The Arbroath Thread

[lichtiekev]

Just noticed that's 14 defeats in a row,

You can't keep making excuses

 

[1320Lichtie]

1 minute ago, RedLichtie86 said:

Todays was shite.

With our only 2 strikers out injured it was going to be a poor game.

What made it shite was Hamilton off early injured and a daft challenge for the red card (yes he got the ball but his foot was off the ground and the follow through sealed the deal)

Down to 10 men with no strikers and it was game over.

Player budget is limited and only have space for 2/3 more unless we move on players to make the team better. McIntyre could sign 2/3 average/meh players but over the course of the season folk will bemoan these signings. But McIntyre is waiting to sign other players on loan, players waiting before signing for a PT team or players who may get released at the end of the transfer window.

Stowe is far too lightweight for this level. Technically he is ok but he lacks so many other attributes to be any good to the team.

 

Yeah I think Stowe is to be moved on - ability is there but it’s In flashes - too unreliable.  

 

I thought Spalding once again looked like a young laddie playing with men too. It’s a strange signing I think, it seems like a project signing in the same way McIntyre seemed to really like Adam MacKinnon for whatever reason

 

 

[timlichtie]

Getting badly beaten at home by Annan is one of the low points of a very bad series of defeats. The fact that they were showboating in the second half against the team supposedly league favourites speaks volumes. What happened to the level of performance shown against Dundee? We were second best even before the sending off.

Never mind no strikers. We had no midfield creativity. Their no 11 was streets ahead of anyone in Maroon.

I was prepared to give the new management team a chance, but their time is fast running out. If we’re struggling due to lack of the right players it’s because we haven’t signed the right players.

 

[Tattie36]

This word “wait” is doing some heavy lifting.

Must have been used 1000 times in the last 2 years.

[Aufc]

17 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

Bookies might just know what they’re doing…

 

I was feeling reasonably positive about today right up until I saw the line up 

 

I would also like to point out I have no idea why you’d stick with Scott Stewart at right centre half in a back 5 in a game we have no striker on the park.
 

Surely you’d want more players further forward to increase your chances of creating something - Stewart was brilliant against Dundee but he is a right midfielder and it was a completely different challenge today

 

I felt sorry for Ryan Dow to be honest. Must’ve run about 20 mile the last two games. 
 

By the end we were just throwing bodies forward to try and score or create something but you never fancied any of them to do either, leaving Annan free to counter at will with Craig Slater, ToB and Aaron Steele the only player not in and around Annans box - the bodies that had run forward then had to run back effectively doing doggies when we were already a man down with the red 
 

It was all a bit of a shambles and I was up the hill by the time the full time whistle went but it wasn’t pretty

Tbf surely Arbroath would have been clear favourites so bit of a surprise result

[RedLichtie86]

If Reilly, Gallagher or both started today then Spalding and/or Stowe wouldnt have played as much today.

[lichtie23]

11 minutes ago, lichtiekev said:

Just noticed that's 14 defeats in a row,

You can't keep making excuses

 

To be fair, I don’t think anyone is making excuses 

[RedLichtie86]

12 minutes ago, lichtiekev said:

Just noticed that's 14 defeats in a row,

You can't keep making excuses

 

I just noticed that was our first defeat to a PT team since away to Spartans in the cup.

[1320Lichtie]

3 minutes ago, Aufc said:

Tbf surely Arbroath would have been clear favourites so bit of a surprise result

I’m absolutely surprised it was 3-0 - I wouldn’t have been too surprised to see us get beat as I fully fancied Goss to score and us to struggle to. 
 

I can’t really explain how easy it was to see what was going to happen as soon as Hamilton went off, Annan got their goal and then we were down to 10.
 

Sitting at half time knowing full well it was going to go badly wrong, it’s not very fun and with the fresh start to a new season it’s really not very good at all.
 

3 away games now and not back at home until Montrose in the league - McIntyre HAS to win that game or it’s going to be pitchforks. 
 

 

[Tattie36]

One stat that is mind boggling to me is that we have 1 (ONE) win in 25 games - that’s a 4% win rate!!! Going a bit further back, it’s 2 wins in 34 but that includes the end of Campbells tenure.

Yes there are mitigating circumstances and we can try to be positive but come on! Can anyone think of a manager in any league, at any level, anywhere in the world that has or would survive a record like that?

[Blablabla]

5 hours ago, lichtie23 said:

Yes it is!!! 

Maybe not then

[SmokeyJoe]

So far this season we’ve played Dundee twice and st Johnstone 2 premier league times. Hard games and no expecting wins. Didn’t see anything them but heard we looked ok in spells of them all. And a defeat by Annan not great but it’s happened injuries and sending off obviously contributed to that too. McIntyre will be assessed after the first 6-9 league games not this cup 

[SimonLichtie]

I think you have to look at the game objectively - we were well on top and controlling the game (as you absolutely would expect against a team sitting in playing 4-5-1) and Hammy going off, and then Stewart's sending off completely changed the game. I was happy enough with the first 30 or so - I think we created enough in that period of the game, but we obviously had no-one up top. In terms of the striking side of things - it would be absurd to argue that having our two strikers injured is anything but unlucky at this point. The reality is also that if we sign players now, they simply will not be at the level of player available in a months time. It's a 9 month league season, which hasn't even started, and I'd much prefer to have good options come in mid-late August than panic in the middle of July.

In terms of viewing the season going forward, I am absolutely no more positive or negative than I was a month ago. Friendlies are an irrelevance in terms of results, and today we played an hour with 10 men. I'm still happy with our squad at this stage, and firmly believe with we're either top 4 under McIntyre, or he's out the door and a new man comes in to a more than capable squad for this level. I thought that a month ago, and nothing has happened to change my opinion on that.

Genuine question - why do people think we should be beating a team in our own division, with 10 men for an hour of the game, and no strikers available? I don't think any team in this division should be beating anyone else with 10 men for the majority of the game - why should we? The game would've been entirely different if we'd have 11 men (I'm not saying we'd have won, but an entirely different game). If we'd just been beaten 3-0 by Annan at home with 11 v 11 for 90 minutes, then believe me I'd be extremely pissed off and it'd be completely unacceptable.

The thing that pissed me off more than anything today was the absolute arsehole of a linesman who, after Tam was absolutely nailed in the box, spoke to Stowe like a child and refused to answer his question about the incident. The best officials are the ones who speak to players on a level and are honest with them - it was obvious he hasn't seen it, why couldn't he just say that instead of sneering and refusing to do so? 

[Blablabla]

4 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

Ooft! Cheers for this. Ridiculous price even if you're without strikers. Annan scraped past ICT reserves and couldn't see off Rose. This should be printing money. 

Sorry

[lichtie23]

3 minutes ago, Blablabla said:

Maybe not then

Silly us 

[1320Lichtie]

3 minutes ago, SmokeyJoe said:

So far this season we’ve played Dundee twice and st Johnstone 2 premier league times. Hard games and no expecting wins. Didn’t see anything them but heard we looked ok in spells of them all. And a defeat by Annan not great but it’s happened injuries and sending off obviously contributed to that too. McIntyre will be assessed after the first 6-9 league games not this cup 

 

Absolutely - the problem McIntyre has got is he’s probably got about 2/3 more signings to make which will be strikers and forward players and he’s got 2 strikers injured right now, getting them fit and into the team for the start of the league will be tough - todays also riled the support up and got them right back on his back again - so it is going to take some turn around for him from here.

 

The good thing is I think he’s signed pretty well and we will be left in a good place regardless of who the gaffer is 

Edited July 20 by 1320Lichtie

[lichtie23]

3 minutes ago, SimonLichtie said:

I think you have to look at the game objectively - we were well on top and controlling the game (as you absolutely would expect against a team sitting in playing 4-5-1) and Hammy going off, and then Stewart's sending off completely changed the game. I was happy enough with the first 30 or so - I think we created enough in that period of the game, but we obviously had no-one up top. In terms of the striking side of things - it would be absurd to argue that having our two strikers injured is anything but unlucky at this point. The reality is also that if we sign players now, they simply will not be at the level of player available in a months time. It's a 9 month league season, which hasn't even started, and I'd much prefer to have good options come in mid-late August than panic in the middle of July.

In terms of viewing the season going forward, I am absolutely no more positive or negative than I was a month ago. Friendlies are an irrelevance in terms of results, and today we played an hour with 10 men. I'm still happy with our squad at this stage, and firmly believe with we're either top 4 under McIntyre, or he's out the door and a new man comes in to a more than capable squad for this level. I thought that a month ago, and nothing has happened to change my opinion on that.

Genuine question - why do people think we should be beating a team in our own division, with 10 men for an hour of the game, and no strikers available? I don't think any team in this division should be beating anyone else with 10 men for the majority of the game - why should we? The game would've been entirely different if we'd have 11 men (I'm not saying we'd have won, but an entirely different game). If we'd just been beaten 3-0 by Annan at home with 11 v 11 for 90 minutes, then believe me I'd be extremely pissed off and it'd be completely unacceptable.

The thing that pissed me off more than anything today was the absolute arsehole of a linesman who, after Tam was absolutely nailed in the box, spoke to Stowe like a child and refused to answer his question about the incident. The best officials are the ones who speak to players on a level and are honest with them - it was obvious he hasn't seen it, why couldn't he just say that instead of sneering and refusing to do so? 

Dont think he enjoyed you calling him a c**t

[Blablabla]

1 hour ago, lichtiekev said:

They want folk to buy season tickets,?

Getting hard to defend this,

 

 

Anyone want to buy mines,,going cheap

[timlichtie]

Plenty of decent journeymen in the team, but a total lack of spark or creativity. In past seasons we had players like Linn , Bird, McKenna etc. there’s now nobody who looks like turning a game around. The new strikers may be the answer but I’m not convinced. Some loan talent appears to be the only chance we’ve got to lift this squad.

[1320Lichtie]

9 minutes ago, timlichtie said:

Plenty of decent journeymen in the team, but a total lack of spark or creativity. In past seasons we had players like Linn , Bird, McKenna etc. there’s now nobody who looks like turning a game around. The new strikers may be the answer but I’m not convinced. Some loan talent appears to be the only chance we’ve got to lift this squad.

Get what you’re saying but it’s near enough impossible to be creative when you’ve not got a striker on the park, anyone who is in the box or anyone making runs in and about the box. Also hard when you line up with effectively a back 5 mind you..

 

Dow, Murray and Stowe - the 3 most advanced players were continually getting in each others road or were drifting into similar positions.

 

For what it’s worth I think Dow done as well as he possibly could’ve and I am happy with his efforts today. Clearly not a striker but ran his socks off and put a shift in. Same with Bisland. 

Edited July 20 by 1320Lichtie