CumbyDiamond Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 21 hours ago, Diamonds02 said: Craig Levein is that you? Nah 2/3 forwards in my side & I genuinely think that midfield would support attacks while offering defensive assistance. Both Ballantyne & Euan are widely considered as better attackers than defenders. 20 hours ago, Kenny_m said: I doubt ATS will start, in fact I don't believe he will start another game this season unless we're decimated by injuries and/or suspensions. Got a feeling he will give Byrd a chance at centre back before him, but not this Saturday. Sadly I think you're right but think Fordyce is better on right of centre than left unless gaffer alongside. Hopefully back to winning ways Saturday whatever the formation. 9 hours ago, Passionate said: I like the idea of Stanway also, not to replace Telfer, but like on Saturday to replace smith or McGIll, and play a 4 in midfield , as you have stated we play a midfield 3 with McCabe lying deep,(too deep) better sides if they can beat our "press" can easily outnumber our midfield, and we become very exposed equally if we can intercept the ball , we are on a good attack due o our system, that is how a lot of our games are a bit of a basketball match, with the personnel we have, we dont have many other options... When it works its great, when it doesn't it's amateur hour, can we get to the playoffs with this team, after 60 minutes of the first Dunfermline game, no problem, 3 games later without a win and Alloa and Edinburgh gradually getting back to form, the margin for error is slim, 3 points on Saturday is really a must.... The other problem with the gaffer sitting so deep is if booked early has a tendency to let players drift pass rather than throw a tackle in avoiding the more than likely red card given our history, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sage Monkey Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I read on here a few people saying that we need to slow the pace down, but this is easier said than done. Opposition teams have realised that the best way to knock a passing side off their stride is to press the ball high up the park. This means that the players that are being harried are the back four, who are likely to be the most susceptible to making mistakes. Also, if such a mistake is made, then it usually leads to a one-on-one with the keeper, and a great chance to score. Rhys has spotted this, and tries to exploit it by playing the ball long for our front players to chase. The logic is that if the opponents simply fall back, they will have 8 outfielders marking our 5 front runners, a considerable advantage, however if they add two more up front to press our defenders, then it becomes 6 against 5 and the odds are a lot better for us. Regarding Adam Frizzell, I couldn't agree more that we need him to play a bit deeper, such that he is more involved on the ball, however, he is, by quite a long way, the most creatively dangerous player we have in the final third of the pitch, so we need him at the top end too. In effect, what we need are two Adam Frizzell's, just as we had last year with Dylan Easton and Adam. Sadly that quality of player is difficult to find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 54 minutes ago, Sage Monkey said: I read on here a few people saying that we need to slow the pace down, but this is easier said than done. Opposition teams have realised that the best way to knock a passing side off their stride is to press the ball high up the park. This means that the players that are being harried are the back four, who are likely to be the most susceptible to making mistakes. Also, if such a mistake is made, then it usually leads to a one-on-one with the keeper, and a great chance to score. Rhys has spotted this, and tries to exploit it by playing the ball long for our front players to chase. The logic is that if the opponents simply fall back, they will have 8 outfielders marking our 5 front runners, a considerable advantage, however if they add two more up front to press our defenders, then it becomes 6 against 5 and the odds are a lot better for us. Regarding Adam Frizzell, I couldn't agree more that we need him to play a bit deeper, such that he is more involved on the ball, however, he is, by quite a long way, the most creatively dangerous player we have in the final third of the pitch, so we need him at the top end too. In effect, what we need are two Adam Frizzell's, just as we had last year with Dylan Easton and Adam. Sadly that quality of player is difficult to find. Dylan was on commentary on Saturday and was suggesting that Frizz is at his best in the pockets and looking to play the killer pass. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 5 hours ago, Jack Reed said: Thought Telfer was poor last week ,if we are having to defend he seems to disappear,we can dress it up any way we like but the main thing is we need a manager on the touch line just like every other football team ,our organisation on the park is a easy win for any half descent team , Thought Telfer was poor last week ,if we are having to defend he seems to disappear. You’re absolutely spot on, unfortunately a player that with all respect should be top league. Why he chooses to disappear is so frustrating. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 25 minutes ago, Springfield said: Thought Telfer was poor last week ,if we are having to defend he seems to disappear. You’re absolutely spot on, unfortunately a player that with all respect should be top league. Why he chooses to disappear is so frustrating. Quality is there he has been playing well, needs to do a bit more work or maybe that's the reason he is playing in this league , 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 10 minutes ago, Jack Reed said: Quality is there he has been playing well, needs to do a bit more work or maybe that's the reason he is playing in this league , When he was with us, there was games where you sat back and thought why is he in this division, turned up with a cracker of a goal or two, then he would simply disappear. Wether his interests outside the game are his sweet spot, certainly feels like it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 15 minutes ago, Springfield said: When he was with us, there was games where you sat back and thought why is he in this division, turned up with a cracker of a goal or two, then he would simply disappear. Wether his interests outside the game are his sweet spot, certainly feels like it. Strange one for sure, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Massive game in the Championship tomorrow which could have a massive bearing on who is in the play offs. Yes, yes, I know we still have to get there but a win for Accies will leave Arbroath in big trouble. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionate Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 3 hours ago, Jack Reed said: Quality is there he has been playing well, needs to do a bit more work or maybe that's the reason he is playing in this league , Telfer has indeed been excellent , really when Friz came back into the team, watching the games his work rate has been good IMO, let's be honest here you are playing League 1 for a reason , all teams players are the same unless they are on the way up, looking at next season if we stay in this division(more than likely) do we think many of our players will get picked up by championship club s, for me Smith, McCabe, Rae and probably Telfer could make the step up, the rest no including Frizzell who at top level in this league gets found out for pace, although is a very good footballer...f thoughts..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
++Ammo - Airdrie++ Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 36 minutes ago, Passionate said: Telfer has indeed been excellent , really when Friz came back into the team, watching the games his work rate has been good IMO, let's be honest here you are playing League 1 for a reason , all teams players are the same unless they are on the way up, looking at next season if we stay in this division(more than likely) do we think many of our players will get picked up by championship club s, for me Smith, McCabe, Rae and probably Telfer could make the step up, the rest no including Frizzell who at top level in this league gets found out for pace, although is a very good footballer...f thoughts..... Said recently i'd fancy a few to leave, wouldn't surprise me if the likes of Falkirk went up Smith or Frizz going there for a higher league and a few more £, Smith and Rae could definitely see at a Morton or a Thistle. That was always my fear when we signed these guys from last year that done so well, they'd only probably have 1 more crack at it before being disbanded and trying something else. There's absolutely players in that team good enough to be in a league winning team, so quite rightly they should have a shot at the league above (if theres interest there of course). Obviously if love to see a few of them play in the championship with us, failing that I still think we'll see some of them there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 48 minutes ago, Passionate said: Telfer has indeed been excellent , really when Friz came back into the team, watching the games his work rate has been good IMO, let's be honest here you are playing League 1 for a reason , all teams players are the same unless they are on the way up, looking at next season if we stay in this division(more than likely) do we think many of our players will get picked up by championship club s, for me Smith, McCabe, Rae and probably Telfer could make the step up, the rest no including Frizzell who at top level in this league gets found out for pace, although is a very good footballer...f thoughts..... Smith - Accies seemed happy to offload him when he was there but his pace always makes him a threat and therefore possibly could move on. McCabe - I would have thought would be under contract and probably is our highest earner so therefore unlikely he will go anywhere unless he gets sacked or walks. Rae - I've no doubt he will be off to possibly a higher level than championship. Carlisle were strongly linked with him last close season. Telfer - couldn't secure a better deal last close season so again unlikely. Can play though. Gallagher - his goal record could attract interest although his part time status may be an issue. Frizz - Obviously had an interrupted season through injury and form has been a bit patchy but obviously talented and a strong end to the season could attract the attention of someone. Ballantyne - Partick were linked last close season but again very up and down this season and uses the stadium for his soccer school so might not want to move anywhere. So not many and probably explains our current league position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr November Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Smith is the obvious one. I think Rae is good enough too but between his injury and red card I'm not sure he's done enough to justify a step back up. Telfer and Frizzell could but agree the latter's lack of pace and tendency to want an extra touch could be an issue against better teams. Gallagher is good enough to start for a lower end Championship team and Fordyce of the last three seasons could do so too. Ballantyne could do it with Montrose form but I'm sure he signed a two year deal. It is a concern that we lose Rae, Smith, Frizzell, Telfer etc. and have to do a big rebuild. It's a shame if all the work we've slowly done to build a squad over the last four or five years ends with nothing to show for it. Saying that, most of this team had as good a chance at winning promotion as you'll ever get last season and couldn't quite do it in every decisive game. It's a tricky situation. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Fernández Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I think with lower league footballers a lot depends on where the players stay. Like Callum Smith stays in Fife so if he was to move on I could see him go to Raith with Murray. With Frizzell I'd say probably Partick Thistle as he stays near Greenock. On the flip side Josh Rae signed with ourselves mainly down to location as he only stays 15 minutes away from Airdrie and Cammy Ballantyne signed a two year deal as he stays closer to Airdrie than Montrose and also coaches kids at the stadium too. So it may be possible that we are able to sign very good players next season who would be in a similar position. Calum Gallagher is as good a goalscorer you're going to get at league 1 level, we are really lucky to have him, he'd be my first player I'd be offering a new contract to. I do fear we may be in a position of a potential rebuild next season. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Mr November said: Smith is the obvious one. I think Rae is good enough too but between his injury and red card I'm not sure he's done enough to justify a step back up. Telfer and Frizzell could but agree the latter's lack of pace and tendency to want an extra touch could be an issue against better teams. Gallagher is good enough to start for a lower end Championship team and Fordyce of the last three seasons could do so too. Ballantyne could do it with Montrose form but I'm sure he signed a two year deal. It is a concern that we lose Rae, Smith, Frizzell, Telfer etc. and have to do a big rebuild. It's a shame if all the work we've slowly done to build a squad over the last four or five years ends with nothing to show for it. Saying that, most of this team had as good a chance at winning promotion as you'll ever get last season and couldn't quite do it in every decisive game. It's a tricky situation. So really there is no point in trying to build for future ,it's season by season, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr November Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 15 minutes ago, David Fernández said: I think with lower league footballers a lot depends on where the players stay. Like Callum Smith stays in Fife so if he was to move on I could see him go to Raith with Murray. With Frizzell I'd say probably Partick Thistle as he stays near Greenock. On the flip side Josh Rae signed with ourselves mainly down to location as he only stays 15 minutes away from Airdrie and Cammy Ballantyne signed a two year deal as he stays closer to Airdrie than Montrose and also coaches kids at the stadium too. So it may be possible that we are able to sign very good players next season who would be in a similar position. Calum Gallagher is as good a goalscorer you're going to get at league 1 level, we are really lucky to have him, he'd be my first player I'd be offering a new contract to. I do fear we may be in a position of a potential rebuild next season. I think that will be even more of a factor with the cost of living just now. Players will be less keen to travel up to Cove/Peterhead etc. but equally it makes collecting your Darvel money very appealing. 11 minutes ago, Jack Reed said: So really there is no point in trying to build for future ,it's season by season, It’s a tough one isn’t it. We’re in a unique situation being hybrid (although is Gallagher our only part-time player now?) which makes it more complex. I think there’s definitely some value in building a consistent core within a squad at part-time level, Arbroath and Montrose have done that very successfully over the last five years or so. However there does come a time when you need to refresh that and I think this season shows both clubs are at that point. Doing that at full-time is more difficult for us given we’re literally at the bottom of the food chain. Any decent full-time player will be keen to use Airdrie as a stepping stone, and rightly so, which makes it difficult to have the same continuity. Building for the future by signing a load of young guys in January and not playing them seems daft but equally rebuilding every summer isn’t sustainable. I don’t think there’s a perfect solution unfortunately. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds02 Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Another factor that gets overlooked is the teams playing style. Heard a few players now say that the teams playing style is a big factor on if they decide to sign or not. Which would make sense considering the attacking players we have that have stayed. Equally it may be that some defenders would prefer to join a different team that's a bit more defensively minded to suit their game more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 8 hours ago, Mr November said: I think that will be even more of a factor with the cost of living just now. Players will be less keen to travel up to Cove/Peterhead etc. but equally it makes collecting your Darvel money very appealing. It’s a tough one isn’t it. We’re in a unique situation being hybrid (although is Gallagher our only part-time player now?) which makes it more complex. I think there’s definitely some value in building a consistent core within a squad at part-time level, Arbroath and Montrose have done that very successfully over the last five years or so. However there does come a time when you need to refresh that and I think this season shows both clubs are at that point. Doing that at full-time is more difficult for us given we’re literally at the bottom of the food chain. Any decent full-time player will be keen to use Airdrie as a stepping stone, and rightly so, which makes it difficult to have the same continuity. Building for the future by signing a load of young guys in January and not playing them seems daft but equally rebuilding every summer isn’t sustainable. I don’t think there’s a perfect solution unfortunately. Money of course is the biggest factor. Quitongo on £375 per week is surely the the lowest full time wage in the country and highlights the issue we have as virtually every other full time club in Scotland could probably offer more. If we don't get promotion this season then finances could be worse next year as it's a strong possibility that Dunfermline & Falkirk depart and Arbroath & Cove come down which will be a big hit on revenue. We need to get out of this league for the club to progress. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ77 Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Ballantyne signed a 2 year deal so he won't be moving unless someone pays a fee for him which i doubt they will. Cal Gal is the only part time player at the club really can't see him moving elsewhere. Be surprised if Rae Telfer Smith and Frizz are all here next season (assuming we don't go up) could be a complete rebuild next season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 13 hours ago, David Fernández said: I think with lower league footballers a lot depends on where the players stay. Like Callum Smith stays in Fife so if he was to move on I could see him go to Raith with Murray. With Frizzell I'd say probably Partick Thistle as he stays near Greenock. On the flip side Josh Rae signed with ourselves mainly down to location as he only stays 15 minutes away from Airdrie and Cammy Ballantyne signed a two year deal as he stays closer to Airdrie than Montrose and also coaches kids at the stadium too. So it may be possible that we are able to sign very good players next season who would be in a similar position. Calum Gallagher is as good a goalscorer you're going to get at league 1 level, we are really lucky to have him, he'd be my first player I'd be offering a new contract to. I do fear we may be in a position of a potential rebuild next season. Smith get a game for Raith don't think so ,he has a bit of pace but quality and striking a ball will be a problem for him with a step up , 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Fernández Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 (edited) Saw this on twitter, for anyone that's a fan of retro kits. I think they'll be an announcement about this pretty soon. That home kit is stunning. Edited March 3, 2023 by David Fernández 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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