Diamonds02 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 12 hours ago, Diamond1924 said: McCabe needs to step up now. He got away with it last year but this transfer window has been uninspiring to say the least. 11 goals in 2 games is absolutely embarrassing and it’s relegation form. Injuries aren’t an excuse either as our replacements need to be AS GOOD as our starters but once again they’re not as good. We’ve become a team where if one or two of our starting 11 are out injured we collapse like a warm Easter egg. I’ll not be back until we get some DECENT and EXPERIENCED boys in. Yes, our young players may be assets in the future but we’re not in the future. Get players that can do the job NOW. MCCCABE OUT Nah you’re at it surely 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds02 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 32 minutes ago, Kenny_m said: Fans can constructively criticise, it's what we do, but this boils ma piss! A so called ‘fan’ saying he’s essentially boycotting after losing 2 games is maybe the most pathetic thing I’ve read on here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 It's obviously a difficult time at the moment but it stems from the large turnover of players during the summer and something the club need to work on as its not sustainable long term. No matter how good a Manager Rhys is, and I'm confident he'll turn it around, but there was always going to be varying degrees of success with the new signings. Despite some strong reactions to the last 2 games it is clear to everyone where we need to add and hopefully Sam Graham is decent and provides some much needed height to the defence. (was that the smallest Airdrie side ever yesterday?) I still believe our midfield is more than decent and whilst Mochrie & Aiken haven't done much to date I'm confident they will improve. Gallagher, McGrattan only look like useful subs to me and McMaster needs to take a look at himself after his last 2 performances. Yesterday also confirmed that Murray Johnson will be our No 1 as whilst Wright made a couple of good saves, there's no doubt he's going to be back up. Trying times and the Manager's first mini crisis to deal with. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 38 minutes ago, Diamonds02 said: Nah you’re at it surely It's just the hurt that makes you say things, come Tues you will be looking forward to Saturday,been there hundreds of times , 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds are Forever Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 11 hours ago, diamond_for_life said: Having McGill and Toddy really suited that style and as much as I slaughtered O’Connor having runners like him and Mcgregor also complimented the style in these games (both scored from the bench) I fear we have reverted back to the old away form from earlier last season due to the personnel we have at our disposal. I think what those players gave us was different options up front to mix things up, particularly away from home. We had a goal poacher in Gal, an aerial threat with Todorov, pace with O'Connor and a bit of an 'all rounder' with McGill. Todorov and McGill's physicality was crucial in getting wins away to Dundee Utd and Dunfermline, and even O'Connor who is a really poor player scored some goals on the breakaway due to his pace on the counter. Gal definitely needed released and as mentioned O'Connor was generally out his depth so completely agreed with letting them go, and I was always 50/50 on McGill too. I have no issues with letting those particular players go but I hoped we'd replace them with similar type players to give us that same variety. Wilson is an upgrade on Gal, McGregor if fit is better than O'Connor (although him playing up front leaves us with no wide players in the squad), but Reid is miles off it and there's no real replacement for McGill. So we're now basically locked into play one style of play because of our lack of options up front, added to having multiple versions of the same type of attacking midfielder but no pace in wide areas. For all his considerable limitations Todorov would have helped give us another option, and certainly help defensively at set-pieces, releasing him with no replacement was the wrong move in my opinion. Didn't really understand it at the time and still don't. Like I've said I think at home we'll be fine as we'll have enough possession and territory to get our midfielders into good areas, to get Hancock forward and to create chances for Wilson. But away from home I'm struggling to see how we'll get results just now. We only started getting results away last season from changing our style, but we now don't have the players to do that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhys McCabe Hype Train Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 43 minutes ago, Kenny_m said: It's obviously a difficult time at the moment… Trying times and the Manager's first mini crisis to deal with. I’m not convinced this is a difficult time or a mini-crisis, at all, and like others I think a big dose of perspective is needed for some folk on here and on the rats nest that is the Facebook page We’ve lost two successive matches, that we were expected to lose anyway. Ayr have had our number for the last 12 months and Dundee is a top 6 Premiership side looking at selling players for £750k, both teams presumably with budgets multiple times the size of ours. Is the manner of the defeats worrying? Slightly, but looking at the players available I’m not sure what else we could have been expecting? Partick will be a good test. We more than matched them last season and if Fordyce had rattled the net in the last minute at Firhill instead of the bar it could’ve been us losing at Dingwall instead of Raith. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds are Forever Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said: I’m not convinced this is a difficult time or a mini-crisis, at all, and like others I think a big dose of perspective is needed for some folk on here and on the rats nest that is the Facebook page We’ve lost two successive matches, that we were expected to lose anyway. Ayr have had our number for the last 12 months and Dundee is a top 6 Premiership side looking at selling players for £750k, both teams presumably with budgets multiple times the size of ours. Is the manner of the defeats worrying? Slightly, but looking at the players available I’m not sure what else we could have been expecting? Partick will be a good test. We more than matched them last season and if Fordyce had rattled the net in the last minute at Firhill instead of the bar it could’ve been us losing at Dingwall instead of Raith. Certainly wouldn't say it's a crisis and some of the reactions are wild, but both games have raised some areas for concern which are worthy of discussion. To answer your question I'd say a look at the other results yesterday would tell you what fans would be hoping for. Falkirk beat Hearts, Spartans beat Ross County and Queens Park lost to Aberdeen with a stoppage time goal, so while I didn't and don't expect to beat a Premiership side, I'd expect us to put up a reasonable fight as those sides did. McCabe has shown numerous times now that he is smart and willing to learn to fix things, I don't believe he'll be watching those last 2 games and dismissing them. Both games were 5 or 6 going on 10 and regardless of who you're playing that should be a concern. Edited August 18 by Diamonds are Forever 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionate Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 7 minutes ago, Diamonds are Forever said: Certainly wouldn't say it's a crisis and some of the reactions are wild, but both games have raised some areas for concern which are worthy of discussion. To answer your question I'd say a look at the other results yesterday would tell you what fans would be hoping for. Falkirk beat Hearts, Spartans beat Ross County and Queens Park lost to Aberdeen with a stoppage time goal, so while I didn't and don't expect to beat a Premiership side, I'd expect us to put up a reasonable fight as those sides did. McCabe has shown numerous times now that he is smart and willing to learn to fix things, I don't believe he'll be watching those last 2 games and dismissing them. Both games were 5 or 6 going on 10 and regardless of who you're playing that should be a concern. Agree, but is Rhys asking the team to play in a way that doesn't fit their skillset, Main issue and should be the easiest fix is defensively, but it is a shambles even with our starting Centre Halfs, it has been all season look back to the hording of EK, we were lucky not to ship a couple that night, Dumbarton away lost bad goals by overplaying, QOS as well we were playing a 2 man defence with Full backs bombing on, Rhys wants to play inverted fullbacks, but it is leaving horrendous gaps in full back areas and we are not matching runners and getting ripped apart, what is that lack of ability, lack of desire, I don't know probably both, it needs fixed, the new guy will make no difference if we play the same system, it is up to Rhys to fix it, but he is stubborn and the pressure is mounting... If nobody agrees with my points, watch the games back... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 30 minutes ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said: ’m not convinced this is a difficult time or a mini-crisis, at all, and like others I think a big dose of perspective is needed for some folk on here and on the rats nest that is the Facebook page We do have "issues" in central defence though, especially if Wilson is out for a lengthy period and on how Graham shapes up. Next 2 games are vitally important but I remain confident. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 5 minutes ago, Passionate said: Rhys wants to play inverted fullbacks, but it is leaving horrendous gaps in full back areas and we are not matching runners and getting ripped apart, what is that lack of ability, lack of desire, I don't know probably both, it needs fixed, the new guy will make no difference if we play the same system, it is up to Rhys to fix it, but he is stubborn and the pressure is mounting... I do get your point but the inverted full back system got us 3 points against Raith, but clearly didn't work at Somerset. We need a bigger sample size before I'll judge it. The only pressure on the manager will be from himself, they'll be none from the club. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 1 hour ago, Diamonds02 said: A so called ‘fan’ saying he’s essentially boycotting after losing 2 games is maybe the most pathetic thing I’ve read on here. @Diamond1924 on red dot mode. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr November Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 I feel like a lot of these issues come from not having a focal point up front or width. The midfield we played at Ayr and Dundee doesn’t offer any width, it’s all guys who want to come inside with the ball. Combine that with Wilson being isolated and you really need your full-backs to get forward to provide something out wide. McGregor made a big difference when he came on against Raith, purely by being direct and willing to run with the ball out wide. For whatever reason we end up looking quite congested in the middle of the park and exposed at either end. We had a lot of success last season playing without wingers but that generally involved having some physicality up front or playing with an extra man at the back. We haven’t looked great when playing a back three this season but again, I think a lot of that comes down to not having any physical option further forward. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionate Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 14 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said: If you take that number and assume that we have 23 first team quality players then it is. But that's a long way from being the case. Not sure if Hutton is included in your list but he'll never play, after today it's clear ATS won't either. You've then got Reid, Cooper, Rowley and Dunlop who won't ever start. Then Gallagher and Bruce a level up from that who could play the odd game but I wouldn't want starting regularly. Looking at the squad list I'd say we have 18 players who would expect to start if fit, 16 outfielders. Of them, there's McCabe who seems incapable of playing 90 minutes, even more than 45 seems a struggle. McStravick who is out with an ACL. And McGregor who seems to be injured regularly. Even with Graham signing we are still a couple of players short in my opinion, filling out the squad with young guys and a couple of coaches has given the impression we have more depth than we actually do. On top of that, it's not just the number but the variety of player that I think is an issue. We seem to have filled out the squad with numerous midfielders while having no wide players other than McGregor (who would probably play up front anyway), no strikers (good enough for this level) apart from Wilson and as of yesterday 2 centre backs. Didn't expect anything from today so not too bothered and it hasn't changed my opinion on what our issues might be. I think our home form will see us okay in the league. But away from home I don't see how that squad is going to get results. Any kind of high press and aerial bombardment will see us ship goals and we don't have any pace in the team to counter teams when we are trying to soak up pressure. Hopefully the last couple of results will ensure that the club do everything they can to get another couple of players in. Had a check again not including Dunlop, Rowley , Melrose and McStravick who are on the list but either injured or loaned out.. we still have 22 players on top of them.. alright maybe ATS doesn't fancy it now, but he was stripped and on the bench yesterday... we are still alarmingly short especially up front, Todorov must be replaced, but looking at those numbers surely budget must be about spent, has it been spent wisely enough.... Looking at other teams squads, they all have 3 or 4 squad fillers also not just us... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Fernández Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 This might be a very unpopular opinion but the only thing I can think of as a suggestion is trying Aaron Reid and Ben Wilson as a front two? From what I've seen from Reid I'm not really convinced at all but him but unless we sign a striker who either has pace to run in behind or someone who can hold the ball up, we don't have any alternatives and we'll have to rely badly on Lewis McGregor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny_m Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 43 minutes ago, David Fernández said: This might be a very unpopular opinion but the only thing I can think of as a suggestion is trying Aaron Reid and Ben Wilson as a front two? From what I've seen from Reid I'm not really convinced at all but him but unless we sign a striker who either has pace to run in behind or someone who can hold the ball up, we don't have any alternatives and we'll have to rely badly on Lewis McGregor. There are still a few players who have not yet convinced but unfortunately my mind is already made up on Aaron Reid, at this moment, he's simply not up to this level. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Reed Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 2 hours ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said: I’m not convinced this is a difficult time or a mini-crisis, at all, and like others I think a big dose of perspective is needed for some folk on here and on the rats nest that is the Facebook page We’ve lost two successive matches, that we were expected to lose anyway. Ayr have had our number for the last 12 months and Dundee is a top 6 Premiership side looking at selling players for £750k, both teams presumably with budgets multiple times the size of ours. Is the manner of the defeats worrying? Slightly, but looking at the players available I’m not sure what else we could have been expecting? Partick will be a good test. We more than matched them last season and if Fordyce had rattled the net in the last minute at Firhill instead of the bar it could’ve been us losing at Dingwall instead of Raith. Would think it's the score and manners of the defeat that was disappointing, 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds02 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 3 hours ago, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said: I’m not convinced this is a difficult time or a mini-crisis, at all, and like others I think a big dose of perspective is needed for some folk on here and on the rats nest that is the Facebook page We’ve lost two successive matches, that we were expected to lose anyway. Ayr have had our number for the last 12 months and Dundee is a top 6 Premiership side looking at selling players for £750k, both teams presumably with budgets multiple times the size of ours. Is the manner of the defeats worrying? Slightly, but looking at the players available I’m not sure what else we could have been expecting? Partick will be a good test. We more than matched them last season and if Fordyce had rattled the net in the last minute at Firhill instead of the bar it could’ve been us losing at Dingwall instead of Raith. Exactly. We went on a much worse run in League 1 in the season we were promoted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds02 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 Also good to hear McCabe say in his post match interview that we’re still actively trying to bring players in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airdrieman Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 2 hours ago, Kenny_m said: There are still a few players who have not yet convinced but unfortunately my mind is already made up on Aaron Reid, at this moment, he's simply not up to this level. I want to give Reid the benefit of the doubt given how early in the season it is, and the fact that the two games I’ve seen him in we’ve been 4/5 goals down when he’s came on. But I agree - he does not look anywhere near the required level in any facet of the game. He looked completely lost yesterday. Only thing he did was win one header and that went about 10 yards in front of him. Pointless. I’ve said it before but the ostensible decision to replace Todorov with this guy is mind-blowing. Todorov’s hold-up play isn’t any great shakes. But at least he can compete with and better defenders physically and he’s something of a reliable goalscorer. Reid has the size but doesn’t have the ability or nous to use it. I think signing another forward has to be as much of a priority now as signing a centre-half was. Only time we’ve seen any of the ball in the last two games was the first 10-15 minutes of the second-half yesterday. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome of either game but having a forward who could relieve us of pressure, hold and carry the ball in the opposition’s half and allow us to build some sustained pressure of our own and create chances for Wilson could have made a difference. Even if just in keeping either score down. McCabe is not usually wrong but replacing McGill - who I think would have stayed if he’d been offered a contract - and Todorov - who was under contract - with Cooper and Reid I think is a serious mis-step. I’m not saying either Gabby or Todorov are the answer but they gave us a balance, an outball and a degree of reliability in terms of goal scoring that we no longer have. Some work to be done here as relying on McGregor upfront is not the answer either. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhys McCabe Hype Train Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 5 hours ago, Jack Reed said: Would think it's the score and manners of the defeat that was disappointing, Auch, see if we were going out and getting scudded 5/6-0 off Queens Park, then alarm bells would be ringing. A humping off free spending Ayr and Europe chasing Dundee? Not so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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