Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I’m going to look at this as a positive and give credit for what looks like an ambitious move. We’re hopeless at the moment and this will hopefully make us better! However on the back of the Wotherspoon experiment, which was only a few seasons ago, I’m also going to question how we pay for this (as everyone should) and worry about the associated risks.Our gates and sponsorship income will be down. We’ve got a high wage bill as a starting point due to the 2yr contracts we gave to part time players who aren’t good enough and therefore will be difficult to shift. We have one person now running the club after the fall out amongst the Board. 600 people through the gates won’t cover the bills for (some) full time football. So we’re reliant on that one person continuing to stump up. As we were with Wotherspoon, a man who changed his mind mid-experiment. I’m not privy to any inside knowledge but we backed our new manager in January - who was pushing for promotion - with 3 young loan players and a guy from the juniors. And that was after getting Celtic in the cup. If we actually had money I’d suggest that was the time to spend a bit (we’d have made the playoffs with 2 or 3 solid additions). So I’d question if we did/do have any. However if they (he) say it’s there then fine I guess - some more detail would be nice but as the sums don’t add up (the ‘post Wotherspoon’ Ballantyne months demonstrate that). However also as a reality check (as others have pointed out elsewhere) we have QOS, Morton, Thistle, Raith or Falkirk (or potentially two of them) in the league next year. Clubs of a bigger current standing with likely more money to spend. We went part time for a reason - the Board were very clear why and explained the advantages. This current model was heralded as being the best fit. It wasn’t stumbled into. Why therefore abandon it so quickly in such challenging circumstances? Why not just do it better like Arbroath or Alloa. After all what standard of full time players can we actually attract? As I said, I hope it works. If it gives us an edge, if we get our signings right, if the manager steps up then great. We all want success. If it doesn’t, I’m not sure we can come back again from what the potential fall out may be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rio 2 Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 9 hours ago, 1320Lichtie said: Aye. This'll be the big bonus of the championship for us. Especially if Dundee and United are in the league. Still think pushing at the top end of League 1 is enjoyable though Don't hang your hat on Dundee Utd bringing a big support. We've played them quite a few times in the past and their away support has always been poor, although maybe they don't like Airdrie!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring Back Paddy Flannery Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Having full time players seems bonkers when you have an average attendance of 700 odd. Even if it is only half of them. Given that you will be bottom of the barrel in terms of full time wages, you could be attracting some real shite, a bit like what Raith have been struggling with in recent seasons. At one point with ourselves Murray tried to introduce a 3rd night of training (was never going to work) and he was always complaining about only having 2 nights a week training. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been a massive influence in this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
++Ammo - Airdrie++ Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Like others I'm wondering how this is going to be paid for.We've seen the failed wotherspoon experiment very recently and its left a very sour taste.In my mind (a very warped place) the Celtic money has been banked, which is why we didn't see investment in January, with a view to always using it to increase the season 19/20 budget.If that's the case and its maybe a £100k - £150k head start on the budget, maybe that's the funding for the 5 or 6 full time players, and the rest of the "normal" budget could be used to attract a better 12-13 p/t S rather than 18-20 average part timers.In an ideal world..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesadilla Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) I've said this many, many times, but I'd rather attract the best part time players to the club than the worst full time players. Although on the face of it, it sounds like a positive move, as people have previously pointed out, we've tried the F/T route and it was hugely unsuccessful. Raith are a hybrid model and they're not massively better off than us, despite having healthier crowds. I can't see this ending well, though I hope there's a surprise in there and Murray turns this into a tactical masterclass. Edited April 19, 2019 by Pesadilla 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesadilla Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Maybe Diamond Dave will enlighten us...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Maybe Diamond Dave will enlighten us......And confirm where/who banked the Celtic money? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesadilla Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 1 minute ago, Airdrie Minded said: And confirm where/who banked the Celtic money? I'm gonna wager that was used to consolidate debt... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartcraig Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Rio 2 said: Don't hang your hat on Dundee Utd bringing a big support. We've played them quite a few times in the past and their away support has always been poor, although maybe they don't like Airdrie!!! In fairness, Arbroath is a bit closer to Dundee than Airdrie is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I'm gonna wager that was used to consolidate debt...Yep, agree. As I said before, the lack of spending in January would suggest that. After all, why bank it to try and achieve the play offs next year when we could have spent some and achieved the playoffs this year. No idea where the money for this hybrid set up is coming from. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartcraig Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 4 minutes ago, Airdrie Minded said: Yep, agree. As I said before, the lack of spending in January would suggest that. After all, why bank it to try and achieve the play offs next year when we could have spent some and achieved the playoffs this year. No idea where the money for this hybrid set up is coming from. I'm not suggesting it's a likely explanation but, while we could have achieved a play-off spot by spendng a bit more money, we've failed to establish the necessary foundation to go on and win promotion. We would have effectively wasted money for no real benefit, when we could have held on to it to support a run at promotion next season, a point at which we would hopefully be less constrained by the baggage of the bad choices we made this season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I'm not suggesting it's a likely explanation but, while we could have achieved a play-off spot by spendng a bit more money, we've failed to establish the necessary foundation to go on and win promotion. We would have effectively wasted money for no real benefit, when we could have held on to it to support a run at promotion next season, a point at which we would hopefully be less constrained by the baggage of the bad choices we made this season.I don’t agree but see the logic and hope you’re right. I think the increased income would warrant going up now. The noise was we need out this league ASAP. I don’t think we’re in a position to pick and choose and we run the risk of wasting money by bringing in poor full time players in a futile effort v eg Thistle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartcraig Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, Airdrie Minded said: I don’t agree but see the logic and hope you’re right. I think the increased income would warrant going up now. The noise was we need out this league ASAP. I don’t think we’re in a position to pick and choose and we run the risk of wasting money by bringing in poor full time players in a futile effort v eg Thistle. It's just a guess. That said, it would be a typically Airdrie thing to do to finally put together a team in 2019 -20 which would have been a strong contender this season but which struggles against teams like Falkirk/QotS/Thistle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 It's just a guess. That said, it would be a typically Airdrie thing to do to finally put together a team in 2019 -20 which would have been a strong contender this season but which struggles against teams like Falkirk/QotS/Thistle.You’ve summed it up perfectly there!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G_&_T Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 As others have said, I think it's better to attract the best part-time players than the worst full-timers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Armada Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Love how diamondDick threw in a Bullshit story to stir things up and ain’t posted again [emoji848] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lgm Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 As others have said, I think it's better to attract the best part-time players than the worst full-timers. Was that not the plan this season? I believed we were cherry picking from the rest of the league. Hasn’t turned out too well. No harm in trying something different as long as finances allow. Probably hooked me in for a season ticket renewal when I was considering giving it a bye next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdrie Minded Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Was that not the plan this season? I believed we were cherry picking from the rest of the league. Hasn’t turned out too well. No harm in trying something different as long as finances allow. Probably hooked me in for a season ticket renewal when I was considering giving it a bye next season. It worked for Arbroath. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lgm Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 It worked for Arbroath. Yup it did. It shows with the wrong man at the helm it goes wrong no matter the cash paid. Full time or part time or hybrid it can go tits up without the right manager. I’m still to be convinced by Murray but yesterday’s news is at least something positive after the last six or so depressing months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds are Forever Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 The theory behind this working I guess is that by having the availability of full-time football you attract decent youngsters who have been released from full-time clubs and are looking for one last shot at full-time football. Guys that wouldn't join you part-time training twice a week. You add these guys to a core of experienced part-time guys and you have the making of a decent side. You're also widening your potential pool of players. Sounds great in theory, however the whole thing comes down to recruitment and finances. How much money do we actually have to sign any good full-timers? And as we've seen the last few years, we've tried various methods and come unstuck down to awful recruitment. We're also lumbered with a few guys from this year on 2 year contracts so we cannot afford any poor signings. That's difficult for any club, let alone a club with our track record. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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