Binos -vs- Sons - Episode 7

[TheVoiceofReason]

Although we're on a 12 game unbeaten run we've not been playing as well as we did before we got that run of postponements that stalled our momentum. 

But...

We have self belief and a togetherness that compensates for that ditch in form. And that runs through the club from top to bottom.  We've got top notch medical guys that have maximised the game time of Carrick and Thomson. the off field noise that has haunted us has died down for the monent. Crowds are up and there is a palpable feel good factor on match days that has been missing for a long time. 

All of those things contribute to an overall optimism at the club and you feel that the fans, the backroom staff, the volunteers and the players are all part of the same effort. It's good to see that back at least so I'll just enjoy it while it lasts.

[Gnash]

8 minutes ago, Clarko_son said:

A pic of the very healthy Stirling support incase any one was interested 

Cheers, very difficult to gauge the size of a crowd when you're in the middle of it.  There was the odd empty seat, but with loads of people standing at the back, I wonder whether the stand may have been over-capacity.

[unitedbino]

11 minutes ago, Clarko_son said:

A pic of the very healthy Stirling support incase any one was interested 

Been a while since we've seen the home stand that packed (and with no away fans in there either)

[Mattie1880]

33 minutes ago, WC Boggs said:

Some of ours making more noise on here  today than they have all season.

Reading through this thread has reminded me why I don’t come on here

[Clarko_son]

2 minutes ago, Gnash said:

Cheers, very difficult to gauge the size of a crowd when you're in the middle of it.  There was the odd empty seat, but with loads of people standing at the back, I wonder whether the stand may have been over-capacity.

I did think it did look a bit like standing room only at the back rather than through choice

[Sweet Pete]

4 minutes ago, Gnash said:

Cheers, very difficult to gauge the size of a crowd when you're in the middle of it.  There was the odd empty seat, but with loads of people standing at the back, I wonder whether the stand may have been over-capacity.

It looked from our side like standing as no seats left. Commendable and enviable support.

3 minutes ago, Mattie1880 said:

Reading through this thread has reminded me why I don’t come on here

Few Albion fans on here looking a bit silly. Just a few.

[Mattie1880]

8 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Few Albion fans on here looking a bit silly. Just a few.

Potentially, but similarly a few Dumbarton fans looking a bit silly greeting about the ref. That being said I’m surprised nothings been said about our 2nd goal. Looked like the goalie got fouled tbh

Edited March 25, 2023 by Mattie1880

[Sweet Pete]

Today was a match between 2 sides that are the best this division has to offer. The football at this level has never been b'allon d'or standard, and the crowds have never been huge (not in my near 40 years certainly). It was well contested, evenly matched and engaging.

We were having a conversation on the return trip about parallels with our 08/09 title win and although that team scored a lot more and played more free flowing football, it also lost it's way badly in the bad weather months and suffered from Chapman's constant tinkering of players and formations. Someone like Jan or Dave could probably confirm more accurately, but I'm sure we used circa 34 players that season, and we limped across the line towards the final weeks, passing up the chance to seal it away at Cowden with 3 games to spare, only wrapping it up at home to Elgin and Annan (the Annan win being the real winner, bar a tens of goals swing on the final day). So these 2 sides may not be free flowing and free scoring, but they're what we have and we can't demand this or that from them. This is reality, not champy and the teams will only do what they're capable of. So we'll see what happens in the next 8 matches, but there's sure to be plenty of twists, turns, drama, frustration, elation and heartache before the trophy is handed out.

[Sweet Pete]

2 minutes ago, Mattie1880 said:

Potentially, but similarly a few Dumbarton fans looking a bit silly greeting about the ref. That being said I’m surprised nothings been said about our 2nd goal. Looked like the goalie got fouled tbh

I should, in balance, have also bemoaned the Sons fans who whinged.

Particularly some nugget in the middle of our stand who spent 90 minutes screaming over and over that the ref should go back to the juniors. If you read this, f**k off and give all our ears a rest. Yes, the ref was shite, but repeating yourself for an hour and a half is just annoying.

I didn't see a foul on our keeper for either Stirling goal. All i saw was 2 very similar lack of efforts to defend a simple corner. At the 2nd it looked to me like our first couple of players nearest the corner jumped, and the rest didn't, hence a Stirling player got the ball in the net.

[WC Boggs]

23 minutes ago, Gnash said:

Cheers, very difficult to gauge the size of a crowd when you're in the middle of it.  There was the odd empty seat, but with loads of people standing at the back, I wonder whether the stand may have been over-capacity.

Oh yeah, just question whether the club may have breached crowd safety regulations on an open forum.  Sheer fucking genius

[PWL]

4 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Particularly some nugget in the middle of our stand who spent 90 minutes screaming over and over that the ref should go back to the juniors. 

The level of vitriol he kept up the entire game was astounding.

[Clarko_son]

1 minute ago, PWL said:

The level of vitriol he kept up the entire game was astounding.

It was a level of disgruntlement and bitterness we can only dream of

[microdave]

18 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Today was a match between 2 sides that are the best this division has to offer. The football at this level has never been b'allon d'or standard, and the crowds have never been huge (not in my near 40 years certainly). It was well contested, evenly matched and engaging.

We were having a conversation on the return trip about parallels with our 08/09 title win and although that team scored a lot more and played more free flowing football, it also lost it's way badly in the bad weather months and suffered from Chapman's constant tinkering of players and formations. Someone like Jan or Dave could probably confirm more accurately, but I'm sure we used circa 34 players that season, and we limped across the line towards the final weeks, passing up the chance to seal it away at Cowden with 3 games to spare, only wrapping it up at home to Elgin and Annan (the Annan win being the real winner, bar a tens of goals swing on the final day). So these 2 sides may not be free flowing and free scoring, but they're what we have and we can't demand this or that from them. This is reality, not champy and the teams will only do what they're capable of. So we'll see what happens in the next 8 matches, but there's sure to be plenty of twists, turns, drama, frustration, elation and heartache before the trophy is handed out.

In 08/09, we used 33 players in league matches compared to 23 so far this season. The Cowdenbeath game saw us remain behind them after drawing. It was the following week that we overtook them when we beat Forfar while they were losing to Montrose. They lost again the next week while we were putting six past Elgin which put us four clear with one to play but East Stirlingshire were only three behind which meant it (officially) went to the final game. As you said out gd was so superior, the game at Annan was pretty much a formality. We took 22 points from the last quarter of games. 

 

[G_&_T]

5 minutes ago, PWL said:

The level of vitriol he kept up the entire game was astounding.

I'm not a fan of either club, nor was I there - though I would've gone were it not for the Scotland game. However, I always find folk like interesting and amusing, so long as I'm not in their immediate vicinity. It's a fascinating phenomenon, possibly peculiar to football alone, where someone turns up and just shouts like that for 90 mins. Is it displaced anger or frustration? I might be alone, but I think it's part of the game. Some folk seem to go to the football to shout and moan. 

Perhaps there should be a moaning section (akin to a singing section)? LOL

I was at the Airdrieonians v QP play-off final last year, and there was an Airdrie supporter in front of me, right at the front of the stand, who literally threatened to break the linesman's legs, give him a sore face, etc. The linesman must have heard, as often the threats came when he was about two meters away from him. He wasn't alone, either. 

 

[WC Boggs]

Albion Rovers manager has just been sacked.  A week is also a long time in football.

[BallochSonsFan]

25 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

I should, in balance, have also bemoaned the Sons fans who whinged.

Particularly some nugget in the middle of our stand who spent 90 minutes screaming over and over that the ref should go back to the juniors. If you read this, f**k off and give all our ears a rest. Yes, the ref was shite, but repeating yourself for an hour and a half is just annoying.

I didn't see a foul on our keeper for either Stirling goal. All i saw was 2 very similar lack of efforts to defend a simple corner. At the 2nd it looked to me like our first couple of players nearest the corner jumped, and the rest didn't, hence a Stirling player got the ball in the net.

Which was ironic, because referees in the juniors would barely have called some o those fouls.

[microdave]

8 minutes ago, G_&_T said:

I'm not a fan of either club, nor was I there - though I would've gone were it not for the Scotland game. However, I always find folk like interesting and amusing, so long as I'm not in their immediate vicinity. It's a fascinating phenomenon, possibly peculiar to football alone, where someone turns up and just shouts like that for 90 mins. Is it displaced anger or frustration? 

 

I reckon it's the same demographic of people who drive like arseholes. They're trying to get the frustrations of their life out. It's actually pretty sad for them.

[Sweet Pete]

22 minutes ago, PWL said:

The level of vitriol he kept up the entire game was astounding.

That's how @Clarko_son sounds internally.

[Sweet Pete]

10 minutes ago, microdave said:

In 08/09, we used 33 players in league matches compared to 23 so far this season. The Cowdenbeath game saw us remain behind them after drawing. It was the following week that we overtook them when we beat Forfar while they were losing to Montrose. They lost again the next week while we were putting six past Elgin which put us four clear with one to play but East Stirlingshire were only three behind which meant it (officially) went to the final game. As you said out gd was so superior, the game at Annan was pretty much a formality. We took 22 points from the last quarter of games. 

 

That's why we love you, wee fella. That mind for details.

[Sweet Pete]

8 minutes ago, BallochSonsFan said:

Which was ironic, because referees in the juniors would barely have called some o those fouls.

I've watched loads of juniors over the years and the refs there usually let a lot more pass. Today's was finicky and seemed to react to too much first half and then go back and forth with himself on whether he'd blow for things, card for things or let the game flow. Not a good officiating display.