The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[Mr November]

45 minutes ago, DiamondsForever1970 said:

 

What worries me is that Frizell and Easton are very tidy, skillful and good to watch but over the season so far they have not done enough in terms of goals or assists. Plenty footwork but often no end product. Now going into winter having those 2 in the team next few months is going to be a liability. I go back to last season at Clyde and Dumbarton away, 6 points but we created zero but battled like hell and won at any cost in bad weather. Now we have Queens Park and if we lose this then goodbye winning the league. I hope Murray gets the selection right and he sees that playing those 2 over the winter from the start we are in trouble.

Who should play instead of them though? We’d be daft to drop two of our best players just because it’s winter. I initially thought Frizzell would be that type of player but he’s very hard-working and puts in a good shift wherever he’s played. He perhaps could have been involved in more in the final third but he offers us so much with his technique and drive from midfield. Easton has three goals and five assists which I think is quite decent. He hasn’t really got going against the better teams yet, with the exception of Falkirk away where he was outstanding, but again I don’t see how the team would be improved by bringing in a player of lesser ability. 

Queen’s Park have a lot of very good technical midfielders and will play the same way on Saturday they have all season. We haven’t really played them with a proper team yet so I’m quite intrigued to see how our midfield gets on against theirs. 

I’d probably go back to the diamond midfield that worked well on Saturday. Assuming Lyons is out, I’d move Watson into centre back and bring Scott McGill in at right back. While he’s not a full back, he was fine every time he played there other than Alloa away and having him on his natural side can only help. I’d bring Gallagher back in for Gabby McGill too, who I like but I think is better suited as an impact player. I think something like this is still a decent team:

Currie
S McGill - Watson - Fordyce - Quitongo
McCabe
Frizzell - McInroy
Easton
Smith - Gallagher

[DiamondsForever1970]

13 minutes ago, Mr November said:

Who should play instead of them though? We’d be daft to drop two of our best players just because it’s winter. I initially thought Frizzell would be that type of player but he’s very hard-working and puts in a good shift wherever he’s played. He perhaps could have been involved in more in the final third but he offers us so much with his technique and drive from midfield. Easton has three goals and five assists which I think is quite decent. He hasn’t really got going against the better teams yet, with the exception of Falkirk away where he was outstanding, but again I don’t see how the team would be improved by bringing in a player of lesser ability. 

Queen’s Park have a lot of very good technical midfielders and will play the same way on Saturday they have all season. We haven’t really played them with a proper team yet so I’m quite intrigued to see how our midfield gets on against theirs. 

I’d probably go back to the diamond midfield that worked well on Saturday. Assuming Lyons is out, I’d move Watson into centre back and bring Scott McGill in at right back. While he’s not a full back, he was fine every time he played there other than Alloa away and having him on his natural side can only help. I’d bring Gallagher back in for Gabby McGill too, who I like but I think is better suited as an impact player. I think something like this is still a decent team:

Currie
S McGill - Watson - Fordyce - Quitongo
McCabe
Frizzell - McInroy
Easton
Smith - Gallagher

We do not have enough options but I would go with the following, was not Agnew biggest fan but he was best player on park few weeks ago and looked fitter than from start of season.

 

4-1-3-2 setup:

Currie

Watson Fordyce McCabe Quitongo

Agnew

S Mcgill - Frizell or Easton - Mcinroy

Gallagher G McGill

 

[Passionate]

4 minutes ago, DiamondsForever1970 said:

We do not have enough options but I would go with the following, was not Agnew biggest fan but he was best player on park few weeks ago and looked fitter than from start of season.

 

4-1-3-2 setup:

Currie

Watson Fordyce McCabe Quitongo

Agnew

S Mcgill - Frizell or Easton - Mcinroy

Gallagher G McGill

 

Agree about Agnew, we sometimes lack a bit of experience in Midfield when McCabe is playing centre Half,  Aggie was outstanding again st Cove,, only issue is McInroy plays his best stuff as defensive midfielder,   Frizzell and Easton must and will play, they are arguably our most talented players,  our biggest issue is up front,  I would play Smith as a 9,  with G McGill playing as second striker, for that to work we need Rico and Watson to be brave and get forward....

 

If we have any aspirations we must win this game,  Queens Park will probably pass us to death,  we need to score early and take chances when they come,     The big question can any of our strikers take the half chance in a big game,  Jury's out....    

[Stevo1968]

Any insiders know when Kerr could be back? Seen on the website more information in the next few days but figured someone itk might shed some light on the subject.

[Jack Reed]

13 hours ago, DiamondsForever1970 said:

 

What worries me is that Frizell and Easton are very tidy, skillful and good to watch but over the season so far they have not done enough in terms of goals or assists. Plenty footwork but often no end product. Now going into winter having those 2 in the team next few months is going to be a liability. I go back to last season at Clyde and Dumbarton away, 6 points but we created zero but battled like hell and won at any cost in bad weather. Now we have Queens Park and if we lose this then goodbye winning the league. I hope Murray gets the selection right and he sees that playing those 2 over the winter from the start we are in trouble.

Would be gutted if Easton and Frizzell weren't playing, 

[Tory Boy]

On 08/12/2021 at 08:50, Kenny_m said:

Interesting time coming up with the club expecting clarity on Kerr & Sal's injuries in the next few days which could play a part on the upcoming transfer window activity where we must strengthen. 

Defence: Thought Luke Lyons looked pretty decent last night but unfortunately collided with the post and never recovered but hopefully just an impact injury.

Rico I've never fancied from day one and is simply not good enough, was at fault in the first phase of play leading to Montrose's opening goal and was uncertain all night. Offers zero going forward therefore LB required in transfer window.

Scott Walker replaced Lyon last night and showed exactly why he is no where near starting and gave away a poor free kick which led to the 2nd goal. Again not good enough.

Midfield: Desperately need to extend McInroy's loan period past xmas as he's currently our best player and was outstanding last night but fearful he may be attracting attention elsewhere. Scott McGill on the other hand has become disappointing and I would end his loan for a replacement for Rico.

Forward: Gabby & Smith looked a decent a pairing in the 2nd half last night and will cause a lot of sides problems with their pace. Obviously Sal's injury is a concern with Gal only a "handy sub" to me.

We'll see.

 

According to those a bit more ITK than me, there is a bit money there to strengthen in January (God knows where its coming from with our crowds).

The Club have been working on players coming in, as well as others leaving.  The only actual player mentioned though was a full back from Hearts.

[dextermorgan]

Most fans are agreed on the need for a striker and central defender, hopefully this can be resolved soon. No harm to Gal upfront but I cannot help but think where we would be if Andy Ryan had the jersey with Easton and co supplying the ammunition.

My other concerns lie in the lack of competition in the goalkeeping and left back position. It is fair to say that both of these  areas have been comfortable for a while now and this does not help the side. Besides a drop in form these players may need a 'break' throughout the season and as I can see it there is no-one pushing for their jerseys.

 

[Jack Reed]

15 minutes ago, dextermorgan said:

Most fans are agreed on the need for a striker and central defender, hopefully this can be resolved soon. No harm to Gal upfront but I cannot help but think where we would be if Andy Ryan had the jersey with Easton and co supplying the ammunition.

My other concerns lie in the lack of competition in the goalkeeping and left back position. It is fair to say that both of these  areas have been comfortable for a while now and this does not help the side. Besides a drop in form these players may need a 'break' throughout the season and as I can see it there is no-one pushing for their jerseys.

 

Left back is a big problem and quotingo does not solve it , 

[Kenny_m]

11 minutes ago, Jack Reed said:

Left back is a big problem and quotingo does not solve it , 

Agreed left back is by far the biggest problem. 

[G_H]

But I was told in this thread when McCann pissed off to Falkirk that left back wasnt that important!

[Kenny_m]

4 hours ago, Tory Boy said:

 

According to those a bit more ITK than me, there is a bit money there to strengthen in January (God knows where its coming from with our crowds).

The Club have been working on players coming in, as well as others leaving.  The only actual player mentioned though was a full back from Hearts.

Hope the full back is a lefty!

[Jack Reed]

35 minutes ago, G_H said:

But I was told in this thread when McCann pissed off to Falkirk that left back wasnt that important!

Think you will find that the teams doing well  in our league have solid wing  backs, and someone that can put the ball in the net, 

[Diamonds are Forever]

4 hours ago, dextermorgan said:

Most fans are agreed on the need for a striker and central defender, hopefully this can be resolved soon. No harm to Gal upfront but I cannot help but think where we would be if Andy Ryan had the jersey with Easton and co supplying the ammunition.

My other concerns lie in the lack of competition in the goalkeeping and left back position. It is fair to say that both of these  areas have been comfortable for a while now and this does not help the side. Besides a drop in form these players may need a 'break' throughout the season and as I can see it there is no-one pushing for their jerseys.

 

 

I agree, I think we are a left back, centre back and striker away from a title winning side. Signing Kerr and Lyons given their injury records I think was a mistake, you could maybe have gone for one of them but 2 guys with their record of injuries in the same position I think was silly. In that position you need players who play 90 minutes every week to give stability to the team and we don't have that. I know it's easy in hindsight to say that but Murray mentioned Lyons injury record when we signed him, and we all knew about Kerr, so it was predictable that we'd be without them for chunks of the season. I haven't been impressed by Quitongo at all so far. I've never seen a player caught the wrong side of someone so much, and he doesn't offer much going forward. And up front Gallagher is a decent striker at this level and will get us 10-15 goals guaranteed, but for a league winning side we'd need someone like a Megginson I think, who are clearly not easy to come by on our budget so wouldn't criticise the club for not managing to sign someone like that.

Like you I have reservations about Currie. He's one of those goalies who pulls off the odd spectacular save (like at Stenny) and rarely makes a blatant blunder (except the one a few weeks ago) but I feel he consistently lets in goals that a goalie at this level shouldn't be conceding. We lose far too many goals from within 2 or 3 yards of his goal line where he wont come off his line (Cove and Montrose goals in recent weeks) and other goals like both Alloa goals and the 2nd Montrose goal this week where, despite not being a blatant error, he should really be saving them. I think with a solid central defence pairing we'd probably be okay with him as he isn't terrible, but I think the defensive situation is exposing his weaknesses.

[Passionate]

10 hours ago, Kenny_m said:

Hope the full back is a lefty!

I would think Dean Ritchie and Jordan Allan would be the type of player, we would try and move on in January window,

[G_H]

17 hours ago, Jack Reed said:

Think you will find that the teams doing well  in our league have solid wing  backs, and someone that can put the ball in the net, 

Shame we don't have a solid left wing back in that case!

[Jack Reed]

56 minutes ago, G_H said:

Shame we don't have a solid left wing back in that case!

Would not say its a shame, but would be to the teams advantage if we had one that could defend first and foremost, then maybe make a wee run and get a decent cross in to the box, that would bring another problem, who could direct the header and score, 

 

[WeAllDreamOfATeamOfAndyRyans]

 
According to those a bit more ITK than me, there is a bit money there to strengthen in January (God knows where its coming from with our crowds).
The Club have been working on players coming in, as well as others leaving.  The only actual player mentioned though was a full back from Hearts.

Do U know the name of this fella?

[airdrieman]

On 08/12/2021 at 09:33, Mr November said:

Yeah Montrose are always a team I feel we struggle against. I think it’s noticeable that whenever Montrose announce their lineup it’s always very clear who is playing where. Every player knows their role so well and whether they play a back three or four they’re always organised and able to adapt. He’s been more settled this season but there’s still plenty of times where it hits 2pm and I have no idea what Murray’s up to. Our record against them since they came up is W4 D1 L7 which is pretty poor considering we undoubtedly have a bigger budget than them.

Last night was a disappointment but I’m not too upset about it, as I wasn’t really expecting to win and the conditions definitely didn’t help. Saturday is a massive test though. We’ve already played Queen’s Park three times without ever playing close to our best and they’ve yet to beat us, so that bodes well. Despite the last couple of results we’re still a much better team than we were the last time we played Queen’s Park, so I’m hopeful of a better result this time although I think it will be another draw. They’ve been on a poor run but I was at their game against Falkirk last weekend and it was by far the best I’ve seen them play. In the other games I’ve seen them they’ve looked scared to have a shot, other than Simon Murray shooting from anywhere, but they were a lot more confident in the final third on Saturday. Admittedly Falkirk were dreadful and that was a big factor in such a big win but our defensive injuries could be an issue. 

To be honest I think four points from the next couple of games would leave us in a decent enough position for halfway but we really need to be going all out for six. For me the league is split with a top five, bottom four and Alloa still trying to work out which end they’re going for. Our record against the other top five teams so far is W1 D1 L5 and against the bottom four is W6 D1 L0. It’s pretty clear what our issue is this season, we’ve managed to cut out the daft 1-0 defeats at home to everyone but we still don’t seem to be able to do enough against the better teams. There’s still plenty of time to turn that around though and I think a win on Saturday, no matter how well we play, would go a long way to bringing some confidence.

 

On 08/12/2021 at 13:30, ++Ammo - Airdrie++ said:

We are capable of winning against any team in this league as we have proved before, but for years we have lacked the balls for BIG games (see top of the league games and take your pick from any playoff final ever).  

Bottle Merchant FC.

It's a funny one as our record against the other top 4/5 teams, with the exception of Raith and Thistle, over the last few seasons is better than our record thus far this season. Always bodied Falkirk, a win a piece and a draw against Cove last season and 50/50 v Montrose. Our team this season is undeniably better than it has been the last couple of years so it is funny that that's not translating to better results against the better teams. Is it a mentality thing and if so where does that come from? The players? The management? Murray should be experienced enough now to be able to set up and motivate a team to win these sort of games. And it's not as if our squad is lacking in experience - Currie, Fordyce, Watson, McCabe, Agnew, Easton and Gal is a pretty solid and experienced spine for this level. Whatever the issue is there's no denying our results against the rest of the top 4 have been nowhere near good enough so far (1/15). We really need to start turning that around from Saturday and we definitely need to reverse our results against Cove and Montrose the next two times we play them now. 

12 hours ago, Passionate said:

I would think Dean Ritchie and Jordan Allan would be the type of player, we would try and move on in January window,

We could get rid of Ritchie, McDonald, Pyott and Allan and I don't think any of them would be much of a loss quality or quantity wise. Great news if there's a budget to use to improve the squad. 

[airdrieman]

23 hours ago, Kenny_m said:

Hope the full back is a lefty!

Javier Zanetti? 

[Kenny_m]

game off