Meathead

Morton 1-5 Ayr from September 2018. Just to re-live those last 20 minutes again.

Other managers know full well what Ayr are paying without having to watch TV to find out. They all know someone who knows someone at every other club, and players talk to each other. The only people who learned anything from that segment are mugs like us who can do nothing useful with the information.

This sub-forum is such a great place for finding out about new music. What an album. Two support acts can be a bit wearying sometimes but I'll be down at QMU early for these guys on Tuesday.

Great recommendation. 'Party Favors' is amazing and I'll be listening to her a lot.

Overall I really enjoyed the night, but it felt odd to be at a gig held ostensibly in commemoration of Scott, marketed using posters emblazoned with his face, containing speeches about him by his closest family members, and yet featuring none of his music.

No, I can't figure it out. Please explain to me what Docherty will do differently now. I want to learn.

Clearly I must be. Why does Rose moving to a better team in a different country mean he kept trying his best for the rest of his contract, but Docherty moving to a team in the same division means he won't?

How does that difference manifest on the pitch? Is Docherty going to pull out of tackles that Rose didn't? Did Smith start pulling out of them after his pre-contract with Dundee United was announced?

What's the difference between Rose agreeing a move 6 months in advance and Docherty doing the same? Why is Docherty's commitment being questioned while no such doubts were expressed about Rose? I understand that Rose's destination had universal approval among Ayr fans, and Docherty's has universal disapproval. But it seems like people are just upset with him for agreeing a deal with Thistle and are trying to rationalise their feelings by questioning his commitment. He has no more reason to down tools now than Rose and Smith did last season, and neither of them did.

It was a few pages back but there's been a lot of revisionism about Liam Smith in this thread. The suggestion that the season was more or less over when his pre-contract with Dundee United was announced is not true at all. The league had gone, but there was a distinct possibility that Ayr would play Dundee United in the promotion playoffs. The potential for a conflict of interest was far greater in that situation than it is with Docherty now, yet Smith continued to give his all because he's a professional. As is Docherty. Deals like this get done in the background at this time of year all the time. We knew much earlier than this that Shankland, Smith, Rose, etc. would be off at the end of last season, and their commitment wasn't called into question. That Docherty is going to Partick Thistle makes no difference; he'll continue to give his all for the rest of his time at Ayr because that's what he's contracted to do. Give him abuse at games if you want but it'll achieve precisely nothing.

Not really about him being all that. Him going there when they are in the state they are, and after how the club has stood by him would stick in the craw a bit. Plus it would be another player needing replaced in January, and we've already got too many to replace atm. Without meaning to sound flippant, under what set of circumstances can Moore leave Ayr without it feeling like an act of betrayal? As @BukyOHare alluded to above, the club have kept him around for all this time because it was in their best interests to do so, not out of a sense of charity. The club were looking out for themselves and I don't understand why it would be held against Moore for doing the same.

This thread has introduced me to Stella Donnelly and I love her.

What a night and what a goddamn band.

There's some stiff competition here but I think this bit is my favourite.

Got Jade Bird at SWG3 on Sunday, then The Twilight Sad on consecutive Saturdays in London and at Usher Hall respectively, Julia Jacklin/Fenne Lily double whammy at Saint Luke's the night after Usher Hall, then finally We Were Promised Jetpacks at SWG3 the following Saturday to round off the year. Should be a good few weeks.

Grant will be curating a night for Scott at Usher Hall in January: http://www.usherhall.co.uk/whats-on/waltz-across-carpet-night-music-and-entertainment-support-tiny-changes

Similarly, seeing Frightened Rabbit at the Academy last year for the Midnight Organ Fight ten year anniversary will always be my most cherished gig memory. I originally missed out on tickets and was going to leave it, then u-turned and paid a fortune on Viagogo, since ten year anniversaries only happen once. I'd seen them before and I got to see Scott one more time afterwards with Mastersystem, but to be there for what turned out to be my favourite band's last ever gig, to see my favourite album of all time played in full, was such a privilege. I only wish I had eschewed the usual routine of getting pished and missing the odd bit to go to the bathroom and instead really drunk it all in and savoured the moment. Before Scott died I only really bothered to go to a handful of gigs a year, to see bands whose every word I could sing back to them. These days I try to make a concerted effort to go to see anyone I enjoy listening to, regardless of my familiarity with their entire discography, even if no one wants to come with me or it means travelling a little. You never know when you'll never get another chance.

Been listening to this pretty much constantly since it came out. Didn't expect them to top After the Party but they really just keep getting better and better. Would probably have them (narrowly) behind The Twilight Sad for album of the year, but 'Portland' is my favourite song of the year.

Yeah these days he's much better suited to right back, but with Murdoch out injured and 4-5-1 being the preferred formation this season it's been a case of needs must. In January, yes. Leaves us a bit short until then however.

Whether this is a good managerial appointment or not, it presumably means Kerr will no longer be playing (at least not regularly). We're an Andy Geggan injury away from really struggling in the middle of the park now.

Craig Finn was great last night, but Laura Stevenson was absolutely brilliant. She should be playing Saint Luke's like Baker, Bridgers and Jacklin, rather than supporting at King Tut's. Hopefully this next album will be in the same league as The Big Freeze and get her closer to receiving the recognition she deserves.

Gutted for Vaughan. One of my favourite opposition players to watch over the past few years, even in the midst of a title race. Hope he comes out the other side again and Raith do the business this season.

Fully agree with this. Last time we were looking for a manager we had a dismal squad and needed someone with McCall's experience to bail us out of a tough spot. This time we have a young, exciting squad that is very much on the up, and we should be looking for a manager who's on a similar trajectory - not one of the usual suspects making their way down the leagues. I've already posted on the main Ayr thread that I think Stewart Petrie would be an excellent fit, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at Darren Young (possibly recency bias admittedly with him looking good at the moment) or James McDonagh either. I don't think Peter Murphy has shown enough at Annan yet to justify being in contention for a job near the top of the Championship.

Think I've now heard enough this year that I like to have a first go at a top 10: 1. The Twilight Sad - IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME 2. Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze 3. Dave Hause - Kick 4. Jade Bird - Jade Bird 5. Craig Finn - I Need A New War 6. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow 7. Frightened Rabbit - Tiny Changes 8. Julia Jacklin - Crushing 9. The National - I Am Easy to Find 10. Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center The top 3 or 4 will almost certainly remain in that order, but there are still a few more to come out that I have high hopes for; Liz Lawrence and The Menzingers in particular. Maybe Big Thief too. Didn't especially care for U.F.O.F. so curious to see what their second release in less than six months is like.

The first half yesterday was the best 45 minutes I've seen any Ayr team produce, and it's unfortunate that the hysteria surrounding McCall's future has taken the spotlight away from the performance. It was the sort of afternoon that makes trekking to Dingwall on a Tuesday night to get beat, to Fife for a dull 0-0, or to Stranraer to get pumped 4-0 all seem worth it. It was a genuine privilege to be in attendance and I can only offer my sympathies to anyone who toughed out the darkest days of the Mark Roberts era but couldn't make it along yesterday. Peter Grant is in no small part responsible for facilitating that Ayr performance though. His tactics were naive in the extreme. Ayr have lined up with virtually the same starting eleven (give or take some rotation at centre half, and Kerr coming in for the now-injured Murdoch) in the same 4-5-1 since the league season began; it was exactly the same team, playing exactly the same way, who beat Dundee United last week. Unless Alloa do no scouting of their opposition, there is no excuse for being taken by surprise by Ayr's setup. How Grant thought a 4-3-3, with three strikers and virtually no width, was going to lead to anything other than total annihilation is beyond me. It wouldn't have mattered how well Alloa had played individually; their midfield was vastly outnumbered, their full backs were being doubled up on, and their centre halves had no protection. They were lambs to the slaughter. I felt a bit bad for Scott Taggart because Harvie and Forrest murdered him in the first half and there was nothing he could do about it. I remember watching one of Grant's first post-match interviews after getting the job (kudos to the always excellent Alloa highlights package for that - my favourite in the lower leagues alongside those of Ayr and East Fife) and he said something to the effect of wanting Alloa to be like Atletico Madrid without the ball, and Barcelona with it. I thought at the time he seemed totally oblivious to the realities of managing a team whose aim is to avoid relegation, and yesterday did nothing to sway me in the other direction. I hope all comes good for Alloa but, from the outside, Grant looks out of his depth.