The Arbroath Thread

[ExiledLichtie]

5 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Nope what? 

I'd imagine a general nope to your entire badly thought out and uninformed take.   Last season we won 2 home games and scored 11 goals at home all season.  We won 6 games in the entire season, and stayed up on the very last day. This year has been more of the same, including the sort of shoeings that we just never had last year.  

It was time. 

 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Just now, ExiledLichtie said:

I'd imagine a general nope to your entire badly thought out and uninformed take.   Last season we won 2 home games and scored 11 goals at home all season.  We won 6 games in the entire season, and stayed up on the very last day. This year has been more of the same, including the sort of shoeings that we just never had last year.  

It was time. 

 

You are 4 points clear of bottom placed Morton and if you win your game in hand you’ll be 6th in the league. What the hell are Arbroath fans expecting? You are quite literally the only part-time team in the league, surviving on the last day of the season is a success, not something to beat Campbell with and use against him.

That one freak show of a good season has ruined you. Ideas above your station IMHO. 

[RedLichtie86]

11 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

You are 4 points clear of bottom placed Morton and if you win your game in hand you’ll be 6th in the league. What the hell are Arbroath fans expecting? You are quite literally the only part-time team in the league, surviving on the last day of the season is a success, not something to beat Campbell with and use against him.

That one freak show of a good season has ruined you. Ideas above your station IMHO. 

Have you been watching our games for the past 18 months?

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Just now, RedLichtie86 said:

Have you been watching our games for the past 18 months?

So what are you expecting then? Swashbuckling football AND survival whilst operating as the only part-time club in a full-time league? 

Deluded.

[Tattie36]

3 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

You are 4 points clear of bottom placed Morton and if you win your game in hand you’ll be 6th in the league. What the hell are Arbroath fans expecting? You are quite literally the only part-time team in the league, surviving on the last day of the season is a success, not something to beat Campbell with and use against him.

That one freak show of a good season has ruined you. Ideas above your station IMHO. 

Garbage. No one was ruined by season 21/22. Read back on here and you will find that, even at the time, every single poster knew it was more than likely a once in a lifetime season, fantastic but unlikely to be repeated. No one expected anything like that ever again. Also, to a man (and woman) our support would be delighted with an 8th place finish from now until the end of time. However there has to be more to it than watching soul destroying football week in week out, weird tactics, poor signings, bad treatment of individual players, blaming the fans etc etc etc etc etc.

We are only 4 points above Morton because we had a fluke 4 week spell where we were playing the football that this squad is capable of but has been hindered in due to the now departed management team.

I am 100% certain that we would have been relegated automatically if there was no change - we may still go down but something fresh has to be tried. I guarantee that if you had stood on the terraces at Gayfield for the last 18 months and watched what we have then you would be in total agreement.

Everyone wanted Dick to turn this round and as such he was given a far far longer time than any other board/fanbase would have given anyone else but it had to come to a head eventually. I am positive that Dick was given the opportunity to resign instead of being sacked as one last opportunity to save a bit of face and leave with his head held high, deservedly imo.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Just now, Tattie36 said:

 

We are only 4 points above Morton because we had a fluke 4 week spell where we were playing the football that this squad is capable of but has been hindered in due to the now departed management team.

Ah right, the wins were a fluke, gotcha.

[RedLichtie86]

Just now, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

So what are you expecting then? Swashbuckling football AND survival whilst operating as the only part-time club in a full-time league? 

Deluded.

Last season we should have relegated. Somehow Cove and Hamilton imploded and we survived. Barely a single performance last season meritted us staying up.

18 home games. 11 goals in 10 games.

Some of the most turgid football ever. Bat shit crazy tactics. Subs all over the shop. Player recruitment that was beyond pathetic Etc. Record season ticket holders being more entertained by the waves than the football. It was dire.

Just surviving in this league is not the be all and end all. If that was the case we would be making it as hard as possible for teams to beat us but we have more holes in our midfield and defence than swiss cheese.

Dick did not know what to do anymore. He was too loyal to certain players. Ostracized others. He limited his team selection options by not having cover in key areas. There was no plan B. In the end he got complacent.

 

[1320Lichtie]

51 minutes ago, clashcityrocker said:

DC has left big boots to fill and sadly, I think we could drop out of the Championship for sometime - DC kept us in the Championship for an amazing 5 years!

My understanding is that Pink was paying for Scot Allan's wages - so no idea how that will play out.

Injuries, loss of form and a failure to sign a suitable defender and midfielder resulted in DCs undoing - and it should be noted that some of the players have to take responsibility for this - they let DC down.

Finding a manager to steady the ship and keep us in the Championship is going to be a tall order - would avoid any rushed decisions.

He really hasn’t left big boots to fill - his record over the last 16 months is embarrassing. 

[1320Lichtie]

34 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

You are 4 points clear of bottom placed Morton and if you win your game in hand you’ll be 6th in the league. What the hell are Arbroath fans expecting? You are quite literally the only part-time team in the league, surviving on the last day of the season is a success, not something to beat Campbell with and use against him.

That one freak show of a good season has ruined you. Ideas above your station IMHO. 

Paddy you’re talking absolute shite. Go read back the thread, it is nowhere near as simple as that. This getting too big for our boots thing is an awful take and shows how little people understand.

[keptie]

13 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Ah right, the wins were a fluke, gotcha.

Campbell's last game yesterday against a team 2 divisions below us kinda summed up where we are. Outthought, outplayed, outworked. I doubt it was gonna get any better and tbh i wish he had retired in the summer on a high.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Just now, 1320Lichtie said:

Paddy you’re talking absolute shite. Go read back the thread, it is nowhere near as simple as that. This getting too big for our boots thing is an awful take and shows how little people understand.

Looks like I’ve hit a wee nerve. 

It’s a shame to see a once solid fanbase like Arbroath being reduced to this sort of entitlement. Remember who you are boys.

[clashcityrocker]

8 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

He really hasn’t left big boots to fill

Of course he has left big boots to fill - along with Bert Henderson he is Arbroath's best manager for at least the past 50 years ( perhaps even longer).

Also, he played an important role increasing hospitality sales with his talks and season ticket sales and attendances increased following the success he brought to the club.

Dumbarton are the only other part time club to have stayed in the Championship for 5 years - I call that big boots to fill.

DC has also left the club in good, financial position and with 2 games in hand could potentially be siting mid-table or higher if we win these games (which I accept is a big ask, but certainly possible).

I am not convinced any new manager will reach the dizzy heights of success that DC achieved - but lets hope we get good applicants and the board get the right man.

[keptie]

11 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Looks like I’ve hit a wee nerve. 

It’s a shame to see a once solid fanbase like Arbroath being reduced to this sort of entitlement. Remember who you are boys.

IIRC Dumbarton supporters on here weren't happy about getting relegated from the Championship. Were you entitled?

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

2 minutes ago, keptie said:

IIRC Dumbarton supporters on here weren't happy about getting relegated from the Championship. Were you entitled?

I must have missed the bit where Dick Campbell got Arbroath relegated. 

[keptie]

9 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I must have missed the bit where Dick Campbell got Arbroath relegated. 

No, he left before it happened. But Dumbarton supporters clearly thinking they were entitled to stay in the Championship. Remember who you are boys......Short memories.

Edited November 26, 2023 by keptie

[1320Lichtie]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Looks like I’ve hit a wee nerve. 

It’s a shame to see a once solid fanbase like Arbroath being reduced to this sort of entitlement. Remember who you are boys.

Of course you have hit a nerve. Arbroath fans and the club have been extremely patient with Dick Campbell - to the point where I’ve not seen anything else like it in football. I can’t remember a manager getting the backing and support DC has when he had done such a terrible job over such a long period of time. 
 

 

Summer 2022 we were in an incredible position. Had a solid squad of players. 
 

Then the fallouts and dressing room bust ups came. James Craigen, Nicky Low and Jason Thomson all left the club after starting the season off with us.
 

Craigen who would still be a good player for us right now and who scored against us yesterday left because he could not get a game in central midfield. At one point Luke Donnelly and a man named Daniel Fosu (will get on to that later) played centre midfield over the guy. 
 

Then Luke Donnelly left. Dylan Patterson left. Hilson was injured and Keiran Shanks could barely get on the park. We were left with a young striker we’d signed from the Highland League and Dale Hilson, a guy who worked his socks off but rarely ever scored. 
 

We signed the likes of Daniel Fosu, Kareem Isiaka and Deri Corfe to replace the guys that had left. These 3 were absolutely nowhere near it. Daniel Fosu by far the best of the 3. Deri Corfe is easily up there with one of the worst players I’ve ever seen play. 
 

These kind of signings had been the new way forward for Dick, we had already had a wee taste of them when we brought in Sam Ford and Michael Bakare. It was as clear as day Dick Campbell was on a mission to find his own Nouble. 
 

6/7 of the signings we made in the first half of the season were moved on in January 2023. They all got given a chance against Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup and they were 4-0 down at half time. Dick slaughtered them all after and that was that. The club actually had to put a recruitment team in place because of how shambolic Summer 2022 was.
 

Throughout last season, on plenty of occasions we played without a striker on the park. For the majority of the season we had no wingers or strikers except Bobby Linn. Bobby was put upfront on several occasions while we played 5 central players across the midfield. Bobby was by far and away our best player and biggest goal threat yet Dick Campbell did his best to try and not play him. He commented on how the fans singing his name when he was on the bench ‘got on his tits’ and that we should get a grip. I know fine well that Bobby would’ve been terribly upset with the way he was treated. It really was a joke and showed Dick at his stubborn best. 
 

Anyway as RL86 has mentioned we were not a functioning football team as we had no attack, we scored the least amount of goals out of the 42 teams. Kieran Shanks was moved on in January after rarely getting a chance and we were left with Dale Hilson and Sean Adarkwa. Adarkwa was a handy player but he was injured for the majority of the time so we were left with wee Dale Hilson chasing long balls and punts up the park. 
 

In the end Derek Gaston, Ricky Little and Tam O’Brien were standouts and we managed to grind out enough draws to finish above 2 terrible teams. 

Despite all of that, myself and so many others said we achieved our goal and it was a success to stay up. I have mentioned how I had said that if we had got relegated last year I would still want Dick to stay. 
 

Then in we go to this year. 
 

First thing’s first, we started off the season with the news Keaghan Jacobs had re signed. A guy who was clearly absolutely finished and still plays no real part. 
 

Then the trialists started rolling in, I have lost count of how many we had. But we were told that they’d been extensively scouted and that they’d all be good enough to play for Arbroath. Wow. What an absolute embarrassment some of them were. It was as clear as day Dick was still trying to find his Nouble. 
 

Every single one of them bar a young lad Jess Norey and Turan were moved on. A total waste of time. 
 

We signed well in certain areas and we have built up a good group of players but if you read this thread back everyone was saying we needed a left back, a holding midfielder and some defensive cover. 
 

This has not happened. We have been scrambling about like a pub team in an effort to put together something that resembles a football team on several occasions already this year, players playing out of position because of how unbalanced the squad is. 
 

Im not sure how well you know these players but for one of our League Cup games we had a back 4 of

 

Keaghan Jacobs - RB

David Gold - CH

Ricky Little - CH

Scott Stewart - LB

 

It has been embarrassing. In recent weeks we’ve had a tiny squad with injuries yet Dick still sent Joao Balde on loan, a guy who has shown some promise, because he wanted to play more. There are so many cases of things like this. It’s bad bad bad management. 

The team do not resemble a football team. They do not look like they’re playing for Dick one little bit. It looks like a very bad environment to be in. You will have seen your team in a similar state at some point you know what I mean. 

Do not sit there and say that this is anything to do with us being too big for our boots, I was extremely upset at seeing them leave I wanted them to do well and I’ve backed them as much as I possibly can along with so many others. 
 

But their race was run and things needed to change. 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

3 minutes ago, keptie said:

No, he left before it happened. But Dumbarton supporters clearly thinking they were entitled to stay in the Championship. Remember who you are boys......

I just hope the rest of the football fans in Angus keep their feet firmly on the ground because this is very sad to see. Get well soon Lichties, this standard of patter simply will not do.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

2 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

Of course you have hit a nerve. Arbroath fans and the club have been extremely patient with Dick Campbell - to the point where I’ve not seen anything else like it in football. I can’t remember a manager getting the backing and support DC has when he had done such a terrible job over such a long period of time. 
 

 

Summer 2022 we were in an incredible position. Had a solid squad of players. 
 

Then the fallouts and dressing room bust ups came. James Craigen, Nicky Low and Jason Thomson all left the club after starting the season off with us.
 

Craigen who would still be a good player for us right now and who scored against us yesterday left because he could not get a game in central midfield. At one point Luke Donnelly and a man named Daniel Fosu (will get on to that later) played centre midfield over the guy. 
 

Then Luke Donnelly left. Dylan Patterson left. Hilson was injured and Keiran Shanks could barely get on the park. We were left with a young striker we’d signed from the Highland League and Dale Hilson, a guy who worked his socks off but rarely ever scored. 
 

We signed the likes of Daniel Fosu, Kareem Isiaka and Deri Corfe to replace the guys that had left. These 3 were absolutely nowhere near it. Daniel Fosu by far the best of the 3. Deri Corfe is easily up there with one of the worst players I’ve ever seen play. 
 

These kind of signings had been the new way forward for Dick, we had already had a wee taste of them when we brought in Sam Ford and Michael Bakare. It was as clear as day Dick Campbell was on a mission to find his own Nouble. 
 

6/7 of the signings we made in the first half of the season were moved on in January 2023. They all got given a chance against Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup and they were 4-0 down at half time. Dick slaughtered them all after and that was that. The club actually had to put a recruitment team in place because of how shambolic Summer 2022 was.
 

Throughout last season, on plenty of occasions we played without a striker on the park. For the majority of the season we had no wingers or strikers except Bobby Linn. Bobby was put upfront on several occasions while we played 5 central players across the midfield. Bobby was by far and away our best player and biggest goal threat yet Dick Campbell did his best to try and not play him. He commented on how the fans singing his name when he was on the bench ‘got on his tits’ and that we should get a grip. I know fine well that Bobby would’ve been terribly upset with the way he was treated. It really was a joke and showed Dick at his stubborn best. 
 

Anyway as RL86 has mentioned we were not a functioning football team as we had no attack, we scored the least amount of goals out of the 42 teams. Kieran Shanks was moved on in January after rarely getting a chance and we were left with Dale Hilson and Sean Adarkwa. Adarkwa was a handy player but he was injured for the majority of the time so we were left with wee Dale Hilson chasing long balls and punts up the park. 
 

In the end Derek Gaston, Ricky Little and Tam O’Brien were standouts and we managed to grind out enough draws to finish above 2 terrible teams. 

Despite all of that, myself and so many others said we achieved our goal and it was a success to stay up. I have mentioned how I had said that if we had got relegated last year I would still want Dick to stay. 
 

Then in we go to this year. 
 

First thing’s first, we started off the season with the news Keaghan Jacobs had re signed. A guy who was clearly absolutely finished and still plays no real part. 
 

Then the trialists started rolling in, I have lost count of how many we had. But we were told that they’d been extensively scouted and that they’d all be good enough to play for Arbroath. Wow. What an absolute embarrassment some of them were. It was as clear as day Dick was still trying to find his Nouble. 
 

Every single one of them bar a young lad Jess Norey and Turan were moved on. A total waste of time. 
 

We signed well in certain areas and we have built up a good group of players but if you read this thread back everyone was saying we needed a left back, a holding midfielder and some defensive cover. 
 

This has not happened. We have been scrambling about like a pub team in an effort to put together something that resembles a football team on several occasions already this year, players playing out of position because of how unbalanced the squad is. 
 

Im not sure how well you know these players but for one of our League Cup games we had a back 4 of

 

Keaghan Jacobs - RB

David Gold - CH

Ricky Little - CH

Scott Stewart - LB

 

It has been embarrassing. In recent weeks we’ve had a tiny squad with injuries yet Dick still sent Joao Balde on loan, a guy who has shown some promise, because he wanted to play more. There are so many cases of things like this. It’s bad bad bad management. 

The team do not resemble a football team. They do not look like they’re playing for Dick one little bit. It looks like a very bad environment to be in. You will have seen your team in a similar state at some point you know what I mean. 

Do not sit there and say that this is anything to do with us being too big for our boots, I was extremely upset at seeing them leave I wanted them to do well and I’ve backed them as much as I possibly can along with so many others. 
 

But their race was run and things needed to change. 

I am absolutely not reading all of that I’m afraid.

[1320Lichtie]

2 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I am absolutely not reading all of that I’m afraid.

Will just have to assume that you are purely on the wind up then

[Tattie36]

3 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I am absolutely not reading all of that I’m afraid.

Well you should and if you don’t then stop commenting on a situation you know f**k all about.