East Stirling dominating Rangers and Celtic -Is this a dream??

retired_pahuja_satish · 04-05-2004, 05:25 PM

i like this story. KUTGW :thup:

retired_sroch3032 · 04-06-2004, 03:40 PM

Thanks SoS Nice to see people enjoying it!

24th of October 2003

A quick glance on the transfer list today led to me faxing a bid to Peterhead for their 34 y/o forward Iain Stewart. Peterhead was asking £0 and I feel the club could do with an experienced player as most of the squad is under 23.

Another bid was sent to Gretna for their 39 y/o centre back. Keith Knox will probably only play the rest of the season but for £0 and only £100 p/w it’s a bargain in my opinion for a large amount of years of expierence.

25th of October 2003

Our third consecutive away match and last match of the month gives us a match against 2nd placed Peterhead.

October 25th, 2003 Scottish Division Three Match 10 (a)
Peterhead V East Stirling
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Peterhead League Form: LWWWL Position: 2nd East Stirling League Form: LDWLL Position: 9th</pre>
East Stirling (4-4-2) Jon Connolly (c)- Roddy Maughan ,Graeme McLaren, James White, Craig Reid-Scott Livingstone, Gordon Lappin, Sean McAuley, Jamie Mackay- Stuart Kelly, Derek Ure
Subs: Chris Todd (gk), Michael Stewart, Jordan Leishman, Dougie Polwart, Gerry Boyle

I give Stuart Kelly a start because of Paul Rodden’s poor form in his last few matches. Gerry Boyle is also promoted up to the bench.

A corner in the 4th minute gives Peterhead the lead after a clearance hits the head of Beith and flies into the net. The day turns into a nightmare thirteen minutes later when our defence is all over the place and Peterhead take advantage through Stewart to make it 2-0. Sometimes I think I should just resign because two minutes later Peterhead put in a pathetic cross and it somehow finds its way through the East Stirling defence to the far post and is knocked in by Bavidge to make it 3-0. Another corner just before the hour mark makes it 4-0 to Peterhead through Smith. Just before the break Peterhead make it 5-0 through Bavidge after a long ball was headed on to him but I am debating the merits of the goal as I feel it was offside but at 4-0 who cares. But just when I think the world is against me the referee rules the goal out due to a really late offside call by the assistant referee.

Peterhead continued dominating the match from the second half kick off. They didn’t score again until the 76th minute when Grant found himself all alone to smash the ball past Connolly and give his team a 5-0 lead.

Peterhead 5:0 East Stirling
Peterhead Goals: Smith (1), Beith (1), Stewart (1), Bavidge (1), Grant (1)
East Stirling Goals: -
MoM: Martin Bavidge (Peterhead) Rating-9
Subs: Stewart on for White (60’), Boyle on for Kelly (60’), Leishman on for Mackay (60’)
Booked: Livingstone (East Stirling)
Sent Off: -
Stadium: Balmoor Stadium
Attendance: 1566

Now this is a scoreline every manager doesnt want to be on the end of(unless they are trying to get their team relegated). I felt so helpless with all the changes to formation, tinkering of player positioning and substitutions and nothing working.

26th of October 2003

The Scottish League Challenge Cup was played today with Montrose of Division 3 facing Clyde of Division 1. The higher division team won the cup at the end of the day with Clyde scoring the only goal of the game which occurred at the 21st minute. Clyde had to hold on to the lead after having a player sent off on the 69th minute but hung on by the skin of their teeth to clinch the Scottish League Challenge Cup.

BarryLFC · 04-06-2004, 11:07 PM

I like that you're not making a binny-style romp through the division. :thup:

retired_sroch3032 · 04-07-2004, 10:16 AM

HD, I dont know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult but its a comment all the same

27th of October 2003

Gretna accepted my bid for Keith Knox and I offered him a contract for 2 seasons.

28th of October 2003

Peterhead accepted my offer for Iain Stewart and I offered the 34 year old forward a contract but he lacked enthusiasm so I doubt if he will join the club.

31st of October 2003

After a long discussion with my assistant manager and ONE and ONLY scout I agreed to cancel the deal to bring Keith Knox to East Stirling as they were both convinced he wasn’t good enough.

The Ian Stewart transfer was confirmed today and he will be joining us on the 1st of January 2004.

1st of November 2003

The first day of the new month and we have the awards to be given out:

The Scottish Third Division Player of the Month goes to Peterhead’s Martin Bavidge after his recent performances which saw him scoring over a goal a game.

Shaun Milligan won the Scottish Third Division Young Player of the Month award after a series of good performances for his club Gretna over the past month.

The Scottish Third Division Manager of the Month has gone to Allan Moore the manager of Stirling. He led his team to two victories in their last three league games.

Later on that day our home match against Elgin kicked off. They are only just two positions above us so hopefully we can gain at least a draw at home.

November 1st, 2003 Scottish Division Three Match 11 (h)
East Stirling V Elgin City

East Stirling League Form: LLDWL Position: 9th
Elgin City League Form: LLLDW Position: 7th

East Stirling (4-4-2) Jon Connolly (c)- Roddy Maughan ,Graeme McLaren, James White, Craig Reid-Scott Livingstone, Gordon Lappin, Sean McAuley, Dougie Polwart- Stuart Kelly, Derek Ure
Subs: Chris Todd (gk), Michael Stewart, Jordan Leishman, Jamie Mackay, Gerry Boyle

The game kicked off on a cool day in Falkirk with my team having one change. Polwart replaced Mackay after his lack lustre performances in recent matches.

Oh my god after twenty seconds we were behind. The Elgin City kick off resulted in their first attack with Bone sending a cross to the far post and when Connolly didn’t come for it McLean beat his marker and headed his team into a 1-0 lead. All we needed was a quick counter attack and we were level. A nice flowing counter attack with Kelly, Ure and Mackay all involved and a great ball by Mackay allowed Kelly to find space and volley the ball home for the equaliser 1-1.

Absolutely nothing happened and when I did a triple substitution on the 61st minute I hoped it would give us an edge over Elgin. Five minutes before time a quick throw in lead to Leishman thumped a strike at goal but it flew agonisingly wide of the left hand post. That was the last chance of the match for both sides and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

East Stirling 1:1 Elgin City
East Stirling Goals: Kelly (1)
Elgin City Goals: McLean (1)
MoM: Jon Connolly (East Stirling) Rating-9
Subs: Stewart on for White (62’), Boyle on for Kelly (62’), Leishman on for Polwart (62’)
Booked: Polwart (East Stirling), White (East Stirling)
Sent Off: -
Stadium: Firs Park
Attendance: 1433

After the match my physio reported that Roddy Maughan damaged his shoulder in the match and would be out for two weeks. It is a massive blow for the club as Maughan is a key member in my back four.

Next the match against promotion chasing Cowdenbeath and the "Worldly League Wrap"

retired_sroch3032 · 04-07-2004, 12:19 PM

8th of November 2003

Today we had the privilege of playing the 2nd placed, Cowdenbeath, at Firs Park. Most pundits were predicting a comfortable match for the visitors but I assure you I will do my best for the team to not let that happen.

November 8th, 2003 Scottish Division Three Match 12 (h)
East Stirling V Cowdenbeath
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">East Stirling League Form: DLWLW Position: 9thCowdenbeath League Form: LWWDW Position: 2nd </pre>
East Stirling (4-4-2) Jon Connolly (c)-Gary McCulloh, Graeme McLaren, James White, Craig Reid-Scott Livingstone, Gordon Lappin, Sean McAuley, Jamie Mackay- Stuart Kelly, Derek Ure
Subs: Chris Todd (gk), Michael Stewart, Jordan Leishman, Dougie Polwart, Gerry Boyle

I replaced the injured Maughan with McCulloh for his first league appearance of the season.

Exactly the same start as the last match straight from the kick off the visitors score. McCulloh was at fault as he was beaten to easily for my liking and the cross was lethal as it landed on Brown’s favoured right foot and he blasted it past Connolly. On the fourteenth minute Cowdenbeath struck for the 2nd time. Mauchlen took a free kick from just outside the box and curled it around the wall and past the outstretched Connolly into the right hand corner of the net to make it 2-0. Cowdenbeath showed again they meant business when Winter beat his marker and headed in a corner to make it 3-0 after only 37 minutes.

At half time I made a change and changed to a 5-3-2 formation with the left and right backs allowed to attack up the wings. The second half had not one chance for either team to talk of and the game ended 3-0 in the visitors favour.

East Stirling 0:3 Cowdenbeath
East Stirling Goals:-
Cowdenbeath Goals: Mauchlen (1), Brown (1), Winter (1)
MoM: Dene Shields(Cowdenbeath) Rating-8
Subs: Stewart on for Polwart (45’), Boyle on for Ure (63’), Leishman on for Lappin (63’)
Booked: Ford (Cowdenbeath)
Sent Off: -
Stadium: Firs Park
Attendance: 1414

A shocking performance in the first half and the early goals we have conceded in the last two matches need to stop and quick.

9th of November 2003

Shockwaves are circulated around the club today after a bad training injury was sustained by Gerry Boyle. A routine training exercise left Boyle with a damaged spine and a lengthy lay off of around 7 months.

15th of November 2003

The European Championship Qualifying Playoff 1st Leg matches were played today.

The Czech Republic have almost made certain of qualification after three late goals by Vratislav Lokvenc (70, 81) and Paval Nedved (88) against Wales.

Belgium edged out Latvia on the road after Igor Stepanovs gave away a penalty after being the last man and therefore he was dismissed. The resulted penalty was converted by Timmy Simons to give his team the 1-0 win.

Norway battled out a 1-1 draw at home to Greece. Morten Gamst Pederson scored in the 37th minute to give his side the lead but Demis Nikolaidis struck back for Greece 10 minutes before full time.

Switzerland made home advantage count against Slovenia ending up with a 2-0 result. David Sesa scored in the 67th minute to put Switzerland in the driving seat and the lead was doubled 5 minutes before time by Stephane Chapuisat.

Turkey edged out Scotland 1-0 after the only goal of the match by Nihat in the 72nd minute. Scotland has it all to do in the 2nd leg.

19th of November 2003

The European Championship Qualifying Playoff 2nd Leg matches were played today.

The Czech Republic battled hard and drew 2-2 away to Wales to send the Welsh side crashing out at the final hurdle. John Hartson gave the Welsh hope scoring just after half time before Paval Nedved equalised on the 64th minute. Craig Bellamy again gave the Welsh hope before a late equaliser from Jan Koller sent the Czech Republic to Euro 2004.

Belgium showed that they are way ahead of Latvia in footballing talent today with a complete annihilation of the Latvian team. In the match goals came from Emile Lokonda Mpenza (2, 15, 89), Bart Goor (26, 51) and Wesley Socnk (31, 85) for the Belgians. Latvia managed one goal but it was from the penalty spot scored by Vladimir Laizan (pen 45). Belgium cruise through to Euro 2004 on 8-1 on aggregate after their dominating 7-1 win.

Greece defeated Norway 3-1 in this match and took the tie 4-2 on aggregate. John Arne Riise gave the Norwegians the lead after 62 minutes. In the space of five minutes Greece was in front through two goals by Zisis Vryzas (64, 67) and a third goal was scored by Demis Nikolaidis (90) to cap off a good performance by the Greeks.

Switzerland were pegged back today against Slovenia but went through because Slovenia couldn’t take their large amounts of chances and the match ended 2-2. Simon Maric (9) and Goran Sukalo (40) put the Slovenia’s in control of the tie. In the second half Switzerland scored goals through Stephane Chapuisat (53) and David Sesa (64) against the run of play. Switzerland went through to Euro 2004 by 4-2 on aggregate.

Scotland showed their class in this match by destroying the Turks 3-0 and qualifying for Euro 2004. Steven Thompson (63), Barry Ferguson (67) and Shaun Maloney (pen 90) gave the Scots a three nil win and easily overcame the 1-0 deficit before the start of play.

Next the Third Division league table and the "Worldly Wide Wrap"

BarryLFC · 04-07-2004, 02:28 PM

It's a compliment

retired_sroch3032 · 04-07-2004, 03:24 PM

Well thanks HD compliments and criticism are all welcome but compliments are more welcome

If you feel i should add anything in my worldly league wrap let me know....didnt know how much detail i should put into it-whether or not i should talk about the teams in the lower leagues who are in the relegation spots

Also if you have an queries on players or teams just give me a buzz throughout this epic roller coaster ride with East Stirling

21st of November 2003

We are now a third of the way through the season so here is the division 3 table.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">PosTeamPldWonDrnLstForAgG.DPts1st Peterhead12912258+17282nd Cowdenbeath12822166+10263rd Albion Rovers126333117+14214th Stirling126242319+4205th Gretna125252223-1176th Stranraer123631917+2157th Elgin124261426-12148th Montrose1224623230109th East Stirling122371224-12910th Queens Park122191032-227</pre>
It seems four of the five teams the pundits predicted to be up the top of the table chasing the promotion spots are doing just that. While we languish in 9th I still feel we can finish in fifth place come the end of the season if we work hard.

Now to take a quick look around the world at some of the other leagues

Worldly League Wrap

Over in Australia after nine games South Melbourne is the front runner followed closely by the other five teams in the top six including Adelaide United, Marconi, Northern Spirit, Melbourne Knights and the Perth Glory.

In England Arsenal leads the race for the premiership trophy after winning 10 and drawing 3 of their 13 games. Chelsea, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester United are all 8 points of the pace. While down the lower end of the league Charlton, Wolves and Bolton are struggling to pick up enough points to put them in mid table safety. In division 1 it looks like West Brom Albion and Preston are racing away with the automatic promotion spots while fellow chasers Reading, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Watford fill the playoff places.

After 15 games in France the favourites for the title, Lyon and Monaco, are deadlocked on 38 points a piece. Following a fair distance off the pace is Paris Saint Germain and Marseille filling up 3rd and 4th spots respectively. The three teams filling the relegation spots are Nice, Guinamp and Le Mans who has only picked up 2 points from all 15 games. In the French Second Division, Caen, Saint Etienne and Laval are occupying the 3 automatic promotion spots and the gap between 3rd and 4th spot is now up to seven points.

In the German first division Bayern Munchen tops the table followed closely by Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund. At the wrong end of the table sees 1860 Munchen, FC Koln and SC Freiburg struggling to stay afloat. In the Second Division, Mainz, Cottbus and Nurnberg occupy the automatic promotion spots and are looking good to continue their run of form going.

The top 3 in Serie A consist of Inter Milan, Lazio and the title holders, Juventus. While languishing down the bottom end of the table Chievo, Modena and Empoli. A surprise sees cash strapped Parma sitting in the relegation playoff spot. Down in Serie B sees Fiorentina, Torino and Piazcenza in the top 3 and fighting for their chance to return to the big league.

Back in Scotland in the Premier League Celtic is top of the league with Rangers and Dunfermline two points behind. It seems that either Motherwell or Partick Thistle will have to play well to avoid the drop this year with both teams on only nine points from thirteen games. In division 1 Ayr United and St Johnstone are fighting it out for the one and only promotion spot to the biggest league in Scotland.

No surprises in Spain with Real Madrid leading the La Liga with Barcelona, Mallorca and Real Sociedad a few points behind. Zaragoza, Osasuna and Murcia fill the bottom three places and need to fight hard to stay in the division. In the Spanish Second Division the front runners for promotion to La Liga at the moment are Alaves, Numancia and Cordoba.