The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[airdrieman]

Superb result. No doubt about it, the first half was dire for both teams but once we got the goal we far the better team and, in the second-half generally, the only team looking to win it. Can only echo what everyone else has said. Fair to play to Murray and the team for turning things around. I think the support was unanimous in wanting Murray sacked after the Cove game. It's hard, nigh-on impossible, to turn things around once you reach that point. And while there's still doubts about Murray, he fair has picked up momentum and and taken us on a cracking run of form. Kyle Turner is the best midfielder in League 1. It's wild that we have him TBH but if we'd had a player half as good as him from the start of the season we'd have probably won this miserable league already. Paton has been very good too. Makes us far more balanced, structured and composed in the middle of the park. Playing actual centre mids in central midfield eh? What a concept! But again, fair play to Murray. Two cracking bits of business, even if they were a happy accident haha. 

Looking forward to the run-in now and to Firhill on Saturday. What a shame we can't go - would have been a cracking day out in the (hopefully) spring sunshine, drinking wanky beer in the west end and skelping Thistle. Can't wait to consign Falkirk to 5th place in the last game before the play-offs too. 

[Aufc]

Aye second half we cruised it. Connell coming on made a difference so might be worth a start on saturday. 4 cup finals now. Toughest game first it seems

[AndyDD]

10 hours ago, Chapelhall chap said:

Without googling/archiving , I assume you know whom he tripped! Enjoyed your slobberknocker line in the Idle Hands.

Haha sorry, I'd never have remembered that one! Ah good, thanks for reading. I was really pleased with how the Forfar Match report turned out, actually. 

Not as pleased as I am with that result last night though. Still buzzin' like a second hand fridge. 

 

[airdrieman]

I noticed in the match preview that Josh Kerr is now available for selection again. I’m pleased for him and I’d be happy to see him at the back in place of Paul McKay. But I hope the experiment of playing him in midfield is over. We’ve seen recently how much better we are going forward, and that we’re a lot more structured and balanced with actual midfielders in midfield in Turner and Paton. I hope Murray goes for the same team as Tuesday and just goes for it. We’ve got nothing to fear. I could see him overthinking things though and/or attempt to make us more solid by bringing Kerr or Jack McKay back into the team. I don’t think either of those changes would make us more solid so here’s hoping for more of the same in terms of team selection and performance as we have seen recently. 

[AndyDD]

2 hours ago, airdrieman said:

I noticed in the match preview that Josh Kerr is now available for selection again. I’m pleased for him and I’d be happy to see him at the back in place of Paul McKay. But I hope the experiment of playing him in midfield is over. We’ve seen recently how much better we are going forward, and that we’re a lot more structured and balanced with actual midfielders in midfield in Turner and Paton. I hope Murray goes for the same team as Tuesday and just goes for it. We’ve got nothing to fear. I could see him overthinking things though and/or attempt to make us more solid by bringing Kerr or Jack McKay back into the team. I don’t think either of those changes would make us more solid so here’s hoping for more of the same in terms of team selection and performance as we have seen recently. 

Don't see him changing it at all, actually. If Paton wasn't available, then maybe Kerr slots back in, but I doubt it very much. I'm expecting the same again. Maybe he'll start Connell? But then when you make such a good impact off the bench sometimes it cements you as an excellent impact sub rather than get you into the XI. 

 

[Mr November]

I doubt Kerr will be ready to start given he’s not played since January but I’m certainly more confident having him on the bench as a defensive option than Mbayo, Walker or Jack McKay. I can see Connell perhaps coming in given he’s made a big impact coming on in the last two games but other than that I think the team will be unchanged. 

[TheBuckfastTriangle]

In Murrays shoes I'd be keeping it the same. Having Kerr back is a bonus - if we're needing to shore things up then adding him in as a 3rd central midfielder to sit next to Paton then great, and he's flexible enough that he can be an able replacement for 4 or 5 starters if we get an injury, but we grew into the game against East Fife well and the 2 up top seems to be working well for us. I thought Connell looked sharp when he came on, but prior to the goal I actually thought Ally Roy was having a better game than Gall and I'm sure he'd love to get one over on Thistle, so hopefully all 3 can make an impact at the weekend.

It's nice to be in the position of trying to work out who to leave out instead of who "has" to start.

Worth noting too that in the 5 games since this wee run started against Dumbarton we've had 3 goals from a substitute compared to 2 in 18 from subs prior to that this season. Some difference.

[airdrieman]

4 hours ago, TheBuckfastTriangle said:

In Murrays shoes I'd be keeping it the same. Having Kerr back is a bonus - if we're needing to shore things up then adding him in as a 3rd central midfielder to sit next to Paton then great, and he's flexible enough that he can be an able replacement for 4 or 5 starters if we get an injury, but we grew into the game against East Fife well and the 2 up top seems to be working well for us. I thought Connell looked sharp when he came on, but prior to the goal I actually thought Ally Roy was having a better game than Gall and I'm sure he'd love to get one over on Thistle, so hopefully all 3 can make an impact at the weekend.

It's nice to be in the position of trying to work out who to leave out instead of who "has" to start.

Worth noting too that in the 5 games since this wee run started against Dumbarton we've had 3 goals from a substitute compared to 2 in 18 from subs prior to that this season. Some difference.

I thought Roy had a better game than Gallagher too before his goal, and he was unfortunate that he was subbed off before we really got into the game. He worked very hard and he’s been putting himself about, which isn’t something you could have said about him last season. Connell has made a decent impact in recent weeks too and is someone we know can put a chance away so it’s nice to finally have all of our strikers in a bit of form. 
 

That’s a really interesting stat about our subs. I bemoaned our lack of impact off the bench for the majority of this season but, again, it’s nice to finally have substitutes that can win or change a game and it makes a hell of a difference. And that’s without Robert really finding his groove yet since the re-start. I’m not sure what the score is with him at the moment but, as I said a few pages back, hopefully he can play himself into a bit of form and find that spark he provided earlier in the season. Again, it could prove to be crucial in these tight split and/or play-off games. 

[Passionate]

25 minutes ago, airdrieman said:

I thought Roy had a better game than Gallagher too before his goal, and he was unfortunate that he was subbed off before we really got into the game. He worked very hard and he’s been putting himself about, which isn’t something you could have said about him last season. Connell has made a decent impact in recent weeks too and is someone we know can put a chance away so it’s nice to finally have all of our strikers in a bit of form. 
 

I always class Ally Roy as a willing runner,  Seagal and Connell are better all round forwards, who can get an important goal,  jury's still out on Roy on that respect.  But......it's working and in that respect don't change the winning formula up top.

25 minutes ago, airdrieman said:

That’s a really interesting stat about our subs. I bemoaned our lack of impact off the bench for the majority of this season but, again, it’s nice to finally have substitutes that can win or change a game and it makes a hell of a difference. And that’s without Robert really finding his groove yet since the re-start. I’m not sure what the score is with him at the moment but, as I said a few pages back, hopefully he can play himself into a bit of form and find that spark he provided earlier in the season. Again, it could prove to be crucial in these tight split and/or play-off games. 

Robert is a funny one, is there any league 1 fullback s who are having sleepless nights after facing him..  No...  Has he had a decent 90 mins ... No.    Flashes of brilliance. Yes  Cove, Livvy, Clyde, For far the rest has been a lethargic ineffective spell in a struggling side that needed a spark...

 

Since he signed our now departed DOF has been hawking him to the media and agents to get him up the ladder,   I would think he would be away in the summer, and good luck to the lad...

 

Onto the game,  it will be difficult against a well drilled side in form,    I hope we have a plan in place for defending against Tiffoney and an overlapping Foster,  that is an area of the park defensively we struggle..

 

 

Onwards and upwards

[CapitalDiamond]

New Podcast is up [emoji442]

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/otl-podcast/id1458037240?i=1000518389725

And can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Deezer

A new voice too so thank you to Colin Campbell for coming on. Always good to have more Colin’s on as like M&S, we’re wary of imitations!!

If anyone else fancies coming on please give me a shout, it’s best if we can hear different voices and opinions.

Fingers crossed for later today

Win and anything is possible [emoji815]️

[airdrieman]

6 hours ago, CapitalDiamond said:

New Podcast is up

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/otl-podcast/id1458037240?i=1000518389725

And can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Deezer

A new voice too so thank you to Colin Campbell for coming on. Always good to have more Colin’s on as like M&S, we’re wary of imitations!!

If anyone else fancies coming on please give me a shout, it’s best if we can hear different voices and opinions.

Fingers crossed for later today

Win and anything is possible ️

Another good listen gents. If Colin and Alan have an HDMI cable in their tele they should be able to plug that into their laptop and be able to watch the games on their TV from there. That's how I manage it anyway!

[diamondman]

Partick commentator says Airdrie come forward through "Love" .Perhaps changing your notes from the Clyde game would be an idea.

[airdrieman]

Brutal first half from our perspective. Haven’t got into the game at all and every time we see the ball it’s a long ball down the channel or through the middle, none of which is sticking. Max Currie has earned his wage this afternoon already. Would be bringing on Sabatini or Ritchie to get an extra man in midfield and probably Connell too in the hope that one of those long balls eventually stick. 

[diamondman]

Currie having has best game here

[Eric the half a b]

52 minutes ago, diamondman said:

Currie having has best game here

Today sums the diamonds up too deep long balls first half hour different team 2nd half pushing forward. Back to stay in the game tactics imo 1st half hour. Still enjoyed the game otherwise

Edited April 24, 2021 by Eric the half a b

[airdrieman]

Just now, airdrieman said:

Considering we had four games to potentially win the league that was a pathetic effort overall really. Put more pressure on Thistle in the second half sure but, apart from Gallagher hitting the post, nothing in the way of clear-cut chances. Game was lost in the midfield where we didn’t win a ball for most of the game and when we did have the ball we shelled it long rather than play through Turner or Paton. We got what we deserved. Baffled why Murray never changed the shape in the first-half or even at half-time when it was clear the game was going to be won or lost in the midfield. 
 

Currie was superb. His best game for us. 

 

[GoalForAirdrie]

On 17/04/2021 at 20:17, GoalForAirdrie said:

I would certainly rather play Falkirk than Thistle in the playoffs due to our recent record against Falkirk. 

I’ll stand by this, as disappointed as I am after today’s defeat. 

[Eric the half a b]

23 minutes ago, airdrieman said:

 

Man of the match for sure some top class saves 

[Jack Reed]

Put in our place today, score could have been a lot worse but for Currie, Graham has been a thorn in our side a few times, thistle showed their class specially first half, A few of our player are just not good enough  although we improved  in second half, there was only going to be one winner from first whistle, a few more players like Turner would be good, just got to give it our best next time out , 

[Chapelhall chap]

It was another one of those games where we were slow to start and Thistle were clearly more up for it as League Leaders. Their front 2, especially Graham can always pounce in a crowded box and that is how we lost the goal. It came mind you from Tiffoney and Cardle pinning back our FBs and wide guys: that meant we rarely got any moves going apart from chasing long balls . Currie kept us in the game and I was glad to get to HT just a goal behind.  It was a better 2nd half but possession and effort never really produced any worthwhile shots, just scrambles. As Thistle retreated hoping for counter attacks , I was hoping we'd scrape a draw and that last minute shot was so close. This was a tough game to play first and Thistle have had the edge over us at Firhill for years. I felt sorry for Turner getting booked as he was clearly fouled and no advantage came to us. It said it all when the Thistle commentators said Mr Irvine had had a fine game on the big decisions, for them of course. Realistically I thought Thistle would win L1 but we did run them close today, yet again, but could it have been done from the start? On to Tuesday which really is a must win. The stream kept dipping in and out but the replays/zooms were so much better .