retired_amyslack

April 2004

At the start of the month winger John Hore’s contract expired and due to an accident of birth (he’s English) I can’t offer him a renewal. But, at least for the moment, he seems to be prepared to stay on without a contract in place.

On the playing side we open up with a trek up to the wilds of Elgin. It took a little while for the boys to run off the stiffness of the long coach journey but goals from Cohen, Cameron and Baldacchino see us through to a 3-0 win.

Dundee continue to punch above their weight and in the UEFA Cup Quarter Final they come back from Parma with a fine 1-1 draw.

The month continues with a visit by hapless East Stirling. They are bottom of the table with just three wins all season and I can’t see their luck changing much today. But the visitors put up some plucky resistance in the first half, finally going behind from the penalty spot in stoppage time, Baldacchino coolly converting. They ran out of steam somewhat in the second period though and two goals from Cohen and one from Scott saw us run out 4-0 winners.

Dundee’s brave UEFA Cup adventure was finally ended as they lost 2-1 at home to Parma. The visitors scored in the first half but Dundee struck back with an equaliser to take the game into extra time before finally losing out.

The Chairman tells me of another approach that he has had for my services, this time from struggling English Second Division side Colchester. Once again I decline the offer, preferring to stay where I am for the time being.

A trip to the seaside is next as we journey to Montrose for our next game. Scott and Cohen take us into the interval 2-0 to the good but shortly after the restart Cameron and Baldacchino both need to be replaced. This does little to cramp our style as substitutes Dean Douglas and James Allan are quickly into action. Douglas gets a hat trick, Allen scores one and Cohen gets his second as we complete an impressive 7-1 win.

A day in Glasgow is next on the agenda as we travel to play Queens Park at the magnificent Hampden Park. The quality of the football doesn’t quite match the grandeur of the surroundings but we get a decent win nonetheless. Two goals from the prolific Cohen plus one apiece from Scott and Baldacchino is more than enough to get the points.

In the monthly awards Gary Cohen once again picks up Player of the month with the managerial plaudits going to yours truly.

retired_sroch3032

I feel sorry for East Stirling

KUTGW Bob :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thanks D_S. Stay tuned and you may find that the Shire's fortunes improve slightly.

May 2004

We have just two games remaining this season and our final home game is against promotion-chasing Stirling Albion. They are 3rd in the table behind Albion Rovers on goal difference and will be desperate to get a result. The visitors are nothing if not determined and they approach the game with a very physical style of play. Their robust approach deprives us of the services of Cameron and O’Neill, both of whom retire injured in the first half. To rub salt into the wound they also take the lead after 25 minutes. But ultimately their over-enthusiastic display is at the root of their own downfall as we are awarded two penalties, both converted by Baldacchino. As they start to chase the game they are caught on the break, Andy Scott benefiting with two late goals to make the final score 4-1 in our favour.

Despite having a decent run in Europe the domestic form of Hearts has been poor and manager Craig Levein pays the price with his job.

Our season comes to conclusion with a trip to Stranraer. We are unusually profligate in front of goal, missing a slew of chances and the game is finally settled by a penalty converted by Andy Scott to give us a 1-0 win.

So a marvellous season concludes with a rather low-key win but nothing can take away the satisfaction of having won the Third Division title in such convincing style. Our dominance was reflected in the send of season awards. Gary Cohen was hailed as Player of the Year and along with team mates Martin Cameron and Danny Lennon, was given a place in the Team of the Year. I modestly accepted the Manager of the Year award, thoughtfully restricting my acceptance speech to a rather brief 45 minutes.

Celtic completed a fine domestic season by securing the League and Cup double with Rangers having to settle for the League Cup. Partick Thistle were relegated from the SPL with Division One champs Falkirk taking their place. Ross County and St. Mirren drop to the Second Division with Morton and Airdrie United replacing them. Dumbarton and Berwick drop to Division Three and Albion Rovers join us in moving up to take their place.

Elsewhere Manchester United won a historic treble for the second time, clinching the domestic double and adding the Champions League title and Liverpool lifted the UEFA Cup.

retired_amyslack

June 2004

As we move towards the summer break the first of an inevitable set of changes to the squad starts to take place. Veterans Ian Stevens, Davie Irons, Keith Knox and David Wylie all leave as their contracts expire. The chairman finally cottons on to the fact that I have kept a couple of non-Scots players on a month-to-month basis and insists that they must be given their marching orders so the brilliant Gary Cohen and John Hore also depart. Striker Andy Scott really impressed during his loan spell so I make the move permanent by agreeing a £1K fee with Stranraer.

As we continue preparations for life in the Second Division it is clear that the club’s finances are still not in great shape but the board has still made £30K available for transfers. We finally manage to get rid of overpaid skiver Stephen Cosgrove as we agree a free transfer to Chesterfield. Another English player is let go at the end of his contract as Mick Galloway leaves the club.

Wit a combination of transfers and loans we are gradually bringing some new blood into the squad. On the loan front we get forward Stewart Jack (22) from Queens Park, winger Michael Dunnet (20) comes from Ross County and central defender Keith Melville (19) from Forfar. Defensive midfielder Chris Kerr (25) joins from Ayr United for £5K and midfielder Paul McHale (22) comes from St. Mirren on a free transfer.

retired_amyslack

July 2004

We lose another “foreign” player as reserve striker Wayne Gordon is released at the end of his contract. We still have 19 English players on the playing staff but we are gradually chipping away at them.

We have received several offers for friendly matches this month, some of which were very surprising indeed. We have accepted several of them in the hope of bringing in some extra cash and the first is against Partick Thistle of the First Division. This didn’t really work as planned with less than 150 spectators bothering to come along. We did get a good 3-1 win but lost hat trick hero Andy Scott for a month with a groin strain.

Our next friendly was against none other that Dutch giants Feyenoord – why on earth they wanted to play us I have no idea but I wasn’t going to turn down an offer like that. We were doing pretty well until right back Mark Birch got himself sent off and we struggled from there on. We finally lost 5-2 but Martin Cameron played out of his skin to score twice. At least we had a decent attendance for this game and managed to make a few bob in gate receipts.

Our final friendly was another big one as Newcastle visited Raydale Park. Once again I have no clue why the Mags arranged this game – perhaps they didn’t want to travel too far. We went behind early on to an Alan Shearer goal but we managed to hang on fairly well and finally suffered a respectable 3-1 defeat. Cameron was on target once again but we had another player sent off and keeper Mathieson picked up an injury.

So all in all the friendlies were a complete waste of time really. We made a little money but nowhere enough to put a dent in out debt and we will go into the first game of the season with three players suspended and four injured!

retired_amyslack

August 2004

Our first competitive match is at Montrose in the Challenge Cup and a pretty dire performance sees us suffer a 5-2 defeat. It is hard to single out anyone who did well but strikers Harding and Cameron at least scored a goal each. Reserve keeper Vince Parker was dire – let’s hope it was just nerves rather than a complete lack of ability.

The league campaign opens with a visit by Alloa and a few changes are made to the starting eleven. We put in a much better performance and goals from Stewart Jack and Alex Grace gives us a 2-0 win and a fine start to life in Division Two.

During the next week we see a few changes to the squad. Experienced winger Allan Grant is signed from Stranraer on a free transfer, we offload Englishman Simon Ruddick to Macclesfield for £2K and we loan a young attacking midfielder called Brian Vaughn from Charlton for the season.

In the Challenge Cup perennial strugglers East Stirling achieved one of the biggest wins in their recent history, disposing of First Division St. Johnstone 3-2 at Firs Park. Both teams had a player sent off in a lively encounter but the Third Division side triumphed in the end.

Rangers gave themselves an excellent chance of reaching the group stages of the Champions league with a 4-2 win at home to KF Tirana of Albania.

Both of our new boys were in the side for the trip to St. Mirren and the duo made decent debuts. We played excellent attacking football and achieved a fine 4-0 win. Our opening goal came from central defender David Holdsworth before two penalty awards, both converted by Gary Harding, gave us a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. Martin Cameron added the 4th after the interval and his excellent performances have attracted a great deal of interest recently.

At the end of the month we welcome the visit of Forfar and could field an unchanged side. The game turned out to be a bit of a thriller as the visitors came back from two goals down to force a draw. Two goals from Gary Harding gave us a 2-0 lead at half time but Forfar pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining. We struck back quickly with Allan Grant scoring his first since his arrival but then conceded two goals in the last 4 minutes and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

retired_amyslack

September 2004

Rangers secured their place in the Champions League groups with a 1—0 win in Albania to record a 5-2 aggregate defeat of KF Tirana.

Our opening game of the month at Arbroath could only be described as a game of two halves. We gave away a penalty to fall a goal behind after 5 minutes, 10 minutes later Holdsworth limped off with an injury and on the half hour defensive partner Paul O’Neill also came off injured. With just one central defender on the bench Danny Lennon had to drop back from midfield to play as an emergency centre back. But in the second half Gary Harding finally woke up and scored a good equaliser and then in stoppage time at the end of the game Cameron fired home the winner with a powerful free kick.

Just three days later we were in action again, welcoming Albion Rovers in the League Cup and I changed the team around completely to rest the first choice players. A close first half finished scoreless and 10 minutes after the restart we spurned a golden opportunity to take the lead when Andy Scott missed a penalty. Then with 15 minutes remaining we fell behind and looked down and out. But with Scott tiring rapidly I brought on Martin Cameron and he squared the game within minutes of his arrival on the pitch. Full time was reached with no further scoring but Cameron completed his hat trick with two goals in the first period of extra time to take us through 3-1.

We had a weekend off because of International fixtures and Scotland started their World Cup qualification campaign with a 4-1 demolition of Greece at Hampden Park.

As coincidence would have it our next league game was a carbon copy of our last match, a visit by Albion Rovers. This time it took the visitors 8 minutes to open the scoring although it would have happened sooner had Paul O’Neill not been in the right place to clear off the line a few minutes earlier. Cameron scored an equaliser after 25 minutes and then 5 minutes before half time we took the lead when Harding converted from the penalty spot. Three minutes later it was all square but then Cameron struck again in first half stoppage time and we went into the interval with a 3-2 lead. But within 5 minutes of the restart it was even again as the visitors scored and then just before the hour they took the lead from the penalty spot. But the excitement wasn’t over yet. On 67 minutes Gary Wills found an equaliser, 4 minutes after that Harding slotted home his second penalty to put us in front and with 15 minutes remaining Alex Grace was on target to make the final score 6-4!

Rangers opened their Champions League group with an excellent 2-1 win at home to Milan. New signing Jason Euell scored the decisive second goal to secure the win. Celtic were less fortunate, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at Shakhtar. On the same evening East Stirling’s hopes of glory came to an end when they were defeated 4-2 by Clyde in the Challenge Cup Semi Final.

In a change to my usual approach I decided to field a weakened team in the league in preparation for a cup game. The side that would travel to East Fife had a number of fringe players selected as our League Cup game in midweek involved a trip to SPL side Dundee United and I didn’t want to take a real beating in that game. A particularly poor performance saw us lose 2-0 and we also lost first choice keeper Mathieson, out for 2 weeks with a twisted knee.

The gamble of saving the first team for the cup game pays off big time as we play superbly at Tannadice and come away with a 2-1 win. Allan Grant got us off to a great start with a goal after just 5 minutes. We give as good as we get for the rest of the game but are finally pegged back on 78 minutes when goal hero Grant deflects the ball past keeper Parker. But two minutes from time we complete our giant killing act when Harding latches on to a knockdown from Cameron to fire home.

On the same evening Aberdeen and Kilmarnock are both in UEFA Cup action. The Dons beat Partizani of Albania 3-1 at home and Killie have an impressive 3-0 win in Finland at MyPa.

At the end of the month we sit in 3rd place in the table and our star player Martin Cameron is voted Player of the Month. We also find out that our next opponents in the League Cup will be another SPL side as we will travel to Kilmarnock.

retired_amyslack

October 2004

After our triumph in Dundee we have no time to rest on our laurels as three days later we have to travel to Second Division leaders Ross County. The highlanders are unbeaten so far with 5 wins and a draw from their 6 games played. I have to make a couple of changes to the lineup but I can still field a decent side. A poor start sees us two goals behind inside the first 30 minutes. But we show great resilience to recover from what looks like a hopeless position. Cameron pulls a goal back just after the restart and Harding equalises from the penalty spot with 15 minutes remaining. A minute later veteran midfielder Danny Lennon puts us in front and a late goal from Cameron wraps up a 4-2 win.

In the Champions League midweek games Celtic gain an excellent 1-0 win at home to Inter and Rangers return from Monaco with a goalless draw. The chairman also informs me of another approach for my services, this time from English Division Three strugglers Huddersfield, but I politely decline the offer.

Our next league action sees a visit from Hamilton. Harding gives us an early lead before we lose Cameron to injury. Winger Michael Dunnet puts us further ahead just before substitute striker Andy Scott also has to be replaced, James Allan coming on to play up front. There is no further scoring and I am more than happy to settle for the 2-0 win.

With a weekend off due to World Cup qualifiers we are able to watch Scotland return from Denmark with a creditable 1-1 draw.

In the UEFA Cup Kilmarnock complete a fine 5-1 aggregate defeat of Finnish side MyPa and Aberdeen progress with the same overall scoreline against Partizani.

Suitably refreshed after our break we get back into action with a trip to my old stomping ground of Stenhousemuir, where I went to senior school. The home side set about us with a vengeance and for the second game in succession we lose Cameron early with a knock. An incident-packed game sees us go a goal behind but Dunnet finds an equaliser. We fall behind once more before half time but centre back Melville squares the game just after the restart. The Forfar loanee then puts us in front only for Stennie to score their 3rd with 15 minutes remaining. We are grateful for keeper Vince Parker who makes some good stops to keep us alive and secure a lively 3-3 draw.

In the Champions League Celtic suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Benfica in Glasgow and the much-hyped encounter between Rangers and Manchester United ends scoreless.

Just before our final game of the month at Alloa I hear that Swindon, struggling near the bottom of the Second Division, would like to engage my services but I am not prepared to leave Gretna just yet. Full back Ryan McGuffie gives us the lead but within 5 minutes the game is tied as the home side equalise. As time ticks away it seems that we will settle for a draw but substitute Brian Vaughan scores deep in stoppage time to give us a 2-1 win. We end the month sitting in first place in the league, a point above Ross County.

The first domestic trophy of the season is decided when Clyde lift the Challenge Cup, beating Morton 2-1 in a very tight contest.

In the monthly awards Kevin Mellville is honoured as Player of the Month.

retired_amyslack

November 2004

As we start to move into winter our opening game of the month is a midweek trip to SPL side Kilmarnock to contest a League Cup 3rd round tie. We have to face them without the excellent Mellville who is sidelined for 3 weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in training. With three other centre backs either injured or suspended Marc Cleeland has to play as an emergency defender. We don’t have the best of starts, conceding an early goal and then losing Harding to injury. We fall further behind in the second half before Gary Wills pulls a goal back from the penalty spot. But we couldn’t complete the recovery and exit the competition with a 2-1 defeat. The shock of the round was the elimination of Glasgow giants Celtic by Division Two minnows Alloa who won a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

We had to put the disappointing defeat behind us and prepare for the imminent visit of St. Mirren. The Paisley side have been in abysmal from in the league and are in one of the two relegation places. I have to make a few changes to the team to rest some tired legs but we still manage to get a decent 2-0 win. Cameron gives us a great start with an early goal and Shaun Milligan secures the points with a penalty just before the break.

There is more Champions League action with Rangers triumphing in the visit to Manchester United, gaining an excellent 2-0 win leaving the English giants in real danger of elimination. Rivals Celtic are not so fortunate, coming back from Benfica with a 1-1 draw. In the UEFA Cup Aberdeen are drawn against Everton and record a magnificent 4-0 win in the home tie but Kilmarnock suffer a 4-2 defeat at home to Bordeaux.

We are back to league action with a long trek north to play Forfar. Harding puts us ahead virtually straight from the kickoff but the home side get an immediate equaliser. Harding gets his second of the game before the break but just after the restart we lose full back McGuffie when he gets his second yellow card of the game. But even with ten men we score again, midfielder Douglas Taylor finding the net to give us a 3-1 win.

The visit of bottom side Arbroath proves to be interesting as we dominate the game but with an hour on the clock we only have a Ryan Errington goal to show for our efforts. The visitors stun us with a breakaway goal to tie the scores but fortunately we come good in the end, goals from Grace, Taylor and Milligan giving us a 4-1 win that was no more than we deserved.

Young forward Gary Harding is now out of contract and although I am forbidden to offer him an extension due to his extreme Englishness, he seems to be in no hurry to leave and stays with us on a month-to-month arrangement.

We end the month with a trip to Albion Rovers and a lacklustre display allows the home side to extend their unbeaten league run to 9 games with a 1-0 win. Despite that setback we still occupy first place but are now just one point clear of Ross County.

In the Champions League Celtic suffer a devastating 3-0 defeat at home to Shakhtar and Rangers slump to a 2-0 defeat in Milan. Both teams need to win their final matches to have any hope of qualification. Despite losing 2-0 at Goodison Park, Aberdeen progress in the UEFA Cup but Kilmarnock are eliminated.

retired_amyslack

December 2004

The month opens with a convincing 4-0 defeat of East Fife, our task made all the easier by the home side having a player dismissed in each half. Harding was on target twice, fellow striker Cameron added one and winger Dunnet also found the net.

We open our Scottish Cup campaign with a home tie against East Stirling from the Third Division. A Harding hat trick plus a header from Kevin Melville gives us a comfortable 4-0 win.

A goalless draw against Monaco at Ibrox is not enough for Rangers to progress in the Champions League and they finish in 3rd place in their group. Rivals Celtic pull off a superb 2-1 win at Inter to finish above the Italians as runners-up and go into the knockout stages.

We go straight into midweek action with a tough game at home to promotion contenders Ross County. Two excellent strikes from distance by Alex Grace put us in the driving seat but the visitors pull a goal back just before the interval. The inspired Grace completes his hat trick just after the restart and Cameron scores our 4th late on. A stoppage time strike from the visitors gives them some consolation but I am delighted with the fine 4-1 win.

I have to rest some tired legs for the visit by Stenhousemuir but goals from Harding and Cameron are enough for a 2-0 win and three more valuable points.

A hectic month continues with a midweek visit to Ross County as we try to extend our Scottish Cup run. It is first blood to the home side but Taylor finds an immediate equaliser and we reach halftime all square. Taylor scores his second of the game to put us ahead and Cameron makes it 3-0 five minutes later. A penalty from Harding kills off our demoralised opponents and we progress with a 4-1 win.

Before we make the trip to Hamilton I offload a couple of our English players with Kyle May moving to Swansea and David Hewson joining Torquay, both on free transfers. A rather below-par performance sees us end the month with a 2-0 defeat. Despite the loss we enter the New Year three points clear of Ross County at the top of the table. Cameron is voted Player of the Month with Harding winning the Goal of the Month.