The Arbroath Thread

[afc_36_0]

A lot of the supporters who jumped on the bandwagon in our successful days were always going to fall away, some folk would rather have no affiliation to a club just to see success, thats football. I just hope some can see the bigger picture in why we support our local club and stay, especially some of the young crew and the club have done a good job to encourage this.

[TheScarf]

30 minutes ago, afc_36_0 said:

A lot of the supporters who jumped on the bandwagon in our successful days were always going to fall away, some folk would rather have no affiliation to a club just to see success, thats football. I just hope some can see the bigger picture in why we support our local club and stay, especially some of the young crew and the club have done a good job to encourage this.

I think you're just the same as any other football club in that respect, more fans when you're good, less fans when you're shite.

[1320Lichtie]

55 minutes ago, afc_36_0 said:

A lot of the supporters who jumped on the bandwagon in our successful days were always going to fall away, some folk would rather have no affiliation to a club just to see success, thats football. I just hope some can see the bigger picture in why we support our local club and stay, especially some of the young crew and the club have done a good job to encourage this.

I do think we will get to 1k season tickets - we are basically there after all, which is still fkn brilliant, it is a actually pretty incredible when you think about how dire we’ve been for 2 full years

I don’t think many have fallen away but there are obviously a percentage of the support who don’t know or understand the really bad times

 

In fairness though our recent record over the past year or two is absolutely horrendous. Lowest goal scorers in the country in 2022/23 and second lowest scorers in the country after Livingston in year 2023/24 - so to still be in the position we are in regards to ST sales etc shows just how well the club have done with the community trust, with younger supporters and also just how much an impact season 2021/22 had with the town. We have got a brilliant support for a PT club

 

The one sickening thing about it all though is that we have massively increased attendances and season ticket sales and overall interest in the club from the local community and we have been absolutely dog shit ever since we’ve done that

 

This season needs to be a decent one. I am 32 years old but I don’t think I remember a poorer spell for such a long period personally. 
 

Fingers crossed we can start turning the ship around and stop the rot soon and get a feel good factor back. Momentum and confidence is so important in football and we currently have zero 

Edited July 23 by 1320Lichtie

[Tattie36]

25 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

 

…..

This season needs to be a decent one. I am 32 years old but I don’t think I remember a poorer spell for such a long period personally. 

…..

I’m 55 and can state with confidence that, in my time I’ve seen us at our very worst.

the period from early/mid ‘80s to ‘98 was generally horrific. I’ve stood on the terraces for more than one season to watch us end up bottom of the very bottom and most other seasons were generally not much better.

However, I don’t recall it ever being so soul destroyingly grim. Yes, it’s relative and we’re obviously at a much higher level than back then (off the field unrecognisably better), but I never remember going to game after game, month after month with such a feeling of dejection and dread. Even when we were at our very worst I remember a feeling that the team could win, compete or at the very least look like they were trying in every game.

Perhaps I’m looking through maroon tinted glasses or it was the naivety of youth but this is by far the worst stretch I can remember.

[ExiledLichtie]

I can't ever remember the feeling of positivity sapped out of me quite this early in the season.  Normally, it takes at least a couple of months, but that's the summer optimism totally drained.

Just to check, where are we with tonight's game, is it an important league cup game to prepare for the season, or a meaningless dead rubber that doesn't matter?

[lichtie23]

50 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

I do think we will get to 1k season tickets - we are basically there after all, which is still fkn brilliant, it is a actually pretty incredible when you think about how dire we’ve been for 2 full years

I don’t think many have fallen away but there are obviously a percentage of the support who don’t know or understand the really bad times

 

In fairness though our recent record over the past year or two is absolutely horrendous. Lowest goal scorers in the country in 2022/23 and second lowest scorers in the country after Livingston in year 2023/24 - so to still be in the position we are in regards to ST sales etc shows just how well the club have done with the community trust, with younger supporters and also just how much an impact season 2021/22 had with the town. We have got a brilliant support for a PT club

 

The one sickening thing about it all though is that we have massively increased attendances and season ticket sales and overall interest in the club from the local community and we have been absolutely dog shit ever since we’ve done that

 

This season needs to be a decent one. I am 32 years old but I don’t think I remember a poorer spell for such a long period personally. 
 

Fingers crossed we can start turning the ship around and stop the rot soon and get a feel good factor back. Momentum and confidence is so important in football and we currently have zero 

I’m trying to look at things with perspective and logic. I think everyone who seen the Dundee game was impressed by how we set up and played. The fight shown and at times the quality shown from our attacking players. Saturday obviously want great but we were down to 10 men for just over 1 half of the game making the task really difficult. 
 

Tonight we could be incredible. Spray the ball like a top class side and win comfortably. None of us know 

[lichtie23]

19 minutes ago, Tattie36 said:

I’m 55 and can state with confidence that, in my time I’ve seen us at our very worst.

the period from early/mid ‘80s to ‘98 was generally horrific. I’ve stood on the terraces for more than one season to watch us end up bottom of the very bottom and most other seasons were generally not much better.

However, I don’t recall it ever being so soul destroyingly grim. Yes, it’s relative and we’re obviously at a much higher level than back then (off the field unrecognisably better), but I never remember going to game after game, month after month with such a feeling of dejection and dread. Even when we were at our very worst I remember a feeling that the team could win, compete or at the very least look like they were trying in every game.

Perhaps I’m looking through maroon tinted glasses or it was the naivety of youth but this is by far the worst stretch I can remember.

I remember the 2nd season in division one at the start of the millennium being absolutely abysmal. IIRC we didn’t win a game from around September that season. I should probably check that on the Arbroath archive actually or just ask @SimonLichtie

[1320Lichtie]

Just now, lichtie23 said:

I’m trying to look at things with perspective and logic. I think everyone who seen the Dundee game was impressed by how we set up and played. The fight shown and at times the quality shown from our attacking players. Saturday obviously want great but we were down to 10 men for just over 1 half of the game making the task really difficult. 
 

Tonight we could be incredible. Spray the ball like a top class side and win comfortably. None of us know 

Aye spot on.

 

I think it was the Tuesday night game that possibly made me so disappointed with how Saturday went to be honest.

 

Like yourself I was really impressed with how organised we looked, the shape and fitness. Saturday just went Pete Tong in every way.

 

You would have to hope, again maybe clutching at straws, that the game on Tuesday, whilst being in pre season training still, had an impact on the legs Saturday which would’ve only been compounded by the fact that we were down to 10 for so long.

 

 

[SimonLichtie]

20 minutes ago, ExiledLichtie said:

I can't ever remember the feeling of positivity sapped out of me quite this early in the season.  Normally, it takes at least a couple of months, but that's the summer optimism totally drained.

Just to check, where are we with tonight's game, is it an important league cup game to prepare for the season, or a meaningless dead rubber that doesn't matter?

Tonight is literally the definition of a dead rubber for ourselves after losing the first two games.

[SimonLichtie]

8 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

I remember the 2nd season in division one at the start of the millennium being absolutely abysmal. IIRC we didn’t win a game from around September that season. I should probably check that on the Arbroath archive actually or just ask @SimonLichtie

Pain

Beat Ross County on 21st December 2002, then only got two draws after this horrific run prior to the end of the season....

[lichtie23]

Just now, SimonLichtie said:

Pain

Beat Ross County on 21st December 2002, then only got two draws after this horrific run prior to the end of the season....

Andy “Fuckin” Dow

[Tattie36]

19 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

I remember the 2nd season in division one at the start of the millennium being absolutely abysmal. IIRC we didn’t win a game from around September that season. I should probably check that on the Arbroath archive actually or just ask @SimonLichtie

It was shit and just as you recall. The big difference then though was that just getting to the second tier was seen as a massive achievement (it was as we’d been the bottom league team only 5 seasons earlier)  and, even after a decent first season, the club didn’t really invest (they couldn’t) in trying to stay there. It definitely felt like “well that first season was great but we’ll just drop back to our comfort zone now”. Financially the club was on its knees and being in the second tier then wasn’t the money spinner it is now.

Yes it wasn’t much fun but I don’t remember much anger or animosity just a feeling of inevitability and “it was fun while it lasted”.

 

Edited July 23 by Tattie36

[SimonLichtie]

Just now, lichtie23 said:

Andy “Fuckin” Dow

My biggest achievement in life to date is writing a biography for him on the Arbroath Archive which was family friendly and publishable.

During that run of 11 defeats in a row, we had a chance to pick up a point away at Love Street. Getting a penalty in the last minute, Andy Dow (who has been abused by the St. Mirren support all game) demands the ball off John Cusick (our penalty talker) as he gleefully see's his moment to get it up the Paisley faithful. He then proceeds to take a penalty with less strength than your average pass back, Ludovic Roy saves it while presumably laughing his head off and we lose 1-0.

The following campaign, post relegation, after putting in some 'poor' performances, he turns up at Gayfield for the game one Saturday to find he has been dropped. His response? He tells the manager he either starts the game or he's going home, refusing to be on the bench. After leaving Gayfield in a huff, he leaves the club the following week. During this time he was our club captain.

Both of these incidents still make me angry, and it's over 20 years ago now......  

[lichtie23]

17 minutes ago, Tattie36 said:

It was shit and just as you recall. The big difference then though was that just getting to the second tier was seen as a massive achievement (it was as we’d been the bottom league team only 5 seasons earlier)  and, even after a decent first season, the club didn’t really invest (they couldn’t) in trying to stay there. It definitely felt like “well that first season was great but we’ll just drop back to our comfort zone now”. Financially the club was on its knees and being in the second tier then wasn’t the money spinner it is now.

Yes it wasn’t much fun but I don’t remember much anger or animosity just a feeling of inevitability and “it was fun while it lasted”.

 

I seem to remember a win against a high flying Airdrie at Gayfield which was the only highlight. Kevin James leaving on a stretched while sitting up, though that might have been the previous season. As I get older everything just blurs into each other  

[timlichtie]

I remember every game from the 60s. We won them all. Jimmy Jack and Dennis Bruce took turns at scoring hat tricks. No wonder I’m pissed off now.

[Tattie36]

15 minutes ago, timlichtie said:

I remember every game from the 60s. We won them all. Jimmy Jack and Dennis Bruce took turns at scoring hat tricks. No wonder I’m pissed off now.

And it was always sunny.

That’s those maroon tinted specs I was talking about.

[1320Lichtie]

The only thing I remember about the turn of the millennium was taking one of my friends from down south (I would’ve been about 8/9) to a game and telling him how brilliant it would be and we got beat 6-0 or 6-1 at home by either Airdrie or Ayr.. 

 

Remember the odd game here and there, the Partick Thistle kits and the big game we had against Berwick. 

 

A competitive performance tonight please. 

Edited July 23 by 1320Lichtie

[The Moonster]

You'd think you boys had just been relegated the the Highland League the way you are going on. You were playing in the second tier of Scottish football and you've got folk saying they can't remember it being so poor! Perspective is lost.

[1320Lichtie]

3 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

You'd think you boys had just been relegated the the Highland League the way you are going on. You were playing in the second tier of Scottish football and you've got folk saying they can't remember it being so poor! Perspective is lost.

This is where you cannot understand it because you are not a supporter. Easily understand and accept the relegation, we were favourites to go down and we’ve come down.

 

As a part time team you’ve got a shelf life when you are in that division especially since the emergence of teams who have started to become much better backed financially. 
 

The manner of the relegation is the issue, we were not competitive and there is no excuse for that. The way that we’ve operated in a footballing sense has been really really poor. We threw away our identity and what we had been good at for a hybrid structure and experiment that was a total failure. f**k knows how many players have been in and out of the club over the last 2 years it’s been a mess. 
 

Been over it before in regard to discussing Dick Campbell on here too. If I was looking in from the outside I would probably think that we should’ve kept him and we’ve lost perspective in being annoyed with how poor it’s been when we’ve been in a division above where we arguably should be but it’s absolutely not as simple as that. 
 

Think everyone would just like to see a competitive team on the park this season and to see us actually score the odd goal here and there again and I do think that will happen in time and once we have a fully fit complete squad (with potentially a new manager but I will not give up on McIntyre just yet)

 

Just feels a long way away and like it might never return due to how bad it’s been recently and there probably most definitely is an exaggeration to Saturdays defeat but I can understand why when we’re currently on a club records streak for defeats which will have a good chance of being extended this evening. 

[The Moonster]

52 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

This is where you cannot understand it because you are not a supporter. Easily understand and accept the relegation, we were favourites to go down and we’ve come down.

 

As a part time team you’ve got a shelf life when you are in that division especially since the emergence of teams who have started to become much better backed financially. 
 

The manner of the relegation is the issue, we were not competitive and there is no excuse for that. The way that we’ve operated in a footballing sense has been really really poor. We threw away our identity and what we had been good at for a hybrid structure and experiment that was a total failure. f**k knows how many players have been in and out of the club over the last 2 years it’s been a mess. 
 

Been over it before in regard to discussing Dick Campbell on here too. If I was looking in from the outside I would probably think that we should’ve kept him and we’ve lost perspective in being annoyed with how poor it’s been when we’ve been in a division above where we arguably should be but it’s absolutely not as simple as that. 
 

Think everyone would just like to see a competitive team on the park this season and to see us actually score the odd goal here and there again and I do think that will happen in time and once we have a fully fit complete squad (with potentially a new manager but I will not give up on McIntyre just yet)

 

Just feels a long way away and like it might never return due to how bad it’s been recently and there probably most definitely is an exaggeration to Saturdays defeat but I can understand why when we’re currently on a club records streak for defeats which will have a good chance of being extended this evening. 

I can't understand it? My team literally done the same thing yours has done although went one better and got relegated to League 2. The season we went down it was grim to watch but it was nowhere fucking near the teams we had stinking out the basement division. Trust me, you have a long way to go before "worst ever" chat can be valid. You'll have one of the biggest if not the biggest budget in this league and folk are going on as if you're travelling to play Teuchtar Thistle on a public park this weekend.