The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[airdrieman]

Deary me. He was dreadful last time out and going by his Wikipedia he hasn’t got any better since. His brother is a better goal scorer. 

[Passionate]

The only reason the MacKay signing would make sense is if Connell is being recalled by Killie.

 

The club needs a complete reset and start again, we are going knowwhere

[airdrieman]

It’s all well and good having a link with an agent if you’re signing talent like Robert more often than not. Even taking a punt on unknown players is fine if you have a mix of some who work out and some who don’t. But McKay is a known quantity. And a pish one at that. I appreciate he was young when he last played for us but he’s 24(?) now with only 3 career goals to his name (according to Wikipedia) so he obviously hasn’t developed as a player or gotten any better. That’s a dreadful return for a striker at any level. His brother who is a defender/midfielder scored more than that last season. Really poor and lazy signing. I did get a laugh from the article though claiming: A) we had anything resembling a decent run of form during that 2016/17 season. And B) Jack McKay contributed to it. I’m pretty sure his only goal was the 4th in a 4-1 win over Peterhead 

[Spanish Armada]

Imagine doubting him,he was at airdrie at 19 and played about a handful of games and went away got a bit of experience and he's back to prove himself he may be a better player than before at least give the lad a Chance ffs he can't be any worse than Thomson,O'Reilly and Stokes that gets a game.

[Jack Reed]

5 hours ago, Spanish Armada said:

Imagine doubting him,he was at airdrie at 19 and played about a handful of games and went away got a bit of experience and he's back to prove himself he may be a better player than before at least give the lad a Chance ffs he can't be any worse than Thomson,O'Reilly and Stokes that gets a game.

No much hope for the team if we are signing a player that's no any worse than our worst players , he will fit in fine with a lot of our players who are off the same standard as Jack, 

[Mr November]

5 hours ago, Spanish Armada said:

Imagine doubting him,he was at airdrie at 19 and played about a handful of games and went away got a bit of experience and he's back to prove himself he may be a better player than before at least give the lad a Chance ffs he can't be any worse than Thomson,O'Reilly and Stokes that gets a game.

Stokes and O’Reilly are hardly regulars though. I’m not convinced we needed another striker, Gallagher hasn’t really got going yet but Connell’s done quite well and Roy is just back from injury. I’d much rather we brought in a midfielder, which is clearly still our biggest issue, than signed a striker who was poor previously and doesn’t seem to have improved since then going by his stats. We could also do without the conspiracy theories when him and his brother both start.

[Passionate]

1 hour ago, Mr November said:

Stokes and O’Reilly are hardly regulars though. I’m not convinced we needed another striker, Gallagher hasn’t really got going yet but Connell’s done quite well and Roy is just back from injury. I’d much rather we brought in a midfielder, which is clearly still our biggest issue, than signed a striker who was poor previously and doesn’t seem to have improved since then going by his stats. We could also do without the conspiracy theories when him and his brother both start.

[airdrieman]

7 hours ago, Spanish Armada said:

Imagine doubting him,he was at airdrie at 19 and played about a handful of games and went away got a bit of experience and he's back to prove himself he may be a better player than before at least give the lad a Chance ffs he can't be any worse than Thomson,O'Reilly and Stokes that gets a game.

More than happy to give him a chance and I hope he proves us all wrong. The problem though is that he’s 24 now so he should be approaching the prime of his career but he’s barely played or scored since he last played for us, which doesn’t suggest he’s developed into a player who can play at any sort of decent level. Maybe he just needs a run of games somewhere but I think that’s being generous. Being no worse than Thomson, O’Reilly or Stokes is not the barometer we should be using to sign or judge players with. 

[TheBuckfastTriangle]

Quite aside from Jack McKay (who I assume we've signed because his agency decided he needed a club to the end of the season, rather than because he's here to have any meaningful impact on the first team) our recruitment is a mess. We've got the McKay link which has given us Robert - who they've done nothing but oversell in the press since the minute he got here - and a load of dross.

Last year (2019/20) we seemed to have a really clear idea of what we wanted*, I assume with Stuart Millar dealing with all recruitment. The morale in the squad was by all accounts excellent, we had a fairly balanced squad and we gave ourselves a platform to build from. It hasn't happened and we look far more muddled. We seem to have a combination of Millar and the McKay link providing players and a manager who wants to be seen very clearly to be saying he's a head coach not manager. Depressing stuff to have various factions rather than unity and have everyone on the same page.

 

*Not saying we were brilliant by any means, but we had a clear 433, with players in their natural positions and decent cover for each of those positions, particularly from what was effectively a blank slate.

[Jack Reed]

42 minutes ago, TheBuckfastTriangle said:

Quite aside from Jack McKay (who I assume we've signed because his agency decided he needed a club to the end of the season, rather than because he's here to have any meaningful impact on the first team) our recruitment is a mess. We've got the McKay link which has given us Robert - who they've done nothing but oversell in the press since the minute he got here - and a load of dross.

Last year (2019/20) we seemed to have a really clear idea of what we wanted*, I assume with Stuart Millar dealing with all recruitment. The morale in the squad was by all accounts excellent, we had a fairly balanced squad and we gave ourselves a platform to build from. It hasn't happened and we look far more muddled. We seem to have a combination of Millar and the McKay link providing players and a manager who wants to be seen very clearly to be saying he's a head coach not manager. Depressing stuff to have various factions rather than unity and have everyone on the same page.

 

*Not saying we were brilliant by any means, but we had a clear 433, with players in their natural positions and decent cover for each of those positions, particularly from what was effectively a blank slate.

We will only  get worse with Millar and Murray, still we have Robert, who scores now and again, hardly set the Heather on fire, after all the hype and excitement  looking forward to all the new signing's at start of season, I really don't think we could have done much worse, omo , now we have added another that was poor last time he was here, has he scored a goal since he left? Centre forward, still we have Roy  he will be our saviour, it's our memories that are wrong, 

[Ballboy]

I think it's a strange time to be signing a new squad player.   Has someone been told the league will start again soon?   If not why add another wage to the budget with no games?  

Especially a player who (ok with the McKay connection could be starting) won't be a first choice starter ever week.   Their could be something with the McDonald going to dunfermline deal bringing available money but surely with no games adding to the squad at this time of the year is just strange.  

[airdrieman]

3 hours ago, TheBuckfastTriangle said:

Quite aside from Jack McKay (who I assume we've signed because his agency decided he needed a club to the end of the season, rather than because he's here to have any meaningful impact on the first team) our recruitment is a mess. We've got the McKay link which has given us Robert - who they've done nothing but oversell in the press since the minute he got here - and a load of dross.

Last year (2019/20) we seemed to have a really clear idea of what we wanted*, I assume with Stuart Millar dealing with all recruitment. The morale in the squad was by all accounts excellent, we had a fairly balanced squad and we gave ourselves a platform to build from. It hasn't happened and we look far more muddled. We seem to have a combination of Millar and the McKay link providing players and a manager who wants to be seen very clearly to be saying he's a head coach not manager. Depressing stuff to have various factions rather than unity and have everyone on the same page.

 

*Not saying we were brilliant by any means, but we had a clear 433, with players in their natural positions and decent cover for each of those positions, particularly from what was effectively a blank slate.

TBH I don't think we're really any worse (or better) than last season in terms of the squad we have. The spine of the team is more or less the same with the exception of Currie and Robert replacing Hutton and Smith respectively who are both just as good if not better than those they've replaced, and Josh Kerr starting in midfield, which is obviously a management decision more than anything else. 

But is Sabatini worse than Millar? I don't think so - Millar is a more limited player IMO. Is Ritchie worse than Wedderburn? Difficult to say but Wedderburn was not good enough to play in the midfield of a promotion chasing side and was rightly let go. Thomson, O'Reilly and Roy are not good enough either but were all here last season as well. The only differences really are sticking with Kerr in midfield (which does make us worse off) and Mbayo and Stokes being poor signings though both of them hardly ever play so they don't make much tangible difference really. 

I also don't think we had a clear idea of what formation, tactics or style of play we wanted to play last season. Murray stumbled upon a winning combination that worked for half a dozen games but before and after that he changed his team and formation just about every week, leading to the same inconsistent performances and results we've seen this season. 

I'm not saying this season's team is better or good enough to get us promoted or that being no better or worse than last season's squad is some sort of benchmark to aim for. But ultimately, both squads have been okayish and good enough to have us challenging for/in a play-off spot but not good enough and missing that little bit extra in midfield (and upfront) to actually get us promoted. They have also both suffered from a manager who doesn't ever know his best team or how to get the best out of them. 

Whatever happens this season, it will be a big summer for Murray and Millar. Can they finally make it work in the middle of the park? Can they find that little of quality and 'streetwiseness' that we need? Will we ever win a home game? 

[Jack Reed]

On 09/02/2021 at 14:41, airdrieman said:

TBH I don't think we're really any worse (or better) than last season in terms of the squad we have. The spine of the team is more or less the same with the exception of Currie and Robert replacing Hutton and Smith respectively who are both just as good if not better than those they've replaced, and Josh Kerr starting in midfield, which is obviously a management decision more than anything else. 

But is Sabatini worse than Millar? I don't think so - Millar is a more limited player IMO. Is Ritchie worse than Wedderburn? Difficult to say but Wedderburn was not good enough to play in the midfield of a promotion chasing side and was rightly let go. Thomson, O'Reilly and Roy are not good enough either but were all here last season as well. The only differences really are sticking with Kerr in midfield (which does make us worse off) and Mbayo and Stokes being poor signings though both of them hardly ever play so they don't make much tangible difference really. 

I also don't think we had a clear idea of what formation, tactics or style of play we wanted to play last season. Murray stumbled upon a winning combination that worked for half a dozen games but before and after that he changed his team and formation just about every week, leading to the same inconsistent performances and results we've seen this season. 

I'm not saying this season's team is better or good enough to get us promoted or that being no better or worse than last season's squad is some sort of benchmark to aim for. But ultimately, both squads have been okayish and good enough to have us challenging for/in a play-off spot but not good enough and missing that little bit extra in midfield (and upfront) to actually get us promoted. They have also both suffered from a manager who doesn't ever know his best team or how to get the best out of them. 

Whatever happens this season, it will be a big summer for Murray and Millar. Can they finally make it work in the middle of the park? Can they find that little of quality and 'streetwiseness' that we need? Will we ever win a home game? 

It's all about opinions, Millar was a far better player for Airdrie than  Sabatini, last season our defence was playing well, but then the changes here and there seemed to make them a bit suspect this season, 

[TheBuckfastTriangle]

16 minutes ago, airdrieman said:

TBH I don't think we're really any worse (or better) than last season in terms of the squad we have. The spine of the team is more or less the same with the exception of Currie and Robert replacing Hutton and Smith respectively who are both just as good if not better than those they've replaced, and Josh Kerr starting in midfield, which is obviously a management decision more than anything else. 

But is Sabatini worse than Millar? I don't think so - Millar is a more limited player IMO. Is Ritchie worse than Wedderburn? Difficult to say but Wedderburn was not good enough to play in the midfield of a promotion chasing side and was rightly let go. Thomson, O'Reilly and Roy are not good enough either but were all here last season as well. The only differences really are sticking with Kerr in midfield (which does make us worse off) and Mbayo and Stokes being poor signings though both of them hardly ever play so they don't make much tangible difference really. 

I also don't think we had a clear idea of what formation, tactics or style of play we wanted to play last season. Murray stumbled upon a winning combination that worked for half a dozen games but before and after that he changed his team and formation just about every week, leading to the same inconsistent performances and results we've seen this season. 

I'm not saying this season's team is better or good enough to get us promoted or that being no better or worse than last season's squad is some sort of benchmark to aim for. But ultimately, both squads have been okayish and good enough to have us challenging for/in a play-off spot but not good enough and missing that little bit extra in midfield (and upfront) to actually get us promoted. They have also both suffered from a manager who doesn't ever know his best team or how to get the best out of them. 

Whatever happens this season, it will be a big summer for Murray and Millar. Can they finally make it work in the middle of the park? Can they find that little of quality and 'streetwiseness' that we need? Will we ever win a home game? 

I'm not sure we're much worse either (lack of goals aside, and Gallagher not being available hasn't helped there), but we're far less balanced and more disjointed, which to me is a result of muddled recruitment. We've lost an absolute ton of experience (Ryan/Hutton/Millar/Wedderburn) and replaced it with U23 jobbers kidding on they're footballers - mainly courtesy of McKay. We must be hundreds of league appearances shorter than we were this time last year, and that contributes to a lack of 'streetwiseness' and consistency. 

You've asked if Sabatini is worse than Millar - I don't think he's worse technically, but I don't think he actually does much. If he's not an upgrade, why change it? Millar was fine, I'm not rewriting his time with us and pretending he's a world beater, but after building a team essentially from scratch in 2019/20 we were generally in a position (Smith and apparently Ryan aside) to keep whoever we wanted from that squad and improve from a solid enough foundation. We haven't.

Again, the recruitment is a cause for concern. Did Murray ask for a certain type of player and not get it? Who actually decides on players coming in? I can't see literally any reason to bring in Jack McKay from the manager or clubs point of view. A relationship with an agent is fine if there's more hits than misses and if it supplements the existing/longer term recruitment - this seems to be the opposite of what we're getting.

[G_H]

The club really need to start explaining their transfer policy. Jack McKay? That's the answer? Really? A "striker" who scored 1 goal in 15 games last time around, and for whom there's a pretty much UK wide consensus that he is pish, and couldn't even get a game at Blyth Spartans in the National League North?

What a joke. Just close down this season already, before things get any worse.

Edited February 9, 2021 by G_H

[Moon]

5 hours ago, Ballboy said:

I think it's a strange time to be signing a new squad player.   Has someone been told the league will start again soon?   If not why add another wage to the budget with no games?  

Especially a player who (ok with the McKay connection could be starting) won't be a first choice starter ever week.   Their could be something with the McDonald going to dunfermline deal bringing available money but surely with no games adding to the squad at this time of the year is just strange.  

Well that part's now been answered. Baffling decision unless it's to cut costs by allowing a striker to move on.

[Spanish Armada]

27 minutes ago, G_H said:

The club really need to start explaining their transfer policy. Jack McKay? That's the answer? Really? A "striker" who scored 1 goal in 15 games last time around, and for whom there's a pretty much UK wide consensus that he is pish, and couldn't even get a game at Blyth Spartans in the National League North?

What a joke. Just close down this season already, before things get any worse.

Does it really matter we won't be a playing this season out well done to the people who voted snp utter clusterfucks 

[airdrieman]

4 hours ago, TheBuckfastTriangle said:

I'm not sure we're much worse either (lack of goals aside, and Gallagher not being available hasn't helped there), but we're far less balanced and more disjointed, which to me is a result of muddled recruitment. We've lost an absolute ton of experience (Ryan/Hutton/Millar/Wedderburn) and replaced it with U23 jobbers kidding on they're footballers - mainly courtesy of McKay. We must be hundreds of league appearances shorter than we were this time last year, and that contributes to a lack of 'streetwiseness' and consistency. 

You've asked if Sabatini is worse than Millar - I don't think he's worse technically, but I don't think he actually does much. If he's not an upgrade, why change it? Millar was fine, I'm not rewriting his time with us and pretending he's a world beater, but after building a team essentially from scratch in 2019/20 we were generally in a position (Smith and apparently Ryan aside) to keep whoever we wanted from that squad and improve from a solid enough foundation. We haven't.

Again, the recruitment is a cause for concern. Did Murray ask for a certain type of player and not get it? Who actually decides on players coming in? I can't see literally any reason to bring in Jack McKay from the manager or clubs point of view. A relationship with an agent is fine if there's more hits than misses and if it supplements the existing/longer term recruitment - this seems to be the opposite of what we're getting.

I'm just not sure though that we're any more disjointed or unbalanced than we were last season, aside from that six or so games run. For me that's down to Murray's team selection and failure to get the best out of his players more than anything else, although I guess recruitment is a part of that. The biggest failure in terms of recruitment, and perhaps for the management team overall, is their apparent blind-spot in the centre of the park. That's two go's they've had at building at midfield and none of the combinations of Millar/Wedderburn/Roberts/McKay/Kerr/Sabatini has been good enough although I think there are some good players in amongst those constituent parts. Millar is a decent mid-table League 1 player. Which is fine if that's what you're aiming for but we definitely needed better. Whether Sabatini is an upgrade or we replaced him well enough is I guess a matter of opinion. FWIW I think he is. But I also think we don't play in a way that gets the best out of him (or most of the team) or even give him enough game time now to allow him to find a consistent run of form. I think the fact, with the exception of Smith, none of the players who left us last season moved upwards, says a lot. I completely agree that we have a solid base to work with. That's what makes it all the more frustrating since we have a solid goalie and defence and, when Gallagher's on form, we are reasonably strong upfront. 

Agree RE Jack McKay as well. I said it above but if you're getting a player like Robert more often than not, or taking a punt on someone unknown who could  be a gem, then it's a decent arrangement. Unfortunately McKay is known to be rubbish. I know Millar wasn't at the club when he last played for us but he's a savy guy so I don't believe he doesn't know about Jack McKay's track record or performances on the park. Begs the question why are we signing him then? 

[Chapelhall chap]

Getting close to being unconcerned about this whole season, and signing Jack McKay with all that PR spin from the club leaves me bemused. I was not expecting it to resume before mid march if at all.

[airdrieman]

I’m a little worried the Jack McKay signing is a prelude to him signing a permanent contract with us. I know he’s not getting a game at Chesterfield but he literally can’t play for us at the moment. So why else would him and his agent (his old man) sign for us? He’s hardly going to be putting himself in the shop window. Especially when his old man could conceivably get him a move to a lower league side just about anywhere in the UK or even Europe.