dextermorgan

No harm to Gallagher, he gets his share of goals each season but lately all he seems to do is trot around the pitch like a dressage pony. We badly need a bit of physicality and height in the forward line. Gabby McGinn showed exactly how it should be done for someone so young. I know it's not Gal's game to be fair, but he needs to start driving at defences with the ball and making defenders commit. We had ten corners today and slightly less last week. Nothing is coming from them, not because of a lack of quality delivery in my opinion, more a lack of an attacking presence up front. I would like to think that Aissa will return next week and make a difference, as on today's showing he was badly missed.

Yeah, the Dumbarton player got himself between the ball and challenge and 'bought' the foul. As I said, Wardrop should have known better. The ref should have seen it that way but didn't so the rest is history. As for the Airdrie penalty decision, exactly the same in my book, except that it obviously didn't impact the game as much in the end.

it is obvious now that the ref was conned, but the main blame lies with Wardrop for attempting the challenge when there was no real threat. In terms of management I think 90% of us would have subbed him before it happened, maybe Murray will learn yesterdays events for future games. Dumbarton are no different from other sides in the league, they will look to exploit any percieved weakness in the opposition. I hope that Wardrop does not become too much of a focus by our future opponents. With regard to weaknesses I'm sure other managers will have noticed how easy it was to score from a header at a set piece yesterday. Simple blocking by the Dumbarton players to allow a free header and a resulting goal....all too easy in my opinion. As the excellent commentators put it, 'I think Airdrie are going to be one of these sides who will have to score frequently as they look like a team that will concede'.

If callum Smith comes to us it is undoubtedly for his tireless contribution to attacking down the right side. For Murray however it is for the young guys contribution to supporting the right back which he does extemely well. I personally would prefer a tall center forward target who can hold the ball up. Just my preference, maybe a Derek Holmes type (who can run) who can link play and cause defences problems at set pieces.

I don't believe the system we play matters too much, or even the tactics for this side. After the QOS game Murray stated that the game was simply about 11 v 11 and in that statement he was pretty much saying that the players have to win the battles with their conterpart. Look at yesterday, how many of our players won their 'personal' battles? I don't honestly know how you change this, other than getting in a tough ball winning midfielder who can inspire those around him.

The DTV interview with Craig Watson pretty much summed up what I took from yesterday. A lack of physicality and aggression, a lack of desire to be first to the ball, a lack of pace up front and the fact that 'nothing stuck' with the forwards. Montrose are a big physical side who were never matched in that respect yesterday, the real question is. Do we have the players in our current squad who have the 'nastiness' or aggression to compete with these teams? We will see in the coming weeks, but what concerns me is the combination of the players in our side who are not the most physical, coupled with those who are prone to injury and maybe not as fully commited as they should be. As I said earlier, playing Montrose first should make the side realise that skill alone is not going to win you much in this or any division.

Typical Aiirdrie, just when you think it can't get any worse it usually does. Montrose was probably the worst team to play in the first game as they looked like a side that knew each other and we certainly didn't. Don't want to single out players but the midfield has a lot to answer for in both lack of creativity and stopping the opponents running at our back four. I'm sure Murray will have spotted this, but as usual he doesn't seem to apply the fixes during the games for some reason. If Aissa is out for a few games then I'm afraid that we will struggle badly, the lack of hold up play up front is embarassing to say the least. Kyle Turner din't just provide the side with talent and energy in my opinion, he coaxed and bullied the side to match his performances. Leadership on the park today was noticibly missing.

It would appear that the streaming service is here to stay which is a good thing in my opinion. Looking at other streams, like QOS last week, it is obvious that there is vast room for improvement to justify the price for our product. Moving the camera was a no-brainer from the start but viewers are looking for more than a car park surveillance feed these days. Whilst it is easy to criticise the clubs efforts sometimes on issues like streaming I think by and large the guys at the top are providing management that is a vast improvent to the previous board.

Not too bothered about today's result as it was all but on the cards. QOS are a decent side who have a fair bit of quality about them. We were coming to them a few days after a monumental win over Motherwell and it looked like a bridge too far for many of them, just as in the Morton playoffs. At the start of the game we pressed them really well but it was obvious that this was not sustainable for the 90 minutes as we were constantly failing to hold the ball up front. This in my opinion is our major weakness, the lack of a strong physical presence in the forward line who can shrug off the defenders and allow others to come in to play. Gallagher and Aissa are better in the box and not really suited to hold up play, unlike the QOS number 9. It was inevitable that Ally Roy would score of course and you could see that this game meant a lot to him. Time will tell of course as to whether Partick and ourselves were mistaken in letting him go. As already stated, next week will be a better indication of how our season will shape up.

I like many others have reservations about our chances of promotion this coming season. The squad so far looks pretty good in my opinion with one exception. The lack of players who can put the ball in the net. Last season showed us that even with a fairly average squad we could get to the playoffs. What really sealed it for Partick however was the presence of Graham and Tiffoney, height and pace up front. We will not be serious contenders until we address the lack of presence in our forward positions. The trialists on show over the weekend did not fill us with any hope that this was going to be addressed however, but like every other supporter we live on hope and expectation.

Don't see Jordan as a first choice striker just yet but who knows if he starts banging in the goals. If we have any hope of going for the title we only have to look at the strikers in the past few seasons who got Partick, Raith and Arbroath to the championship. They were all experienced with a track record of scoring regularly.

Delighted that Max Currie has signed up. We have not been too blessed with decent keepers in the past few years but I believe he will only go on to get better every season. The defence is starting to shape up well so far in my opinion. The real test for this club however is to find leadership and creativity in midfield and a proven goal scorer. We can but hope.

Glad to see that we are signing a ball playing defender of Watson's height and physique. The Morton game as has been said, really showed up our teams lack of height and aggression in key areas of the park. In todays game, in my opinion, a team cannot progress with lightweight or small players and compete at Championship and above. The Morton game was a wake up for players like Robert and a few others as they were physically dominated (legally or illegally) throughout the entire game. Morton have survived in their league for so long by being the big physical 'ugly' side who can scrape draws in matches. I'm not saying we should aspire to this but it surely could't have gone un-noticed. Turner for me was more than comfortable at that level due to his upper body strength and undoubted stamina and skill. It was his leadership on the park however which really showed us what we have been missing for years. He wasn't afraid to call out team mates and was constantly on their case throughout the whole game. In the few games he played it showed how this influence can drive a seventh placed team 'onwards and upwards'. Although we scored almost more than anyone last season I feel that we will not be contenders next year until we find a loanee like Declan McManus or a natural finisher like Megginson. I know this is the hardest part of the team to fill but surely we could look to use money in that diection, rather than keeping the number of 'bench fillers' we had last season.

Good luck to Dale where ever he goes, he gave his all for the team over the last three years. I for one however, never seen him as a natural goal scorer. His goal tally was bolstered with his penalties and for me he lacked a true forwards composure and accuracy. His miss in front of goal at Cove recently summed up his lack of 'natural finishers instincts'. As a team player however, he will be missed and I would be delighted to see him back at the club in a managerial or coaching role in the future.

The club are not going to be hit for stewarding and other outlays for the games. I would be more than happy to offer £50+ in order to keep the club on a secure financial footing.

For me the game against Clyde showed up a couple of things that are pretty obvious to us all. Quality up front will always edge out tight games and so it proved with Goodwillie. Also Johnston in midfield for them was far superior to any of ours in driving forward and creating chances. I think i'm right in stating that we would be serious contenders if those guys were in our side.

Done it a couple of times in the season and it is overpriced for what is on offer. The fact that you are not seated at a meal is a bit of a downer considering the price. This is a no brainer for reducing the price and increasing the volume of customer uptake as their overheads are minimal.

Reading the preview it filled me with huge disappointment. Josh like many players believe that their results are due to 'bad luck' or not 'getting the breaks'. I'm afraid that this dillusional view is common with many players. The poor results are due to a lack of quality and poor decision making as everyone knows. It is also down to a lack of confidence at this level. I hope they prove me wrong tomorrow and 'get the breaks' but I won't be spending 30 quid to find out.

I remember going to that opening cup game at Partick and coming away thinking...if only we had given it a real go and hadn't been so negative. We lost as as expected but who knows what would have happened if we'd been a bit more positive. Almost every game so far has been a carbon copy and the manager must own it...not the director of football or anyone else. I'm sure that his mantra in football is self preservation in not losing.....who ever heard of a manager who was sacked for not losing games? We lack quality and confidence up front at the moment with goals scarce from midfield as well. We do not look like we could hurt any team and when we went ahead on Saturday Montrose did not panic because they knew they could out score us...sad days!

One of the things that keep us diehards going back every week is hope that things will get better. From what we have all been witnessing it would appear that this is not the case for a variety of reasons. The most difficult part in football is scoring goals as we have heard over and over. We have watched money being squandered on a variety of support rolls and defensive minded players since the start of the year. We sort of guessed that Murray was all about work rate and avoiding defeat when the likes of Victoria was side lined early on despite being our main goal threat. We simply did not recruit well in the summer with regard to our forward line full stop. All of us were waiting on the club signing some of the best strikers with what appeared to be a healthy budget. I don’t think you had to be a fortune teller to realise that the players he signed were not the answer, particularly with his style of play. We even resigned Carrick who had already proven to us that he wasn’t a goalscorer! To cap it all Murray gets a two-year extension despite not having proven anything. This was the final straw for me and quite a few others…..time to look at other weekend activities!

I firmly believe that the whole situation is the result of the disappointment and utter frustration felt by the majority of the fans at the moment. Ian Murray and the board however are probably looking at the situation and wondering what our gripe is, sitting fourth in the table with barely a quarter of the season gone. From my perspective and many others however I do not see this current setup getting anywhere near the playoffs this season. I have been to every single game and remain utterly disillusioned by the tactics and the team selections. We appear at times to be playing with eight outfield defenders and two attackers who hope to hit on the break. We only seem to be positive in nature when we go a goal behind. Almost every other side has been better in terms of their movement and ability to hold the ball and create chances. We are in a very tight league in terms of ability but as usual the teams who gain promotion are usually the ones with the most potent forward line. On this point we look to be miles behind, particularly when your top scorer is on the bench or out on the wing. Therein lies the frustration part, the fans can see the obvious solutions…why can’t the management? It seems far easier to deal with the fans anger and frustration by treating them like children and telling them to behave! The club might like to remember that whilst it is football they are still in the ‘entertainment’ business where disapproval and ‘heckling’ are the norm.

Worried before kick off when I seen the line up. Too defensive by a long way and even then EF exploited the three at the back to great effect from the second goal onwards. We never got to grips with Liam Watt, on the left and cuts inside to finish. Did no one inform our players of his trademark move? Like others I feel we are weak in terms of being an attacking unit. We seem to have one ploy which is to get Thomson to the bye line to put a cross in. If he doesn't perform then we seem incapable of unlocking a defense any other way. This game highlighted what we all know in that we need a quality creative midfielder who can drive at the opposition and create chances and a forward up front with height and presence. We were well beaten today by a good side but on this occasion the manager must take blame for the original setup.

Eckersley did not have a good game last week in my opinion, he needs to be pushed like everyone else to maintain his standards. Not surprised to see a move in that position, the left back for Hamilton was a standout in the team the other night. Agreed that we need a tall striker with goals in him...who doesn't?

Looks like the 'fee' we got for Cammy was used to pay off Page going by the timing. Would like to think we could bring a striker in shortly.

Think the highlights will show Dillon putting a hand on Smith's shoulder as he was running to goal. Seen them given and not, but as a team we have had worse decisions against us this season already.