NAI Press 2
Richard Burnett - Manger

Thought I would do a press inspired by some of my favourite bands I hope you recognise some of the songs.

“I could be so good for you“(Dennis Waterman) was the cry from myself to Nairn County Chairman at the end of last season. I even admitted to be willing to walk “500 miles“(The Proclaimers) for the team. Straight away I was being called “Hero“(Nickleback) by the strong fan base in Nairn as I promised to “Fix You“(Coldplay) and immediately I was looking to prove this to them and was heard shouting from the rooftops that I was “ready to go“(Republica). I was so “Naïve“(The Kooks) as ex manager Len Lear achieved promotion via the play offs and it looks like we are “In too Deep“(Sum 41) in the 2nd division, so Nairn had to “search for a hero“(M People) and hopefully the players I have signed are up to the task.

It’s a “New Horizon“(John Parr vs. Tommy Knockers) this season for both the club and myself as I have never managed in the 2nd division, infact I have only ever managed in the 3rd division. But as they say “When the going gets tough the tough get going“(Billy Ocean), it will be a slow start as we try to increase the SL of our players which will cost us points, but I must urge the fans to “Always look on the bright side of life“(Monty Python). The “Temptation“(Heaven 17) for myself would be to jump ship and look for another team however if the chairman “Drops the pressure“(Mylo) then he will not be disappointed as its “All the small things“(Blink 182) that matter. The chairman has since admited to me “You’re all I have“(Snow patrol).

I will keep my tactics My “dirty little secret“(All American Rejects) as I strive to keep Nairn in the 2nd division, teams coming to Nairn should expect a scene from the “Wild wild west“(Will Smith) “My Sacrafice“(Creed) will be attractive football at Nairn, we could end up having to “Swing Swing“(All American Rejects) for every point as I look to make leaving Station Park with points a very hard task and a lot of teams might be leaving with a “Fat Lip“(Sum 41) If all else fails we will increase the voltage to the floodlights and hope the away teams are “Blinded by the lights“(The Streets). When on the road teams will be crying “Whats that coming over the hill, is it a monster?”(The Automatic) infact it will be Nairn County as we try we turn to dirty tactics to steal some points away from home, complacency could be a factor and I take this chance to warn the big teams “Your fit but you know it“(The Streets) I urge you for your own good that to remember “When you wasn’t famous“(The Streets) you also sneaked some results and Nairn will be no different this season .

All I can say is I hope we don’t “tumble and fall“(Feeder) however if we do I promise we will “Come back around“(Feeder) and “In the morning“(Razorlight) it will be alright. All in all I hope I don’t have to take too many “Painkillers“(Turin brakes) this season and also hope I don’t come down with “Insomnia“(Faithless) as we try to avoid relegation. I must remind fans that “Im no superman“(Scrubs theme song) and ask your self “Whats my age again“(Blink 182) but “world hold on“(Bob Sinclair) I think I can keep this team up and have, “Your Unbelievable“(EMF) on the tip of every other sesl managers tongue.

“Right here, Right now“(Fat Boy Slim) we are playing INV and DUM both teams will provide a hard task and will have to get our tactics spot on if we are to steal any points. I think getting our first shots of the season will be the objective this week. Hopefully the games this week wont prove to be “Too Bad“(Nickleback) and If we get any points this week I can assure we will be taking the “Last Train Home“(Lost Prophets) as we “party hard“(Andrew WK).

Last word :“Common People“(Pulp) will think im living the “Fairy Tale in New York“(The Pogues) however this is not true and think this at your own peril.

End of Press - Hope you enjoyed it.

"You Talk Too Much"--Run-DMC ;-)

Actually, nice creative press above by NAI. The cats will remember that at cash time.

First off, the cats are shocked at their quick start in D-2 play, as well as their stunning 5-0 victory earlier today by Clyde FC over STJ, D-1 superpower extraordinaire. Granted, STJ really isn't interested in the CECIL Cup, so that accounts for most of it. STJ is focused on challenging the other D-1 powers extraordinaire. We'll have to keep the heat on, though, in the second leg if we hope to advance to the sweet sixteen of the CECIL Cup. The cats are not going to have any premature visions of returning to their status as SESL's reigning "runners up" to Cup competitions. They say it's "all or nothing." And then they purr. "After all," says Clyde, "no cat eats MOST of the mouse."

We really like Steve Turner, seriously, so Clyde & Calvin hope that he will not be upset that they feel compelled to respond to his blog comment regarding Phil's Manager of the Year (D3). He asked for someone to explain why it was awarded. Since no one stepped forward in our defense, we'll have to try to explain it ourselves. Now, neither Clyde nor Calvin really know why people voted for us...they neglected to vote in D3, although they did in D1 and 2. They lost the connection with ISP and never got back to it. Anyway, here's the best we can offer, Steve.

You point out that Clyde has the "second best" team in D3, but still has to fight for promotion in a playoff. The label "second best" is somewhat arbitrary, but we'll take it. However, a "second best" team finishing in fifth place isn't necessarily an indictment on the team or it's manager. Doing that fails to take into account CECIL Cup and SESL Cup play. Obviously, EL and SL resources are allocated to those extracurricular activities, and may not be reflected in the team's regular season finish.

Now, we really don't know the motives of the individual voters, but Clyde & Calvin would like to think that the award reflects Clyde FC's two Cup runs (one at the conclusion of the preceding season, which ended after MoY voting took place...essentially, some managers felt like "hey, if we had known that, we might have voted differently.") It's possible that some managers acknowledged Clyde FC's runner up spot in the SESL Cup in the preceding season, followed by the second place finish in the CECIL Cup, combined with the promotional playoff victory. When you look at it like that, it is quite an accomplishment.

Bah. We're just speculating here. We really appreciate the award. It's a very arbitrary award, but it does represent a certain level of honor and respect from our peers. Thank you!

(And it is really when the award doesn't automatically go to the first place team...although sometimes they deserve it as well.)

Meow!

Clyde & Calvin

1-0 to the FAL boys!

That was cry by the FAL faithful as COW were dumped in opening league session. However the COW revenge was quick in coming as they took 3 goals off us for one in reply in CECIL Cup 1st leg. That away goal could be crucial for us, as a 2-0 home win on Wednesday will see FAL thru to the 2nd round proper.

COACH REPORT? - Pedro Mountinho FW 3/33 has been earmarked for special CP attention, and plan is to see him a 3/40 by early September.

TRAIN REPORT? - Steven Thomson MA 1/18 and Alan Gow FW 1/16 have been picked out for extra TP slots. Afterall, we have 60 TP to use up, so the liklihood of an apprentice joining our ranks soon as high. We await a batch of youngsters from the youth academy first - the preference is always to groom your own when possible.

AUCTION 2 REPORT - prices have gone higher higher. OK, not thru the roof just yet, but nearly had our first million pound player with the 0/10 DF going for 937k

AUCTION 2 RESULTS

LOT INFORMATION ABB WINNING BID
1. 4 22 DF Jock Stern PT 598
2. 2 19 FW Gorazd Zajc PET 591
3. 3 18 DM Ben Coxon HAM 338
4. 2 16 FW Mark Callaghan QP 413
5. 2 16 DM Ismail Aissati FRA 452
6. 1 15 FW Arouna Kone FRA 706
7. 0 10 DF Phil Jagielka BUC 937
8. 0 6 DM Dave Bowman DUU 391
9. 0 5 GK Nedzad Botonjic PET 258
10. -- 9 CP Saint Johnstone STJ 598
11. -- 7 TP Albion Rovers ALB 573

***** BUCKIE PRESS *****

League campaign starts well, a reasonable CECIL cup performance & a big name NEW signing

LEAGUE:

A full strength BUC team went to BER in the first game of S17 hoping to come away with a point but ended up taking all three in a most unexpected victory. Although BER were the home team they started like the away team opening up with a 5-3-2 O to our attacking 4-2-4 N. BUC could not break through the BER defence in the first half but just before the hour mark BUCs midfield dynamo DONNIE MUNRO finally broke the stalemate with a cracking strike which in the end proved to be the difference between the two teams .

BER 0 – 1 BUC

BUC welcomed Steve Turner’s newly promoted DEV side for the first home game of the season. BUC made a few minor changes to the starting eleven & again played an attacking 4-2-4 N (as did DEV) which on paper should have been too much for the visitors to handle!. However, the DEV defence are no mugs & there star goalkeeper (PETRUZZI) put in a MoM performance saving everything BUC could throw at him (sadly half the 7 BUC chances fell to one defender…..aarrgghh!). On a positive note BUCs own star keeper RICHARD BOWMAN kept his second clean sheet, once again showing he will not be beaten easily this season!.

BUC 0 – 0 DEV

So its early days, 4 points are in the bag & the signs are good that BUC can cement there place in Division 2 and just may be even spring a surprise or two along the way which could enable an outside playoff chance.

Next up: HUN away & QoS at home – 2 very tough matches but one’s that the BUC faithful are looking forward to greatly.

CECIL CUP:

BUC cruised into round two of the cup but the draw was not kind…RAN!. RAN started the season in fine form with 2 wins and with the first leg away the non T11 starting BUC team opened up with a defensively minded 5-3-2 O. Unexpectedly a relatively weak RAN team came out on to the pitch with defence at the heart of thinking also which resulted unsurprisingly in a 0-0 half time score line. The key moment in the game came when RAN made of few changes in personnel & went longball at the start of the second half. This caught the normally ultra alert BOWMAN in goal napping and BUC were punished for this one lapse by BUFFEL who chipped in from 40 yards (creative licence employed here!! ). So a one-nil deficit after the first leg & all is still to play for this coming Wednesday, will RAN be the first big gun to fall?...let’s hope so!!.

RAN 1 - 0 BUC

HOT NEWS - JAGIELKA signs for BUC:

Star apprentice PHIL JAGIELKA (0, 10 DF) signed today for a BUC record fee of 937k, it is fully expected that the talented youth will become a key player for BUC in the not so distant future. Furthermore, with the current TP glut in SESL the cost of high calibre youngsters this season looks certain to be high, more importantly the deal effectively frees up a further 2 TP allowing BUC to bring in a couple more youth players to bolster the small squad later in the season.

**PRESS END**

Deveronvale Press

So what has been happening the past week and a half?

Well 9th August was my mother's 70th birthday and also the day I'd booked flights to Italy for our holiday. It was bad timing on my part, especially as my sister went to Canada on 9th August last year, and I considered paying to get the date moved to the 10th. Fortunately I didn't.

We arrived safely and managed to get the two buses needed to get to the Sacre Famiglia area of Padova a mere 7 hours after leaving my mum's house. Greeted by Mike (the ex-webmaster of Psychopath where I get my e-mail address from and where I first started playing Olmec games in PSFA) and his three cats, Oz, Ginger and Whiskey. Of course Tash, my daughter, would spoil these over the next week - yes we are cat lovers too, Phil.

Wednesday we stayed up till 4 AM, Thursday afternoon we went to Venice and got back late, so Friday we had a lazy day, with a walk into town to take in some sights we didn't see last year, and to an internet café (ok - the internet café). That's when I first heard about the trouble at the UK airports but I was busy checking up on Deveronvale and seeing if I needed to alter any lineups after the auction.

I was quite happy to see John Robertson come to our club. He immediately adds a little over 10 OFF to our attack in the WG rotation. I decided I only wanted one of two players so picked the same name for lot 4, but would have been happy to get a 3/18 MF for 251k. I needed to make sure I had enough money to push up prices later on.

Robbo immediately had an impact scoring a goal in the 4-0 win over Dumbarton and nearly scored the winner in a 0-0 draw against a much better Buckie Thistle. Two clean sheets is more than I could have hoped for but I know this isn't going to last long.

Back to the holiday. On Sunday Mike met a friend in Padova who told us about the restrictions, so it was off to the internet café again to check the news. That's when I saw the above results.

The rest of the holiday was pretty great as well with trips to Lake Garda, Bologna (on the Saturday), Vicenza and the firework display in Padova on Tuesday (a bank holiday).

Home on Thursday took 8 and a half hours partly due to having to get to the airport earlier (though as it happened we didn't), a 15 minute delay at Marco Polo airport on the runway, and the pilot having to overshoot the runway on landing due to tricky winds.

Phil, I love you too but I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. By 2nd best I mean in T11 and especially T17 which Clyde were at the start of the season and most of it as well - but I think T17 is the most important indication of team strength. Not that that ensures promotion of course but there were other "worse" teams that did "better". I doubt that managers took into account the previous season when voting but could be wrong. Personally I think it should just be based on league play anyway. I agree that the award shouldn't automatically go to the first placed team though that is also due to great management the previous season (usually).

Congratulations by the way, you deserve it

One final comment before today's matches - quite a few managers [1] are predicting relegation for Deveronvale. I hope to prove them wrong but realise it's going to be tough for us. We hope to make three more signings before mid-season though.

[1] OK - just the one, plus one who thinks we will be in the bottom six and of course Clyde who are just hoping

QOS Press

That was another successful week for QOS. It began with the challenge of St Mirren in the CECIL Cup. St Mirren may be in the third division, but they now have the second highest Top11 in the whole league (just behind Hibs...) and they are storming away with the third division. However, they are clearly built for a long ball game, so I risked a 3-5-2 ball control formation and played by keeper aggresively to counter the high SL forwards, while St Mirren helpfully played their reserve keeper (still SL21 though). And it all worked ! Two goals each from Armstrong and O'Neill around halftime should be a strong enough lead for the second leg, although St Mirren did manage to score an away goal.

The CECIL Cup had rather taken its toll on the players when we returned to the league. Dumbarton brought a weak 4-3-3 team to visit us, but QOS struggled to break them down and only had a single goal from Nedved to celebrate at halftime. Then the Dumbarton manager made a technical error, forcing his only quality defender to play in goal, and QOS took full advantage through captain English and the inspirational winger Jones, who scored three goals in fourteen minutes. 5-0 was very flattering and boosts the QOS goal difference.

Buckie Thistle were a much harder team to face. It all started stunningly well, as QOS were two goals up after 13 minutes, making it 20 goals scored in just over six matches with only 2 conceded. Then it all went wrong. Buckie were level by halftime and scored twice more in the second half, while the QOS forwards couldn't get a shot on target and kept being caught offside. Craig Samson in goal had a particularly disappointing game, but overall Buckie wanted the win more.

So, QOS are now sitting in fifth place in a very tight division. Coming up this week are the return leg against St Mirren, followed by matches against midtable Berwick and Deveronvale, all of which could be tricky.

On a side issue, the recent correction to Ciril's stats means that he is now on 95 wins (from 187 matches), ahead of my 93 from 182 and Steve Turner's 87 from 162. The race to 100 is hotting up, although none of us are going to match the speed of James and Bill to 100 wins.

COW Courier

Miserable mis-er-able

There’s a new definition for this word in the oxford dictionary these days.

1. Very uncomfortable or unhappy; wretched.
2. Causing or accompanied by great discomfort or distress: a miserable climate.
3. Mean or shameful; contemptible: a miserable trick.
4. Cows start to Season 17

That’s about it really; there was one bright spot when Cow managed to trick Falkirk into thinking they were going to play a not so strong team in the first leg of our Cecil cup round. The Cows ended up snatching a 3-1 victory. Falkirk though had the last laugh winning 3-0 at home to progress into the next round so even then the bright spot just led to more gloom, small spark in the middle of the tunnel I guess you could have called it. You could argue that defeat in the league cup now means Cow are free to concentrate all their efforts into the league. And boy do they need to concentrate. 4 games played, 0 points earned, 0 goals scored and 9 conceded. Did I previously mention staying in Division 2 would be tough for Cow?

Manager Bishop realised the gravity of the situation when he offered apprentice Dunnigan up for transfer, the aim he said to be getting a couple of older higher SL in to help in the ‘Save the Cows’ campaign. Sadly there were no offers that suited so it looks as though Dunnigan will continue his schooling at Glebe Park. Cow will continue to train him up but have told the youngster they will still be listening to offers.

This Saturday’s fixtures see Cow at Inverness, a club who also haven’t enjoyed the best of starts. It’ll be a tough fixture for Cow as their squad looks a little tired after the Cecil cup ‘trot’. Next up are Dumbarton at home. It’s a big match for Cow and they have to get points on the board very very quickly. Dum will be no pushover but Cow will be all out attack in this one. They have no other option....the Save the Cows Campaign is gathering momentum.

NAI Press No.3
Richard Burnett - Manager
As I did a press inspired by my favourite bands and there songs I thought I might try to re adjust some football songs in honour of NAI.

(to the tune of Were on the March wi Ally’s army - Andy Cameron)
We're on the march wi' Ritchie’s Army,
We're going to stay up,
And we'll really shake them up,
If we win the SESL Cup,
'Cos Nairn is the greatest football team,

We're struggling already,
but we're gaunny do or die,
others cannae dae it,
'Cos they didnae wanae try!

We're on the march wi' Ritchie’s Army,
We're going to stay up,
And we'll really shake them up,
If we win the SESL Cup,
'Cos Nairn is the greatest football team,

In honour of our new apprentice
(to the tune of You are my sunshine)

You are my Shalliker
My Only Shalliker
You make me happy
When skies are grey
And Alan Shearer
Was f*****g dearer
So please don't take
My Shalliker
Away

Back to normal business:

I thought we could of sneaked 3 points off INV however it was not to be as I made a mistake changing tactics too early which I believe cost us the chance of getting off the bottom. Taking positives from the game it was good to score out 1st goal of the season and hopefully we can follow that up with our first points of the season sometime soon. The other game went according to plan as we were demolished 3-0 which could of easily be 6 or 7.Next week we play host to BUC then we are on the road to BER, im not sure if we will be able to get our first points on the board as both teams are strong and will be looking to take victory.

Transfer news:

The past week saw a small change in personnel at NAI, Darren Shalliker has been promoted from the youth squad to continue his development. I strongly believe that he will become an important figure in future seasons. However it wasn’t just players joining the club this week, we said goodbye to Wayne Mackintosh this week as he leaves to join Dundee in a deal which sees a substantial amount of TP coming our way. We all wish Wayne the very best with his new challenge and I hope it wont be long before we join him in the 1st division.

Press End

Yeah, drafting your own theme songs always scores big with the cats....

...paticipation bonus added to the blog.

There was much rejoicing in the cat kingdom over the advancement to the Sweet Sixteen in the CECIL Cup. It is doubtful that we can proceed much further, but we'll be glad to try. Any time you can score a pair of wins over a division 1 opponent in tournament play, that's a feather in your cat...uh, I think we mean "cap." When that team is the storied Saint Johnstone, that's even more of a credit. To be fair, Yoav was probably more focused on his solid play in D-1. And solid play he has found, with three wins in the first four games. Perhaps, though, we made the decision easy for him by taking a 5-0 advantage early in game 1. Anyway, congrats to Yoav for his fine play in D-1 thus far.

Speaking of league play, the cats are, well, not "displeased" with their current placement. We hope to advance back up the table shortly, but right now we seem slightly pre-occupied with the Cup. That Cup (or at least the desire of said Cup) can weight a team down in its pursuit of a league title.

Welcome home, Steve, and way to go in honoring your mother on her 70th birthday! Phil's mother is coming to visit this weekend...a fact that pleases the cats (extra attention, kitty snax, and oatmeal raisin cookies), but a fact that the wife is...well...somewhat indifferent to (though she won't admit it!).

Best wishes to your team.

Have you hugged your pet today?

Meow,

Clyde & Calvin

Inverness Press

What has not been a great start to the season, looks like it might improve somewhat, INV got their first win against NAI and then were stunned by an 87th minute strike in the next game.

The loss at PT was more expected and Barnard said he would be happy for the team to focus on the league.

This week sees INV take on COW and ARB and are desperately hoping to snatch a point in both games.

INV were winners in the auction with seasoned campaigner Johann Djourou moving to INV even though two other teams outbid the Thistles.

INV definately are looking strong on defence, but Barnard must look to sign some strike power to build INV up again.

Things are on the rise tho

Cheers for now
Tyron

BUCKIE PRESS

League - One step back & one step forward; CUP – Goliath beats David (That was not in the script!)

First things first a preview of things to come this weekend: BUC @ NAI – NAI sit rock bottom of Div 2 currently, they’ve lost all 4 games so far & only scored 1…well BUC intend to add to their woes! …3 points here are a must if we harbor any ambition of sneaking into a playoff spot. BUC vs. HAM at Victoria Park - It looks like HAM are either black or white so far this campaign with 2 wins & 2 losses to date..... the magic 8-ball seems to think that this ying & yang equilibrium will continue this weekend with 1 win for HAM vs. DUM and 1 loss vs. BUC…well I would wouldn’t I! .

League Review:

Last week BUC traveled to HUN in the knowledge that several key player needed a rest. So it was no surprise to see HUN go 1-0 up after only 4 min!, however BUC fought back well & leveled after 55 min through the fast improving THOMSON. But all was lost as Frannie ‘Hot Head’ More gave away a penalty & BUC were 2-1 down…away from home heads dropped & HUN went on to deservedly win 3-1.

BUCs second game of the session was at home against in-form QOS. With QOS looking good for progression in the CECIL cup a strong line-up was expected…to that end BUC matched them. The games was end to end fast flowing footy but after only 13 min BUC were 0-2 down & manager FITZGERALD looked a whiter shade of pale (…..its like England players @ a world cup with all these song titles in the PRESS!!). But we should not have worried and after a rush of blood to the head (!) for THOMSON & LAVER it was back to all square at half time. The momentum was now firmly with the home side and the QOS keeper was beaten twice more without reply in the second half...final score 4-2 to BUC – “back of the net”! .

CECIL cup Review:

Midweek BUC welcomed RAN in the return leg of the cup. At only 1-0 down all was to play for but the possibility of overachieving in the league meant the BUC line-up was not as strong as may be it should have been. The game was a anti-climax & lack-luster would be a generous description to say the least but both sides did fashion a couple of chances each. Critically BUC converted none of these while RAN did at least score one & before we knew we were out of the cup in the second round again. So a 2-0 defeat on aggregate in a one way was quite pleasing given RANs league form but nigglingly it may just have gone to script if a more positive approach was taken…sadly we’ll never know!.

***PRESS END***

BUC press is brought to you in association with ‘Whiskers’ – No. 1 for CATs nutrition!

Deveronvale Press

We were brought back to Earth with a bump (the pilot blamed the tricky wind, I bet) with a 1-0 defeat against Berwick and a 1-1 draw against Albion Rovers. But as I have the former at no. 4 in René's prediction competition and the latter at no. 10, I suppose it's what I'd expect in hindsight. But Albion are the type of team we need to beat if we are to survive this season.

Next up were my no. 7 and no. 2 teams and we were lucky to hang on for over 60 minutes against the former, Huntly, while they had the better stats, but after substitutions made the teams more equal it was Huntly that got two more shots scoring one of them.

Temporarily down to 13th spot but only one point behind 8th. Next up was Queen of the South who had just the one league defeat all season. Deveronvale were always the better side and deserved their 1-0 win that puts us nicely in the middle of the table but only two points off a relegation spot at this early stage of the season.

We are still in need of a couple of apprentices (unless someone wants to offer a nice high price for my TP) and have had no luck in the auctions. Unfortunately the nine apprentices that have come up have been an SL 5 GK (we could have had him for 307k but I can buy one for 300k), a SW, a DF, three DMs, two MFs and a WG. The MF and DM would be very useful but I was hoping to get one cheap. The next auction sees yet another DM and two MFs. Where are the FWs and MAs? We are 4th in cash so have a great chance of snapping up a very good apprentice that we need - if one comes up!

With René's prediction, my own, and the three posted publically I have averaged out the predictions to come up with:

Champions: Celtic - all five say 1st or 2nd

Relegated from Division One: Alloa (all 5 predict this), Ayr (4 + 1 playoff), Dundee FC (3 + 1 playoff) and three others close but 3 managers predict Peterhead.

Promoted from Division Two: Livingston (5), Falkirk (4 + 1 playoff), Queens Park (4 + 1 playoff) and Queen of the South (3 + 2 playoff).

Relegated from Division Two: Nairn (5 - 4 say bottom), Cowdenbeath (5, all say 15th), Arbroath (4 say 14th + 1 playoff) and Dumbarton (3)

Some consistent predictions with 4 managers picking Berwick at 8th, all picking Hamilton from 9th to 11th, all have Alnion Rovers from 10th to 13th.

Promoted from Division Three: Saint Mirren (all 5 say 1st), Motherwell (4), Clydebank (3 + 1 playoff) and Stranraer (2 + 2 playoff)

Wooden Spoon is close between Montrose (4 say bottom) and Fraserburgh (all 5 say 15th)

Very inconsistent predictions with East Fife 2nd and 14th, Raith 3rd and 13th

RED LICHTIES UPDATE
Season 17: Issue No 1

Results have certainly improved this week – 2 wins and a draw – a massive improvement on the form shown by the team whilst the boss was on holiday.

There was also good news on the transfer front with a new young sweeper, Craig Moore, being picked up in the latest auction.

The good news was also reflected in our league position as we moved out of the relegation zone and moved up to 11th.

On the negative side, despite our fantastic 1-0 win over Hearts it wasn’t enough to keep us in the Cup. Back in the League we were delighted to get a victory over a depleted Queens Park but we missed out on a captain’s bonus by not dropping our aggression levels at 3-0 up. Giving away a penalty when we did was sloppy! In our battling draw with Inverness we had our goalkeeper sent off. This seemed a bit harsh, especially as the first yellow card was for “handball”! We had our 1st choice goalkeeper on the bench however he remained there! New signing Craig Moore showed his versatility by going in goal and keeping a clean sheet but the amount of chances we created we think we could consider ourselves a little unlucky not to have taken all three points in this one.

The recent managers predictions competition show Arbroath given very little chance of avoiding relegation (none!) – this is better than last season when we were undoubtedly the worst team! However, we confounded the doom predictions last season and we believe we can do it again!

And finally, as this is our first press release of the season we must give our formal warm welcome back to SESL to Richie at Nairn. As former “rivals” it would be far too easy to cast the first stone as his club languishes at the foot of the table – we will therefore be respectful and refrain from commenting on his performance at this juncture… honest. The results speak for themselves