The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond

[Diamonds are Forever]

1 hour ago, airdrieman said:

I disagree with the consensus I actually don't think we played well at all. Certainly plenty of possession and pressure but we created almost 0 chances and I think Robbie Mutch made one save the entire game. Given the talent of guys like Easton, McCabe, Smith, Gallagher and Angew  that is a concern to me. McGill took his goal well but Gallagher and Smith should be doing much better with their headers and what Jordan Allan was playing at when the ball fell to him I don't know. I really want him to do well but I just don't see what he brings at all at the moment. Other than that though it was exclusively hopeful balls or stramashes in and around the box which just isn't good enough. I said this last season but we're still too reticent to just have a shot at goal at times.  

Once again the goals we're conceding are far too soft. I like Scott Walker but he wasn't at it today at all (not match fit?) with both goals coming down his side and Fordyce has to do much better for the first goal also. The one thing you can usually say about an Ian Murray team is that they're organised and defensively sound but we can't even hang our hat on that at the moment. 

Not having a proper holding or ball-winning midfielder is killing us. Put a Paul Paton in that side and I think we win last week's game and today, they'd give us a much better foundation and chance of retaining the ball and getting an equaliser. You'd never have known we had a man advantage IMO. We have the same problem as last season but in the inverse. Last season our entire midfield was made up of holding or more defensive (or literally defenders) minded players. This season we have a midfield of talented ball players but nobody that is going to go haring after balls, getting physical or winning the important first and second balls. There's just no balance there. Our buildup play is painfully slow. We're a goal down and have a man advantage, show a bit of urgency FFS! What doesn't help in that regard is that we still don't really have any proper width. Walker (and Wardrop) and Quitongo are never going to bomb forward and put crosses in or even be an attacking outlet. McGill has shown up well so far but he's not a wide player. He's taken his goals well and the long diagonal can be effective but he's never going to beat a man or put a dangerous cross into the box. Play him upfront and let him dominate physically. I've liked Smith out wide previously but he wasn't in the game today at all. Neither was Gal and unfortunately I never have any faith we're going to score when Jordan Allan is on the park. 

I still think there's a lot of talent in that team but, unfortunately, as is often the case Murray does not know how to set them up or get the best out of them. He's already abandoned the 3-5-2 which was clearly the system he planned to play. Fair enough but this current system isn't working either. I'm sure he'll muddle his way into his best team and system at some point like he usually does. But... that's not what I want from my manager. I want a manager who knows his best team and plays them in their best position and who can respond to the game taking place in front of them. None of which Murray has ever done particularly well unfortunately. 

He has repeatedly said that he wants to go one better than last season i.e. win the league. You can only really judge the manager and the team they put together by their own target and we're miles off that at the moment. 1/9 points and 1 win in 7 games is abysmal even not taking that target into account. You have to be winning your home games and we couldn't even beat a team playing with 10 men for 45 minutes. Dire. Not exaggerating to say we probably have to win or at the very least remain unbeaten for the rest of the first quarter if we want to have any chance of challenging at the right end of the table. 

 

This is what puzzles me - not that I want us to play 3-5-2 necessarily, but that he's been here for a few years now so should know exactly the style of play that we need, has signed a squad of his players from scratch effectively, we then get one game into the season and we change system. Don't get me wrong the Montrose game was rotten but how much faith can he have had in his system that he quits on it one game in? And it surely puts us at a huge disadvantage coming up against sides who have spent pre-season drilling a certain system and working on combinations etc, yet we're still trying stuff out.

Surely when you build a squad you have a system you want to play, you sign the players for that system and you work on it in pre-season.

I really hope I'm wrong but I'm very concerned about this season. The defence looks worse, we are getting less from our full backs, and we don't really look a threat going forward. McCabe and Easton are good footballers but their effectiveness is going to be limited by what's ahead of them. We really need a win next week or things could go downhill pretty fast.

[Jon Snow]

1 win in the last 7 competitive matches at fulltime this season is not good enough.

#MurrayOut

[Mr November]

44 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

This is what puzzles me - not that I want us to play 3-5-2 necessarily, but that he's been here for a few years now so should know exactly the style of play that we need, has signed a squad of his players from scratch effectively, we then get one game into the season and we change system. Don't get me wrong the Montrose game was rotten but how much faith can he have had in his system that he quits on it one game in? And it surely puts us at a huge disadvantage coming up against sides who have spent pre-season drilling a certain system and working on combinations etc, yet we're still trying stuff out.

Surely when you build a squad you have a system you want to play, you sign the players for that system and you work on it in pre-season.

I really hope I'm wrong but I'm very concerned about this season. The defence looks worse, we are getting less from our full backs, and we don't really look a threat going forward. McCabe and Easton are good footballers but their effectiveness is going to be limited by what's ahead of them. We really need a win next week or things could go downhill pretty fast.

It's especially bizarre given how all the pre-season and cup games were pretty much solely 3-5-2, not even a hint of anything else unless we were chasing a game. I remember about half the warm-up before the Queen's Park game was focused on the wide players getting balls into the box for the strikers, something we really struggled with against Annan, so it seemed like something we were trying to tweak as we went, only for Murray to abandon it after one league game. 

I was a bit surprised when it became clear the recruitment was fully geared towards a 3-5-2, as while it worked well last season that was largely due to Turner and Paton making us very solid in the middle and adding quality going forward. There did seem to be a logic to the recruitment though, certainly more so than the previous two summer windows. 

A back three of Watson, Kerr and Fordyce seemed reasonable. Watson is a decent enough replacement for Paul McKay, although perhaps not as good a player overall he's probably a bit better on the ball than McKay was. Wardrop and Quitongo did well at Dumbarton and while Walker was fine at the end of last season, with McCann leaving we definitely needed two new full-backs. When we signed them I assumed we'd be going with a back four as neither are particularly attacking full-backs but fair enough if Murray felt they could work as our wing-backs, he certainly signed them up quickly so it was clear he was keen on them. We needed a completely new midfield and Murray seemed to make a big effort to bring in ball players like Agnew, McCabe and Easton. On paper that makes some sort of sense, trying to play through midfield rather than launching it long or relying on crosses which haven't been too successful for us recently, but I'm not convinced that midfield works without a proper defensive midfielder in there. Agnew and McCabe are good on the ball but are much better with the ball than without it, while Easton offers very little defensively (though that's not what he's there for). According to Stevie Aitken we tried to sign Paul Paton again, which if true is strange as we haven't even bothered signing a similar player. It seems like Murray had a pretty clear plan in how he wanted us to play this season, so to ditch it so early on is quite concerning as you say.

Perhaps the back three might return when Kerr is fit, as I'm not sure who else can play there at the moment with him and Lyons out. Other than Smith we lack any real pace going forward which is what happens when you build a team to play without wingers. McGill works hard out wide and is a great option for long diagonals but he's clearly not suited for running at a full-back and causing them problems in the way a classic winger would.

There's certainly a lot for Murray to think about for next week. To be honest I don't have a clue what our best team is at the moment, perhaps that will become clear when Murray stumbles upon it like he usually does

[The clean living guy]

Only 3 games in and Murray must be under a bit of pressure already. Board seem to have backed him. Very poor start to the league campaign. 

[Mr November]

2 minutes ago, The clean living guy said:

Only 3 games in and Murray must be under a bit of pressure already. Board seem to have backed him. Very poor start to the league campaign. 

The board were quick to punt Findlay when it was clear he was out his depth despite heavily backing him to build his own team. I think Murray will get slightly longer as he's shown he can turn things around before but things do need to improve very quickly. 

[airdrieman]

1 hour ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

This is what puzzles me - not that I want us to play 3-5-2 necessarily, but that he's been here for a few years now so should know exactly the style of play that we need, has signed a squad of his players from scratch effectively, we then get one game into the season and we change system. Don't get me wrong the Montrose game was rotten but how much faith can he have had in his system that he quits on it one game in? And it surely puts us at a huge disadvantage coming up against sides who have spent pre-season drilling a certain system and working on combinations etc, yet we're still trying stuff out.

Surely when you build a squad you have a system you want to play, you sign the players for that system and you work on it in pre-season.

I really hope I'm wrong but I'm very concerned about this season. The defence looks worse, we are getting less from our full backs, and we don't really look a threat going forward. McCabe and Easton are good footballers but their effectiveness is going to be limited by what's ahead of them. We really need a win next week or things could go downhill pretty fast.

I’m hugely concerned about it too. We’re already 6 points off the top and two of the three play-off places. That’s not an insurmountable gap, especially at this point, but it’s bigger than you want to be chasing. Especially in this league where every team can beat each other and we know we’re always going to drop silly points at times under Murray as a rule of thumb. 
 

Despite it seemingly being his preferred system, I’ve never really fancied us playing the 3-5-2. Murray’s only really made it work when he first came in and for a brief spell last season when Kyle Turner would have made any shape or formation work. But if that’s what you want to go for fair enough. But, while he signed for a 3-5-2, I’m not sure his signings actually made that much sense in that context. Wardrop and Quitongo aren’t attacking full-backs let alone wing-backs and there’s zero proper wingers in the squad to allow us to change it up. I don’t mind playing through the middle, and we have players capable of doing it, but you need some sort of options out wide even if it’s just to make changes live time in a game. Our midfield also has zero balance between ball players and holding midfielders. If we tried to sign Paul Paton fair enough. That’s a great option that worked really well for us last season but we obviously put all our eggs in that basket and never bothered to source another option in there should he go elsewhere. I thought McDonald and McGill might play that role but neither of them have played there either and they’re both not ready to be dominating a midfield every week. And then to completely abandon the system after one league game just reeks of the management team not having a clue what they’re doing. The best teams in this league have a system and a shape, players that suit and are signed to play in that system with a specific role and job in the team and they stick to it with various adjustments and tweaks made for results, performances, injuries, suspensions etc. We’ve never really had that under Murray and, while injuries and suspensions have played a part in this, I don’t think we’ve played the same team week-to-week yet. 
 

The next two games are must wins for me (as was today) or else we’re going to fall even further behind and will potentially be in a lot of trouble. Hard to see where the next win comes from if we don’t win next week. As said above the board emptied Findlay pretty quickly when it was clear it wasn’t working out (I think he got until the first international break). I dare say they’ll have to make a similar decision if things don’t improve soon because it’s pretty desperate at the moment. 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Strangely enough, the midfield (the main problem in most Airdrie teams in recent memory) is the area I'm happiest with at the moment. McCabe's been excellent imo, and Easton probably looks our most dangerous player. I like the look of Frizzell too and I think they make a good midfield three. The problem there is that I feel we're forced into a midfield three since our midfielders are mostly quite attack minded. For example, I think McCabe could play as one of the centre mids in a 4-4-2 but I don't think there's another player at the club I'd trust to slot in beside him. Frizzell and Easton are very attacking players, Agnew doesn't seem to have the legs to play such a role week in week out, and the likes of McDonald, Scott McGill, and Ritchie are very raw. Defensively we've been pretty poor and I do wonder if that has anything to do with switching to a back four after training entirely with a back three. I'm hopeful that Kerr returning from injury will help though I'd stick with the back four and probably play Watson at right back. The forwards are a more complicated issue. Assuming we play 4-3-3 as we have been there should be one centre forward and two players out wide, but it's not exactly clear who should be where and I think this is the area that Murray really has to sort out. The three that started today were the strongest three available (they're definitely better than Allan) but I think Murray has to think a bit about how to get the best out of them, seeing as neither Gallagher or McGill should really be out wide. Diamond formation (how apt) might work but it puts a lot of pressure on the full backs to provide width (although if the midfielders and forwards give them proper support out there they should manage).

I'm fairly confident there's quality in this squad. Despite the awful start I think it's a better squad than any we've started the last few seasons with, although possibly missing one defensive midfielder to tie the whole team together (not a clue where we'd find that player). We've seen before how far a good run can take you in this league, we need that sooner rather than later.

[Diamonds are Forever]

44 minutes ago, Mr November said:

It's especially bizarre given how all the pre-season and cup games were pretty much solely 3-5-2, not even a hint of anything else unless we were chasing a game. I remember about half the warm-up before the Queen's Park game was focused on the wide players getting balls into the box for the strikers, something we really struggled with against Annan, so it seemed like something we were trying to tweak as we went, only for Murray to abandon it after one league game. 

I was a bit surprised when it became clear the recruitment was fully geared towards a 3-5-2, as while it worked well last season that was largely due to Turner and Paton making us very solid in the middle and adding quality going forward. There did seem to be a logic to the recruitment though, certainly more so than the previous two summer windows. 

A back three of Watson, Kerr and Fordyce seemed reasonable. Watson is a decent enough replacement for Paul McKay, although perhaps not as good a player overall he's probably a bit better on the ball than McKay was. Wardrop and Quitongo did well at Dumbarton and while Walker was fine at the end of last season, with McCann leaving we definitely needed two new full-backs. When we signed them I assumed we'd be going with a back four as neither are particularly attacking full-backs but fair enough if Murray felt they could work as our wing-backs, he certainly signed them up quickly so it was clear he was keen on them. We needed a completely new midfield and Murray seemed to make a big effort to bring in ball players like Agnew, McCabe and Easton. On paper that makes some sort of sense, trying to play through midfield rather than launching it long or relying on crosses which haven't been too successful for us recently, but I'm not convinced that midfield works without a proper defensive midfielder in there. Agnew and McCabe are good on the ball but are much better with the ball than without it, while Easton offers very little defensively (though that's not what he's there for). According to Stevie Aitken we tried to sign Paul Paton again, which if true is strange as we haven't even bothered signing a similar player. It seems like Murray had a pretty clear plan in how he wanted us to play this season, so to ditch it so early on is quite concerning as you say.

Perhaps the back three might return when Kerr is fit, as I'm not sure who else can play there at the moment with him and Lyons out. Other than Smith we lack any real pace going forward which is what happens when you build a team to play without wingers. McGill works hard out wide and is a great option for long diagonals but he's clearly not suited for running at a full-back and causing them problems in the way a classic winger would.

There's certainly a lot for Murray to think about for next week. To be honest I don't have a clue what our best team is at the moment, perhaps that will become clear when Murray stumbles upon it like he usually does

 

This is the issue with planning for a 3-5-2, in reality you are going to need 5 centre backs - 3 to play, 1 on the bench, and another when one of the other 4 inevitably get injured or suspended. Kerr's injury towards the end of last season meant there was always a chance of him having issues just now. And it also leaves you with no opportunity to drop players performing poorly because you have no alternatives.

We have Fordyce and Watson. Kerr, who apart from a run of games towards the end of last season has barely played at centre back for us (and wasn't great when he did apart from the end of last season), and Lyons who is a total unknown. That is just not an appropriate amount/quality of player to go into a season planning on playing with 3 centre backs. The lack of depth was shown up 1 league game into the season and probably forced Murray to change system, but to me that is bad planning - you either need more centre backs, or if we can't afford that then plan on playing 4 at the back where you can get away with 3 or 4 centre backs in the squad.

[Passionate]

20 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Strangely enough, the midfield (the main problem in most Airdrie teams in recent memory) is the area I'm happiest with at the moment. McCabe's been excellent imo, and Easton probably looks our most dangerous player. I like the look of Frizzell too and I think they make a good midfield three. The problem there is that I feel we're forced into a midfield three since our midfielders are mostly quite attack minded. For example, I think McCabe could play as one of the centre mids in a 4-4-2 but I don't think there's another player at the club I'd trust to slot in beside him. Frizzell and Easton are very attacking players, Agnew doesn't seem to have the legs to play such a role week in week out, and the likes of McDonald, Scott McGill, and Ritchie are very raw. Defensively we've been pretty poor and I do wonder if that has anything to do with switching to a back four after training entirely with a back three. I'm hopeful that Kerr returning from injury will help though I'd stick with the back four and probably play Watson at right back. The forwards are a more complicated issue. Assuming we play 4-3-3 as we have been there should be one centre forward and two players out wide, but it's not exactly clear who should be where and I think this is the area that Murray really has to sort out. The three that started today were the strongest three available (they're definitely better than Allan) but I think Murray has to think a bit about how to get the best out of them, seeing as neither Gallagher or McGill should really be out wide. Diamond formation (how apt) might work but it puts a lot of pressure on the full backs to provide width (although if the midfielders and forwards give them proper support out there they should manage).

I'm fairly confident there's quality in this squad. Despite the awful start I think it's a better squad than any we've started the last few seasons with, although possibly missing one defensive midfielder to tie the whole team together (not a clue where we'd find that player). We've seen before how far a good run can take you in this league, we need that sooner rather than later.

I too don't think there is a great deal wrong,  squad depth and quality of player is better,   not convinced about the obsession of a defensive midfield player, is McCabe not p!aying that role.   Paton was decent last season and I think he has only started one game this season, due to niggling injuries, if we did sign Paton we wouldn't have McCabe, who is arguably one of our best players....

 

For what it's worth I thought in the first half with the high press we pinned Falkirk back for long spells,  the 2 goals were a shambles although Currie was unlucky the ball fell to Morrison as it was a decent save. Gallagher struggles as the line striker and like all season so far, was a good yard off the pace,   Smith was lost  playing  on the left....

 

We need Salim back and scoring goals,   can see him and Smith being our strikeforce when fit.....

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

3 minutes ago, Passionate said:

I too don't think there is a great deal wrong,  squad depth and quality of player is better,   not convinced about the obsession of a defensive midfield player, is McCabe not p!aying that role.   Paton was decent last season and I think he has only started one game this season, due to niggling injuries, if we did sign Paton we wouldn't have McCabe, who is arguably one of our best players....

Yes and no. McCabe is playing that role in the midfield three and doing well in it, but if we were to switch to 4-4-2 and play two centre mids I don't think there's anyone in our squad I'd trust to play alongside him as the rest all seem like they'd need to be in a three (too attacking, too raw, too knackered etc). That's fine if we keep playing a three but if we wanted to go with two up front to get the best out of Gal (and fit our strikers like Gabby and Salim in the team without pushing them out wide) then it becomes more difficult. The only way to have a midfield three and two centre forwards at the same time is to play a back 3 or to play a midfield diamond.

[The clean living guy]

Have Airdrie published any attendance figures this season? 

[airdrieman]

44 minutes ago, The clean living guy said:

Have Airdrie published any attendance figures this season? 

I noticed Falkirk said on their website the crowd yesterday was 1188. I don’t think we’ve published any yet though. 

[thediamonddude]

Quote

 

^ My brief take on the game yesterday from the match thread.

Got to say that while I’m as disappointed as everyone else here about only taking 1 point from a possible 9 so far, I’m massively encouraged by the way we’ve played in the past couple of weeks.

I think any notion that this is some sort of disaster start is a wee bit premature, given we know how easy it is for teams to drop points to anyone - no one will be running away with the league this season.

I’m happy with what we’ve got defensively - we just need to cut out the silly mistakes, which should be easy enough to do. We’ve bossed the midfield the past two weeks and as others have said, this is probably the best midfield we’ve had in God knows how long. Finally, we’ve got forwards that are capable of finishing - Gal and Kouder-Alissa are proven goal scorers at this level and I think McGill/Smith, while not necessarily prolific, will chip in too. 

I’m sure few folk will agree with me here as well, but I’d give credit to Murray for the formation switch. None of us were happy with the 3-5-2 a few weeks back and, despite him clearly favouring it as he’d used it so effectively last year, he’s switched to the 4-3-3 and we’ve looked much more comfortable.

Like I say, the issues yesterday are easily fixed - cut out silly errors at the back and take your chances when they come up. I’d be much more concerned if we weren’t playing well and creating the chances in the first place.

I think we’ll find that the next 3 or 4 games will really see us hit our stride and if I’m wrong, then I’ll re-evaluate my thoughts.

Way too early to be panicking about anything though - I genuinely think we’ve got the best squad we’ve had in years, just need some patience.

[dextermorgan]

Agreed that we have the best squad in a few years. My main concern for the season however is the forward line and the fact that other sides seem to be blessed with a more potent attack. Almost every other side has a striker capable of turning a game, Megginson, Keena, Goodwillie, and so on. Although as a team we weren't short on goals last season we dont have a  proven 'clinical' finisher in our ranks. Aissa may prove to be such a player but I suspect he may take time to settle and in the mean time we will fall out of the title chase. I wouldn't have resigned Gallagher as our main forward, as he is never likely to impose himself on defenses like the aforementioned strikers. Again, Callum Smith is another player in the same backet in my opinion, happy to grab the occasional goal but not a natural clinical finisher who revels in scoring. Aissa has the look of a striker who just loves to score, I hope for our sakes he keeps fit this season as he could make a real difference.

[Jack Reed]

12 hours ago, thediamonddude said:

^ My brief take on the game yesterday from the match thread.

Got to say that while I’m as disappointed as everyone else here about only taking 1 point from a possible 9 so far, I’m massively encouraged by the way we’ve played in the past couple of weeks.

I think any notion that this is some sort of disaster start is a wee bit premature, given we know how easy it is for teams to drop points to anyone - no one will be running away with the league this season.

I’m happy with what we’ve got defensively - we just need to cut out the silly mistakes, which should be easy enough to do. We’ve bossed the midfield the past two weeks and as others have said, this is probably the best midfield we’ve had in God knows how long. Finally, we’ve got forwards that are capable of finishing - Gal and Kouder-Alissa are proven goal scorers at this level and I think McGill/Smith, while not necessarily prolific, will chip in too. 

I’m sure few folk will agree with me here as well, but I’d give credit to Murray for the formation switch. None of us were happy with the 3-5-2 a few weeks back and, despite him clearly favouring it as he’d used it so effectively last year, he’s switched to the 4-3-3 and we’ve looked much more comfortable.

Like I say, the issues yesterday are easily fixed - cut out silly errors at the back and take your chances when they come up. I’d be much more concerned if we weren’t playing well and creating the chances in the first place.

I think we’ll find that the next 3 or 4 games will really see us hit our stride and if I’m wrong, then I’ll re-evaluate my thoughts.

Way too early to be panicking about anything though - I genuinely think we’ve got the best squad we’ve had in years, just need some patience.

Salim has a record of clubs anyway at least 15 

[CumbyDiamond]

On 14/08/2021 at 22:14, Mr November said:

The board were quick to punt Findlay when it was clear he was out his depth despite heavily backing him to build his own team. I think Murray will get slightly longer as he's shown he can turn things around before but things do need to improve very quickly. 

Different board this one seems content with Murray

 

[Jack Reed]

15 hours ago, dextermorgan said:

Agreed that we have the best squad in a few years. My main concern for the season however is the forward line and the fact that other sides seem to be blessed with a more potent attack. Almost every other side has a striker capable of turning a game, Megginson, Keena, Goodwillie, and so on. Although as a team we weren't short on goals last season we dont have a  proven 'clinical' finisher in our ranks. Aissa may prove to be such a player but I suspect he may take time to settle and in the mean time we will fall out of the title chase. I wouldn't have resigned Gallagher as our main forward, as he is never likely to impose himself on defenses like the aforementioned strikers. Again, Callum Smith is another player in the same backet in my opinion, happy to grab the occasional goal but not a natural clinical finisher who revels in scoring. Aissa has the look of a striker who just loves to score, I hope for our sakes he keeps fit this season as he could make a real difference.

I must be looking at wrong boy, apart from queens Park  who else has aissa scored for, 

[cb_diamond]

I'm sorry but that has been a grim start to the season, comprehensively bodied game one, bottle went game two and then when faced with the reverse scenario of the previous week on Saturday we can't get it done. We have a team bereft of quality and character at the moment. Really worrying.

Edited August 16, 2021 by cb_diamond

[FLDiamond]

7 hours ago, cb_diamond said:

I'm sorry but that has been a grim start to the season, comprehensively bodied game one, bottle went game two and then when faced with the reverse scenario of the previous week on Saturday we can't get it done. We have a team bereft of quality and character at the moment. Really worrying.

I have to disagree with that statement.  Our bottle went against Montrose for sure and yes, I was worried after the hiding we took the week before that.  But the team has bounced back with a couple of good performances and we were fairly solid with the exception of a couple of individual mistakes.  Some believe we have the strongest squad in years but even if you don’t buy into that I think it’s harsh to say we are bereft of quality.  And the character seems to be there, the players understand what’s expected.  It will take another few weeks for the league to start taking shape and I’m hoping we bring in one or two more signings.  But most fans (including me) have been encouraged by Saturday’s performance and if the team avoid the odd lapse of concentration or mistake and become more clinical in the final third we will quickly get on to winning ways 

[cb_diamond]

4 hours ago, FLDiamond said:

I have to disagree with that statement.  Our bottle went against Montrose for sure and yes, I was worried after the hiding we took the week before that.  But the team has bounced back with a couple of good performances and we were fairly solid with the exception of a couple of individual mistakes.  Some believe we have the strongest squad in years but even if you don’t buy into that I think it’s harsh to say we are bereft of quality.  And the character seems to be there, the players understand what’s expected.  It will take another few weeks for the league to start taking shape and I’m hoping we bring in one or two more signings.  But most fans (including me) have been encouraged by Saturday’s performance and if the team avoid the odd lapse of concentration or mistake and become more clinical in the final third we will quickly get on to winning ways 

I totally get that I'm coming across as a doom and gloom merchant and have done since this rebuild started, but barring one or two players I'm genuinely failing to see where any quality is. This team would get spanked by the team we ended last season with. For the third season on the trot we're already talking about Murray's ongoing tactical ineptness and that just not really good enough at all. I wish this was different and I could be delighted by the progress but I can't see us doing anything decent as things stand. I hope I'm wrong.