Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach

It'd be a shame if the night was topped off with them getting booted up and down the streets of Seville by Spanish polis and Frankfurt hooligans.

Unless I'm mistaken, Auchinleck (and Linlithgow, Pollok and many more) former junior clubs are just reasonably well run clubs with fairy decent supports (4-500ish). Darvel have had money pumped into it by Brownings Bakers and are the next Kelty. Have a look at Darvel's squad!

A few years ago it was more than possible for most part time teams who had a good season to get to the Championship. Certainly not outwith the realms of possibility. I have to say, I am fairy annoyed at these teams with financial backers buying their way to a couple of divisions above where they would otherwise be. One of the things that set lower league football apart from even the Scottish Premier league, let alone the English Premier League that we were all much of a muchness with no one really buying their way above you. I'd very much enjoy being in a league with Linlinthgow, Auchinleck, Pollok etc but it is a bit dispirting having nouveau riche teams gallop up the leagues.

We missed out on reaching the (promotion to the Championship) playoffs on the final day of the season in successive years not too long ago. Very often a team can make a few signings that unexpectedly gel well together and really hit it off, find a formation or playing style that really works for them. If you're a well run club financially there are vagaries that really can't be fully planned or accounted for.

Can you explain how a financially stable club like Stenhousemuir (who get the vast majority of income from sources other than gate receipts) can further 'get our act together' other than employ a decent manager and to sign the best players the budget allows?

I wonder if people struggling to feed their familes and heat their homes have simply tried getting their act together?

Those are definitely the 3 positions we need to fill with top end L2 players. After that, adequate squad fillers would be fine. Yes to Yeats, but would be a bit underwhelmed with the other two you mentioned if they were to be first choice players. I hope we don't try and play O'Reilly at the tip of a diamond or far too high up on the left of 3 forwards. Getting the ball on the half way line with plenty of space to drive into and accelerate is when he causes chaos.

The first few games had an attendance cap of 250. There was also the 500 limit for a couple of games at Christmas (though that would impact L2 less)

Wilson would have been an O.K. back up, nothing more than that. Christie put in a good shift but was not good enough to be starting (well, only!) natural right winger/attacker. Lyon did very well and it's unusual to find a player who's pretty effective at both full back positions. A very versatile player I'd have liked to have kept. With the emergence of Corbett, he was never going to be first choice in his favoured position. We need a bit of change. I think some fans would have been content to re-sign 15 of the players who stumbled to 5th place.

I hope Cowdenbeath stay up. A proper club that doesn't deserve to be associated with that circus below us.

Some of the signings were poor and I agree about him being caught off guard about the league quality and the true ability of those players relative to it. To be fair, he did realise this sharpish and did well to ship out/not play the duds and signed some good replacements. Minimum expectation is that we should be in a Forfar/Annan type position next season. Comfortably in the playoffs.

Was about to throw my weight behind Cowdenbeath for the above reason before I realised where Eskbank station was.

Tam Orr signs for next season.

I don't believe a normal looking guy with a good job posts on P&B. Surely we're just all dole monkey VLs?

I also never realised Adam Brown and Nat Wedderburn were also contracted for next year!

Corbett and Anderson have re-signed. Anderson became a very useful squad player and can fill in a number of positions. I don't expect he's on a fortune either. Happy to keep him. Beyond delighted to keep Corbett. I reckon he's the most complete fullback we've had in many a year!

Whatever happens in the next few games, I've really quite enjoyed this season. Perhaps some of that is just the joy of getting back to football post Covid and seeing the usual suspects again. However, since the opening 6-8 games or whatever it was we've played relatively attacking football and seeing O'Reilly take players on has got me out of my seat more than I can remember any player doing in recent memory. I've also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Wedderburn calmly hold players off and work his way out of trouble with a turn or excellent pass. It seems effortless and does often look like watching a player from several divisions above. I hope we can keep hold of a fair few of them as I don't think we're too far off being a very good team at this level

When you think a thread should die if the mask mandate is dropped on the 18th April..... ...but there are still freaks and Simps on the internet to be furious at!

I assumed that was the reason but was shocked he could be arsed. On a train I was on earlier in the day the conductor walked by me having a beer and a couple of women across the aisle drinking wine. 'They may take our lives, but they'll never take our CANS ON TRAINS!!!'

On the drinking on trains thing, I got serious grief from a conductor on Saturday. The train was about 10-20% full and I was at a table myself. He came round to look at tickets and said to me 'you know the policy is no alchol on Scotrail trains?' and I replied 'I kbow, I know' in a sort of mea culpa tone. A little later he walked by again and I had a different brand of beer on the table. In a fairly agressive, agitated teacher to pain in the arse school pupil he said 'that's a different beer! What have I told you about this! Get that poured down the toilet or I'll inform the transport police and you'll be off at Perth!' I wanted to tell him to go f**k himself but knew that would be counter productive so just hid my remaining beers at my feet and checked the aisle forward and back before taking swigs. Was fairly surprised the conductor seemed bothered given I was on my own on a quiet train and clearly causing no bother

Fairly poor game. A good day out.

If you are looking for something for the Saturday afternoon, I'd suggest going one tier lower. In the Tweede Divisie Amsterdamsche FC play Koninklijke HFC from Haarlem. Two very traditional teams with a long history at a lovely ground near the heart of Amsterdam. Thanks!

Thanks. In that case, my wife will be treated to a romantic Volendam v Jong Ajax/ Almere v NAC double header.