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ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds

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Posts posted by ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds

  1. Not a great game or performance but a good win. McGregor caused a lot of problems and I wasn't surprised to see him awarded MOTM (although I'd have picked Frizzell). McGregor still lacking a bit of end product and he could have scored a couple of times in the first half but he took his goal well. Thought Aiken done really well in the build up to Todorov's goal.

    The squad is a bit lightweight and you could see that today with a couple of the new young lads easily shrugged off the ball at times. Still think we could do with adding a more experienced and physical player in the midfield. Will need to be better to get a result against Dundee next week.

  2. 25 minutes ago, airdrieman said:

    Well deserved award for Frizzell. I don’t know if it really matters all that much these days but nice recognition all the same. And I’ve always thought the players’ representatives being separate from the management team made more sense, as much as Fordyce is probably the ideal captain within this squad. 

    Obviously a bit of a demotion for Gal but assume that might be because he’s part-time? Or they maybe see Todorov as the starting #9. 

    After the season Gal had I can’t see them planning to drop him to the bench this early on. It’s maybe more just a case that Gal was appointed vice-captain by Murray at a time when we only had about 4 players actually signed up. McCabe feels he has better options for the role now and that’s fair enough. I’m sure he spoke to Gal before finalising anything (à la Football Manager’s “speak to player before removing captaincy” box) and tbh Gal doesn’t seem the most egotistic so he probably wasn’t overly bothered by it.

  3. 10 minutes ago, goodwin said:

    Airdrie for the Cup. Don't like all this pre-season guff. There's cash to be won and we need it

     

    Aye I’d hope we’re taking it seriously. It’s a reasonable enough group and while we’d be expected to finish 3rd, the two “stronger” teams were both in the Championship last season so I suppose they’re not miles ahead of us. The second round is played at the end of August so any gate money made from us drawing one of the Old Firm we’d be able to use before the window closes. On the off chance you win in the second round you’re in the quarter final and again, you’d know who you were playing before the window closes. Progressing past this group stage could really help set us up for the season.

    I don’t expect we will progress through the group stage. Dundee and Caley Thistle are rightfully favoured over us. But we should be giving it a go.

  4. 56 minutes ago, Mr November said:

    One of our big successes in the last few years has been signing guys who’ve done ok elsewhere at similar level clubs but have went on to become key players. I’d say Frizzell, Easton, McCabe, ATS and even Watson all broadly fit that. Guys who’ve played a decent number of games, career isn’t really going anywhere but we’ve been able to get the best out of them. I think we might need another couple of players like that because competing for quality Championship players is always going to be a struggle. 

    Yeah I’d agree with much of this. We signed Frizzell from Dumbarton, Watson from East Fife, Ballantyne from Montrose etc. It might be that the players we can lure in are good players at part-time teams in League One that want to give full-time football a crack and/or move closer to the central belt. Players leaving Championship clubs all seem to be signing for teams we can’t realistically compete with like Dundee United or Raith Rovers.

    The only issue with that is that you’d expect if we had our eye on any players like that we’d already have them signed up as we would be a good upgrade for them. So unless we’re waiting to see some trialists in an actual game at the weekend before offering any deals, it might be unlikely.

    Still need a CB and LB for the starting 11 as a priority but we could do with adding quality all over. Both McCabe and Fordyce have told the media they believe we can continue our attacking style and compete well in the Championship. I like their optimism, but I hope it’s not misplaced. I’d agree with most that finishing 8th snd avoiding the relegation playoffs would be a decent first season back in the second tier, provided we’re able to build on that and improve over the following seasons.

  5. A fourth post in a row from myself here so apologies for that - I'm just back from a short holiday and giving myself a quick refresher of everything Airdrie!

    Squad numbers have been updated on the club website for anyone that's interested. All of last season's remaining squad appear to be unchanged with O'Connor taking 7, Todorov taking 11, Aiken taking 18, Dunlop taking 19, and Kavanagh taking 30.

  6. 2 minutes ago, G_H said:

    So far we havent really strengthened. Lost Smith, got Todorov, and a bunch of kids to replace those that were released.

    I'd hope to see some experienced signings, particularly defenders as its looking a bit thin in that department and was a weaker area last season, specifically a left back

    Agree with this. I think in midfield and up front we could do with adding quality to supplement what's already there, but the defence needs a couple of players that can come straight into the first team. Need at least a left back to let Ballantyne move over to the right and a centre back that's a bit more mobile than ATS (although I'm a fan of his).

  7. I'll be honest, I know it's still very early but I'm not sure we're getting many (if any) proven Championship level players in. The good thing is that we have a solid core squad already there and a few of those guys have already played at Championship level. I think the squad is most likely going to be supplemented by unproven youngsters. I think in recent years we've got a decent record of picking up young players without much senior experience (Devenny and McGill the obvious ones now, but McCann, MacDonald, and even Smith when we first signed him on loan are good examples) so that might not necesarily be a bad thing. I would feel a bit more at ease if we signed even one quality player with Championship experience in the coming weeks.

    Maybe I'm wrong and I'm worrying too early though - last season we never signed Telfer until September so that shows how long we still have to add some quality. Hopefully we'll see some exciting trailists at the weekend.

  8. 4 minutes ago, G_H said:

    I’d take him back definitely. Whether or not he’s ready for the Championship I have no idea, but I liked him during his loan spell, he’s a good prospect and he’s already familiar with the club and much of our squad, and I think he suits our style of play as well.

  9. Just now, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said:

    Yes, but interesting that McCabe said “agreed to deals” but the paperwork hasn’t been done yet.

    Do remember Stuart millar coming out and besmirching Leighton McIntosh for jetting off to Wrexham after he’d agreed terms with us.

    That was exactly my first thought watching him in that interview. Seems like it isn’t exactly official yet, unless they’ve signed the contract this morning before training started.

    My second thought was that the new Joma training gear looks cracking.

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