Scottish Reprise- Return to East Stirling

[Faramir]

6.11.13

East Stirling (0) Motherwell (0) League Cup Quarterfinal- East Stirling advances on penalties

We couldn't find a way to get a goal in regulation or Extra-time, but we managed to win the shoot-out and will move on to the League Cup Semifinals. The hero was Nicholas Sharro as he saved 4 of the 5 penalty kicks he faced. Motherwell was bent on revenge for their midweek loss to us and pressed us hard throughout the match. We didn't take full advantage of some chances and didn't really play close to our best match overall, so I feel fortunate that we are through to the Semifinal where we will face Celtic. Rangers and Livingston face off in the other Semi.

[Faramir]

24.11.13

Celtic (2) East Stirling (0)

Injuries hurt us badly in this match. With only 3 healthy forwards and also starting our reserve leftback and one center defender, we were a bit undermanned when facing Celtic. Celtic took advantage of our backline problems to get Craig Lee free to score early on. Emrah Ekin repeated that feat later in the first half to give Celtic a 2-0 halftime lead. We did fine in the midfield, but our forwards had no ability to get free from their marking and that left us frustrated as we wasted many chances on the attack. It was a disappointing loss but we didn't play that badly- they just finished their chances better than we did.

[Faramir]

27.11.13

East Stirling (2) Partick (1)

After the 7-0 thrashing we handed them the last time we faced them, I warned the boys this would not be an easy match- and that was the case. We took the lead early on when Jamie Scott rapped home a shot past Mathieu Valverde after a good pass from MOM Santos. We made it 2-0 when Steve Buchanan whistled an excellent shot past Valverde that bounced in off the inside of the right upright- another pass from Santos set up the chance. We handed them a goal back when Gary Simpson made a poor challenge in our area and drew a yellow card while giving them a penalty kick. Damien Rapeau converted the penalty kick past Kenneth Stenild to make it 2-1. Both starting keepers were forced to leave with injuries later in the first half. Riccardo Delfino played well after coming on for us and made a terrific diving save on Alex Dobos. Neil Miller played a sensational second half for them as he kept the visitors in the match with a series of important saves. We were very happy for the final whistle in the close 2-1 win.

[Faramir]

30.11.13

East Stirling (3) Hearts (1)

We dug ourselves a hole in the opening moments of the match when David McKenzie was called for a disputed push in the area. Kenneth Stenild saved Ross Murray's penalty kick, but the rebound went right back to Murray and he hammered his second chance home. It took us only a couple minutes to equalize as David Clarkson capped a superior play by heading the ball down and Steve Buchanan snapped the shot past Christoffer Kallqvist. Preben Vatle Hammersland made a beautiful sweeping pass to put Buchanan in free again and he made a scorching shot past Kallqvist for a brace. We made it 3-1 at halftime as Hammersland earned MOM honours with a well-placed shot inside the far right post. The second half went quietly as we put the clamps on them to close out the 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

7.12.13

Morton (2) East Stirling (2)

It was ours for the taking as we built a 2-0 lead, but then squandered it and allowed the home side to fightback for a 2-2 draw. We earned the lead thanks to a brilliant run by MOM Darryl Knights as he wended his way past two defenders before slotting a shot past Gareth Williams as he celebrated his return from injury. In the opening moments of the second half Knights laid the ball off and Steve Buchanan scored to move us ahead 2-0. Morton quickly fought back and thanks to a volleyed winner by Luca Biundo and a header by Shea McKenna they battled back to 2-2. We came close to taking the match, but Williams smothered the ball when it appeared that Buchanan might score in the closing moments.

[Damien77]

I kept losing my east stirling 1st team players to other "major" teams since I got promoted, did you have the same problem, Faramir?

[Faramir]

Damien77- Well, remember this story is under FM 2006, so while it was an occasional problem- it isn't as bad as FM 2007 is (I can understand your problems- because of the East Fife story...)

***

14.12.13

Dundee United (1) East Stirling (0)

A fluke goal by Phil Miller, more wasted chances by us and another difficult to swallow 1-0 loss. It is clear to me that the current club lacks the chemistry to take the next step and with us currently in 3rd place and pretty much locked in a battle with Dundee for that spot while Rangers and Celtic again duke it out for the Championship, it is time to consider drastic changes.

***

15.12.13

I had been hoping this would be the season we would make the step up and challenge the top two clubs, but it is clear that isn't going to happen. With that in mind, the drastic changes should begin happening now- as we approach the opening of the transfer window. With the exception of most of our backline- I transfer listed quite a few of what outsiders would see as our 'key' players including Darryl Knights, Jan Urbanek, Santos, David Clarkson, Preben Vatle Hammersland, Davide Ferrante, Imad Khalili, Andrea Serra and Andrea Marino. That obviously also made several other players unhappy, but that is the course I believe we must take at this point. If they are all picked up, I will be using the many Scot youngsters I have been accumulating to take their spots.

[Burgess Basso]

its like a tv im addicted to yoor story :P

yoor a very good manager

hope yoo topple celtic and rangers soon

bet yoo will

[Faramir]

Burgess Basso- Thanks very much Glad you are enjoying the story. I don't think I have proved the good manager comment just yet

***

SCOTLAND

20.12.13

Our World Cup Draw will see us playing in Group F with Holland, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.

***

21.12.13

East Stirling (1) Livingston (2)

We outplayed Livingston by a large margin and held a 1-0 lead from early on in the match as Gavin Allen scored, but it was more of the same frustration again as we lost 2-1 on a goal in second half injury time. Marko Balazic deflected a header past Nicholas Sharro when he outleapt Anthony Hallam for a corner to get them back to even. Soren Ulrik Vestergaard scored the match winner on a rebound after our entire backline was caught up when a free kick in their end turned into a counter-attack that ruined us. The frustration level in our dressing room is pretty high right now. One thing is clear- we need to find a new keeper- as Sharro and Delfino haven't shown me anything and Stenild remains out with injury.

[mark wilson27]

Looks a tough group for the World Cup,

[Faramir]

mark- I would say that is an apt summation.

***

26.12.13

Rangers (2) East Stirling (1)

All I can say is- What else can go wrong? Steve Buchanan made a great move with the ball to score past Clas Bergwall in the 11th minute and give us the lead. We played a solid first half of football, though 'Gers dominated it after we scored. Riccardo Delfino played superbly in goal as we took the lead into the second half. We kept that same effort up in the second half. We had been heavy underdogs coming into the match, due to our transfer tribulations and the fact we had to start our 3rd string Keeper Delfino- due to injuries to Stenild and Sharro. As the match wound down, we continued to work hard defensively. Then Delfino got injured at 86 minutes. With no other choice, I had to bring on Steven van der Deyl who was only at about 60% and just back in training from injury. van der Deyl made a good save to start things, but then dallied on the ball and allowed Danny Segers to score the 88th minute equalizer. We missed three chances to retake the lead and instead found only another bitter loss as Segers overpowered Bernd Helbig after John Burns handed the ball to Salomon Kalou for him to cross to Segers. Segers flicked the header into the goal in the last moment of injury time to hand us the loss. It was dreadfully frustrating to see this loss- after we had played so well and so hard througout.

[Faramir]

1.1.14

The opening of the transfer window signals the beginning of what is being called the 'Exodus'. A quick list of those sold, while I am trying to bargain hunt to add a bit of depth back to the club.

Davide Ferrante to Besiktas for 3.3 Million

Andrea Serra to Vit.Guimaraes for 1.5 Million

David Clarkson to Preston for 2.5 Million

Preben Vatle Hammersland to MK Dons for 3.3 Million

Jan Urbanek to Lazio for 3.6 Million

Santos to Beveren for 2.6 Million

Andrea Marino to Swindon for 1.5 Million

Graham Thompson to Huddersfield for 1.1 Million

Our lone addition was 24 year old Scot Keeper Scott Sim, who we purchased for 600K from Carlisle. Sim will immediately move into the starting lineup. Steven van der Deyl also decided he was comfortable enough to remain with us as a Reserve and signed a contract extension.

***

4.1.14

Another bargain hunt brought us 25 year old Scot center midfielder Greg Cameron from Millwall for 1.2 Million. Cameron will help provide cover for Gavin Allen.

[Faramir]

4.1.14

East Stirling (0) Dunfermline (0) Scottish Cup 3rd Round

Another match we could have won, instead we will be forced into a replay after missing a half-dozen good chances to score on MOM Mick Watts. Giancarlo Pepe had three one-on-one chances and Watts saved all of them. Watts also denied Brian Anderson, Gregor Balazic and Marco Wagner in earning his clean sheet. Scott Sim played well in his debut as he also worked hard to earn his clean sheet with three good second half saves. Injuries continue to be a huge problem for us- as we lost Imad Khalili, Jamie Scott and Steve Lewis to them today and also saw Greg Cameron limping to finish his debut and Gary Simpson finishing the match only to be out for awhile due to a bad ankle that he had to finish the match with.

***

5.1.14

More bargain hunting for us as we purchased 29 year old Belgian Rightwinger Jurgen Raeymaekers from Livingston for 10K, 25 year old Swiss center mid Nicolas Fisher from Hearts for 725K and 17 year old Scot Keeper Ross Brown from Motherwell for 75K. Raeymaekers will move right into the starting lineup as our only healthy rightwinger. Fisher is still working his way back from injury and won't be ready for a debut too soon. Brown will move to the Under-19 side to hone his skills for now.

[Faramir]

8.1.14

Dunfermline (1) East Stirling (2) Scottish Cup 3rd Round Replay

We finally broke our losing skien thanks to good work on finishing from our forwards. We outplayed the home side in the first half, but had nothing to show for it as Mick Watts was again proving difficult to solve. The change that sparked us was when Brian Anderson came on for Steve Lewis. Darryl Knights, who has been relieved that I removed him from transfer list and will now keep him, zipped a pass across the goalmouth to pick out Anderson at the far post. Anderson deflected the ball just inside the post to give us the lead. Anderson then returned the favor when he flicked on a header and that put Knights away on a counter-attack. Knights finished well to give us a 2-0 lead. We would need that goal as Shaun Maloney shed Danny Black's marking to score past Scott Sim for his 50th goal at Dunfermline late in the second half. We held on from there and will now face Partick in the 4th Round.

***

9.1.14

I was pleased to add another young Scot player I had been scouting for a good long while. We paid Airdrie 210K to purchase 20 year old DMC Andy Ferguson. Ferguson will likely move into the starting role as center mid holder for the remainder of the season after Gregor Balazic rejected our last ditch attempt to keep him under contract.

[Spav]

Still trying to prise your way past Celtic and Rangers I see, Faramir? Hang in there.

[Faramir]

Thanks Spav Still making a hash of accomplishing that

***

11.1.14

East Stirling (0) Hibernian (0)

Another wasted effort as we had a myriad of good scoring chances, but abysmal shooting were the results. Scott Sim had an easy clean sheet from our side, but it was clearly a match we should have earned a better result in and the fact we didn't is just our own fault. Bruno Costa played well in the goal for them, but MOM honours went to midfielder Gabriel Enrique Gonzalez.

***

18.1.14

Dundee (2) East stirling (3)

I have to admit that things were a bit grim on the bench as we fell behind 2-0 in the first half. Kenneth Stenild wasn't sharp in his first match back from injury and Davide Furlan scored a well placed shot to give them the early lead. Despite seeing Quincy Naarden sent off for a cynical foul, Dundee managed to add a second goal when Luigi Stillo deflected a long cross from Juanma Pena past Stenild to leave us trailing 2-0 at halftime. Things looked even worse when we saw David McKenzie also earn a redcard and both sides were down to 10 men. Somehow, we righted ourselves- mostly due to Darryl Knights. Knights put away a shot to draw us a goal back and give us a glimmer of hope. We were having trouble solving Peter Hendriks after that as he made several good saves. Giancarlo Pepe helped spark us after coming on for Marc McCusker. Pepe scored the equalizer at 80 minutes with a hard shot into the right corner of the goal. Both sides wanted the win and were working hard for it. Per Karlsson made a bad choice when he held Knights in the area. As last man, he was redcarded and Knights converted the penalty kick for his brace to win the match in second half injury time.

[Faramir]

19.1.14

It may seem a minor addition, but anytime I can get a solid young player away from either 'Gers or Celtic- I count that as a win. 'Gers sold us 22 year old rightwing Alan Murphy for 65K. Murphy is a solid player, though he doubtless wasn't good enough for their starting lineup.

***

23.1.14

With a glut of Keepers, I made the decision to transfer list Nicholas Sharro. Sharro was immediately snapped up by Rotherham for a bid of a bit over 1.5 Million.

***

25.1.14

East Stirling (2) Motherwell (0)

It was an important match for us, as Motherwell is immediately behind us in the standings and a win would help boost our confidence and add woe to theirs. It took almost the entire first half of pressure in their end before we found a way to score. Darryl Knights made a great layoff pass and Andy Ferguson sent the Firs Park faithful into halftime rapture as he scored his 1st goal. We added a second goal midway through the second half as Knights deflected a Marco Wagner cross past Alex Heather. Anthony Hallam earned MOM honours for his dynamic back row play. Kenneth Stenild notched our clean sheet.

[Damien77]

Faramir: How's the table looking? The old firms still 1-2?

[Faramir]

Damien- Yes, with us in 3rd- not being pushed, but not close enough to push...

***

28.1.14

In what might turn out to be an important transfer acquisition for us, we paid Dunfermline 1.8 Million to be able to add 20 year old Scot AM/FC John Moffat. Moffat was the subject of interest from both Gers and celtic as well, so I was pleased to be able to add him to our side.

***

28.1.14

East Stirling (0) Celtic (0) League Cup Semifinal- Celtic Win on Penalties

Radek Kolenderski has become a curse word in the mouths of the East Stirling faithful. Not only for his efforts in saving penalties, but because we had brilliant chances throughout the normal time and he made impossible saves. We just could not score on him and though we outplayed Celtic- it was another loss to them. I am proud of the boys, as we really played a superb match against them, one of the best in all our meetings. We are so close, but still not over the hump.

[Faramir]

1.2.14

East Stirling (4) Partick (0) Scottish Cup 4th Round

Though things were scoreless at halftime, it was easy to tell we weren't far away from scoring. We controlled much of the first half, but frittered away several good chances with one pass too many. That wasn't the case in the second half as Giancarlo Pepe headed the ball down and Gregor Balazic put a 25 yard shot away to get us the lead in the opening moments. Midway through the half we added a second goal as Brian Anderson scorched a 25 yard free kick past Dusan Pernis. The match was in our pocket when Imad Khalili added his 1st goal of the season as he deflected in a corner. Pepe then closed out our scoring when he whipped the ball past Pernis after a good pass from Gavin Allen.

[Faramir]

SCOTLAND

5.2.14

Scotland (1) Trinidad & Tobago (0) Friendly

It wasn't a particularly wonderful performance against Trinidad & Tobago as we hosted them for a friendly. Since I was playing patchwork lineup, including the debuts of ES players Steve Lewis and Gary Simpson, I expected a disjointed effort. Lewis, who the press derided as 'unworthy' of gaining a Cap, scored the only goal of the match when he deflected in a cross from Marc McCusker late in the first half. We hammered away in the second half, but one was all for us. Iain Turner played well in his 2nd Cap and earned the clean sheet with several solid saves.

[Faramir]

9.2.14

Dunfermline (0) East Stirling (3)

The National TV audience saw us give one of our better efforts of the season as we dominated Dunfermline in our 3-0 win at East End Park. John Moffat showed why we wanted to add him so badly as he put us in the lead midway through the first half when he blasted a shot past Mick Watts for his 1st goal for us as he scored against his old club. Just before halftime, Marco Wagner's dandy through ball setup Moffat for his brace in first half injury time. We began the second half by continuing our domination and Imad Khalili added the punctuation mark with a rocket after David McKenzie sent a free kick to him. Kenneth Stenild earned the clean sheet and Moffat earned MOM honours.

[Faramir]

12.2.14

Partick (2) East Stirling (2)

Not our best effort defensively in this one against Partick and we fell behind midway through the first half when Alex Dobos overpowered Gary Simpson and deflected a cross from Alberto Flores past Kenneth Stenild. We had chances to even it during the half, but it wasn't until Steven Milne tripped Marc McCusker in the area that we found a way to score on Dusan Pernis as Gregor Balazic converted the penalty kick to make it 1-1 at half. They took the lead again in the second half when Dobos forced a free kick in the center of the pitch on a David McKenzie foul. Eldar Asebo made us pay with a 25 yard rocket past Stenild on the free kick. McKenzie redeemed himself when he scored the equalizer as he deflected a cross from Martin Fribrock past Pernis. We had several wonderful chances- including one where Ryan McKenzie deflected away a shot from Fribrock when he had Pernis out of position and the entire goal to shoot at. It was a good effort to fightback, but it should have been a win for us.

[Faramir]

15.2.14

East Stirling (1) Celtic (3)

There is no one but ourselves to blame for this loss as we could have had a better result. Emrah Ekin got free to score twice on us and then Dean Duncan added a header in second half injury time. Steve Buchanan scored our goal on a rebound in the first half. We played them even in the first half and just missed several opportunities to gain the lead as David Marshall made some good saves. Kenneth Stenild had a great first half as well as our young lineup yielded too many chances. When we went behind in the second half, we had several players who didn't show the determination I expected- which I found very disappointing. The match didn't really mean a lot in the standings as they are firmly entrenched in 2nd place and we are the same in 3rd place.

[Faramir]

22.2.14

Dundee United (0) East Stirling (4) Scottish Cup Quarterfinal

This was a match that was close at halftime, but belonged to us in the second half as we routed Dundee United 4-0 at Tannadice Park. The lone goal in the first half was Marc McCusker firing a precision shot past Neil Hill midway through the half. Juergen Raeymaekers made it 2-0 with a blistering free kick. McCusker made it a brace thanks to a deft pass from Nicholas Fisher. Imad Khalili capped off the scoring as he blasted a rebound in off the left upright to make the final scoreline 4-0. Anthony Hallam earned MOM honours.

[Faramir]

26.2.14

Hearts (1) East Stirling (5)

Darryl Knights made his return from injury a glorious one as he wound up notching a hat-trick to help lead us in a 5-1 rout over Hearts at Tynecastle. Knights paired well with young John Moffat up front, but Moffat was muttering to himself after losing two goals when he was twice ruled offside. Moffat setup Giancarlo Pepe for a late goal and did score one himself to account for our other offense. Scott Sim was brilliant in the first half of the match when Hearts had us under a lot of pressure. He did yield a first half goal to Andrea Russotto- his 50th league goal- but that was the only blemish on an excellent effort. Knights deservedly received MOM honours for his efforts.

***

1.3.14

I was very pleased to hear that John Moffat claimed Player of the Month honours for February. Marco Wagner lost out in Young Player of the Month as 'Gers Steve Warner captured that honour.

[Faramir]

1.3.14

East Stirling (2) Dundee United (0)

Better finishing and exceptional keeping were the ingredients for our 2-0 win over Dundee United at Firs Park. We started slow as our backline was trying to adjust the first appearance in a long time by Paolo Pellegrini. Kenneth Stenild had everything in hand as he played a dazzling match for a well earned clean sheet and MOM honours. Marc McCusker struck to give us the lead midway through the first half thanks to a beautiful pass from Jurgen Raeymaekers. Scott Grant then setup Raeymaekers to score in first half injury time as he lobbed a well-timed shot over Mark Brown. Stenild continued to frustrate the visitors in the second half as they tried to rally. We missed a chance to put the match away after Dominic Shimmin earned his 2nd yellow card for tripping Steve Lewis in the area. McCusker was frustrated as Brown saved his penalty kick, but we were able to close out the match against 10 man Dundee United from there.

[Faramir]

8.3.14

East Stirling (2) Morton (0)

We looked poor in the first half- very disorganized- but we managed to right ourselves in the second half. Giancarlo Pepe came on and sparked us as he scored a brace on headers. Both times it was pinpoint crosses from Niels Ringoot that Pepe was able to flick past Gareth Williams. Kenneth Stenild was MOM for his dazzling display- especially in the first half- and his clean sheet was well earned.

[Faramir]

16.3.14

Livingston (5) East Stirling (2)

It was an embarrassing match for me personally and frustrating as well. Carlos Garrido, who we couldn't contain at all today, slipped his marker to give them the lead in the first half. We answered with goals from Marc McCusker and Darryl Knights to take a 2-1 lead. The wheels fell off at that point. First, Garrido struck for the equalizer. Then a questionable call saw John McLaren redcarded and a penalty awarded. Robert Bjurling converted the penalty kick to give them a 3-2 halftime lead. Things got worse in the second half as lost our focus. Garrido made it a hat-trick and then Jamie Hart was called for a push in the area and Bjurling converted his 2nd penalty kick to cap off the 5-2 loss for us.

***

19.3.14

What is going on here? We had 3 broken bones in one day- John McGregor (ankle), David Baxter (arm), Gary Roberts (leg- out for season). Two of them were in our Reserve match, but Roberts was in practice.

[Faramir]

22.3.14

East Stirling (0) Rangers (1)

I don't know how many times I can tell this same story. We outplayed 'Gers, but again saw Clas Bergwall make several important saves to keep us off the scoreboard. In the second half a missed tackle set up MOM Danny Howard to make a cross into the six-yard box. Bernd Helbig couldn't mark Jamie Ferguson well enough and he deflected the ball past Kenneth Stenild for the lone goal of the match. I don't have an answer for why we don't get better results against Celtic and 'Gers when we play well against them.

[Faramir]

30.3.14

Motherwell (0) East Stirling (3) Scottish Cup Semifinal

We proved that we are Holders of the Scottish Cup for a reason as we played Motherwell off the pitch in a convincing 3-0 win that could have featured more scoring from us. Darryl Knights put us off on a flyer when he deflected a cross from John Moffat past Alex Heather in the 3rd minute. Nicholas Fisher picked a good time to contribute his 1st goal since arriving when he blasted a shot past Heather from just inside the edge of the area. Knights made it a brace later in the second half to finish off any faint hopes of a rally from Motherwell.

[Faramir]

2.4.14

Hibernian (0) East Stirling (2)

After being very frustrated by Hibs keeper- Ole-Jorgen Abelsen- in the first half, we kept after it and managed to play a very strong second half to defeat the home side 2-0. When Agus drew a redcard for a two footed tackle from behind, we benefitted immediately as Gregor Balazic rifled home the 25 yard free kick to give us the lead. We took advantage of them sending men forward, despite being down a man, and MOM Marc McCusker slotted a pass back that allowed Martin Fribrock to score his 1st goal of the season to clinch the 2-0 win. Scott Sim earned the clean sheet in the match and made two important first half saves when it counted.

[Faramir]

3.4.14

In a stunning reversal of two years of negotiating- we have finally re-signed Gregor Balazic to a new 4 year contract. The offer was sort of perfunctory, after all we had been trying to get him under a new contract for 2 years now, but suddenly he and his agent were willing to negotiate and we were close to being on the same page as far as worth. It is super to have him here for the next four years and with the development of young Andy Ferguson this season- we have two excellent holding midfielders.

***

5.4.14

East Stirling (0) Dundee (0)

Another match we dominated, another match we should have won. We outshot the visitors 19-5 for the match, but saw Karl Dryden stymie us on several excellent scoring chances- especially in the first half. There was more of the same for us in the second half, though losing Nicholas Fisher and Alan Murphy to injury helped slow down our offense. Kenneth Stenild turned in an easy clean sheet and Anthony Hallam was awarded MOM honours in the match.

***

5.4.14

It was nice to see our Under-19s win the Championship with several matches remaining. They played well all season long and it was a great reward for them.

[Faramir]

9.4.14

Dundee Lost to Rangers 2-1 in Extra-time in the other Scottish Cup Semifinal, so if we want to win two in a row- we have to do it by beating the 'Gers.

***

15.4.14

Motherwell (0) East Stirling (3)

We headed into our Playoff Group matches with a firm hold on 3rd place. Rangers have the better position and will try to clinch the Title soon over Celtic. We repeated our 3-0 win over Motherwell that we beat them in the Scottish Cup Semifinal. Darryl Knights converted a penalty kick after Cesar Gomez pushed John Moffat in the area. That would be the only goal of the first half, but John Moffat quickly added to that to begin the second half as he skinned Gomez and put his shot away past Alex Heather. MOM Marco Wagner added the punctuation point to our win when he smashed a curving 25 yard blast past Heather on a free kick to score his 1st ever goal.

[Guest]

AS my first post here I have just spent an hour or so reading this inspiring thread. Your sir are an absolute legend. Hope you knock the old firm off their perch next season. Lol and there was me being proud of my East Stirling record on FM 2006 which was 9th 7th and then 3rd in January when I was offered the Partick job with them in 6th place in Division 1 culminating with me winning 1st place and promotion in a nailbiting away win at 2nd place St Johnstone

Hats off again to you sir

[Faramir]

bonemachine- Well thank you very much for the kind words I am glad the story was able to hold your interest for that kind of reading- that is the goal of most of the writers here

I have a past history with East Stirling (hence Scottish Reprise) as I have played them up in the past and have overtaken the Old Firm- something I still have yet to accomplish this time around

***

19.4.14

Rangers (1) East Stirling (2)

Rangers will not finish the season undefeated as we handed them their first league loss this season. It was 'Gers first loss in League play in 54 matches and it was a hard earned win for us that will assure us 3rd place in the BSP. Rangers struck early for the lead as Jamie Ferguson, a real nemesis for our backline, fired one in past Kenneth Stenild off the frame in the 9th minute. We fought back to even the match up later in the first half as Darryl Knights blasted a shot past Clas Bergwall for his 20th goal of the season. With both sides seeking the key next goal, it was Greg Cameron's pass that found John Moffat breaking up the middle. Moffat flicked a shot over the advancing Bergwall to score his 5th goal since arriving at East Stirling. We then had to survive John Burns' 2nd yellow card, which sent him off at 71 minutes. There were several close calls, but in the end we had finally put a halt to the 'Gers unbeaten League streak.

[Faramir]

26.4.14

East Stirling (3) Dundee (0)

It was a slight measure of revenge for us as Marc McCusker shredded their backline in the first half and led us to a 3-0 win at Firs Park. McCusker got us off to a quick start when he scored in the sixth minute as Steve Buchanan's short cross was easy for him to volley into the goal past Peter Hendricks. McCusker made it a brace close to midway through the first half when he snapped home a shot after a nice pass from Alan Murphy found him with space. He completed his hat-trick shortly after on a nice through ball from Greg Cameron. With the 3-0 lead, we played conservatively in helping Scott Sim finish off an easy clean sheet.

***

2.5.14

In a bad loss for us- with the Scottish Cup Final coming- Kenneth Stenild broke a finger and will miss the remainder of the season.

[sherm]

Still glad to see this going strong Faramir. And as for dominating the old firm, I'm sure you will very soon

[Faramir]

sherm- Thanks much We still have it to do, but working on it...

(BTW- Story currently played several years beyond this, so it will be going for awhile yet)

***

3.5.14

Celtic (4) East Stirling (1)

We took the early lead in this match when Darryl Knights scored in the opening moments, but we gave that goal back as Paolo Pellegrini failed to challenge Emrah Ekin in our area and he blasted a shot past Scott Sim. We were a bit unlucky to be behind at halftime, but the second half belonged to the home side. Ekin made it a brace after Pellegrini again failed to challenge him in our area. Jefferson Farfan then finished us off with a 30 yard rocket past Sim late in the second half to finish off their 3-1 win. Paul Sutton added insult to our second half by scoring. The win didn't help Celtic though as Rangers won to clinch capturing the BSP crown.

[Faramir]

6.5.14

East Stirling (4) Dunfermline (0)

We closed out the regular season and begin preparing for Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final with a resounding 4-0 win over Dunfermline. Gavin Allen and Steve Buchanan scored in the first half for us and then Steve Lewis chipped in with his 5th goal of the season while Brian Anderson also followed with his 5th of the season as we coasted to an easy win.

***

7.5.14

It was good news to see that 4 of our players were selected for the SPL Players Team of the Year. Selected as starters were forward John Moffat, defenders Anthony Hallam and Bernd Helbig. Selected as a Reserve was David McKenzie. McKenzie was runner-up to Jamie Ferguson for Young Player of the Year and Moffat was runner-up to Craig Beattie for Player of the Year honours. Darryl Knights was runner-up to Emrah Ekin as top goal scorer.

[Faramir]

10.5.14

East Stirling (1) Rangers (3) Scottish Cup Final

We killed ourselves with poor defensive work and basically handed the Scottish Cup to 'Gers. Lasse Qvist put the sword to our backline in scoring a first half brace to put them ahead 2-0. The lead was deserved as we played a putrid first half. We seemed to have righted ourselves when we hit back for a goal in the opening moments of the second half as Steve Buchanan headed a cross from Martin Fribrock past Clas Bergwall. Buchanan came oh so close to evening the match twice, but just missed both times. MOM Soloman Kalou put the finishing touches on their win when he deflected a cross past Scott Sim late in the second half to clinch the Scottish Cup for Rangers.

[Faramir]

11.5.14

Scott Simmons and I had it out today. He demanded that we complete our discussion on a new contract. I in turn told him he was free to leave and that we would pay the termination fee to him- his contract was up at the end of June. Our disagreements over tactics and player evaluations have been vexing and it was better to end the relationship now, so I can bring a new Assistant Manager aboard sooner- than later.

***

13.5.14

I quickly found a worthy replacement for Scott Simmons. 50 year old Brian McClair was willing to move back to Scotland from Manchester United for the chance to become an Assistant Manager- rather than the respected Coach he had been at the English side. I was very pleased that we were able to add him to our staff. His ability to work with youth and well rounded approach are what caused me to offer the position to him. We did have to pay Manchester United 1.5 Million to buy the contract out- but in the end it was worth that much to bring him here to our staff.

***

14.5.14

The Rangers capped a sensational season by making it a treble as they destroyed Benefica 5-0 to capture the Euro Championship Cup. It doesn't make our losses to them any easier to take, instead it is spurring me in my efforts to bring East Stirling to that level.

[wimthetim]

superb story farimir.....

youve just spent 1.5 mil on an assistant manager so surely this is a sign that you are now prepared to spend big on players in an attempt to top the SPL?

[Faramir]

wimthetim- Thanks very much Glad you are enjoying the story

I wouldn't mind plunking down a good chunk to add players, but East Stirling still isn't a *prime* place to play and I run into problems adding quality because of that...

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to end up with McClair until he accepted the contract- it appeared he was going to turn it down...

***

17.5.14

We started the roster trimming today with the sale of Jamie Scott to Dundee United for 40K with a sell on clause. Scott showed wonderful promise when he first came here from Dunfermline four seasons ago, but after a good first full season with us spent most of his time injured. My physios concurred with my assessment that he is prone to injuries, so he was one of our forwards that was expendable.

A piece of good news today was that we have negotiated to sign 29 year old Michele Troiano on Bosman. Troiano was at Dundee United- but they had loaned him to Rangers last season. It will be an interesting experiment to pair Troiano and Gregor Balazic in the midfield, something that might- or might not- work out well.

***

20.5.14

Long time club favorite- forward Steve Lewis- will have a new home on June 1st as we completed a transfer sale of him to Hibernian for 55K. I really thought Lewis would become a star, but he just hasn't shown the presence around the goal to become all that I had hoped. Maybe a change of scenery will help him develop further, because he just didn't have much of a future here.

Gary Simpson will also be leaving on June 1st as he will be moving to Hartlepool. The sale will net us 35K.

***

24.5.14

Two more will be leaving on June 1st as we completed the transfer sales of Gavin Allen and Paul Walker- two of our unhappy midfielders. Both have wonderful promise and will likely turn into good players, but neither adapted to our playing system very well. Allen is moving to Morton for 180K and a sell on clause, while Walker is moving to Dundee United for 28K and a sell on clause.

[Faramir]

SCOTLAND

1.6.14

I named our 23 man World Cup Squad and it featured a few changes (mostly due to injuries):

GK- David Marshall, Craig Gordon, Daniel Chapman

Defenders- James McEveley, Zander Diamond, John Kennedy, Anthony Hallam, Neil Woods, Alan Hutton, Steven Smith, Marc Wilson

Midfielders- Darren Fletcher, Tim Burgess, Barry Ferguson, Robbie Foy, Stephen Pearson, Scott Brown, Craig Beattie, James McFadden

Forwards- David Clarkson, Paul Gallagher, Marc McCusker, Danny Howard

The key player for us might be Danny Howard. He is a terrific young talent and if he goes- we may surprise.

***

1.6.14

World Cup Odds

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Brazil- Evens

Argentina- 6-4

Italy 6-4

France 2-1

England 5-2

Spain 5-2

Scotland 50-1

</pre>

[Faramir]

SCOTLAND

9.6.14

Colombia (1) Scotland (0)

We suffered a bad break in the opening moments that turned into a goal for Colombia and that proved to be the difference as we missed some chances, but overall really couldn't get our offense going against the South American side. The bad break, compounded by a defensive error, came when Marc Wilson's pass deflected off the shin of Ruben Barrios Bustos. The ball bounced behind Zander Diamond- who had completely lost track of MOM Juan Camilo Soto. Soto swooped in and fired his shot past David Marshall. It was the only blemish on the day for Marshall, who played great to keep us in the match. Things were looking up when Andres Felipe Gomez was redcarded for a cynical foul on Danny Howard at 25 minutes, but we failed to take full advantage of the extra space. We lost Darren Fletcher for the rest of the competition- a big blow for us- in first half injury time. I couldn't believe it when late in the second half Howard setup David Clarkson for an open goal- and Clarkson didn't even get a shot off. I guess I should have remembered that from his unfortunate time at East Stirling, but he had played well this season. It was a tough loss and will make getting out of our Group doubly difficult.

[Faramir]

SCOTLAND

15.6.14

Scotland (1) Saudi Arabia (0)

This was a 'win or go home' match for us and for a long time it appeared we were going home. We played an excellent first half, but then so did Saudi Keeper Salim Al-Bishi. He denied Paul Gallagher three different times on excellent chances. Danny Howard was causing problems for them, but couldn't shake free of their coverage. In the opening moments of the second half our prospects took a big hit when Stephen Pearson was redcarded for a deliberate handball- a scurious call in my estimation. We pressed on, knowing we needed to win. It looked like we just weren't going to do it- we had been close several more times- and then a very tired Tim Burgess fired a shot in off the inside of the left upright. We had to survive their late rally, but held on for David Marshall to earn the clean sheet. Our prospects are still dim- we have Holland left and Colombia has the winless Saudis- but at least we have a chance.

[Faramir]

SCOTLAND

19.6.14

Holland (2) Scotland (1)

Our World Cup is over, but Holland had to work hard to beat us in a closely played 2-1 win. We took the lead early in the first half when we finally sprung Danny Howard and he sliced through the Dutch defense before firing his shot past Maarten Stekelenburg. We clung to the lead until halftime as David Marshall came up with several key saves. More injury problems affected us as Scott Brown, who had energized our offense in the midfield, went down with an injury. I had already been forced to use Neil Woods as one midfielder- well out of the centerback's normal play- and my only choice was to bring on already hurting Barry Ferguson. We kept working, but Zander Diamond's lackadaisical marking allowed Wesley Sneijder to snap a shot past Marshall from directly in front of the goal. Their match winner came in the same fashion as Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar zipped past Diamond to rap home a close-in shot. We never came close to equalizing as our players proved they were dog tired. It wasn't a terrible showing for us in the Cup- both Colombia and Holland are good sides- but I was hoping for more.

[Faramir]

1.7.14

Our only addition at the opening of the transfer window was the completion of our Bosman signing of Michele Troiano. Leaving with the expiration of their contracts are several long-time players- Carl Laurie, Adrian Nevins and Stephen O'Donnell. Also leaving on a transfer sale of 35K is Gary Simpson. There will likely be more leaving as well- since I really want to trim the side down.

***

6.7.14

Germany defeated France 2-1 in a closely played World Cup Final. Colombia wound up beating Italy 1-0 to capture 3rd place honours in the tournament.

***

19.7.14

The highlight of our friendlies was hosting Lazio in a televised match. We took the lead twice in the match, but they took advantage of our poor play on set pieces to score the goals they needed for a 3-2 fightback win over us at Firs Park. We may have lost, but we certainly learned some things and hopefully this is a good gauge on how our young club is developing.

[Faramir]

24.7.14

We are set to open up our 2014-15 campaign and there isn't a much tougher way to open it than with a trip to face Celtic. Our club is young, younger than it has been in the last several years, but it is the direction I feel we must take if we are ever going to stand against the old firm clubs. Our Senior roster shapes up this way:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

GK

Kenneth Stenild (age 26)

Ricardo Delfino (25)

Scot Sim (22)

DR

John McLaren (17)

Bernd Helbig (25)

DL

John Burns (20)

Stuart Dunn (22)

DC

Anthony Hallam (23)

David McKenzie (18)

Paolo Pellegrini (23)

Jamie Hart (21)

Alan Hutchison (19)

MR

Jamie Fraser (19)

Niels Ringoot (24)

Alan Murphy (23)

ML

Marco Wagner (21)

Martin Fribrock (29)

Imad Khalili (27)

MC

Gregor Balazic (26)

Greg Cameron (26)

Michele Troiano (29)

Nicolas Fisher (25)

Andy Ferguson (20)

SC

Daryl Knights (26)

John Moffat (20)

Marc McCusker (24)

Giancarlo Pepe (25)

Steve Buchanan (21)

Brian Anderson (20)

Paul Hamilton (20)

</pre>

***

Starting Lineup for our trip to Celtic Park:

GK- Kenneth Stenild

DR- John McLaren

DL- John Burns

DC- Anthony Hallam

DC- David McKenzie

MR- Jamie Fraser

ML- Marco Wagner

MC- Greg Cameron

MC- Gregor Balazic

SC- Daryl Knights

SC- Marc McCusker