Alloa Away Sept 2024

[RiG]

15 hours ago, ICTPaisley said:

Yes he mentions the pitch being terrible (which it is) but he certainly doesn’t use it as an excuse. Nothing wrong with stating this, they are getting removed from the top flight and quite right. 

He mentions terrible pitches every single week. It's tedious and seems to be nothing more than some kind of justification for his failures as a manager. If it's not an excuse he needs to belt up about it because we are in a league full of astro pitches. As @ymip mentions, had he not taken us down then we would have avoided these surfaces that he dislikes so much.

13 hours ago, ICTPaisley said:

I’m no fan of Dunc but he’s only ever lost 1 game by more than a goal. Every time I seen them last year I felt the other side was bang average. I’ve never once though we were ‘pumped’

Only losing games by 1 goal is hardly some kind of badge of honour. For most of those games we were utterly bang average and posed almost no threat to the other side for the majority of those games. We lost so many games by a single goal precisely because that was all that was needed to beat us. And that was down to Ferguson and his ultra cautious style of football. It seems we are still seeing that this season and it's very much to our detriment.

[ymip]

12 hours ago, big cherly said:

Let’s take stock of a few things.

"Being full time is no guarantee for automatic promotion...."

"Experience counts; (more so over the season). We’re short of that currently with the young-ish team we have."

"......DF may be able to access English loanees in Jan, but we need AS to provide the funds!!!!"

"..... I think it may be the season after, but I’m prepared to support them  whatever league they play. 

In response to four points Big Cherly makes above I feel compelled to give my tuppence worth:

1. I agree it's no guarantee of automatic promotion but being full-time absolutely should have a major bearing on where we finish.  If it doesn't then it casts a serious question over DF's suitability for the job in hand. Moreover, I believe that we have a squad of players who are capable of delivering better results than we've seen to date.  

2. The starting XI since the transfer window closed is consistently made up of reasonably experienced players who've all played at a higher level. We're generally starting with one or no academy players.  These core players should, in my opinion, be capable of putting us in a secure enough position to be blooding younger players later in games when the hard work has been done. Unfortunately the tactics employed by DF on Saturday, when we were two up, exposed young players to undue pressure and likely negatively impacted their confidence. Just my opinion but seems to be shared by a number of us who were at the match on Saturday.

3. The very last thing we need is Ferguson let loose AGAIN on the English loan market come January!!!  I would have thought that this was blindingly obvious to even the most ardent Ferguson proponents.

4. If we don't go up this season, from what is probably the poorest League 1 in living memory, then we couId feasibly end up stuck in League 1 for years (forever?). Given the composition of the Championship this season there's a fair chance that at least one sizeable club will be relegated which you would imagine would make it much more difficult for us to be promoted in subsequent seasons.

I would stress that I do not wish to get into a barney over this apparent difference of opinion.  We all crave success after an absolutely horrendous period in the club's history but I fear that persisting with the current management regime seriously reduces the likelihood of a potentially successful outcome this season. 

One win and four draws in the League to date is simply not good enough from my perspective and nothing I see or hear from Ferguson gives me grounds to believe things will improve with him in the hot seat.  

Edited September 16, 2024 by ymip

[big cherly]

49 minutes ago, ymip said:

In response to four points Big Cherly makes above I feel compelled to give my tuppence worth:

1. I agree it's no guarantee of automatic promotion but being full-time absolutely should have a major bearing on where we finish.  If it doesn't then it casts a serious question over DF's suitability for the job in hand. Moreover, I believe that we have a squad of players who are capable of delivering better results than we've seen to date.  

2. The starting XI since the transfer window closed is consistently made up of reasonably experienced players who've all played at a higher level. We're generally starting with one or no academy players.  These core players should, in my opinion, be capable of putting us in a secure enough position to be blooding younger players later in games when the hard work has been done. Unfortunately the tactics employed by DF on Saturday, when we were two up, exposed young players to undue pressure and likely negatively impacted their confidence. Just my opinion but seems to be shared by a number of us who were at the match on Saturday.

3. The very last thing we need is Ferguson let loose AGAIN on the English loan market come January!!!  I would have thought that this was blindingly obvious to even the most ardent Ferguson proponents.

4. If we don't go up this season, from what is probably the poorest League 1 in living memory, then we couId feasibly end up stuck in League 1 for years (forever?). Given the composition of the Championship this season there's a fair chance that at least one sizeable club will be relegated which you would imagine would make it much more difficult for us to be promoted in subsequent seasons.

I would stress that I do not wish to get into a barney over this apparent difference of opinion.  We all crave success after an absolutely horrendous period in the club's history but I fear that persisting with the current management regime seriously reduces the likelihood of a potentially successful outcome this season. 

One win and four draws in the League to date is simply not good enough from my perspective and nothing I see or hear from Ferguson gives me grounds to believe things will improve with him in the hot seat.  

Hi ymip,

Like your views. Catch up in Jan 25

Edited September 16, 2024 by big cherly

[ClickbaitProponent]

15 hours ago, big cherly said:

I think we all need to just step back a little and let us reach the half way through the season. We can make then, I suggest, a better assessment of whether we are capable of being champs, playoff, mid table or fighting relegation. 
Let’s take stock of a few things.

Being full time is no guarantee for automatic promotion. It provides our F/T players the benefit of applying themselves fully to working on their fitness, skills, teamwork and manager game plan. The part time clubs have operating since there existence in an PT operation and know how to get the best out of there players.

Experience counts; (more so over the season). We’re short of that currently with the young-ish team we have. Other teams are I suggest more settled in this area. 

Whether we like it or not artificial pitches present a challenge when your (our) home pitch surface is grass. Yes we can train in them at the Bught, but it’s still a disadvantage for us. 

We still have the geographic issue of our division rivals having easier access to player pools. DF may be able to access English loanees in Jan, but we need AS to provide the funds!!!!

Lastly, let’s not loose sight we are just attempting to get the club back on its feet after a monumental six months. We’re not out of the woods yet.

Finish by saying I want the team to be playing in the championship next year. However I think it may be the season after, but I’m prepared to support them  whatever league they play. 

You forgot to mention that big Dunc is *****, and that the tea lady is more tactically aware ... there fixed it for you.

[Starscape]

On 9/15/2024 at 4:50 PM, ymip said:

There's no "big-ish" club fallen on hard times in the league

There is. It's us!