A week is a long time at Stranraer fc

They say a week is a long time in politics and the same can be said of Stranraer fc in the last 7 days.A massive win at Ochilview last Saturday against Stenhousemuir and then on Tuesday the resignation of two big characters at the club,Director of Football Stuart Millar and Chairman David Broadfoot.The latter will be a big miss for the Gaffer Stephen Farrell if he stays at the club next season,as Stuart had loads of contacts at various clubs,and probably took a bit of pressure of the boss man,wether the same role is there next season will be open to question as clubs continue to tighten their belt in these tough times for football clubs,but I wish Stuart well in his new capacity as all blues fans do.The Chairman’s resignation was also a bit of a surprise and we move onto our 3rd Chairman of the Season,I wish him well.Now this Saturday at Stair Pk we welcome runaway leaders and champions elect Arbroath.Who would have thought back in August the Red Lichties would come to Stranraer in March needing in all probability 2 or 3 wins to clinch Ladbrokes league 1.They have been the best and most consistent team in the Division and deserve the title.As for the blues the previous 4 encounters with the Angus club this season have been pretty close with 2 lost,1 drawn and a cup win at Gayfield.The visitors have not been at their best in recent matches and one theory is that the season might be catching up with the ageing Arbroath squad,hopefully our youngsters can put that theory to the test.Our Manager could name the same side for a 3rd game in a row,quite a novelty for Faz really this season and hopefully capture the points against the League leaders.A decent sized away support is expected and a decent atmosphere,and with the blues not out of the relegation woods just yet,a good home crowd would be welcome.Then on Tuesday we have the insurance of a home game against Brechin City just 3 days after the Arbroath game.I feel we are a better team than Brechin and your blogger will be disappointed if 3 points don’t wing their way to Stranraer,this game has been cancelled twice and let’s hope it’s 3rd time lucky for the blues.And finally I saw this advert in a window that said ‘Television for sale,£1,volume stuck on full’.I thought,’I can’t turn that down.’’’😎⚽️

Birthday boy

Another year older and 63 years on this planet after the 16th of March,didn’t think I’d make that but the party goes on till I get the phone call to go home.My dear old Dad died at 47 and not till your 63 do you realise how young that was😢I noticed i shared my birthday with blues legend Tony Gallagher,met him a year back at the Challenge cup reunion,looked as though he could still pull on a Stranraer shirt,he really was in great shape.I digress and the blues travelled to Ochilview on Saturday for another ‘cup final’ got to admit not many TV cameras about for a cup final.The gaffer made no changes for this vital encounter against Stenhousemuir and with good reason as the players almost earning a point against East Fife last Saturday.The plastic pitch had been cleared of snow by some Stenny and Stranraer fans and we got going.A very edgy opening with both teams knowing the high stakes of the game,a victory to go along way to secure League 1 status.The opening and only goal of the game was scored by Stranraer on 33,good play saw Kyle Turner play in Innes Cameron to score his 8th of the season and his 5th this Calender year.The second half saw both teams with chances,but the Stranraer defence stood firm and collected all 3 points.No real failures in the game for the blues and you could see how much this meant to the players,even Jao Victoria was tracking back😲Amazingly we now go only 3 points behind 5th place Montrose,what a crazy crazy League.Well done to the blues supporters who braved the elements yesterday and made a good old noise.Probably one of my favourite bits of the afternoon was captain Jamie Hamill giving it back to the tanked up brigade in hospitality for Stenny,brilliant stuff.We move onto runaway leaders Arbroath next Saturday at Stair Pk,hopefully the Red Lichties will bring a few and give the blues some hard earned cash,looking forward to it,my preview will be online about 11am on Wednesday morning.And finally some robbers broke into my house and stole my Limbo(dance)trophies,how low can you get😎⚽️

The SPFL know SFA

What a storm that was and that was just on the Stranraerfc Facebook page!Looks like the dust is settling on a good discussion on the FB page and the blame for last nights late call off looks like landing at the Spfl doorstep,where they don’t seem to be believe technology at millions of pounds,and are dismissing weather alerts etc 2 days beforehand.Yours truly always goes by the BBC forecasts and they are very rarely wrong and I sit and watch Countryfile on a Sunday to see what to expect during the week,1,000s of Farmers do the same and maybe the big wigs at the Spfl could do the same and put a big red warning on certain forecasts.The arguments of course against this is that games would never get played,but I’m talking severe weather probably forecasted winds of 40 mph plus and the wee triangle of weather disruption.I think the real problem is people hate change,but although in my veteran stage I enhance change,especially if it’s in my pocket.But the same system has been used for years and don’t expect rapid changes.I was quite happy the game didn’t go ahead last night,I believe we are a better team than Brechin City and at this stage of the season we don’t need lottery conditions.I digress and onto our massive game on Saturday at Ochilview on Saturday.’This is another Cup final’ so P J Crossan tells us in his latest interview on the excellent Stranraer fc Page,and honestly I’ve never been to as many cup finals in my life supporting the blues.Although Stenhousemuir might have improved after the January window I have watched the blues beat Stenny quite comfortable on 3 occasions this term and if the attitude is right a clean sweep of the Warriors should be on the cards.No injuries to report as yet on the game and you would have to  think the same 11 who went down to East Fife last Saturday will start.Hopefully a good travelling support up from Stranraer and local blues fans to cheer us onto 3 valuable points.The next time you read my blog I will be another year older,but I can assure you no wiser.And finally.You know,somebody actually complimented me on my driving today.They left a little note on the windscreen,it said’Parking Fine’.So that was nice.😎⚽️

Bad day at both offices

This has been a pretty good week for your blogger.Walking up the High Street in Lanark on Thursday morning got chatting to a goal scoring hero for the blues from 1989 till 1992,none other than Colin’Rusty’Harkness.Sadly more baldy than rusty these days but still had a good blether about his time at Stair Pk.Had arranged to meet him on the Friday for an interview for the excellent Its no Easy podcast,but work prevented him from doing so,although he does work with the council,not often work and council are mentioned in the same sentence🤫I digress and today the  blues travelled through to deepest Fife to play East Fife on a plastic surface,to be fair probably one of the best of its kind in the lower leagues.I was met with the news that concessions for the game were an entrance fee of 12 pounds,the highest in League 1 by some distance🤬🤬Sat in the lounge with Grant Anderson’s dad,Mr Anderson funnily enough,and said Grant had recovered from a virus which ruled him out of last week’s game against Raith,so another selection option for the Gaffer.This New Bayview Stadium must be one of the coldest in Scotland,in fact it makes Gayfield seem like Benidorm😲The first half would have actually have got football stopped,but to be fair the wind made it a bit of a lottery at times.The only big chance in the first 45 fell to the aforementioned Grant Anderson when a free header from 6 yds neither tested the Keeper or hit the net and it was a big chance.Sadly for the blues as per last Saturday,we didn’t came out of the blocks early doors and the Fifers raced into an early lead(did you see what I did there)on 48 Pat Slattery opened the scoring for the homesters.Funnily enough this led to Stranraer's best spell and Kyle Turner being watched by 2 Scottish Championship sides today did his progress no harm by slamming in the leveller on 54.Really both sides had chances to get in front,but up stepped ref Mr Barry Cook or his Lino to give East Fife an Imaginary corner on 89,you guessed right they scored.Then on 93 the boy goes down quicker than Monica Lewinsky,mr Cook buys it big time,and Cook now has me at boiling point and guess what they scored,surprise,surprise😡A good job her indoors wasn’t about as I vented my spleen at Cook on the final whistle,these things even themselves out or so they say,try telling that to the Stranraer players after horrendous decisions at Arbroath,Raith and today.To wrap up a horrible day I’m told that Spurs have been beaten by a Sea Port City in the Prem,what’s that all about🤷‍♂️But I’m in the Faz camp,as positive as ever and 2 wins next week puts us in mid table.First up is Brechin City at Stair Pk.I know this will probably fall on deaf ears but the boys need your support,so try and get out there on Tuesday night and cheers us onto a victory.And finally I phoned the the local gym and asked if they could teach me to do the splits.He said ‘’how flexible are you’’?i said ‘’I can’t make Tuesdays”😎⚽️

Pancake day

Hopefully you all enjoyed your Shrove Tuesday or Pancake day.To be honest I had a pretty flat day😲and was only improved when the Lilywhites continued their march to European dominance against Dortmund in the Signal Iduna Park,what an atmosphere that ground has.I digress and onto this Saturday’s match against East Fife at the Bayview Stadium in Methill.We have had some strange games against the fifers this term and have scored 6 goals against them in our last 2, but have only one point to show for it.In fact if you take in our final game of the Season last term we have scored 9 in 3 out of 4 games against them.Our last home game against them produced 7 goals and the blues managed to chuck away a 2-0 and 3-1 lead,so there shouldn’t be a lack of goals on Saturday,cue 0-0.No word on any new injuries and Grant Anderson should be back after a bout of flu last weekend.The gaffer stated in his pressser last Saturday that the blues had 10 cup finals to play,let’s hope our first trophy arrives on Saturday.Talking of the gaffer he celebrates his 46th birthday on Friday,must admit I’m looking forward to being 46🤷‍♂️Next week sees another 2 cup finals with Brechin at Stair Park on Tuesday 12 March and Stenny up at Ochilview on the the 16th,but one game at a time.And finally I went to my mates for Lunch the other day.She asked me how many potatoes I wanted and I said one.Now now she says don’t be so polite,so I replied one you ugly bitch😎⚽️

Just in from the windy toon

A pleasant morning in Lanark led me to believe that it would be a mild day,good job I’m not a weather forecaster!The trip down to Stair Pk was fine,a stop at Dobbies for a coffee,her indoors almost bought a Gazebo,but I can’t afford a second mortgage,that place is like shopping in Harrods💶A detour on the 77 saw us go the coastal route,shame I hadn’t packed the picnic set.Got into the fitba bar to see Spurs salvage a point against the Gunners and it was time for Stair park.To say it was windy was an understatement,that was just in the stand,I told her indoors I shouldn’t have had beans for lunch.Onto the game itself and just after 9 the blues went ahead,a lovely passing move and Kyle Turner struck sweetly to finish the job.The cigars were on out on 22 when former Rover,Jao Victoria made it 2 with a neat hit from 20 yards.The Stranraer supporters were in dream land and this team put together on a shoe string were coasting against a team who had been in Europe not so long ago.Although the fifers huffed and puffed,the blues defence stood firm and 2-0 at the break was well deserved.Got my half time pie and the world looked rosy,apart from BRexit,how could you Rodgers😎The second half saw the Rovers come out like Roy of the Rovers and Craig McGuffie pulled one back for the full timers early doors.The next incident saw Raith get a Penalty.Never a penalty in a 100 years,a shot from a yard off  Scouse Cummins hits his hand,one Raith player appeals and inexplicably David Munro the Ref gives a spot kick,we can now expect 12 penalties a game!After this shambolic decision I feared the worst,but not at all,as this young Blues gave 100 per cent to the finishing line and with a bit of luck might have got a winner.But a Desmond it finished and 5 points in 7 days,not exactly relegation form👏I actually quite enjoyed the game and it was pretty end to end at times.But full credit to Stranraer who could folded but probably looked like the full time team near the end.A good day was rounded off by a Sausage supper in CD,quite a shop that in Castle Douglas,it’s like Bingo,they shout your number out when it’s ready,eyes down for Sausage Supper😲And finally I met the bloke who invented Crosswords today,can’t remember his name,but it’s something T,something R,something S 😎⚽️

Take a point

Don’t really know what to make from last nights performance against Stenny at Stair Pk.Was it a good point?or 2 points dropped?Got to say fancied us to beat the warriors but they put in a battling performance.One or two talking points,a lino got injured,two local boys on the bench and a crowd of 219,the latter I’m not surprised at,although going by FB some seem to be.I was talking to Dof Stuart Millar recently and he can remember 200 odd at a midweek game when him and Neil were at the helm,and we were doing really well at that point.I looked up an attendance in 2012 when Stranraer played Alloa in midweek when both teams were doing pretty well,the figures that night were 225,so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out 219 represents a drop of 6 from 225.The game wasn’t the most attractive 3rd bottom v bottom and with the Blues playing Raith at the weekend maybe punters were holding off till Saturday,hopefully another 100 or so on Saturday.This brings me nicely onto the aforementioned game.Probably the most disappointing team in League 1 this season,full time Raith Rovers are struggling once again in this League.They may have a lovely new all weather pitch,but there team is not so lovely.I’ll echo what I’ve said previously,they remind me so much of Dunfermline in this League several years ago,and the frightening thing for their supporters is that word on the street says they will go part time if promotion does not come this time around,worrying times for the Fife club.The blues can put another nail in the coffin of the away team on Saturday with 3 points.The games between the pair have been very close this term and expect another close one on Saturday.No word of any injuries for Stranraer last night so you would think the gaffer will go with same 11 which beat Brechin and drew with Stenny,but Jao Victoria might want to prove a point against his old employers.As for Rovers don’t think there as good without Lewis Vaughan and he’s out for the season,but Nisbett up front is quite a handful and Liam Buchanan has been scoring against us for about 40 years.So the stage is set,as usual a very hard game but one I greet with confidence🤫And finally I’d like to start with a Chimney joke,I’ve got a stack of them.The first one is on the house😎⚽️

A balmy day in Brechin😎

Felt quite confident to going to Glebe Park today,hit 3 sets of temp traffic lights from Lanark to Falkirk and the Green showed every time,when your lucks in its in.Picked up the boy Cottam in Camelon and her indoors didn’t fancy a run to Angus(again)so it was just me and Tony to sing along to Daniel O Donnell on the cassette player.First stop was Costa of course,at Kinross service station,where prices are so dear,rip off should be added to the signs.Anyway I digress and it wasn’t the greatest start as I watched Burnley beat Spurs in the Brechin bar,well I watched it on text as the Hedgemen don’t have Sky in the bar🤬We finally exited to take in the game in sunshine,last year it was beast from the east,today it was best of the west and the stage was set.The gaffer,Faz,rang the changes and new boy Ali McCann made his debut with Cammy Elliot and Adam Cummins coming in replacing a injured PJ Crossan and not so injured Jao Victoria and Andrew Macdonald who was suspended.The blues made most of the running in a good opening spell,but surprise surprise were made to pay for some slack defending when Euan Smith popped up to score for Brechin.I had just stopped swearing when Kyle Turner produced some lovely work on the left hand side and Innes Cameron scored with a pass from KT,1-1 and all to play for.I hadn’t even finished my pie from H-T when Max Currie made a fantastic stop with his left foot to keep the scores level.The winner came from a free kick just outside the D,when Jamie Hamill smashed a shot into the net,a slight deflection but they all count.The remaining part of the game was very tense,could we hang on for our first victory of 2019 ?The answer was Yes yes yes and happy days are here again.Lovely touch from the gaffer at the end to come and thank the supporters,us fans appreciate that👍So Stenny on Tuesday at Stair Park,a follow up would be nice.I rounded off going  to a Chinese called Yang sing,I don’t know about Yang,but I sang the praises of Stranraer to anybody who would listen🤯And finally I wasn’t particularly close to my Dad when he died,which was lucky for me as he trod on a Land mine😎⚽️

What could wrong?

Woke up this morning feeling on the Top of the world,although I’ve got to admit Everest is some climb😲My favourites were at home to bottom club Dumbarton,I was being chauffeured by Tony Cottam who has just had his Cataracts done and says he can see much better😎and was going to my first ever press conference at the end of a blues game,exciting stuff eh!Got to the ground with a detour of Port Wullie,used to me some great pubs there,sadly no longer about,I just loved the Eagle.I digress,and took in the bar at the opposite side from the Stand and was full of Dumbarton fans,so couldn’t really get an intelligent conversation🤬Liked the look of Stranraer Manager Stephen Farrell team on paper,but sadly games aren’t played on paper.A sparse home support took their seats to watch the blues beat a team we always beat at Stair Pk,well nearly always.The first half was really poor and the Sons of the rock really should have been in front,a couple of decent chances going a begging.Got to half time,0-0 all to play for kicking into our favourite end.The half time draw came and went in fact 2 were drawn,no winners in my wee area so no holiday in Sandhead with the winnings,lucky them.I don’t gamble these days,caused me too many problems and kept on losing,which is probably a good idea to stop.The second half started the way the first half stopped,the blues just couldn’t string 2 passes together and it was no surprise when Ross Forbes smashed one into the net from about 20 yards giving Max Currie no chance.Although we hadn’t been in the game young star Kyle Turner should really have made it 1-1 but his shot flew over the bar and our chances flew out the window.Just when we were getting back into the game Andrew Macdonald,his Mum likes me to call him Andrew,got stupidly sent off for 2 shirt pulls in 3 minutes and I didn’t call him Andrew after that.The 2 final nails in the old coffin were put in by Dom Thomas and Ross Perry to make it 3 for the sons of the rock.As ever at the press conference our manager Faz was as honest as the days long and said ‘we didn’t deserve anything out of the game’and he was right.Sad to say too many had an off day and although the park wasn’t great,it had cut up pretty badly,and the players had a hard game at Gayfield,it was pretty poor.Although I’ve got to admit Dom Thomas is some talent and although one man doesn’t make a team,he does his best to make that cliche rubbish.But beat 3-0 or not I’m up to Brechin next Saturday to support the team,we have so many 6 pointers coming up it’s frightening.But if you listen to the Stranraer podcast on Thursday,Its no easy,I’ll be dissecting the game,whatever that means🤷‍♂️And finally to all Ladies out there,don’t date a Tennis player,Love means nothing to them😎🤷‍♂️

Dunblane Hydro and all that.

That’s my vacation over to the Dunblane Hydro once again and her indoors can get back to the sink again😲Love my stay in this hotel and even managed to catch some fitba while i was there.Good to see Aberdeen thrashing Queen of the South,lovely watching Man City put 6 past Chelsea and Spurs winning again,all made up for a super Sunday.The Monday was spent in the fair city of Perth,some strange people up that way,was in Costa and this boy came in shouting about another customer and just along at the Taxi rank another guy starting shouting at the Taxi Driver,all made up for a very entertaining day in the cold.Back to the hotel and we headed for the Nick Nairn Restaurant,very posh but the Prosecco can wait,40 quid a bottle,I could go to Italy and pick up a couple of bottles for that!I digress and what a fantastic point for the blues last night up at Arbroath.Watched the highlights this morning and the blues deserved at least a point.Must admit looked like a Penalty early doors for Stranraer and to give young Cameron a yellow was ridiculous.Looking at the 2 benches we had 3 kids plus Mark Lamont,they had 7 very experienced players,shows where we are with squad and finances at the moment.But a bit of a confidence booster before the game on Saturday.Now onto the weekend and Dumbarton are the visitors.This is a game where the Stranraer fans can sing ‘can we play you every week’as the sons have a woeful record at Stair Pk.A win here would give us some leeway on the run in and if we carry our performance from Gayfield and to an extent against East Fife  you would have to feel pretty confident.No word on the return of P J Crossan and Iain Smith so a light bench again you would think.As ever I fancy the blues at Stair Pk,let’s do it.And finally I’m still making love at 71,which is handy for me because I live at 63😎⚽️

You could’nae make it up

I said at the start of the month after having a look at the fixtures for February,I stated that Stranraerfc boss Stephen Farrell had a good chance of Manager of the Month,and that has been proved right as he’s undefeated this Month,Erm the only thing is that we’ve not had a game yet this month with yet another game going by the wayside today,with the game being played again on Tuesday 12th February,not much opposition that night apart from Man Utd v PSG on the Fat Belly😲I’m maybe going to be a bit controversial here,but is not about time Football clubs starting listening to Weather forecasts.I think Schools are now doing it and I think clubs really have to be a bit pro active in this technology world,yesterday afternoon the met office gave a yellow warning for Angus,high winds gusting up to 70mph,so why no action yesterday?It was obvious that Saturday was going to be wild,I know Arbroath wanted the game on for financial reasons,but putting lives at risk travelling to Football matches is just plain daft.Wether we like it or not weather forecasts are very accurate these days and all football clubs should be keeping a close eye on the forecast from Thursday onwards,I think clubs don’t believe forecasts and hope it’s not going to so bad as they say,but I’m including my own club in this and all other clubs,this could have been avoided today okay the club loses money on hospitality etc but that’s life and we don’t want to lose one because of a blind eye to the forecast,rant over.So weather permitting we do it all again on Tuesday night,looking at the team sheet today,noticed Macdonald was back in favour today and with P J Crossan out the same line up can be expected on Tuesday night,knowing our luck their will be an earthquake in Arbroath on Tuesday🏔

Quite sure we’ll mention this shambles on Its no Easy the Stranraer fc podcast on Thursday morning,good to see wee Laurence interviewing Faz on you tube,I often say that to Laurence,You Tube🤫And finally I bought a Muzzle for my pet Duck,nothing flashy but it fits the bill😎⚽️

Chinese New Year and all that

Chinese New Year this week and the year of the Pig I believe.I can quite easily identify with this as her indoors says ‘I eat like a pig’bit harsh I would say.I’m always amazed that the Chinese New Year lands on a Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday every Year,I’m obviously not suggesting that Takeaways and Restaurants are always quiet during the week,I smell a Rat!I digress and after the abandonment of last Saturday’s encounter against the Warriors,the quick rearranged fixture looked certain to go ahead last night until a deluge of Rain waterlogged Stair Park,the rumour is Stranraer committee member Bill Paton was rowing a boat in the centre circle😅This means the Blues at the end of February will have played only 5 matches at Stair Park since the end of October and if the Dumbarton game goes make that 4,quite frightening.Now this Saturday I’m absent in action again as her indoors and myself are off to Dunblane Hydro for a few days.We are going for a romantic break as there is a Mills and Boon convention on🤬No the truth is we are going for a Valentine and Anniversary break,we have been married 43 years,she really is a lucky lady.So it will be media,media on Saturday as I try and get all the scores from Gayfield as the blues travel to runaway leaders of Ladbrokes League1,Arbroath.On paper this looks a huge ask for the blues,but with the game being played on grass looks a wee bit easier.Our recent record at the Angus club is decent,3 wins from our last 4 in all comps and with a win in the Scottish Cup recently,maybe not as hard as it seems.Cannot see Faz starting with 2 strikers on Saturday,and a performance like the Scottish Cup will do dainty.The good news is that this is our 3rd last visit to the county of Angus this term,the bad news is we are back to Angus in a fortnight to play Brechin City🤬And finally A hotel mini bar let’s you see into the future and what a can of Pepsi will cost you in 2030😎⚽️

Hard day.

So disappointing that Jack Frost got down to Stair pk again and caused a no show today at Stranraer.I hate getting no game on a Saturday,and I haven't been as let down since Susan Boyle finished second on BGT.Although the blues didn't play today,a couple of scorelines didn't do us any damage today and Raith once again struggled,this League is really being thrown at Arbroath by the full time fifers.Not all bad today as QOS got beat 3 by Falkirk and the MOTM award jinx strikes again as QOS Manager Gary Naysmith won it last month,if it wasn't for Dobbie they would. becoming our way next season.Early doors took in the Spurs game v Newcastle on Sky today,the lilywhites having about 99 per cent possession,but only a mistake by the Magpies keeper gave Spurs the victory.Her indoors was creating when I said I was going to watch BT score,so it was a walk up the street to see some Charity shops and Hairdressers,my home town of Lanark is so exciting,didn`t even pay a visit to Costa,her indoors said `We had one this week already``talk about tight,she bought double glazing so the weans couldn`t hear the Ice cream man.I finally sat down and watched some film,no wonder I take drink.The postponed game today v Stenny will hopefully go ahead this Tuesday night,ko 7.45 and I'm quite sure the boys on Stranraerfc podcast Its no easy will discuss the result to be broadcast on Thursday morning,and before that on Wednesday morning my blog will be looking forward to the game next Saturday against Arbroath at Gayfield.And finally Uncle Ben has died.No more Mr Rice guy.