Tattie36

I can’t think of a better keeper in my time supporting Arbroath. I caught the very end of Gordon Marshall (sr)’s time with us but no one else has played so well for us and at such a high level. Our best ever imo… maybe Ned Doig but that was a wee bit before my time

One defeat in 5 (if we include the EF game) so things definitely looking more positive. 3 home games in a row now, so a great opportunity to pick up a few points and move up the table.

Just watched the highlights. Looked like a good, competitive game with decent chances for both teams so a draw seems fair. How Beaton never saw that penalty is a mystery, absolute stonewaller right in front of him. The QP goal looked like it could have been offside but hard to tell from that angle and the speed of attack. Oakley looked caught out a couple of times, a bit like the Cove game. That Gaston save was ridiculous. Very happy with a draw and, importantly, we seem to be creating more chances and playing with a bit more spark. Hilson is almost like a new signing, hope he keeps it up. Three home games in a row coming up so a good opportunity to pick up some wins and move up the table.

No one is comparing Linn to Modric as a footballer ffs. It’s the idea that you can still compete at your (relative) level so long as you look after yourself, and have the drive and desire to do so… and the footballing ability of course. The vast majority of players give up when they do, normally early to mid 30s, because they physically or mentally (or both) just can’t compete or keep going any longer. Bobby is fairly unusual in that he seems to be on top of both of those. Obviously age will catch up eventually but 37 is still young in the grand scheme of things. I reckon he’s got this season and another one or two, so long as he stays injury free and mentally committed. Personally, I would play him every minute he’s fit enough to play. No one in our squad even comes close to his ability to create chances, scare the sh1t out of opposition defences or produce moments of magic.

I know exactly what you mean. It’s not just the results, the performances have been completely insipid. No spark, fight or energy. I can accept losing games but to lose so meekly is soul destroying. It’s been years since we’ve been so toothless and, well just “nothing”. I can’t go on Saturday and I’m not really fussed. Can’t remember ever feeling like that before, even when we were at the very bottom.

The only way I can see it being a draw is 0-0 or 1-1 at best. We can’t score OR defend so a comfortable victory for Dundee is my prediction. Obviously hope I’m wrong and things have to start going our way eventually, just can’t see it yet.

Terrible night for us. Also noticed Morton had 16 attempts on goal tonight. That’s pretty much 3 games worth for us.

More like a cheap plastic bowl… with a hole in it.

I’m surprised we’ve had as many as 45 attempts tbf. I couldn’t believe what I was watching on Saturday 2-0 down after half an hour and I can recall 5 efforts from us, even with the wind in our favour second half - Linn’s free kick and a tame volley from Hilson in the first half, and an off target long range effort, a blocked header and Hammy’s header past the post in the second half. At 2-0 down we should have made immediate subs and thrown the kitchen sink at them.

Can’t argue with any of that. We’re in big trouble, confidence throughout the team seems to have fallen off a cliff and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to get the spark back. No worries though, the club have announced a £25pp gin night with Dick Campbell later in the month so nothing to worry about.

As I said earlier, on paper I think we have a stronger squad than this time last season in all areas… apart from up front. But it’s deeper than that. The entire team is underperforming all over the pitch not just in attack. We could have Erling Haaland playing up front but he won’t score without quality service or possession in midfield. I know that’s ridiculous as he’d probably score a double hat-trick in every game at this level, even without service, but you get my point.

I’m really starting to fear that you may be right. That’s an incredibly risky approach though and I’m not confident it has much of a chance of working. It relies on picking up decent options in January - we just tried (and spectacularly failed) for months to bring in strikers to a team on a high, with a great profile and a good chance of a top half finish. There will be fewer players available as many players will be on season long loans at other clubs and who wants to join a team possibly cut adrift at the foot of the table? We were very lucky two seasons ago in getting Jack Hamilton who just clicked with our style of play, chances of that happening again - pretty slim. I’d like to see us start with Isiaka and Shanks up front on Saturday to see if that might give us a bit more presence. I fear it’ll be left to poor Hilson though to buzz about up there on his own again. Dundee’s centre half’s will have the cigars out, just like Cove’s did.

There’s something very wrong with the team at the moment. On paper, I would say we have a stronger squad than this time last season, aside from up front obviously, but it’s not clicking anywhere on the pitch. Gaston has had a few uncharacteristic flaps and errors. The once rock solid defence looks panicky and is leaking like a sieve. Midfield is second best and being bullied in every game meaning we have little quality possession to feed our powder puff strike force. It feels to me like the players don’t really know what their meant to be doing. I fear last season has gone to Dick’s head and instead of concentrating on his managerial strengths - man management and motivation - and aiming for mid table safety, he suddenly thinks he’s a tactical genius and is now trying to fit square pegs in to round holes and doing daft sh1t like 5 subs at once.

While I totally agree with your sentiment, to say we can’t buy a win at the moment is a bit off. Before Saturday we’d actually won two in a row.

Oh yes I know that well and have said as much several times. The biggest mistake they made was not changing their name/image/branding when they came into the league. Rangers in the name, blue kit, lion badge all like a red rag to a bull to the vast majority of Aberdonians. For those reasons, and many others, they will never prise fans away from Pittodrie. I’m talking more about the very casual, occasional football fan, perhaps incomers to the city, and there are thousands of them, without the generational or emotional connection to the Dons. This was all kind of my original point - Cove’s crowds are normally artificially higher than they would be due to the novelty and Aberdeen fans going along for something different when the Dons are away from home. Proved very starkly on Saturday with Aberdeen also at home.

Yeah maybe you’re right. I was just basing that estimate on the proportion of the crowd that were in our end - half at least. I too thought 881 was high, mind you those end stands hold 850 ish each so maybe it was correct. Saturday confirmed one thing for me. Aberdeen is very much still a one team city and Cove’s normal home attendance is massively added to by mildly interested Dons fans. 16k home fans at Pittodrie on Saturday, about 350-400 at Cove. It’s going to be a very long, very hard struggle for them to convince locals that it’s the place to be on a Saturday afternoon and to build an actual support. Considering their recent success, the level they’re playing at and the fact that Saturday was their best chance of a win for a while, you would think there would be more interest. I live in Aberdeen and the only two guys I know who go to Cove games (one pretty regularly and one very occasionally) are Dons fans. The latter was at the game with me on Saturday, in our end, so he’s not really invested in them at all.

I was also a wee bit disappointed when I saw the turnout but, as you say, there were many contributing factors - lack of big name opponents/players (understandable at this point in the season); awkward kick off day and time; Saturday’s result and performance, the general way the team is playing; the definite drop off in the feel good factor and imo a lack of proper promotion for the game. Having said that, it was as many as were at the Terry Masson testimonial at Montrose a few weeks ago and more half of the turnout for that were Arbroath fans. Personally, a 2:00 Sunday kick off made it impossible for me to go. Already said this but I would love it if the club came out with ideas for fans to make a direct financial payment to him. No one deserves it more and it’s something I would love to contribute to. Re Saturday - it was such a deflating experience and that may have had an impact too. I would say there were at least 400-450 Arbroath fans there, easily as many as Cove had. The main stand was full but it only holds about 250 and half of them would have been officials and comps. Aside from that, they had very few fans dotted about.

Unable to make today. Too many family commitments and impossible to get to Arbroath for 2:00. If it was 3:00 I could make it. Hope the recent poor performances don’t have a detrimental effect on the turnout. If anyone deserves it it’s him. Wpuld be nice if there was a fund to contribute to for those who can’t make it.

Ah man, I didn’t think I was that bad.

I’ve said this before but all we needed to do this season was consolidate and aim for a safe mid-table position. No one would be disappointed with that and we’d still be massively punching above our weight. Should have used close season to bring in a couple of solid midfielders and a half decent striker to replace the players who were leaving and we would have been fine.

We are in massive trouble and anyone who doesn’t think so is utterly deluded. We were played off the park today by a team playing basic, simple, fast wide, football. Cove are no great shakes but they could and should have won more comfortably.

Utterly grim. Full backs getting ripped to shreds and midfield dreadful. Worst I’ve seen Gold play for us and Allen is terrible. Need to give the ball to Linn as much as possible to run at them, Hilson doing ok but completely isolated. Need subs on NOW!!

I had a look at their respective stats last night and Muirhead is positively prolific compared to Hilson. 2 in 2 for him this season is very much out of character - long may it continue.

Dinna I still had to have a quick look on twitter just to be 100% sure this was a joke.

Touché