Tattie36

Not a dig at Cove as they’ve done well and I’m sure plans are afoot to further develop their ground… but I think visiting fans are in for a culture shock when they visit for the first time. I can’t think of a less developed stadium to be in the second tier, or even the third/fourth tiers for that matter. it’s really not much better than Banks o’ Dee’s Spain Park a couple of miles down the hill. Not only is it very small and basic but it’s also in a terrible location. Any visiting fans who are looking forward to a few pints in the city centre then a leisurely trip to the ground are in for a surprise. I would guess it’ll take at least 30-40 minutes on an infrequent bus service from the city centre on a Saturday afternoon. Once there, there’s nothing in the way of pubs or restaurants anywhere near the ground, apart from a McDonalds and a Starbucks and the bar at the Thistle hotel at a push. Heaven help us if it’s raining/snowing/blowing a gale as it’s very exposed with minimal cover. Having said all that - it’s obviously a work in progress and is miles better than Allan Park was. I’m sure even the powers that be at Cove are pleasantly surprised at their rapid progress through the leagues and that they have plans to improve - a roof running the full length of the pitch would probably be adequate at the moment. It also means I have an easy game to get to as I’ve lived in Aberdeen for nearly 40 years, so looking forward to that part at least.

Don Thomas is full-time and probably on a very good wage. Can’t see him coming to us. He’ll easily get a good full-time contract somewhere.

I thought I read somewhere it was around 1700 or was that just seats? 4K would be plenty.

Surely the redevelopment plans for Lesser Hampden are looking woefully inadequate now? Just look at us (Arbroath) to see what a bit of success, the feel good factor and engagement with the town/locality can achieve. We were probably averaging similar crowds to QP 6 or 7 years ago but we had 1200+ season tickets last year (I’m sure that’ll go up quite a bit next season) and increasing home attendances, culminating in 3100 for a meaningless match v Morton and over 5100 (around 4500 home fans) at the playoff. I would also imagine there’ll be quite a lot of travelling fans wanting to go to the away games against yourselves as it’s something completely different for most - as it was with us when we came up. You guys have a lot of potential, would be a shame not to be able to capitalise properly.

Clark won’t be back I wouldn’t imagine. Just let us keep Jack Hamilton for the season and maybe that big lad Nouble

It’s mental how much game time he gets for such little return. I was convinced he’d played his last game for us after the defeat to Aberdeen B where he was hopeless against a bunch kids. His goal (not) scoring record is atrocious and indefensible. It’s not like he doesn’t have plenty of opportunities. No doubt some will be on to defend him and mention his assists and general play etc, but the bottom line is that he’s meant to be striker, and at the moment he’s the only one on our books. I don’t dislike him and he’s obviously a good player with ability but he’s just never fulfilled his potential - so frustrating. He played well in the cups against Kelty and Forfar which I think tells us that that’s his level.

And Paterson. Not a bad starting point.

Good move for him if he's going to be first choice. Was never quite good enough for the Championship although he still played a part in our fantastic season. Best of luck to him.

I would like to think St Johnstone will beat ICT fairly comfortably* and, like Lichtie23, think they would have beaten us. Having said that, scoring goals has been Saints weakness this season and if the highest scorers in the Championship could only score one goal in 6 and a bit attempts against ICT then I could certainly see them win this in a low scoring tie. * apologies to ICT fans but due to the way you’ve played/negated us this season I want you to lose.

Even though I would have loved a crack at the Premiership and desperately wanted us to go up, I do get what you’re saying. Realistically we would have been saying goodbye to a chunk of our great squad - many of them very good players who deserve longer at the club. Also the feel good factor around the club would be sorely tested when you’re potentially getting well beaten most weeks. I’m sure the last few weeks has taught the players and management team some big lessons and hopefully that bodes well for next season. The Championship is looking weaker next season than this, we’ve nothing to fear and there’s no reason we can’t be up towards the pointy end again. Also, after feeling a bit down last night and this morning, I’m feeling great about where we are. Challenging for the title, very close to the playoff final, a massively increased profile for the club, great things happening off the park as well as on, and the whole town (and beyond) behind us - all in all a pretty great time to be a Lichtie.

I guarantee you that not one single Arbroath fan will resent Linn for his penalty last night or blame him for the loss. Even though the short run up pretty much telegraphed where he was putting it, Ridgers still had to make the save. Thought he also played well when he came on and delighted he’s got another years contract.

Completely agree. We used to have one and it’s crazy that we don’t now. Even Elgin have a youth setup and age group teams.

The best opportunity to win last night was when ICT went down to 9 due to injury in the second half. You knew that when they got that 10th player back in extra time that it was going to go to penalties. As soon as they went to 9 we should have brought on Wighton or/and Ford and thrown the kitchen sink at it. They were still doubling up on Linn and J Hamilton so putting extra players up front would have opened the space a bit more. This season has proved that we have a huge issue with breaking down ICT (one goal in 570 minutes of football) so extra attacking bodies in the box and throwing the ball in at every opportunity was the only way to do it - imo. Yet again bringing Donnelly on was a big mistake - as has been said a million and one times, he’s a good player but is not effective when chasing a goal. just not the right choice in a close, tight, physical game and his goal scoring record is abysmal. By my reckoning, his last league goal was over two years ago and his bent double weird attempt from 3 yards near the end when he just needed to attack the ball with any available body part, sums him up completely. Crap symmetry that our season was bookmarked by tight games ending in defeat to ICT.

Haven’t read any of the match comments on this thread but just want to say congratulations to ICT. Great defensive display and thought their fans were great. Can’t see them beating Saints though. Everything just seemed a bit flat for us and, even though we had a shit ton of possession and chances, we barely troubled Ridgers. ICT really had our number this season - highest scorers in the league but only managed one solitary goal against them in 570 minutes of football. Finally - how atrocious were the officials? We all know Collum is bad but f**k me. Looking forward to next season.

Don’t think the wind is forecast to be particularly bad, pretty benign actually 13-15mph gusting to 25 or so according to met office, and getting calmer as the evening goes on. It’s much windier than that in Aberdeen just now but even this wouldn’t be that bad.

Yes, stand wherever you like. Depending on segregation, you'll notice that many fans will move to whichever end we're shooting towards.

Never mind League 1, we still have 3 players that were with us in League 2.

And Cove. Would be much better for the fans not having to travel to Dumfries, Inverness and Kilmarnock.

I would agree if we’re in the Championship but it really depends on what league we’re in. Got to be brutally honest and realistic - if we go up then probably half the current squad (at least) just simply won’t be good enough… that’s if we want to go up and compete as opposed to accepting we’re coming straight back down.

This post on the AFC Facebook page highlights the hard work that goes on off the field and the towns positive attitude towards the club. I remember when I was a kid going to Gayfield in the early ‘80s and I doubt more than a handful of my classmates would ever have been to a game never mind call themselves a fan. What a boost this should give the players on Friday.

I feel the same - apart from the 60 years part - I’ll be feeling great about this season no matter how it ends. Next season’s Championship is looking significantly weaker than this season, so if we stay down then there’s no reason why we can’t compete towards the top again.

Don’t want to derail this thread but is there any kind of feeling within your support that you can turn your tie around? Really thought Cowdenbeath would win the playoff as your form had been decent towards the end of the season. As you said, some great games between us. Truly gutted for where you are now - and Brechin, Berwick, Shire. I’m sure some will disagree with me on this but I really can’t see the benefit to the Scottish game with historic, established teams being replaced by village teams with a sugar daddy. 2 or 3 bad seasons and that’s it, yer oot. Could easily have been us 6 years ago or Montrose 5. Having said that, I do agree with the pyramid and ambition should be encouraged and rewarded. Not sure if there’s any other solution. Best of luck on Saturday.

You could tell that O’Brien injured himself to some extent in the challenge as he had treatment on that leg later - might have been a knock or a muscle tear/pull - and he wasn’t moving as freely as normal for the rest of the game. Sometimes the most innocuous challenge or incident can lead to injury. Due to the way he went down and depending on the angle that they saw it from, some of the AFC players and coaching staff may have thought it was a foul on him. I don’t think he was play acting.

Admittedly I’ve not watched it back again so could be wrong, but it looked to me that O’Brien won the ball but his follow through caught MacAlear and he hurt himself, free kick to ICT. Don’t think he was play acting, he’s not that kind of player. Campbell reacted as if it was a bad foul but I’m sure he would admit he got it wrong when he sees it again, could have looked bad from his angle.

Something that concerns me a little is that, even though we were the leagues top scorers, in five games v ICT we have scored one solitary goal. Friday’s going to be close.