Diamond10
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Posts posted by Diamond10
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Have been critical of airdrie in recent weeks so credit where it’s due that is a massive 3 points and a performance out of no where and hopefully is the catalyst to kick start our season . As airdrieman says 9 points from 9 is very manageable and having beat the “best” team in the league that should give us confidence to take on anyone else .
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I don’t think it’s leaders that we lack I think it’s quality. I don’t fault the guys efforts the majority of the time I just can’t see who has that extra bit of quality to win us a game or score out of nothing. Overall we have an average squad with a raw Robert being the stand out. Going back to the last season that we made a go of it with Chucky and beany we had a pretty poor squad overall imo we just had those two who could get us there with an extra bit of quality.
Saw the Falkirk game has been moved to Sunday now and I’ll now miss it fearing the worst about it. Falkirk look a different animal to last year and we are going through a tough time would hope Murray would ring the changes but can’t see that though. Would’ve fancied our chances last year as well.
If the Falkirk game doesn’t go our way we have Clyde Dumbarton and Peterhead all away I’m sure after that. We need a clean slate and 9 points.
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2 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:
Game now Sunday at 12.
1 hour ago, LauriestonBairn said:
Farce. Announce 3 points to Airdrie.
In all seriousness though a swap to an airdrie home game like we did against Dumbarton earlier on would’ve made more sense ... or an indefinite postponement given our recent form.
As for the game I’ll miss it now but can’t see anything other than a comfortable Falkirk win. Would’ve fancied our chances last season but not this season.0 -
Was meant to add in yesterday’s rant has anyone else noticed how bad Murray is coming across in these interviews. I get it’s only a few minutes and the media guys work for the club but he doesn’t come across that great. We get the same brushed under the carpet short answers every Saturday without any depth or detail. More alarmingly after the cove game he said he didn’t know how long Robert’s contract lasted ??? How does the manager not know how long his players are signed for ? Also yesterday he didn’t realise we’ve got 4 away games in a row? These are things you’d expect any manager worth their salt to know... As I said maybe it’s the questions but a bit more depth maybe two interviews a week wouldn’t go a miss on how trainings going , progress etc??
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1 hour ago, airdrieman said:
As soon as we concede you can see the heads go down and we look utterly lifeless afterwards. As you say no ideas on how to break a team down (and nothing come from the bench or management team either) and low on confidence. You could maybe get away with that if you were solid and weren't conceding much but the problem is we are.
TBH I don't really agree. This season's squad is pretty much the best of last year's minus only Smith and Ryan. Other than them who do we really miss? Even then you could class Robert as a replacement for Smith. He doesn't have the same industry as Smith but he's already scored half of what Smith did last season so probably has a better end product. Not pushing the boat out to re-sign Ryan or sign another quality striker looks criminal and ultimately costly though. I don't think this season's squad is miles better than last's. But I really don't think it's worse. The problem is Murray isn't playing a system that gets the best out of them. Another re-occurring problem of his tenure.
The last year v this year just comes down to opinion mate . I genuinely believe we were on to something last season whether that would’ve came to anything or not we will never know and I can’t see us being close this year. In terms of goalkeeper I think currie in the long run will prove better than Gallagher/Hutton but it’s not showing now . The midfield of Kerr McKay and Sabatini is very defensive and one dimensional I think last year with millar nat (who scored today) and Kurtis Roberts (all Be it not world beaters) had different qualities and offered different options certainly were good enough for this league. Totally agree with the attack last year being better . Robert would come close to a replacement for smith . Connell isn’t as good as chucky would be and to be longing for ally Roy to return to action who wasn’t good enough to get a look in last year ...
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8 minutes ago, Stevo1968 said:
Last years squad > this years squad, FACT.
Totally Agree.
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23 minutes ago, Eric the half a b said:
I agree look at the league table should be no reason why we can't make the play-offs but with the systems employed by the management team we won't. At home to Montrose and we hardly have a shot at goal not good enough
Who do you think we can finish above realistically going by what we’ve seen so far ?
Don’t think its just the system from 1 to 11 we have been utterly hopeless. I think they have to take a large portion of the blame the last two games have any had “pass marks” ? None in my opinion .
As I said last week there are ways to lose games that are acceptable creating chances, good pieces of play just coming short and putting a lot of effort in etc. The way we are losing just now is the worrying part we look a team with no ideas , no confidence and ultimately limited quality. Lapses in concentration costing us goals also.
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What’s the excuses this week then ? Don’t worry there’s always next week ?
I said at the start of the season I’d take 4th place and run and that got shot down by some. It doesn’t even look likely we’ll be able to get that. I don’t see any positives or any hope coming from that team and I actually believe it is a whole lot worse than the team we had last year all be it the league has got stronger . Always wanted Murray to succeed but comments like we could go second etc are utterly ridiculous and deluded tbh. That’s us saw us play most teams in the league and most look better than us. A part from Robert in patches the signings look poor.
Don’t think I’ll bother with the donation to Falkirk next week it could be embarrassing.
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1 hour ago, Eric the half a b said:
We are no better than last season though it was the bottom of the league teams we lost to in the first quarter. All managers have what they consider un-dropable players and our manager is right up there he tinkers with the three more attacking players while u can bet on the 6 defenders starting each week. Playoffs was my expectation and still is though not a cert as we can't seem to put a run of wins or even go unbeaten for 3 or 4 games. Imo we do have some decent players going forward that can cause teams real problems however for that to happen the manager needs a complete rethink of tactics or a decent coach to help him give him the confidence to make changes that will make a difference
Only in some games when things are going our way the attackers seem to play well . As I mentioned previously it seems like it’s curtains if we concede first in a game. Who’s going to dig a goal out of nothing for us when things aren’t going our way like today or like the Dumbarton game?
If we were to sustain a reasonable attempt at promotion they need to turn up more often than not and just now they are not.
Agree with the coach shout another person in and about the dressing room with alternative ideas would only be a pretty logical thing to help Murray.
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55 minutes ago, G_H said:
I think the question that has to be asked is:
Is Murray capable of achieving promotion.
If the answer is no, well personally, I've got better things to do and other things I can stare at on my computer monitor on a Saturday afternoon.
Totally agree with this. I want Murray to succeed but there’s ways losing can be acceptable imo but the games we have lost this season have been utterly hopeless. As soon as we concede this season it feels like there’s no way back for us even with 60 mins of football to play today. Heads go down and it’s hit and hope passes.
Are we in a much better state now than we were when Murray came in 2 years ago? ... I’m not convinced
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Well here we are again.
Poor stream and an even poorer performance.
Yet Another chance to lay down a marker and another chance slips us by. Goalkeeper dodgy, defence a mess, midfield anonymous and toothless in attack . Don’t think I have any positives for anyone today. I think as I mentioned at the start of the season I would take fourth spot and run but I fear with that team we will be lucky to scrape 4th. 10 points from 7 games is extremely disappointing and with Montrose and Falkirk next up I can see us having 10 points from 9 games shortly. It’s hard to believe it’s the same team that play today and v Dumbarton that played against Clyde and Forfar. I think if we are bitterly honest we have an average team for this level but should have the advantage of the extra training sessions but that’s difficult to see as for the management team In Murray and Miller I’m sure they haven’t got it easy but have they improved us much over the piece the answer would be no. I think it was always clear that this season would be tougher than last but we haven’t shown any signs we can take ourselves up a level for me.
I also have to add this may be an unpopular opinion but for all Robert looks like our only hope at times and I’m sure will go on to bigger and better things. he’s not interested in defending, desperate to win the ball back or put himself in a 50/50 and that’s not what we need either. Maybe more time in the Scottish game will get it out him but the graft has to come with the natural talent
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5 hours ago, Jack Reed said:
Falkirk win easy, funny thing we had a lot more possession than Falkirk, but after sat showing, playing more attack minded we just have to look after our own games, we just might surprise a few, start on Sat big game big result, this time Airdrie,
Yeah agree with that we just have to take care of ourselves I still think any place in the top 4 is perfectly acceptable. Wouldn’t be surprised if the current top 4 is the top 4 come may in one order or another. I just hope we can start building a gap from 5th upwards. Starting hopefully against cove this Saturday.
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4 hours ago, Mr November said:
A win would take us above Cove which seems bizarre when we’re always one defeat away from people calling for Murray to be sacked. It’s really important that we do get a result though. I think this season will be a bit like last season with the top three or four teams being pretty close to each other. If we play like we did in the first half today then we’re more than a match for anyone in this league, it’s just a case of waiting to see which Airdrie turn up.
Pretty pleased with today overall. As has been mentioned before I think we are pretty comfortable when we take the lead in games you can see our confidence growing. Think the second half Forfar came out a bit more and we took the foot off the gas but we showed resilience to see it out professionally.
Thought Murray had the team and tactics spot on. Maybe dropping one of the more defensive midfielders (McKay, Kerr or Sabatini) for an attacker is the way forward.
Undoubtably, the next few weeks or so will define the way our season will go but if we turn up like we turned up in the first half today we are more than capable of beating any side in this league.
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Feels like a must win for us imo - Very much like the Clyde game did. Hope we can put aside the two cup games. As has been mentioned the first goal is crucial. Hope we give stokes a go over one of the defensive midfielders. Is there any ideas when ally Roy will return to the fold ?
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Maybe it’s because I missed the era of the club getting to Scottish cup finals etc but I honestly couldn’t care less about the cup competitions. An unwelcome distraction from the league where our absolute priority should be. Unless we get a “big team” away which helps financially I have never seen the fascination. If we get papped out relatively early unscathed in regards to injury that’s fine with me. Wouldn’t read too much into the two games we’ve lost this week all will be forgotten if the team that played against Clyde turn up at Forfar next Saturday and get the 3 points.
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24 minutes ago, airdrieman said:
It does make you wonder, and I don't know his personal circumstances that may have swayed his decision, but maybe we should have pushed the boat out to sign Andy Ryan? A natural goalscorer, a striker who can create and covert chances for himself (and who's a good footballer too) and a striker who turns draws and defeats into wins. No harm to them but the combined wages of Burke, Moore, Walker, Hughes and Pyott would surely have been better spent on Ryan or A.N. other striker (plus the offer they'd have received obviously) considering none of them are likely to play for the club this season or any time soon.
Totally agree. Sick of myself still going on about Chucky but how we never could have just gave him what we wanted or matched Stirling for a striker who has that extra bit of quality who can get us a goal from pretty much no where (who openly wanted to play for us). It’s there for everyone to see what a difference he would make. I never watched tonight due to work but I’m getting Dumbarton vibes from these comments and that’s extremely disappointing after Saturday. I think we have a solid enough squad o all round but we are lacking that bit of extra bit of quality that can come up with something when we need it. If someone offered me Callum smith and Chucky over the attackers we have now I’d take it every time.
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I assume when you say favourite, you mean absolutely hopeless? Always remember him being known as "the creme egg man" because of that head [emoji23]
Aye mate hopeless [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] still my second favourite Australian to play for airdrie behind Simon storey2 -
David Nixon scored a great own goal in that Challenge Cup final. That was the team that beat Hearts at Tynecastle as well wasn't it? Some great memories in amongst the dross of that time period.
Anyone remember Feyenoord's finest Michael Brown? [emoji23]
Great season and great memories that season even if it culminated in disappointment. Micky B as mentioned was indeed a personal favourite. That team would wipe the floor with the current one imo0 -
What a difference a week makes in football... Fair play to the team and management who took a huge amount of stick (from myself included). We certainly put last week behind us and showed glimpses of what a decent side we could be . Think the team selection was spot on. At times I think we could’ve taken it up a gear as well.
Good to see Gall get a couple and Connell get off the mark.
Not sure the going’s on at clyde but they certainly look a shadow compared to last year going by their showing today2 -
Had a look over it and while there are other factors to consider such as who was playing and who we were playing against, since the start of last season (and counting league games only) the numbers show that 4231 has been our most used and probably most successful formation.
In 15 games using 4231, we've scored 24, conceded 13, and picked up 27 points. That's an average of 1.8 points per game, 1.6 scored per game and 0.87 goals conceded per game.
We've only used a standard 442 in 4 league games, and in those games we've scored 4, conceded 7 and picked up 4 points. That's one point per game, one goal scored per game, and 1.57 conceded per game.
We've used 352 (or 532 depending on who you ask) in 7 league games. In those games we've scored 7 goals, conceded 11, and picked up 10 points. That's 1.43 points per game, 1 goal scored per game, and 1.57 goals conceded per game.
We also used a narrow 442 on five occasions at the end of last season. This involved Wedderburn sitting in front of the back 4 with three midfielders in front of him, so I like to call it a 4132. Using this we scored 5, conceded 1 and picked up 10 points. That's 2 points per game, 1 goal scored per game, and 0.2 conceded per game.
In terms of points per game, 4132 is the winner here, but in the five games we used it we beat Peterhead, Clyde and East Fife, drew with Dumbarton and lost to Montrose. Given we never used it against Falkirk or Raith Rovers you could argue that it's not a fair sample compared to the other ones. One thing this shape definitely has going for it is the defensive record. Fair enough it wasn't used against the division's two big boys, but only conceding one in 5 is seriously good going.
442 might seem solid, but we've conceded more goals per game using it than any other formation, and by a considerable amount (perhaps not surprising after seeing us lose 2-0 to Dumbarton while using it at the weekend). 352 has a fairly poor defensive record too, but this is a bit warped by that 4-1 hammering we took in Methil.
The clear winner for me is 4231. It's the only formation we average better than a goal a game with (a bit grim that we're that toothless with every other formation). Obviously the momentum and form we had going when we used this formation might have pushed the goals per game higher than it should be, but 1.8 is far better than the rest. While doing this, we were also conceding less than a goal a game. Maybe not as solid as 4132, but it's fairly solid and also gives us goals. 1.8 points per game over a considerable amount of games is decent and would have us in the playoffs most seasons.
So there it is, it's probably nonsense that doesn't matter but it turns out we score more when we have a decent link between midfield and attack, and concede less when we have a midfielder that sits just in front of defence on his own. We also don't concede that much when we just go for it and play attacking football.
Quick summary for people who hate stats or reading long posts: going for it and attacking good, sitting in and inviting pressure bad.
Great analysis mate and interesting findings. I’m sure it shows what most were already thinking. I know we are only a few games into the season but I think the attacking options we had at the end of last season are far superior to the options we are currently looking that. We had Chucky and Callum smith both creative and good strikers . Kurtis Robert’s who all be it was a bit of enigma showed glimpses of what he could do going forward. Even big Nat sitting deep allowed other such as McKay to bomb forward and was a threat from set pieces.
I hope oreilly and Robert get a run out this week as we need to find a spark of creativity from somewhere. This Saturday already terrifyingly has the feeling of a must win for us.2 -
Don't want to be overly negative about a player I like and who undoubtedly has put in some excellent performances for us over the last couple of seasons and seems to be a great leader in the squad, but I don't think Crighton's arguably the best CB in the league at all and it's not at all out of character for him to make a bad mistake or two (he was also caught out of position for Thistle's equaliser last week). He was our best player at the start of last season but he had a shaky spell afterwards and eventually dropped out the team in favour of Kerr and we got steadier at the back. He's a good player and I like him but he's nowhere near as consistent as Fordyce.
Difficult to be overly critical of the defence as we have talked about before the same defence had the second least goals scored against them last year . Big Sean had a bit of nightmare today especially on the second goal but he’s far more often than not a solid defender. For me the concern lies solely attacking wise . I can’t see where the goals will come from. We are so toothless going forward . Slack passes, poor final balls and poor shots. Think the Dumbarton gk was praised for a couple of saves but off the top of my head I think the shots (maybe from Connall) were straight at him. We huffed and puffed but didn’t look like we knew how to cut Dumbarton open which is worrying as there will be much harder teams to break down than that. Even with their keeper being injured at the end I don’t think we’d have scored. Glad they are training tomorrow as today has been a big reality check anyone who thought we’d sail to the top 3 are wrong. I’m surprising myself saying this but I hope Ally Roy is back soon I think we need him.
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Think you’re spot on and it seems our director of football has much more of a say than the manager, we needed experienced players but instead we signed unknowns randomly
Have wondered this myself. If this is the case why would Murray accept not having full say on the team and transfers . not appointing a new assistant would lead you to believe Miller is more hands on this season. Surely Murray would like his own men in place .0 -
Why did we not break the bank to get Ryan.... Remember we signed 5 under 20s who will have no chance of getting anywhere near the team with no reserve football either,crazy signing policy...
No idea either mate i totally agree . we’ve signed a good few players obviously not seen by Murray to be up to starting today. But couldn’t afford Ryan who we all know can make the extra difference in quality. I know what I’d rather ...0 -
Scunnered with that today. Not one player with pass marks. Dodgy at the back and toothless going forward. As I said at the start of the season I’d take 4th place but if that’s what we are in for we will be lucky to get that. Cove with 3 wins from 3 they’ll end up streets ahead of us.
Big Nat would get a game in that midfield and nice to see Chucky scoring today also.
Should’ve just let the game get called off...0
The Official Airdrieonians Thread - 2019/20 and beyond
in Scottish Championship General Chatter
Posted
Always rated Hutton highly he had his moments but has won us countless points over the seasons he’s spent with us. A very vocal keeper and leader on the park so Disappointed to be losing a steady goalkeeper but understandable he wants game time at his age. His antics winding up opposing fans and his save at Celtic park will live long in the memory. We are losing a big character around the place and a player who loved to play for airdrie sure he’ll get a good reception if ever to return.