The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[AllySloan]

Anyone else dare to predict the Championship for next season?

[AUFC 1910]

1 minute ago, AllySloan said:

Anyone else dare to predict the Championship for next season?

With 4 points separating 1st and 10th

[No_Problemo]

15 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

It’s not a lack of money as these guys won’t exactly be cheap. We just won’t be competing with better teams for them so the idea is that it’s an easier (and bigger) market for us to shop in. Everyone is obsessed with how much money we are spending and they just assume that when it’s a player they haven’t heard of then it’s a cheap option. It’s nonsense. 
 

So far the club have replaced what they’ve lost before addressing other issues. We lost Mullin, Kirk and McAdams so went out and got Murphy, Stanger and Mutch. If we’d went and got a new left back folk would be moaning that we hadn’t replaced Kirk or Mullin and so on. 
 

There is zero point in trying to call what’s going to happen as you can’t make a fair judgement until the league games come around. We could absolutely bomb the cop games and then start the league on fire like we did last season. Because we’re looking at such a high turnover of players then no one knows how we’ll perform. I’m not as nervous as some are. There’s a few weeks left and I’d expect another 2-3 in the door by then. I’m hoping that the club will spend a fair chunk of the money from Dipo on some experienced players for example a striker and a creative midfielder. I think we’ll likely take a punt on another wide player as they’re so inconsistent as it is and we still need a right back as well. 

I think it’s fair to suggest that some of the players will be cheaper, while not necessarily cheap. 

Amartey for one, would have been dropping back down to part time level in the leagues below the national league you would think. 

As you say though, it all depends on the next few signings - they are huge IMO. 

[diegomarahenry]

45 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

The thing is this though, have they failed ?

We have a squad of over 20 players and they can't all be in the starting 11 every week so as a collective we've got to the Scottish Cup QF and also finished 2nd in the league.

Does anyone think that these were tabled as "minimum targets" prior to the start of the season ?

 

I’ll look at 3 players

JML, don’t think he started two games in a row, doubt he played a full 90 minutes and his contribution when he did play was, at best sporadic.

O’Conner, was entering his third season at Ayr, more contribution than JML but about the same game ratio.

Ashford, is entering his third season and has gone from second choice to third behind McKenzie and had McGuire been better and Bryden been fit could have been 6th. Been asked to play out wide but hasn’t been able to do the basics well. 
 

Add to that Bangala and there were 4 folk right away we could run without. I’d rather we played academy players that were shite than these guys just because we have them on our books. 
 

Reading has tipped in to this category in the last 6 months as had Huston. 6 senior pros that just aren’t good enough at this level.

This is a big season for McKenzie, Smith and Hewitt, make or break stuff. 

[diegomarahenry]

Just now, No_Problemo said:

I think it’s fair to suggest that some of the players will be cheaper, while not necessarily cheap. 

Amartey for one, would have been dropping back down to part time level in the leagues below the national league you would think. 

As you say though, it all depends on the next few signings - they are huge IMO. 

We needed to add quality to what we had to build upwards, like McCall used to do, only sign players that will make us better. I don’t think any of the players brought in give the fans confidence that that has happened.

The dead wood we have currently suggests that statistically they are more likely to be bad than good.

Maybe they will be good, hopefully they will be good, but we will have gone down a more dangerous route to find out than signing players from our rivals. 

[Nelson]

24 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

It’s not a lack of money as these guys won’t exactly be cheap. We just won’t be competing with better teams for them so the idea is that it’s an easier (and bigger) market for us to shop in. Everyone is obsessed with how much money we are spending and they just assume that when it’s a player they haven’t heard of then it’s a cheap option. It’s nonsense. 
 

So far the club have replaced what they’ve lost before addressing other issues. We lost Mullin, Kirk and McAdams so went out and got Murphy, Stanger and Mutch. If we’d went and got a new left back folk would be moaning that we hadn’t replaced Kirk or Mullin and so on. 
 

There is zero point in trying to call what’s going to happen as you can’t make a fair judgement until the league games come around. We could absolutely bomb the cop games and then start the league on fire like we did last season. Because we’re looking at such a high turnover of players then no one knows how we’ll perform. I’m not as nervous as some are. There’s a few weeks left and I’d expect another 2-3 in the door by then. I’m hoping that the club will spend a fair chunk of the money from Dipo on some experienced players for example a striker and a creative midfielder. I think we’ll likely take a punt on another wide player as they’re so inconsistent as it is and we still need a right back as well. 

I wouldn’t call them cheap options.  Perhaps affordable options is the way I’d put it.  Affordable in a way that many of the names mentioned on here are not ie our best offer to the likes of Paul McMullan or Liam Smith is likely to get trumped.  Or perhaps we can afford players like that but are actively choosing to look further afield in the belief that there is more quality at the same price with more sell on value.  Only Mathie can really answer that.  

The point for me is that our strike rate on these high risk gambles has been pretty patchy.  We knew going into this transfer window that we had 5/6 players signed for next season that are basically dead wood, so just feels like this was a summer for targeting known quantities rather than high risk signings.  Keep ourselves ticking over and away from the relegation scrap.

[Thereisalight..]

53 minutes ago, Rb123 said:

Yeah definitely feel as if club scored a bit of an OG with it this year. No idea why it was made so early before pre season even begun

 

42 minutes ago, JohnGAYR said:

Golf Day next Friday and game the following Saturday. Little option to hold open day any later.

It's been held much later previously. I mind a few years back it was scheduled for mid August on a Sunday but pretty sure it pissed down and was cancelled 

[ayrunitedfw]

[D'Jaffo]

Wonder if we’d be in for the likes of Ben Williamson that was at Dundee last season. Think Rangers are interested in offloading permanently. Kai Kennedy as well. 

[BukyOHare]

1 minute ago, D'Jaffo said:

Wonder if we’d be in for the likes of Ben Williamson that was at Dundee last season. Think Rangers are interested in offloading permanently. Kai Kennedy as well. 

I'd think we're probably covered in the middle of the park and so Kennedy, out of the two you mention, would seem the more sensible target.

[D'Jaffo]

Just now, BukyOHare said:

I'd think we're probably covered in the middle of the park and so Kennedy, out of the two you mention, would seem the more sensible target.

We still need another midfielder imo. None of the ones midfielders we have are really ball carriers or likely to create much. 

[D'Jaffo]

Is that Billy McKays dad that’s following the club on Twitter? 

[ayrunitedfw]

9 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

Is that Billy McKays dad that’s following the club on Twitter? 

Defo a relative by the look of things. His only tweet is one replying to ICT criticising Scot Gardiner. 

[D'Jaffo]

1 minute ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Defo a relative by the look of things. His only tweet is one replying to ICT criticising Scot Gardiner. 

Aye I did a wee search and McKays dad has the same name so it looks like it’s him. I know there’s been some dispute over McKays contract and what his future is but I’d be surprised if he made the move to us. Unless we’re offering him the combined wages of Magure and Mullin. 

[Dauntless]

1 minute ago, D'Jaffo said:

Aye I did a wee search and McKays dad has the same name so it looks like it’s him. I know there’s been some dispute over McKays contract and what his future is but I’d be surprised if he made the move to us. Unless we’re offering him the combined wages of Magure and Mullin.

Or a way into coaching perhaps .

[D'Jaffo]

Did it catch this before Mr Twitter himself, @GaryMc93? That’s the real question. 

[GaryMc93]

11 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

Did it catch this before Mr Twitter himself, @GaryMc93? That’s the real question. 

Haha, I've had 3 this summer already so you can have this one since I never put 2+2 together earlier.

[D'Jaffo]

Just now, GaryMc93 said:

Haha, I've had 3 this summer already so you can have this one since I never put 2+2 together earlier.

Only counts if he signs. Big IF. 

[No_Problemo]

Hypothetically:

 

I think McKay would be a cracking signing, but if we play a front three I’m not sure having two guys in their mid thirties are the best positions to have all your experience. 

S’pose as long as we brought in someone to complement them with plenty of drive and pace in the number ten position, alongside Amartey then it may work..

[ayrunitedfw]

Is there a way of checking how recent the follow was?