timlichtie

At the final free kick there seemed to be an attempt to play the ball up the park and into the corner. With 20/20 hindsight, rolling it back to Gaston would have killed the last 30 seconds for a deserved point. On the other hand we might have scored and taken all 3 points with the last kick. On balance it was a decent call.

Without McKenna our midfield is devoid of any pace. There are decent players in there but they struggle to recover and defend when we lose the ball. Slater has the technical ability to create but absolutely needs more pace and physicality around him. At least we can see some shape developing. It will certainly take the 4 to 6 recruits Jim wants to give us a fighting chance. It’s worrying that free agent players are already turning us down.

Great effort tonight against a strong Raith team. Very tired Lichtie players by the last 10 minutes.

Don’t think many would disagree. He should have had cover to recover with substitute appearances and never thrown on for 90 minutes straight off. Most of us were crying out for another LB to be signed at the start of the season. The decision to rely on Hammy to come back and perform at Championship level was flawed to put it mildly.

2 seasons ago when we finished second we had incredible luck with injuries and some excellent loans. We also ground our lots of narrow wins. Unlikely to be repeated. As a Lichtie veteran I’m looking at an 18 month project for Jim McIntyre to get us properly competitive. If he keeps us up, great, but I won’t judge him harshly if he doesn’t. I’d just like some progress back towards a balanced squad with a decent game plan.

Gie the boys a break. There’s no reason we can’t grind something out on a windy Wednesday night. Park the bus and start with Turan up front to soften up the defence.

Agree. This again illustrates what Jim McIntyre is up against. We have 2 midfielders with pace and aggression, McKenna and Balde. One injured, the other out on loan.

For me that was an ideal introduction for Jim McIntyre. A result today would have papered over the cracks. He now needs to focus on the major surgery required to the squad. If Ricky is out along with Mikey and ToB is due a suspension then we’re totally up against it. Only a serious injection of quality to defence and midfield will save our season.

Strapp was good for Morton. Losing him and also Grimshaw to the Arabs really weakened their side. Playing without Hammy then bringing him back, straight into the starting eleven was less than ideal. A left sided defender or defensive midfielder has been a serious omission all season.

Jim McIntyre really has a pretty weak hand to play with the squad he has inherited. Get the ball to the feet of Bird and Hylton and we’ll have a chance against Morton. Looks like it might be windy, so a classic Gayfield battle with the elements.

That’s a major clear out of staff. Maybe now we’ll see some more actual football players in the positions where we’ve been short all season.

We didn’t sack Dick Campbell. He resigned.

Well happy with this. Plenty to prove and a good track record.

McIntyre has a good record apart from Dundee and seems a bit unfortunate to have been fired by Cove apparently to make way for Hartley. Good contacts in the game.

First season in the Championship I was convinced we’d do a Brechin and struggle to win a game. Couldn’t have been more wrong. If we get the right manager in and balance the squad there’s no reason to think we can’t beat the drop. What’s equally important is that we don’t go into free fall like some who’ve been relegated in recent seasons.

There are definitely some exciting names being rumoured. My concern would be matching the expectations of a young, high profile manager with the level of signings that would necessary. On balance I would definitely prefer that to the journeyman approach with Hughes or similar.

He apparently started his senior career at Gayfield as a 16 year old so there’s a connection.

There’s nowhere in Ayrshire that isn’t frozen solid today. No thaw forecast for the weekend. There are people planning early departures tomorrow so it would be helpful to hear from Ayr.

I’ve heard that there’s a preferred candidate and it’s not SP. I guess all will become clear in the next 48 hours. I believe the chairman is away again soon so presumably an announcement shortly. I would prefer a known face from Scottish football who would have good contacts to bring in the sort of player that clearly lack in some positions. A Xmas strengthening could save our season.

The laddie’s made a serious mistake and been punished by the courts. I would hope he now gets the right counselling and support to get back on track.

Due to freeze all week in the west. Do Ayr have pitch covers?

It certainly illustrates how much the expectations of Lichtie fans have changed. A part time team with less resources going to a full time venue midweek is always going to be a challenge. The Pars suffered several injuries during the game but could still bring on some vey decent subs like Ohalloran and Wighton. The sort of bench we can only dream of. The new management team is inheriting a sparse and unbalanced squad. Even with the right recruitment the next few weeks promise to be emotional.

I have been fortunate enough to see both Albert and Dick in their time as great managers of Arbroath. Different men for different times. It’s unfair to compare. Dick has been incredibly engaged with the fans and always been approachable. He certainly shouldn’t have been subjected to the abuse that has reliably been reported.

Far from all doom and gloom. I never go there. I was under the impression that Allan could return at Xmas and also that Larne might only pay part of his wages. I also thought Slater was on a 4 year contract. Happy to be corrected.

Any new manager coming in will inherit some serious problems. The squad is small and weak in midfield and defence. We are also committed to long contracts to players who are struggling at Championship level. What is the status of Scott Allan’s contract now? If the Cambell’s were subsidising that, what now? Not an enticing prospect for a new management team and we may have to steel ourselves to a turbulent few months. Most important that we don’t go into free fall from this.