dextermorgan

TNS are a side that this year alone benefitted from 800.00 euros in Uefa prize money. They have real quality in the side and a winning mentality. I'm sure that Rhys and Dycey have done their homework but I would have been more confident about the game if Megwa and Rae were available.

I believe that Taggart was there on the left to nullify Gabby McGill, and to be fair it worked for a large part of the game. On another day we could have been more clinical and finished it off early but not to be. I will take two memories fronm today however, that totally incompetent and inconsistent referee plus that 14st rucksack that Gal had on his back called Durnan...a win's a win!

For me, Josh Rae in goals makes a huge difference to the side and had he been fit for most of the season I believe we would be pushing Dunfermline. I believe that we will offer enough of a goal threat on Saturday to win this quite comfortably despite being away from home. If we can nullify the arial threat from Alloa at set pieces then we should be fairly comfortable and this begs the question as to whether ATS will regain his position.

Chrighton was certainly a 'stopper' and very good in the air. Unfortunately his abilities finished there. He found it very difficult to play out from the back and seemed lost outside of his own penalty box. I do feel sorry for Fordyce somewhat as I feel that he has had to carry the back line all on his own with constant changes to playing partners and the lack of decent full backs to eliminate the constant crosses into the box. I'm pretty sure that almost every other side in the division would be glad to have him.

I agree that we can't be too down about the points tally in recent games. If we lost those points against the bottom sides then I would worry. The trouble for many supporters now is the fact that we need to be about four goals up against a side so that we can relax. If our players misfire as on Saturday then we have big problems. Personally, I believe that only Fordyce and Ballantyne and perhaps Devenney are worth their place in the defensive lineup. Take a look at the highlights this year and you will see the same players guilty of defensive errors and poor positioning. Other managers always comment that we have "a way of playing". That is certainly true, the trouble is how to change it when we go behind or lose a player.

I'm heartened to see so many posters realise that Falkirk and Dunfermline are where they are because of their fanbase and budget. I personally think that Rhys has done a terrific job so far given his experience and some of the comments on his abilities are frankly ridiculous. Yesterday could have easily gone in our favour but we have become so accustomed to the likes of Smithy missing sitters from five yards out that fans vent their frustrations about tactics etc. As I have said in a previous post, all that is missing is quality and experience from the bench and that is where the finances kick in.

For me, our problems were fairly obvious today. We had enough chances to win five games but were not clinical in the box for the umpteenth time. We also cannot compete with Falkirk and Dunfermline in terms of quality squad numbers unless we approach their crowd sizes so I don't see that changing. Not scoring and conceding at crucial times in games has been our undoing of late coupled with conceding penalties. With regard to the mental aspect of the game, I don't believe that a manager on the sidelines would be an improvement to a manager on the park. Maybe only as someone who can take a broader view tactically. With regard to Ian McCall I don't think for a minute that he would come here as he will find better-paid employment elsewhere.

The play in the first half was excellent, to say the least, but irrespective of the penalty I don't know if we would have held them as the game went on. Our style of high-energy pressing for the first fifty minutes is difficult to maintain for most sides at this level. As with Edinburgh and a few other games we have succumbed as the games progressed although we still had chances to bury it today. The tide turned in my opinion with Otoo coming on for Dunfermline as the dominance we had in midfield almost disappeared. The Dunfermline goals I would like to see again as it appeared that we were taken apart all too easily. What summed our failures up for me was bringing Lachie on at the same time as Todorov with the one object in mind...stay on him at all times. Within five minutes Lachie had lost him in the box and it was 3-3. Not to blame the defeat on the big guy as he's still learning but the second half was men against boys at times.

it is fair to say that Edwards and MacDonald have 'bullied' most wingbacks this season, mainly due to the fact that they are Championship quality players. We should know, both of them have played for us. I think that we will cause Dunfermline lots of problems with our quality however, and the games will come down to who is more clinical in the penalty box. We are third in the table for a reason and if the players don't 'turn up' for these two games then we really have a problem. Looking forward to Saturday as I think we will put in a good performance in front of what should be a good crowd.

After last week's performance we were rightly pleased with the way things are going. Today however was a great wake up call before the Dunfermline game that sometimes the games and referees won't go our way. I hope the team takes this into next week and realise that a result is going to be hard won and several players will have to up their game. I include callum Smith in this category as he needs to show more of what he is capable of, especially against his old club next week. Glad to get a win today as the Clyde team were well organised, but in reality, how many saves did our keeper make during the game? Other sides this season will find Clyde just as difficult as we did today so I wouldn't be too downhearted about today's performance.

For me the only change to the back four would be to drop Watson. His form has dipped recently and no doubt will return at some point. Getting Ballantyne in for the Clyde game will allow him match practice before the Dunfermline games where Josh Edwards is probably the biggest threat. Fordyce and ATS in the center seems to work OK so don't see a need to change that.

Great result yesterday and well deserved victory against a fairly decent Alloa side. One player who sometimes receives a lot of criticism is Gabby McGill but yesterday showed us in my opinion why he is so important to the forward line. His constant energy and drive with the ability to draw players from Gal in particular was a big part of the victory. Like all players he will have his poor games, but for me he is one who is showing real improvement and a willingness to learn.

Don't think for a minute that Jamieson going back will be as big a blow to us as Allegria going back to Rangers will be to Falkirk. As for Mcmaster I believe there is a fair bit of talent there but I felt that his commitment shaded a bit when he was injured early on. We only have to look at Stanway and his presence in one game to realise that Dean won't see too many starts this season.

Currie is history for both of us now but you have to ask what both our managers seen in him in the first place. My opinion of him hasn't changed since the first time he played for us. Good shot stopper but decision making left a lot to be desired. Currie always seemed to let us down when it mattered and that for me was a clear indicator of a keeper who cannot and should not be playing football at our level. Good luck to the guy and good luck to EK if they ever get to a play off or the like.

Poor defending from the first relates to Fosu who was marking Gall and lost him in two feet of space. Brown was so incensed that he scudded the ball off him in disgust, only to be subbed minutes later. Dreadful defending by your guy who didn't seem to Give a ****

We waited in anticipation at the start of the season for new experienced signings and it did not happen. I think we can all be reasonably sure what the future business model is going to be. I said at the start of the Wetherspoon saga that I would not turn up every week to see us languish in this league to decelop players for other sides, my attitude is still the same. By all means bring youth on, but surely not at the expense of mounting a decent challenge. Being an Airdrie supporter invoves having a bit of hope going forward, I'm starting to lose it.

Agreed that having a 'manager' on the sidelines is always going to be beneficial but I think a lot of our woes come down to personnell and the style we play. In most games we are high energy and tempo from the start and this is the part of the game where we usually dominate. As the game progresses we lose momentum and generally find ourselves on the back foot, relying on the speed of our forwards to keep a high press. Most opposition managers have noticed this of course and so have the fans. That is why none of us relaxed at two up on Saturday. The secret then is to be able to hold on to a lead and that is where we fall down big time in terms of the center of the defence and having a quality goal keeper. I would not be averse to more guidance from the sidelines in terms of substitutions and 'breaking the play up', but ultimately Rhys is responsible for the set up.

Totally agree in as much as there isn't that much wrong with the side that can't be fixed fairly easily. looking back at the goals lost on DTV it is clear to me that the first step is changing the goalie. Some of the goals conceded are Sunday league stuff from him. Fordyce I'm afraid is not winning too many of his one on one battles at the back and this has cost us, although personally I would rather have him with a new center half rather than keeping Watson. Again from watching the highlights, the lack of height from players like McCabe, Telfer and Frizz are an open invitation to most of the bigger sides at set pieces. Let's start with Rae in goal this Saturday and see if he can marshall that defence. It must be so frustrating for our forwards to keep producing the goals only for the defence to concede with such total ineptitude.

Irrespective of this game today a certain weaknesses seem to be constant in the team in my opinion. The inability to deal effectively with high balls into the box is a regular feature of our play. Edinburgh took full advantage of this as they had several six foot plus players attacking the ball in our box in these situations. The lack of height and a not very commanding keeper means that we will alway have to score four or more each game to be sure of a win. Surely Rhys must see this!

Lost count now of the number of times where we have lost out to bigger and more physical sides. Great signing talented youngsters but today showed the negative side of bringing young and inexperienced players into a game like that. It is likely that we may even play Edinburgh in the playoffs if we're lucky and in that respect we are going to be up against it. A change of keeper, a commanding center half and Sinclair at left back and we might have a chance against sides like Edinburgh.

Some fans might say that Edinburgh are our 'bogey' side, absolute nonsense. They are second top of the league for a reason and part of that is because they have seasoned pros who have a fair bit of height and physicality. As soon as See came on for Robertson I knew we were going to be up against it. This was the moment when we could have brought Sinclair on at left back to offer more height in defense. All in all a dreadful result which once again shows that we lose dreadful self inflicted goals every week.

I believe that St Mirren will be looking to loan Jamieson out to a Championship side to see if he can hack it at that level and to get more money in for him whilst on loan, a bit like McBride last season. As for salim, I noticed that he hasn't been a regular starter for Stranraer this season and from watching all the highlights he doesn't look that fit in terms of playing in our current side. I would expect Salim to stay put with Airdrie looking for a loanee from another club.

You're probably right, although that game was in 2011

Having been at the game and just watched the highlights I am more convinced that that was one of the worst goal keeping performances I have seen from an Airdrie keeper in a very long time. I feel sorry for the outfield players who put in a real shift against a decent Championship side on the day as all of their efforts were in vain. Our goalkeeping agonies seem to have continued from last season where the lack of a good number one keeper and a credible challenger made a crucial difference in the end.

For me it has to be a straight swap with Frizzel going in for Telfer. Reasons being that the team has held two consecutive clean sheets, so why change it at the back? Secondly, I'm not convinced at all by Telfer so far. The main reason being that he loses too many personal and physical battles in midfield for my liking. Don't know whether this is a lack of phsicality or commitment or a combination of both. Frizz is also offering more of a goal threat by running at the opposing back line. Something I've never seen Telfer remotely capable of.