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"You can't be serious," said Gond in awe.

"Of course I am serious. We may not be able to keep him long with that min fee release- but it is worth it for this season's stretch drive..."

"Word must be out about it- look at the fans out there!"

Stunner! Anelka & Arbroath!
Arbroath announced the stunning transfer purchase of unhappy Nicolas Anelka from Sunderland for 800K. Anelka, whose contract was close to expiring, had not won a place on Sunderland's regular starters and wanted to move to someplace that would guarantee playing time. Arbroath, with injury problems up front again and inconsistent work from its healthy forwards appeared to be a perfect fit. Anelka and Arbroath management were both candid about the fact that this alliance may be temporary, but both welcomed it as mutually beneficial.

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27.1.07
Aberdeen (1) Arbroath (3) Scottish Cup 3rd round
Aberdeen- Charlie Hodges 14
Arbroath- Stephen Whalen 5 Mike Zonneveld 62-P Nicolas Anelka 77
MOM- Nicolas Anelka, Arbroath

"So that's what a class forward looks like!" grinned Barry Gond.

"Our forwards are good, but we didn't have anyone close to being in his class. Let's just hope he stays happy with all the playing time he will get for the rest of this season."

"I forgot to tell you, I heard that Sammy is so steamed that we were able to land Anelka- and for how little we landed him. We apparently ruined another one of his special pieces that he was writing about us. Knocking off the current SPL leaders in their park was something he didn't want to highlight."

***

31.1.07
Arbroath (1) Inverness Caledonian Thistle (1)
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 90
ICT- Angelo Schembri 70-Own Goal
MOM- Nicolas Anelka, Arbroath

"You realize in only two matches, his myth has suddenly reached epic proportions," smiled Gond.

"They might forget the fact that he missed two other goals that he should have scored, still it was a dramatic equalizer when everyone was certain time was running out on a loss."

"We outshot them 18-2. We deserved better."

"Still, at least we split the points."

***

"The Board isn't happy," stated Gond.

"I don't care if they are. Darius challenged your authority in practice. He isn't staying on a club I manage doing something like that."

Vassell Vacates Arbroath
Darius Vassell, who had finally tasted some senior side time at Arbroath, was released today. Vassell apparently had an altercation with Assistant Manager Barry Gond during training yesterday after declaring he would leave on Bosman. He was almost immediately released by Arbroath Manager Faramir for the altercation.

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3.2.07
Hibs (1) Arbroath (1)
Hibs- James Scowcroft 57
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 51
MOM- Tarek El-Said, Hibs

"A lot of discussion why Anelka wasn't starting," mentioned Gond.

"He wasn't physically ready. I told Nicolas when he came over that he would start every match that I thought he was fit for. He wasn't fit enough for this one- so he doesn't start. Simple as that."

"We should have won it anyway without him- losing that goal on offsides call hurt badly."

"It was a solid match, they played better than us overall and the 1-1 draw was a fair result."

***

10.2.07
Arbroath (4) Dundee (3)
Arbroath- Stephen Whalen 17 Nicolas Anelka 18 Peter Wolf 42 Robin Gibson 82
Dundee- Juan Sara 25,90 Mark McCormick 81-P
MOM- Stephen Whalen, Arbroath

"Good thing we outscored them," remarked Gond.

"Well, that is one way to avoid losing to the referee. After he waived off Chris Thompson's goal and then handed them a disputed penalty kick, I was wondering if the match would end before he would quit interfering with our chances to win."

"We were fortunate our midfield played as well as they did, the backline was only average today."

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14.2.07
Hibs (1) Arbroath (3) League Cup Semifinal
Hibs- Dimitris Mavrogennidis 27
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 39 Chris Thompson 49 Peter Wolf 72
MOM- Stephen Whalen, Arbroath

"We will get to face Aberdeen in the finals- the score just went up that they beat Dundee United 1-0," said Gond over his shoulder from watching the telly.

"Not too surprising that we will see them again. This match could have been more lopsided if we could have capitalized on our chances- we outshot them 21-5."

"Still, we did plenty fine in getting enough goals to win and in playing stingy defense."

***

17.2.07
Berwick (1) Arbroath (2) Scottish Cup 4th round
Brechin- James Ferrie 24
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 55 Paul Keegan 90
MOM- Gareth Munro, Arbroath

"Paul (Keegan) picked a very opportune time to score his 1st goal for us," chuckled Gond.

"Did you see his face after he scored? That is the kind of feeling I wish I could bottle for some of the down times in this job," wistfully said Faramir.

"It wasn't really our best effort."

"But, it was good enough to win."

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24.2.07
Rangers (2) Arbroath (2)
Rangers- Craig Weir 45 Tommy Smith 56
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 32 James Coppinger 89
MOM- Nicolas Anelka, Arbroath

"A very tough match," stated a tired Gond.

"Evenly matched to be certain. Up until Coppy's equalizer- Klos had been a little sharper than Jamie (Langfield) in net, but both clubs played well. It was a fair result."

"'Gers wanted this one badly. With the draw and Aberdeen's win, Aberdeen is back within two points of 'Gers for top spot."

"We will have to settle for battling for 3rd against Hearts and Hibs."

***

3.3.07
Arbroath (3) Aberdeen (3)
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 36 Stephen Whalen 66 James Coppinger 71
Aberdeen- Marvin Andrews 21 Hicham Zerouali 48 Robbie Winters 62
MOM- James Coppinger, Arbroath

"Another match that we could have won," said a frustrated Gond.

"Lots of ways to look at it. We could have won if the ref hadn't ruled off Whalen's first score on a bad judgement that Angelo (Schembri) handled the ball. We could have won if our backline had given Jamie (Langfield) more help when they scored those two second half goals. Still, I was pleased we rallied from two goals (and a bad call) down to come back and earn the 3-3 draw."

"I am sure the 'Gers liked it too- they slaughtered Hearts 5-1 at Tynecastle Park and are back to a 4 point lead over Aberdeen."

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10.3.07
Arbroath (5) Ayr (0) Scottish Cup 5th round
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 19,22 Nicolas Anelka 41 Chris Thompson 61 Stephen Whalen 71
Ayr- None
MOM- Peter Wolf, Arbroath

"That was very convincing- we played a terrific match against them," cherrily commented Gond.

"It was one of our best offensive showings of the year. If not for some good work by their keeper, we could have had several more goals as well."

"We were somewhat fortunate in the draw- we drew Airdrie in the Semifinals. If 'Gers and Celtic both win their replays as expected- they will face off in the other Semifinal.


***

18.3.07
Arbroath (2) Aberdeen (3) League Cup Final
Arbroath- Chris Thompson 8 Nicolas Anelka 10
Aberdeen- Hicham Zerouali 38 Michael Stewart 56,90-P
MOM- Michael Stewart, Aberdeen

"What a crock!" grumbled a furious Gond.

Faramir shook his head, "I give Aberdeen all the credit in the world for coming back from two goals down. But this was a match we lost directly because of the referee. Even the FA official that came up to me after the match expressed his disappointment with the calls, but warned me the result would stand."

Gond continued his frenzied pacing, "First, he waves off our go ahead goal on an offside! It was a bloody rebound! Then, he waits until the last moment of the match to redcard Jamie (Langfield) for a slight push? It didn't even affect the bloody play!"

"Nothing we can do Barry," said Faramir sadly. "I am more disappointed for the boys, because who knows when we will make it back here again."

Aberdeen The Champs
by Sammy Gohl
Aberdeen survived a couple lucky early goals by Arbroath and roared back to defeat them in the League Cup Final. It was the staunch effort of the Aberdeen midfield that brought them back into the match. With the regular time almost complete the referee made a proper call when he redcarded Jamie Langfield for a vicious tackle in the area that allowed Michael Stewart to convert the ensuing penalty for the match winner.

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21.3.07
Motherwell (0) Arbroath (2)
Motherwell- None
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 50 Nicolas Anelka 90
MOM- Nicolas Anelka, Arbroath

"Another tough match, but we played well," stated Gond.

"The only bad part of it was losing Angelo (Schembri) for a month. He really has had his share of injury problems this season."

"It was nice to see Nicolas (Anelka) clinch the match- he made so many good plays during the match- including saving that one off the goal line behind Jamie (Langfield) to keep them off the board right before he scored his goal."

***

31.3.07
Arbroath (4) Livingston (1)
Arbroath- James Coppinger 27 Peter Wolf 29 Joe Osei-Kuffour 48,67-P
Livingston- Nathan Lowndes 59
MOM- Joe Osei-Kuffour, Arbroath

"Joe (Osei-Kuffour) certainly responded well to getting his chance," observed Gond.

"Losing Anelka to injury could have hurt us- Joe made sure it didn't. Overall, that was another very good match for us."

"We will miss Stephen (Whalen) for the next match- he earned enough points with his yellow to gain the 1 game suspension."

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7.4.07
Airdrie (0) Arbroath (1) Scottish Cup Semifinal
Airdrie- None
Arbroath- Joe Osei-Kuffour 73
MOM- James Coppinger, Arbroath

"Did you hear the news after the match?" asked Gond.

"No, what is the word?"

"Tough management. Airdrie fired Sandy Clark after the match."

"That is tough management. We barely beat them and I thought they played hard and well."

"I guess he had to win the match to save his job- they don't like their 6th place location in Division 1."

"Celtic beat Rangers 2-1, so that's who we face in the Final."

***

9.4.07
Arbroath (1) Celtic (2)
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 19
Celtic- Andy Kirk 34 Tobias Grahn 75
MOM- Joze Barbir, Arbroath

"They deserved to win," briefly commented Faramir.

"Other than Joze (Barbir) and Nicolas (Anelka) we had nothing going today. Our backline didn't help much either."

"The press can make what they want of this match- but we rested almost all of our regulars- so it really wasn't our 'true' look."

Celtic Dumps Arbroath
by Sammy Gohl
In what must be considered a preview of the upcoming Scottish Cup Final, Celtic marched into Gayfield Park and handed Arbroath a stinging 2-1 loss. Celtic, which managed to move into the Playoff Group with the win, will march back into the same setting for its next match as well.

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14.4.07
Arbroath (1) Celtic (2)
Arbroath- Joe Osei-Kuffour 57
Celtic- Andy Kirk 7 Abgar Barsom 10
MOM- Robert Douglas, Celtic

"We played well enough to win, except for Jamie (Langfield)," muttered Gond.

"Can't fault our play at all. We outshot them 16-5 for the match, but Douglas was superb and Jamie was subpar."

"With Stephen (Whalen) suspended for the match and Coppy injured for at least 2 weeks, we got poor work from Robin (Gibson) and Joze (Barbir) in filling in for them."

Celtic Makes it Two
by Sammy Gohl
Celtic showed its strength as they overpowered Arbroath for the second straight time at Gayfield Park. The Arbroath Board must be wondering where their vaunted management is taking them after losing in the League Cup Final and now two consecutive losses at home that have them headed toward the bottom of the Playoff Group.

***

21.4.07
Hearts (1) Arbroath (3)
Hearts- Gary Wales 45
Arbroath- Stephen Whalen 8 Joe Osei-Kuffour 36,45
MOM- Joe Osei-Kuffour, Arbroath

"Whew! That was a big win!" blurted Barry Gond.

"We had to beat them to hold 3rd place in the standings, so it was pretty big," agreed Faramir.

"They certainly wanted to take Nicolas (Anelka) out of the match- they marked him with two people."

"Look where it got them- Joe (Osei-Kuffour) ran wild on them all match. It was a waste to try and do that. I feel a bit more comfortable now that we have a 5 point lead on Hearts for 3rd place."

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28.4.07
Arbroath (1) Hibs (2)
Arbroath- Chris Thompson 27
Hibs- Dimitris Mavrogennidis 35-P Tarek El-Said 90
MOM- Steve Watson, Hibs

"A penalty and a free kick! We lose because of those two calls!" fumed Gond.

Faramir sighed, "I thought it was another instance of unjust reffing, but it isn't worth the bother of protesting. We lost because we didn't take full advantage of all our chances. We should have had some more goals."

Gond conceeded, "Christopher Kirkland did play well for them, but you're right we wasted some golden shots."

Hibs Tumble Arbroath
by Sammy Gohl
Hibs added to Arbroath's tumbling fortunes as they once again humbled the weak sister of the playoff group at Gayfield Park. The third straight home loss should certainly having the Board members of Arbroath considering some fresh blood in their management staff.

***

5.5.07
Aberdeen (2) Arbroath (3)
Aberdeen- Sean Widera 21 Peter Witt 90
Arbroath- Chris Thompson 31 Peter Wolf 43 Nicolas Anelka 50
MOM- Nicolas Anelka, Arbroath

"That was the win we needed," said a smiling Gond.

"Enough to finish in 3rd place at least. It has been a pretty good season Barry," replied Faramir.

"We have improved all season. This club stands very close to being a challenger for next season."

Faramir looked very tired and thoughtful, "But we may not be here to see it..."