Francesc Fabregas

Thanks Ally, appreciate how difficult a time this must be for you and your fellow supporters - your posts on here, and your appearances on The Terrace Podcast, have been illuminating and much appreciated. While tonight's statement describes how Edinburgh City are moving forward, it doesn't really tell us why they're in their current predicament, why the players are moving on and why the development and women's team are folding. It feels like some secret everyone knows about but isn't allowed to discuss openly. Following the Stirling Albion game, both the club's Twitter account and Michael McIndoe, speaking in his post-match interview, referenced the difficult, ongoing situation without directly addressing it. Why is this? I think the club's communications over the past fortnight has been poor with newspaper articles, forum posts and rumours filling in the gaps where strong messaging should have been. I'm not sure if this has been deliberately but I don't think it's helped. Good luck for the remainder of the season.

My learned associate above me has summed it up very well (and this is probably just a rewrite of his points). We've recruited to a good standard, our manager has improved the players left by his predecessor, and we've had a good deal of luck go our way. Our three most important signings have been Darren Jamieson, Gregor Buchanan and Matty Aitken. Under Stephen Swift, we were dogged by some terrible goalkeepers - Ryan Marshall, David Wilson, Conor Brennan - and Gary Naysmith rectified this in the summer by bringing in Jamieson from Kelty Hearts. Jamieson has probably been our most important recruit and an enormous upgrade on everyone that came before him. He brings a cast-iron assurance that spreads throughout the team and into the stands - whenever we're under pressure, I'm always confident he'll come for a cross or make a punch and just relieve the tension. On top of that, he's saved us, off the top of my head, about four points with crucial stops; his block to stop Conor McManus in injury time against East Fife on Saturday won us the game. Buchanan too has been an upgrade at centre-back and looks like a better player than Sean Crighton was at Ochilview. I always liked Crighton but never felt we got value for money from him. That's not the case with Buchanan, who's dominated every match he's taken part in (the less said about that first half against Dumbarton, the better!) and can bring the ball out of defence and pick a pass. He's formed a really strong partnership with Nicky Jamieson and if you have a good goalie and two strong centre-backs, you'll go a long way at this level. Further forward, we've needed a player like Aitken since Robert Thomson moved on, someone that can occupy defenders, take the ball into his feet, hold it up, and get the team up the park. Tam Orr had his qualities but could not play with his back to goal and the whole team suffered for it. Aitken can be frustrating at times but when he's on his game, he makes it look so easy, and his goal return has been impressive. We've recruited well in other areas too - Ross Taylor is an exciting prospect who, if he can iron out the deficiencies in his game, could go far; Kinlay Bilham has been the find of the season and has done well at left-back (and it's hard to believe he was initially brought in to supplement Jordan Lowdon); and Edin Lynch, while maligned, has generally been solid enough wherever he's featured. Naysmith inherited some good players from Stephen Swift but it feels as though he's made them better. In his three seasons with the club, Michael Anderson has gone from "my God, this guy's rubbish!" to "hang on, he's actually quite good!" to "if he could play with consistency, he'd be great!" to "he's the best player in League 2!" I thought this could be a breakout year for Anderson and I'm glad he's performing well every week; signing him up until 2025 was a good move. I thought Nat Wedderburn should have been moved on at the end of last season, a "clearing of the decks", if you will, alongside Crighton and Ross Forbes, but he's complemented Anderson's dynamism in midfield and the pair have a nice balance. Euan O'Reilly, Matty Yates and Adam Brown have all played to a high standard this season and, like Anderson, are doing it on a consistent basis. We've also been lucky in a number of areas. Aitken missed a couple of games in the League Cup group stages and Taylor missed a month with a shoulder injury but other than that, we've been fortunate that our key players have remained fit. If anything was to happen to, say, Darren Jamieson, Buchanan, Anderson or Aitken, I think we might look exposed. It's important that our business next month improves the squad and maintains our forward momentum. We need cover in the middle of the park and up front, and it might be worth looking for some new players on loan (I don't think there'll be any tears shed if Marley Sweenie-Rowe or Mark Ferrie return to their parent clubs in January). Our business last year wasn't too hot - Kian Speirs, Jacob Blaney, Curtis Lyle, Lowdon and Gavin Reilly didn't suddenly catapult us into the play-off places (even if Reilly was quite good at points) - but I hope our current league position might tempt a higher calibre of player to join. Our luck has also extended to key moments such as James Berry's late winners against the Spartans and especially against Dumbarton, Martin Rennie clattering a ball over the bar from close range late on in the 2-2 draw with Clyde, and Nathan Austin's disallowed goal against East Fife at the weekend. These are all intangible and difficult to explain away but everything seems to be going in our favour at the moment. I'm delighted with how the season's played out so far. I was anxious at the beginning of the campaign, believing our small squad would hinder us (especially when we listed a bench of trialists in the League Cup game against Alloa Athletic), but we've been fortunate so far. Naysmith, who knows what it takes to succeed in League 2, has built a close-knot squad of good, likeable players who have made a strong connection with the supporters and I really hope they can go the distance. I don't want to get carried away - we all remember the 2005/06 season! - but it's hard not to on the current run.

An entertaining encounter awaits as Stenhousemuir welcome Elgin City to Ochilview. On paper, this is a very presentable fixture for the home side - they've won seven games on the spin, they're playing good football and the lucky breaks seem to be going their way, while the visitors have lost their last two matches 4-0 and are conceding terrible goals on an industrial scale. The last meeting between the teams finished 1-1 but, by all accounts, Stenny should have been out of sight; wasteful finishing, a red card and a stramash allowed Elgin to equalise late on. I'm confident going into this one - we should be given how the respective teams are performing just now - and I wonder if we'll see any alterations to the starting XI. The only suggestion I would make is swapping out Edin Lynch for Ross Meechan as I expect us to be on the front foot here and Meechan will give us more going forward but I wouldn't be averse at all to going with our tried-and-tested line-up: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - Elgin are not a good team - I watched the highlights of their defeat at East Fife and thought they played appallingly - but they have to be treated as a serious threat. Although new manager Allan Hale has yet to make an impact, it could come at the unlikeliest place at the home of a team flying at the top of the table. Nevertheless: home win!

A real game of two halves. Stenhousemuir were cruising before the interval, dominating the match and playing some eye-catching football, but East Fife were far better after the restart, had the home side on the back foot for long spells, and should have tied the match at the death; it took a world-class save from Darren Jamieson to maintain Stenny's advantage. Nevertheless, that's the Warriors' seventh consecutive victory and if you can without playing well, well... On a cold, windswept afternoon, Stenhousemuir were excellent in the first half. Euan O'Reilly opened the scoring from close range and Matty Yates rattled home an terrific free-kick to extend their lead. O'Reilly was tremendous in the opening stages, ceaselessly tying up Sean Docherty in knots, and it might have been his best performance of the season - if only his second-half strike had gone in! Ross Taylor troubled Stuart Murdoch on the other flank, Matty Aitken pushed the centre-backs around, and Mikey Anderson got his toe to everything in the middle of the park. East Fife struggled to cope and the game was pockmarked by a serious of fouls, some clumsy, some cynical, and I felt the referee was a little lenient with his yellow card; Scott Shepherd should definitely have been booked for clattering Anderson. Stenny were playing against the wind in the first half but it brought them no advantage in the second. Aitken, so strong in the opening 45, couldn't get a grip of the ball in the second and his team lost control of the game. Where East Fife had been passive, they suddenly looked assured, nullifying their hosts attack and taking a grip of the midfield. Swapping the ineffectual Kieran Millar for Alan Trouten was a good move and forced Stenny deep. For all their positive play, they lacked a cutting edge - Jamieson was largely untested in goal and the only time East Fife did get in behind, Nathan Austin poked home Brogan Walls' goal-bound shot from an offside position. Stenny made changes of their own and appeared to ride out the storm until Nathan Austin flicked in Jack Healy's teasing cross late on. They were at panic stations at this point and it took an extraordinary piece of goalkeeping from Jamieson to prevent Conor McManus, I think, drawing his side level. This match reminded me a lot of our encounter against Clyde at the end of September, where we ceded control in the second half and almost chucked it away. We were fortunate that East Fife couldn't take advantage but it highlighted how important Aitken is to how the team plays - when he's good, Stenny are good; when he's off it, Stenny struggle (although I appreciate we needed more from Anderson and Nat Wedderburn after the restart too). Another striker, a credible alternative to Aitken, is a priority next month, and I wouldn't be surprised if we're sniffing around Ryan Shanley once he extricates himself from Edinburgh City's financial meltdown. The most important thing today is we won without playing well in atrocious conditions. Seven wins on the bounce is a ridiculous run of form and we have a solid opportunity to extend it to eight and nine when we take on Elgin City and Clyde before the end of the year. It's a good time to be following the club just now - long may it continue!

I watched the highlights from East Fife's game against Elgin City from Saturday. It's hard to tell if East Fife were very good or Elgin City were terrible; it's probably a bit of both. Nevertheless, the attacking players like Scott Shepherd and Ryan Schiavone all had played well and will need to be watched closely. I quite like Scott Shepherd, he's developing into a very useful lower-league forward. Strong runner, bags of enthusiasm, decent touch, good for seven or eight goals a season.

A View from the Terrace won't be back until February 2024 but this is absolutely the kind of thing that should be highlighted and discussed. For something that should be a straightforward process (for the biggest game of the season, no less), it really feels unnecessarily Kafkaesque. Good luck on Saturday, I hope you're able to make it.

Ross Taylor is class to watch, isn't he? The kind of player you really look forward to getting on the ball. Some of his raids down the right on Saturday were terrific. It doesn't always come off for him, and he can be a little ill-disciplined, but when those wee hips get waggling, you just now something's going to happen.

The biggest game in Scotland this weekend is taking place in FK5 as Stenhousemuir welcome East Fife to Ochilview. Both sides are coming into this match in contrasting fortunes - Stenny have won their last six matches, while the Fifers seem capable of thrashing the division's lesser lights but unable to beat the stronger competitors. Recent encounters between the sides have been close, with the Warriors narrowly winning 2-0 in Methil in August, and I'm expecting this match to be similar. There's no reason for Gary Naysmith to alter the team that beat Dumbarton on Saturday. The players should be confident coming into this one and, providing they haven't had their very own "La Manga" on their Christmas night out in Liverpool, raring to go: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Nat Wedderburn - Mikey Anderson - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - Adam Brown will return from a one-game ban and will probably make do with a cameo appearance off the bench. I also hope James Berry can build on his goal from the weekend (even if he knew nothing about it) and can also contribute at some point too. East Fife aren't having the season I expected from them but they're not a side to be underestimated and they've caused us setbacks in the past. Nevertheless, we have a presentable run of fixtures between now and the new year - the Fifers, Elgin City, Clyde - and I'd be disappointed if we're unable to keep the good run here. Home win!

Need to hear more about these bad dads.

I thought Stenhousemuir deserved to win today's match and any other outcome would have been unfair. After riding out a sticky 20-minute spell at the beginning of the game, Stenny were the more dominant side, played on the front foot and could have scored long before the ball whacked off James Berry and into the net at the death. It's an enormous three points and a win that puts us a good distance clear at the top of table; there's a very good feeling around Ochilview at the moment. On the whole, I thought it was a really entertaining encounter between two in-form sides. Given the inclement weather in Dumbarton over the past couple of days, I was expecting an attritional battle but was pleasantly surprised with both teams doing their best to keep possession and build through the middle. The Sons looked the part from the off and had us pinned back, with Kalvin Orsi giving Kinlay Bilham a particularly hard time down the right flank, and they knocked the ball around well in the final third. But other than a header straight at Darren Jamieson, they didn't really test the visitors, and once Stenny got to grips with the game, they were the better side for the most part. Nicky Jamieson and Gregor Buchanan were excellent at centre-back and kept almost everything at bay, but Nat Wedderburn was the best player on the park, turning in his finest performance of the season, with his big arse and long legs ensuring his team stayed on top. Wedderburn also got through a power of running in the middle and really dug his team-mates out at points, something you tend not to see from him. Edin Lynch also had a decent game and if he did noise up the home fans at the end, fair play, good, because I've no doubt he was given a hard time throughout. Further forward, Matty Yates and Ross Taylor showed some flashes of excellence as they support Matty Aitken. Aitken should have scored when Yates (I think) teed him up, and Euan O'Reilly should definitely have scored when Taylor put in a low ball from the right with the goal gaping. Brett Long deserves a lot of credit for making two outstanding saves but the ball should have hit the net both times. Instead, it took Berry being in the right place at the right time with four minutes remaining to deflect Mikey Anderson's shot into the net. The ball seemed to take an age as it meekly trundled over the line but what a feeling! That's twice now we've scored winners from deflected Anderson efforts (the first was against the Spartans, where his shot cannoned off Nicky Jamieson and went in), and that's twice now Berry has won the game for Stenhousemuir late on. I think we're all yet to be convinced by him - he looks a little slight and overawed by the pace of League 2 - but I'm convinced he'll come good and develop into an important player, much like Anderson. Dumbarton forced a couple of stramashes towards the death but couldn't capitalise on their insistent work. I generally liked what I saw from them and think they've got a useful group of players there, but I can understand their supporters' frustrations because it does feel like a significant setback, even at this stage, and adds credence to the belief that you can never fully trust Stevie Farrell to manage Dumbarton to success. I imagine Farrell will think his side were unlucky to lose out to a late deflected goal but they just didn't do enough to win the match themselves. All I can hope is that Stenhousemuir build on this performance and maintain their excellent form over the festive period. They have a presentable run of fixtures against some of the poorest sides in the division, but we've drawn with Elgin City earlier in the season and could have easily lost to Clyde, so nothing can be taken for granted. I hope the players have an excellent Christmas night out this evening because they deserve to celebrate after what they've served us up so far.

Congratulations to Gary Naysmith for winning the League 2 Manager of the Month for November. Naysmith, and his team, deserve enormous credit for how they've bounced back from the Scottish Cup defeat to Brora Rangers and climbed to the top of division. And congratulations once more to Matty Aitken for winning the League 2 Player of the Month for the same period. A snootier person might say Mikey Anderson's perhaps more deserving of the accolade but Aitken's goals - five in four games, lest we forget! - have been vital to our excellent form. Aitken really seems to be coming into a game just now, and long may it continue. Fair play to everyone associated with the club at the moment!

If you're going to put a Scottish Cup embarrassment against non-league opposition in rearview mirror, there's no better way to do it than by winning your next five matches! In all five games, there's been something to admire - a come-from-behind victory against Forfar Athletic, bouncing back from two quickfire setbacks against the Spartans, playing one of the best teams in the division off the park (Peterhead), winning in Stranraer for the first time in eight years, and beating stubborn opponents with 10 men (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic). We've got a good manager, a likeable group of players and we're capable of playing good football. If that's not a cause for optimism, I don't know what is! It's fun to get carried away sometimes! You must remember how it good it feels to dream?

The biggest game in the SPFL this weekend sees Dumbarton hosting Stenhousemuir at the Rock. Both sides are legitimate title contenders and this contest could have a big bearing on the destination of the championship come May. The last meeting between the sides was a good laugh, with Dumbarton racking up four goals in 25 first-half minutes to eventually win 4-2, and Stenny actually playing well, despite the scoreline. That match in late August was Stenhousemuir's only league defeat of the season, and they've been in tremendous form lately with five consecutive wins. The Sons have been equally as impressive, with five consecutive victories in all competitions. I am pumped for this one - it's got a real top-of-the-table feeling to it. Adam Brown's suspension following his red card against Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic will force a reshuffle but it's a pretty straightforward swap with Ross Taylor poised to take his place. Taylor's had to make do with a number of cameo appearances in recent weeks and I've no doubt he'll be excited to play from the start. The rest of the team picks itself: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - Other than that daft 25-minute spell, where everything Dumbarton touched went in, we've looked defensively assured and we'll be counting on Buchanan and Jamieson once more. I fancy us a bit here - I'm not sure if we'll win but I don't think we'll lose either. Hopefully the pitch is in a playable condition. I'll see you all there!

Bonnyrigg Rose consistently have the best highlights in the business and they've captured Kieran McGachie's ridiculous dive in all its glory. Skip to 7:20 to see the big man at his very best!

I was delighted to see the club pay tribute to the great Donald Smilie by naming the Tryst Road terracing after him yesterday. The Donald Smilie Enclosure is a brilliant way to commemorate his 90th birthday and mark all the great things he's done for Stenhousemuir over the past few decades. What a man, and what a gesture!

On the whole, I think Stenhousemuir deserved the victory today, but that was a rotten game. I don't know what it is about Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic but every time we play them, they seem to bring out the worst in us and we abandon all pretence of "playing football" and deploy ugly, attritional tactics instead. It seems to work, nevertheless! We've now got a wee cushion at the top of the table, and that's something that should hold us in good stead for the time being. Our best players today were our two centre-halves and our left-back, which pretty much sums it up. Matty Aitken took his goal well, Matty Yates should have doubled our advantage, and Mikey Anderson and Nat Wedderburn performed to a decent standard. Outside of that, it was aggression, percentages and hard graft. Bonnyrigg are a competitive team, and you have to work very hard to get the better of them, but my word they're a brutal side to watch. They must have the worst assortment of strikers in the division - Alieu Faye was honking when the teams first met in September and Smart Osadolor was no better here. He spent most of the game offside, and other than a decent flick-on in the first half, did not involve himself to any great extent. Kieran McGachie, who came on to replace him midway through the second half, should have provided a different kind of threat but instead committed a series of daft fouls before collecting a second red card for diving. It was a pathetic showing from a player who has the potential to offer quite a bit to his team. Bonnyrigg's style of play must be grimly effective to some extent but I've yet to see any evidence of it across the six meetings between the teams since they joined the SPFL. Stenhousemuir have recorded five wins on the bounce now, an impressive run of form, and it felt a bit of a statement win - down to 10 men with 15 minutes to go against one of the toughest sides in the division, and we still found a way to keep them at arm's length and get three points. Adam Brown's dismissal for dissent was on the only black mark on the day. We go into next weekend's game with Dumbarton with a degree of confidence but I've got a feeling that, because of the Sons' appalling pitch, we won't see this game played until March or April next year. It could be a real six-pointer at the top of League 2! Let's hope it's on!

We've won every match we've played at New Dundas Park since Bonnyrigg Rose's promotion to the SPFL.

According to the Stenhousemuir FC Twitter account, Danny Jardine has left the club and is taking an indefinite break from football following the reoccurrence of a serious knee injury. I feel terribly sorry for Jardine - I can't imagine what it's like to suffer a long-term injury and work hard to regain your fitness, only for the same thing to happen again almost immediately. I wish him well in his recovery and hope he's back playing in some capacity in the future.

Edin Lynch hasn't done anything to merit losing his place at the moment and against a gang of hammer-throwers like Bonnyrigg, I'd be doubly keen to keep him in there for the time being! Ross Meechan's been okay this season. Not terrible at all, but not fabulous either. Just okay. He'll probably get a run-out with 20 minutes to go anyway; Gary Naysmith really seems to like subbing him on.

After a miserable weekend with zero football, we're back to the big boys' stuff when Stenhousemuir take on Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic at Ochilview. The sides have played each other five times since the Rose won promotion to the SPFL, and all five games have been hard, hard work. The last meeting, a 1-0 win to the Warriors at New Dundas Park back in September, was particularly brutal. The law of averages says that at least one games is going to be a good laugh, so why not this one! The home side come into this match in great form, winning four on the bounce. Stenhousemuir are playing well at the moment - we have a solid defence, the best player in the division in Michael Anderson (in my opinion!), and a strong array of attacking talent, with decent options in reserve. They'll come into this one as favourites but they're going to have to scrap and fight to get something from this Bonnyrigg team, who have arrested a sticky run with back-to-back victories. I don't think they're a particularly good team, and I find their approach tedious, but you have to admire their spirit and camaraderie. Stenny have been a bogey side for them and I've no doubt that will add an extra degree of motivation. Stenhousemuir will line up with the same XI that beat Peterhead and Stranraer: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Adam Brown - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - I fancy Stenhousemuir for this one. Anything else and I'd be disappointed, quite frankly, but I'm under no illusion how difficult this encounter is going to be!

Someone might need to correct but I think the following players are signed up until the summer of 2025: Michael Anderson James Berry Kinlay Bilham Gregor Buchanan Ross Meechan Euan O'Reilly Ross Taylor I thought Darren Jamieson was signed up on a two-year deal but it appears to be a 12-month contract instead. Alas!

It does! Mikey Anderson has signed a new contract with Stenhousemuir until the summer of 2025. This is great news - I think Anderson is the best player in the division at the moment and his improvement at the club has been stark. He genuinely looked like he was plucked from the stands in his earlier games but he's developed into such a force in the middle of the park for us. I think he's got the ability to get even better too. What a way to start the weekend!

I hope this means what I think it means!

I was coming on to post something very similar to this - Andy Graham is probably the most charismatic person I've ever met and I'm positive he's going to make an excellent manager. I really hope he can fire the Wasps up the table and the club can enjoy a positive season.

It's good fun following Stenhousemuir at the moment. We're performing well in the division, playing some good football, and it feels like we're in with our best shot of winning a title since the 2005/06 season. But my favourite thing is the bond between the players and the supporters - after last night's match, Nicky Jamieson, Adam Brown, Gregor Buchanan, Mikey Anderson and Euan O'Reilly were in the Wee Bar with fans celebrating the result and talking about the game. They all seem like a great bunch of boys, always happy to have a chat, and it's a very endearing quality. Long may it continue! Also, Mr Naysmith, if you're reading this: sit down with Anderson and give the boy whatever he wants! What a player! Get him signed up now!