Stirling Albion Thread

[Binos Info]

Tuesday's Betfred Cup game against Montrose will be only £5!

This is to say thank you to the fans for their extremely supportive attitude after Saturday's untimely equipment failure. The Binos family never ceases to impress us.
 

We have conducted extensive testing since then and are hopeful that these issues will not occur again.

Please note that there will be no matchday magazine for this match.
As always, VOD replay will be available so if you can't watch the game at the time, you will be able to watch a replay within 24 hours.

Stirling Albion v Montrose - Bet Fred Live Stream Log in

[JMDP]

Not a bad week for the Binos with Bikey returning, a 5-0 away win and have also signed Jonny Mitchell (ex Falkirk and Brentford apparently). 

[headthebaw]

23 hours ago, JmSG said:

Thanks, about John Philliben what can you tell me? I think he was a central defender, and I don't know if he also did it as a fullback.

John was a central defender but I'm not sure if he played at full back. He was born in Stirling and still works and lives in the area. Moved to Doncaster in a big money deal (in those days).

Played at U19 level for Scotland in the squad that won the European Championship in 1982

He returned for a spell as manager at Stirling that we'll say no more about.

[mo83]

Is Dylan Bikey still as good as I remember him a few years back?Big move to Hearts then lost track of how he was doing forgot he was still with you lot to be honest.

[BB_Bino]

Is Dylan Bikey still as good as I remember him a few years back?Big move to Hearts then lost track of how he was doing forgot he was still with you lot to be honest.

We haven’t seen Bikey this season, due to injury, but I would personally say he is probably a better all round player now than the one you saw when Montrose were in the league.

The move to Hearts was always a strange one and I remember posting on here at the time that he was not good enough for that level, he was far to raw, but they signed him and pretty much discarded him on the same day.

He had a spell with a couple of Cypriot clubs then made his plea to “come home” and thankfully for him, the club were able to put a package together and ultimately KR wanted him as part of his squad.

When he returned, as mentioned above, he seemed to have matured from a raw youngster with an eye for goal, to a better all round player but without losing his best attributes. It’s hard to compare him to the player we saw in his first spell, Dave Mackay played him more centrally in an attack minded team, KR played him predominantly wide in a defensive structured team, and Bikey ended up playing through injury for a couple of months.

What I would say is that he is still an asset for any club at this level and it will be good to see him back in the coming weeks. He obviously has an affection for the club and the area that he lives and I think with KR having maybe a more balanced squad this year, he’ll get a bigger opportunity to shine if he can get back into the starting line up.

[BB_Bino]

Former Falkirk and Brentford youngster Jonny Mitchell signs until January. Not a player that I know but obviously comes with a good background at club level and has a few Scotland youth caps and will help in that Defensive Midfield role.

 

[GableEnder21]

Hi folks, how is your stream working out so far? Do you think tonight's game is worth the watch? Bit of a nothing game for us but will be a good opportunity to play some of the fringe players.

[AlbionMan]

5 hours ago, mo83 said:

Is Dylan Bikey still as good as I remember him a few years back?Big move to Hearts then lost track of how he was doing forgot he was still with you lot to be honest.

Bikey was outstanding in his first spell with us, but had lost something when he came back from Hearts. 

When he rejoined last season he wasn't really fit, but did work on it and got into shape , but then took a knock and tried to play through it, he wan't giving us much in that spell. When Covid hit went back to France and had an op to resolve the injury problem. He's been in quarantine since coming back.

Difficult to say what he'll be like this time round, maybe aye maybe no, and at the moment difficult to see who he'd replace. Hoping that he can bring what he had in his first spell with us.

 

[BB_Bino]

Hi folks, how is your stream working out so far? Do you think tonight's game is worth the watch? Bit of a nothing game for us but will be a good opportunity to play some of the fringe players.

Ours honestly has been spot on and I’m not just saying this, but I doubt you’ll find any better in the lower leagues.

We’ve not went down the automatic camera route thankfully. Give it a try, you’ll not be disappointed I don’t think.

[Binos Info]

Saturday's match v Elgin City will be available via Live Stream link below

Stirling Albion v Elgin City - 21st November 2020

Live streaming is £10 for non season ticket holders.

Match Day programmes will be printed for this match and are available from the club online shop via the following link:

Stirling Albion v Elgin City programme

[Ralstonite]

Are Stirling Albion the most underperforming football club in Scotland, relative to the size of the town?

[Gnash]

East Kilbride Thistle are below us in the hierarchy and East Kilbride has a higher population than Stirling, so no.

[albion20]

5 hours ago, Ralstonite said:

Are Stirling Albion the most underperforming football club in Scotland, relative to the size of the town?

I would agree with that, the amount of smaller towns who do really well, Alloa are a prime example. ross county a very small town, but sustain full time football. we could go through every league above us and find comparable towns, that seem to manage to stay at a higher level. 

 

I dont know the answer, Whether it is better run financially, or bigger fan base, which in most cases, not so sure about that, i have watched the binos for about 46 years, and they have virtually won nothing, apart from the little foray's up and down the leagues, i would love to know how hamilton , livingstone, ross county and whoever mange to get to the premier league.

Sadly don't think i will ever see the binos there.

[tamthebam]

I remember back in the late 80s someone said the population sizes of Dunfermline and Dumfries were roughly similar but the Pars had been more successful over the years than Queen of the South.

[gannonball]

5 hours ago, Ralstonite said:

Are Stirling Albion the most underperforming football club in Scotland, relative to the size of the town?

I would imagine it is. Having lived in and around Stirling for a fair whack of my life I think moving out to the industrial estate was its acceptance in to mediocrity at best. Still hope because of fan ownership it will come good so that others will follow suit though.

[bluearmyfaction]

One club city, decent catchment area; I would have thought Stirling Albion a prime target for anyone with a few bob who fancied a bit of fun.  Is there just a general non-footballingness about Stirling?  King's Park never set anything alight either.

Edited November 17, 2020 by bluearmyfaction
not a town

[BinoBalls]

On 17/11/2020 at 18:30, bluearmyfaction said:

One club city, decent catchment area; I would have thought Stirling Albion a prime target for anyone with a few bob who fancied a bit of fun.  Is there just a general non-footballingness about Stirling?  King's Park never set anything alight either.

So although Stirling is a "city", there's only 37,000 inhabitants.  Should still get bigger crowds than we do of course, but it's smaller than Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Hamilton, Livingston, Ayr etc etc.

Stirling also has quite a large middle class population.  We even vote Tory occasionally.  Generalising here but people who vote Tory tend not to be into football -- certainly not lower league football.  Whereas a town like Motherwell -- which has a population less than Stirling -- is much more football-oriented.

We've also nearly always been shite.  So there's not been a golden age where people started going and got their sons (and daughters) to go as well.  My Dad is from Falkirk and he was taken to see Falkirk in the Scottish Cup Final in the early 1960s.  All his family support Falkirk.  We've never had anything like that.  At school there were maybe 4 of us in my year who supported Stirling Albion, otherwise it's the usual armchair Rangers and Celtic pish.

We were also (I think) mismanaged in the last 20 years of the previous century.  We had our own stadium near the centre of town, then got into debt, sold our only asset, and now we rent Forthbank from the council.  So we can't generate income by renting out pitches or office space etc, which again reduces our spending power relative to clubs like Stenhousemuir or Alloa.

Christ that was depressing.  But when I win the EuroMillions on Friday night, a new dawn will begin.

 

[Tutankhamen]

8 minutes ago, BinoBalls said:

So although Stirling is a "city", there's only 37,000 inhabitants.  Should still get bigger crowds than we do of course, but it's smaller than Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Hamilton, Livingston, Ayr etc etc.

Stirling also has quite a large middle class population.  We even vote Tory occasionally.  Generalising here but people who vote Tory tend not to be into football -- certainly not lower league football.  Whereas a town like Motherwell -- which has a population less than Stirling -- is much more football-oriented.

We've also nearly always been shite.  So there's not been a golden age where people started going and got their sons (and daughters) to go as well.  My Dad is from Falkirk and he was taken to see Falkirk in the Scottish Cup Final in the early 1960s.  All his family support Falkirk.  We've never had anything like that.  At school there were maybe 4 of us in my year who supported Stirling Albion, otherwise it's the usual armchair Rangers and Celtic pish.

We were also (I think) mismanaged in the last 20 years of the previous century.  We had our own stadium near the centre of town, then got into debt, sold our only asset, and now we rent Forthbank from the council.  So we can't generate income by renting out pitches or office space etc, which again reduces our spending power relative to clubs like Stenhousemuir or Alloa.

Christ that was depressing.  But when I win the EuroMillions on Friday night, a new dawn will begin.

 

Long-term problem is the pyramid and organized outfits coming up from below. I thought Berwick Rangers would have bounced back by now. The Lowland League is highly competitive and can only get more competitive as more and more East and West big guns join it. Maybe Stirling Albion would be more at home in the LL. You could push the cheaper prices for fans angle.

[BinoBalls]

2 minutes ago, Tutankhamen said:

Long-term problem is the pyramid and organized outfits coming up from below. I thought Berwick Rangers would have bounced back by now. The Lowland League is highly competitive and can only get more competitive as more and more East and West big guns join it. Maybe Stirling Albion would be more at home in the LL. You could push the cheaper prices for fans angle.

While I wouldn't rule out the fact that one bad season could see that happen, I like to think our natural home is in League One as opposed to the Lowland League.

[AlbionMan]

On 19/11/2020 at 19:29, BinoBalls said:

So although Stirling is a "city", there's only 37,000 inhabitants.  Should still get bigger crowds than we do of course, but it's smaller than Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Hamilton, Livingston, Ayr etc etc.

Stirling also has quite a large middle class population.  We even vote Tory occasionally.  Generalising here but people who vote Tory tend not to be into football -- certainly not lower league football.  Whereas a town like Motherwell -- which has a population less than Stirling -- is much more football-oriented.

We've also nearly always been shite.  So there's not been a golden age where people started going and got their sons (and daughters) to go as well.  My Dad is from Falkirk and he was taken to see Falkirk in the Scottish Cup Final in the early 1960s.  All his family support Falkirk.  We've never had anything like that.  At school there were maybe 4 of us in my year who supported Stirling Albion, otherwise it's the usual armchair Rangers and Celtic pish.

We were also (I think) mismanaged in the last 20 years of the previous century.  We had our own stadium near the centre of town, then got into debt, sold our only asset, and now we rent Forthbank from the council.  So we can't generate income by renting out pitches or office space etc, which again reduces our spending power relative to clubs like Stenhousemuir or Alloa.

Christ that was depressing.  But when I win the EuroMillions on Friday night, a new dawn will begin.

 

You're going to have to wait till Tuesday for your € millions, it's still rolling on. If it's not me that wins I hope it will be you to save the Binos.