The Goalie123 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 12 hours ago, energyzone said: Boylan was ill today. The concerning thing was that after we scored our two goals (and after the Whitletts goalkeeper made two really good saves) we ceded total control of the match and at no point until the last 15 minutes, when Whitletts naturally dropped back, did we look like we had any idea how to regain the momentum. We constantly seemed to be outnumbered in midfield and attack and I'm not sure we won a single header all match. We desperately needed someone to take control but there didn't seem to be much in the way of a change in formation or tactics to deal with the situation. The "goal" by Graham Boyd may well have been over the line which would have put a brighter note on the scoreline, but I thought we were outfought for the majority of the match and didn't really have a clue how to break down a well organised and committed opponent. As an aside, the Whitletts support was one of the best I've seen at Buffs Park in a long time. A bit of of belief among the players and fans with the new manager at Whitletts. Great to see a fighting performance rewarded yesterday. Possibly to late to stay up but have a run of home games coming up now to give ourselves a chance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky monkey Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, The Goalie123 said: A bit of of belief among the players and fans with the new manager at Whitletts. Great to see a fighting performance rewarded yesterday. Possibly to late to stay up but have a run of home games coming up now to give ourselves a chance. Whitletts work rate and determination was very impressive yesterday. Certainly didn't look like a struggling team. A lot of big lads and physicality in that team. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Culter Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 A brilliant win today but I still think promotion is a tough ask. The damage has been done with results earlier in the season plus failure to pick up a lot of points over the festive period. I’m just simply not convinced that the squad is good enough. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky monkey Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 2 hours ago, Peter Culter said: A brilliant win today but I still think promotion is a tough ask. The damage has been done with results earlier in the season plus failure to pick up a lot of points over the festive period. I’m just simply not convinced that the squad is good enough. Plenty of doubts I agree. Not sure where we will finish this season. We've plenty of quality, but also glaring weaknesses. We only played for 20 minutes today, it was just about enough. A crucial match up against Petershill next Saturday might give us some pointers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Culter Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Results like those particularly over the past fortnight and throughout the season are why I have been reluctant to embrace any conversation mentioning promotion. Tools downed against the so-called “weaker” teams. Our Manager can deflect and talk of performances of officials all he likes but starting Ben Lewis at right back today was yet another bizarre decision. Don’t worry though, he’ll “take the criticism.” 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Size Five Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 With the players Aitken has at his disposal the Buffs should be steamrolling the likes of St Roch’s. Unfortunately the club are still suffering from the ludicrous decision to get rid of Strain and undoing the best part of a decade of good work. They are reaping what they sowed to an extent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky monkey Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 We are in a tough league where sometimes you've got to do the dirty side of the game well to pick up points. Yesterday the pitch was a mud bath and the referee was out of his depth, but it was up to the Buffs to roll up the sleeves, put in the work and get on with it. As it was we just moaned our way through the game feeling sorry for ourselves and got what we deserved. Personally, I think that's promotion gone for us now. We just aren't good enough. Our midfield is the same as the one that got us relegated last season. Why haven't we recruited to improve in there? When games are tough, a battle, we just aren't competitive in there. Is Chris Aitken the man to take the club forward, the jury is out on that one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park the Buffs Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I actually quite like the midfield - although it has one glaring omission - we’ve never replaced Ricky Hanvey. Blair McIntyre , Jordan and Mark Lamont are all premier league players - add someone like Hanvey (from a few years back admittedly) and that’s a pretty decent midfield. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky monkey Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 1 hour ago, Park the Buffs said: I actually quite like the midfield - although it has one glaring omission - we’ve never replaced Ricky Hanvey. Blair McIntyre , Jordan and Mark Lamont are all premier league players - add someone like Hanvey (from a few years back admittedly) and that’s a pretty decent midfield. We were talking yesterday and Hanvey was the name that came up. He would have been perfect yesterday. Plenty games where we surrender the midfield, nearly always losing the second ball. The midfield is good on the ball, but not so good off it when we don't have possession. Only my opinion of course. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Size Five Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Agree you miss the Harvey of four or five years ago. Your defence is quite clearly still a bit of a shambles. An ageing strike force too. Pretty awful recruitment in the last few years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarb1974 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 1 hour ago, Size Five said: Agree you miss the Harvey of four or five years ago. Your defence is quite clearly still a bit of a shambles. An ageing strike force too. Pretty awful recruitment in the last few years. Boylan is past it now, Talbot must of had their balaclava on when accepting the cheque. 34/35? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 27 minutes ago, rhubarb1974 said: Boylan is past it now, Talbot must of had their balaclava on when accepting the cheque. 34/35? 34. Yep got 2k for him supposedly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarb1974 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 1 minute ago, andy25 said: 34. Yep got 2k for him supposedly Good deal for Talbot, out of contract in summer I think, seem to be free scoring since he left unsure if he was maybe a negative influence. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 26 minutes ago, rhubarb1974 said: Good deal for Talbot, out of contract in summer I think, seem to be free scoring since he left unsure if he was maybe a negative influence. Best days behind him . Kyle McAvoy looks a decent prospect as his replacement. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Culter Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I noticed in the post-match interview that this has been the first time Aitken alluded to us maybe not getting promoted. He looked really deflated (he “doesn’t get too down”, though) when he spoke. Very little from the sidelines except the occasional “f**k sake” which isn’t exactly inspiring. He took East Kilbride on a run of unbeaten matches, then got the bullet. It wouldn’t surprise me if his attitude was a contributing factor in that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 4 minutes ago, Peter Culter said: I noticed in the post-match interview that this has been the first time Aitken alluded to us maybe not getting promoted. He looked really deflated (he “doesn’t get too down”, though) when he spoke. Very little from the sidelines except the occasional “f**k sake” which isn’t exactly inspiring. He took East Kilbride on a run of unbeaten matches, then got the bullet. It wouldn’t surprise me if his attitude was a contributing factor in that. He looks like a defeated man that knows the sacks coming. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky monkey Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 2 hours ago, andy25 said: He looks like a defeated man that knows the sacks coming. I don't think we'll sack him. His ability to recruit what we need is open to some scrutiny. Despite the limited budget, a good manager can get in the players that he needs. We've the same midfield as last season. We've mucked around with the goalkeeping position and recruited seasoned veterans in Coleman, Boylan, Boyd and McGregor that would already be well known to the club. Durranty seemingly does all of the training. There's not much hope of promotion this season, but that'll pile the pressure on to get it right for next season in a league where anybody can beat anybody. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Size Five Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Whatever happened to Kilwinning's pledge to use the pathway? The aforementioned 'seasoned veterans' hot on the heels of old timers like Kevin Nicoll, Chris and Mark Millar et all. The club seems to have lost it's way in terms of having a community ethos. As for Aitken, he says the same weak platitudes week in-week-out. I think it would be a big mistake to keep him on next season for another tilt at getting back up to the Premier. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarb1974 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 12 minutes ago, Size Five said: Whatever happened to Kilwinning's pledge to use the pathway? The aforementioned 'seasoned veterans' hot on the heels of old timers like Kevin Nicoll, Chris and Mark Millar et all. The club seems to have lost it's way in terms of having a community ethos. As for Aitken, he says the same weak platitudes week in-week-out. I think it would be a big mistake to keep him on next season for another tilt at getting back up to the Premier. "Pathway" is just a buzz word for teams looking to promote their club for SFA license or community funding purposes. KR imo lost their way when they left Abbey Park to rot. One of the best ground to go to. Lack of vision for the park led to it being run down and subsequently moved to the sports centre in Pennyburn, Yes for youth games/training facilities are good however as a stand alone ground it doesn't do it for me. The move to the sports centre promoted other fans to rebrand the club as "Pennyburn Rangers", a once giant of the club playing outwith their community and playing in a sports centre. I know I am a bit of traditionalist when it comes to this level, Abbey Park should never have shut. Strain should never have been sacked. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. P.S. Not sure what happened to the land at Abbey Park however would personally like to see KR return there. Too many glorified boys club teams in the ranks now playing out of soulless venues, Abbey Park had history, character etc...St Cadocs, Drumchapel, Gartcairn spring to mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Size Five Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Abbey Park was a great traditional junior venue and the atmosphere at some of the big cup ties was brilliant. It was badly run down however despite attempts to improve it in the years running up to them leaving the ground. The sports club ground has potential and to be fair there’s good cover there. However, it seems things have stalled. Is it still the case that work on the ‘away’ stand behind the goals still hasn’t been finished? Did the money dry up? Can’t shake the feeling that some really bad decisions behind the scenes have thwarted years of progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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