Diamonds Are Red

No sour grapes from me but no Airdrie players nominated in the PFA Championship list, it comprises Dundee Utd, Raith and Partick players.

Not for me that thinking, each to their own though. I dislike certain clubs more than others, but it's nothing to do with their lack of support, because well I know the feeling! On your criteria you would then dislike us if we got promoted, or Arbroath if they'd done so etc...etc... I am sure most if not all clubs try and get more fans, backing etc...and some will find that not easy. Simply dismissing clubs by a lack of crowds despite their ability to perform at a higher level I don't agree with.

Bang on, that 6555 number on the BBC website after the game was well under the crowd inside the ground, as you alluded to just shy of 7800.

We had nearly 3500 in the home end for the Hearts cup game. So far this season our total crowds are averaging under the 2k mark, noticeably higher than last season (1200ish) due to increased away support and the home end lifting from 900-1100 to 1200-1400 depending on the opponent. As said the move to Broadwood did us no favours, too long in League One, the older fans passing on, maybe fans moving away from the area for work (Boots, Imperial Steelworks, Pye all closing) and not being in the town as much... In recent years there has been a lot of new builds and potential fans coming into and growing up in the town - some might "bring a team with them" but also the potential for new folks to identify with their local club. There was a bit of an uncertainty and a lot going on behind the scenes re ownership/fans trust etc... a few years ago, that didn't translate well to supporters and I guess potential sponsors/partners (?), in recent times there has been a stability in the ownership, much more connection with the community and businesses again which has been positive for the fans, sponsors and perception of the club.

There's no getting away from the fact our turnover has increased dramatically this season as outlined (prize money for cup and league, crowds, hospitality, JD transfer etc...) - without trying to put a dampener on it was there something on here a while back about us having a £200k loss (might have misread it) and you wonder if PH or a.n. Other is due back on loans? Seems to be running it sensibly, and no sign of concern from Rhys, but you just wonder how much of that increased turnover will be allocated to player budget and what (if any, could be £0 or very little) is set aside to cover previous losses?

Thanks for those figures cb, quite a difference as you say from last season. And of course added to that (less higher stewarding and other costs) increased attendances compared to last season (averaging around 1800 per game compared to 1200 this time last year, so around + £150-200k over 18 home games).

Not being cheeky cb, genuinely interested to know how did you get to that figure? Thanks.

State of him coming on here, as you say can't even get their own playing surface in order, total embarrassment for the Scottish game. I wonder if he'll send us an email, then half an hour later send us another one changing his mind. All the best to Arbroath for next season!

Re the home crowds, your observation may be true re the Airdrie fans in attendance but the actual total crowd figure including away fans has mainly remained steady for the 2nd fixture - in fact for the Morton game the crowd was higher than the 1st game, same for the Raith and Ayr games too. I think we're around the 1200-1350 for Airdrie fans, depending on the opposition.

We lost Justin Devenny to Crystal Palace and as you say Smith to Raith Rovers. Our loan signings have comprised Megwa, O'Connor and Aiken from Hibs - Megwa has continually improved, O'Connor looked promising but faded away - has featured a bit more in recent weeks, Aiken was good but has been out injured for months...we've also supplemented recently with Lyall from Rangers and Donnell from Fulham. Todorov looked totally out of sorts pre Christmas, great improvement since then - in fact a number of our players have held their own or improved since coming into the Championship.

Since the turn of the year we have been getting a lot of joy through Hancock on the wing, scaring defenders and getting wicked crosses in. However in the last wee while quite a bit of our play (and goals) has been coming through the middle - evidenced by the TNS and other games. TNS in particular couldn't cope with our Plan B and it seems as if we've bamboozled other teams with that too, and our ability to mix it up.

Special mention to the goalkeeper for the penalty save last night. Whilst the Arbroath players arguing beforehand may have gone against McIntosh psychologically, it was still a good save. He has been thrown in at the deep end in arguably the most important part of the season, and played in a cup final. He's always going to be compared to Josh, but that save last night will help his confidence so good on him .

Yes that's a very good point, we would have really struggled before and as you say the midweek games and cup run have highlighted our ability to do just that. Of course we could argue that having a settled line up (particularly up front) would potentially have seen more goals and more points but it is what it is, Rhys has done very well under the circumstances and for the vast majority of games/the season (yes some poor games and/or performances ) the players have responded and tried hard - very few games have we seen them give up and put the heads down. On the whole a great effort.

Over the years Airdrie have had a few notable successes with youth:- Tony Watt to Celtic, Gary Mackay Steven to Dundee Utd (got him from Liverpool reserves) and just before this season Justin Devenny to Crystal Palace ("six figures"). The average age on the park last night was 21/22. Re crowds apart from a sizeable (?) number from Montrose (twice) only QOS might touch the 200-250, the rest you'll be doing well if 100-150 visit.

Great posts above. We might fall down due to lack of squad depth, but great to think we are talking about the promotion play offs rather than the relegation (mathematically still possible but looking unlikely now). I am sure Rhys will be pushing and encouraging the players to think on the possibilities of promotion rather than looking over our shoulder at the teams below, and as said if Hamilton and Livingston can do it, and Arbroath and Queen's Park nearly in seasons gone by... Still a bit to go, and it will be tough. However if there's any chance we can be in the mix then what an opportunity it is...