D'Jaffo Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 Just now, Trogdor said: Makes for a good story though. Plucky wee Ayr United punching above their weight. It’s annoying as f**k. It was different under Cameron as everyone knew that the money was tight and there was very little investment coming in. Smith made it very clear that the squad Hopkin built was the most expensive since the Barr days. There’s no way that Bullen has been given less this season with the signings of Mullin, Musonda, Maguire etc. Even Akinyemi will most likely be on a decent wage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 58 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said: It’s annoying as f**k. It was different under Cameron as everyone knew that the money was tight and there was very little investment coming in. Smith made it very clear that the squad Hopkin built was the most expensive since the Barr days. There’s no way that Bullen has been given less this season with the signings of Mullin, Musonda, Maguire etc. Even Akinyemi will most likely be on a decent wage. I reckon we might get a shock if we knew what Bangala’s weekly wage is…. Pretty sure he’s on a 2 year contract as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 (edited) Worst for me was probably the absolute capitulation against Airdrie at home in the relegation playoffs in Reid's last season. It was simply robbery to have come away from the Excelsior on even terms, and then to go a man down within 20 minutes (and subsequently down to 9) while getting pumped at home was the icing on the cake. At least the humiliation at Cowdenbeath a couple of seasons later already looked on the cards after the first leg. Best was St Mirren en route to Hampden. Wasn't even the best performance against SPL opposition that season but it was Hampden. Close second is Williams's last-second equaliser against Kilmarnock at Somerset in the worst conditions a football match has ever been played in. Ayr are ninth in the ten-game form table. Ninth. It's only going to get worse from here on out. Edited April 13, 2023 by Thumper 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diegomarahenry Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 3 hours ago, D'Jaffo said: I’m interested in what you mean by money spent? I’d say that we’ll have spent more this year compared to the year we finished 4th under McCall. I’d actually say that the only clubs with higher budgets would be QP, Dundee and Partick so finishing 3rd or 4th should really be where we are at. The money spent is in relation to the Daziel era where we were paying premier league wages for premier league players and Daziel was having them play like Arseholes and falling out with everyone. The expectation was the McCall era, Shankland, Moore, Moffat, Rose, Harvey etc were flying and most folk expected us to do well, the paper thin nature of the squad ultimately cost us. We went in to this season with the expectation dogshit low where the playoffs were unexpected. Ironically We are now at the end of the season and the playoffs are unexpected. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Jaffo Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Nelson said: I reckon we might get a shock if we knew what Bangala’s weekly wage is…. Pretty sure he’s on a 2 year contract as well. Will maybe be average for the Championship but we’ll be paying his accommodation on top of that. Musonda is in the same boat I think. No idea if we’re doing similar with Albinson or JML but I think Ashford and Dipo have since bought places up here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 I suppose the reason why I'm treating this season as a success is that throughout the last 35 years there's been lots of highs and lows but mostly lows, what I WOULD say about this team and this season is that we've never been comprehensively humped by anyone, which even in the good times of the past, wasn't always the case. Most of us look back on the era of the Frenchmen through rose tinted specs, Yes, we had some great games and great memories but I also can remember a day at Dens park where I for the first, and only time in my life, left the ground and went home at half time due to us getting scudded 4-0 going on 10 in the first 40 mins. If I remember correctly it was Annand and Grady who did all the damage and of course went on to sign for us the following season. We also had some right doings by a crunchy McAllister inspired Falkirk, and the likes of Paul Harvie used to do us some serious damage when at Clydebank and Raith. Owen Coyle was another who was guaranteed to score when he played against us, irrespective of who he was playing for. Ultimately what I'm trying to say is that in this league we've had mostly bad times of it and the limited success that we HAVE had, was mostly in the old second Division or League 1 in new money, so our current league position is pretty much as good as it's been apart from a season or two under McCall (which agreed was bloody good) and a season where we were doing a Gretna / Livingston but without the relative success. I also agree that the football recently hasn't been of the quality we'd have hoped for and the excitement / entertainment factor has not really been there, which is probably the thing which pisses people off the most as sometimes it looks like the game has passed by without the guys ever "giving it a go" as it were. Still, we are where we are and if we can manage to take another 5 or 6 points from our remaining games then it's most likely that we'll end up in the top 4 and ultimately have an outside chance of glory in the play offs, if we don't, then on paper it will still have been an acceptable season but of course will feel like a huge let down and major chance missed considering where we were for the majority of the season.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUFC 1910 Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Has anyone actually been witness to the “budget” that so many talk about. Not just for Ayr United, but for all of the teams in the division. It would be really handy when comparing us against the competition. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 3 minutes ago, AUFC 1910 said: Has anyone actually been witness to the “budget” that so many talk about. Not just for Ayr United, but for all of the teams in the division. It would be really handy when comparing us against the competition. It would be unwise for clubs to disclose their budgets publicly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 48 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said: It would be unwise for clubs to disclose their budgets publicly. Plus most football fans gauge clubs budgets on their crowds, not taking sponsorship deals into consideration. No one has any idea what budget their club or any other has. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 8 minutes ago, TheScarf said: Plus most football fans gauge clubs budgets on their crowds, not taking sponsorship deals into consideration. No one has any idea what budget their club or any other has. Plus why would you want to tell everyone what resources you've got? It would be like playing a card game and announcing your hand to the other players. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Jaffo Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 12 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said: Plus why would you want to tell everyone what resources you've got? It would be like playing a card game and announcing your hand to the other players. Every club and player will have a rough idea of what budgets their competitors have. Be it through agents or other players talking to each other. It’s why players hold all the power when it comes to contracts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayrunitedfw Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 hour ago, AUFC 1910 said: Has anyone actually been witness to the “budget” that so many talk about. Not just for Ayr United, but for all of the teams in the division. It would be really handy when comparing us against the competition. No one knows for definite but fine to take take an educated guess. Dundee and Partick will have the two biggest budgets I'd say. Best supported clubs and just need to take a look at their squad depth. QP have obviously got their benefactor chucking money at it and they apparently "blew our offer out the water" for Dom Thomas. After they three I'd reckon it's us. We've got one of the biggest squads in league. Raith, ICT and Hamilton have all said publicly they are struggling. Morton will have one of the lowest budgets too although have had a cash injection from a local company which had allowed them to strengthen quite a bit in January. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 50 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said: No one knows for definite but fine to take take an educated guess. Dundee and Partick will have the two biggest budgets I'd say. Best supported clubs and just need to take a look at their squad depth. QP have obviously got their benefactor chucking money at it and they apparently "blew our offer out the water" for Dom Thomas. After they three I'd reckon it's us. We've got one of the biggest squads in league. Raith, ICT and Hamilton have all said publicly they are struggling. Morton will have one of the lowest budgets too although have had a cash injection from a local company which had allowed them to strengthen quite a bit in January. Budgets are only half the battle at our level as your location is as much a deal breaker as anything given that we all offer pretty similar wages. As we all know, we've been turned down by many players who are based in the East and also Central belt based guys who would rather sign for a club within a few miles as one 30+ miles away. I suppose that's why we've got as much a chance of bringing guys in from the South of England and Ireland (and even France) as opposed to a bloke from Perthshire or Fife !!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Of all the excuses that have been trotted out of late, "Ayr United have the second-worst form in the league because players would rather go to cosmopolitan resorts like Tayside or the Highlands" is something special. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 The idea that this season is better than any of the Dalziel years is absurd. The season I measure all others by is 98/99. We had a poor manager then as well and didn't sustain a title challenge to the end of the year, but the team was worth watching. 96/97 and for different reasons 97/98 were fun as well. To say this year's team is within a million miles of the side with Teale, Hurst, Davies, Lyons, Walker, Craig, Robertson, etc. is a fantasy. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diegomarahenry Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Iain said: The idea that this season is better than any of the Dalziel years is absurd. The season I measure all others by is 98/99. We had a poor manager then as well and didn't sustain a title challenge to the end of the year, but the team was worth watching. 96/97 and for different reasons 97/98 were fun as well. To say this year's team is within a million miles of the side with Teale, Hurst, Davies, Lyons, Walker, Craig, Robertson, etc. is a fantasy. The league placing could be the same and we were a tactical disaster away from a trip to Hampden. I didn't say it is more enjoyable or or more exciting. Bullen could take us as close to the premier league as Daziel or McCall did. Might not feel the same as the last times but it would be an inarguable fact. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 10 hours ago, Iain said: The idea that this season is better than any of the Dalziel years is absurd. The season I measure all others by is 98/99. We had a poor manager then as well and didn't sustain a title challenge to the end of the year, but the team was worth watching. 96/97 and for different reasons 97/98 were fun as well. To say this year's team is within a million miles of the side with Teale, Hurst, Davies, Lyons, Walker, Craig, Robertson, etc. is a fantasy. I missed those seasons because I lived in Germany during the 90s and didn't get to actually go to a game until 2000. I have heard so much about those Ayr teams though, and wish I had got to see them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BukyOHare Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 18 hours ago, D'Jaffo said: I’m interested in what you mean by money spent? I’d say that we’ll have spent more this year compared to the year we finished 4th under McCall. I’d actually say that the only clubs with higher budgets would be QP, Dundee and Partick so finishing 3rd or 4th should really be where we are at. I'd be amazed if Inverness didn't have a bigger budget than us. We're likely in a similar tier to Raith and Morton. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BukyOHare Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 10 hours ago, Thumper said: Of all the excuses that have been trotted out of late, "Ayr United have the second-worst form in the league because players would rather go to cosmopolitan resorts like Tayside or the Highlands" is something special. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BukyOHare Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 8 hours ago, diegomarahenry said: The league placing could be the same and we were a tactical disaster away from a trip to Hampden. I didn't say it is more enjoyable or or more exciting. Bullen could take us as close to the premier league as Daziel or McCall did. Might not feel the same as the last times but it would be an inarguable fact. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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