Airdrie v Falkirk, 1st leg

[bairn88]

Over a season I think we’re a better squad than Airdrie but in these types of games I think we’re not up to it tbh. Can see them winning this leg then losing to Hamilton.

[Ranaldo Bairn]

Reckon if we beat Airdrie we will triumph overall... but the problem is that I don't think we'll beat Airdrie.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

Also wish this was on TV, especially the second leg next weekend. Will be tears and snotters whatever happens.

He won't be sacked if they lose but it would result in McGlynn being under *huge* pressure from Match 1 next season. Falkirk fans seem to be judging his performance against one of their worst seasons in living memory, instead of the fact that he failed to even compete for the title despite having the biggest budget in the league.

Airdrie are a really decent side and it's crazy they ended up 21 points adrift of the Pars, considering they outscored us by 19 goals! They've actually managed to score a ridiculous 150 goals over the last two league campaigns. Won't mean much if they don't get promoted, though.

Think it will be very tight but fancy Falkirk to win narrowly on aggregate.

 

That’s been it for me. For me, there’s a shedload of lower league managers who could have matched what McGlynn has achieved this year given the same resources.

 

 

[MrDust]

4 hours ago, parsforlife said:

That’s not the case, yellow cards in play-offs are counted the same as league games. If a suspension kicks in it will depend on what you’ve picked up all season

The championship play offs to prem  were always 2 bookings = suspension at the top end, has this changed since then ?

Yes I know it's been a while 

[Bairn in Exile]

19 minutes ago, Duncan Freemason said:

That’s been it for me. For me, there’s a shedload of lower league managers who could have matched what McGlynn has achieved this year given the same resources.

 

 

Bettered?

[parsforlife]

6 hours ago, MrDust said:

The championship play offs to prem  were always 2 bookings = suspension at the top end, has this changed since then ?

Yes I know it's been a while 

That’s never been the case. Even when the play-off first came in it was considered an extension of the league season.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/football-governance/judicial-panel-protocol/

[MrDust]

5 hours ago, parsforlife said:

That’s never been the case. Even when the play-off first came in it was considered an extension of the league season.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/football-governance/judicial-panel-protocol/

The two booking rule definitely was in at the start

[parsforlife]

25 minutes ago, MrDust said:

The two booking rule definitely was in at the start

Maybe 15/16 (which wasn’t the first year) the ruling doesn’t look clear if it refers to all play offs or just the pyramid one.   Every other year states quite clearly the play-offs are considered part of the league season

Edited May 7, 2023 by parsforlife

[Monkey Tennis]

15 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

We can't pretend the play-offs are fair to begin with. Finishing 4th in a 10-team league shouldn't result in you having any additional opportunity to gain promotion. You basically finished mid-table ffs.

That being said, I really enjoy that they're a part of our leagues because it undoubtedly makes things more interesting.

I agree with every word of this.  If absolute fairness was the objective, we wouldn't bother with play-offs at all after dozens of matches.  You're right in that mid-table getting a shot does seem a bit crazy.  

As we've seen in the Championship especially this year though, they do inject huge excitement and meaning to late fixtures that would otherwise lack both.   Basically, a trade off is in place.  

 

None of that alters the fact, however, that only in the top flight ones, is the team from the higher division very significantly advantaged over the sides from the league below.

I maintain that that's really in the name of offering that side further protection against relegation, with the 38 game thing coming in handy in justifying it.

[The Toun Clock]

18 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said:

That's quite the take.

It's the Premiership version that's the outlier, allowing as it does for the higher league side to enter a final of a tournament that most participants from the lower division need to enter at the quarter final stage.

They justify it by pointing to the two additional top flight league games. That, however, is the excuse for skewing it in the top flight side's favour, rather than the reason for it.

Due to the '1 up: 1 down' nonsense of the SPL era, we're pathetically grateful that it ever changed.  It still features loaded dice though.

 

 

17 hours ago, printer said:

Indeed. I'm curious to understand why it "makes more sense"?

You’re both right, I was miles off it and made absolutely zero sense with my post.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Bettered?

Possibly, but I am not aiming at doing the man down completely. His recruitment has been better than the previous four seasons, although tactically, he is a bit behind the times, and his tendency to tinker has for the most part, been a bit calamitous.

I think he was the right choice last May, and purely to stop the madness of the Hartley, McKinnon, M&M, Holt, Sheerin and Rennie years. I was confident that he could stabilise the team, but I doubted that he would create a title challenging team…….and he didn’t.

I actually think (rather like McKinnon) that he will only ever win a league title if resources are stacked hugely in his favour. If we fail this season, then that might well be the case in 23/24, but I would rather we didn’t have to go down that route.

If we do go up, I don’t think he has what it takes to set the heather on fire in the Championship. The 2 year deal for Nesbitt has hardened my opinion of that.

[Proudtobeabairn]

I'll be down south during the week.  Is there PPV for Tuesday? (can't see anything about it online)

[Diamonds are Forever]

3 minutes ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

I'll be down south during the week.  Is there PPV for Tuesday? (can't see anything about it online)

 

Yes, Airdrie have a PPV stream.

[kiddy]

If we’ve done the four corners* on the bingo, would asking about current ticket sale numbers get me a win for the line?

*waiting for that Fife response.

[Shandon Par]

As an impartial outsider, Falkirk really need to be a bit more instinctive and decisive in attack. Was surprised at the praise they got against ICT. Plenty of good players but so ponderous in attack. Typically you can count to four or five before a Falkirk attacker releases the ball. Look at Pars’ last few games and players are touching it for a split second and lobbing/leathering/placing shots at every opportunity.

There were debates about our luck getting penalties etc compared to Falkirk’s lack of them but you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a deliberate tactic of theirs to only put a ball in (in pressure games anyway) once the opposition is all set and ready for them. 

The Falkirk fans are absolute saints the way they’ve backed the team given the frustrating approach. Blowing away part timers is great but it’s time to grow a pair in these big games and stop the hard luck stories. 

[cb_diamond]

34 minutes ago, kiddy said:

If we’ve done the four corners* on the bingo, would asking about current ticket sale numbers get me a win for the line?

*waiting for that Fife response.

For full Falkirk fans lingo bingo recognition you would then need to insult the number Airdrie had sold in comparison to Falkirk.

[Harry Kinnear]

38 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

As an impartial outsider, Falkirk really need to be a bit more instinctive and decisive in attack. Was surprised at the praise they got against ICT. Plenty of good players but so ponderous in attack. Typically you can count to four or five before a Falkirk attacker releases the ball. Look at Pars’ last few games and players are touching it for a split second and lobbing/leathering/placing shots at every opportunity.

There were debates about our luck getting penalties etc compared to Falkirk’s lack of them but you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a deliberate tactic of theirs to only put a ball in (in pressure games anyway) once the opposition is all set and ready for them. 

The Falkirk fans are absolute saints the way they’ve backed the team given the frustrating approach. Blowing away part timers is great but it’s time to grow a pair in these big games and stop the hard luck stories. 

Best and most accurate post from a Pars fan in years

[Springfield]

44 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

The Falkirk fans are absolute saints the way they’ve backed the team given the frustrating approach. Blowing away part timers is great but it’s time to grow a pair in these big games and stop the hard luck stories. 

Can’t argue with the last paragraph, Last line pretty much sums it up, too many Fckn hard luck stories and needing a few pair of balls……..

[Harry Kinnear]

1 minute ago, Springfield said:

Can’t argue with the last paragraph, Last line pretty much sums it up, too many Fckn hard luck stories and needing a few pair of balls……..

Also our style of play is very laboured most of the time. We pass the life out the ball, create nothing and often get hit by the quicker play of our opponents. Seems to be the modern philosophy in football that you have to pass the ball hundreds of times before you have a shot. I’m maybe too old but I can’t be arsed with this fixation on playing out from the back and pissing about before getting it forward.

[Passionate]

Never mind the bollocks.....

 

the time has come for the game both side s have been planning for some time,   2 pretty even sides,  2 top sides on shots on goal and shots on target according to SpfL stats....   I try to say it as I see it and will probably upset my fellow diamonds and Hopefully the Grangemouth faithful also....

 

falkir k will start Favourites and that's fair,   is it a burden being favourites not really unless you find yourselves behind late in the second leg, when the crowds could turn against you... 

 

onto the teams and relevant formations,   a lot of talk of McCabe will he won't he play,  if ATS plays which I hope( Falkirk probably do as well) McCabe should start at CDM with the remit of going man for man with Henderson, nobody else in our midfield can go physical with him( potential game winner a Martin Hardie type)..  If ATS isn't quite there hammy wise either taken off and the half or doesn't start McCabe will start at centre half where he is probably at his best,  which would mean we would probably play % football,   he must start,  Rhys McCabe to me is the type of player who will go down "holding his shield"...

 

falkir k are stronger across the midfield McGinn,  Henderson, Kucha with Morrison and Kennedy out wide.  They outplayed us recently  at Grangemouth in the first 45 with Frizz, McMaster and Devenney not at the races,  AIrdrie cannot afford another half like that or this game could be gone,    out wide is another interesting scenario Morrison up against Ballantyne really good battle ahead,  Ballantyne has kept Morrison quite recently on the other side Kennedy has gave Watson numerous problems recently, both good important battles..

 

Airdrie are much better when they play the game at their own tempo and dictate play which we can and well, all the talk in the last paragraph of the Falkirk threats rightly so.  ,  to me the Falkirk defence can be got at and we have proved that this season,  if Frizz and hopefully Telfer (groans I hear) can get going in the final third we will create chances Gallagher is our talisman, he won't out muscle Donaldson but will keep getting into the right places ?as his 22 goal haul shows, McGill i  would think we will play on the back of McCann ( does he struggle over the top or a myth)  a real threat and very unpredictable off the right hand side, technically he is a mess but he is probably our best finisher......   In my opinion Callum Smith is our big game player, he got marked out the game by Rowe last time out, I believe Rowe is out and he could be up against Yea ts or Williamson....

 

does home advantage make much of a difference, personally no, 2 big astro parks with Falkirk outnumbering Airdrie in both games( no crowd w**k yet, Time and a place). 

 

Hopefully a classic over the two legs,   My prediction is boring 1 each at the Excelsior winner takes all on Saturday at Grangemouth....     canny wait...