DiamondJack85

Get off the train at Airdrie and go to either the West End Bar or Cue Here. Both good pubs and only a few quid in a taxi to the stadium.

I sat in that area at the Queens Park game earlier in the season and had the misfortune of having to listen to probably one of that same group who moaned from the minute the game kicked off. Crighton was the one who got most abuse as by his own admission he was the only name he knew!! Looks like he's now learned the other players names! I took great delight when he got up and left as soon as we conceded the 2nd goal that night and he ended up missing our equaliser and 26 pens!

The 2nd half of the Clyde game we changed to a back 3 so I think this is why he stuck with it for East Fife. The same happened with the Forfar game...we had a great 1st half playing 4-3-3 against Hamilton the previous week and then the same line up the following week were terrible so I do see why he has been chopping and changing to some extent. I do agree though that we need to settle on a formation and get the players used to it, consistency is key!

Like who? Keep hearing about us signing a proven goalscorer but not one realistic suggestion as to who. Proven goalscorers are rare at this level, anyone who has a decent goalscoring record will easily get signed up with a championship side! We now have 5 strikers in the first team with Gallagher, Roy, Smith, Carrick and Russell...cant see us signing anymore!

Right back is the only position I'd say were not well stocked in. Fordyce can play there but he's more suited to centre half and as you say MacDonald is still young and inexperienced so would be good to bring in a more natural right back.

https://www.airdriefc.com/1920news/180719/Open-day-at-Penny-Cars-Stadium Open training session on Saturday and a chance for fans to meet the players. Great idea from the club!!

Yes because to be brunt they're not good enough. The likes of Stewart, Edward's, Cairns and McIntosh didn't show me anything to suggest they were worth keeping. For me, not one of them would have got into the first team this year. Think suggesting that Murray is blatantly getting rid of these players because he didn't sign them is very unfair, the club has been needing a clear out for years and it's been refreshing to see the decks being cleared.

We signed 4 youngsters from the academy and 4 from the reserves on full time contracts so hardly very few. Hopefully Cammy Russell will leave on loan...with Roy, Carrick, Gallagher and Smith all in front of him then he's going to struggle to get game time. I think he's got a good chance of breaking into the first team in the near future but he could really do with a loan spell in League 2 to gain more experience.

Why should he keep players if he doesnt rate them? Theres no room for sentiment in young players coming through...ultimately if they're not good enough then I'd rather find players who are, no matter where they come from. Stewart and Edward's have both had a fair crack at proving their worth and for me neither showed they were good enough.

Spot on, I'm sure every club would love these 20+ strikers but unfortunately theres not many of them going about. Murray will still be trying things out in this league cup with different formations and players in different positions so by the time the league rolls around he should hopefully have a good idea what his strongest line up is. Definitely thinks there's goals in this team, difficult to judge them against Partick, as you said we wont be playing against that standard in our division. From what I've seen so far, theres better quality on the ball and re-watching the highlights from yesterday, we had a lot of good link up play during that 1st half which some teams in our division will struggle to deal with. Would like to see Gallagher get a run of games as the main forward of the three to see how well he does. Thompson played right of the front 3 with Gallagher playing on the right of the midfield 4. Was surprised to see they weren't swapped round but in reflection Thompson was excellent 1st half and looked our most dangerous outlet.

Another player with pace...what a difference that's going to make to the team this year. Don't think I could have sat through another season of slow, one paced attacks!!

I think at this level its it's always very difficult to find available strikers who can near enough guarantee you 20+ goals. Most who have done that previously will either be playing in the Championship after getting their team promoted or they will be wanted by Championship teams...the likes of Andy Ryan and Kevin Nisbet are prime examples. Also neither of them were prolific beforehand so as you say, it's more trying to find a group of strikers who are likely to hit a decent amount between them with obviously the hope that one of them can have a really good season and hit the 20+ mark!

Think they've had voluntary sessions on the go for the last week or 2...today was officially the start of pre-season.

Going by Murrays interview the other night it sounds like we do have a few experienced players full time. In Gillespie's case...he wants to join a club where every player is full time, not a club with a hybrid setup.

Another really good signing by the looks of it, turned down a new contract at Celtic to sign for Brighton 2 years ago so must be a decent player with plenty of potential. Says hes been on loan to Derry City for the past few months as well so good to see hes been getting some first team experience. Really think our squad is shaping up quite well so far, we seem to have targeted guys who are in their early 20's and are on their way upwards in their careers whilst still having a core of experienced players in the likes of Hutton, Crighton, Fordyce, Eckersley, Wedderburn and Millar. Also good to see we have been addressing the lack of pace we had in the team last year...our home park cries out for some players with pace so guys like Thomson, Roy and Gallagher should be ideal.

Ian Murray was on Rock Sport's Talking Football tonight..a really good listen. Starts from around 7:15 mins in.

Great to see that sales are off to a flyer, having kit/merchandise available online for fans to buy has been a long time coming. Well done to all at the club. Impressed by both strips released so far, looking forward to seeing the home kit now.

Hopefully enough to pay off Conroy and Page from their over the top contracts!!

Excellent interview, good to hear how the hybrid setup is shaping up and I think Stuart explains the reasoning behind which players will be full/part time pretty well. It seems more and more that different factors (location/jobs/family) are coming into the equation when trying to sign players so having the hybrid setup can be appealing to certain players. The fact Hawkshaw and Roberts are both part time but will be able to train an extra day means they're only missing one days training so it's all beneficial to Murray and the players.

Decent enough player but not too fussed he's going. Has plenty of pace which I think gets him out of trouble a lot! Good going forward but then hopeless at times with his final ball. More suited to left centre back than left back. Says on our official site we've accepted an offer for him so could definitely be heading your way.

Ban that man for even suggesting we wait longer than a few weeks before the pitchforks are out!!

Some clarity on the McIntosh issue...hopefully that puts off the public execution from some. So Robertson, Victoria and Cairns are away and we've accepted an offer for MacDonald. Good to see more of last years squad being cleared out...must be proving harder to shift Conroy and Page from their over the top contracts. Slowly but surely looks like things are progressing in the background.

Something happened with McIntosh...yes he most likely got offered a better deal elsewhere! As my previous point, that will happen all the time with players. As for O'Neil, has he maybe tried to play hardball with the club in the hope of getting a bigger contract? Then when he realised it wasn't forthcoming he's had to go find himself something else? Or does that not fit your narrative about the current regime? The only picture I can see being painted here is that we're not making the same mistakes as last season by offering average players more than what they are worth. If that means we lose out on some players then so be it....there's plenty more out there of the same standard.

Just like we did last season? Maybe just me but I'd rather the club take their time and try to sign the right players than go all guns blazing offering over the top contracts to some duds!

The season only finished 3 weeks ago...why would the club be feeling the need to appease the fans this early? I'd get your point if the season was starting in a few weeks time but it's just short of 2 months till the first league cup game. We rushed out last May and signed up what was supposed to be a league challenging side...look how that turned out! I'm more than happy to wait and see what Murray and Millar bring together!