Airdrieonians 23/24 Championship Thread♦️

[Jack Reed]

1 hour ago, cb_diamond said:

There's a huge pros and cons situation from where I'm sitting. 

The massive pro is 13 points from the first ¼ of the season. That's a strong return and if we replicate that across the remaining games we'll be nearer the top than the bottom. The squad has been competitive which has been great to see.

However, there is a very clear con, which relates to our style. Sides have absolutely figured out that Rhys is going to play with a very specific mentality and as of yet has proven quite inflexible. Teams are going to take advantage of that more and more if there aren't some incremental changes. The other factor which is complicating this is that some of the players are maybe just not quite good enough to make Rhys' philosophy work to it's full extent. Particularly in the attacking phase, that's why we are not being particularly effective when play switches towards the last ⅓.

I don't want to jinx things but the same happened to John McGlynn at Falkirk as last season wore on and they started dropping more and more points.

Not panic stations by any means but worth keeping an eye on.

Definitely,James McFadden did say last night that we might need that wee bit more Quality and see where we are then,was full of praise for the way we play , ,

[airdrieman]

Thought a draw was a fair result. Both teams had chances and spells on top, though neither team really looked like taking the game by the scruff of the neck and winning at any point. Our midfield weren’t in the game at all unfortunately, and Hancock had a difficult evening. Don’t think we ever really took advantage of Queen’s high line other than at the goal, even after bringing O’Connor on. I’d have personally brought McCabe on to do this as he’s probably our best option in terms of being able to play balls over the top or through balls in behind, but that’s a few weeks now since we last saw him on the park. 

In terms of positives, I thought Megwa was very good and the defence as a whole kept Thomas and Paton quiet. McStravick looked a class act once again and superb bit of play from him and finish from Gal for the goal. Also thought Telfer and Todorov made a difference when they came on. Saw a couple of folk say Todorov should have done better with his chance at the end. Maybe he should have but I just thought it was a good save TBH. 

Will be interesting to see what he does with the team next week as Telfer is probably due a start, McCabe could justifiably put himself back in and if Ballantyne and ATS are back fit then those two will rightly stake a claim to start. 

Overall, I’m delighted to be 4th with 13 points after the first quarter and playing the best football any Airdrie side has played in a long time. Agreed with the previous comments however that we do need to start creating and taking more chances and evolve the style of play. McCabe has been very good at doing that and solving problems thus far so I have some confidence that he will do that as ultimately, if we continue to struggle to kill teams off he’s going to have to. 

Inverness next week then a tough run of games to follow. A win in Inverness would be huge as it’d put us 11 points ahead of them and potentially Morton. I know some folk are looking and thinking up the way (including the manager!) but I’m still very much an ‘8th and above’ and I’ll be happy man. 

[Jack Reed]

16 hours ago, airdrieman said:

 

Thought a draw was a fair result. Both teams had chances and spells on top, though neither team really looked like taking the game by the scruff of the neck and winning at any point. Our midfield weren’t in the game at all unfortunately, and Hancock had a difficult evening. Don’t think we ever really took advantage of Queen’s high line other than at the goal, even after bringing O’Connor on. I’d have personally brought McCabe on to do this as he’s probably our best option in terms of being able to play balls over the top or through balls in behind, but that’s a few weeks now since we last saw him on the park. 

In terms of positives, I thought Megwa was very good and the defence as a whole kept Thomas and Paton quiet. McStravick looked a class act once again and superb bit of play from him and finish from Gal for the goal. Also thought Telfer and Todorov made a difference when they came on. Saw a couple of folk say Todorov should have done better with his chance at the end. Maybe he should have but I just thought it was a good save TBH. 

Will be interesting to see what he does with the team next week as Telfer is probably due a start, McCabe could justifiably put himself back in and if Ballantyne and ATS are back fit then those two will rightly stake a claim to start. 

Overall, I’m delighted to be 4th with 13 points after the first quarter and playing the best football any Airdrie side has played in a long time. Agreed with the previous comments however that we do need to start creating and taking more chances and evolve the style of play. McCabe has been very good at doing that and solving problems thus far so I have some confidence that he will do that as ultimately, if we continue to struggle to kill teams off he’s going to have to. 

Inverness next week then a tough run of games to follow. A win in Inverness would be huge as it’d put us 11 points ahead of them and potentially Morton. I know some folk are looking and thinking up the way (including the manager!) but I’m still very much an ‘8th and above’ and I’ll be happy man. 

Lot of praise alright for Megwa  for his first start,lost count how many times he passed to opposition, personally I thought Magic was one of our best players,Apart from the goal Josh had a good game no easy to play keeper and sweeper with the wind and rain ,

[Kenny_m]

16 hours ago, airdrieman said:

 

Thought a draw was a fair result. Both teams had chances and spells on top, though neither team really looked like taking the game by the scruff of the neck and winning at any point. Our midfield weren’t in the game at all unfortunately, and Hancock had a difficult evening. Don’t think we ever really took advantage of Queen’s high line other than at the goal, even after bringing O’Connor on. I’d have personally brought McCabe on to do this as he’s probably our best option in terms of being able to play balls over the top or through balls in behind, but that’s a few weeks now since we last saw him on the park. 

In terms of positives, I thought Megwa was very good and the defence as a whole kept Thomas and Paton quiet. McStravick looked a class act once again and superb bit of play from him and finish from Gal for the goal. Also thought Telfer and Todorov made a difference when they came on. Saw a couple of folk say Todorov should have done better with his chance at the end. Maybe he should have but I just thought it was a good save TBH. 

Will be interesting to see what he does with the team next week as Telfer is probably due a start, McCabe could justifiably put himself back in and if Ballantyne and ATS are back fit then those two will rightly stake a claim to start. 

Overall, I’m delighted to be 4th with 13 points after the first quarter and playing the best football any Airdrie side has played in a long time. Agreed with the previous comments however that we do need to start creating and taking more chances and evolve the style of play. McCabe has been very good at doing that and solving problems thus far so I have some confidence that he will do that as ultimately, if we continue to struggle to kill teams off he’s going to have to. 

Inverness next week then a tough run of games to follow. A win in Inverness would be huge as it’d put us 11 points ahead of them and potentially Morton. I know some folk are looking and thinking up the way (including the manager!) but I’m still very much an ‘8th and above’ and I’ll be happy man. 

Some good points and to say Hancock had a "difficult evening" is being very kind. He certainly improved as the match went on but there were a couple of occasions where his lack of pace was very evident and more than a tad worrying. He probably doesn't deserve to be dropped but perhaps Megwa & Ballantyne could be the better options at full back.

Aiken's ball winning ability just wasn't evident on Friday night which highlighted how important he has become to our midfield and concur that there will be a change there for Inverness game. No one will be surprised that I think McMaster will drop out as the game completely passed him by.

Todorov always looks like he can cause problems but it seems clear that it's either him or Gal but perhaps we should look at tweaking the formation sometimes to keep other teams guessing.

[Diamond72]

2 hours ago, Kenny_m said:

Some good points and to say Hancock had a "difficult evening" is being very kind. He certainly improved as the match went on but there were a couple of occasions where his lack of pace was very evident and more than a tad worrying. He probably doesn't deserve to be dropped but perhaps Megwa & Ballantyne could be the better options at full back.

Aiken's ball winning ability just wasn't evident on Friday night which highlighted how important he has become to our midfield and concur that there will be a change there for Inverness game. No one will be surprised that I think McMaster will drop out as the game completely passed him by.

Todorov always looks like he can cause problems but it seems clear that it's either him or Gal but perhaps we should look at tweaking the formation sometimes to keep other teams guessing.

I think that to be fair, even Ballantyne would have struggled with QP's pace down that side. Not saying that Hancock played well, his misplaced pass when out of position resulted in Josh Rae having to make a great save. Aiken as said, had probably his worst game for us and failed to hit the target when the opportunity arose.

What concerns me most however is the fact that we are trying to walk the ball into the net most games and our strikes from around the box are missing the target or straight at the keeper.

[Diamond1924]

Having had the weekend to reflect on the result I’ve come to the following conclusions:

1. Our midfield are too lightweight. We need at least one ball winner to provide some physicality. A McInory type player would be ideal.

2. Frizzel seems to just not be at it this season. 
 

3. Our forwards are really struggling to find the net and are possibly the only weak link in our team. It’s not that we can’t create chances, we just can finish them. 
 

4. The passing from the back shouldn’t be forced. ‘High risk, high reward’??? There’s no reward in Rae passing it to the opposition at least once a game. 

It’s frustrating because we’re a McInroy and a Paton away from being a right good side who could be challenging. 

[Rhys McCabe Hype Train]

Jesus wept folks. We're currently in our highest league position since I reckon about 2012. If someone said to me "you'll be fourth in the Championship with a quarter gone" at the start of the season I'd have bitten their arm off.

Got me also thinking what our nadir as a club has been over the last decade. I have memories of going up to Peterhead around 2015 or 2016 and being played off the park. We had such luminaries as Kevin McBride, Nico Sumsky and Taylor Morgan starting. Harrowing days, I can't remember ever being so livid with an Airdrie player than I was with McBride after that game. Still though, 50p stovies was a plus.

[Diamond1924]

1 hour ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said:

Jesus wept folks. We're currently in our highest league position since I reckon about 2012. If someone said to me "you'll be fourth in the Championship with a quarter gone" at the start of the season I'd have bitten their arm off.

Got me also thinking what our nadir as a club has been over the last decade. I have memories of going up to Peterhead around 2015 or 2016 and being played off the park. We had such luminaries as Kevin McBride, Nico Sumsky and Taylor Morgan starting. Harrowing days, I can't remember ever being so livid with an Airdrie player than I was with McBride after that game. Still though, 50p stovies was a plus.

There’s nothing wrong with fans expecting a little better from the team.
 

We all know how good we can be but the Ayr and QP games were frustrating! We’d be sitting in 2nd place had we won both games. Two games that we all know we were capable of winning.

[Mr November]

1 hour ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said:

Got me also thinking what our nadir as a club has been over the last decade. I have memories of going up to Peterhead around 2015 or 2016 and being played off the park. We had such luminaries as Kevin McBride, Nico Sumsky and Taylor Morgan starting. Harrowing days, I can't remember ever being so livid with an Airdrie player than I was with McBride after that game. Still though, 50p stovies was a plus.

There’s been plenty of low points but as you’ve alluded to I think the worst would have to be somewhere in the Tom Wotherspoon years and then the season after he chucked it. Maybe the 5-0 defeat at home to Stenhousemuir.

I was talking about the short spell when we had Donald Jennow and Gordon Dalziel in charge for the League Cup games earlier, just before Willie Aitchison’s took over for his three games, playing a bunch of youth players. That was only six years ago! It’s only when you look back at some of that nonsense that you realise how much the club has progressed since then. A lot of credit has to go to the board, Murray and McCabe for making us a much more professional club, on and off the park. 

[Jack Reed]

1 hour ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said:

Jesus wept folks. We're currently in our highest league position since I reckon about 2012. If someone said to me "you'll be fourth in the Championship with a quarter gone" at the start of the season I'd have bitten their arm off.

Got me also thinking what our nadir as a club has been over the last decade. I have memories of going up to Peterhead around 2015 or 2016 and being played off the park. We had such luminaries as Kevin McBride, Nico Sumsky and Taylor Morgan starting. Harrowing days, I can't remember ever being so livid with an Airdrie player than I was with McBride after that game. Still though, 50p stovies was a plus.

Can also remember Airdrie teams that  our players today wouldn't get a game ,

[Diamonds02]

20 minutes ago, Jack Reed said:

Can also remember Airdrie teams that  our players today wouldn't get a game ,

Must have been a long time ago. This is the best airdrie team in my lifetime by a country mile.

[Jack Reed]

22 minutes ago, Diamonds02 said:

Must have been a long time ago. This is the best airdrie team in my lifetime by a country mile.

Aye, certainly before new Airdrie ,

[CumbyDiamond]

23 hours ago, Diamond1924 said:

Our forwards are really struggling to find the net and are possibly the only weak link in our team. It’s not that we can’t create chances, we just can finish them. 

With the exception of Gal who is now on 6 despite less service, if that were repeated or bettered in the next 3 quarters as per last season then a reasonable return for our part time striker. The problem is the others Gabby & Frizz nowhere near the races at the moment, will McGregor / Aiken / Magic  make the same contribution of Justin / Smith from last season hopefully we can improve in these areas in the coming weeks as per last season.

[Diamonds_Are_Forever]

On 23/10/2023 at 15:39, CumbyDiamond said:

With the exception of Gal who is now on 6 despite less service, if that were repeated or bettered in the next 3 quarters as per last season then a reasonable return for our part time striker. The problem is the others Gabby & Frizz nowhere near the races at the moment, will McGregor / Aiken / Magic  make the same contribution of Justin / Smith from last season hopefully we can improve in these areas in the coming weeks as per last season.

Think Liam is going to hit the ground running first 90 minutes on Friday and he looked promising can only get better 

hopefully dropping Gabby will make him want to fight back for his spot  

[weigh cider]

Last post Wednesday!!!!!

is there anybody out there???

[diamondman]

Seemingly not.

Apathy prevails.

Point for the Diamonds, please.

[Mingus2000]

45 minutes ago, diamondman said:

Point for the Diamonds, please.

3 please! Multiple defenders out for ICT it seems. 3rd position going into 2 very tough games would be nice.

Happy with tonight’s results. Dundee Hibs showing why they are hot favourites, and a point apiece for 2 rival playoff hopefuls.

Ready for early departure tomorrow. If there isn’t a good rendition of “you’re still a big skinny b*****d”, I’ll be mightily disappointed.

[cb_diamond]

Had a chuckle this morning recalling the game in 1991 where Ferguson concussed John Martin and after he scored he was running past the Airdrie fans doing his chest out arm up celebration and got plastered in the face with a perfectly thrown Dalziel pie.

Edited October 28, 2023 by cb_diamond

[Jack Reed]

9 hours ago, Mingus2000 said:

3 please! Multiple defenders out for ICT it seems. 3rd position going into 2 very tough games would be nice.

Happy with tonight’s results. Dundee Hibs showing why they are hot favourites, and a point apiece for 2 rival playoff hopefuls.

Ready for early departure tomorrow. If there isn’t a good rendition of “you’re still a big skinny b*****d”, I’ll be mightily disappointed.

Think he scored when we were singing his ballad,

[airdrieman]

Probably the right changes made. A lot of potential in that midfield going forward. Here’s hoping it pays off!