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Kirkwall Town: Premier League First Team Squad 2013/14

Goalkeepers:

Kevin Cuthbert 30, GK
Kevin signed from Hearts for £500,000 as the transfer window creaked shut. He will bring SPL experience to a goalkeeping pool with almost none.

Ryan Milne 19, GK
The former Elgin keeper moved for £325,000 last close season, and backed up Graham Smith after Graeme Smith moved to Ross County. Will begin this season as first choice, and has attracted interest from the Premiership.

Graham Smith 30, GK
After spending a year as #2 to Graeme Smith as we won the Second Division following his move from Dundee, Graham established himself as #1 in the club's two years in D1, losing just 85 goals in 85 games over that period and keeping a mammoth 36 clean sheets. Unlucky to find himself #3 at this stage in his career.

Defenders:

Callum Moffat 24, SW/D C, 1 cap
Callum is now in his fourth season at the club after spending five at Ayr, but playing only once in the last two years at Somerset. Was inspirational in Division Two, and though he struggled in his first season in the First he captained the team to the title last season in some style. Will be looking this season to regain the form that saw him earn international honours at the age of 17, seven years ago.

Tristan Milne 24, SW/D C, U21 cap
Tristan is another player who Bartholomew has managed twice. The manager signed him off the dole when he was at Raith Rovers, and after three successful seasons there he made a £400,000 move to Kirkwall where he was an important player in their late season revival to push Motherwell in an eventual second place finish. Was more of a bit part player last season, but with this team's propensity for picking up injuries will be needed this time around.

John Barclay 28, D RC, 1 cap
John spent nine years at Motherwell before joining Kirkwall at the same time as Tristan Milne. A utility player in the club's first season in the First Division, he started at right back last term, and played well. Will find his place under threat from Rob Wright this term though.

Rob Wright 23, D R, U21 cap
Rob was signed for Ayr by Bartholomew for £170,000 in the summer of 2007, but after the manager left he made just three appearances in five seasons, and after failing to start for Queen of the South in a loan spell he made a £425,000 move to Kirkwall last summer, and will look to break into the team this season.

Winston Murray 23, D/DM RLC
Winston cost the best part of a million pounds when Kirkwall signed him in January 2012, and he was a major player in the revival that season, and a vital cog in the wheel last season. His versatility is a major asset.

Calver Fisher 22, D LC, U21 cap
Fisher made a £1.3m move from Aston Villa on deadline day in January to shore up the defence as Kirkwall clinched the First Division title. He is a starter at centre back for now, and has the pedigree to be a long-term player in this team. Five years at Celtic as a teenager saw him debut at age 16 in the first team, before moving to Villa at 19 where he played 75 games.

Midfielders:

Fayzulla Christie 21, D/DM C, 4 U21 caps
Fayzulla started out at Inverness where he broke into the first team at age 15 and started for three seasons before Partick poached him for £40,000 in 2010. Eighteen months later he was on the move again and in his first season at Kirkwall last year he played 27(1) games, scored four goals and allowed the team to not even skip a beat as Ed Ross and Aaron Dunn went down with long term injuries.

Aaron Dunn 24, DM RC
A product of the Ayr United youth scheme during Bartholomew's time at the club, Dunn made his breakthrough in a loan spell at Inverness in 2006/07, but played only 6(7) games for Ayr before joining Kirkwall, and playing a key role in the Third and Second Division triumphs. Foudhis place under threat with the arrival of Ed Ross, but serious injuries saw him miss all but one game last season. Now fully fit and looking to make an impact.

Ed Ross 24, DM C, U21 cap
Ed was poached from Hamilton by Ayr in 2006/07, and though he broke into the Ayr team after a loan spell at Clyde, he eventually fell out of favour, and loan spells at Wolfsburg and Kirkwall were followed with a permanent move here last summer for £850,000. Injuries limited him to 11 games last season as Christie played most matches, but will be looking to play this term. Sadly though is already starting to miss games through injury again.

Roger Milne 25, M R
Another Ayr youth product, Roger joined Kirkwall when they were Berwick, and then moved to Cowdenbeath before Bartholomew bought him back about 6 months later, and he has been instrumental in each of the last three seasons. Whether he is SPL calibre remains to be seen, but the signing of Darren Campbell puts him under pressure.

Dave Ross 22, M L, U21 cap
Dave moved from Livi this close season, but snapped his cruciate in his debut. A tragic moment, but he has great mental strength, and will look to return before this season is out.

Anton Eadie 26, M C
Anton joined Ayr in a £20,000 move from Celtic during Bartholomew's time, but never played a game in five years. Bartholomew brought him to Kirkwall and he has rewarded his manager's faith with 53 goals from midfield in 104(44) games. He has become a star, and if he can do it in the SPL then surely Scotland honours are a formality?

Darren Campbell 27, AM/F R, U21 cap
The word "enigma" was devised for Darren Campbell. After a £250,000 move from Reading to Ayr he looked set to move forward and become an international star, yet despite playing 295(27) games for Ayr he never really showed the consistency you'd expect, and 32 goals in no great return. Still, just about Kirkwall's entire summer transfer budget was required to make the signing happen, and the player himself agreed to a 50% wage cut, so perhaps some ambition subsists.

Brian Taylor 20, AM C
Brian is a Celtic youth product who was freed and picked up when Kirkwall were in the Second Division. He played 8(9) times that year and was unimpressive and didn't play in the following campaign. Injuries handed him a chance last term and he grabbed it with both hands, scoring 5 goals, creating 27 and earning a 7.54 average over 39 games.

Forwards:

Tom Brighton 29, F LC
Tom hasn't made the most of his career, for certain. He played for Rangers once in 2001/02 at the age of 17, but never broke through and was released. Peterhead snapped him up and after four games Ayr paid £110,000 to bring him in. Loan spells at Raith and Cowdenbeath were unspectacular and Kirkwall signed him on a Bosman. His second year here was his best, scoring eight goals as we won the Second Division, but when Stenny offered to sign him with no cash up front, but £775,000 after 10 goals we accepted. He managed 4 goals in his first campaign, but fell out of favour, and with Stenhousemuir threatening to sell him on we stepped back in to pay £35,000 and reclaim his services. Two goals in 7(4) games at the tail end of last season was decent, and this season he will look to add to his solitary career SPL goal, scored for Ayr in 2006/07, seven seasons ago.

Darren Smith 28, F C, U21 cap
Darren was a prospect at Hibs and Dundee United, and Ayr were persuaded to pay £750,000 for him in 2007/08. 4(3) games and two years later Kirkie paid a similar amount and he has been a top player. Eleven goals in the Third, Ten in the Second and 24 over two years in the First, the first of those ravaged by injury, culminated last season with 19 of those 24 and the fans' Player of the Year award. he is a dangerous player with a chequered injury past. he is again receiving surgery for a groin injury as we speak.

Charles Collins 19, S C
Killie released Collins almost as soon as he graduated from their youth scheme, and Kirkie snapped him up. Eleven goals in 18(27) games over two seasons is not too shabby. Has attracted interst from England, but is staying for now.

Biswajit Dierickx 20, S C, 10 U21 caps, 3 goals
Rangers released Biswajit after playing 1(4) games at age 15, and he found his way to Third Division Kirkie where 49 goals in 117(7) games have made him a modern day club legend. Still eligible for the national U21 side, but success this season should see him safely into the national team.

Lee Miller 30, S C, 2 caps, 1 goal
Lee made his name at Falkirk and after a spell at Bristol City he burst back on to the Scottish scene with Kilmarnock. A controversial move to Ayr followed, but 29 goals there was all he managed before he moved on loan to Olympiakos where 18 goals in 27 games persuaded Hearts to sign him on a Bosman. He has been at his best there with 51 goals in three years before this summer's move to Kirkwall where he is reunited with his former manager at Ayr, Iain Bartholomew. His goals will come in handy for a Kirkwall side robbed of Hector Wilson by cash-rich First Division Livingston. Still, £5,000,000 is value for Wilson, and £0 for Miller balances our books nicely.

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Kirkwall

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Kirkwall Kirk Arse

With the January transfer window closing, now is as good a time as any to assess the SPL, and even the most cursory glance shows First Division Champions Kirkwall streaking clear at the top of the league against all the odds. With the Old Firm distinctly off the boil, and other challengers beating up on each other the Orkney side have taken advantage to romp clear of the pack.

Having won the First by ten points last season the 14 point gap this is verging on outrageous, and is a reward for consistency, and an uncanny ability to turn draws into wins, as their 17-3-2 record testifies. Kirkie have scored 11 more goals than the next highest scorers, Celtic who are 7th, and conceded 10 fewer than Hearts and Aberdeen who have the joint 2nd best defences. At the foot of the table Albion Rovers trail 11th place Ayr by five points, with Rangers a further six points clear.

Goalkeeper Ryan Milne, Biswajit Dierckx and Winston Murray have been sensational all season, and Dierickx' 15 league goals is second only to Dunfermline's Kristjánsson, who is the division's best player for the 11th consecutive season. Anton Eadie has been sharing time in midfield with Tom Brighton, the former has ten goals in all competitions from 18(4) games, the latter 4 in 8(9). Kirkie have lost two goals in a single match once this season, a 2-2 draw with Dunfermline in mid-August, have won their last four matches without conceding a goal, and are unbeaten in all competitions since September 21st, a 1-0 loss in Aberdeen, a total of twenty matches. With a League Cup semi final, like last year against Motherwell, and a Scottish Cup 4th Round game at home to Ayr to come, things look good for Kirkwall Town FC.

One slight issue surrounds chairman Rhuaridh MacDonald who, it seems, does not have Orkney ancestors after all. The entrepreneur claimed Orcadian heritage and learned Gaelic in his 40s, but a local murmer has become something of a scandal, and given that Gaelic was never spoken on Orkney further investigations ensued. MacDonald has laughed off the revelations, remarking that "the Orcadians have made me feel at home, and despite my factual error, I am proud to be an honorary Orcadian myself. I retain a passion for the Gaelic language however, and make no apology for that." The scandal has obviously not derailed the team nor the support, both of whom look forward to the rest of the season keenly.

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Kirkie Double Clouded As Row Re-emerges

Kirkwall Town's historic league and cup double was somewhat overshadowed last week as the simmering feud between manager Iain Bartholomew and chairman Rhuaridh MacDonald erupted and threatened to signal the end of the manager's association with the club.

Bartholomew was quoted in the press in the week following his side's clinching of the title with seven games to go as saying that managing either of the struggling Old Firm sides "would be an interesting challenge". MacDonald took the comments as a personal slur, and the rift was not papered over. The support, whilst delighted at the on-field success, seem to have been convinced that the rumblings are once again down to Bartholomew, and are largely siding with MacDonald. Bartholomew is presently in China at the World Cup - whether he has a job to return to remains to be seen.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts </pre><pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st C Kirkwall 38 26 6 6 75 26 +49 84 </pre><pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2nd Hearts 38 17 11 10 53 38 +15 62 3rd Dunfermline 38 17 8 13 62 47 +15 59 4th Aberdeen 38 15 14 9 52 37 +15 59 5th Motherwell 38 17 8 13 55 53 +2 59 6th Rangers 38 14 10 14 51 52 -1 52 -----------------------------------------------------7th Morton 38 14 11 13 49 48 +1 53 8th Celtic 38 14 9 15 68 68 0 51 9th Dundee Utd 38 11 8 19 39 51 -12 41 10th Kilmarnock 38 12 5 21 45 75 -30 41 11th Ayr 38 7 13 18 37 60 -23 34 12th R Albion Rovers 38 8 9 21 42 73 -31 33 </pre>

Peacemaker7

Bah Boring. :p

Well done HD

Now all you need is some readers

Harleqin

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by HD:

_Grant Brebner (Central midfield)_ Grant played most of last season, and produced a goal voted third best in the SPL by a panel in the 1-0 win over Partick in January. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is this actually a feature in the new version or just artistic freedom?

Good story HD. Keep it up :thup:

bjorn

congratulations HD

keep it up :thup:

HD

Cheers guys.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Is this actually a feature in the new version or just artistic freedom? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

An actual feature

HD

Bartholomew heals rift with MacDonald, takes on new job

In the wake of Argentina's World Cup victory (Holland, Mexico and the USA coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively) Iain Bartholomew returned to Orkney for showdown talks with chairman Rhuaridh MacDonald with a job offer from the FA in his back pocket. The upshot of the meeting was that Bartholomew retained his job as manager of Kirkwall, and took on the added responsibility of managing the English national team as they attempted to qualify for Euro 2016.

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England Squad: Ukraine v England, 6/9/14; England v Bosnia, 10/9/14

Goalkeepers:

Adu Sunday Barnes 32, 8 caps, Arsenal
The former Manchester United and Blackburn keeper is the undisputed #1.

Stuart Taylor 33, Middlesbrough
Taylor has never played for England despite being 33 now. Has played for Arsenal and Blackburn in the past, but is now in his sixth season up north.

Adonay Woods 25, 1 cap, Manchester United
The future number one, is third choice for now.

Defenders:

Jonathan Woodgate 34, 43 caps, Newcastle
The veteran is now in his thirteenth season at Newcastle where he is still first choice. No longer an automatic pick for his country however, and remains in the squad only as a result of injuries to younger players.

John Terry 33, 35 caps, Chelsea
Now in his eighteenth season as a Chelsea player, Terry is on the wane, and like Woodgate is included only due to the misfortune of others.

Simon Francis 29, Juventus
The former Bradford and Kilmarnock player is in his fifth campaign as a Serie A regular, and is first choice at right back for the Ukraine game.

Tony Hadley 25, 1 cap, Manchester United
Tony is forcing his way into the Manchester United team year-on-year, and is teh best left back currently available to England.

Glen Johnson 30, 37 caps, 5 goals, Chelsea
Glen is a first choice centre-back for these matches, but is now a veteran, and will find his place under threat when injuries clear up elsewhere.

Steven Taylor 28, Newcastle
The Newcastle stalwart has surprisingly never played for England. That will be remedied when he starts against the Ukraine.

Gareth Barry 33, 52 caps, 2 goals, Manchester United
Gareth Barry's name is intrinsically linked to Manchester United and in particular their European Cup win in 2013. He is getting on in years now, but injuries allow him a place on the bench this week.

James McEveley 29, 20 caps, 4 goals, Blackburn
McEveley is a versatile player, and his experience is a valuable asset to his manager at club level, and at national team level.

Midfielders:

Jermaine Jenas 31, 59 caps, 9 goals, Celtic
Jermaine has just moved north to join Celtic in an £8.25m deal. He is still the best option for England in a holding midfield role, but there are a number of pretenders to his throne.

David Prutton 32, 9 caps, 1 goal, Southampton
Prutton is a versatile backup at international level, no more. Unlikely to feature in this week's games.

John Welsh 30, 4 caps, 2 goals, Manchester United
John is a backup to Jermaine Jenas, and has perhaps missed the boat as starter for his country as younger alternatives break through. Has a successful career at Liverpool and United to his name however.

Jim White 22, U21 cap, Rangers
Jim moved to Rangers for £6,000,000 a year or so ago, and is the natural successor to Jenas in the heart of the England engine room. His club's struggles may count against him though.

Scott Parker 33, 9 caps, Arsenal
After a spell at Barcelona the former Charlton midfielder found a home at Arsenal where he has won three European Cups. Now at the tail end of his career, he is unlikely to have a role to play for England except in an emergency.

Ben Watson 29, U21 cap, Real Madrid
The former Palace midfielder has been a squad member for Real since January 2004, and has played in over 80 games for the club. He has talent, but is not an intuitive pick for his country at this time.

Oscar Cox 22, U21 cap, Arsenal
Oscar is an old fashioned winger who has a bright future ahead of him at club and international level. His time will come, but not this week.

Rohan Ricketts 31, 7 caps, 1 goal, Tottenham
The Spurs legend has fewer caps than he perhaps deserves, but nonetheless is probably unlikely to gain many more at this stage in his career.

James Milner 28, 1 cap, Leeds
Milner was a boy wonder once upon a time, but has never been an England starter. Will have a chance to right that situation in Kiev.

Boucif Wright 25, Portsmouth
The former Arsenal winger will make his international debut in the next game due to a late withdrawal from the squad by Joe Cole. Has the ability, but has he the composure?

Forwards:

Wayne Rooney 28, 56 caps, 21 goals, Everton
Rooney's goalscoring record is exceptional, but I want to use him in a midfield role in the next couple of games. We will see how well he adapts.

David Bentley 30, U21 cap, Middlesbrough
The former Arsenal, Dundee, Dundee United, Celtic, Falkirk and Hearts player has never been prolific, per se, but has other qualities. Injury will keep him out of at least the Ukraine game though.

Terry Cooke 29, 20 caps, 6 goals, Manchester United
Manchester United and England's number nine, Cooke is the best striker around at the moment, though he could do with scoring more goals.

Jermaine Defoe 31, U21 cap, West Ham
Jermaine has ludicrously never been capped. Not only will he make his England debut for me aged 31, I expect him to be around for the duration of the campaign.