Airdrie vs Pars

[Freddy Daquin]

Aye, thank f**k we never appointed him

[Pesadilla]

Pesadilla, were you at the game? If you were I dont understand why you'd defend him as you're a really sensible guy. I know the fear of the Black King runs deep but surely even you have had enough of this defeatist negative shite being served up

Wasn't there yesterday.

As I said at the start of the season, I'm not at all convinced by his signings, especially the lack of a midfield. Van Zanten and McBride have been bit part players at best and seem a waste of a wage, perhaps even some sort of old pals act.

However, he and has a habit of turning us around after the New Year, and for that reason I'm prepared to give him the rest of the season.

Yes, the football is shite though you'd have to agree that in terms of league positioning he's improving us. Brought in after Boyle and turned that around. Got us to the brink of the playoffs last year. We're currently in a play off place this year. I understand that for some that's not acceptable but for the most part he's had zero help from upstairs.

Now, I know you'll argue that he's had more this year than ever before. Even if that's true, we're nowhere near the budgets of Ayr or Dunfermline. I'd imagine there are one or two other teams paying more than us too.

Perhaps he's not a likeable man. I don't know I've never met him. He doesn't have to be likeable to get results. The hounding of him on here and on the Stomp seems reminiscent of the way Black and Boyle were run out of town, Personally, I think he's a much better manager than either of those and has proven it therefore I don't quite understand the clamour for his departure. So, I ask once more, who are we going to bring in that's going to do a better job?

Personally, I think the new chairman has an idea of who he wants to bring in. I don't think he's giving Bollan the support he's probably due and that Bollan will be gone after Christmas. I've not met the new chairman either and I'll admit to not being entirely convinced that he's not just bluff and bluster. I guess we'll find out.

[RAPID BENANO]

The absolute seethe from some of the Airdrie fans is a little surprising. As it has been pointed out, there's obviously something going well at the club when you're sitting 3rd in the table behind what looks to be a two horse race for the title.

Saying that, if I was an Airdrie fan, I'd probably want him sacked on the basis that he's a total fanny.

Wouldn't want to admit this but a dumfy supporter with sense....Thank f**k someone sees how shite he is

[touchedbymadness]

Jimmy Boyle had a habit of turning us around in January too but we don want him back either.

Yesterday was inexcusable from Bollan on too many levels. Im not convinced by King and Wetherspoon but theyre steadily bringing in sponsors and commercial opportunities and Bollan is making them look like mugs.

[Pesadilla]

Jimmy Boyle had a habit of turning us around in January too but we don want him back either.

Yesterday was inexcusable from Bollan on too many levels. Im not convinced by King and Wetherspoon but theyre steadily bringing in sponsors and commercial opportunities and Bollan is making them look like mugs.

I don't see much backing from TW for Bollan.

Bearing in mind the players he brought in where signed when JB was setting the budget.

For all the new chairman's positive talk, the only money he's really laid out would be on King's and Black's wage.

Regarding King, he's good at the publicity game, I grant you. Though I wonder if the money he brings in is anywhere near the money that goes on his wage. Not heard too much positives about Black, but I treat that with a pinch of salt, like most things on internet forums.

I don't get the "Bollan making them look like mugs" line. If Bollan was handed a cheque book and signed some more dross under Wetherspoon, then I'd agree, but he's not. Looks like he's been given nothing and has signed nothing.

[AFC1878]

We are a poor team. Our league position has more to do with the the teams below us in the table being worse than we are as opposed to us doing well.

[touchedbymadness]

I don't get the "Bollan making them look like mugs" line.

Putting out a team like that. Yet again.

I dont think you realise just how bad it was yesterday.

I've had issues with Bollan since he came to us and his first few games. I dont trust his judgement, his tactics and his ugly temperament.

[Pesadilla]

We are a poor team. Our league position has more to do with the the teams below us in the table being worse than we are as opposed to us doing well.

I'm not arguing that we're a good team. I know we are poor. I've seen everybody else in the league, apart from Dunfermline, this year and there are no stand out teams. The lack of quality in the league is glaring. We're no different from anyone else in that regard.

The facts remain that we are better off than we were this time last year. We cant match Ayr or Dunfermline in terms of budget so we're fighting it out to be the best of the rest. If that's the objective - and I cant see that anyone expects us to be any better off - then it's achievable under this manager.

Putting out a team like that. Yet again.

I dont think you realise just how bad it was yesterday.

I've had issues with Bollan since he came to us and his first few games. I dont trust his judgement, his tactics and his ugly temperament.

I agree, his tactics can be baffling. Of course I don't know how bad it was yesterday as I wasn't there. I've agreed the football is shite.

However, his target at the start of the season would have been the play offs. He's achieving that.

Again, who would you bring in? No-one wants to answer that as there is a dearth of decent candidates at this level. We can't go on sacking manager after manager. There was more deep rooted problem than that and Wotherspoon was meant to be the answer. If he wants to bring in his own man, then fine. He needs to do it ASAP if that is the case as we'll lose more fans to the eye-bleeding football. If not, he needs to back Bollan while we are in a reasonable position - or at least give him the rope to hang himself.

[HoBNob]

Highlights on YouTube, some clash with Talbot and the Airdrie player, looked to be out cold, surprised he was allowed to continue.

[RAPID BENANO]

GB doesn't know a good signing if it hit himself in the face he relys on loan signings cause his signings are shite when there's is some younger U20's players that could do with a chance...his tactics are baffling changing a strong winning side to sit in and nick the game either a 0-0 or a 1 nil we need to change something in the January Window either signing or letting players go and the manager must go to progress as a community club the only way to get bums on seats is to play attractive attacking football.....pay £16 in this day n age to sit n watch your team nick a game GET HIM TO f**k

#BOLLANOUT #SANDYCLARKFORAIRDRIE

[D.A.F.C]

Missing jim lister. Hard for bollan as he loses his best players every year.

[Pesadilla]

GB doesn't know a good signing if it hit himself in the face he relys on loan signings cause his signings are shite when there's is some younger U20's players that could do with a chance...his tactics are baffling changing a strong winning side to sit in and nick the game either a 0-0 or a 1 nil we need to change something in the January Window either signing or letting players go and the manager must go to progress as a community club the only way to get bums on seats is to play attractive attacking football.....pay £16 in this day n age to sit n watch your team nick a game GET HIM TO f**k

#BOLLANOUT #SANDYCLARKFORAIRDRIE

Sandy Clarke hasn't managed a team for 10 years. His win ratio as a manager is pretty average at around 35%. He's got contacts I'm sure, but at nearly 60 years old I'm not so sure how relevant he'd be as a manager.

I grant you he's been an assistant at several places and seems like a decent guy. I'm not sure whether he'd be prepared to drop from his wage at Dunfermline to stick his head above the parapet at Airdrie.

I'd be wary of another Airdrie legend taking the reigns for it all to go Pete Tong again.

[AFC1878]

The past few weeks have very much been 2 steps forward and 3 or 4 steps back due to Bollan's negative tactics (again) yesterday. Personally, I would rather we played our own game and lost 4-0 yesterday than change our style of play in attempt to counteract Dunfermline which didn't work in any case. Tom Wotherspoon has said that he would never have sanctioned the signing of Van Zanten or McBride so I've a feeling they may be gone in January. With regards to the young players out on loan, Iain King has admitted that they're not quite ready for the first team but that will be reassessed in January.

[AFC1878]

Sandy Clark wouldn't be offered the job, nor would he take it in any case. The name mentioned to me yesterday was Billy Reid.

[Pesadilla]

Just watched the highlights. Some pretty static defending there.

We really need to work out our best defensive line up and stick with it.

We've done this every season and the upturn in form has always coincided with a steady selection in defense.

Awful viewing though.

[Tulloch Gorum]

Well, that was pretty grim yesterday. A few disjointed thoughts about it:

Formation

I don't think it was actually so unreasonable to go with one man up front. We're not a good enough team to just be able to stick to our own thing and impose ourselves on other teams (especially full time, better, teams), and especially given that Prunty was injured, I don't think Bollan trying something different was such a bad plan. However, it clearly wasn't working, and bringing Hunter on when we were already two goals down was too late to change it. It was worth a shot, but should have been changed sooner.

Watt
Looks like a player short of confidence. His cross/shot in the first half and his hesitation when in a good scoring position in the second (did the same last week vs. Forfar) seem to indicate that - and that penalty miss against Stranraer can't have helped matters. We don't score enough goals to be able to afford passing up opportunities like the ones he's been missing. A useful player, but one in a bad run of form, making poor decisions on the ball, and maybe in need of a spell out of the first team for a bit.

Van Zanten
He was hopeless at left back, and was lost at sea on a number of occasions - either caught out of position or playing poor balls out from defence. Despite having all summer to do so, we failed to replace Paddy Boyle with another specialist left back, and it's clear Van Zanten isn't the answer. I'd be happy to seem him released, I don't think he contributes much. So, who should play left back? Short of signing a new player either "properly" or on loan (btw, I don't see why people disparage Bollan for getting good players on loan deals. It's the way things are done at this level now), we could play O'Neill there and put Bain on the right, another option would be Fitzpatrick, who I thought did pretty well when played there a few weeks ago.

Parry
I don't think you could fault him for either of the goals, and he had two good saves in the second half and came out well when one of their forwards was clear on goal in the first. Had a decent game, I thought.

Midfield
Seems very lightweight, and were easily overrun yesterday, as well as for the wobbly period in the second half up at Forfar. We're lacking someone with the strength and/or smarts of a Craig Barr, Ross Docherty, Scott Fraser or Bryan Gilfillan who would give us stability in the middle and something going forward - another loan signing for the second half of the season? Who's available? One thing's for sure: nobody on our books at the moment is doing the job.

Cadden
Was excellent - for the third week in a row our best man on the park. He's that kind of old-fashioned fast-and-tricky-straight-for-the-byline Scottish winger that you always need in a team (especially at this level). Surely has his place in the staring eleven nailed down?

Hunter
Decent when he came on, and got into good positions... should have been on from half-time, if not the start.

Jim Lister
My dad had a wee chat with him in the carpark after the game, and said he expects to be back in three or four weeks. I certainly hope so, because we're badly missing his presence up front. Bearing in mind that he's now 34 and will take time to get back to full match sharpness, we should maybe not expect him and Prunty to have the same kind of partnership they had least season, but just about any team in this league would surely want him as an attacking option.

Overall, we were simply not as good as Dunfermline yesterday, and didn't deserve a point, never mind three. But our season won't be defined by games against the only full time outfit in the division, and however poor some games have been this season, we're still in a far better position than we have been last season or the one before. As things are now, and leaving aside any signing we or other teams might make, I would expect us to make it to the playoffs, but not have the quality or consistency to win over the extra four matches we'd need to go up. That would still be progress, but probably not enough to keep Bollan in a job at the end of it.

[Poet of the Macabre]

First time I've got to a PC since the game. Excellent result and has been said, a superb record of clean sheets. Six league games in a row against any opposition is really good going.

Definitely looking like a two-horse race, which would be a massive pain in the arse for the side finishing 2nd as you just know they'll f**k up the play-off.