Sons' sorrow

[Jan Vojáček]

Ryan Blair has signed a new two year deal

https://dumbartonfootballclub.com/ryan-is-next-to-sign-up/

I'm very pleased with that. He was a signing I was totally unconvinced by, but he's gone on to become one our most important players. I was talking to OKI about him on Saturday and we mentioned his recent dip in form. I'd said that I think this might be the most games he's ever played in a single season, so I looked up it up and it is. He's played 37 times this season. His previous best was 26. I think he's quite possibly just running on empty at the moment.

I wish he'd cut out the cheap yellow cards mind you. Every week he seems to get booked for clumsily bringing down someone who has got goal-side of him.

[FifeSons]

Let’s be completely honest here, this consistency/continuity chat it’s just a fail-safe peddled by Farrell to keep himself in the job, even if he fails again this season. And the board, being the fools they are, have lapped it right up. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by FifeSons

[Victor mcdade]

2 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Let’s be completely honest here, this consistency/continuity chat it’s just a fail-safe peddled by Farrell to keep himself in the job, even if he fails again this season. And the board, being the fools they are, have lapped it right up. 

Probably.

Just to be clear I'm not saying it will work, just that it can.

Blair is another good addition.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

I’m very happy to see Blair signing on. He arrived with a fairly negative reputation from the East Fife and Stenny fans but he’s our most important player IMHO. We just don’t look like the same team without him. He has his off days but over the course of the season he’s been one of our most consistent performers.

[Sweet Pete]

I don't see the management situation changing at the club, so the squad retention is to be expected and not surprising given the budget constraints. I'd like to see the spine of the team retained, but the squad players can go in the hope of better use of the budget in the off season. I wouldn't want us to be taking the entire squad back on for the next season (or 2). We are where we are and nothing any of us on here thinks will make any difference to the situation. That being the case, if we're handing out deals, I'd hope to see Long, Gray, Lynas, Orsi, McKee, Wallace, Byrne, Blair, Buchanan, McNiff retained. Since some of those have already got deals for next season (Long, Gray, Blair), that's fair enough. I wouldn't have given deals to MacLean and Wilson personally, but again I'm not making the decisions. I appreciate Wallace, McKee and Byrne have had injury problems, but when fit they're good players for our level. Keeping them fit though is a challenge and a gamble we've seen have negative impacts this season. I'd have no problem with Grant staying on either.

[BB_Bino]

7 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

We might not want to lose sight of the fact that this team has been fairly good this season. Aye we could rip it up completely and start from scratch. That could work. But, imo, we're not too far off where we need to be. As our league position shows.

A bit more firepower (or Declan Byrne with some new legs) coupled with basically the same defence, goalkeeper and central midfield wouldn't have us a million miles away from the title squad wise. Whether Faz is the man to put a title winning season together is up for debate, but I don't think retaining a good chunk of this squad is too bad an idea.

I was just taking a look at Stirling's summer business. Now they finished mid-table last year (albeit with Darren Young only appointed in the December) and their summer business was:

That's some shrewd additions in key areas, but nothing you'd look at and go 'wow, they will win the league at a canter'.

Cammy Clark addressed their left-back issue and has been an excellent signing. Ross Davidson is a player that Darren Young knows, rates and trusts. Robert Thomson is a player I'd have at us in a heartbeat, but came off an injury hit and underwhelming year at Stenny. Cooper and Denholm are solid L2 squad players.

Fotheringham was obviously a gem of an addition on loan. And played a big part early in the season. But they haven't lost a game since he left. 

The spine of their team isn't all that different to last season; Currie, McGeachie, McLean (who missed most of last year injured tbf), Leitch, Carrick. They just shipped out some deadwood (Dylan Mackin, Ray Grant, Akeel Francis) and replaced them with upgrades.

Yeah, you’re spot on. Believe it or not, a lot of supporters were totally flat and underwhelmed when the season kicked off, and there’s me now posting in the other thread that “we’re a club on the up, with a great feel good factor” it really does just go to show you. 
 

Another player “shipped out” or who left the club was Martin McNiff, lots of talk of other players for you this season but his name never seems to be mentioned, how has he been?? Started last season off brilliantly for us at Full Back and was pretty steady when moved to Centre Back, probably someone I would have kept at the time. 

[Sweet Pete]

14 minutes ago, BB_Bino said:

Yeah, you’re spot on. Believe it or not, a lot of supporters were totally flat and underwhelmed when the season kicked off, and there’s me now posting in the other thread that “we’re a club on the up, with a great feel good factor” it really does just go to show you. 
 

Another player “shipped out” or who left the club was Martin McNiff, lots of talk of other players for you this season but his name never seems to be mentioned, how has he been?? Started last season off brilliantly for us at Full Back and was pretty steady when moved to Centre Back, probably someone I would have kept at the time. 

Steady and dependable. Not a wing wizard who'll charge up the flank crossing balls, but plays left full back like a centre half, which is really what he is. Good, unspectacular player. We knew what we were getting since he started out with us. Brings solidity and steadiness. Neither of our first choice full backs this season are guys who'll storm up and down playing like wingers, like we had in days gone by with boys like Nicky Devlin or Ryan Finnie. But both are decent players I'd be glad to see kept on.

[WC Boggs]

13 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Steady and dependable. Not a wing wizard who'll charge up the flank crossing balls, but plays left full back like a centre half, which is really what he is. Good, unspectacular player. We knew what we were getting since he started out with us. Brings solidity and steadiness. Neither of our first choice full backs this season are guys who'll storm up and down playing like wingers, like we had in days gone by with boys like Nicky Devlin or Ryan Finnie. But both are decent players I'd be glad to see kept on.

I don't  mind an attacking full back giving you more up the wings  if he can defend equally well.  It's when they can't things go sour..McNiff can and did do that for us.  Unfortunately he was out injured for months and we didn't have back up there. or anywhere else in defence last season.   

[Sweet Pete]

23 minutes ago, WC Boggs said:

I don't  mind an attacking full back giving you more up the wings  if he can defend equally well.  It's when they can't things go sour..McNiff can and did do that for us.  Unfortunately he was out injured for months and we didn't have back up there. or anywhere else in defence last season.   

When he first started out with us he was used all over by the Poundland Tinkerman, Jim Chapman. He played at left back, centre back, left of a back three, left wing back in a middle five, left of a midfield four and centre mid.

[WC Boggs]

7 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

When he first started out with us he was used all over by the Poundland Tinkerman, Jim Chapman. He played at left back, centre back, left of a back three, left wing back in a middle five, left of a midfield four and centre mid.

I think we can both agree Pete, that McNiff was a lot better at doing any job given, than some managers  he had were at doing theirs.

[Sweet Pete]

4 minutes ago, WC Boggs said:

I think we can both agree Pete, that McNiff was a lot better at doing any job given, than some managers  he had were at doing theirs.

Chapman won us a league title using only 35 players, chasing the leaders until the end of the season and on a budget only 5 times our current one, so maybe you shouldn't judge the man.

[Sweet Pete]

And it's Mr Pete to the likes of you.

[WC Boggs]

2 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

And it's Mr Pete to the likes of you.

Come on we can do better than that, show some ambition.  Emperor Pete at least.

[Sweet Pete]

3 minutes ago, WC Boggs said:

Come on we can do better than that, show some ambition.  Emperor Pete at least.

I'm a humble man. I don't even like being called Pete nowadays, it feels infantile. I was Sweet Pete to all and sundry for 15+ years. I'll need to adopt a new moniker or nom de plume. Or get a new tattoo that rhymes with my name like the last one.

[Sweet Pete]

I'd quite like to use software or a time machine to watch Chapman's division three team against Farrell's. Chapman's side was all about stylish attacking play and Farrell's is built on solidity. It'd make an interesting stylistic clash.

[Silverton End]

Martin McNifficent

[Sweet Pete]

I'd to see us play 442 a bit more with McLean pairing Byrne as I think it'll give Byrne more service and support to do his thing. He works very hard up front, but shelling long balls to him without another Sons player within 20 yards of him isn't a tactic that's paying off and it isn't going to suddenly start to.

[Victor mcdade]

Peter Grant is superb.  Kalvin Orsi terrorised that left back too. 

Hopefully they are the next two to be announced.

[DCismyhero]

1 minute ago, Victor mcdade said:

Peter Grant is superb.  Kalvin Orsi terrorised that left back too. 

Hopefully they are the next two to be announced.

Nothing says terrorised like crossing the ball straight into Curries hands/the estuary all night. 

[Jan Vojáček]

That's us now set a club record for clean sheets in a season (17). Beating the previous record held by David McEwan and Mark McGeown in 2008/09.

The most by a single goalkeeper is also now held jointly by Brett and Ian McFarlane (15). But Brett's all being in League games is a record for a goalkeeper.

I know this season has been a weird one. And we've had a few pumpings. But those are some excellent stats; not just for Brett but for Aron Lynas, Gregor Buchanan and Martin McNiff who have played virtually every game too. Really tremendous numbers. If we were half as good as scoring goals as we are at keeping them out then we'd have won the league in about February. Faz has a challenge next season to find that right balance.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Jan Vojáček