retired_ceb_33

hi folks.please forgive me starting from the start again it seems my old story has been deleted since it had been a couple of months since i posted.i had been giving the russian challenge a go but failed miserably so thought i would come back to this story.
to cut a long story short at the beginning i had scooped the 20 million jackpot on the lottery and had decided to invest in my home town team of raith rovers.
like so many of todays teams the clubs finacial status is poor and i wanted to take the club back to the top division and back in europe where we were less than 10 years ago.

15.6.2002
i walk in to san starko(starks park) as the new manager and quickly set about my task of rebuilding the side for an immediate return to the top flight.we had won the second division the previous season although we had done our best to lose it after being streets ahead.it was a big task and looking around at the squad
i knew only a few would be good enough to stake a claim in the starting line up.
i managed to arrange a glut of pre-season friendlies to tweak my squad.
cska moscow on 29.6.2002
fife cup on sat6/sun7.7.2002
fulham on 10.7.2002las palmas on 20.7.2002

all these would be on home soil.next up was the task of new blood.

16.6.2002
first full day in charge and 4 new players arrive in the door.mark bosnich and patrick zere arrive on contracts while dutchmen robert wijnands and kofi mensah arrive on a 4 week trial period.many more players should be arriving as i went crazy on the free transfers.lol

19.6.2002
barcelona agree to my loan request and frenchman phillipe christanval signs up on loan for the season.

29.6.2002
cska moscow arrive in kirkcaldy for our first pre-season game and promptly wipe the floor with us.debut's for bosnich and christanval are not enough as we are easily beaten 3-0.to make matters worse we failed to even create a single chance.

30.6.2002
in early morning after yesterdays poor excuse of a game.main priority was a striker and this is how i would spend my day.

3.7.2002
after spending days looking at strikers i manage to aquire archie thomson from lierse on loan for the seaon.with 16 goals in 7 starts for australia he looked the part.only time would tell though.

6.7.2002
Fife cup weekend at san starko with 4 games in 2 days.the draw saw cowdenbeath v burntisland shipyard and raith rovers v east fife.the first game saw a shock with cowdenbeath going down by 2-0.in our game i decided to start with thomson up front with martin prest.
a rather uneventful first half to say the least with neither side creating much.but within a minute of the second half the visitors were down to 10 men and the 2 front men clicked.a hattrick for thomson and 2 for prest saw us home comfortably.

7.7.2002
day 2 and east fife claimed 3rd with a 2-0 win over cowdenbeath.in the final i decided to try another striker with thomson in john sutton(chris suttons brother so the media keep telling us).sutton scored a penalty to give us the lead but they were level within a minute.two more goals early in the second half from sutton including another penalty gave him his hattrick before thomson completed the scoring in injury time.despite winning the trophy and scoring nine goals it took key decisions to break down lesser opposition and i knew many more players would need to be brought in if i was to challenge for the first division title.

10.7.2002
jerieme aliadiere was the next name through the door,joining on a season long loan from arsenal.he was immediately thrown in to action as english premiership side fulham rolled into town.he was paired upfront with thomson.a massive crowd of 217 turned up to see the clash and boy did they get their money's worth.thomson opened the scoring after 10 mins with a cute lob over van der sar.fulham then gave us a battering for the rest of the half but due to some fine goalkeeping from bosnich it took a deflected legwinski free kick to make the scores level at half time.second half was much the same as the first with bosnich making some amazing saves.but we hit them twice with the sucker punch.once through thomson who ran through on goal after a great long ball by talio and late on through prest who headed home from close in.although we were battered by a superior side a lot was taken from this fine 3-1 win.the twin strike force of prest and thomson really looks like flourishing.

[This message was edited by wigs7 on 30 November 2003 at 20:04.]

retired_ceb_33

12.7.2002
after showing promise in they're trial i decided to sign up bothrobert wijnands and kofi mensah hoping they would push each other for the right back slot.

17.7.2002
the squad is now beginning to take shape as another 3 players come on board.ivan hurtado is an experienced ecudorian centre half as is chilean centre half jorge vargas.the third player is juan jose jayo a peruvian with 62 caps who is a defensive midfielder.

18.7.2002
talented ghanian emmanual osei kuffour and former ukranian internationalist victor leonenko are also welcomed to the club.leonenko will also take on some coaching to help the youngsters.

19.7.2002
the cheque book finally comes out as £450,000 is paid to napoli for former lazio and torino central defender mauro bonomi.the italian would be my main defender and also the new club captain so big things was expected from him.he was more than happy to swap serie b for the scottish first division.i now feel i have a strong squad to challenge for the title and with spanish side las palmas
in town ahead of our final friendly tomorrow i am feeling fairly satisfied with way things are panning out.


20.7.2002
our final friendly and an emotional day for our assistant manager paquito as his former side las palmas arrive for battle.i hand first starts to hurtado,jayo,kuffour and bonomi.after really low crowds for the earlier games it was nice to see over 3600 turn out to see the new raith rovers.good early play by thomson in the 7 minute saw him set up the opener for prest but just like in earlier games we were pegged back at half time when carmelo scored with their only effort.second half was completely one sided .prest set up thomson for 2-1.kuffour slotted home a penalty for 3-1.substitute vargas set up prest for 4-1 and 6 mins from the end vargas slotted home a penalty to give us a 5-1 victory.once again our two strikers have linked up well and should score a lot off goals in the impending season.a great performance and hopefully enough to entice the 3600 crowd back every week to cheer us on.


1.8.2002
the draw is made for the c.i.s challenge cup and we have a home draw against third division outfit east stirling.we are also made 7-4 joint second favourites with ayr united in the race for the title.st johnstone being the 6-4 favs with the bookies to go up.last seasons title winners falkirk(not promoted because of they're ground not being up to scratch if u didn't already know) were a tasty 12-1 but after loosing so many good players in the summer they werent expected to last the pace.

2.8.2002
great news as talented youngster freddy adu is awarded a work permit and joins up with the squad ahead of our first game of the season.

retired_ceb_33

3.8.2002
queen of the south 0 raith rovers 1 great start to the season with a hard fought victory at dumfries.one of the longest trips of the season was worthwhile as the team seemed to gel quickly and the two strikers looking very impressive.thomsons great run set up prest who volleyed home from the edge of the box with only 12 mins remaining to seal the points.
other scores:-ayr united 2 ross county 1,brechin city 1 st johnstone 1,falkirk 5 inverness 0,st mirren 0 clyde 1


10.8.2002
raith rovers 2 falkirk 0 a good crowd of over 3300 turned out for our first home game of the season.after falkirks impressive 5 goal demolition against inverness this was never going to be an easy game.falkirks russell latapy virtually ran the show for the visitors but for bosnich the score would have been different.the first goal in 18 mins was so simple.long free kick into the box by calderon was headed home by thomson.the second was falkirks own undoing.lawries slack infield pass was picked up by kuffour on the half way line and he ran to the edge of the box before rifling home high into the net.another 3 points and another clean sheet so overall not a bad day at the office.
other scores:-clyde 0 queen of the south 0, inverness 0 ayr united 2, ross county 2 brechin city 0, st johnstone 3 st mirren 1.


12.8.2002
former nottingham forest ace bryan roy joins on trial and go's straight into the squad for the challenge cup game on the wednesday.also set to join is former belarusian international alexandr chaika who agrees to sign but must wait till the end off the month for his work permit hearing.the 26 year old left sided defensive midfielder has 16 caps and should fit straight into the side as calderons performances haven't been up to scratch.


14.8.2002
raith rovers 1 east stirling 2 to say this was an embaressment would be an understatement.defeated at home to one of the worst teams in scotland is bad enough but to help them win it like bryan roy did with a shocking pass back just takes the cake.roy's 12min pass back left bosnich in no mans land and full credit to mark campbell for his calm finish to give the visitors the lead.the writing was then on the wall as kuffour missed a 56min penalty and although prest did equalize 12 mins later a header from sean macauley 4 mins from time gave the visitors the victory.

15.8.2002
former psv youngster rene klomp is brought in on trial as cover for jayo who was injured early on in our cup defeat.the 28 year old central midfielder has good stamina and work rate and may be a good addition to the squad.

17.8.2002
ayr united 1 raith rovers 1. somerset park has been a bit of a bogey ground for ourselves for years so i was more than happy to come away with a point.like ourselves ayr had maximum points from they're first 2 games so a tight game was always on the cards.i decided to bring in young ryan blackadder on the left and klomp replaced jayo in the middle.in a game of few chances thomson had an early effort blocked while lyle tested bosnich at the other end.8mins from half time and blackadders cross from the left was headed on by thomson to prest who buried it to give us the half time lead.ayr came out battling in the second half and got theyre reward in the 65min.good play by aaron black and james grady left stewart kean with an easy tap in to give the home side a share of the spoils.
other scores:- brechin city 2 inverness 1,falkirk 2 clyde 0,queen of the south 2 st mirren 0 and ross county 0 st johnstone 0.
even after only 3 games the bookies favs top the table but in this league anything is possible and a couple of wins or a couple of defeats can see u move up high or slide down near the bottom.

retired_ceb_33

24.8.2002
raith rovers 2 brechin city 0 a crowd of over 3000 turned up to see us back on a winning track.to be honest brechin never really threatened and the only surprise is we didnt create and score more chances.the first goal came 6 mins before half time,vargas's long ball found prest clear 40 yards out(looking rather offside) and he raced clear and slotted home.no2 arrived in the 65min and again vargas was the creater.the long ball this time found thomson who played in prest to slam home although the keeper really should have done better.one player who really is playing out his skin at the moment is 19 year old richard brittain down the right hand side.a real one for the future hopefully.
other scores:- clyde 3 ayr united 1, inverness 3 ross county 1, st johnstone 4 queen of the south 0, st mirren 2 falkirk 5.

25.8.2002
scotland legend archie gemmill joins up as chief scout.


27.8.2002
rene klomp signs a 3 1/2 year deal after showing up well in his starts so far.bryan roy signs on till the end of the season and will play and coach in the reserves.

28.8.2002
former newcastle keeper john karelse is signed as cover to bosnich.


29.8.2002
alexandr chaika has his work permit granted and joins up as the close of the transfer window looms.although blackadder has done well i feel his best position is on the right so chaika should walk straight into the first team.


31.8.2002
ross county 0 raith rovers 3 another long trip and another excellent display.chaika in for blackadder was the only change made from last weeks victory.a long range thunderbolt from thomson after 2 mins set us up for a comfortable victory.2 goals in 4 mins from prest completed the scoring before half time.youngster brittain set up his first and new signing chaika set up the other.the home side were rather dissapointing and failed to create 1 effort in the whole off the game.
other scores:-ayr united 3 st mirren 0, brechin city 0 clyde 2, falkirk 1 queen of the south 2, inverness 1 st johnstone 1.
a very worrying start for st mirren who have lost all games so far with a few of them very heavily.needless to say their manager's jacket seems to be on a shaky peg this early in the season.


01.9.2002
my good early work in the job seems to be paying off as i am awarded the manager of the month award for august.


14.9.2002
raith rovers 2 inverness 0 after a 2 week break due to internationals it was good to see we hadnt lost our momentam.kuffour scored the first a 25 yard cracker from the edge of the box after a poor clearance from bobby mann.the killer second came on the 68 min, a long clearance from bonomi was headed on by prest to thomson who's shot was well saved by the keeper but the rebound fell to prest who tucked it away for his 7 goal of the season.
other scores:- ayr united 3 st mirren 0, brechin city 0 clyde 2 , falkirk 1 queen of the south 2, inverness 1 st johnstone 1.

15.9.2002
graham "turnip head" taylor , roger spry and eddie gray are all signed up to help in the coaching of the club.all have good experience and should help the club achieve it goal.


21.9.2002
clyde 0 raith rovers 1 our unbeaten start continues as we scrape a slender victory today at broadwood stadium.although clyde rarely troubled bosnich the same could be said for ourselves.a poor game was spoiled even more by the card happy referee(no change there then).the only goal of the game was scored by thomson in the 32min,heading home a chaika corner.the only other brief note from the game was the 81min introduction of freddy adu who showed some neat touches.
other scores:-falkirk 3 brechin city 3, queen of the south 2 ross county 0, st johnstone 0 ayr united 2, st mirren 2 inverness 2.


28.9.2002
raith rovers 2 st mirren 0 another good day all round.3 points in the bag and a fifth clean sheet in a row for bosnich. it was willie nanouwho was brought in for brittain (rested) that set up the opener.his floated cross from the right found thomson in space inside the box who tucked it away neatly.the second was another long ball upfield by bonomi who found thomson on his own on the centre circle and he exploited the space left by the injured and of the pitch mcgowne to run in on goal and seal the points.
other scores:- brechin city 4 ayr united 1, inverness 2 queen of the south 2, ross county 2 falkirk 1, st johnstone 4 clyde 1.


1.10.2002
our unbeaten start is rewarded again with me being given the manager of the month award for the 2nd month in a row.

5.10.2002
raith rovers 0 st johnstone 1 our first defeat of the season and dissapointingly it came at home from our main title challengers.the first half was very tight and both klomp and prest tested the saints keeper without success.5 mins into the second half and the visitors stole the points with theyre first and only effort on goal.parker's header found the unmarked dods who scored easily.kuffour had an effort 9 mins from time but it wasnt to be and the saints had the win and narrowed the gap at the top of the table.
other scores :- ayr united 0 falkirk 0, brechin city 2 queen of the south 1, inverness 2 clyde 1, ross county 3 st mirren 1.

9.10.2002
st johnstone 3 brechin city 1 the saints close the gap to one point with a comfortable win at home to brechin.


raith rovers 3 queen of the south 0 back to winnings ways with a rather easy 3 goal victory over queen of the south.only sour note being the injury to chaika.the only surprise was it took 30mins to break the visitors down.chaika's teasing cross was headed home by thomson.it was thomson again in the 65min to make it 2,heading home after good play by the recalled richard brittain.the final goal 5mins from time was a cracker.a flowing 5 man move was finished superbly on the volley by leonenko.
other scores:- clyde 3 st mirren 0, inverness 4 falkirk 2, ross county 2 ayr united 0.

retired_ceb_33

oops in all my excitement i forgot to mention how we crashed out of the league cup at the first hurdle.despite having a home game against bitter rivals dunfermline we simply did not rise to the occasion.goals from former raith player stevie crawford on the hour and derek young on full time were enough to see them through.i was more annoyed with the shocking tackle on jorge vargas which left him with a serious knee injury which would sideline him for 9 months.(dirty pars bast**ds)


26.10.2002
falkirk 0 raith rovers 0 once again russell latapy ran the show for the bairns but we were left wondering why we didnt pick up the 3 points particularly when falkirk played most of the second half with 10 men after the sending off of andy lawrie.falkirk came out flying at the beginning and bosnich had to save well twice in the opening 5 mins from lawrie and mcmenamin.prest and thomson had chances but a stalemate was probably a fair reflection in the end.the only winners here being st johnstone who narrowed the gap again at the top.
other scores:- ayr united 0 inverness 2, brechin city 3 ross county 1, queen of the south 0 clyde 0, st mirren 0 st johnstone 3.

2.11.2002
raith rovers 1 ayr united 2 yet another poor home defeat and another central defender lost through a serious knee injury.christanval the unlucky player this time with the same injury as vargas and joins him on the sidelines for 9 months and the rest of the season.the game itself never livened up until 13mins from time when substitute hurtado headed home a chaika corner.the players seemed to think the points were in the bag and took theyre foot of the pedal and were punished big style.8 mins from time and grady robbed chaika and fed the ball to youngster andy ferguson who rifled home from close in.it was grady again in the 2 min of stoppage time this time feeding another ayr youngster in mark mccoll and he sent the visitors home happy.a bad day all round and with st johnstone winning a defeat that knocked us off the top spot.
other scores:- clyde 2 falkirk 0, inverness 2 brechin city 0, st johnstone 2 ross county 0, st mirren 0 queen of the south 2.

9.11.2002
brechin city 1 raith rovers 3 our excellent away record continues and we are still undefeated on our travels.after loosing top spot last week it was important we got back to winnig straight away.again our luck seemed to be in as the sending off of scott mcculloch just on half time seemed to knock the heart out of the home side who were holding theyre own at the time and level at 1-1.thomson kept up his good scoring record to fire us ahead in 17 mins after another cracking cross from brittain.the lead only lasted 4 mins however and an unlucky bounce of freddy adu landed perfectly for grant johnson to simply tap home.prest sent thomson clear on the stroke of half time but he was caught late by mcculloch who was shown the straight red card by the referee.it took just 40 secs at the start of the second half to re-take the lead.excellent tackling by adu to rob the ball and a pin point through ball for thomson who had the easy task of running through and finishing high and hard past the keeper.leonenko secured the points 18mins from time after another great through ball this time by kuffour.with leaders st johnstone winning again this was a much needed win.
other scores:-ayr united 3 clyde 0, falkirk 5 st mirren 1, queen of the south 1 st johnstone 2, ross county 1 inverness 0

11.11.2002
after talking with unlucky defender christanval it was decided to terminate his loan spell and let him go back to barcelona where he would get the best treatment and hopefully for him a speedier recovery.i wished him well and thanked him for his contribution and told him hopefully our paths would cross again sometime soon.

16.11.2002
raith rovers 1 ross county 0 we absolutely battered the side from dingwall and had enough chances to win 3 games never mind 1.the visitors failed to create any chances at all and on another day could have been looking at a hiding if it hadnt have been for theyre keeper.freddy adu made his first start in central midfield and never looked out of place.infact he set up the only goal in the 61min setting up kuffour who sent a screamer past the superb county keeper stewart.prest soon after wasted 3 great chances to add to the tally but it wasnt to be.
other scores :-clyde 3 brechin city 4, queen of the south 3 falkirk 1, st johnstone 1 inverness 0, st mirren 0 ayr united 2.

23.11.2002
st johnstone 1 raith rovers 0 the biggy and once again we cant seem to break down the st johnstone rear guard.a good crowd of 6500 turned up to see us create twice as many chances as the home side but lost out to a 62min penalty from john robertson.thomson and prest both had good chances but craig nelson on the day was just unpassable.to win the league was going to take something special and i had to turn it around in the 2 remaining fixtures against the saints if i was going to succeed.
other scores :-clyde 1 inverness 1, falkirk 5 ayr united 0, queen of the south 1 brechin city 1, st mirren 2 ross county 0. st mirren grab a rare win but still looked doomed to life in the second division next season.

30.11.2002
raith rovers 2 clyde 0 just like after previous defeats the team bounce back with a good win.at a rain soaked san starko once again the visitors are completely shut out with no efforts at all during the 90 mins.adu again shines in the middle of the park but is outshone by prest.kuffour was felled in the box 3mins from half time and it was he who stepped up to slot the spot kick home to give us the interval lead.poor defending 7 mins after the interval left prest with an easy through ball for thomson and the goal machine smacked the ball home to give us the 3 points.chaika and leonenko should have done better and the visitors were lucky not to have potter sent off for a blatant push on leonenko.
other scores :-ayr united 0 st johnstone 2, brechin 5 falkirk 0, inverness 2 st mirren 2, ross county 0 queen of the south 1.



any feedback would be most welcome.i know its not much too look at at the moment but i finished this season a while ago and am looking to pick this game up again where i left off.once this season is done im hoping to add a bit more to the game reviews as it will be fresher in my mind. :p
so enjoy this story if you can and remember happy playing and winning to you all. :thup:

[This message was edited by wigs7 on 04 December 2003 at 1:03.]

retired_ceb_33

7.12.2002
inverness 1 raith rovers 1 an injury time goal cost us another 2 points as again we failed to take our chances in front of goal.both our strikers looked well of the pace and never really threatned the visitors goal.it took the introduction of leonenko on the hour mark to try and win the game for us.indeed he was only on the park for 3 mins when he put us in front.golabek's slack pass across the middle of the park was intercepted by the ukranian and with the keeper miles off his line he lashed the ball high past the keeper and into the unguarded net.he should have doubled the lead 2mins later after good play by thomson but his shot was high and wide.this miss proved costly with liam keogh turning the ball home in stoppage time after good work by paul ritchie.this was made worse with the news that nearest challengers st johnstone had been thrashed at falkirk.
other scores :- ayr united 4 queen of the south 1 , brechin city 3 st mirren 1 , falkirk 4 st johnstone 1 , ross county 3 clyde 0 .

14.12.2002
st mirren 1 raith rovers 2 despite their lowly position and poor overall form this season a crowd of over 6000 turned up at paisley to see an entertaining game.the saints took a lot of credit from this performance and should have maybe have had a share of the spoils.thankfully our 2 strikers turned up today and both scored a goal apiece.the first came in only 6 mins.adu found prest who run 30 yards with the ball before finding the unmarked thomson who calmy slotted the ball home.12 mins later and it was 2.dempsie's poor backpass was intercepted by prest who easily finished from 12 yards out.prest then twice had good efforts saved by woods in the saints goal and kuffour wasted a good chance right on half time.ricky gillies had 4 good chances in the second half before he and annand combined with 6 mins to go to give lavety the easiest goal of his career.substitute leonenko hit the woodwork with a minute to go as we pressed to kill the game off but 2-1 was how it finished.
other scores :- ayr united 4 brechin city 3 , clyde 0 st johnstone 0 , falkirk 3 ross county 4 , queen of the south 1 inverness 1 .

16.12.2002
coach mike miller was relieved of his duties and i would actively seek a quality replacement

21.12.2002
queen of the south 0 raith rovers 1 just like the start of the season the long trip to dumfries produced another clean sheet and another 3 points.the game was held up in the 6min after a clash involving the queens keeper colin scott saw him have to be stretched off with a knee injury.he was replaced by young 17 year old stuart robertson who had a blinder including saving a second half penalty by kuffour.he did have to pick the ball out of the net once though thankfully.good play by kuffour saw his pass knocked on by prest and who else but archie thomson was there to slam the ball home,his 12th league goal of the season.he is fast becoming a fans favourite and no wonder as his partnership in whole with prest has been very fruitful.
other scores :- ayr united 2 ross county 1 , brechin city 3 st johnstone 2 , falkirk 1 inverness 0 , st mirren 3 clyde 0 .

26.12.2002
raith rovers 2 falkirk 1 the final game of the 2002 calendar year and 3300 turned up on boxing day to see us see out the year with another victory.on the day falkirk played every bit as good football as ourselves and it was that man latapy who gave the bairns the lead after 12 mins.his stunning 25 yard free kick flying past the static bosnich.it took us 45 mins to create a shot on target with leonenko's effort saved by the flying ferguson.from the resulting corner however we were level.falkirk's peruvian striker maestri hooking the ball wildly into his own net.the winner came 10 mins into the second half with leonenko (in for the rested thomson) tucking home after good play from prest.thomson came on as a sub and twice tested ferguson late on ,as did the dangerous latapy for the bairns.the final whistle was met with relief by the home fans who went home fairly happy.
other scores :- clyde 2 queen of the south 0 , inverness 4 ayr united 4 , ross county 1 brechin city 2 , st johnstone 2 st mirren 1 .
after the game i decided to tempt the financially struggling falkirk with a £100k bid for man of the match latapy.much to my surprise they accepted and we offered terms to the former hibs and rangers player.

27.12.2002
russell latapy agree's terms and will sign up when the transfer window opens in january.i also send my scouts to follow a young 18 year old lad playing for inverness. richard robb was outstanding against us a few weeks back and was man of the match.

BarryLFC

what version of the game are you playing on? I'm confused as Brechin are in D1, but Ayr have still got Grady, etc...

retired_amyslack

Wigs, like the content but a little more attnention to the formatting would make it more readable. For example, using capital letters where appropriate and having a space or two after a fullstop.

retired_ceb_33

cheers for the comments guys.this game is being played on cm4 with ep5 and a simon treanor update.

BarryLFC

ah