retired_amyslack

January 2006

Sunday 1st
Mickey Weir of Dumbarton took December’s managerial award with his own forward Roy O’Donovan our own Ian Stevens lifting the playing awards.

Wednesday 4th
We started the new year with an away game at leaders Hamilton, an encounter that would speak volumes of our ability to make a serious push not just for promotion, but also for the league title. The runaway leaders in the early part of the season, they have been dropping points recently and with 5 defeats they have actually lost a game more than we have. We were just three points behind them going into the game and I didn’t want the gap to move to six. As it turned out, Hamilton looked a shadow of the formidable team that we saw at the start of the season and we racked up a very good 3-0 win. Mark Boyd, David Bingham and Ian Stevens all scored as we outshot our opponents 3 to 1 and we moved to the top of the table on goal difference.

Friday 6th
We have managed to avoid too many injuries to first team players so far but today left back Lee Maddison turned his ankle in training resulting in a nasty sprain that will sideline him for a month or so.

Saturday 7th
Having clawed our way to the top of the table we could find ourselves quickly dislodged if we don’t get a win at Dumbarton. Mickey Weir isn’t my biggest fan and his side are something of a bogey team for us, having won two out of our three encounters this season. I had to make a few changes to rest some tired legs and it showed as we lost 2-0. Perhaps my lack of confidence transmitted itself to the players for we didn’t play with our usual style. But having checked the other results things didn’t look so bad as both Hamilton and Cowdenbeath could only draw. The table was becoming very congested and any of the top 7 could be in the mix at the end of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Hamilton | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | GRETNA | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Cowdenbeath | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | St. Mirren | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Dumbarton | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 29 | -6 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Forfar | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Berwick | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stranraer | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Ayr | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 21 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Alloa | 19 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 39 | -29 | 8 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

Saturday 14th
We had a weekend off because of Scottish Cup games and even though our own participation was well and truly over I still took time to follow the results. The biggest surprise was the defeat of First Division Falkirk by Highland League club Forres Mechanics with a 2-1 scoreline. I also notice that a couple of SPL teams bit the dust – Inverness Caledonian lost 2-1 at home to Queen of the South and Motherwell suffered the same fate in their tie with Airdrie United.

Sunday 15th
In spite of his Cup success Queen of the South boss Ian Scott was booted out by Chairman David Rae. After challenging for a place in the SPL last season, their current 6th place in the table wasn’t good enough for the Board. According to the press speculation I am the favourite for the position so perhaps I’ll get a phone call.

Monday 16th
Having kept fairly clear of injuries for a while that trend seemed to be on the decline as impressive centre back Patrick McCarthy fractured his jaw in training and required at least a 3-week layoff. A groin strain for Derek Townsley completed a double whammy and he would be missing for a fortnight.

Thursday 19th
I was given a difficult decision to make when Leyton Orient submitted a £5K bid for midfielder Mark Boyd. His contract expired in the summer and negotiations on a renewal have collapsed as his wage demands are way too high. Our Chairman may be a millionaire but he has put in place a strict wage structure and we have no room for manoeuvre. I finally concluded that we should accept the offer as we would almost certainly lose him in the summer anyway. The risk was that his absence would derail our promotion bid but I hoped that we had enough cover to ensure that didn’t happen.

Saturday 21st
The visit of bottom club Alloa should have been a guaranteed three-pointer but I have to say that we made heavy weather of it before scraping a 1-0 win courtesy of a goal from Stephen Cosgrove.

Sunday 22nd
The Celtic Board are clearly desperate for quick success and despite being in charge for less than 12 months, manger David Moyes was shown the door as his team are 3rd in the SPL, five points behind deadly rivals Rangers.

Friday 27th
Celtic have wasted no time in appointing a new manager with former FC Kobenhavn boss Hans Backe taking up the challenge. It remains to be seen how long he will last but I suspect that unless his team can overhaul Rangers to capture the title he will go the way of his predecessors.

Saturday 28th
A bright start in our game at Forfar was undone when we conceded shortly before half time. We looked a bit tired in the second half as we struggled to get back on terms but we played some decent football. Unfortunately we conceded a second with some poor defending of a corner right at the end of normal time. Bingham pulled a goal back in stoppage time but it was too little too late and we suffered a 2-1 defeat. Ian Cummersky played well in midfield and I can’t say that the loss was due to Boyd’s departure.

Sunday 29th
Having started the season as promotion favourites, St. Mirren’s failure to live up to expectations has spelt the end of the road for manager Gus MacPherson. They sit in 7th place and would need quite a turnaround if they are to rescue their season.

Tuesday 31st
Former Southampton manager Gordon Strachan has been unveiled as the new Dunfermline manager. A popular appointment amongst the fans, he will be hoping to make an immediate impression and get his team moving in the right direction.

retired_donna121

Should be an interesting run-in. Have you been at all tempted by any of the job offers?

retired_amyslack

I have been tempted Jorg but I'm staying put for the moment

February 2006

Wednesday 1st
Neill Watt of Stranraer lifted the Manager of the Month award after his team won three of their four league games in January. Berwick midfielder Gordon Forrest was Player of the Month and Ayr centre back John Knox took the junior prize.

Saturday 4th
A sluggish performance at home to Berwick ended scoreless as for some reason neither side was able to create much going forward. The loss of two points dropped us out of the promotion places and Forfar moved above us.

Wednesday 8th
St. Mirren have appointed a new manager as former Stafford Rangers boss Patrick Darkey takes over.

Saturday 11th
I decided to make a couple of changes for the trip to Stranraer bringing Gary Cohen in to play behind the front man and introducing Steven Cosgrove into central midfield. Cohen did make a difference and he scored both goals in our 2-0 win. A defeat for Forfar at leaders Hamilton moved us back into second place. Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup, suffering a 4-1 mauling at Hibs. Kilmarnock lost 2-0 at home to First Division Raith and the brave Forres Mechanic dream was ended 3-1 at St.Johnstone.

Wednesday 15th
There was another managerial candidate as former Gretna boss Rowan Alexander was dismissed from Alloa with his team rock bottom of Division Two.

Thursday 16th
Rangers made up for their Scottish Cup disappointment with a terrific win the UEFA Cup, beating Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the home leg of their tie. Dado Prso netted a hat trick in a 15 minutes spell in the first half to stun the visitors.

Friday 17th
Alloa wasted no time in appointing a new manager with former Southport boss Gary Crosby taking charge at Recreation Park.

Saturday 18th
Despite creating a number of good scoring opportunities in our game at home to St. Mirren, visiting keeper Allan Creer kept his goal intact with some excellent saves and the game ended goalless. With Forfar gaining a 3-2 win in their big game at Dumbarton they move above us again on goal difference. Although we had the meanest defence in the division, goalscoring remained a problem for us and our goals for column was on of the lowest in the league. If we could find more success on that front without weakening our defence then we would have a great chance of going up.

Monday 20th
I finally got the rumoured phone call from Queen of the South Chairman David Rae asking if I would be interested in the vacant managerial position in Dumfries. I have to confess that I gave it some serious consideration but decided to stay put and see if we couldn’t secure a spot in the First Division.

Thursday 23rd
A 1-1 draw in Bilbao was more than enough for Rangers to move into the next round of the UEFA Cup.

Saturday 25th
During the visit of relegation-threatened Ayr we once again faced a goalie in fine form as Lee Robinson made some great stops to keep his team in the game. We finally got the winning goal with less than 5 minutes remaining when Gary Cohen was picked out superbly by Lennon, sprung the offside trap with the timing of his run and fired powerfully home.

Sunday 26th
Following the sacking of Raith manager Claude Anelka I was approached by several journalists suggesting that I was the favourite to replace him and asking for my reaction. I decided that a simple “no comment” was the best answer at this point.

retired_amyslack

March 2006

Wednesday 1st
Forfar’s Ray Stewart was the deserved recipient of another managerial award with Hamilton left winger Ricky Waddell and Dumbarton midfielder Roy O’Donovan taking the playing awards.

Saturday 4th
Outplayed and outthought – that was the story of our trip to Cowdenbeath. After a goalless first half during which the home side threatened to score on several occasions, we suffered a truly miserable second 45 minutes. Not that we didn’t get forward ourselves, but our finishing was dire with not a single attempt on target all afternoon. If I can’t do something about our lack of goals then our promotion challenge could well collapse.

Thursday 9th
The UEFA Cup is now at the last-16 stage and Rangers chances of progression took a dip following a 1-1 draw at home to Deportivo.

Friday 10th
The rumoured approach from Raith materialised today when I was offered the vacant managerial post. After some consideration I turned down the offer, preferring to stay at Raydale Park, at least for the time being.

Saturday 11th
The visit of leaders Hamilton was probably our biggest game of the season so far – a defeat would seriously dent our promotion prospects whilst a win would not only be a great confidence booster but would also put us back in the thick of the title challenge. Striker Brian Wake has been showing some decent for in the reserves and getting amongst the goals so I decided to give him a start in an attempt to rejuvenate our faltering attack. This proved to be a good decision in that he scored our only goal of the game. The problem was that the visitors scored twice themselves and we lost 2-1. The defeat dropped us down to 4th place and allowed Cowdenbeath to jump into the second promotion spot.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Hamilton | | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Cowdenbeath | | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Forfar | | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | GRETNA | | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

Queen of the South have landed themselves a place in the Semi Finals of the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Raith and they joined SPL sides Hibs, Celtic and Livingston in the last four.

Thursday 16th
Rangers bowed out of the UEFA Cup after a 2-0 defeat at Deportivo.

Saturday 18th
The fixture list contained a couple of key games today as Cowdenbeath hosted Hamilton and we entertained Dumbarton. Fortunately both games ended in our favour – an early goal from Wake gave us a 1-0 win and Hamilton took the points with a 2-1 victory. This lifted us up a place at the expense of Cowdenbeath and a win for Forfar moved them up to second place. Yet another defeat for Alloa confirmed their relegation and with only 8 points they are on target for a new Division Two record. Steven Cosgrove was a key figure for us in the game and he now seems to be settling in to the central midfield position and making a good replacement for the departed Boyd.

Sunday 19th
Livingston were having a great season in the Cup competitions and they secured the first significant trophy in the history of the club with a 2-1 defeat of Celtic in the League Cup Final. They fell behind to a Chris Sutton goal early in the game but fought back superbly to get the win. Their goalscoring heroes on the day were winger Edgaras Chesnauskis and striker Marc Libbra.

Thursday 23rd
Billy Stark has confirmed rumours that he will be leaving Queen’s Park to take up the reins at Queen of the South.

Saturday 25th
Brian Wake was suspended for the trip to Alloa and replacement Rob Elvins scored the only goal of the game in our 1-0 win. Our opponents didn’t play like a team that was already relegated and had the converted their first-half penalty then the result could have been quite different. But we missed a spot kick of our own in the second period when Ciaran Ryan had his attempt saved. The penalty save wasn’t the only contribution that Alan Main made and his Man of the Match award was recognition of his contribution to the win.

retired_amyslack

April 2006

Saturday 1st
Hamilton boss Allan Maitland landed the March managerial award after he arrested his team’s slide and got their title challenge firmly back on course. Midfielder Gordon Forrest of Berwick and young centre back Ryan Townsend of Forfar won the playing awards.

Every game was vital from now on and today was no exception with second place Forfar the visitors. It was clearly a must-win match for us if we were to maintain our promotion challenge. Alas, a very tight game ended in a 1-0 defeat and we dropped down to 4th place. This was not well received by the Board and given their expectation of promotion they made it clear that we had to turn things around, and quickly.

Saturday 8th
Having had my card well and truly marked, the trip to Berwick could well be the last that I take with the team – anything short of a win could well seal my fate. We had been working on a few tactical ideas during the week to try to open up the opposition a little more and today it all seemed to click. The boys really went out and played for me and we ran out 5-1 winners with easily our best performance of the season. Nicky McDonald was on fire, creating four of our goals, Rob Elvins scored twice with Gary Cohen, Andy Aitken and substitute Steven McGregor bagging one each.

Sunday 9th
Having silenced the Board, at least for the time being, the sackings of Billy Reid by Ayr and Mark Shanks by Arbroath both served as a clear reminder that the job tenure of a football manager can be brought to an end very abruptly.

Wednesday 12th
Queen’s Park announced that Jim Blyth would be leaving his position as Assistant Manager at Halifax to take over as their new boss.

Saturday 15th
After such a good performance the previous week I decided against making an changes to the team for the visit of Stranraer. It was too much to expect a repeat of last week but nonetheless the 1-1 draw was a disappointment, and with the top two having a goalless draw in their meeting we missed a great chance to close the gap. The table remained very tight but with only four games left to play we were running out of matches.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Pos | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Hamilton | | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 60 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Forfar | | 32 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 55 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Cowdenbeath | | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | GRETNA | | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Dumbarton | | 32 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

Sunday 16th
Hibs finally ended the great cup run of Queen of the South when they won their Semi Final 2-1. The underdogs gave the favourites a scare with a goal after two minutes but the Premiership side were too strong and the fought back for the win.

Wednesday 19th
In the second Semi Final Livingston came back from a goal down to Celtic to take a 2-1 lead but a Didier Agathe strike 20 minutes from time squared the scores and the two will go to a replay.

Saturday 22nd
We travelled to St. Mirren with one change to the team – John Hore coming in on the left of midfield instead of Ciaran Ryan. I was hoping to use John’s pace to trouble the home defence but he wasn’t a huge factor in the game. It was Lee Maddison’s set piece ability that was key to our fine 3-0 win as he tucked a way two free kicks in the first half. Rob Elvins scored the third to give us a comfortable half time advantage that we were able to maintain without too many scares at the back. Other results went in our favour with Cowdenbeath losing and Forfar drawing and we were now in 3rd place behind the highlanders on goal difference.

Sunday 23rd
Celtic gained a 2-1 win over Livingston in their Scottish Cup replay and booked their place in the final with Hibs.

Monday 24th
There was another managerial casualty today as Peterhead boss Iain Stewart was asked to pack up his desk and be on his way.

Wednesday 26th
English teams have had great success in the Champions League this season and made up three of the four teams in the Semi Finals. Chelsea had a resounding 4-0 win at home to Arsenal in the London derby but Man United have it all to do in Rome after a 1-1 draw with Roma.

Thursday 27th
Both of the UEFA Cup Semis featured Spain v. Germany encounters with Leverkusen winning 1-0 at Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid beating Schalke 04 2-0.

Saturday 29th
In our trip to Ayr we were facing a team staring relegation in the face and with no manager in charge so I was confident of getting a win. But you never know in football and a cornered animal is often at its most dangerous. I brought Ciaran Ryan back in for this match and it proved to be a good decision as he scored twice in our fine 4-0 win. He also laid on a goal for Rob Elvins and was voted Man of the Match. Lee Maddison added a late 4th with a trademark free kick to give our goal difference a boost. The scoreline proved to be enough to lift us above Forfar and into second position.

retired_amyslack

May 2006

Monday 1st
Dumbarton have been on good form recently and manager Mickey Weir won the April award on the back of four wins out of five. His young centre back Stuart Wall won the junior player’s award with our own Lee Maddison triumphing in the senior version.

Wednesday 3rd
A goalless draw at Highbury was more than enough for Chelsea to reach the Champions League Final. Their opponents will be Roma after the tightest of games against Man United. The home side took the lead with half an hour remaining but United equalised with just minutes remaining to force extra time. With no further goals forthcoming the tie was decided on penalties with the Italians triumphing.

Thursday 4th
It will be an all-Spanish, and indeed an all-Madrid, final in the UEFA Cup. Real lost the away leg at Schalke 2-1 but went through 3-2 on aggregate with Michael Owen scoring their crucial goal in the 90th minute. Atletico produced a great fightback in Leverkusen, winning 3-2 on the night to go through on away goals.

Friday 5th
Former Queen of the South boss Ian Scott has been unveiled as the new man in charge at Peterhead.

Saturday 6th
Our penultimate game of the season is at home to Cowdenbeath, our fellow promotees to this division. Their own promotion challenge has faltered recently and they are now out of the race but they could still have a big say in who actually goes up. With our final game at Champions-elect Hamilton, it is crucial that we get maximum points today. We struggled in the first 45 minutes, looking ragged and out of sorts, but we still reached the break a goal to the good. Gary Cohen took advantage of some confusion in the visiting defence following a Cosgrove throw and lashed the ball home right at the end of the half. Boosted by that we played much better in the second period, and Man of the Match Cohen was on target again to give us an invaluable 2-0 win. The other key results have set up a nail-biting conclusion to the season – Hamilton had a shock 4-1 defeat at St. Mirren and Forfar beat Ayr 3-0.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Hamilton | | 35 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 64 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Forfar | | 35 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | GRETNA | | 35 | 18 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 25 | +21 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

The state of play now meant that if we won at Hamilton then we would be promoted – otherwise we were depending on Forfar’s result at home to Berwick.

Saturday 13th
We would face our final challenge without one of our most influential players as centre back Andy Aitken had not recovered from a training ground injury in time to make the team so Peter Ramage would have to start. We played really well in the first half and got off to a great start when Cohen scored inside the first quarter of an hour. Elvins came up with a second on 25 minutes and we were looking really good. But within a few minutes of the restart Ramage was caught out for pace when a long clearance went over his head and he hauled back a Hamilton player. The referee decided that he was the last man and off he went – down to ten men with 40 minutes remaining. I sacrificed Cohen to bring on Simon Ruddick in defence and we settled down to try to hold on. The home side began to exert some pressure but we held firm and looked capable of breaking upfield. With 20 minutes remaining we witnessed that rare event, a Cosgrove goal after a decisive break to put us 3-0 ahead. That’s the way the score remained and at full time I knew that we were promoted. When the result came in from Station Park, both sets of fans went wild – a 0-0 draw meant that we were unlikely champions and Hamilton took second place.

Monday 15th
It’s award time again and Martin Bell and Patrick McCarthy were both elected to the Second Division Team of the Year. I was surprised to find that I won the Manager of the Year and Berwick midfielder Gordon Forrest was Player of the Year.

Wednesday 17th
In the UEFA Cup Madrid derby, underdogs Atletico triumphed over neighbours Real, winning 2-1 in an open and entertaining game.

Wednesday 24th
Chelsea were crowned Champions Of Europe when they beat Roma 2-1 in a tense encounter in Rotterdam. All of the goals came in a dramatic closing 20 minutes with Ricardo Calvarho and Mateja Kezman the goal heroes for the Blues.

Saturday 27th
Favourites Celtic proved to be too strong for Hibs as they lifted the Scottish with a 3-1 victory to complete a league and cup double. Stilian Petrov fired them in front early in the game but Hibs struck back through talented youngster Garry O’Connor. Stephen Pearson put Celtic back in front ten minutes before the interval and John Hartson secured the trophy with a goal 15 minutes from time.

Wednesday 31st
I spent quite some time going over the past season, starting with the various playing stats for the squad.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Lee Maddison | 26 (1)| 3 | 1 | 1 | 75% | 3.62 | 0.27 | 52% | 7.44 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin Bell | 32 | - | - | 1 | 68% | 3.92 | 0.25 | - | 7.41 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Patrick McCarthy | 31 | - | - | - | 69% | 2.97 | 0.10 | - | 7.39 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gary Cohen | 18 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 81% | 1.00 | 2.11 | 50% | 7.33 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andy Aitken | 34 | 1 | - | - | 72% | 2.71 | 0.12 | - | 7.29 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Derek Townsley | 21 (3)| 1 | 5 | 1 | 81% | 1.95 | 2.05 | 19% | 7.17 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Stevens | 24 (3)| 10 | 2 | - | 85% | 0.83 | 0.29 | 59% | 7.15 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Nicky McDonald | 10 (5)| - | 8 | 1 | 81% | 1.09 | 1.58 | 31% | 7.13 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Rob Elvins | 12 (5)| 8 | 4 | 1 | 87% | 0.59 | 0.67 | 50% | 7.12 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Danny Lennon | 28 (3)| - | 3 | - | 80% | 1.96 | 0.31 | 6% | 7.10 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Main | 39 | - | 1 | 6 | 52% | - | 0.03 | - | 7.08 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gavin Skelton | 13 | - | 1 | 1 | 67% | 2.69 | 0.08 | - | 7.08 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Bingham | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 84% | 0.75 | 1.02 | 25% | 7.07 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Cosgrove | 19 (7)| 3 | 5 | 1 | 83% | 0.90 | 1.39 | 25% | 7.04 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ciaran Ryan | 29 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 80% | 2.00 | 2.00 | 41% | 7.03 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Wake | 2 | 2 | - | - | 87% | 1.15 | 1.15 | 60% | 7.00 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Hore | 7 (1) | 1 | - | - | 79% | 2.52 | 1.48 | 58% | 7.00 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Richard Prokas | 5 (1) | - | - | - | 68% | 3.43 | 0.38 | - | 7.00 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Joe Boyle | 11 (4)| - | - | - | 81% | 2.37 | 0.09 | - | 6.87 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Ramage | 11 | - | - | - | 75% | 1.37 | - | - | 6.73 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Simon Ruddick | 2 (1) | - | - | - | 64% | 0.82 | - | - | 6.67 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Cummersky | 4 (5) | - | - | - | 85% | 1.00 | 1.20 | - | 6.56 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Joe Savage | 0 (13)| - | 2 | - | 91% | 0.36 | 1.08 | - | 6.54 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ryan Baldacchino | 5 | - | 2 | - | 81% | 1.65 | 3.30 | - | 6.40 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Steven McGregor | 0 (3) | 1 | - | - | - | 4.00 | 2.00 | - | 6.33 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scott Bannerman | 3 | - | - | - | 65% | 2.00 | 0.40 | - | 6.33 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Steven Hampshire | 3 | - | - | - | 75% | 0.67 | 0.67 | - | 6.33 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Simon Rusk | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 1.00 | - | 6.00 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Henry Smith | 0 (1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.00 | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

Full backs Maddison and Bell were two of our top players and with McCarthy and Aitken they made up a very effective back four. The veteran Alan Main had another good season between the sticks and our defensive record was second to none. Gary Cohen did well when he established himself and kept Bingham out of the team for the later part of the season. Ian Stevens still finished as our top scorer but Rob Elvins came through well.

Next I perused the league table at length.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Scottish Second Division| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | GRETNA | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 25 | +24 | 65 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Hamilton | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 64 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Forfar | 36 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Dumbarton | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 57 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 41 | +19 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | St. Mirren | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Berwick | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 40 | 42 | -2 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stranraer | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 42 | 50 | -8 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | R | Ayr | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 39 | 59 | -20 | 34 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | R | Alloa | 36 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 23 | 77 | -54 | 13 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

For the second season in succession we had the best defensive record in our division and once again that was a key factor in our success. Having flirted with relegation last season, Ayr had a terrible season and will be playing Third Division football next term. Hamilton bounced straight back to Division One although it was a close run thing with their final-day defeat.

I then took some time to check out the tables from the other divisions, just to check on the final standings.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Scottish Premier League| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Celtic | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 79 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Rangers | 38 | 23 | 3 | 12 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 72 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Dundee | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 62 | 49 | +13 | 63 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Hearts | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 60 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Kilmarnock | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 55 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Aberdeen | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 53 | -3 | 54 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Motherwell | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 56 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Hibs | 38 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 49 | 61 | -12 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | St. Johnstone | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 46 | 54 | -8 | 45 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Dunfermline | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 60 | -18 | 42 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Inverness CT | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 44 | 63 | -19 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Livingston | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 41 | 59 | -18 | 33 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

New manager Hans Backe captured the SPL title for Celtic at the first time of asking and added the Scottish Cup into the bargain. Winning the League Cup to deny Celtic a domestic treble was scant consolation for relegated Livingston.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Scottish First Division| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Dundee Utd | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 60 | 41 | +19 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Partick | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 53 | 45 | +8 | 62 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Queen of Sth | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 50 | 41 | +9 | 55 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Raith | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Clyde | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 51 | 52 | -1 | 53 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Falkirk | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 48 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Airdrie Utd | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 51 | -2 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Brechin | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 38 | 54 | -16 | 40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | R | Ross County | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 51 | 58 | -7 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | R | Stirling | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 43 | 67 | -24 | 31 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Dundee United made an immediate return to the top flight and Stirling dropped back down after their promotion last year.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Scottish Third Division| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | East Fife | 36 | 21 | 7 | 8 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 70 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Morton | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 63 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Queen's Park | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Montrose | 36 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 54 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Arbroath | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 43 | 49 | -6 | 53 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Albion | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 48 | -1 | 50 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 51 | 58 | -7 | 49 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Peterhead | 36 | 15 | 3 | 18 | 46 | 54 | -8 | 48 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Elgin | 36 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 39 | 56 | -17 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | East Stirling | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 40 | 59 | -19 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

After threatening to get promoted for the last couple of years, East Fife go up as Champions and Morton bounce straight back as runners-up. East Stirling confirmed their status as the worst team in Britain for the third year in succession but only on goal difference this time so things are improving.

retired_vbrazon

Good Luck in Div 2 Bobev

retired_jgirl87

I think that fergus means Div 1. Good luck from me as well, Bob. :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thanks chaps

June 2006

Wednesday 7th
With everyone at the club enjoying a summer break I can take some time out to enjoy the World Cup on TV. Not that I will have my feet up all the time as there are various playing contract issues to consider to say nothing about taking steps to bring some new blood into the team for our assault on the First Division.

Tuesday 13th
One of the highlights of the group stage was Ireland’s shock 2-0 defeat of holders Brazil. Keeper Shay Given performed brilliantly to keep a clean sheet and Jon Macken and Damien Duff provided the goals in the tournament’s biggest upset so far.

Wednesday 14th
Another South American giant suffered an upset when Argentina lost 1-0 to Senegal.

Thursday 15th
We secured our first new signings as centre back Stuart Wall joined from Dumbarton for a £20K fee. The 18-year-old was superb last season and is a player with bags of potential. Next to agree a deal was Berwick midfielder Gordon Forrest after another £20K fee was agreed.

Monday 19th
In a bid to improve our scoring prowess, experienced striker Dennis Wyness has agreed a move from Hearts for a nominal fee.

Tuesday 20th
The results of the voting for the Fans Player of the Year were released and I was pleased to see that Lee Maddison won the award. On the same day I was given my target for next season by the Board – all I have to do to keep my job is to avoid relegation! We also welcomed the first graduates from our youth programme – right back David Dick and winger John Gibson, both aged 15. The first of the qualifying groups for the World Cup knockout stages were sorted out this evening. In Group A Brazil beat Chile to go through and despite a 2-1 defeat to Costa Rica, Ireland also progress. Group B saw Croatia go through with a 100% record and with the remaining three teams all finishing equal on points, Argentina squeezed through on goal difference.

Wednesday 21st
There was nothing to separate England and hosts Germany in Group C and both go through with 5 points, England winning the group on goal difference. Holland topped group D with Iraq the surprise runners-up thanks to their shock defeat of the USA.

Thursday 22nd
Spain topped Group E with maximum points and a narrow 1-0 defeat for Wales allowed Turkey to overtake them and take second place whilst in Group F, Tunisia and the Czech Republic both progress.

Friday 23rd
Alan Main has announced that he will be putting his gloves away for good at the end of next season, so this campaign will be his last. In World Cup Group G, France and Bulgaria moved on whilst Italy and Portugal headed Group H.

Saturday 24th
A number of players have now left the club as they were either surplus to requirements or we could not agree a reasonable contract extension. These include Martin Cameron, David Holdsworth, Richard Prokas, Ian Stevens, Henry Smith, Kyle May, Joe Savage, Mark Birch, Marc Cleeland, Wyne Gordon and Simon Ruddick. But my heart got the better of my head in one instance when I agreed a one-year extension with David Bingham. That evening Brazil won the South American showdown, beating Argentina 2-0 and Ireland bowed out with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Croatia.

Sunday 25th
Hosts Germany moved into the Quarter Finals with a 2-0 win over Holland and England had an easy 5-0 win over Iraq.

Monday 26th
The squad clearout continued as Ryan Baldacchino and Ian Cummersky were also released. In the World Cup, Turkey beat Tunisia and Spain triumphed over the Czech Republic.

Tuesday 27th
France crashed out of the tournament, losing 2-0 to Portugal but Italy made progress with a 1-0 defeat of Bulgaria.

Friday 30th
The World Cup Quarter Finals began today and the hosts were eliminated on penalties by Brazil with Croatia beating England 2-0.

retired_amyslack

July 2006

Saturday 1st
Portugal and Italy both moved into the World Cup Semi Finals beating Turkey and Spain respectively. Each game finished 1-1 after extra time and was decided on penalties.

Tuesday 4th
Brazil confirmed their status as tournament favourites with a 4-0 demolition of Portugal in the first Semi Final.

Wednesday 5th
Croatia provided a slight upset by beating Italy 2-1 in a tense encounter to become one of the smallest countries ever to reach a World Cup Final.

Saturday 8th
Italy gained some consolation for their failure to reach the final by beating Portugal 2-0 in the Third Place Playoff.

Sunday 9th
Brazil were crowned World Champions after a 1-0 defeat of Croatia in the Olympiastadion in Berlin tonight. Despite the deceptively narrow scoreline they dominated play from start to finish with Ronaldo scoring the decisive goal in the first half.

Tuesday 18th
The first game in our short pre-season warm up took place today with a visit from Aberdeen. Despite the 2-0 defeat it was a useful exercise as these games begin to get the players moving towards match fitness.

Monday 24th
The second and final friendly saw Rotherham visit and the game was much more open than the goalless draw would suggest. Young keeper Greg Kelly made his debut and performed very impressively.

Tuesday 25th
Another striker joined the club today when Dene Shields signed from Cowdenbeath for £22K. The 23-year-old has scored 20 goals in each of the last two seasons and if he can get anywhere near that for us he will be a bargain buy.

Wednesday 26th
Rangers were in action today in 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League and had a good 3-0 win at home to Kaunas of Lithuania.

Saturday 29th
Our first competitive match of the season is at home to Clyde in the Challenge Cup and despite being unable to field a few first choice players due to a slight lack of fitness we put in a decent performance with Scott Bannerman scoring the only goal in our 1-0 win.

Monday 31st
The bookies have Livingston as evens favourites to gain promotion with Partick, Raith and Falkirk also finding favour. At 25-1 they clearly view us as more of a relegation candidate.