This Is Not The Greatest Title In The World, This Is Just A Tribute

[Brian of Nazareth]

September

In September, with Celtic’s Richard Pacquette easily deserving his award after 7 goals in 3 games (!), George added more experience to the ranks with the signature of former Hearts striker Gary Wales on a free transfer. The 31 year old was determined to prove he can still cut it at the top level.

At international level, there was a friendly with Denmark to keep the side occupied – and with no qualification necessary for the 2012 Championships – which were taking place in Denmark, George knew the FA would be monitoring friendly performances closely. This one though – was against Liechtenstein – hardly world beaters. In the end 2 goals in the first half from Martin Jorgensen proved sufficient, and the side were through. Of more importance to George though was the form of Scotland who were hosting Slovenia in a qualifying match. They won it 3-2, though Neil McFarlane’s dismissal had made life hard for them in patches. That game was followed up with a comfortable 3-0 win in Azerbaijan, a match George enjoyed from the rounded bar stool in the local. Paul Di Giacomo grabbing two of the goals in that one.

Life soon returned to Dumbarton though, and a trip to Kilmarnock arrived. With Killy also near the bottom of the table at the beginning of play, George was hopeful of doing rather well. It transpired not to be however. After an even 20 minutes, Gary Wales scored on his debut, collecting a ball from Keith Simpson – but that sadly seemed to open the doors and the hosts scored 3 goals in 10 minutes to kill the game dead. George was stunned – and didn’t know how to react – instead watching a demoralized side go on to lose the contest 5-1 – a result which bore few, if any positives.

The week after, welcome respite came in the form of a 0-0 draw with Inverness. It was no pretty game – but George was glad to see his players battle hard for a point they deserved, and George expected a similar attitude in every single match this season – if his side were to stay up.

However the misery returned the week after, as Aberdeen arrived in town, nicked an early goal through Magne Hoseth and left with all 3 points to the dismay of George. Dumbarton had played very well but too many missed chances by Gordon Bennett and Gary Wales cost the side once more – and they were firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, the only positive being the increased attendances bringing in more money each time.

It was a situation that after the end of the month saw Dumbarton already 19 points behind leaders Celtic – after just 8 games:

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Premier Division - Saturday 2nd October 2010

****************************************************************************************

===========================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Celtic 8 4 0 0 10 1 3 0 1 8 4 21

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Aberdeen 8 2 2 0 5 3 4 0 0 7 2 20

3rd Rangers 8 3 1 0 7 3 2 1 1 6 3 17

4th Dunfermline 8 1 2 1 5 5 3 1 0 11 5 15

5th Motherwell 8 2 2 0 9 6 0 3 1 2 3 11

6th Hearts 8 2 0 2 4 7 1 2 1 3 5 11

7th Dundee Utd 8 2 0 2 3 5 1 0 3 4 7 9

8th Kilmarnock 8 2 1 1 8 4 0 1 3 4 8 8

9th Inverness C. Thistle 8 2 0 2 5 5 0 2 2 2 4 8

10th Dundee 8 1 1 2 1 2 0 2 2 3 6 6

11th Hibs 8 0 3 1 6 8 0 0 4 1 7 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th Dumbarton 8 0 1 3 2 6 0 1 3 4 11 2

</pre>

[glamdring]

Still time to turn it round yet - I was bottom of the table at Christmas in my first SPL season with Ross County and ended up finishing 3rd

[Brian of Nazareth]

yeah, but it's the fact we're getting obliterated performance wise as well which is the problem

The prospects of an improvement appeared bleaker with the other Glasgow side coming to visit on Sunday 3rd October. With new signing, aging Ben Thornley in the side, George was hoping his side would not cave in and leak too many goals before half time. Amazingly though his side entered the interval at 1-1. Amoroso had given Rangers an 11th minute lead, which preceeded a long period of dominance and beating down on loan keeper Sean Dunn’s goal, but they didn’t score another – and on a counter attack near the end of the half Thomas Hitzlesperger set up Ian Tilson to score from 15 yards –a goal met with considerable delight in the new, grand stands. In the second half, another battling performance saw Dumbarton maintain their position right up to the full time whistle – and a very valuable point had been secured – with Ranger’s title hopes already receiving a wee dent in the process. George, and the fans were thrilled.

A respite from the club life was in order the following weekend as Denmark played in another friendly against Nigeria – whilst the nation was engaged in cheering on Scotland against Italy at Hampden Park. George recorded the Scotland match on Tivo before setting off to Africa, where a stronger side was put out to face the World Cup quarter finalists. After a poor first half that saw Nigeria take a 2 goal lead, George brought on some more effective players, and after Daniel Jensen reduced the lead on 51 minutes it was one way traffic – the equalizer eventually coming from Martin Jorgensen in the final minute of play.

It was then back home to Scotland, where Italy had come into town – eager to continue to wipe away memories from their torrid World Cup. Unfortunately their vengeful attitude prevailed – and they took 3 points in a comfortable 3-1 victory – a game that saw rookie Sullivan come in for some criticism in the media. On the plus side, England were defeated by Russia in their group – which ensured they would have no reason to take the proverbial urine that day. In midweek Ukraine then added a little more unhappiness by beating the Scots 2-1, to overtake them and move into 2nd in the table.

A trip to Edinburgh the week after just heaped it on as Hibernian outclassed Dumbarton in the first half taking a seemingly unassailable 3-0 half time lead. Ian Tilson responded with two quick fire goals in the second half as Dumbarton looked to get back into the game, but John Jack killed the game off with 10 minutes to go. Jim Wilson scored again after that – but there was no time after that – and Dumbarton had scored 3 away from home but lost the game.

In midweek a similar scenario saw yet more frustration at Dunfermline. George saw his side go 3-0 down, before Jose Cano scored 2 to bring the game back into a contest, but Ian Tilson could only hit the woodwork on 3 separate occasions in the final minutes – and the points were lost once more! Lesson learned – only go 2 goals down before half time.

Sadly that result also brought a club record 12 games without a win – and George was despairing a little.6 million in debt, and already needing a string of wins to climb off the bottom – and no loans from other SPL clubs permitted – it was a tricky scenario.

On Saturday 23rd October, George and Dumbarton briefly tasted the feeling of leading a game – though it lasted less than 60 seconds. Thomas Hitzlesperger crashed home a 29th minute penalty before Motherwell came back and slaughtered the home side – winning the game 4-1 with an omninous performance and George drank himself dry at the weekend.

In his drunken stupor George sold complete reject David Smith who’d been dire when he’d played to Doncaster for another 80,000 pounds and again George had no regrets – no point keeping wasters on.

The month ended hosting 8th placed Dundee and George just wanted t concede as few as goals as possible. It proved to be the most frustrating of the season – after keeping it tight until half time, Brian King then scored seconds after the restart to give Dundee the lead. Dumbarton swiftly pummeled the visitors net with chance after chance but just could not break through and for the first time this season George could honestly say the best side lost that afternoon. The performance was certainly one to offer hope as October finally ended.

[Brian of Nazareth]

November

The board were getting very edgy about the run of results endured so far. They wanted Dumbarton to battle hard, and clearly felt the side could be doing a better job of it – but of course they were far too broke paying down payments on the stadium to offer any assistance to George.

November began with selecting another Danish squad for a friendly with Norway before George prepared his men for a beating that Celtic would no doubt inflict on Saturday – the emphasis on making sure it wasn’t too bad, and hopefully the players would walk off the pitch with their heads held high. At half time it was 4-0 Celtic. Oh dear. Full time - 4-0 – better. George was angry, his side had been slaughtered and there was little he could do, except pray to Gods he didn’t believe in.

Further to that – over 8,000 people attended the game as the fans kept coming to support the club in their times of hardship. In response to lack of creativity on the park, George desperately brought in more loan signings from England to help bolster his side’s chances of winning.

The next fixture though saw a trip up north to second placed Aberdeen in a game that few expected the visitors to do well in. The winless streak was the betting certainty amongst many bookies, filling George up with confidence no end. However his side battled hard, right to the end of the game, beating off Aberdeen players all over the park, as the defense held tight. Barry Roche pulled off some terrific players, whilst Richie Wellens burst a vessel in his efforts – unfortunately it was one in his brain and his loan spell came to a premature end.

A welcome respite did arrive happily enough with Denmark – as George steered his side to an utterly dominant display over the Norwegians. Denmark won 3-0, with goals from Dan Anton Johansen, Martin Jorgensen and Jesper Gronkjaer – a result that also pleased the FA – who were content with the upturn in friendly performances.

At the weekend – George and the fans sensed a victory with the visit of Dundee United to Cliftonhill. Loan midfielder Darren Cook gave the hosts a 7th minute lead – and when the side survived as close encounter to reach half time with the lead intact – there was genuine hope of picking up 3 points for the first time this season. Sadly Ian Hume had other ideas as he equalized 10 minutes after re-start and the game was fading away from Dumbarton. The final minutes were all Dundee United, and in the end George had to be content to take a point from the game.

Against Hearts in Edinburgh at the end of the month, another brief flutter with success was wiped out by stronger opposition. Twice Dumbarton took the lead – through James McFadden and then Victor Agali finally scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1 – but the hosts overran George’s side and comfortably ran out 4-2 winners.

[Brian of Nazareth]

December

December began with a fine chance to win the first game of the season at home to 10th placed Kilmarnock. A scoreless first half saw the hosts just edge it, and when Killie player Mark Dempsie was sent off in the second half – the fans sniffed an opening. It was not forthcoming however – and the game ended like so – with another point gained.

A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Inverness followed that as George considered preparing for Division 1 already – assuming he still held a job then – for it was no surprise the board actually wanted to see the club battle the drop.

Against Dundee a much better performance almost saw Dumbarton take the points, but their numerous chances were not converted, and though the likes of Greg Beard and John Dick kept the defense solid, they couldn’t do the job the whole game and Jonathan Casey scored the winner for the home side – further pressing George’s side into doom.

However, goals and a point did appear the week after, against Hibernian at home. Greg Beard swept home a Neil Pounder ( on loan from Aston Villa ) corner in the 5th minute before that lead was cancelled half an hour later. Moments after the interval and Beard scored his second goal as Dumbarton fans prayed for a win. Sadly though they had to settle for one as David Young scored for Hibs with 15 minutes remaining.

It was a point to be thankful of bearing in mind Hibs lay 11th in the table. Before the boxing day fixture, there was a tough game in Glasgow to be played against Rangers. However George was somewhat delighted to see his side play so well and actually earned a fine draw to go 2 games unbeaten. A goalless first half, indicated half a chance, but then Amoruso put Rangers ahead on 50 minutes. After then enjoying a spell in front of the Rangers goal Keith Simpson equalized to the shock of the home fans. Rangers responded and Patric Andersson restored their advantage – but that only lasted 2 minutes as impressively Dumbarton stole a point – Gary Wales collecting Simpson’s through ball and finishing well.

That was the prelude to Boxing Day – and a trip to Motherwell. The side who Dumbarton had very nearly beaten on the opening day of the season hosted a resurgent Dumbarton side who believed they were on the threshold of victory. A switch to 4-4-2 in recent games had also helped solidify the team – but it couldn’t stop Ian Murray putting the hosts ahead midway through the first half. The visitors responded with chances of their own but at half time it remained 0-0. George managed to keep spirits high and encouraged his team to make the most of any chances that befell them. In the second half Andy Gibson flicked a ball out wide to Neil Pounder on the right flank and the winger delivered a deep cross to the back post where Keith Simpson was waiting – and the striker lashed home the goal and it was deservedly all square. Moments later though and the away fans were given a wonderful Christmas present. Gary Wales carried a ball from midfield 20 yards before releasing Simpson with an exquisite back heel – leaving Simpson in acres of space. Enough room in fact, to score a match winning goal. After that went in Dumbarton piled on more pressure – hoping to secure the points, but none was forthcoming and Motherwell were allowed back into the game – the final few minutes the most nervous George had experienced. However, eventually the final whistle blew and all hell broke loose on the Dumbarton bench as the first win of the season had at long last been gained. Keith Simpson and Neil Pounder taking much of the credit for a fine display – that took Dumbarton into double figures.

That also inspired a little break in the league fixtures until the New Year, and George began scouring for new blood to help maintain this little run. Still 8 points behind Hibs, it would be along battle – though at least they could write off the Cup – with the 3rd round pairing them with a trip to Rangers.

[Brian of Nazareth]

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Premier Division - Sunday 2nd January 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Celtic 23 10 2 0 27 4 8 2 1 25 9 58

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Aberdeen 23 6 5 1 17 11 6 4 1 16 11 45

3rd Inverness C. Thistle 23 9 0 2 24 9 3 6 3 13 11 42

4th Rangers 23 7 4 0 19 6 3 5 4 14 13 39

5th Dunfermline 23 5 5 2 19 15 3 2 6 17 27 31

6th Dundee 23 5 4 3 13 11 2 4 5 9 19 29

7th Hearts 23 3 5 3 12 17 3 5 4 10 17 28

8th Dundee Utd 23 5 3 3 14 11 2 3 7 11 18 27

9th Motherwell 23 2 4 6 18 22 2 4 5 15 17 20

10th Kilmarnock 23 4 4 3 17 14 0 4 8 5 17 20

11th Hibs 23 2 4 6 17 23 2 3 6 12 16 19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th Dumbarton 23 0 5 6 7 19 1 3 8 15 29 11

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

well as I can't edit this into the above post

January began poorly though with a home loss against Hearts. Despite including two new loan signings, the side couldn’t stop Kiegan Parker stealing a march in the 45th minute to score a match winning goal. In the second Dumbarton pressed… but could not find a way through.

With the winter break now in full effect George had well over two weeks until the Cup game with Aberdeen to find new players to solve his problems. Few were forthcoming and George went into the game with Aberdeen with much the same side. Jose Cano gave the hosts a first half lead as victory in the Cup looked to be most welcome. In the second half chances arrived for both sides but the score remained the same and Dumbarton were on course for victory. However, Juan Pablo Angel had different ideas. First infuriating everyone by leveling in the 87th minute – he proceeded to bring despondency to the meager gathering of fans as he added another within a minute to hand victory to Aberdeen and dump Dumbarton out of the cup – more misery for the fans to take.

[Brian of Nazareth]

February

February brought little hope of reprieve – as the month started with a trip to Celtic, a side ripping up the SPL with ease. However before that – it was nice surprise to see a Dumbarton player pick up an award in January – Thomas Hitzlesperger winning the player of the month award. The defeat to Celtic, though inevitable wasn’t as heavy as some feared. Only three goals in four minutes in the first half separated the sides, through Mark Koeman and Francis Jeffers.

The home game with Dunfermline would give a better indication of whether the new players added anything to the side. It ended up being a 1-1 draw as Dumbarton picked up another solitary point, though it could have been more. After Martin Bavidge put the visitors into a second meet lead, and then Victor Agali equalized within seconds of the kick off – but neither side was able to add to the goal column and the points were shared.

Another well deserved away point was gained in midweek against Dundee United. The hosts did have man sent off in the second half, but they were godo enough to keep the pressure on and solid defensive performances from Jim Hunter, Terry Kidd and goalkeeper Barry Roche helped repel the threat.

The hope of going 3 matches unbeaten proved once more to be a challenge too far, as Kilmarnock defeated Dumbarton 2-0 at the weekend with Padraig Gollogley and Johan Mellander scoring the goals. Of slight hindrance to George’s chances in this fixture were the dismissals of on loan defender Darren Richmond and Keith Simpson inside 25 minutes – meaning any hope was minimalist at best.

Back on home soil at the end of the month though and a point was gained against Inverness. Petter Westerberger enjoyed a fine game between the sticks, but unfortunately none of the forwards were able to convert the few chances made available to them as Dumbarton entered March a mere 12 points off the pace with only 9 games remaining.

[Brian of Nazareth]

apologies for ths short update - at the time I was just too depressed to write more

March / April / May

Another poor start left crowds dwindling by the minute as a 3-1 loss at home to Aberdeen piled on the misery. After managing to deflect the Aberdeen front line for the first half – the dismissal of goalkeeper Paetter Westerberger moments after and the away side quickly ran up an unassailable lead.

Thereafter the race to be relegated as fast as possible took control as Dumbarton were firmly in pole position and looked unassailable. Rangers defeated them 3-1 the week after with Chris Brady shocking the Gers in the second half, before two more defeats ( a 1-0, 89th minute goal from John Evans ) at Hibs, and a 2-1 home loss to Dundee the prelude to the relegation group and Dumbarton fans could already picture their side winning the elusive race to play in the illustrious division 1 next season.

Confirmation of such success swiftly followed with a 3-0 thumping at Dundee United before Kilmarnock came to town and left with another 3-1 victory. This was officially George’s worst ever season as a manager – much worse than at his Fort William days as the shambolic collapse seemed to be mirrored in his declining reputation. Would he ever get the chance to see European football at club level?

Amazingly though a first home victory of the season was FINALLY secured at home to Motherwell. Keith Simpson scoring twice in a 2-1 win that calmed an agitated board worried at their side’s dramatic free fall. In this time George had also been oblivious to Denmark’s fate and really couldn’t be bothered attending many of the friendless – especially as there was still over a year until the tournament began.

Typically Dumbarton played better football in the final two games of the year, James McFadden handing them a first half lead at Dundee as the hosts were outplayed, before they rallied in the second half to take a 3-1 lead. Dumbarton decided to fight, to George’s surprise and two goals in the final 10 minutes from Les Richards and Jose Cano earned a creditable draw.

A meager crowd were in attendance at Cliftonhill saw Dumbarton’s debut, and also dismal, season in the SPL come to an end. Hibs were the visitors for the final “relegation†group. In fitting fashion George watched his be thrashed off the park, as a John Evans inspired performance sent most of the home crowd home early forlornly looking ahead to Division 1 again. He scored a hat trick and his partner in crime John Jack bagged on of his own as the final score was 4-0. Pathetic.

[Brian of Nazareth]

End of Season Tables

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Premier Division - Saturday 14th May 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Celtic 38 15 3 1 42 8 12 4 3 36 17 88

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Aberdeen 38 12 6 1 35 16 10 6 3 31 25 78

3rd Rangers 38 13 6 0 35 11 7 5 7 28 24 71

4th Inverness C. Thistle 38 12 3 4 34 14 4 10 5 18 17 61

5th Dunfermline 38 8 6 4 31 26 5 5 10 28 41 50

6th Hearts 38 7 6 7 29 29 4 6 8 14 27 45

7th Dundee Utd 38 9 7 4 26 16 4 5 9 19 28 51

8th Dundee 38 8 5 5 23 20 3 5 12 16 38 43

9th Kilmarnock 38 8 7 4 27 20 1 5 13 10 33 39

10th Hibs 38 6 4 8 27 28 3 7 10 19 26 38

11th Motherwell 38 5 8 6 29 29 2 5 12 17 35 34

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th R Dumbarton 38 1 7 12 14 37 1 5 12 18 41 18

************************************************************************************************

Scottish First Division - Saturday 14th May 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Livingston 36 15 1 2 34 14 3 7 8 24 32 62

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Queen's Park 36 8 8 2 28 15 7 2 9 23 22 55

3rd St. Mirren 36 6 9 3 19 13 8 3 7 24 23 54

4th Albion Rovers 36 9 6 3 26 19 4 8 6 21 23 53

5th Falkirk 36 11 3 4 28 21 3 7 8 16 27 52

6th Morton 36 6 7 5 23 21 7 3 8 20 22 49

7th Raith Rovers 36 8 2 8 17 17 5 7 6 20 21 48

8th Airdrie 36 5 7 6 21 22 7 4 7 21 19 47

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th R Partick Thistle 36 4 6 8 19 23 6 7 5 16 17 43

10th R Ayr Utd 36 4 4 10 21 31 1 5 12 11 30 24

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Second Division - Saturday 14th May 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Stirling 36 13 3 2 31 17 7 6 5 34 31 69

2nd P St. Johnstone 36 13 1 4 41 21 7 7 4 30 23 68

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Peterhead 36 9 7 2 29 14 7 6 5 29 25 61

4th Queen of Sth 36 7 7 4 21 17 8 3 7 27 25 55

5th Clydebank 36 7 8 3 28 20 7 4 7 22 21 54

6th Ross County 36 8 6 4 19 12 4 9 5 13 18 51

7th Elgin City 36 4 5 9 23 31 6 4 8 22 22 39

8th East Fife 36 4 6 8 21 29 3 8 7 22 29 35

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th R Stranraer 36 5 5 8 27 36 2 3 13 24 44 29

10th R Montrose 36 5 5 8 27 36 1 3 14 10 29 26

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Third Division - Saturday 14th May 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2010/1 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Forfar 36 11 4 3 45 28 8 5 5 38 27 66

2nd P Arbroath 36 11 3 4 30 17 9 3 6 29 26 66

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Cowdenbeath 36 9 6 3 28 17 8 6 4 22 15 63

4th Brechin 36 7 3 8 27 34 7 7 4 39 35 52

5th Berwick 36 6 8 4 29 25 7 3 8 17 21 50

6th Clyde 36 6 6 6 29 31 7 2 9 23 29 47

7th Stenhousemuir 36 5 4 9 21 22 6 5 7 31 27 42

8th East Stirling 36 6 3 9 30 31 5 4 9 33 34 40

9th Alloa 36 6 5 7 31 37 4 5 9 21 31 40

10th Fort William 36 6 3 9 22 30 1 5 12 19 47 29

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

ergh, those tables look revolting

Dumbarton End of Season Stats

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

************************************************************************************************

Dumbarton - Saturday 14th May 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31 Agali, Victor S C NGA 29.12.78 32 61 13 £1.6K 1.5.12 £85K

30 Alexander, James D C SCO 7.11.87 23 - - £1K 11.5.13 £55K

19 Arnesson, Thomas S C SWE 10.8.82 28 - - £1.7K 23.5.13 £160K

12 Artur DM RC ESP 17.3.81 30 - - £1.2K 26.5.14 £45K

26 Black, Ian S C SCO 10.4.85 26 - - £625 9.6.12 £60K

25 Brady, Chris M/F R SCO 22.5.85 25 7 - £0 28.5.11 £425K

24 Burke, Alex AM RL SCO 11.11.77 33 - - £450 11.6.13 £30K

6 Caldwell, Alex D C SCO 11.2.84 27 - - £1K 23.6.12 £35K

4 Cano, José AM/F C ESP 29.7.79 31 - - £600 15.6.13 £55K

38 Carboni, Giorgio D RC ITA 14.11.93 17 - - £170 28.5.13 £35K

40 Carson, Alan D LC SCO 13.3.80 31 - - £120 19.5.12 £14K

16 Deuchar, Kenny F RC SCO 6.8.80 30 - - £725 17.5.11 £0

5 Dick, John D C SCO 27.3.86 25 - - £825 5.6.11 £2K

14 Dodds, David D L SCO 23.8.84 26 - - £475 28.6.11 £3K

3 Gordon, Dean D/M L ENG 10.2.73 38 - - £575 28.5.13 £18K

15 Graham, Grant S C SCO 2.12.91 19 - - £350 25.6.12 £40K

22 Hitzlsperger, Thomas D/M L GER 5.4.82 29 - - £1.5K 5.5.13 £110K

13 Hodgson, Kevin D RL ENG 20.11.91 19 - - £0 15.5.11 £350K

8 Juskowiak, Reon M/S C SCO 2.1.83 28 - - £1.9K 5.6.16 £140K

18 Kidd, Terry D/DM C SCO 1.9.83 27 - - £325 28.6.11 £3K

11 McAnespie, Kieran AM L SCO 11.9.79 31 - - £1.7K 18.5.12 £130K

2 McCluskey, Stuart D RC SCO 29.10.77 33 - - £1.3K 11.6.12 £10K

32 McDonald, Kevin AM/F R SCO 21.4.83 28 - - £950 28.6.14 £140K

23 McFadden, James M C SCO 13.8.83 27 - - £475 8.6.11 £20K

27 Mitchell, Ronnie AM RL SCO 2.8.85 25 - - £350 14.6.12 £45K

29 O'Donnell, Michael M R SCO 11.12.88 22 - - £190 13.6.12 £10K

20 Oliver, Craig D/M R SCO 1.8.84 26 - - £375 6.6.12 £45K

43 Richards, Les AM/F R ENG 5.11.86 24 - - £0 28.5.11 £1.9M

28 Scott, David M RC SCO 14.12.87 23 - - £400 12.6.12 £30K

34 Simpson, Keith S C ENG 27.3.85 26 - - £1.7K 8.6.14 £200K

21 Smith, Darren M LC SCO 4.6.80 30 - - £120 22.6.13 £14K

33 Thornley, Ben AM RL ENG 21.4.75 36 - - £1.5K 22.5.11 £0

17 Todd, Dougie M LC SCO 25.2.78 33 - - £1K 12.5.13 £12K

37 Wales, Gary S C SCO 4.1.79 32 - - £2K 26.6.13 £170K

35 Westerberg, Petter GK SWE 6.6.83 27 - - £1.7K 7.6.14 £95K

9 Young, Derek S C SCO 1.4.80 31 - - £1.2K 8.5.12 £40K

39 van den Heuvel, Jimmy S C HOL 21.1.87 24 - - £1.2K 16.6.16 £190K

================================================================================================

2010/1 Senior Club Stats

================================================================================================

No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31 Agali, Victor 12 (11) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.74

30 Alexander, James 10 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

19 Arnesson, Thomas 8 (2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.40

12 Artur 9 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.44

26 Black, Ian 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.50

25 Brady, Chris 11 (1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.17

24 Burke, Alex 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00

6 Caldwell, Alex 18 (2) 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 6.75

4 Cano, José 21 (3) 5 0 0 5 2 0 0 7.00

38 Carboni, Giorgio 4 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

40 Carson, Alan 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.00

16 Deuchar, Kenny 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.71

5 Dick, John 20 (1) 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 6.90

14 Dodds, David 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00

3 Gordon, Dean 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.80

15 Graham, Grant 26 12 0 0 5 2 0 8 7.50

22 Hitzlsperger, Thomas 27 (5) 2 0 1 (1) 3 2 0 0 6.69

13 Hodgson, Kevin 18 (1) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.58

8 Juskowiak, Reon 9 (1) 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.40

18 Kidd, Terry 4 (3) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.43

11 McAnespie, Kieran 17 (2) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.74

2 McCluskey, Stuart 8 (6) 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.14

32 McDonald, Kevin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----

23 McFadden, James 21 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 6.48

27 Mitchell, Ronnie 3 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.60

29 O'Donnell, Michael 15 (12) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.37

20 Oliver, Craig 6 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 6.17

43 Richards, Les 3 (4) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.14

28 Scott, David 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00

34 Simpson, Keith 12 (8) 5 0 0 1 2 1 1 6.60

21 Smith, Darren 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----

33 Thornley, Ben 12 (2) 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 6.86

17 Todd, Dougie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----

37 Wales, Gary 15 (3) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.00

35 Westerberg, Petter 22 0 42 0 0 0 1 2 6.82

9 Young, Derek 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

39 van den Heuvel, Jimmy 6 (1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 7.14

================================================================================================

2010/1 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

9.6.10 Ian Black Sheff Utd Bos

11.6.10 Ronnie Mitchell Dundee Bos

11.6.10 Barry Roche Stockport Loan

13.6.10 Dougie Todd East Stirling £7K

13.6.10 Derek Young Free Transfer Free

20.6.10 Jim Wilson Dunfermline Loan

21.6.10 David Smith Motherwell Bos

23.6.10 Alex Caldwell Tottenham Bos

2.7.10 Dean Gordon Bristol C Free

11.7.10 Reon Juskowiak Free Transfer Free

14.7.10 Michael Jansson Free Transfer Free

14.7.10 Thomas Arnesson Free Transfer Free

17.7.10 Kevin Hodgson Aston Villa Loan

20.7.10 James Alexander Free Transfer Free

1.8.10 Paul Miller Coventry Loan

1.8.10 Ian Tilson Blackburn Loan

1.8.10 Richie Appleby Blackburn Loan

2.8.10 Gordon Bennett Coventry Loan

5.8.10 Petter Westerberg Free Transfer Free

5.8.10 Keith Simpson Free Transfer Free

6.8.10 Victor Agali Free Transfer Free

7.8.10 Jesper HÃ¥kansson Free Transfer Free

19.8.10 Carl Regan Wolves Loan

30.8.10 Ian Tilson Blackburn Loan

1.9.10 Giorgio Carboni Free Transfer Free

1.9.10 Gary Wales Free Transfer Free

23.9.10 Sean Dunn Arsenal Loan

23.9.10 Michael Burton Crewe Loan

27.9.10 Ben Thornley Free Transfer Free

29.9.10 Richie Appleby Blackburn Loan

12.10.10 Barry Roche Stockport Loan

18.10.10 Micky Jones Middlesbrough Loan

21.10.10 Greg Beard Everton Loan

4.11.10 Richard Wellens Nottm Forest Loan

5.11.10 Darren Cook Brentford Loan

5.11.10 Jim Burns Bradford Loan

5.11.10 Andy Gibson Tranmere Loan

21.11.10 Greg Beard Everton Loan

22.11.10 Alan Carson Free Transfer Free

24.11.10 Neil Pounder Aston Villa Loan

14.12.10 Kevin Amankwaah Wolves Loan

29.12.10 Ian Tilson Blackburn Loan

31.12.10 Darren Richmond Newcastle Loan

31.12.10 Les Richards Ipswich Loan

29.1.11 Chris Brady Aston Villa Loan

29.1.11 Stephen Milne Newcastle Loan

29.1.11 Les Richards Ipswich Loan

29.1.11 Michael Dunn Aston Villa Loan

30.1.11 Colin Lock Barnsley Loan

30.1.11 John Thomas Barnsley Loan

30.1.11 Jim Hunter Everton Loan

20.2.11 Jimmy van den Heuvel Free Transfer Free

6.3.11 Alex Burke Free Transfer Free

22.3.11 Kevin McDonald Free Transfer Free

Date Player Out To Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.6.10 Kyle Sheppard Released Free

1.6.10 John Devine Released Free

8.6.10 David Brown Released Free

8.6.10 Matthew Glennon Released Free

9.6.10 John Brown Released Free

9.6.10 Ian Gray Brighton Bos

10.6.10 James Evans Inverness C. Thistle £1M

11.6.10 Derek Barnes Released Free

24.6.10 Kevin Graham Released Free

25.6.10 Martyn Margetson Peterhead Bos

27.6.10 John Williamson Ross County Bos

28.6.10 Wayne Purser Released Free

28.6.10 Eddie McCluskey Released Free

29.6.10 Emanuel Released Free

14.7.10 Michael O'Donnell Alloa Loan

10.8.10 Jim McLean Doncaster £60K

24.10.10 David Smith Doncaster £75K

27.10.10 Grant Graham Clyde Loan

14.12.10 Jesper Håkansson Bristol C £95K

13.5.11 Michael Jansson Lausanne Free

================================================================================================

2010/1 Fixtures

================================================================================================

Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.7.10 Kelso Utd H Friendly 1:0 406 D.Young

14.7.10 Easthouses Lily H Friendly 2:0 386 Deuchar, D.Smith

20.7.10 Annan H Friendly 2:1 418 Smith, Deuchar

31.7.10 Motherwell A Premier Division 2:2 9759 Arnesson, Hitzlsperger

7.8.10 Hearts H Premier Division 0:1 6594

15.8.10 Celtic A Premier Division 1:3 52106 Appleby

17.8.10 Queen's Park A League Cup 2nd Rnd 0:1 1523

21.8.10 Dunfermline H Premier Division 2:4 6809 Cano, Bennett

28.8.10 Dundee Utd A Premier Division 0:1 12361

11.9.10 Kilmarnock A Premier Division 1:5 14836 Wales

18.9.10 Inverness C. Thistle H Premier Division 0:0 6451

25.9.10 Aberdeen H Premier Division 0:1 7108

3.10.10 Rangers H Premier Division 1:1 7456 Tilson

16.10.10 Hibs A Premier Division 3:4 13953 Tilson 2, Wilson

19.10.10 Dunfermline A Premier Division 2:3 8015 Cano 2

23.10.10 Motherwell H Premier Division 1:4 7720 Hitzlsperger pen

30.10.10 Dundee H Premier Division 0:1 6576

6.11.10 Celtic H Premier Division 0:4 8457

14.11.10 Aberdeen A Premier Division 0:0 9934

20.11.10 Dundee Utd H Premier Division 1:1 7018 Cook

28.11.10 Hearts A Premier Division 2:4 15602 McFadden, Agali

4.12.10 Kilmarnock H Premier Division 0:0 6575

8.12.10 Inverness C. Thistle A Premier Division 0:3 7531

12.12.10 Dundee A Premier Division 0:1 9554

18.12.10 Hibs H Premier Division 2:2 6559 Beard 2

21.12.10 Rangers A Premier Division 2:2 38806 Simpson, Wales

26.12.10 Motherwell A Premier Division 2:1 9470 Simpson 2

4.1.11 Hearts H Premier Division 0:1 6559

29.1.11 Aberdeen H Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 1:2 3177 Cano

2.2.11 Celtic A Premier Division 0:3 52263

5.2.11 Dunfermline H Premier Division 1:1 6823 Agali

9.2.11 Dundee Utd A Premier Division 0:0 12383

12.2.11 Kilmarnock A Premier Division 0:2 15781

26.2.11 Inverness C. Thistle H Premier Division 0:0 6476

5.3.11 Aberdeen H Premier Division 1:3 7095 Richards

20.3.11 Rangers H Premier Division 1:3 7462 Brady

2.4.11 Hibs A Premier Division 0:1 13979

9.4.11 Dundee H Premier Division 1:2 6552 Juskowiak

16.4.11 Dundee Utd A Premier Division Releg. Grp 0:3 12373

23.4.11 Kilmarnock H Premier Division Releg. Grp 1:3 6589 van den Heuvel

30.4.11 Motherwell H Premier Division Releg. Grp 2:1 7495 Simpson 2

7.5.11 Dundee A Premier Division Releg. Grp 3:3 8938 McFadden, Richards, Cano

14.5.11 Hibs H Premier Division Releg. Grp 0:4 6593

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

however it does mean the pages are aligned so that's a big plus

Awards Round Up

Team

Falkirk defeated Livingston 3-2 after extra time in the Challenge Cup Final , whilst Celtic also needed extra time to secure the League Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Aberdeen. Manchester United bound Steven Challinor with the goal. The showpiece Scottish Cup in Scotland was contested between Dundee and Rangers with the underdogs Dundee coming through in a 2-1 victory.

Abroad, Bayern Munich were victors over surprise finalists AIK of Sweden, via a 2-0 score line in the UEFA Cup , and Middlesbrough shocked Barcelona in the final of the Champions League, the Catalan giants comprehensively beaten 3-0.

Individual

Top Goalscorer in the Scottish leagues went to Richard Paquette of Celtic, with 33 goals in 30 games. Unsurprisingly he also won the Player of the Year award. The Young Player of the Year was won by 19 year old German Roland Kurth of Rangers after a string of fine performances in midfield.

[Brian of Nazareth]

Lisbon Lions Season Review 2011

The Players

Squad Overview

Goalkeepers

Barry Roche 26 After a decent loan spell, Barry agreed to move on a permanent deal in the summer and will provide competition with Colin.

10/11 Record: 15 apps,. 31 conceded

Colin Meldrum 35 signed as part of an exchange transfer with Dunfermline for Italian youngster Carboni, Colin will add a wealth of experience after serving Dunfermline well in the top flight. Now he’s moved to gain regular football.

Petter Westerberg 28 Arriving as cover for Barry and for the slot whilst Barry returned to his club, Petter was sternly tested throughout the season. Very competent and able – but may be sold to ease the debt.

Defenders

Craig Oliver 27 D/MR Craig was a competent back up player in the top flight, making a few appearances. He improved substantially, and will play a bigger role in pushing Dumbarton onwards.

10/11 Record:6 starts, 6.17

Thomas Hitzlesperger 29 D/ML The German was a consistent performer last season in the SPL and helped secure the miserly points total, and he will be a big factor in helping the side return to the top flight.

10/11 Record: 27 starts, 5 sub, 2 goals, 3 assists, 6.69

Alex Caldwell 27 DC Young Alex actually turned out to be competent centre back, often tested as Dumbarton struggled to contain their opponents and as a result he became a better player for it..

10/11 Record:18 starts, 2 sub, 1 assist, 6.75

Sean Murray 26 DC the Irish defender arrived on a bosman from Guiseley, merely to add some cover to the side. He’s able and should be able to do a good enough job if required.

Craig Graham 27 DC Signed on a bosman from Rangers, the talented centre half should be a very useful asset in solidifying the back line, by adding a wealth of top flight experience.

James Alexander 23 DC The former Celtic player was again tested in the games he did play, and he seemed to suffer initially as he then endured a spell on the sidelines. However he returned for the end of the season – a much improved talent – and that will be a positive as the challenge lessens.

10/11 Record: 10 starts, 2 subs, 6.50

Terry Kidd 27 D/DMC The player with no professional experience in 8 years before George found him, had a tough time, making only a handful of appearances as his lack of quality sharply showed.

10/11 Record: 4 starts, 3 subs, 6.43

Michael Blake 24 DRC The experienced defenseman swapped the dreary surroundings of Carlisle for the serene tranquility of Dumbarton in the summer, as he arrived on a bosman – adding further experience as George sought to continue bringing players in permanently as opposed to loaning.

Kevin Scott 26 D/DMC When he joined Dundee a few years ago – he must have thought he’d made a big step up. Sadly he never played one single game for them, and George offered him a lifeline. Clearly suffering from a lack of match fitness but he’s a hard worker who should add some depth.

[Brian of Nazareth]

Midfielders

Artur 30 DMC The midfielder was not given a fair chance in the SPL until the end – where a run in the side saw the midfielder play superbly well as Dumbarton recovered some pride picking up a few more points. Still worth his place.

10/11Record: starts, 7.44

Alejandro Bueno 23 DMC The Spaniard is seen by many as the natural successor to Artur – in midfield – he arrived on a free from Newcastle and many pundits were surprised that no bigger sides tried to come in for him, in light of how highly thought of he was in Geordie Land.

Stephen Clemence 33 MC The experienced Englishman was a loyal servant at Port Vale, but fell foul of the club after a spat with the chairman and his contract was not renewed. Dumbarton were the lucky beneficiaries.

James McFadden 27 MC A fine year from James, in a season when the club was surrounded by a great deal of negativity his improvement was something to keep the fans happy. Hopefully he can now take the club back to the top flight.

10/11 Record: 21 starts, 2 goals, 2 assists, 6.48

Kieran McAnespie 31 ML Kieran had a tough year, and though he was picked often enough he did not produce – and perhaps his time at Dumbarton is ending, unless he can revitalize himself by taking a step back.

10/11 Record: 17 starts, 2 subs, 6.74

Liam Miller 30 MC The Irish central man, arrived as part of Carboni’s transfer out, along with goalkeeper Colin Meldrum from Dunfermline. He is talented, but not deemed good enough at Dunfermline where he barely featured. Early showings look very promising.

Reon Juskowiak 28 M/SC The former Hearts player had problems re-adjusting to the pace of the top flight initially and his performances were less than average. After a few niggling injuries though he seems to have regained his ability ands could prove valuable in the First Division.

10/11 Record: 9 starts, 1 sub, 6.40

Jose Cano 32 AM/FC The brilliant Spaniard continued to excel again last year, as he enters the final years of his career. After trying his best in the SPL – fans will be hoping he still has the desire to maintain his high standards back in division 1.

10/11 Record: 21 starts, 3 subs, 5 goals, 5 assists, 7.00

[Brian of Nazareth]

Forwards

Thomas Arnesson 27 SC The Swede never hit the heights in his first season and as a result found himself very much out in the cold for much of the campaign. A league below should help his career get back on track.

10/11 Record: 8 starts, 2 subs, 1 goal, 6.40

Ian Black 26 SC Ian also had a tough year, barely figuring and he really looked out of shape. He’ll have to change dramatically if he is to impress this season.

10/11 Record: 2 starts, 5.50

Carlos Diaz 27FLC The Spaniard arrived on a free from Jaen and George will hope his talents will transfer as easily as his plane did. A possible great bargain.

Keith Simpson 26 SC The Englishman was signed midway through the season and proved to be a welcome addition with a handful of goals that added a degree of respectability to Dumbarton’s finish. He should thrive therefore in the first division.

10/11 Record: 12 starts, 8 subs, 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, 6.60

[Brian of Nazareth]

2011-2012 Review

A season back in the First Division brought with it high expectations – and many fans were hoping for a quick return, in spite of the clubs precarious financial situation. A big 1 million pound cash boost had arrived via celebrity fan Michael Clarke Duncan, yet that still left the club well over 6 million in the red, with the revenue gained from the SPL no longer an option – and the words “bankruptcy†and “closure†were suddenly mentioned with an alarming degree of frequency in the build up to the campaign.

The – preseason was not a time to make strong conclusions, with a loss to Livingston and predictable success on a tour of Wales simply ensuring all the players were given a fair run out before the campaign proper – and an window for many of the transfer listed players as George looked to cut back the wage bill – anything to give the clubs accountants something to cheer about, and almost ¾ of a million pounds was raised simply on the sale of the forwards – Gary Wales to Inverness, Jimmy Van Den Heuvel to Bury and Victor Agali to Lausanne.

It was also unsurprising to discover that when youngster John Scott , a product of the youth system came through to his first training practice and thoroughly impressed – George learnt that even his wage demands were a little beyond Dumbarton’s reach, though he did sign eventually, along with a pitiful minimum release fee clause. Other youngsters also came on part time deals, from the local village, and from Spain, but they have someway to go before they can be considered a part of the first team squad.

[Brian of Nazareth]

August

League

The opening competitive fixture proved to eventually be a positive one – as the crowd were able to cheer a 3-2 victory – though it took plenty of skill and hard work from Stephen Clemence and Alejandro Bueno to secure it. Both men ran tirelessly and set up the goals that were converted by James McFadden ( 1 in each half ) and Keith Simpson as Dumbarton were twice forced to come from behind.

With George still keeping an eye on his Nationality Index, the arrival of defensive midfielder Willie Stewart on a free transfer also sognalled the end of Artur’s long and valuable career at Dumbarton as he was placed on the transfer list. Also leaving though was Kieran McAnespie . After two less than average years – George decided he was better off without the 31 year old winger, as his wages could be put to better use elsewhere – as his 100,000 pound departure racked up the 1 million mark in sales since the summer.

Falkirk away followed, a side George hadn’t come up against in 2 years, the last meeting a 3-1 victory in the League Cup. On this occasion though, the hosts won it 2-1, after another poor start by Dumbarton’s defense saw them concede twice in 5 minutes. Carlos Diaz scored from a Jose Cano flick on in first half stoppage time but the side could not force an equalizer.

That defeat reminded George how hard it would be to immediately challenge for promotion again – whilst more dead wood left. Reon Juskowiack was sold to Stalybridge for 200,000 pounds as faint smiles began to appear on creditors lips.

A short re-arranging of the eleven helped Dumbarton defeat Airdrie next. After a poor first half in which they could count themselves lucky to be tieing, George brought on young sub John Scott and the midfielder scored within minutes as the fans roared their team forward. A much improved spell brought a game clinching goal through Swede Thomas Arnesson to seal it at 2-0.

Young Rangers striker James Hughes arrived on loan for a month to bolster the front line as George decided if he was going to being in loan players – he’d keep few of them, and even then they’d only be good ones. Meanwhile – another outcast was on his way, David Scott heading to Stirling for 20,000 pounds having never really curried favour with any of the coaching staff.

The month ultimately ended with a 0-0 draw at Morton as George was reasonably statisfied with his side’s first month back. The board expected an instant return – and though George hoped for it too – it was certainly shaping up to be substantially harder than the last time they won promotion.

[Brian of Nazareth]

The Cups

Challenge Cup

The Campaign began with a trip to Queen of the South – and allowed George to mix the side up, including possible departing players with anyone who needed to impress quickly to stake a regular first team spot. Liam Miller opened the scoring on 2 minutes from the spot, but though George’s side dominated, they found themselves level at half time following a slip by new defender Andy Clarke allowing David Walker to score. After a blank second half and extra time – the game would be decided on penalties. Barry Roche proved to be the hero of the day as he saved the 3rd and 5th penalties to send Dumbarton through to the next round.

A trip to Airdrie was the reward in the next round and it also proved to be Dumbarton’s last this year. A 5th minute Peter Crouch strike won it for the hosts despite the best efforts of George’s men – who outshot Airdrie 18-3 and had the bulk of the possession. Still – it was a pointless competition anyway ( says the bitter loser ) and it wasn’t George’s strongest side.

League Cup

The Second Round saw Dumbarton’s first entry in this year’s competition and it proved to be as tense as the opener to the Challenge Cup against visitor’s Raith Rovers. Though Kevin McDonald and Keith Simpson put the side into a 2-0 lead, Raith came back and leveled late in the second half to force extra time, and consequently penalties. This time, Colin Meldrum was the hero of the day. After missing his own spot kick, the keeper made amends by saving shots 4 and 5 to hand Dumbarton victory.

[Brian of Nazareth]

Other Monthly News

The club managed to keep the accountants happy for another month – aided in no part by the real reduction in wages after transfers in and out – and the money raised in transfer fees also proved to be quite beneficial. After Celtic’s first failed attempt to steal coach Dean Gordon from Dumbarton – a paltry 55,000 pounds offered in compensation – the club tied the highly rated Dean down to the club until 2021. The benefits were evident as Blackburn’s approach swiftly after would force the Ewood Park side to pay close to 500,000 pounds if Dean agreed. That’s good business.

Jim Hunter a young centre back arrived on loan from Everton, whilst Alan McEvoy a forward arrived from Bolton, also on loan.

[Brian of Nazareth]

these updates are a little short at the moment, but as the season wore on, I have expanded

September

League

Hosting Albion Rovers on the third, with George looking for a positive start. Unfortunately it never transpired as a truly crap performance handed victory on a plate to Albion. Former Fort William defender Tom Van den Ham scored the first, before Thomas Hitzlesperger missed a penalty, with Aaron Wilbraham punishing the useless cretins moments after. The board were apoplectic with rage – as was George – who forced all players to leave their cars at the ground and run back to their families.

A much-improved performance unsurprisingly followed against Stirling the following week, though typically it was former midfielder David Scott who scored the opening goal for the hosts. Dumbarton came back though and two goals from Keith Simpson and one from Thomas Arnesson secured the victory, aided by an intelligent game from Willie Stewart.

A victory over league leaders Raith Rovers restored happiness in the Dumbarton camp, as the solitary goal came courtesy of Spaniard Carlos Diaz in the first half, set up by Willie Stewart once more – the talented Scot looking to cement his place in midfield.

With confidence back on the up again, the final match of the month saw a victory at St. Johnstone – with Keith Simpson once again scoring the 2 goals. His first was setup by the vision of midfielder Liam Miller and then in the second half Kevin McDonald swung in a free kick which landed on the head of the striker.

Cups

League Cup

The 3rd round was as far as Dumbarton got, having been tied with another trip to Ibrox, with 2 first half goals from David Collins proving to be enough – even if Dumbarton rallied in the second. James Hughes impressed against his employers.

[Brian of Nazareth]

International Affairs

The first club match was scheduled on Saturday 3rd, causing a double header once more with Denmark, though with the Danes playing a friendly against minnows Liechtenstein, George phoned the DFA and decided he would not travel to that game, sending assistant Eddie McCluskey in his place. Eddie oversaw a pathetic performance, as the Danes only won thanks to an 89th minute strike from Peter Lovenkrands strike. Scotland’s defeat to Italy added to George’s horrible weekend. A 1-1 draw with Ukraine in midweek ensured once more Scotland had failed to qualify for another major championship and Neil Sullivan faced a bloodthirsty press.

Other Monthly News

Unfortunately the inevitable departure of Dean Gordon finally arrived as Blackburn finally tempted him south of the border – though it did cost them 550,000 pounds to do so – and credit should be given to the Dumbarton board for ensuring such a hefty compensation fee. The club’s current debt is now a fraction over 4.5 million pounds – a long way down from the 7.2 million in June.

Table Update

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish First Division - Saturday 1st October 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Raith Rovers 8 4 0 0 9 1 3 0 1 7 3 21

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Dumbarton 8 3 0 1 6 4 2 1 1 6 3 16

3rd Albion Rovers 8 1 1 2 3 7 3 0 1 8 4 13

4th Morton 8 2 1 1 4 3 2 0 2 6 7 13

5th Airdrie 8 3 0 1 5 2 1 0 3 3 5 12

6th Falkirk 8 3 0 1 8 5 0 2 2 7 12 11

7th Queen's Park 8 3 0 1 8 4 0 1 3 2 5 10

8th St. Johnstone 8 1 0 3 5 8 2 1 1 4 3 10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th St. Mirren 8 0 2 2 8 11 2 0 2 9 9 8

10th Stirling 8 0 1 3 3 8 0 0 4 1 8 1

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

October

League

The month of October began with a frustrating draw at home to Queens Park. Kevin McDonald had scored a quite spectacular 30 yard free kick in the first half to hand Dumbarton the lead, but poor finishing meant the visitors always stood a chance and late in the second half Ross Gray snatched the 3 points from the hosts grasp.

After a week’s absence due to the final round up of the Euro 2012 qualifiers Dumbarton were back in action at St. Mirren. A positive start saw both sides have chances, before Willie Stewart opened the deadlock on 56 minutes aided by Kevin McDonald but lapses in the defense allowed the hosts back in to score two in quick succession and October was turning out to be a fruitless month so far.

Lying 10 points behind Raith going into the game against Falkirk – a win was vital to get Dumbarton’s promotion hopes back on track. Fortunately the side responded positively with Thomas Arnesson capitalizing on good work from Keith Simpson in the 5th minute before Simpson himself doubled the lead 15 minutes later. In the second half the lead was thankfully built on via Stephen Clemence, again as a result of good work by Keith Simpson before Gordon Bennett added a fourth from the penalty spot after Clemence had been fouled.

The final game saw a trip to Airdrie and the boost gained from the Falkirk win clearly seeped over into this one, despite the hosts taking a 10th minute lead. Once Thomas Arnesson equalized 15 minutes later it was all Dumbarton and Arnesson grabbed a second shortly before the break as a Thomas Hitzlesperger free kick was nodded down into his path by Jim Hunter . Moments after the interval and the Swede had a hat-trick, Willie Stewart sending a looping ball over the Airdrie defense to allow Thomas in and the tie was effectively killed at that point – even with several chances to either side still to come.

International Affairs

Other Monthly News

Craig Oliver is refusing to sign a new contract, despite his agent insisting he wants one. However asking for a salary four times that which he is currently on, in spite of the clubs plight is considered somewhat offensive. Petter Westerberg was transferred to Dundee United for 450,000 pounds – another deal to keep those in charge of the finances mildy content. Gordon Bennett arrived on loan from Coventry midway through the month. Another cash injection from the board also helped reduce the debts significantly once again.

[Brian of Nazareth]

November

League

The winning run continued thankfully with a hard earned, yet slightly fortuitous victory over Morton. Thomas Arnesson scored the opener seconds after the break but Morton hit back instantly through Richard Harris. A tight game ensued with Dumbarton edging out their opponents but unable to break through. In the final minute of stoppage time though Keith Simpson finished succinctly after being put through by his strike partner Thomas.

Against Raith Rovers on the 12th George and Dumbarton also faced Grant Graham, their young striker who had been sold for 40,000 pounds in the summer and it seemed the player had developed well in his time there – as he demonstrated by grabbing the equalizer after Sean Murray had put Dumbarton ahead in the 5th minute. However, Dumbarton were on the up and aware of the importance of this game, replied instantly, taking the lead again through Keith Simpson , with Willie Stewart delivering the final ball. In the second half there was a fierce battle with neither side budging an inch as the game threatened to boil over, and it could have gone either way until two late goals sealed an excellent 4-1 victory – Thomas Arnesson continuing his prolific spell and Willie Stewart getting in on the act late on – to close the gap at the top.

The home fixture against doomed Stirling fortunately proved to be no banana skin as Carlos Diaz scored early on to settle the home fans, with Willie Stewart setting up Jim Hunter to double that lead moments after. On the stroke of half time James Hughes scored his first goal since arriving on loan from Rangers, as Liam Miller placed the ball precisely on his forehead, before he turned provider with a deep cross in the second half that evaded everyone but Sean Murray at the back post. A resounding win was spoilt though by Stirling scoring two goals in the final minute but the points were safe, the board chuffed and the gap now 2 points, though Raith did have a game in hand.

The month ended in disappointment though, with a 2-1 loss at Albion Rovers – a side George had always had trouble facing for some reason. Though Thomas Arnesson seemed to set Dumbarton on the way to victory – a horror spell before half time handed the points to Albion, as a defense clearly missing the presence of Jim Hunter went to pot, and Colin Meldrum and Sean Murray will want to forget this game as soon as possible – and the final result was 2-1.

International Affairs

Denmark had one friendly this month, hosting Norway. A routine fixture, which George utilized to analyze the potential of any newcomers. With a lack of young stars coming through, George saw little more he could for his side and for the first time thought about quitting anyway after the 2012 Championships – if the Scotland job didn’t come sooner. The friendly ended 2-1 to keep the fans content.

Other Monthly News

It started well, with George being awarded Manager of the Month Award despite picking up 7 points from 12 whilst Raith maintained their lead at the top. Keith Simpson also enjoyed his moment of glory picking up the Players gong for his goals. Young Steven Milne arrived on a months loan from Newcastle – the 19 year striker adding some cover – whilst the board again managed to scrap around to find some funds to keep the club in business – and reduce the debt to the 3 million pound mark.

Gordon Bennett had his loan spell extended for 3 more months to keep plenty of options for George, but unfortunately the talented centre half Jim Hunter could not be persuaded to extend his stay with the club, instead choosing to force his way back into the Everton line up. His unequivocal “F#&k Off!†after the 7th phone call, souring relations a little. At the end of the month Jim Wilson decided to return on loan for a month after a turgid time at Dunfermline, whilst Antonio had a change of heart, agreeing to provide back up until January.

[Brian of Nazareth]

December

League

St. Johnstone were the first side to visit Cliftonhill in the final few games of 2011, and it turned out to be a very exciting game. The first half, though ending 0-0 brought out the best in Colin Meldrum and Michael Blake , also saw some lethargic finishing from Antonio and Jose Cano. The second proved to be a similar affair with attacks flowing from one end to the either with no success. The winning goal fortunately fell to Dumbarton though as Thomas Arnesson , with his 10th of the season, swept home a searing cross from Alejandro Bueno to send the fans home happy.

The trip to Queens Park proved to be an easier affair. With a few changes to the line up, including two new loan additions to the full back slots, George sent his men out in typical fashion. After 25 minutes and the hosts were reduced to 9 men. First Stewart Ingham went for a professional foul – with the penalty converted by Liam Miller , and then midfielder John Ferguson suffered a rush of blood to the head and lashed out at the referee – an incident which would no doubt incite severe recriminations – and Queens Park were killed off before half time as Jose Cano played a superb one-two with Keith Simpson to put the Spaniard in plenty of space to rifle home past sub keeper Scott Thompson. After the break it was damage limitation time for the hosts, but they managed to do a pretty good job of things though with Carlos Diaz fluffing chance after chance after chance. However the pressure was inevitably too great and Diaz finally was able to poke home from 2 yards after Simpson’s shot had been parried.

That proved out to be a mighty confidence booster ahead of the home game with 9th placed St. Mirren the following week. With Raith hosting Stirling – it was important not to lose any ground. A controlled game from start to finish saw Dumbarton ease past, and though it took a while for the goals to arrive – when they did – the heavens opened. A blank first half was followed up with a blistering spell in the second. Keith Simpson got the clichéd ball rolling on 48 minutes heading Michael Blake’s cross-home, before he doubled the lead 5 minutes later, this time McFadden the provider. The crowds double delight at also hearing Raith were losing, spurred on Dumbarton and George enjoyed a spectacular display from his forward line. Willie Stewart threaded a fine ball through for Jose Cano to pounce on, and the fourth goal came within 60 seconds as John Miller came off the bench to rest Thomas Arnesson and fire home a first time volley from a John Scott cross, and then Scott himself deservedly got in on the act, as Liam Miller unselfishly passed from 10 yards when he may have scored himself. A quite magnificent team performance – that also put them top of the table at last, albeit on goal difference.

After bad weather cancelled the boxing day clash at Falkirk – the SFA decided to play the game the very next day – when weather was only marginally better – though George should not have been surprised – these were the people who appointed Neil Sullivan as the National Coach. Still, George was not one to complain especially after a dominant first half display against the third placed side that warranted more than just the 3rd minute effort from Liam Miller . Unfortunately though, the second half, despite still seeing Dumbarton dominate, saw two goals from Kevin Connor as the hosts somehow managed to steal 3 points they most certainly did not deserve – and the year ended on a bit of a low.

[Brian of Nazareth]

International Affairs

Other Monthly News

It began with Thomas Arnesson deservedly picking up an award and bottle of bubbly for November player of the month as his goals had helped keep Dumbarton in touch with Raith, whilst another fantastic fundraiser ( raffle, plus pin the tail on the donkey ) ensured the debt was reduced yet again, though Dundee the plucky swines had won the “Who Can Attract A Foreign Investor†Lottery with the SPL side also earning a terrific transfer kitty in the process.

Teenage left back Chris Brown did arrive on a months loan from Celtic though as he looked to gain a bit of experience and George sensed Hitz needed a break. On the other side, Paul Christie , arrived from Rangers for a similar purpose – to rest the current occupant for a brief spell. Also from Rangers was forward John Miller, merely as further back up during a potentially hectic period. Jim Wilson’s loan was also extended.

Antonio and Gordon Bennett managed to pick up relatively hefty injuries on the training ground, the same night that saw three reserve players, Alan Carson, Paul Barker and Michael O’Donnell all receive red cards – and George kept a careful eye out on his way home that night.

On Christmas Day, after spending a bit of time securing the bosman signing of centre back Scott Shanks in the summer – George made the tough decision to sell James Alexander. He had given the kid a chance but he still wasn’t strong enough to hold down a regular spot – and a 150,000-pound offer from rivals Raith Rovers was accepted. A replacement was found shortly before the new year though, and though it was no Scot, Phillipe Mexes should at least be able to provide a short term service when he arrives in the summer.

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish First Division - Wednesday 28th December 2011

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Raith Rovers 20 7 1 2 21 11 7 1 2 12 5 44

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Dumbarton 20 8 1 1 23 8 5 1 4 19 11 41

3rd Falkirk 20 7 3 1 17 8 2 3 4 12 20 33

4th Morton 20 5 1 4 11 7 4 1 5 10 11 29

5th St. Johnstone 20 4 2 4 13 14 4 2 4 9 10 28

6th Albion Rovers 20 4 3 3 11 13 4 0 6 11 13 27

7th Airdrie 20 6 1 3 14 10 1 3 6 11 18 25

8th Queen's Park 20 5 1 4 11 10 1 5 4 7 9 24

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th St. Mirren 20 2 3 5 13 18 3 2 5 16 23 20

10th Stirling 20 1 3 5 5 13 1 1 9 5 19 10

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

January 2012

Cups

Scottish Cup

Drawing a tie away at Motherwell was always going to prove tricky in the third round, and the SPL side were the better team on the day. Once Michael Oliver scored in the 10th minute Dumbarton spent the rest of the afternoon desperately chasing loose balls down. Liam Miller had Dumbarton’s only 2 shots of the afternoon – with both barely troubling Scott Laurie. The defeat though at least allowed George to focus solely on returning to the top flight at the first attempt.

League

The New Year began at Cliftonhill, hosting Airdrie. A few more changes were made, though Alex Caldwell kept his place as he continued to mull over a new contract offer – along with 5 from other clubs. His pass to Alejandro Bueno also helped to set up the opening goal as Bueno then supplied Gordon Bennett with the perfect chance to score from close range, which he did. The remainder of the half saw both MacFadden and Christie leave the field injured though as George hoped his side could hold out against a tenacious Airdrie. Fortunately they were able to do so – and when Antonio fell over his own boot laces in their area late on, Gordon Bennett was able to secure the points with a smashing spot kick.

At Morton on the weekend, another fine display helped maintain the pressure on Raith for the title. Though Joe Orr scored in the 5th minute, a quick response through Gordon Bennett, played in by Willie Stewart , before 2 goals moments before half time swung it firmly in Dumbarton’s direction. The first came from a Kevin McDonald free kick that fell perfectly into the path of Keith Simpson , and then Simpson scored second moments after, capitalizing on chaos in the Morton 6 yard box. The dismissal of Morton defender Paul Taylor killed the contest and Bennett grabbed his second, latching onto a long pass from Alejandro Bueno .

With that victory having helped to overtake Raith at the top of the table, the following match hosting Raith Rovers clearly held high importance – a fine chance to extend the 2-point advantage. With the visitors evidently more desperate not to lose this one, chances were at a premium, and George’s chances were not helped by Keith Simpson hobbling off the field after only 7 minutes of play. The second half saw a more open contest but even so both goalkeepers had relatively little action – Colin Meldrum saving well from Grant Graham and David Cunningham, with John Miller and Carlos Diaz firing wide and high of the netting. In the end a 0-0 draw pleased Raith more than it did Dumbarton.

It was clear that Stirling had suffered a quite serious confidence lapse when Dumbarton visited. By half time the visitors were 3-0 up with 2 goals from Thomas Arnesson , set up by Ian Black who was making a rare start, and one from Stephen Clemence created by James McFadden’s inswinging right foot. George’s side eased off in the second, with no further goals arriving but the dominance continued – and the hosts frankly, appeared to have already accepted their fate – possibly in the same way Dumbarton had the previous year.

International Affairs

Other Monthly News

Alan Carson agreed a pre-contract agreement with Stoke City and the out of favour defender will be joining them in the summer. George picked up the Manager’s Gong for December, in spite of the defeat at Falkirk, whilst Liam Miller was recognized in the player section. Of note is that former player Grant Graham , enjoying a fine spell at Raith picked up the young player’s award.

Alex Caldwell also decided that the grass was greener elsewhere – as he decided he would be joining Bournemouth in the summer – though it did give George plenty of time to find another replacement. Keith Simpson would be out for a month after picking up a thigh injury against Raith. Rangers’ on loan forward Antonio left, agreeing to a permanent 1.7 million pound move to Hearts. Ipswich’s Les Richards arrives on a loan spell, whilst young Spaniard Jose Antonio Canizares departs after failing to register an appearance, for 7,000 pounds to Sporting Engordany. Jim Wilson on loan from Dunfermline was another to make a permanent move away, joining Dundee United.

[Brian of Nazareth]

February

League

The month threatened to get off on a bad footing with Albion Rovers, a side George considered to be somewhat of a bogey side, coming to town. With the first 45 minutes having fired a blank, Carlos Diaz mainly responsible for the lack of goals, George changed things round in the second half, Ian Black and Gordon Bennett replacing Diaz and Arnesson, and the game began to swing in Dumbarton’s favour again. Artur , making his first appearance of the season was proving his manager wrong with an excellent display in midfield, and in the 85th minute it was his volley-pass that picked out Ian Black to head home the winning goal to the delight of the fans – also acutely aware that Raith Rovers had lost their game at St. Johnstone.

The following week saw a game that on paper Dumbarton could be seen to have won comfortably, however it was far from that at St. Johnstone – a side who had almost all the chances, most of the play – yet left the field 3-1 losers. It started evenly enough though and Ian Black scored his second in consecutive appearances after 15 minutes. After that the home side dominated, with shots raining in on Colin Meldrum , enjoying one of his games of the season. They could not score and amazingly on the stroke of half time fell a further goal behind. John Taylor fouled James McFadden in the penalty area, and Liam Miller fired the ball home. In the second the home side, clearly angered continued their ferocious assault – eventually pulling one back through Jim Shanks and even George thought his side would go on to lose. However, the defense continued to hold firm and the more frustrated St. Johnstone became – the more holes appeared in their back line. On a rare counter attack in the 80th minute, sub Alejandro Bueno fed Gordon Bennett and the on loan forward sealed the win – and silenced a shocked home crowd and the lead at the top extended to 7 points.

Following a week’s rest for the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, Dumbarton were then on the receiving end of the bad luck that had befallen St. Johnstone. 3rd placed Falkirk were the visitors to Cliftonhill – and they were run ragged in the first half as several chances were spurned by Black, McFadden and Simpson . In the second Dumbarton piled on the pressure – but a counter on the 60 minute mark saw Colin Reilly put the visitors ahead – with their first shot of the match. Perhaps this was karma coming round to bite us on the ass, but the players still tried their best, but when sub Gordon Bennett missed the stands with 3 successive efforts – you know it’s not your day and George was relieved Raith had been held by Albion Rovers.

International Affairs

The draw for the summer championships was made, with Denmark in-group 1 alongside Ukraine, Yugoslavia and Poland – no easy games there for the hosts. Notable by their absence were of course Scotland.

Other Monthly News

Chris Brown extended his loan spell for a further month, whilst Paul Christie decided, in his youthful optimism, to try and win a place in the Rangers first team squad – and George had a feeling he’d be calling on him again before the season was out. Elsewhere Colin Reilly rejected a contract offer, the 32 year old midfielder content at Falkirk.

[Brian of Nazareth]

March

League

Airdrie away was the first fixture, and George was surprised to see that his opponents were struggling to avoid relegation despite seemingly having an impressive roster of players. An even first 15 minutes, suggested Airdrie were better than the 8th place they currently occupied – however shocking defending soon after allowing Stephen Clemence to score suggested otherwise. Still the home side battled on and before the interval shocked the visitors with 2 goals in quick succession through Kevin Thomas and John Walker. In the second, those frailties once again cost the home side fortunately as Thomas Arnesson with the help of Jose Cano restored parity – and that was how it stayed for the remainder of the afternoon.

After another break in action for the 5th round of the cup – it was back in action, hosting a Queens Park side very much settled in mid table – safe from the drop but not in with a realistic chance of promotion. Their tenacity frustrated George for a long period of the game though as they kept Dumbarton’s efforts limited – and possessed the skill to create a chance every so often and it took the dismissal of their wing back Gary Middleton for a push on John Scott to hand the hosts the initiative. Keith Simpson broke through the defense soon after and after exchanging a pass with John Scott put Dumbarton ahead – a lead they would not lose. They also failed to add to it though as Queens Park continued to repel any attacks Dumbarton through at them.

Raith’s inability to find any form was costing them in the title race and they now lay 9 points behind after a draw at struggling St. Mirren – the side who George’s men next faced. It also fell on double header day – so this was a game Eddie oversaw. The first 45 saw a tough match with the hosts clearly showing that extra bit of determination to avoid the drop – and they had plenty of work to do. However the second 45 saw a magnificent performance from Dumbarton to secure the win. James McFadden scored a hat-trick and there was one from Ian Black as the visitors ran away 4-0 victors. Thomas Arnesson and 17 year old John Scott played key roles in setting up those efforts.

The final March match was a home tie with Morton – a side who had little to play for with their future pretty much secure. A fairly average game followed, though it was one George enjoyed all the same as goals from John Miller in the first half, and Stephen Clemence in the second secured Dumbarton’s victory. Stirling were also officially relegated after this round’s fixtures.

International Affairs

A friendly in Sweden was the latest task to befall George – but he knew he had to perform well in this one – the FA were rumoured to be looking for a fresh start, and they disliked losing to rivals – especially Sweden – a side they had very much been in the shadows of for many years. The first half began well and Mads Jorgensen actually opened the scoring but the Swedes leveled on half time through Jonas Lunden, and in the second half after multiple subs, Denmark’s cohesion went to plot and Sweden grabbed the winner late on.

The following day the draw for the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers were made, and Denmark were up against Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Czech Republic and Slovenia – and unsurprisingly expectations were to qualify – and emphatically.

Other Monthly News

Not connected with Dumbarton, but poor old Forfar have gone 28 games without winning in the second division. John Miller extended his loan by another month.

An incident in the game against Queens Park led to trouble almost gaining out of hand in the West Stand. Improperly constructed stairwells, too close to adjacent supporters, meant that a fight between two individuals at half time spilled over into the fans and it very nearly caused serious injuries. As a precautionary measure – a health and safety inspector ( Ebenezer Tomfoolery ) decided to close that section of the seating until further notice – reducing the capacity by 1800.

Gordon Bennett was denied the chance by his club Coventry to extend his loan spell – despite the forward vocally implying he would love to finish the season in Scotland.

[Brian of Nazareth]

April / May

League

With Dumbarton another step closer to the SPL again, it was Albion Rovers who were the next side in George’s way. With 5 games left and a 9 point lead – the title couldn’t be won this weekend – but it could mean Raith would need 4 big victories coupled with 4 Dumbarton losses for George to miss out. The first half began in the tempo that favored Dumbarton - fast. John Scott then delighted the away fans by slotting home the rebound to a Thomas Arnesson shot, and then the midfielder sent a corner over for Jose Cano to double the lead 4 minutes later – as a 2-0 half time lead beckoned. The second half saw a reversal however as the home team sprung a mighty offensive – dominating the field with their passing and George knew he would be praying for the final whistle long before it arrived. With an hour barely gone and it was 2-1 as Aaron Wilbraham fluked a rebound in off his thigh from a yard out and that inspired the home team on. Attacks arrived, shots flew in but the net was not breached a second time. Colin Meldrum, Sean Murray and Kevin Scott were all magnificent in keeping the Albion threat at bay. At the final whistle the home fans still sounded a mini cheer as results elsewhere condemned St. Mirren to the drop and Albion were safe.

The only prize left to be sought in the First Division was the title. When Raith won their game in hand to restore the 9 point advantage, George knew he’d have to wait that little bit longer. A win at relegated Stirling would help speed the process up however. If Raith failed to win it would finally see the title confirmed – however it seemed Terry Kidd had other ideas. The defender was making a rare start – and in his eagerness produced a rash foul deemed worthy of a red card inside 45 seconds. Stirling converted the spot kick and proceeded to dominate an unorganized home side – scoring a second before George had time to re-arrange his side. He did so afterwards – but at the point the visitors had the momentum in their favour – and controlled the game. Alejandro Bueno pulled a goal back before half time to give Dumbarton a chance – but sadly they never capitalized. The score remained 2-1 right through until the final whistle and it was clearly frustrating for all involved considering Raith had actually lost their match – 1 more goal would have won the title there and then. As it was Terry Kidd earned himself a reprimand – and his career was effectively over in George’s bitter eyes.

Another chance to claim the title arrived, ironically enough at Raith on the 21st – where only a draw was necessary to clinch the title and Raith had to win so it promised to be an exciting game. The game began explosively with chances at either end – Raith well aware they might as well be seen by their fans giving every last drop of blood. David Cunningham then played in Graham Young to score after 8 minutes – and thousands of fans went wild. 10 minutes later and they were silenced. Keith Simpson equalized with a low drive following determined play from Willie Stewart . That was how it stayed until half time – and the respective team talks were given. George was energetic yet also encouraged patience in his side’s play. After the break Raith came at them with a vengeance – and they won a penalty as a result of David Winter’s time spent at the Amateur Dramatics Society. James Bruce was the man with the responsibility – but justice was served as Colin Meldrum dived the right way to the cheer of the away fans as the game remained all-square.

Subs had to be made if Dumbarton were to keep up with the pace of the game as Raith chased every ball down – desperate not to have concede the title on their own patch. Disastrously, with a quarter hour to go, Graham Young was allowed to run 40 yards from the centre line, before he picked out an unmarked David Cunningham to score – and the home fans were kept alive a little longer. George then roared and gestulated on the sidelines for his players to attack like mad and grab a goal. He wanted to secure the title here and now – after all, the trophy was in the waiting. Corners were won, corners were wasted – and the time ticked down. Another attack came forward from Dumbarton as they had stemmed the Raith tide. Alejandro Bueno had the ball, with 5 minutes of regulation remaining. Inside the Raith half he walked the ball, checking back inside to evade a challenge. Then, out of the blue pulled out an inspirational pass which fell perfectly at the feet of Liam Miller. The midfielder paused, flicked the ball up with his left foot, let it bounce once before unleashing fury on the leather object as it flew spectacularly past Stevie Wilson into the net, and there followed a near deathly silence. George’s scream of delight was audible outside the stands as the trophy was within touching distance once again. George counted the minutes as the seconds ticked by, each time the home side won the ball back he feared the worst – and he silently cheered every time Craig Graham smacked the ball long up the field. Eventually the ref did blow up and the away fans were in raptures. The home crowd departed within amazing speed – not even glancing back as the podium was set up on the pitch, the trophy they’d missed out on so agonizingly out of reach.

[Brian of Nazareth]

The final home game saw the Trophy paraded around the ground as the fans were in party mood that day with the title already secured. George decided to bring in a couple of changes, like youngsters Paul Barker at left back and William Hendry in defense, whilst those who hadn’t started as often like Carlos Diaz and until lately Ian Black A steady first half was interrupted by Craig Graham’s 26th minute header, with Michael Blake providing the cross as Dumbarton looked to send the fans home with a smile. David Craig equalized on half time to temporarily upset the mood of the fans, but as St. Johnstone had little to play for – the extra determination of Dumbarton paid off, with Ian Black winning the game with a fine 25 yard drive.

The finale to the season at Queens Park was anticlimactic with little to play for. George put out an inexperienced back line – and the home side took advantage as Mark Wilson scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 24th minute. George didn’t mind too much, he had achieved his target for the season and now looked forward to the next campaign with a little more optimism. This time he had achieved promotion with a set of full time players as opposed to loads of loaned signings – and that George thought – should prove to be big difference.

International Affairs

Another friendly was scheduled - 3 days after the Raith Rovers match, so a weary George headed out to organize a Danish side he was losing interest in by the day to take on Belgium. A poor first half saw the Belgians take a first half but a few changes saw Peter Foldgaast level after the break to secure a draw – or what many thought was a draw. In the final minute of stoppage time Kevin Vanderbaugh won the game for the Belgians and George faced yet more dour and critical questions from the press.

Other Monthly News

April began with the positive news that George had earned another Manager of the Month Award for his side’s success in maintaining and extending their lead at the top of the division. John Scott the young midfielder is refusing to sign a new contract- with his current one having a minimum fee release clause in that George is frightened will be taken up on by bigger clubs – and though the club way be on their way to the top flight – John would likely take the chance to move to a more financially stable club, one that wasn’t 1.2 million pounds in debt. Prize money and another momentous effort from the Dumbarton Board at the Oscars ceremony helped reduce the deficit to a fraction of what it once was – and the new stadium was now almost fully paid for.

[Nick OGS20]

Excellent story BoN, been reading through all 8 pages of it this week, finally caught up

[Brian of Nazareth]

cheers Nick, hope it was worth it

End of Season Awards, Cups Round Up

Teams

The Challenge Cup was won by Airdrie who defeated Queens Park in a thrilling match that went into extra time and penalties. Peter Crouch, who scored two in extra time, also got the winning spot kick. In the League Cup an Adrian Barbu penalty handed Dunfermline a 1-0 victory over Inverness, whilst in the Scottish Cup, it was a wounded Celtic taking on Motherwell and the Celts were left disappointed after a 111th minute extra time winner from Gary Boyd.

In Europe, everyone cheered on Scotland’s rep Rangers in the UEFA Cup final against AS Roma, but were left disappointed as a Derek Boateg strike secured it for Roma in the second half. The showpiece to club football, the European Champions League competition was contested between two English sides, Arsenal and Manchester United, with Arsenal victorious by 3 goals to 1.

Individual

First praise must be given to the fantastic servant Jose Cano who’s end of season sub appearance broke a club record – as Jose marked 176 appearances for the clubs since he had been here – and for that that George took him and the lads out on a promotion-celebrating dinner – presenting Jose with a bottle of Bells finest.

George himself became the recipient, for the second time of the First Division Manager of the Year Award, and rather tongue-in-cheek accepted it by saying, “I hope I’m never in the running for this particular award again.â€

Mark Koeman of Celtic won the Scottish Player of the Year award, whilst Roland Kurth of Rangers retained his Young Player of the Year award once more. It was Stranraer’s Mark Brown who took the Top Goalscorer prize, with 27 goals from 35 games, whilst Thomas Hitzlesperger was a welcome member of the First Division Select XI

[Brian of Nazareth]

Tables

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

Scottish Premier Division - Saturday 26th May 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Rangers 38 16 2 0 34 7 8 9 3 26 20 83

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Dunfermline 38 11 3 4 38 24 10 3 7 34 31 69

3rd Hibs 38 9 8 1 25 12 5 8 7 24 32 58

4th Inverness C. Thistle 38 10 7 3 29 16 5 5 8 18 16 57

5th Hearts 38 11 3 6 25 19 5 2 11 25 30 53

6th Dundee Utd 38 9 3 7 25 24 5 7 7 21 21 52

7th Celtic 38 13 2 5 26 14 3 5 10 13 31 55

8th Aberdeen 38 6 9 5 33 23 6 4 8 18 22 49

9th Kilmarnock 38 6 7 6 23 25 5 7 7 13 16 47

10th Motherwell 38 7 8 4 19 16 1 8 10 9 27 40

11th Dundee 38 4 7 8 21 25 2 3 14 16 35 28

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th R Livingston 38 3 7 8 14 25 2 5 13 13 31 27

************************************************************************************************

Scottish First Division - Saturday 5th May 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Dumbarton 36 13 2 3 32 12 10 3 5 39 19 74

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Raith Rovers 36 11 5 2 37 19 8 4 6 18 16 66

3rd Falkirk 36 11 5 2 33 17 7 5 6 26 28 64

4th St. Johnstone 36 10 2 6 33 25 7 4 7 21 24 57

5th Queen's Park 36 11 2 5 22 13 4 7 7 13 16 54

6th Morton 36 8 3 7 22 23 5 4 9 17 22 46

7th Airdrie 36 8 6 4 23 17 3 4 11 19 32 43

8th Albion Rovers 36 7 4 7 20 23 5 3 10 15 22 43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th R St. Mirren 36 3 6 9 16 28 4 4 10 22 36 31

10th R Stirling 36 2 5 11 11 29 3 2 13 16 34 22

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Second Division - Saturday 5th May 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Partick Thistle 36 15 2 1 37 11 10 4 4 37 18 81

2nd P Queen of Sth 36 11 5 2 35 15 5 9 4 19 20 62

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Peterhead 36 11 4 3 31 22 7 3 8 28 23 61

4th Ayr Utd 36 8 7 3 22 13 8 3 7 20 14 58

5th Ross County 36 8 6 4 19 14 7 5 6 24 22 56

6th Arbroath 36 9 4 5 28 24 5 4 9 25 28 50

7th East Fife 36 7 5 6 19 25 5 1 12 19 37 42

8th Clydebank 36 6 3 9 21 29 4 6 8 25 34 39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9th R Elgin City 36 6 7 5 27 24 1 5 12 11 29 33

10th R Forfar 36 2 2 14 17 36 0 5 13 5 31 13

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Third Division - Saturday 5th May 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2011/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Stenhousemuir 36 15 2 1 36 16 9 3 6 29 21 77

2nd P Stranraer 36 10 6 2 32 18 11 2 5 34 25 71

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Cowdenbeath 36 9 6 3 28 14 8 4 6 17 13 61

4th East Stirling 36 10 3 5 24 15 8 4 6 28 22 61

5th Brechin 36 11 4 3 32 15 4 9 5 22 23 58

6th Alloa 36 9 3 6 30 31 7 1 10 20 25 52

7th Berwick 36 10 3 5 28 21 3 7 8 19 26 49

8th Fort William 36 2 4 12 15 28 4 3 11 18 32 25

9th Montrose 36 3 8 7 14 22 0 6 12 11 31 23

10th Clyde 36 4 4 10 19 30 0 4 14 12 40 20

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

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

************************************************************************************************

Dumbarton - Saturday 5th May 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Arnesson, Thomas S C SWE 10.8.82 29 - - £1.7K 23.5.13 £210K

- Artur DM RC ESP 17.3.81 31 - - £1.2K 26.5.14 Free

- Barker, Paul D/DM LC ENG 4.12.88 23 - - £65 20.6.14 £30K

- Black, Ian S C SCO 10.4.85 27 - - £1.1K 16.6.13 £60K

- Blake, Michael D RC ENG 31.12.86 25 - - £1.7K 10.6.14 £70K

- Bueno, Alejandro DM C ESP 19.9.87 24 - - £1.1K 28.6.13 £130K

- Burke, Alex AM RL SCO 11.11.77 34 - - £450 11.6.13 Free

- Caldwell, Alex D C SCO 11.2.84 28 - - £1K 23.6.12 £3K

- Cano, José AM/F C ESP 29.7.79 32 - - £1.6K 28.6.15 £55K

- Carson, Alan D LC SCO 13.3.80 32 - - £120 19.5.12 £0

- Clark, Andy D/DM RL SCO 23.1.84 28 - - £1.2K 21.6.15 £50K

- Clemence, Stephen M C ENG 31.3.78 34 - - £1.7K 10.6.14 £26K

- Díez, Carlos F LC ESP 21.2.84 28 - - £825 20.6.14 £110K

- Graham, Craig D C SCO 17.1.84 28 - - £1.7K 27.6.14 £130K

- Hitzlsperger, Thomas D/M L GER 5.4.82 30 - - £1.5K 5.5.13 £75K

- Kidd, Terry D/DM C SCO 1.9.83 28 - - £975 28.6.14 £28K

- McDonald, Kevin AM/F R SCO 21.4.83 29 - - £950 28.6.14 £95K

- McFadden, James M C SCO 13.8.83 28 - - £1.5K 8.6.14 £50K

- Meldrum, Colin GK SCO 26.11.75 36 6 - £1.4K 1.6.13 £40K

- Miller, Liam M C IRL 13.2.81 31 - - £1.2K 1.6.14 £55K

- Murray, Seán D C IRL 3.6.85 26 - - £1K 5.6.13 £16K

- Oliver, Craig D/M R SCO 1.8.84 27 - - £375 6.6.12 £2K

- Richards, Les AM/F R ENG 5.11.86 25 - - £0 18.5.12 £1.4M

- Roche, Barry GK IRL 19.10.83 28 - - £275 27.5.13 £35K

- Scott, John AM LC SCO 13.3.94 18 - - £1K 28.6.14 £275K

- Scott, Kevin D/DM C SCO 1.2.85 27 - - £825 16.6.15 £55K

- Simpson, Keith S C ENG 27.3.85 27 - - £1.7K 8.6.14 £210K

- Smith, Darren M LC SCO 4.6.80 31 - - £120 22.6.13 £14K

- Stewart, Willie DM C SCO 10.11.87 24 - - £675 2.6.14 £150K

================================================================================================

2011/2 Senior Club Stats

================================================================================================

No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Arnesson, Thomas 27 (7) 13 0 0 6 1 0 4 7.47

- Artur 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.33

- Barker, Paul 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.50

- Black, Ian 9 (3) 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.17

- Blake, Michael 25 (4) 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 6.83

- Bueno, Alejandro 16 (12) 1 0 0 8 4 0 1 7.14

- Burke, Alex 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----

- Caldwell, Alex 9 (1) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.40

- Cano, José 21 (6) 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 7.30

- Carson, Alan 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33

- Clark, Andy 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.67

- Clemence, Stephen 22 (3) 4 0 0 1 1 0 1 6.96

- Díez, Carlos 8 (8) 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 6.88

- Graham, Craig 26 (3) 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 6.86

- Hitzlsperger, Thomas 27 (1) 0 0 1 (0) 1 2 0 0 6.86

- Kidd, Terry 4 (2) 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.67

- McDonald, Kevin 19 (2) 2 0 0 4 0 0 2 7.05

- McFadden, James 22 (6) 5 0 0 4 1 0 1 6.79

- Meldrum, Colin 23 0 17 0 0 0 0 1 7.43

- Miller, Liam 23 (5) 5 0 3 (3) 4 4 0 3 7.71

- Murray, Seán 13 (5) 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 6.72

- Oliver, Craig 12 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

- Richards, Les 1 (3) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.75

- Roche, Barry 16 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 7.19

- Scott, John 9 (9) 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 7.17

- Scott, Kevin 11 (2) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.85

- Simpson, Keith 23 (5) 15 0 0 6 1 0 6 7.64

- Smith, Darren 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----

- Stewart, Willie 24 (3) 2 0 0 10 4 0 1 7.33

================================================================================================

2011/2 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

4.6.11 Andy Clark Inverness C. Thistle Bos

7.6.11 Liam Miller Dunfermline Exch

7.6.11 Colin Meldrum Dunfermline Exch

8.6.11 Craig Graham Rangers Bos

14.6.11 James McFadden Free Transfer Free

20.6.11 Michael Blake Carlisle Bos

23.6.11 Kevin Scott Dundee Bos

27.6.11 Stephen Clemence Port Vale Bos

28.6.11 Barry Roche Stockport Bos

4.7.11 Terry Kidd Free Transfer Free

10.7.11 Seán Murray Guiseley Free

21.7.11 Alan McEvoy Bolton Loan

22.7.11 Jim Hunter Everton Loan

24.7.11 José Antonio Cañizares Free Transfer Free

25.7.11 Carlos Díez Free Transfer Free

25.7.11 Paul Barker Free Transfer Free

4.8.11 Alejandro Bueno Free Transfer Free

7.8.11 Willie Stewart Free Transfer Free

22.8.11 James Hughes Rangers Loan

21.10.11 Gordon Bennett Coventry Loan

22.10.11 Alan McEvoy Bolton Loan

10.11.11 Stephen Milne Newcastle Loan

21.11.11 Gordon Bennett Coventry Loan

27.11.11 Jim Wilson Dunfermline Loan

27.11.11 Antonio Rangers Loan

6.12.11 Chris Brown Celtic Loan

6.12.11 Paul Christie Rangers Loan

12.12.11 John Miller Rangers Loan

27.12.11 Jim Wilson Dunfermline Loan

6.1.12 Paul Christie Rangers Loan

7.1.12 Chris Brown Celtic Loan

20.1.12 Les Richards Ipswich Loan

7.2.12 Chris Brown Celtic Loan

12.3.12 John Miller Rangers Loan

Date Player Out To Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

5.6.11 John Dick Tranmere Bos

7.6.11 Giorgio Carboni Dunfermline Exch

8.6.11 James McFadden Released Free

10.6.11 Ronnie Mitchell Stevenage £45K

28.6.11 David Dodds Preston Bos

29.6.11 Terry Kidd Released Free

6.7.11 Derek Young Oldham £35K

9.7.11 Victor Agali Lausanne £70K

16.7.11 Jimmy van den Heuvel Bury £190K

21.7.11 Stuart McCluskey St. Mirren £16K

24.7.11 Gary Wales Inverness C. Thistle £500K

10.8.11 Kieran McAnespie Oxford £100K

18.8.11 Reon Juskowiak Stalybridge £200K

26.8.11 David Scott Stirling £20K

16.9.11 Dean Gordon Blackburn £550K

22.10.11 Petter Westerberg Dundee Utd £450K

28.12.11 James Alexander Raith Rovers £150K

21.1.12 José Antonio Cañizares Sporting Engordany £7K

15.3.12 Michael O'Donnell Released Free

</pre>

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

Fixtures

================================================================================================

2011/2 Fixtures

================================================================================================

Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Livingston A Friendly 0:2 524

Rhayader WAL A Friendly 3:1 242 Juskowiak, van den Heuvel, Cano

Cefn Druids WAL A Friendly 2:2 683 Simpson, Clemence

UWIC Inter Card WAL A Friendly 4:1 602 Cano, McDonald, Arne, Bla

St. Mirren H First Division 3:2 4140 McFadden 2, Simpson

Queen of Sth A Challenge Cup 1st Rnd 1:1 411 Miller pen

Falkirk A First Division 1:2 3713 Díez

Raith Rovers H League Cup 2nd Rnd 2:2 769 McDonald, Simpson

Airdrie H First Division 2:0 4043 J.Scott, Arnesson

Airdrie A Challenge Cup 2nd Rnd 0:1 1188

Morton A First Division 0:0 6935

Albion Rovers H First Division 0:2 4767

Stirling A First Division 3:1 3569 Arnesson, Simpson 2

Raith Rovers H First Division 1:0 4076 Díez

Rangers A League Cup 3rd Rnd 0:2 36264

St. Johnstone A First Division 2:0 8584 Simpson 2

Queen's Park H First Division 1:1 3622 McDonald

St. Mirren A First Division 1:2 7131 Stewart

Falkirk H First Division 4:0 3472 Arnesson, Simpson, Clem, Ben,

Airdrie A First Division 3:1 7900 Arnesson 3

Morton H First Division 2:1 4068 Arnesson, Simpson

Raith Rovers A First Division 4:1 7585 S.Murray, Simpson, Arne, Ste

Stirling H First Division 4:2 3442 Díez, Hunter, Hughes, S.Murray

Albion Rovers A First Division 1:2 8367 Arnesson

St. Johnstone H First Division 1:0 3999 Arnesson

Queen's Park A First Division 3:0 3668 Miller pen, Cano, Díez

St. Mirren H First Division 5:0 4119 Simpson 2, Cano, Miller, Scott

Falkirk A First Division P-P -----

Falkirk A First Division 1:2 3872 Miller

Airdrie H First Division 2:0 4045 Bennett 2 (1 pen)

Morton A First Division 4:1 6932 Bennett 2, Simpson 2

Raith Rovers H First Division 0:0 4095

Stirling A First Division 3:0 3609 Arnesson 2, Clemence

Motherwell A Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 0:1 4695

Albion Rovers H First Division 1:0 4758 Black

St. Johnstone A First Division 3:1 9204 Black, Miller pen, Bennett

Falkirk H First Division 0:1 3494

Airdrie A First Division 2:2 7450 Clemence, Arnesson

Queen's Park H First Division 1:0 3475 Simpson

St. Mirren A First Division 4:0 7052 McFadden 3, Black

Morton H First Division 2:0 4075 J.Miller, Clemence

Albion Rovers A First Division 2:1 8475 J.Scott, Cano

Stirling H First Division 1:2 3540 Bueno

Raith Rovers A First Division 2:2 7606 Simpson, Miller

St. Johnstone H First Division 2:1 4112 Graham, Black

Queen's Park A First Division 0:1 4225

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

European Championships 2012 – hosted by Denmark

So on home soil for this competition, the press were demanding optimistic results from an aging Danish squad. With a worrying lack of youngsters coming through George was now fairly sure that after this tournament he would quit his role – though of course he still wanted to end on a high.

Squad:

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

************************************************************************************************

Denmark - Saturday 2nd June 2012

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Abrahamsen, Morten M RLC DEN 31.7.85 26 - - £1.4K 3.6.16 £400K

- Andersen, Anders S C DEN 10.10.84 27 - - £1.3K 27.6.14 £500K

- Andersen, Michael Ø. D/DM RC DEN 18.4.79 33 - - £975 16.6.13 £35K

- Andrade, Sandro GK BRA 7.3.83 29 - - £875 14.6.15 £65K

- Asmussen, Carsten AM RC DEN 28.5.85 27 - - £725 1.6.14 £210K

- Bælum, Thomas SW/D C DEN 5.6.78 33 9 1 £1.7K 6.6.13 £150K

- Bengtsson, Kasper GK DEN 26.7.81 30 - - £1K 2.6.15 £300K

- Boye, Per M C DEN 12.10.87 24 1 - £875 24.6.15 £400K

- Christensen, Thomas F C DEN 16.1.81 31 3 - £1.6K 9.6.13 £1M

- Drost, Per AM RL DEN 22.6.83 28 - - £675 13.6.14 £130K

- Eriksen, Søren D C DEN 25.8.83 28 - - £1K 17.6.15 £350K

- Frandsen, Morten D LC DEN 17.4.87 25 - - £550 10.6.16 £170K

- Gravesen, Thomas DM C DEN 11.3.76 36 87 5 £7.25K 14.6.12 £75K

- Hansen, Dennis AM C DEN 1.4.81 31 - - £875 21.6.14 £160K

- Hansen, Peter F C DEN 30.4.90 22 9 3 £1.3K 2.6.14 £6.75M

- Hedegaard, Dennis M C DEN 18.6.85 26 5 - £900 16.6.13 £240K

- Hermansen, Søren DM LC DEN 18.11.84 27 - - £1K 1.6.13 £625K

- Jacobsen, Lars D RC DEN 20.9.79 32 - - £725 13.6.13 £40K

- Jensen, Per GK DEN 9.11.83 28 1 - £625 4.6.15 £170K

- Jørgensen, Mads AM/F RLC DEN 10.2.79 33 46 11 £21K 24.6.14 £675K

- Knudsen, John SW/D/DM LC DEN 30.1.85 27 - - £325 9.6.14 £45K

- Knudsen, Niels AM R DEN 22.4.86 26 - - £750 19.6.16 £300K

- Krøldrup, Per D C DEN 31.7.79 32 - - £725 12.6.13 £12K

- Larsen, Henrik AM RLC DEN 1.10.88 23 - - £850 6.6.17 £525K

- Larsen, Jacob F. F C DEN 17.9.80 31 21 4 £29.5K 23.5.13 £6.5M

- Larsen, Jesper D/DM RC DEN 20.8.85 26 7 - £1.6K 16.6.17 £450K

- Larsen, Søren S C DEN 6.9.81 30 - - £800 20.6.14 £16K

- Laursen, Martin D C DEN 26.7.77 34 48 4 £16.25K 25.6.13 £275K

- Laursen, Ulrik D L DEN 23.8.80 31 62 - £15K 14.6.12 £675K

- Løvenkrands, Peter AM/F LC DEN 29.1.80 32 52 7 £13.75K 12.5.13 £2.1M

- Madsen, Kim D RC DEN 13.2.78 34 37 2 £16.25K 27.6.12 £190K

- Mathiesen, Mogens D/DM L DEN 8.3.84 28 5 - £1.3K 19.6.16 £350K

- Mogensen, Chris D/DM RC DEN 6.12.79 32 - - £1K 27.6.13 £45K

- Mtiliga, Patrick AM/F L DEN 28.1.81 31 34 9 £13.25K 12.6.13 £900K

- Olsen, Bjarne AM/F C DEN 14.10.85 26 - - £925 20.6.16 £350K

- Olsen, Carsten D/DM/F RC DEN 6.10.80 31 8 - £1.6K 11.6.14 £1.4M

- Pedersen, Jan DM R DEN 8.6.82 29 - - £1.4K 27.6.14 £275K

- Smith, Martin D/DM LC DEN 30.6.78 33 2 - £1.5K 8.6.13 £275K

- Sommer, Brian S C DEN 6.8.87 24 11 1 £2.6K 12.6.15 £2.3M

- Sørensen, Thomas GK DEN 12.6.76 35 76 - £11.25K 20.6.13 £375K

- Svensson, Bo D C DEN 4.8.79 32 60 1 £20K 10.6.13 £1.9M

- Thomansen, Dan D C DEN 24.3.81 31 - - £900 2.6.14 £24K

- Thomsen, Brian S C DEN 28.10.86 25 - - £1.4K 4.6.16 £475K

- Vestergaard, Martin D/DM R DEN 23.9.88 23 4 - £1.3K 22.6.13 £2M

- Winther, Jacob AM/F C DEN 20.1.87 25 - - £1.3K 2.6.16 £525K

</pre>

Group 1, Game 1 vs Poland

After seeing Ukraine defeat Yugoslavia in the opening tie to Euro 2012, it was the turn of the hosts to play their match with Poland. It was a game that had drawn the attention of a football mad frenzy in the press, with many optimists predicting success, and a few pessimists expecting disaster. George was looking at somewhere in between the two. Having lost star forward Peter Foldgast to a lengthy injury – George knew it would be a test. Dominating the opening period at the Brondby Stadion, the wasted chances were worrying George as the Poles defended resolutely – and in the second half – those fears were confirmed as the Polish side took the lead with their first shot on goal, Andrzej Brozek handing them the lead. That then saw the Danes suffer a crisis of confidence and they were soon 2-0 down as Lukasz Mierzejewski added a second and the boos resounded. Unable to reverse the deficit the Danes ended up losing a poor game – and the press conference afterwards were not pretty as George had to fend off a lot of criticism about his side’s performance.

Other fixtures: England 2 Portugal 0 (Noel-Williams,Owen); Sweden 0 Bulgaria 0; Russia 0 Spain 1 (Jorge Cano); Holland 3 (Kluivert 2, Bouma) Turkey 1 (Erdal ); Austria 1 ( Dietrich ) Germany 2 (Ulrich, Deisler); Italy 4 (De Leonardis 2, Ferri 2) Israel 2( Oved 2)

Group 1 Game 2 vs Ukraine

The fixture soon after turned into a must win if George was to retain his reputation at international level and keep the Danes alive in the competition. At Parken, in Copenhagen George decided to keep faith with the same eleven, but making a change in the tactics. A shaky first half saw many chances at either end with fans biting their nails with nerves. In the second, further changes in personnel at last helped to stabilize the Danes, and on 77 minutes, Soren Larsen, gaining his second cap scored a scrappy effort to the immense relief of the fans. Any anxiety of that goal being wiped out was removed by Brian Sommer who doubled the lead not 3 minutes later and the victory was secure.

Other fixtures: Portugal 0 Holland 1 (Kluivert); Yugoslavia 0 Poland 3 ( Nowacki, Wojcik, Dolega); Germany 1 (Scmiedel) Russia 0; Belgium 1 Italy 2 ( Rossini, De Leonardis ); Turkey 1 (Nihat) England 4 (Kelly, Noel-Williams 2, Owen ); Spain 1 ( Vicente ) Austria 0; Israel 0 Sweden 3 (Henriksson, Waattovara 2

Group 1, Game 3 vs Yugoslavia

With the Poles victory over Yugoslavia having eliminated today’s opponents, George felt sure that his side’s extra competitive edge would be enough to secure the win that was so desperately needed. By half time George was almost in tears. Ukraine were 1-0 leaders over Poland – and his Denmark side were 2-0 down against the Yugoslavians, facing certain elimination after a crap defensive game. In the second half, a Mads Jorgensen strike early on gave the Danes hope, but the game continued to go against them – and with Ukraine still winning it was looking to be a disappointing exit. Peter Hansen had two terrific chances to score in the 86th minute but they were both denied – and not too long after the dreaded final whistle went. Denmark were out.

At the press conference George made no excuses, announced his resignation and walked wearily away form the podium where a private car was waiting to take him to a hotel, away from the paparazzi. Well – at least he hadn’t waited to be pushed – and it wasn’t with Scotland.

Other fixtures: Holland 0 England 1 ( Owen ), Turkey 1 (Nihat) Portugal 2 ( Vasco, Postiga ); Israel 1 (Oved) Belgium 2 ( Mpenza, Vangeel ); Italy 1(D’Isanto) Sweden 1 (Pettersen ); Russia 1 ( Bezrodny ) Austria 0; Spain 1 (Contreras) Germany 3 (Ulrich, Hube 2 )

Quarterfinals: England 1 ( Kelly ) Poland 0; Germany 2 ( Ulrich 2) Sweden 0; Italy 2 ( Pinardi, Rossini ) Spain 0; Ukraine 2 ( Sokolovski, Rebrov ) Holland 1 (Slot)

Semifinals: Italy 1 ( Pari ) Ukraine 0; England 1 ( McMaster) Germany 2 (Ulrich, Tiffert )

Final: Germany 5 ( Straub 2, Schumacher, Riedl, Hohmann ) Italy 2 ( De Leonardis, Medri )

[Terk]

hehe, england beaten by germany again

[Brian of Nazareth]

bah, who cares about England?

Lisbon Lions Season Review 2012-2013 – Avoiding the Drop?

Squad Overview

Goalkeepers

Barry Roche 2 In his first full year he played regularly interchanging with Colin and enjoyed some excellent games, especially in cups where his penalty saves were crucial.

11/12 Record: 16 apps, 18 conceded, 7.19

Colin Meldrum 36 Colin was superb in his games in the First Division. With time against him, George will be hoping he has enough in him against superior opposition for at least 1 more year.

11/12 Record: 25 apps, 17 conceded, 7.43

Defenders

Scott Shanks 27 DLC A new signing from Barnet, he’s not a stranger to George having played on loan several times in the past. Not a first teamer but competent Scottish back up.

Thomas Hitzlesperger 30 D/ML Tommy has been a consistent performer again in helping the club bounce back into the top flight and now one of the most experienced members of the squad

11/12 Record: 27 starts, 1 sub, 1 assist, 6.86

Phillipe Mexes 30 SW The French defender was a big signing for George as he sought to sturdy up a defense that is bound to be tested this year. Unless he steals a Scottish passport somehow he won’t be a long term addition – but he has enough quality for now.

Sean Murray 26 DC the Irish defender had a lot of work to do once arriving from Guiseley, but he gave his all and actually did quite well in the latter half, helping to boost Dumbarton’s defense when their promotion push was challenged.

11/12 Record: 13 starts, 5 subs, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.72

Craig Graham 27 DC Signed on a bosman from Rangers, the talented centre half started very slowly but after a while picked up his game and began to impress other managers with his assuredness.

11/12 Record: 26 starts, 3 subs, 1 goal, 1 MoM, 6.86

Terry Kidd 28 D/DMC The player with no professional experience in 8 years before George found him barely figured, and when he did he struggled. With his contract up in 2014 he’s only going to be around as emergency back up.

11/12 Record: 4 starts, 2 subs, 5.67

Michael Blake 25 DRC The experienced defenseman came in and did a good job at both right back and in central defense occasionally. Not a flashy type he got the job done – and though the test will be greater in the SPL he should have enough in him to cope.

11/12 Record: 25 starts, 4 subs, 3 assists, 6.83

Kevin Scott 27 D/DMC Kevin had an average year, with a few games under his belt but he’s no star player and though he held his own in the First Division he is going to struggle when he plays this year.

11/12 Record: 11 starts, 2 subs, 6.85

[Brian of Nazareth]

Midfielders

Artur 3 DMC The out of favour midfielder hardly figured at all as he was kept out of the side by two others who performed excellently and the loyal servant’s career is coming to an end – though with few takers expressing an interest he’s going to have a battle on his hands to play much this year – even with George’s pledge to give him a fair chance.

11/12Record: 3 starts, 1 assist 6.33

Alejandro Bueno 24 DMC The Spaniard is seen by many as the natural successor to Artur – and after his debut season in division one – he clearly has the talent – and should be an important part of the side as they try and avoid the drop this season.

11/12 Record: 16 starts, 12 subs, 1 goal, 8 assists, 1 MoM, 7.14

Stephen Clemence 34 MC The experienced Englishman enjoyed a decent year with Dumbarton, making his fair chance of games, and supporting his teammates well – he’ll be looking to enjoy his time at the top of the Scottish pyramid as long as possible.

11/12 Record: 22 starts, 4 subs, 4 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, 6.96

James McFadden 28 MC A fine year from James again, as he improved his game further with more consistent spells as he nears the peak period of his career. Hopefully that momentum will follow through into the SPL.

11/12 Record: 22 starts, 6 subs, 5 goals, 4 assists, 6.89/I]

Liam Miller 31 MC The Irish central man was a true gem in propelling Dumbarton to the top of division one with some breathtaking performances, fine goals and a hefty load of pure hard graft making him one of the clubs more popular members with the fans. Hopefully he can repeat that success again.

11/12 Record: 23 starts, 5 subs, 5 goals, 4 assists, 3 MoM, 7.71

Willie Stewart 25 DMC The irascible hardman thoroughly enjoyed his first year, after an ignominious spell at St. Mirren. He proved to be quite a bargain as his value soared as the season progressed. Now really starting to make bigger clubs take note, the Scot will relish the challenge of the top flight.

11/12 Record: 24 starts, 3 subs, 2 goals, 10 assists, 1 MoM, 7.33

[Brian of Nazareth]

Forwards

Thomas Arnesson 27 SC The Swede had a much better time of it in his first full season, reaping the rewards of weaker defenders and his confidence has risen again.. Scoring quite frequently alongside Simpson, he could prove to be a worthy foreigner in the side as Dumbarton seek to fight the drop once more.

11/12 Record: 27 starts, 7 subs, 13 goals, 6 assists, 4 MoM, 7.40

Ian Black 26 SC Ian suffered from his bad year in the top flight and he struggled to get a look in for most of the opening half of the season. However he fought hard and after much cajoling from fellow coaches George handed him a chance, which he took and he didn’t look back, enjoying an extended run in the side, playing with a big happy smile on his face the whole time. George enjoyed eating humble pie for that man.

11/12 Record: 9 starts, 3 subs, 4 goals, 1 MoM, 7.13

Carlos Diaz 28FLC The Spaniard did not thrive as some expected, although his cheerful optimism always ensured training was never a chore with his playful humour. He played sporadically, scoring occasionally but his lack of efficiency was a big problem for George as he will not have so many chances to miss before scoring in the SPL.

11/12 Record: 8 starts, 8 subs, 4 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, 6.88

Keith Simpson 27 SC The Englishman was fantastic in the promotion push – scoring frequently through out the season and also helping set chances up for others – an excellent competitor – it was a pity he was born the wrong side of the border.

11/12 Record: 23 starts, 5 subs, 15 goals, 6 assists, 6 MoM, 7.64

Season Review 2012-2013

With another tough time in the top flight expected, George was at least content to know the side’s finances were picking up. With the debt wiped out he was pleased to at least know more wages were available, though to get to that situation had involved selling John Scott but sacrifices had to be made and season ticket sales were at an all time high.

Preparations for a tough season ahead began with a tour of the Republic of Ireland in a 3 game season against Drogheda United, University College Dublin and Kilkenny City. Little did George know but those games were also the last time Dumbarton would see Jose Cano in those colours. On the 20th July after helping Dumbarton defeat Kilkenny 2-0, the Spaniard midfielder announced his immediate retirement for personal reasons. In a statement to the press he said:

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

“I would like to express my gratitude to George Cameron for giving me the chance to play with Dumbarton and I feel I have enjoyed an excellent career with the club, experiencing the highs and the lows. Now that I have helped the side to a second promotion I believe my time here has to come to an end, going out on a high.

My legs are not what they used to be, and with big moves in my personal life [ ed- he’s getting married to Juan Veron ] I feel I cannot give any more to the club. I wish them every success in the future, and from the bottom heart I thank the fans who have supported me all the way. GO DUMBARTON!â€

Jose Cano 32 AMFC, 146 starts, 30 subs, 33 goals, 40 assists, 18 MoM, 7.35

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The other friendly results were merely extensions of training and George cared not that they had beaten Drogheda 2-0 and lost to University College Dublin 1-0.

[Brian of Nazareth]

Dumbarton 2012-2013

August

Cups

League Cup

Entering at the second round stage, George was happy to have a home clash to start with and it was Stirling, relegated from the first division last year who were the visitors and so George made changes to his line up to accommodate for fitness issues. The game though was not as as easy George thought – with no goals form either side forcing both extra time and consequently penalties. Carlos Diez actually missed his second round effort, but once again Barry Roche came to the rescue with two more saves, and Dumbarton were through to the next round.

League

The first game of the new season actually started in at the end of July with Dunfermline visiting the renovated Cliftonhill ground. George went into the game quite nervous about what to expect, especially bearing in mind the difficulty his side had endured the previous time in the top flight. After only 10 minutes though George was in despair. 2 goals down and being comprehensively outplayed, George knew his side were in for another huge fight to avoid the drop. Managing to scrap until half time still 2-0 down, George told his players to fight like hell for respectability. They responded quite well and remarkably actually forced an interesting final 10 minutes when Thomas Arnesson reached Kevin McDonald’s through ball in time to slot home, but it finished 2-1 and it was time for George to get to work.

The first away trip was to Pittodrie against Aberdeen a side who’d lost 3-0 to Kilmarnock in their first game. A change to 4-4-2, and a line up including 3 new defenders worked well as the team managed to repel the home side’s threat continuously and survived until half time. After the break, George brought on extra personnel to save legs and they contained their hosts further still – and eventually the final whistle did blow ( after much praying from George ) with Dumbarton picking up their first point of the season – a very timely confidence booster as losing successively would have made it very hard to keep morale high.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle were next up at Cliftonhill – with George still employing the tough tackling 4-4-2 strategy. A superb start from Dumbarton, saw them take a 1-0 lead into half time after an aggressive approach that also allowed for fast attacks where necessary. On one of them, on-loan right back Steve Coleman fed Liam Miller down the right, and the midfielder swung in a high ball that found it’s way to Keith Simpson headed home to send the fans into raptures. In the second, facing a stiff Inverness response George was betting with himself on how long the lead would last as Colin Meldrum could only perform miracles for so long. However with a little over 20 minutes remaining, Alejandro Bueno half volleyed a long ball forward and it thankfully fell into the path of Thomas Arnesson who couldn’t miss – and Dumbarton were on course for the first victory of the season. Another sustained attack from Inverness withered out late on as they began to give up – and Gary Davies had marshaled his back line with exceptional confidence.

Against Rangers the following week though Dumbarton never stood a chance and were sadly flattered to only find themselves 2 goals down at half time, 1 in fact from John Miller on loan the previous season. The second half was worse as Gary Davies departed injured and a 3rd was added – leaving George in no doubt that this season was one of targeting 9th and being content with 10th – just above the drop zone.

In the final game, Dundee United were the visitors and George was glad to have new bodies in again once more – as they went straight into the line up – and their quality was notable, Munroe, Sinclair and Strachan all played very well even if the visitors took the lead on 23 minutes. At half time though George encouraged the offense and on the hour mark a deserved equalizer arrived. Steve Coleman again the provider – with Kevin McDonald the lucky recipient. With the game tied the fans knew this was one that could go either way with chances at either end. With 10 minutes left – the winner arrived and happily enough it was for Dumbarton – Brian Sinclair on his debut heading home to hand 3 very valuable points to the home side.

Other Monthly News

After the Dunfermline game, Steve Coleman a 24 year old right back arrived on loan from Swindon as George bolstered his defense. Chelsea’s Gary Davies and Simon Flynn of Coventry – both centre backs joined too as persuasive and desperate work from George brought them in.

Kevin James arrived on a free transfer soon after, the 36 year old former Hearts defender in to add some much needed experience in the back line and over 10 years with an SPL side should do that. Gary Davies had his loan deal cancelled after picking up an injury against Rangers. [/b] Colin Reilly [/b] signed on a free transfer soon after and Gordon Bennett returned on loan again from Coventry.

Several offers were fired off to free players, some very high profile, others less so but George hoped the law of averages would procure enough talent to help keep his side in the top flight this season. He knew – sadly that trying to adapt the Scottish only rule was simply suicide at this point in his career and wasn’t an avenue he could practically consider unless he wanted relegation again – which he did not. However three Scots did arrive before the month ended, Brian Sinclair from Brentford – a replacement for Davies, Craig Munroe a left back from Swansea and James Strachan a young forward from Watford.

[Brian of Nazareth]

September

Cups

League Cup

Dumbarton had once again been drawn at home, this time Kilmarnock the visitors in the third round and George was not hopeful, his opponents having made a fine start to the league. Alejandro Bueno did offer a glimpse of hope however as he scored within 2 minutes – but there after the game was completely dominated by Kilmarnock, and Scott Milner soon equalized. At half time – George believed there was a chance of winning if they grabbed a counter attack goal, but Shane Bresciano’s goal on 50 minutes ended those hopes as the visitors ran out 3-1 winners, Milner scoring a second with 10 minutes left on the clock.

League

Hibernian were the hosts as George’s new look side took to the field. A brilliant start from Dumbarton saw them 2 goals up at half time as George delightedly celebrated with his new players. It was Willie Stewart who’s pass allowed Craig Munroe to score the first goal and then Alan Wilkinson on his debut side footed across to Liam Miller who blasted home from 20 yards. However in the second half it all fell apart. Munro left the field injured and then Jason Collins reduced the lead. After Antonio had a goal ruled out for offside moments later, his colleague and compatriot Unai Alfonso leveled with 30 minutes remaining. At that point it was all Hibs, but the lucky swines had to wait until the 90th minute before finding their winner – Antonio – several times a loan player at Dumbarton poking home a rebound and George was shell-shocked.

Celtic away was the next impossible task and George made a few changes to the line up fully aware that defeat was inevitable – so he rested some of the bigger players for the games they stood half a chance in. By half time it was 3-0 and George was off shopping in Glasgow, as he ignored his side being played off the park. Keith Simpsons dismissal and a serious injury to Alex Reuser completed an unhappy week for Dumbarton

By the time Kilmarnock came to visit on the 23rd, results elsewhere had left Dumbarton in 11th place, hovering above the bottom – and with their visitors having enjoyed a free-scoring start to the campaign George was a little concerned. The first half started positively enough – but again when chances are not taken, you do get punished and a lack of concentration allowed Peter Ofori-Quaye and Scott Miller to score before half time and Dumbarton seemed dead. A fiery half time team talk at least created a passionate second half, and when Alan Wilkinson grabbed a goal on 67 minutes, many fans were hoping for a second. It materialized, but unfortunately only after Kilmarnock had added a third late on through Ofori-Quaye again. Liam Miller responded instantly with a volley drive – but it was not enough.

The final match of the month involved a trip to Motherwell – who were only a point above George’s side – and as such Mr. Cameron was hoping his side were capable of taking something from the game – other than injuries and suspensions. A tight first half saw few chances as both teams cancelled each other out – and it continued in the second. As George hoped to press for a winner though – his thoughts were damaged by Akim Shaker’s 76th minute header that put the hosts ahead. Dumbarton were in trouble as they had to score – but couldn’t afford to concede another – and it was that “caught in two minds†approach that failed them in the end – as though they never conceded – they didn’t press hard enough and lost out again by the odd goal. This pattern would have to stop if relegation was to be avoided.

Other Monthly News

September began with 3 excellent signings, Alan Wilkinson former Chelsea and England star, arrived on a free, experienced former Spurs striker Richard Cresswell also signed on a free – whilst aging Italian centre back Matteo Ferrari signed on too – his experience with Inter a massive bonus for a club of Dumbarton’s stature – and unsurprisingly the poor sods were inundated with interview requests from all media reps, and many general members of the public claiming to be part of the media. Terry Kidd meanwhile was loaned out to Elgin City.

Simon Flynn had his loan extended by two months, whilst many other clubs were cottoning onto the fact stars were available on a free transfer – and it seemed unlikely Patrick Kluivert or Ronaldo would be heading Dumbarton’s way. One who did though was Austrian Alex Reuser , the international midfielder joining on a year’s deal.

The first day of September also saw Internationals in action and George despaired as he saw Scotland scrape a 0-0 draw with the not-so mighty Cyprus, as he decided once and for all it was worth investing in a voodoo doll of Neil Sullivan.

Carlos Diaz was sold to Once Caldes for 110,000 pounds a few days later as George believed his sale could raise important funds – especially to help cover the wages of the new players arriving – and Carlos, though useful was in no way essential to his plan. Another player out was Andy Clark – a wing back who had never fitted into George’s plans and he was sold to Raith Rovers for a minimal fee.

Brian Sinclair extended his loan by another month, whilst James Strachan had enough and returned to Watford. Terry Kidd returned from Elgin, whilst poor old Craig Graham suffered a problem with a hamstring which will sideline him for 2 months.

[Brian of Nazareth]

October

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Premier Division - Wednesday 10th October 2012

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================================================================================================

2012/3 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Celtic 9 4 1 0 10 3 2 2 0 6 2 21

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Kilmarnock 9 2 2 0 6 1 3 1 1 9 7 18

3rd Dunfermline 9 3 1 0 11 6 1 3 1 5 5 16

4th Rangers 9 2 2 0 6 2 2 2 1 4 3 16

5th Hibs 9 3 1 0 11 6 0 2 3 6 11 12

6th Motherwell 9 3 0 2 4 3 1 0 3 3 6 12

7th Dundee 9 2 1 2 6 4 0 3 1 5 6 10

8th Dundee Utd 9 1 3 0 5 3 1 0 4 5 7 9

9th Hearts 9 2 1 2 6 6 0 2 2 3 7 9

10th Aberdeen 9 2 2 1 3 4 0 1 3 2 10 9

11th Dumbarton 9 2 0 2 7 6 0 1 4 2 10 7

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12th Inverness C. Thistle 9 1 3 1 6 6 0 0 4 0 7 6

</pre>

League

The first match didn’t arrive until the 13th with Dundee the visitors – a side with many established players in the line up – which made George just a little wary. However, he also knew that a defensive strategy would see the visitors come at Dumbarton for the whole 90 minutes and the chances were they would score – so instead he chose an attacking to style for the game, to the delight of the 6,000 strong crowd. As early as the 7th minute, the hosts took the lead – with Liam Miller racing down the right side before booting in a high ball into the area. Missed by many it found it’s way onto the laces of Kevin McDonald and the midfielder cracked in a fine strike to stun the travelers. The lead lasted mere minutes though, as Dundee’s Brian King, newly admitted to the Scotland fold, connected with Marcus Charles knock down to beat Barry Roche in goal.

It would be easy to assume heads might fall, but after resisting a period of pressure for a while, George was thrilled to see Dumbarton take the lead back again – and it was Keith Simpson who grabbed it. A poor kick up field from opposing goaltender Glynn Thompson fell to his feet and the striker made no mistake, finishing emphatically after a 15 yard run. At 2-1 the rafters were full of voice, songs chanted from every section except the closed one, and Dumbarton were playing the better football. In the second half the visitors came at them strongly though and had several chances to equalize. As it seemed a foregone conclusion that they’d eventually take one of those opportunities though – a stroke of luck secured the victory for the home team. Simpson was seen by the referee Willie Batsman, to have been pushed – but the push in fact came from strike partner Gordon Bennett . Bennett himself then stepped up to take the resulting penalty – and he scored. With 8 minutes left the visitors were too stunned to re-organise themselves in time and a very valuable 3 points had been assured.

Against Hearts in midweek at Tynecastle, George adopted the same strategy but success was not so forthcoming. Stephen Donnachie and Fredrik Elgstrom handing the hosts an early 2 goal lead, as Dumbarton were forced to play catch up. With legs tiring, George made a few changes but even so Hearts were in control. In the 72nd minute, Kevin McDonald renewed hope with an angled toe-poker but it was not to be, although Gordon Bennett had a penalty appeal turned down with only 2 minutes left on the clock.

At the weekend, George took his side to Dunfermline – aware that his opponents had outplayed them on the opening day and with them lying in 4th – this was a home banker surely – to the extent that bookies stopped taking bets on Dunfermline. The start was even enough with both teams feeling each other out again, but when John O’Neil put the hosts ahead from a John Burton centre – everyone believed that was that and it would be 3 more points to the hosts. Not so though, and only 8 minutes later the scores were tied/ Alan Wilkinson let an effort fly from the 20 yard mark, Langham parried and Wilkinson followed up with a tidy rebound. Amazingly the minutes after that were controlled by Dumbarton – and they scored the game winning goal 10 minutes before half time. Stephen Clemence had the ball just outside the area, before he passed across to Wilkinson who took a step to the left back inside, and fired a magnificent effort into the net to make it 2-1. After half time a shocked home side came back fiercely and strongly but they were unable to quell a plucky away side desperate for points. No other goals arrived in the half but chances were shared in equal measure, Barry Roche earning his bread, whilst Keith Simpson was almost left to rue his missed opportunities.

With that surprise win boosting confidence, a swelled crowd, happy to see their team at least initially coping with the threat this time round, attended the home game against Aberdeen. An unchanged team marched out and then dominated the first half, with Liam Miller involved heavily from the beginning. Moments after unfortunately losing Thomas Arnesson to injury, Colin Reilly scored the opening goal after half an hour, firing a direct free kick into the left hand corner. With the momentum in the home side’s favour Reilly helped to create a second 5 minutes later. His forward pass was latched onto by Alan Wilkinson and the striker sent a fine ball into the area where Liam Miller was on hand to finish spectacularly. The fans were euphoric.

After the break, it was no surprise mind to see a different Aberdeen start, as they attacked with a ferocity not seen by George before, and their power play tactics saw the lead reduced, with Kevin Thomas scoring. Fortune didn’t seem to be favouring George’s side as Willie Stewart was stretched off with a nasty looking hamstring injury, and a big part of Dumbarton’s midfield was taken out. Michael Blake came on but he was more a right back and that showed, as he lost his marker on another Aberdeen attack which saw them equalize via Kevin Green. Thankfully though the home side responded and began to creep back into the game, slowing the pace of the game down to the annoyance of the visitors, and that frustration saw Alan Wilkinson barged over 25 yards out. The free kick was taken by Kevin McDonald and the stadium erupted as it burst the netting – restored Dumbarton’s lead with barely 10 minutes to go. A staunch rearguard action was called for, and mercifully they held out – as Dumbarton recorded successive victories for the first time ever in the SPL.

Other Monthly News

On the International front – there were more World Cup Qualifiers, and Scotland were firstly in Portugal – where a 3-0 loss ensured anyone on the training ground who wasn’t a Scot bore the full brunt of a wild drunk George, but after the 3-1 home victory over the Faroes – everything returned to normal – but not without a few snide comments – the Scots had been 1-0 down for 55 minutes, and at 1-1 for 85.

Terry Kidd was moved to Stenhousemuir on loan for another month as the defender bids to play as much first team football as he can. Craig Munroe belatedly returned to training. Gordon Bennett Brian Sinclair and Munro had their loans extended. Willie Stewart’s injury would sideline him for 2 months

[Brian of Nazareth]

November

League

A trip to bottom club Inverness started the month, and against the side, who had recently appointed Lee Bowyer as their player-manager, it appeared that the home side had been rejuvenated by their new leader, and the hosts were 2-0 up through Darren Holloway inse 11 minutes, aided in no small way by pitiful defending from Brian Sinclair and Michael Blake . When Blake left the field injured, George changed the team around slightly, and it actually forced an immediate response as Keith Simpson scored from an Alan Wilkinson through ball. The rest of the match however saw little of further interest. Both sides were canceling each other out in the midfield, and any possible breakaways were swept up by the defensive lines as chances were limited to 40 yard speculative efforts and Dumbarton had lost.

With Rangers visiting Cliftonhill the week after, the losing theme seemed set to continue against the title-chasing Gers, but a fighting spirit saw the first half evenly contested – until Paul Di Giacomo broke free in stoppage time to hand the visitors the lead. At that point, the home side could have crumbled, but in the second they came back strongly, and on such attack leveled through Alan Wilkinson , the striker punishing Steve Crousden for not holding onto Liam Miller's shot. Sadly though the winner arrived in unfortunate circumstances only 5 minutes after. A Rangers corner, was half-cleared but the ball fell to Barry Ferguson. The midfielder struck a bullet shot – and it was going wide until cruelly deflecting in off Thomas Hitzlesperger and the points were lost.

Hosting Motherwell the following week, George knew the losing run had to end, before a rut began, but a terrible start, saw 10th placed ‘Well take a 2-0 lead via Akim Shaker, with Barry Roche and Thomas Hitzlesperger responsible for the two goals. Fate it seemed though, was on George’s side, as only 10 minutes after the 2nd goal, Motherwell centre back Stephen Clarke was sent off for violent conduct on James McFadden. Even so – it took a lot of psychotic shouting from George to get his players into gear, and shots didn’t begin raining in on the away goal until late in the first half. Fortunately for the fans, one slipped in as Liam Miller ran 40 yards into the area before a subtle back-flick set up Alan Wilkinson in plenty of space and the striker pulled one back.

That was certainly a turning point in this game as a failure to score may have demoralized the team. After the break, a more confident home side took to the the field, and Alex Reuser , out of action for so long was welcomed back into the game, coming on as a substitute to the delight of the home crowd. He then helped create a fantastic leveling goal moments after coming on. The move started from a throw-in, and Wilkinson headed across to Reuser down the left flank. The winger played a 1-2 with Gordon Bennett , to free up some more space. He then played Wilkinson in down the left on an overlap, and the striker fed an inviting ball into the area for Bennett to accept most gratefully and sweep into the bottom right hand corner. That inspired the home side on to attack in greater fury and Motherwell were suddenly under the kosh. They defended as resolutely as possible, but their legs were tiring. When George brought on fresh legs to capitalize, many sensed a winning goal was moments away. It arrived in the 73rd minute as Matteo Ferrari , picking up a loose ball after a Kevin McDonald free kick, sent a cross in blindly hoping for the best. It met Alejandro Bueno square on the forehead – and the 3 points were won, and Dumbarton took a vital step away from the bottom.

Against Hibs, George knew his side were heading in the right direction – and it was this victory that for the first time made him realize his could definitely avoid the drop this season and, it was within realism to target a safe 6/7th mid table finish. Alan Wilkinson had once again scored the first goal, but even though Hibs came back through Jason Collins – the fact Dumbarton responded in equal fashion, restoring the lead 5 minutes after losing it, warmed George’s heart. Alex Reuser the man who had suffered a terrible leg injury earlier in the season grabbed it – swerving in a 16 yard effort after some poor defending. In the second half, an even contest was settled on 70 minutes through Richard Cresswell the substitute – and though Jason Collins made it 3-2 with 10 minutes to go – Dumbarton had enough experience in the side not to panic and hold on to the win.

Other Monthly News

It began well with Steve Coleman and Simon Flynn both extending their stays for a few more months. George was then pleasantly surprised to be awarded the Manager of the Month award for October, accepted moments before climbing the team coach to Inverness.

Terry Kidd went on loan to Alloa this month, after completing his stay at Stenhousemuir and Grant O’Neil arrived for a month. Alex Reuser returned from injury. Gordon Bennett extended his stay for another 3 months. Kevin Scott, sitting in the reserves broke his leg in a squeamish car accident and will be out of the reckoning for up to a year – probably confirming he has played his last game for Dumbarton.

[Brian of Nazareth]

December

League

A trip to Kilmarnock opened the month and despite recent good form, George still believed this would be a game beyond his players. After 25 minutes it seemed as if he would be proved right. Johan Melander and Robert O’Neil. Dumbarton rallied back though, and Liam Miller charged down the right wing before playing a beautiful ball into the path of Gordon Bennett to reduce the lead – and before half time a short spell of Dumbarton pressure meant the fans went for their refreshments wondering how the second half would develop.

It proved to be just as exciting as the first in many ways as Michael Blake sent an outswinging corner across, and Alejandro Bueno being on hand volleyed with such pace, defenders were ducking to avoid having their heads knocked off. With that goal squaring the match up, the atmosphere exploded. Supporters on both sides were in full voice, and the match became an end-to-end contest. Kilmarnock regained the lead through Melander after Kevin McDonald had to be taken off injured, but the lead never looked a stable one. Pressure from both sides saw chances go begging – and as the match wore on Dumbarton upped the tempo a little more in search of an equalizer and as the home fans thought they were safe, Michael Blake sent a free kick deep into the Kilmarnock half and Gordon Bennett capitalized on the confused mayhem in the box to score with 2 minutes left on the clock. A pulsating affair that left both managers speechless ended not long after – a point probably a fair result.

In midweek a tired Dumbarton side traveled to Dundee United, hoping to push on. Changes were only made where necessary and for a while it seemed the game could go either way. The hosts drew first blood thanks to Malcolm Christie, but the visitors responded, and after sustained pressure Alan Wilkinson poached an equalizer at the end of the first half. Sadly – in the process he picked up a serious injury that would see him miss December and January. After the break though George reveled in seeing his side fight hard. Craig Graham then thumped a long ball forward, and it was Alex Reuser who collected it, weaved in and out of 3 Dundee players before sliding the ball below the body of the on-rushing Justin Bray. That goal was the peak of Dumbarton’s efforts that game, but it sadly didn’t last. Tiring players were beaten by the fitter hosts, and then Malcolm Christie tied the match up, before a late Daniel Cumming goal broke Dumbarton’s spirit.

Hosting Hearts at the weekend, George had to make some changes to the line up to accommodate fitness and form issues. Colin Meldrum returned in goal, whilst Keith Simpson got the nod up front. Craig Graham retained his place in the line up. As the game began, it seemed many of the players were clearly hurt by the loss in mid week as they sought to rectify matters – starting with a bang. It was a pity then that the shots went wide. Liam Miller hit the crossbar, Simpson skied an effort from close range, and McFadden forced a fine save from Graham Stack. As the game settled down though, it was impossible to separate the sides. After a half time talk that focused on a more a clinical approach to getting the ball forward, George delighted in seeing Gordon Bennett score his 5th goal this season. McFadden picked up a loose ball, picking out Bueno down the left. Switching back inside, the ball was fed through to Steve Coleman running down the right, and the full back crossed for Bennett to head home. That boosted the home side, who then enjoyed the better of the ball thereafter, but chances were at a premium. With 20 minutes on the clock to go thoughm the 3 points were sealed as Alex Reuser doubled the lead. It was a sweet goal too, starting in defense with Thomas Hitzlesperger , who found Liam Miller roving into the Hearts half. Pausing briefly to take stock of his options, he chipped the ball into the area, where Bennett was waiting – and the goalscorer turned provider – heading down to the feet of the Austrian who couldn’t miss and Dumbarton were now in 7th place – a healthy 9 points ahead of the bottom.

Away to bottom side Dundee on the 15th, George made a few more changes as he looked to push on. Some pundits even thought Dumbarton could sneak a top 6 spot as mid-point season predictions were made. When Gordon Bennett scored after 5 minutes thanks to fine work from Keith Simpson , George was prepared to believe them. The following period of play that saw Dumbarton dominate the game also seemed to point to their chances, but 2 goals either side of half time from Dundee ( Paul Hendry and Erik Espedal ) highlighted the weakness in the visitors side that could threaten a top finish. Dumbarton responded well enough though and a Steve Coleman goal courtesy of Thomas Hitzlesperger inspired hopes of another win – but a draw was the end result.

After that, hosting Celtic proved to be a tough task. The runaway leaders oozed quality in their line up – and were intent on making up for a poor season the year before. They came out of the blocks running and almost scored on several well worked plays. Thankfully they didn’t though and Dumbarton held their own for a while, and shortly before half time could, perhaps should, have taken the lead as Alejandro Bueno and Brian Sinclair exchanged passes to release Alex Reuser in space, but unfortunately he fluffed the one on one and it was all square. After the break a pumped up Celtic did score though, through Brian Black – and the game became a serious challenge. For a brief moment Dumbarton did manage to rally and score one themselves through Keith Simpson but Celtic restored their lead within seconds, thanks to Dean Ashton, and the leaders eventually went on to win 3-1 and George had another injury to contend with.

The boxing day game pitched Dumbarton at home against Inverness, who had improved substantially under their new manager. Attended by almost 7,000 fans George wanted to give them some festive cheer – and he was helped by his opponents having central defender Peter Ahlander dismissed after only 30 seconds for a professional foul. Reacting positively the stadium cheered the home team on as they broke the deadlock 10 minutes later, with Richard Cresswell grabbing the goal from a Willie Stewart pass. However the lead wasn’t extended and it was the visitors who leveled on the half hour thanks to a controversial penalty call by Lloyd Smithers, who believed Brian Sinclair pushed Neil Hughes, but as the highlights reel revealed that night, Hughes was in fact pushed by one of his own players. Hughes converted and at half time there was an air of dispaointment, a dominant display but no winning margin. In the second though, a Willie Stewart corner did find it’s mark – Brian Sinclair atoning for the possible error in the first half to restore the advantage. After that it was all 1 way traffic as ICT simply looked for the odd chance on the counter – which never arrived – and really Dumbarton should have put the game beyond sight on several occasions but Thomas Arnesson and Richard Cresswell were off form.

Other Monthly News

Early on George received an astonishing email from England. Birmingham City, struggling in the English first division, were offering him the job of manager – promising funds to avoid the drop. He rejected, but the fact his reputation had spread a bit was an unexpected bonus. Since sacking Mark Seagreaves, many names had been floated about in the press – but none of them included the name George Cameron.

Paul Barker , a young left back at the club for 18 months was told his future looked bleak after demanding to see George. He was an honest enough player, but he was simply not good enough for the SPL and at 23 time was against him.

The one positive of Alan Wilkinson’s injury was that, with the Winter break his absence would not be as missed as it might have been, though he was being quite stubborn when it came to negotiating a new contract, one that expired the following summer. Terry Kidd returned from his loan spell, whilst Ian Black received a few touching words from the coaches as the front man entered the final months of his contract.

A plethora of players announced their retirement due in the summer 2013, including reject Darren Smith and front man Richard Cresswell . Other players moving on that George knew he could no longer go for, included Mark Van Bommel, Patrick Kluivert and Ivan Alonso.

Players who have signed pre-contract agreements with the club so far, include Scot Paul Millar of Coventry, a young striker, Steven MacDonald from Inverness, a defender, and Craig Gordon a back up goalkeeper from Dundee.

Alex Reuser and Alejandro Bueno have both signed a new deal, whilst Gordon Bennett who’s loan expires in March has agreed to join permanently in the summer.

[Brian of Nazareth]

January

Cups

Scottish Cup

With the long league break over, it was back into action with the Scottish Cup and the 3rd Round. Dumbarton had been paired with Partick Thistle and the clash was fortunately a home one. Partick were a side who were chasing the division one title, and it certainly appeared as if this competition was more of a distraction than anything else as Dumbarton completely dominated the game. In the first half, two confidence boosting goals for Thomas Arnesson aided by Stephen Clemence and Colin Reilly secured the win, and in the second half further goals from Stephen Clemence and sub Alan Wilkinson , returned from injury sandwiched a Mike Delaney goal to complete a satisfactory day for the home side – who were now in good spirits heading into the second half of the league campaign.

League

Before the Winter break commenced there was one more league tie – and that was away to Aberdeen, a side who’d enjoyed a reasonable run under new boss Gary Neville, and George knew this would not be easy. However after the first 20 minutes, George was aghast at his side’s performance. Aberdeen were a decent side, but not that good. 3 goals from Alan Davison and Geert Tanghe put the hosts in the driving seat and the home fans were already celebrating. A bollocking at half time, helped a little, and chances were at last created via Arnesson and Stewart but the damage was done, and the game petered out towards the end – with only a Gordon Bennett penalty in the final minute to speak of.

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

************************************************************************************************

Scottish Premier Division - Tuesday 1st January 2013

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================================================================================================

2012/3 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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1st Celtic 24 9 2 1 21 10 6 6 0 19 9 53

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2nd Rangers 24 8 3 1 18 5 5 5 2 15 9 47

3rd Hibs 24 8 4 0 26 16 1 4 7 13 24 35

4th Dunfermline 24 5 5 2 18 13 3 5 4 13 14 34

5th Kilmarnock 23 5 4 3 16 10 4 2 5 13 16 33

6th Aberdeen 24 7 3 2 15 10 2 3 7 14 24 33

7th Dundee Utd 24 5 5 2 18 13 3 1 8 11 15 30

8th Dumbarton 24 8 0 4 25 19 1 3 8 14 26 30

9th Hearts 24 6 3 3 17 12 0 4 8 8 22 25

10th Inverness C. Thistle 23 5 5 1 14 9 1 1 10 4 16 24

11th Dundee 24 4 4 4 18 15 0 6 6 9 17 22

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12th Motherwell 24 4 3 5 8 11 2 1 9 10 22 22

</pre>

Other Monthly News

Keith MacLeod agreed to join on a bosman from fellow SPL team Hibs after struggling to make a mark. The 24 year old central midfielder signed a 2 year contract. Terry Kidd returns to Alloa on another month’s loan.

[Brian of Nazareth]

February

League

After the useful victory over Partick in the Cup it was back to a much sterner test in the league – a trip to Glasgow to face Rangers – still eager to retain their title, though Celtic’s form meant they’d have to have a fine end of season push. That would therefore include defeating lower sides like Dumbarton. They started as expected the better side, and it was long term servant Barry Ferguson, in his 590th game for the club who opened the scoring after 16 minutes. When Kevin Hardie doubled the lead after the break, the result was in little doubt. Hardie, who’d made an astonishing impact since signing from Dunfermline – 14 goals in 16 starts, was all over the park and cause Dumbarton no end of problems. Still George’s men perked up a bit and tried as hard as they could to get back into the game, with Alan Wilkinson and Thomas Arnesson both going close but to no avail. With 5 minutes to go though a goal was scored through Alex Reuser , the midfielder poking home after a scramble in the Rangers area, but it was too little to late.

In midweek, Dundee United came to town and George and Dumbarton were looking for revenge, after the 3-2 loss in December. The reaction from his players surprised George and to a lesser extent the fans as a superlative performance from the home team ensured the result was never in doubt agains a side who failed to register a shot until the 70th minute, and they only 1 on target was a goal in the 90th minute – by which time the contest was over. Alejandro Bueno earned more plaudits with an excellent display in which he scored twice – one a free kick, the other a rebound after Matteo Ferrari’s shot had been saved. That had been in the first half, and to ensure the visitors didn’t have a chance, a demoralizing 3rd goal was scored 5 minutes after the re-start to kill the match dead. Willie Stewart was felled in the box, and Gordon Bennett tucked home the penalty with glee, as 3 points propelled them back into 7th place.

At the weekend, a high spirited Dumbarton side took on a Kilmarnock team performing well in the league, sitting 3rd, though a few points off the Glasgow Giants. George though was not as worried as he might have been as his side had an excellent home record going into this game, 9 wins and 4 losses, the 4th best in the league. They started brightly again, and Keith Simpson came into the line up and scored his 5th of the season, receiving a knock-down from Alan Wilkinson. That goal was certainly a confidence booster and after that both teams played excellent football which surely entertained the 6500 strong crowd. Chances came and went for both sides, with Barry Roche and Paul Gallagher in particular enjoying fine games. At half time, with few changes the match continued in the same vein, though with half an hour remaining Kilmarnock became a little more desperate and upped the tempo. George responded by bringing on subs, and they managed to contain Killie right up the final whistle as 3 more excellent points moved them into 6th place in the league.

After the cup matches with Airdrie George returned to the league with Motherwell hoping to continue the good league form, but was shocked to see his perform so pathetically against the 10th placed side. No passion once again, no effort, no talent… nothing whatsoever. The hosts came away 2-0 victors with goals from Gavin Wilkinson and George was apoplectic with rage.

The final fixture of February saw the side hosting Dunfermline – in a game George was desperate to win to restore confidence going into the final few games. Safety from relegation was beginning to look more and more assured, and he just wanted it to over mathematically as soon as possible, while hopefully gaining enough points to finish in the top 6. The match itself turned out to be a game of two halves. Dunfermline were all over a dreadful Dumbarton in the first 45 minutes as George, pulled his hair, yelled commands that went in one ear and out the other, as his side somehow remained on level terms. Minutes before the break though and the visitors took a much deserved lead through Michael Hamilton.

In the second half, following a blistering attack on his players, Dumbarton returned to the field and conceded immediately. Congratulations Dumbarton. Michael Hamilton was the scorer and the fans let out a collective sigh that indicated they were accepting the inevitable end to the game. Yet, it turned out quite, quite differently. Thomas Hitzlesperger lamped a long ball forward, and it fortuitously landed at Liam Miller’s feet. The midfielder ran at full pelt towards the goal before passing across to Alan Wilkinson to score a rejuvenating goal. When that went in the complexion of the game changed. Keith Simpson came off the bench, and the team tried to play a more direct approach. Brian Sinclair found Gordon Bennett on the edge of the D, and the striker fired first time towards the goal, where the ball was parried – landing again quite by chance at the feet of Alex Reuser and the midfielder chipped into an unguarded net to level the scores. At this the fans went wild and forgot all about their morose disposition of only 10 minutes previously. They cheered passionately and will n doubt have claimed to have supported their side “the whole game†in pubs afterwards, but whatever the truth of it was, all the supporters were in ecstasy when a magnificent solo run from Liam Miller ended with the ball in the back of the Dunfermline net on 79 minutes to turn around the game. A fine victory it was and Dumbarton were 11 points clear of the drop with 9 games remaining.

Cups

Scottish Cup

In the 4th round it was another first division side Airdrie who came to visit Cliftonhill and again they were a side harboring hopes of playing in the top flight, only 5 points off Raith Rovers. A much changed side from Dumbarton’s side took to the field, hoping to take Dumbarton into the 5th round. It turned out to be a drab affair though, with Airdrie not playing great, but the hosts were not on fire either, creating little, and even when George brought on the big guns with 20 minutes remaining the deadlock could not be broken and unfortunately a replay would have to be played the following Wednesday.

A stronger side were put out on Wednesday but another lack of desire and hunger infuriated George, who watched Mark Allan score the winning goal in the 59th minute as Airdrie progressed to a 5th round match against Aberdeen. George was so p*ssed off he ordered the whole side to run back to Dumbarton that very night as punishment.

Other Monthly News

Phillipe Mexes the French defender who had made little impact at the club since joining was sold to Chelsea of the English Premier Division for 400,000 pounds. It boosted the transfer coffers significantly and also got rid of an underperforming centre half in the process. Terry Kidd returned from his loan spell.

Brian Sinclair extended his loan until the end of the season, but Craig Munro refused to sign on again, opting to battle it out at Swansea. Willie Stewart suffered another nasty breakdown in training and he would miss much of the remainder of the season.

[Brian of Nazareth]

March

League

Hibernian were the hosts for the first game of March and George was aiming to do better than the same fixture at the beginning of the season where Dumbarton had seen a 2-0 lead turned on it’s head to lose 3-2. With Hibs in 4th, it was also a good chance to try and catch up with their opponents. With a few players injured though it meant some players were starting on painkillers, like Alejandro Bueno who shouldn’t have been out there but there was little alternative. A very even first half saw the hosts initially go ahead through Antonio, but an immediate response from Alan Wilkinson saw the scores tied at half time. In the second, it seemed as though the fitter side would go on to win this even encounter, and when Alfonso scored for the hosts, George knew it would be a battle. However, he also knew there was no point running his players to death and Bueno and Miller were withdrawn It was not enough save Michael Blake though and the right back left on a stretcher having inflicted serious damage on his knee – which would likely keep the poor guy out of action for the rest of the season. With 10 minutes to go a 3rd goal killed off the game, but to Dumbarton’s credit they did keep playing and Keith Simpson grabbed a consolation late on.

The next match at Celtic was a big one for the hosts. Their lead at the top of the SPL had been destroyed by Rangers and before the game both sides were on 60 points, Rangers with the better goal difference. George was contemplating giving up on the game altogether and playing youngsters, but at the same time, lying 2 points behind Aberdeen in 6th and the split arriving shortly he really had to go for it. In the end he went for it, using his recently acquired loan players as well. It turned out well for George – as a strong Celtic side was unable to break down Dumbarton. Kevin Day enjoyed an excellent game in goal, whilst Craig Graham former Rangers player, was also instrumental in preventing Brian Black and John Jack from getting through. Phil Dean /b] was also playing well in the holding role, giving Bueno a well earned rest and by the end of the game Stephen Clemence was so tired, he was unable to speak for a full 2 hours, and he had to be helped off the ground by his team mates. They had all done a fine job though, and came away with a 0-0 draw, as Celtic’s title bid was dented.

Hosting Dundee on the 30th, George knew it was a must win game to secure the club’s presence in the top 6 split – which would arrive after the following round of fixtures. Dundee were 10th but still filled with plenty of quality players who could always be a threat – and below the top 2 teams in this league, it was pretty much a given that anyone could beat any of the other sides. The first half was fairly even, though Thomas Hitzlesperger was experiencing a bit of a nightmare, there was proving to be little between the sides, and when Alex Reuser fired in a free kick in stoppage time, both sides knew that this was still an even game that could go either way. In the second, a similar start left George hoping his side could hold on and add a second, but when Hitzlesperger was dismissed for bad-mouthing the referee the task became a very hard one, and in fairness no one was surprised when Brian King equalized with 10 minutes to go to earn a share of the points and leave Dumbarton more than likely heading for the relegation group.

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

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Scottish Premier Division - Sunday 31st March 2013

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2012/3 Table

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Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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1st Celtic 32 11 3 2 28 15 7 7 2 20 13 64

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2nd Rangers 31 12 3 1 29 7 6 6 3 19 13 63

3rd Hibs 32 10 4 2 31 21 3 5 8 17 27 48

4th Kilmarnock 32 7 5 4 19 12 6 2 8 18 24 46

5th Dunfermline 32 7 5 4 23 18 4 6 6 20 22 44

6th Aberdeen 32 9 5 2 21 13 3 3 10 16 30 44

7th Dumbarton 32 11 1 4 33 23 1 4 11 17 33 41

8th Dundee Utd 32 6 7 3 24 18 4 1 11 16 25 38

9th Motherwell 32 8 3 5 16 11 2 3 11 12 26 36

10th Dundee 32 6 5 5 24 19 1 9 6 15 20 35

11th Hearts 32 7 4 5 24 20 1 4 11 11 30 32

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12th Inverness C. Thistle 31 5 7 3 16 14 2 2 12 10 25 30

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Other Monthly News

Simon Flynn signed on until the end of the season, and Matt Lyons , a right back from Bristol Rovers, Phil Dean a midfielder from Swansea, and Kevin Day a goalkeeper also from Swansea, were brought in as extra support, with the games about to start coming thick and fast in the final weeks. Terry Kidd was loaned out to Elgin City for another month. Gordon Bennett returned to Coventry as his loan spell expired. Thomas Hitzlesperger received a 2 match ban for his sending off against Dundee earned him 16 disciplinary points.

[Nick OGS20]

Quite a positive sign that only just missing out on the championship group is seen as a disappointment now

[Brian of Nazareth]

yeah, expectations are certainly changing - which is good news

April / May

League

The final match before the split was against Hearts and it was still a big game. Though Dumbarton were 7th, they could quite conceivably be dragged into a relegation scrap unless they weren’t careful and George tried to get this message across to his players. A win gave George’s side a chance of qualifying for the top 6 but a defeat brought them back down into the bottom fray. As the match began the early signs hinted the players had taken in what had been said by the coaches as they played sensible football whilst trying to attack whenever a realistic chance presented itself. Alex Reuser though didn’t have his shooting boots on as 3 times in 10 minutes when put in a good position he missed the target completely. At half time – the emphasis was focused on attacking as much as possible, while actually testing their goalkeeper. That did happen on occasion after the break with both Alan Wilkinson and sub Keith Simpson forcing saves from Graham Stack, but they simply couldn’t find a way through. Reuser missed further chances, and the only effort on target was so lame, the keeper barely registered it as a shot, kicking it as he thought it was a pass back. Hearts though knew how to score and with 12 minutes left Darren Moffat scored the winning goal to keep Dumbarton definitely in the bottom 6.

By a perverse reckoning, when the fixtures for the relegation group came out – Dumbarton’s first game was away to Hearts – so revenge was on the minds of the majority of the fans. It turned out to be an astonishing match with goals in abundance, with the majority fortunately falling in Dumbarton’s favour. The first half had seen 4 goals shared, with Dumbarton twice taking a lead only to be pegged back within three minutes. It began when Alex Reuser picked out Ryan Ashford roving down the left, and the full back cut and surprised everyone by going for goal – successfully. Hearts then scored with their first attack of the game through Fredrik Elgstrom, as the side only 2 points above 12th spot pulled level. Dumbarton then went ahead again in the 29th minute when an Alan Wilkinson effort was parried only for Willie Stewart to drive the ball back with full force into the net. Hoping they could hold on this time George threw up his arms in dismay when Hearts made sure it was square at half time as Stephen Donnachie scored.

After half time, the fun really began as attacks almost always result in a corner such were the accuracy of the respective forwards and the athletic ability of Graham Stack and Colin Meldrum . On the hour mark Wilkinson played a one-two with Willie Stewart before sending a ball into the 6 yard box, where Keith Simpson reacted quickest to poke home. Then Hearts, instead of replying decide to have a go the hard way by playing with 10 men. Fredrik Elgstrom had already conceded a penalty with his hand, when the referee went over to reprimand him, but instead of taking his punishment, the Swede went berserk and he had to be restrained and taken from the pitch in a strait jacket. Liam Miller then converted the resultant kick to create a 4-2 advantage. Sadly though the Dumbarton players neglected to realsie they were against a team who were literally hovering off the bottom and as such that desperation translated into another goal as lackadaisical marking allowed Donnachie to score again. The players though finally learned their lesson, sharpened up and in the final 10 minutes killed the game off with two more goals. A corner taken by Stewart found the head of Alex Reuser who emphatically burst the net, and with the spirit of the home side broken, Stewart crossed again, this time to find sub Thomas Arnesson on the end of it.

A home clash with Dundee United was the next fixture and with it came the possibility of securing their top flight status if results went in their favour – but George knew it would be no easy task. He still decided to rest some players for the clash in order to save them for the away matches which would likely prove to be a little bit tougher. The game was on paper not much to phone home about but it was actually a very close and exciting game nevertheless. Chances were found at both ends but a lack of precision affected both sides, as Ian Black and Thomas Arnesson found it a little hard going, whilst Malcolm Christie and Ian Hume – back after a 6 month ban, also found life difficult. Even a shake up at half time by both sides had little effect and the teams played out a fair 0-0 draw with end to end action at least ensuring the fans weren’t bored. Unfortunately though Matteo Ferrari was involved in a nasty clash and left the field to be taken to the nearest A&E ward. On a more a positive note, Dumbarton’s draw and Heart’s loss meant that George was finally free from the threat of relegation and the whole board threw a mini get together by way of celebration.

Against Inverness, George put in a few fringe players with the threat of the drop now firmly behind him and that safety net seemed to reflect itself in Dumbarton’s early play, poor. Inverness who were still very real candidates for the drop showed far more urgency and took the lead through Matthew Hughes. However Dumbarton woke up after that and Ian Black set up an chance that Alan Wilkinson could not miss and it was 1-1 at half time. After the break they then went ahead as Alejandro Bueno took Kevin McDonalds long ball forward in his stride to make it 2-1. George knew though it would be a tough lead to defend and unfortunately Matt Hughes leveled with 15 minutes remaining, and then with 88 minutes on the clock, Neil Hughes converted a blatant penalty to keep ICT breathing, and Hearts were a very angry side accusing Dumbarton of lying down.

[Brian of Nazareth]

May

With the defeat to ICT having dropped Dumbarton to 8th George was determined to end the season on a high and with 2 home games remaining he targeted maximum points could in theory leave them on a higher points total than 5th placed Kilmarnock.

Motherwell were the manager less visitors on the 4th as George decided to hand a rare start to Artur the midfielder who had again hardly featured, but deserved a send-off which he duly earned from the crowd. Michael Blake also made his first start in a while after another injury enforced absence. As for the game itself though Motherwell started brighter, desperate to pick up any point they could, it was Dumbarton who took the lead. Liam Miller fired in a free kick, but it took a wicked deflection off the unfortunate Willie Noble and beat the hapless Scott Lawrie. To their credit, the visitors regrouped immediately and kept the pressure on Artur and the other defensive players, deservedly scoring at the right end 15 minutes later as Derek Anderson set up Hugh Murray who volleyed past a despairing Colin Meldrum . In the second 45, George sent on a few fresh legs to combat the weary hosts and visitors and the changes worked with near immediate effect. Alex Reuser on for the sadly departed Artur, collected a long ball forward Thomas Hitzlesperger and the midfielder crossed in for fellow sub Thomas Arnesson to score the winning goal.

That game meant that 3 teams were now still battling to avoid the drop with Hearts the favourite to go down. They were on 38 points, whilst Motherwell and Inverness were on 40 points, and ‘Well appointed Ian Westerwater with the charge of keeping his side up

The final match of the season saw Dundee visit, and with both teams out of danger this was a battle for 7th spot, and pride. The hosts were cheered out of the tunnel by the fans who had enjoyed a highly exciting season, without too many worries about being relegated as they had always been a few points, and a couple of places above the drop from about October onwards. An even first half saw Brian King score the only goal, and after the break, George made a few changes, which led to Alex Reuser scoring the final home goal of the season. However the celebrations were ruined a little bit by Dundee grabbing the winner through Marcus Charles. In the final minute Stephen Clemence had a chance to tie it up, but blazed the ball over, and an excellent season for George, ended own a slightly disappointing note.

Other Monthly News

Ryan Ashford a left back at EPL side Wycombe joined on loan for a month as cover for the suspended Hitzlesperger, whilst Kevin Day renewed his spell. Willie Stewart was back in time for the Hearts game from injury. Terry Kidd returned from his loan spell, and Craig Munro moved to Cambridge.

Rangers lost their manager Derek Murray to Liverpool – with Rangers on the verge of winning the title, and Liverpool 10th in the Premiership – a move that was met with a fair amount of bewilderment. After they secured the title it was interesting to see that they appointed 10th placed Motherwell’s managed Adrian Heath in the hot spot.

Matteo Ferrari received bad news from doctors when he learned he would be spending most of the summer recuperating from a knee operation, though he was fortunate in that was not career ending, and with a bit of luck he’d be back to normal by the start of the following campaign.

May

Alex Reuser won a well earned award for Player of the Month for April. Gary Davies’ and Ryan Ashford both returned to their respective clubs. Elsewhere in Scotland, Montrose won their first game of the season in the penultimate match of the campaign – congratulations are in order, as are they to Raith Rovers who will be in the SPL next season.

Willie Stewart missed the final game of the season through a recurrence of his injury woes, but the doctors assured him it would not be a long term issue. The club received 250,000 pounds for finishing 8th in the league.