the that formula they can achieve a lot. Ride the wave guys, I just hope we can find enough about us to grab a few points from you like we did to livi.

[1nickydevlin]

Still expecting a tough game Saturday. Even if dunfermlime have been below par this season .eep is never an easy place to go .even if we are flying .

 

[eez-eh]

5 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

I think most people, including Ayr fans, are finding it hard to believe that a side that only won League One because Raith Rovers choked, could be playing top flight football next season.

That Raith Rovers side that choked had the highest points total of any second-placed side in the third tier since 3 points for a win was introduced, as well as winning 15 out of 18 home games (they drew the other 3). For all the moaning about Barry Smith being a dumpling, they only just lost out to a side that won 24 games and scored 92 goals.

I was as seething as anyone after the Alloa game last season when I thought we’d blown it, but the idea we only won it because Raith were shite is ridiculous.

[ShortSideCity]

You haven't suddenly come across great players, or a superstar manager. But it's all clicked and your riding high with a group of players who individually can be chucked into any other side in this division or even the division below and be unspectacular

Couldn't you say the same thing about every player in every team in this league? If they were that good they wouldn't be playing 2nd tier football in Scotland.

At this level (and indeed the level above, shown by Livingston) having a team that works together consistently with everyone knowing their role will take you a long way

[pandarilla]

Couldn't you say the same thing about every player in every team in this league? If they were that good they wouldn't be playing 2nd tier football in Scotland.

At this level (and indeed the level above, shown by Livingston) having a team that works together consistently with everyone knowing their role will take you a long way

Shankland would make a very big difference to every team in the league.

He's definetely not playing at his appropriate level at the moment.

[ShortSideCity]

Shankland would make a very big difference to every team in the league.

He's definetely not playing at his appropriate level at the moment.

Fair point, but for the majority of players in this league I stand by it

[Trogdor]

7 minutes ago, pandarilla said:

Shankland would make a very big difference to every team in the league.

He's definetely not playing at his appropriate level at the moment.

Okay, Jim Goodwin.

[Poet of the Macabre]

1 hour ago, eez-eh said:

That Raith Rovers side that choked had the highest points total of any second-placed side in the third tier since 3 points for a win was introduced, as well as winning 15 out of 18 home games (they drew the other 3). For all the moaning about Barry Smith being a dumpling, they only just lost out to a side that won 24 games and scored 92 goals.

I was as seething as anyone after the Alloa game last season when I thought we’d blown it, but the idea we only won it because Raith were shite is ridiculous.

Yikes, very defensive.

If you actually read my post, you'll notice I not once suggested Raith were "shite". I said they choked and considering they only had to win their final home game and failed, that would be a pretty accurate representation of what happened.

[Rob1885]

2 hours ago, WATTOO said:

It's this attitude I find both amazing and at the same time pretty amusing.

Basically we'll always have a "league 1 team of jobbers" to some, irrespective of what the facts tell you week in and week out.

That's fine though, suits us perfectly............

Don't get me wrong, I think what Ayr have done over the last 18 months has been terrific and have a lot of time for it.

[eez-eh]

7 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

Yikes, very defensive.

If you actually read my post, you'll notice I not once suggested Raith were "shite". I said they choked and considering they only had to win their final home game and failed, that would be a pretty accurate representation of what happened.

I just don’t get how it’s particularly relevant. It’s something various people (not just you) have commented on and seems to be a way of saving face after most people predicted us to go straight back down.

[DA Baracus]

9 hours ago, 1nickydevlin said:

Still expecting a tough game Saturday. Even if dunfermlime have been below par this season .eep is never an easy place to go .even if we are flying .

 

We've scored 5 goals in the league at East End all season for a grand total of 7 points

[I'm Brian]

5 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

We've scored 5 goals in the league at East End all season for a grand total of 7 points

That's five goals and 7points more than we've managed there this season  

 

But seriously, It will be a tough game for us.  I'm going to predict a 1-0 win for Ayr

[Guest]

I'm still not having this, that we're a team of league 1 players etc or overachieving Championship journeymen as it's simply not true.

Andy Murdoch was rated very highly by the Morton fans and was reckoned to be one of their best players but for whatever reason was allowed to leave. Liam Smith was regarded as one of the best full backs in the Championship last season and was offered an extension at Hearts which he rejected. Michael Rose & Daniel Harvie were both youngsters from the Aberdeen setup who just fell short at that level at their time of development, however were both highly regarded by many in the game. Ross Doohan has just been given a 4 year extension by Celtic and is the current Scotland U21 keeper, so again has a pretty good pedigree. Alan Forrest has been highly regarded for quite some time and has been getting better each year, the boy has bags of potential and has added some strength plus an extra yard this season. Robbie Crawford is another who splits opinion by even our own fans, however he's a fantastic player on his day and makes things happen from midfield with his driving runs and passing ability as was perfectly shown in our recent destruction of Dundee Utd. Declan McDaid, again, is a young guy who's been highly rated since he started at Morton, he's had a few setbacks along the way but is now beginning to show how good he is when free of injury and playing with confidence.

We can then add to that the likes of the reliable older players such as Steven Bell, Andy Geggan, Michael Moffat, Jamie Adams and of course Mark Kerr.

So No, we're more than just Lawrence Shankland and that's me not even mentioning lots of the other guys in our squad who've all done brilliantly when called upon.