A Diamond For Me

Take it for what it's worth - which is nothing - but I heard that we offered Daniel O' Reilly a deal (he was very good against us in the playoff), Raith offered significantly more than we could and Partick presumably offered him more than Raith.

I don't know who the starting goalkeeper for the Championship team of the year would be, but the sub keeper would have to be Ali Adams of Arbroath.

"These things happen" every week these days.

Absolutey. Feels like the right move for all parties, and it's good that we'll get the chance to give him a proper send-off. Hopefully when he scores one with his arse from two metres out at a corner against Queen's Park in 93rd minute.

Gallagher is an excellent signing for the Lichties, and if he gets anything like decent service he's devastating at that level. Struggled this season as being the only part timer in our squad the training schedule was problematic for him - and of course he's been playing against better defences. As we've seen in the previous couple of seasons, though, he's an excellent striker at League 1 level. His movement in the box is incredible. He doesn't score many spectacular goals (*that one* against Kelty last year notwithstanding), but you simply will not find a better striker for that level when it comes to finding and moving into space. There is no such thing as a crowded penalty box for Calum Gallagher. I'd have been happy to keep him on a squad player, but he rightly feels he can get regular football a level down, and he'll leave with the best wishes of the Airdrie fans for what he's contributed to us over the last few years. His barra-load of individual awards season are testament to what he can do. Sad to see him go, but it's probably the right time, it's a good move for him, and a good signing for Abroath. He's a thoroughly decent guy as well, and one of those players who makes the effort to do the high-fives and photos etc with the kids.

It's the right time for him to go, and as I said earlier in the thread he'll go with the best wishes of Airdrie fans. Cracking signing for the Lichties.

Oooft. Minter, that.

Maybe. Both Clyde and Hamilton were in (and were relegated via) the playoffs last season, so they've a template they can just use again if it comes to that, surely.

I mind that episode. Them and Ian McCall. I was just really dull, just mates talking about how wonderful they all were and who was going to McCall's wedding and how much everyone respected McIntyre senior and how McCall remembered the brothers McIntyre as weans and on and on. Did not make for interesting radio.

I knew of - though never met - a girl at uni called Poppy Rimmington-Pounder.

Yeah, it was dire listening. This sort of thing didn't happen nearly as often when Richard Gordon was helming the programme, either. And again, I was in the car for about 45 minutes and never heard the scores from anything other than the premier games. Just about every game in the Championship had consequences for relegation and playoff places, and I'm sure the same was true in Leagues 1 and 2, but rather than spend a couple of minutes giving the final scores and what placings are confirmed, we have not even coverage on the Hibs manager debate, but also Kenny asking Tom what he thought of Mikey disagreeing with Leanne about the Hibs manager. Typical media arseholes who think that they're the most interesting and important part of any issue.

It's been a brilliant couple of years for us, but us going up would very long shot indeed. Needing to come out on top over six extra games is a tall order, even if you have everyone fit. We've held things together brilliantly through our fixture pileup, but that can't last forever. We've avoided relegation with a month of the season to go, which is an excellent achievement, anything else is a bonus. Playoffs would be a free hit and hopefully help to keep a bit of a buzz about the place, but actually getting to the top league is still a bit of a daydream as far as I'm concerned. Of course if we make the playoffs then for as long as we're in them I'll be enjoying the dream as much as anyone would in our situation, but it's not something I'm expending a lot of mental energy on at the moment. Just enjoying what we've got while we've got it.

So disappointing to see Baird getting misled by this narrative of Morton being a team of thugs.