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"We still are being called a fluke," grumbled Faramir.

"They might never know what hit them," smiled Barry Gond. "This is a solid club we have here. Have you heard back from Allye yet?"

Faramir shook his head and worridly said, "No. She promised to check in with me soon though- she said this appeared to be a good lead."

***

29.7.06
Dundee United (0) Arbroath (1)
Dundee United- None
Arbroath- Luis Laguardia 76
MOM- Luis Laguardia, Arbroath

"We were very fortunate today. Our backline did not play particularly well, but Jamie (Langfield) was superb," observed Faramir.

"Jamie certainly deserved the clean sheet- that was yeoman work today since we didn't help him that much."

"Luis (Laguardia) deserved his MOM honours, he really did spark us to the win. Before he came in we were having little luck with Paul Gallacher."

"We did managed some good opportunities before he came on though, we just weren't able to capitalize on them. This was a nice road win to start the season."

***

"He was guaranteed that he would start- that was enough to get him to sign," sighed Barry Gond.

"It wasn't unexpected Barry- he knew his contract here was up after the season and we didn't have plans to re-sign him."

Pressley Presses on to Dundee United
Dundee United today announced the transfer purchase of veteran defender Steven Pressley from Arbroath. Pressley, whose contract with Arbroath was expiring at the conclusion of the season, was currently on an unprotected contract and the compensation paid to Arbroath was 425K.

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The call came at 11PM. "Hello," was all Faramir could mumble sleepily.

"Wake up!" came the excited voice of Barry Gond.

Shaking the cobwebs away, Faramir asked, "What has you so excited Barry?"

"Flip on the news- Now!"

Clicking the remote Faramir sat stunned as the sports information came on...

Arbroath Rescued by New Board
[i]by Sammy Gohl
Languishing in a sea of red ink due to disastrous spending by the previous board and current club management, apparently a 'white knight' has stepped in to save the struggling club and broomed out the old board. It is expected that the club's inefficient current staff will soon follow the departed Board. In the meantime, the new Board has foolishly decided to grant the current management around 7.5 Million in transfer funds- reportedly in the hope to establish a firmer foothold in the SPL.

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Allye Owen was walking dejectedly down the street. Since her close call with the fake shard of crystal in the forest, she had been searching the surrounding country cautiously but had nothing to show for her efforts.

"I haven't even had a tingle of that feeling in awhile," she muttered to herself.

As she let her mind wander while she walked through the streets fading into shadow with the sunset, she suddenly realized that she was lost.

"Haven't been down this way before. No street signs either."

Knowing which direction she had to go to reach the cottage she had let out, she turned down a narrow alley way. A few steps into the alley she was almost knocked over by the intensity of the feeling.

"The shard!" she said to herself. "Have to move slowly though- no repeat of the forest debacle."

She also sent her thoughts out and over the curtain.

***

The dreamlike state had begun to bore Faramir. He was a man of action and the absolute confinement that he seemed in ill suited his mind and temper.

Allye's message, full of intensity and excitement, reached him at a low ebb and he was quick to sieze on the change it brought.

"Lady?"

"Yes, Lord."

"The girl across the curtain believes she has found something. She isn't sure if it is another trap and is proceeding with care."

A quick flit of her mind let her know that she had searched her awareness and found nothing out of the ordinary.

She asked him, "Have you had any message from Gandalf?"

"No. Not this time. He may be rather busy outside though," thought Faramir dryly.

Her understanding of the dark humor allowed her to offer, "Yes, and hopefully staying alive doing so."

"Should I tell her anything Lady?"

"I do not believe so Lord. If Gandalf can't or isn't warning, then all we can do is hope that her caution is enough."

***

Allye approached the pawn shop in disbelief.

"Here? In a pawn shop?"

She couldn't deny the intensity of the feeling though and felt compelled to enter the shop.

The "May I help you?" startled her reverie. She glanced around and saw a tall thin man slowly approaching from the back of the small shop.

Looking around, Allye said, "I would just like to look around a moment."

The man bowed to her, "As you wish Miss. If you need me just ring the bell on the desk." His gaunt frame departed again into the back room.

Wandering through the small shop, Allye was having trouble discerning any spefics- other than the feeling was overwhelming. She moved slowly and touched an item here and there- trying to discover if feeling items would lead her to the shard.

A glint in the corner caught her eye and she moved over to it. A small goblet was adorned with what appeared to be a crystal pasted on to it. The crystal appeared to be becoming unstuck due to age and how it had been placed on the item.

As she touched the goblet, the shard seemed to glow- she knew that she had found the first piece.

She rang the bell and the stately, gaunt man returned. "How much for this?" she asked holding the goblet tightly.

"Well, Miss that is a poor ol' gob. You can have it for free, it just needed the right owner and has been waiting a good long time."

Looking suspiciously at the man Allye asked, "Are you sure?"

He smiled, "When Al Ronde tells you something, you can take it to the bank."

***

The wisps of the clouds seemed a bit brighter.

"Lady, she has found the first piece!"

"Ah, that is welcome news Lord."

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Gond and Faramir were sitting in the office the next morning discussing the specifics after the new Board had contacted them with the firm details of their administration.

"Transfer funds!" exclaimed Gond. "Now what do we do with them."

Faramir smiled enigmatically, "Nothing- for now."

"What?"

"Look Barry, this club is good enough to gain us success. With only our minor additions and no losses to our core of players- we should do just fine this season. Unless we see a true bargain or a major need- because of injuries- I really don't plan to go on a shopping spree."

"Ok. Fair enough- but why that approach- it isn't your normal style."

"I am not about to give Sammy G. the ability to second guess the decision. If we can grab someone on free- fine, and behind the scenes I am working to get those minimum fee contracts upgraded- Angelo (Schembri) has already signed a new deal with only a relegation fee. I am trying to get Peter (Wolf) and Thomas (Magnusson) to sign new deals also."

"Just don't be too short-sighted about this. Cutting off a chance to get better just to avoid Sammy's slams isn't really the best course of management.

"That is true- and if I feel we need to pull the trigger on a deal- I will. But it will only be if necessary and can really improve our club."

Gond looked at him again, "Ok, that sounds good for the press. Now what is the real reason?"

"Allye thinks she has found a lead to the another portion of the stone. We may have to move on soon. If that happens, Arbroath deserves to have every scrap of funds available that we can leave for it."

Gond nodded thoughtfully, "Does she have any idea where the next piece might be?"

Faramir shook his head, "Not yet. But her last message to me was that she thought she was close to finding the clue to get us to the region it is in."

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5.8.06
Arbroath (1) Hearts (0)
Arbroath- Dunga 29
Hearts- None
MOM- Angelo Schembri (II)

"Fine work in our defensive coverage, but we still really haven't woken up offensively," stated Gond.

"We are generating chances, the scoring should come. I think we are better off than last season in that everyone understands their roles and seem willing to make the sacrifices that good defense requires."

***

16.8.06
Kilmarnock (1) Arbroath (3)
Kilmarnock- Mark McHendry 90
Arbroath- Daniel Sjolund 2 Luis Laguardia 69,90
MOM- Daniel Sjolund, Arbroath

"Another strong match for us defensively," asserted Gond.

"I don't want to get into a habit of giving away goals like McHendry's on corners- but yes, otherwise we made another good effort."

"Luis (Laguardia) was really hopping when he went into the match."

"Though I know he would prefer to start- he really does a superb job coming in off the bench."

***

19.8.06
Arbroath (1) Dundee (2)
Arbroath- Robin Gibson 34
Dundee- Juan Sara 12 Steven Milne 32
MOM- Steven Milne, Dundee

"John Connolly just plain had our number today," grumbled Gond.

"It would have been a better result if Jamie (Langfield) had snared either of those goals- I thought he should have had both of them."

"He played a bit better in the 2nd half, but when Gibson's 2nd goal was waived off- you could feel the wind coming out of our sails."

"It did put a damper on things. We had good chances and just couldn't finish them."

Dundee Brushes Off Arbroath
Dundee took full advantage of an unsteady performance by Arbroath as they disappointed the Gayfield Park fans with a 2-1 win. Stellar Juan Sara and Steven Milne keyed the visitors' win as they kept the pitiful Arbroath offense at bay.

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"I am surprised both of them are available on free. Thompson scored over 20 for Grimsby last season, didn't he?"

"Yes. Not sure why they released him nor why Standard Liege released Enakarhire, but since both of them were willing to sign with us..."

Arbroath Signs Pair
Arbroath scoured the free transfer list and came up with what they believe are a couple diamonds in the rough. Chris Thompson and Joseph Enakarhire both signed contracts to come to Scotland. Thompson is a 24 yr old English SC who was released after a contract squabble with Grimsby. Thompson scored 50 goals for the English side after coming out of the Liverpool youth program. Rumors have him headed directly into the starting lineup for the televised match at Ibrox. Enakarhire is 23 yr old Nigerian/Belgian DLC and also will likely see some senior starts in the near future.

***

26.8.06
Rangers (2) Arbroath (2)
Rangers- Tore Andre Flo 16 Michael Carrick 21
Arbroath- Thomas Magnusson 40 Daniel Sjolund 54
MOM- Barry Ferguson, Rangers

"I am extremely proud of the effort the boys gave tonight," stated a pleased Faramir.

"It was a tough match and a great comeback for us- being down 2-0 in the early going."

"We managed to survive another poor match by Jamie (Langfield) and come away with a draw against the favored 'Gers. The telly audience saw a lot of heart and spirit from us tonight."

"How bad is Thompson's injury?"

"He's out a month. Daniel (Sjolund) is only out a couple weeks."

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9.9.06
Arbroath (2) Inverness Caledonian Thistle (0)
Arbroath- Joe Osei-Kuffour 17 Joze Barbir 36
ICT- None
MOM- Roy Carroll, Inverness Caledonian Thistle

"Some pretty good debuts here today," smiled Gond.

"Joseph Enakarhire was very strong in the middle, he certainly had an argument about MOM honours. Joze (Barbir) really played a smooth match as well."

"They were playing so defensively that they never really had any good chances to score during the match."

"Can't win if you can't score," grinned Faramir.

***

14.9.06
Stabaek (1) Arbroath (4) UEFA Cup 1st round Leg 1
Stabaek- Bjorn Helge Riise 62
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 19 Gareth Munro 32 Joe Osei-Kuffour 45 James Coppinger 82
MOM- Gareth Munro, Arbroath

"I wish that Coppy (James Coppinger) could have held his temper in check," groused Gond.

"At least the headbutt only cost him the next match. With 4 away goals, I think we are standing very nicely for moving on to round 2."

"It was good to see the boys weren't in awe of their first Euro sojourn."

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17.9.06
Hibs (0) Arbroath (4)
Hibs- None
Arbroath- Joze Barbir 26 Joe Osei-Kuffour 32,54 Joseph Enakarhire 71
MOM- Joe Osei-Kuffour, Arbroath

"It was an explosive offensive show, but how long did we lose Joe (Osei-Kuffour) for?" asked Gond.

"He will be out a couple weeks. I think we got ourselves a real bargain with Joze (Barbir). His passing was the difference in the match- though Joe finished them off nicely."

"We are getting good play from pretty much everyone so far- it has been a much smoother start to the season than last season was."

"I think we were still a bit intimidated for much of the season about being in SPL. We know we belong this time around."

***

20.9.06
Arbroath (2) Motherwell (2) League Cup 3rd round (Arbroath advances on Penalties)
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 35 Daniel Sjolund 58
Motherwell- Rabi Youssef 23 Michael Brown 83
MOM- Juan Jesus Falcon, Motherwell

"That penalty round was anti-climactic after how taut the match was," murmured a tired Gond.

"I would have been much happier if we could have won it in regulation, but Brown made a brilliant shot and Ian (Ritchie) still almost had it..."

"Ian was wonderful in the penalties- turning two away. It was great to see their first one stopped, it seemed to take some of the pressure off and we just kept knocking ours home past Mark Brown."

"Well, we are back into the Quarterfinals again- we seem to get through to there every season. Let's see if we can make the Semis again."

***

"Well, he was fairly unhappy here anyway," offered Gond.

"He also wanted to go back to England. The money won't hurt," replied Faramir.

Cambridge Caps Rankin
Cambridge, fighting injury woes in their frontline, today announced the transfer purchase of unhappy Arbroath forward Isaiah Rankin. Rankin, who Arbroath had expected to be an impact scorer, never really got untracked in Scotland and hadn't been able to crack the starting lineup for the Scottish side. The reported transfer amount for his moving back to England was 800K.

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23.9.06
Arbroath (1) Aberdeen (2)
Arbroath- Darius Vassell 90
Aberdeen- Kenneth Moller Pedersen 10 Philip McGuire 85
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"That was just plain embarassing!" raged Faramir.

"It was a pitiful performance overall. They get Michael Stewart sent off in the first minute of play and we can't capitalize until 2nd half injury time?"

"Well, we did have a goal waived off on offside."

"Still, you are right though- and Jamie (Langfield) played terrible again today. Both goals he was out of position on."

Aberdeen Aces Arbroath
by Sammy Gohl
Aberdeen handily defeated Arbroath to move into 2nd place in the SPL despite the referee unfairly sending off Michael Stewart in the opening minute of play. Even with only 10 men, the brave visitors were able to effectively attack and took the early lead. Desperate to get even, Arbroath could not mount much offense against the dogged defense. Aberdeen clinched the match when Philip McGuire headed a free kick past floundering Jamie Langfield and it was a cheery trip back home with the 2-1 win in hand.

***

28.9.06
Arbroath (2) Stabaek (0) UEFA Cup 1st round 2nd leg (Arbroath advances on 6-1 aggregate)
Arbroath- Darius Vassell 12 Stuart Harvey 21
Stabeak- None
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"A perfect way to recover from that dispappointing loss," stated Gond.

"It was a very efficient performance, especially when Darius (Vassell) scored early to really remove much of their hope."

"Jamie (Langfield) was steady today."

"Hopefully he can start carrying those type of performances back into SPL play."

***

"Youch! That was an abominobly bad draw," sighed Gond.

"That is the toughest club in the entire draw- and we have them. Just have to play well and hope it's good enough," calmly stated Faramir.

Arbroath Against Celta in UEFA
by Sammy Gohl
Arbroath will learn quickly how inconsequential a club it is when it moves to the 2nd round of UEFA play. In the draw held yesterday they drew the current UEFA Cup holders Celta. The spanish side also trounced Champions Cup holders PSV in the recently held Super Cup and also are the favorite to capture the Intercontintal Cup later. Celta were established as firm favorites over Arbroath, who appear to be undeserving of moving on in the UEFA competition.

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1.10.06
Motherwell (1) Arbroath (1)
Motherwell- Douglas Ramsay 6
Arbroath- Chris Thompson 9
MOM- Chris Thompson, Arbroath

"It was our turn to fight like demons today," mused Faramir.

"Seeing Thomas (Magnusson) off at 10 minutes on the redcard was troubling, especially since Jamie (Langfield) had already given up a weak goal."

"Instead, Jamie steadied down and anchored us and we came very close to pulling off a nice win."

"Peter (Wolf) came close twice at the end. Chris (Thompson) showed why our scouts were so high on him- he was a force up front. They didn't have a defender who could physically handle him alone."

"It wasn't a win, but it was a good result anyways."

***

"I just came from the training room. They both think at least a month," stated Gond.

Faramir nodded and kept staring out the window.

Arbroath Skipper Out
Arbroath's young skipper Angelo Schembri (II) will reportedly miss the next month due to a severe groin strain. The injury will keep him out of both the upcoming UEFA matchup with Celta and several key SPL matches.

***

14.10.06
Arbroath (5) Dundee United (5)
Arbroath- Chris Thompson 7 Dunga 50 Luis Laguardia 59 Peter Wolf 61 Joe Osei-Kuffour 75
Dundee United- Scott McDonald 19,77,87 Mark Kerr 48 Alton Thelwell 72
MOM- Scott McDonald, Dundee United

"If we get any good work out of Ian (Ritchie)- we win this match!" exclaimed a frustrated Barry Gond.

"7 shots, 5 of them in. If I could have pulled him- I would. Having to sub on for Brian Brownlie killed us though."

Gond slumped in the chair, "It was a great offensive showing at least. Must have been entertaining for the fans to watch."

"Fun for them, but not for us. I was grimacing when McDonald finished off his hat-trick."