The Alloa Athletic Thread

[AlloaAdam]

Well that was pretty poor. Scored a decent goal after not doing a lot else in the first half and didn’t really turn up for the second half. Ogayi was excellent and deserved a clean sheet, thought he was unlucky with the goal after a decent save - had a couple of excellent ones a few minutes before.  O’Donnell was good again and that was about it, we still don’t look like a team and we don’t really have a way of playing - just a lot of balls into the channel and hoping to play off the seconds (which we rarely win). Already a must win game next week.

[LeodhasXD]

Meh here's the highlights and reaction.
 

 

[Magic Hat]

It's hard to know what to think at the moment.

An away point at Annan, on the back of a Cove win, and good performance at Hamilton last week should be positive.

As others have said next Saturday is a must win, if we were to lose or draw that game, justifiably there would be questions asked about Brian Rice's future and managerial abilities, from a signing, tactical and motivational point of view.

That said I thought we played well at Hamilton last week and keeping the faith at the moment, however 90 minutes next Saturday might test or shatter that.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Magic Hat

[Rory]

Hard to judge a whole game on the highlights but Ogayi looked good. He was unlucky with the goal and made a couple of really good saves.

I don't mind him punching crosses as he's committed to it. Last season, Jay was guilty of half coming for crosses and it cost us a few goals.

Hopefully we can have a run of games with this formation and line up to let the players get used to it.

 

[Waspie]

An away point isn't a disaster but it wasn't a good performance. We didn't play particularly well against Cove but the hope was that the win would be a confidence boost and the performance at Hamilton, even in defeat, suggested we might well be making progress. This felt like a step back, second half in particular. 1 point from the 3 part-time sides played so far is worrying. 

Ogayi certainly had his best game. Don't think he saved any you wouldn't expect your keeper to stop - and he probably should have done better at the goal - but he was solid and can't argue with that. Hopefully he can build on that with PJ apparently still a few weeks away. Some other ok individual performances but now 11 competitive games in and still very little evidence of a cohesive team. 

[Kevchenko]

Seen yesterday as a disappointing step backwards after a bit of encouragement in the previous two games. 
 

Positives, Taylor Steven’s first half was very good - lively and looked dangerous and like that his not afraid to have a dig when he’s got a sight of goal. Faded out of the 2nd 45 though. His work for the goal was excellent, looked for all the world that he should have shot earlier but he cleverly delays and sells the 3 defenders laying it on a plate for Sammon - interestingly, keep an eye on Gibson in the highlights, absolute heads gone decision from him (admittedly not his worst one recently right enough!) leaving Sammon in acres of space. 
 

Also good for Sammon to be scoring again, we desperately need a return like last year from him again. 
 

Ogayi - some of those saves yesterday were outstanding, and there was a period in the 2nd half where it was a string of saves and punches one after another that created a real buzz behind the goal. The one he palmed away down to his right hand side from a header was top for me, looked a certain goal. Felt at the time he could have done better at the goal (and maybe could have) but looking back he may have been a bit unlucky with it. Devine could have done more to be honest, looks like he stops when Aiden Smith gambles on a rebound. 
 

On the other hand, overall we were pretty honking yesterday, especially in that 2nd half. 
 

We were back to what we seen at the start of the season - aimlessly punting long balls from our centre halves that either went to an Annan player or straight out the park. Defensively, Devine and Debayo coped well yesterday but their distribution is pretty shocking. It’s desperate stuff to watch. 
 

Midfield - again, like earlier in the season, it disappeared yesterday. Docherty and Luissint had so much space yesterday that they were able to control the game quite comfortably. Said before, if we lose the midfield we generally don’t win games. I like Miko but he seemed to float through the game yesterday - almost felt he didn’t know if he should be holding deeper or pushing forward and was never really where he should be?!

 

Said after the Falkirk game that I’m ready for a change in leadership, feel it needs a fresh approach to get this squad playing up to their potential. Looking at the sideline in the 2nd half you would have thought it was Kenny Brannigan in charge yesterday to be honest. September or not, anything but 3 points next week is pretty much jotters stuff for me. 

[printer]

Some over the top reactions IMO.

[Kevchenko]

12 minutes ago, printer said:

Some over the top reactions IMO.

I can understand that view - it’s definitely still early season and an away point anywhere isn’t a total disaster of a result. 
 

For me it’s just looking and feeling like there’s something not right at all this year. There’s also the fact that although it is indeed early season, we have played a lot of games already - ordinarily I wouldn’t give a single toss about preseason performances or results to be honest, but there’s concerns for me that what we’ve seen (mostly) in the league and previously in the cup was there in the preseason games as well.

 

Last week was maybe the only game this season where I’ve felt there was a relatively cohesive team performance from us - that’s really concerning. It’s a bit of a cliched thing to say, but there’s no real identity to our team just now (other than pump long balls from our centre halves!). We are less than the sum of our parts.

 

Of course it’s not all on the manager - players should be accepting responsibility (and I’m sure they will be in that dressing room) and we can all see there are guys there that we all know/believe can do better than they are just now - but it’s the nature of the beast that it’s the manager who carries the can. 
 

Incidentally, I don’t actually believe a loss next week would trigger anything to be honest, just kind of where I’m at with things just now. Won’t for a second stop me hoping that Chipper does get things clicking together for us though.

[printer]

23 minutes ago, Kevchenko said:

 I like Miko but he seemed to float through the game yesterday - almost felt he didn’t know if he should be holding deeper or pushing forward and was never really where he should be?

I couldn't make the game yesterday and it sounds like it was a fairly typical performance - except maybe that the defence is more solid/settled - but I must admit I was surprised Virtanen started when Roberts did too. I know Scougs isn't quite fit yet and maybe Kev missed training with his job, but another more attacking player seems the obvious change.

1 minute ago, Kevchenko said:

I can understand that view - it’s definitely still early season and an away point anywhere isn’t a total disaster of a result. 
 

For me it’s just looking and feeling like there’s something not right at all this year. There’s also the fact that although it is indeed early season, we have played a lot of games already - ordinarily I wouldn’t give a single toss about preseason performances or results to be honest, but there’s concerns for me that what we’ve seen (mostly) in the league and previously in the cup was there in the preseason games as well.

 

Last week was maybe the only game this season where I’ve felt there was a relatively cohesive team performance from us - that’s really concerning. It’s a bit of a cliched thing to say, but there’s no real identity to our team just now (other than pump long balls from our centre halves!). We are less than the sum of our parts.

 

Of course it’s not all on the manager - players should be accepting responsibility (and I’m sure they will be in that dressing room) and we can all see there are guys there that we all know/believe can do better than they are just now - but it’s the nature of the beast that it’s the manager who carries the can. 
 

Incidentally, I don’t actually believe a loss next week would trigger anything to be honest, just kind of where I’m at with things just now. Won’t for a second stop me hoping that Chipper does get things clicking together for us though.

I agree with the detail and reasoning of what you say, I just think talk of next week being must win or Rice goes is premature. I wouldn't be in favour of getting rid of any manager this early in the season (unless it was a clear disaster with no way back).

Per the highlighted sentence, I don't think we are much different from last season, when we didn't play great football very often, but did end up having a successful season. We also had a very good end to the season when Chipper took over from Ferguson.

It's a bit of a conundrum for me, I like Brian Rice, he's recruited well since he's been manager and on the whole results have been decent. No doubt though that the football we play isn't great and there's a consistent feeling of underachieving. With the midfield players we have we really shouldn't be second best in that area as much as we are.

[Kevchenko]

3 minutes ago, printer said:

but I must admit I was surprised Virtanen started when Roberts did too. I know Scougs isn't quite fit yet and maybe Kev missed training with his job, but another more attacking player seems the obvious change.

great minds etc …

[Kevchenko]

9 minutes ago, printer said:

I agree with the detail and reasoning of what you say, I just think talk of next week being must win or Rice goes is premature. I wouldn't be in favour of getting rid of any manager this early in the season (unless it was a clear disaster with no way back).

Per the highlighted sentence, I don't think we are much different from last season, when we didn't play great football very often, but did end up having a successful season. We also had a very good end to the season when Chipper took over from Ferguson.

It's a bit of a conundrum for me, I like Brian Rice, he's recruited well since he's been manager and on the whole results have been decent. No doubt though that the football we play isn't great and there's a consistent feeling of underachieving. With the midfield players we have we really shouldn't be second best in that area as much as we are.

All fair points. 
 

I have a very similar opinion of Rice - although I wasn’t blown away by the appointment at the time, I was won over very quickly with how he ended that season. I also think his recruitment has been a strength of his management. 
 

I do think there’s a bit of a difference from last year although judgement may be clouded by the fact that around this stage last year was when we were on a really impressive run!! Last year I felt most weeks we went out to try and win games - almost feel just now we are just desperately trying not to lose them. The 2nd halves v Cove and Annan looked as if it was a case of coming back out after the break and trying to sit back and hold on to a 1 nil lead - worked against Cove but in truth we probably were fortunate to end up getting a point yesterday. I feel like last season there would have been more of a desire to go and get that 2nd goal. 
 

There’s a bit of a catch 22 in that on a poor run of form/results, it’s sort of understandable to try and get any sort of lead and then do all you can to hold on to it, but the reality is that, bar Cove, we have conceded in every single competitive game this season, so logic would suggest we need another one! 

[Magic Hat]

2 hours ago, printer said:

Some over the top reactions IMO.

All about opinions, I thought I was being quite positive as well 

Sure whether we lose on Saturday or not he will still be the manager but think questions on his ability are 100% valid.

There have been a lot of very poor performances this season but I quite liked his war speech after the Falkirk game and our recent performance against the best team in the league. I for one hope we perform on Saturday and win, ideally emphatically playing with style.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Magic Hat

[thestorytobetold]

The performance levels have just not been there at all this season. We are a messy and disjointed team. I don't think it's being negative to state that fact. There are some talented players in there but the new signings really need to start endearing themselves to the fans by battling and succeeding on the pitch. 

When Rice came in he managed to get a tune out of Ferguson's struggling team and he strengthened by adding Mciver and PJ. We climbed from 9th to 5th. He was all for inviting fans in to watch training sessions and he promoted players from the youth team to the seniors. We also beat Falkirk twice that season. 

In Rice's first full season we finished 4th so an improvement over all but it doesn't tell the whole story. At times we utterly lost the plot in games Edin.city away and QOTS at home and we seemed to roll over for Falkirk. Not to mention the Hamilton play-off debacle. 

The first quarter of this season has been one to forget , I really hope Chipper can turn it around and get a string of wins together, it's all about ambition,  I'd say give him the second quarter to turn the form around, as long as we're not relegation fodder by then.  

Until then I'll be supporting the team hoping for the best!!

[printer]

4 hours ago, Magic Hat said:

All about opinions, I thought I was being quite positive as well 

Sure whether we lose on Saturday or not he will still be the manager but think questions on his ability are 100% valid.

There have been a lot of very poor performances this season but I quite liked his war speech after the Falkirk game and our recent performance against the best team in the league. I for one hope we perform on Saturday and win, ideally emphatically playing with style.

I'd worry if you were too positive m8.

[Magic Hat]

3 hours ago, printer said:

I'd worry if you were too positive m8.

No chance of that 

[the philosopher]

Can I be honest here - the way I viewed Saturdays game - u got a lot of big bruisers.

We play a lot of good posession football - wins nout unless u get results tho

Set up very defensively which Annan did find hard to break down but u just relied on counter attacks, Sammon - although he scored the goal he has seen better days.

Heard Rice's interview after game - very fair.

[Waspie]

10 hours ago, the philosopher said:

Can I be honest here - the way I viewed Saturdays game - u got a lot of big bruisers.

We play a lot of good posession football - wins nout unless u get results tho

Set up very defensively which Annan did find hard to break down but u just relied on counter attacks, Sammon - although he scored the goal he has seen better days.

Heard Rice's interview after game - very fair.

Could see why you might think that given our display but in truth Alloa have several really good creative players. More I'd suggest than any other part-time team in the league. One of those wasn't available at the weekend and another on the bench would probably have started had he been 100%. Another couple were left out. Even when we do have them all fit we struggle to make the most of their talents though. It's actually hard IMO to make a team with as many very capable players for this level as poor as we've been this season. 

I don't think Rice will be in any bother regardless of the result against Edinburgh, we all know Alloa don't sack managers unless things are really desperate. He can make an argument too that he's doing ok overall since he came in. I would hope (and expect really) we will improve for the simple reason above that there are too many good players for us to continue to be so bad. That pulled us into the play-offs last season, even when we weren't as good as we might have been. The squad is a bit weaker now after some mixed summer recruitment but there are still enough good players there for us to be up having a crack at 4th.

Personally I have found the Alloa team of the last 18 months months or so a hard watch. The football isn't good. I don't even mean I want the possession football we were spoiled with for a few seasons or a team that wins most weeks, I'd just like there to be some kind of coherent football. Can take pleasure too in a limited side working hard and showing spirit to grind out results or go down fighting. We don't do that either. The team lacks identity and watching feels like a chore in a way that wasn't the case even with far weaker Alloa sides. Given there are plenty of good footballers and characters there that's hard to explain. I don't expect a managerial change anytime soon and I'll always support the team regardless, but also looking forward to hopefully better days in the long term. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Waspie

[LeodhasXD]

1 hour ago, Waspie said:

Can take pleasure too in a limited side working hard and showing spirit to grind out results or go down fighting.

On that note I predicted an Ogayi masterclass before the game and thought he was the best entertainment throughout. Despite the goal I'd be readying a contract for next season already. He looked the part this week.

[Vegetableman]

3 hours ago, LeodhasXD said:

On that note I predicted an Ogayi masterclass before the game and thought he was the best entertainment throughout. Despite the goal I'd be readying a contract for next season already. He looked the part this week.

Mr Rice still critiscised him for the goal though , bluudy unfair to say the least , 

What worries me most about ourselves just now is the seeming lack of passion and cohesion  , Both may be intertwined , 

I can't see an improvement till Rice stops blaming the players and takes responsibility himself ,  dissapointed with him so far this season

i thought he was better than this .

Edited September 25, 2023 by Vegetableman

[LeodhasXD]

8 minutes ago, Vegetableman said:

Mr Rice still critiscised him for the goal though , bluudy unfair to say the least , 

What worries me most about ourselves just now is the seeming lack of passion and cohesion  , Both may be intertwined , 

He could do better - the angle from the corner flag shows you that it was enough to save but probably should've palmed away from Smith.

Not a fan of Neill just not reacting to the strikers run. He's too slow for my liking and the long balls on Saturday from him had a shocking hit rate.