Match Preview/Thread - Airdrieonians vs Morton (6th April)

[TONofmemories]

Imrie got this wrong again IMO

[dunning1874]

The build up to the corner for the third goal was laughable. Broadfoot gives away a freekick with no danger near the halfway line because our experienced ex-international who's played in European finals and can impart his wisdom to the rest of the team has absolutely lost his head and smashes through the back of Todorov who has roasted him all day, when the ball was going to harmlessly go over both their heads into our possession. The sort of stupidity you'd be chastising an 18 year old for and he's doing it at 39 as the supposed consummate professional setting an example.

Then they take the freekick playing it down the wing, where Tyler French is asleep to the point that even after the ball is at the feet of the runner he's apparently marking, he is still standing still staring at him. We get away with that with the ball fired across missing everyone, then coming to the back post where someone - unsure if it was Waters or Baird - who has time and space to clear up the park: he slices it back over his own net for a corner.

It was just one 45 second period in an abysmal performance where no Morton player got pass marks, but fucking hell that rolling incompetence summed it up.

That should call time on Kirk Broadfoot's Morton career, and Alan Power's is on a shoogly peg. O'Connor and Gillespie have to be starting on Tuesday.

[TopCat]

Power and Broadfoot have proved me wrong since their shocker of a start to the season but neither played well today. However, I'd lay this one at Imrie's feet. Playing those 2 away from home on a horrible pitch in howling wind with the positional bombscares that are Waters and French is just asking for trouble. We should either be tweaking the line up or our approach to the game to suit the situation, not just walking into the opposition gameplan.

Airdie are fairly tidy on the ball and have had the edge on us in terms of general play for most of our games this season. Disappointing not to see us improving much against them.

[gmfc23]

Absolutely fkn garbage chance to go fourth today and didn't bother turning up. There was so much wrong with that shit arses better get booted all over that fkn changing room and changes made for Tuesday. 

[Hej]

Same old shite supporting this club. Have a good season then throw it away at the arse end. Getting real boring. 

Edited April 6 by Hej

[Madton]

That was a tough watch.

Airdrie simply the better team and will no doubt clinch 4th.

French and Power were the standout pish performers but most were poor.  O'connor must be raging not being in the team.

Garritys goal summed up our day.

We need a response on Tuesday or we will be looking over our shoulder.

Decent crowd let down badly.

[Alibi]

Need a huge improvement to make the playoffs now. Win at Ayr an absolute essential. Should have enough to stay above Inverness but wouldn’t want to be only 2, or indeed even 3 points ahead of them going into the last game. Maybe Wilson will make a difference. We need a better squad next season.

[RossMcC1874]

Absolutely garbage first half that's as poor as I've seen us play offered nothing. Broadfoot done Power done no idea how they both stayed on that park for that long. French is possibly one of the worst footballers I have seen in a long time. We don't deserve anything from this season playing like that. 

[TopCat]

8 minutes ago, Hej said:

Same old shite supporting this club. Have a good season then throw it away at the arse end. Getting real boring. 

I think this will be 8 out of the last 9 seasons with us finishing between 4th and 7th in the championship (relegation playoff in the covid season the blip). 

[Toby]

An utterly appalling afternoon in just about every way. I'm sick of being told how great Alan Power is when he's giving away soft goals like that first one and Brian Graham's at Firhill the other week. Same applies to Broadfoot- we've really got to look at lowering the average age of the squad in the summer- relying on guys who simply don't have any pace has been our Achilles heel all season.

The downgrade that Waters is on Strapp has also been stark. He's like a 12 year old playing in an under 18's game. Three touches to control the ball and by that point the best pressing team in the division are all over him like a rash. I'll not even start on French on the other side. Ross's post above says more than any diatribe from me could.

Quitongo was good- but we're too far down the road now to be giving him a new contract so he can sit on the treatment table all next season, that ship's sailed. Even the shite nature of our goal summed up how crap an afternoon it was.

And last, but most certainly not least- absolutely disgusting to hear some racist fuckwit screaming not once, but twice, when Todorov was announced as man of the match over the tannoy that he was a "fucking refugee".

I suppose I'm at fault like everyone else for not challenging him at the time, but having done that all the way back in 2006 when some wanker gave Marvin Andrews some of the same and having my ankles clipped walking out of grounds for a year or two afterwards I vowed I never would again, and don't blame anyone else for not wanting the hassle.

But it can't go without comment. Hope the insufferable prick is proud of himself- or more to the point, I hope he's absolutely shiting himself if the club take a look at this forum and investigate. Dickhead.

[Scott]

It won’t be, but that should be the last time we see Broadfoot. An appalling performance allowing McGill and Todorov to get the better of him for 90 mins. O’Connor must replace him on Tuesday. 
I thought Power got a hard time of it at the start of the season, and he was great during our 16 game unbeaten run but today he was miles off it. Unsure how many but that must be 3 or 4 goals he’s cost us in recent weeks due to arsing about with the ball rather than just shelling it, or passing to a player near him. Gillespie should start on Tuesday but I’m not sure how much of an improvement that’ll be. 
Tyler French is another who has put in pathetic performances for weeks on end, even a weak link during our impressive run. Maybe Dundee sent the wrong player over as he’s not lived up to the expectations set by their support. He’s practically undroppable due to us having no alternative at RB other than Blues. 
Garrity made a huge difference when he came on and must start on Tuesday too. 
 

Promotion play-offs look too far away now, but 3/4 points from the next 2 games should consolidate our place in the Championship for next season. 

[LargsTON]

Wasn't there due to work but I'm continually baffled at the omission of O'Connor who's debatably our best and most consistent defender.  He and Baird should both start when fit without exception.  

[tondaft1874]

Broadfoot is finished far too slow and putting him beside Baird is a terrible decision. 

Watters absolutely p*sh as well, is he capable of playing a forward pass? Turns back with the ball every time he gets it.

French as well was giving him the benefit of the doubt for a long time given his serious injury but he's not good enough. 

Blues, Crawford and Muirhead have been passengers in the team for weeks. Power been one of our better performers for a while but that's the last 2 he's been absolutely terrible, especially today. Must have shanked the ball out the park 4/5 times and gave away possession in poor areas multiple times. 

Changes should have been made after the 2nd goal/at half time. Change in shape didn't work the 1st time or the 2nd when made the changes.

Season over and we could be in bother.

[DumfriesTon]

As soon as the first goal went it we were never getting anything out of that. We are so bad once we go a goal down and can never recover. Fucking appalling from Power and I thought Mullen should have done better. He sort of palmed it into the tip corner. 

Broadfoot was the worst player on the park though. Closely followed by the rest of the back 4 and Power. He was bullied all game by Todorov, kept going for balls he had no chance of winning, running out of position like a headless chicken. He's done and infuriating that Imrie can't see that. Waters is honking. French's positional sense is so bad. 

Another ineffectual performance from Crawford. Time for a spot on the bench now. Quitongo and Garrity to start on Tuesday please. 

The whole afternoon was just fucking woeful. Even our goal was incredibly shit. They are a decent side with a good press but all three of those goals were avoidable. 

Too many players not good enough and I'd be going for a big clear out in the summer. Likes of Waters, Broadfoot, French, Blues & Power should all be upgraded. 

Also a note on that racist arsehole too that Toby mentioned above. Utterly appalling and I'm glad that one guy told him where to go. Hopefully he can be identified and banned from future Morton games. Disgusting.

[dunning1874]

I'd left at 3-0 down but disgusted to hear someone ended up spewing racial abuse. Hopefully enough people were aware and can identify to get him banned.

[Brian Skelton]

Disgraceful performance surely even Dougie can't defend them after that.

[SassenachTon]

Wanker.

[HamCam]

Another end of season shambolic performance. The shortcomings in the squad are there for all to see so no surprise we come up short. As soon as we concede the first goal in a game the belief in the team evaporates and you just know we are unlikely to come back. In this regard the experienced players let us down once again. Even if the play offs are realistically beyond us every position higher up the table means more money in the transfer kitty albeit you have to hope it is not wasted on offering contracts to players who keep on under performing. Talk about sucking the life out of the fans.

Edited April 6 by HamCam

[irnbru]

33 minutes ago, HamCam said:

Another end of season shambolic performance. The shortcomings in the squad are there for all to see so no surprise we come up short. As soon as we concede the first goal in a game the belief in the team evaporates and you just know we are unlikely to come back. In this regard the experienced players let us down once again. Even if the play offs are realistically beyond us every position higher up the table means more money in the transfer kitty albeit you have to hope it is not wasted on offering contracts to players who keep on under performing. Talk about sucking the life out of the fans.

Win on Tuesday and Airdrie lose to Raith and we're only 2 points behind. I can't see us picking up many points tbh though. 

[tondaft1874]

4th - Airdrie 45pts:

Raith (A)

Dunfemline (H)

Thistle (A)

Dundee Utd (H)

Queens Park (A)

 

Dunfemline 5th - 42 points:

Airdrie (A)

Queens Park (H)

Inverness (H)

Ayr (A)

 

Morton 6th 40 points:

Ayr (A)

Dundee Utd (H)

Arbroath (A)

Raith (H)

Inverness (A)

 

With those remaining fixtures hopefully airdrie can only pick up another 3 at home to dunfemline given what the others have at stake. Dunfemline could pick up 6 points so I reckon we need to pick up 9 out out last 5 games to make it