farflung lichtie

Oh dear, it’s the thought police are on again. Well we have a reasonable squad that should be reasonably competitive and it’s remained fairly stable which should bring benefits. Not sure we’ve adequately replaced Martin and Yule in midfield and whether we have enough goals in us, given Stevie D recovery is likely to take some time. As usual the kind of start any team gets to the season often seems to set the tone.

I’m slightly concerned that, without replacing the bite and presence of Martin and Yule, we might be a bit of a pushover in midfield... and consequently maybe facing a bit of a struggle towards the bottom end. Hoping to see some decent replacement(s) to reduce this risk.

Having such a class act back onboard is excellent - and definitely makes games more watchable. Quite a rare quality - the creative occasionally maverick touch alongside an eye for goal. Yes maybe not that effective defensively but that can be covered in other ways. Discouraging news about Yule -another great asset

Fixture list out today - chances are there will be too many games in bloody Angus

Savour the expectation....there may be a bit of a reality check this Saturday. We've struggled against Queens in recent seasons - usually well organised, physical, competitive and defensive. Boring and frustrating games and often ending 0-1. We haven't enjoyed the best starts in recent seasons either..but last season shows that's not always critical. Let the real stuff commence

BTW - quite impressed by Dick Campbell's post match interviews. A clever combination of diplomatic and honest. Great to hear the reasoned rants railing against the excessively early start to the competitive season. On the matter of club colours, it doesn't HAVE to be a replica shirt. The club shop sells a range of stuff - hoodies, polo shirts, scarves, baseball hats, umbrellas

Now on another serious matter. Can fans who don't wear any Lichtie identification be called proper supporters at all?

On the other hand, unless posters regularly post opinion pieces - as opposed to facts/description - it reduces the need to come on here. As long as it doesn't violate accepted sensibilities, why not 'let a thousand flowers bloom'. Express your opinion, and reply, in a civil way

We seem to be a lot better placed than at the same time in recent seasons. Doesn't always play out that way when the league gets going. After the League Cup warmups, a decent start would be welcome. Still it's League 1 and the worst that probably happen is delegation

Just noticed that this league title came with exactly the same points' total as our last one, but with slight differences in the record. Apart from East Fife, winning the league with a rather modest 62 points last season, normally the league winners get more than 70 points 2010-11 Played 36 Won 20 Drawn 6 Lost 10 Goals For 80 Goals Against 61 Goal Diff + 19 Points 66 2016-17 Played 36 Won 18 Drawn 12 Lost 6 Goals For 63 Goals Against 36 Goal Diff +27 Points 66 i would just add Div 1 is looking to be a tough league next season with some bigger clubs - Raith, Ayr, Airdrie - involved

Was Colin Hamilton in the last title-winning side?

Great show today from all but a bit nervy second half. Never the easy way with Arbroath, missing a pen etc. Does the manner of this seasons run offer absolution for the disastrous collapse 2 seasons ago. As historic underachievers, satisfying to get a second title under our belts

A couple of matters to raise/discuss 1. Dick Campbell claims we're the only team in this league playing with two wingers. When it's working, it definitely makes games more interesting but it also needs those players to put in a shift tracking back 2. Mark Whatley refers to our slow starts, the fact we often underperform and seldom score in first halves. It would be interesting to see the stats on when we've scored in games this season. 3. Any thoughts on the Bonus Ball scheme being launched on the AFC website for 'Gayfield development'?

I'm certain the totally unnecessary segregation arrangements is due entirely to the police copping out as increasingly usual. they claim crime rates are down but it's because people realise it's pointless reporting them. They spend most of their time on soft (education, communication) activities rather than real policing. Given the complete lack of any aggro between Arbroath and Forfar supporters throughout recorded history, this move confirms the polis are just not up for a little bit extra policing but would rather have a metal fence do their job. I hope that same fence receives the same in-work benefits

Interesting signings - crucially early and fairly promising. Do we not still need a midfielder with bite - we always seemlightweight in the middle. Two good left backs both great at building moves

Fife will definitely have to strengthen for the next season. They definitely deserve promotion for putting together a decent run at a key time, when rivals were stuttering, but didn't stand out from the mediocre alternatives in a fairly even league - eg is the champions points total, and points gap between highest and lowest must be among the lowest ever in Div 2? Levenmouth deserves a boost so hope you make a go of it

There's definitely a gap between youth/reserve football and League 2. And the younger players coming in need time to adjust and develop which they never seem to manage under the pressure to compete against competitive and experienced sides. I think Scott, McWalter and Robertson had the qualities to step up. But there is an issue in drafting in inexperienced loan players from other clubs. True they may have slightly better skill levels and greater potential BUT they also need time to adapt and so struggle to be effective for some time. Young loan players were shown as a bit lightweight last weekend against E Fife and I worry a bit when we face the more physical sides like Queens and Annan. Also hope to be proved wrong but the lack of experience in all the recent loan signings is a concern

Think Whatley's been outstanding these past 2 games, as has Lowden by the way. But I agree we have sometimes seemed. A bit lightweight in midfield for much of the season so Nicholl's return might be timely

Derek Rylance was a storming wholehearted left fullback. One claim to fame was scoring a hat trick against Celtic in a League Cup pool game against Celtic ( held at Hampden I vaguely recall - it finished 3-3)

I'm a shareholder (quite a few in fact) but have never been around for the AGMs - too far up the road so am mindful I'm neglecting my duties and perhaps not exerting sufficient scrutiny and involvement. Still, if £100 is the threshold to become a shareholder, then while not to be sneezed at, this amount could be manageable by most fans if they plan and prioritize it (give up the drink for a fortnight he suggested patronizingly) and you can then participate in, and own, the club Arbroath seems to be a tightly run and the board deserve some credit for keeping things financially on an even keel despite the many pressures. As for indulging players, well I assume there are critical financial considerations here so I would not always swallow the players' version of any dealings. And of course, it's just a cheap and easy shot to slag off any Board who are after all, volunteers for what is self-evidently a thankless task, but then most volunteering is. Financial safety first is laudable but maybe we'd benefit from a bit more dynamism and innovation from the board - new income streams, etc. A number of other clubs do better in areas such as local lotteries etc.

Mid-term collapses are not entirely unknown. Maybe it's an indication of Lichtie supporters modest expectations but very few fans took much for granted even when we were way out in front. Dreamland until 2nd January then reality bit

Good observations and detailed analysis - and some strong evidence for a few of them. However I've not noted any lack of effort or application by the team though you can clearly see the heads go down when we fall behind. Maybe it's simpler than that, at essence. Perhaps we overachieved first half, especially in the scoring stakes and when that dried up, virtually completely, along with the loss of our defence to injuries/return of El Zubaidi, adjustment and struggle was inevitable. The mid-term replacements were too inexperienced, but maybe that was what was available, and our bench has been really weak in recent weeks. Then the draining of confidence reinforces the decline. For some of this - especially the players brought in - the management bears prime responsibility but not all of it. I think the supporters have been remarkably tolerant though that is now starting to fray. We seem to be a fairly conservative club, lacking strong business or community engagement or even lively ideas - even compared with some others in this league - so it might be the closing of the development/youth setup and the lack of financing options to buy in/pay players sets tight constraints on managers.

Saw a reference to EF having some fulltime players... and it was mentioned again in the East Fife Mail this week or last. What's the story there - is it only a few players? Assume they're not on great wages? (though if Wullie Gray is back maybe the good times can roll?)