retired_embartl

August Round Up

Fixtures:

Sat 3/08 A v Queen of the South, Wed 7/08 (CC) A v Falkirk, Sat 10/08 H v St. Johnstone, Sat 17/08 A v Falkirk, Sat 24/08 H v Ross County, Sat 31/08 A v Clyde

As the new season began, at least I had the bookies odds to comfort me. Sometimes reading the Herald can be quite depressing. We’re 50-1 to get promotion, and presumably odds on favourites to go down. The sports Journalist Iain McAndrew was clearly enjoying tormenting us. When we’ve played at least 6-8 games then he can comment on us.

Shocking news arrives on Saturday morning as we prepare for a trip to Queen of the South, Gordon Wallace has taken up a post as Assistant Manager at Clyde. I was put out by his decision to move without even speaking to me, but I have to carry on. In case I was in any doubt the remaining coaches assured me they were not moving. Well I had £8,000 compensation to work with now but that will have to wait. The lads have their first match to get through first.

The match itself was a difficult game for us and after 10 minutes we had a linesman’s flag to thank for Derek Lyle not scoring. From then on I tried shouting out chapters of the Declaration, it worked to an extent but it also yielded 3 yellow cards for our midfield stars. Derek Lyle sadly put the home side ahead just before the break, as Ross Currie slipped when running back. On 61 minutes I took off Ritchie and Bowman, replacing them with McMillan and McInally, whilst ordering the side to take full advantage of the whole width of the pitch. Sadly it only led to a second Queen of the South goal with Derek Lyle setting up Brian McColligan and later on John O’Neill sent Palmerston Park wild with a fine third after we lost possession yet again in the middle of the park. 3-0 to Queen of the South at the full time whistle. We played with spirit but all too often we gave away the ball in dangerous areas to a side that many pundits believe will be challenging for the promotion spots.

Some good news arrived the morning after as Tony Woodcock extended his contract on reduced terms but Andy Cargill and Steve Florence are looking for serious increases in their contracts before signing again. On the eve of the Challenge Cup tie away to Falkirk, they both signed contracts, Andy at an increase of £110 p/w and Steve at £150 p/w extra. Thankfully the board can afford this just.

Going into the Falkirk tie, I resorted to a simple 4-4-2 strategy, moving Cargill onto the right side and replacing McGlashan with McMillan in the middle. We survived until half time with McAulay and Innes picking up yellow cards for their efforts. Sadly though we started the second half badly, as Owen Coyle and Kevin James each struck in the opening 10 minutes. A good finish from Coyle from the first but Ritchie’s marking was terrible for the second. Sadly McAulay got himself injured in a 50-50 challenge and was replaced by McInally, and at the same time Currie came on for the poor Innes, and Heenan replaced Paul Brownlie. I doubted it would make much of an effect but they could do with the minutes. With 20 minutes remaining Falkirk made it 3 with Kevin Christie nodding home another corner. Our set piece defending was abysmal this evening. That was as bad as it got though and that was one less competition to worry about. I now have to work seriously hard on my defence.

Two 3-0 reverses was not how I was looking to start the season, and the departure of Gordon had certainly not helped but I had to get tough in training. There was an increased focus on set piece play and cross-country runs around Arbroath were now a regular feature. We may be the underdogs but we are most certainly not going down without a fight. That evening saw most of the residents perk up slightly as Scotland came away from the Faroes with a 4-1 victory, thanks to a David Weir hat-trick ( :o ), which means they are top of their qualification table.

On Friday I was gutted to learn of two new long term injuries. Gavin Swankie pulled up with a muscle strain in the reserves and Jim Crosby says he will miss a month whilst Andy Cargill injured his calf on Wednesday but elected not to tell anyone and 20 minutes into a training session he was lying prostate on the ground in agony. He’ll miss 2 months.

For the St. Johnstone game on Saturday, our first home game of the season, Eddie Forrest was brought in for Innes Ritchie and Jim Gardner replaced Gary Bowman on the left wing. McGlashan returned to the right with McAulay and McMillan in the centre. Playing the clear favourites for promotion was always going to be hard but we shot ourselves in the foot when we let Kiegan Parker in to score in the 4th minute. Such an early goal was the exact opposite of what we needed and for the rest of the half we were playing catch up.

At half time I basically reminded them we needed to stay positive if we were to keep this match a competitive one and 4 minutes after Craig Feroz and Paul Brownlie both had 1 on 1’s with their keeper but sadly missed. However that was the attitude I was looking for. As the game swayed to and fro the crowd began to think we might take something from this game, that was until Gary Gow’s mistimed run to meet ball ended disastrously as Chris Hay picked it up first and lobbed the stranded keeper to make it 2-0. 10 minutes later and our problems worsened with the dismissal of Craig Feroz for what apparently was a bad challenge. Having witnessed it from only 4 yards away I saw clearly that it was ball first. A minute later and it was 10v10 as St. Johnstone’s captain Ian Maxwell was given his marching orders for a professional foul. The crowd smell an opportunity. On 78 minutes and they were in full voice as Paul Brownlie volleyed home from a great free kick from Dennis Connaghan to reduce the arrears. It was suddenly game on again. Unfortunately that goal also made St. Johnstone realised how delicate their lead had become and they reverted to a defensive style which worked for the remaining 12 minutes or so. It was another defeat for us but from my point of view it was progress.

Immediately after the game, the referee notified me that unless I appealed Craig Feroz had an automatic 2 match suspension coming his way after hitting 32 disciplinary points. That was one thing I needed to research quickly. What are disciplinary points?

I had plenty of time to lodge an appeal, which I did before our next game the following Saturday. This time away to Falkirk in the league. After our recent meeting I would have to shake things up a little.

retired_embartl

The midweek break proved to be even less fun, with Innes Ritchie injured for 2 weeks with a ruptured spleen, and the SFA amazingly did not think I had grounds for appeal. When the Herald rang up for reaction I at least managed to turn them down. I’m not going to cause any more controversy than is necessary. Ross County also offered Craig Devlin and £3000 for Paul Dirno, my young right back. I turned down the offer simply because I believe Dirno can be a very good player for us and the way our side is dropping like flies he’ll get a chance soon enough.

In the second round of the CIS Challenge Cup, Elgin City, Raith Rovers, Stirling, East Fife, Falkirk Queen of the South and St. Mirren all won through to the next round overcoming Albion Rovers, Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton, Ross County, Aidrie United, Forfar and St. Johnstone.

As we departed for Falkirk, Jim Crosby to everyone on the bus to my surprise that he was retiring at the end of the year. It was certainly unexpected but he of course received a warm reception and many thanks for this and all that. As for the game itself Kevin Heenan came in for Feroz and Ross Currie replaced Cusick at right back.

We competed much harder this time round, aware of what the challenge was, and although Falkirk had their fair share of chances Paul Brownlie had 2 good chances to put us ahead, another one on one situation and a 25 yard free kick that went wide. Unfortunately we ran out of steam in the second half and on the hour mark Lee Miller fired a stinging shot past Gary Gow into the net to give them the lead. From that point on we were chasing a lost cause as our superior opponents controlled the tempo of the game and finally after a rare attack from us in the last minute a counter saw Lee Miller prod home a Mark Kerr centre. Another loss and keeping spirits up was going to be a mite tricky on the bus home. Personally for me we’re not doing too bad – but for the critics in the press and amongst the traditional folk of Arbroath – it’s blood.

In the reserve game that night, where Arbroath beat St. Johnstone, Craig Hinchcliffe, Euan Graham and a Man of the Match display from Greg Henslee all caught the eye. They’re certainly pushing hard. Euan in particular may get a call up soon given that Eddie Forrest injured himself riding home from work and will miss 3 weeks training.

Motherwell now have receivers in to control their finances, a situation I never want to be in, although I have looked at a couple of players who’s experience might help us get through these injuries. In the Challenge Cup Ayr won their second round draw with East Stirling, whilst East Fife, Falkirk and St. Mirren all won through overcoming Elgin, Stirling and Queen of the South respectively.

Having gained the advice of Steve and Dave over potential new players to the club, I’m currently looking at Roddy Grant, an experienced forward at Brechin. At 35 and with good coaching abilities I’d be looking for him to partly help fill the role which Gordon vacated. Last season he had a good season for Brechin with 10 goals from 25 games, and now available on a free transfer, I’m hoping to persuade him to join the Arbroath clan.

On Saturday 24th we faced Ross County at Gayfield. Euan Graham was called into the seniors for a spot on the bench. To accommodate injuries we now had a back line of (r-l) Currie, Cusick Connaghan Florence. Bowman took his place on the left with John McAulay going out on the right of midfield. Andy Dow joined Kenny McMillan in midfield whilst Heenan retained his spot alongside Brownlie. Gary Gow only just kept his spot after Dave Gorman reported an increased effort in training, something that had passed by me.

A tough first half saw us hustle and bustle whilst Ross County elegantly moved the ball around testing Gary Gow with some long range efforts. Once McGarry had given County the lead just before the hour mark I moved McAulay back inside, replaced Dow with McGlashan and Bowman with McInally to try and get some width into the side. I also instructed, with a rush of blood to the head, to go full pelt for the Ross County goal. With 15 minutes remaining and the game was tied. County had been taking the ball forward through Chris Gray but John Cusick intercepted and a long ball forward was chased down by Brownlie and Heenan. Brownlie created the distraction for County keeper Tony Bullock and Heenan swept home into an unguarded net and 3000 fans celebrated. Heenan could and perhaps should have made it 2 with a free header coming from an indirect free kick 6 minutes later but it wasn’t to be and the game ended all square as we picked up our first point of the season.

A vital point then for us as it gets us off the mark in the league and I was impressed with our second half display, especially once the subs had come on. Currie, Florence, Dow and McInally all picked up yellow cards but the spirit is there and hopefully we can use this as a platform to work from. Heenan and sub McGlashan were terrific.

After that game Mark Dobie rejected our contract offer, although I wasn’t too surprised. The 39 year old Gretna veteran was asking for way beyond what I was prepared to offer him. I’m still keen that Grant will join us though. Our reserves fared less well against Greenock Morton, going down 5-0, although Dirno had a decent enough game to make me think of him when it comes to selecting a side against Clyde next Saturday.

On Sunday evening as I was settling down to a meal at the small village style restaurant outside the Abbey, my mobile rang to inform me that Roddy Grant had agreed terms and would be completing the formalities tomorrow morning for which a press conference had been called. It actually turned out there would be £1,000 compensation but I was prepared to accept that.

Monday say a cheeky bid from Clyde to take Paul Dirno away from me for 6k plus a 20% sell on fee. It was a reasonable offer but as I stressed earlier, Paul is a player I like – as does Gordon Wallace evidently enough. I’ll have to watch out for more poaching attempts from him.

In the weekly injury slot this time is John McGlashan with a slight thigh strain. Fortunately though it’s only going to mean a week’s lay off but I am a little frustrated that this happens on a weekly occurrence. In the Challenge Cup St. Mirren moved into the final with a 3-0 victory over East Fife, whilst Raith Rovers secured a semi final berth with Falkirk after beating Ayr 3-1.

With a tough trip to Clyde, facing Gordon’s new side there were only two changes to the side that drew with County. Bowman had picked up a slight knock and wasn’t fully fit so Jim Garner came in. Paul Dirno made his first start of the season replacing McGlashan on the right side of midfield. Roddy Grant started from the bench. The half started well for us and we had a chance through Kevin Heenan to open the scoring but soon the game settled into a midfield battle with few chances to either side. Clyde then took the advantage after against the run of play scoring in first half stoppage time, the worst possible time, through John Potter’s header from a Sloman centre. The joy on Wallace’s face made me feel even worse.

On the hour mark McConologue made it 2-0 and we were heading for another defeat. Loose passing after that meant we were never able to get a move going and hence never threatened their goal in what was a very disappointing afternoon for us. Roddy Grant had come on for Heenan before the second goal but he was unable to help. The day ended disastrously with a third Clyde goal as McConalogue exploited our open defence to knock the ball past Gow.

That result saw us end the month bottom of the first division with a negative 9 goal difference already. We will have to tighten up pretty sharpish if we are to improve.

Results

Sat 3/08 Queen of the South 3 Arbroath 0 Lyle, McColligan, O’Neill
Wed 7/08 (CC) Falkirk 3 Arbroath 0 Coyle, James, Christie.
Sat 10/08 Arbroath 1 St. Johnstone 2, Parker 12, Hay 58, Feroz s/o 67 Maxwell s/o 68, Brownlie 78
Sat 17/08 Falkirk 2 Arbroath 0 Miller, 61, 90.
Sat 24/08 Arbroath 1 Ross County 1 McGarry 58, Heenan 76
Sat 31/08 Clyde 3 Arbroath 0 Potter 45, McConalogue 60,90

Transfers

Wallace Out – Clyde – 8k
Grant In – Brechin 1k.

Table after 5 games

edit - there will be a table coming up soon - Fecking CM4
[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 20 September 2003 at 19:20.]

[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 20 September 2003 at 19:21.]

retired_embartl

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Team WDLFAGDPTS1. St. Johnstone 401113+8 122. Falkirk 401104+6123. ICT 30288 094. Queen Sth 221107+38 5. St. Mirren 22175+286. Alloa 21266077. Ross Co. 122610-458. Ayr 11369-349. Clyde 11336-3410. Arbroath 014211–91</pre>

About time too!

[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 20 September 2003 at 19:31.]

retired_embartl

surprisingly short month this one

September Review

Despite my best efforts when the monthly awards came round there were no familiar Arbroath faces in there. Peter Weatherson, Lee Miller and Terry Christie all walked off with the gongs for August. Falkirk meanwhile secured their spot in the Challenge Cup final beating Raith Rovers 3 –0 in midweek.

With no game on the first Saturday I was able to mix up the training a little more and try some new practices out. Set piece defensive work was crucial to us, as was working on our attackers finishing in the box. Feroz was back from suspension and Ritchie, Bowman and McGlashan were back from injuries too.

Moments before we were due to travel to St. Mirren for the League Cup clash Eddie Forrest was declared fit by Jim Crosby to play so I put him in my 16. McGlashan returned on the right and Craig Feroz took his place upfront alongside Paul Brownlie. It mattered not who started the game as St. Mirren dominated the game from start to finish. Mark Roberts and Brian McGinty had them 2 up by half time, A Martin Cameron strike made it 3-0 5 minutes after the break. Jamie McGowan made it 4 on the hour mark and just when it couldn’t get much worse, Feroz got himself sent off after an act of petulance borne out of a frustrating evening. I can’t defend him this time for kicking out at Mark Roberts. Cameron added a second for him and a 5th for St. Mirren on the night after 75 minutes before the final whistle eventual sounded. Love Street, Paisley were delighted, I was mortified.

Taking on a job like this was always going to be difficult but no matter how hard you prepare mentally for the setbacks that occur it is always a galling feeling to lose 5-0. We were run ragged all night and only David McInally, a second half sub can come out with any kind of credit. There is much work to be done before Saturday.

After sub standard performances and red cards, Feroz has been dropped into the reserves for now, until he learns to control himself. He may well have had a good pre-season but that means nothing to me now. Gavin Swankie, still a few days short of match fitness has been promoted in his place.

For the home tie with Alloa it was imperative that I conveyed a positive message to the fans, that they were not in for a miserable season and that there beloved stars would come good. Woodcock retained his spot, as he was not at fault for the goals, whilst Roddy Grant was given a starting role alongside Brownlie. McInally started on the left and Cusick regained his right back slot with Eddie Forrest moving in at centre.

A poor start gave Alloa the advantage as Gareth Evans nipped in behind a dozing defence to give them the lead. To say I was furious was an understatement. The fans certainly made their feelings known although sadly they blamed me. After McInally went off injured, with Jim Gardner coming on, Alloa still put the pressure on but we had a great chance to level before half time as McGlashan set Brownlie free, but Paul dribbled and dribbled and dribbled straight into the keepers hands. He must learn to shot when he has the chance! That was the best we had in the whole game and it was another infuriating defeat.

McInally’s injury was not serious and he should return in time for the trip to Ayr on Saturday. The reserves meanwhile picked up a win with Greg Henslee again playing particularly well. Gavin Swankie also returned to full training and after some extensive ball work and fitness routines, I reckon he was fit enough to be apart of the side that will take to the field against Ayr.

For the Ayr game, Ritchie came in for Forrest at the back and Heenan took a starting role with Swankie on the bench. A tough opening half saw most of the chances fall Ayrs way but thankfully we survived until the break. Amazingly we took the lead as Heenan took advantage of a dallying Ayr keeper to lob from 30 yards in the 56th minute. Sadly the lead only lasted 4 minutes as Ritchie headed past his own keeper to level things up. From that point on I thought we would hold on to the lead but alas in the 89th minute James Grady beat our feeble attempt at an offside trap to score. It was a devastating strike, considering that we had been leading the game but once again we came away pointless.

The week wouldn’t be complete without an injury and this time it’s Steven Florence my left back who twisted his wrist in an unfortunate incident late in the day and will probably miss the game against Inverness next week.

In midweek the second round of the league cup took place and there were victories for Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Hibs, East Stirling, Forfar, Peterhead Hearts, ICT, Partick Thistle, Queens Park, Raith Rovers and Ross County.

Ahead of the important clash with ICT Darren Spink injured his groin in training as he attempted to recover from his previous injury. He’ll sadly miss another 3 weeks. The game with ICT is of crucial importance for us as we really need to get a win soon. Andy Dow for Steve Florence at left back and Jim Gardner in for Gary Bowman on the left of midfield were the only changes. Our hopes for a solid start were shattered inside 40 seconds as Dennis Wyness slotted ICT ahead. ICT proceeded to dominate the game before we finally began to edge our way back into it in the closing minutes of the half and thankfully Paul Brownlie nodded in at the near post from a Jim Gardner corner to level things at the break. Then on the hour it went pear shaped. Kevin Heenan through a fit after being substituted after he was having a bad game, and then Steve Hislop put ICT ahead 2 minutes later. Stuart Golabeck completed our defeat in stoppage time. Oh dear oh dear.

Results

Wed 11/09 LC St. Mirren Arbroath Roberts, 25, McGinty 43, Cameron 49, McGowan 60, Cameron 80.
Sat 14/09 Arbroath 0 Alloa 1 Evans 15,
Sat 21/09 Ayr 2 Arbroath 1 Heenan 55 Ritchie O.G, 60, Grady 89
Sat 28/09 Arbroath 1 ICT 3. Wyness 1, Brownlie 45 Hislop 64, Golabeck 90.

League Goal scorers

1.Kiegan Parker St Johnstone 8
2. Lee Miller Falkirk 8
3. Steven Hislop ICT 7
4. Peter Weatherson Queen of Sth 5
5. Chris Hay St. Johnstone 5

League Assists

1. Chris Hay St. Johnstone 5
2. Derek Lyle Queen of Sth 4
3. Mark Roberts St. Mirren 3
4. Kiegan Parker St. Johnstone 3
5. Dennis Wyness ICT 3

Table
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Team W D L F A GD Pts1. St. Johnstone 6 1 1 17 4 +13 19 2. ICT 5 1 2 13 9 +4 163. Falkirk 5 0 3 12 10 +2 154. Queen Sth 4 2 2 15 10 +5 145. St. Mirren 4 2 2 12 7 +5 146. Alloa 3 1 4 8 11 –3 107. Ross Co. 2 3 3 10 14 –4 98. Clyde 2 2 4 5 9 -4 89. Ayr 2 1 5 9 14 –5 710. Arbroath 0 1 7 4 17 –13 1</pre>

[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 23 September 2003 at 1:57.]

retired_embartl

balls to that table, and curses aplenty to Si for not putting print to file options in

October Review

What a terrible two months this has been. I’m aware that it was always going to be a battle to stay in this division but I thought we would have more points on the board at this point. Sitting at my desk, chewing my pencil end fretfully staring at the large wall portrait of Lord Robert was not getting me anywhere. Improvements had to be made on the football field but how?

The awards were announce once again in the monthly circular from the SFA, and once again there is no Arbroathian mentioned. Funny that. Lee Miller, Steve Hislop and St.Mirren’s manager John Coughlin picked up the awards instead. I am actually banking on the curse of the manager of month award working in our favour as St. Mirren travel to Gayfield on Saturday to open the month of October to us.

I decided to make a few changes for the game, I mean we could we hardly be performing worse in the league so there’s nothing to lose. Hinchcliffe makes a rare start between the sticks, behind a back line of Cusick, Connaghan Forrest and Florence. Gardner stays on the left wing, with McGlashan on the right. McAulay and McMillan took up centre stage, behind Heenan and Brownlie. This time the side is going to play a more cautious style, trying to play the ball specifically down the flanks and if they struggle with that we’ll just boot the ball up field and see what the result is.

Well a fat lot of good that was as we made another blistering start to the game, conceding in 81 seconds. It seems we are trying our hardest to achieve the status of side fastest to be relegated ever. Mark Roberts was the scorer. After that we played an abysmal game of football which was appropriately jeered to by the home fans. Passes were far from being accurate and we had absolutely no sense of purpose. In the second half, our pathetic display allowed Alistair Mitchell to run the length of the pitch and score his sides second. But even before that goal had gone in in the 47th minute we were clearly out of it. Utter tripe. Martin Cameron soon added a third before our best chance from Kevin Heenan sailed 4 yards wide. What had I took on here?

It ended 3-0 and I was completely disgusted with the side. The coaching side were as perplexed as anyone, having seen this side make 7th spot last year, it was looking increasingly unlikely that would happen this year. If we ever make it to 7 points I’ll be shocked.

That result got the board talking. Another defeat was taking it’s toll and although recent reports and polls in the media suggested fans and board members were satisfied with my “fight� against relegation, there’s only so long the Lichties can go without winning before I find myself catching the next flight back to Birmingham.

Asked for a comment in the heat of the aftermath of that defeat by the Herald I launched into a fairly unfair tirade against Paul Brownlie. He’d had a bad game but to single him out for criticism was in hindsight a mistake on my part. Still it came as no surprise to me when the Herald rejected my request for a retraction of my comments.

I’m 7 points off 9th position already which is terrible and now we have a challenging home tie with Queen of the South to deal with. It’s a home game again and although I know the fans are desperate to see their brave Scots win a game I’m beginning to despair – but then again I’m English – we like to quit. The criticism in some parts has reached unbelievable levels, and on more than one occasion I’ve overhead references to a certain Declaration and the section will proclaims Scots will never subside under English rule.

In midweek Steve reminded me that Paul Farquharson’s contract was up in 3 months time. Having settled down with the lad and told of him how I felt that with a little luck and hard work he could be a real talent at this club he surprisingly admitted he was prepared to take a £15 p/w pay cut to sign. Good lad. Looks like Connaghan’s influence has spread already.

retired_embartl

There was a week off in the schedule, allowing us to work more intimately with skills such as passing a ball in a straight line and thwacking the ball clear when there’s danger approaching. That and don’t pass wildly across the face of goal to no-one in particular. If we can master these basics we have every chance of improving.

Spirits were at least raised in the camp after Scotland’s 1-0 win in Reykjavik, courtesy of a smashing Paul Lambert drive, keeps them top of the qualifying table. On a personal note I cursed Emile Heskey’s goal for England against Slovakia ( who drew 1-1) as it meant Sven would probably continue to select him. Then I cursed England for not beating Slovakia – irrationally footing much of the blame ironically at someone who can’t keep his own footing too well.

The international results caused a bit of banter on the ground, with all the Scots taking the mick out of England’s draw, while I, good natured as I am, sent them on 5 laps of the training ground with 10 push-ups after each lap. Sadly though on Wednesday 16th, the day of the second round of Internationals there was another injury to cope with. Seeing as we haven’t had one for a good few days it was no surprise Jim Gardner’s turned out to be a biggie. 2 months with a torn off groin will be a big blow to us.

On Thursday though I had cause to cheer as England’s 5-0 win over Macedonia was achieved without an Emile Heskey in sight. Germany’s 6-0 mauling of the Faroes also meant they overtook the Scots on goal difference. I was tempted to mention it in training but thought better of it – especially as some of them already detest my Englishness as it is.

For the Queens game, Cargill was recalled in place of McGlashan and Feroz replaced Brownlie up front. I’ve also decided, against the better judgement of my staff to play a 4-1-3-2 formation to see how we cope. We were doing fine until the 18th minute. Connaghan trips Ferrie and gets sent off. Penalty converted by Andrew Aitken and I sensed another depressing afternoon. Sitting on that poorly constructed bench as the sharp October winds bite at your face is unpleasant in the best of circumstances.

I soon wished I were elsewhere though as Derek Lyle scored on 34 minutes to compound the misery and my record as Arbroath manager was building up to be a complete disaster. The second half wasn’t so bad and we had some chances of our own, even converting one of them. Roddy Grant finished well from a crap miss hit of a cross from Bowman. Sadly though that was all we could muster and it was defeat number whatever. Although Dennis was blatantly last man when he tripped Ferrie in the area I appeal anyway as it gives me something to do to pass the time other than spend 40 minutes beating off requests from journalists for interviews with the Herald or Radio Arbroath.

On Sunday I was not surprised to receive a warning from the SFA for outrageous cheek by questioning the officials decision yesterday. Well it was worth a shot. In the afternoon after the morning session I settled down in a pub and watched Falkirk, through Lee Miller and Owen Coyle help Falkirk secure a 2-1 victory in the Challenge Cup Final. My day got better after than when Jim Crosby phoned to say Steve had buggered his groin again and would need a month on the sidelines to recover properly. Fantastic.

In midweek it was the third round of the league cup and there were victories for Forfar, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, Motherwell Kilmarnock and Queens Park over East Stirling, ICT, Raith Rovers, Livingston, Partick Thistle Peterhead and Ross County respectively.

On Sunday the coach trip up to Perth to face St. Johnstone was a pretty despondent one. While Steve and Dave tried to keep spirits up, I contemplated which irrelevant and no doubt ineffective and useless tactic I would try out against the 1-6 favourites for the clash. I elected that sticking the status quo was as good as any so it was the same line up in a 4-1-3-2 formation. Inside 20 seconds I though we’d managed to surpass our levels of ineptitude when Parker hit the net but it was ruled out for offside. The forward though put the home side ahead on 8 minutes and many in the crowd, including me expected them to go on and add a couple more. Amazingly though it was us who scored next, Gavin Swankie was pulled down in the area and the young striker buried it into the net and we were level. What shocked the crowd even more was the events in the 34th minute. Arbroath were awarded a free-kick about 40 yards. Out. Paul Brownlie took it. Paul Brownlie scored. At half time we were still 2-1 up and I prayed like never before.

On 50 minutes I thought I was about to orgasm. A Jim Weir free kick was intercepted by Kevin Heenan and the youngster broke free to power a shot past Kevin Cuthbert in goal. 3-1 Arbroath! There were odds of 10-1 on us winning this game before kick off. I wonder if any punter is getting excited – somehow I doubt it. Then on 66 minutes Kiegan Parker set up McCulloch to make it 3-2. Now I was panicking. Bowman came on for McInally and a defensive approach was adopted. It worked. Until the 90th minute. Tommy Lovenkrands was unmarked in the box. Tommy Lovenkrands scored in the final minute. I was a broken man leaving that field. To be so close to winning your first match in charge against the clear league leaders and have it snatched away from you is so cruel. However I will only praise the lads for a brilliant spirited performance. It was such a shame we could not hold out.



Results

Sat 5/10 Arbroath 0 St. Mirren 3. Roberts 2, Mitchell 47, Cameron 51.
Sat 19/10 Arbroath 1 Queen of Sth 2 Aitken 19, Lyle 34 Grant 63
Sat 26/10 St. Johnstone 3 Arbroath 3 Parker 8, Swankie 25 pen, Brownlie 34 Heenan 50 , McCulloch 66, Lovenkrands 90.

Table after 11 games


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Team WDLFAGDPts1. ICT 71 3 19 12 +7 222. Falkirk 71 3 20 14 +6 223. St. Johnstone 62 3 20 13 +7 204. St. Mirren 62 3 18 11 +7 205. Queen Sth 52 4 18 15 +3 176. Alloa 42 5 15 16 -1 147. Ayr 42 5 14 16 -2 148. Ross Co. 34 4 13 17 -4 139. Clyde 24 5 8 14 -6 1010. Arbroath 02 9 8 25 -17 2</pre>

[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 26 September 2003 at 18:50.]

[This message was edited by Brian of Nazareth on 26 September 2003 at 18:51.]

retired_embartl

My apologies about these poor tables If someone could tell me how they do it - I would appreciate it as transfering from Word to here clearly doesn't work.

KPatterson

Try making them in Notepad instead of Word, and don't use tab either

PS, Arbroath suck :p

retired_embartl

Cheers, I'll try that.

retired_embartl

November Review

Fixtures:

Sat 2nd H v Falkirk, Sat 9th A v Ross County, Sat 16th H v Clyde, Sat 23rd, A v Alloa, Sat 30th A v St. Mirren.

To say this season has so far been a disaster so far is not entirely wrong. The results have been poor, players have under performed and Gordon Wallace has buggered off to Clyde. However, although the table is grim reading the players attitudes can on the whole be commended. There were slips where a kick up the behind was needed for one or two players but the St. Johnstone game is a case in point. Written off as the whipping boys of the league and we were seconds away from a fantastic 3-2 victory. That’s the spirit we have. At the beginning of every week, John Christison reads a passage from the Declaration of Arbroath and makes analogies with the community and the football side. Call it a sermon if you will but no one is giving up easily – we still have a lot of matches to play.

True the last day of October was a nightmare scenario of crippling injuries. Paul Brownlie will be with Jim Crosby for the next 3 weeks. John Cusick faces 2 months away with a torn groin muscle, as does Ross Currie, after a training ground ruckus, designed to inspire a sense of togetherness went spectacularly wrong. However, as the saying goes, everything evens itself out in the end. Let’s hope its not too late before that starts happening.

The first match of November was a clash with Falkirk, the first at Gayfield. In the previous encounters we went down 2 and 3 goals to nil so we can only improve. Bearing in mind injuries I still decided to persevere with the 4-1-3-2 formation as it was clearly a way of enabling to utilise our strengths. Gow retained his place in goal, behind a line of Dirno, Connaghan, Ritchie and Dow. John McAulay continues in his holding role behind the 3 midfielders of Cargill, McGlashan and McInally. Heenan and Swankie are the front two.

Unfortunately though old habits die hard, and such was the case when it comes to focusing from the off as Lee Miller scored in 35 seconds. This is an all too familiar trait which frankly pÃ*sses me off as it so easy to avoid. Desperate to get back into the game we lostit in the 35th minute, as McGlashan scored an unfortunate own goal from a Mark Kerr cross. McGlashan then completed an awful day personally as he got himself sent off in the 56th minute after two ridiculous cautions. A fine will be issued sometime tomorrow. Having gained respite through an Eddie Forrest penalty on the hour mark after Heenan had been bundled over by Brian Reed, the referee destroyed our chances, or so I thought by dismissing Roddy Grant, a sub along with Forrest for heaven knows what as in an Arsene Wenger fashion “I did not see the incident.â€� However, as we proved against St. Johnstone we are no pushovers and to the crowds delight instead of folding, we doubled our work rate and McInally’s fine centre found lone front man Kevin Heenan waiting to score a delightful tap in after 66 minutes. The question now became – could we hold out?

We did. For 91 Minutes. Unfortunately there are 92 minutes in this game. Another old habit refusing to lie low. John McAulay had already departed injured, to join the throbbing clan in the p5hysio room, when Lee Miller found space in the area to bundle in the winning goal. We didn’t deserve such rotten luck, we really didn’t. The dressing room was a picture of woe after that game. We had 9 men but fought back and levelled against a far superior side and competed as hard as we could, busting our guts to secure a valuable point, but we were denied by a heartbreaker once again. Consoling the individuals was tough, as even I failed to find the words to explain why they are experiencing such a bad run of form. When this whole luck idea changes, we’re in for one hell of a run!

After the game it was bad news for John. In overstretching to trap a pass he’d injured a calf muscle and would miss 3 weeks. My team was disappearing from underneath men and I felt so helpless. Sitting down in the office, not wanting to look up at the fearsome eyes of Robert hanging on the wall, I felt overwhelmed. A small pile of envelopes was building up on the side of my desk. I knew what they were. It had been the same since I had taken the job. Hate mail. And more of it seems in recent weeks. True this may only be a minority of the fans, no more than 50-100 tops but it was enough to trouble me. I needed help, not criticism solely based on my nationality. I decided to work with things I had to do, like typing up the official form that would be finding it’s way through the letterbox of John McGlashan in the next day or two, or writing, well at least wanting to, the obscene letter to the SFA telling them why they can shove Roddy Grant’s ban up where the sun don’t shine.

Midweek saw the League Cup, and for the Glasgow sides it was their first match in the domestic cup season, with Europe taking up their time. Celtic overcame Rangers 2-0 in the third round whilst in the fourth round, Aberdeen beat Queens Park 3-2 after extra time with Paul Sheerin nicking the winner, a solitary Mark de Vries strike saw Hearts defeat Forfar, and Kilmarnock beat Hibernian 2-1 with Chris Innes getting an early winner. Whilst watching the Rangers – Celtic game ( another country where the big 2 get all the focus I see ) on the television, I picked up an automated email response from the SFA. The bástards couldn’t even be bothered to write a letter – instead it’s a “I’m sorry your appeal has been unsuccessful for case no. 002733.� Gits.

On the day of our tough trip to Ross County I was irritated but not surprised to learn that Innes Ritchie had strained a ligament and would miss a weeks training. Say what you like about the strength of the spirit in this squad but their calves aren’t half weak! With all the absentees I have now it seems pointless working with a first team and reserve in tandem, so I’ve pooled both squads together in training to hopefully give me a few more option.

A reshuffled side included Tony Woodcock in goal and Kenny McMillan in the holding role. Greg Henslee, who had bided his time in the reserves gained a first start today whilst Euan Graham and Darren Spink both had bench warming duties. Our obligatory bad start took longer than I expected to arrive. In fact we lasted a full 16 minutes before Steven McGarry scored. That sadly was the catalyst for a Ross County onslaught. First Kerr Dodds and then a Steven Ferguson penalty put the home side 3-0 to the good by the break. We were beaten. The pained expressions on the faces said it all. I always felt sorry for the boys out there, when you have young Paul Dirno running to the ends of the earth with a cheeky smile on his face, with boundless enthusiasm. In that dressing room he was dejected. Dennis Connaghan, captain fantastic in our defense was simply there holding his head in his heads, at a loss to explain it. How do you motivate a side who have only known defeat? All I could say was just “Do your best, it’ll turn out alright.� What kind of coaching is that? McGarry’s second in the 51st minute killed it stone dead, and 5 minutes later our away fans had gone.

What drives me really is that I know the side can compete in this league. I know it, the coaches know, the board does and so do most of the fans. The only people who don’t I think are the players. Handing round letters of support that I had been given by kind Arbroathians were hopefully something the players might take to heart. Phrases like “ Heenan’s a real threat, if only he knew he had so much talent� or “Eddie Forrest is my favourite player because of his commitment and attitude – I hope he never loses it� were what I hoped might inspire the players. You wouldn’t have guessed it but Greg Henslee ruled himself out of our home game with Clyde after suffering a knee injury. You’d think he’d at least be consistent and choose his calf.