Boominbooty Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I wonder if he was on the outs with the manager. He had indicated pretty early on that he wanted to "put himself in the shop window" at Falkirk so he could get a new contract elsewhere and that he wanted to play at the top level (by this I imagine he didn't mean Falkirk). He then played really well against Scotland and I wonder if he received some offers/strong interest then. He agreed to go elsewhere (Hibs maybe??) and that ticked off the manager i.e. individual before team promotion pursuit. So, with others playing well he was parked on the bench. Of course, this is pure speculation but I bet you we'll see him in the SPL for a bigger team (not Celtic or Rangers) Obinna, Pottsy3 and Bertuzzi44 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: Falkirk were chasing promotion. If he could have helped secure that he would have been in the team. That would be true if he was one of their top players. However, he was starting material but not irreplaceable, so my guess is that they chose to give minutes to others when it looked like Aird was happy to move on. Aird mentioned in an interview that he was open to either staying or moving on at seasons end, so long as he continued to get playing time. I think he understands he has options beyond Falkirk and this was only a short term contract anyhow. Edited May 23, 2017 by Obinna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Boominbooty said: I wonder if he was on the outs with the manager. He had indicated pretty early on that he wanted to "put himself in the shop window" at Falkirk so he could get a new contract elsewhere and that he wanted to play at the top level (by this I imagine he didn't mean Falkirk). He then played really well against Scotland and I wonder if he received some offers/strong interest then. He agreed to go elsewhere (Hibs maybe??) and that ticked off the manager i.e. individual before team promotion pursuit. So, with others playing well he was parked on the bench. Of course, this is pure speculation but I bet you we'll see him in the SPL for a bigger team (not Celtic or Rangers) This is how I see it as well. That makes more sense than him simply losing his place because he was playing badly, especially after scoring against Scotland and having an incredible match. IIRC it was shortly after that his minutes dropped, so this is my theory too. Edited May 23, 2017 by Obinna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 IIRC, Aird was linked to a number of League One clubs, so I hope he will catch on somewhere at that level. As for the thought of him signing with the Whitecaps as a backup RB? That would be career suicide IMO. Realistically, is a manager going to put a player on the pitch who will be out the door at season's end? I don't think so, especially one that wasn't an every game starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopePouri Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 5 hours ago, Keegan said: I was thinking the exact same thing. When we come under a tough run of matches we usually end up playing a player out of position there (Endoh, Cooper, Edwards or Morrow). That needs to stop as the season goes on. Aird was fantastic at RM against Scotland, he isn't a great RB but RWB just may work... similar to Edwards he is incredibly fast, likes to take on players and can cross in a great ball and let's face it TFC controls most matches these days. I think he could be the answer for when Beitashour isn't available.. or maybe he even wins the spot. As much as I'd like to see this, Aird is a defensive liability and most likely wouldn't see the first team. It took Endoh one bad half to get demoted into TFC 2 limbo. Vanney wants smart defensive/tactical rotations and be a decent 1v1 defender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 No thanks to Aird joining TFC. Not the right fit. I want him to get regular playing time as a midfielder and TFC do not play with wingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC_Hali Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 20 minutes ago, Obinna said: No thanks to Aird joining TFC. Not the right fit. I want him to get regular playing time as a midfielder and TFC do not play with wingers. Aird getting Tesho-like minutes on a top MLS team would be good for his development. I think he's more of a known quantity at the wing back position than Raheem Edwards was at the beginning of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I assume he stays in the uk. If he does leave i think he'll go to the nasl on a short term deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_M Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Should not get anywhere near north america, needs to stay in europe WheatsheafSK, Blackjack15, king1010 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Aird's MOTM performance in the Canada/Scotland match with EPL, Championship and SPL players on the pitch sure hasn't seemed to help him. To me he looked at least SPL quality.. Shway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 2 hours ago, Bertuzzi44 said: Aird's MOTM performance in the Canada/Scotland match with EPL, Championship and SPL players on the pitch sure hasn't seemed to help him. To me he looked at least SPL quality.. Shows how much of an outlier that game was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 7 minutes ago, canta15 said: Shows how much of an outlier that game was Also shows his potential. NVsoccer, Obinna and Pottsy3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Most recent article makes it seem like he's got a few of teams looking at him. In addition to Wigan and Blackburn, Fleetwood seem to be in the mix. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4509254/Ex-Rangers-star-Fraser-Aird-opens-Canada-goal.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince193 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 39 minutes ago, matty said: Most recent article makes it seem like he's got a few of teams looking at him. In addition to Wigan and Blackburn, Fleetwood seem to be in the mix. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4509254/Ex-Rangers-star-Fraser-Aird-opens-Canada-goal.html If that's the case he's potentially another Canadian lost to League One purgatory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympique_de_Marseille Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 5 minutes ago, Vince193 said: If that's the case he's potentially another Canadian lost to League One purgatory. League One is not a purgatory. A Canadian playing at that level as a starter is better than being an MLS sub. Fleetwood did well this year but I'm afraid they want Fraser as a Conor McLaughlin replacement at right-back. (McLaughlin btw is the reason that Michael Smith is still not cap-tied to Northern Ireland). Zem, BCM, shermanator and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 10 minutes ago, Vince193 said: If that's the case he's potentially another Canadian lost to League One purgatory. It's around SPL (non-Celtic) in terms of play so it's not a bad landing spot for a 22 year old who most recently was playing in Scotland's 2nd tier. BCM and Northvansteve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince193 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 4 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said: League One is not a purgatory. A Canadian playing at that level as a starter is better than being an MLS sub. Fleetwood did well this year but I'm afraid they want Fraser as a Conor McLaughlin replacement at right-back. (McLaughlin btw is the reason that Michael Smith is still not cap-tied to Northern Ireland). Doesn't mean it improves the MNT. If we want to compete our guys need to be at higher levels playing consistently, until then it will remain a holding pattern. WheatsheafSK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 9 minutes ago, Vince193 said: Doesn't mean it improves the MNT. If we want to compete our guys need to be at higher levels playing consistently, until then it will remain a holding pattern. Good thing he'll be moving up a level in play if he does go to League 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Scott Arfield played in league one and it didn't kill his career. So did Marcus Haber. If he could land on a solid team in that division and make a move to the Championship, I would be okay with that. I think that's his ceiling, with maybe a season or two in the EPL if he overachieves. king1010 and BCM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheatsheafSK Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 (edited) On 5/24/2017 at 11:36 AM, Vince193 said: If that's the case he's potentially another Canadian lost to League One purgatory. In recent history, the problem with Canadians in League One has been that they have been on lower half teams. If Aird is looking at eventually moving up to Championship, then he needs to find a top-tier competitive League One team - a team like Bradford (sidenote: only an example, no idea if he would be good fit). If you are in a League One team battling relegation - a la Haber at Crewe or Jackson at Coventry - you will have to be an individual standout to get noticed. In other words, you need to be exemplary. If you are in a competitive team on the rise, then other teams will take notice. Moreover, it is easier to play at your best when you have good players around you and you are on a confident team. That said, League One is a competitive league that is tough to pick which team is on the up. Every year, promotion and play-off spots go to a mixture of consistently top-tier, just promoted from League Two and almost relegated last year teams. It is not like PL where 95% of the time you can pick the top 6. Edited May 25, 2017 by WheatsheafSK Obinna 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Aird needs to go to a team where he can be a regular starter. If that level is League One, so be it. His playing time in Falkirk was okay, but getting starts in a third of the games, with sub appearances in another third wasn't optimal, in my opinion. It's a consistent theme for Canadian players who want to improve. Go where you can get minutes. king1010, Ivan, David C. and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Club Linesman Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Agreed. Even a player like Larin who is being scouted by teams in better leagues, needs to ensure that the move is one that secures his playing time. Would you rather Larin remain in MLS as the go to guy in Orlando, playing 80%+ of his team's minutes, or get scraps playing in a much better league and training with much better players? Aird impressed mightily in the Scotland game and needs to end up at the best level possible, but only as long as he is pencilled in as a starter. And if that is League one, play well there, play well for Canada, work your ass off and see where it takes you. shermanator, Obinna and BCM 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Signed with Dunfermline for a year. Tier 2. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/1370980/former-rangers-star-fraser-aird-signs-for-championship-side-dunfermline/ Edited August 3, 2017 by Marc Blackjack15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 5 minutes ago, Marc said: Signed with Dunfermline for a year. Tier 2. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/1370980/former-rangers-star-fraser-aird-signs-for-championship-side-dunfermline/ He must really love Scotland.. can't see why he's sticking around if he's not signing in the SPL. Also find it hard to believe there isn't a spot for him on a top level side there. Blackjack15 and nolando 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack15 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 It's official Bertuzzi44 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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