The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[AFC1878]

Booing your own team is unacceptable in my opinion. Doing so at first game of the season is just ridiculous

First game of the season or not, the performance was pathetic. And that’s your opinion. In my opinion, those that booed at full-time (myself included) had every right.

[airdrieman]

22 hours ago, dextermorgan said:

What concerned me today however was the fact that we are playing guys out wide and out of position, we are not creative enough in midfield and Hutton cannot seem to command a six yard box. Compare us with Forfar with McCallum in goals with Tapping and Hilson driving forward.

 

21 hours ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Absolute dross watching that today but I don't agree with those that are throwing the towel in after one game. It's a long season, it should be a tight league, and you'd expect Forfar to be somewhere near the top. Not convinced by the 433 though, don't think we need 3 centre mids and I think we'd benefit from a formation that facilitates one or two of our more creative midfielders/wingers (namely O'Reilly, Thomson and Hawkshaw)

 

6 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

Agree with this. Firstly that is a disaster from Kerr all round, gives the ball away obviously but the situation is still managable but he's oblivious to Jackson standing free. He then blames everyone else, as you do when you are a 'ball playing' centre half who gives the ball away. Also then loses his man at the corner.

From what I've seen the system is not working. In 5 games we have scored 2 goals from open play and it is no surprise. A few people have said this but you cannot get away with Miller and Wedderburn in the same midfield, neither of them offers any attacking or creative threat which means we have plenty of safe deep possession but we only have 4 players going forward. One of those being Gallgher who is playing out of position and is never going to create from out on the right. Cowan doesn't seem to offer anything and I'm not sure what Roy is meant to offer. I'd go a 4-4-2. I think Smith will score goals but he needs a partner to feed off, him and Gallagher as a pair would be pretty effective. That would also allow us to drop one of Miller/Wedderburn, keep one as  defensive midfielder and then put in a more creative one (perhaps Hawkshaw or Roberts). And would also allow us to play with 2 proper wingers, we seem to have made an effort to sign a few of them but then play a system where none are included.

If you look at teams in the past few seasons who are successful at this level - Arbroath, Alloa, Ayr to name some - they played 4-4-2, pretty solid at the back who when they attack play quick direct football with pace. I thought with the players we had signed that is what we were aiming for, instead so far we are resembling the slow, possession based stuff which we know does not work.

I'd agree with all these comments. Was not convinced at all when I saw the starting XI before the game. And unfortunately that's how it came to pass. I've flogged the Millar and Wedderburn horse before but they're two players whose best position is sitting deep and moving the ball forward from defence to midfield. They can't play in the same midfield because necessarily one of them is going to play further forward and that just doesn't work as neither of them are creative outlets at all. We saw that in the League Cup so I'm surprised Murray opted for it yesterday. Murray obviously thought that was his best team but it's patently clear that it doesn't work. 

Gallagher isn't a wide player. The only game he's played centre-forward (I think) he scored with his first touch of the ball. I had suggested a 4-3-3 as a potential formation to allow Gallagher, Smith and Roy to all be on the park at the same time, but if it means one (or more) of them playing out wide I'd rather we played two upfront with one of them dropping to the bench.

I've been disappointed at Hawkshaw's lack of game time so far. He's arguably(probably) our most creative player and I think he could be a key player for us but he's rarely featured. It's particularly grating that he's made way to accommodate playing Millar and Wedderburn.  I'd like to see Hawkshaw  and/or Roberts start next week. If we're going to play a 4-3-3 a midfield of Wedderburn sitting deep and Hawkshaw and Roberts providing energy and creativity further forward could potentially work. Otherwise a 4-4-2, again with Wedderburn (or Millar although I personally prefer Wedderburn) sitting deep, Hawkshaw or Roberts further forward with Thomson and O'Reilly out wide (again the lack of game time for them has been strange considering the emphasis on signing wingers) and some combination Roy/Gallagher/Smith upfront looks optimal at the moment. 

At the back, Kerr has some nice distribution but has looked shaky whenever I've seen him play. You can see he has some promise but he's very raw and inexperienced at first team level. It's no good for anyone if he's making basic mistakes that cost us goals so a spell out the team would do us, and himself and his confidence the world of good. Either a straight swap out for McKay, or McKay or MacDonald moving to right-back and playing Fordyce at centre-half seem the two most sensible solutions. 

Either way, changes have to be made next week for a much improved performance and result. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by airdrieman

[++Ammo - Airdrie++]

If I was still there at that time, I'd have been one of the ones booing, absolutely.
Its one way of the players getting the message, performances like that will not be tolerated.
Its up to them now to put in a better performance.

[Diamonds are Forever]

5 hours ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003–04_Airdrie_United_F.C._season

Look at the early results in the league that season. We won the league that year. Not saying we should be mindlessly optimistic and that opener was definitely a reality check but the booing and doom and gloom comments are completely stupid imo. There's a long season ahead of us and no reason why it can't be a good one.

 

We won that league because we signed Lovering, Coyle and McLaren half way through the season when we were sitting in 6th place. So I'm not really sure there is any moral in that story apart from sign better players if you want to win the league.

I don't think there are that many doom and gloom comments, obviously you will always get the reactionary fans calling for a manager to be sacked, but I think most posters are offering considered opinions and understand that it will take a while to find the best system. I'm not convinced we've got as good a squad as some people think, but in the short term as long as Murray shows over the next few weeks that he is adapting and improving based on performances then I'll be relatively optimistic.

[Spanish Armada]

No wonder we don’t do well when the fans won’t back the players it’s the first game of the season and fans want players and managers sacked

 

Roasters

 

[diamond_for_life]

You can’t back that shite from Saturday. I don’t care if its the first league game or the last that performance was absolutely dreadful. I would never call for Murray to be sacked nor would I suggest the season is over after 1 game anyone saying that needs to reign it in a bit but I booed that pish after the game as did many others and i don’t see any issue with booing a performance as poor as that. It’s not the defeat that’s the issue it’s how shite we were that annoyed me. 

[Jack Reed]

19 minutes ago, diamond_for_life said:

You can’t back that shite from Saturday. I don’t care if its the first league game or the last that performance was absolutely dreadful. I would never call for Murray to be sacked nor would I suggest the season is over after 1 game anyone saying that needs to reign it in a bit but I booed that pish after the game as did many others and i don’t see any issue with booing a performance as poor as that. It’s not the defeat that’s the issue it’s how shite we were that annoyed me. 

You woudn't  applaud or be happy at the end of the game so a wee boo here and there was not out of place .and as someone has already stated the players are maybe not as good as we think .se what happens at Montrose ,could be the start of some good sat nights ,let's hope so ,

[Diamond legend]

Can perhaps see the rationale to keep the starting eleven that played well for 45 against Hamilton - but today they were poor - as the team were overall over the 90 minutes.
Next week -  If, and its a big if - if McKay as his profile states, can play in a multitude of defence positions then I would drop Kerr, put McKay in as right back and put Fordyce in the centre.  Midfield - I  would have Roberts in there  replacing any of the starting midfielders today ( Cowan was stinking first half, Miller was stinking 2nd half, Wedderburn when he has time can pick a pass but his overall contribution to a game is minimal - so not so stinky  but whiffy.)  Roberts  is attacking, has two good feet, is quick and can make a pass.  Forwards - I really don't know - might  improve if they were getting better service - but I would have  at least Cammy Russell on the bench

I don't know about Mckay he has not played many games for any of the teams he has been at .ADoncaster fan said good bye to bad rubbish I hope he is better than his brother who was hopeless I agree with most of the other things you have said.

[Spanish Armada]

You can’t back that shite from Saturday. I don’t care if its the first league game or the last that performance was absolutely dreadful. I would never call for Murray to be sacked nor would I suggest the season is over after 1 game anyone saying that needs to reign it in a bit but I booed that pish after the game as did many others and i don’t see any issue with booing a performance as poor as that. It’s not the defeat that’s the issue it’s how shite we were that annoyed me. 

It’s a new team there’s gonna be teething problems for a start I’d be having Big Nat or Cowan on the bench and bringing in Roberts or Hawkshaw every time Cowan or Nat gets the ball it slows right down and the reason it was going long all the time because there ain’t a playmaker in the middle of the park when I look at what we’ve got for midfield apart from hawkshaw they’re all defensively minded,I think we need to dip back into the transfer mark or the loan market and sign an attacking midfielder

[Stevo1968]

Have a feeling Kerr is actually the midfielder we’ve been crying out for

Edited August 4, 2019 by Stevo1968

[AFC1878]

It’s a new team there’s gonna be teething problems for a start I’d be having Big Nat or Cowan on the bench

Could be off the mark but I get the impression that Wedderburn is the 1st name on the team sheet and Murray will pick/organise the team around him. It’s unlikely therefore that he would be dropped.

 

[She who dares gins]

A lot of the reactions are a bit OTT - but then I fully expected it if we didn’t win such is the expectation (again) on this season.

 It’s disappointing and don’t really understand why we sign players for certain positions, don’t play them and then play others in their place. Clearly the tactical wizardry here goes over my head.

I keep going back to that first half against Thistle as I didn’t see Hamilton match. What I saw gave me such a lot of optimism. There is a much better team in there than Saturday showed. It’s game one, I’ll see how I feel after 10.

But he could start by putting some pace back into it.

 

[AJ77]

Terrible performance, really disappointing to watch after seeing us play very well against accies last week.

To say murray out after the 1st game is laughable.

Hopefully see McKay, hawkshaw and o'riley get a start on Saturday, even give carrick a start, I think he'd be more effective on the wing than roy would be.

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

I wonder if the Murray out brigade have any ideas as to who they'd like to see replace him. Cannot think of a single person available whose name would excite me at all.

[airdrieman]

17 hours ago, Spanish Armada said:

It’s a new team there’s gonna be teething problems for a start I’d be having Big Nat or Cowan on the bench and bringing in Roberts or Hawkshaw every time Cowan or Nat gets the ball it slows right down and the reason it was going long all the time because there ain’t a playmaker in the middle of the park when I look at what we’ve got for midfield apart from hawkshaw they’re all defensively minded,I think we need to dip back into the transfer mark or the loan market and sign an attacking midfielder

I actually think we've got two decent attacking midfielders in Hawkshaw and Roberts and two proper wingers in Thomson and O'Reilly. Murray just needs to play them! Carrick too could probably be moulded into an effective attacking midfielder. 

[AFC1878]

I wonder if the Murray out brigade have any ideas as to who they'd like to see replace him. Cannot think of a single person available whose name would excite me at all.

To be fair, the majority of folk probably had their tongue placed firmly in their cheek when suggesting that he should be sacked.

[waysider]

Last year Murray inherited a team that wasn’t his. He improved the team and ensured safety. Yet I was not entirely at ease with him. He seemed to never know what his best team was and changed it every week, often playing players out of position. 

At the end of the season we had a massive clearout and signed a lot of players including many “promising” youngsters. With every signing, we got hit by propaganda by the Club as to what a good player we had signed. For all I know some of these new players may indeed be good but I have no idea what their position is. More importantly, neither has Murray! A different team every week and various players rumoured to be out of position. Back to the same old nonsense as last season  only this time it is his own team.

The start to the season has been poor. Clyde was ultimately unconvincing, QP was rank rotten and Saturday was even worse . 2 shots on target at home! The only part of the season that has been hopeful was the first half v Hamilton.

I’m not shouting for Murray to be sacked yet but I’m certain he’s not the man to get us promoted. 

I used to be what some would call a happy clapper. No more. Now I’m a pessimist.

I will nonetheless be delighted to be proved wrong.

 

[Glenmavis Diamond]

30 minutes ago, waysider said:

Last year Murray inherited a team that wasn’t his. He improved the team and ensured safety. Yet I was not entirely at ease with him. He seemed to never know what his best team was and changed it every week, often playing players out of position. 

At the end of the season we had a massive clearout and signed a lot of players including many “promising” youngsters. With every signing, we got hit by propaganda by the Club as to what a good player we had signed. For all I know some of these new players may indeed be good but I have no idea what their position is. More importantly, neither has Murray! A different team every week and various players rumoured to be out of position. Back to the same old nonsense as last season  only this time it is his own team.

The start to the season has been poor. Clyde was ultimately unconvincing, QP was rank rotten and Saturday was even worse . 2 shots on target at home! The only part of the season that has been hopeful was the first half v Hamilton.

I’m not shouting for Murray to be sacked yet but I’m certain he’s not the man to get us promoted. 

I used to be what some would call a happy clapper. No more. Now I’m a pessimist.

I will nonetheless be delighted to be proved wrong.

 

I’m confused by a couple of points you’ve made.

1. You say the club hit us with propaganda every time we signed a player by saying they were good. Did you expect them to say they were shite or just bang average? Find me a club that doesn’t sign a player because they think they’ll be a good addition.

2. You’re not shouting for Murray to be sacked, yet you’re ‘certain’ he isn’t the man to get us promoted? Slightly contradicting don’t you think? So You’ll back him even though you know he won’t get us promoted?

Murray is he best manager we’ve had in a long time and with Stuart Millar supporting him, I am confident we will do well this season. So we lost the first game. Wish we’d won but I’ve seen us play so much better before Saturday and I’m confident we will see a winning team soon. 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Glenmavis Diamond

[Stevo1968]

For us to play any better we’re needing a new park, every time there’s a decent pitch or it’s wet we play well...

other teams seem to adapt to our pitch better than we do which is confusing 

[waysider]

7 minutes ago, Glenmavis Diamond said:

I’m confused by a couple of points you’ve made.

1. You say the club hit us with propaganda every time we signed a player by saying they were good. Did you expect them to say they were shite or just bang average? Find me a club that doesn’t sign a player because they think they’ll be a good addition.

2. You’re not shouting for Murray to be sacked, yet you’re ‘certain’ he isn’t the man to get us promoted? Slightly contradicting don’t you think? So You’ll back him even though you know he won’t get us promoted?

Murray is he best manager we’ve had in a long time and with Stuart Millar supporting him, I am confident we will do well this season. So we lost the first game. Wish we’d won but I’ve seen us play so much better before Saturday and I’m confident we will see a winning team soon. 

Point 1 well made.

Point 2 I have no confidence in Murray but it’s ridiculous to sack a manager this early. My overall view of him is that ultimately he’s not the answer for reasons I’ve explained but I don’t agree with sacking managers this early..