If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
There was no real chance that we were going to win the title, that would be crazy talk. And as the year went on, it became clear we were struggling with our form, mainly, we couldnt score, as shown by three successive 0-0 draws. Our Scottish Cup hopes came to an end in the 4th round at Tannadice, as we went down 3-2 and so there would be no silverware at Station Park this season, barring a miracle.
The tie with Roma turned out to be just as tough as we had expected, as we were to go down 2-0 at home, before being turned over 4-0 in Italy, and we had gone out. But although it was painful, its an experience from which we can learn, and it will make us stronger in the long run. Our league form continued to fluctuate, but by the split, we were a respectable 3rd.
Our first three games after the split we drew, but as Dunfermline, who were 2nd, collapsed, so infact it was three points gained rather than lost. A penultimate match 2-0 over Kilmarnoclk opened up the chance for us to snatch 2nd place, but our final match would be at home to newly crowned champions Celtic. At 2-0 down after 20 minutes, our dreams of second were fading, as Dunfermline were ahead at home to Dundee United.
Third place would still be a great achievement, but the players rolled up their sleeves, and by the break Byers and Murray had pulled is level, and with 18 minutes left to play, the great Kevin Byers scored the winner, and we have clinched 2nd place. There will be Champions League football at Station Park next season, and thats something we can all be very proud of.
More to be proud of came in the shape of Craig Campbell becoming the 4th youth academy product to play for the Scotland Under 21 side, and David Lowing had the honour of being the first ever player to play for Scotland whilst at Forfar. David Marshall later joined him in the Forfar capped players league.
On awards night, there were more tears of joy as young Steven Murray was voted as the SPFA Young Player of the Year, with Kevin Byers being runner up in the SPFA Player of the Year, and also winning the Golden Boot for top Scottish league scorer with 23 goals. The SFW decided to pick a Forfar player for their award for the 2nd year running, and this time the honour fell to Keith Gibson.
Its been, when all is said and done, a fantastic season for us, and all that we really lack now is some nice shiny silverware, but I'm sure that if we keep progressing, that will surely come......
02-11-2004, 05:06 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #22
Despite the inconsistancies, in the end, we can't really complain about the season. Being runners up is a remarkable achievement, and I feel we are not that far away from bringing some silverware to Station Park. The club is financially solid, with no outstanding debt, and £7M in the bank. Raising your own players is expensive its true, costing roughly £7500 per player per year, but its a damn sight cheaper than simply buying in foreign rubbish.
A few players have left the club, including one or two of the youths who simply haven't made it, but the only sale of any note is Craig Samson to Tottenham for £70,000. Only two new players arrive, defender Kirk Broadfoot at £500,000k from St Mirren, and striker Lee Miller at £1.5M from Tottenham, the first ever £1M player at the club. Miller will hopefully act as a decent foil for Murray or MacDonald, allowing them to score more and also hopefully improve their game.
The preseason went well, as we saw off Inverness 4-0, Genk 3-1, and Genoa 1-0, and gained a respectable 0-0 draw with Bayern. The bad new is, Stephen Murray picked up an injury that sees him miss the first two months of the season. The Champions League 3rd qualifying round draw - isn't it incredible to see Forfar in the Champions League - sees us face Albanian side KF Tirana, and we have to be confident we can progress to the group stages. A word of caution though. This side destroyed Marseille on a 6-3 aggregate at this stage last season, although they went on to lose all their group matches.
Its shaping up to be the most exciting ever season for Forfar Athletic, and I can only hope we can deliver on the expectations....
Squad 2007-2008
Goalkeepers
David Marshall (21) (1 Cap) Another solid season for David, that saw him get the Scotland cap he so richly deserves. (48 apps, 52 conceded, 18 CS, 3 MoM, 7.02)
Graeme Smith (24) No appearances.
Cameron Bell (20) Only 1 sub appearance.
Defence
Mark Dempsie (26) Once again, totally failed to impress and will be sold to the first club that wants him. (16 apps, 2 assists, 6.31)
Andy Jordan (27) Again far from spectacular but remains as back up. (12 apps, 6.42)
David Lowing (23) (4 caps) Another excellent season at left back, which saw David become the first ever Forfar player to be capped for Scotland whilst at the club. This season he will be asked to move inside to the left centre back position, which will allow Paul O'Neill to take up the left back rule. Its a role I'm confident David can aspire to. (48 apps, 1 assist, 1 MoM, 7.21)
Robbie Horn (30) Reasonable season, but feels the refs are victimizing him and has requested a transfer which has been granted, As a result, will spend the rest of his time with us in the reserves. (38 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.92)
Fraser Coyle (21) (6 U-21 Caps) Average season, but he did manage to break into the U-21 squad, so he cant be that bad really. (34 apps, 6 goals, 2 assist, 6.76)
Craig Campbell (19) Youth academy 04. Has pushed out Robert Hunter to claim the right back slot. A player who is really coming on well, and has made it into the U-21 set up. (32 apps, 1 goal, 5 assists, 7.25)
Robert Hunter (18) (3 U-21 caps) Youth Academy 05. Found himself edged out by Campbell, but still very much an important member of the first team squad. (17 apps, 1 assist, 6.82)
Paul O'Neill (17) Yet another who managed to break into the U-21 set up. Most of his appearances last season were as subs, but he should get hios chance in a big way this time, and much is hoped for from him. (8 apps, 6.38)
Kirk Broadfoot (23) Good solid defender acquired from St Mirren at a cost of half a million pounds, who will hopefully form a good partnership with Lowing in the centre.
Midfield
Keith Gibson (26) Another absolutely superb season on the right wing, that saw Keith voted by the Scottish Football writers as their player of the year. (44 apps, 8 goals, 5 assists, 6 MoM, 7.68)
Barry Robson (28) Good solid consistant season. (45 apps, 1 goal, 14 assists, 2 MoM, 7.33)
Darren Smith (27) Continues to back Robson up well. (10 apps, 7.00)
Martin Maher (23) (Capped at U-21 level) Continues to be one of the more under sung heroes of the side in the holding midfield role. Still a very good player, and we're delighted he is still at the club. (36 apps, 6 assists, 7.08)
Charlie King (27) Still very much a fringe player, but is a decent back up. (4 apps, 7.25)
Kevin Byers (27) Another brilliant season saw Kevin voted into 2nd place by his fellow pro's and won him the Scottish top league scorer award, not a bad achievement from midfield. Also voted player of the year by the Forfar supporters. (42 apps, 23 goals, 3 assists, 12 MoM, 7.76)
Darren Campbell (21) (2 U-21 caps, 2 goals) Had a very good season considering most of his appearances were as a sub. (23 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists, 6.87)
Peter Leven (23) Failed to make the impact expected, but remains a useful squad player. (23 apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, 6.96)
Andrew MacDonald (20) Picked up in January after being released by Dundee, a decent looking young player, but has failed to make a start yet. Attackers
Colin Hodge (22) Has failed to make any impact at all, and is now transfer listed.
Alan MacDonald (18) (3 U-21 caps) Youth academy 04. His goals to games ratio is horrendous for a striker, and he really need to pull his socks up tbh. Might be worth dropping him back into midfield. (31 apps, 7 goals, 7 assists, 6.74)
Steven Murray(19) (3 U-21 caps, 2 goals) Youth academy 04. Much better scoring rate than last season, and hopefully the arrival of Lee Miller will be a great help to him. Won the SPFA Young Player of the Year award, wuperb achievement. (45 apps, 21 goals, 9 assists, 8 MoM, 7.62)
Andrew Ferguson (22) Found it hard again to make any impact, but remains a useful squad player. (6 apps, 2 goals, 7.00)
Michele Lombardini (21) Failed miserably to make any impact and is likely to be moved on. (3 apps, 1 assist, 5.67)
Lee Miller (24) (3 caps, 1 goal) Having failed to make it at Tottenham, despite scoring 8 times in 8 games in his first season, we were delighted to make Lee the first ever million pound plus player at Station Park, and we're sure he will help the young strikers in their development.
Peter Breen (19) Youth Academy 05. Moves up to the reserve squad, and listed for loan. Hes a reasonable keeper but we need to see him in first team action, and he's unlikely to get that here for a while.
Andrew Grant (16) £40,000 signing who looks to be a good prospect. The player we signed from Airdrie is wanted by Wolves, so he must be a decent prospect. We want be rushing him into the first team though.
Andrew Reid (16) A £50,000 signing from Stranraer.
Youths who didn't make it
Alan Paterson (20) Youth academy 04. Is never really going to be good enough at this level, and moved to Johnstone Burgh for £1000.
John Byrne(20) Youth academy 04. released when his contract expired, and still hasn't found himself a new club.
David O'Reilly (20) Youth academy 04. Moved to East Fife for £1000.
Martin Aitken (17) Youth Academy 05. Contract not renewed and has been released. Still without a club.
Mark Parker (19) Youth Academy 06. Left the club, and is now plying his trade at Dundalk where he had played 10 games with a rating of 7.30.
Paul Johnston (18) Youth Academy 06 Left out of contract and has gone to Huntly.
We wish all our former youths well in the future.
[This message was edited by Peacemaker7 on 14 February 2004 at 11:53.]
02-14-2004, 03:10 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #24
We had expected great things in the league, but the truth was, we simply couldn't find the consistancy we needed in the early part of the season, and although by the turn of the year we had only lost two matches, both to Celtic, we had seen far too many draws.
At one point we had been down as far as 7th in the table, and when I had admitted in a radio interview that I might be interested in the Hearts job should Craig Levein be given the sack, which seemed inevitable, the fans, and the Chairman were none too pleased. Fans I can accept, becuase 99% of football fans are morons. But the Chairman seems to think that we should be challenging for the title, and quite frankly thats a ludicrous assumption.
Of course I didn't move to Hearts, even though I was offered the job. I would ride out the storm of discontent here, and when we finally did deliver that silverware, the same people who were calling for me to be sack for no good reason, would be calling for me to be knighted. Such is the way in football, and its just something you have to live with.
Slowly but surely our form did rise, and with the rest of the SPL, apart from runaway leaders Celtic, unable to put a decent run together, we ended the year once again sitting in 2nd place. In my opinion this is a remarkable achievement, and some of the other people around this club need a serious reality check.
The SPL table is tight, as Celtic, who have started to show signs of cracking, sit on 36 points after 19 games, we have 31, Dundee 30, St Johnstone 28, Aberdeen 28, Livingston 26, Rangers 26, Dunfermline 24, Kilmarnock 23, Hearts 19, Hibs 18, Dundee Utd 15. If we can just peg Celtic back, this could be the most exciting title race ever seen in Scotland.
One piece of silverware that want be coming to Station Park this season, is the League Cup. We had drawn Raith Rovers at home in round three, and with 6 players who had come through the academy in the side, we didn't quite look the polished article, and went out on a penalty shoot out. The League Cup though, although it would be nice to get our name on something, is in my opinion a waste of space anyway.
But the real focus of our season of course would, hopefully, be the UEFA Champions League. We had however, to get passed Albania side KF Tirana to get there, and despite some of the nonsense in the press, I was expecting a tough match. Just after half time in the home leg, Kevin Byers sent us into the lead, and with just 20 minutes left, a double salvo inside a minute from Byers and MacDonald set us up with a comfortable lead to take to Albania.
Which was just as well, as the Albanians proved to be stubborn, well organised, and a 50th minute strike from Gjerji gave them a win on the night, but amidst scenes of great joy, we had done enough to clinch our place in the group phase of the Champions League, and feat that really is totally incredible.
The draw wasn't overly kind to us, but then to be honest, it never was going to be. We were paired with Levski Sofia, whom we had to fancy we could take something from, Stuttgart, whom we probably wouldn't, and the mighty Real Madrid about whom we would probably end up having nightmares. But the truth is, it wasn't about winning this year. It's all about experience, and just seeing us run out in the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid for our opening game brought a lump to my throat.
But the occassion turned out to be simply too much for us, goals from Figo, Raul and Fernandez in the first 13 minutes left us reeling and shellshocked, and pretty much close to tears. We were being totally ripped apart and there was little we could about it. Slowly though we managed to find out feet, and although Ronaldo added a 4th on the 35th minute, we did well in the 2nd half and didnt lose another goal, and in the end, although it was at times a very painful experience, we came through the fire without too much damage to fight another day.
Having been mauled in Madrid, our first home game was against German side Stuttgart, who had thrashed Levski 3-0 in their opener in Germany. This would be another tough test for us, but its one we came through well, and we could proud at the end to come with a 0-0 draw, our first ever Champions League point. Our third group match was at home to Levski Sofia, and to be honest, we needed to win this if we were going to have any chance of reaching even the UEFA Cup. Just seventeen minutes in, Steven Murray had the honour of scoring our first ever goal in the Champions League proper as the crowd went wild with delight.
We were playing well enough, but we failed in front of goal, and a minute after the break Sofia were level. The Bulgarians seemed happy to take a point, and with ten minutes to go I finally got fed up with Lee Miller, who has been woeful for us since he came, and sent on 16 year old Scott Gibson, who had been doing well for the youths and had impressed when coming on a sub against Hibs.
Gibson was barely on the park, when Kevin Byers cut in from the right, thundering a shot at goal, which the keeper could only parry, and there was Gibson with easiest of tap ins, and what an incredible way to mark your first ever senior goal. Two minutes from time, Fraser Coyle sent a ball for Murray to chase, and he flicked it across to Gibson, who advanced into area, thundered the ball home, and even Roy of the Rovers couldn't have had a better script.
The win against Sofia was delightful, and even more so seeing Scott Gibson bag the goals that got us the points. Now we knew that if we could get even a draw in Bulgaria, we would be guaranteed UEFA Cup football. This of course would be no easy game, but with just eight minutes gone, we won a penalty which Paul O'Neill netted and we had a valuable lead. The Bulgarians did threaten on occassions, but they seemed to lack something, and with 13 minutes left, Steven Murray added a second and we had 7 points from 4 games to Levski's none. We had reached the UEFA Cup.
Game five saw Real Madrid arrive at Station Park, as we battoned down the hatches in fear of another hurricane. Yet we started brightly, our fear and awe gone, and with 22 minutes gone, Barry Robson skimmed Figo on the left, sent over a delightful cross, and there was Kevin Byers to clip the ball into the net, and Forfar Athletic were leading the mighty Real Madrid.
Of course it couldnt last, and in fact it lasted less than a minute before Raul pulled the Spanish giants level. But we continued to match our far more illustrious opponents, and we cane away with another very respectable draw. That left us tied on 7 points with Stuttgart, which meant we could actually reach the 2nd round. If we won in Germany. And we put up a brave fight, taking the Germans all the way, before finally an injury time goal from Landon Donovan ended our dreams.
But even so, I felt it had been a quite a remarkable first stab at the Champions League, and we had come out of it with a lot of respect, and a UEFA Cup 3rd round place. The draw for which saw us paired with - Kilmarnock!
On the youth front, things are going well. The U-19s and reserves both top their top their tables going into the new year, and Scott Gibson, John Ferguson, Kevin McMillan and David Barker have all made varying appearances for the first team, as we finally start to see the fruits of our policy begin to pay off.
On the transfer front, Rangers made a £1.5M bid for Lee Miller, which was what we paid for him, and as he's been pretty poor, I decided to accept it, and he moved on Januart 1st. His departure allows Gibson and Ferguson the chance to stake a regular first team slot alongside Murray.
Its been an exciting first half of the season, and we can only hope the players havent been worn out as we push to make another appearance in the UEFA Champions League next season...
02-15-2004, 01:08 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #25
If we were going to bring any silverware home this season, then to my mind the best bet we had was the Scottish Cup. The third round draw had pitted us away to struggling First Division side St Mirren, and it took a Keith Gibson hattrick to see us squeeze through by three goals to two. The 4th round saw us away again, this time at Albion Rovers who put up a spirited fight to gain a 2-2 draw, and we had to go to a replay. But they had no answer to us at Station Park as we triumphed 6-1.
The draw for the Quarter Finals saw us away once more, at Motherwell, and this was the day our dream ended, as failed to reach the heights we had set for ourselves and crashed out by 3-1. It was hard to take, and now we would just have to pick ourselves up for the rest of the League campaign as we looked to clinch Champions League football once more.
It was a bit strange playing a UEFA Cup tie against a fellow Scots side but it didn't seem to affect the players as we raced to a 3-0 half time lead in the home lead. The second half wasn't so good, and a late Killie goal gave them a glimmer of hope for the second leg. It was however, only a glimmer, and three minutes into the second leg at Rugby Park Scott Gibson shattered Killie hearts. An own goal from Tom Hutchison, and a double from Keith Gibson saw us run out 4-1 winners, and a seven one aggregate and we would play Parma in the last sixteen.
The first leg in Italy came hot on the heels of our Scottish Cup exit to Motherwell, and although we put up a brave performance, two second half goals from Johnnier Montano gave Parma the cushion they needed for the 2nd leg. We had a mountain to climb if our European adventure was to continue, and eight minutes into the second leg, Parma were ahead and it was all over. Scott Gibson grabbed an equalizer on 45 minutes, but as we pushed to grab a winner on the night, Parma hit us with two late strikes and were well and truly beaten.
All that was left was the league, and we entered the closing stages, it had come down to 2 horse race between ourselves and Celtic. With seven matches left to play, we had an excellent four point lead at the top of the table with 62 points to Celtic 58, but as we could only manage a no score draw at Dunfermline, Celtic won easily 2-0 against Livingston and with one game till the split, the gap was just two points.
This was going to be a real test of nerves for our youngsters, as we travelled to Tannadice in the final game before the split, knowing that any slip ups would hand Celtic the advantage as they were at home to Aberdeen, a match they easily won by 3-0. Despite young right winger Kevin McMillan sending us into a 12th minute lead, United were level by the break, and we could see our title hopes slip away. But suddenly we found an extra level, hitting five second half goals, and running out six two winners and the dream was still alive.
The first game after the split for us was a home match with a Rangers side whose own title dreams had been shattered already, and who came to Station Park on the back of 5-1 humping at Rugby Park. With Celtic not playing till midweek, we had a chance to open up a five point gap and pile on the pressure, but we knew Rangers would be hurting after the Rugby Park fiasco and would be out to salvage pride.
However there was to be no pride for the Gers today as the fruits of our youth academy put them to sword, handing out the message that the future for Forfar was very bright indeed. Paul O'Neill started it all with a 6th minute penalty, and on 36 Steven Murray helped end any linger nerves with a fine second. In the second half, Rangers simply gave up as they fell apart, and another goal from Murray, one from Scott Gibson and a great double from Kevin McMillan saw us pull of our biggest win under my charge as we destroyed Rangers by an incredible 6-0, every single goal straight from the youth academy.
We now had a precious five point lead, but in midweek Celtic easily beat Dundee 3-1 to stay in touch, and the pressure was mounting. It was Old Firm say at Celtic Park, as we took on Aberdeen at home. We really needed to Rangers to find some pride and do us a favour, but they simply couldnt do at, and we struggled to a goalless draw, Celtic's 2-0 win pulled them level on points, although we had afar superior goal difference.
The pressure was really starting to tell now as we travelled to Dundee in midweek, needing to win to keep the pressure on Celtic. A 5th minute strike from Scott Gibson was exactly the start we needed, but as the match wore on, so nerves took hold, and with 20 minutes to go, Caballero snatched a draw for Dundee. We led the table by a point, but of course now Celtic had game in hand.
Understandably there were more than a few tears in the dressing room after the Dens Park match, as the players coulf feel the title slip away, but we simply had to pick ourselves up and get in with it. With Celtic not playing till the Sunday, we went to Dunfermline knowing we couldn't afford any more slip ups or the race was over. And from kick off you could tell our players were determined that if Celtic were going to win this title, they would have to work for it, and in the end we ran out easy 6-0 winners.
The following day, Celtic went to Pittodrie and lost spectacularly by four goals to nil, and we now sat four points clear, with our final match against Celtic at Celtic Park. We only needed to go there and gain a draw and we would be crowned champions, and I dont think anyone got a wink of sleep in the build up to arguably the biggest game Forfar had ever played.
You could feel the tension all around Celtic Park as the title was at stake. Last season we had beaten Celtic in our final game to end just three points behind them and making the title race seem closer than it really was, but this was a whole different ball game, and it showed. Twenty five minutes in, Ulrik Laursen plunged a knife into Forfar hearts, and when Hersi made it 2-0 three minutes from half time, our dreams were lying in tatters.
It was a quiet dressing room at half time, players with white faces, realising that we were 45 minutes away from throwing away our biggest ever triumph. All we could do was go out and fight for our right to be crowned Champions, and on 66 minutes, Kevin McMillan fired in a stunning goal, and we had hope. But time was running out, and as the match entered injury time, a terrible mistake from David Marshall allowed Maloney to nip in, and Celtic had the title by the throat. As the match moved to an incredible 96th minute Barry Robson netted us a second, but it was too late. Way too late.
It was hard not to feel totally shattered and depressed, but the fact was we were still leading the SPL, and Celtic had to go to East End Park and win their game in hand. We could still be Champions, but could we endure the pain of watching the game? We were 90 minutes away from the title still, but there was absolutely nothing we could do about......
02-15-2004, 02:17 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #26
*will have no nails left by the time PM posts the result of celtic's final game*
this is an excellent effort PM, and it must be really rewarding to see the likes of Murray and Gibson come through the ranks and succeed (especially the manner in which gibson announced himself) hope you can keep this going and complete the challenge
02-15-2004, 02:20 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #27
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by glamdring:
Sounds like my non-story game where Celtic farcically played their final game of the season the week after the official last day!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yah I think it was becuase of their UEFA Cup semi, but all the last games were played all over the place.
Terk: Its pretty amazing, eight of the squad to play Celtic were youth products, and one was out injured. And theres a couple more coming through I hope, so its looking good
02-15-2004, 03:44 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #29
The West of Scotland dominated media were in an uproar. Neither Old Firm side had been in the League Cup Final, with Hibs beating Dundee United to win in. And neither Old Firm side had been in the Scottish Cup Final, which Motherwell beat Hearts to win. So as Celtic travelled to East End Park, anything less that a win would mean that the Old Firm had failed to win a domestic trophy. You had to go right back to the 1954/55 season for the last time at least one of the Old Firm sides had failed to win a domestic trophy. In a an Old Firm biased media, such a scenario was a nightmare.
It was no surprise therefore that media were willing Celtic on to beat Dunfermline. For the good of Scottish football. Utter tosh. But such sentiments didn't bother me, and I hoped they wouldnt bother a Dunfermline side who would end 4th in the SPL whatever todays outcome.
Dunfermline had already gotten a draw at home to Celtic this season, and had won 2-1 at Celtic Park, but this was surely different. With the title at stake, Celtic would not slip up, but all we could do was watch and pray. It was out of our hands now, but whatever happened here today, it had been an utterly brilliant season for Forfar, and I was sure things could only really get better for us.
But we had to get through evening, and it was going to be the longest 90 minutes anyone associated with Forfar had even known. We settled down to watch the game on TV as a squad, as of course, it was live. After all, it was Celtic's big day.
I didn't force any of the players to attend, but they all did anyway. Somewhow, we still clung to this crazy dream, this hope that we might still be crowned Champions, a crowning we really believed we totally deserved. And so here we were, a squad who had overcome the odds, and now we waited to see if the gods would smile on us.
The game had only just gotten started, when Mark McGarty hit a superb strike from the edge of the area which ended up in the net, and Dunfermline were ahead. As the Celtic fans were stunned into silence so the players lounge at Station Park erupted in a bedlam of noise, and suddenly, we really did start to believe.
Half time came, and Dunfermline were still ahead, and if anyone had any nails left by now, they were the lucky ones. Two minutes into the second half, Derek Young headed Dunfermline two ahead after a quite superb Dunfermline move, and they could now start engraving our name on the SPL trophy.
Despite the commentry team urging Celtic on, they simply ran out of ideas, out of steam and out of the title. Long before the final whistle sounded to mark our superb triumph, the Champagne was flowing at Station Park. We had been crowned Champions of Scotland in the most dramatic of circumstances, and although the press would inevitable whimper on about Celtic blowing it, we had the most points, and were deserved Champions. It was a dream come true, but in my mind, this was only the start of the great things to come.......
02-15-2004, 04:17 PM
Bringing Up Baby - A Different Approach to The Lisbon Lions Challenge. Post #30
- sees us face Albanian side KF Tirana, and we have to be confident we can progress to the group stages. A word of caution though. This side destroyed Marseille on a 6-3 aggregate at this stage last season, although they went on to lose all their group matches.
Linear Mode
