Bowman4NQ Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 Hello there. This is my first attempt at a story on these boards - be kind to me Having read a few of the various stories in this forum, I decided to establish a brand new team in the Scottish third division, totally devoid of players, coaches, officials, and try (however audacious the task may seem) to take them to the top of the tree in Scottish football). I'm using FM2005, slightly edited of course to fit my new team in. The only luxury I've allowed myself is a 6,000 seat stadium and $750,000. Note - I'm an Australian, and throughout the game I'll be referring to money in Australian dollars. Despite having a bit of Scots blood somewhere in my heritage, my geographical knowledge of Scotland is, ahem, limited....Feel free to jump in at any stage and correct me! One last note - due to the nature of my employment (teacher in remote Aus. communities) the number of updates on this particular game will probably be few and far in between. It probably won't be uncommon for me to be without net access for up to six weeks at a time. At first I'll be posting in real-time, but I guess in future I'll have a bit of back-log to get through. That's if this database saves properly first! Anyway, on with the show! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Hello there. This is my first attempt at a story on these boards - be kind to me Having read a few of the various stories in this forum, I decided to establish a brand new team in the Scottish third division, totally devoid of players, coaches, officials, and try (however audacious the task may seem) to take them to the top of the tree in Scottish football). I'm using FM2005, slightly edited of course to fit my new team in. The only luxury I've allowed myself is a 6,000 seat stadium and $750,000. Note - I'm an Australian, and throughout the game I'll be referring to money in Australian dollars. Despite having a bit of Scots blood somewhere in my heritage, my geographical knowledge of Scotland is, ahem, limited....Feel free to jump in at any stage and correct me! One last note - due to the nature of my employment (teacher in remote Aus. communities) the number of updates on this particular game will probably be few and far in between. It probably won't be uncommon for me to be without net access for up to six weeks at a time. At first I'll be posting in real-time, but I guess in future I'll have a bit of back-log to get through. That's if this database saves properly first! Anyway, on with the show! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 June 1 2004 The Scottish Football Association has today announced that Elgin City has resigned from the Scottish Third Division, effective immediately. Applications to fill the vacancy are expected to be called for shortly. June 9 2004 A group representing Australia's largest producer of cardboard boxes has won the right to join the Scottish Football Association as the newest Third Division team. Bowmans Packages, a business worth in excess of $A300,000,000, has paid a total of $750,000 for the right to form a completely new entity to compete in the SFL. No current non-league teams will be invited into the Third Division as a consequence. Almost nothing is known about the chairman of Bowmans Packages, James Lindsay, except that his great-grandfather was Scottish, and he has not travelled outside of Australia since 1954. It is rumoured that Lindsay's grandson will be the first manager of the new club, which will be named in a 'matter of weeks', according to a spokesman for the new club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 So this is it? I thought to myself as I looked around the field. This is our field of dreams? The place resembled a building site. The noise of jackhammers spoiled any serenity there was. Over in the far corner of the field, a pedestrian was walking his dog, oblivious to the mess that his pet had left in its travels. On one side of the field, a 3000-seat grandstand was being erected with unprecedented haste. Opposite it, a carbon copy was already finished with yellow seats installed. Underneath, the dressing sheds were receiving their final coat of paint, whilst behind the goalposts at each end, two large mounds of earth were being covered with turf. The team had no identity, no strip, no staff, no players, no supporters - but at least it had a home ground. I looked at my watch - midday. I had been in Edinburgh, in Scotland, for barely two hours. Just three days ago, I resigned from my position at Bowmans Packages, and all my salary and entitlements, in order to head one of their 'expansion projects', as the CEO had termed it. A bloody soccer team on the other side of the world! It was just an hour until the press conference, which would be held just outside the new stadium. I gathered my notes, and both of my bags, and walked away from the pitch - dodging a pile of dog excretement on my way out. 40 minutes later... The club's facilities were hardly impressive. A fax machine, a phone, and a coffee machine that didn't work. I tipped out my mug of cold coffee in disgust and made a mental note to buy a new one on my way home that night. "Excuse me? Are you David?" I turned around. "Yes, David O'Connor. And you are?" "My name is Peter Morgan, director of the football club. Welcome to Scotland!" Finally, someone else I could talk to! "Thanks! I must say, this is certainly a work in progress in every sense." "Sheeesh, you're not wrong. Thanks though to the money from Bowmans, the state of facilities around here should improve dramatically in a few days or so. Are you ready for the press conference?" "Well, sort of, but not really," I admitted. "For starters, what do I bloody say?" "Oh, the usual. Great to be in Edinburgh, hope to do well this year, that kind of thing." "No, really Peter, I mean, I don't know a bloody thing about the club. The name, the strip, my transfer budget, who's available, who I'll be working with, etcetera!" "Okay sonnie, sit down....I have to be honest, we're not expecting a great deal of press coverage this afternoon. We're a small, tiny, little tadpole swimming in the pool of Scottish football. 99% of the public expect us to quickly fade out of the limelight. In short, that's exactly why you're hired as manager...everyone expects us to lose, so why not lose with an inexperienced manager?" "An Australian manager, 29 years old, with no managerial experience in football whatsoever?" "Precisely. Now, we have this little press release ready to run, I doubt we're going to get any press here today, so why not pull up a seat, and lets toast our future and the future of this fine football club?" Why not, I thought? After all, if it doesn't work out, I could easily land a job back in the company in Australia. "So, Peter, who shall we make this toast to?" Peter handed me the glass of scotch whiskey with a glint in his eye. "To David O'Connor, the manager of the Edinburgh Thistle Football Club." **** Press Release The Edinburgh Thistle Football Club is pleased to announce that David O'Connor has accepted the position as manager. O'Connor, 29, brings a wealth of experience in business and will no doubt look forward to his latest challenge. The Edinburgh Thistle Football Club can also confirm that their home ground will be known as the Bowman Road Stadium. The stadium, due to be finished before the beginning of the 2004/05 season, will eventually have a seated capacity of 6,000. It is expected that O'Connor will be able to announce the bulk of the Edinburgh Thistle playing squad for the 2004/05 Scottish Third Division season shortly. The club cordially invites all interested supporters to be present for the launch of the squad and the playing strip at a date to be announced in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
axeman Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 A good start indeed I hope you stick with this one, as it promises to become an epic KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Cheers Axeman - recruiting a team was/is very tough indeed, as you'll find out. Thanks mate **** July 2004 My first full month in the job. Thousands of dollars were spent on phone calls home, most of them to my darling wife Sheena. The tyranny of distance hasn't been kind, with both of us wishing we could be with the other. She'll be resigning from her position as a teacher in Queensland at the end of the year and making the big step of moving over to Edinburgh to be with me. I just hope that I'm still in a job by the time she comes over, otherwise it would be one expensive holiday. Thistle has been pretty kind to me, giving me a car and a house. I'll have to wait until Sheena comes over before I can start thinking about decorating the house however, as all I have at the moment is a television, fridge, oven and bed. I suspect I'll have to purchase a washing machine and drier sometime soon, but for now the club's laundromat seems to work out just fine. Interest in the new Edinburgh team seems to be pretty low at the moment, and who can blame the supporters when they have two fine Premier League teams right in their city? It seems that we will have to work doubly hard to accomplish anything at Thistle, although strangely enough I'm looking forward to the challenge. I officially started work on July 10, and started to arrange my office in the club complex at Bowmans Road. My first official duty as manager was to observe the draw for the first round of the Challenge Cup and League Cup the very next day. We drew two Second Division teams - Stirling for the League Cup, and Ayr for the Challenge Cup. Fortunately for us, both games are at home. Later that night I was able to get Phillip Yeates to join the club as a physio - my first signing! Unfortunately, with no players on the books we were forced to cancel all but one of our friendly games - a less than ideal lead-in to our first season. My first major task was to sign an assistant manager to help share the burden. The main objective was to sign a cohesive squad before our first official game against Ayr on the 31st. Alas, we failed miserably in our objective. Despite sending out in excess of thirty requests for player loans, in almost ever case we were rebuffed by the player in question. However, it was not all doom and gloom. The players we were able to sign, in order of signing: July 14 - Jamie Dolan - 35 year old defender, veteran of the Premier League, with 305 games to his credit. Jamie will also serve as a coach. July 15 - David Farrell - 34 year old defender, former Hibs player, which should get the supporters up the street excited. July 26 - Connor Gethins - 20 year old forward from Ross County, a fiery Irish player who cost us $20,000. July 28 - Andy Paterson - 32 year old defender, played all his career with lower division teams. Will also act as a coach. July 30 - Paul Harvey - 35 year old attacking midfielder, a veteran of no less than nine clubs. Thistle will be his tenth. July 31 - Andrew Reid - 18 year old forward on loan from Ayr. A little bit raw, but has a stack of potential July 31 - Kieran McAnespie - 24 year old defensive midfielder from St Johnstone ($4,000). Former Scottish U21 rep. July 31 - David Hagen - 31 year old attacking midfielder from Peterhead ($10,000). Former Rangers player July 31 - Paul Gaughan - 23 year old defender from Straenaer ($4,000). July 31 - Robbie Horn- 26 year old defender from Berwick ($4,000) July 31 - Alan Mahood - 31 year old midfielder from Morton ($10,000) On July 27th I finally landed my assistant manager - John Docherty. Together, we were able to send out around twenty offers for players late on the 28th, but I was growing increasingly worried that we would not be able to fill out our twenty positions due to bureaucratic red tape. Forfeiting our Challenge Cup match against Ayr was never seriously an option - we would instead use a combination of kids from the various secondary colleges around Edinburgh, a novel if somewhat dubious scheme. We would sign twenty boys, all between the ages of 16 and 19, to a one-day contract. Their 'payment' would be season tickets to Thistle games, and a yarn to tell their grandchildren in future years - they played in the first ever game for the Edinburgh Thistle Football Club. The Scottish FA and Ayr agreed to the scheme so we could field a team, although it would strictly be a one-off affair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Challenge Cup vs Ayr, Bowmans Road Stadium July 31 2004 The first team: John Scott* (GK), Andy Patterson (DR), Kieran McAnespie (DL), Paul Gaughan (DC), Robbie Horn (DC), David Farrell (MR), David Hagen (ML), Jamie Dolan (MC, captain), Paul Harvey (MC), Connor Gethins (F), Scott Fraser* (F). * denotes youth player signed for one-day contract The final scoreline was simply staggering. Edinburgh Thistle 4, Ayr 1. We nearly sang the team victory song at the halftime break, such was our dominance. Connor Gethins was simply outstanding with a hattrick of goals, whilst the other Thistle goal was courtesy of the Ayr defense tipping the ball into their own net. Gethins and Dolan both scored perfect ten ratings, whilst John Scott and Scott Fraser, the only two 'youth' players that we ended up using, were outstanding given the rawness and statuss of their football careers. Personally, I can't believe we've just beaten a second division team - flogged them off the park. I hope this isn't a mirage. Gave all the players two days off training. After the game, we received confirmation of five new signings via the fax machine: David McClune is a young midfielder from Forfar and should add some youth to our squad, the majority of which is over the age of 30. The memory is a bit hazy writing now after all the celebrations, but I remember we also signed the following characters: Paul McHale (22 year midfielder from Cowdenbeath, $5,000) Paul McManus (21 year old striker from Stranraer, $24,000) Dean Walker (22 year old striker from East Fife, $5,000). The final confirmed signing of the night was Keith McMullan (21 year old defender from Arbroath, $12,000). Handwritten on the faxed contract was a personal note from Keith, specifically asking - demanding, more like - that he be placed immediately in the top squad and that I recruit 'better' players to help further his career. I was sorely tempted to right 'up yours' on the paper and fax it back, but decided against it. All in all, a good month, highlighted by a magnificent debut performance. Here's hoping that August can be just as good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 August 2004 Part 1 The month started with the draw for the second round of the League Challenge Cup. We're facing a trip to Stirling to play them in the Round of 16, exactly a week before we play them again in the first round of the League Cup. 13 days from our first assignment in the league, and we still have no goalkeeper! Tony McParland joins the squad from the Celtic Reserves and adds more steel to our defense. On the 2nd, the betting odds for our division were released. As expected, Gretna were made favourites (1-5), with Peterhead, Cowdenbeath and Queens Park heading up an impressive list of other teams looking for promotion this season. We were given the unflattering odds of 50-1 to win the title. Implusively, I immediately placed $500 on with the local bookies - a possible payout of $25,000 should we win the big kahuna. The signings continued to pile up: Michael Hall - 29 year old defender from East Fife - $10,000 David Hay - 24 year old goalkeeper - finally! - from Brechin - $4,000 Allan McGregor - 22 year old goalkeeper - another! - from Rangers (reserves) - $35,000 Ross O'Donaghue - 21 year old midfielder from Bellshill - free Our depth would be tested in our first game against Queens Park after Kieran McAnespie and Andy Paterson were injured in training mishaps, largely attributed to the state of our training grounds. I put in a formal complaint with the board about the terrible state of our training facilities, and to my surprise they agreed to generally upgrade all facilities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 August 2004 Part 2 Our first league game v Queens Park Hampden Park Stadium, August 14 2004 And so it has come to this. A mad dash of signing players (up to $200,000 spent in signing players alone - a credible performance, I reckon), and appointing coaches, and just one other game to gauge our collective form. On the bus to Glasgow, I took the opportunity to address the players. "Gentlemen, not many people will take notice of the score today when they read their newspapers tomorrow. "It's possible that in a few months time, some of us may not be here any longer. I may not be here. Nobody knows for certain. However, there is good reason to be absolutely focused on today. We are a very young club, a mere two months old. Almost without exception, all the other clubs in the entire association have over a hundred years of history to draw upon. Thousands of games in their collective histories. Hundreds of ghosts in their closets. Whatever the case may be, at Edinburgh Thistle, we have bugger-all. "However, many years into the future, when Thistle is competiting on the world stage for higher honours, there may come a time when your children - or your children - and in any case thousands of Thistle supporters around the globe - will ask you, 'Dad, did you ever play for the Thistles?' And you will be able to look them in the eye and state - with great pride, I should add - that you were there when it all started. You were there on day one. "One of you gentlemen in this bus right now will have the honour of scoring the first goal. Another will be able to say 'I got the first red card' - hopefully, not today, but you get my point. The supporters of Rangers and Celtic have their history, and all their titles and cups, but they're merely repeating history. We are making history, and it starts this afternoon against Queens ****ing Park! The historic first team was: GK - Allan McGregor - 22 years old, 6 career games DR - Michael Hall - 29, 88 DL - Paul Gaughan - 23, 115 DC - Jamie Dolan © - 35, 307 DC - Robbie Horn - 27, 116 MR - David McClune - 21, 43 ML - David Hagen - 31, 229 MC - Paul McHale - 22, 1 MC - Ross O'Donoghue - 21, 8 FC - Connor Gethins - 20, 60 FC - Dean Walker - 22, 7 In front of 280 spectators, the Edinburgh Thistle saga got off to a great start, leading 1-0 against Queens Park at halftime. Despite having half as many chances as our opposition, the Thistle defense was able to maintain the lead and earn our first points in club history. <UL TYPE=SQUARE> 14/8 Queens Park (A) 1-0 Harvey 37 5th Absolutely nothing went right for East Fife in our home opener in front of 350 fans. A saved penalty, playing with ten men for the majority of the second half, and another resounding Thistle victory. <UL TYPE=SQUARE>21/8 East Fife (H) 5-0 Gethins 20, 51, Walker 32, 65, McManus 78 1st During the week we made a play for two more defenders, including Gretna's Gavin Skelton and Forfar's David Dunn. Whilst Skelton was reluctant to move to Edinburgh, the salary package was too tempting and he promptly signed on the dotted line, with $30,000 going to Gretna. The signing was very popular with our fans, considering we were to play Gretna the very next weekend. Dunn signed in a $9,000 deal but would not play due to paperwork not being filed in time for the Gretna game. With Jamie Dolan on the bench, Paul Gaughan became our second captain. <UL TYPE=SQUARE>28/8 Gretna (A) 0-1 (Robertson 37) 2nd I had a novel experience at the end of the month - a phone call from the media! The reporter from the Scotsman and I had a 15-minute discussion mainly centered around the signing of Gavin Skelton to the Thistle squad until the end of the 2006/07 season. Whilst I expressed my admiration for Gavin's skills, I stressed that Skelton was just one player in a club of team players, and that I would only assess his position in the team on his performances and not his reputation. The month ended with the second round League Challenge Cup match at Stirling. Gavin Skelton was injured early (a media curse?), and later tests revealed he would be lost for two weeks. <UL TYPE=SQUARE>31/8 Stirling (A) 0-1 (McLean 23) League Challenge Cup 2nd Round And thus ended August - in second position! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Hmmm, looks like I'll have to fiddle a bit more with the formatting. Never fear.... -------- September 2004 Robbie Horn and Ross O'Donaghue were the recipients of the Third Division players of the month awards, with Ross showing great maturity as one of our 'young guns'. I was a runner-up to Rowan Alexander of Gretna in the Manager of the Month awards, a nice recognition of the work that's been achieved thus far at the club. A brief overview of our games, then. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">7/9 Stirling (H) 1-2 Hall 72 (Glancy 67, Hutchinson 80) League Cup 1st Round 11/9 Montrose (H) 0-0 2nd 18/9 Cowdenbeath (A) 2-0 Walker 5, Skelton 48 2nd 25/9 Stenhousemuir (H) 3-0 Gethins 43, McHale 53, McManus 84 2nd[code} Third Division Table at the end of the month: P Pts Dif1. Gretna 6 14 +62. Edinburgh Thistle 6 13 +103. East Fife 6 10 -14. Cowdenbeath 6 8 -15. East Stirling 6 8 -26. Peterhead 6 7 07. Montrose 6 6 -18. Queens Park 6 6 -29. Stenhousemuir 6 5 -510. Albion 6 4 -4</pre>[b]Thistle[/b] is a very happy camp at the moment, with the club still undefeated in the [b]Third Division[/b] and punching well above its weight. I wonder if those bookies are starting to have any doubts given our form at the moment.The defense has been tight as a duck's bum, which I'm very happy about. To only concede one goal in six league games is a credible achievement, and I haven't stopped praising [b]Allan McGregor[/b] in the media. [b]David Hay[/b] got his chance to debut against [b]Stirling[/b] in the [b]League Cup[/b] game and didn't do too badly either, although I fear the lad has itchy feet and longs for more game time.Still, there is another 30 games to go in our season, and anything could happen. Touch wood, we'll be up there still at the end of the season, and promotion can be achieved much, much quicker than anticipated.In the [b]Premier League[/b], things are going to script, with [b]Celtic[/b] and [b]Rangers[/b] already enjoying a seven-point break on the rest of the competition after seven games. The [b]Old Firm[/b] is not enjoying as much success in the [b]Champions League[/b], with just one win from four games between them. Our Edinburgh bretheren [b]Hearts[/b] are through to the group stage of the [b]UEFA Cup[/b] after an aggregrate victory against [b]Maccabi Petach-Tikva[/b] of Israel. [b]Dunfermline[/b] were scuttled from the competition in the Second Qualifying Round by the pride of Iceland, [b]FH[/b].[b]Scotland[/b] began their quest to qualify for the [b]2006 World Cup[/b] on a poor note with a 1-0 loss to [b]Slovenia[/b] at Hampden. They face [b]Norway[/b] and [b]Moldova[/b] in October.The reason for the brief update? I'm off to the airport to pick up [b]Sheena[/b].... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 October 2004 Having Sheena around has put a real kick into my step, as the saying goes. It seems that she was able to arrange long service leave from her school, and was on the first available flight to London straight after the term ended. The rest of our furniture arrives in November, so for now we'll be roughing it on the couch. Luckily for Sheena, the British education system is screaming out for teachers, and she'll be able to start at a school near Murrayfield in the new year. And onwards we go, further into the season. The East Stirling match was a brutal affair, with two red cards shown by the referee, who did a good job under trying circumstances. Connor Gethins got his marching orders in the 26th minute after an earlier yellow card, whilst Grieg Denham was shown a straight red after a blantant trip on one of our players. David Dunn scored the only goal of the game which keeps our run intact. Meanwhile, Gretna lost to the Blue Brazil, pushing us up to the top of the pile. I gave the boys a week off training due to the FIFA internationals week wiping out our schedule, and escaped to Italy for a long weekend with Sheena. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2/10 Thistle 1, East Stirling 0 Dunn 32 1st </pre> Losing Dean Walker early against Peterhead, our attacking options were severely limited, and we gave up just our second goal - and loss - of the season. After the game, our physio Steven McCulloch confirmed that Dean would be out for a minimum of three weeks. Soon after the game, I gave the managers of Hearts and Hibs a call to discuss loaning forwards to Thistle, as our back-up option, Andrew Reid, would be out for around a month with a damaged tendon. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">16/10 Peterhead 1, Thistle 0 (Cameron 8) 2nd</pre> Alas for us, we are unable to loan any players for the time being. We'll just have to soldier on with what we have currently at the club. Once the transfer window opens, I'll have to investigate the option of signing at least another forward, and perhaps a more attacking-orientated midfielder. Gethins does return after a one-match suspension, so it's not all doom and gloom. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">23/10 Albion 0, Thistle 2 Hagen 17 (pen), Gethins 44 2nd 30/10 Thistle 3, Queens Park 0 Dolan 32, McManus 72, Hagen 86 2nd</pre> Table (10 games) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 23 +11 2. Thistle 22 +15 3. Peterhead 19 +6 4. East Fife 17 +1</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 November 2004 David Hagen scored the player of the month award for October, a fine reward for his efforts in the past four games. Our need for a forward was alleviated somewhat with the signing of Fraser Logan from Kilmarnock. Fraser is a 20-year old forward who prefers to play on the right side, and I feel we've got him on the cheap for just $3,000. We'll have to wait another two months for the transfer window to open before he can join our squad, however. The trip to New Bayview saw a dour game, which roared into life in the dying moments as both sides tried to convert one point into three. Jamie Dolan had the chance to seal a win late in the game but a cross from Connor Gethins was intercepted by the East Fife goalkeeper. During the same moment, Connor strained his calf and we'll be without his services for two weeks - at least. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/11 East Fife 1, Thistle 1 Hagen 35, (Nicholas 5) 2nd</pre> With league-leaders Gretna visiting Bowmans Road, I decided to go on the offensive and place on the public record my admiration for manager Rowan Alexander, although I had only briefly met the man, and had never heard of him before June. Although the final article was only 50 words long and was wedged inside the sports section next to the results of the greyhound races, I think the praise will have the desired effect on my troops, and placing pressure on Gretna to live up to the hype that currently surrounds them. A fantastic crowd (by our standards) of 2,394 saw Thistle take ownership of the top spot in the Third Division with a throughly dominating performance. Afterwards, Rowan had the decency to personally thank me for the praise and paid tribute to the Thistle lads, and in particular how I had been able to mould a team of cast-offs into title contenders. As I arrived home from the ground, I was most surprised to see a cask of wine delivered to the front door with a personal note from Rowan - "Enjoy the good times, because when the bad times hit this job can be a real bastard - R.A.". I think he was being genuine. I hope so anyway. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">20/11 Thistle 4, Gretna 1 McManus 10, 22, Walker 43, O'Donoghue 69 (Smith 39) 1st 27/11 Montrose 0, Thistle 1 Gethins 80 1st</pre> Table - November <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Thistle 29 +19 2. Gretna 29 +16 3. Peterhead 26 +3 4. Cow'beath 19 +1 5. East Fife 19 +0</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Scotland crashed to a stunning 3-0 loss to Norway in Glasgow before saving some face with a 2-0 win against Moldova. Italy already look like booking their ticket for Germany 2006 with a five point lead in the qualification group. Celtic caused the upset so far of the Champions League, thrashing Real Madrid 3-1 at home. The result means that the Spainards are unlikely to progress past the tightly contested pool stage. With one game to play in the group stage, Celtic sit second in Pool H behind Arsenal, but Rangers have no chance of moving forward as they are six points behind Lyon and Roma. Hearts currently sit atop the table of their pool in the UEFA Cup. Falkirk defeated Stirling 3-0 to win the League Challenge Cup. It is their third victory in the competition, following prior wins in 1993 and 1997. It was Stirling Albion's first ever cup final. Jimmy Lindsay became the first manager casualty of the season in our division, with former Cowdenbeath assistant Mickey Weir replacing him at Albion Rovers. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 Apologies for the 'wide screen' look. Still having trouble with formatting, although have switched to writing in a text file only. We now return you to normal programming.... December 2004 The month started on a great note with Thistle players sweeping the awards. Robbie Horn won his second player of the month award - the fourth time that a Thistle player has won the award. Ross O'Donoghue also repeated his feat of winning young player of the month. The real buzz for me was getting the manager of the month award. A simple 30-year old Australian with just a few months of managerial experience! Hah! I must admit that I'm really enjoying this challenge, and am learning more and more about the intracies of soccer all the time, even if the sum total of my soccer awareness previous to moving to Edinburgh was watching the World Cup every four years. We've added another face to our stable of forwards with the acquisition of Muray Watson from the Albion Reserves for the measly sum of $3,000. Muray will join our team in the new year, although he may have to bid his time in the reserves. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">4/12 Thistle 4, Cowdenbeath 0 McManus 32, Hagen 49, Gethins 60, Reid 84 1st</pre> We had another week off after the Cowdenbeath massacre, during which the draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup was made. Forfar will be our opponents at Bowmans Road on December 22. Allan McGregor didn't have the happiest of first halves against Stenhousemuir, so I took the opportunity to allow David Hay to get some league experience. Our attack was unusually stifiled by the impressive Stenhousemuir defense, and we probably should have walked away from Ochilview Park with more than one point, although I refused to let Allan be a scapegoat. The bus trip back to Edinburgh was lightened considerably with the news that both Celtic and Rangers had been knocked out of the League Cup in the quarterfinals against Inverness CT and Kilmarnock respectively. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">15/12 Stenhousemuir 1, Thistle 1 Gethins 10, (McGregor o.g. 5) 2nd</pre> With a busy schedule in the coming week, I took the opportunity to rest several defenders, allowing Tony McParland to finally make his Thistles debut against Albion. However, we were unable to finish off our opposition and escaped with another draw. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">18/12 Thistle 1, Albion 1 Walker 21 (Friel 31) 2nd</pre> The day before our Scottish Cup tie, Forfar sacked manager Brian Fairley and promptly replaced him with former Queen of the South coach Warren Pearson. When asked my opinion of the matter by the cub reporter from the Edinburgh Evening News, I simply wished Warren all the best for our upcoming tie, mindful of the dignity that Rowan Alexander had treated me earlier in the season. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">22/12 Thistle 3, Forfar 0 O'Donoghue 17, Walker 45, 62 Scottish Cup 2nd Round</pre> After the game, I congratulated the boys on their fine victory and invited them all to my house for Christmas lunch, at the insistence of Sheena. The next day, the draw for the third round of the Scottish Cup was held, with all Thistle fans hoping for a showdown against one of the Premier League teams, preferably Hibs or Hearts. However, we would have to settle for a trip to St Johnstone, who were currently holding fifth spot in the First Division. The game was scheduled for January 15, with Thistle listed at 12/1 to win. Christmas Day was memorable in itself, with much merry cheer being made by the boys and their extended families. Our little house was split at the seams with around 150 people (officials, coaches, scouts, players, wives, children, and other associated draggers on!). Sheena even managed to get a hold of some Australian seafood in a vain attempt to replecate an Australian summer christmas in frosty Scotland. However, we had one more assignment left in the calendar year - a showdown against East Stirling, who were desperate to make up ground in the Third Division. The game was originally scheduled for Boxing Day, but was postponed due to East Stirling's replayed Scottish Cup match against Albion. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">29/12 East Stirling 0, Thistle 2 Walker 59 pen, McManus 88 2nd</pre> Sheena and I spent New Year's Eve alone in the house in Edinburgh, with a game the very next day against Peterhead the only reason why we didn't dash down to London for the celebrations there. After several games of scrabble, and the CD player working overtime, we settled down on the couch and cracked open a bottle of Moet. With minutes to midnight, Sheena suddenly turned to me with a glint in her eye. "You know something, David?" "What's that, sweetheart?" "I know you were a bit disappointed with the suit and tie that you got for Christmas...I must admit, I was too. I looked all over bloody Scotland just to get that for you. Anyway, what I mean to say is...there's still something that I have to give to you for Christmas. As a souvinier, if you like, of our time together here in Scotland." "You've got me interested now. Please go on...." "Okay," Sheena said. "But you have to do this for me. Here, stand up." Obeying my wife, Sheena proceeded to place a blindfold on my head, and exited the room for a while. "Okay, take my hand and follow me, just don't trip over the stairs, promise?" My darling wife then proceeded to walk me around the entire house, outside into the freezing Scottish air, and back inside again to the spare bedroom. "Okay, you can take off your blindfold now." In the corner of the room was a cot, with a stuffed toy inside. I stood for a few moments in a state of shock. Turning around, I could only ask one question..."When?" "Late August, according to the doctor. There is one other thing, Dave...stop stammering and take a look in the cot." I peered in. There were two stuffed toys. "Twins?" Sheena confirmed with her broadest smile. The perfect end to a great, if slightly unusual, year. Table - December 2004 (17 games) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 41 +23 2. Thistle 37 +25 3. Peterhead 32 +11 4. East Fife 28 +3 5. Cowdenbeath 22 -4</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Celtic failed to progress into the final stages of the Champions League, crashing 2-0 to Arsenal at Highbury. Real Madrid took Celtic's position on goal difference. The Bhoys remain undefeated in the Scottish Premier League, however, with a nine point break over Rangers. St Mirren lead the First Division contenders by ten points. Celtic and Rangers join Hearts in the first knockout stage of the UEFA Cup, and will play Panionois (Greece), Schalke 04 (Germany) and Wilsa (Poland) respectively. In the semi-finals of the League Cup, Aberdeen will play Kilmarnock, whilst Hibs will host Inverness CT. Although Caley Thistle has never made the final of the League Cup, the others have all been finalists in recent years. Aberdeen was the most recent winner (1996), followed by Hibs (1992), whilst Kilmarnock have lost all four finals they featured in. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 January 2005 The start of a brand new year! And what a wild year it's going to be, too! Early in the morning before our home game against Peterhead, I signed my first contract extensions - captain Jamie Dolan, Paul McManus and David McClune will stay until the end of the 2005/06 season, whilst David Hay and Ross O'Donoghue will remain until the end of 2006/07. A clause within David Hay's contract stipulated that he be placed on loan transfer with a view to getting some league experience as Allan McGregor has established himself as the top keeper for now. For the first time this season, we didn't win the Third Division player of the month award, although Gavin Skelton was a finalist. David Dunn won the Young Player of the Month. Fraser Logan and Muray Watson also joined the club, giving us some depth up front, although to be honest, the reaction from Thistle fans to Muray's signing wasn't as positive as I hoped, even though the lad has struggled in his few apperances thus far this year. The 2-0 result against third-placed Peterhead gives us an eight-point buffer and well inside the promotion zone. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1/1 Thistle 2, Peterhead 0 Walker 31 pen, Gethins 74 2nd</pre> With the transfer window opening, I took the opportunity to aggressively pursue two players which my scouts told me would be of great value to Thistle. Kris Brash had been performing very well for East Fife throughout the season and showed many valuable leadership characteristics which I thought would be just as valuable as his potential to the club. Stephen McManus had been a star performer for the Celtic Reserves and the Bhoys had no hesitation in letting me offer a contract <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">8/1 Queens Park 0, Thistle 1 Walker 32 2nd</pre> Two days later we suffered a blow to our preparations, with Fraser Logan breaking his leg during training drills. After accompanying Fraser to the local hospital, and discussing the results with his doctor, our worst fears were realised, with our new signing out for a massive ten months. I've offered Fraser a job with the marketing department while he gets over this injury. The same day, Kris Brash personally telephoned to thank me for the interest, but that he would instead sign a contract extension with East Fife. I wished him all the best for the remainder of the season, although it was disappointing to not sign Kris on this occasion. The disappointment was erased when Stephen McManus signed on the dotted line for Thistle, making the short drive from Glasgow to Edinburgh the very next day to meet his new team-mates. McManus would slot straight into the side for the Scottish Cup match against St Johnstone in Perth. The boys played very, very well in the last ten minutes of the Cup tie, and in the end it was two incidents that cost us a famous victory. Obviously McGregor's second own goal of the season was concerning, but Connor Gethins had scored what looked like the equaliser two minutes into injury time. To the sheer delight of the locals, the linesman had his flag up. Through gritted teeth, I declared the referee's assistant was a cow, and needed the stick surgically removed from his behind, and then stormed onto the bus. That little spat cost me a week's wages - Sheena was not impressed. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">15/1 St Johnstone 3, Thistle 2 Hagen 80, P.McManus 89, (McGregor 14 og, Bagan 62, Hay 77) Scottish Cup 3rd Round</pre> Our first loss since last October, ending a run of thirteen games without defeat. Two more players were signed straight after the game - the verbal agreements from both players were actually obtained on the bus trip back home. Lee Hardy joins us from Hamilton Academical, whilst Albion's Jered Stirling will join Thistle from the beginning of the 2005/06 season. An utterly fustrating game followed at Bowmans Road, where we duly lost our distinction of being undefeated at home. After the game I let rip with an expeltive-riddled tirage, the first time I have 'lost it' in front of the team. Effing this, effing that, you're no effing good to be licking East effing Fife's effing shoes today, that kind of thing. Hopefully the boys will be shocked into action for the vital trip south to Gretna <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">19/1 Thistle 1, East Fife 2 Kelly 44 og, (Paliczka 15, McCheyne 81 pen) 2nd</pre> "Win at Gretna, win the division" was the mantra at training during the week. Unfortunately, it wasn't us that won at Gretna...rather it was the Black and Whites that handed us our worst defeat to date. Jamie Dolan strained his knee ligaments early in the game and although the physio expects him back in around a month, realistically at his age, it will be a hard struggle just to regain his former fitness levels. The bus trip back home was very gloomy indeed. For once, I didn't bother to speak to the reporters from the Edinburgh Evening News which were waiting for us back at Bowmans Road. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">22/1 Gretna 3, Thistle 0 (Graham 55, Tosh 76, 85) 2nd</pre> Things would just get worse, it seemed. David Dunn was ruled out for two months - two months! - after breaking his cheekbone after his girlfriend accidentally opened the door into his face back at his flat. For a gifted player, he seems to have a body made out of paper mache. In other news, the Thistle fax machine received its first offers - both for David Farrell, who never really got a chance to play for Thistle with just three apperances off the bench. David eventually agreed to sign for Stranraer for the remainder of the season, rejoining the team he played for between 2001-2003. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">29/1 Thistle 4, Montrose 2 Gethins 16, Walker 21, 64, P.McManus 88 (Sharp 19, Greenhill 69) 2nd</pre> Table - January 2005 - 22 games played <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 56 +32 2. Thistle 46 +26 3. Peterhead 36 +9 4. East Fife 36 +5 5. Cowdenbeath 27 -5</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 February 2005 Well, what a month. For the most part, I feel we've been threading water, never looking like closing the gap between us and Gretna, but never being seriously challenged by the rest of the opposition. One huge positive this month has been the spectacular form of Connor Gethins, who is finding the goal early and often, as the scores below would indicate. The supporters have also been over the moon with Connor's form, and there's even a core of supporters that chant his name all throughout the game - "We love Connor Gethins, Gethins, Gethins, yes we do...". Totally insane stuff. It seems more and more obvious that we will be promoted into the Second Division for the 2005/06 season, a magnificent achievement for everybody associated with the club. The wider public also seem to be taking notice of our achievements, and apparently I have an interview with the British Football Weekly booked for sometime towards the end of the season. Should be interesting... <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">5/2 Thistle 4, Stenhousemuir 0 Gethins 46, O'Donoghue 71, Horn 79, Walker 83 2nd 16/2 Albion 0, Thistle 2 Gethins 28, 47 2nd 19/2 Cowdenbeath 2, Thistle 4 Walker 5, 67, Gethins 53, 90 (Burns 84, Crilly 88) 2nd 26/2 Thistle 3, East Stirling 0 Gethins 22, O'Donoghue 24, P.McManus 90 2nd</pre> Table - February 2005 - 26 games played <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 68 +44 2. Thistle 58 +37 3. Peterhead 43 +11 4. East Fife 42 +3</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Scottish Football News - February Morton continued on their giant-killing ways in the Scottish Cup, disposing of Celtic 1-0 at Celtic Park in the Fourth round. They beat Rangers 2-1 in the third round at Ibrox. Morton have not made the final of the Scottish Cup since 1948 but will be everybody's sentimental favourites this season. Rangers were knocked out of another cup as they crashed to an aggregate 4-1 loss against Schalke 04. Hearts lost their tie against Wilsa on away goals. Celtic will now face Dortmund in the round of sixteen in the UEFA Cup, Scotland's last chance at domestic glory for 2004/05. The promotion picture in Division One has suddenly become quite clouded, with eight teams within nine points of each other. The only certanity appears that Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical will be relegated. Falkirk currently occupy the top position. Celtic have dropped their guard a bit in the Premier League but still maintain an imposing eight-point lead over Rangers. At the other end of the table, relegation is currently a four-team race with Kilmarnock, Hibs, Livingston and Aberdeen packed tightly together. Fans of Kilmarnock and Hibs will have something to cheer for this season, as their teams will meet each other in the League Cup final on March 20. Kilmarnock scored twice in the first ten minutes at Pittdorie and held on for the rest of the game to win with ten men (3-1), whilst Hibs required an extra-time goal against Caley Thistle to see them into their second League Cup final in two years. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 This is very good Bowman - I particularly like the layout, clear and easy to read. No mean feat given the rudimentary formatting supported here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Cheers BobBev. Thanks for reading I should just add now that because this is the FM2005 game, the promotion and relegation for the Scottish Leagues is a simple two-up, two-down affair, and not the playoff system which I understand is in force now. ****** March 2005 I've been impressed with Andrew Reid's dedication in training and decided to offer him a full-time contract beginning next season. He has returned to Ayr after his loan deal expired, but has promised to return bigger and better in the new season. If we were threading water last month, then we seem to be slightly thrashing our arms and legs in the pool this month. Only three games possible this month due to scheduling issues, and I think the lads are getting a bit complacent. What else is there to play for, really? <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">5/3 Peterhead 1, Thistle 4 Skelton 33, Walker 45, Tully 54 og, Gethins 58 (Thomson 90) 2nd</pre> On the way back from Peterhead, we received word that Gretna had won their fifteen successive game, a 2-0 affair against Queens Park, and had also secured promotion to the Second Division for 2005/06. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12/3 Thistle 0, Queens Park 0 2nd 19/3 East Fife 3, Thistle 0 (McCheyne 5 pen, McStay 14, Nicholas 80) 2nd</pre> On the way back from East Fife, we held an impromptu team meeting on the bus. "I'm not going to get angry this time," I promised. "Not like the other East Fife game. But I think it's time we discussed a few home truths. "Football is a business. You are my employees. You work for me. If I'm not happy with the standard of work, then I have every right to not pay you..." The bus erupted into a chorus of groans. Jamie Dolan stood up to have his say as squad captain. "Skip, that's hardly fair. We've tried our guts out there today and left everything on the pitch..." "I know Jamie, and East Fife were the better team today. I just want to leave you all under no illusions of the task ahead of us. We have eight games left this season, gentlemen, and more than a few of you don't have a contract with us after June - yet. "Now, we can either twiddle our thumbs until the end of the season, not give a ****, and let East Fife or Peterhead sneak up past us and take the fruits of our labour. A wasted year. "Or, we can take the hard option. We turn up to training, we train like we play, and we go out there and splificate the opposition. If you don't want to take the hard option, I will be waiting in my office at the stadium and will gladly terminate your contract tonight. "I'm announcing that from now until the end of the season, every player will get a thousand dollars for each goal they score. The goalkeepers will get five hundred dollars for every clean sheet. The choice is yours, gentlemen. If football is a sport, help me turn a profit." Returning to Bowmans Road Stadium, I went into my office and waited. The only person to walk into my office that night was the pizza delivery boy. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Hibs won the League Cup against Kilmarnock in a penalty shoot-out (4-3) after playing out a scoreless draw. Tony Mowbray's men finally get their hands on the prize that eluded them just a year ago. The Scottish quest to qualify for the World Cup appears to be in tatters after a 3-0 loss to Italy in Turin. Four days later, Taiwan played out of their skins but were beaten by the Scots 1-0 in Taipei. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Whoops, obviously I meant "If football is a business" and not "If football is a sport". Doh! **** April 2005 Monday morning. Leaving Sheena resting at home, I took off early to get to the office to file some paperwork with the club before the start of training. Imagine my surprise when arriving at the stadium I found every place in the car park taken. Bugger the paperwork, I thought, walking directly to the middle of the field. There I saw Jamie Dolan, Andy Paterson and Paul Harvey standing in front of the rest of the first team, leading what looked like a team meeting. A player rebellion?[/b] I thought. This can't be right. "What's going on?" I enquired. "Hello Skip," chirped Jamie. "You said you wanted your employees to put in their best effort, or something like that. We're here ready to work." Breathing a little sigh of relief, I simply gave Jamie a playful punch on the shoulder and asked him to take the training session for the first 20 minutes whilst I sorted out administrative matters. Walking away from the group, I swore I heard the boys begin the chant - "We don't lose to ******* Gretna because ******* O'Connor won't ******* let us!" It seems the old spirit is back in the club! And didn't the results speak for themselves. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2/4 Thistle 4, Gretna 2 McHale 7, Gethins 55, P.McManus 73, 90 (Tosh 10, Bingham 30) 2nd</pre> Gretna's 17-game streak broken after we gave the Black and Whites a start and a beating. Another note (but no wine) from Rowan Alexander waiting in my mailbox after the game - We'll meet again <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">9/4 Montrose 0, Thistle 3 P.McManus 78, 90, Hagen 87 2nd</pre> Montrose put up an almighty fight in this game, and played with ten men for over 70 minutes. In the end our superiority was rewarded with a handsome victory. The result meant we required just three points from our last five games to secure promotion. Our largest crowd of the season thus far saw us take on the Blue Brazil, with nearly three thousand fans roaring their approval as Paul McManus placed us one ahead with eleven minutes to play. The supporters were sent into esctasy right on fulltime after Connor Gethins blasted a 30-yard scorcher. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">16/4 Thistle 2, Cowdenbeath 0 P.McManus 79, Gethins 90 2nd </pre> PROMOTION!!!! The boys really larked up after the game, performing a group swandive in front of the main grandstand for the supporters - and causing more than a few issues for the drycleaners later in the week. No less than 25 bottles of champagne were waiting for us in the dressing sheds after the game, as I walked around the room and personally thanked all the players for their role in a memorable season. After four days off training - partly to get over the hangover - it was back on the road again, to try and cut down Gretna's lead at the top of the table. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">23/4 Stenhousemuir 1, Thistle 3 Gethins 21, 52, Henderson 63 og (Collins 82) 2nd 30/4 Thistle 4, Stenhousemuir 0 O'Donoghue 5, 85, Gethins 23, 49</pre> Promotion may be secure, but the championship is still alive - barely - with Gretna holding a six point lead. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News The finalists for the 2005 Scottish Cup final have been decided, with Kilmarnock to face Dundee. Facing the Hibs, Kilmarnock got sweet revenge from their League Cup final loss with a 4-1 victory. Dundee faced a far more difficult challenge however, requiring a replay and a penalty shootout at Pittdorie, eventually beating Aberdeen 7-6 in a high-quality tie. Kilmarnock are slight favourites for the Cup final. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 End of Season - May 2005 Due in no small part to our giant-killing performance against Gretna, the Thistles landed the 'Grand Slam' of Third Division awards. Paul McHale got Player of the Month, Connor Gethins the Youth Player, and yours truly ended Rowan Alexander s dominance of the Manager of the Month. The last two games of the season were but a blur. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">7/5 East Stirling 0, Thistle 3 McHale 9, Horn 75, P.McManus 87 2nd 14/5 Thistle 0, Peterhead 0 2nd</pre> The last game was slightly disappointing as the lads couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. However, I was far from unhappy and told the team as such. Our first season was an unqualified success - from building a team from out of nothing, and bringing them to within eight points of the division championship in their very first season. It's surely something to put on the CV should I ever decide to return to Australia anytime soon. The brilliant form of Allan McGregor during the last few games has caught the eye of a few clubs, particuarly the recently relegated Livingston. Although I'd love to have Allan around for a few more seasons yet - the lad is only 22 - economic realities must be faced. Sooner or later, a big offer is going to come through on that fax machine for McGregor, and it will be very hard to hold the kid back. For our final position in the league, we were awarded $110,000 by the SFA. Better than a kick in the pants, I must say. David McClune, Gavin Skelton and Robbie Horn voted were to the Third Division Team of the Year. Although he couldn't find a place in the selector's team, David Hagen was the runner-up for the Third Division Player of the Year, behind Gretna's Paul Tosh. It was no surprise that Rowan and myself finished one-two in the Manager of the Year stakes. Probably a fair reflection of our teams fortunes, although our two wins against Gretna were very satisfying indeed. Elsewhere in the soccer universe, Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 4-1 to win their first Champions League title since 1965. Schalke 04 beat fellow Germans Leverkusen 1-0 to win the UEFA Cup for the second time. Closer to home, Dundee ended a 95-year drought to win the Scottish Cup, winning 3-1 in the final against Kilmarnock. The Killies have the unwanted distinction of losing both cup finals this year. As well as Gretna, joining us in the Second Division in 2005/06 will be Arbroath, Brechin, Stranraer, Dumbarton, Alloa, Ayr, whilst Raith and Hamilton have been relegated from the First Division. Falkirk will finally move into the Premier League in 2005/06, after being thwarted in the past due to stadium relegations. The end of season gala was a night to remember, with Connor Gethins picking up the Fan's Player of the Year award. I gave a short speech thanking the players for their efforts and stated that I looked forward to further success in the more challenging Second Division in 2005/06. 2004/05 Scottish Third Division <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Gretna | | 36 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 88 | 30 | +58 | 89 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Edinburgh Thistle | | 36 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 22 | +53 | 81 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | East Fife | | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 61 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Peterhead | | 36 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 45 | 34 | +11 | 55 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Queen's Park | | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 26 | 36 | -10 | 41 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Cowdenbeath | | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 34 | 54 | -20 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Albion | | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 28 | 54 | -26 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Montrose | | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 42 | 54 | -12 | 34 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Stenhousemuir | | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 56 | -31 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | East Stirling | | 36 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 33 | 68 | -35 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> And for the trainspotters, here is the 2004/05 Scottish Premier League table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Celtic | | 38 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 70 | 28 | +42 | 85 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Rangers | | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 77 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Dunfermline | | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 55 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Hearts | | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 56 | 45 | +11 | 52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Dundee | | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 51 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Dundee Utd | | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 49 | 59 | -10 | 51 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Inverness CT | | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 51 | -5 | 50 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Motherwell | | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 54 | 56 | -2 | 49 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Aberdeen | | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 53 | -12 | 44 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Kilmarnock | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 50 | 56 | -6 | 43 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Hibs | | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 42 | 55 | -13 | 39 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Livingston | | 38 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 34 | 70 | -36 | 28 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 The Off-season - Part 1 With our first season behind us, I called an extraordinary meeting of all of my assistants. The meeting started at midday on the Monday after the presentation gala, and didn't finish until Tuesday night, with the Thistle administration buildings being turned into what we dubbed the 'War Operations' room. A thorough review of each individual's performance during the season was conducted, and the general consensus was that we should strive to retain the vast majority of the squad, but try to pad out the depth with some new signings. Luckily for us, Bowmans Packages were happy to top up the transfer budget, meaning I'll have around $500,000 extra to attract players to Bowmans Road. I barely skimmed the top of the budget for last season, meaning Thistle ended well into the black on the balance sheet, as well as on the table. We decided to bid farewell to Michael Hall, Andy Paterson and Alan Mahood. With just a combined 18 apperances between them, and all over the footballing landmark age of 30, it was agreed that some new blood should be brought in. All three players were released on free transfers, and only Alan had any success in finding a new club, signing for Albion. A short biographical piece on the players we did sign. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Liam Buchanan - Striker, 20 years old Buchanan has been honing his skills for Cowdenbeath for the past three seasons, netting 17 goals. He fits firmly in the 'Andrew Reid' category, showing a lot of skill but requiring further work with our coaches. Markus Paatelainen - Forward, 22 years old Markus breaks up what has been something of a Scottish boys club (with the exception of Connor Gethins, of course). Capped 6 times for his native Finland, he joins us directly from Aberdeen where he was used off the bench without much success. Looking to prove a point in 2005/06. Mark Dempsie - Defender, 24 years old Former Hibs player joins us from Dumbarton, where he played every game in the 2004/05 season. Mark shows some signs of developing into a useful player and should add to our depth in defenders. David Bagan - Attacking midfielder, 28 years old David is an experienced player who joins us from St Johnstone, where he spent the majority of the previous season in the reserves. He has played Premier League football for Kilmarnock and Inverness CT, and his experience should be an asset to our side. Marco Pelosi - Defender/Attacking midfielder, 19 years old We pursued Marco early last year when we were assembling our squad and tried to get him out here on a loan. What a difference a year makes - Hearts have seemingly given up on him and allowed him to move down the road on a free. We've given Pelosi a three-year contract and look forward to watching him progress. Jered Stirling - Defender/Attacking midfielder, 28 years old Another versitle player, who we actually signed from Albion halfway during the previous season. Stirling had a mixed time at Albion but was good enough to be named to the team of the week on three occasions. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> To my immense delight, the shoddy training shed has been torn down and replaced by a new facility paid for by Bowmans Packages. The quality of the facilities, I'm told, is of Premier League standard, and should improve our prepardeness for matches in what should be a more challenging division. A gentle reminder of the brutality of football management on June 12, with the axing of Alex McLeish from the Rangers job. Given Celtic's dominance in the SPL, and the Gers' failure in every cup competition they entered, it was probably unsurprising to most pundits, but as a second-placed manager myself I could only thank the football gods that my position at Thistle is rather more secure than what poor Alex's was. Despite taking Dumfermline to their best SPL position in forty years, David Hay couldn't bolt out of the joint quick enough, and he will take on the position at Ibrox, whilst Gordon Strachan takes his old job at East End Park. We've signed our first two academy players into the youth squad, two lads by the name of David Black and Stuart Milne. Under the guidance of U19s manager John Dennis, their progression will be interesting to note, to say the least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 The Off-Season - Part 2 Just prior to the start of pre-season training, Airdrie Utd made a bid for David Hagen, who had played in every league game for us thus far. Considering his age (32) and the opportunity presented by playing in a division higher than ours, I was more than happy to let David join the Diamonds. An offer of $22,000 for Allan McGregor came from Dortmund - of all places - but I was far from happy to lose my number one goalkeeper. The very next day, a staggering offer came in on the fax machine from Partick Thistle for Allan. I had to personally ring manager Dick Campbell just to get confirmation for what I was reading - an offer of $1,000,000! However, I feel I let my selfishness get in the way, as I tried to get Dick to swing two players towards Thistle in exchange for Allan, as well as the cold hard cash. The last thing Campbell said before he hung up was to say that my business acumen wasn't what he thought it was. However, it seems that Allan McGregor's reputation has spread south of the border, as Blackpool faxed through an offer of a million. I learnt my lesson and confirmed the deal straight away, but not before calling Allan into the office to personally thank him for his efforts during the season, and extending an invitation for him to return at Bowmans Road anytime he wished. The draws for the League Cup and Challenge Cup were held in early July on my first annivesary of being appointed Thistles boss. We would face Dumbarton at home in the Challenge Cup, and travel to Raith for the League Cup in September. All in all I'm happy with the draw. The accountants at Blackpool should be looking for alternative employment any time soon after the Allan McGregor deal fell through at the eleventh hour due to lack of money (i.e. they had none). Whilst I'm slightly disappointed we won't land the windfall from the transaction, I'm more than happy to have Allan back - or should that be 'still' - at the club. Even so, we have signed ancient keeper Andy Gorman from Dumbarton. Having played for Scotland on 43 occasions, Andy should help Allan and David Hay immensely, although at 41 his best days seem to be past him - well and truly. On the home front, things are coming along just fine. Sheena's parents have flown over from Brisbane and have rented out an apartment in Edinburgh for the next four months to help with the babies when they arrive. There is a bit of banter from the relatives - mock horror, even - that they'll soon have a pair of Scottish relatives. One of Sheena's aunts has even sent over a pair of booties with the design of St Andrew's flag on them. In the meanwhile, Sheena has developed an insane appetite for apricots and crossiants, and has spent most of her time - when she's not watching scouting videos on my behalf - talking to the growing mass that is her pregnant belly. And now we move into the second season....how many seasons will I remain in this job? I seem to be doing okay so far... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 July-August 2005 (Part 1) The fax machine whirred into action again, this time all the way from Portugal where Leiria were willing to splash the cash on Allan McGregor, this time for $350,000. This time, Allan was well and truly on his way, and I for one will be following his career in the Portugese leagues with interest. We immediately made a play for Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern, who played for Stranraer last year on loan. We kicked off our second season with the Challenge Cup match. I must admit, a few of my selections raised a lot of eyebrows, including giving Markus Paatelainen the captaincy, and giving Andy Goram a game between the sticks whilst we waited for McGovern's transfer to be sorted out. At 41 years of age, Andy was old enough to be a (very young) father of most of the lads in the side! The game was a see-sawing affair, with Dumbarton coming back twice from a goal down, before the game headed into penalties. Andy Goram gave me quite a bit of food for thought by saving three penalties and giving us passage into the second round of the Challenge Cup and another home game against Albion. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/7 Thistle 2, Dumbarton 2 D.Walker 19, 62 (McPhee 48, R.Walker 89) League Challenge Cup Round 1 (Won 3-2 on penalties)</pre> Once again Gretna are made favourites for promotion this season, with the audacious odds of 4/6. Raith are also listed attractively at 4/5, and Hamilton Academical at evens. We've been given the huge odds of 33/1, which is probably about right, although once again I intend making the bookmakers squirm. David Dunn caught the eye of Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies and I agreed for the lad to get his chance in the Premier League for the princely sum of $70,000 - a profit of $61,000 in the space of six months! However, Livingston and Gretna muddied the waters by placing large offers for the young defender. I simply stated to the media that we would consider all offers and let David make the final decision about his future. However, he had not made a decision by the time of the first league game of the year against Ayr. Incidentally, I decided to give David the captaincy for this game. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">13/8 Thistle 1, Ayr 1 Walker 57 (Wardlaw 73) 6th</pre> I believe Ayr came to Bowmans Road with a policy to roughen our players out of the contest, and their tactics - aided by the man in black - left us with our largest single-game injury list, with Gavin Skelton, David Dunn, Paul McHale and Dean Walker all in doubt for the next game. Hibs added their name to the David Dunn fanclub, even allowing us to offer a contract to forward Dean Shiels as a part-exchange deal. I felt sorry for the lad however, as he was fully aware of his status as a pawn in the game and clearly did not want to leave the Premier League. Any sympathy I had for Shiels evaporated a few days later as his unwillingness to leave directly scuttled David Dunn's move to our Edinburgh neighbours. Fortunately for David, he was eventually able to sign a deal with Kilmarnock. He leaves with our best wishes and an open door should things not work out at Rugby Park. On the same day, Michael McGovern finally put pen to paper with us, knocking back no less than six loan offers. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">20/8 Gretna 0, Thistle 0 7th</pre> Walking away with a point from Gretna would be better than what many teams would achieve this year, I said to the team on the bus back to Edinburgh. I was able to launch into my second point when the mobile phone abruptly rang.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 The Big Day It was Bill, Sheena's father. "David...Sheena's[/b] having the babies, where are you?" "About an hour out from Edinburgh. Holy ****, how far along is she?" "Oh mate, you'd better get down to the hospital straight away. You're about to miss all the fun." Forty very quick minutes later, the bus arrived outside the front of the Edinburgh General Hospital, and I literally flew into the maternity ward, ignoring the few people who yelled out "Dave O'Connor! Go the Thistles!" "Hey! David! Over here!" Bill waved from across the room. "Here, put these on," handing me a gown and mask. The nurse guided me into the delivery room, while Bill waited outside with Maria, my erstwhile mother-in-law. "About time you got here, you big buffoon," smiled Sheena. "Did you win?" "Stuff the game, sweetheart, how are you going?" "Fine, I think...[insert screams]....I've been better to be honest," as she grasped my hand. Twenty minutes later, our two sons - Sam William and Callan Benedict - were born. Our family had suddenly doubled in size, and the Thistles had two new supporters. I finally left the hospital around midnight and was picked up by assistant manager John Docherty. As we drove back to Bowmans Road Stadium to pick up my car, John asked me to come inside to check out an injury report for Jamie Dolan. Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I relented and followed John into the office building. "SURPRISE!" screamed the entire first team, who had been hiding in the reception area. I stood there, gobsmacked. "This would be the first time we've celebrated a nil-all draw," I joked, as I handed out the cigars. Six hours later, I finally stumbled out into the sunlight and fell asleep on the couch at home, with the image of my two sons burned into my mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Rest of August With the blessing of the board, I let John take control of the side for our third game of the season against Dumbarton while I helped out Sheena, although I would still be in control of contract negotiations and other team matters, working out of Suite 22 at the Edinburgh General Hospital. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">27/8 Thistle 0, Dumbarton 1 (Annand 39) 8th</pre> Paul McHale picked up a broken wrist from the Dumbarton clash, and will be out for roughly a month. In the meanwhile, I'll return to the top gig with two important cup matches. Markus Paatelainen would be missing from the side due to his call-up to the Finland national team for their World Cup Qualifying matches against Andorra and Macedonia, the first time Thistle has lost a player to international duty. We made pretty rough going against our former Division Three opponents Albion, but our superior fitness and persistence shone through in the end in what was quite a good result for the club. In the third round, we will face Hamilton Academical on the road. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/8 Thistle 2, Albion 0 Dolan 82, P.McManus 90 Challenge Cup Round 2</pre> Table - August 2005 - after 3 games <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Arbroath 7 +4 2. Stranraer 6 +1 3. Brechin 5 +1 4. Gretna 4 +2 5. Ayr 4 +0 6. Hamilton 4 -1 7. Dumbarton 3 -2 8. Thistle 2 -1 9. Alloa 2 -2 10. Raith 2 -2</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Rest of August With the blessing of the board, I let John take control of the side for our third game of the season against Dumbarton while I helped out Sheena, although I would still be in control of contract negotiations and other team matters, working out of Suite 22 at the Edinburgh General Hospital. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">27/8 Thistle 0, Dumbarton 1 (Annand 39) 8th</pre> Paul McHale picked up a broken wrist from the Dumbarton clash, and will be out for roughly a month. In the meanwhile, I'll return to the top gig with two important cup matches. Markus Paatelainen would be missing from the side due to his call-up to the Finland national team for their World Cup Qualifying matches against Andorra and Macedonia, the first time Thistle has lost a player to international duty. We made pretty rough going against our former Division Three opponents Albion, but our superior fitness and persistence shone through in the end in what was quite a good result for the club. In the third round, we will face Hamilton Academical on the road. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/8 Thistle 2, Albion 0 Dolan 82, P.McManus 90 Challenge Cup Round 2</pre> Table - August 2005 - after 3 games <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Arbroath 7 +4 2. Stranraer 6 +1 3. Brechin 5 +1 4. Gretna 4 +2 5. Ayr 4 +0 6. Hamilton 4 -1 7. Dumbarton 3 -2 8. Thistle 2 -1 9. Alloa 2 -2 10. Raith 2 -2</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 September 2005 On the same night that Scotland were slaughted 6-0 by Italy in Glasgow, Sheena, Sam and Callan came home. The next day, the twins saw their first game of soccer as their dad attempted to get Thistle past the first round of the League Cup. Some wag in the public announcers' box had the gall to play U2's 'A Sort of Homecoming' - my favourite song - as the boys ran on the field. Later, I was told, it was as a congratulatory gesture of the supporters, who had voted on some online poll during the week - I didn't even know Thistle had a website, but there you go. A very nice gesture, and a top song as well. Unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect with the result going the way of the visitors. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/9 Thistle 0, Raith 1 (O'Reilly 15) League Cup Round 1</pre> The poor results continued against Brechin, and saw our first red card of the season, given to David McClune. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">10/9 Brechin 2, Thistle 1 Walker 6 (Hampshire 17, 40) 10th</pre> Due to sheer exaustion, I gave the players two days off training, before our trip over to Hamilton for the Challenge Cup Quarter-Final. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">13/9 Hamilton 2, Thistle 4 Paatelainen 9, Wilson 25 og, Gethins 37, McAnespie 65 (Tunbridge 53, Hamilton 76)</pre> Our reward for the fantastic victory at Hamilton was a trip to New Broomfield to face Airdrie United in our first ever Cup semi-final. The boys hammered out every verse of 'A Sort of Homecoming' on the bus trip home, much to my amusement. We then proceeded to give the Accies their second dusting in the space of four days, this time for our first league win of the year <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">17/9 Thistle 4, Hamilton 1 Walker 19, Gethins 37, 90, Paatelainen 68 (Wilson 90) 7th</pre> Alloa gave a mighty fight until the floodgates opened after an hour <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">24/9 Alloa 0, Thistle 3 Gethins 64, 72, P.McManus 78 4th</pre> The Challenge Cup semi-final against David Hagen's Airdrie United side was a tight affair, which was ultimately decided by Markus Paatelainen's 19th minute goal. The defense in the final thirty minutes was brilliant, and Michael McGovern's performance as keeper was staunch, to say the least. Edinburgh Thistle were into their first Cup final, and in just their second season of existence. As Douglas McDonald blew fulltime, the Thistle bench went into wild celebration, and I fear we got a bit carried away on the bus trip home, by far the most memorable. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">27/9 Airdrie Utd 0, Thistle 1 Paatelainen 19 Challenge Cup Semi-Final</pre> Our opponents in the final would be the giant-killers of 2004/05, Greenock Morton. Our allocation of tickets was sold out within three hours as supporters started to mark November 6 into their diaries. The news of our success was only overshadowed by Hearts beating Rangers 4-0 to go to the top of the Scottish Premier League. Table - September 2005 - after 6 games <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 13 +8 2. Brechin 12 +4 3. Dumbarton 10 +4 4. Thistle 8 +4 5. Arbroath 8 +1 6. Hamilton 8 -3 7. Raith 6 -1 8. Alloa 6 -2 9. Stranraer 6 -4 10. Ayr 4 -8</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 October 2005 The match against Arbroath was a tough, spiteful affair, won in the final minute thanks to Tony McParland. However, we have lost Markus Paatelainean and Kieran McAnespie for three and four months each. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1/10 - Thistle 1 Arbroath 0 Scorers - McParland 89 League Position - 3rd</pre> A succession of 1-1 draws followed, where we gradually lost touch with the pace-setters of the league, Gretna and Hamilton. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">15/10 - Raith 1 Thistle 1 Scorers - Walker 64 (Clarke 83) League Position - 3rd 22/10 - Stranraer 1 Thistle 1 Scorers - Gethins 70 (Reid 27) League Position - 3rd 29/10 - Ayr 1 Thistle 1 Scorers - Dolan 89 (Harris 8) League Position - 4th</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News - World Cup Qualifying Edition Scotland has failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, although in the end it was a close-run affair. After the 2-0 result against Belarus in Glasgow, Walter Smith's men required a win against Slovenia and for Norway to draw or lose against Belarus in Minsk. Although the Norwegians eventually drew 3-3, the Scots could not fill their side of the bargain, throwing away any chances of qualifying second in their group with an apathetic two-goal loss. European qualifying for the 2006 World Cup has gone largely to form, with powerhouses France, Italy, England, Spain, Portugal all qualifying with ease. Also joining them will be Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. The playoffs will see Euro 2004 champions Greece take on 1998 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, the Republic of Ireland square up against Serbia and Montenegro, and the emigmatic Romanians play Norway. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Challenge Cup Final Greenock Morton v Edinburgh Thistle Fir Park, Motherwell November 6 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Thistle Team (4-4-2): 1. Michael McGovern 2. David McClune 3. Gavin Skelton 4. Stephen mcManus 5. Mark Dempsie 6. David Bagan 7. Marco Pelosi 8. Paul McHale 9. Ross O'Donoghue 10. Connor Gethins 11. Dean Walker 12. Andy Goram 13. Tony McParland 14. Jamie Dolan 15. Paul McManus 16. Robbie Horn </div></BLOCKQUOTE> The match was barely minutes old when referee John Underhill pointed to the penalty spot after a David McClune foul. Peter Weatherson made no mistake with the spot kick, giving Morton the first goal of the day. Thistle struck back in style after 16 minutes, when Dean Walker made a break down the left hand side of the field. Lobbing the ball into the square, David Bagan centered the ball, passed to Connor Gethins, who struck the ball past keeper Graham Smith. Peter Weatherson then scored a flukish goal from a Morton cross. With four defenders and a goalkeeper to contend with for the ball, Weatherson guided the ball past McGovern's outstretched arms and into the goal. Paul McHale was not having any influence on midfield matters and was substituted at halftime in favour of Jamie Dolan, with Gavin Skelton being pushed up into the midfield. Already behind on the scoreboard, I saw little value in defending rigidly, and encouraged the midfield to attack at will, and try to turn around the Morton defenders on the counterattack. Six minutes into the second half, Craig McNeown tripped Dean Walker inside the penalty box from a corner. The second penalty of the game was duly awarded, with Walker to take the kick. However, Dean had the misfortune to drive the ball past the right post, with Graham Smith diving in the opposite direction. Morton predictably switched to a dour defensive style, and could sense victory with just four minutes remaining. Mark Dempsie fielded a goal kick on the chest and passed to Gavin Skelton. Gavin looked up the field and noticed Dean Walker starting to pull away from his marker. An uncannily accurate pass up the field followed, and Dean was able to turn the keeper inside out, kicking the equaliser on the second attempt as Smith dived in vain on the ground. The game was alive. In the dying moments of injury time, Thistle had a very good chance go to waste from a corner, as Connor Gethin's header was off the mark. John Underhill then blew his whistle to conclude the first ninety minutes of the game. Connor Gethins was substituted out of the game in favour of Paul McManus, giving Thistle a good advantage over Morton, who had used all of their replacements prior to the sixieth minute. I felt that we were finishing by far the stronger side, but ultimately the result was in the lap of the football gods. The thirty minutes of extra time came and passed in the blink of an eye. When John Underhill blew his whistle and reset his watch, both sets of supporters could not deny the fact that neither side deserved to lose the game. I quickly ran across the field to shake the hand of Jim McInally. "Ever done of these before?" he asked, referring to the imniment penalty shoot-out. "Undefeated," I smiled. "Best of luck, Jim. Your boys were outstanding today." "Same to yours," said Jim. "Whatever happens, you've done a damn fine job. Catch you later." I then ran over to the huddle of players. "Okay, listen up. I love you all like brothers. You were all awesome. Here's the list of kickers - Walker, Paul McManus, McParland, O'Donoghue. Let's go and win the bloody thing. Michael, don't stuff it up." Morton won the toss and chose to shoot first in the penalty shootout. Peter Weatherson confidently strode up - and kicked the ball directly to Michael McGovern, who didn't even have to budge off his line and caught the ball on the full. Dean Walker took a long run-in, but had his shot deflected off to the side by Graham Smith. Despite tricking McGovern with his stop-start run-up, Jason Walker's shot cruely struck the posts and bounced back into the field. Paul McManus started the scoring with a silky shot past Smith. Thistle 1-0. Graeme Mathie cannoned his shot into the spectator area at Fir Park. Morton had missed their first three shots. McParland then had a golden chance to extend Thistle's advantage. The shot struck the tip of his shoe and wildly careered off to the right, far from the posts. Morton captain Ryan Jordan knew he had a job to do, as Morton's chances were slipping rapidly. Placing the ball on the spot, he abruptly turned around, took five steps, faced McGovern, breathed in, began his run-up....and placed the ball right into Michael's arms. The Challenge Cup was within our reach! Ross O'Donoghue walked from the huddle over to the southern end of Fir Park, with all of the manner of a man who knows he is about to create history for an infant club. Shaking hands with John Underhill, he then began his run-up and blasted the ball over the goalsticks. Opportunity wasted, as the Morton fans audibly exhaled and began to dream again. The hopes and aspirations of Morton rested on the very young shoulders of Jamie Hutchinson, a 17-year old youth player who was playing just his third career game this afternoon. His pale skin betraying his confidence, he gave a sign of the cross before running in and pushing the ball wide of the posts. Michael McGovern took off his shirt and ran towards the Edinburgh Thistle supporters, and was soon followed by the entire squad who were in seventh heaven. Thistle had won the shoot-out by one single goal after twice coming back from a goal down in regular time. As the president of the Scottish Football Association handed me my winners medal and the Challenge Cup to Jamie Dolan and Gavin Skelton, I looked around at the stadium, full of 13,187 spectators. Gold and blue streamers were exploding from behind us as the 2,000 Thistle supporters roared their approval. Sheena joined me on the field with the twins for an emotional hug as we walked around the stadium to show our gratitude to the supporters. The celebrations in the dressing shed and back at Bowmans Road Stadium were extraordinary, to say the very least. Edinburgh Thistle - the 2005/06 Challenge Cup Champions! <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/11 - Morton 2 Thistle 2 aet (Thistle won penalty shootout 1-0) Scorers - Gethins 16, Walker 86 (Weatherson 2 pen, 20) Challenge Cup Final - played at Fir Park, Motherwell</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 November 2005 With our heads still in the clouds, we lost our perfect record against Gretna at home. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">9/11 - Thistle 0 Gretna 2 Scorers - (Townsley 29, Tosh 76 pen) League Position - 6th</pre> Paul Harvey requested a release from his contract, which was due to end in June. With just two apperance for the club to his credit, it was not a hard decision to let the 38-year old midfield go. To fill the place vacated in the squad, we signed John Dillon on a free transfer. John has previously played with Dumbarton and Clyde, and will compliment our stable of midfielders. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">19/11 - Dumbarton 0 Thistle 2 Scorers - McManus 19, Walker 89 League Position - 4th 26/11 - Thistle 2, Brechin 1 Scorers - Pelosi 53, Walker 56 (Hampshire 76) League Position - 4th</pre> Table - November 2005 - (after 13 games) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 30 +19 2. Raith 21 +6 3. Hamilton 21 +2 4. Thistle 20 +6 5. Arbroath 16 -1 6. Brechin 16 -2</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football updates The quarter-finalists for the League Cup have been finalised: Dundee v Celtic Dunfermline v Dumbarton Falkirk v Dundee Utd Rangers v Ross County The Premier League table has an unusual look: (all 14 games, unless marked with *) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Hearts 26 +9 2. Celtic 25 +11 3. Kilmarnock 22 +2 4. Hibs 20 -7 5. Inverness CT 19 +2 6. Dundee* 18 +4 7. Rangers* 17 +2 8. Falkirk 17 -4 9. Motherwell 14 -4 10. Aberdeen* 13 -5 11. Dundee Utd 13 -6 12. Dunfermline 11 -4</pre> St Mirren lead the First Division by four points from Clyde and Queen of the South. Peterhead currently lead the Third Division, although just eight competition points seperate first and last. In European competition, Celtic will progress to the knockout phase of the Champions League, whilst Rangers require a win against FC Porto to progress, despite losing just one game. Dumferline have not scored a goal in their UEFA Cup group, whilst Dundee have a slender hold on third place in their pool, with all the other opponents having a game in hand. Croatia, Norway and the Republic of Ireland booked their tickets to the 2006 World Cup with playoff wins. The main qualifying upsets were in Africa and South America, with regular participants Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and Uruguay failing to qualify. . The final spot in the tournament will be decided in December when Australia and Colombia play over two legs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 December 2005 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3/12 - Hamilton 1 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Fyfe 10) League Position - 4th</pre> The result against Hamilton was made a little easier to accept after finding out that Australia had qualified for the first World Cup since 1974. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">10/12 - Thistle 3, Stranraer 1 Scorers - O'Donoghue 61, McManus 69, Buchanan 83 (Aitken 50) League Position - 3rd</pre> The draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup was held straight after the Stranraer game, with non-league side Fraserburgh assigned as our opponents. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">17/12 - Arbroath 4 Thistle 2 Scorers - Gethins 33, O'Donoghue 43 (Farquarson 11, Brazil 66, Diack 76 pen, Henslee 89) League Position - 3rd</pre> The Arbroath game was simply maddening - a good example of throwing away three points. After the game I called Michael McGovern and David McClune into my office and gave them the biggest ear-bashing of all time, placing the blame for the result squarely on their shoulders. Although I later apologised in person to each of them, once the comments made their way into the Edinburgh Evening News, there was some serious damage to the morale of both players. Michael even missed training, which is most out of character for him. When asked why he did so, he commented to the paper - "I'll be loyal to those who are loyal to me." David Hay replaced McGovern between the sticks for the Scottish Cup game against minnows Fraserburgh. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">21/12 - Thistle 5 Fraserburgh 0 Scorers - McHale 2, Walker 14, Gethins 22, Hardy 67, McMullan 90 Scottish Cup 2nd Round</pre> Although the match was little more than a glorified training session, the consequences were far more important, with Connor Gethins lost for an entire month due to injury. However, there is a silver lining to every cloud, as we will play a Premier League team for the first time in our short history - and an Edinburgh rival at that! Hearts will play host to Thistle on January 14. As if to celebrate, the lads absolutely hammered Alloa on Boxing Day, a fine way to end the calendar year. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">26/12 - Thistle 4 Alloa 0 Scorers - P.McManus 23, 69, Walker 24, Bagan 58 League Position - 2nd</pre> With the transfer window about to open again, and Thistle momentarily in second place ahead of Hamilton (but having played two more games), it was clear we needed to strengthen our squad to go to the 'next level'. We managed to sign two players ahead of the opening of the window. Gary Dempsey has spent the past four seasons in the Scottish Premier League and we are very excited to sign a player of his calibre to control the midfield. We also signed Mick Dunlop from Ayr for $6,000. Mick will begin the new year in the reserves squad but we eventually see him graduating to the backline. Table - December 2005 - games played in brackets <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna (16) 37 +24 2. Thistle (17) 26 +9 3. Hamilton (15) 25 +3 4. Arbroath (16) 23 +2 5. Raith (17) 23 +1 6. Brechin (17) 22 +2</pre> Incidentaly, here are the groups for 2006 World Cup, after the draw was held in Leipzig. Pool A Brazil Croatia Ghana Honduras Pool B Algeria Portugal Slovakia United States Pool C France Paraguay South Korea Turkey Pool D Bahrain Morocco Poland Spain Pool E Argentina Australia Ireland Japan Pool F Germany Italy Mali Mexico Pool G Chile Holland Sweden United Arab Emirates Pool H England Ivory Coast Jamaica Norway League Cup Quarter Finals Dundee 0 Celtic 1 Rangers 3 Ross County 1 Falkirk 2 Dundee Utd 0 Dunfermline 3 Dumbarton 0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 January 2006 A brand new year, and already its been eighteen months since I decided to take on this position. Strangely enough, I'm really starting to enjoy my time here in Scotland. Importantly, Sheena is too, although we will be returning to Australia for a six-week holiday at the end of the season in order to visit my parents and show off Callan and Sam. Still, as long as Thistle are happy to have me around, I'm more than happy to keep building the team and challenging for higher honours. One night, Sheena asked me where I thought the club would ultimately 'settle' in terms of the various divisions. I'd be lying if I didn't dream of one day making the Premier League, although that goal would be years away - at least ten years in the making. The short-term goal is to build a nucleus of a side that will play at Bowmans Road for the next five-six years, and ultimately gain promotion into the First Division by 2010. With the bulk of our original squad coming off contract, I had to move quickly to secure the players I wanted to remain at Thistle. By the end of the month, we were able to come to terms with the following players: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Contract expiring June 2007 Robbie Horn Paul McHale Kieran McAnespie Contract expiring June 2008 Dean Walker Lee Hardy Paul McManus Gavin Skelton Muray Watson Contract expiring June 2009 Connor Gethins Contract expiring June 2010 Andy Goram (coach) </div></BLOCKQUOTE> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">4/1 - Thistle 1 Raith 1 Scorers - P.McManus 77 (Reilly 84) League Position - 3rd</pre> Paul McManus and David Bagan went down injured in the match against those Honest Men of Ayr, continuing the physical rivalry that has existed between our two clubs this season. Ayr sacked manager Darren Henderson after the game, and installed St Johnstone assistant Jim Weir as the new boss after an impasse of two days. In a positive, Markus Paatelainen returned from a three-month break from injury, giving a vital boost to our goal-scoring stocks. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">7/1 - Thistle 0 Ayr 0 League Position - 3rd</pre> We received an offer of $35,000 for Stephen McManus from Ross County. Following our policy of allowing players to sign for clubs in higher divisions, we decided to bid farewell to Stephen, although we have asked Ross Co. to let him play in the Scottish Cup match against Hearts. At the same time, we added promising youngster Ryan Conroy from Dumbarton and placed him in our reserves squad. The Scottish Cup match at Tynecastle was a very close affair, and it was almost certain that we would be hosting a replay at Bowmans Road. Although we never seriously troubled the Hearts defenders, our own defenders produced a performance from the top shelf, and Michael McGovern's performance was first-class. However, our dreams and aspirations were destroyed three minutes from time when the only goal was tapped in from a corner. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">14/1 - Hearts 1 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Wyness 87) Scottish Cup Round 3</pre> Youngster Stuart Milne was re-signed until the end of the 2007 season. Craig Levelin was named as the new manager of Rangers, the third manager they have had in the space of seven months. On the 19th of January, we successfully negotiated a contract with young Brazilian sensation Naldo, who surprisingly turned down a contract from Barcelona to join us. It is quite a gamble for us as we've spend $400,000 just to get to the negotiation phase - the previous record being the $35,000 we spent on Ryan Conroy. However, Naldo needs to get a British work permit, the outcome of which won't be known until the 25th. David McClune's contract is currently up for renegotiation, and I fear that the lad is looking away from Bowmans Road for his future, never really forgiving me for the aftermath of the 2-4 loss to Arbroath. He also seems to be getting poor advice from his representative, who has recommended he not sign our latest contract offer. Naldo's initial application for a work permit was rejected and we have decided to immediately appeal the decision. A final outcome will have to be organsied soon as the Scottish transfer window is rapidly closing. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">21/1 - Gretna 1 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Bayne 69) League Position - 4th</pre> David McClune got his ticket to the Scottish Premier League, signing a contract with Falkirk, who are currently sitting ninth in the table. It's not all bad news for Thistle, as we were paid $8,000 in compensation. Also, Naldo's work permit application finally received the green light and we had no hesitation in confirming the offer. Although we never like losing players - not to mention making a loss of $392,000 in one day - we feel that Naldo will add a certain kind of sparkle into the side. He has to, after all - he's Brazilian! Overshadowed by Naldo's signing was the recruitment of Steven Masterton from the Kilmarnock reserves. Naldo made his debut for Thistle off the bench in the draw against Dumbarton, playing the last 32 minutes. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">28/1 - Thistle 0 Dumbarton 0 League Position - 4th</pre> No sooner had Naldo arrived at Bowmans Road and posed for the press with his jersey, the old fax machine whirred to life again. This time, it was a $2 million offer from Mallorca for our latest recruit. Since Naldo's contract stipulated a release clause whenever an offer of $2 million or more was tabled, we had no choice but to let our new signing negotiate with the Spanish club. All in all, Naldo spent a grand total of five days at Bowmans Road, and played one game - yet we made a profit of $1.6 million from the deal - roughly $50,000 per minute that he played for us! Talk about laughing all the way to the bank... Table - January 2006 - 21 games played <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Gretna 46 +25 2. Hamilton 37 +10 3. Brechin 32 +8 4. Thistle 29 +8 5. Arbroath 28 -3 6. Raith 26 -1 7. Stranraer 25 -7 8. Dumbarton 21 -9 9. Ayr 21 -12 10. Alloa 17 -19</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 February The capitulation against Brechin City saw us fall six points behind them on the league table. For the purposes of experimentation, I've decided to use a diamond formation instead of the flat midfield, supposedly helping out our defenders. The players may not have the required fitness needed to successfully use the system, so for now I've called extra training sessions to improve our stamina. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">4/2 - Brechin 3, Thistle 1 Scorers - Gethins 13, Walker 28 (Byers 34, Callaghan 65 pen, Black 79) League Position - 4th</pre> The managerial musical chairs continue in the Premier League, with Dundee Utd boss Ian McCall getting his marching orders. This may spark off something of a domino effect, with Inverness CT manager Craig Brewster favoured to return to Tannadice Park. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">11/2 - Thistle 0 Hamilton 1 Scorers - (Javary 55) League Position - 4th</pre> Former Dunfermline manager Paul Hegarty was confirmed as the new Dundee Utd boss. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">18/2 - Alloa 3 Thistle 1 Scorers - Walker 42 (Hegarty 27, 54, Forrest 84) League Position - 4th</pre> We have now gone nine games without a win - eight if you exclude the Hearts loss - and despite holding on to our fourth place in the Second Division, we were now just seven points away from relegation. My gut instinct told me that our next three games would decide our fate for this season - would we be one-season wonders, or will we live to fight another day? Jamie Dolan's name was tossed around in the press as a possible successor to Sandy Stewart at Airdrie United after the former boss resigned. However, Peterhead's Iain Stewart was eventually named as the replacement. Jamie has shown a lot of maturity and a keen knowledge of the game, and I think it will be sooner rather than later that we see him managing a team somewhere in the lower leagues. Incidentally, the Peterhead position is now open and I've encouraged Jamie to throw his name into the ring as a contender. Dundee were eliminated from the UEFA Cup afte a horror 5-0 loss to Lazio Only one man stood between us and our fourth successive defeat - Alan Reid. The striker was in particularly outstanding form, slotting four goals, including three in the last ten minutes to give Stranraer a victory they never looked like achieving. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">25/2 - Stranraer 4 Thistle 3 Scorers - Dempsey 45, 90, Skelton 55 (Reid 13, 78, 82, 89) League Position - 8th</pre> Table - February 2006 (25 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1. Gretna 56 +31 2. Hamilton 45 +13 3. Brechin 38 +8 4. Raith 32 -3 5. Arbroath 32 -7 6. Stranraer 31 -9 7. Dumbarton 30 -3 8. Thistle 29 +3 9. Alloa 23 -17 10. Ayr 22 -16</pre> Scottish Premier League Table (26 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1. Celtic 46 +19 2. Kilmarnock 46 +9 3. Rangers 45 +13 4. Hearts 37 -1 5. Hibs 37 +4 6. Inverness CT 36 +4 7. Dunfermline 35 +1 8. Falkirk 32 -5 9. Dundee 30 -4 10. Dundee Utd 30 -8 11. Motherwell 23 -12 12. Aberdeen 22 -12</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 March 2006 Finally, a positive result to start the month! But still no victory... <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">4/3 - Thistle 1 Arbroath 1 Scorers - Gethins 50 (Farquarhson 36) League Position - 7th</pre> Gary Dempsey was lost for around a month with a neck injury. Quite a blow for us as he was finally getting the hang of our system. Celtic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over CSKA Moscow. There would be no excuses for our next result. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">11/3 - Raith 5 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Miller 8, O'Reilly 21, 34, Dodds 48, Coakley 71) League Position - 8th</pre> Our winless run advanced to ten games at Ayr. Following the 2-1 result, we are now just one point away from the drop down into the Third Division. After the loss to the all-conquering Gretna, Thistle fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season, and with just seven games to sort out the rot. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">18/3 - Ayr 2 Thistle 1 Scorers - Gethins 21 (Gilmour 9, Varielle 72) League Position - 8th 25/3 - Thistle 1 Gretna 3 Scorers - Bagan 55 (Bradley 23, Bayne 36, Tiernan 78) League Position - 9th</pre> Table - February 2006 (29 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1. Gretna 65 +35 2. Hamilton 53 +17 3. Brechin 44 +9 4. Raith 39 +2 5. Stranraer 38 -9 6. Arbroath 34 -9 7. Dumbarton 33 -8 8. Alloa 32 -14 9. Thistle 30 -5 10. Ayr 26 -18</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News The Scottish Cup has a habit of springing upsets, and this year would prove to be no exception, with Rangers dropping out in the quarter-finals to Motherwell. Elsewhere, defending champions Dundee continued their run of good form defeating Arbroath 4-0, Falkirk accounted for Aberdeen 2-0, and Hearts moved into the final four with a polished performance against Morton. Rangers would atone for their loss in the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 win against Dunfermline in the League Cup Final, coming from a goal-down to beat a 10-man outfit convincingly in the end. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 April 2006 V I C T O R Y <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1/4 - Dumbarton 1 Thistle 3 Scorers - Gethins 48, 59, 72 (Annand 16) League Position - 7th</pre> On the same afternoon that we got our season back on track, Gretna achieved promotion for the second straight season. After we returned back to the office at Bowmans Road, John Docherty announced that he would leave Thistle in his capacity as assistant manager at the end of the season. John had been a tremendous help to me in my first few years as the boss at Bowmans Road, and it will be sad to see him go. Although I don't expect him to take up the offer, I've offered him a position as a part-time coaching consultant for the 2006/07 season, where he can observe operations from a distance and 'trouble-shoot' whenever the situation may arise. Although I have placed an official advertisement for the soon-to-be-vacant position of assistant manager, a viable replacement may already be in our ranks in the form of John Dennis, who is currently managing our youth team. Dennis demonstrates an acute understanding of tactical play, and has often made helpful contributions during our planning sessions. Even if I don't slide him into the seat next to me on the bench, John will be a handy fellow to have around. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">8/4 - Hamilton 2 Thistle 1 Scorers - Paatelainen 73 (Sproule 23, McCluskey 35) After 31 games 6. Arbroath 37 -9 7. Alloa 35 -13 8. Thistle 33 -4 9. Dumbarton 33 -12 10. Ayr 29 -19</pre> After the game, Allan Maitland had the kindness to say that he thought Thistle would definately stay up in the Second Division this season and beyond. Allan is a first-class fellow and has always shown why he is considered one of the division's best managers in every press conference this season. During the week, Celtic were finally knocked out of the Champions League over two legs by Juventus, with two English and two Italian teams progressing to the semi-finals. On the recommendation of our scouts, I signed Georgian midfielder Gocha Jamarauli from Dimano Tbilisi. The 34 year-old midfielder will simply go by the name Gocha in the 2006/07 season, and will hopefully rub some of his experience onto our young lads. He signs a one-year contract, presumably before he rides off into the sunset and manages some club in Georgia. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">15/4 - Thistle 2 Alloa 0 Scorers - Bagan 55, Paatelainen 77 After 32 games 5. Stranraer 39 -11 6. Arbroath 38 -9 7. Thistle 36 -2 8. Alloa 35 -15 9. Dumbarton 34 -12 10. Ayr 29 -22</pre> The most pleasing aspect of this game was the zero scoreline for Alloa. It was doubly pleasing as Michael McGovern was back in between the sticks, having served his time on the sideline after missing another training session. Gretna are rumoured to be interested in his services for the 2006/07 season, but I want to see if Michael's attitude can improve at Bowmans Road first before I stamp his papers 'Never to play again'. Falkirk upset holders Dundee in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and play in their first final since 1997. Their opponents will be Motherwell, who tipped out Hearts by the odd goal. On April 20, John Docherty advised me that he was taking immediate sick leave from his position as assistant manager, although he hoped to return as a coaching consultant in the new season. At the end of training, all of the players spontaneously gave John a rousing farewell, with not a dry eye in the house. John Dennis becomes the acting assistant until the end of the season, when I will make a final decision on who to employ. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">22/4 - Thistle 3 Brechin 3 Scorers - Buchanan 54, Paatelainen 67, McAnespie 69 (Gibson 40, Hampshire 42, Johnston 77) After 33 games 5. Stranraer 42 -10 6. Arbroath 41 -8 7. Thistle 37 -2 8. Alloa 35 -17 9. Dumbarton 34 -13 10. Ayr 32 -21</pre> We'll have to fight off relegation without Ross O'Donoghue, who broke several ribs in the Brechin clash. We then proceeded to play in argubly one of the most entertaining matches of the year, drawing 1-1 with Stranraer. There were no less than 40 scoring shots during the game (16 of them ours), and the performance from both goalkeepers was of Premier League quality. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">29/4 - Thistle 1 Stranraer 1 Scorers - McHale 72 (Reid 27) After 34 games 6. Arbroath 41 -10 7. Thistle 38 -2 8. Dumbarton 37 -11 9. Alloa 36 -17 10. Ayr 32 -23</pre> Things are also heating up in the Scottish Premier League, with Kilmarnock threatening to become the first team since Aberdeen in 1985 to break the Old Firm's dominance of the title. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">After 34 games 1. Celtic 59 +20 2. Rangers 59 +18 3. Kilmarnock 59 +12 4. Dundee 49 +5 5. Hearts 47 +0 6. Hibs 44 -7</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 May 2006 We ensured that we would stay in the Second Division in 2006/07 with a thumping 3-0 win against Arbroath. Connor Gethins and Dean Walker broke the game wide open with two goals immediately prior to the halftime break, whilst Markus Paatelainen made it official with a goal right on the hour mark. Fortunately for Thistle fans, we snapped out of our dreadful ten-game winless period just in time. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/5 - Arbroath 0 Thistle 3 Scorers - Gethins 43, Walker 44, Paatelainen 60 After 35 games 6. Thistle 41 +1 7. Arbroath 41 -13 8. Dumbarton 37 -14 9. Alloa 36 -19 10. Ayr 35 -22</pre> Just three years removed from the Premier League, St Johnstone have fallen on hard times since and will be one of our opponents in the Second Division in 2006/07. Incredibly, six teams are still with a chance of promotion in the Third Division, with grounds sure to be packed for the final fixtures of the season. Our season ended with a good win against the Raith Rovers, with Lee Hardy picking up a rare double. Alloa and Ayr will drop down to the Third Division after losing their final games, Alloa in particular had their destiny in their hands, and could have leapfrogged Dumbarton with a win, instead losing 4-1. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">13/5 - Thistle 2 Raith 0 Scorers - Hardy 46, 76 League Position - 6th</pre> The day was a momentous one across the league. Dumfries will see Premier League football in 2006/07 after the Queen of the South beat Clyde 2-1 in a winner-takes-all affair. Stirling Albion were relegated to Second Division, where they will meet Peterhead and Montrose after the two clubs won promotion inside the last five minutes. Last but not least, Rangers won the Scottish Premier League title with one game to spare after Craig Levelin turned around what was seemingly a train-wreck just 119 days into the job. During the week, Marco Pelosi, Ross O'Donoghue and Gavin Skelton earned selection into the Second Division Team of the Year. Barcelona won the UEFA Cup against Liverpool but required a penalty shootout to finish the job at Brondy Stadion. Inverness CT will be plying their trade in the First Division in 2006/07 after losing a heart-breaker to Motherwell in a match were a loss meant certain relegation. Celtic eased past Kilmarnock to extend the Old Firm dominance at the top of the Scottish leagues - not since 1995 has a team other than Rangers or Celtic finished in the top two. To their credit, Kilmarnock finished in the top three of the Scottish leagues for the first time since 1966. One of the duties to finish off the season was the signing of John Dennis as assistant manager for the next two years, after an impressive showing as caretaker in the last four games of the season. Whilst the response to the advertisement was strong, the calibre of the applicants did not outshine Dennis, who gets his first assistant position at the young age of 34...three years older than myself. Arsenal won their first Champions League title with a 2-0 win against Juventus, who have now lost four finals in the competition since 1996. Motherwell won the Scottish Cup in a 3-0 result against Falkirk in what was termed - rather unkindly - the 'Ugly Duckling final' by the press. We decided to bid farewell to Jamie Dolan, Paul Gaughan and Tony McParland after their contracts came up for renegotiation. Dolan had given great service to the team in the first two years of its existence, totalling 53 games and 3 goals, and was influential as the senior player and captain. At the gala presentation, Connor Gethins won his second player of the year award. Season 2005/06 was a learning experience for everyone involved at Thistle....the next season will prove to be no different as we attempt to advance to the next rung of the ladder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 2006 World Cup Results Pool A 7/6 - Ghana 2 Honduras 1 7/6 - Brazil 3 Croatia 1 13/6 - Brazil 2 Honduras 0 13/6 - Ghana 2 Croatia 0 20/6 - Brazil 2 Ghana 0 20/6 - Croatia 0 Honduras 0 Standings - Brazil 9, Ghana 6, Honduras 1, Croatia 1 Pool B 8/6 - Slovakia 3 United States 2 8/6 - Portugal 2 Algeria 0 14/6 - Slovakia 2 Algeria 0 14/6 - Portugal 1 United States 0 20/6 - Algeria 0 United States 0 20/6 - Portugal 0 Slovakia 0 Standings - Slovakia 7, Portugal 7, Algeria 3, United States 0 Pool C 9/6 - France 2 Paraguay 0 9/6 - South Korea 0 Turkey 0 15/6 - Paraguay 3 South Korea 0 15/6 - Turkey 0 France 0 21/6 - France 2 South Korea 0 21/6 - Paraguay 0 Turkey 0 Standings - France 7, Paraguay 4, Turkey 3, South Korea 1 Pool D 9/6 - Spain 0 Bahrain 0 10/6 - Poland 1 Morocco 0 16/6 - Spain 3 Morocco 1 16/6 - Poland 1 Bahrain 0 21/6 - Morocco 3 Bahrain 1 21/6 - Poland 1 Spain 1 Standings - Poland 7, Spain 5, Morocco 3, Bahrain 1 Pool E 10/6 - Ireland 0 Argentina 0 10/6 - Australia 3 Japan 2 16/6 - Argentina 3 Japan 1 16/6 - Ireland 2 Australia 0 22/6 - Argentina 3 Australia 0 22/6 - Japan 1 Ireland 0 Standings - Argentina 7, Ireland 4, Japan 3, Australia 3 Pool F 11/6 - Mexico 2 Mali 0 12/6 - Italy 2 Germany 0 18/6 - Italy 1 Mexico 0 18/6 - Germany 2 Mali 0 22/6 - Mali 1 Italy 1 22/6 - Germany 2 Mexico 1 Standings - Italy 7, Germany 6, Mexico 3, Mali 1 Pool G 12/6 - Holland 4 Chile 0 12/6 - Sweden 2 United Arab Emirates 0 19/6 - Chile 3 United Arab Emirates 0 19/6 - Sweden 1 Holland 1 23/6 - Chile 1 Sweden 1 23/6 - Holland 2 United Arab Emirates 0 Standings - Holland 7, Sweden 6, Chile 4, United Arab Emirates 0 Pool H 11/6 - Norway 0 Jamaica 0 11/6 - England 3 Ivory Coast 0 18/6 - Ivory Coast 2 Norway 0 18/6 - England 2 Jamaica 0 23/6 - England 2 Norway 0 23/6 - Ivory Coast 3 Jamaica 0 Standings - England 9, Ivory Coast 6, Norway 1, Jamaica 1 Second Round 24/6 - Brazil 1 Portugal 0 (aet) 24/6 - Ghana 3 Slovakia 0 25/6 - Paraguay 3 Poland 2 (aet) 25/6 - Spain 3 France 1 26/6 - Italy 0 Ireland 0 (Italy won shootout 3-0) 26/6 - Argentina 2 Germany 2 (Argentina won shootout 4-2) 27/6 - England 3 Sweden 1 27/6 - Ivory Coast 3 Holland 1 (aet) Quarter Finals 30/6 - Spain 1 Ghana 0 30/6 - Brazil 1 Paraguay 0 1/7 - Italy 2 Ivory Coast 0 1/7 - Argentina 2 England 0 Semi Finals 4/7 - Italy 1 Brazil 1 (Italy won shootout 4-2) 5/7 - Argentina 2 Spain 0 Playoff for Third 7/7 - Brazil 1 Spain 0 (aet) World Cup Final 9/7 - Argentina 0 Italy 0 (Argentina won shootout 4-2) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 You thought I forgot the tables, didn't you? **** <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Gretna | | 36 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 71 | 24 | +47 | 81 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Hamilton | | 36 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 55 | 34 | +21 | 68 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Brechin | | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 53 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Stranraer | | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 48 | 56 | -8 | 47 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Raith | | 36 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 47 | 49 | -2 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Edinburgh Thistle | | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 51 | 48 | +3 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Arbroath | | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 37 | 50 | -13 | 42 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Dumbarton | | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 50 | -11 | 40 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | R | Alloa | | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 31 | 53 | -22 | 36 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | R | Ayr | | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 55 | -23 | 35 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Rangers | | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 66 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Celtic | | 38 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 58 | 38 | +20 | 64 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Kilmarnock | | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 62 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Dundee | | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 55 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Hearts | | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Hibs | | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 49 | -4 | 51 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Dundee Utd | | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 52 | -10 | 50 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Dunfermline | | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 47 | -3 | 46 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Falkirk | | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 45 | 54 | -9 | 46 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Motherwell | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 50 | -7 | 43 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Aberdeen | | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 52 | -8 | 42 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Inverness CT | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 39 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 During the off-season... The five-week return to Australia had been a blessing in disguise, as Sheena and I swapped a Scottish winter for the southern version. Long walks on the beach, fishing on the reef, visiting family members whom I had not seen for nearly two years...the batteries were well and truly recharged. It wasn't all relaxation, as I had to face the Bowmans Packages board to personally report on the state of the club. On the whole, they were quite impressed with the rapid promotion of Thistle, and were especially delighted with the win in the Challenge Cup final. After the formal meeting, I had a quite drink with my grandfather, the company chairman. "How is it going, really?" he asked as he handed me an alcoholic beverage. "Living in Scotland has been tough at times, although having Sheena with me makes it easier to bear. Life at the club is pretty good. There's plenty of capable people to share the load." "Very good. And what of your relationship with the players?" "You know what, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. They all want to do well at Thistle, although ultimately at the end of the day they all want to play in the Premier League. The tricky part will be trying to keep the core of the squad together and not get into a culture of selling as soon as we get a piddly little offer on the fax machine." "No issues with player morale?" "No...why do you ask?" "You obviously haven't seen the back page of the British Football Weekly then" He handed a copy to me. Staring out at me was the headline: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">McGovern - My Thistle Hell </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 My holiday well and truly ruined, the first thing I did upon returning to work was to call a meeting with Michael McGovern. "Morning, Michael. How are you going?" "Not too bad, skip. Although I think I know what this meeting is all about..." "Well, you tell me." Michael looked at me blankly for a moment. "Ah, skip....I mean..." I threw the dog-eared copy of the newspaper in front of him. My Thistle Hell. "You started every game you played last year, I gave you every bit of praise and encouragment, even when I had David Hay growing old on the sidelines. Any stage of the season, I could have sent you to Stranraer or East Fife or Queens Park on loan, but I didn't. And this is how you repay me?" Picking up the newspaper, I began to quote. "'In soccer terms, O'Connor is a neanderthal. Most of the time the club runs on autopilot whilst he hides in the office, makes his coffee and dreams of some beach in Australia.'" McGovern, days away from his 21st birthday, looked like he would break into tears at any point. "This isn't the first time you've done this to me either, Michael. Why are you so intent on wrecking what we've built at this club? Do you honestly think you're bigger than the club?" Michael suddenly stood up as if to leave. "Don't you run away yet, Mister-Irish-Eyes-Are-Smiling. What do you want? A carload of dancing girls? A secret bank account in Switzerland? Me to personally lick your arse in full view of the media after every game? If I remember correctly, you once said, and I quote: 'I'll be as loyal to those who are loyal to me.'" I could feel the heat rising into my head. "Well, here's news for you, Mickey boy. You don't run this club, I do. I have a loan offer from Clyde, and have decided to send you out there for three months. Get out of here, and don't darken my door until November." McGovern was shattered. As he began to walk out of the office, I called out to him one last time. "One last thing, Michael." As he turned around with a 'What-the-hell-do-you-want-now' look on his face, I handed him a framed picture of his series of penalty saves in the Scottish Challenge Cup final. "I know this is pretty inappropriate right now, but I wanted to give you this for your birthday. Have fun at Clyde, clear the air a bit, and lets see if we can't sort things out when you come back.". As McGovern left, I felt like the biggest ***** in the universe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 It was just another day at Bowmans Road, with the amount paperwork on my desk requring my immediate attention growing by the day. Scouting reports on each of our nine opponents in the Second Division, requests from schools in the district for resources, a photo opportunity for the squad with the Scottish First Minister (an election obviously not far on the horizon)...when suddenly, the peace and calm at the office was broken with a resounding boom. The lights flickered momentarily, and the air-conditioning shut down. "What the feck was that?" shouted John Dennis from his office. The secetaries were hiding under their desks, whilst the scouts were running outside to investigate. Just adjacent to my office window, a limousine had crashed into a power pole on the street and had destroyed the brick wall, with the remenants lying over my car. My priority though was to check for signs of life inside the vehicle. "You feckless, good-for-nothing potato farmer..." mumbled a voice, presumably the driver. A consumed bottle of vodka was sitting on the passenger's seat, lid down. Scout Paul Aitken phoned an ambulance, whilst physio Phillip Yeates ran back to the building to get a first-aid kit. The back window of the limousine suddenly shattered in a cascade of glass. With considerable effort, a person wearing a red tracksuit climbed out muttering foreign obscenities under his breath. His feet on the ground, he suddenly turned around to face the small crowd of Thistle employees gathered in the car park. He sported a thick handlebar moustache, a crewcut and had another bottle of vodka in his right hand. He bellowed in an awful, guttural accent: "I am Gocha, and I am here!" Fortunately for us, the remainder of the pre-season was far less eventful. The unofficial beginning of our season saw the draws for the two minor cups held. We would begin our defense of the Challenge Cup against newly promoted Montrose, whilst Stenhousemuir were slated to be our opponents in the League Cup. Both games would be played at home. To replace Michael McGovern, we signed for $20,000 Rangers' second-string goalkeeper Graeme Smith, who was their goalkeeper in their League Cup final win last year. Graeme joins a three-way battle for the starting position with David Hay and Cameron Bell, who we signed from Peterhead. The only other signing we have made for Season 2006/07 is David Cowan, a defender/midfielder from Stranraer. After an initial scare, we got our cup defense started on the right note against Montrose, although we did require two hours to get a result. Berwick will be our opponents in the second round. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">29/7 - Thistle 2 Montrose 1 (aet) Scorers - Skelton 45, Paatelainen 99 (Sharp 9) Challenge Cup Round 1</pre> The bookmakers of Scotland appear to have been taking notice of our club history, slashing our odds of winning the division from 33/1 in 2005 to just 5/2 for this season. However, we are far from favourites, with St Johnstone attracting the best odds, in front of Raith, Stirling, Stranraer and Brechin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 August 2006 Two of our former players found new homes just prior to the start of the new season - Tony McParland has joined division contenders Ratih, whilst Paul Gaughan will wear the colours of Montrose. We were quite lucky in the end to escape from Glebe Park with a point. Stephen Hampshire played another high-standard game for Brechin and gave our defenders trouble all day long. Gocha played his first game, but had trouble communicating with his teammates and strayed from the patient, build-up philosophy of the side by taking far too many wild shots at goal, the majority of which were never even close. Another problem is the fact that he knows virtually no English at all (besides 'yes', 'no', 'good' and 'vodka'). I may have to employ a translator for him, or at the very least make an effort to learn some Georgian myself. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12/8 - Brechin 2 Thistle 2 Scorers - McNicholl og 41, Walker 61 (Gibson 7, Hampshire 45) League Position - 6th</pre> Our first win of the new season was a fairly comfortable affair against Peterhead, although aided somewhat by the fact we were playing ten men for 81 minutes after their captain picked up two early yellow cards. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">19/8 - Thistle 2 Peterhead 0 Scorers - Walker 23, 41 League Position - 3rd</pre> An offer of $10,000 came through from Airdrie United for Mark Dempsie. Morton also expressed their interest in signing the 25-year old defender. With Mark playing so well at the moment, I was loathe to sell him at the first opportunity, and accordingly declined the various offers tabled by the two clubs. Having explained my rationale to him, Mark resolved to duplicate his efforts on the field to repay my trust in him. With confidence high, we travelled up the road to Perth and found ourselves up by two goals at halftime. We utterly fustrated St Johnstone throughout the game, and were deserved winners in the end. Our opposition would be feeling quite disappointed, given that many people expected them to bounce straight up into the First Division. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">26/8 - St Johnstone 0 Thistle 2 Scorers - Gethins 23, 41 League Position - 3rd</pre> Table - August 2006 (3 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1. Stirling 9 +8 2. Arbroath 9 +4 3. Thistle 7 +4 4. Brechin 4 +0 5. Raith 4 +0 6. Stranraer 3 -1 7. Peterhead 3 -2 8. St Johnstone 3 -2 9. Dumbarton 1 -3 10. Montrose 0 -8</pre> The only sour news of the month was that Muray Watson had injured himself yet again, this time for two months with a broken collarbone. Muray has been injured on no less than ten occasions, and never on a playing pitch. I fear we may have no choice but to let the lad go once his contract expires if this rotten run of injuries continues. Working in Muray's favour was the fact that he had another two years to run at Bowmans Road. The month ended with a good win against Berwick Rangers in the Challenge Cup. We now face off against Alloa in the quarter-finals, yet again at Bowmans Road Stadium. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">29/8 - Thistle 3 Berwick 0 Scorers - Walker 26, 60, Gethins 45 Challenge Cup Round 2</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Curse this formatting.... ****** September 2006 For the first time in since 2004/05, our players have won the monthly awards for their divisions. Dean Walker has won the Player of the Month, whilst Marco Pelosi is a deserving winner of the Young Player of the Month. With the qualifying for Euro 2008, it was a pleasant surprise to lose Gary Dempsey for a little while after his call-up to the Ireland squad for their game against Estonia. Gocha and Marcus Paatelainen were also on international duty for their respective countries. They were hardly missed. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">5/9 - Thistle 5 Stenhousemuir 1 Scorers - Gethins 13, McManus 47, 86, Buchanan 70, O'Donoghue 80 (McCallum 59) League Cup Round 1</pre> Following the game, we were drawn for a trip to Pittdorie in Round 2 to face Aberdeen, our second clash with a Premier League team. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">9/9 - Thistle 0 Stranraer 2 Scorers - (McPhee 49, Reid 88) League Position - 3rd</pre> The best tonic for a loss early in the season is another resounding cup victory, and that's just what the doctor prescribed...we will now play Albion Rovers in the semi-final, whilst Partick Thistle and Ross County face off in the other qualifier. The League Cup match against Aberdeen has had to be postponed by a week in order to fit the match in the schedule. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12/9 - Thistle 2 Alloa 0 Scorers - Dempsey 73 pen, Gethins 85 Challenge Cup Quarter-Final</pre> In a high-quality game, Stirling posted an impressive 4-2 win, despite our gallant effort to level the match after falling behind very quickly. However, we suffered a major blow with David Bagan lost for two months with a damaged achilles tendon. He leaves big shoes for Gary Dempsey and Gocha to fill. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">16/9 - Stirling 4 Thistle 2 Scorers - Gethins 50, 53 (McLean 5, MacDonald 5, 61, Glancy 72) League Position - 3rd 23/9 - Thistle 1 Dumbarton 1 Scorers - Walker 42 (Boris 69) League Position - 3rd</pre> The semi-final of the Challenge Cup was our last assignment of the month, a tough trip to Coatbridge to face Albion. After falling a goal behind early, our boys finished much the stronger and fully deserved the final margin of victory. The final would be a battle of the Thistles after Partick advanced with a 2-1 win against the men from the north. For Partick, it is their first cup final since the 1972 League Cup victory against Celtic. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">26/9 - Albion 1 Thistle 3 Scorers - Gethins 45, Walker 78, 84 (Gordon 23) Challenge Cup Semi-Final</pre> With two seperate strikes, Connor Gethins brought up two seperate milestones - his 50th goal for Thistle, and his 10th goal for this season. An outstanding contribution by a very handy player. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/9 - Thistle 4 Montrose 0 Scorers - Gethins 45, 80, Walker 77 pen, Horn 90) League Position - 3rd</pre> Table - September 2006 (7 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Stirling 19 +12 2. Arbroath 13 +2 3. Thistle 11 +4 4. Raith 11 +0 5. Dumbarton 9 +1 6. Brechin 8 -1 7. Stranraer 8 -2 8. St Johnstone 6 -4 9. Peterhead 5 -4 10. Montrose 5 -8</pre> Quite a successful month all in all, despite the two league losses. We have another date in November to defend our cup title, and our team play in general has been outstanding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 October 2006 Full of confidence, we took on Aberdeen in our postponed League Cup game, and although the boys gave it a real crack, we were beaten by a far better side on the day. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">4/10 - Aberdeen 2 Thistle 1 Scorers - Gethins 29 (Easton 17, Craig 23) League Cup Round 2</pre> We then had a very long break from football as Gocha, Markus Paatelainen and Gary Dempsey were involved in the latest matches in qualification for Euro 2008. Due to the effect that their collective absence would have on our side, we successfully applied to have our league matches postponed during this period. However, the long period of time spent twiddling our thumbs had a negative effect as we got off to the worst possible start against Arbroath, and ended up getting our backsides kicked around the park. The trend continued in a second catch-up match later in the week. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">21/10 - Arbroath 3 Thistle 1 Scorers - Gethins 65 (Swankie 1, 31 pen, Browne 15) League Position - 8th 25/10 - Thistle 1 Raith 3 Scorers - Gethins 26 (O'Reilly 43, 63, Coakley 84) League Position - 8th</pre> We then put our season back on track with a great win against Brechin, who always seem to give us a tough game. Gethins and Dean Walker continued their own personal rivalry in the scoring race, each slotting a goal. The next day, we found we were heading to Peterhead for the first round of the Scottish Cup. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">28/10 - Thistle 2 Brechin 1 Scorers - Walker 32, Gethins 33 (Hampshire 69) League Position - 7th</pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Stirling 25 +12 2. Raith 23 +6 3. Arbroath 20 +5 4. St Johnstone 16 +5 5. Dumbarton 16 +2 6. Stranraer 15 +1 7. Thistle* 14 +1 8. Brechin 11 -4 9. Peterhead* 5 -13 10. Montroe 5 -15</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Challenge Cup Final Edinburgh Thistle v Partick Thistle Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir November 5 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Thistle Team (4-4-2) - 1. Graeme Smith 2. David Cowan 3. Gavin Skelton © 4. Mark Dempsie 5. Mick Dunlop 6. Steven Masterson 7. Marco Pelosi 8. Ross O'Donoghue 9. Gary Dempsey 10. Connor Gethins 11. Dean Walker 12. David Hay 14. Robbie Horn 15. Gocha 16. Markus Paatelainen 17. Kevin McMullan </div></BLOCKQUOTE> The 2006 Challenge Cup Final had arguably even more drama, highlights and emotion than the previous year's version, which is saying a lot. Partick Thistle won a game which featured seven goals, and didn't lead until the 85th minute when Emmanuel Panther slotted the winner past Graeme Smith. Connor Gethins scored another two goals but ultimately Edinburgh Thistle fans would walk away unhappy. "There are bigger fish to fry," I reminded the team on the way back home. "Even if we'd won the cup, I would be disappointed if we were to be relgated. We were beaten by a better side in one of the games of the season. There is no shame in that. You left everything on the pitch today and I couldn't be happier if we had won." <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">5/11 - Edinburgh Thistle 3 Partick Thistle 4 Scorers - Walker 15, Gethins 28, 69 (McConalogue 22 pen, Hinds 50, Dowie 76, Panther 85) Challenge Cup Final</pre>. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Just a request - can a moderator or someone else with similar powers please fix up the formatting in the 'August 2006' post? The page is far too wide otherwise and difficult to read. Thanks - B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 November 2006 Although the team played well in the Challenge Cup final against Partick Thistle, I was at a loss to explain our capitulation against 10th-placed Peterhead. Two days after the game, Michael McGovern returned from his loan deal at Clyde, where he had conceded six goals in three starts. Clyde made an offer of $20,000, which I was happy to accept. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">8/11 - Peterhead 2 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Boylan 38, 46) League Position - 6th</pre> With various international matches and European competitions, we did not have another game for ten days, during which I gave all team members four days off from training. For four days Sheena and I took the twins to London for a short holiday where we behaved like tourists - even to the point of having our pictures taken with the guards outside Buckingham Palace. Our batteries recharged, Thistle then proceded to produce the performance of the season thus far, with a Dean Walker double sinking St Johnstone, who would not have a single shot on goal all afternoon. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">18/11 - Thistle 2 St Johnstone 0 Scorers - Walker 14, 89 League Position - 4th</pre> At Stranraer, it was a case of two players with very similar surnames making the news. Gary Dempsey controlled the midfield brilliantly all day, and scored the winning goal. However, we would lose the services of Mark Dempsie who fractured his ribs while going for a header. He will be out for roughly one month. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">25/11 - Stranraer 0 Thistle 1 Scorers - Dempsey 59 League Position - 4th</pre> 20-year old Marco Pelosi has been attracting plenty of positive press over the last month, with some media outles calling him a player of the future. Although his contract doesn't expire until the end of next season, I feel it is vital that we lock him away for as long as we can. Therefore, I've offered him a two-year extension of his current contract, with a $100 payrise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 December 2006 Gocha made a little slice with his first goal for Thistle - at 23 seconds, it is our quickest ever goal. His good work went to waste as we threw away a precious victory against a team higher than us on the ladder. With 14 games elapsed in the season, we are 11 points away from promotion. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2/12 - Thistle 1 Stirling 1 Scorers - Gocha 1 (Glancy 90) League Position - 4th</pre> Playing an experimental side, we were able to easily advance past Peterhead in the Scottish Cup. Connor Gethins scored his fourth hatrick of goals for the club, whilst Fraser Logan and Cameron Bell had good games. The result was not good news for manager Darren Henderson, who is copping a battering from his own supporters despite getting them into the Second Division this season. After the game I commented to the local press that Henderson was a good manager, and even though Peterhead fans may be dissatisfied with his performance, there were many other managers who could not do what Darren had done. We face a trip to Arbroath in the second round of the cup. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">9/12 - Peterhead 1 Thistle 4 Scorers - Gethins 45, 56, 88, Dempsey 89 (Michie 24) Scottish Cup 1st Round</pre> Incidentally, we would face Arbroath in our next game, a crucial game in the context of the season with just one point seperating the two sides. Despite leading early, we were unable to press home the advantage and eventually lost, with any realistic hopes of promotion now in doubt. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">13/12 - Thistle 1 Arbroath 2 Scorers - Skelton 7 (Cusick 44 pen, Collier 50) League Position - 5th</pre> Last-placed Montrose were never realistically in the game, having been blown off the paddock in the first half. Their demoralised fans began to leave at halftime, and missed out on a much improved second half performance. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">16/12 - Montrose 0 Thistle 4 Scorers - Gethins 6, Walker 10, O'Donoghue 26, Skelton 83 League Position - 4th</pre> We earned ourselves a replay in the Scottish Cup after a gritty display at Gayfield Park. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">20/12 - Arbroath 1 Thistle 1 Scorers - Paatelainen 13 (Miller 4) Scottish Cup 2nd Round</pre> Dumbarton came away with a deserved win two days out from Christmas. Our forwards were quite wasteful, with only three straight shots on goal. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">23/12 - Dumbarton 1 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Rodgers 48) League Position - 5th</pre> The cup replay was never really in doubt, despite Arbroath's late goal. For the second time in three years, we were through to the third round of the Scottish Cup, with a realistic chance of progressing even further. As in 2005, our third round opponent is St Johnstone. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">27/12 - Thistle 2 Arbroath 1 Scorers - Walker 34, Gethins 48 (Brazil 89) Scottish Cup 2nd Round Replay</pre> A very busy December finished with our eighth game of the month. Gary Dempsey started in front of Gocha and scored the first goal in a brilliant individual effort. The three points were never in doubt from then on in. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/12 - Brechin 0 Thistle 2 Scorers - Dempsey 5, Gethins 56</pre> And so ended the year 2006. With Thistle entrenched in the top half of the season, still alive in the Scottish Cup, and several players having outstanding seasons, it seemed that our future was as golden as our uniforms. Table - December 2006 (after 19 games except where marked) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Stirling 43 +20 2. Raith* 38 +14 3. Arbroath* 30 +6 4. Dumbarton 29 +6 5. Thistle* 27 +6 6. Stranraer 22 -3 7. St Johnstone 21 -3 8. Peterhead* 19 -6 9. Brechin 19 -9 10. Montrose 10 -31</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Just one Scottish side remains in European competition. Celtic progressed to the knockout phase of the Champions League after finishing second in their pool behind Real Madrid. Rangers finished last in their pool and can now concentrate on defending their Premier League title. Motherwell can also devote their efforts to domestic matters after finishing fifth in their UEFA Cup pool. Celtic have drawn a tough opponent in the first knockout round - Barcelona. The Scottish national team have started well in qualifying for Euro 2008, winning two of their first three games, including a 1-0 result against 2004 champions Greece. Their next game is in late March against those renown giants of European soccer, Leichtenstein. League Cup Results Kilmarnock 2 Morton 1 Dundee 2 Queen of the South 0 Hibs 1 Rangers 0 Motherwell 1 Celtic 1 (Celtic won 6-5 on penalties) Semi Final Draw Kilmarnock v Celtic Hibs v Dundee </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 January 2007 Brechin dropped a bombshell on New Year's Day, departing company with their manager of six years, Iain Campbell. Despite being consistent performers in the Second Division for the past four years, being in the relegation zone was the last straw for Brechin fans, who demanded a fresh approach in the front office. Michael McGovern finally departed to Clyde, and proceeded to declare that he wanted to use his time with the Bully Wee as a stepping stone back to Celtic. The man has the morals of an alley-cat on heat, but at least he's not my problem any more. With the transfer window opening again, I saw no need to rush out and buy a whole swag of players just for the sake of it. Above all, the good team chemistry that we had developed thus far this season should be preserved as we entered a very important phase. We only signed one player, but at least he doesn't need directions to get to Bowmans Road - David McClune returns from Falkirk, where he only made ten apperances, including none in the current season. We gave a five-star effort against Raith, blowing the second-placed team off the park to the tune of three goals to zip. It is a massive result for us as it keeps our promotion hopes alive. Had we lost, the gap between us and Raith would have been 14 points instead of the 8 points that it is now. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3/1 - Raith 0 Thistle 3 Scorers - Walker 30, Gethins 33, Dempsey 47 League Position - 4th</pre> Peterhead came, they saw, and they were promptly conquered. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">6/1 - Thistle 1 Peterhead 0 Scorers - Dunlop 61 League Position - 4th</pre> David Murray was unveiled as the new boss at Brechin City and faces a challenge to keep them out the relegation zone. He will have to do it without his main striker after Stephen Hampshire dislocated his shoulder in training, keeping him out until April. We advanced into the final 16 of the Scottish Cup after a dominant 2-0 victory away to St Johnstone, reversing the result in the corresponding fixture of the 2005 Scottish Cup. St Johnstone have not yet beaten us in the current season, and not since 2005. It would be a 'Battle of the Thistles', with Inverness Caledonian Thistle travelling to Bowmans Road Stadium for the fourth round clash on February 10. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">13/1 - St Johnstone 0 Thistle 2 Scorers - Walker 59, Paatelainen 84 Scottish Cup 3rd Round</pre> Straight after the cup victory, Preston North End filed seperate offers for Gavin Skelton and Marco Pelosi, both of which were rejected. Both players want to stay at Thistle, and the offering price is far too low in any case. Queens Park made a direct swap bid for Jared Stirling, which we were happy to accept. Jared has only played two games since joining the club and can utilise his talents better at Hampden. In exchance, we get another defender for our depth in Daniel Ferry. A week later, we returned to McDiamind Park to face St Johnstone again. David McClune made his reapperance in the yellow and blue after 14 months with Falkirk but would last just two minutes before injury struck. Dean Walker also came off with injury, leaving us a man short for the last ten minutes. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">20/1 - St Johnstone 1 Thistle 0 Scorers - (Stevenson 71) League Position - 4th</pre> Fortunately, Arbroath drew and Raith lost, meaning we still remained only six points from promotion. During the week, Partick Thistle made an offer to buy Muray Watson, which we accepted, since the 20-year old was not expected to progress any further in his development, much less break into the strong we currently have. Paul Hegarty became the first casualty of the season in the Premier League after Dundee United, sitting 10th, gave him the chop. Stranraer were desperately, desperately unlucky not to walk away from Bowmans Road Stadium without at least one point, however Gary Demspey was the crucial difference in the end, kicking two goals in injury time. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">27/1 - Thistle 3 Stranraer 1 Scorers - Gethins 9, Dempsey 90, 90 (McPhee 25) League Position - 4th</pre> The end of the month saw Thistle still in touch with the group of teams pressing for promotion, and an important cup game against Caley Thistle to look forward to. Table - January 2007 (22 games played) <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1. Stirling 47 +20 2. Arbroath 42 +12 3. Raith 40 +10 4. Thistle 36 +11 5. Dumbarton 33 +6 6. Stranraer 28 -1 7. St Johnstone 25 -3 8. Brechin 22 -10 9. Peterhead 19 -14 10. Montrose 14 -31</pre> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Hibs progressed to their third League Cup final in four years with a 1-0 win against Dundee at Easter Road Park. In the other semi-final, Kilmarnock upset Celtic 1-0, setting up a replay of the 2005 final. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 February 2007 Gary Dempsey (Senior) and Marco Pelosi (Junior) fully deserved their personal victories in the monthly awards. For the first time this year, I was a finalist but finished behind Arbroath's Harry Cairney. Dundee United settled their manager issue by hiring Paul Sturrock, who had been with Sheffield Wednesday. We wasted another two points against Dumbarton but it could have been much worse - James Walker was disallowed a goal in injury time after it was judged he was marginally offside. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3/2 - Thistle 1 Dumbarton 1 Scorers - Walker 30 (McEwen 88) League Position - 4th</pre> The next day saw three managers lose their job. Peterhead and St Johnstone from our division sacked Darren Henderson and Sandy Stewart respectively, whilst Stenhousemuir also parted ways with their manager after sitting ninth in the Third Division. During the week, Markus Paatelainen had undoubtedly the finest game of his professional career, scoring two goals at Wembley in a shock Finnish victory against England. Four days later he would be part of the first Thistle team to make the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Despite the 2-0 loss to Inverness CT, the massive crowd of 8,948 were treated to a cracker of a game and could not be disappointed with the quality of play. The attendance figure was a record for the club, as was the $85,000 we received in gate receipts, and $150,000 in prize money. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">10/2 - Thistle 0 Inverness CT 2 Scorers - Tokley 33, Chesnauskis 74 Scottish Cup 4th Round</pre> With second-place Arbroath six points ahead of us on the table, the next league game would be vital for both sides. Markus Paatelainen got us off to a dream start when he converted a place kick in the third minute of the game. We then proceeded to trounce the locals by three goals, giving the home fans a Valentine's Day present (of sorts), and closed the 'Promotion Gap' to just three points. Dean Walker kicked his 50th goal for Thistle, joining Connor Gethins in the highest echelon of goal-scorers. For Arbroath, it was their first loss in ten games. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">14/2 - Arbroath 0 Thistle 3 Scorers - Paatelainen 3, Walker 50, Donaldson 77 og League Position - 4th</pre> On the same day, Ross County knocked out Rangers in the fourth round replay match at Dingwall, meaning that once again, the Old Firm would not make it to a Scottish Cup final for the third year running. During the week, Stirling boss Allan Moore fired a salvo ahead of our league game by saying that Thistle stood virtually no chance at all of matching it with his side, currently clear leaders in the Second Division. After consulting with the staff, I decided to go on the front foot and talk up the game - although I'm sure Allan thinks I'm mad as a cut snake. Asked by the BBC if I had any words about the upcoming game, I looked deadpan into the camera and sincerely said that Allan was the best man to save Stirling from relegation, and that their fans should given him all the support required to lift his team out of the quagmire. The comment ran on all the news bulletins, much to the amusement of Sheena, who taped the segment and promptly sent it home to all our relatives in Australia. During the week, working at the desk, I suddenly got a phone call. "Hello. Dave O'Connor here." "Hello David. It's me. "Me? Who's me?" "You know......it's me." "Buggered if I know. 'Take me to the ballpark'? 'Me and Bobby McGee'? If you're playing another prank call, Connor, I'll cut your pay...." "Me....Allan Moore." "Oh." My demenaour suddenly changed. "Allan. How's things?" "Yeah, pretty good. Really looking forward to tomorrow's game. I just wanted to let you know that I got a huge kick out of your performance on the BBC. I've been in this business for over five years now, and that's the first time that an opposition manager hasn't taken my bait before a crucial game." "Haha, I must admit, I wasn't quite sure how you would react, to be honest." "Yeah, well, all of my lads are now hellbent on avoiding relegation. Because, if Davie O'Connor says so, it must be the truth!" "Hah! Well, all the best this weekend Allan. I'm sure your boys will be going straight back up next year." "Thanks David. If I may say so, I believe Thistle will be heading that way too, perhaps sooner than you think." And thus ended one of the most satisfying moments of my management career thus far. The Thistle promotion campaign received a massive kick in what was inevitably termed ironically the 'Relegation Battle' by the local media, who were intrigued by the token Aussie manager and his strange ways. With scores level late in the game, it seems as if there would be no losers from the game. However, Gary Dempsey made an incisive break down the left side of the field and launched a cross into the box, where it was met by the head of Markus Paatelainen, who scored the winner. Twenty seconds later, the referee blew his whistle for full-time as the Thistle players erupted into cheers. Thistle were now just one point away from promotion, with eleven games left in the season. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">17/2 - Stirling 1 Thistle 2 Scorers - Walker 16, Paatelainen 90 (Glancy 41) 1. Stirling 51 +20 2. Raith 44 +10 3. Thistle 43 +15 4. Arbroath 43 +7</pre> Ross O'Donoghue signed a new contract with the club, keeping him at Bowmans Road until the end of the 2009/10 season. We survived an early (and late) scare from Montrose to keep our dream alive. Raith drew with Arbroath, meaning that we moved into the promotion slot. The very next day, Paul Smith surprisingly retired as manager of Raith after just under two years in the job. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">24/2 - Thistle 3 Montrose 2 Scorers - O'Donoghue 48, Walker 52 pen, Paatelainen 74 (Brown 39, Baird 85) 1. Stirling 52 +20 2. Thistle 46 +16 3. Raith 45 +10 4. Arbroath 44 +7</pre> Dean Walker would be out of our vital game against the now-manager-less Raith after spraining his wrist in a training exercise. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Celtic appear certain to crash out of the Champions League following a huge 4-0 loss to Barcelona at Celtic Park in the first leg. Things are also heating up for Martin O'Neill's men domestically, with a two-point lead from Rangers in the Premier League. Up to seven clubs are still possibilities for relegation, including the surprise packet of last season, Kilmarnock. The picture is just as messy in the First Division, with Clyde, Gretna, Ross County and Inverness CT all good chances for promotion up to the big boys. St Mirren appear the only team certain to drop to the Second Division, although Livingston are also in the frame. East Fife, Alloa and Ayr are involved in a tight-race for promotion out of the Third Division, whilst East Stirling and Stenhousemuir are stuck at the bottom of the pile. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman4NQ Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 March 2007 Despite our brilliant form, we couldn't land a single award - player or manager - during the last month. The match against Raith would go a long way to determining just who would go up in 2007/08. In front of one of our largest league crowds, we seized the early initiative and hung on for a thrilling victory, with the Rovers throwing everything they had at us in the last ten minutes. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3/3 - Thistle 2 Raith 1 Scorers - Gethins 30, Paatelainen 38 (Halley 75) After 27 games 1. Stirling 53 +20 2. Thistle 49 +17 3. Raith 45 +9 4. Arbroath 44 +6</pre> Although I should have realised it, it was still a shock to hear that we now had a four-point break on third-placed Raith. Talk about a huge victory! Ross O'Donoghue was mighty for us once again, and it was no surprise to hear that more than a few Premier League teams had been taking notice of his form. During the week we re-signed Gocha, Kieren McAnespie and David Bagan to new contracts. All three players have certainly played their role during this season, and will continue to provide the depth in our midfield. Brechin City provided their usual gritty challenge, but were ultimately brought undone by Gary Dempsey. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">10/3 - Thistle 1 Brechin 0 Scorers - Dempsey 83 After 28 games 1. Stirling 56 +22 2. Thistle 52 +18 3. Arbroath 47 +9 4 Raith 45 +8</pre> Peterhead played out of their skins to retain a point at home. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">17/3 - Peterhead 0 Thistle 0 After 29 games 1. Stirling 56 +20 2. Thistle 53 +18 3. Arbroath 47 +8 4. Raith 46 +8</pre> Gocha sustained a calf strain whilst on international duty with Georgia and will miss the next two games. On the last day of the month, we cemented our position as a team on track for promotion into the First Division with a shattering 3-1 win against St Johnstone. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">31/3 - Thistle 3 St Johnstone 1 Scorers - Bagan 2, Walker 39 pen, 77 (MacDonald 48) After 30 games 1. Stirling 57 +20 2. Thistle 56 +20 3. Raith 49 +9 4. Arbroath 47 +7</pre> The same afternoon, Gretna skipped ahead to be four points clear at the top of the First Division, and the team most likely to gain promotion to the Premier League. I quickly rang Rowan Alexander to congratulate him on the good work thus far, and all the best of luck in possibly winning an unprecedented three straight division titles. Who's to say he won't win a fourth in 2007/08? <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Scottish Football News Kilmarnock defeated Hibs 2-1 in the final of the League Cup, their first ever success in this competition and their fifth major Scottish title, in addition to three Scottish Cups and their sole victory in the Premier League in 1965. The semi-finalists for the Scottish Cup have been decided. Defending champions Motherwell will face Hearts after seeing off Dunfermline 2-1 at East End Park. Hearts and Kilmarnock both had easy home victories against Caley Thistle and Ross County respectively. Gretna required a replay and a penalty shootout against Dundee to advance to the final four for the first ever time. Scotland beat Leichtenstein 2-0 in their latest Euro 2008 qualification match. They currently sit in second spot in Group 4 behind Holland but ahead of Greece and Ireland. Thus far, the real surprises in qualification have been Albania, Iceland and Belarus, all of whom currently head their qualification groups. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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