Kinky Afro

Well... after a Scottish Cup tie that bored the pants off me last week both teams served up a cracker in the replay. Credit to Renfrew who dominated possession in the second half after turning round 1-0 down after a dominant Candy first half display. Those who know me know I call a game fair and love a good defensive display. I was impressed by the Candy rearguard action today.. very impressed. Great result and a great performance in front of a great support. All in all a good day at the Scottish Cup office. MTC! [emoji460]️ [emoji517][emoji106]

A quick get well soon to Candy fan Matthew. See you back at a game soon mate. [emoji172] Brought my dad along yesterday again and enjoyed my pre match chats and coffee in the busy clubhouse. A good quality game as well with numerous excellent performances on both sides in difficult conditions. Credit to both teams and to both sets of fans. A healthy away quota vocal and following their team, partaking of the club house hospitality beforehand and giving some gesticulations and stick across to our side when they equalised. It all just left me with a good feeling and a hard earned and well deserved point just made it all sit better. We scored 2 good goals to come back and go into the break 2-1 up, a second half penalty from the impressive Darvel #7 tied the game and we did well to hold on. Over the piece I think Darvel will count themselves unlucky but we did control the game in parts especially in the first half, in what was an impressive team performance. I want to make a special mention to our scratch centre half duo. A pair of misfits who slotted into the role and performed at a standard that as an old centre half myself, I watched specifically more than most, appreciated more than most and gave me the 2 best moments of the game. Some people see joy in the flowing passing and smart finishes of our goals, my highlights are simple defensive plays. You probably missed them even if you saw them. The first half saw a last man centre half step forward and leave their right winger offside. This looks simple but requires awareness and confidence and showed we were in tune as a defensive unit. I loved it. Late on in the second half, we were hanging on a bit, a centre back went for the header but missed it and the other centre back swept round the back and hoofed it first time right over their dugout. Classic one goes one drops off centre half pairing. I loved it. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder then I think this centre half pairing were deliciously beautiful. Well played lads, the best performances I have seen from either of you.... keep going and keep working hard and keep doing the simple things well. To some fans, they are the real things of beauty. Having read some harsh fans words after recent performances it was refreshing to see fight and desire and structure and discipline and no shortage of heart and quality. It really is a simple game and a simple ask. All players can deliver that and regardless of ability and performance, you will get my backing and the backing of the fans if you show those qualities every week. Most of the time it isn’t always someone else’s fault. Look at yourself and keep you standards high and you will get your rewards. The Candy did that yesterday and even though we sometimes fall out, (What relationship doesn’t go through that?) it reminded the fans of why they love this team the way they do. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

Sounds like a poor affair all round, especially after I thought the Roch played some good stuff against Petershill a few days before... Back in the days before mobile phones and sat nav when I was playing for the Roch... (maybe 1993?) we were playing Thorniewood away and “remembered” seeing a sign for it whilst driving so told the gaffer I would meet them there... ended up in Thornliebank... by the time I found the right town/ground we had started with a coach called Joe as we were short so I got changed quick and went on... they never delayed THAT game.... and we got beaten too... [emoji23] How long do you delay a game for? What about the fans who are there and need to be somewhere after? Sounds like a fair shout to start on time but must have stuck in the throat on that bus..... chalk it up to experience... getting there late (most of my tackles were like that too)...that’s what happens when you are 100 years old... MON THE CENTURIANS! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji106]

Well well well all’s well and swell as the Candy crushed the wheezey Peasy in front of a bumper midweek crowd on a lush green pitch under the greying and tear sodden skies. Tears of pain or joy (who were you supporting?) as a three goal second half blast left one side of the ground huddling quietly sheep like under the small enclosure, lamenting their 10 men’s demise at the feet and wise old heads of some slick interpassing and quality interplay. The other side by contrast (I know cos wiz there) were smiling and laughing, the rain means nothing when your team are soaked and soaring to a 3-0 win. The goals filled the eyes with wonder, the heart with an increased pulse and the mind with the endorphins that only the fabulousness of your football team can bring when they get it right. I thought our opponents did well at times and thought their big 9 was a handful. They actually had a half chance to go ahead just before the Candy corkscrew turned and pierced their corky defence. The 3rd goal In particular got me as it was quick and incisive and very pleasing on the eye. It was like a 180 in darts, yes yes YES! Great pass, early cross, one touch placed in the corner. I was impressed at times by our control and flair and movement and execution more so than I have ever been at the Roch in the last few years. A very promising and encouraging start to the season. A season which I doubt unfortunately that I will see much of.... I will get to the Candy whenever I can and have done my bit with 6 centenary memberships and shorts and shirt purchases. I always pay my full ££ entry and frequent the coffee hatch... but my support will be mental and spiritual rather than vocal and physical and written . If I don’t see another Candy game this season then Lord above.. I have a great big rain soaked laughter smiling hand shaking wonder of magical goals and derby day drenching to keep me going. If this is the Candy rainfall then I hope it rains forever. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji460]️[emoji517][emoji106]

Laughed at they last 2 posts! [emoji23][emoji122] Sometimes people get a bit too serious about it all.... top contributions chaps. I genuinely hope there are more like that this season instead of someone taking one sentence from a long post, missing the joke, then getting all high and mighty and overly officious, peppered by pomposity. It’s a game to be enjoyed after all and I for one am still enjoying it. This forum must be about banter and mickey taking and slagging when we lose and us gloating when we win. The Candy are 100 years old and we won’t be the best team and we ain’t the worst team in our history. We have a good number of fans and what looked like a good base of players on Tuesday... even with as many left feet as you could count. [emoji23] Mon the left peggers, MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji106]

“How this has developed into accusations of "the Roch ur stoapin the boy goin senior" is just ridiculous” Calm down Mr Sensitive... no one is suggesting you are saying that or have done. Knowing some of the people who love to have a dig it was a preemptive strike by me to cover some of the pish that has been said already and that I heard last night. As it is I’ve heard the lad didn’t get an offer to go pro/senior so it is a non point. You will see if you read what I wrote, I already said this was all nonsense and not the Candy creed or philosophy. I agree with you... lots of reasons make a decision for a player like the ones you listed... it’s not all about money and we are not in the market for paying people amounts for them to ignore all other factors. I thought the young lad did well last night when he came on and hopefully we can help him develop, improve his game and who knows where he could go after that? I’m sure that will be why he chose us over some other offers.... As well as missing the banter on the sidelines I have missed the hair trigger response and defensiveness of this forum which is, after all, the modern tech equivalent of anybody saying anything about anything in the Roman forum... aye, it’s good tae be back for another season.[emoji460]️ Whit did ye say?? [emoji23][emoji517][emoji460]️

Good wee run out and performance last night against a good Clydebank side on a balmy Summer evening on the banks of the Clyde and under the landing planes [emoji574]️ . I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the new lads and the signs look good for the season ahead. Our back 4 looked good and new lad in centre midfield has real ability. Young subs looked capable and promising and the BIG lad up front looked good and if we can get him over the line then he will be a massive plus. I’ve heard he has options to perhaps go senior but if he doesn’t he will come to us. That gets me onto another bit of gossip/rumour/chit chat/nonsense from last night. There is no way that StR would ever discourage anyone from progressing up the ranks or into senior football. Why would we? Our ground is named after a guy who played for a couple of years then went senior to become the greatest goalscorer in British football. We don’t have the budget to outbid senior team for young players and neither should we in my opinion. Different matter if you are trying to attract a senior experienced player who is thinking about a few offers and who will make a massive difference to our team. Even then we ain’t cash rich. I know some fans look for bigger stories and are happy to throw the “the Roch ur stoapin the boy goin senior” ehhhh naw way urnae and neither we widnae. [emoji23] If someone is good enough to go pro and he wants to go then he should go and we should (and will) wish them every bit of good luck. From speaking to the gaffer I know he would be delighted to have helped develop a player who moves up. Feathers in the Candy Cap and all that... Some great shouts from the terracing last night as the sizeable Candy Crowd dished our a few vocal gems to match the good efforts on the pitch.... CB player after he miscontrols- “fkn hell” Candy fan- “Hey you, watch yer language there’s kids about” CB player grumps a screwed up face and answers him back with something under his breath Candy fan- “well fk aff then ya p***k” Some fans also offered to cut the opposition managers member off and place it in his throat.... and then lambasted the ref to “get him telt ref. He disnae respect yer authority” [emoji23][emoji23][emoji172] Irony Irony everyone’s after ye.... aye, it was good to be back! Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

Junior and senior pro players don’t all get paid the same even at the same club and I know there are professional players at Scottish premier league clubs who earn less than some players in the juniors.... I would be amazed if StR were in the business of out offering senior clubs... [emoji848] see you all tonight... [emoji460]️

I suppose it is a mark of where we are that you can go away to Larkhall with a weakened team and come away with a 2-0 win and be underehelmed. We looked in control in the first half but they were better second half, ironically losing 2 goals during that time. The goals were well taken by Ryan, a young player with a lot of potential who could be so much more with a few tweaks... A good away crowd again and a tense atmosphere at times, especially after the game when a group of young team stood at the end of the road and threw stones at the bus... as we pulled away a larger group of “more capable looking” thugs approached the bus gesticulating and more missiles were thrown... aye.. well done Police Scotland...a red light in the town centre and more young team and a few more stones. I mean, I know it was just idiots but I don’t like it.... the undertones of football in the West has shocked me since I moved back about 3 years ago.... I never fully realised that there is still so much animosity, bigotry and intolerance from both sides. It really is Scotland’s shame and none of it is in my name..... wouldn’t it be great if everyone was harmonious? You can say I’m a dreamer... surely I’m not the only one? The end of another season when I doubt if I have seen 10 Candy games so I’m not in a position to comment too much... except... Congratulations to the players and staff for their efforts and achievements. The report card reads “could do better” but when you realise that Raheem Sterling’s is obviously the same judging by his post cup final coaching then you realise we can all improve and so we should. No big written piece today but sometimes things excite me and last night didn’t... that’s ok... because if you take anything from football then it should be the preparation to feel flat at times. Maybe it’s the end of the season blues... or greens.... or maybe some neutral colour... The Candy are 100 years old next season... happy birthday to the old lady of the Garngad..... despite everything and maybe because of everything, I think I’ll always love you. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji106] I

If you don’t get the wonder and magnificence of football then stop reading now. In the space of a week I have travelled to different counties and watched the highest of the high leagues, took in TV treats on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, footballed right through to the dizzy depths of Parklife amateur games and yesterday I find myself again at St’s Roch’s... The Candy discriminates against nobody and makes no judgements. It is what it is and what it is is more than many. Love the Candy, love football, love your opponents, love your family, love life... love yourself. A sunshine atmosphere and a big Candy Queue at the Merchandise stall... all profits pumped back into the club to do with what they will... we all know not a penny is wasted. Get some Easter eggs or Christmas gifts for the kids, have an open door policy with a meal for the homeless or the local pensioners, make the homework club work, do what you want with it, your fans support you and everything you do and stand for. I go into the club house with my old man. His first Candy coffee hit of the day washes down a pie and I do my usual pre match ritual of walking around shaking hands and Chewing the Candy Cud. I meet a guy on his first visit and I tell him a bit about what the club have been doing and our off field activities. I think he is going to write it up somewhere. I see him again at half time and tell him we don’t often play like that. A Candy Charge Crushes the Vics and we go 3-0 up within 15 minutes with some of the best play I have seen from us this season. Vics were ripped to bits and in truth it could have been 6 or 7 during that phase as quick inter-passing and simple football bore what simple football often does and brings, goals and a welcome pleasure to the eyes. A quick word for a couple of Vickites... their big goalie saved them from a right doing and was more than decent, their wee young number 11 was an oasis of ability in their dry dessert of a midfield first half and he did really well in the second having been put in at left back to shore up the shakiest of defences. Their manager/coach gets some good comments too and as they were ripped apart and ramshackle in the first half but he restructured them into a strict back 4 at half time who kept their shape and turned in a choc and cheese second half. It just goes to show that you don’t need to be a champions league manager to turn things round. Well done Vics, you started like shite and ended up aw rite. We run out 4-1 winners and it is sun kissed smiles as we head off with “see yay aw later the nite” in the air, the player of the year awards are a 7pm kick off. I drop the old man off for a couple of hours and as the carriage arrives with me, my missus, my brother and his wife to collect him again at 655, he descends spruced up and excited about escaping Cell Block Old Age again for the second time that day. We arrive at the venue and Jack and Victor’s comedy all day pish up is just coming to an end and some old characters are not just tripping the light fantastic but just tripping. 2 glamorous old gals offer us the spare table beside them and we sit down. Comedy gold from Fran and Anna as they start to tell us about the holy communion they have just attended and which was fizzling out, only these star crossed eyed lovers left. “Six hunner quid she shelled out for awe the drink and the buffet and the decorations” “was it worth it?” My young brother enquired amicably, “Wiz it fk” she retorted. As a wordsmith myself I was loving the curt precision of her fiscal assessment. Why over elaborate when the rule of three dictates “wiz it fk”. They leave and are replaced by a fellow Candy fan and his missus and we chat and laugh and hear the gaffer talk and the 4 awards are shared out between Paul Tierney, Rab Maguire and Keiran Martin. I haven’t seen enough of the Candy this season but the awards seem well deserved to me. I speak to the gaffer and a few of the players but as the music gets turned up, we call a cab and end the night at the Karaoke in the boozer next to my dad’s, the DJ and host an old school mate I haven’t seen for years. We chat fondly and reminisce.... this hugely enjoyable day is drawing to a drunken but delightful end...... Football for me is not about the 11 people on the pitch. It really isn’t. I understand how some people invest their all into the game and the result can make or break your mood. There are still games that get me like that but they are rare. I love rivalry and the joust with an opponent be it the team or their fans at the game or on line. For me it is something more and I feel the more enriched for it. Yesterday the Candy was the thread that weaved through my day and tied me up close and tight to those I know, those I had just met, those I like talking with and listening to and those I love. It is a very welcomed and special kind of football thread that can do that to me..... Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

A summer sky and if all roads lead to the football it wasn’t to JMcG park. On a day where a lot of the candy faithful went to the big club to pay their respects to one of their own, I took my old man to a place he understands and enjoys. You can pay tribute in many ways. A reef and flowers and a song and just being there, remembering someone who gave you so much even though he never knew you. To remember someone who made people in this area that they could do well and they were worth something. To tell these people that they were not just as good as others but they could be the best. Regardless of rivalries I think of these old players from history as the beacons of their time. The names from my past, Billy McNeill and John Greig being the big glasgow heroes. Each lifting a European trophy and putting glasgow in the football map. I saw some great tributes to BMcN this week and it reminded me of the power and social impact of this game. I took my auld big man yesterday and shared a few hours with him. If you still have the chance to share some time with someone you love then do it. RIP Billy. #centrebacksunion. There are games that lift you up and leave your mind spinning as you dissect the day and make method of the madness. We have been lucky as Candy Fans and I have written about these with joy, explaining my feelings and trying to paint the colours and noises and smells and sights or a sensory overload that gives A Day at the Candy everything we love. This wasn’t one of those days. The writing helps me process the emotions and hopefully allows others a wee insight into the day and to take a cheeky wee sip from the Candy cup and taste the day as I see it. My candy cup this morning isn’t even half full... it has at the bottom, an old splash of cold tea that you chuck down the sink before washing the cup.... it is the last wee warm dregs in the bottom of can that you can’t put straight in the bin without it annoying the life out of you and soaking and dribbling... leaving an annoying trail that requires some action before you are able to move on. I’ll write this and it should be my action and I’ll be ready for Wednesday.... if there is an equal and opposite for everything in the universe then having enjoyed our great times then we were due this. With an end of season feel about it, sunny skies and sparsely sprinkled supporters, this game for too long had a feel of nothing, no importance, no intensity, no good play, no passing, no pressure, no real banter and a bit of a bore. We went in one nil up after Logie fires a low daisy cutter through a crowd into the far corner. The Neilston Nine did well and showed some good movement and skill, a little bit imperious at times and if he learns the skills to time his runs and be cute will develop. A word for the Neilston manager who having saw him flagged offside whilst looking along the line, didn’t sink to the abuse of the linesman as do so many junior watchers, but nipped the nine’s ear and gave him a little reminder about looking along the line and holding his run. I was impressed. People moan at linesmen and refs and some can attribute their faults to them. The ref got some stick yesterday for their second half penalty award at 1-1. “Should huv stoapped the gemme fur that heed knock”... when really we should have been commenting on the rash attempt at a block which resulted in a hand ball and a 12 yard winner (well dispatched penalty by the way). We looked lethargic and slow and devoid of ideas, quality and urgency. It was only after they went 2-1 up that we moved into second gear, but we were so poor and slow before this that it was always going to be hard to step up and go. They were comfortable till the end and I don’t think anyone could begrudge them their win. As I stood by the tunnel and watched their players go in, one of their padded jacket earring fans/committee said to me “I can’t remember us having got a good result here for ages”. It was no surprise to me... nor indeed did I feel that anyone , other than the agitated and vocal yellow jacketted club house steward Stephen and a few auld boys on the side terrace, we bothered. It had the feel of an end of season game for a strange league who have no fans but who are playing on a junior park.... like one of those games you stumble across on a summers day that you stay and watch but it bores the balls off you. The only saving grace was some good banter with GOTW and God’s Servant On Earth, The Candy Christian Chaplin, who as well as being the only man with holy orders was the only man with bar orders as he sunk a half and lamented our apathetic display. GOTW summed it up with 2 minutes to go as he turned to GSOE and said “even your boss couldn’t save us now”. It was Easter time but the Candy Roch stayed in place at the tomb opening. Nothing had risen, let alone my interest. We head off to promoted Glencairn on Wednesday then Girvan on Saturday. I hope these Double G fixtures give the lads a GeeGee up and we perform a bit better. We are the Candy and we will forever hope.... Don’t beat your eyes up for seeing the truth... whilst this season has been our most successful for years with a big league campaign and decent cup runs, we are left lamenting the simple fixes that could have seen us do so much better. Who will stay and who will move on? Who will you be happy to see go? Who really has to go? We all have our facts/opinions. The eventual final Candy canvass of this season when you look at it is a picture of “a decent season”. This is not the fault of the management or committee. I had good chats with the powers that be before the game yesterday and a picture was painted in stark black and white. Like a cultured art critic I can see pictures like that for what they are. Others can’t. Our problem is that we can only paint a picture with the paint we have. If the paint wants to dilute itself with bad behaviour, Ill discipline and lack of commitment then the artist is never going to create a masterpiece. Some of the good paints cost money we don’t have so I think we may be painting in monotone for a while. I am happy with that and would rather have a nice simple picture to look at than a miss mash of bright colours that are running all over the canvas. Know what you want and know what you can do well. I just hope that we can add to the palate and I look forward to a little bit of Candy colour in the team soon. A flat day for the football but I enjoyed the chats and laughs and being able to take my dad out again. We all share something in football and even if it isn’t the best, even if it doesn’t thrill and excite, it gives you what it always does.. a chance to be there and a chance to think and share. There is something about that, as every flower at the feet of Big Billy’s statue proves. Regardless of the result and performance yesterday, I am glad and lucky we were there. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

As Scottish football fell at the feet of Borat and his Kazzikstannies, we leave the Far East 6 hours time difference away and all roads lead to the West of Scotland Cup at James McGrory Park, at least the winners of this game will be West of Scottish.. I feel fortunate again to be in amongst it and as the turnstiles twirl to the sound of hunners and hunners, I speak with the unual riders and runners, I meet with my former gaffer The Doc in the lounge and speak to the gaffer and his assistant, former team mates and visiting committee men. The consensus is the usual mantra of the junior follower (which could easily be attributed to our senior national team)...”it all depends on if we turn up. We can be good or we can be shocking”. Football is ubiquitous in its analogies and transcends junior to senior and the Astana Arena to JMcGP. If you ain’t at it you won’t get nothing.... we weren’t for the most part and we got nowt... well, result wise... We have got to the stage where a St Roch’s match is much much more than just a game of football. It is community and belonging and a focus through the hardships of life and the cold winds and rain of everyday monotony. A ground full of laughs and stories and handshakes and “have you seen.. xyz” enquiries of people meeting their mates, old guys part of something, perhaps for the only time that week. This is the biggest social gathering in the community and as such it is becoming a vital part of The Calendar. Get the Candy pencilled in for a visit soon and see what it is about? It’s just as well it’s about more than the football because for 70 minutes I though we were poor... 2 down and less than a quarter of the game to go before we started to gain any territory and create anything. Logie’s goal made him joint second all time scorer but it might have been our first real shot on target of the game. A frustrating first half where Camby, by their committee man’s own admission, a hobbled and cobbled ragamuffin band of low level juniors and amateur players actually played some nice football and controlled possession for long periods of the game. Their number 8 was very comfortable on the ball and looked good, the wee number 9 took up good positions and held the ball well and the tall number 4 (I thought he was excellent) just headed and cleared his lines and matched runs and defended well, providing an excellent balance to the big strong number 5.. a man who when he leaves will not just leave big boots to fill but extra big seam straining shorts and a stretched top... they were a decent side and if you are not at it 100% against teams like this then you are going to struggle. We weren’t making many inroads and when we got our usual red card after 30 mins it only made our task all the harder. Camby could have nicked one but for a Starkie wonder save but as I went In to make sure my auld man was negotiating the pre half time pie rush, Camby score right on half time. 10 men and one down at half time we trudge in and a few disgruntled shouts at the ref ring out. Most of my first half shouts of good defending or good tackle or good header weren’t for our players. They controlled 2nd half and when they scored their 2nd when a wee guy found space between 2 big defenders and slotted him it was a case of 2,2,2....... 2 down, 2 easy a finish and 2 many of us off the pace. We did pick up a bit as a combination of Camby sitting back and the Candy pushing on meant we had a couple of chances, 2 of which were saved well by the returning Ginger keeper. You could argue that we could have got a draw but over the piece I don’t think you could argue with the result. Good luck to Camby in the next round. Talking of which the draw took place in the clubhouse after the game and was screened live on the Candy Facebook page. I spoke to the match secretary before the game and his ideas seemed refreshing to me. Anything that anyone can do to increase the profile of junior football has to be given a chance. Another bumper crowd yesterday made up of hundreds of Candy fans and a sizeable and welcomed Camby fan base and a specially run mini bus 12 strong and full from the yellow jacket ted Police Scotland ground hoppers and testimony to the club and all the behind the scenes officials and the fans who have transformed this club over the last few years. I read during the week that the ambition of the club is to continue to grow and become one of the “big” junior clubs in Glasgow. Judging on yesterday, we may not be on our way to lift the cup but I would suggest they are certainly on their to growing and competing with the big boys. I am sure the Camby fans would have enjoyed their day putting one over on us and being part of a big match, well attended and ultimately emerging victorious. I remember how we felt when we beat them 0-1 away in the league, there is nothing like a win in a big game away at your rivals. I am sure, for the Candy, there are many more of those days ahead. Even though it was Camby’s day yesterday, I got my usual sensory nutrition and another day sharing something with my old man. I saw everyone else sharing something too. It is the thing that unites and binds and fills your soul, even if some don’t realise it... and that makes everything, even a cup elimination, take its place in priorities. Scotland take on the lowest ranked country in world football later today. Even for those lowly San Marinians the only way is up. A dose of football reality for all concerned yesterday and a wake up call if you have the ears to listen. I always take something from my football and I left with my auld man and trudged back to the car with a lot to think about and somewhat happier despite the result. Who would ever have though a wee piece of Candy on a Saturday afternoon could give me so much? Mon the Candy! MTC [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

“There will be no hurt feelings, every journey has it own lessons.” As the dust of dreams settle and we awake with a gut wrenching shudder, when our minds process the what night have been, we should be proud of our team and what they gave us. Only in the depths of football defeat can you ever feel so alive. I can’t count the number of games I have been at that don’t have anything riding on them other than your support for your team. Saturday meant something and had the feel of importance that you would be fortunate to feel once in a season. We have had a couple of games like this for me. Larkhall at home and away two seasons ago and the promotion clincher against Wishae Washae last season. With the promise of a 1/4 final home tie and Scottish cup rematch against Kilwinning Rangers waiting, we gave the massive home support, a Candy church and a supporters’ communion of saints and sinners, a hell of a ride and eventually, as the 20 legs tired and the fresh oppositions subs’ legs went into overdrive, we came up short in heartbreaking fashion. 2-0 up with 20 to go and carrying our luck in the athletic heroics of our shot stopping and goal preventing young keeper. 2 penalty claims and some missed chances to go further ahead, A rush of youthful blood red card, clearances and scrambles and the loosening grip as you watch the inevitable unfold and your mind says “I told you so” and you curse yourself for even allowing your dreams. Just remember if you aren’t dreaming then you are just sleeping… and who wants to sleep when you can follow your Candy heart and escape for a while? We’ve waited almost a hundred years to win the Scottish cup again so another year won’t hurt…….. Having pulled the “That’s too far away” card out and secured a free weekend, the Shiney Silver Scottish cup Shimmer in the eye attracted me and there was only one place I would be going. All roads lead to JMcG Park and the prospect of putting one over a higher ranking team, buoyed and backed by the big bucks and Euro Millions of fortune, I prime the auld man and collect him. He regales me with tales of his old Scottish Cup memories and I smile. He remembers being young and being a fan and watching Celtic in finals and lifting trophies. He says “If Jimmy Johnstone wasnae playing I couldnae be fkd watching the game”. You’ve got to know what you like I suppose!! No Jinky high jinkys today as we park in our usual puddle which stretches as long as the early arrival lines, it looks like it is going to be a bumper day. Queues again at the gate and we get a wee raffle ticket when we enter. I’m remembering the Benburb “Free coffee” tickets but my hope of something fur nuffin is shot as I am informed that “Largs have insisted we hand out tickets to get an accurate attendance”. GOTW is on the gate and struggling to take money, calculate the cost and change and tally on a sheet… who says we cant multitask? I spoke to a few Largs fans and a committee man and we chewed the Scottish Cup cud… Universal thoughts on our teams and football spread across the leagues and the general consensus is “We can play good, we can play bad” is a reality we live with and embrace. Kick off is approaching and the crowds continue to spill in as we open the big gate and yellow jaykits and emergency tables cope with the crowd… more come and more come… build it and they will come…. Andy Cameron and Stevie Mullen and Ken and Billy and Paul and Tam and everyone else involved have built the club up over the last few years and they DID come. There was a huge crowd and there was definitely something in the air. There was a more serious feeling, perhaps it was a more invested feeling? I couldn’t quite pout my finger on it but on reflection I suppose it is a combination of tradition and pride and community and belonging combined with a realization that our club has become so much more than it had been in recent history. “The Candy in our Communiy” trajectory is upwards and on the pitch we are holding our own. Whether it was belief or blind faith I’m not sure but it definitely felt different as I walked to my usual spot in one of the packed sheds, behind (physically and metaphorically) behind the dug out, facing across to a sizeable Largs support and our opponent’s bench. A huddle and noise and hope and dreams and fun and laughter and then….. the gale force wind carried the ref’s first whistle…. We were off…… After 5 minutes it was clear what we were up against. After 10 it was blindingly obvious. Lots of good humour and banter on the terraces but for all the partisan fanship and funship there was a heavy dose of reality swirling around. A candy fan can be passionate and dogged in defense of his team but he also is no fantasist. Even when we took the lead after a well delivered tricky free kick we would have still taken getting to the break level. For all their possession dominance Largs only troubled a couple of times. Corners were proving a challenge and one super clawed away goal line clearance (The first of numerous superb saves) kept us ahead and the half time whistle drew raucous cheers as the hard working Candy headed for a well earned cup of tea, one man down courtesy of a straight red for a needless challenge. It looked a red from where I was, some say it was harsh, but if you stay on your feet you stay on the park. Back when I was growing up I was always told to only go to ground in an absolute last ditch save-a-goal tackle. This was basically because the black or red ash would rip the skin off you. I still look like I have vitiligo when I get a tan.. We had a long way to go and the realist in me began to talk to the jinky jimmy cricket of my mind who was saying “Maybe we could?” With the wind behind us we at least had a chance. They had given us the chance to dream and we did. The second half started and we did better than we did int eh first. We had a couple of corners of our own and played a few decent balls and made some ground and had some possession. Lets not kid ourselves, we carried a lot of luck. Largs were composed and good on the ball and our keeper made about 3 man of the match saves, the last one being miraculous and left the wee number 8 who was left scratching his baldy scalp in disbelief, wondering why he hadn’t levelled at 1-1. Games can turn on saves and after 3 great saves, we get slipped through and the ball is rolled to the side of their advancing keeper with the exceeding hairline.. it rolls into the net and pandemonium breaks out. This is what I will take from Saturday. There were scenes like never before… perhaps it was the close packed enclosure, perhaps it was the slick passing of the goal, perhaps it is just our passion as Candy fans? I think the occasion was everything and emotions of going 2 up in such a big game when we were in truth holding on was just a bursting bubble of brilliance and belonging. It is one of the best moments I have experienced football for a long time. I know I get a bit carried away about feelings and stuff. Most people just want to go to a game and some just want to read about the facts (You are reading the wrong post here then!) but football is all about memories and history and something that you can take and hold and feel…. For me it was special….. Not wanting to skip over the 5 goal last 20 minutes but it had a sense of inevitability about it. I said at 2-0 the game was far from finished and I think the fans, dancing and dreaming though they were, knew it. They scored a great first when the tricky ginger sub number 14 beat 2 and whipped a great goal into the far corner… I suspected what was to follow would hurt and so it did. Largs scrambled a second, scored a good passing 3rd, a break away 4th and 5th as we tried to muster something from our shattered 18 outfield legs. The fifth went in as I walked down to the shed behind the goal. I remember thinking “That isn’t really fair”… but 4-2 or 5-2? Does it matter? Largs won on merit and good luck to them going forward, our lads gave all they could and I was disappointed but felt quite proud. There is comfort in defeat if you know you have given your all and couldn’t have done any more. Whilst the wind howled, if the winds of fortune had blown slightly differently?? If we had kept 11 men on the field?? If we had scored our chance when 2-0 up and when at 2-2 perhaps we could have got something? I not sure it would have mattered. Who knows?….. the wind still blows and we still dream… “For once this moment comes for me, I will be free once again, To blow upon the wind, Wherever I may choose” I always say that football gives me more and more the more I let it. I loved it on Saturday. I loved hearing my dad talk football on the way there and I loved when he said he enjoyed the game on the way back. I was part of a mammoth crowd and a club reborn and alive with the passion and pride of a community engaged and invested. I saw a team punch above it’s weight with the big hitters of our game and allow it’s fans to dream for a wee while. We will become bigger ourselves I am sure and I will love it when arrives. They say that pride comes before a fall, but it is ok to fall. The problem occurs when you don’t get up or you pack in. I have no doubt that the Candy, our Candy, the wee club whp bring pride and belonging back to those who want it, will keep going and keep delivering…. If you love then your heart can break. Breaking hearts since 1920 but allowing us all the chance to belong and to dream… That’s what football means and we are so so lucky that we got that chance on Saturday. Thank you Candy…… “For always being there. For caring. For loving me; You don't even know me. Thanks” Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

The rain fell. It was a day and date to be remembered and far from drowning my spirits, I loved it. Is there anything better than you and something or someone else you love? If you are lucky enough to share something, to be there and experience it, whether that is time with your loved one or time with something you love, then don’t take it for granted. The game during the day and a wee date night cinema restaurant combo to see Stan and Ollie, another fine mess I got myself into.... for a change. This isn’t a doctor’s report but my auld man still isn’t himself and was going to miss the game and recover from a tiring Friday. Old folk and old memories and old records of good old players and good old days. I’m glad he decided after some encouragement to come with as he too can say he was there. I treasure the time and the things we still share. I’m glad I was there with him. The weather wasn’t promising much so we wrap up well and park on a busy street, dodging the puddles as we alight, plod along the well trodden path and join a 20 strong queue waiting to pay it. It was the grey and cold of a day that makes you pull your jacket a little bit closer, my auld man resplendent in my old Candy hat which he has now claimed, heads for the coffees and pies but it is queued, like the turnstile, back to the entrance. A decent crowd in already with a healthy band of merry Shottsers for what was to prove a milestone day. I go outside and procure another bunnet for a tenner and the cold is blocked out as it slips like a glove over my head... “take the tag aff big man” and 4 guys near me start scratching around their ankles (joke!) so I remove the label and I feel ready for the game as we exchange handshakes and debriefs about last week and our red card misery (sometimes ability is drowned by behaviour) and I chew the fat and share a few laughs about better times with the lads. A quick chat with former Candy team mate John Logan....the Logie of my days..They were all there too.... The Candy start well and go 2 up with some slick passing play in spite of the conditions. We play better I think than a lot of people give us credit for. We certainly play better than the weather and it looks like it could be anything as Shotts struggle and slip slide away a 2 goal start. Their MyLeftFoot number 9 starts to make some good runs and is playing well, taking up good positions and holding the ball up well as Shotts’ shakey start suddenly screeches to a free headed goal stop and they are back in it. I actually called the free header before it happened as we don’t even line up properly to defend corners. I don’t understand how our centre backs allow this rubbish to continue. Grab a hold of the situation and bawl everyone into alertness and responsibility for their actions. We seem too timid and too tame and too quiet to defend them properly. Get yer bloody elbows oot lads! Don’t let players run across you.. ever! If they outjump you or are better than you or stronger than you then it is fair enough but we are slapstick comedy defenders when we act like this. Big Oliver Hardy could have got off the ground better than us. As it was their guy rose (not like a salmon) like a snake and nodded home. There’s a shock. We trudge toward a half time cuppa and there is only one goal in it with Shotts picking up as the half draws to a close. I was disappointed and even more so when I saw the queue was still the same for coffees. “Maybe if our back 4 were serving we would be able to get to the counter more easily?”... harsh but if the bowler hat fits. True words said in jest.... we needed more in the second half... I spoke to a former Fauldhouse player Jordan Love who was a sub for Shotts at half time. Not just left on the bench but left out of the dressing room at half time too! He scored a 93rd minute last game of the season goal away at StAndrews that kept us up on goal difference a few seasons ago.... I was there...... It is hardly an “All covered stadium” as someone said (He reminded me of an old guy who once called his “all inclusive” hotel “fully comprehensive”. I was going to ask if that included holiday insurance but I feared it might have been lost on him!) but after the tailor report not only criticised the track suits and strips then redressed us and initiated ground development, it was a fabulous sight to see all areas full and everyone settling in for the second half. Rab and Logie had one each and Jordan was sitting on 98 lifetime Candy goals. We stepped it up and after another one each for our scorers and Shotts, we sit at 4-2 when the keeper wipes out a CandyMan and the ball is in the spot. Rab hands the call to Logie who steps up and rolls home his one hundredth landmark goal as a Candy player. Well done son, be proud, be very proud. He is certainly etched in Candy top goal scorer history now with old legends of the past (one of those, The legend that is Shuggy Farrell, still comes to the odd game too). Shotts Nick one just after Logie is subbed to applause and handshakes all round and the game is done. I was there.... The new terrace sheds were a godsend yesterday as all 4 covered enclosures were brusting at the seems like Ollie’s shirt. It was so packed in the main enclosure that grown men were asking to push in to the front to see, like the young terrace dreamers we were as children... when footballers were mythical heroes and the pace and colour and the noise and the glamour and the magic of the football we loved planted the seeds that, for us all, still bloom and flourish and make us think and smile and remember all that was and all that we were and all that we shared. Some great Candy shouts including “The ref can talk mandarine” (rhymes with tangerine) and as the rowdy fans opposite cheered a disallowed goal “Shove it up yer sheep’s arse”.... and finally when Logie was subbed “ yay should huv left him oan. Ah wan-tid a hunner an wan!” Shotts limped home out of the cup, back to the Blue Ridged Mountains of Shottginia on the trail of the lonesome pine, heavy legged but heavy pocketed from their share of the packed gate. I hope they didn’t get a share of the pie stall too.... you wouldn’t be able to shove all that up your pet sheep’s arse...... perhaps they’ll try? “I wish I was there, to show you I care, to show you my love, and to show you I’ll always be there.” Jimmy McGrory was smiling yesterday as the rain lashed down on a mammoth crowd and a historic milestone was reached. There are days when it is good to say you were there. I can remember all sorts in my football life, some good and some bad. If you can treat both those imposters the same then you have a vivid library of experience, well logged and catalogued and filed in easy to access memory folders... I access them regularly and they are one of my most valuable possessions. I add to it regularly and whilst most could be deleted easily, I don’t think yesterday will..... when history is made it is good to be there. It cements a bit of you in it forever and like Stan and Ollie, no matter how many years pass, it goes together. That’s just the way it is. We can all take something from that... and that’s that. We were there. Exactly....Fine..... Swell. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

Premier league absence means Kinky presence and the first of what I hope will be many is at New Tinto Park against a high flying Benburb. I collect the old man and head off Govan way, a cut off the motorway and I suggest we grab a McD’s coffee as we are really early... “we’ll go through the drive through then park at the ground” He agrees only to announce when the lengthy drive thru Q has been negotiated, like a child, that he needs a pee... he finds his seat belt after an inordinately long time, squeezes himself out the car and shuffled into the wean filled McMadHoose. 15 minutes later he emerges and with my coffee finished and his cold, we head off round the corner. I normally park in the car park at NTP but the gates are closed and whole the street almost full. The old guy on the gate suggests I park in front of the gates as his gaffer wants the car park to stay shut. A conscientious chap am I and I suggest that blocking the main gate isn’t a good idea so find a spot over in the corner where I will later encounter a Candy Crushed fan after the game. As I park the 1920 brake pulls up and the usual suspects alight. The Gaffer is shaking them by the hand one by one and I think this is a joyous new innovative Candy inclusion idea, showing appreciation for the travelling green. This Candy bubble is popped when the last fan shakes hands and the gaffer goes to his car beside the bus and collects something he must have forgot. Not planned but a good gesture I thought by the gaffer who climbs in my estimations with every passing interaction. We head for the gate in the fence and my old man pays our money and he gets 2 magic yellow tickets which I found out on Twitter last night got you a hot drink for free... what chance my deaf da hearing that? Great gesture from Bens who benefited ££wise from a large Candy gate no doubt. The Candy Fans not only bring noise and colour and banter and passion and laughs to a game but we also fill our hosts’ pockets with much needed revenue. There are more than just points benefits to eating the Candy! We buy a pie and quaff a coffee and as he sits I shake hands and chat outside. There is a big Candy Crowd and the chat is cheery and optimistic. The new year brings hope I think. I am hoping for and expecting a good one...... “Even during the worst of times, When I feel the years go slipping by, Life seems rife with possibilities, When the New Year arrives.” A new year but eventually the same old story as we look down to the bare bones numbers wise but a good team is fielded. We struggle early on with the pacey right winger but settle and a whipped delivery bounces around and is lashed home by Kieron Martin. Bens go long ball for 20 mins. “is that aw yeez huv goat?” Is the Candy cry. Despite the Christmas post being exhausted we still pick up cards and after being fouled and winning a free kick, we lose a man to a second yellow for swearing whilst speaking to the ref. Some say speaking some say moaning the player himself says he swore.... and we wonder why it’s a yellow?? I went to ask GOTW and his merry bunch at half time. He condemned the refs decision as disgraceful, although admitted he didn’t hear exactly what was said!! I would expect nothing less Chris.. always back your team. Even if it was a sweaty sweary word, a booking could be seen as harsh and perhaps a quiet or firm word would suffice... but it is a yellow. In football passions run high. People do things they probably aren’t proud of when they reflect outwith the battle...I understand that the red mist can come down and impulsive random actions happen. What I don’t like is the same old pish (see old fan rant after the game at my car later..) and an “amazement” and conspiracy theory being chucked about when a bookable offence gets a booking. Some are soft and some are over the top but I never saw a yellow card yesterday that wasn’t a yellow card offence. The ref missed some and people call for consistency and they have a point. That doesn’t mean a yellow card he gives out shouldn’t have been given. We make our own trouble and when you are playing a decent team then you don’t have your troubles to seek. We were stupid and we were naiave, you have to be smart not just with your body but with your brain and your mind, be cute and clever and know the signs and adjust.. but some players let themselves, the management and the fans down. Fans don’t mind going into the fight with you and some will defend you vocally on the terraces and Twitterilly and Pie&Bovrilly to the world, but our undying and sometimes irrational partisan backing doesn’t dissolve you of your duty to keep your standards high and show some self control and discipline. Players decide their own fate... some of our players are, to the unbiased and untinted eye, making their own bed. We had a bad run of ill-discipline and it cost us a few years ago. I mentioned it in here and said that over the season we would get nothing finishing with 10 and 9 players finishing. The gaffer and the lads corrected that for the most part last season and we went up.... if football is a hard game at 11 vs 11 it is harder when you are out numbered. Fact. Think before you act.... but I accept that the impetuosity of youth can seem reckless to old farts like me... but we have all seen better players than these flounder on the rocks of their actions. I really hope they learn because despite the handshakes on the terraces with 20 minutes to go, our players should be on the pitch helping their mates, not watching them sink from the stands. There comes a point when the effort doesn’t outweigh the reward. The terraces are full of great players who couldn’t control themselves and let themselves down..... there is a better way... figure it out.. fast. With the new year lecture over, back to the match. We are holding on and working hard but tired legs see us caught the wrong side in midfield and unable to get back as the big commanding 4 (played well) starts driving into midfield from the back and spaces start appearing. Tierney and Dickson are doggedly defending and everyone is working a 10th harder at least. Let’s not kid ourselves, we lost to the better team. They had 2 disallowed (first one dispelling any officials conspiracy theory for me as it looked ok from the side?) and missed numerous chances, a few “and Smith must score” efforts and possession dominance. We had a handful if we were lucky. They fired a long range equaliser with 15 to go and then Starky gets another Yellow (I could see what was going to happen and was hoping against my better judgement that he would put the gloves back on and boot the ball.. he didn’t... well not till he got the red then he launched it over the fence and into the housing estate.. again. Who’s fault is that?) which makes Two which makes Red and we take 5 mins to get that all sorted, giving the ref leeway to add on stoppage time which sees a missed header and a chest down shot from the edge of the box drill in past our centre forward who is now in goal. They celebrate like they have won the league and we are flat. It had an inevitability about it for me. It would have been a great point and testimony to the dogged defending of those left in the trenches. It wasn’t to be though and it was a deserved Benburb who took all 3 points. I speak to a wise sage who like me trudges towards the gate mentally in the same state as my auld man is physically.... shaking and troubled and unsure and sick of things having seen better days.... what can we do though??? I get to the car and as I try to shoehorn the auld man into his seat I tell another old Candy Guy “we shot ourselves in the foot” and he announces in an angry tirade that he is sick of the same old rubbish attitude and lack of discipline and chucking games away and he isnae cummin back againe.... he will.... I hope. “Even during the worst of Candy times, When I feel the years and points go slipping by, Candy Life seems rife with possibilities, When the New Candy Year comes” The ref got plenty of stick from the fans with one shout raising the sides of my mouth.. “Eye contact will soon be a foul wae you ya pr*ck” Eye Contact, Aye.. I.... When the love hurts you say silly thinks.. Love and pain and the eternal mystery of football and the ebb and flow of emotions that keep us together and sharing our team. I shared yesterday with a great bunch of Candy fans and a decent bunch of Bens folk, a good crowd and an incident packed game. I shared it again with my dad and I am thankful for that. It’s a new year and an old feeling.... football..... it gives us all more than it ever takes away.... even if we urnae cummin againe, even if our minds are shredded our nerves shattered our hopes and dreams deflated and our bodies failing. It’s a new Candy year and despite the result, it started with a Candy Cracker that was pulled and exploded right in front of our eyes. The jokes are poor, the wee toy rubbish, but there is something delightful about putting on the new year Candy hat... and knowing you have shared it with people you care about. Happy New Candy Year. Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

Despite the result, I really enjoyed the game today and just like someone said on Twitter, I never shut up. There was loads to talk about during the game and loads of away fans to shake hands with before during and after. Also met a few non Candy fans I knew and got a nice pie and coffees from the wee club house again and a good seat and it didn’t rain and wasn’t too cold so a good day. With so many Candy fans there we are bound to see the same incident through different specs and I know already that I disagree with plenty of the opinions.... just remember though, a team who no one cares about never has disagreements between their fans. I’m looking forward to writing about the day tomorrow but for now I will leave you with the words of one disgruntled fan as I got back to my car.. “We shoot ourselves in the foot” says I.... “That’s it fur me. Ahm no coming back. Same every bloody week.. rid kerds, mouthin aff, nae mer”... I love an accurate match report!! He will be back I’m sure... the pain and passion of love makes you say the most emotional of things sometimes. We were the architects of our own downfall... don’t shoot the R’effin builder who is just doing what R’effin builders do.... I’m looking forward to getting it all out! Mon the Candy! MTC! [emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

My dad got out of hospital on Thursday and a free Saturday allowed me the joy of taking him back to James McGrory Park. We left deservedly defeated by a good Kilsyth team but I thought both teams did well in bad conditions. Good luck to them for the rest of the season. Like 2 wise men looking for the third we follow the star of the Roch and arrive bearing gifts of gold (£9 charge and with a tenner handed over and 1 gold £ of change returned, Frankie&Benny’s in our belly rather than frankincense and plenty of mhyrr-th... you’ve got to laugh at life and laugh in football ... Wisemen and a virgin can be difficult to find at the best of times but there are contenders at the Candy... at least for the wisemen! I speak to a few and as snow frames manage a Christmas Card image, the Candy Christmas fixture is polluted by our usual footballing weather...”annus pluvious pishus” you may hear at 3pm on Christmas Day. The auld man returns from a 6 week jolly up in the QE infirmary and he looks shakier than the poor donkey carrying a pregnant Mary and a huge bag of presents Joseph has made in his woodwork workshop. He adorns himself in the clubhouse and I go speaking to the wise men. The Candy are hot and cold I’m told but a mid table position could be worse. Coffee consumed I head over to the 2 new stables behind the Candy DugOot Inn. One is full of blue hatted banterists and they cheer their opener which sees a Candy defender lying in his back looking up like he baby jesus and our keeper agog at the wonder of the free headed majesty. One down early doors and overplaying in bad conditions and coming slipperily unstuck. Conditions are poor but a good free kick delivery sees the Candy cash in on zero marking and a headed equaliser sees us into the break all square. The second half is nip and tuck and the big impressive 9 for KR almost KOs is twice, as does the 6 both missing when a goal looked certain. A bad tackle gets a 2nd yellow and KR are down to 10. I defend the ref to a group of Kilsyth fans who are calling Hanlon all sorts, cheat being the favourite. A foul is a foul even if you don’t like the victim I say... an old scribing hack with a blue bonnet and a notepad beside me thinks I am doubting myself now. Doubting Thomas was 33 years after this Christmas nativity and rebirth of my junior football year. I leave this stable shed and head for the unstable shed at the other side of the dug out.... it’s like a Jamaican street market with the sounds and smells to match. Some great shouts and banter bite my ears as my nose is bitten by other things. One classic line of attack to their big bald towering strength number 4 who was mud splattered and loving it(big dirty defenders love being big and dirty! He played great) was “we have turned the showers aff big man”... the irony of a later shout to a diminutive defender by a Smoker of sultry wares “haw you, away an git yer script ya junky pr*ck” was not lost on me! Oh how I have missed it! I have been on a diet of good food mostly this season but my first Candy rush in months left me on a sugar high. Even the 10 man break away winner and the fruitless Candy last 10 minute kitchen sink throwing didn’t leave me low. It felt Festive and I felt something being back there yesterday. Everyone loves to comes home for Christmas and bringing my dad back for the first time in months and being in amongst it again and the familiarity of fun and friends and ultimate failure meant I was full of the spirit of the Candy and the glow of the game. This has been a marvellous year for the Candy and their fans. I would like to thank the staff and players and the fans for making it joyous for me. Wishing you all the best wishes for Christmas and a fabulous football 2019. Candy fans, players and staff and fans of every other team. A Football Foe is just a mate you disagree with... we are all in it together and at this time of year it fills my heart to still be in love with football. Don’t underestimate it... The power of love, a force from above, cleaning my soccer soul. Mon the Santa! [emoji318] MTC! [emoji460]️[emoji172][emoji106]

It’s difficult for me to comment on the new signings other than the lad Anton who did catch the eye... and just as I said to Stevie M that he looked not bad, he let one through his legs and had to chase back as the winger went clean through! There are lots of factors that can influence how a defence look and perform but I accept your more informed opinion. Good solid centre backs like that are few and far between and... unfortunately.... I am not coming out of retirement. In fact... I’ll be lucky to get out the house soon the state of my knees and ankles!! It’s not easy being a manager and everyone has their opinions. I think we leave the gaffer to it and see how they go. I for one will be looking at this season with realistic expectations and to say we will be challenging for the title is too far a stretch for what I saw on Saturday in the limited time I had. Also, title chasing sides don’t usually get pumped the way we have already... not saying it won’t happen, just that it doesn’t happen often!! We shall see... What never fails to impress though is your passion and enthusiasm and optimism and that of a large portion of the Candy faithful. Who ever said the dreamers are wrong and fantasists? MTC! [emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

You know me GOTW... I say what I see and what I feel. Very often you and I disagree but just because we follow and support the Candy and watch the same game that doesn’t always mean we see it the same. That’s allowed. I ain’t gonna praise or defend bad attitudes and bad effort... poor performances are inevitable at our level.. just try and keep your standards high, that’s all I want. Blind faith and your own team’s coloured glasses are allowed but when the chat involves the Candyman’s music or your ma and his da and shite from 300+ years ago and 100+ years ago... well, I’m not interested. I have said it before and will do again, I am sad when I hear all these types of arguments... where are the arguments about the robbing ref or the dirty centre back or the hatchet man in midfield or the best striker we have ever had who should be signed pro..?? Remember when football chat and arguements were about football? .. ahhh yes.. when ah wiz a boy..... Mon the Fitbaw Arguements! MTC! [emoji460]️[emoji106]

Where I was standing it was a fair bit quieter than the end of last season that’s all. It’s still early season and when you compare it to the end of season fanaticism and increasing passions and excitement as we got closer to guaranteeing promotion it was obviously going to be less colourful than that. We all see our games differently and 10 minutes in the corner can be different to those same 10 minutes at the dug out or in the shed. It’s difficult to judge the new players on half an hour but they all had something about them... you’ll be in a better position than me to comment having seen more of the team this season but I thought we were steady enough and played some decent stuff at times but some of the performances were more of the same from last year. No real surprises or stand outs or superstar performances and as we were 1-0 down when I left, despite one good chance and a few fluffed left foot pass back type efforts, I thought the fans were a tad subdued.... then again, I do have that subduing effect on a crowd! MTC!

I was talking purely about the on the pitch stuff and to be fair the attributes they show and the ones I listed can’t be argued against by any football fan. Just makes sense...

Play to your strengths, clear your lines and defend well, move the ball quickly in midfield and attack at pace when you can. Play for the shirt and work hard and stick together. It got them promoted and a good 3 points yesterday. Doesn’t sound too bad a model.... I saw Livvy a few times last season and thought they were well organised and effective. I hope the Candy stick together through the tough games and keep trying to do what they are good at. I think the fans would be happy with that. MTC!

Before before before be four. It is a rare day when you see something new in football. Yesterday wasn’t one of them. A familiar feeling with a double date arranged with the saints. Roch and Mirren awaited and I was looking forward to my day. I haven’t seen the Candy since the last day of last season and the promotion party. I wrapped up well as the winter wonderland loomed in the horizon, perhaps a couple of weeks away. I paid my £6 and shook hands and took stick and heard the gossip and grabbed my coffee. Quick chats with players and staff and the gaffer and it was good to be back. The Candy pitch and ground looking resplendent, a pristine pitch (well done Ken and Billy et al) and the new enclosures a snagging list short of completion. Well done to all concerned! I speak to some fans who have seen more of the lads this season and it is a mixed bag. I don’t hear anything I haven’t heard before and this one who is a disgrace and this one who cost us a few and this one who missed chances and this one who isn’t good enough and this one who is a cracking player. I’d heard it all before and it felt very samey. Dalry brought a decent number of fans and they were frequenting the clubhouse bar and seemed in fine spirits and enjoying the day. They split to their side of the ground and I headed for the new enclosure. I met a former Candy team mate I hadn’t seen for 25 years and we chatted away and it was great to see him. We talked about the differences now and how good it was to see the Candy in a decent league.... a higher league which means tougher games... I’ve seen it all before.. When you play against teams who have been playing a t a higher level, it can take you a while to adjust. You don’t become a bad player but you need to work hard and eventually you will get up to speed. We have all seen it before. We have apparently played ok at times and been poor at times this season... I saw that in this half hour season starting supporter shift. We could have been one down before we got caught on the wrong side and whilst appeals for offside went unanswered, the wee lad slid the ball under the keeper to loud cheers of raucousness from the 30 or so Ayrshire honest men and women and kids. They then cheered strong tackles and their team’s fight... the candy fans strangely quiet. There was a different feel about the place and despite a decent size crowd it just didn’t feel the same. The shouts were sporadic and erratic in nature lacking a common target or point. I admit a lot of the Candy Terrace Chat last year was vociferous and at times on the edge, however I think it adds to the overall enjoyment of the game. Conversely, if it isn’t there it detracts from your expected enjoyment. I suppose like the team, the fans might need a wee period of adjustment and acceptance before they get up to pace. This is a higher level and the standards are better. We need to rise from where we were and it can be done. I’ve seen it done before... some of our players have done it before.. I know our management team can do it and I feel confident that we are well placed to consolidate. I left after a half an hour, the Candy one down but having missed 5 or 6 half chances and one good chance. Some good passing and effort and some shady shouts and some dodgy defending and I had the feeling I had seen it all before... many times. Was it a surprise to me to hear from a terrace correspondent later int he afternoon that we had got back in it and got a draw? No. Was it a surprise to hear we had a man sent off? No. As I shook hands and made my early exit apologies, the ring of a internal team argument between the Red Card Man and our keeper rang in my ear..... I had seen it and hear it all before. I saw Livingston yesterday too and they are a prime example of what hard work and doing what you are good at can deliver. You can go up the leagues and compete and hold your own. If you can survive you can improve and I think we will. Some things stay the same in football and the feeling you have as a fan doesn’t change. Your excitement levels and hopes and dreams come in peaks and troughs but your allegiance to your team never wavers. I had no waves of excitement and my hopes and dreams remained tucked away. I’ve felt that feeling before. It is the acceptance of your new environment and the understanding that there are hopefully better times ahead. I’ve felt it before and I’m sure they will come to the Fore and Be again this season at some point. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Candy get on. I’ll wait till I’ve seen them more before I comment more. I suspect we will struggle at times in this league but before you have a go at me, it is based on a fast firty minutes of yesterday. We can play and we have ability but it may take a wee while before we settle, fans and players. Before, we’ve all seen it before and we will see it again. It won’t be long I hope before we are up to full pace. Good luck to Dalry and their vocal fans. Mon the Candy! MTC![emoji517][emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]

Celtic, Rangers, The Queen, The Pope, Catholics and Protestants all walked into a bar... it’s a joke.... all of it.... and not a very good joke at that... I remember 2 cracking games against Larkhall the season before last.... the games, the on the pitch stuff.... we never won one of them..... you will see the stuff on the pitch if you look hard enough.... don’t be distracted by the prejudices or the unenlightened. It’s a game of football, simple and true. Hopefully be back and see you all Saturday... then you can all read what REALLY happens on Sunday! [emoji23] Mon the fitbaw! [emoji460]️[emoji106]

Too many people make judgements about players, teams and life based on anything but facts and thought. If someone had seen the lad at Royal Albert and said “I don’t think he is good enough” then that is one thing, just questioning him because he played there shows little understanding of players and ability and potential and standards. We have players in the squad from last season who some think aren’t up to it and that’s fine. How are they going to get on in an even higher standard? What we should do as fans is support the guys in the shirt and the squad and then make our own judgement with our own eyes. I’m not a fan of the “the ref was shite and cost us... apparently” brigade. I for one trust the gaffer’s eye and wish the lad well. He will always have my support if he gives 100% and acts in a good manner. I’m sure the vast majority of the fans will feel the same. Welcome to the club young man. [emoji172][emoji460]️[emoji106]