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Airdrieonians Off Season Thread 2016


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Our recruitment has been terrible, but at the same time I've no issue with most of the players released. I would have kept Bain for another season, he's a decent, experienced League One full-back and would have bought us more time to convert Stewart or McIntosh to right back if that was the plan, or just find a better one for next season. The good runs of form we've had in the second half of the last few seasons were always with Bain at right back (obviously not saying this was down to him, but shows if he's in a decent team he's a more than capable player). I'd also have kept Crighton (or even Lithgow if we couldn't keep Crighton), again an experienced, vocal presence at the back who's won the league before, would have helped the likes of McIntosh and Ferguson hugely. The rest were rightly released - Prunty's finished sadly, Cox was a trier but never good enough for a team looking to challenge, same with O'Neill, Watt would have been fine as a versatile squad player but again not really the level we should be looking for (Conroy, Leitch and Hutton are all far superior). Would have kept Cadden but only within reason, if Livi came in with more then he's not worth pushing the boat out for.

The problem was that there was clearly no real plan for recruitment and far too many influences. Was the aim this season to win the league? Or was it a '2 year plan' where this year was about gradually improving the team but keeping a few core young players, and then improving it again the next year for a league challenge? For all that Livi are obviously going to end up in the gutter again, at least they had a clear plan which was that their squad was built to win the league. Brechin, Alloa and a few others would have a clear intent to build their squads with the aim of finishing in the play-offs and maybe sneaking up through them, and built squads appropriate for that. I've no idea what our squad was built to achieve, just seemed a total scatter gun approach. There seemed to be some signings where there appeared to be some evidence they'd been planning ahead like signing Gorman last year or signing the likes of Ryan, but then there was signing Schmidt after a pre-season friendly or Boateng after seeing McIntosh and Gorman and panicking that they weren't good enough. And signing Russell (no issue with the signing, but didn't exactly fit with Under 26 idea). And then some loans which they also implied we wouldn't be getting.

In short, it's been a mess. We need to get to the end of the season and hopefully get in the play-offs. But more importantly Wilson needs to be given complete control over signings for next season and we need to be planning from now for who we are going to be keeping for next season and who we are targeting to build a balanced, competitive squad which can challenge.

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Signing people on 2 year deals is a good idea but only if you get it right. For example, signing Ryan for 2 years has worked out brilliantly. If we'd only signed him for one year he'd be gone in May without a penny changing hand. On the other side of the coin we've signed some poor players who we'd all gladly see the back of.

Diamonds are Forever is right. There have been two many people involved last and this season and we need to get that sorted.

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I'm not in the know but I can only assume that the reduction in the squad in recent days is a preparation for some people coming in. Will be a disaster if it doesn't happen. Will be lucky to put out a team never mind a bench otherwise!

It's frustrating waiting for something to happen!

 

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4 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

Our recruitment has been terrible, but at the same time I've no issue with most of the players released. I would have kept Bain for another season, he's a decent, experienced League One full-back and would have bought us more time to convert Stewart or McIntosh to right back if that was the plan, or just find a better one for next season. The good runs of form we've had in the second half of the last few seasons were always with Bain at right back (obviously not saying this was down to him, but shows if he's in a decent team he's a more than capable player). I'd also have kept Crighton (or even Lithgow if we couldn't keep Crighton), again an experienced, vocal presence at the back who's won the league before, would have helped the likes of McIntosh and Ferguson hugely. The rest were rightly released - Prunty's finished sadly, Cox was a trier but never good enough for a team looking to challenge, same with O'Neill, Watt would have been fine as a versatile squad player but again not really the level we should be looking for (Conroy, Leitch and Hutton are all far superior). Would have kept Cadden but only within reason, if Livi came in with more then he's not worth pushing the boat out for.

The problem was that there was clearly no real plan for recruitment and far too many influences. Was the aim this season to win the league? Or was it a '2 year plan' where this year was about gradually improving the team but keeping a few core young players, and then improving it again the next year for a league challenge? For all that Livi are obviously going to end up in the gutter again, at least they had a clear plan which was that their squad was built to win the league. Brechin, Alloa and a few others would have a clear intent to build their squads with the aim of finishing in the play-offs and maybe sneaking up through them, and built squads appropriate for that. I've no idea what our squad was built to achieve, just seemed a total scatter gun approach. There seemed to be some signings where there appeared to be some evidence they'd been planning ahead like signing Gorman last year or signing the likes of Ryan, but then there was signing Schmidt after a pre-season friendly or Boateng after seeing McIntosh and Gorman and panicking that they weren't good enough. And signing Russell (no issue with the signing, but didn't exactly fit with Under 26 idea). And then some loans which they also implied we wouldn't be getting.

In short, it's been a mess. We need to get to the end of the season and hopefully get in the play-offs. But more importantly Wilson needs to be given complete control over signings for next season and we need to be planning from now for who we are going to be keeping for next season and who we are targeting to build a balanced, competitive squad which can challenge.

Didn't King take too long to offer contracts to Lithgow .& Crichton.

Heard EWB & King wanted to go with Gorman & almost all the youth team.

I think it was McBride who brought in Ryan, Leitch, as well as Conroy , Russell as he knew without a few old heads it could end up a relegation battle.

Boateng and Schmidt were brought in on pennies as stop gaps and were 4th or 5th choices to bulk squad up as the budget couldn't stretch to any decent wages and the bold Shug was taking up a fair chunk of budget despite being worst player at club (cheers Kingy pal)

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If it's true kind of mixed feelings because of his age (not necessarily a disaster for a centre half), the number of clubs he's been at and the terrible write up given by a Livi fan last week, but the Livi fan might be at it and as WeeDiamond says he can't be any worse than we've got.

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16 hours ago, DestroyedByMadness said:

The plan I heard was 4 quality experienced players no more than 26 y/o supplented by youth and NO players over 26.

 

One of them was Gorman, the other a CB released by Stenny and the bold Hugo

The rest were to be made of the 20's team which won the league.

I understand how EWB could have been so deluded given he was coming from women's football but King??

this is a guy who'd spent 20 years interviewing the top managers in the country, a guy who was friends with Walter smith. 

Did he at no point pick the phone up to anyone and say here's my plan ?

 

 

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