Shooter McGavin Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 51 minutes ago, cb_diamond said: I predicted us as 9th this season in the predictions thread and was absolutely one of the people who was critical of the signing policy (many of whom I'll still maintain have been a waste of a wage Dunlop, GavGal etc). What I will say and have already eaten my humble pie on this is that my main moan was that there were players who we retained who I felt were nowhere near the standard. That's come to bear with ATS but I had earmarked Watson and Telfer as not good enough and I couldn't have been more wrong, particularly with Telfer, he's been absolutely sensational this season. I always felt like Telfer was a player more suited to the championship than L1 and I'm so glad that's came to pass. Easily a candidate for POTY. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_diamond Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 17 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said: Easily a candidate for POTY. Absolutely, along with Hancock and Megwa, two others who would have got incredulous looks if you had suggested that at the start of the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds are Forever Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, cb_diamond said: I predicted us as 9th this season in the predictions thread and was absolutely one of the people who was critical of the signing policy (many of whom I'll still maintain have been a waste of a wage Dunlop, GavGal etc). What I will say and have already eaten my humble pie on this is that my main moan was that there were players who we retained who I felt were nowhere near the standard. That's come to bear with ATS but I had earmarked Watson and Telfer as not good enough and I couldn't have been more wrong, particularly with Telfer, he's been absolutely sensational this season. Agreed on ATS, but in hindsight it appears he was kept more along the same lines that Hutton was/is as a coach who could play if needed, although obviously not quite to that extreme. I think he's played 10 Championship games, and most of those were early season when we didn't have Megwa, meaning Watson was right back so we needed a centre-back. I'd be very surprised if he is still playing next season if he stays with us in his coaching role. I always thought the squad lacked individual quality in forward areas, and still do to be honest. O'Connor isn't good enough, Toddy was hopeless the first half of the season (sounds like he was carrying injuries in fairness) but has come onto a game, Gal has struggled, so has McGill at times although I think is an asset when fit, McGregor I think has a role in the squad but isn't starter quality. Frizz has his moments but has been poor in a lot of games. It's purely down to good management that over the season we've gradually improved our goalscoring without actually signing anyone apart from Lyall. Around Christmas we were lowest scorers in the league but are now up to 6th. But I'd hope/expect that's where we make major improvements over the summer. If McCabe can get a tune out of the current attackers then with some real quality we could be a real threat next year. He has already shown last year that when he has good attacking players for the level he can get them to click. Edited April 8 by Diamonds are Forever 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhys McCabe Hype Train Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 4 hours ago, Double Jack D said: McCabe has done a great job and (unless they do go all the way to Premier League this season) they must be confident of putting in a challenge at the top end next season. Appreciative of the praise and all that, but… Replacing Arbroath with a sadly resurgent Falkirk only makes this league more competitive which is fantastic from the outside looking in, but as a team with a budget on the lower scale of the division it definitely has me worried that next season will be a whole lot harder than this term. The saving grace is that taking Dundee Utd out and swapping them with Livi (who really appear to be in a bit of a nadir, relatively speaking) might even it out a little. A lot will hinge on keeping McCabe & Fordyce, too. With the pair of them, we have a known quantity but who are learning all the time and only want to get better. If we lose them this summer, which is a real possibility if Hibs, Aberdeen, St Johnstone make managerial moves, we’re back to managerial roulette. Our board have form for picking the right manager (appointed Murray & McCabe since the start of their regime) but the names available this time out don’t exactly inspire confidence, and what are the chances of picking a quality rookie second time round? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds Are Red Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 9 hours ago, HoBNob said: They had came third in League One, only beat what was a poor Hamilton side in extra time and hadn't been in the Championship in about a decade, and didn't really strengthen in the window (Only brought in Todorov but lost Smith and another player to West Ham?) I don't think it was a massive surprise that most people had them bottom two. I had them in 8th finishing above QP and Arbroath. However I didn't have them above an Ayr side who'd just finished 2nd in the Championship, an ICT side who I thought would benefit from the finances of a Scottish Cup final, and who had comfortably disposed of yourselves in the Semis. I didn't have them above a Morton who I think were the form side the second half of last season, and I of course didn't have them above ourselves, I didn't see what buisness they'd done that would make up the 20 point gap. To me there's a massive amount of hindsight in play if you're suggesting that it's anything other than a surprise that Airdrie are currently in 4th, and it down plays what a fantastic job McCabe has done. We lost Justin Devenny to Crystal Palace and as you say Smith to Raith Rovers. Our loan signings have comprised Megwa, O'Connor and Aiken from Hibs - Megwa has continually improved, O'Connor looked promising but faded away - has featured a bit more in recent weeks, Aiken was good but has been out injured for months...we've also supplemented recently with Lyall from Rangers and Donnell from Fulham. Todorov looked totally out of sorts pre Christmas, great improvement since then - in fact a number of our players have held their own or improved since coming into the Championship. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 With only 4 matches left for everyone, tonight's games certainly cleared up some things. It's clearly DU's league to lose. They only need 8 of 12 points available to them to take it, and that's if Raith win out. Raith, Partick and Airdrie look to be the playoff teams, but Partick's long spell in third will hinge on which Rover's team shows up Saturday and the Airdrie result. The Airdrie vs Pars match will be huge, with an Airdrie win likely all but clinching the playoffs. Tonight's draw between Ayr and Morton leaves them, plus the Pars, in decent position above the bottom, but a bit far from the top. None of them are safe, but that are all likely playing for position versus each other unless the Pars can win at Airdrie. Ayr look best positioned for the weekend, facing Arbroath. The Queen's Park vs ICT match will certainly clarify the hopes of both sides, with ICT's superior GD meaning that Queen's Park have to keep at least that one point lead. Arbroath, well, the only team with nothing to play for, so they'll probably win. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLDiamond Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 1 hour ago, TxRover said: With only 4 matches left for everyone, tonight's games certainly cleared up some things. It's clearly DU's league to lose. They only need 8 of 12 points available to them to take it, and that's if Raith win out. Raith, Partick and Airdrie look to be the playoff teams, but Partick's long spell in third will hinge on which Rover's team shows up Saturday and the Airdrie result. The Airdrie vs Pars match will be huge, with an Airdrie win likely all but clinching the playoffs. Tonight's draw between Ayr and Morton leaves them, plus the Pars, in decent position above the bottom, but a bit far from the top. None of them are safe, but that are all likely playing for position versus each other unless the Pars can win at Airdrie. Ayr look best positioned for the weekend, facing Arbroath. The Queen's Park vs ICT match will certainly clarify the hopes of both sides, with ICT's superior GD meaning that Queen's Park have to keep at least that one point lead. Arbroath, well, the only team with nothing to play for, so they'll probably win. Nice summary, things talking shape in the league for sure. Although it’s a few weeks off, was looking at the final day fixtures which could be exciting. Barring the Ayr v Dunfermline game all others could hold significance. Possibly DU needing to beat Partick to win title, Thistle needing to win to secure 3rd? IC needing to beat Morton to secure 8th? QP needing to beat Airdrie for safety or us winning to get 3rd or possibly to secure 4th? RR to beat relegation boys Arbroath to win the title? or maybe final league positions will be secured by that weekend making games meaningless doubtful all to play for across the league 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
third lanark Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 On 08/04/2024 at 17:12, Rhys McCabe Hype Train said: Appreciative of the praise and all that, but… Replacing Arbroath with a sadly resurgent Falkirk only makes this league more competitive which is fantastic from the outside looking in, but as a team with a budget on the lower scale of the division it definitely has me worried that next season will be a whole lot harder than this term. The saving grace is that taking Dundee Utd out and swapping them with Livi (who really appear to be in a bit of a nadir, relatively speaking) might even it out a little. A lot will hinge on keeping McCabe & Fordyce, too. With the pair of them, we have a known quantity but who are learning all the time and only want to get better. If we lose them this summer, which is a real possibility if Hibs, Aberdeen, St Johnstone make managerial moves, we’re back to managerial roulette. Our board have form for picking the right manager (appointed Murray & McCabe since the start of their regime) but the names available this time out don’t exactly inspire confidence, and what are the chances of picking a quality rookie second time round? While they are bottom of the premier league livi beat both ourselves and raith in the cup. I suppose like everyone else depends on who they lose and keep in the summer- though they have already lost Penrice to Hearts 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Jaffo Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 If we beat Arbroath on Saturday and QP beat ICT then we’ll be 7 points clear of 8th with 9 points to play for. We should be absolutely fine with that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacky Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Clavdivs Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Airdrie seem to be the the inform team and I would bet my neighbour's house on them finishing third.Saturday a big game for us in terms of playoff intent and how our team shape restructures post Lawless injury. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_diamond Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 1 hour ago, Wacky said: Bulimia thread for this pish... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacky Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 1 minute ago, cb_diamond said: Bulimia thread for this pish... Ooooooo! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Starting to look fairly clear cut for everything except 9th now after Airdrie's win last night, though both Thistle and Airdrie need a few more points to get over the line, obviously we play each other on the 20th. In terms of who finishes 3rd it's coming out about 65-35 Thistle at the moment though it feels a lot tighter in reality due to Airdrie's recent form and Thistle losing Lawless for the season, the latter of which can't realistically be factored in. Target number of points for safety and promotion playoffs below. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 5 hours ago, I Clavdivs said: Airdrie seem to be the the inform team And we're the infirm team. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllanJM Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 13 hours ago, third lanark said: While they are bottom of the premier league livi beat both ourselves and raith in the cup. I suppose like everyone else depends on who they lose and keep in the summer- though they have already lost Penrice to Hearts I really wasn't impressed with them when we played them. The game came during our really poor spell and I honestly think that if we'd played them at any other time of the season we would've won. I expect them to lose a fair few players in the summer and without the Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts fans filling their stadium for them they'll have an even lower budget next season. I think it's a safe bet that the run of relegated teams going straight back up will come to an end and I actually think they might go down 2 seasons in a row. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_diamond Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 3 minutes ago, AllanJM said: I really wasn't impressed with them when we played them. The game came during our really poor spell and I honestly think that if we'd played them at any other time of the season we would've won. I expect them to lose a fair few players in the summer and without the Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts fans filling their stadium for them they'll have an even lower budget next season. I think it's a safe bet that the run of relegated teams going straight back up will come to an end and I actually think they might go down 2 seasons in a row. I for one would be all for them doing a Brechin. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 25 minutes ago, AllanJM said: I really wasn't impressed with them when we played them. The game came during our really poor spell and I honestly think that if we'd played them at any other time of the season we would've won. I expect them to lose a fair few players in the summer and without the Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts fans filling their stadium for them they'll have an even lower budget next season. I think it's a safe bet that the run of relegated teams going straight back up will come to an end and I actually think they might go down 2 seasons in a row. In the cup game against us Nouble was outstanding, which we already knew from his Arbroath days he could be vs championship players, but he'll be away and the rest of their threat came from having 5 massive guys at set pieces which we couldn't handle. They must be thinking of keeping Martindale as there's no point in letting him go at the end of the season rather than now in footballing terms, they're clearly down. Unless there's a financial clause that means they have to wait until relegation is officially confirmed before letting him go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmare Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) 34 minutes ago, cb_diamond said: I for one would be all for them doing a Brechin. If Martindale leaves when Livi get relegated then I think there’s a good chance of them plummeting. No idea if he will want to stick around for another crack at the Championship or if he’ll think he’s taken them as far as he can - but the latter feels more likely. Edited April 10 by Nightmare 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneteaminglasgow Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) I think Livi will do absolutely fine next season - I don’t think they’ll win the league, but I think they’ll be challenging for the playoffs. Even with them losing some very good players like Nouble, Penrice and Anderson, they still have the makings of a decent championship squad. And Martindale is, despite this season, obviously still a decent manager. This opinion is subject to them not needing to sell all their remaining assets and sign complete shite to replace them, but I don’t think that’ll happen. 1 minute ago, Nightmare said: If Martindale leaves when Livi get relegated then I think there’s a good chance of them plummeting. No idea if he will want to stick around for another crack at the Championship or if he’ll think he’s taken them as far as he can - the latter of which feels more likely. I think Martindale will stay, as I think he’s resigned to the fact that, rightly or wrongly, his past means no one apart from Livi will touch him. Edited April 10 by oneteaminglasgow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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