kelty_par, Sat 13 Apr 21:20

Yes, very disappointing.

Since we won the league so early, had done so against Falkirk and had reestablished the feelgood factor in the ground, it should have been easy to build on that momentum. Everything in the summer though was a bit "meh" and that led to us not really coming into the season on the crest of a wave. The new kits were reasonably well received but not classics. The St Pauli pre season friendly was a bit of a damp squib and top early in our preparations. Seeing players we were linked to heading elsewhere, seeing players on trial with us not being kffered/rejecting deals, etc. Then when every other club seemed to be signing several players and refreshing their squads, we were making loan moves permanent (no issue with that, especially when they had done so well and had seemingly high ceilings) and not doing an awful lot else.

We made a reasonable start in the Viaplay Cup game at Stark`s Park but we never capitalised on that and when Todd and Ritchie-Hosler were revealed to be out long term it seemed to just darken the mood. I think then was the time we should have looked to make a statement signing - the morale boost alone would have been worth it. Early games in the league were a struggle - much like last season but without the number of wins. Our style in League One was built on a solid defence but we were hardly free scoring and I think a lot of us were worried we`d cough up more chances and take fewer of our own this season without an upgrade at the back and in the striker role. None of our forwards have had good seasons and without Todd in the squad, our midfield struggled to take up the slack.

There have been some utterly horrid individual games, a large number of very dull encounters and a lot of games where by a out 15 minutes in the pattern of "we`re going to create some chances, not take them and lose a close game" looked already set in stone. Losing five times to the Rovers, even if four of them were quite close, is never really acceptable and the cup tie capitulation was a shambles. Tactically we didn`t seem to employ the same flexibility as we did last season and too often persisted with a system that wasn`t working. Too many players were asked to play when not fit, too many players didn`t look up to Championship standard, too many players had bursts of one, two or three games looking good then reverting to the norm. To see an Airdrie side we finished miles ahead of last season adapt better, finish higher and play more attractive football than us has been quite galling. Seeing Raith seemingly wait until we were interested in a player before swooping in was a bit annoying. Seeing Falkirk go undefeated (albeit in a worse league than we were in last season) and doing so with a bit of swagger is a bit annoying.

So yeah, I`d say it`s been a disappointing season. Tone was set early, injuries didn`t help but the football has been quite turgid, home results and performances haven`t been great and in a year when

kelty_par, Sat 13 Apr 21:20

Yes, very disappointing.

Since we won the league so early, had done so against Falkirk and had reestablished the feelgood factor in the ground, it should have been easy to build on that momentum. Everything in the summer though was a bit "meh" and that led to us not really coming into the season on the crest of a wave. The new kits were reasonably well received but not classics. The St Pauli pre season friendly was a bit of a damp squib and top early in our preparations. Seeing players we were linked to heading elsewhere, seeing players on trial with us not being kffered/rejecting deals, etc. Then when every other club seemed to be signing several players and refreshing their squads, we were making loan moves permanent (no issue with that, especially when they had done so well and had seemingly high ceilings) and not doing an awful lot else.

We made a reasonable start in the Viaplay Cup game at Stark`s Park but we never capitalised on that and when Todd and Ritchie-Hosler were revealed to be out long term it seemed to just darken the mood. I think then was the time we should have looked to make a statement signing - the morale boost alone would have been worth it. Early games in the league were a struggle - much like last season but without the number of wins. Our style in League One was built on a solid defence but we were hardly free scoring and I think a lot of us were worried we`d cough up more chances and take fewer of our own this season without an upgrade at the back and in the striker role. None of our forwards have had good seasons and without Todd in the squad, our midfield struggled to take up the slack.

There have been some utterly horrid individual games, a large number of very dull encounters and a lot of games where by a out 15 minutes in the pattern of "we`re going to create some chances, not take them and lose a close game" looked already set in stone. Losing five times to the Rovers, even if four of them were quite close, is never really acceptable and the cup tie capitulation was a shambles. Tactically we didn`t seem to employ the same flexibility as we did last season and too often persisted with a system that wasn`t working. Too many players were asked to play when not fit, too many players didn`t look up to Championship standard, too many players had bursts of one, two or three games looking good then reverting to the norm. To see an Airdrie side we finished miles ahead of last season adapt better, finish higher and play more attractive football than us has been quite galling. Seeing Raith seemingly wait until we were interested in a player before swooping in was a bit annoying. Seeing Falkirk go undefeated (albeit in a worse league than we were in last season) and doing so with a bit of swagger is a bit annoying.

So yeah, I`d say it`s been a disappointing season. Tone was set early, injuries didn`t help but the football has been quite turgid, home results and performances haven`t been great and in a year when