The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[Ballboy]

I dont see why we shouldn't go into the new season with confidence.  We have 9 players signed up from last season and if we are able add a strong midfield we will definitely be up at the top. 

Falkirk should be favourites with thistle but Falkirk didn't  beat us in the 3 games we played with a win for us.  Thistle have the worst squad they have had in years.  Ok coming from a division above and they did beat us in the 1st league cup game.  But we should be looking at winning this league.  If we can sign Callum Smith permantly maybe keep kieren Miller and add 2 or 3 midfielders we have the makings of a very good squad.  Our back 4 have already signed and Hutton.  If we add a good goalie as back up I'd be expecting a shot at the trophy at the end of the season.  

Personally I'd Keep Thomson and Roberts.  To make 11 who played together from this season and id add a full time goalkeeper and give more of the young boys game time as they have shown they can compete. 

I wouldn't have as big a squad and try to add a creative midfielder also an experienced goalkeeper to challenge Hutton.  If we can add a few good loans we can have a very good squad thats capable of winning the league.  

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

I dont see why we shouldn't go into the new season with confidence.  We have 9 players signed up from last season and if we are able add a strong midfield we will definitely be up at the top. 
Falkirk should be favourites with thistle but Falkirk didn't  beat us in the 3 games we played with a win for us.  Thistle have the worst squad they have had in years.  Ok coming from a division above and they did beat us in the 1st league cup game.  But we should be looking at winning this league.  If we can sign Callum Smith permantly maybe keep kieren Miller and add 2 or 3 midfielders we have the makings of a very good squad.  Our back 4 have already signed and Hutton.  If we add a good goalie as back up I'd be expecting a shot at the trophy at the end of the season.  
Personally I'd Keep Thomson and Roberts.  To make 11 who played together from this season and id add a full time goalkeeper and give more of the young boys game time as they have shown they can compete. 
I wouldn't have as big a squad and try to add a creative midfielder also an experienced goalkeeper to challenge Hutton.  If we can add a few good loans we can have a very good squad thats capable of winning the league.  

It's a similar situation to last season tbh where we go in as third favourites and there's no reason why we shouldn't fancy our chances. Not sure what Falkirk and Thistle's situations are like in terms of players still in contract but us having nine signed up should give us more squad stability than every other team (exact opposite of the season that's just ended), but the cost of paying those nine players through the summer with no income could mean having to wait later than other clubs before we're able to sign up new players, and the best ones could be gone. I hope the club has enough spare cash to ensure that doesn't happen. Very promising that Millar mentioned the possibility of signing Smith and Ryan on the OTL podcast because even if we can't at least it shows ambition and suggests we might not be in too much trouble financially. Btw Thomson is one of the nine signed up, he's shown real pace and skill at times but really needs to add more of an end product to be an asset for us next season but I'm happy enough to see him back and, in his defence, he was set back by injury last season.

[AFC1878]

A lot balances on when football is allowed to recommence. If it’s not back until 2021, why would we keep players on and pay their wages when the furlough scheme ends if there’s no football being played?

 

[airdrieman]

18 hours ago, Airdrie76 said:

What’s everyone’s now reconstruction appears to be dead?

 

17 hours ago, AFC1878 said:

At least we got a golden carrot when we voted to end the current season

TBF though I don't see what other options there were for the club. The only fair way to settle the league(s) was to play the remaining games but was never going to happen. The only viable options were to either vote to null & void the league or vote to end the league and try and move some sort of league reconstruction proposal forward. If we voted to null & void the league we wouldn't be in any better or different a position - we'd definitely be playing in League 1 and without the rest of the prize money (however big or small that might be). As much as I think the process has been a farce, was rushed and was never likely to result in league reconstruction or meaningful change, we were as well voting for the option that at least tried to move something forward. I don't think there's much more Airdrie could have done really. 

 

[Diamond10]

It's a similar situation to last season tbh where we go in as third favourites and there's no reason why we shouldn't fancy our chances. Not sure what Falkirk and Thistle's situations are like in terms of players still in contract but us having nine signed up should give us more squad stability than every other team (exact opposite of the season that's just ended), but the cost of paying those nine players through the summer with no income could mean having to wait later than other clubs before we're able to sign up new players, and the best ones could be gone. I hope the club has enough spare cash to ensure that doesn't happen. Very promising that Millar mentioned the possibility of signing Smith and Ryan on the OTL podcast because even if we can't at least it shows ambition and suggests we might not be in too much trouble financially. Btw Thomson is one of the nine signed up, he's shown real pace and skill at times but really needs to add more of an end product to be an asset for us next season but I'm happy enough to see him back and, in his defence, he was set back by injury last season.

Maybe on the pessimistic side but although raith well and truly had the beating of us they still dropped enough points against other teams to allow us to be in touching distance. Can see thistle spending and being stronger than that. Falkirk also improved when they changed manager and you’d expect them to be better next year. Cove as well coming up isnt ideal can see them thinking themselves as play off contenders also with us Montrose and east fife all about. All ifs buts and maybes though will be interesting to see what we can afford player wise when the situation allows. Getting Smith and Chucky would be key to any promotion bid imo

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Maybe on the pessimistic side but although raith well and truly had the beating of us they still dropped enough points against other teams to allow us to be in touching distance. Can see thistle spending and being stronger than that. Falkirk also improved when they changed manager and you’d expect them to be better next year. Cove as well coming up isnt ideal can see them thinking themselves as play off contenders also with us Montrose and east fife all about. All ifs buts and maybes though will be interesting to see what we can afford player wise when the situation allows. Getting Smith and Chucky would be key to any promotion bid imo

You could be right but there's every chance Thistle will take as long as Falkirk did to get their act together. Difficult to place Cove in this league as we don't know how much they'll spend or how much they compare to top end League One sides but I wouldn't be surprised if they're pushing for a playoff, if they have enough money to take a risk and recruit before other teams when contracts run out they might even be title challengers. Agree about Smith and Chucky. If Ryan was signed he'd get a fresh start rather than getting thrown into the team in january after not playing football so that would help a lot, and I'm a big fan of Smith who has a lot of potential as he's still only 20. As long as we aren't drastically worse off than the any other club we should be fine for next season, but like you say, it's all ifs, buts and maybes as we have no idea how most teams will cope financially and what most squads will look like at this time.

[Airdrie76]

TBF though I don't see what other options there were for the club. The only fair way to settle the league(s) was to play the remaining games but was never going to happen. The only viable options were to either vote to null & void the league or vote to end the league and try and move some sort of league reconstruction proposal forward. If we voted to null & void the league we wouldn't be in any better or different a position - we'd definitely be playing in League 1 and without the rest of the prize money (however big or small that might be). As much as I think the process has been a farce, was rushed and was never likely to result in league reconstruction or meaningful change, we were as well voting for the option that at least tried to move something forward. I don't think there's much more Airdrie could have done really. 

 

Pushed for a genuine commitment to reconstruction prior to voting yes? It fell at the first hurdle (or the first hurdle showed it was never ever happening might be right). Based on the noises coming out we potentially naively bought into the belief something might happen. It was never going to.

 

[Diamond10]

Pushed for a genuine commitment to reconstruction prior to voting yes? It fell at the first hurdle (or the first hurdle showed it was never ever happening might be right). Based on the noises coming out we potentially naively bought into the belief something might happen. It was never going to.
 

Agreed just reread our original statement regarding the league conclusion. Sounds as if we weren’t happy with the league finishing as was however either we’ve been mislead or naivety on our part to think reconstruction was a genuine strong possibility. Regardless, all a very disappointing way to end the season thoroughly enjoyed watching that team this year (even the games we lost). There was a good feeling about the place and I genuinely believe we could’ve gone all the way through the playoffs.

[Ballboy]

I really think the premier league would rather have hearts in the league for Edinburgh derbys and more to offer for the tv deal when they play the ugly sisters.  The bigger travelling support they have too. However it looks more like the thought of having extra relegation places in the future and most of them have bottled it.  

Just shows it's ok to feel sympathy for other teams but just not enough if it means yours could lose out next year.  

I'm sure most premier chairman will say it's wrong for hearts, thistle and stranrar to go down with games still to play but f**k them if it means we could lose our place.  The view will be hearts and Dundee utd will have bigger support and ultimately more money than Hamilton and st Mirren so save them now means possibly less in the future for us.  Self preservation at its finest. 

It's the same in league 2 also.  They have said they would all vote as 1 and wouldn't consider 14-14-16 as it ultimately means in the future if there is extra relegation clubs like brechin,  cowdenbeath, Albion rovers,  could lose a league place if Kelty and brora are there.  All of these clubs from top to bottom talk about the greater good of scotish football but would have more credibility if the just said what we all know.  

[Airdrie76]

Agreed just reread our original statement regarding the league conclusion. Sounds as if we weren’t happy with the league finishing as was however either we’ve been mislead or naivety on our part to think reconstruction was a genuine strong possibility. Regardless, all a very disappointing way to end the season thoroughly enjoyed watching that team this year (even the games we lost). There was a good feeling about the place and I genuinely believe we could’ve gone all the way through the playoffs.

It definitely sounds like it was used as a carrot and a few teams may have bought it. The Rangers dossier was a let down but there are genuine questions needing answered by the SPFL Board around the way this shambles has been run.

[Diamonds are Forever]

3 hours ago, Airdrie76 said:

It definitely sounds like it was used as a carrot and a few teams may have bought it. The Rangers dossier was a let down but there are genuine questions needing answered by the SPFL Board around the way this shambles has been run.

 

The 'carrot' of league reconstruction was absolutely irrelevant. As was the access to early payment of prize money for that matter, which people seem to think was a factor aswell. As soon as it was obvious the league could not be completed then the decision was made for us. How could we vote to continue a season that was never going to actually be finished, and what would be the point? Like most other clubs, we needed to get this season out the way, get as many players off the books as possible and shut down until this passes. Not vote to continue the uncertainty indefinitely. I fail to understand why some fans aren't getting this.

Do you really think given our 'no lose' position on the park, and given all the efforts that have been made to get us promoted, that the club would have chucked that away for some vague reconstruction talk?

Reconstruction was something put out there and mentioned by the club probably to appease fans a bit, it was pretty obvious that given the politics of Scottish football and the short time scale it was never going to happen. The club made absolutely the right decision at the right time voting to end the season.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Diamonds are Forever

[Airdrie76]

That went well ‘Now that the written resolution has been passed, we are able to move onto the important issue of league reconstruction. Please be assured that the Board of Directors will continue, as we have already, to push for the outcome which is most beneficial to everyone at Airdrieonians Football Club and the other member clubs unfairly affected by this season's outcome.’

[Airdrie76]

  The 'carrot' of league reconstruction was absolutely irrelevant. As was the access to early payment of prize money for that matter, which people seem to think was a factor aswell. As soon as it was obvious the league could not be completed then the decision was made for us. How could we vote to continue a season that was never going to actually be finished, and what would be the point? Like most other clubs, we needed to get this season out the way, get as many players off the books as possible and shut down until this passes. Not vote to continue the uncertainty indefinitely. I fail to understand why some fans aren't getting this.

Do you really think given our 'no lose' position on the park, and given all the efforts that have been made to get us promoted, that the club would have chucked that away for some vague reconstruction talk?

Reconstruction was something put out there and mentioned by the club probably to appease fans a bit, it was pretty obvious that given the politics of Scottish football and the short time scale it was never going to happen. The club made absolutely the right decision at the right time voting to end the season.

 

My point was more aimed at the league. The suggestion is clubs were told reconstruction may be possible. Clubs could have perhaps pushed for this to have been formally included in the proposed resolution. From what Maitland (Hamilton director) said yesterday, it wasn’t. Of course it was doomed to fail. A yes vote based on what was proposed obviously ensured that.

Btw, what the early payment of monies would have allowed was time to step back and assess all options while alleviating the immediate money concerns. Edited to say, interesting the Falkirk chairman pretty much said that: https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/sport/football/falkirk-fc/chairmans-diary-fury-how-things-turned-out-view-longer-game-league-reconstruction-2541794?fbclid=IwAR1URYR5sQysEeV8SKhbnuS5AucVdZvJ-R1swdqDXVg-swIUUfNFNb-dDCg

[Diamond10]

 
The 'carrot' of league reconstruction was absolutely irrelevant. As was the access to early payment of prize money for that matter, which people seem to think was a factor aswell. As soon as it was obvious the league could not be completed then the decision was made for us. How could we vote to continue a season that was never going to actually be finished, and what would be the point? Like most other clubs, we needed to get this season out the way, get as many players off the books as possible and shut down until this passes. Not vote to continue the uncertainty indefinitely. I fail to understand why some fans aren't getting this.
Do you really think given our 'no lose' position on the park, and given all the efforts that have been made to get us promoted, that the club would have chucked that away for some vague reconstruction talk?
Reconstruction was something put out there and mentioned by the club probably to appease fans a bit, it was pretty obvious that given the politics of Scottish football and the short time scale it was never going to happen. The club made absolutely the right decision at the right time voting to end the season.

Don’t think they would’ve bothered forming a reconstruction task force and hetherington being a part of it, if it wasn’t at least a possibility.

[Diamonds are Forever]

1 hour ago, Airdrie76 said:

That went well ‘Now that the written resolution has been passed, we are able to move onto the important issue of league reconstruction. Please be assured that the Board of Directors will continue, as we have already, to push for the outcome which is most beneficial to everyone at Airdrieonians Football Club and the other member clubs unfairly affected by this season's outcome.’

 

As I said, I think that statement was to try and appease the fans a bit who were disappointed to have the season cut short. Once the vote was done and reconstruction was on the table then obviously the club are going to consider it. That doesn't mean they voted Yes to access reconstruction talks. They may have genuinely thought it was possible, I don't know, but it made no difference to what way the club were going to vote in the first place. As I said, if the club voted to throw away our league position for some vague reconstruction talk then they are idiots - thankfully they didn't. They did it because the season could not be finished. Plus the statement doesn't necessarily support reconstruction, it just states they want the best outcome, which may well have been no reconstruction.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Diamonds are Forever

[AFC1878]

The club voted to end the season primarily to enable the prize money to be released. But make no mistake, the club were offered a place on the reconstruction task force in exchange for their vote. This was taken up as by increasing the leagues to 14,14,14 which I believe was the clubs preference we would get into the Championship.

 

[Nipper]

On 10/05/2020 at 18:25, AFC1878 said:

The club voted to end the season primarily to enable the prize money to be released. But make no mistake, the club were offered a place on the reconstruction task force in exchange for their vote. This was taken up as by increasing the leagues to 14,14,14 which I believe was the clubs preference we would get into the Championship.

 

This ìs exactly how it was explained to me.

It would be interesting to find out if the other clubs on the reconstruction committee were offered the same.

[Diamond10]

Wonder how’s side we will take in the EGM tomorrow then. Would be good to hear from the club about the failed reconstruction.

[Nipper]

19 minutes ago, Diamond10 said:

Wonder how’s side we will take in the EGM tomorrow then. Would be good to hear from the club about the failed reconstruction.

Wonder if you'll be able to change your vote if you have second thoughts ?

[DiamondJack85]

1 hour ago, Nipper said:

This ìs exactly how it was explained to me.

It would be interesting to find out if the other clubs on the reconstruction committee were offered the same.

So what your saying is that teams such as Hearts, Partick, Falkirk and Edinburgh City all got offered places on the reconstruction committe in exchange for their vote and still got places on it despite voting no? Some deal that!!