One of the few grounds in Scotland that I haven't been to is Somerset Park, apparently, it's like taking a trip back to 1970s; which is good for the nostalgia lovers which some of the Ayr faithful probably are. Since 1977, Ayr have not been in Scotland's top flight and have unfortunately felt the consequences of having more empty terraces than not.
However, 2016-17 has started brightly under Ian McCall. Eight points from as many games has left the club in seventh place in the table, on target for where they want to be at the end of the season. Their biggest achievement of the season was beating then undefeated Hibs at Easter Road in front of 16,000 bemused Hibees.
However, defensive frailties are still evident. In their first three games, Ayr lost all three and conceded 9, only scoring one goal in response.
Having seen Ayr, they just look like a side that isn't equipped for Championship football. This could be down to their quasi-part-time status or it could just be poor management. From what was evident, they were still one attacking player away from showing any real threat in a league that has very poor defenses. Gary Harkins will score goals for them, but he's not enough, Ayr need a Greg Spence type player to keep them out of the relegation battles.
Ayr's next five fixtures:
- Dumbarton (A) - 15th Oct - Championship
- Queen of the South (H) 22nd Oct - Championship
- Greenock Morton (A) - 29th Oct - Championship
- Hibernian (H) - 5th Nov - Championship
- Raith Rovers (A) - 12th Nov - Championship
Unfortunately for Ayr, it looks like it could be a long season, however, should they continue to improve over the course of the season as they have done, they should just survive. The problem is that they can't compete with the league's better squads on a consistent basis, yes granted they beat Hibs, but that was a fluke result. My prediction, however is for Ayr United to finish 8th and in turn survive the play-off by a point or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment