[FM23] Nessie Awakes!

[phnompenhandy]

I won't bother going into details - the schedule speaks for itself. This is the worst run since I've been in management, the official stamp of 'crisis' only being averted by Troon at the end of January (note Rostock was restored after tearing it up in the Under18s for that last game). Nevertheless, we've been working on a different tactic and will roll it out in February if results don't pick up.

 

[phnompenhandy]

February – a 0-0 draw as underdogs at Warrington was the first employment of our new tactic. We were in fact on course for our pre-season ambition of beating the teams at the bottom and hoping for the best against the rest, but after the start we’d made, we knew we were capable of better. And so we demonstrated. We rolled it out again at Gosport, and then again at home to East Thurrock. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you … ‘direct counter-attacking football’ ☹ Still in the 5-2-2-1 formation – it’s ‘new’.

We went down 2-4 at Gosport – you wouldn’t think it from the result but the problem was not in defence 0 it was McGlynn being utterly flaccid. Three forwards and not one is on form. We drew 1-1 with East Thurrock. Overall, both versions of the 5-2-2-1 have been relatively successful but for one horrible flaw – our strikers. I’m going to try something else – the Tree.

This involved a recall for Jack Callaghan, who’s been an important player for us last season but never fitted into the new systems – until now. Gordon Spence would also be a beneficiary, but otherwise it was mostly a case of tweaking positions and roles for familiar faces in an effort to find a formula that would work. One of those faces belonged to Benn Rostock but this time with Brian Severin behind him as a Shadow Striker. The first trial would be against Worthing – not a match we were expected to win, but hopefully we’d see a functional system at work.

We were battered, but the system held up and Rostock scored in another draw, 1-1. If we could hold a fancied side like Worthing, it would be worth repeating the experiment at Enfield and our next home match versus Thurso.

We played well at Enfield, but we lost due to that same old issue – BloodyRostock. We can’t have him go missing in 60% of matches.

The next step would be a two-up-front effort but wed try Thurso first.

We beat Thurso 3-2. It was closer than I’d have liked; we’re back to the old problem of the Back 4 – the centre backs get too fatigued and lapse late on. But the main problem is the striker. McGlynn wasn’t a stinker, but he was the least effective player on the pitch. I’m going to try two up front.

Edited December 12, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

So, a 4-3-1-2 with Rostock partnering McGlynn up front at Ashton United. I just wanted to see something from the strikers. They weren’t terrible. Rostock assisted a McGlynn goal, but we lost 1-3 to a better side. The next two matches were against more modest opposition.

I was so focused on working on viable tactics over the last couple of weeks that I'd missed the message that Muir was bringing his boys earlier than usual. This sight greeted me as I emerged from my cell on the Friday morning before we set off for our Saturday match at Hornchurch. I'll leave them with you for now and return to observe a trial match with the Under 18s on Sunday:

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We were never in the game at Hornchurch after Spence got himself sent off early doors. It was a 0-3 defeat. When we got back to Fortrose, Shane expressed no interest at all as he was keen to get down to Inverness to meet with the royal Academy board to lobby them to check out kids who were being released from the academies at Inverness Caley, Ross County and Elgin. He said after the kick-about on Sunday, we'd head over on the Monday.

The kids smashed our Under 18s 8-1 with a hat trick by Greig young and braces from Gary Hamilton and Barclay Grigor - names you might want to remember. The Under 18 side might have played themselves out of the club!

 

 

What's more, Shane's very excited about the kids recommended by the Royal. He estimates ten more highly-rated prospects will join us in a couple of weeks. We'll have about 40 players on our books, but they're all on pay-as-you-play terms. Given we're midtable and not going up or down this season, April will be a time to use games to figure out who stays and who goes, and endless more tactical experimentation.

 

We started with the next match - a trip to Lairg. We started 5 new boys with a couple more on the bench. We needed a fresh approach. Unfortunately, I made the disastrous error of including Rostock n the side. He single-handedly lost us the game with woeful finishing including a missed penalty. You could see the new kids' heads drop as they wondered what the point of creating great chances was. He'll be back with the Under 18s and will stay there for the rest of the season. We currently have 50 players on our books - all on pay-as-you-play forms, so Rostock and heaps of others won't get anything unless they are in the first team squad.

March. Seven matches left

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Lost to Gala 2-3, but I saw clear signs of a strike force that’s on the way to looking pretty potent. We lost due to a couple of errors from our new keeper Andy Boylan who only arrived – along with the royal contingent the day before and I shouldn’t have rushed him. They’ll get a second chance when Kilwinning come to town.

They had a second chance. We had one shot on target and lost 0-1. Can’t blame Rostock for this one – we just weren’t at the races. Further work needed,

 

However, for all that, there are three teams considerably worse than us; mathematically, we're safe.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Focussing on preparing for next season, we have full squads for the first team, Under 23s and Under 18s. Shane has agreed to look at extra staffing for next season, but in the meantime we had to release a number of 17 year-olds who’d be too old for the U18s next season and would have crowded out the U23 squad. In particular, we had a surfeit of full backs who were never going to make it, as was patently obvious from our travails this season.

 

Here are the lads we released with our best wishes

 

And here are the waifs and strays we've picked up (or promising kids who've been criminally overlooked by the bigger clubs - time will be the judge) -

 

Most of the ones I released were quite unambitious, leaving me with an overall hungrier squad - I hope. This leaves us with a first team squad of 18, an Under 23 squad of 14 and an Under 18s squad of 13. This is of course very fluid - players will move up and down depending on form and effort in training until I make firer decisions and settle things down. It means everyone has a couple of months at the end of this season to impress me or fight for their places, as well as pre-season for the next season - giving everyone incentive to keep themselves in good shape on their holidays.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Well, hello! My ploy of going with two attacking forward paid off handsomely with a 3-2 win at Margate. The strikers, debutant Danny Taylor and hat-trick hero Cailean Harkiss were the stand outs, but the whole outfield team played well. A third poor performance by our new goalkeeper didn’t cost us this time, but he’ll need time in the Under 23s to find his feet. Sandy Campbell is restored to see out the season.

 

the formation and tactics we're going forward with

 

I’d like to say, “The season starts here!” but in truth, with our last four games against the top two and two others playing to secure play-off spots, we’re not realistically expecting any more points. I’ve made Scott Cunningham our new captain. As an attacking playmaker he seems quite classy on the pitch but he’s not that hungry. I’m taking a gamble by hoping he’ll find the hunger with responsibility. Callaghan moves down to vice-captain, but he’s lost his regular first team spot with Culbert and Cook looking more viable in midfield. Severin’s also stepped down to a squad member regular benchie. He wasn’t too happy but did accept his standards have fallen. Luke Coll sensed the higher standards expected in training and wasn’t comfortable with it, so he left us.

Table-topping Gainsborough Trinity did outclass us and beat us 1-3, but I saw a lot of positives. Back at KGV, the Under 18s chalked up a ridiculous 13-0 win, showing that we have serious strength in depth for the future. Benn Rostock scored eight of those goals, indicating his talent when it isn’t stifled by pressure. He just needs time, that boy. Barclay Grigor assisted six to go with his hat trick – a name to keep in mind.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

As I say, all the excitement is off the pitch right now. The increase in quality of our new recruits has got us all optimistic; Shane seems to be a believer

 

After refusing to upgrade the training facilities (not that i expected him to cough up that much), he agreed to this! Where's the money coming from??

 

 

Ah, well thanks man. I'll not be looking for a pay rise

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We played well at Buxton too, managed by former Premier League manager Phil Brown. We went down 1-2 and could consider ourselves a little unlucky. The penultimate match was home to FC United. With a very good team performance, we beat them 2-1, ending their play-off hopes. The last match was home to Boston United, who needed a point to secure the title.

On the Sunday I watched the Under 23s, having moved the Rostock-Grigor combo up to that squad. They smashed it again, sharing four goals. Out of the spotlight, Benny-boy really shines. But I’m not learning much from his performances in reserve games. Given that the result doesn’t matter to us, I resolved to start the pair in our last senior match of the season.

And Rostock scored in a decent display. Unfortunately, we lost our captain Cunningham to an early injury and we couldn’t contain Jamie Soule in a 1-3 defeat. Nevertheless, all good! All that remains is for the staff and myself go pour over the data (most of which is of limited worth with the churn of playing personnel and tactics over the season).

final table - the 4th best Scottish team in the league

 

You might not think this makes for great reading and grounds for huge optimism - but I do!

The start we made to the season was deceptive - we caught some teams early before they'd got up to speed, but once our league rivals had gained match fitness and familiarity, they showed us our level, but we still finished above what was predicted for us. We need to remind ourselves this is an Academy-based club - it is very much a case of men against boys at this level, but that is why exciting new recruits are joining us - to develop faster by pitting themselves at this level. The job is about finding better and better 15-year-old lads, developing them through the cauldron of fire, all the while improving our facilities. Next year our first team will be considerably more competitive, and behind them in the Under 18s are kids who might blossom into something special given a couple of years. Will we be pushing for the play-offs? Who knows at this point; all i know is, the future is bright!

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Around and about, in the top tier, the usual suspects dominated. Celtic and Rangers had a spell in midtable but faded badly later on.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Tier 2 - Scottish clubs occupy the bottom 2 spots and go down

 

[phnompenhandy]

Tier 3 - St. Mirren? Unlikely.

More relegations including our Highland neighbours in Dingwall

 

[phnompenhandy]

Tier 4 - Arbroath, anyone?

Shamrock Rovers are the top team from Ireland; a Northern Irish side is the only thing sparing the Scots a triple relegation

 

[phnompenhandy]

Tiers 5 and 6. Still no Scottish success in the Celtic-heavy division.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

In the regionalised 7th tier, The Welsh Network/Saints and Dublin students are carrying their nations' banners

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Finally, the regional tier 7 divisions above us.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Benn Rostock is the fans’ player of the season. Gotta tread carefully here – admittedly when he’s good he’s very very good – and a return of 29 goals in a season is very very good. But when he’s bad he single-handedly loses us games.

Ruddyrostock

Had to fight with Shane to drop his dinosaur approach to football. He agreed to lose the defensively solid and direct football strictures but insisted we counter-attack.

In the play-off final Worthing beat Matlock after extra time. As Thurso and Lairg return to the 9^th tier, Jacko’s missed out in the play-off final and three English sides will join us from below along with three English teams from the tier above.

Notable play-off success elsewhere – Sunderland will be promoted to the top tier, and St. Mirren to the second after a penalty shoot-out, making them Scotland’s 3^rd best club. My childhood village’s amateur team, Great Bentley got promoted into the 9^th tier.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Oh well played Shane (and Ross Tokely, ex-player). Dingwall is half an hour down the road. They have the most up-to-date training facilities in the Highlands.

 

ba-da-boom

 

Mind you, Shane expects a return for his expenditure and connections. No pressure here then!

 

Job offers are dropping into my inbox every day - I'm not even replying; I'm part of this.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

This is what we're up against. King's Lynn is the league's professional club. They have a player on over four grand a month. The bookies have got us at 8th - Shane demands 6th. We've got five new Scottish clubs in the division to give us nine national rivals to aim to finish above. We'll have the lowest reputation average age, ground capacity, average attendance and worst bank balance in the league; nevertheless, at this moment in time, I'm quietly confident we can do this.

Edited December 13, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[Vakama2619]

20 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Tiers 5 and 6. Still no Scottish success in the Celtic-heavy division.

Why am I not surprised we went down again

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, Vakama2619 said:

Why am I not surprised we went down again

If that last game had been a win .... yeh, real bad luck for your guys.

[phnompenhandy]

Over the summer the coaching and analytical staff met up with me to evaluate the season and try to identify key issues. Rostock was inevitably one, and we discussed giving a full pre-season to Boylan, the goalkeeper we rushed in too quickly. But a general trait we identified was defenders (and Rostock!) failing to follow tactical instructions, and we resolved to focus on improving teamwork in the squad throughout preseason. We acknowledged Shane’s mantra about being more defensively solid and ensured we have seven players prioritising defence, and acknowledged the problem of having by far the weakest and smallest players in the league.

The boys didn’t venture far over their summer break, or if they did it wasn’t for long. So for much of the break we had a good number of the boys in for extra voluntary training, especially when the coach was due to be loaded up and driven to Dingwall. When preseason officially began at the beginning of July we threw ourselves into the friendlies on top of training, including the what would now be the traditional visit of Ross County. By the end of it, we had a leaner, hungrier squad, far more on top of our requirements than had been the case last season. We hadn’t actually faced any fit, full-strength sides at the level of our league rivals, but we felt positive.

This is how we're set up: this season's first team squad consists mostly of familiar faces but with a few new lads, and a few positional changes in defence.

first XI

second eleven

Edited December 15, 2022 by phnompenhandy
new faces!

[phnompenhandy]

Some of the lads were chuffed to have a photoshoot with a well-known regional photographer known as Paul who runs the studio @TheFMU in the Midlands. He claims to 'regenerate forgettable faces', whatever that means, but it's a free service for anyone who contacts him. A couple of our staff had makeovers too, and would like you to appreciate....

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Last season I was constantly fiddling to try to solve my fullback problem – I tried fullbacks, wingbacks, inverted wingbacks, three centre backs, centre backs at fullback – nothing worked. I’m convinced out first choice back four are good enough this season, so I must avoid the temptation to change things radically if we go through a lean spell. Have faith in the squad and the process!

And they have faith in me – lost just the one backroom staff member – everyone else one by one re-signed. And no serious unhappiness within the squad. I did have Shane approach me to tell me that Severin was getting greedy in his contract negotiations as other clubs were tapping him, and Callaghan was attracting interest too. My position was that neither deserves pay rises nor were anything near indispensable (Callaghan is our vice-captain still), so we left it up to the lads whether they wanted to commit to us or not. We promptly received a bid for Severin from Uncle Bob’s and gave him some time to make a decision. He has fallen well down the packing order after being nailed-on when we were an amateur side, and no doubt he’d be the big man back at amateur level further down the pyramid. They both turned all the approaches down. Enquiries about Sam Culbert were considerably less welcome, however, but he also elected to stay with our exciting project. To be honest it does my head in when you're trying to plan the season out and your best players make all these noises that they're going to leave and then commit to staying at the last minute, but that's life - I'm just not very good at it.

The friendlies went according to form. We played amateur outfits to get familiar with the tactics, and beat them. And we played higher-placed teams for money, and lost to them. A sell-out crowd saw us give new friends Ross County a right good go, though.

So we go into the start of the season in good spirits. It is slightly concerning that our first game will be in the Regional Cup away to South Shields, and the second an FA Cup tie at Aberystwyth, both playing a tier above us when the board requires us to get past the first rounds.

Edited December 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[anagain]

Good luck with the new season. Those are good odds. I suspect travelling from the Highlands to Margate and Bognor for games must be as tiring as the games themselves. I found travelling to Bognor for holidays when I was a kid tiring, and I live on the South coast!

Shame you fell away last season, but that start should give you confidence.

I love those faces. I have thought of experimenting with faces when my MTK youth come through.

[phnompenhandy]

5 hours ago, anagain said:

Good luck with the new season. Those are good odds. I suspect travelling from the Highlands to Margate and Bognor for games must be as tiring as the games themselves. I found travelling to Bognor for holidays when I was a kid tiring, and I live on the South coast!

Shame you fell away last season, but that start should give you confidence.

I love those faces. I have thought of experimenting with faces when my MTK youth come through.

Thanks. Travelling costs are often my biggest expense of the month, but although I discussed it in an earlier post, I get the impression the game doesn't really penalise teams for the long distances travelled.

I don't feel bad about where we finished last season. It was always going to be a season of consolidation, and we were never in danger of relegation. I needed a whole season to find out our optimum tactic, and get the infrastructure we needed to both succeed in this tier and have a chance of survival if we do get promoted. The latest crop of recruits are genuinely impressive, and I expect the next lot to be even better now.

The faces add so much. It's only in the last couple of days that I got access to FMUgens (via that Twitter link), FM Facegan from a 'well-known' FM site and the background remover online page. I feel like graphics-wise, I'm 'there' now. All I'm missing is a mod to the Flut skin that I use to hide attribute numbers. I want stars or bars rather than precise numbers, but the skins that offer that don't allow the stadium or city packs, so I just have to 'glaze' over the attributes.

[phnompenhandy]

After the Cove Rangers game, I decided on one last set of tweaks. With our narrow 4-3-1-2 formation we absolutely do need something out wide, so I’m taking a risk in asking both full backs to behave as attacking wingbacks. It didn’t work well when we tried it for a short time last season, but I’m hopeful that new kid Liam Macangus has what it takes on the left flank. On the right, I’m restoring Innes Smith and moving Ewan Bell back to the centre. To get the balance right, this requires changes elsewhere. Cookie needs to hold his position in midfield, and we’ll have Culbert getting forward as a mezzala (those two might interchange roles and keep with what they were more familiar with – I haven’t decided yet). I’m going to use Liam Jardine’s powerful engine and use him in a box-to-box role. He could be a carrilero if I can work out what the difference is. Captain and all-round star man Scott Cunningham is good at everything up top – he could be a striker if I had a better stand-in to play deeper, but I’m going to try him as a shadow striker for a bit. One of the forwards will need to drop deeper, and that’ll be whoever starts alongside Rostock. The changes are minor rather than radical, so we can revert back if required. A lot will depend on it being the right call to elevate Macangus and Jardine to the first team so soon. We had a wee try out against rivals Clachnacuddin, and we drew 3-3, but the system looked alright.

If we get promoted from this league, I have a notion that it would change the nature of the club. At this point in time, we're still well under the radar of bigger clubs. Smaller clubs come sniffing with the promise of more playing time or greater status for some of our players, but we've not lost any we didn't want to get rid of. That can't last. If we start to get cash money bids for players in the future, given the state of our finances, I'm pretty sure Shane will feel compelled to sell. It's not an issue I expect to concern us for a year or two, but I do need to plan ahead by ensuring we have suitably nurtured backup. So, I am keeping a close eye on the development of the lads in our Under 23 and Under 18 sides.

Edited December 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

All that preseason preparation showed its worth in our first game. Like how we opened our account in our first season in the new system, we beat a side from a tier above us. This time, down by the Irish Sea, it was no kick-and-rush – we played liquid football from the first minute to the last, restricting Aberystwyth to one (off target) shot all match, while our attacking wingback masterstroke resulted in Innes Smith providing three assists in a 3-0 trouncing.

With the confidence that victory instilled in us, we went down to South Shields for the English Regional Cup and repeated the feat. In another display against a higher-ranked team the quality of which we’ve never risen to before, we despatched them 2-0 with a brace by Rostock. In the second round of the cups, we host Gloucester City and travel to Ireland to face Limavardy. We no longer feel intimidated by such opponents. Pieces are truly falling into place.

One talking point amongst players and staff is the crowds. We were turning fans away at the sell-out fixture when Ross County came to Fortrose in preseason and we played in front of a capacity 500 supporters, but these away games brought the biggest attendances we’ve ever seen. We like the atmosphere; we’ve all put it to Shane that we’d love to play in an actual stadium with seats rather than a field. Shane says he understands and that there are such grounds in Inverness, but we need more money in the bank before we can contemplate any move. But it is an aspiration and might not be in the too distant future if we gain a couple of promotions.

We might lose a few locals fans, but then again …

Thanks, social media warriors (only seven travelled to the game, and they came on the team coach, joining in with intelligent tactical discussions). You see defensive frailties? You want bog-standard lump-it-in-hope-ball from the youngest, shortest, slightest, slowest squad in the league rather than the silky pass-and-move intelligent, winning football we're serving up? And you wonder why I leave Ross to talk to the media?

 

Yeah, baby

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Our league season started in Glasgow against the team predicted to finish last, Benburb. Indeed, all five games in August were, on paper, eminently winnable, but we’d take things on step at a time. We weren’t quite at our fluent best but we did a perfectly professional job and came home with a 2-0 under our belt, with goalkeeper Boylan earning player of the match. It was in fact my 100^th game in charge, and my 45^th victory. We noted that our opponents three days later, Gosport Borough, had opened their account with a 3-0 victory. I instructed my Starting XI to get as much rest as they could before they go again against opponents who’d be making that long long trek up from the English south coast.

Just when everything was looking so smooth, we were shocked by the departure of Sam Culbert, who’d signed for Elgin City after appearing for 89 of my 100 games. We didn’t blame him – a higher league, a higher appearance fee (and I’m sure he’d be a first team regular), but it was just so sudden, and it was a first for me. Darragh Neilson was back in the first team.

 

Best of luck for the future, Sam

Darragh wasn’t quite up to speed and Benn Rostock had one of his frequent off days, but it didn’t matter with strike partner Stuart Campbell (aware that Harkiss had scored 10 in the reserves and was on the bench) stepping up to the plate with a hat-trick. 3-1 in a comfortable display of passing and possession in front of our unsophisticated fans, and an early stake for second place.

We demolished Auchinleck Talbot down in Dumfriesshire and were worth far more than the 3-0 scoreline suggests. Rostock was back in form and got a brace. We’re top and feel on top of the world. Now we have a squad, our U23 and U18s are also topping their leagues with 100% records after three games – it might not mean much, but it’s great for the morale throughout the club.

This really does feel like our year

Edited December 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We’ve all got coaching licences, so I dugout my notes and got together with the coaching staff to ask the question, “What the heck is this ‘Carrilero’ people are talking about?” We agreed the mezzala and bob-to-box roles in midfield weren’t working quite as well as the others, and that the carrilero roles might be a better fit. But which side? We’re going with both in the next game and assess from there. You’d think we’d trial it in training, but as I’ve mentioned before, were in a period of bi-weekly games when training can only involve sit-down lectures with flip-charts and PowerPoint displays. It only involves minor tweaks anyway - we’ll be fine.

The effect was immediate. At home to Whitehawk, our midfield looked really assured and provided two assists as our front three slammed in five. A 5-0 victory with every single one of the Starting XI excelling in their roles. We have never been so impressive. I know we started well last season before dropping off never to recover, but this time feels very different.

I mentioned that the first team don’t have time to train between games, but the reserves regularly take themselves down to the Global Energy Stadium at Dingwall. My coaches who accompany them report that they love the facilities and are super-motivated to use them to the full. One side effect is that when Jacko’s came in again for Jack Callaghan and unlike with Culbert, I didn’t stand in their way, he turned them down as he preferred using the training facilities to playing regularly at a lower level (in truth, his level).

The last game in August was down at East Thurrock. It was a game we should have won easily but the adrenaline rush was starting to give way to fatigue and we dropped our first points after we gave up a three-goal lead in a 3-3 draw. We got permission from the boys' schools, and Shane organised accommodation as we made straight for Ireland to play Limavady three days later.

Edited December 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Something I'm asked about - even before the game in Ireland, this is normal in our end-of-month balance sheet:

 

 

And here is what our fans just don't get: the stereotypical style of football at this level is all blood 'n' thunder. We've found success playing the game on the carpet. Get with the programme, people!

Edited December 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The excellent Innes Smith was too tired to be a starting option, so in this big game, I had to shift Bell to the flank and start Barclay. That necessitated abandoning wingbacks for this game and reverting to fullbacks. I hoped the carrileros could supply the service to the front three in lieu of the wingbacks, as they had shown they had the capability to do in the previous two matches.

Shane had arranged a meet up at Limavady Grammar School where the sports staff shared experiences, and the school football team put up our boys overnight.

We didn’t know what to expect from Limavady United, but they knew about us. They sat very deep, allowing us our usual possession but making it very hard to break them down. Our quality showed through, however, and when Cunningham broke the duck they had to come out, but with our fullbacks and carrileros, we easily stifled them – our back seven shut up shop while the front three did the damage. We were 2-0 up at half time, but we lost our way in the second half and let them get two goals back. That was the cue to bring on Smith and revert to a pair of attacking wingbacks. Neither that nor any other changes could wrest the momentum away from Limavady, and any attacks we mounted were squandered by Rostock straying offside. We drew 2-2 and have an extra game to fit into our crowded schedule.

The following Saturday, battle commenced back at our place. But before that, we learned that the winners would be at home to Oldham Athletic, a club two tiers above us and, unlike Crystal Palace last season, a potentially beatable side. Before that, we were caught up on September 4th in Transfer Deadline Day. It had never been of any relevance or interest to us, until Darragh Neilson came in to regretfully announce he'd just signed forms with Gateshead United. Fair play to the kid - they're in the same division as Oldham, so it's a good move for him - but he was Culbert's replacement, and losing two key midfielders leaves us a little weakened. I moved Jay Cook into the centre, started Szemeredi as carrilero and recalled Jack Callaghan, whom I'd been trying to get rid of, back into the first team squad.

 Cheers and good luck, Darragh (83 appearances)

 

We were tired, that was clear from the off. No one played particularly well except Benn Rostock who always likes to do the opposite of the rest of the team. We went two behind, we fought back to 2-2 but when the game went to penalties captain Cunningham couldn't swing his leg and we went out. An anticlimax in the end; I just hope the game doesn't have the same physical and psychological effect the Palace defeat did last year. Hopefully, we can apply the lessons we learned from that.

Edited December 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

None of the boys had enough energy for the next league game so I had to put out a completely scratch side when Matlock came to Fortrose. Matlock had started the season well and we knew we’d be up against it. Our defence with Schumacher making his debut and a pair of centrebacks who hadn’t appeared for the first team this season held firm with the help of our opponents getting two of their lads sent off, but without the leadership of Scott Cunningham, our attack was woeful. We were fortunate that Fullerton nutted in a second minute corner to give us all three points. 1-0.

The first team was restored when we went doon tae Troon. Troon were also doing very well and it would be a test of our mentality ahead of our second cup competition. Our forwards and midfielders were off the boil, but our wingbacks made the news: Macangus scored and got sent off, and Smith provided two assists in our 2-0 victory.

We were no longer feeling it as we travelled down to Gloucester City for our Regional Cup second round tie.

lovely city

We had failed to knock out Limavady and we sensed Gloucester were a better team. Plus, our mojo was missing. Would it return in time? This game would go to extra time and penalties if drawn – no replay, but extra time would wreck the chances of the first team players facing 4^th placed Bognor at the weekend.

Wilson came in for the suspended Macangus, and Brian Severin is currently preferred to Adam Szemeredi while we try to ascertain our best midfield combo. Otherwise, although no one was anywhere near 100% condition, we took the gamble of the match being settled in 90 minutes and went with our best Starting XI.

The game was concluded in 90 minutes. We lost 1-2. We now get to focus exclusively on the league for 39 games without interruption. Probably for the best.

 

[phnompenhandy]

The game at Bognor was a laboured performance, it really was. The boys were so tired but I felt Bognor were too much of a threat to put out a weakened side – that could come after this match. Rostock went into the game with an ankle that I should have had him rest, and the rest of the boys were flagging. We were heading to a goalless conclusion when I sent on defender Ross Jack Nelson, and he nabbed an 85^th minute winner. A lovely smash-and-grab 1-0 win.

We targeted the midweek home tie with Warrington to put out our second-string so that the exhausted players could recover. Fresh legs and fresh minds were just what was needed – they all gave a good account of themselves, none more than the second-choice striking pair Danny Taylor and Cailean Harkiss. Their performances were watched by Rostock and Campbell who surely won’t lapse into any sense of complacency. A lovely 4-1 victory. Behind us, Gretna and Enfield stumbled, and while Favourites Kings Lynn are on a strong run, they’re currently seven points behind us.

We took a mostly full-strength team (Jack Callaghan was a starter!) down to Gala for the last game of September. We drew 1-1 in a largely forgettable performance. We move on to October.

End of September

 

How long can I ignore the form of this kid in the Under 18s?

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

October gave us seven fixtures. The thrice-postponed match against Margate, and the match at Enfield would be the trickiest; the others were against mid-table opposition. The first three weeks would be bi-weekly games, but after October 19^th, we moved into the phase where games only take place on Saturdays, allowing time for recovery and training. That would give us a run of thirty weekend matches where, all being well, we could get up a head of steam and make a charge for promotion. Shane is liaising with the team managing Ross County’s training schedules for a regular weekly slot set aside for us, even making some youth coaches available to us, so we’ll train for one after-school session a week at Dingwall and the rest of the time here.

First up, Hurlford came to the KGV Park. I felt it was a chance to rest Rostock’s ankle and give the wonderbaby Grigor a debut. He was a bit overwhelmed but when Rostock came on late, he helped us over the line in a 2-1 win. Brian Severin also marked his 100^th game for us – he’s vying with Lyall Barclay to be our greatest appearance maker now Culbin has gone. Severin is now established in our first team though, while is currently our third-choice central defender so is on the bench a lot.

The likes of Cunningham, Cook and Nelson in particular struggle with playing two games a week, so they got rested for the trip to Basingstoke. I made six changes in all, but far from the disjointed performance I’d feared, the boys put in a blistering show, with the defence looking really solid and Cailean Harkiss making his claim for a starting berth with four goals. For each one I thought, ‘Benn Rostock would have been offside there’. We are truly spoilt for killer strikers after being barren for two seasons. 5-2 was the result.

The players who sat out the last game were motivated to put in a shift against third-placed Margate. It is absolutely no coincidence that Rostock stepped up to the plate with a brace, with Harkiss breathing down his neck. Cunningham got the other in a 3-0 victory, with the whole team buzzing again. This success brings about an unanticipated problem. The so-called ‘second string’ players have bedded in so well, and we’re only two matches away from once-a-week matches where I can play a settled Starting XI. How do I leave these boys out? If it feels unfair to me, how will they feel? I can’t play them all, and I can’t loan them out without them losing access to Ross County’s facilities. We feel that a number of these youngsters have a future with us for a good few years too, and we expect more to come through. What dilemmas!

I deserved that. My over-confidence got the better of us and we failed to put in the necessary effort in a home game to Pollock. We lost 0-1 and with it our undefeated record. I wanted to berate the players because it should have been an easy win, but in truth I knew I was the main culprit. A wake-up call, no harm done in the greater picture. Probably for the best, eh?

The rapid turnaround helped, with a fresh team facing Kilwinning four days later. It was not a totally convincing performance, but Cunningham and Harkiss leading the line put in strong performances and we won 2-1.

By the time we played Enfield, they’d been in a bit of a slump. Harkiss had persuaded me to start him ahead of Rostock. For all his enthusiasm, he lacked the guile to get the better of the Enfield defence in what was one of those dour, instantly forgettable encounters. It was Barclay who broke the deadlock with a late header from a corner to give us a 1-0 win. Now we move into the fun part of the season, starting on Monday evening with our first weekly session at the Global Energy. Shane's even arranged some kind of link-up with Morton's Fortrose Academy pupils, so Muir can take the younger boys to Dingwall on Sundays.

this is what we're excited about

Got to give full credit where it's due, despite my frequent criticisms!

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

If there's a dark side to progress, it's this. Shane abruptly terminated the contract of our physio Morgan, who's been with us from the start. He said he'd found a better one. I'm shocked.

Shannon in

Morgan out

 

I didn't let my disappointment affect the next development, though. Dunfermline Athletic offered me an interview. That’s the most prestigious approach yet. Wrong timing – not now, not ever!

We had a week! A week to prepare for relegation-favourites Glenafton’s visit to Fortrose. This time we didn’t let complacency affect us, especially as I’d informed the squad the game would decide the line-up for the next two matches, which are home to title-favourites and professional outfit, King’s Lynn and down in Manchester to play the highly-fancied FC United. In both cases, apart from enjoying solitary work-out sessions at Dingwall, the rest of the training will focus on knowing and preparing for our opponents.

We went with the most inform guys, which meant dropping Ewan Bell and Benn Rostock to the bench in favour of Lyall Barclay and Cailean Harkiss for now. We put in a good team performance in a comfortable 2-0 win, something that pleased me and the supporters who turned up. We have our mojo!

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Shane tells me that he’d been contacted by the British FA. Apparently, there’s was an admin error back in 2021 when the new system was set up. We should have been promoted into tier 9 British Scottish Prime Division 2B as we thought, and not British English Prime Division 2B. They say it’s too late to change now, and any promotion will be into a tier 8 English league. They’re looking into compensating us with some travel costs to a maximum of £50,000 per year, but can’t do more than that. He also said that the shirt manufacturers had informed him that previous supply chain problems were resolved and a backlog of orders were being processed. For us in means a healthy payment come the summer.

We went into the King’s Lynn game with our first-choice side apart from Scott Cunningham, our captain who had a minor knock. Despite having an underwhelming season, they looked the full professionals they were against us, and blew us away in a 0-3 defeat. For the first (and hopefully last) time this season, we looked completely outclassed even though all three goals came from one-off errors. We only need to meet them once more, and we have a 14 point lead over them so I won’t dwell on the match any further.

We had to prepare for the challenging next game, so there was no time to dwell in self-pity. We can’t have been the first part-time team to come across Broadhurst Park in Manchester and turn green with envy. “This is the dream” murmured Shane beside me and we were all sharing the same thought.

The lack of a stadium aside, with our relationship with Ross County, we can hold our own against the FCUM with regard to facilities

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Dundee want me now – I’m coming to be a wee bit of a big-time Charlie! And not just me – Andy Boylan has been called up to the Scotland Under 18s squad.

A few days later we were contacted by Boylan’s agent – we didn’t know he had an agent - apparently it goes hand in hand with becoming an uncapped international. A contract was requested, on terms Shane wasn’t comfortable with, but by that time we’d had a closer look at our back-up keepers and were shocked to see just how far Andy had come over the last year. Grumbling away, Shane signed him up. I mentioned Dundee. He gave me a blank look.

We put out a much-changed side at FC United. We didn’t play any better although we only lost 0-1. I don’t recall ever going through 90 minutes with no shots on target, mind. We’ve just played and lost to the top two favourites according to the bookies. Looking on the positive side, that means we won’t face such tough opposition for a long time. Nevertheless, we need to be better than this.

not happy about this

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The next three games in November were against teams around the play-off spots – all tricky games.

We assembled our more in-form players to line up in front of Sandy Campbell, our first-choice goalkeeper of last season (who conceded 74 goals) to go into battle at Ashton. We played like the team we really are and Rostock got back on the score sheet with a brace in a 2-0 win. The keeper was only tested with one shot, but he’d keep his place for the next game.

What I hadn’t done until now was pair Rostock and Harkiss together up top. With a subtle adjustment to their duties, I tried it against Whitby. We’d gone behind but we were looking increasingly likely to score when Smith got himself senselessly sent off and we lost 0-1. Smith will probably have his ban increased and Schumacher has proved not ready for the first team, so we have a weakness there.

Boylan was back for the match against Gretna 2008, who were in 3^rd and on a great run. Boylan didn’t play a minute for his country, but got a pay-rise! It was a close game and 1-1 was a fair result. With November away, we’re still hanging on to top spot, but in relegation form.

 

[phnompenhandy]

We lost 0-2 at Buxton. We were sludge. Completely lost our mojo here. We’ve lost top spot to Bognor Regis. The problem is the boys are enjoying their training more than the matches – I hadn’t foreseen that. We need freshening up – a change of tack. Let me go away and think about this.

I recalled over the summer a tactic I had in mind but was too inhibited to implement in the earlier part of the season. Now, the players are fitter, and they can be run into the ground on a Saturday afternoon. I was desperate – I presented it to the coaching team and we trialled it during the week. Jack Callaghan was required, so I called him in from the cold for the umpteenth time. We were reverting to the 5-2-1-2 we’d used briefly and disastrously at the start of my career, firming up the back by adding a third centre back and dropping the midfield deeper. The next Friday we set off for Margate.

We were facing Margate for the second time – we were moving into the second half of the season. Opponents had had us sussed out – would a change in tactics flummox the opposition?

Yes and no. I mean we did, but we flummoxed ourselves as much. I impressed on the lads I wanted aggression, I wanted all guns blazing. Schumacher took it too literally and shot himself with a red card. We drew 1-1. It was a start.

have I made the right call here?

Schumacher’s suspension coincided with Smith returning from a three-match ban, so the system wasn’t disrupted although I disputed it anyway by going with a different starting formation. We were back down to the south coast to Gosport (Shane was on the phone to the FA to make good on their promise – those costs were adding up). We smashed it. The boys loved the playing style and waltzed to a 4-1 chiefly courtesy of a Stuart Campbell hat-trick.

We now moved into a sequence of six consecutive games against relegation strugglers. This was a golden opportunity to move back top and put ourselves in pole position for a promotion push. Would our mojo be back to stay? It looked like it - we closed off 2024 by smashing Benburb 4-0 with Cunningham back to his best and Callaghan converting two penalties. Bring on 2025 - we're ready!!

 

In the midst of this mini-revolution, I barely had time to consider Muir's preview of our next intake of Fortrose graduates. What are we looking at? A back-up keeper, a couple of centre backs and a top midfield prospect - not bad?

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[LeLaga]

 Hey,

How many leagues below Vanarama are You competing in right now? Margate, Basingtstoke, FC United - also King's Lynn, all sound familiar from my time in Vanarama North,

[phnompenhandy]

8 minutes ago, LeLaga said:

 Hey,

How many leagues below Vanarama are You competing in right now? Margate, Basingtstoke, FC United - also King's Lynn, all sound familiar from my time in Vanarama North,

It's a mod I got off Steam Workshop. A United British Pyramid of 10 tiers. I started in the 10th and came 2nd. Then I finished 16th after a long losing streak. In my 3rd season now. The English teams in the 9th tier are mostly Vanarama N/S. All divisions have 24 teams and the pyramid includes Scottish, Welsh, N. Irish and Rep of Ireland sides, which is why the sides in tier 6 in real life and in tier 9 here.

Edited December 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[LeLaga]

 Aaaah, that's how it works - I read first page, then came here and was a bit confused. Now read up more on page 3 and it's more clear. Interesting idea! Will follow along for sure. You'll probably go to Premier League (Or whoever the highest tier is called in your system) quicker than me anyway.

[phnompenhandy]

2 minutes ago, LeLaga said:

 Aaaah, that's how it works - I read first page, then came here and was a bit confused. Now read up more on page 3 and it's more clear. Interesting idea! Will follow along for sure. You'll probably go to Premier League (Or whoever the highest tier is called in your system) quicker than me anyway.

With it being an academy challenge, I'm focusing all my efforts (and the club's income) on developing infrastructure. It's a fine line - the improved facilities produce better intakes, but every promotion puts you with opponents who are further from the level of your kids. I suspect when I get to a league with a lot of professional sides, I'll come unstuck.

[phnompenhandy]

Three months after our Youth Facilities were upgraded and available, I had an interesting conversation with Muir, who presides over it. I'm not sure if I explained that the upgraded Youth Facilities are at Fortrose Academy. With Muir liaising, the football club and Academy joint financed it, and it does commit the club to Fortrose indefinitely, so Shane needs to think on that if he has plans to relocate to Inverness. He'd have to recompense the school half the cost of the upgrade. I never know with Shane when he discusses such matters with me whether they're passing whimsical thoughts or serious plans. I don't think he does either, but as this project has segued into something quite serious, he's better not turn out to be the Elon Musk of part-time Highland football!

 

The younger schoolboys (and girls) use the new facilities in Fortrose but still go to Dingwall on Sunday - it keeps motivation high with the best ones having realistic dreams of playing professionally one day. The kids at our club still studying at the school use the facilities too, as do the non-Fortrose graduates with special permission. It's particularly popular when it's raining or when the golf course we used to jog on is out of bounds. To put it another way, it's in constant use.

Shane discussed with me and Muir about our 'roadmap', as he called it. Consolidation after promotion is fine for one season, but we've got to keep moving forward. So long as we are, we're the talk of the Highlands and further afield. We'll attract high quality youths so long as they can dream of professional football with us. If we get bogged down at part-time level (kids aren't going to move here and seek part-time jobs for long) or can't only offer professional contracts for low wages with little realistic chance of progression, the sheen will wear off, and we'll enter a death spiral. The pressure is on, and we all have to be 100% committed. He assured me good contracts for myself will come along when he is able to offer good contracts for all. Might need to wait until we turn professional, but it will be worth it. Shane told us to keep the plans hush-hush as he needs to present a more conservative 5-year plan to stockholders such as the Inverness Royal Academy and Ross County - he doesn't want them to get spooked at our ambition and obstruct us. As an example, Shane had asked Ross County board if they could send better youths to be on loan with us, but the request got rejected as being too presumptuous. He wonders (to me privately) if one day we might affiliate with ICT to combine youth facilities, but I wondered if the Staggies might see that as duplicitous. 'True', said Shane – 'Well it’s a long term idea. Maybe with Rangers or Celtic one day'. He does make me nervous, but Mum's the word.

None of these aspirations will be realised if we blow up this second half of the season, so we needed to get back on track and ensure we get promoted. With this run of facing the poorer teams in the league, I couldn't really tell if our results were down to the change in tactics or the quality of the opposition, but be that as it may, it was the results that were all-important at this stage.

 

We smashed Benburb 4-0 – Cunningham was back to his best and Callaghan converted two penalties. 'Bring on 2025' I cried in the post-match team talk, 'We’re ready!'

 

A propos of nothing, what's going on here?

We don't have a mentoring system - no one is old enough to be a mentor. I'm looking at Ross himself, as his character fits the profile!

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We saw the new year in by cruising past Auchinleck Talbot 3-0 but were then caught out a bit down in Brighton, playing at Whitehawk. We didn't play badly at all, but the opposition belied their lowly place in the league and gave us a right good game, flying into a 3-0 lead. A 95th minute equaliser from substitute Rostock gave us an undeserved point in a 3-3 humdinger. We got back to winning ways at Kilwinning - another 3-0 stroll with a brace from Cunningham, who showed his professionalism in the light of Port Vale and Birmingham City snooping around him. Shane has given him a part-time contract with hefty appearance and goal bonuses to entice him to stay - was that Scott's motivation? I also gave a debut to Adam Graham as we need more cover at centre back now we're starting three. He did okay.

Disaster struck. As we were distracted by a derisory bid from Sheffield Wednesday for Liam Macangus, Scott Cunningham dismayed us by taking up the offer to join Port Vale. We can't blame him for taking the opportunity, and he'll have a great future, but I was deeply disappointed as we were building the team around him and I felt he was indispensable to our success. It's a hard lesson I have to take - no player is indispensable, we will lose our best and I always have to have a ready-made replacement able to step in at short notice.

 

Bye bye Captain Marvel, we wouldn't be here without you. By the way, look at that sale value - we didn't get a penny

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

I offered the captaincy to Liam Macangus, partly to entice him not to defect to Sheffield Wednesday who’d just pitched a derisory offer even though Ewan Bell is older and probably the better option. That decision might have backfired when bids came in for Bell. Jason Kelly was preferred as the attacking playmaker with striker Danny Taylor noted as an alternative.

I pointed out to these boys that whilst Sam Culbert is a first team regular for Elgin City, Darragh Neilson is in Gateshead’s reserves and hasn’t made a single first-team appearance.

The visit of East Thurrock gave us a good opportunity to get our post-Cunningham phase of to a winning start. Their defender earned an early red card, so although we sailed to a 4-1 win, Kelly wasn’t under any pressure. But with Rostock coming on as substitute and scoring two goals, with Harkiss the other two, if I restore them as a striking partnership, it would make Taylor sitting behind them viable.

Troon was up next, giving us an ideal opportunity to trial the starting line-up before we hit tough fixtures through February. Before that, St. Mirren came in with offers for Boylan and Macangus. Boylan was angry that we didn’t cave in to their ridiculous offer. I’m spending far too much time throwing my arm over boys’ shoulders and flattering them to death in line with the personal skills the courses have taught me. It’s nauseating! The effort did pay off, with Macangus signing a new deal and pledging his future to us.

We drew 3-3 with Troon. We were by far the better side, but Taylor as playmaker didn’t work, and although Bell has turned down offers from lower tier sides, he’s not been focussed over the last few matches. I should have spotted that.

On February 4^th at 4 pm the staff gathered together to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne. Sheffield Wednesday had lodged another bid for Boylan in the morning, but we saw it off. I’ll deal with the repercussions later. The transfer window had closed!

I've been telling the boys there was NO Vember. It didn't happen! It was a bad dream. Let's take the form of December and January forward and smash this league! (Don't look to closely at the fixtur list - you'll see our opponents in February are on a par with those in November)

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Liam Macangus has taken to the captaincy like a duck to the proverbial wet stuff, leading by example on the training ground if not always all that on the pitch.

I don’t like the new trend of all these impressionable young boys getting themselves agents – we can’t stop them, but I don’t think these agents have their welfare at heart like Muir and I do. Again, it a price we pay for ambition, I suppose. Should I hire one for myself?

Maybe just as well I haven’t. St. Mirren, having failed to nab our brightest in the transfer window, are after me now!

We lost 0-1 away to Matlock, and 0-2 at Warrington, dropping to third and out of the automatic promotion spots. The loss of Cunningham was beginning to bite. We spoiled the hat-trick by beating Bognor in a titanic battle 1-0, with Rostock scoring the only goal and getting himself sent off. With Matlock losing at FC United, we went back top. It’s nip ‘n’ tuck up there, but if we can maintain our flat-track bully record, we ought to pull away now with the next four games against bottom-half sides. Indeed, the last six fixtures are really horrible, so we need a safety margin from these next six. Sometime in the midst of this, Muir will bring our new intake from his school. Here we go!

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The problem with our current formation is our midfielders are not getting games and are starting to stagnate. I won’t change again right now, but at some point, I need to reintegrate them.

We were relieved to learn that Andy Boyle has ceased sulking over St. Mirren. He felt that if I myself had turned them down, it was fair enough that he would too. They’re rock bottom of their league anyway. I turned Bristol City down too.

We made a disastrous start to March by losing 0-1 to Gala Fairydean. Harkiss got himself sent off in the first half. He only started because Rostock was sent off in the previous game. With eleven men we demolished Hurlford 3-0 with a brace from Rostock. The same eleven started in Glasgow against Pollock but could only manage a 2-2 draw.

On March 16^th, after than game our intake from Fortrose Academy arrived.

Muir has one word for this lot - potential. In two words - high potential. He reckons a few might make the first team next season, and he's of a mind that some could be important when we inevitably lose key first team players in the close season. He tells to keep a close eye on John Brown who can do numerous jobs in midfield. The new kids beat our Under 18s (who are a bit depleted by now) 3-0 ina display had had us convinced to sign up at least a dozen of them immediately.

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

By the end of the month we’d signed 18 youth players (15 from our academy and 5 from Royal). That necessitated ruthless pruning and we arranged with Royal to take 19 of our own and try to find them new homes. This included a few old stalwarts, here with us since the beginning but who lacked either drive or talent – lads like Willie McGlynn, Gordon spence, Brian Severin, Jack Callaghan (finally) and our two back-up keepers. That last move turned out to be a bit foolish when Andy Boyle was subsequently called up to not play for the Scotland Under 18s again and I found myself having to put that promising academy kid in goal for the first team.

Amidst the chaos a match did take place – Basingstoke came to the KGV. The Starting XI, perhaps aware of the new competition, put in enough of a shift to scrape home 1-0. We then beat Enfield 3-1 with Stuart Reid superb between the sticks as he stood in for Boylan a mere two weeks since leaving school.

I couldn't resist oone last tactical change. I'm convinced we wouldn't succeed against the strongest sides unless we reverted to our main tactic from last season - the 4-3-3- with attacking wingbacks and inside forwards. I’m aware that it didn’t work terribly well then, but we have players better suited to it. I decided to trial it away to virtually-relegated Glenafton before heading into our key final six match sequence. We won 2-0 even with Harkiss getting sent off.

here we go - six games and with our rivals hitting form, we can't afford any slip ups

Edited December 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy