Troubling times for Airdrie but fans must support the club

Oct 28 2009 Colin Paterson reflects on the latest events at New Broomfield

IN the end, Jim Ballantyne had no choice but to offer his thoughts. When a club goes three months without a win, a word or two from the top is generally required.

After 13 winless games, Airdrie United's chairman has elected to speak out. In doing so, he acknowledges that the patience of the club's support has long since worn thin.

These are troubling times for the Diamonds and life will not get any easier for the New Broomfield hierarchy and gaffer Kenny Black if a First Division victory is not achieved against Ayr United on Saturday.

Ballantyne's comments again make for interesting reading and they do not come without drama. He pulls no punches when he says Airdrie "will not survive" on the back of crowds as low as 750. This is neither a threat or scaremongering.

When Ross County visited Monklands just under a fortnight ago, only 756 people clicked through the turnstiles and the vast number of empty seats in the main stand at Craigneuk Avenue will be generating real cause for concern.

In attempting to rally the stay-away brigade, and the Airdrie public in general, Ballantyne has urged people to recall the events of seven years ago when his family, along with the Speirs family, put together a package to buy-out Clydebank and preserve senior football in the town following the liquidation of the 'Onians.

"We were there for you in your hour of need in 2002 but now the role is reversed and we need your support on Saturday against Ayr and for the rest of the season," he states.

Some fans may feel that they are having their consciencies emotionally pricked, but Ballantyne is entirely correct with what he says.

Look through Airdrie's attendance figures in the seasons since the formation of United; the town has been turning its back on the club for years whether the team have been relatively successful or not.

It is this issue, more than any other, that upsets the chairman and the board of directors. They put in their own fortune every month to keep the club going and despair at receiving less and less in return.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Diamonds and their full-time status is funded entirely by the Ballantyne family and whoever turns up every other Saturday. This is why crowds can't afford to drop any lower; there is only so much the current board can do.

Granted, the fans are not to blame for the sorry run of results, this is the responsibility of players and coaching staff, but those who choose against turning up must realise the budget the club can enter the transfer market with.

Why is the attendance issue so important? Well, from day one, the owners made it clear that the club would live within its means and the more money taken in at the turnstiles, the more that would be spent on the team.

Depending on what side of the 'Black must go' fence you sit on, Ballantyne's silence on the gaffer's future suggests that he is either allowing his under-fire boss the space to do his job or not taking the opportunity to back his man.

There can be no doubting the fact that Black is under pressure, but in talking specifically about his position, Ballantyne has decided to keep his own counsel.

On this one, he was always going to be damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Only a dramatic improvement in results will silence the boo-boys, however, and if they aren't forthcoming, the chairman will not be able to avoid this particular matter for much longer.

The few hundred words Ballantyne has spoken will create debate but may also focus the minds and appease the faithful for the time being at least. His next move will depend almost entirely on what Airdrie's result is at ten to five on Saturday.

*JIM BALLANTYNE'S comments on Airdrie's situation can be read in today's Advertiser.