The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[She who dares gins]

Really didn’t think ATS was the problem yesterday. Funny how you can watch the same game and have different views. Thought he was one of the more solid players and did his job well, which when you’re leaking goals like we are, is what you want.

[Kenny_m]

52 minutes ago, She who dares gins said:

Really didn’t think ATS was the problem yesterday. Funny how you can watch the same game and have different views. Thought he was one of the more solid players and did his job well, which when you’re leaking goals like we are, is what you want.

It was perfectly clear on the stream and post match interview that McCabe blamed him for the 2nd goal, quite rightly so in my opinion.

[David Fernández]

It's easy to pick on scapegoats we always do,   the 2 players mentioned have not done much wrong IMO, personally I think teams defence is stronger with ATS in it,  Telfer on the other hand, has ability, not much went right today, did he hide no,  our midfield 3 with him and 2 rookies got  overrun, why,  McCabe is persisting with 3 ineffective forwards and due to there lack of work rate especially Jameson they give little or no cover defensively,  most opponents play 4 in midfield that's where we lose out,   4 4 2 is a typical League 1 formation and should make us harder to beat, don't think it's the McCabe way though,   
Also the strip looked better with the red shorts and socks combo....(least of our concerns)

Wouldn't say I'm scapegoating anyone, just responding to a question the Falkirk fan had left on here. I agree I don't think ATS has done much wrong since he came in. I think the thing that frustrates me about Telfer and Jamieson is, that they have talent and ability, but look to be inconsistent. I think I'm a bit more critical of those players for that reason because i know they can perform much better, whilst ATS I understand his limitations. But it is a team game and everyone can do perform better than what they are doing just now.

[Kenny_m]

6 hours ago, Passionate said:

It's easy to pick on scapegoats we always do,   the 2 players mentioned have not done much wrong IMO, personally I think teams defence is stronger with ATS in it,  Telfer on the other hand, has ability, not much went right today, did he hide no,  our midfield 3 with him and 2 rookies got  overrun, why,  McCabe is persisting with 3 ineffective forwards and due to there lack of work rate especially Jameson they give little or no cover defensively,  most opponents play 4 in midfield that's where we lose out,   4 4 2 is a typical League 1 formation and should make us harder to beat, don't think it's the McCabe way though,   

Also the strip looked better with the red shorts and socks combo....(least of our concerns)

There weren't many who achieved pass marks yesterday but unfortunately we've little options especially with Ballantyne still suspended next week but agree we need to set up differently.

[Diamonds are Forever]

1 hour ago, She who dares gins said:

Really didn’t think ATS was the problem yesterday. Funny how you can watch the same game and have different views. Thought he was one of the more solid players and did his job well, which when you’re leaking goals like we are, is what you want.

 

I agree, I actually thought the back 4 looked a bit more solid than previous weeks. Not that that's saying much, but it did look better. I think the problem lied more in midfield, but generally a total lack of energy, aggression and physicality across the pitch. We are so soft and easy to play against. If you are playing football like peak Barcelona you can get away with that, but if you are playing like we are you get dragged into a battle and end up losing.

[Diamonds are Forever]

31 minutes ago, Kenny_m said:

It was perfectly clear on the stream and post match interview that McCabe blamed him for the 2nd goal, quite rightly so in my opinion.

 

Perhaps, but he should maybe also ask why their player was able to get in front of him and Fordyce.

[Guest Back Post Misses]

Charlie Telfer showing little is 100% what most Falkirk fans would have predicted.  To think some were not happy McGlynn got shot. He is a waste of a jersey. He will throw in a very game and soon probably which will keep him in the side for another few weeks when he will hide again. 

[Kenny_m]

4 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

Perhaps, but he should maybe also ask why their player was able to get in front of him and Fordyce.

Just watched again, and my mistake it's Deveney he's having a go at.

[Mr November]

I also thought ATS was fine yesterday and one of our better players. He’s not a marauding wing back at this point, though I did laugh when he knocked the ball round Cawley early on and put a cross in, but he was pretty steady overall. He’s an easy target but given the low expectations around him I think he’s done alright so far.

As others have said, it’s a real lack of energy in midfield at the moment that’s the biggest issue. We miss Easton’s flair and creativity at times but he also worked very hard defensively, while Agnew barely moved but was very effective at filling in the gaps and keeping us organised. Until Frizzell is back I’m honestly not sure what we do to fix the midfield. I’d be tempted to play Telfer further forward, he has ability but is nowhere near aggressive or reliable enough as the deepest midfielder.

[Jack Reed]

1 hour ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

I agree, I actually thought the back 4 looked a bit more solid than previous weeks. Not that that's saying much, but it did look better. I think the problem lied more in midfield, but generally a total lack of energy, aggression and physicality across the pitch. We are so soft and easy to play against. If you are playing football like peak Barcelona you can get away with that, but if you are playing like we are you get dragged into a battle and end up losing.

Any half decent manger will set his team out and beat us, we are so easy to play against, manager needs help both with some decent players with a bit of fight in them, and with setting out a team, it is obvious he does not know, 

[cb_diamond]

Once again the bigger overarching issue and narrative is the seemingly hermit like status of our owner/chairman/stadium chief PH. I've mentioned before that it's always troubled me that he has seemingly zero interaction with anyone about anything. He could easily clarify a load of things with one statement, interview or Q and A, but we know he won't. At this stage and with things unravelling in front of our eyes it's just becoming more and more bizarre. Is it arrogance? Lack of caring? Total intransigence? Whatever is the case, we need to know why we basically don't have a squad. Gow's academy seems an unbelievable waste of funds if we're putting out benches of 4. Are we expecting to get stung in this court case? Are we just skint generally? 

Contrary to the old saying, sometimes no news is actually bad news. I'm more and more beginning to think that applies here.

[Mybitchunderprotest]

10 hours ago, Reggie Perrin said:

Genuine question here, what made Airdrie think signing two players who were part of one of the worst Falkirk teams in our 146 year history would work out well?

ATS hasn't been too bad and I fully expect him to just provide cover for injuries/suspensions which is where he's fitting in just now. I have absolutely no idea why Telfer was signed. His pre season match as a trialist showed he wasn't any better than what we had and his reluctance to sign while awaiting a better deal elsewhere should have been enough for us to just forget about him. We'd be better off listing a shop mannequin in the starting 11 and letting the other players use it for making 1-2's with.

[gav-ffc]

From the outside it seems like the cheaper option appointing a current player and his assistant is also a player, we obviously had the McCracken and and Miller experiment were Miller was still playing so can’t imagine what it’s like having the manager and assistant both on the pitch.

Signings seem to be cheap loans and two players from one of our worst ever teams especially Telfer situation being weird with him being a trialist in June and not signing a deal until September.

[She who dares gins]

Genuine question here, what made Airdrie think signing two players who were part of one of the worst Falkirk teams in our 146 year history would work out well?

A lack of signing absolutely anyone else - the signing policy has been an absolute shambles this year. All we heard was that we’re not bringing anyone in that doesn’t improve the side and we seem to have successfully managed to bring in people who’ve made it worse. Cammy should be an upgrade but he’s been sent off in two and missed two - impacting 4 games - and Rae has barely played. The rest are not an upgrade, they’re young lads who shouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end like this. There’s not enough experience or physicality which is absolutely what you need in league one.

Not sure who is to blame for this shambles. But if you’re going to tell fans things like that. You need to back it up. I think the board will give it more time, based on previous experience, they don’t seem to kind to make knee jerk reactions.

Fans were very muted at FT, but this may be the point the tide starts to turn if we don’t sort this out.

[Rhys McCabe Hype Train]

2 minutes ago, She who dares gins said:

Not sure who is to blame for this shambles. But if you’re going to tell fans things like that. You need to back it up.

This, this and so much this.

It’s startling how far this team has regressed since the 6-0 home defeat to Edinburgh and I fear the same could be on the cards next week. Truth be told I’ll only be going to tick the new “ground” off, when it undoubtedly goes the way we expect I’ll be walking along the road and having a nice curry in Gautams.

Have to echo the sentiments about fan interaction. Even when we had Murray, we saw maximum 1-1.5 minutes of interview with him pre and post match (I’m aware DTV+ subscribers get more) but the first thing he did when he went to Raith was a 20 minute sit down with the club media… when we unveiled McCabe it was the same, a two minute video full of sound bites. I don’t want to sling mud at the club media team as they are volunteers and I’m sure they’re being directed as such by the club, but why is everything so secretive? It all harks back to the deepest darkest seasons when there was such a disconnect between players/board/fans again.

Suppose last season the board had it easy, with all of this masked by the amazing run we were on. But now the going is harder, what happens now?

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

32 minutes ago, She who dares gins said:

A lack of signing absolutely anyone else - the signing policy has been an absolute shambles this year. All we heard was that we’re not bringing anyone in that doesn’t improve the side and we seem to have successfully managed to bring in people who’ve made it worse. Cammy should be an upgrade but he’s been sent off in two and missed two - impacting 4 games - and Rae has barely played. The rest are not an upgrade, they’re young lads who shouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end like this. There’s not enough experience or physicality which is absolutely what you need in league one.

Not sure who is to blame for this shambles. But if you’re going to tell fans things like that. You need to back it up. I think the board will give it more time, based on previous experience, they don’t seem to kind to make knee jerk reactions.

Fans were very muted at FT, but this may be the point the tide starts to turn if we don’t sort this out.

He also missed a League Cup game through suspension for cumulative yellows. I like him as a player but 3 separate suspensions by October is ridiculous.

[Passionate]

3 minutes ago, She who dares gins said:

A lack of signing absolutely anyone else - the signing policy has been an absolute shambles this year. All we heard was that we’re not bringing anyone in that doesn’t improve the side and we seem to have successfully managed to bring in people who’ve made it worse. Cammy should be an upgrade but he’s been sent off in two and missed two - impacting 4 games - and Rae has barely played. The rest are not an upgrade, they’re young lads who shouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end like this. There’s not enough experience or physicality which is absolutely what you need in league one.

Not sure who is to blame for this shambles. But if you’re going to tell fans things like that. You need to back it up.

Think back to a long hot preseason and our top secret training camp at Broadwood,  that's when your trialists and targets make an appearance,  let's break them down,  Euan Deveney ex killie youth,  we were warned about him as being  pish by Falkirk and Clyde fans,   Josh Jack midfielder ex St Mirre n youth failed to win a deal and signed for For far at the arse end of League 2,   Jack Garrard ex Hamilton youth again failed to win a deal and now at non league Cowden beath , Dean Jones ex pars probably the best of the bunch, who seemed to hang about for a couple of weeks and offered nothing,  oh and not forgetting Dylan Ruiz Diaz ex QP trialist had a number of our fanbase frothing at the mouth with his skills at the NL cup he has since done a Reggie Perrin..I

Thats basically all we had to offer a deal to, does McCabe have contacts you would think so as said previously the hard yards are done before a ball is kicked,  did we....???

We signed Camny Ballantyne apparent best right wing back in the league,  a Murray signing.  Time you started to show it son...

Josh Rae keeper from QOS, looks on paper a decent signing , time will tell, currently out longish term

Ben Wylie IMO a loan that Murray had signed off on,  McCabe never took to him from day one and Recalled by Celtic...I

Quality loanees that well worn phrase. ..the aforementioned Wylie struggled,  Jamieson,  McMaster could in time be decent players in time not with Airdrie they wont...  The one positive was young his keeper Johnson, he was signed on bizarre 7 day loans with Raes shoulder clearly fucked waiting for young Irish keeper Henderson to ride into town on his white charger to save the day,  not the lads fault but performances showed he wasn't ready, another fail.  Thankfully Dean Lyness made himself available and looks a quality keeper,  although has it been confirmed he is here for the season, listening to Fordyces pre match interview he  or Brian Smith mentioned January??I

 

From day one there has been no real targeted recruitment and it clearly shows see above...

 

[Kenny_m]

57 minutes ago, cb_diamond said:

Once again the bigger overarching issue and narrative is the seemingly hermit like status of our owner/chairman/stadium chief PH. I've mentioned before that it's always troubled me that he has seemingly zero interaction with anyone about anything. He could easily clarify a load of things with one statement, interview or Q and A, but we know he won't. At this stage and with things unravelling in front of our eyes it's just becoming more and more bizarre. Is it arrogance? Lack of caring? Total intransigence? Whatever is the case, we need to know why we basically don't have a squad. Gow's academy seems an unbelievable waste of funds if we're putting out benches of 4. Are we expecting to get stung in this court case? Are we just skint generally? 

Contrary to the old saying, sometimes no news is actually bad news. I'm more and more beginning to think that applies here.

Concur and the reason why I've always been suspicious of him, never seen him even "quoted" either.

 

[cb_diamond]

2 minutes ago, Kenny_m said:

Concur and the reason why I've always been suspicious of him, never seen him even "quoted" either.

 

Yep, same. Other than people on here referring to him having red hair I'm not sure I've ever even seen the guy. I feel that I must have at some point but no face is coming to mind why I try and think of him.

[Kenny_m]

10 minutes ago, Passionate said:

From day one there has been no real targeted recruitment and it clearly shows see above

Agree that most of the signings are pretty pish but perhaps the funds were not there to sign the "quality" Rhys wanted.