The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[Ballboy]

Great to see we have sold our ticket allocation for Saturday.  I know it was said last year after the Celtic game that some may start coming to games regularly.  Will be interesting to see how many turn up at the home game against stranrar the week after when the team could do with some real backing.  I'd never frown on anyone who comes to support the diamonds but it just goes to show how big our support can be.  Their is also a lot of fairweather fans who only look for big games. With all the tickets being sold and January payday after Christmas not for a couple more weeks for some How many real airdrie fans wont get to go. 

[Stevo1968]

Jeez oh Murray and Cameron winding up the hearts players on the news there..

Calling them out saying their current position is all down to the players!

[CapitalDiamond]

Good listen. Contributors comments about bringing Nat into the side I have to disagree with. The one thing we saw from early season games was that he and Millar don't work together. Whether that was because we didn't have Roberts playing with them or that the set up was slightly different may also have contributed but this is far too big a game to find out. I just recall the side being shite with both of them together and I'd rather have Millar start than Wedderburn. So for me we stick with McKay and if we manage to bring someone else in during January then I'd consider not playing him but certainly not drop him for Nat.

FWIW, I agree. McKay may have some limitations but I think a good number 8 would be needed to improve compared to McKay. Unless big Nat has made himself much fitter.... which I haven’t seen BUT I wasn’t at the Forfar game to see him impact.

[Diamonds are Forever]

In a way you could argue that Nat has been slightly unfortunate in that his individual performances at the start of the season were no worse than Miller, McKay or Roberts, yet has barely kicked a ball since. He obviously can't play in the advanced role that Roberts does, Miller has a bit more energy and can get about the park better, and McKay brought out the long throw which proved (for a few weeks at least) to be a good weapon, he also gives us a bit of much needed height at set pieces. All this has meant that Nat can hardly get a game, even off the bench. By just bad luck on his part the balance of the team means he doesn't really fit. He was poor at the start of the season, but then so was everyone, it's rare you'd be dropped and then have to wait over 3 months to get another shot. But if the team is doing well you can't really complain.

I think he is a better player than McKay, but like I say McKay's other attributes get him in the team. Certainly on Saturday I'd be playing McKay as long throws may be our best bet.

 

[cb_diamond]

2 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

In a way you could argue that Nat has been slightly unfortunate in that his individual performances at the start of the season were no worse than Miller, McKay or Roberts, yet has barely kicked a ball since. He obviously can't play in the advanced role that Roberts does, Miller has a bit more energy and can get about the park better, and McKay brought out the long throw which proved (for a few weeks at least) to be a good weapon, he also gives us a bit of much needed height at set pieces. All this has meant that Nat can hardly get a game, even off the bench. By just bad luck on his part the balance of the team means he doesn't really fit. He was poor at the start of the season, but then so was everyone, it's rare you'd be dropped and then have to wait over 3 months to get another shot. But if the team is doing well you can't really complain.

I think he is a better player than McKay, but like I say McKay's other attributes get him in the team. Certainly on Saturday I'd be playing McKay as long throws may be our best bet.

 

Going forward I'd rather have Kerr moved up to midfield and into Mackays slot. Now that Roy doesn't get a game he's very much the weak link plus in any decent size of park those long throws are not that effective.

Edited January 15, 2020 by cb_diamond

[cb_diamond]

3 hours ago, Stevo1968 said:

Jeez oh Murray and Cameron winding up the hearts players on the news there..

Calling them out saying their current position is all down to the players!

Genuinely idiotic stuff. Why give motivation to the hearts players. Beyond stupid.

[Stevo1968]

28 minutes ago, cb_diamond said:

Going forward I'd rather have Kerr moved up to midfield and into Mackays slot. Now that Roy doesn't get a game he's very much the weak link plus in any decent size of park those long throws are not that effective.

I’d agree with this, comparing them together all McKay has is a long throw and I think Kerr can do everything McKay does and more besides the long through which must have under 2% success rate

[Ballboy]

I think it's down to some players being a bit complacent.  Feeling their position in the team was safe.  The forward line work hard but their was only ally roy challenging for a place.  Midfield knowing only hawkshaw and nat were there.  Defence knowing only kerr was next.   Now eckersly is back and Thomson is back. Andy Ryan will be challenging for a start.  Against east fife seagal worked harder.   The way nat played against forfar looks to have given mckay something to think about.  The defence have been fantastic but kerr has been doing a good job in the reserves.  I agree it's only really Mckays place under threat at the moment but we have good cover and a few who could come and do a good job. 

Edited January 15, 2020 by Ballboy
,

[Jack Reed]

10 hours ago, cb_diamond said:

Genuinely idiotic stuff. Why give motivation to the hearts players. Beyond stupid.

Aye,they will be far to good for us ,if we keep it to under 4 we will be doing well ,would we get any of our players in their team , no chance ,

[Passionate]

34 minutes ago, Jack Reed said:

Aye,they will be far to good for us ,if we keep it to under 4 we will be doing well ,would we get any of our players in their team , no chance ,

Agree, looking forward to the day and the occasion,   Major shock if we even got a replay,  taking 1500 ext to this game,half of which will not be there next week against stranraer,  how times change we took 1500 plus to Broadwood on a regular basis during our much maligned  tenancy while we waited on the new stadium..

 

Personally I would freshen up the team, give fringe players game time in a competitive environment, instead of lining up against 17 year olds in the Reserves or Youth development league or whatever they call it these days...  Kerr is being touted now as a midfield playmaker because he has scored goals at that level. !!!!!!  Kerr is a young centre half who should be encouraged to learn the position from seasoned pros like Crighton and Fordyce, I do not see any advantage to messing with this, we did the same with Jamie Bain and Scott Stewart years ago changing positions on a regular basis to suit the inadequacies of recruitment and management,  in my view these players have not developed to a standard they could have due to this.

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Aye,they will be far to good for us ,if we keep it to under 4 we will be doing well ,would we get any of our players in their team , no chance ,

We kept it to under 4 against Celtic while playing a back five which only had Crighton as a natural centre half. Hearts should win obviously but I'm hoping it's a lot closer than that

[AndyDD]

16 hours ago, Stevo1968 said:

Jeez oh Murray and Cameron winding up the hearts players on the news there..

Calling them out saying their current position is all down to the players!

Awk get them noised right up, they have proven they cannae handle pressure very well so get it cranked up on them. Classic mind games... 

... In all seriousness I doubt the Hearts players will be using that as motivation; they have places to play for, a new manager to impress etc. Motivation enough. I'd also say fair play to Murray and Cameron; they were asked straight for their views and gave honest answers, they didn't give it the usual kid gloves respect pish. They strike me as the sort who, as players, would have pointed the finger at themselves and their teammates first and foremost when things were not going well and I imagine most proper pros view it the same way. 

The hearts players, if they are honest, would admit themselves that they have under-performed and put themselves in this position. 

Not sure what if anything they were trying to achieve by being as blunt as they were, mind you, but still. Give me straight-shooting honesty anytime. 

 

[el Gringo]

Additional tickets for Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup match against Hearts will be on sale at the Penny Cars Stadium tonight (January 16) from 5:00pm - 8:00pm and tomorrow (January 17) from 2:00pm - 8:00pm.

This will be the final opportunity to purchase tickets, as no sales or cash gate will be available on the day of the match.

[Diamond legend]

Going forward I'd rather have Kerr moved up to midfield and into Mackays slot. Now that Roy doesn't get a game he's very much the weak link plus in any decent size of park those long throws are not that effective.

I think Kerr has the ability to be a good midfield player and might be the solution.I thought a couple of years ago a similar player might do the same Sean Mcintosh but did not work out it is a different ball game moving to a move advanced position.

[Jack Reed]

4 hours ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

We kept it to under 4 against Celtic while playing a back five which only had Crighton as a natural centre half. Hearts should win obviously but I'm hoping it's a lot closer than that

Maybe the result of the day ,get them back to Airdrie ,another gate would be good .

[AndyDD]

1 hour ago, Jack Reed said:

Maybe the result of the day ,get them back to Airdrie ,another gate would be good .

I'd take a replay right now, no question, aye. 

Usually at least one 'upset' in the round, so we can but hope. 

 

[airdrieman]

On 13/01/2020 at 16:57, TheBuckfastTriangle said:

Was a real shame to lose a late goal on Saturday, but we're 3 games into the second half of the season and from the corresponding fixtures in the first half (0-0 at home to Falkirk, 4-1 away to East Fife and 0-2 on the opening day against Forfar) we're 4 points better off.

We've also got 2 of the 4 players in our division to have hit double figures in the league (not to mention Andy Ryan's return), have the 2nd best defence in the league and we've only lost twice in our last 12 league games. 

See above. Since we switched to 433 we've generally been excellent, and there's nobody I'd drop for what the players will surely see as a huge game. If we find ourselves struggling then fair enough, make defensive adjustments, but I'd stick with the team that's put us in the mix at the top of the league. The players will be right up for this one and I fancy us to push them all the way. As far as the bench is concerned, not having Ryan available is a shame, but as a former Jambo and with his place in the pecking order under threat Ally Roy will surely be right up for this one as the game wears on.

You're right, they are 2 leagues above us, but the difference between this one and our trip to Celtic Park last year is that the players will (hopefully!) really believe they can get a result here. Big management links to Edinburgh too - I'm sure Cameron and Murray would love to get one over Hearts here.

 

On 15/01/2020 at 17:25, Mybitchunderprotest said:

On 14/01/2020 at 23:16, CapitalDiamond said:

Podcast for the big game




If you want to skip, Joel Sked at 30.49, Jimmy Sandison at 55:23.

Good listen. Contributors comments about bringing Nat into the side I have to disagree with. The one thing we saw from early season games was that he and Millar don't work together. Whether that was because we didn't have Roberts playing with them or that the set up was slightly different may also have contributed but this is far too big a game to find out. I just recall the side being shite with both of them together and I'd rather have Millar start than Wedderburn. So for me we stick with McKay and if we manage to bring someone else in during January then I'd consider not playing him but certainly not drop him for Nat.

Totally agree with both of these posts. Think people calling for Nat to play last week and this week have a bit of a short-term memory. He has a good range of passing but he's far too slow to be an effective holding midfielder in League 1 let alone against a Premier League team. I don't think a 20 minute cameo against Forfar (as good as he might have been) really merits a sustained run in the first team. Better teams in our league, and Hearts, would catch him out. As said there's no chance he can play in a more advanced or box-to-box role and I don't even think he would be an effective holding midfielder either - any ball in behind him and we'd be toast. Which means it's hard to really come up with a place for him. He's, probably, a useful player to have in the squad, and if he can produce more performances like the one against Forfar then sure he could justifiably argue for more game time, but at the moment there's no one in the midfield I'd drop for him. He's a better passer than Millar and McKay and maybe even Roberts too but (so far) he hasn't shown it often enough or been on his game often enough that it negates his weaknesses enough to justify playing him. As for McKay, he's very raw, but I do like him as a player. His forward runs are a great attribute and regularly lead to chances, he can score, his passing isn't superb but it's usually fine, he can do the dirty stuff and the long throws (while we definitely should employ more variety when it comes to throw-ins) can be and have been a threat. Don't get me wrong he's not 'undroppable' but there's certainly no one in the squad I'd replace him with at the moment. On Saturday we should stick with the team we've been successful with and just go for it. Hopefully it will be defensively solid enough while still being capable of catching Hearts on the break to be able to put in a respectable performance. 

As for Saturday, have no expectation at all going into the game but excited for what should be a cracking day out with a great Airdrie support heading through. As said, no expectations but there's certainly no better time to be playing them. Keep it tight for as long as possible and (hopefully) sneak the first goal and you never know...

[airdrieman]

Don't know much about the boy at all but the club obviously see something in him to tie him down. Good stuff and nice to see some more of the youngsters going out on loan too. 

 

[AFC1878]

Aye,they will be far to good for us ,if we keep it to under 4 we will be doing well ,would we get any of our players in their team , no chance ,

Auchinlea Talbot came within a minute of taking Hearts to a replay a few years back. And Stenhousemuir got a replay against Aberdeen last year so you just never know.

[Tory Boy]

13 hours ago, airdrieman said:

 

Totally agree with both of these posts. Think people calling for Nat to play last week and this week have a bit of a short-term memory. He has a good range of passing but he's far too slow to be an effective holding midfielder in League 1 let alone against a Premier League team. I don't think a 20 minute cameo against Forfar (as good as he might have been) really merits a sustained run in the first team. Better teams in our league, and Hearts, would catch him out. As said there's no chance he can play in a more advanced or box-to-box role and I don't even think he would be an effective holding midfielder either - any ball in behind him and we'd be toast. Which means it's hard to really come up with a place for him. He's, probably, a useful player to have in the squad, and if he can produce more performances like the one against Forfar then sure he could justifiably argue for more game time, but at the moment there's no one in the midfield I'd drop for him. He's a better passer than Millar and McKay and maybe even Roberts too but (so far) he hasn't shown it often enough or been on his game often enough that it negates his weaknesses enough to justify playing him. As for McKay, he's very raw, but I do like him as a player. His forward runs are a great attribute and regularly lead to chances, he can score, his passing isn't superb but it's usually fine, he can do the dirty stuff and the long throws (while we definitely should employ more variety when it comes to throw-ins) can be and have been a threat. Don't get me wrong he's not 'undroppable' but there's certainly no one in the squad I'd replace him with at the moment. On Saturday we should stick with the team we've been successful with and just go for it. Hopefully it will be defensively solid enough while still being capable of catching Hearts on the break to be able to put in a respectable performance. 

As for Saturday, have no expectation at all going into the game but excited for what should be a cracking day out with a great Airdrie support heading through. As said, no expectations but there's certainly no better time to be playing them. Keep it tight for as long as possible and (hopefully) sneak the first goal and you never know...

I agree. I don't get the criticism he takes.

His job is a defensive midfielder. To sit in front of the defence and give cover allowing the more attacking players get forward. Before he came into the side we were losing loads of soft goals. Attacking midfielders were getting free runs on our defence. We’ve went from looking a disaster at the back to having one of the best defensive records in the division. Now I’m not saying it’s all because of him but he plays a big part in that.

I think the folk that criticise him should watch back the highlights from this season and the amount of times he is covering for players and filling the gaps. There is a great example in the defeat at Clyde the other week.

He’s not perfect but nobody playing 3rd tier of Scottish football is. But I think we’d be a much weaker team with any of the other possible replacements.