Welcome to the Dragon's Den - the Chairmen's battle to the top of Scottish Football

[bermybhoy]

Welcome to the Dragon's Den
With money burning a hole in his back pocket and keen to give something back to Scottish Football, the Dragon invited ambitious young hopefuls to try and persuade him to part with his cash to fund their dreams of owning and running their own Scottish football club. He might be wealthy but he's not inclined to throw money away; therefore, the Dragon went through a rigorous selection process to choose which applicants would be worthy of spending his cash for the purposes of buying and rejuvanating a 3rd Division team.

Each had to come up with a solid business plan, spending money on improving their club's reputation; a new stadium; advertising to persuade people to come and fill the stadium; improving the desirability of the town; training and youth facilities; a donation to charity to 'prove' their quality as chairman and finally spending money to recruit a manager. The business plans (and revisions) can be viewed in this thread.

Scottish Division 3 - season 2007/08 - the clubs

Here is an introduction to the clubs funded by the generous Dragon and run by the young entrepreneurs:

Albion Rovers - Chairman: NepentheZ
Club info
Paul "Warlock" Wallace - Club manager - this guy looks the best talent in the division and the best thing ever to come from Coatbridge. Can they hang onto him?
Media prediction: 9th

Arbroath - Chairman: ~Ian~
Club info
Matt Skiba - A big fan of Arborath smokies, he can spot a player, but not so much potential; lets hope he gets good backroom staff if he's to develop the club long term.
Media prediction: 1st


Berwick Rangers - Chairman: glennuk
Club info
Josh Crane - Has a lot of talent. With the chairman's backing could really do a job for the English team.
Media prediction: 3rd

Dumbarton - Chairman: Robbo3d
Club info
Nikon Jevtik - Named after a make of camera and looks like the weakest manager in the league. His team might struggle to fill their massive 20,000 stadium if hee doesn't impress.
Media prediction: 6th

East Stirling - Chairman: rlipscombe
Club info
Archie McFergus - Looks distinctly average. Will be hoping to do well though and avoiding the locals going back to watch the erstwhile biggest team in Falkirk, Falkirk, instead.
Media prediction: 7th

Elgin - Chairman: Arkitekt88
Club info
Carl Vasquez - Appears to be a better coach than manager, but has bags of potential. Might be one for the future. The media think so - predicted to finish bottom.
Media prediction: 10th

Forfar - Chairman: paulhartman71
Club info
James Hartson-Harris - Again this guy doesn't look the best, but might well improve in future. Not great at spotting players, which is a drawback for a team with no players.
Media prediction: 5th

Montrose - Chairman: 5ergio
Club info
Mengana - 2nd only to the Warlock in terms of managerial talent, should be able to bring in a good mix of established players and younsters.
Media prediction: 2nd

Stenhousemuir - Chairman: bermybhoy
Club info
Henke - The legendary Swede will be hoping to get the fans flocking from all over the Stenny and Larbert metropolis to watch his side. Looks a well above average talent.
Media prediction: 4th

Stranraer - Chairman: Walcott's Wonderkids
Club info
Brucie Bonus - This guy looks like he has a bit of talent. If it doesn't work out might find himself on the first ferry out of town.
Media prediction: 8th

So there we have it. At this stage, none of the teams have any players, so there's no point showing squads. It also means the bookies predictions are pretty arbitrary. The key this season is likely to be which teams can fill their squad with a decent standard of player.

How are they going to get on? Now you know how the clubs are set up and how good the managers are, let's have some predictions....

[rlipscombe]

don't agree with Archie being 'average'!! ha ha good to see he's a fan of attacking football. can't predict too much at the moment, as pretty level playing field. all i will say is it's going to be interesting!!

let the games begin!

[glennuk]

No players at all? OOOH gunna be tough, i thought a few youngsters may have turned up.

Ahh well.

I think the top 3 will be

1.Montrose (Good manager, Decent chance of getting top)
2. Berwick (I am biased)
3. Stenhousemuir (Based on the great manager)

[PaulHartman71]

'Not great at spotting players, which is a drawback for a team with no players.'

Oh dear

[bermybhoy]

No players at all? OOOH gunna be tough, i thought a few youngsters may have turned up.

No they all have newgen youth players. You wouldn't want to be seeing out the season with them though, obviously.

Will do an end of transfer window report to start with and see who's managed to bring a few players in...

[glennuk]

Cool no rush but any ideas when it will be up?

[arkitekt88]

just a note my training and youth points are the wrong way round than what i put in my business plan :s
predicted last???? omg, my club needs to look long term Rome wasnt built in a day

[~Ian~]

Media prediction of first, oh yeah!

[rlipscombe]

when do the media ever get it right though....

[robbo3d]

Why do i get the feeling this could all go wrong? Without suggar daddy in charge, we need to make sure we fill the stadium. Otherwise we could be heading for a financial crisis.

The manager is poor as expected so the sooner he is replaced, the better. I dont expect us to challenge for the title in the first year.

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Brucie Bonus doesn't look too bad, shame he doesn't have a slightly higher 'working with youngsters' stat than 12. Still, good tactical stat could be handy this season.


Hopefully Stranraer have a few semi-decent youngsters that can be used to booster the squad this season.

Aiming for mid-season I reckon.

KUTGW

[bermybhoy]

Cool no rush but any ideas when it will be up?

Will try and get an update or two done tonight.

I've run it on and from what I see there's been a number of signings, but they're struggling to spend big. The problem there is probably the league they're in, as it's reputation is a massive 2 (/20).

Astute loan signings might be the key in season 1.

just a note my training and youth points are the wrong way round than what i put in my business plan :s
predicted last???? omg, my club needs to look long term Rome wasnt built in a day

Arrghhh. I knew I'd mess something up. Really sorry mate. If it all goes pear shaped at elast you can blame someone else now

Why do i get the feeling this could all go wrong? Without suggar daddy in charge, we need to make sure we fill the stadium. Otherwise we could be heading for a financial crisis.

The manager is poor as expected so the sooner he is replaced, the better. I dont expect us to challenge for the title in the first year.

My understanding of how it works is that your stadium is guaranteed to have approx your average attendance figure, so no worries there - initially. If they do poorly though, this will drop over time.

I like your long term thinking too. All of these clubs are already on a par with a few Div 1 or clubs, I would estimate. With the funding they have, they should all, in time, make progress. The main restriction is the single automatic promotion spot and lottery of the potential second one through the play offs...

[bermybhoy]

I'm 75% sure there's a grammatical error in the title of this, but can't quite put my finger on it. The 'Chairmen's' bit just doesn't look quite right.

Anyway, if anyone has preferences for any specific screenshots they want to see later, let me know. I'll do transfers and results so far at least.

[rlipscombe]

i think mainly we're looking for squad, transfers and maybe key players??

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

I think the screenshots I would find interesting are:

Squad list with positions and also wage amounts.

The clubs fixtures page showing an overview of our results.

Transfers.

The league table graph screenie - quite like this one as it gives you an overview of how our team has gone up and down the league for each round of matches.

Oh and ofcourse the basic league table screenie.

[freek_teek]

Altough I'm not in this one, I'll be following it with interest.

With regards to which screenshots to post, I think the finances overview may also be interesting. (From what I've seen from the Dragon's Den it is after all the goal to make money)

[~Ian~]

That's not a bad point, could have some sort of ongoing look at where the teams are in the World most expensive clubs list as well.

[PaulHartman71]

i'm not too fussed with the screenies, the only way to do it really is for Bermy to post them, and then for us to say if we want any others

[bermybhoy]

All good ideas; will try and incorporate them as best possible.

So we have:

• squad with stats
• squad with wages
• transfers
• key player (will probably restrict this to highest average rating or top scorer)
• club results
• league table
• league progress graph
• rich list (probably makes sense jut to do this for Scotland)

If there's anything else I'm open to requests.

I'm glad I restricted this to 10

[PaulHartman71]

Sounds about right Bermy

[bermybhoy]

End of first transfer window update

The prediction of almost everyone involved is that success in the first season is probably largely dependant on each team ability to get in some decent players. All have started out with no senior players, only newgen youth players, so the need is urgent.

With the in mind, how did the transfer window go for each team?


Taking them in alphabetical order, Albion Rovers were also very active, the Warlock splashing £69k of Nep's money. Most expensive signing is Chris Fahey, the manager taking the view that a solid keeper is the base to work from.

Arbroath signed a team worth of players including loans at a cost of £51k. Again the most expensive player is a keeper, with the money going on rockstar Tommy Lee. Think Pammy has moved to Arbroath as well?

Berwick are maybe taking the quality over quanitity approach, with only 8 players in, costing £80k. They made the biggest transfer, spending £70k on Murray Davidson. The fans will be hoping he's better than the stats suggest.

Dumbarton were very active, with 14 coming in, decimating the Queen's Park squad in the process. All this at of course no cost because they ain't got no money. Still, I've picked out Richard Bowers, who is maybe pick of the bunch.

The Shire managed to spend £81k on just 7 players, casting their net as wide as Australia. Biggest signing at £45k is defender Mark Baxter, who looks a prospect.

Elgin were strangely quiet, with boss Carl Vasquez perhaps taking the media's predictions of last place to heart, by spending only £1k on 7 players to his chairman's bemusement. That money was spent on veteren defender Alex Burns.

Forfar managed to bring in 13 players, raiding Brechin, Stirling and poor Queen's Park repeatedly. William Dyer cost a whopping £28k to fill the left back role, but it's hard to see why.

Montrose splashed the most cash, with £155k going on 8 players, Stirling being the main beneficiaries, providing 3 players including top signing Scott Christie, a quality looking keeper.

My own Stenhousemuir, brought in 13 players at a cost of £94k. The biggest signing was Calum Smith a decent striker who's made a good start to the season.

Stranraer boss Brucie Bonus was another who was quiet, signing only 7 players for all of £5k. The 'biggest' was journeyman centre back Chris Robertson.

Well, that's all they have to work with til January when reinforcements can again be brought in. As might be expected, those who were least active have generally made the worst starts. Fastest out the blocks though, was the mighty Stenny! Get in there! With just 4 games gone, the league table looks like this.

The cups start early in Scotland, and there's little to write home about. Only 2 clubs made it to the second round of the CIS cup, Arbroath and East Stirling crashing out to Motherwell and Dundee respectively.

In the Challenge Cup, Montrose had a brilliant 3-2 win a D1 Stirling, Albion Rovers saw off Sranraer on pens and Arboath slaughtered in-debt Dumbarton 6-0, each making it to the second round, all our other team falling at the first hurdle.

There's a long, long way to go this season......

[PaulHartman71]

Signed 13 players, although sitting 8th in the league which is rather dissapointing.

Great Update Bermy btw

[NepentheZ]

Fantastic effort Bermy. I'm far and away the best manager there too

A nice cup win.

If the league has started, would it be possible to see monthly tables?

[bermybhoy]

Fantastic effort Bermy. I'm far and away the best manager there too

A nice cup win.

If the league has started, would it be possible to see monthly tables?

I ran it onto the end of December already, so I'm afraid not. I can do it in future though.

[robbo3d]

Good update Bermy.

Not a bad start in the league but what happened in the cup!
We have let in 7 in the league and 6 in the cup so it looks like we are struggling in defence/in goal.

My prediction was that quantity may be more useful than quality and it looks like i've brought in the most players so i'm happy. Bowers looks ok, obviously i cant tell about the others. I'll be happy as long as we have signed players for each position.


What are my attendances like? Do i actually fill the ground?

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Stranraer doing me proud!

Nice to see that shelling out only $7k during the summer has paid dividends!!!

Nice update, KUTGW

[rlipscombe]

good start for the shire. can't argue with 2nd. Baxter looks like an astute signing from Archie McFergus. i knew he was good.....

[~Ian~]

Looks like arbroath are a cup team then. Haven't made a great start in the league but getting through the first rounds of both cups was good, especially the thrashing off Dumbarton. My apologies to the Dumbarton manager.

KUTGW Bermy.

[lolleyj]

I'm not playing this, but it is a good read ,

My Tip is Stenhousemuir 1st with Dumbarton running them into a close 2nd

[glennuk]

KUTGW

Any chance of seeing the leagu table how it stands now?

Asyou said you holidayed up to December.

Hopefully Berwick find some more players from somwhere!

Also any chance to post out full squads? Including youth players, i jsut mean the kind of Squad Selection screen.

[bermybhoy]

Update - 1 Jan 2008
By now, half the season has come and gone. Here's how the teams have fared so far...

Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)
Results 1
Results 2
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Nikon Jevtik)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Henke)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)
Results
Squad ratings
Squad contracts

Cups
Challenge Cup
Arbroath went on a great run, beating 1st division Dundee 2-1 away, before falling at home to Airdrie Utd, the eventual winners in the semi-final. None of our other teams made it past the 2nd round.

Scottish Cup
The 4th round is where the big boys come in, and three of our teams have made it through that far. Berwick secured the best result, thumping D2 East Fife 4-1 and will travel to Stirling (who Montrose have beaten this season) for the next round. Also through are Forfar and cup specialists Arbroath who take on D2 sides Raith (h) and Ayr (a) respectively.

Division 3
This is what really matters. Although this is long-term, promotion in the first season could be key to rapid progress up the leagues. With 19 games played, the league table looks like this. Again, GET IN THERE! But it's tight at the top, only the bottom 3 are too far out of the picture to be promotion/play off contenders. Biggest win so far has been the top v bottom mismatch, with Stenny drubbing Dumbarton 6-1 away.

Dumbarton's gamble on taking on massive debt looks decidedly dodgy now, as they sit rooted to the bottom. Their poor results mean that their massive stadium is far from full each week, although they are still well out in front in the average attendence stakes. On Dec 15, boss Nikon Jevtik became the first managerial casuality of the campaign, sacked by the ruthless David Robinson. In his place came the hugely experienced Alex Smith (screenshot to follow later).

Division 3 players stats - Calum Smith of Stenhousemuir is looking like the top player of the year contender, sitting out in front for average ratings and top scorer. Other top performers are Wood of Montrose, Kelly of Forfar and Templeman of Arbroath. The strikers are on top in this division.

General
Rich list - Division 3 dominates the list, after the Old Firm, the big two from Edinburgh and Queen's Park. Is it inevitable that our clubs will begin to challenge at the top end in future?
Manager job security - Anyone else hoping their manager's for the bullet better not hold their breath...

[PaulHartman71]

Forfar in 3rd \o/, also Kelly looking very good. 9th in the rich list \o/

KUTGW Bermy

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Stranraer not bottom anymore \o/

7th in the rich list is pretty good, especially as Queens Park doesn't really count.

I've even had the odd exciting win, such as 5-3 at home to Montrose. Going through a bit of poor form at the moment though.

I see the odd player I even recognise in my squad - Paul Telfer anyone!

KUTGW

[rlipscombe]

not happy with the slide down to 7th in the League and out of the cup... to Arbroath? who are they? overall, pretty happy so far though. at least the Shire are performing better with me in charge.....

[glennuk]

Hmm not too bad only 2 points from playoffs, and a good away draw with stenny at their ground.

I think Janurary is going to be a big month for Berwick Rangers and will be interesting to see the next update

[bermybhoy]

About to do another sneaky little update. Trying to come up with a template for these to cut down the time it takes, these might be a bit bland but hopefully allow more frequent updates. That said, not sure how much I'll do over the weekend so don't hold your breath.

[bermybhoy]

Update - 1 Feb 2008

Transfer update
With another transfer window, the clubs have had a chance to try and improve their fortunes or secure their lofty positions...

Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)
Transfers - Among the busiest in the tranfer market, but no real inspired looking signings as yet. Screpis coming in from Hearts should improve the midfield once he starts playing.

Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)
Transfers - Brought in a couple of youngsters on loan and some more cash found itself heading to Stirling, including £22k on left back Ross Forsyth. Brought in 2 defenders, a winger and striker.

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)
Transfers - Biggest signing was the veteran striker James Grady who still looks more than capable of doing a turn at this level. Evans is another 33 year old midfielder and Campion a young defender.

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Alex Smith)
Transfers - Like Albion's boss, new man Alex Smith is trying to get them out of trouble by signing a whole squadron of players. Unfortunately, none of them look all that good at all.

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)
Transfers - Only one more permanent signing, midfielder Cairney looks pretty decent.

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)
Transfers - Vasquez has been steadily bringing players in despite his slow start. Matt Somner looks the pick, he was released by Notts Co.

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)
Transfers - Just a couple of signings this time, being a young striker, Wilkes and the very adaptable Danny Hall

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)
Transfers - Biggest signing was Thompson for £80k. He's adaptable and looks equally good on the right wing or up front.

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Henke)
Transfers - Only two more signings, both young centre backs. Look decent though, Henke knows what he's doing.

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)
Transfers - Brucie Bonus still resolutely determined not to spent cash, and it could hurt them. No screenshots as you don't want to see these guys, trust me.

Scottish Cup
In the 4th Round, Berwick were beaten 2-0 at Stirling and Forfar went down 1-0 to Raith. However, Arbroath again showed great cup form, thoroughly outplaying Ayr Utd to win 2-0 at home. Their reward is a visit from Hearts.

Division 3
League table - With another 4 games played, it's still tight at the top, Montrose keeping Stenhousemuir well in their sights. It's starting to look like a two horse race, but things can change quickly. Poor Albion and Dumbarton are now well adrift at the bottom.

[robbo3d]

What is going on! Looks like my gamble isnt paying off. At least the manager has gone, i always intended on him only being a short term measure. It will be interesting to see how good the new man is, although with none of his signings even warranting a screenshot, i am not getting my hopes up. Roll on next season.

[rlipscombe]

it's all about quality, not quantity at the 'Shire. Cairney looks a good siging. well done Archie. Now turn a few of those draws into wins.....

[glennuk]

Hmm grady looks like a gamble, i think we will finish in the playoffs with the mighty Berwick overtaking Forfar in the next few months.

[robbo3d]

It surprised me how many signings clubs made. From past experience, i have seen clubs starting with no players struggle to sign more than 5/6. This hasnt happened here and it has meant that a couple of quality signings can win you the league. The first season was never going to be my year with such a poor manager in charge at the start of the season. I'm just hoping that i dont suffer the embarrassment of finishing bottom.

[~Ian~]

Wahey, still going great in the cups. Hearts is going to be a very tough game, would be a huge accomplishment to beat them though.

Sixth in the league is a bit disappointing, but there's still time to improve on that. Forsyth looks like a good new left-back, and if Templeman keeps firing in the goals we could grab a play-off spot.

Good updates Bermy, KUTGW.

[5ergio]

Second as predicted by the media. Lowest on the average attendances, maybe the only downside of Montrose at the moment. I really hope that we can hold on to Mengana, he is a great talent and a possible replacement could hamper our chances of improvement in the next year. Awesome updates bermybhoy. KUTGW mate.

[lolleyj]

As a Neutral, my tip of stenhousemuir is going well for 1st, not to sure why i chose Dumbarton for 2nd, You and your team have let me down Robbo

[NepentheZ]

I'm 9th

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Firmly in 8th place now - although I have picked up a few points since the previous update.

Still, media prediction of 8th is looking fairly solid!

KUTGW

[PaulHartman71]

Danny Hall looks quite good, 4th not sure whether to be pleased or not please yet. KUTGW Bermy

[PaulHartman71]

Right, as you may or may not know early tomorrow morning I will be going away for a week, which as you may or may not realise, means I will not be able to post in this thread until I am back.

[glennuk]

OH NO what are the CSE forums going to do?

LOL just noticed you just posted on about 6 or 7 threads.

Lol come back soon and watch Berwick rise to the top of the table

[bermybhoy]

Update - 1 Mar 2008

Scottish Cup
Arbroath's big game in the 5th round against Hearts would end in heart break, going down 0-3 at home but coming out with a lot of credit, pressing against 10 men but going out after 2 late goals.

Division 3
League table - Stenhousemuir are going through a sticky spell, allowing Montrose to deplace them at the top. Elgin briefly hit the top and Forfar are hanging in there. Any for those 4 can realisically win it. At the bottom, Albion Rovers are putting together a decent run, too late for this season but it looks like condemning Dumbarton to bottom spot.

Team stats - Forfar hitting form at exactly the right time for a late push.
Player stats - Smith and Wood still well out in front as top performers.

Forfar's Hartson-Harris took manager of the month. The history of past winners looks like this.

[NepentheZ]

I'm still 9th - and my large stadium isn't getting filled up.

Nice updates, B. Keep 'em coming buddy

[bermybhoy]

Update - 1 Apr 2008

Division 3
The Warlock deservedly secured the manager of the month award for some brilliant form from his side. If he'd got them playing like this sooner, they'd be pushing for promotion.

Team stats - Of the promotion candidates, Forfar and Stenhousemuir are now mired in terrible form at exactly the wrong time. Arbroath and Montrose though, look decent bets right now.

League table - It leaves the table looking like this. With 4 games to go, Montrose have put daylight between themselves and the rest, and must drop at least 4 points to be caught.

Player stats - Despite his side's poor form, Stuart Kelly of Forfar is maybe making a late bid for player of the year...

In other news, Celtic took the League Cup 2-1 v Hibs, and also eliminated Rangers at the Quarter Final stage of the Scottish Cup, making them favourites for that too. They also lead the premier league, and look on course for a treble.

[NepentheZ]

\o/ - Up to 7th and a MotM..!!

[rlipscombe]

6th isn't too bad.... just gonna be short of the play-offs. need to tighten our defence.

[~Ian~]

Shame about losing to hearts, was bound to happen though. Still a damn good effort to get that far.

Good to see we've hit some form now in the league too, gonna keep battling to the end.

KUTGW

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Stranraer drop to 9th in the league

Going to need some strong summer signings to get anywhere near the playoffs next season.

KUTGW

[5ergio]

9 points to direct promotion. If we keep up the form, the 1st place is in our hands surely.

[bermybhoy]

Update - 8 Apr 2008

Time for some more frequent updates for the run-in...

Division 3
April 5 Results - All of the top 4 won, except for Stenhousemuir.

League table - With 3 games left, that puts Montrose 5 clear to guarantee a play off spot at least, but promotion is theirs to throw away.

[bermybhoy]

Update - 12 Apr 2008

Division 3
April 12 Results - Arbroath secured a massive win over Stenhousemuir. Forfar also stumbled, but Montrose won and are relentless in their pursuit of the title.

League table - Montrose look like they're about to become the first team to escape from the 3rd division.

[bermybhoy]

Update - 20 Apr 2008

Division 3
April 19 Results - In the penultimate round of fixtures, some sensational stuff. Based on form, Stenhousemuir's 3-0 spanking of leaders Montrose is a massive upset. Are Montrose about to choke? Arbroath also beat basement side Dumbarton, but Forfar could only draw.

League table - It really is tight at the top. Depending on other results, Arbroath could finish top, or finish 3rd. With last day fixtures as they are though, each of the top three would be expected to win, with positions remaining as they are.

[NepentheZ]

Wow, a last day thriller coming up.!

If I get a win on the last day, I could potentially finish a massive 7th place.!

[glennuk]

How sucky, Berwick i am not happy

My Chairman really needs to start pushing some high quality transfers in with a bigger budget and better wages.

Not the way i wanted the season to pan out

[robbo3d]

I expected to struggle this season but bottom! We need a complete overhaul in the summer. The only positive is that we should be in a better financial position. But i am not even sure about that as the attendances have been lower than i thought.

[~Ian~]

Gonna be an exciting last day then. Crossing my fingers for a Montrose loss, then when Arbroath win we go top on goal difference.

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Stranraer up to 7th in the table. Hopefully we can hang on to that in the last game of the season, which would put us above media expectations, which is all you can ask for really!

KUTGW

[bermybhoy]

Update - 27 Apr 2008

Division 3
April 26 Results - As expected, each of the top three secured wins. Forfar could only draw, but hang on to the last play off spot.

Final league table - Congratulations go to Montrose, the 3rd Division champions! Dumbarton finish well of the pace in bottom position.

In the Second Division Peterhead will play 3rd Division football next season, and should not trouble our teams too much. Queens Park face the lottery of the play-offs, where they must travel to Stenhousemuir for the first leg. Arbroath host Forfar in the first leg of the other tie.

[5ergio]

Wow, a perfect season for Montrose. Mengana surely knows what to do. Let's see how we'll fare in Second Division.

[bermybhoy]

Play off semi finals

Division 3 promotion play off semi-finals, first leg

Stenhousemuir v Queens Park A comfortable victory for my own side, Stenhousemuir, which should elimate Queens Park and ensure we have two clubs promoted this season.
Arbroath v Forfar Arbroath eased past Forfar, who have been out of sorts, with an easy win, and look good it make it to the final.

Division 3 promotion play off semi-finals, second leg

Queens Park v Stenhousemuir Sensational stuff. A last minute Jon Newby goal broke Stenhousemuir hearts, forcing extra time. But the Spiders legs couldn't hold out, and the dependable Smith and Bailey secured a draw on the day and safe passage to the final.
Forfar v Arbroath Forfar had the best of it, but couldn't score and Arbroath make it through.

So the final will be between Arbroath and Stenhousemuir. For the first leg, Arbroath are made 1-2 odds on favourites by the bookies. Based on past results, they will be favourites for promotion too.

[rlipscombe]

gotta be happy with 5th i think. although with a little tighter defence, maybe we'd have nicked a play-off place.

Congrats to Montrose.

[NepentheZ]

8th place is terrible. I though I built the foundation for success - Hopefully we'll have a better season next season. KUTGW B.

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

7th place... not bad - did better than the media thought, hopefully if the 2 teams relegated do rubbish then that may mean 5th, so only need a bit of an improvement from the lads to make the playoffs!

Well done to Montrose and good luck to the playoff finalists.

[bermybhoy]

Play off final

Division 3 promotion play off final, first leg

Arbroath v Stenhousemuir
In the 23rd minute, on-loan 17 year old centre forward Shane Sutherland gave Arbroath a deserved lead.
With 61 minutes gone, Sutherland was on hand to double it.
In the 73rd, young left winger Chris Chambers added to the agony for Stenhousemuir by making it 3.

And that's how it finished, a comfortable win virtually ending the tie at the half way stage.

Division 3 promotion play off final, second leg
After just 17 minute, Willie McLaren put Stenny in front, giving the club record capacity crowd of 14,488 hope.
In the 27th, the fans went crazy when the prolific Smith pulled another one back. 2-0 at half time, 2-3 on aggregate

In the second half though, Stenhousemuir just couldn't find a way through. After 65 minutes, Chris Templeman hit what was their only shot on target of the day, reducing it to 2-1 and effectively ending the contest.

So despite the best efforts of Stenhousemuir, it is Arbroath who celebrate promotion despite a 2-1 defeat. Congratulation to ~Ian~ on his success.

Full end of season report to come.

[~Ian~]

Oh yeah, Division 2 here we come! Shane Sutherland is my new favourite player

[bermybhoy]

End of Season 2007/8
Update on each of the clubs.

Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)
Results
League progress - a poor season that the Warlock will want to forget.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - made lots of signings, which we all predicted would be key, but evidently the quality isn't quite there.

Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)
Results
League progress - a brilliant season which really picked up at just the right time, their momentum carrying the team to promotion.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Mark McAllister - picked up from East Stirling for a whopping £210k after the end of the season. Had a decent season for the Shire before moving on.

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)
Results
League progress - an awful end to the season, dragging them right down after a decent start
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - again, relying too much on youngsters. Crane needs to get the chequebook out, big style.

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Alex Smith - Nikon Jevtik - sacked)
Results
League progress - Hmmm, not much you can say. Pretty firmly the worst team in the league.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - the heavy debt burden appears to be retricting their spending on wages.
Alex Smith - this is the new manager, the veteran formerly in charge of Aberdeen. Struggled to turn it around with the financial constraints in place, despite signings a number of players.

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)
Results
League progress - constantly mid-table after a great start
Squad ratings - sold one of their better players, McAllister, to Arbroath who therefore isn't here. Will do this screen before the transfer window opens in future.
Squad contracts

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)
Results
League progress - picked up steadily and then clearly peaked a bit too soon.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - not exactly splashing out, and probably need a lot of good signings to challenge.

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)
Results
League progress - never likely to win it, but comfortably made it into the play offs.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - they're paying top dollar and have some really excellent players. With some more good signings, likely to be contenders again next season.

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)
Results
League progress - a great season, finished very strongly
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - spending plenty and wisely, most of the top earners getting good ratings. How will they cope with the step up though?

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Keld Bordinggaard - Henke - sacked)
Results
League progress - led most of the way, then suffered a late season collapse
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - not spending nearly as much as some clubs, I'm hoping this will increase significantly next season.
Keld Bordinggaard - Henke was rather harshly sacked after losing the play off final. (I believe this is related to a bug in the confidence feature). The new guy looks as good, if not better.

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)
Results
League progress - their final position of 7th was actually the high point, a poor season for manager Bonus.
Squad ratings
Squad contracts - clearly, they are placing a lot of reliance on youngsters. Need to go out and spend the chairman's cash to get anywhere.

Division 3
The league table has been posted already, so some other stats of possible interest:

Player of the month awards
Player of the year - Stenhousemuir win something, the impressive Calum Smith taking the award.
Team of the year - Hard to argue with the selection, drawn mainly from just 3 clubs.
Manager of the month awards
Manager of the year - No shocks, Mengana deserved it.
Average attendances - How does this stack up against your plans? Dumbarton top here but the stadium only half-full, their poor season not helping one bit.
Seasonal records
Scotland season summary 1
Scotland season summary 2 - point of interest - Steven Fletcher won the European Golden Boot with his scoring exploits as Hibs.

An interesting first season then. My feeling is that the two promoted sides have a massive advantage now, and their spending power means they could do quite well again next season. Of those left in the 3rd division, I expect another two of our sides to go up again next year, with the relegated sides struggling badly against our cash.

If anyone would like to see anything else, do let me know.

Talking point

I've already run this to the end of the next transfer window, but need to do the write ups. Having had a poke about, there's been some interesting development. Some teams are spending BIG to get out of their respective divisions....it's much changed from the current year. At the same time, a few chairmen and managers are doing nothing to dispell the unfair stereotype of Scottish people as being tight... Some people will be very pleased, some will be puzzled at why the cash isn't being spent as it is elsewhere. So, predictions then...

• How much do you reckon your team has spent on a player?
• What do you reckon your top earner is now on?
• Who do you reckon is the team to watch next season?

By the way, as a friendly heads up to anyone who's not posted yet, I'll start to keep a note as to who's contributing and who isn't....this is pretty time consuming so reports will end up getting cut out if you're not active and I don't think you're interested....just forewarning, cheers.

[NepentheZ]

great work B...

[robbo3d]

KUTGW. What an awful season that was. I really dont know what to expect. Is there any chance I could see my finances. Just wondering whether I managed a profit last season. That will shape Dumbartons future. If they make money, we might be able to turn it around in the long run. But with lower attendances than expected, I dont think we are making enough.
The debt looks to be causing problems with the wages, hopefully we will have a bigger budget next season or we could end up off the pace again.

[bermybhoy]

robbo3d:

Took a nosey there by adding a manager. Basically, yes you are making money - raked in about £4m (!), nearly all from tickets and match day income, and had expenses of £2.9m. You have about £1.2m in the bank. The repayments and interest is £160k/month. In spite of the profits, the board is only allowing £300 a week for any player, which is a big disadvantage. If the attendances drop you might be in some trouble, which is presumably part of the board's thinking in restricting wages so much.....

[robbo3d]

Well we are only getting in 11000 on average as it is so I cant see it falling too much more. Its good to see I'm making money. Its looking a bit better for the future. £300 a week isnt going to get me much quality though. Hopefully with a decent manager in charge, he can find some players willing to accept our wage structure. I am not particularly hopeful though!

[arkitekt88]

6th was ok i suppose, but not winning in 6 games towards the end really killed me. hopefully were more active in this window

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Stranraer - the dirtiest club in Scottish Division 3 \o/ \o/ - I feel honoured!

Also had the highest scoring game of the season. I think as long as we can invest a bit in players to back up the next set of youngsters coming through then we should do ok. Very important that we keep striker Robert Dunn though, as he seems to have scored all our goals this season!

[rlipscombe]

great update once more. good to see us get a player in the team of the year. As long as we keep Williams, and sign a few decent players i am hopeful of an improved showing. i reckon we;ll have signed a few more players. as for the team to watch, that will be East Stirlingshire of course!!

[5ergio]

Mengana manager of the year as expected. No player stood up to be the leading one in the division but a great team performance from Montrose. As for the next season, I assume we and Arboath will be spending a lot to occupy a firm place in Second Division. I also predict Stenhousemuir, Albion Rovers, East Stirling and Forfar to finish in top four next year.

[~Ian~]

Most games without losing: 13 - Arbroath (6.2.2008 to 26.4.2008)

The key to the promotion right there. Came good at the right time.

Think we'll need to spend a bit now to secure staying in Division 2, a couple of players bought for 6 figure sums would be nice.

[glennuk]

How much do you reckon your team has spent on a player? 275k (I hope on another striker)
What do you reckon your top earner is now on? 5k Per week (On the striker)
Who do you reckon is the team to watch next season? The Mighty Berwick obviously.

Having the most games without scoring the most games lost in a row and having the two worst signings IS NOT good enough and i wll expect Josh Crane to have learnt from this experience and not pannick buy. I think some good quality will be in soon and if Churchill gets a good partner i can see us being a force to be reckoned with.

[bermybhoy]

2008/9 - September 1 - Part 1

Onto the second season for the Dragon funded clubs. All are looking to strengthen significantly to make some real progress. How have they all got on during the transfer window?

3rd Division
Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)
The Warlock saw his side finish fairly strongly last term despite a poor final position. They have signed a lot of players already, but really need to add quality. Unfortunately their biggest signing is Owen Price, a right winger/striker at just £65k from Stenhousemuir, in addition to a whole load more free transfers. Having said that, they are paying more than generous wages for this level of football. But having started with £10m in the bank, why are they so reluctant to spend?
Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Owen Price
Jamie Reed - Top performer so far.

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)
Here we go! After pretty modest spending last season, there's no messing about from Crane this time. Not only are they top spenders, with an outlay of an astonishing £2.4m, but they have completed the first £1m signing for a Scottish Div 3 team, the man in question being young Lee Collins from Wolves.
Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Lee Collins - the million dollar man - is he worth it? At 19, should be one for the future, but his value is likely to plummet in a league of this standard...interesting to see how it works out.
Leon Cort - another £725k on a centre back. This guy has experience, and you'd think, should stroll through this level.
Scott Robertson - for comparison, here's a couple of lower cost - and I would say, much better value - signings. This guy should be excellent in the centre.
Louise Dodds - can play on the right or up front, and looks pretty handy.

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Alex Smith [Nikon Jevtik - sacked])
New gaffer Smith has brought in a few players, even spending a little bit of cash at the heavily indebted club. However, their spending power on wages is severaly restricted. Anything other than last place is likely to be a big bonus this season.
Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Stephen Manson - fair player, but looking around the other sides, would struggle to get a game with many of them.
Richard Bowers - the young striker is performing head and shoulders above his team mates so far.

[bermybhoy]

How much do you reckon your team has spent on a player? 275k (I hope on another striker)
What do you reckon your top earner is now on? 5k Per week (On the striker)
Who do you reckon is the team to watch next season? The Mighty Berwick obviously.

Having the most games without scoring the most games lost in a row and having the two worst signings IS NOT good enough and i wll expect Josh Crane to have learnt from this experience and not pannick buy. I think some good quality will be in soon and if Churchill gets a good partner i can see us being a force to be reckoned with.

No panic buying? Oh dear

[bermybhoy]

2008/9 - September 1 - Part 2

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)
The Shire have been tipped by some for a decent season, and that is already looking a good call. McFergus hasn't splahed out much on transfers, but brought in quite few players to strengthen the team. The sale at huge profit of Mark McAllister is looking like good business; he hasn't scored for Arbroath yet and Alex Williams is banging home plenty.

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
David Sinclair
Alex Williams - Blistering start to his second season at the club, notching a goal a game so far.

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)
Vasquez has made quite a number of signings, but failed to spend a single penny. The wage bill has rocketed, and they've brought in a number of experienced internationals, such as Neil McCann and a few Carribean islanders - it remains to be seen how they'll adjust to the climate in the north of Scotland though. On the evidence so far, not especially well.

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Richard Langley - the midfielder should do well once he settles in.
Hector Sam - the veteran striker has been there and seen it all - struggling to find the net so far though.

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)
After making the play offs last time, hopes are high in Forfar. Hartson-Harris didn't see fit to sign too many players, but has not been afraid to shell out on wages. They must now have one of the highest wage bills in the division, paying players up to just short of £7k/week - a huge hike from last season.

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Matt Harrold - biggest signing, and seems to be forming a decen partnership with Madine.
Gary Madine - picked up from Tranmere, has made a great start to the season and looks an excellent prospect.

[bermybhoy]

2008/9 - September 1 - Part 3

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Keld Bordingaard [Henke - sacked])
New man Bordingaard has utilised his first transfer window to conduct a mini squad overhaul. Stenny's board seems less willing to splash out on player's wages than their rivals, and given that, we'll do well to keep up the form we showed for much of last season, this time round.

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Jordan Mutch - our second biggest fee of the summer, he looks a good investment.
Bobby Linn - with Calum Smith currently injured, its been left down to Linn to find the net, who has a goal a game record so far.

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)
Bonus has led Stranraer to a respectable start to the season, in spite of minimal outlay on transfer fees. Jimmy Gibson is the biggest at just £8k. Like so many other clubs though, he's not afraid to lavish big contracts on his players.

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Jimmy Gibson
Matthew Bailey - a new signing from Crewe who looks like he could be a mainstay at the back for a while to come.


Division 3 - overview
Division 3 league table - East Stirling start well and lead the pack, but it's very tight and tough to predict.
Division 3 team stats - Notably, quite a few teams have seen their attendances plummet. Those at the top are bearing up better though.
Division 3 player stats

[bermybhoy]

2008/9 - September 1 - Part 4

Second Division
Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)
Despite promotion success last season, the club has not invested nearly as heavily as some 3rd division teams. Despite that and record signing McAllister mis-firing so far, they have performed brilliantly and top the league. Media prediction: 3rd

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
David McGowan - second biggest signing after McAllister.
Gary MacKenzie - the young centre back is the most most solid players so far.

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)
After storming to promotion last season, Mengana has not been shy about spending the chairman's cash, splashing out just under £800k. By the looks of things, spending it very wisely too. Sitting second already, this lot probably have the ability to romp away with this division as well. Media prediction: 5th

Club info
Transfers
Squad ratings
Squad contracts
Scott Muirhead - the full back/winger is the record signing at £250k and looks a decent investment.
Juho Makela - brought in from Hearts, he's probably good enough for most Premier League sides. Should do well.
Rory McAllister - again from a Premier League team, Inverness, and the youngster looks class. He and Makela should make a formidable partnership.

Division 2 - overview
Division 2 league table - Maybe unsurprisingly, both our teams sit atop the division already. To me, Montrose look best equipped to keep it up, although Hamilton also look excellent and have started in free scoring fashion
Division 2 team stats
Division 2 player stats

[bermybhoy]

2008/9 - September 1 - Part 5

Cups
Challenge Cup
1st round results - Stranraer, East Stirling and Monrose are the only ones to make it through.

League Cup
1st round results - Montrose, Berwick and Forfar all do well, but Albion Rovers are humiliated.
2nd round results - all 3 face Premier league opposition, and 3 crash out. Berwick though come mighty close to a giant killing at Falkirk.

General
Rich list - Some movement here, in part due to massive spending by some clubs to reduce their bank balances.
Manager job security - no-one looking too shaky....yet.

[rlipscombe]

say we are top of the league, say we are top of the league!!

some well known veterans joining the 'shire.... trevor sincliar and Paul dickov among them. got good money for Mcallister, although i'd have liked McFergus to maybe have spent a little more of it... still, he knows what he is doing.....

made it past the first round of a cup competition too!! \o/

[5ergio]

Concede only 2 in 5 games, not even lost one game. Montrose & Mengana is continuing to do well on their 2nd season. 4-0 win over Arboath in Challenge Cup. Maybe we can also beat them for the league huh

[robbo3d]

Not looking good. The debt looks a mistake as I didnt anticipate the effect on wages. Hopefully we can improve gradually and try not to finish bottom.

[bermybhoy]

Concede only 2 in 5 games, not even lost one game. Montrose & Mengana is continuing to do well on their 2nd season. 4-0 win over Arboath in Challenge Cup. Maybe we can also beat them for the league huh

I think you're in for a good season. Those strikers especially should do really well. Well done on getting the good manager - seems to be making all the difference.

Not looking good. The debt looks a mistake as I didnt anticipate the effect on wages. Hopefully we can improve gradually and try not to finish bottom.

It's surprising just how much it's restricted the wages to be honest - wouldn't have forseen that. I think it might take a few years for it to turn round unfortunately. At least if it does, the set up is all there to do well.

[rlipscombe]

it's a marathon, and not a sprint robbo3d....

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Surprisingly, Stranraer have got off to a good start to the season!

Long may it continue

[bermybhoy]

it's a marathon, and not a sprint robbo3d....

If that's the analogy he's one of the guys running the marathon wearing a ful deep sea diving suit though....

[NepentheZ]

Good work B. Nice updates.

[glennuk]

Nice one im happy with my signings there

[bermybhoy]

FYI I'm unlikely to be able to post any updates for a few weeks, mid-September probably. It won't be dead....just resting.