retired_ivonta

Gino Dooba-Mackay went into his drinks cabinet and poured himself a large whisky. He had always been fond of Scottish whisky on the rocks, but as he sat back in his leather chair and swallowed the first swig of this glass there was an extra taste behind it. It was the crisp taste of satisfaction. The sweet taste of success. The fulfilling flavour of promotion. Earlier that day East Fife had beaten Aidrie United 2-1 at the Excelsior Stadium to confirm their position as Champions of the Scottish 2nd Division. The previous week's 2-2 draw at Dumbarton had sealed promotion, but today was the day they were crowned champions. In his first ever season in management, Gino Dooba-Mackay had gone against all the odds, and indeed all the pundits, and taken lowly East Fife, only just promoted from the Scottish 3rd Division, to promotion. It hadn't really fully sunk in yet and he needed teletext to repeatedly confirm the fact to him, but whenever he looked at the headline of the Scottish lower league section of ceefax on p384, a broad smile came over his face. He had done it.

It had been a fairly exhausting but brilliant day, and he had hung his suit jacket and shirt on the radiator to dry as they were both soaked- covered both in the champagne that was in full flow in the dressing room after the game, and water from when the players had thrown him into the team bath. He didn't care though and took part in the post-match fun and games, downing champagne whenever he got the chance, after completing all the post match interviews of course. He was proud of his players and on the coach on the way home he expressed how delighted and proud he was of their efforts through the course of the season, congratulating them also for completing the challenge of winning promotion within 8 games almost a month early. As he sat in his chair he laughed to himself when thinking of the reaction of the few hundred away fans that had made the journey to Airdrie during the lap of honour at the final whistle, embracing each other and the players as if they had won the world cup. These were good times he thought to himself, and he wanted to savour them. The phone rang. It was Gordon Dow, Dooba-Mackay's friend and Chairman of the club.

'Hey there Gino. Just rang to congratulate you on a magnificent first season... I always thought you'd do well in management.'

Dooba-Mackay thanked Dow, and they agreed to have a celebratory dinner the next day. The praise had been coming in from all quarters, and Gino was delighted when his old friend Reginald got in touch to congratulate him as well. They had a long chat and it turned out that Reginald was soon to be paying a visit to his sister in Glasgow, so they arranged to meet up in a few weeks time and relive good times old and new. Dooba-Mackay would look forward to having the chance to catch up with his old friend, but for now he just wanted to enjoy the moment. He took a swig of whisky and swung his chair round to the tv putting it to ceefax p384. East Fife crowned Champions of Scottish 2nd Division read the headline. It was starting to sink in.

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

Scottish 2nd Division - 20/3/2004
Airdrie Utd 1-2 East Fife
Goals: D Walker '29, B Blair '32 J Vareille '70 (Airdrie)

MoM: D Walker
Attendance: 1530 - Excelsior Stadium

GK: S Colgan
DR: I Chalmers
DC: C Hendry (c)
DC: R Currie (>> G McCheyne '65)
DL: J Ovenstone
MR: W Stewart
MC: B Blair
MC: C Miller
ML: J Rae
FC: D Walker
FC: B Fairbairn (>> G Love '65)

(Subs- J Brain (GK), G McCheyne, G Cunningham, G Gilbert, G Love)

retired_ivonta

Destiny can weave a fine, intricate web. Chance, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, is an abstract concept but one that shapes lives. If Reginald and I had never gone to see East Fife play that night the chances are I wouldn't be here. I'd probably be sitting at home watching Sky Sports News and dreaming of life as a football journalist, my early ambition during the years when one is supposed to pick a career path. As it panned out, I am now the Manager of the Year in the Scottish 2nd Division, and have turned East Fife's fortunes around at least temporarily. The fans were looking forward to their moment in the sun, otherwise known as the dizzy heights of the Scottish 1st. Partick Thistle had been relegated and while they were not the most glamorous club in the world, they were glamorous enough for our fans to look forward to what they feel will surely be a brief time in the division. At this moment in time I am not sure, but I have time now to mull it over in my head whilst I wait for the flight to land. The stewardess hands me a beef and mustard sandwich and a sprite and I flick the table down from the chair in front of me to rest my drink on.

My meeting with Gordon Dow hadn't been as fruitful as I could have hoped. We had discussed our ambitions for the club and to my dismay it appeared I was the only one looking further up than the Scottish First Division. His lack of ambition and contentedness at where we had got ourselves shocked and upset me somewhat as I felt we were perhaps not pulling together in the same direction. The same thing applied to both my assistant manager Craig Robertson and my reserve coach Gordon Russell. Both had been released from their contracts now as we parted company based on wage issues and also the feeling that I no longer trusted their judgement or indeed character. We were now down to only one single coach aside from myself, and reinforcements were very necessary. I had told Dow this and he had encouraged me to appoint some new members of staff, for the right price of course. We certainly needed some fresh impetus for our onslaught on the first division. I had been fairly happy with our end to a magnificent season. After the Airdrie game that clinched the title we had slipped up in our next game, losing away to Hamilton 1-0. They were in good form at the time and went on to finish third so there was no disgrace in losing, particularly as the players had maybe taken their eye off the ball due to the celebrations that had gone on most of the week prior to that game. From our last 5 games we took 13 points which pleased me and showed our ability in the squad was too much for the division, as in those final games I had given several reserve and fringe players what I considered their final chance to show me if they had what it took to step up a level. Only a few really stood out, Grant Cunningham in centre midfield and Greig MacDonald both took full advantage of their chances, particularly Greig in centre defence, whose performances made me realise I should have not had him loitering in the reserves for the majority of the season like I did. Chris Hargreaves had finally scored his 1st goal for us in the penultimate game, a 2-0 victory at home to Berwick, but in general he had had a poor season and did not prove to be a great buy- I would consider selling him in the coming weeks. Other than that, I had brought in a new player in the last week of the season, 19 year old centre midfielder Alex Walker had been released by Rangers and I snapped him up, feeling that we would need some strength in depth for next season. The final table showed us a good 20 points ahead of 2nd place Forfar and I was pleased with the margin. The final table was as follows:


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst G.D. Pts 1st East Fife 36 26 8 2 +60 86 2nd Forfar 36 18 12 6 +32 66 3rd Hamilton 36 16 8 12 +9 56 4th Morton 36 15 10 11 +19 55 5th Berwick 36 15 8 13 +3 53 6th Airdrie Utd 36 13 8 15 -6 47 7th Alloa 36 11 9 16 -4 42 8th Arbroath 36 8 10 18 -28 34 9th Stenhousemuir 36 7 8 21 -24 29 10th Dumbarton 36 6 9 21 -61 27 </pre>

Full Record - East Fife: Played 36 - Won 26 - Drawn 8 - Lost 2 - Goals For 83 - Goals Against 23 - Goal Difference +60 - Points 86

retired_ivonta

'I really am very sorry,'

said the man in the seat next to me in broken but fluent English, wiping my trouser leg with a tissue. As we had gone through a brief moment of turbulence he had emerged startled from his sleep and knocked over his cup of water, which had spilled down my trouser leg. I assured him it was no problem and not to worry too much. He had a Spanish or Portuguese sounding accent, and being on a flight to Edinburgh from Portugal I enquired as to where he was from and his occupation. Plane journeys are always boring I find, and I've never been one to sit next to someone and pretend like they don't exist so the opportunity to kill some time and indulge in conversation was quite welcome. The abstract notion of what some may call destiny or chance, it is up to the reader to decide his own opinion on this complicated matter, once again reared its head at this point in a remarkable sequence of events. I had spent my time in Portugal visiting an ex-girlfriend whom I remained very fond of. It was a welcome break from Methil and the rigours of lower league Scottish football and I had thoroughly enjoyed it. We were still close friends despite the split and indeed I also knew her brother well, being a football man himself. He had played for Lourinhanense as a right back in the past and another aspect of my relationship with that family that I still held dear was in the hours spent watching and debating football in the various bars and stadia that Portugal had to offer with him. Indeed part of my visit to Portugal was to watch a few lower league games with her brother, and being a registered member of Uefa now I managed to get him and myself tickets for the Portuguese Cup Final between Sporting and Leiria. Sporting won the game 2-1 and it was all round a great week in the South Coast.

So when I realised that the man I was sitting next to was Baltemar Brito, a Brazilian coach that had had spells playing with and coaching Atletico Mineiro, and had also been at the Portuguese Cup Final, we became indulged in an enthralling conversation. I had never been to Brazil but he delighted me with tales of the land that intrigued my senses and captured my imagination. He was an interesting character and I could tell by the way he spoke about the match, the state of Brazilian football and the game of football as a whole, that this was a knowledgeable and intelligent man. He was currently unemployed and was planning on heading to England to look for work after giving a speech in Edinburgh at a conference about the development of youth football and its importance to the national game. From the way he spoke it seemed he was in talks for temporary coaching roles at some clubs in England and was excited by the prospect of working again. The way in which we hit it off and the fact that I only had one coach got me thinking and I acted fast, inviting him to dinner that night. He agreed. When we got back, I made a hasty call to Gordon Dow and informed him that I had found our new assistant manager and that I needed him to meet me in Edinburgh and bring forms for a contract to be signed. The passion with which I spoke helped force his hand I think, for he too agreed to meet me and bring the paperwork. Straight away I told Baltemar that I wanted him to be my assistant manager and I went into a long spiel about the history of East Fife, outlining our achievements in the season just passed, our prospects, playing staff and ambitions. I offered him a long contract as I believed he had the necessary qualities to vastly improve our coaching staff and tried to add all the charm I could possibly manage.

Over a bottle of champagne and to my delight, Baltemar Brito, Gordon Dow and I signed the contract and ate splendidly. By the end of the meal I was full, both with wonderful food and the satisfaction of having made a real coup in signing Senor Brito up to the football club.

retired_ivonta

Who did what in Europe this season: A look at the league and cup winners:

European Championships
Winner: Portugal
Runner-up: Turkey

UEFA Champions League
Bayern Munich

UEFA Cup
Liverpool

Scotland:
Scottish Premier League: Celtic
Scottish First Division: Raith Rovers
Scottish Second Division: East Fife
Scottish Third Division: Montrose

England:
English Premiership: Manchester United
Division 1: Millwall
Division 2: Q.P.R

Spain:
Primeral Liga: Real Madrid

France:
Ligue 1: Montpellier

Italy:
Serie A: Juventus

Portugal:
Superliga: Porto

Holland:
Eredivisie: PSV

Belgium:
First Division: Club Brugge

retired_ivonta

Despite the fact that they call it the close season, I don't believe it to be the case, not for a football manager. For others yes, but not for people in my profession. The players had gone away now for a few weeks well earned rest and I had given them an extra week holiday as a reward for their excellent achievements last season. They have earned their rest and will probably be away now with friends and family enjoying themselves and getting refreshed ready for the rigours of pre-season. The chairman is away with his family on holiday in the Cayman Islands and he will be enjoying himself no doubt, given that the club is now in Division 1. The fans are certainly enjoying their close season, of that I am fully aware. It seems wherever I go at the moment I am greeted and thanked for the exploits of last season, and many fans have told me that their summer will be extra sweet this year especially when the fixture list is released. I am happy for them and their support makes it all worth while. But the fact still remains that I am very busy, even in this 'break' in the season.

Having tied up Baltemar Brito's contract as assistant manager, I decided to offer my ex-girlfriend's brother and good friend Luis Alegria a job on the coaching staff here at East Fife which he accepted. Last season I felt lonely at times in a completely new environment, partly due to the fact that I did not really get along with some now departed members of our coaching staff, and the opportunity to work with a good friend of mine is personally very welcome. He is a knowledgeable football man and is a fine judge of a player's ability and character, and given that at the time we were low on coaching staff I was happy to get him on board. Incidentally his decision to join us led to several more applicants for coaching jobs from Portugal for some reason, and indeed some of his friends had recently acquired their coaching badges and were influenced by him to apply to work in Methil. Baltemar and I spent some days interviewing potential candidates and eventually decided to sign two young coaches, Carlos Gomes and Joao Couto, to the staff. With Dave Gorman signing a new contract, we now had the numbers and quality I believe necessary to step up a level in terms of coaching staff. If only Dow would improve the facilities which are frankly awful. I am sure this is affecting my ability to bring players in, as when they see the facilities that are on offer here it is no wonder they opt for other clubs. On this matter there is not much I can do though as East Fife is a small club in that sense, and it will take a lot more success like last season for me to turn that around.

A manager at a club like this has to work extra hard to stay ahead of the clubs with better facilities and financial backing, and that is why I spend several hours watching local youth football in and around the Methil region, as well as keeping an eye on the players surplus to requirements at other clubs. This has led to what I believe will go on to be two very astute signings. Andrew McDonald is a seventeen year-old Scottish central midfielder who was released from his contract at Dundee. He looked good in the under19s games I had seen him in and after a long chat with Jim Duffy I decided I would give him a contract. He is a strong, determined player who is solid in the tackle and should provide options for us in that position. Eddie Forrest will also soon join us from Partick Thistle on a free transfer and I am delighted at this signing. He was no longer wanted at the then-SPL side and is a strong dedicated centre back, who at 25 years of age represents a bargain in my eyes. Several other clubs were after him but I managed to get hold of him and offer a contract when I visited Firhill Park to watch them play Hearts last season, and after some deliberation I was delighted that he decided to join. It is, as I said earlier, proving hard to attract players of a necessary calibur to improve our squad and so it looks as if I will have to persevere with the players I have at present.

Goalkeepers:
Steven Colgan did a very good job in goal for us last year, and given that it was his first season of regular first team football and he is only just 20, I was impressed by him. He is a hard worker as well, and thoroughly deserved the honour of being named in the 2nd Division Team of the Season. His backup Jonathan Brain did ok when he was called upon, but I was unhappy with his level of concentration in training sometimes. It also permeated through to some games and I am not sure about the part he will play in future. For the minute however, he remains our 2nd choice keeper.

Defence:
The defence was one of the strongest areas of the team last season, and the combination of Iain Chalmers at right back, Bobby Duncan at left back, and Ross Currie and Colin Hendry as centre backs was very successful. Colin's experience helped keep them all organised and given these were four new players at the club, they settled in and gelled excellently together. Bobby and Iain both weighed in with their fair share of assists thanks to their ability to cross and overlap when we had the ball down the flanks, which pleased me, and Colin and Ross were superb especially in defending high balls and any set-pieces. Ross and Iain were also named in the Team of the Season, with Colin on the bench in that lineup. As club captain, Colin's decision to sign a one-year contract extension was also recent good news for us although with Forrest on the way we will have healthy competition for places in that area.
John Ovenstone was a backup leftback who was effective when needed and proved a strong prospect for the future with his solid performances towards the end of the season. Greig McDonald only really came into the team when the league was already wrapped up but he made an instant impact, scoring and getting man of the match in his first game of the season. His strong performances bode well and although he is 29 he will still be part of my plans, not condemned to the reserves like he was last year. On the other hand, Graeme McCheyne did not perform very well in the few games he had as backup at centre half or right back, and I have taken the decision to transfer list him. Craig Lumsden hardly featured and is still up for loan.

Midfielders:
Chris Miller made 27 starts in centre midfield and scored three goals. Generally his performances for the club were good and having signed a new 3 year deal he will certainly be pushing a place in the first 11 next year alongside Brian Blair. In my opinion he was our best player last season, scoring 12 goals and bagging thirteen assists with an average opta rating of 7.59 from 30 starts. He was outstanding in almost every game he played and how he didn't make the Team of the Season I'll never know. He is a key part of my plans for next season and at 21 can only improve. Jimmy Rae was the main occupant of the left wing position and he weighed in with 13 assists and 4 goals from 30 starts. He is only 19 and I rested him towards the end of the season, but is a promising talent and one that will hopefully go on and improve in the 1st division. Fans favourite Willie Stewart had a brilliant season and was a joy to work with. He scored 13 goals and got 11 assists from right midfield in his 34 starts, and thoroughly deserved the accolade of 2nd Division Player of the Year. Several clubs are interested in him but he is happy to stay and Im happy to have him. A great professional.
Chris Hargreaves did not do as well as I had hoped when I forked out £4,000 for him. He scored 1 goal from his 12 starts and did not get any assists, and at 32 years of age I question his future here. He is a great lad to have around but I will have to strongly consider any offers that come in as in players like Grant Cunningham we are well covered in the midfield. Grant was not a regular, only starting eight games, but he impressed me when he played and proved a solid squad player. He has a part to play next year. Stevie Nicholas is another squad player who can play up front or on the right wing, and although he only started 2 games he did score one goal and get an assist. Northampton recently made a bid for him and I will have to consider that but I think he should stay, he offers us pace from the bench. We'll see if he is good enough at a higher level though, the same goes with left winger Gordon Gilbert who spent a large chunk of last year in the reserves, but proved an able replacement for Rae at times. He is only young and I will keep him here a while longer to develop.
Brian Kerr started the season with 2 goals on his debut but lost his place to Miller eventually, but he is only 19 and I think he will play in the reserves this year. He is physically quite weak and Baltemar and I will have him down the gym to bulk up a bit. Craig McMillan is a versatile midfielder that can play right or left wing and filled in well whenever needed, if unspectacularly. His 10 starts yielded one goal.

Strikers:
Kenny Deuchar started the season as the main man upfront and overall he bagged nine goals from 23 starts, but I was alarmed with his remarkable mid-season dip in form, which saw him lose his place in the team. At a higher level I am not sure if he is good enough, but at 23 he can still improve. He will have to. When Dean Walker came into the team, it was mainly on the premise that his aerial ability would cause teams problems. 23 goals from 27 games proved there was more to him than that and he ended up joint top scorer in the league with an opta average rating of 7.85. At 23 years of age, he has a bright future I feel. Same with Brian Fairbairn, who weighed in with 12 goals and 9 assists from 15 starts which is excellent. He too is young, but he has a cockiness about him that could see him go far, and he is a good player to have around the place. I like the cut of his jib. Gordon Love started the season as the player I thought would make things happen. Sadly this has not been the case. He scored 4 goals from 17 starts and although he is a good dribbler, his finishing is nothing short of poor. I will have to consider what part he has to play in the future of this club, as more and more I am starting to think he doesn't have the ability to succeed at a higher level despite his determination.

Overall I am happy with the defence, but I feel we need more quality both in midfield and up front if we are to progress in the 1st Division. A player who can offer us some magic would be very welcome, as would a clinical goalscorer. My studying of Icelandic football led me to a player by the name of Orri Freyr Oskarsson who I tracked all through the back end of last season to no avail, as my chairman would not provide the funds needed for the pretty reasonable wage that Oskarsson required. When Beira-Mar signed him for £3,000 I felt we had really missed out on a bargain and I will now have to look elsewhere, but that really did disappoint me. The search continues...

retired_besheeran

Nice to see a Fife story, funny I should just notice it now, as I'm waiting for my deadline to be lifted till I can post a topic again on this forum (7 day rule et such), as I picked East Fife for my attempt at the challenge.

Good to see you're doing well, winning the second division. Looks like the entire squad was renewed between 2001 and 2003, as none of the players look familliar, and they're in Div 2, whereas I'm in Div 3

Good luck

retired_ivonta

thanks soup , what version of cm/fm do you have? i think they must have quite a hefty turnover of players cos theyre squad this year is quite different to the 2003 one as well..

retired_besheeran

CM 01/02

retired_bbcarr

story of the week

retired_ivonta

what a lovely surprise, i didn't even think anyone was reading it . thanks a lot