The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[rb123!]

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/sport/17715333.carlisle-utd-still-optimistic-on-stefan-scougall-deal-but-warn-door-will-shut-if-they-sign-others-in-his-position/

Sounds as if he's as indecisive as Robbie Crawford.

[Dunning1874]

1 hour ago, madton said:

I would have thought we were 7th biggest last season ahead of Ayr, Queens and Alloa. 

You can look at  Ayr and to a  much lesser extent Morton ( we were still pish but i guess finishing 5th was a decent finish in the end) overachieved last year as well as Falkirk, Thistle and Dunfermline massively underachieving.

This year, I would imagine a budget table would look like;

Dundee United/Dundee/Thistle.

ICT/Dunfermline.

Morton/Ayr/Queens.

Arbroath. ( paying out more money than Alloa I've bee told)

Alloa

 

Ayr last season, Livvy the season before and Morton the season before that have shown that budget isn't everything and anyone can reach the playoffs in this league!

Like the last few years, 8 teams will probably fancy their chances of a top 4 finish.

Yeah I’d have thought Morton and QoS would be much of a muchness budget wise but the external funding for Dobbie maybe pushed Queens over. In any case, you’re spot on about the clubs who’ve shown that a small budget can be overcome to make a playoff push in this division and anyone resigning themselves to relegation as a result of it is engaging in ridiculous defeatism.

[D'Jaffo]

The last 20-odd pages are symptomatic of the club's biggest single failing: communication. 
Lachlan's Facebook Q&A is a) a month overdue and b) the wrong format. He's already lost control of the narrative to Ian McCall, the Ayrshire Post and - worse - the Somerset Road End. 
Like Dunfermline do (https://dafc.co.uk/story.php?t=DAFC_Board_Statement:_End_of_season_2018/19&ID=11232), and I'm sure many other clubs, the club needs to be a lot more transparent about its financial position, ambition and approach to budgeting. 
 

This is a good point and an issue that I thought the club had overcome last season.

Last pre-season we had countless interviews with McCall on updates on how squad building was coming along. Now whilst this wasn’t Cameron giving us updates it was still someone at the club talking to us.

Then throughout the season whenever their was speculation regarding McCall being targeted by Thistle or Falkirk or teams trying to buy Shankland there was a statement released pretty quickly explaining how the club were dealing with it.

This summer the silence has been deafening from the club since the play off game up at Inverness. If the budget cuts are true then a statement from the board should’ve been released ages ago. We could’ve had this panic then, McCall could’ve come out with his plans to rebuild the squad and we can move on. Having this discussion when the club are trying to shift season tickets isn’t ideal.

[capperauld_96]

I see someone has already started posting the questions and answers on the SRE, as of yet both the questions and answers have been pretty shite.  Most answers are vague. 

However, been confirmed that the budget is lower this season, which makes zero sense to me. 

[honestly united]

7 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

This is a good point and an issue that I thought the club had overcome last season.

Last pre-season we had countless interviews with McCall on updates on how squad building was coming along. Now whilst this wasn’t Cameron giving us updates it was still someone at the club talking to us.

Then throughout the season whenever their was speculation regarding McCall being targeted by Thistle or Falkirk or teams trying to buy Shankland there was a statement released pretty quickly explaining how the club were dealing with it.

This summer the silence has been deafening from the club since the play off game up at Inverness. If the budget cuts are true then a statement from the board should’ve been released ages ago. We could’ve had this panic then, McCall could’ve come out with his plans to rebuild the squad and we can move on. Having this discussion when the club are trying to shift season tickets isn’t ideal.

There was quite a detailed interview with McCall last week, just after the signing of Roscoe, and Cameron is doing a Q&A on facebook today.  There's been an update in the AP this week.

Do we really want to get to the stage of the club tweeting every single detail of what is happening?

[D'Jaffo]

There was quite a detailed interview with McCall last week, just after the signing of Roscoe, and Cameron is doing a Q&A on facebook today.  There's been an update in the AP this week.
Do we really want to get to the stage of the club tweeting every single detail of what is happening?

No we don’t need every single detail.

For the record the SRE isn’t the place to be doing a Q&A session. A lot of the folk on there are pretty stupid and no matter what Cameron says will still say the same things about him having no ambition or any other nonsense like that. Something similar to what McCall did at the Gaiety would be better. In fact if you could get both of them on together then it’d be good but this is almost impossible given that Cameron stays abroad and only comes over once or twice a year. It’s well run by the guy that does it and credit to Cameron for even entertaining that page but I don’t think it’s the right platform.

[capperauld_96]

I agree the Somerset Road End isn't the place for these matters, however, the fact our chairman could only provide a few sentences per answer on a prepared Q&A is pretty poor, as this was a chance to explain why certain decisions have taken place.  

Not paying much attention to the live Q&A later as it will turn into a farce, as usual. 

[callum-ayr]

I understand the budget scenario, sort of. It can increase during the season if we qualify further in tournaments (forecasting can’t be included in budget) however with so many big players off the books, we should still be able to bring in 4/5 decent players to fill the voids (GK, DF, MF, MF, ST) at the very least.

[Hursty]

£12, £6 and free for u12's for the home games in the Betfred Cup i see. 

[D'Jaffo]

I understand the budget scenario, sort of. It can increase during the season if we qualify further in tournaments (forecasting can’t be included in budget) however with so many big players off the books, we should still be able to bring in 4/5 decent players to fill the voids (GK, DF, MF, MF, ST) at the very least.

For us to compete in the Betfred Cup and get through then we need a GK, a ST, a winger and a replacement for Crawford.

Another striker and another defender can be added after the season has begun but I think the above is necessary for us to have a chance of going through.

[callum-ayr]

1 minute ago, D'Jaffo said:

For us to compete in the Betfred Cup and get through then we need a GK, a ST, a winger and a replacement for Crawford.

Another striker and another defender can be added after the season has begun but I think the above is necessary for us to have a chance of going through.

Agree. What I do think a lot are jumping to the conclusion with is, that because the budget has been reduced, then we aren’t going to make any more signings. 

Doolan was probably a main target, however I’d rather we swerve and let him take a big contract elsewhere than spending a chunk of our budget on him.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

No we don’t need every single detail.

For the record the SRE isn’t the place to be doing a Q&A session. A lot of the folk on there are pretty stupid and no matter what Cameron says will still say the same things about him having no ambition or any other nonsense like that. Something similar to what McCall did at the Gaiety would be better. In fact if you could get both of them on together then it’d be good but this is almost impossible given that Cameron stays abroad and only comes over once or twice a year. It’s well run by the guy that does it and credit to Cameron for even entertaining that page but I don’t think it’s the right platform.

Surely a quick update on the website wouldn't be the worst idea ?

Ultimately the website is what we're using to punt season tickets and is the official club site and of course not everyone is registered for twitter, facebook or the Somerset Road End, so I'd think that should really be a no brainer as far as communication is concerned, especially since that has also been the medium used in the past when anything needed communicated.

[rb123!]

McCall certainly ain't a happy bunny and concerning how he's talking up Hare Reid, sounds as if he could be our GK if we can't get Doohan.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, callum-ayr said:

Agree. What I do think a lot are jumping to the conclusion with is, that because the budget has been reduced, then we aren’t going to make any more signings. 

Doolan was probably a main target, however I’d rather we swerve and let him take a big contract elsewhere than spending a chunk of our budget on him.

Agreed, I always saw him as an "I'd take him" but not as "I want him" sort of signing.

[rb123!]

It's always the same question each year with the Q&A. One of his answers to me reads as the gap with the budget from last season compared to this season would be filled if we get out of the group stages of the Betfred Cup.

 

Seemingly big pressure then to qualify from the Betfred Cup group with what will likely be a depleted squad. Also means McCall may have to wait until August to finalise signings if he needs the extra cash from league cup group. Which by that point it would be scraps which nobody else is interested in.

 

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, rb123! said:

McCall certainly ain't a happy bunny and concerning how he's talking up Hare Reid, sounds as if he could be our GK if we can't get Doohan.

Well, if the boy's good enough I'd rather see us go with our own player as opposed to bringing in a costly 2nd or 3rd stringer from elsewhere.

I would of course rather have Doohan back as my first choice of any signing..............

[rb123!]

Well, if the boy's good enough I'd rather see us go with our own player as opposed to bringing in a costly 2nd or 3rd stringer from elsewhere.
I would of course rather have Doohan back as my first choice of any signing..............

That's true however considering he hasn't played a single league game before would be a big risk, if the boy is talented though it could work however inexperienced GK has cost us in the past (Hart).

[capperauld_96]

1 minute ago, rb123! said:

It's always the same question each year with the Q&A. One of his answers to me reads as the gap with the budget from last season compared to this season would be filled if we get out of the group stages of the Betfred Cup.

 

Seemingly big pressure then to qualify from the Betfred Cup group with what will likely be a depleted squad. Also means McCall may have to wait until August to finalise signings if he needs the extra cash from league cup group. Which by that point it would be scraps which nobody else is interested in.

 

 

Agree completely. The fact we are relying on qualification from the group of the Betfred is so concerning. Surely any decent players will be snapped up by then? 

[honestly united]

Last season we only had the money to sign smith due to getting through the league cup groups / only signed him after the groups. 

[D'Jaffo]

Agree completely. The fact we are relying on qualification from the group of the Betfred is so concerning. Surely any decent players will be snapped up by then? 

Liam Smith wasn’t last year.

It’s not unusual for teams at our level to still be recruiting after the Betfred Cup groups are over. Although they were shite for us we brought Balatoni and Harkins in after the league had started.

They’ll be players left over if we get through the groups. But that’s still a big “if” if we don’t get 4 players signed up before then with room for 2 more after that.