The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Just now, Mr November said:

I think we’re maybe a starting full back, centre back and midfielder away from a decent Championship team. I’ll post a bigger list later on but if we can keep all of the main players then I think we’ll be ok. I’ve harped on about consistency and squad building for years and I think this summer is a great opportunity to continue that. Offer key players like Frizzell, Smith, Gallagher, McGill, Rae etc. two year deals and look to improve on Watson, ATS, McMaster while keeping them around as squad players to challenge. It’s certainly time to progress the squad with a few key signings rather than a full rebuild.

Assuming we plan to play Ballantyne at right back I’d definitely say we should be looking to bring in a left back, and a centre back is definitely needed too. Think we should be trying to bring in a couple of real quality midfielders as it will be required to continue our style of play a league up.

Agree that we should be keeping as much of the squad as possible around even as squad players while adding improvements. If you look at the bench from Saturday I think you’d agree there’s room in the squad for around 5 additions without anyone actually leaving, especially considering 5 subs are now allowed in the modern game.

[Diamond8]

2 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Assuming we plan to play Ballantyne at right back I’d definitely say we should be looking to bring in a left back, and a centre back is definitely needed too. Think we should be trying to bring in a couple of real quality midfielders as it will be required to continue our style of play a league up.

Agree that we should be keeping as much of the squad as possible around even as squad players while adding improvements. If you look at the bench from Saturday I think you’d agree there’s room in the squad for around 5 additions without anyone actually leaving, especially considering 5 subs are now allowed in the modern game.

I've just spoken to a his fan, sure he said the Aiken who we have on loan at us next season is a left back. He's really surprised that both Aiken and O'connor are both going out on loan, even at championship level.

[RRFC_Liam]

12 minutes ago, Mr November said:

Smith

I would take smith at the rovers can play out wide plus through the middle, and if that’s a big if we have made an offer I think he will join because he doesn’t have to travel far and we could offer more in terms of wages and bonuses and that’s what it ultimately comes down to 

[FLDiamond]

20 minutes ago, RRFC_Liam said:

I would take smith at the rovers can play out wide plus through the middle, and if that’s a big if we have made an offer I think he will join because he doesn’t have to travel far and we could offer more in terms of wages and bonuses and that’s what it ultimately comes down to 

I’d keep Smith but of course if anyone wants to move on and not remain at Airdrie then so be it.  I’m only interested in keeping players who want to be there.  After a great season and some fantastic playoff games, I’m hoping a majority of the unsigned players will be on board.  Championship is definitely their level so unless, like you said, there is the lure of bigger money then we should be able to keep most of them.  But rumours have been going around about Smith departing so who knows.  Hope he stays though 

[RRFC_Liam]

3 minutes ago, FLDiamond said:

I’d keep Smith but of course if anyone wants to move on and not remain at Airdrie then so be it.  I’m only interested in keeping players who want to be there.  After a great season and some fantastic playoff games, I’m hoping a majority of the unsigned players will be on board.  Championship is definitely their level so unless, like you said, there is the lure of bigger money then we should be able to keep most of them.  But rumours have been going around about Smith departing so who knows.  Hope he stays though 

Like you with Smith, Would love to keep Aidan Connolly at us but if he wants to leave then so be it or he has an offer from the premiership that we can’t match then there’s nothing we can do and also most players will look at contract lengths as well when deciding to stay or leave is another big thing as well 

[FLDiamond]

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/23537214.hamilton-club-war-heading-oblivion/?ref=ebls&nid=1221
 

Herald piece on the Accies, grim reading on the same weekend that another Lanarkshire club slipped out of the professional football leagues.  And Clyde being relegated too…. Can’t there be any justice and Motherwell fold up or something? 

[Kenny_m]

As with last season, I've no doubt some players have already agreed new deals with us and perhaps others have done the same elsewhere and McMaster and Stanway will return to their parent clubs.

Since we are now in the championship that could be potentially bad news for some who are listed in our first team squad. Riley, Dixon, Prince, will be let go or sent out on loan and Byrd, Deveney, ATS & Watson may struggle going up a level. I wouldn't imagine that Hutts would be back up keeper either.

I'm pretty sure the rest will be or already have been offered contracts in addition to the 2 Hib's boys.  Interesting close season ahead!

I know he was sinner in chief for Accies, but I thought O'Reilly is the type of centre back that may interest us.

[Diamonds are Forever]

53 minutes ago, Mr November said:

I think we’re maybe a starting full back, centre back and midfielder away from a decent Championship team. I’ll post a bigger list later on but if we can keep all of the main players then I think we’ll be ok. I’ve harped on about consistency and squad building for years and I think this summer is a great opportunity to continue that. Offer key players like Frizzell, Smith, Gallagher, McGill, Rae etc. two year deals and look to improve on Watson, ATS, McMaster while keeping them around as squad players to challenge. It’s certainly time to progress the squad with a few key signings rather than a full rebuild.

 

I think the likes of Frizz and Smith were at the point where they needed pushed up a level to continue their development. Smith in particular I think needed to move if we hadn't gone up this year, now that we've gone up hopefully he'll stay.

He has never had any kind of competition for his place in the team and I don't think has really developed at all in the last year. He's still the same player who'll have the odd game/moment where he looks quality, but also has poor spells. The play-off final summed that up, great goal in the first leg but was really poor on Saturday, the game totally changed when he went off and McGregor came on. I think playing a higher standard every week will really help his game and push on his development, he's learned all he's really going to learn from League 1 by now and needs challenged. I think there's a real player in there so really hope he stays.

[Diamonds are Forever]

10 minutes ago, Kenny_m said:

As with last season, I've no doubt some players have already agreed new deals with us and perhaps others have done the same elsewhere and McMaster and Stanway will return to their parent clubs.

Since we are now in the championship that could be potentially bad news for some who are listed in our first team squad. Riley, Dixon, Prince, will be let go or sent out on loan and Byrd, Deveney, ATS & Watson may struggle going up a level. I wouldn't imagine that Hutts would be back up keeper either.

I'm pretty sure the rest will be or already have been offered contracts in addition to the 2 Hib's boys.  Interesting close season ahead!

I know he was sinner in chief for Accies, but I thought O'Reilly is the type of centre back that may interest us.

 

The player from Accies that I really thought we needed was Scott Martin. He's the kind of player we've been crying out for. I thought he was great in both legs, we got hardly anything in that area of the pitch in either match because he shut so many things down and was very physical (entirely within the laws). He would be a cracking signing.

Thr biggest difference between us and Accies was that physicality. I thought we looked a slightly better footballing side but they were much stronger and more physical, we'll definitely need a bit more of that next season.

[Diamond Oracle]

I think the Championship is probably a bigger step up than I thought based on those two games against Hamilton. Physically at least their players were faster and stronger generally than we’re used to in League One. This is how I would see our current squad:

Goalkeepers

David Hutton - Keep (as 3rd choice)

Josh Rae - Keep

Defenders

Cammy Ballantyne - Keep

Lachie Byrd - Release

Euan Deveney - Release

Callum Fordyce - Keep

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair - Keep

Craig Watson - Keep (as squad player)

Midfielders

Justin Devenny - Keep

Adam Frizzell - Keep

Rhys McCabe - Keep

Lewis McGregor - Keep

Dean McMaster - Keep

Ben Stanway - Release

Charlie Telfer - Keep (as squad player)

Forwards

Calum Gallagher - Keep

Gabby McGill - Keep

Callum Smith - Keep

 

I think that would give us a solid base with space for 5-6 quality additions to improve the starting 11.

 

 

 

[airdrieman]

3 hours ago, AirdrieFanTV said:

This one is dedicated to every single one of you! Thank you, enjoy!

Will watch this later on once I'm home from work but can't wait! Thank you for your hard work this season. The Fan TV has been a tremendous addition to the fan-led media and matchday experience. Assuming my appearance at half-time when I was raging at the goal we'd just conceded made the final cut, I've never been happier to age so terribly so quickly 

[Kenny_m]

7 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

The player from Accies that I really thought we needed was Scott Martin. He's the kind of player we've been crying out for. I thought he was great in both legs, we got hardly anything in that area of the pitch in either match because he shut so many things down and was very physical (entirely within the laws). He would be a cracking signing.

Thr biggest difference between us and Accies was that physicality. I thought we looked a slightly better footballing side but they were much stronger and more physical, we'll definitely need a bit more of that next season.

Yeh an aggressive player with a work rate 2nd to none and concur that we do need more physicality.

[Kenny_m]

8 minutes ago, Diamond Oracle said:

I think the Championship is probably a bigger step up than I thought based on those two games against Hamilton. Physically at least their players were faster and stronger generally than we’re used to in League One. This is how I would see our current squad:

Goalkeepers

David Hutton - Keep (as 3rd choice)

Josh Rae - Keep

Defenders

Cammy Ballantyne - Keep

Lachie Byrd - Release

Euan Deveney - Release

Callum Fordyce - Keep

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair - Keep

Craig Watson - Keep (as squad player)

Midfielders

Justin Devenny - Keep

Adam Frizzell - Keep

Rhys McCabe - Keep

Lewis McGregor - Keep

Dean McMaster - Keep

Ben Stanway - Release

Charlie Telfer - Keep (as squad player)

Forwards

Calum Gallagher - Keep

Gabby McGill - Keep

Callum Smith - Keep

 

I think that would give us a solid base with space for 5-6 quality additions to improve the starting 11.

 

 

 

Don't forget the 2 hibees.

[Diamonds are Forever]

7 minutes ago, Diamond Oracle said:

I think the Championship is probably a bigger step up than I thought based on those two games against Hamilton. Physically at least their players were faster and stronger generally than we’re used to in League One. This is how I would see our current squad:

Goalkeepers

David Hutton - Keep (as 3rd choice)

Josh Rae - Keep

Defenders

Cammy Ballantyne - Keep

Lachie Byrd - Release

Euan Deveney - Release

Callum Fordyce - Keep

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair - Keep

Craig Watson - Keep (as squad player)

Midfielders

Justin Devenny - Keep

Adam Frizzell - Keep

Rhys McCabe - Keep

Lewis McGregor - Keep

Dean McMaster - Keep

Ben Stanway - Release

Charlie Telfer - Keep (as squad player)

Forwards

Calum Gallagher - Keep

Gabby McGill - Keep

Callum Smith - Keep

 

I think that would give us a solid base with space for 5-6 quality additions to improve the starting 11.

 

 

 

 

Agree with most of this. I think Euan Deveney will turn into a good player, he's still very soft defensively (as the 2nd goal showed on Saturday) but is decent on the ball and has had some good performances this year. He's still only 20 and the defensive side of the game will improve. However he isn't ready to be a starter in the Championship yet so he'd be signed on the basis that he'll develop and play the odd game as back-up. Not sure.

I thought there was very little between us and Hamilton which I'm actually encouraged by. If you work on the basis that we will be looking to improve in at least 3 or 4 positions then currently being the equivalent of a 9th placed team in the Championship isn't a bad starting point. With those additions we'll hopefully be good enough to be around mid-table.

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Amazing to think Justin Devenny has already made 50 appearances for Airdrie and is still only 19. Easy to forget he was around for the latter part of last season and made a few appearances off the bench. I think he’s been outstanding this season and is definitely one of our best prospects.

[Kenny_m]

2 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Amazing to think Justin Devenny has already made 50 appearances for Airdrie and is still only 19. Easy to forget he was around for the latter part of last season and made a few appearances off the bench. I think he’s been outstanding this season and is definitely one of our best prospects.

Absolutely and so much more to come from him.

[airdrieman]

I'd be happy to keep the bulk of the squad but I do think we will need to make additions across the spine of the team. Probably two centre-halves, a full-back, a proper holding midfielder and better depth upfront have to be the priority. Agreed with @Diamonds are Forever that we need a bit more physicality, steel and street smarts in the team. Accies were well ahead of us in that department and, while we got away with it in League 1 because our team was a much better footballing side than every other team bar Dunfermline, the margins in the Championship are much tighter and we could be bullied out of games. That doesn't mean we have to have wholesale changes to our style of play. It just means we need a few players who can compete physically and win out in a dogfight if it comes down to it. Also agreed that Scott Martin would be a good signing. I also think Connor Smith would be too if he was up for playing with his brother. He's a 'cute' type player with a bit of streetwise and cunning about him while also being a great footballer so he's probably the ideal in terms of what we're looking for. 

I would definitely keep Rae, Ballantyne, ATS (as backup), Devenny, Frizzell, Gal. Gabby and Smith. Assume Fordyce and McCabe staying is a given! I was initially on the fence about Telfer and McGregor but after Saturday I'd be happy to have them in the squad. I thought Telfer was our best player on the ball in both legs of the final, and he added a bit of composure, control, experience and actually a bit of bite as well when it was desperately needed. And as said above, McGregor changed Saturday's game in our favour when he came on. That was easily his best game in an Airdrie shirt IMO. So quick and direct that one of the better full-backs in the Championship in Tumilty couldn't handle him to the point that he had to be subbed off. They're both up and down but if we can even get a couple of performances like that a month from both players they're worth keeping around. 

There seems to be chat that Dean McMaster has signed for us permanently. I'm pleased with that but I don't think he's physically ready to be a starter in the Championship yet. He's already developed lots as a player this season however so that will hopefully come with time, coaching and maybe some extended strength and conditioning sessions. Actually wouldn't mind sending him out on loan to League 1, even for a few months, to continue his development, assuming we have a capable replacement or two signed up. 

Deveney, Riley and Dixon obviously not good enough but Deveney in particular can leave with our gratitude. He has his faults but he's more than played his part this season and he'll forever be remembered as one of the team who finally won a play-off. Really hope he makes a good career for himself. He's certainly good enough to still be playing League 1. Bright is most likely in this category too but he's still only 17 and thus worthy of a lifetime contract IMO. He'll most likely be on buttons, so keep him around for the fun of it and you never know, maybe he will be playing for Spain in a few years time after netting us several hundred thousands! 

50/50 on Watson. He can play in a couple of positions which makes him potentially useful to have in the squad. And when he's good he's very good. But he's too erratic and inconsistent for me, even within games which would get punished more frequently in the Championship. He's been a mainstay of the best Airdrie squad of the last 20 years, but I think we could do better. 

Big Byrd... I think could turn out to be a good player with game time and experience of the tempo and style in Scotland. Can we afford to carry someone like that in the squad though? Especially when they're probably not going to get the required game time? Also conscious that I've already said to keep Fordyce, ATS and Ballantyne so if we were to keep Watson and Byrd too we'd be keeping all but one or two of the defence that was largely useless for most of the season. 

Whatever happens, I'm excited to see who we retain, who we sign and how our squad fares as a Championship side! 8th place please and thank you but if we can recruit and retain well hopefully we can keep the momentum going and set our sights slightly higher. 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

3 minutes ago, Kenny_m said:

Absolutely and so much more to come from him.

Says a lot that he’s on free kicks when McCabe isn’t on and shares corner taking responsibilities with Telfer. Not something you normally see with such young players. Easy to see he’s got the hunger and desire to play at his young age, but he’s got technical ability on a level with anyone else in the squad as well.

[mo83]

Now the dust has settled a little bit....Congratulations!

Easy the best team i seen at LP last campaign, so going by that fully deserve to go up.Enjoy!

 

P.S Can we get Cammy back please and thank you.

[cb_diamond]

I'm going to take a slightly blunter approach to others and say that Watson, ATS and Telfer are not good enough for the Championship and the top half of L1 is their ceiling. I'd be tempted to keep a hold of Janny as a squad option as he can play in a few positions but he won't be a starter. As others have said I think Reilly, Martin and Smith from Accies could be shouts for next season. Both Hibs boys look promising and would have been ideal in L1 but the championship is a big step up quality wise so it remains to be seen how much they play. 

I am also going to controversially say it might be time for Callum Smith to move on. Great guy and has been a really useful player for a while now, but this season he has been posted missing a lot since Xmas and great goal aside was pretty anonymous in both games of the play off final.

I think we need half a dozen players in. CH and LB are the most essential need. But centre mid needs reinforced and another striker. I wonder if we will fully sign a couple and look for a couple of first team ready loans from premier league clubs.

Going to be an interesting summer.

Edited May 22, 2023 by cb_diamond