retired_merri13

Big gap between 3rd and 4th place :o

KUTGW, how many go into the playoffs?

retired_kmkageler

Looking good Wimb :thup:

retired_steffani

Thanks Harwin and Jim.....Harwin i'm not surprised that the top 3 are running away with it. We're a West Brom to Gretna's Chelsea. THose top 3 are professional clubs that i can't dream of competing with (at least now ) and also 3 make the playoffs. 2nd plays 3rd and 4th plays the team next to bottom in the 1st Division :thup: glad you're all enjoying it still


March 2009

The season headed towards it end and with both relegation and promotion out of our reach, it was important that i try to keep the lads motivated for the final 7 games of the season, starting with a game against Forfar.

So far i had been happy with the season, we had handled ourselves well and to be in with an outside chance of the play-offs was a fine effort for our first season at this level. With the exception of the big 3 at the top, who were a class apart, we had shown we were able to compete with anybody especially on our own patch.

I received a surprising phone call from Aldershot manager Terry Brown who asked us if he could have our young left midfielder Stuart Murray on a months loan. With little chance of breaking into the first team the opportunity for Stuart to get some experience in England was a terrific opportunity for the lad and so after consulting his parents it was agreed that Stuart would journey south for the month.



Forfar (H) BSL D2 7/3/2009 L 0-1 Att. 683

Lineup:Blower, Moore (S.McKenna), Carter, Murphy, Lithgow, Notman, Hazley, Watts (Morris), Quinn, Teggart, Ferguson (Fitzpatrick)

Frustration as our play-off hopes took a massive dent with a home defeat to Forfar. We never really got into gear as Forfar excellently broke down the play at every opportunity and our players just weren't up for a scrap. Instead we resorted to long balls up to Teggart and Ferguson with predictably little success. Ever since the day i took over Lancaster i have tried to get my sides to play short sharp attacking football but today that went out the window in spectacular fashion, my only hope was that our crunch match with Alloa would yield better results.

Alloa (A) BSL D2 14/3/2009 L 0-4 Att. 593

Red Card:Ferguson

Lineup:Blower, Moore, Carter, Murphy, Lithgow, Campbell, Hazley, S.McKenna (Watts), Hyland (Quinn), Fitzpatrick (Teggart), Ferguson

We all but kissed goodbye to our dreams of a play-off berth with a soul destroying loss away at Alloa. Perhaps the lads had just run out of steam after fighting so hard all season, but today was nothing short of a horror show. A 4-0 pasting and a red card late on for Ferguson capped our miserable day, and meant a very quiet bus on the way back to Glasgow.


----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------

Due to the International break we now had no further games in March, and by the look of the displays so far, i was glad to be done with the damn month. To try and lift the players for the final push, i decided to throw a now traditional club golf day up at St Andrews. With survival assured i felt it was important for the lads to keep in mind all that they had already achieved and to keep morale high. The result of the golf day was predictable. Teggart was as deadly with the golf club as he was with a football winning the tournament whilst i continued my recent improvement....finishing 5th from bottom. To spare their blushes i won't name the beaten players but rest assured they will never forget it.

Meanwhile my own future was being discussed in the upper echelons of Hampden Park and when the dust had settled i was presented with a 3 year contract worth around £170 a week plus incentives. I was hardly going to move into a mansion was that type of money, but the bonuses and other perks were enough to see me sign on the dotted line much to the apparent delight of the fans.

But as i got home that night i began to wonder if i had made the right move? The dog looked at me with a blank stare as i talked out loud contemplating whether an ametuer side paying most players £35 a week could ever compete with the Gretna's of this world. So I quietly resolved that i would leave the club by the end of the deal if we were still in the Second Division.....


March 2009 Review

League Record P2 W0 D0 L2 GS 0 GC 4

Leading Scorers:

Fitzpatrick 18
Teggart 10

retired_steffani

April 2009


The final month of the season held 5 games for the Spiders, yet with little to play for it would be a chance to experiment with the size and perhaps blood some younger players.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stenhousemuir (H) BSL D2 1/4/2009 L 0-1 Att. 365

Lineup:Crawford, Moore, Carter, Murphy, Lithgow, Campbell, Hazley, Quinn, Hyland, Fitzpatrick, Teggart

Despite the break since our last game we lacked energy and enthusiasm against a side lower in the table, and fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park. We were finally able to unleash our old strike pairing of Teggart and Fitzpatrick yet neither was able to find the net on a frustrating spring day. Hazley and Quinn also went close yet in all honesty 'Muir deserved the win and i left the ground just wishing the season could end tomorrow so that we could regroup....alas the next game would come just 3 days later.



Raith (A) BSL D2 4/4/2009 L 0-4 Att. 2943

Lineup:Crawford, Moore, Carter, Murphy, Lithgow, Barkey, Hazley, Watts(Quinn), Hyland, Fitzpatrick (D.McKenna), Teggart (Sludden)

Raith, who were still in the hunt for Automatic promotion showed our young side no mercy as they confidently swept us aside 4-0. The likes of Watts and Barkey were little match for the former Premier League side and the game only served to remind us of how much work was left to do before we could move up to the next level.



Stranraer (A) BSL D2 11/4/2009 D 0-0 Att. 564

Lineup:Crawford, Moore, Carter, McKenna, Lithgow, Notman, Murray, Watts, Hyland, Fitzpatrick, Teggart

A much more encouraging result against a side who were in the top 3 and in the same bracket as sides like Raith. We went to Stranraer and although we extended our goalless streak to 5 games, the lads could be proud of their performance today. The return of McKenna to the heart of the defence was a massive boost and he led the line well keeping Stranraer at bay throughout the game, and lifting the side when we were up against it. Players like Steve were the heart, soul and future at the club and games like this would help him to develop and learn as a player.



Peterhead (H) BSL D2 18/4/2009 D 2-2 Att. 278

Goals:Teggart (55), Moore (72)

Lineup:Crawford, Moore, Carter, S. McKenna, Lithgow, Notman, Murray, Quinn, Hyland, Fitzpatrick, Teggart (Ferguson)

We finally managed to get on the score sheet, twice no less, against rivals Peterhead as we played out a 2-2 draw at Hampden. Neil Teggart showed his class by cancelling out Peterhead's 12th minute lead on 55 minutes before Daniel Moore's first professional goal put us ahead on 72. Whilst we did concede a late goal, the performance of the young players such as Murray was pleasing and we could go into our final game with champions elect Gretna full of confidence.



Gretna (H) BSL D2 25/4/2009 L 0-1 Att. 372

Lineup:Crawford, Moore, Carter, McKenna (Davis), Lithgow, Notman, Murray, Watts, Hyland, Ferguson (Fitzpatrick), Teggart

Whilst we lost the battle, we had ultimately won the war, and the fact that we would be in Division 2 next season was a cause to celebrate despite the home defeat to Gretna. Gretna were miles ahead of us in terms of quality, finances and attendances yet we still put up a good showing and proved to a lot of onlookers that we were deserving of our place in the Second Division.

-------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------

April 2009 Review

League Record P5 W0 D1 L4 GS 1 GC 8

Leading Scorers:

Fitzpatrick 18
Teggart11

================================================== ================================================== ==========

2008/2009 Bells Scottish League Division 2 Final Table

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Gretna | | 36 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 76 | 31 | +45 | 86 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Raith | | 36 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 78 | 25 | +53 | 76 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Stranraer | | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 62 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Alloa | | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 59 | +6 | 53 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Forfar | | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 44 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Queen's Park | | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 54 | 68 | -14 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Brechin | | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 51 | 73 | -22 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stenhousemuir | | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 45 | 67 | -22 | 38 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | R | Cowdenbeath | | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 50 | 73 | -23 | 33 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | R | Peterhead | | 36 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 39 | 70 | -31 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Note: Yearly Review to follow

retired_steffani

Going to try a more simple system of review then the previous long list, this way people can check the information easier, and also it saves me plenty of time which is in shortage due to work/uni commitments .


2008/2009 Season Review


Overall the season had been a success with a good league finish well above our initial ambition of survival. Whilst we were some way from being title contenders i felt we had a squad that could well be at that point within 3-4 seasons and that would be our next goal, promotion by 2013.



Average Attendance 667

Total Transfers Spent: £29,000
Total Transfer Fees made: £1,000



2008/2009 Squad Review

Goalkeepers

With Blower past his sell by date, and Little too....well little it fell on David Crawford to take the majority of the playing time in goal. Whilst he rarely let us down David didn't seem to inspire too much confidence and his attitude in training had been frustrating.

For next season:

Would need a new goalkeeper to compete with David Crawford, John Little would need more time in the U19's and Blower would be free transfered.


Defence

Our defence had been brilliant all year, McKenna, Carter and Lithgow were a good nucleus but beyond that there were question marks. Moore was still young, whilst Wilson, Murphy, Leaver and Shatford had all been inconsistant.

For next season:

A backline of Carter, Moore, McKenna, Lithow would be a strong lineup, but the depth beyond those four was worrying. Wilson would most likely leave the club whilst reserve team players Andrews and Reilly would likely be moved on a free in the summer. Murphy and Leaver would stay to fight for their places.


Midfield

The January capture of Steve Notman had been a big boost for the side and he had provided good competition for Barkley and Campbell down the right. Matt Hazley had made the left wing his own but youngster Stuart Murray and veteran utility man Bryan Hyland would keep him on his toes. Rocco Quinn and the young Lee Watts had impressed down the centre pushing veteran Brian Blair out of the picture, Neil Morris would make more of an impact next season.


For next season.

Blair would be likely to go, whilst Murray needed more time to develop. With Notmans arrival pre season would also be crucial for Kevin Barkley.


Forwards

The undoubted star of the season was top scorer Steve Fitzpatrick whose 18 goals had kept us afloat even when Neil Teggart was out injured. Neil still managed 11 goals in 21 starts and would undoubtedly be a big part of our attacking plans next season. In support Andy Ferguson and David McKenna both had usefull seasons whilst Paul Sluddon and James Hart both showed we have great depth in our attacking options.

For next season:

Not much to change, will be interesting to see what combination starts opening day. Teggarts injury let players like Ferguson really stake a claim for a starting place, whilst Steve Fitzpatrick showed how he is getting better by the season.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Apps | Gls | Av Rat | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | David Crawford | GK | 34 | - | 6.74 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Daniel Moore | D R | 13 | 1 | 6.77 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Jonathan Carter | D LC | 38 (1) | - | 6.79 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stephen McKenna | D RC, DM | 36 (1) | - | 6.76 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Alan Lithgow | D C | 12 (1) | - | 6.85 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Steven Notman | M R | 9 | 1 | 7.11 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stuart Murray | M L | 3 | - | 6.67 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Rocco Quinn | M C | 32 (3) | 3 | 6.86 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Bryan Hyland | DM, AM LC, F C | 23 (10)| 5 | 7.03 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Andy Ferguson | ST | 10 (2) | 5 | 6.92 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Neil Teggart | ST | 21 (7) | 11 | 6.89 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Steven Fitzpatrick | ST | 35 (7) | 18 | 6.86 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Ross Campbell | M R, ST | 21 (3) | 5 | 6.88 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Matthew Hazley | AM L | 33 (2) | - | 6.91 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | James Davis | D RC | 0 (1) | - | 6.00 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Lee Watts | DM | 28 (3) | 1 | 6.77 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Kevin Barkey | M RC | 13 (1) | - | 6.50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | David Blower | GK | 5 | - | 6.00 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Shaun Leaver | D R | 30 | - | 6.60 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Martin Reilly | D L | 1 | - | 7.00 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Ryan Andrews | D RL | 0 (3) | - | 6.00 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Daniel Shatford | D C | 29 | - | 6.55 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Scott Wilson | D C | 2 (1) | - | 6.33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Brian Blair | AM C | 3 (1) | - | 6.50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | David McKenna | AM/F C | 15 (9) | 6 | 6.67 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Paul Sludden | ST | 0 (3) | - | 6.33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Craig Murphy | D C | 9 (1) | - | 6.60 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Alan Hamill | DM | 5 (5) | - | 6.40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Neil Morris | AM C | 0 (7) | - | 6.14 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | James Hart | ST | 2 (4) | - | 6.33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | John Little | GK | 4 | - | 5.50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Danny Brown | M R | 0 (1) | - | 6.00 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roll of Honour 2008/2009

Managers Player of the Year: Steve Fitzpatrick
Fans Player of the Year: Neil Teggart
SPFA Team of the Year: Matt Hazley

retired_yolanda

I see the story is still going good, despite you being dead, Wimb

retired_steffani

Thanks Gil, I'll be alive on IRC in 2 weeks time :thup:,

Right, it's every authors job to admit when they have made mistakes. The story format i was writing was taking huge amounts of time, and was making me avoid writing. I'm going to experiment with a totally new style of posts, so expect some changes. Anyways all comments are welcome as always and i'm glad to see people still reading



Season 2009/2010

Pre Season Transfer Report

Last season had been all about survival, but another season of finishing 5th or 6th would be looked upon as a failure in my eyes. Every season as a manager i had improved on the last years finish and i wanted 2009/2010 to be the same.

Personal wise i thought we had a pretty solid team, yet no team could stand still and so i sent our scouts out around the UK to unearth more talent to help us make the step up in quality to compete for a play-off spot.

The first captures of the summer were arranged in the last few weeks of May, with striker Rory Loy and youngster John Whelan joining us. Rory came from Cowdenbeath with a reputation as a lethal striker whilst John was a promising young winger who whilst not ready for the first team, had a great deal of potential.

On their way out of Hampden Park were Richie Bowers, Kevin Barkey, David Blower, Stephan Tulloch and Brian Felvus , all given free transfers. For David Blower, time had caught up with him, whilst Barkey and Tulloch were victims of having too much competition. Brian and Richie were youngsters whose contracts had expired and i knew they were facing a bleak season if they stayed. In order to forge a career in this game they would have to move on. Also departing the club was Shaun Leaver , the right back going to Berwick on a free transfer.

Before the summer was up we would lose several more recognised players, 1 in particular whom I didn't want to see leave. Young right back Daniel Moore was signed to a professional contract to Hibernian, going back on an informal agreement we had made at the close of the season. Turned by the lure of the SPL I couldn't blame Daniel for wanted a shot at the big time, but was angry by the way he turned down a chance to develop his career at the club. Also leaving were Brian Blair and Alan Hamill , two players who had played big parts in my early time at the club. Both had just come to the end of the road at Queens Park and Brian was released on a free whilst Alan went to Albion for a fee of £2000. David McKenna departed to Carlisle for £3000 and Scott Wilson went to Albion on a free transfer.

With those moves we lost a lot of experience, but we sought to offset that loss by bringing in some very talented youngsters. Scott Downie returned to the club where he had spent a year on loan, my first year in charge, on a free from St Mirren. Danny Greaves signed from Alloa on a free hoping to take the No.1 shirt from David Crawford. Finally Welshman Jon Lavercombe signed from Stirling for £6000.

retired_steffani

2009/2010 Pre Season Fixture Summary

Aberdeen (H) L 0-1
Threave Rovers (A) L 1-2 (R.Loy)
Ross County (H) L 0-1


A quiet pre-season by most standards, and one that was without a single victory. Whilst for some this would be cause for alarm i took a rather different view of the situation. The fact was we had avoided major injury and the players had gotten match practise against teams of varying quality. From the SPL outfit that was Aberdeen, to the amateurs of Threave. I wanted my young squad to have experience of playing all levels of opposition and such friendlies gave them that opportunity. Moreover as the Challenge cup started on the 25th of July there was little time for a massive pre season campaign, and i wanted the whole squad to be ready for the big league kick off come August 1st.

retired_steffani

July/August 2009

A tough month for the Spiders as we faced a difficult start to our 2009/2010 campaign with a tricky Challenge Cup tie away at Montrose . Despite a valiant display we went down to a 3-2 defeat to end our interest in the competition, but even so the match allowed us to get another games match practise in before the big league kick off. An opening day victory over Raith came thanks to a neat finish from Neil Teggart, but defeat to Queen of the South in the opening round of the league cup ensured a baron cup schedule for the next few weeks.

Our league form then took a turn for the worse as we only picked up 1 point out of a possible nine against Inverness Berwick and Brechin Despite Rory Loy once again netting, and a goal from Craig Chisholm we just seemed incapable of holding onto a lead, as we threw away the advantage in both games.

I felt gutted about our early season form. We had looked at the cups as possible money spinners but the draw had been unkind to us and the two First Divison outfits had showed their quality in each tie to dash our hopes. League wise the win over Raith possibly elevated hopes a little too high, and that inevitably led to greater disappointment when we failed to finish off Brechin or Berwick.

Finally on the final day of the transfer window we added 3 new faces to the squad. Defenders Stephen Skinner and Chris Robertson signed on frees from CYM Terenure and East Stirling, and they were joined by central midfielder Wayne Brown who cost £7000 from East Stirling.



Summary of results:


Montrose (A) L 2-3 Teggart (1) Lavercombe (1)
Raith (H) W 1-0Teggart (2)
Queen OT South (H) L 1-2Loy (1)
Inverness CT (A)L 0-1
Berwick (H) D 1-1Chisholm (1)
Brechin (A) L 1-2Loy (2)

retired_steffani

September 2009


September saw us fight our way back up the table, going through the month unbeaten conceding just 2 goals. Yet the month had started in disappointing fashion, as we failed to find a winning goal during a 1-1 draw with lowly Alloa. The lack of goals puzzled all of us who had been watching Neil, Steven and Rory thump home so many in training, and who had witnessed the type of devastating crosses Steve Notman and Scott Downie were capable of. But sure enough come our trip to Stranraer we were back on song, as Rory Loy and Scott Downie scored the goals to help us secure a precious 3 points.

Our home game against Forfar was to yield even better dividends as we hit 3 fine goals past Forfar keeper Craig McMahon. All 3 of our strikes came off the boot of Rory Loy who was turning out to be an inspired signing, so much so i might even have to buy Jack Jolly a pint for!

Our next road trip saw us take on old foes Stenhousemuir, and as it would turn out neither side could better the other as we scrapped our way to a 1-1 draw at Ochilview park in front of around 300 spectators. The one big plus from the game was the return to scoring form of Neil Teggart, who fired his 3rd goal of the season. Another draw was to follow as we were held to a goalless draw by promotion favourites Inverness Cally Thistle at Hampden Park.



We were finally showing the promise we had hinted at at time during last season. The capture of Loy was taking the pressure off Neil and Steve Fitzpatrick who had carried the goalscoring expectations on their own for most of my tenure at the club. Moreover the signing of Scott Downie encouraged Matt Hazley to work even harder and the same applied regarding the likes of Steve McKenna following the arrival of Chris Robertson.
Our form was looking good enough for a play off berth but the inexperience of certain players was still keeping us from being as ruthless as we needed to win the division. Gaining promotion from this division was arguably as hard as breaking old firm domination in the SPL. With only 1 automatic slot for promotion/relegation the teams who were relegated usually had the benefit of several years of higher income and so their player resources dwarfed our own. Even so this group of players had the ability to become a major force in lower division football, but it would certainly take time.

Results Round Up:
(Brackets Indicate Goals for the Season)

Alloa (H) D 1-1Notman (1)
Straneaer (A) W 2-0Loy (3)Downie (1)
Forfar (H) W 3-0Loy x3 (6)
Stenhousemuir (A) D 1-1Teggart (3)
Inverness CT (H) D 0-0