The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[cb_diamond]

Utterly uninspiring signings so far. Bog standard league 1 defender and a talented but 33 year old midfielder 

[G_H]

I hope we arent going to just sign a bunch of east fife players.

[Passionate]

3 hours ago, LoonsYouthTeam said:

What sort of player are we getting with Thomson?

Craig Thomson at 26, you would think he  should be hitting his prime, in truth  he should be a much better player than he is,  hasn't kicked on since we signed him,   going forward he is fast, not elusive though, straight line runner head down, inconsistent at best crosse r of the ball,    Defensive side of his game, he lets himself down, doesn't really get it, positioning , when to close down etc....

 

he is a good impact player , mainly due to his raw pace and his shooting has improved, an archetype of the Premiership youth system...

 

good luck to him we have offered contracts to worse.

[Stevo1968]

4 minutes ago, G_H said:

I hope we arent going to just sign a bunch of east fife players.

Starting to think this could be the case, think him coming in must mean Kerr or McKay are off. I’d expect Fordyce to stay now he could be captain

[Passionate]

7 minutes ago, cb_diamond said:

Utterly uninspiring signings so far. Bog standard league 1 defender and a talented but 33 year old midfielder 

It's entirely the type of signing i am expecting,   don't have a problem Watson is decent better than Kyle McDonald and Walker, he is filling a position that needed covered.

 

I wonder if Murray and Agnew will try and get the band back together and go for Stuart Carswell.......

[Passionate]

On 25/05/2021 at 18:46, Stevo1968 said:

Craig Watson of east fife I’ve heard?

You called it 4 days ago  ,    Any more rumours

[FLDiamond]

I’m not sure about this signing and although it says Murray is an admirer, I’m wondering how much of an influence Agnew was.   I agree that we have to be ambitious and get at least 2-3 players who could easily compete at Championship level.  Some standouts in league 1.  So far I’m not really seeing it, but many more signings to come so here’s hoping.   Like others have said, our recruitment will determine our fate.  So far we have a ‘play off’ team.  I’d like to see us win the league 

[Stevo1968]

43 minutes ago, Passionate said:

You called it 4 days ago  ,    Any more rumours

I wish, first that’s been true in the past year, I was on the West Ham band waggon... that went well

[thediamonddude]

I can’t remember much of Watson myself, which probably tells its own story, but I think it would be an understatement to say it’s way too early to be pushing the panic button yet.

We've signed Agnew, who’s obviously at the wrong end of his career, but is a good player at this level and was a necessity as assistant manager. 

For all we know, Watson has been signed to provide a bit of depth, and we know how important guys with versatility can be, especially if we’re going for a leaner squad.

I don’t see anything to suggest he’s our new RB, or that he’s in to replace Kerr/Fordyce at CB, so let’s just wait and see.

I personally don’t think this says anything about who else we’re going to be targeting/signing.

[Diamonds are Forever]

20 minutes ago, thediamonddude said:

I can’t remember much of Watson myself, which probably tells its own story, but I think it would be an understatement to say it’s way too early to be pushing the panic button yet.

We've signed Agnew, who’s obviously at the wrong end of his career, but is a good player at this level and was a necessity as assistant manager. 

For all we know, Watson has been signed to provide a bit of depth, and we know how important guys with versatility can be, especially if we’re going for a leaner squad.

I don’t see anything to suggest he’s our new RB, or that he’s in to replace Kerr/Fordyce at CB, so let’s just wait and see.

I personally don’t think this says anything about who else we’re going to be targeting/signing.

 

Totally agree. Without knowing where he fits within the context of our squad you can't judge any signings at this point. If he's been signed as our first choice defender then that would be slightly concerning, but if he's a cheap and reliable back-up option for the squad then it may be sound business.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Diamonds are Forever

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

4 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

Totally agree. Without knowing where he fits within the context of our squad you can't judge any signings at this point. If he's been signed as our first choice defender then that would be slightly concerning, but if he's a cheap and reliable back-up option for the squad then it may be sound business.

The fact the club emphasised his versatility suggests to me that he's probably more of a backup but I could be wrong

[Passionate]

9 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

The fact the club emphasised his versatility suggests to me that he's probably more of a backup but I could be wrong

Agree, I think he will be second fiddle to Dean Ritchie and Scott Walker...

 

Seriously,   why would he sign for a club as a backup, he knocked back East Fifes contract offer to come here

[Eric the half a b]

25 minutes ago, Passionate said:

Agree, I think he will be second fiddle to Dean Ritchie and Scott Walker...

 

Seriously,   why would he sign for a club as a backup, he knocked back East Fifes contract offer to come 

Ambition, to join the league winning diamonds 2021/22  

Edited May 29, 2021 by Eric the half a b

[Diamonds are Forever]

1 hour ago, Passionate said:

Agree, I think he will be second fiddle to Dean Ritchie and Scott Walker...

 

Seriously,   why would he sign for a club as a backup, he knocked back East Fifes contract offer to come here

 

No manager is going to say to the player he is going to be back-up. He'd say he'll have to fight for his position and take his chance when it comes. Which is true. And most players at that level will have the belief that they will be a regular.

[Jack Reed]

2 hours ago, Passionate said:

Agree, I think he will be second fiddle to Dean Ritchie and Scott Walker...

 

Seriously,   why would he sign for a club as a backup, he knocked back East Fifes contract offer to come here

Got to agree, not here to sit on the bench, 

[Chapelhall chap]

Like others I can't say I noticed him over the seasons but it looks like defensive solidity being built in early, before we get the real attacking intent?  Not very exciting.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Chapelhall chap

[Ballboy]

I Welcome the guy to our club.   Good experience in this league and possibly an upgrade on guys like mbayo as more likely to push for a place.   Just depends if the manager tries to play him in midfield like he has others.    Will have to see who else signs up.   Not exactly what I was expecting for a push to win the league to be fair I'll give him a chance.   Can't be worse than some we have had.   Even if it's cover for rb/cb  cant be worse than jack mckay playing there. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Ballboy
.

[airdrieman]

Aye I don't really get the negativity to this signing at all. Especially on the Facebook group where you'd think we're signing some sort of bombscare no-mark from the Juniors who's never going to be good enough to play at this level. He's a more than adequate League 1 centre-half who, at this stage, is replacing another more than adequate League 1 centre-half in Sean Crighton but who can play in a couple more positions so he's probably even an upgrade in that regard. Would I start him ahead of Kerr or Fordyce? No. Or even McKay? Possibly not on last season's form. But unless we get to the start of the season and he's replaced one of Kerr or Fordyce with another inferior player, then I don't think there's much to worry or complain about RE his signing. FWIW if we can keep a hold of last season's defence that + Watson is more than capable of challenging in this league. 

[airdrieman]

8 hours ago, LoonsYouthTeam said:

What sort of player are we getting with Thomson?

Can't add much to what has already been said. He's pacey and direct which makes him a threat at this level of football. His final ball and end product is dreadful though. I think he only scored twice both seasons he was with us which is poor for somebody of his ostensible skill level. And I don't remember many assists from him at all. His best run of form actually came during our run-in where he scored or set up a few key goals but he doesn't do it anywhere near consistently enough. Should definitely be a handy player in League 2. 

5 hours ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

I feel massively left out of all this new signings business!

As several of the Diamonds fans predicted there was going to be a big turnover of players this summer for you. Very interested to see who Ian Murray goes for, for replacements/upgrades to Carrick, Crighton, Paton, Thomson etc. Hopefully a few more the calibre of Kyle Turner

Think Robert will go this summer? Would you keep him or want to see him move on?

I'd be surprised if Cove weren't signing players soon enough! Can only dream of signing another Kyle Turner TBH... 

Robert is allegedly signed up for next season but he'll almost definitely be away. The whole thing has felt quite stage managed so I'd imagine his next club and the fee + add-ons were worked out well before now (maybe even before he came to Airdrie). I like Thomas but he's not a hard-working Ian Murray sort of player so I imagine he, and the club, will want to 'cash in' and get what we can for him. If you can use the money from his sale to sign even one or two players of additional quality or quantity then it's probably worth it! 

[airdrieman]

3 hours ago, Gordon EF said:

I liked him. Played mostly at centre half for us and around a season at right back. Probably only filled in centre mid on the odd occasion. Probably fair to say he's more of a 'footballing' centre half, rather than your meat and potatoes cart horse type. Can be a bit mistake prone at times and loves to give away a penalty but overall he's a good League one defender and someone that's useful to have in your squad due to his versatility.

If Gordon's post is anything to go by then I think he'll be a decent addition. A footballing or versatile centre-half is certainly more than can be said for Crighton anyway!