Arbroath v Rovers

[Hammerafc]

There’s definitely a debate to be had around how Arbroath could go from five points clear at the top to four points behind in just a few weeks. 
Whatever way you look at it, it’s been a dreadful collapse, and you have to apportion blame somewhere. 

Although some of the games haven't been the best it hasn't been anything like a collapse.

First quarter 15 points, second quarter 19 points, third quarter 14 points and final quarter 7 so far with 5 games left. We have been fairly consistent all season but have drawn a lot of games. We have 4 less defeats than any other team so not what I would call a collapse.

We had a goal of staying in the league which has been ticked off. Free hit at the rest of the season. It's not over yet and the team showed we won't give up.

[RawB93]

Some full-time weirdos on here, anyway.

[McGuigan1978]

Two wins in eight when you’re going for a title feels like a bit of a collapse, especially when you’d hit the front, but it might improve so fair play. All the best! 

[lichtgilphead]

I would just like to take this opportunity to praise Dundee United's hybrid squad who won the Premier League in 1982/83. Plucky part-time Maurice Malpas won his league championship medal and his first Scotland cap whilst studying as a full-time student at Dundee Tech.

In addition, Jimmy Bone was part-time when he won the League Cup with hybrid Partick Thistle in 1971, as were at least a couple of his teammates.

These are just a couple of immediate recollections, but by the "hybrid" definition being applied to Arbroath, I wouldn't be surprised if every team in Scotland had operated a hybrid model at some point in the last 50-odd years.

Arbroath's ambition is to be the best part-time club in Scotland. We are currently succeeding in that ambition. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

4 hours ago, lichtgilphead said:

I would just like to take this opportunity to praise Dundee United's hybrid squad who won the Premier League in 1982/83. Plucky part-time Maurice Malpas won his league championship medal and his first Scotland cap whilst studying as a full-time student at Dundee Tech.

In addition, Jimmy Bone was part-time when he won the League Cup with hybrid Partick Thistle in 1971, as were at least a couple of his teammates.

These are just a couple of immediate recollections, but by the "hybrid" definition being applied to Arbroath, I wouldn't be surprised if every team in Scotland had operated a hybrid model at some point in the last 50-odd years.

Arbroath's ambition is to be the best part-time club in Scotland. We are currently succeeding in that ambition. 

Quote

A student at Glasgow's St Gerard's School, Craig was a Celtic supporter as a child, with the first game he attended being the Saint Mungo Cup final in 1951.^[2] He was a Scotland schoolboy international,^[2] while his first senior side was the University of Glasgow representative team which he played for while studying dentistry at the institution. He joined Celtic in 1963 on amateur terms so as to allow him to complete his studies, and having done so signed as a full professional in January 1965.

Jim Craig (Scottish footballer) - Wikipedia

[Fide]

7 hours ago, lichtgilphead said:

I would just like to take this opportunity to praise Dundee United's hybrid squad who won the Premier League in 1982/83. Plucky part-time Maurice Malpas won his league championship medal and his first Scotland cap whilst studying as a full-time student at Dundee Tech.

In addition, Jimmy Bone was part-time when he won the League Cup with hybrid Partick Thistle in 1971, as were at least a couple of his teammates.

These are just a couple of immediate recollections, but by the "hybrid" definition being applied to Arbroath, I wouldn't be surprised if every team in Scotland had operated a hybrid model at some point in the last 50-odd years.

Arbroath's ambition is to be the best part-time club in Scotland. We are currently succeeding in that ambition. 

But you’re not a part time club. 

[Smokerson]

17 hours ago, McGuigan1978 said:

There’s definitely a debate to be had around how Arbroath could go from five points clear at the top to four points behind in just a few weeks. 

Whatever way you look at it, it’s been a dreadful collapse, and you have to apportion blame somewhere. 

I think dreadful collapse is probably a bit strong, we have only really lost one game against ICT, too many draws have been the problem, I have never thought our squad was capable of winning the league, since xmas the league has gotten a bit stronger, McInnes has made a difference to Killie and the likes or Morton, Qots and Dunfermline are a lot stronger. 

One more win seals a play off spot which would be an absolutely phenomenal achievement and great that it still seems to be annoying so many other fans how well we are doing. I am sure most people with any sort of football brain would say the "dreadful collapse" has came from Raith Rovers. Best team in the division for the first half of the season and are now 16 points behind.

[Rovers1992/1993]

I think dreadful collapse is probably a bit strong, we have only really lost one game against ICT, too many draws have been the problem, I have never thought our squad was capable of winning the league, since xmas the league has gotten a bit stronger, McInnes has made a difference to Killie and the likes or Morton, Qots and Dunfermline are a lot stronger. 
One more win seals a play off spot which would be an absolutely phenomenal achievement and great that it still seems to be annoying so many other fans how well we are doing. I am sure most people with any sort of football brain would say the "dreadful collapse" has came from Raith Rovers. Best team in the division for the first half of the season and are now 16 points behind.

We were never the best team in the division though. The best team in the division sits top of the league. I think we were top for 1 week? I could be wrong on that but we we hardly the best team in the division for the first half of the season.

[Beachbum]

44 minutes ago, Rovers1992/1993 said:

We were never the best team in the division though. The best team in the division sits top of the league. I think we were top for 1 week? I could be wrong on that but we we hardly the best team in the division for the first half of the season.

Never been top this season.

[stan3600]

Part time / full time / hybrid / fitness / gyms. Yawn. Our part time players have to do a a full time non-football job 5 days a week. They are remarkable.

[Fide]

17 minutes ago, stan3600 said:

Part time / full time / hybrid / fitness / gyms. Yawn. Our part time players have to do a a full time non-football job 5 days a week. They are remarkable.

They’re such heroes. Swoon. 

[farflung lichtie]

It’s a bit sad to see Killie fans on this thread but I suppose that’s the insecurity cum condescension peaking through.  
Anyway, can I just say ‘haven’t the boys done well’.  Incredible to be so deep into the season having lost only 4 times.   I’m sure we lost a good few more when we won the lower leagues. Phenomenal.   And yes, maybe we’ve drawn too many but a fair number of them have been achievements in their own right.  

Looking back these last 3 seasons in the Championship, there have been sections of the season when we’ve accumulated many more points than at other times.  Remember last season when I don’t think we managed a win for the first quarter, then went on a run.   It’s always been a funny, closely contested division so that might be part of the reason.

As an extremely seasoned Lichtie, I have never bought into the hype that’s crept in these last couple of months.  A nice frisson of expectation is lovely but then getting distracted by other scorelines is an utter bore.   It’s a nice, and perhaps unusual feeling, not to be worrying about a relegation threat.  And, after a period of low scoring games, the Raith game was top notch entertainment - and incredibly, we seem to still the top scorers in this league which maybe doesn’t say much for the others.  Hope we can keep this upbeat thing going until the end and even into the playoffs - tho that’s maybe raising expectations too much.   A season to remember.

Edited March 29, 2022 by farflung lichtie

[craigkillie]

Why would Killie fans not be on a thread for a match which:

a) Involves our main title rivals?

b) Saw said title rivals drop points?

Surely that's the entire point of a forum like this, to allow people to discuss and keep an eye on games that affect them.

[Tattie36]

59 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Why would Killie fans not be on a thread for a match which:

a) Involves our main title rivals?

b) Saw said title rivals drop points?

Surely that's the entire point of a forum like this, to allow people to discuss and keep an eye on games that affect them.

I have zero issue with Kilmarnock fans being on this thread and agree with your reasons.

I do however have a problem with sad, attention seeking wind-up merchants like Fide who only come on to claim that Arbroath are not part-time, even though we have exactly the same set-up as Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton, Montrose and all the other part-time clubs in the pyramid. A part-time squad with a greater or lesser number of on loan full-timers from clubs generally higher up the food chain. They are not club employees and don't train with our coaching team on a full-time basis.

The fact that, due to our relative recent success, we can attract better part-time players, or better full-timers on loan, is neither here nor there. We are as much a hybrid set-up as Albion Rovers or Auchinleck Talbot - i.e. we're not.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Tattie36

[Fide]

12 minutes ago, Tattie36 said:

I have zero issue with Kilmarnock fans being on this thread and agree with your reasons.

I do however have a problem with sad, attention seeking wind-up merchants like Fide who only come on to claim that Arbroath are not part-time, even though we have exactly the same set-up as Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton, Montrose and all the other part-time clubs in the pyramid. A part-time squad with a greater or lesser number of on loan full-timers from clubs generally higher up the food chain. They are not club employees and don't train with our coaching team on a full-time basis.

The fact that, due to our relative recent success, we can attract better part-time players, or better full-timers on loan, is neither here nor there. We are as much a hybrid set-up as Albion Rovers or Auchinleck Talbot - i.e. we're not.

I’m not on the wind up. As stated, I think you’ve done fantastically for a hybrid team

[Jack_Jarvis]

As a Killie fan of many years, this has been one of the strangest seasons. We supposedly had the best squad etc, but as has become apparent there were players throughout that were better than we had(at the early part of the season), Nouble, McKenna, Hamilton at Arbroath stuck out, the other players got stuck right in and winning became a habit, Billy McKay and Gardyne(cough) were a thorn in our armour, Zak Rudden and Bannigan being the best of a decent bunch at Thistle too.

Truth be known I hope Arbroath come up in the play offs if we manage automatic promotion, sadly due to BBC wanting to show almost all our away games I missed out on a trip to Gayfield, we would be back to being minnows as far as the media are concerned and a bloody good Saturday overnighter could be had.

Financially it is imperative that we go straight up, so with that in mind and the fact that Lichties seem already happy with their lot for the season, please drop some more points quickly and let us go .