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St Roch's F.C. 2017-2018


ScottMcCorry

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The dreamers in this story are guys like jim Friel,tam the taxi,old digger and Gordon who have followed the roch since moses was a boy and travelled up and down the country watching the roch get slaughtered every week and still went back for more so if promotion is won it will be those guys I will be most happy for as they dreamed the dream and never let the nightmares stop them from daring to dream

 

 

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The dreamers in this story are guys like jim Friel,tam the taxi,old digger and Gordon who have followed the roch since moses was a boy and travelled up and down the country watching the roch get slaughtered every week and still went back for more so if promotion is won it will be those guys I will be most happy for as they dreamed the dream and never let the nightmares stop them from daring to dream
 
 

The boys will do it for Jim , Tam and Gordon, but also for you , kinky, Mark , Jamie , Scott , Aiden, Mandy, Stephen and every fan who has supported us this season and every season before. The players have grown up this season after a wee falter or two and with a couple of additions can have a real go of it next season in the Super. The gaffer , Garry and Stevie, peter and Gillian , boxer and Hax , Ken and Billy , Scott , the girls behind the counter, the guys on the gate and the committee. Every one has bust a gut and deserves what Monday will bring. Well done everyone no matter the score and mon the candy [emoji517]
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It was no surprise that William Wallace cried “Onward the brave”. You have to have belief and heart and desire and courage when you really want something and are ready to go into battle. If you want it then go and get it.

“Courage isn’t the last resort
In the work of life or the game of sport;
It isn’t a thing that a man can call
At some future time when he’s apt to fall;
If he hasn’t it now, he will have it not
When the strain is great and the pace is hot.
For who would strive for a distant goal
Must always have courage within his soul.”

Our ability is evident and clear to see and we have shown recently a belief and desire and the courage to keep battling when things don’t go our way. It has taken us this far and I am sure it can take us to promotion. The same again tonight please lads. See you all there.

Mon the Candy!
MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji460]️IMG_5631.jpg

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“Soldier from the wars returning,

Spoiler of the taken town,

Here is ease that asks not earning;

Turn you in and sit you down.

 

Peace is come and wars are over,

Welcome you and welcome all,

While the charger crops the clover

And his bridle hangs in stall.

 

Now no more of winters biting,

Filth in trench from tall to spring,

Summers full of sweat and fighting

For the Kesar or the King.

 

Rest you, charger, rust you, bridle;

Kings and kesars, keep your pay;

Soldier, sit you down and idle

At the inn of night for aye.”

 

This season, the players, staff, committee and fans have been an absolute credit to the proud traditions of this great club. Rest now for next season and reflect and accept the praise. I know that football can sink you so when the good times come, and believe me they have arrived this evening, then soak it up, be proud and love it. These are the stories that you will tell forever. Congratulations to you all. Be proud... be very proud.

 

Mon the Candy!

MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

 

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5 minutes ago, Kinky Afro said:

“Soldier from the wars returning,

Spoiler of the taken town,

Here is ease that asks not earning;

Turn you in and sit you down.

 

Peace is come and wars are over,

Welcome you and welcome all,

While the charger crops the clover

And his bridle hangs in stall.

 

Now no more of winters biting,

Filth in trench from tall to spring,

Summers full of sweat and fighting

For the Kesar or the King.

 

Rest you, charger, rust you, bridle;

Kings and kesars, keep your pay;

Soldier, sit you down and idle

At the inn of night for aye.”

 

This season, the players, staff, committee and fans have been an absolute credit to the proud traditions of this great club. Rest now for next season and reflect and accept the praise. I know that football can sink you so when the good times come, and believe me they have arrived this evening, then soak it up, be proud and love it. These are the stories that you will tell forever. Congratulations to you all. Be proud... be very proud.

 

Mon the Candy!

MTC! emoji517.pngemoji460.pngemoji172.pngemoji106.png

 

IMG_5647.jpgIMG_5635.jpgIMG_5636.jpg

Wee Bertie.....Legend;)

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Whilst ultimately the players will get the majority of the credit, and rightly so....i believe, the Port Glasgow game aside, their run in  form has been  amazing, especially considering the squad was at its minimum at time.

However, the manager deserves every bit of credit. I remembering hearing when he got the gig, and despite sitting second bottom of the whole pile, i felt it was an great appointment on and off the park...and i'm delighted to have been proven correct. Improved the league position EVERY season he has been at the club.

Twice he has rebuilt  a team at this club and twice he has then led that team to promotion....and its not always been easy times at James McGrory Park.

As i said, the players will rightly receive the plaudits, the committee will shake hands and pat backs, and the supporters will live it up...but for me, right now...here's to Andy.

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Well done everybody at St Rochs,now my official second junior team,made up for Kinky after losing good friend earlier in the year,that post wells me up still and ive read it a good few times.Some turn out by the Candy too.This goes back to your trip to Beechwood where you got in Talbot faces,yes showed respect but not fear and gave  a good account,its at  that point i thought,good we team,fight for one and another theyll do well this season and so it was proved.My bucket list now contains a trip to St Rochs in thee  near future,who knows a year or two you might be visiting Beechwood on a regular basis.I hope so,enjoy Kinky and friends you deserve it.

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Thank you for the kind words. I read that Talbot post again and felt again what I felt then... I shed a wee tear at the end. Powerful stuff, but that’s what football and friendship and love can do to you... if you let it. I am sure we will make new adventures and add them to the story bank next season. New grounds to visit, new fans to meet and new refs and players to give stick to. One thing is sure, we will give it all we have and I for one will enjoy the ride.

 

I am sure every fan who follows or ever did follow the Candy is proud today. Not only that, for a community so often castigated and cast aside, the display of pride and passion and togetherness and Joy of The Candy on the faces last night of the 600 odd who attended was a heart filling proud moment for me. I have loads to write this afternoon and I’m looking forward to it. I normally just try to write a wee report on the day and it just goes on and on as I get carried away... let me warn you all now... I’m carried away.... to be continued....

 

MTC!

 

 

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I can't wait kinky as your match reports are also part of the journey.

Very special last night and finally blew away the heartache of last season another lovely touch was all the tweets from other clubs congratulating our success which just goes to show that despite being enemies on the field of play the junior community can be gracious and respectful off it and I thank the club's for there thanks on a memorable occasion in the Garngad.

 

 

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As I posted on Twitter.....
At a time when the Junior game is taking an absolute kicking,@StRochsJuniors are a great example of everything that’s good about it.A club that’s in the up through hard work and proper community engagement.Congratulations guys.

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I wouldn’t post this on the pyramid thread due to the vitriol it would receive but I think after reading this thread all season you guys after last night will get it.ive no problem with the pyramid I just don’t want the end of junior football.Talbots history is my history,my dads history who died in April 1986 a month before Talbot won the Scottish,never to see the success to come,my kids history who think the junior cup final is a biennial occuranceWho would,in their right mind would want to give that history up and start from the beginning in a new league system because bet your bottom dollar,many would cry”the past doesn’t matter your starting from scratch”,.So for me the juniors is where it’s at,all that emotion you guys felt last night,the trials and tribulations over the years all packed into £6admission fee and home in time to check the coupon,what more do you need.............we’ll maybe more tears of joy if Talbot lift the holy grail again in two weeks time,and to think back to the old man saying we will never win this f***ing thing again.

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I am sure there will be season reviews and moments of matches mentioned that make me smile and remember and lament. You can look back at a period of your life and despite the trials and tribulations and ups and downs over undulations and through dark times and light, even when it turns out alright, it can leave you with so many feelings that you don’t know whether you feel good or bad or somewhere in between. It can take a while for me to reflect and digest and store my minds eye, an acute and often critical master, but my closest and dearest friend. I thrive on the immersion of football and like a sponge, I soak it up. I look and listen and feel and when I have gathered all the information I reflect and sort it and look for links and order and reason and humour and wit and fun. Sometimes it is difficult and my own dark skies cloud up and block out the radiance of the day.. I know that and I accept it and every day is a battle, but one I win more often than not now. If “Any port in a storm” is the cry then I find mine in the high walls and calm waters of this game we all share. I know I have it to come back to when the sea gets choppy or I spring a leak or the old engine packs in. I don’t want to sink, I want to keep floating for a while yet.... I have some great places to sail to in the next few years, my football life is joyous and busy right now and I am proud of what I do, an x marks the spot on my chart and I refuse to let anything stop me. I have managed to navigate the storms and dangerous waters and despite hitting the rocks at times, the Roch has saved me this season. It has given me a purpose and sanctuary where I could spend precious times with my auld man and speak to him about something he understands and loves and share the most basic of human requirements, to be loved. Never underestimate what some people find in this game we all moan at and castigate and bitch about. It can save you. I’m a Candy Bitch and I say it proudly.....

Cars stretch as far as the eyes can see (well, the old Ranza anyway) as I pull up and park on Royston Road at 630. I walk fast, the path trodden by hundreds of thousands before me across the years, I feel part of something and tonight could be the night. My auld man has the coffees in but I have a 10 minute talk in with the usual suspects as I enter the gate, we are mobbed already.... it is noise and colour and hopes and dreams, it is everything football should be and everything it is for me. I spot Stuart carrying 2 huge fireworks. I ask if I can take his picture, “A Glesga 2 bob rocket wae 2 rockets”. He gives me stick back and we all laugh. There is a nervous excitement in the air, I hoped his rockets would be joining it later. As I mentioned Stuart, a quick word here about the vocal and more colourful Candy fans and the unwarranted stick they have received again this season from some. Like all people let alone football fans, there is an edge to some. They can been seen by strangers as loud and raucous and a potential incident waiting to happen. Stuart and his mates stand to the left of the dug out and shout and support and moan at times and criticise and encourage and do what football fans should do, care about their team. I don’t care who you support, you could do with fans like these. I speak to Stuart and we talk about the game and he talks sensibly and passionately and rationally.. he and his merry band of men can be loud... but who wants quiet fans? I congratulate them for their support and hope they enjoy the new grounds and teams and the fun of the Super League. I’ve already written loads and I am not even at the bit where after a coffee and a chat with some Wishae lads in the clubhouse, all of us lamenting the punch drunk players as they entered the old skool boxing 15th round where there were often knockouts and bout winning moments, where the brave of heart and steel willed warriors were the only victors. It takes something special to be relentless and I think we have been recently. A tribe transformed and whipped into shape and discipline and belief and allowed to flourish and express themselves, allowed to lose, draw and win. Credit to the gaffer.. anyway... I get summonsed to help at the gate where Paul is getting over ran. Tam the taxi is standing outside stoking up the fires of our gateman’s frustration as he shouts “git a hurry oan. These lads ur wanting in fur kick aff”. He smokes another fag and chuckles. The crowds flood in. Under 16s are free and I could over 50 come in during the 15 mins I’m there. A couple of hundred adults come in, loads of pensioners, men and women, every one told to “enjoy the game” as they pay their ££ or get in for free. It is a huge crowd and as I stood just before half time, Tracy from the kicthen walks by and says “we have nearly sold everything already. Im just back from ASDA so all we have is warm cans and cauld pies!” “No change there then” cracks a Candy comedian. We are a cracking wee club when we do things right and the anticipation was building. Sun splitting the sky and green field stretching before you with hundreds lining the terrace and as you parted with your fiver and entered, there was a buzz and an aliveness that I seldom see in Junior football. It had everything to be a marvellous night and all we needed was a performance... the teams ran out and I walked to my spot by the dug out, it was mobbed already but I got my place just as we kicked off. I started the 45 min count down on my phone and settled in for my journey to the Promised
Land....

We started well but I could tell Wishae were a decent side. They were better than anything we had played and beaten on our previous 4 game in 9 days midweek away games which had taken us to the brink. We went one up with a penalty then could have gone 2 up but for a poor finish/great save (delete as you find) and then we sat back. I was going to say we didn’t defend well but I’ll change that to we defended quite well considering the positions we took up. It is easy to look on and say we should push up or hold our line or stay goal side... the lads are what they are and all I ask for as a fan is 100% effort. If you are out of position or struggling then you need your mates to dig you out. We did that last night and that got us through. They were the better team in the first half, the last 20 mins especially and they got a penalty themselves and a strange sight as their keeper walked up and slotted coolly into the corner to make it 1-1. This prompted the twinkle toed Wayne Sleep right back to start mouthing over the the candy fans beside me on the terrace. “Git it up yay” was his cry and whilst I don’t mind any banter, it isn’t a wise move as a player to get involved with the opposition fans.. and so it proved. We started the second half well and after a Logie Lob rebounded off the bar, Wee Darn nodded into the empty net and the ground erupted. Posh people only use the downstairs loo for a Number 1, however this Wee Number 2 got some shite. He became the object of some hilarious stick which had them Rocking in the Roch aisles courtesy of John, the bespectacled barracker of fan engaging players. Not the first time this season but with a bigger audience his turn went down a treat with the Candy faithful. The fans were happy but nervous. It was a game where we knew a win would take us up and make us champions if Rossvale don’t win on Saturday, but I didn’t want to even think what a draw would do. A nervous final 20 mins mirrors the dimming light and as the long shadows of tension fade to the early dusk of realisation, Calm and Composed Candy Chaps in the defence show their green colours and head everything and clear everything and win everything. Tam Hanlon shows why when he screws the nut he is an invaluable piece of the Roch jigsaw, Big Bryson and Bull are excellent and Berto has the assurity you only seem to see with a cultured left footer. Kieron Daw leads the team terrier like and Rees does his bit in an unusual right side role. Darn scored and runs about busy and wee Ryan is his usual hard working self. Logie gets little joy but his goals have got us up. The subs come on and do their bit, Big Steph clears another 3 into the trees and breaks up play and stops move with clever fouls. Starkie is safe in goal but I saw an outstanding performance last night in my eyes. A player who looked Johnny Average to me earlier in the season but who I have saw over the last month turn in a standard of play that has delighted me and impressed immensely. Paul Tierney has held our team together in more games than I can remember. As a fellow member of the DCHS.. Dirty Centre Half Society.. I have been impressed by his talking and organisation skills, he never gets caught on the ball, he clears his lines, never gets caught on the wrong side, wins more headers than he should for someone his size and he manages the back 4 like an old chess master. When the shit is hitting the fan as a centre back the way you get through it is by staying calm and keeping your shape, winning your battles and clearing your lines and getting others to work. He does that, often under the average fans radar, but not mine. You have been an absolute credit to yourself young man....

The final whistle goes and the Candy players huddle and bounce, the fans rejoice and the management team embrace. The kids run onto the pitch and join in. How many of them in the years to come will remember the joy of last night? I walk round to get my auld man and he is smiling. I see Bertie Auld with teeth at least 70 years younger than he is and we share a picture. I say to Bertie “Cracking result. We battled hard” and he replied “You have to do that at all levels big man. You win nothing without heart”. It felt great to hear from the mouth of a legend a mantra I hold true. It takes more than being able to play well to be a good player. I congratulate the gaffer and the players and the staff as they walk off, green flares and fireworks going off all around us. The Rocket’s industrial sized rockets are sent skyward and explode to a load cheer from below and panic at Glasgow airport air traffic control. He is Candy, He don’t care. My auld man stumbles as we head back to the car.. he wouldn’t have been the only one staggering and stumbling as he left. We were promotion drunk and our usual 2 min walk to the car was 15 mins as we shook hands and walked the long long longer than usual way past the shrinking line of parked cars to mine, I got in and sat down. I dropped him off and collected mini me and got home and sat down. Mini me goes upstairs and I’m sat down, on my own, no noise and just my thoughts. My harbour from the choppy seas. The calm and safety and solitude of post football come down. I’ve gone from St James’ Park to StRochs and the Premier league to the Super League in 24 hours. A fan is a fan and a football fan am I. A Common Man, A Man For All Season. Who wants More?

With the Candyman curtain call still ringing in my ears in the silence of my living room, All of the Stars are Fading Away and I take 10 minutes out and just sit. I sit and think and remember people who have coloured my life and who have engaged my mind and have inflamed my passions and earned my love this past season. It’s the football come down and I enjoy it. I enjoy the thoughts and feelings and noises and smells and hopes and dreams and joy and, in a strange way, the bad times. Only when you experience the lows can you truly appreciate the highs. Be it up or down, stormy or calm, good times or bad, you can be sure that this game will keep you right. You just have to let it in. Wow [emoji50] , who would have thought it eh? The Super League!! The Candy!! Our wee club representing us all, fighting for each other and the community and making a splash. Our club. All of us together. We should all be proud today..... The Roch is arriving and arising. The Candy’s going up!

My Candy girl, you let me love you this season and I thank you. You shine a little love on my life.

Mon the Candy!
MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]
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