Airdrieonians 23/24 Championship Thread♦️

[diamond_for_life]

Fantastic from the team tonight but I love how much that goal meant to Josh O’Connor. He needed that and hopefully it helps him kick on. Would be easy for him to chuck the towel in being on loan but shows how much they buy in to McCabe’s team. We really do have a great club to be proud of right now  

 

[Chubbychops]

Unreal result for you tonight. Fuckin pissed of about it but you can't argue with that. 

[airdrieman]

What a result and what a way to do it! Delighted for Gabby, O’Connor and for all the travelling fans who went up. Gutted not to have been there but that’s a special win. Hope you all enjoyed it Hope Hancock is okay and his injury is nothing too serious. It’d be a blow to have him missing this upcoming run of fixtures, defensively and going forward, even with Megwa back. 

Table looks a bit healthier after that result though it’s all still a bit frustratingly tight. Great opportunity coming up to take points off the teams around us and go some way to securing our Championship status. If we can beat Queen’s Park and Inverness, and at least one of Ayr or Dunfermline fucking once, that’d be huge. 

[Sub Parr]

8 hours ago, David Fernández said:

Last time Airdrie won away to Dundee United was the year before I was born so a first in my lifetime.

When was last time we beat them up there? I’m sure it would be within my lifetime, but I can’t remember ever getting a result.

[David Fernández]

9 minutes ago, Sub Parr said:

When was last time we beat them up there? I’m sure it would be within my lifetime, but I can’t remember ever getting a result.

1995 was the last we won up there.

[Passionate]

What can you say, team were rightly criticised on Saturday, but the drum the club was beating afterwards another game just round the corner to even things came true,  and it's all down to the players and a very brave player manager Rhys McCabe I don't many would have picked that line up,  very brave indeed,  and as they say fortune favours the brave...

This is a crazy league.QP rode Arbroath 6 nil going on an easy double figures apparently,   Ayr seeing off Thistle in a shoot out, Morton stopping Raith going top and ICT and Dunfermline having a predictable draw..

 

I have been trying to work out different permutations of teams historically finishing 8th and 9th,,  due to a lack of clear leaders it's nip and tuck at the top, with plenty points being dropped,    what do we think the points will end up,   This season I think  9th will be around 43 this year, which is unusually high,    Time will tell.

 

One thing I do know this Championship is a helluva league..

[Sub Parr]

21 minutes ago, David Fernández said:

1995 was the last we won up there.

Cheers. I was already old by then and should remember. Then again, much of the ‘90’s is a blank.

[Aufc]

Aye this league is bizarre. After Saturday, I was looking down. One decent result and you begin to look up the way. Weirdly as the game went on, I never really worried about it as I thought we looked really comfortable. Aside from the fact he is a great player, McCabe also has an aura of complete calm and it feels through the team. Alongside fordyce who organises the team as well. Watson also played well as well. I don’t think there are many better full back pairs in the league than ballantyne and Megwa. 

 

i thought McGill actually played well last night. He made some good runs and obviously scored a good goal. The build up was class. Him and Gallagher worked away up front. 
 

No doubt we will lose on Saturday and will be back to looking down. 
 

edited to add. Next 4 games are crucial. Playing the teams around us. 

Edited February 28 by Aufc

[Jack Reed]

1 hour ago, Aufc said:

Aye this league is bizarre. After Saturday, I was looking down. One decent result and you begin to look up the way. Weirdly as the game went on, I never really worried about it as I thought we looked really comfortable. Aside from the fact he is a great player, McCabe also has an aura of complete calm and it feels through the team. Alongside fordyce who organises the team as well. Watson also played well as well. I don’t think there are many better full back pairs in the league than ballantyne and Megwa. 

 

i thought McGill actually played well last night. He made some good runs and obviously scored a good goal. The build up was class. Him and Gallagher worked away up front. 
 

 

No doubt we will lose on Saturday and will be back to looking down. 
 

edited to add. Next 4 games are crucial. Playing the teams around us. 

Great win what a difference a win makes,hope Hancock is not to seriously hurt,it's certainly the Airdrie way,

[thediamonddude]

4 hours ago, Sub Parr said:

Cheers. I was already old by then and should remember. Then again, much of the ‘90’s is a blank.

My mate and I were talking about that game in 1995 last night at the game funnily enough! Remember it well - Utd had just been relegated and we scored two late goals to win the game 2-1, with Peter Duffield coming off the bench to get the winner. Might be wrong but pretty certain they didn’t beat us that season at all, despite going on to win promotion straight back up. 

Anyway, that really was the definition of a team performance last night - with everyone pulling together, defending brilliantly and causing Utd a fair few problems at the back as well. As has been noted elsewhere, we were a bit more direct than usual at times but I like that we can do that and it’s an important trait to be able to switch things up.

Particular plaudits for me would go to Josh Rae (as comfortable and composed as I’ve seen him this season), Janny, Kanayo, Dycey, Rhys, and Charlie Telfer. Above all though, absolutely delighted for Gabby - who worked his socks off and took his goal so well.

Without being too negative, I did think that Frizz looked a bit off the pace again last night and Cammy still seems a yard or two short to me, which is understandable with just being back but would lead you to question whether he’s been brought back too quickly.

Also got to say, I know there’s been a lot of clamour for him in here and I was one of his staunchest defenders when he was criticised in years gone by, but I do think that Gal has hit his ceiling. He’ll still grab you the odd goal at this level and has been a tremendous servant of that there is no doubt, but he should be no more than a bit-part player for me for the rest of the season, as he just doesn’t quite offer enough.

Anyhoo, delighted for all of the players and staff who have shown again that they are resilient and can stand up to adversity - those celebrations at the end were beautiful! 

Roll on Saturday!

[Malky6424]

Chuffed to bits the Arabs were beaten last night. The important question is though,  has Jim Godwin gave Airdrie and fans permission to celebrate? Oh and planning ahead, you better include Partick Thistle fans too. 

[Mr November]

6 minutes ago, thediamonddude said:

Also got to say, I know there’s been a lot of clamour for him in here and I was one of his staunchest defenders when he was criticised in years gone by, but I do think that Gal has hit his ceiling. He’ll still grab you the odd goal at this level and has been a tremendous servant of that there is no doubt, but he should be no more than a bit-part player for me for the rest of the season, as he just doesn’t quite offer enough.

I think if we stay up then this will be his last season. I’ll always stick up for him I think he’s the only part-time player remaining at the club these days and if he’s not starting every week it probably feels like a natural end point, where we go completely full-time and Gallagher has his pick of the part-time clubs. I’ve said it before but I think it has to be him or Fordyce for the greatest modern day Airdrieonian. 

On that theme, nice to see that last night was McCabe’s 100th game. He had a slightly nomadic career in the five or so years before he came to Airdrie and I remember him talking in an interview (possibly when he became manager) about wanting a settled club close to home with a young family, so hopefully he’s happy to stick with that for a while yet. It’s great having a core of players who’ve played 100 or so games form the spine of this team (Watson, Fordyce, Frizzell, McCabe, Gallagher and even McGill isn’t far away). 

[A Diamond For Me]

Wasn't able to get up to Dundee last night, but sounds like it was a great night. I think if you take into account the result, the performance (which of course I didn't see, but which everyone is raving about), the context of how the season is developing and not least the quality of the opposition, that's probably one of the best games we've had since McCabe was appointed, and for a long while before that, too. It obviously doesn't have the immediate importance of a play-off final or semi-final, but it's a big statement about what this team can do and where it can go.

[diamondman]

I was not there last night.

 

My Tannadice trips have been fruitless. Saw Eddie Forrest getting sent off there on my last visit in the Cup.

 

Happy though.

[Diamonds are Forever]

6 hours ago, thediamonddude said:

My mate and I were talking about that game in 1995 last night at the game funnily enough! Remember it well - Utd had just been relegated and we scored two late goals to win the game 2-1, with Peter Duffield coming off the bench to get the winner. Might be wrong but pretty certain they didn’t beat us that season at all, despite going on to win promotion straight back up. 

Anyway, that really was the definition of a team performance last night - with everyone pulling together, defending brilliantly and causing Utd a fair few problems at the back as well. As has been noted elsewhere, we were a bit more direct than usual at times but I like that we can do that and it’s an important trait to be able to switch things up.

Particular plaudits for me would go to Josh Rae (as comfortable and composed as I’ve seen him this season), Janny, Kanayo, Dycey, Rhys, and Charlie Telfer. Above all though, absolutely delighted for Gabby - who worked his socks off and took his goal so well.

Without being too negative, I did think that Frizz looked a bit off the pace again last night and Cammy still seems a yard or two short to me, which is understandable with just being back but would lead you to question whether he’s been brought back too quickly.

Also got to say, I know there’s been a lot of clamour for him in here and I was one of his staunchest defenders when he was criticised in years gone by, but I do think that Gal has hit his ceiling. He’ll still grab you the odd goal at this level and has been a tremendous servant of that there is no doubt, but he should be no more than a bit-part player for me for the rest of the season, as he just doesn’t quite offer enough.

Anyhoo, delighted for all of the players and staff who have shown again that they are resilient and can stand up to adversity - those celebrations at the end were beautiful! 

Roll on Saturday!

 

I think he's been like that most of the season, he always looks a bit heavy legged to me. I'd expect him to offer a similar performance level as someone like Telfer does but if you compare them this season it's night and day. Not always a huge fan of reducing everything to stats but Frizz has 0 goals and 2 assists in 23 league games, and that's as our most advanced midfielder. Our lack of quality up front has been spoken about and doesn't help, but that's simply not a good enough return from someone playing that position, you can't really spin it any other way.

 

Edited February 28 by Diamonds are Forever

[thediamonddude]

34 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

 

I think he's been like that most of the season, he always looks a bit heavy legged to me. I'd expect him to offer a similar performance level as someone like Telfer does but if you compare them this season it's night and day. Not always a huge fan of reducing everything to stats but Frizz has 0 goals and 2 assists in 23 league games, and that's as our most advanced midfielder. Our lack of quality up front has been spoken about and doesn't help, but that's simply not a good enough return from someone playing that position, you can't really spin it any other way.

 

Yeah, I think that’s a pretty fair assessment of Frizz’s season - I was more referring to the fact he had a spell of games there where he looked like the Frizz of last season but I’d agree that he’s been poor, on the whole.

I think of our core starters last season, for me, the ones that have struggled to make the step up and perform on a consistent basis would be ATS (although was never totally sold on him last season and you could say he’s a bit-part player anyway), Frizz, and Gal. 

I accept that some might say the jury would be out on Gabby but what he offers in terms of his work rate and running the channels more than makes up for the fact he’s arguably not as prolific in front of goal as Gal is. Plus he has had injury problems again this season, which has undoubtedly had an impact.

A lot of the other guys are still just kids, so that inconsistency is to be expected but I will be honest and say I had hoped for a bit more from Frizz/Gal on the whole.

[Mr November]

26 minutes ago, thediamonddude said:

Yeah, I think that’s a pretty fair assessment of Frizz’s season - I was more referring to the fact he had a spell of games there where he looked like the Frizz of last season but I’d agree that he’s been poor, on the whole.

I think of our core starters last season, for me, the ones that have struggled to make the step up and perform on a consistent basis would be ATS (although was never totally sold on him last season and you could say he’s a bit-part player anyway), Frizz, and Gal. 

I accept that some might say the jury would be out on Gabby but what he offers in terms of his work rate and running the channels more than makes up for the fact he’s arguably not as prolific in front of goal as Gal is. Plus he has had injury problems again this season, which has undoubtedly had an impact.

A lot of the other guys are still just kids, so that inconsistency is to be expected but I will be honest and say I had hoped for a bit more from Frizz/Gal on the whole.

I think the biggest surprise for me has been Watson. I was happy to keep him but more as a backup, he was a very good League One right back but often struggled when playing in the middle and I worried his lack of pace would be exposed at a higher level. He’s had a few poor games (Ayr stands out in recent memory) but he’s largely been very solid this season, even when playing at centre back.

[AirdrieFanTV]

For those you weren't there, I hope this gives you an idea of the atmosphere & what it meant!

[thediamonddude]

25 minutes ago, Mr November said:

I think the biggest surprise for me has been Watson. I was happy to keep him but more as a backup, he was a very good League One right back but often struggled when playing in the middle and I worried his lack of pace would be exposed at a higher level. He’s had a few poor games (Ayr stands out in recent memory) but he’s largely been very solid this season, even when playing at centre back.

Yep, agree with this 100% and I think last night was another example of that - he was excellent when he came on. 

I would say that while Frizz and Gal have slightly underwhelmed in terms of what I hoped for from them, Janny and Charlie Telfer have far exceeded my expectations. In terms of reliability and consistency of performance, Charlie will be up there for PotY for me!

[Rio 2]

Not to put a downer on a great result, but having looked at the player stats last night, most of the players contacts expire at the end of May.

Hope that PH has done a bit of forward thinking.