BPM Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 1 hour ago, Beckford said: I can't speak for other Accies fans but I can assure this is not the case for me. I appreciate you are sticking to your narrative as you see pointing out Rankins obvious shortcomings as detracting from Falkirks achievements. I don't believe it does btw. As we have watched Rankins tenure unfold over two seasons in two different leagues now, I would suggest Accies fans are in a better position to give a more balanced view of his performance. There has been numerous changes in the squad and a range of opposition, however the same factors occur over and over again that result in many of our fans (not all but I'd say most) view being he is not the man for the job. This league, as we all know is very difficult to get out of so it is imperative that we get out at the earliest opportunity. Although I felt Rankin was largely responsible for our relegation last year, as a rookie manager I argued that he deserved another chance this season (especially due to the circumstances of last season) However, despite being well backed, and having played a part in bringing a number of new players in, the same issues remain. Certain players are dropped or fall out favour after one mistake or poor game whilst others produce nothing yet are picked every week. Rumours of fall outs with players circulate every week, promising youth players are farmed out without a chance of playing whilst haddies are brought in and hyped up then deliver little. Players played out of position, pointless inefective formation changes, baffling subs (see Saturday). The list goes on and on. In his defence, Rankin seems a strong character and my view is he is a good coach or would be a good assistant to a more experienced, more savy manager. I conceed that the assistant he has is no where near fit for purpose and he deserves better. I also suspect our club "supremo" will interfere in a lot of things which can't be easy, but then he has allegedly played a part in bringing in players that at the time, lots of fans were happy with. As for the board, my own view is they have taken too long to act but I reluctantly respect that they have stood by their man. As much as I don't think he should keep his job, I am also realistic and think he is here until the end of the season. As others have highlighted, as much as I'd like to at least see him step back to a coaching role, the issue is realistically who could we now get and who would take it Not a loaded question but as a case in point, is Tait looking a better player in a well organised team with an experiebced manager? Nothing that Hamilton does distracts from our performance. Whether you keep or fire Rankin makes no odds. My narrative is that Hamilton’s results are better than Hamilton fans realise and if it had not been for our form Hamilton fans would not have been on Rankins case nearly as much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebobsboy Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Scott Martin is a massive loss I know one man doesn't make a team but that guy is a very good player and an influence on the team. It would be akin to us losing Lang who has been an absolute collusus at the back for us. These things play a factor aswell. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Kinnear Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 18 minutes ago, Ian Mcleod said: I think most of the replacements are up for the job just not really been given a shot by Rankin and he just keeps playing his favourites. Some of the many examples of this is that's he stuck with Dylan McGowan the full season even though every Accies fan can see he needs to be dropped as he's been rotten and comes across as one of these players who thinks he's a lot better than what he actually is if I was John McGlynn I would be telling the Falkirk players to put pressure on him on Saturday same with Tumilty who's also been very disappointing this season and not been dropped. He kept bringing on Andy Winter and Joel Mumbongo over Joe McGlynn for weeks when it's clear McGlynn is milles better than those 2. Mumbongo and McGlynn are now out on loan I'm expecting McGlynn to score a good amount of goals at Kelty and he's one to watch. He also didn't give Chrissy McGinn a chance this season when he impressed last season in the championship and was excellent in our Uefa Youth league game and instead sees Stephen Hendrie as a better option who again is rotten. As I said earlier you and other Accies fans will know what’s going on a lot more than we will. I just wonder if there will be an appetite within your board to punt him when you are still in the hunt. I also think you have been unlucky with injuries to key players. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mcleod Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 4 minutes ago, Harry Kinnear said: As I said earlier you and other Accies fans will know what’s going on a lot more than we will. I just wonder if there will be an appetite within your board to punt him when you are still in the hunt. I also think you have been unlucky with injuries to key players. Yeah that's fair enough. My personal opinion is that he has to go before the playoffs as we would have no chance of winning a playoff under him and again on the injury matter we should still have had more than enough to get by. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Kinnear Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 If we do win the league and you get into the play offs you will have my best wishes, especially if you come up against that manky mob from across the Forth. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ye Olde Hamiltonian Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 5 hours ago, SouthStander1876 said: We are bigger than League 1. You lot arent We have spent 11 of the last 15 years in the top League whereas you guys…oops. St.Johnstone are a smaller club than both Falkirk and Dunfermline but have won Cups and are a top League constant despite both of the aforementioned having twice the support. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ye Olde Hamiltonian Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 10 hours ago, BPM said: Hamilton fans seem to think the “new” owner /owners are good. Surely he/they are to blame if they won’t remove the manager that all the fans want out? They are like the old Board in that they won’t admit their mistake and as Rankin is part of the clique,his job is safe in the same way Canning,Billy Reid and Rice’s jobs were until they could no longer defend the impossible. Last four home games have been 1W,2D and 1L and this was against 3 part-time teams with us being in the lead twice in those games. We will drop more points with him in charge and as I said earlier,I reckon you guys may win by up to 20 points. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairn in Exile Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 3 minutes ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said: We have spent 11 of the last 15 years in the top League whereas you guys…oops. St.Johnstone are a smaller club than both Falkirk and Dunfermline but have won Cups and are a top League constant despite both of the aforementioned having twice the support. Exactly! If it was based purely on fanbase numbers we should have spent far more years in the top tier than we have. Unfortunately, we have been badly managed off field and haven't performed to our full potential. Hopefully things are going to get better! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ye Olde Hamiltonian Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 (edited) 13 hours ago, BPM said: Ayr have potential to grow and are not a basket case Last time Ayr were in the top League,there was only 3 Channels on the TV. Accies have a great youth set up which a good Manager would get the best out of. Off field income brings in plenty which makes up partly for our support halving the last 10 years. We are the only club in Scottish Football who have won promotion to the top League and lost 50% of regular attenders. Guys I know who never missed a game still haven’t returned and once they are lost it is hard to get them back. Hamilton as s town is increasingly getting bigger and those who run our club have never tapped into this;they just automatically assume they will support The Old Firm which is a defeatist attitude . There are plenty folk in Lanarkshire who want nothing to do with Old Firm bigotry with,for example Motherwell tapping into this;they even give out free tickets to. Hamilton schools which we don’t do. We can and should do more to tap into the local Community. Edited February 13 by Ye Olde Hamiltonian 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ye Olde Hamiltonian Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 17 minutes ago, Bairn in Exile said: Exactly! If it was based purely on fanbase numbers we should have spent far more years in the top tier than we have. Unfortunately, we have been badly managed off field and haven't performed to our full potential. Hopefully things are going to get better! You guys are in a good place with the only downside you have no Sugar Daddy to top up what the Fans raise,but increased income next season will rectify this to an extent. Fwiw,the crazy decision to get rid of the excellent Falkirk youth policy was surely partly to blame for the last 5 years as you spent money on duds instead of bringing through players as you always did and should have continued to do. This guy Rankin is the only one of our recent Managers who refuses to give youth a chance.The only younger players who get a game are those already with experience and this is another reason the fans have no time for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Kinnear Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 4 minutes ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said: Last time Ayr were in the top League,there was only 3 Channels on the TV. Accies have a great youth set up which a good Manager would get the best out of. Off field income brings in plenty which makes up partly for our support halving the last 10 years. We are the only club in Scottish Football who have won promotion to the top League and lost 50% of regular attenders. Guys I know who never missed a game still haven’t returned and once they are lost it is hard to get them back. Hamilton as s town is increasingly getting bigger and those who run our club have never tapped into this;they just automatically assume they will support The Old Firm which is a defeatist attitutude. There are plenty folk in Lanarkshire who want nothing to do with Old Firm bigotry with for example Motherwell tapping into this;they even give out free tickets to. Hamilton schools which we don’t do. We can and should do more to tap into the local Community. That is pretty grim and just goes to show how poorly your club has been run. I’m old enough to remember going to the old Douglas Park and games where Hamilton had decent supports. We can’t fault our current board in their efforts to attract new fans, sponsorship, increase revenue etc etc. Even down to the introduction of the Ultras, we are hearing stories of youngsters coming to us instead of following the ugly sisters which has to be a good thing. The fact Motherwell are trying to tap into youngsters who could be going to NDP and your board are standing by and letting it happen is a disgrace. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Honestly its a shame to see Hamilton’s support fall away in the last 20-25 years. I can also remember Old Douglas Park & it was always a very partisan and decent support there. The Stepek-era Hamilton were always decent sides to watch. Last time I saw Accies was up at Pittodrie at the fag end of 2019, just before Covid. Awful game which Aberdeen scraped through…I think Dumbarton brought more to Pittodrie for their cup tie a few months later. Used to really enjoy the seethe as Hamilton scraped by in the top flight season after season playing comically negative football yet still bringing through decent young players. Hope you find a way to turn it around, the club just seems done in from afar & the glory days a fever dream. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairn in Exile Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, Ivo den Bieman said: Honestly its a shame to see Hamilton’s support fall away in the last 20-25 years. I can also remember Old Douglas Park & it was always a very partisan and decent support there. The Stepek-era Hamilton were always decent sides to watch. The first paragraph of your post about Hamilton Accies of a few years ago has got me reminiscing and I am wondering if there are any older posters on here who remember Ian “Fergie” Russell, a stalwart at Douglas Park in the 70s, 80s and 90s? I wonder what he would have to say about John Rankin? I can just imagine Fergie positioning himself behind the dugouts at NDP and giving Rankin an earful! However, when Fergie was following the Accies, apart from season 65/66, they had been in the old second division for 20 years, a good, loyal fan. Secondly, nearly all football clubs’ fortunes go in cycles, don’t they? A few years of highs followed by a few years of lows, eh? Similarly, the size of the support goes up and down with the ebbs and flows of the club’s success or otherwise. When I first started going to watch Falkirk in the late 60s and early 70s my music teacher at school claimed to have played for the Accies when he was younger (I have been unable to confirm the veracity of his statement) and we used to rip the piss out of him because, as I said earlier, at that time the Accies were perennially in the second division and Falkirk were in the first division (having just won the 2nd division season 69/70). League reconstruction came and Accies joined us in the “new” first division and we then were relegated to the 2nd division while Accies went on to eventually get up to the Premier League. Cycles, eh? https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/tributes-paid-to-accies-fan-2442739 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckford Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 (edited) As a kid I was fascinated and a little confused by Fergie, but always thought he was great. I had no idea what he was saying but knew most of it was swear words lol. As you got older, you would make a point of trying not to stand too close to him as he was relentless and could be a little annoying to be honest but you always said hello as you passed him. We all had a wee soft spot for him though as a cult figure and a total die hard. No mater where I have travelled, if you say you are an Accies fan, most people (of a certain age) will ask about Fergie As the game was modernised it was a shame to see him marginalised and think the club should have done more to look after him tbh. The iconic image of him peering through the fence after he was banned was both comic and tragic. The game is definitely poorer for the loss of characters like Fergie in our support. Some of the stories about his antics are worthy of a book! Edited February 13 by Beckford 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthStander1876 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 12 hours ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said: We have spent 11 of the last 15 years in the top League whereas you guys…oops. St.Johnstone are a smaller club than both Falkirk and Dunfermline but have won Cups and are a top League constant despite both of the aforementioned having twice the support. Yip, hence why I said bigger, not better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie Perrin Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 8 hours ago, Bairn in Exile said: The first paragraph of your post about Hamilton Accies of a few years ago has got me reminiscing and I am wondering if there are any older posters on here who remember Ian “Fergie” Russell, a stalwart at Douglas Park in the 70s, 80s and 90s? I wonder what he would have to say about John Rankin? I can just imagine Fergie positioning himself behind the dugouts at NDP and giving Rankin an earful! However, when Fergie was following the Accies, apart from season 65/66, they had been in the old second division for 20 years, a good, loyal fan. Secondly, nearly all football clubs’ fortunes go in cycles, don’t they? A few years of highs followed by a few years of lows, eh? Similarly, the size of the support goes up and down with the ebbs and flows of the club’s success or otherwise. When I first started going to watch Falkirk in the late 60s and early 70s my music teacher at school claimed to have played for the Accies when he was younger (I have been unable to confirm the veracity of his statement) and we used to rip the piss out of him because, as I said earlier, at that time the Accies were perennially in the second division and Falkirk were in the first division (having just won the 2nd division season 69/70). League reconstruction came and Accies joined us in the “new” first division and we then were relegated to the 2nd division while Accies went on to eventually get up to the Premier League. Cycles, eh? https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/tributes-paid-to-accies-fan-2442739 Was that “Zombie” the Head of Music at Denny High? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairn in Exile Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 minute ago, Reggie Perrin said: Was that “Zombie” the Head of Music at Denny High? Never heard of Zombie before but it was Denny High 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPM Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 15 hours ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said: Last time Ayr were in the top League,there was only 3 Channels on the TV. Accies have a great youth set up which a good Manager would get the best out of. Off field income brings in plenty which makes up partly for our support halving the last 10 years. We are the only club in Scottish Football who have won promotion to the top League and lost 50% of regular attenders. Guys I know who never missed a game still haven’t returned and once they are lost it is hard to get them back. Hamilton as s town is increasingly getting bigger and those who run our club have never tapped into this;they just automatically assume they will support The Old Firm which is a defeatist attitude . There are plenty folk in Lanarkshire who want nothing to do with Old Firm bigotry with,for example Motherwell tapping into this;they even give out free tickets to. Hamilton schools which we don’t do. We can and should do more to tap into the local Community. Hamilton have hit their fanbase sealing. There is no more potential. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggerG Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 2 minutes ago, Bairn in Exile said: Never heard of Zombie before but it was Denny High A tall guy with glasses and kind of wiry hair? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairn in Exile Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Just now, ShaggerG said: A tall guy with glasses and kind of wiry hair? Yep 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.