shannon2007

Thanks Spav. In reality we should be relegated, but past experience tells me we'll finish top 6

Not that I want to be relegated you understand

shannon2007

Most people of course expected us to be relegated, and thought we'd be lucky to get double figures in points. A lot of this opinion though was just based on pure ignorance, without really studying our team. But then, that's nothing new with the Scottish media regards what they percieve to be a small and pointless team.

The sales from last season, added to by the sale of Totti to Hibs, which didn't go down too well with the Forfar fans who believed we should have gotten far more than the measly £160,000 we did get. They were, of course, absolutely correct, but such is the way with clauses in contracts and there was nothing we could do about it. Scott Wilson also left the club in a £250,000 deal to Dundee, youth midfielder Craig Ritchie - who had managed five first team appearances for us and hadn't done too badly - went to Clyde for £120,000 and on the last day of the transger window in August Dundee United and Aberdeen both offered £500,000 for Dino Seremet. Such an offer was beyond refusal and in the end Dino went to United. He didn't like sheepshaggers either.

The income from players sales, plus the £1M from TV rights meant the club was in the healthiest position financially it had ever been with over £2.5M in the bank and I had over £1M to spend. Yet despite such wealth, I wasn't for rushing out and just buying anyone. Apart from picking up 14 youth players who had been released from their clubs - to add to the five local boys who had joined us - I spent only £210,000 on bringing in new players to improve the squad the season ahead. Of course that was still far more than we had ever spent before.

Three players were signed from Rangers - goalie Scott Murray, defender Steve Evans and attacker Manuel Serrano. Also coming in would be left back Ross Forsyth from Falkirk and midfielders David Fox from Hull and the return of Joe Gold from Inverness. It was hard to know just how the side would go, given that we hadn't had that much experience against SPL sides. However we did have a few players who had played at the top level before, and their experience would be invaluable.

The pre season matches told us a mixed story. Struggling to beat Partick (2-1), late goals giving us a 3-1 win over Alloa and an unimpressive 2-0 win in Gateshead didn't fill us with confidence. Racing to a 2-0 lead over English Championship side Crystal Palace, winning 2-1 in the end, and a good 2-2 draw with English Premiership team Blackburn were more encouraging results - but really it all just proved that pre season games are meaningless and the real test would come when Hearts came to Station Park on the opening day. Then we would find out exactly what the situation was.

shannon2007

With the dodgy dealing done and dusted, we had our squad of players in place that would lead us to SPL glory. Or more likely, back to the First Division. Actually, I believed we would cause more than a few shocks this season, and we could gain a top six finish. But I was probably setting us up for a fall.

The departure of Dino Seremet meant we needed a new face between the sticks. In comes 21 year old Scott Murray from Rangers for a club record fee of £80,000. Murray is a decent enough young keeper and is the current Scotland U-21 goalie, with 30 U-21 caps to his name. Another former Rangers player, Callum Reidford (22), who has 5 U-21 caps, continues to provide back up. Reidford finally got two starts last season, and performed adequately. Teenagers Chris Brookes and Colin Matthews battle it out for the 3rd choice if needed. But if we do need them, we are probably screwed.

Stephen Purches, now 29, continues as first choice right back. With 66 appearances for the club in two years, he has established himself as a favourite with the fans, and a bit of an unsung hero. Having started his career at West Ham, before moving to Bournemouth and the Wrexham, Purches will be glad to finally get the chance to prove himself at a higher level. Twenty three year old Dean Keenan continues as back up.

At left back, the now 29 year old Kieran McAnespie had another good season and when you think he cost only £1000 you can see what a bargain that was, having now played 168 times for the first team. Back up left back is new signing Ross Forsyth (26). Ross went to Falkirk last season from St Johnstone - ironically the same club McAnespie started at - for £100,000 but failed to make the grade their and we picked him for a mere £2000. I feel he can be a decent player for us.

Eddie Forest continues to hold down a place in the centre of the defence as he approaches his 200th appearance for the club. This season he will have a new partner, with the arrival of 23 year old Welshman Steven Evans from Rangers for £70,000. With 23 U-21 caps to his name, Evans will be hoping to secure a first team berth at Forfar and finally break into the full Welsh side having failed to establish himself with the Glasgow club. Back up in the centre is provided by Graeme Watson (23), and Dean Keenan can also play in the centre.

Young Italian Michael Bacher, now twenty, continues his role as the holding player in the midfield and is backed up by 29 year old Ryan McGuffie, who can of course also play in the centre of the defence. New signings David Fox (25), from Hull at the cost of £12,000 and Joe Gold, also 25, who returns from Inverness for just £2000, can also play the holding role although they are likely to play further forward if needed.

Danny Boshell, now 28 and Mike Flynn, also 28, will play in the central midfield roles.Both solid hard working players, they shouldn't be out of place in the SPL. Twenty one year old Steven Lennon also provides back up here.

Another new face arrives to fill the attacking midfield role supporting the front two. Twenty two year old Spaniard Manuel Serrano comes in from Rangers for £45,000. Captures by the Gers from Barcelona on a free, Serrano failed to make any impact there and hopes he can start afresh with us. Ian Morris (27), continues to be a more than adequate back up.

Up front we have what was the hottest strike force in the First Division, and what I hope will continue to be so in the SPL. Bids of near £1M have been knocked back for both the strikers, and the fact we can afford to do so shows how far we have come. Colin Boylan's ninteen goals and fourteen assists helped the 26 year old to the Supporters Player of the Year Award. His scoring feats though were eclipsed by his strike partner Stephen Dobbie (27), who hit the back of the net 20 times. Gary Wales (30), finally found his scoring boots, bagging 14 goals last season and he will be hoping to get the chance to add to that in the season ahead.

We haven't spent wads of cash as we look to the players who took us up to keep us there. If they fail however, I do have that nice was of £1.3M notes to spend. Hopefully we won't be needing it.

shannon2007

1st of August 2009, Hearts came to Station Park, Forfar. Our first ever match in top flight league football. With our crumbling main stand that held 739 people, and our rickety terracings on which allowed 3863 lucky people to stand on them, this was hardly a footballing palace. Indeed, there were some places in time and space where such a stadium would not have been allowed to disgrace the high faluting sensibilities of the SPL. This, thankfully, wasn't one of them.

Hearts had been doing not too badly over the past couple of seasons. Having narrowly avoided relegation in 2007, they had finished 3rd twice in a row now and two seasons ago they had lifted the Scottish FA Cup with a 2-1 win over Dundee United. Their first trophy for 10 years. This then would be a decent test of our credentials, although defeat would not be a disaster. There were worse teams than Hearts in the SPL to take survival points from.

Just sixteen minutes into the match, and Colin Boylan sent the home support into ecstacy as we took the lead in a match we were very much in control of. A minute after half time, Stephen Dobbie felt he had better score as well and we were well on the way to a surprise three points. Hearts were looking a poor and disorganised side, and would get off to a very poor start which would result in the sacking of their current manager, Jim Duffy. Diego Mejia did manage to pull a goal back for the Edinburgh side with 12 minutes left to play, but this was our party and no-one was going to spoil it.

Still on a high, we travelled the short trip to Dens Park for our first away match in the SPL. Four seasons ago, Dundee had been crowned SPL Champions and they had gone on to become the first Scots side outwith the Old Firm to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. The past couple of seasons though had seend Dundee slip back to mediocrity under the management of Jim Jeffries, finishing 7th and 6th in the league.

We expected a tough match, but not quite the excitement we got. After an even opening half hour, referee Dougie Smith awarded us a penalty when Serrano was adjudged to have been fouled in the box. Stephen Dobbie thundered the spot kick past Dundee keeper Allan McGregor and we took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room at half time for the second week in a row. Five minutes after the restart, Dundee were level but any thoughts they had of seeing up the upstarts were quickly forgotten as Steven Evans restored out lead just three minutes later. Dundee were level again on 66 minutes, but if our team were showing nothing else it was a determination to succeed, and on 73 minutes substitute Ian Morris grabbed what turned out to be the winner and after two matches we sat on stupidly proud on top of the SPL, the only side with a 100% record.

Our 100% record went on the line next back at Station Park against Aberdeen in what turned out to be an utterly incredible match. The Sheepshaggers had done nothing of note in recent times, struggling to keep themselves in the top division and just barely manageing that on occasion. Mark McGhee had taken over from Jimmy Calderwood in 2008, but a new head Ram hadn't changed the Sheeps fortunes.

Referee Mark Wilson was to be the star of this match and make a lot of the headlines in the Sunday papers. With just 20 minutes gone, he delivered a severe dent to our chances as he rather ludicrously red carded Danny Boshell. Yet the anger from the Boshell farce had barely subsided when he decided to even things up, and with 30 minutes gone, Aberdeen's Michael Hart was red carded. Another ten minutes passed, another red card, as Aberdeen were reduced to 9 men and this was quickly becoming one of the most farcical games of football I had ever seen.

No goals come half time, but plenty of talking points. Aberdeen were looking shell shocked as the second half started, and it was no surprise when Colin Boylan finally broke the deadlock with an hour gone. On 70 minutes he added a game winning second goal, and nine minutes from time Stephen Dobbie added a third just to make to sure. It was a comprehensive victory, but the referee wasn't done yet and in injury time he red carded Aberdeen's Michael Stewart to send the Sheep home wagging their tails behind them.

Forfar sat atop the SPL. We knew it couldn't last, but for now we were the best side in Scotland.....

shannon2007

If our start to the season had been breathtaking so far, it wasn't about to become any less so as we travelled to a Livingston team still managed by Richard Gough. Livingston had finished in the bottom six every year since 2002, and so of course this game was being billed as a crucial one for our survival chances, even this early in the season. Just eight minutes into the match, Mike Flynn fired us into the lead, and thats how things stood at halftime. Livi levelled though on 56 minutes through Mark Rickets, but Boylan restored our lead after 65, and then extended it to 3-1 on 72 minutes after Livi had missed a chance to equalize from the penalty spot. Livi did get a second on 81 minutes, but with a minute to go Colin Boylan became the first player in over six years to hit an SPL hattrick and the points were secured. The scoring though wasn't over as Livingston grabbed a 3rd in injury time, but the win was ours and it was four wins out of four.

Celtic were the visitors to Station Park for our fifth match of the season, and I was stunned to see their manager, Roy Aitken saying nice things about me in the press. I always hated Aitken as a player. The match against the current Champions was a tight one, but a 7th minute strike from Noel Hunt ended our unbeaten SPL record. At Easter Road against Willie Donachie managed Hibs, we put up another brave show, but in the end were to lose out by two goals to one, and slip from the top of the table.

So far we had played well, but at home to Dundee United, managed by Gordon Strachan, we were woeful and got trounced 3-0. Our bubble had well and truly burst.

shannon2007

Yet if people had been thinking we were now going slip and slide down the table on our way back ti the First Division, they were very wrong. Indeed, in the whole League campaign, we would only lose five matches to sides outwith the Old Firm. Our record against the 'rest' was fairly impressive, and at the end of the day helped us to finish in a quite excellent third place. I had felt sure we could make the top six, but I certainly didn't expect us to be the best of the rest.

Yet against the Old Firm, we were found to be wanting in that extra bit of class. After our first match with Celtic - who would pip Rangers to the title on the final day of the season - we went to Ibrox and gained a quite superb goalless draw. On our next visit there, we would not leave with quite such an impressive result, and when we had to go their for a third time in the league, we left wishing we hadn't turned up. At Celtic Park we were to get gubbed 5-0 and 3-0, and lost our other home match with them by 3-1. Our only home game with Rangers we lost 3-1, before a 2-0 defeat back at Ibrox. And then in what was our penultimate league match of the season, we went to Ibrox and were humiliated by seven goals to one. It wasn't a pretty sight.

The problem seems to be our defence. Whilst Boylan and Dobbie scored a fair few goals - Dobbie ending up as top scorer with 26 goals, but being robbed of Player of the Year because he doesnt play for the Old Firm - our defence leaked like a sieve and despite ending 3rd, we found ourselves with a negative goal difference. Which is crazy. My plans to restructure the team though, with the over £3M the club possesed by the end of the season, were thwarted when the board decided to rebuild the stadium.

Our Cup performances were mildly successful, reaching the Quarter Finals of the League Cup - losing out on penalties to Gretna after a 1-1 draw, the competition eventually being won by Celtic with a 2-0 triumph over Motherwell in the Final. The Scottish Cup was to prove very interesting, with both Rangers and Celtic losing out in the 4th round - Celtic being humiliated 1-0 by Raith Rovers. That of course left the tournament wide open, but our own dreams were ended in the Semi Finals by Dundee United.

And so a cery good season, and of course a place in the UEFA Cup next season. Events of the summer have left us with a fear that there is no way we can improve on this season, and indeed it could well be a very tough time ahead of us.

shannon2007

Scottish Premier League 2009-2010

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Celtic | | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 65 | 15 | +50 | 85 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Rangers | | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 73 | 20 | +53 | 84 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Forfar | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 61 | -2 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Motherwell | | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 57 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Dundee Utd | | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 52 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Aberdeen | | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 52 | -5 | 48 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Hearts | | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 49 | -3 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Gretna | | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 32 | 49 | -17 | 41 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hibs | | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 35 | 52 | -17 | 39 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Dunfermline | | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 58 | -19 | 38 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Dundee | | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 30 | 52 | -22 | 34 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Livingston | | 38 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 29 | 56 | -27 | 29 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | </pre>

mrsevans7177

Best of the rest eh? It'd be a laugh if you could displace the old firm

shannon2007

During the season I had taken a bit of a gamble on my career, when I turned down what would surely have been a lucrative move to Hearts. It just didn't seem the right time, or the right club to move. During the summer, the Forfar Athletic board also took a bit of a gamble. They decided to spend £5M on rebuilding Station Park. Apart from the expense, which left us over £1.5M in debt at that point, the re-building process - which wouldn't be complete until March 2011 - meant we would have to play elsewhere. The board decided to use the park of local junior club, Forfar Albion. Guthrie Park had a safety certificate for only 2500 people and no seating area. It was certainly going to be an eye-opener for whoever we drew in our first ever season in European Competition and would lose us money based on the fact we could only attract halof the crowds we were now used to.

The debt may have seemed large, yet the board still allocated me £1.5M to spend on new players. Mind you, from player sales I managed to raise £1.5M and we also had the £875,000 from the TV to come in, annoyingly £125k less than last season. Plus we struck a new sponsorship deal worth just over £200k a year. Finances were going to be the least of our worries.

Mind you, the bulk of the money I'd brought in was from the sale of star striker Stephen Dobbie to Dundee United for a cool one million pounds. The supporters were far from happy to lose their hero, but his sale was inevitable. Also on the way out were Steven Evans to QPR for £250,000 and Manuel Serrano to Hibs for £100k. I had wanted to bring in fresh players, especially in defence, and indeed in our opening friendly with Portsmouth, there were NINE changes to our normal starting line up.

With money to spend, I spent it - £1.3M in all as I risked the clubs financial future on my ability to judge good players. Stanley Aborah (£400k) and Robert Davidson (£325k) were our biggest signings and it would be interesting to see how the team shaped up once I got together all the new players I wanted. I pre season, as well as Portsmouth whom we beat 2-0, Everton to whom we lost 2-1 and Hartlepool with whom we drew 1-1, we also played Sparta Prague. A 1-1 draw was a decent enough result, but the irony became clear when the UEFA Cup 1st round paired us with Sparta's rivals Slavia. A tough, but highly winnable tie.

retired_al_chapin

Great story, shame about the sh*te league tho.