Accies World

I can't be at Annan today, but I'll be following from afar, wishing the gaffer, players, backroom staff and all travelling fans all the best. And I'm really looking forward to our first home game v Livi on Tuesday evening.

I'm cautious but quietly confident about the season ahead. By the end of last season, so many players had left it seemed like we could hardly put a team together, and our results got progressively worse as we barely stayed up. But we did stay up. And since then it's been a summer of professionalism and planning. New surface. Stadium improvements. New kits. Accies TV. And best of all, a series of what appear to be well-thought-through signings of decent quality.

We have what looks to be a strong squad, with depth of cover in every position. There's an air of confidence. The Board and management of the club seem determined to progress to the next level. What will that mean? I'm hoping it means we won't be in a relegation battle, and may even challenge for top six. That would represent unprecedented new heights for us, and if we just miss out and finish 7th or 8th I won't be disappointed. But expectations are certainly raised.

This is Accies. We've all been burned before. Many times. Nobody should get carried away. But there's a real sense that we're at the dawn of a new era.

Good luck, everyone.

All that stuff was good while it lasted eh?

Bring back the Euro Pish!

Knew the backlash wouldn't be far away!

Disappointing result today, but early days. Probably too early in terms of our new team gelling. Still high hopes. Let's see how the next few weeks unfold.

Yeah that's bang out of order isn't it?
Totally acceptable to lose to Annan.
Again ! !

Might be pre season,but in two games against bottom division opponents we have lost both and scored in neither;way to go...not.

Ally Dawsonesque.
Or even Colin Miller like.

Maybe I was getting a bit carried away in the OP. Or maybe we just need more time.

We've brought in almost an entire new team of players, and we've had next to no pre-season, not for the first time. Clearly the new players need time to settle, and at a quick estimate 3 of them have played about 180 competitive minutes, 3 have played 90 minutes or less, and the others haven't played at all. We also have Ziggy returning after a few seasons away, and Miller getting more game time than before. And the manager probably doesn't even know his best XI yet.

The work over the summer has been impressive, but once again, we seem to be using the group stage of the League Cup as our pre-season.

So I suppose I'm saying let's wait and see. I was told last night that when Ziggy came over to the fans at the end of the Annan game, he was saying "stay with us". Obviously he knows how quickly some of our support turn negative, and was making a timely plea for patience.

It's frustrating we haven't scored yet. We seem to have the target men we need: Bloomfield as 1st choice, Oggy, once fit, as back-up, and Bingham as 3rd choice - so we had to play our 3rd choice last night. Bloomfield apparently picked up a knock at Annan, so wasn't risked, but he looked sprightly enough jogging up the steps of the stand, so I hope there's no "other reason" for his omission.

I actually think our scoring problem is more to do with the creativity. Who do we have who can hit a decent corner or free kick? Or have the vision to set something up, or play the killer ball to a striker? We've lost Templeton, Crawford and Redmond, and replaced them with... I guess Kelly and Smith, but it's too soon to tell what quality they have. I suspect we're still short in this department.

It could be we've solved last season's defensive frailties (again, too soon to tell, but we've certainly got the bodies). I hope we haven't exposed a similar problem area from middle to front. If so, a season filled with 0-0 draws awaits.

Ogkmpoe should, and probably will, be first choice.

Didn't actually think about the lack of players to take set-pieces. I'd imagine Imrie will probably be the designated player, but if he isn't going to feature as regularly (as MacKinnon's appointment as "team captain" suggests), I'm not sure who'll be next in line. Phillips' YouTube video showed him hitting free-kicks, but these videos are usually deceiving.

So I suppose I'm saying let's wait and see. I was told last night that when Ziggy came over to the fans at the end of the Annan game, he was saying "stay with us". Obviously he knows how quickly some of our support turn negative, and was making a timely plea for patience.

I’m with you. Overall I am still positive about the signings particualry in defence and both our first half performances v Stenhousemuir and Livingston showed promise. To say that this group of players are worse than last years is just plain silly. That said I do think we are lacking that player who can make things happen. It just makes you realise how important Temps was last season. The other big question however is Martin’s coaching and tactical abilities.

Nothing has changed from DAY ONE of his tenure in that respect.