[FM23] Nessie Awakes!

[phnompenhandy]

With some tactical tweaks to get more power up top, we headed off to the foot of Ben Nevis, where Fort William play. They'd won their last four and were riding high. We had no intention of playing the underdogs though, and the boys were keen to bring something back from the other end of the Great Glen. I changed the underperforming personnel, and we kept pace with a clearly stronger opponent and would have come away with a 2-2 draw if Fraser hadn't missed a last-minute penalty. Still, the result puts Fort top and us down to 9th.

[phnompenhandy]

Our second boat trip up to Kirkwall Grammar School allowed us to regain a little dignity as we again drew with Orkney thanks to a last-gasp winner by big Phil.

Darren MacGregor can't get into the first team due to Phil's form and has decided not to renew his contract in the summer. Pity, he's one of the older ones but he's got a year more in him. Hosie's mumbling about jumping ship too (spoiler: at 31 and far from the first team, I wasn't going to keep him anyway).

[phnompenhandy]

We closed October with a home tie against Bonar Bridge, the weakest team in the league. The result was closer than it should have been, but we bagged three points at last. The players have been revolting, with reliable rumours of discontent reaching me every day in the last week. I elected to give two of the players who felt hard done by a chance - Stevie Macdonald was atrocious as ever, but Darren Macgregor played the whole match and scored a crucial winning goal to add to Phil Macdonald's brace. Just as the front line is starting to click into gear, the defence are again appearing a shambles.

We might be nowhere, but at least we're well ahead of Athletic. Not sure how much that will keep the fans off my back.

 

A rare bright spot though - our first award - congratulations Phil!

Edited November 15, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Whilst I maintain my unorthodox narrow structure is quite sound and the decline is mostly due to declining physical abilities amongst the older players as well as a morale death-spiral, I’m running out of fixes. For that reason I decided to use an upcoming friendly on the day of the Times Cup final to trial a more orthodox  Back 4 formation (a narrow diamond), calling up my hitherto unused fullbacks. My leftback whom I haven’t played before, Calum Black, struggled with the pace but rightback, versatile Josh Kerr did well enough.

Meanwhile, Michael Miele rocked up on the training ground waving his newly-acquired National B coaching licence and demonstrated some new techniques. I made appropriate noises, but it’s still beyond me how he’s supposed to train himself – or his backup Harrison who I’m having to put out to pasture, wondering internally why he isn’t the goalkeeping coach.

And so we travelled up to Alness to test the new tactic in the fires of the second-placed side (with newly crowned cup holders Fort now leading the way by a distance). We were reminded from our recently-drawn friendly how our opponents set up, and we were reasonably confident we could come back home with something.

[phnompenhandy]

We came away with something - the rather expected draw, 1-1. I felt that with our new formation, we've stopped the rot - although it will take more games to confirm that. The main weak-point was creating poor-quality chances, so we'll need to work on that a bit.

[phnompenhandy]

Our next test is at home to Halkirk. They've won their last two and are a place and a point above us. Although we're 'languishing' in 9th, the league is so tight, a lucky swing over the next game week could take us in the vicinity of 4th. The fans are all laughing at Athletic's woes, which takes the heat off me, but makes me a little nervous. Cool heads are required.

By the way, I've completed my own National B coaching licence. I'm still putting out the cones while learning the ropes from Ross Tokely though.

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

In truth, it was a very low-quality occasion for the fans. A 1-1 draw ensured we haven't lost in 4 games now, but we've dropped a further place to 10th. The pattern is maintained of being competent at the back but below par up front. Phil had a real off-day.

The local hacks still fancy Clach Reserves to win the league - they've just conceded 7 at home! 

[phnompenhandy]

Finally! Everything clicked. I made some drastic changes - not quite trusting our untried fullbacks, I put two of our experienced centrebacks on the flanks and they closed the opposition down. I dropped a disappointing Allan MacPhee into midfield, and he sparked into life. It was a thing of beauty, and a 3-0 away win at Golspie. That's actually the first time we've been a league opponent placed higher than us. What a relief!!!

 

The 'momentum' turned out to be a fantasy as our next game, home to Thurso was a drab affair, ending 0-0. Again, the defence was solid, but the attack blunt. It's apparent that the loser in this new tactic is Phil Macdonald, who isn't getting chances like he used to. More tinkering required, and another friendly coming up to experiment.

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Talk about a game of two halves! For the first time in my career, I found myself screaming and shouting, and chucking water bottles around. Thee first half was abject and we found ourselves down at home to St. Duthus. St. Duthus! The team we mullered 4-0 in our first game, thinking we were something before realising our opponents are the league's clowns. Well the half time team talk clearly had an affect, along with my tactical changes and substitutions - all the changes were right on the nose and we answered with four goals ourselves, including one by teenage debutant Luke Seago (replacing the out-ofform Phil MacDonald).

We can't let this be a one-off though - we need to take that second half and go with that.

 

 

"WORDS" 

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We refrained from talking shop during the Christmas party, but the day after, Shane called me in for a slightly awkward meeting to discuss the future of the squad. We are in full agreement, but it’s still unpleasant to deal with people’s futures, which is why I’m relieved the final decisions lie with him. His basic point is that our finances are in dire straights and the biggest expense is our wage bill, so ….

So much depends on the quality of the kids who come in at the end of the season, by which time the current players will have made alternative plans if they haven’t been offered new contracts. We both agreed on definitely retaining four players and renewing their contracts as soon as possible – captain Jamie Lee Fraser, Allan MacPhee, Josh Race and Jacob Kerr. I also pitched for Michael Miele on the basis that at only 29 he might be needed if we don’t have a viable keeper in the new intake, and he’d be needed to coach a new kid anyway.

At least six fringe players are grumbling about lack of playing time. We agreed their discontent was quite convenient as we could do with them off the wage bill now rather than in the summer, so I called them in one by one and allowed my arms to be twisted in letting them move on for free or on loan if the right (i.e. any) offer comes in. In fact, there was enough interest to knock an immediate £1000 off the monthly wage bill, much to Shane’s visible relief. I wish he’d be more candid with me over these rumours – I know for a fact more than one or two Inverness businessmen have been having a gander at the books. My hunch is that they’re not liking what they’re seeing and running a mile, and Shane can’t say anything until someone shows serious interest. But the strain on his face speaks volumes.

[phnompenhandy]

The year concluded with a big match - away to our wandering rivals, Inverness Athletic. We again got the better of them, albeit waiting until the 96th minute for Fraser, clearly delighted with his shiny new contract, to steal the three points. The pitch was hard, the weather was gruesome yet no one left early with the best action at the death. Three of our boys got injured - Kerr's ankle the most serious (Sara estimates 6 weeks), and two of Athletic's lads got carried off.

Clarke brought me some interesting data. We lead the league in xG and chances created as well as possession and passing. That tells me we should be winning more games and be higher up the table. What will the second half of the season bring?

Good things, is I think the answer. The following Sunday took us back into Inverness where we fairly comfortably despatched Clach B 3-1. That brought us to the heady heights of 3rd place.

It doesn't take much in this league to go from zero to hero -

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

January was dominated by departures as our financial crisis forced us to accept losing 10 players on free transfers, and struggling to convince the likes of Phil MacDonald, our top scorer, and Craig Mainland to stay until the end of the season. We're pared to the clichéd bone, with a squad of only 21 players, and that's including our static 43-year-old 'second' keeper.

On the pitch, we participated in our second cup competition, travelling to Halkirk for the North Caledonian Cup first round. Two goals in the 95th minute kept tensions high right until the final whistle, but we won the tie 2-1. Young strikers Josh Race and Luke Seago were our scorers, showing maybe we don't need to rely on the old guard after all.

 

In the next round we're drawn at home to either Bonar Bridge or St. Duthus. I guess we're expected to win that. I just hope I haven't suckered myself into a midweek tie - I haven't got the back-up to put out!

Breaking News: I have, and it's Fort William we face on a Wednesday - the table-toppers, Damned sucky cups! 

AND... our game at Nairn was snowed off, resulting in a second Wednesday game. We'll have played 2 games in January, with 6 scheduled for February. What a time to lose half your squad!

The transfer window closed with Fort William shedding 15 players! They also have a squad of only 21 - guess it's not just us, then. Shane was acting all shifty and avoiding me over the two days before it shut. Turned out he was touting out Luke Seago - I have no idea why, as our new star is a kid on amateur forms, so he doesn't cost us anything. Anyway, the boy was smart enough to turn down the offers held under his nose. That lad deserves my loyalty. Rab tells me the kid's picked up a strong sense of loyalty from his mentoring group. It's Jamie Lee I can thank for that.

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

It was a game I really didn't want to play, but play we did, and win we did. We beat St. Duthus 3-2 to reach the semis of this cup, but Mike Mulligan picked up a nasty dislocated shoulder early on. He'll be out for probably three months. That takes him past the end of the season, and at 34, probably the end of his career.

So on to that midweek game hosting league leaders Fort William. We put in a lot of low-intensity but high-intelligence preparation for the game. We knew their strengths, we knew how they'd play and what we could and couldn't do. It was a tactical masterclass. It was a performance to record and show your grandkids. It was 3-0 to the Monsters. Look at the stats - look at the final third passes. José Mourinho, eat your heart out. It was, may I say, my finest hour (and a half).

 

[phnompenhandy]

In this month of two matches a week in awful weather, we need to focus on conserving energy, because we can't rotate the squad. With a lot of aching limbs, we're fortunate that both Sara and Morgan are such accomplished masseurs. We hosted Orkney three days later. On the hour mark we were winning 2-1, but then we just collectively conked out. The anguish was etched on the faces of the players as they could do nothing to prevent their opponents running past them and grabbing two late goals as we were negotiating a raft of substitutions. We fell to our first defeat since converting to this 4-4-2 Diamond formation ten games ago.

On the Wednesday we'd be hosting Nairn County's reserves, behind us only on goal difference, and the following Saturday we'd travel to 2nd-placed Invergordon. We'd be playing those matches on fumes. Nevertheless, by pacing themselves carefully, the boys demolished Nairn 5-2 in a superbly assured performance. Injuries and fatigue meant that a slightly weakened team with Fraser pushed up top lined up against Invergordon, now 2nd (us!)  v 3rd, we were on our knees in the second half and again relinquished a lead, but this time we hung on for a 1-1 draw and staggered into the rest of the week to rest and recuperate, with a whole week before our next match.

Edited November 16, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We easily saw off Golspie Sutherland in the semi to face Fort William in the north Caledonian Cup final. Golspie didn't look particularly up for a fight, which I suppose is fair enough - if you don't bring home the trophy, participation seems merely an imposition. Mind you, Golspie have nothing else to fight for.

I do think with a smaller crew to see us through the season, the settled Starting XI have really gelled. There's a great spirit, with a younger average age - just skipper Fraser, Craig Mainland and Innes in their 30s. They see themselves as part of the future and seem more loyal and receptive towards me personally. Callum Black has established himself at left back (the only other left back left us), and Luke Seago has gamely taken on board a False 9 position, which sacrifices his potency a bit to link the midfield and attack, a ploy my older forwards were reluctant to trial. If we can repeat a second-place finish under my guidance, I think - finances aside - we'll be in a healthy place for next season - well, depending on the quality of the Fortrose schoolboys, that is.

Shane called me in for a meeting to talk about my contract and future here. It was short and sweet - I understand it wouldn't look good to increase my income at this time, so we kept the same conditions on a new one-year deal. We did agree to a 50% increase if we got promoted. I want to say that's an unrealistic prospect, but in fact Fort have a very tough run-in (and Invergordon's last 3 are even tougher); if they slip up and we keep winning, who knows?

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Aargghh!! Just when things were looking so good, we stopped playing for no reason!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 Do we bottle it or take it to the wire? 

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The scoreline at Bonar Bridge made the game look tighter than it really was, but we bagged three points to get back on the wagon. Up next was Golspie. We'd figured that the team we beat in the semi when it lay down to have its tummy tickled was a case of misdirection and that we wouldn't underestimate them. And indeed it was a tough encounter - we ended up sharing six goals. That left Fort William needing just one win in their last three games to claim the title. Game over? In fact, the rearranged match between Fort and Invergordon ended in a draw. If we win our last two and they fail to win their other game ...

First, we had to go to Halkirk and see them off. Chris Innes was fading, so the Mainland brothers shared centre back duties with Black was on the left. Just look what happened -

 

[phnompenhandy]

April Fool's Day. North Caledonian Cup final. Fort William. A first for both of us due to Fort's first relegation and us playing at a historically high level. How would the outcome affect both teams psychologically prior to the title-contesting final match day of the league season? So much was riding on the match. Would our boys rise to the occasion or bottle it? We put all our training time into preparing for this match - I saw no point in tiring them out with physical exertions or criticising poor training form. It was all about morale-boosting and psyching the lads up. Would it be enough?

With over 1500 in attendance at Inverness Caledonian Thistle's stadium, we played our part. We dominated the game, I felt, but in truth the boys were a little affected by the atmosphere and lacked a wee bit of composure. Nevertheless, they did the club proud as they fell to a 0-2 defeat.

While us and Fort were duking it out for a pot, the bottom of the table is the place to be!

 

By the way, Fort's final game is against Orkney. They'll be dreaming of a 5-goal swing, i.e. they beat Fort by 3 goals while we fail to win.

That last match day is in two weeks. In the meantime, Muir Morton has brought along the new boys, so I'll be spending all those days the players have off to watch and examine the intake. Shane agreed that I'd want the whole summer to assess them and was happy to bang the whole intake of 16 on standard youth contracts of £21 per month, collectively the same expense as one of the senior players we'd be letting go. Given that, all being well, Shane would not be renewing half the senior players' contracts - and that half being the most experienced and most expensive players, he looked very happy with that prospect. it does depend on me putting faith in these kids though. I'm getting right onto it!

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Okay, so let's get to the final match day. We're at Thurso, who have nothing to play for. We need to win, and with our superior goal difference, a draw for Fort would make us champions. Fort's cup final victory will probably settle their nerves; can we recover from it? We've had two weeks to prepare to ensure we don't blow it by letting ourselves down.

During the game the supporters - and a few of our staff and substitutes, were glued to their phones checking the other match.

 

Well ...

 

 

I was not expecting that! Our boys were phenomenal, but what happened to Fort? They were beaten by an Orkney side that finished strongly but left it just a wee bit late.

 

Wow. We're not promoted - what comes next is a Kafkaeasque minefield. We go into a preliminary round-robin mini-league with the winners of two other leagues in our tier. Then the winner of those matches meets up with the last placed side in the Highland League after they've had a chance to rest and recuperate. Fort William are the only team to have been relegated in this manner, and Invergordon after winning the North Caley last year fell at the next stage; you'd have to say the odds are very much against us. Back to the training ground!

 

FINAL TABLE

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

With a week to recover and prepare, we were due to face Broughty Athletic, champions of the Scottish Midlands League away on Saturday, followed by Bridge of Don, champions of the Superleague at our place. Both had won their leagues at a canter and had time to rest their best players. We, however, were quite fit and healthy, with even Mulligan ready to join our bench if needed. With each playing only two games, goal difference would be at a premium. Strathspey Thistle (previous club of Chris Innes and James Lee Fraser) were confirmed as the side to face the winners of the play-off.

I promoted three of the youths to the bench for the first match as a few of the oldest players had effectively said their goodbyes.

Facing an unfamiliar team and with a bit of pressure weighing them down, the boys weren't at their best and we were well scalped. The chances of promotion were effectively over and we'd be playing for price in the midweek home tie. We'd be tired too, whereas Bridge of Don had had extra time to rest and prepare.

With a good crowd of well over 300 behind us, we fought hard and drew that game. Mathematically, it's all over for us whatever happens in the final game between Broughty and Bridge.

 

 

We can be very proud of ourselves though, champions of the north Caledonian League and cup finalists to boot. Expectations will be raised next season!

 

For what it's worth, Broughty won the play-off, but lost to Strathspey Thistle. Ex-league sides Brechin and Berwick faced off in the play-off to challenge the bottom side in League Two, Albion Rovers. Rovers won, so there was no promotion to the Scottish Football League nor the Highland League. I do think the authorities should consider making the newly created pyramid system less of a closed shop, to be honest.

At the top of the Highland tree, Ross County were relegated from the Premier League and will join Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Championship after they failed in the play-offs, finishing league runners-up. Cove Rangers finished last and will play in League One next season. All in all, a very disappointing season for the Highlands. Oh, and Rangers pipped Celtic to the title on goal difference on the last day!

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Okay, welcome to the 2023/24 season.

Over the summer we successfully moved on the old guard, bringing the average age of the squad down to 23 from over 30. It was a struggle to hang onto Ross Tokely and Sara, but they demonstrated their loyalty (to dolphins if not to me, eh Sara?). Michael Mainland also needed a lot of convincing to stay after we released his brother, but we need some experience at the back before we can rely on our two 15-year-old defenders. Innes and Mainland are fading, but a gradual transition might work. James Lee Fraser at 33 has another year’s captaincy in him before he hands over to Conor MacPhee who’s now 24. Allan MacPhee is 25, Race 24, Black 22, Kerr 20, Boyce and Seago 20. Those are my ‘senior’ players retained from last season. The intention is all 16 youths will get their chances, but after a summer school with them, I’d say only Hammell and Gielty in midfield, and Boyle at right back are close to the first team. As mentioned, Williamson and Gallacher are likely to get minutes purely due to the lessening stamina of our senior centre backs. Buckley as our third striker is bound to get minutes too when Race and Seago need a rest. One major worry is the goalkeeper, Bonner, is nowhere near good enough which means wholly relying on Miele for the season. Maybe Michael will use those certificates (he’s on his ‘A’ right now) to polish up the lad.

Wage bill down to just over £2,000 per month from over £7,000. By the end of July we should be back in the black. Then we can look ahead to improving youth facilities.

Here's the full squad:

 

[oche balboa]

Really enjoying this so far. Keep up the good work 

 

What skin is that?....Looks good 

[phnompenhandy]

4 minutes ago, oche balboa said:

Really enjoying this so far. Keep up the good work 

 

What skin is that?....Looks good 

I've been jumping around a bit trying out skins. The one above is Tato - loads of options, in many ways the best skin around right now. But I'm really missing my backgrounds, so I'm reverting to Flut. He's due to bring out an upgrade with an attributeless option. I'm waiting on that.

[phnompenhandy]

I'm taking my time assessing the kids, but I'm going to break the 4th wall for a moment before I carry on.

The save hasn't developed as I'd intended. The kits remain the same, but having spent ages rigging up the real life squad with their pictures and stories, I'd meant to play them for a few seasons, whilst gradually introducing maybe half a dozen youths per season as senior players retired in small numbers. But I hadn't allowed for how old they were and how much of a burden on the finances they were. So it is unfortunate that TWENTY of the squad has been released after one season. Eleven original players remain, but that's a heck of a turnover. Those eleven 'veterans' ranging from 19-34 should play plenty of games, especially early on, but from the season on the focus will shift more to the academy intake to follow the progress of those who do make the first team. I honestly have no idea if we can challenge again for the title or if we'll struggle. The board and fans are going for the sensible option and requiring a top half finish again. Less sensible is the new demand that we play 'attacking and entertaining football'.

We're in four cups this season including the actual Scottish FA Cup, with the board demanding we reach the first round proper. I'm a wee bit disappointed with the glee the fans are indulging in over the fate of our rivals Inverness Athletic. The authorities have not shown any mercy in their continued nomadic existence and have chucked them out of the league, promoting Nairn St. Ninian in their stead.

Home shirt

Edited November 17, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Summer's over, players are returning, so now I need to integrate the youngsters into the main squad. Look at the contrasting Experience Matrix between this time last year and now:

(The Development' list continues a long way down now!)

Edited November 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

From my analyses in conjunction with Clarke, such a dedicated kid who spent his whole summer break with me, and observing with the coaches the players as they return to training, I can give my provisional observations.

Goalkeeping - Michael 'A Badge' is possibly the weakest goalkeeper in our league, but we have no alternative. He's going to continue being an attacking sweeper-keeper as we forgive him that solitary rush of blood last season when he dribbled into the centre circle only to make a short pass directly to an opposing striker (who fired but missed the goal). He's instructed to roll the ball out to a defender, despite rarely managing such a complex feat last season.

Defending - Generally we look quite sound, but the problem is our central defenders are either decent in the air and very slow on the ground, or the other way round. Do I play two trees and invite crosses, or two wee quicker guys and push higher? Or one of each and be neither one thing nor t'other? My team selections might depend on scouting the next opponents.

Midfield - It's a real toss-up between playing Boyce as deep-lying defensive playmaker and Conor MacPhee as Mezzala, or the other way round. Both have their pros and cons. Will gauge overpre-season. The other spots are for Fraser and Allan MacPhee as attacking midfielder, those two switching roles from last season. Might switch back. We look like quality in midfield, although with no pace. Nifty short passing and a bit of fancy-dan poncing about might compensate for our deficiencies there.

Attack - nice movement and skills, no pace and finishing. Those weaknesses plagued us last season, and the new kids are too raw to change the picture. Our goal machine Phil Macdonald has gone, so Josh Race (24) and Luke Seago (19) are our senior forwards and will carry the chief responsibility for goals. Well, not so much Luke - after doing okay as a False Nine late on last season, I'm hoping a Deep-Lying forward role will allow him to link with midfield adequately. He'll be on support duty with Fraser as an advanced playmaker on attack, whereas the supporting Mezzala will link up with the Advanced Forward, with Fraser on support as an Advanced Midfielder knitting everything together. It's largely a continuation of what we were doing later on last season, just with a few subtle tweaks. The kids will start on the bench for the start of pre-season - with the probable exception of Williamson due to wanting to conserve what's left of Innes' declining powers. If the kid does alright, Innes can be a default late-off-the-bench option. Some of the kids fancy themselves as wingers, but all of them are far from the first team, so rather than change the formation, I'm giving them a year to train in different positions, either as full backs or midfielders.

Fort William looks strong and should be favourites, and St. Duthus have looked quite determined in their recruiting. Bonar Bridge and new boys Nairn St. Ninian have been busy too although maybe those are cases of quantity over quality - so Rab thinks anyway. The bookies favour the always-fancied Invergordon to go forward to the play-offs, with us second. The reserves of Nairn County and Clach are always tipped to do well.

This is how we're provisionally setting up ahead of the pre-season friendlies

 

[Punch]

Loving that experience matrix view

[phnompenhandy]

I should probably also mention what else I've been doing with myself over the summer. After living in a draughty, leaky beach hut for a year, with the security of a new contract, I decided it was time to put down some roots, so I went house-hunting. My thoughts were to stay within or close to Fortrose to have easy access to the club and high school facilities, and use the money I’d saved up over the year to put down a deposit. With the main real estate agents in the region sponsoring the league (The Macleod & Maccallum North Caledonian League to give it its full title), I thought I might get some leeway, but when I contacted them, they just laughed me off the phone. So I looked for properties to rent – turns out this is a rather salubrious area, with its golf course and all. Also, as you might have gathered from our home attendances, there’s not a lot of support for football in the village.

After much searching, a property finally revealed itself to me. The rent is over half my pre-tax salary, but I don't have a social life so I can manage to pay it. It's a fair twee wee place, look:

 

Property Description

This is a charming and unique, unfurnished, first and attic floor maisonette, located within walking distance of the High Street and local amenities.
Accommodation Lounge; Kitchen; Two Bedrooms; Shower Room and Box Room.
Fully enclosed garden laid to lawn with patio area and garden shed.
The property benefits from double-glazing and benefits from night storage heating.
Deposit: £575

Monthly rent £575 pm.

Edited November 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Here we are - the house/studio flat is in Rose Street, a block from the Academy and just over from club at The King George V Playing Field. Clarke is already delighted at the prospect of our tactical analysis meetings taking place in more comfortable surroundings.

I maybe should have shown at the beginning where Fortrose is. Here is a map centred on Loch Ness itself.

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Finally, after so many requests to invest in facilities for the youths, we get a result. As Shane promised, the savings in wages are being redirected.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Eight friendlies over a three week pre-season got the lads fit, but didn't teach me much I didn't already know. To the handful of attending fans, there wasn't much to separate the first team squad from the youths. I knew, however, that the senior players were not exactly exerting themselves, whereas the kids were giving their all to impress me. They do deserve credit for that though. Lessons that do need to be borne in mind - Seago is simply too puny to come deep, collect the ball and hold it up waiting for a passing opportunity. He simply gets bundled off it and another chance is lost. Otherwise, when we do create chances - and we create plenty - the finishing is atrocious. I shouldn't have released Phil Macdonald, I see now. The 4 centrebacks do their job well, but due to being either too young or too old, none of them can get through a whole game. For all that, we're mostly ready for the season to commence.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Before we were quite ready, we had to play our first competitive game of the season, against Buckie Thistle in the North of Scotland Cup. Buckie are one of the Top 3 sides in the Highland League. The winners were due to face Brora Rangers, another of the Top 3. Whisper it quietly, but I wasn't too disappointed to lose 1-3 and avoid a midweek game long before the kids are ready for that. The lads played fairly well really, given the gulf in class, and neither the chairman nor fans expressed any unhappiness with the outcome.

A wee bit of late housekeeping - we made a wee profit for the month for the first time since I've been in the job - not bad considering we've only played one competitive match this month.  Looking forward, I see Fraser as winding down the season and Conor MacPhee's been waiting to take the armband, so I promoted him to club captain with young Boyce as vice. Jamie Lee was fine with my reasoning. Young Thomson got the hump when I called him out for his lack of application on the training ground. as a result, he lost his place in the starting line-up of the last friendly, and his replacement Smith scored and earned man of the match. Thomson is now 5th choice striker out of 5. Silly, silly boy.

 

"A triumph of tactics". Well, hello 

Edited November 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We kicked off the league campaign at Nairn County. What a first half performance! The defence was solid, the midfield was purring. Only the attack was off, as per usual. Our goals came from a defender’s header at a free kick, and a tap-in from a superb run and cross by Kerr. We were feeling confident (yes I know we won our first match last season 4-0 before the wheels rapidly came off, but St. D were a joke, it later transpired – nb they were 6-0 up at half time against the Ninnies today) whereas Nairn Co. are rightly the favourites for to take the title from us. Seago added a third and we were cruising, but I made a cardinal error in not being quick enough to substitute three exhausted defenders, and Nairn pulled two late goals back. I must ensure I have both central defenders and a fullback sub on the bench in future.

A silly incident has occurred that I could really do without. Clubs are snooping around James Lee Fraser and I don't want to lose him at this time, particularly for free. I put a price on his head to deter others, and I thought he was happy here and would be fine about it. Nope. He's furious with me and objects to even a £1,000 price tag. I suspect I'll end up losing him soon.

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The draw for the preliminary round of the SFA Cup takes us to my old home of Lockerbie to face Mid Annandale in the 6^th tier East of Scotland Premier Division at the beginning of September. In chatting about that, Shane and I went on to consider our low attendances. The majority of our fans travel up from Inverness, and the future looks bleak with rising petrol prices and a failing rail system. Moving to Drumnadrochit won’t help – maybe finding a permanent home as the second club in Inverness would be better. It's a pipe dream while we're potless, anyway. I asked about the income from merchandise, particularly shirt sales for this season, but he said the company sends a cheque as and when - and he has no idea when so can't think about it until the dosh is in the club's account. He apologised for having to turn down my request for improving (i.e. starting the rudiments of) youth facilities, but would consider it when the cheque arrived.

I made a tweak to midfield roles ahead of our game against Orkney, who beat us last timeout. We decided to trying Conor Mac as a Carrilero, which means switching Fraser to Mezzala on attack duty. We need a playmaker up that end of the pitch, so Allan Mac will take on that duty ahead of them. I was a bit concerned about Fraser’s commitment to the cause after our fallout, and had young Moray Gielty on the bench standing by to step in if his senior looked like letting us down.

It occurs to me, I've not shared with you an important aspect of our tactics. We ceased trying to counter-attack a while ago on the basis that our forwards aren't quick enough. Playing to their strengths, we focused on allowing opponents the ball in their half, and pouncing on them once they crossed the half-way line. We do a really great job in breaking up opposition passing patterns, and the pressing is focused - let me show you the opposition instructions

We also try to get the opposition players to trip over their bootlaces. It works overall - we generally dominate the midfield and restrict the number of decent chances the opposition create.

Edited November 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We completely dominated the first half. Our only starting youth, Scott Williamson at centre back, is starting to show a real flair for delivering quality through balls over the top to the front two. Josh Race hammered so many good chances over the bar whilst Luke Seago was keeping a cool head that I got them to switch roles at half time. We didn’t have so much control in the second half and our nemesis Liam Delday, who’s scored against us every time we’ve met, pulled one back. In contrast, Craig Mainland got bettered by brother Michael, demonstrating why he made the right choice to stay with us and not defect to the Orcadians. This time we managed the game, taking off defenders as they tired, and for the first time competitively, we switched late on to my 4-3-3-0 formation to successfully see the game to its conclusion. The new-look diamond played out very nicely, with more passing options for the four points as well as the rest of the XI. All in all, a very satisfactory day at the office.

Edited November 19, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We travelled down to Fort William for what pre-season I’d have tipped as our toughest league encounter of the season. We controlled the first hour comfortably, and then managed the last half hour when they came on stronger. Our tactics seem to be hitting a bit of a sweet spot right now; I’m proud of the lads and myself. The only negative point was a nasty-looking knee injury to Josh Race although Sara later diagnosed it as merely badly bruised. We won 2-0 to sit second after three games.

Our new-fangled Mezzala/Carrilero combo in midfield is ticking over nicely, with Fraser playing professionally enough on the pitch despite his feelings off it. Williamson is displaying the inconsistency you have to allow from a 15-year-old here (his passing was atrocious). He was replaced at half-time with the other 15-year-old as Innes is declining so rapidly, I can barely trust him with ten minutes.

[phnompenhandy]

Shane has sent Muir off to get a Continental qualification, saying that as Scots, we need to make our stance on Brexit clear. The Fortrose Academy higher students are off on a trip to Europe, so we saved on travel costs by having him be part of that. It’s not like we need him this time of year anyway. Before we left, we agreed to terminate the contract of Scott Thomson. We’d given him time to improve his attitude but he was proving far too disruptive. Can’t be doing with that. At the same time, I was struggling to fend off attempts to poach my senior players whilst collecting a Manager of the Month award.

We’re going through a phase of having time off from our league campaign. Firstly, it was our turn for a week off from the NCL, so I set the kids up with an encounter against Auchinleck Talbot – an admittedly very strong side, but the 3-8 defeat was somewhat humiliating, none more so than for young Willis Bonnar in goal. I suspect that unless something tragic happens to fatty Miele, we’ll never see Bonnar turn out for the first team.

The following three weekends saw a gap for another friendly and cup action, firstly the preliminary round of the Scottish FA Cup against Mid-Annandale, which we were requires to get through, and then the Football Times Cup away to table-topping Invergordon.

I wasn’t comfortable with the nature of our win at Lockerbie – a solitary late Seago goal got us through to at least meet expectations. In the next round we host ex-league side East Stirlingshire, once managed by Sir Alex Ferguson!

As we prepared to travel to Invergordon, our secretary fortunately reminded us that Boyce was suspended due to a forgotten transgression from last season, we had had to shuffle the midfield around and give a senior debut to Kian Hammell. In a superb game of football all round, the kid was superb, laying on two assists although the real star of the show was Luke Seago who is absolutely flying right now, with a hat trick in an astonishing 6-3 scoreline, with us being 6-0 up before the raft of substitutions late on.

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We spent a week preparing intensely for the FA Cup tie. We noted that East Stirlingshire were riding high in the Lowland League and were on great form. We contemplated taking a defensive-first approach but decided to play our own game and go for it. Was it the wrong call? We went down very narrowly, 2-1 to a late goal when we were chasing a winner. We may have been a bit overwhelmed by the occasion (a tendency I’ve noticed), but I have no regrets, we did ourselves proud. There’ll be no big-money draw this year.

As some small consolation, Invergordon and the chasing pack all slipped up in the NCL, propelling us to the top of the table on goal difference, without even playing a game. Another consolation of sorts was Fraser announcing publicly that he was happy to stay with us – just as I was assessing his declining form and waiting for the kids to step up enough to let him go.

September closed with a rare game of league football breaking out at the KGV. We’d noted that Alness were deadly with their crossing so worked on the training ground to nullify that threat. They had nothing else to offer, and we strolled to a functional 2-0 victory.

October opened with a routine 2-0 cup win over Bonar Bridge. That puts us in the final of the Football Times Cup. For that game I decided to drop Fraser and start Hammell with Allan Mac taking the Mezzala role. It proved a good call – the lad won Player of the Match. We’ll play St. Duthus in the final with us as favourites – albeit without Mainland who got himself a silly red card.

Behind Hammell a number of the youngsters are showing real application on the training pitch now that Thomson had bogged off. They’re regularly coming off the bench to close games out and some will also get starting berths sooner rather than later.

The other games in October, all in the NCL saw us hosting Invergordon who have gone into a bit of a funk, Bonar Bridge away and Nairn St. Ninian. All winnable games. And all games to give a bit more first team experience to the youngsters. Fraser’s been a bit on the obsequious side this week but I’m afraid it’s Hammell’s spot to lose now. Gallacher has been the more determined of the two young centrebacks lately, so he gets a chance, and Race has been a bit off the boil so Smith starts. It’s really great that these kids are putting pressure on their seniors like this. We have to think to the future – both Chris Innes and my assistant Rab Mulheron have announced they’ll retire at the end of the season. I do hope Ross Tokely will agree to step up.

We did drop points in draws with all three, maybe suggesting we should play two kids at a time maximum, but Miele was clearly culpable for throwing away both the first two matches, and Smith scored on his debut. We’re still marginally top of the league, so arguably dropping six points isn’t a disaster. In the long term will it prove to be a price worth paying to bed in more youngsters? Only time will tell; it was always the plan but is proceeding ahead of schedule due to a combination of the oldest players fading faster than anticipated and some of the kids showing more than I’d expected on the training ground and in midweek friendlies.

We released three more youths who we were sure had no potential to ever make the first team, whilst helping them find amateur clubs who’d take them on. So we say farewell to Esson, Paterson and Andonov. We don’t have any faith in Bonnar either, but unlike the others, we need him for cover lest something happens to out #1 goalkeeper. That leaves us with a squad of 23 to carry us through until the next academy intake in April. I’ve asked Muir to do his best to train his current year group to run faster.

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Yo, I’m now a bigass one full star coach, having bagged my Nat A licence. Next up, we go Continental, but I’ll wait for Muir to give me the low-down when he completes his before I put in any request. But it would be more than useful once Rab retires as Shane informs me he thinks we’re overstaffed and, presuming Ross step up, we won’t be employing another coach. On a slightly associated note, it’s gratifying to note that the team now responds to my team talks; the departure of certain senior players has certainly helped me gain authority over the team. I’d also like to note the significant up tick in support – we easily get well over a hundred supporters to our games now.

We got back to winning ways with a handsome 3-0 win at Truro. We did start precisely two academy products in that match, so maybe it is a sweet spot for now. Unfortunately, Hammell took a whack and will be out for a while; it did mean Fraser came on late and scored a winning penalty, so he’ll be recalled for the next game. The victory put us in the right frame of mind to contest the upcoming cup final the following Saturday. We need it too – a transformed St. Duthus are undefeated in all competitions this season (although that’s only the league and this cup).

I made a wee bit of a miscalculation in midweek. We played a friendly to get a bit of blood into the legs of the non-starting kids. I’d forgotten Mainland is suspended for the cup final, so we’ll have to go into that game with a pair of fatigued 15-year-olds in central defence. John Smith got injured in that match, leaving me sparse for attacking cover on the bench.

Not ideal, but we moved on to the Football Times Cup final against St. Duthus at Ross County’s stadium in Dingwall. Our second cup final – would we succeed this time?

In a last-minute change, Kerr wasn’t fit to start, so another kid made his debut in the shape of Matthew Boyle, at right back. Again, I’d forgotten the kid had just played 90 minutes, and he didn’t last the first half as a half-fit Jacob Kerr had to fill in. Williamson, who’d also played 90 mins on Wednesday was also flagging, but he’d have to carry on until 60 minutes were played, when old man Innes could finish the match. Just before half-time the Saints took the lead though the league’s deadliest striker, Ben Bruce. I couldn’t say it came against the run of play as they’d dominated the half and I was preparing half-time changes.

Unfortunately, Williamson just couldn’t move and so Innes came on after five minutes. Then a clumsy challenge gifted us a penalty – which Fraser wasted. We did control the second half, throwing the kitchen sink at them until the boys were on their knees, but the Saints defence was very organised, and we couldn’t break through.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We had a chance for immediate revenge the following Saturday as we travelled to Tain to meet St. Duthus again, in the league. Mainland was back, but the result was identical – we beat them in possession, xG, every stat you could mention, but lost 0-1. That man Bruce again – he’s deadly whereas our Seago’s off his game at the moment. Orkney won as well, dropping us to third in what is effectively a three-horse race.

Morale remained surprisingly high as we entertained Golspie Sutherland the next weekend. Seago was back with a brace, and we would have won comfortably if Miele hadn’t demonstrated yet more of his worrying form. As it was, we came away with yet another draw, 3-3.  We’ve now won one of our last eight. Our first three games in December would be against the current bottom three before we sail off to Orkney just before Christmas. Surely our fortunes would change, even without a viable goalkeeper?

It was my considered opinion that there was nothing inherently wrong that could be fixed. The boys were happy enough and we were playing well. We just couldn’t finish games off, and our goalkeeper was going through a wobble. Keeping a cool head and taking on game at a time was our approach.

And so it was. We went to Inverness and beat Clach reserves 2-0. It wasn’t our best performance, but we got the job done. Morrison made his debut at left back in that game and did okay. Seago got on the scoresheet and earned a Player of the Match award, and Fraser scored too.

Shane’s been negotiating a raft of new contracts – badly, I feel. He’s doled out a ton of very generous pay rises if we gain promotion, knowing we can’t afford it. He must be very confident that it isn’t going to happen!

Next, we saw off Nairn’s reserves, 3-1. They’re bottom of the league and didn’t put up much of a fight. That’s brought us to the half-way point of our league campaign. We’re sitting second, the squad that remains is a happy camp, all are now training well enough and not giving us any concerns; senior players under 30 have signed up for next year and all in all, I think we’re in a good place.

Muir Morton has given us a preview of the next academy intake. It sounds good in general, but distressingly the best lads don’t include a goalkeeper and mentions only one striker.

The final games of this ‘easy’ run was a doozy -a thriller for a neutral; a kick in the guts for me. We went 5-2 up, and I dithered too long in making changes, especially with the geriatric defensive pairing. Miele didn't exactly help out either. Their striker hit back with a late hat-trick. Dammit.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Up at Kirkwall, we had a plan to nullify Liam Delday, who’s never not scored against us. It worked well; unfortunately, they have other good forwards so we couldn’t keep a clean sheet. We were ahead on all known metrics and penetrated their well-organised defence on numerous occasions, but their keeper was on inspired form. Just when we looked down and out we pulled two goals back to draw (again) 2-2. Conor MacPhee, our captain, pulled a hamstring in that match. It could be a costly loss.

We ended the year with yet another draw, at home to Fort William. Without Conor, it was difficult and I was satisfied with that point, especially as we had three academy kids at the back in addition to Hammell. St. Duthus and Orkney are pulling away though. Will they get into a slump in the second half of the season? Will their best players defect to Highland League sides?

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Luke Seago picked up December’s league Player of the month award for his six goals. January only has one match, on the 6^th; that will give us three weeks to focus on quickness training and friendless to keep every one fit. I’ll also try some subtle refinements to our tactics.

Five kids started at Alness. Buckley got a bit carried away and earned a red card, but a fantastic Seago hat-trick brought home the bacon. The boy is walking on air right now.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[MadCatPT]

Kerr is my favorite just because of the picture. 

A bit of PTSD also, I remember lot's of blood running out of my nose the last one of those I did. 

[phnompenhandy]

13 minutes ago, MadCatPT said:

Kerr is my favorite just because of the picture. 

A bit of PTSD also, I remember lot's of blood running out of my nose the last one of those I did. 

It's the only photo i could find of him. It's a cracker though! 

[phnompenhandy]

January passed quickly, smoothly, uneventfully. We got everyone match fit on the training ground and in friendlies, and the transfer window opened and shut without a single unsettling bid. I spent much of the month on a Continental C coaching course, having taken positive soundings from Muir Morton who completed his just before Christmas.

We were maybe a little rusty when we returned to competitive action in February, or maybe it was just our typical lack of cutting edge. We dominated Bonar Bridge but only had a single goal victory to show for it. We shouldn’t be greedy, especially as both St. Duthus and Orkney slipped up.

The second game in February was in the last cup competition, the North Caledonian Cup, against a disappointingly mid-table Invergordon. We were right not to underestimate them though, and in a dour encounter played in a howling gale, we came away with another 1-0. The draw pits us against the dreaded St. Duthus in the semi in March. The cup tie will be the weekend before we meet in the league in a repeat of our double encounter in November. We lost both of those – I hoped there’d be no repeat.

We took the opposite approach the next weekend at Nairn St. Ninian. We went there and hammered them from the first minute to the last. A bit reckless perhaps, but I felt after our interlude, the lads were fit enough and so it proved. 4-1, another hat-trick for local superstar Luke Seago. St. Duthus scored six to keep them a point and a few goals ahead of us.

Our Scottish Kiwi, Declan Anderson looks like he’s never going to break into the first team. If we can get an upgrade on him and Willis Bonnar, we’ll release them at the end of the season along with last season’s club captain James Lee Fraser and pensioners Chris Innes and Martin Mainland. There are 14 players we will retain and nine we could release depending on the quality of the next intake.

Thurso were up next. Race was out with a knock and we couldn’t play Buckley as he was in the midst of a three-game ban, so John Smith got a start along with three other academy lads. They melded with the senior players superbly and we controlled the whole game, running up a 3-0 victory. With Orkney and St. Duthus drawing, we go top on goal difference. With that psychological boost, we prepared for our double-encounter with St. Duthus.

March opened with Luke and myself winning our respective February gongs, and Shane offering me a new contract. The talks went poorly and were called off. I felt I was due a raise, pointing out that the club would finally be in the black next month and our wage bill would be lower next season. Maybe a trophy will soften him up.

For the semi final, Boyce was banned and Race was back, so some rejigging was required. We beat the Doofuses 3-1 with a customary brace from Seago. The expected replay of last season’s final didn’t transpire as Fort William lost the other semi on penalties to Thurso. Allan Mac and Kerr are both suspended for the final so it won’t be an easy game.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We knew the Saints would be intent on revenge in the league game, especially with us being neck-and-neck in our pursuit of the title. Mainland was suspended so Innes had to start - a risk in itself. With Conor Mac filling in for Boyce in the last game, he kept his position and Boyce tried out as Carrilero. It didn’t work. Nothing did. They were ferociously intent of getting one over us – in fact they got four in a humiliating hometown massacre. Perhaps it was a necessary kick up the jacksie for all of us, myself more than anyone.

[phnompenhandy]

Now then, the top two cancel each other out tomorrow. Our run in has too many away ties but isn't too difficult.

 

[phnompenhandy]

We beat Invergordon 3-0 with Seago running the show. But St. Duthus saw off Orkney to put them in the driving seat. They have three extremely winnable games to see out the season - all we can do is hope they slip up. We then smashed Golspie 4-1, tarnished only by Callum Black's red card. The Doofus astonishingly lost 3-4 at home to Bonar Bridge and we're top with destiny in our hands!

 

I'm also fascinated to see if Luke Seago can pip Liam Delday (who just bagged 4) and Ben Bruce in the top scorer stakes.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We so NEARLY blew it at Halkirk in the penultimate game. While St. Duthus coasted to victory we were drawing 4-4 until Luke Seago nutted in an injury time winner! Stresssssss!!!!

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We spent the week preparing for the cup final, not allowing any complacency to creep in. Early in the week Muir brought this season’s academy lads. I’ll need time to properly assess them but I was faced with an immediate crisis – Kerr was suspended and Boyle wasn’t quite fit to start. So I took a huge gamble and started a very promising kid at right back, Andrew Lowe is the name – remember him. The plan is to give him the first half and then aloe Boyle the second. Allan Mac is also out but Fraser can fill in for maybe his last Monster game.

Nerves were a bit apparent, having lost two cup finals. We went to the wire – a penalty shoot-out. We kept our heads to finally win a cup! Lowe did himself credit, by the way.

We have two weeks before the final league game and title decider. In the meantime I'll be assessing the new kids on the block.

Edited November 22, 2022 by phnompenhandy