Airdrieonians Diamonds from the rough




Season Review






Final League Table
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We had already won the league but sadly for 2nd place Ayr they were plastered by League 1 side Falkirk 5-0 in the playoff final. A worrying sight for our future. Both Albion and Queens Park are relegated to League 2 where they belong.




Airdrie will be one of 3 new teams in a very strong Championship next year with Ross County & Dundee falling down the leagues taking the places of promoted St Mirren & Queen of the South

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Airdrie squad
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The strikers carried us to all our success with a total of 50 goals between the 2 of them, Gavin Milne & Austin Stevenson as teenagers look like they could be with us for the long run. Young wing back Scott Stewart and the best bits are. Every main player is under 22 except Dale Carrick




Fans award
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Players of the Year





Dale Carrick
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The former Scotland U21 international prove his worth by Scoring 19 goals in the league to fire us to top spot as well as 8 in the cups, usually involved in the important moments. Signing him to a long term deal will be a important job this summer.


Jordan McGregor
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I had actually overlooked McGregor at the start of the season having him no higher than 3rd in my depth chart but once he sneaked into the first team and became our best center back. With all the stats to succeed he's a player i would not be scared to give a game in the SPL if we ever reach there!


Scott Stewart
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A star and captain in real life. His stats dont stand out but he get the job done!




The Kids
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Three are key starters with Milne, Stevenson & Edwards all under 18 and starting every week


Nathan Jordan & Ally Main impressed when they got a rare run out but Steve Bennett was the only let down.
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Looking forward to see how you do in the championship. What are your finances like now?

Just started a game as them there to see what I can do with my local team
 
Do you think you'll go professional now or will have to wait until you're in the Premiership?
 
leckuno said:
Looking forward to see how you do in the championship. What are your finances like now?

Just started a game as them there to see what I can do with my local team
Click to expand...



The cash situation is not great. We're in the red so wont be spending cash on players and even at the end of the pre season friendly's we still have not got out of the red which is a worry!

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Hampus Silverholt said:
Do you think you'll go professional now or will have to wait until you're in the Premiership?
Click to expand...

They were professional from the start i think
 



Season 2




Belgium Win the World Cup
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They beat Croatia in the final in the final that featured several classics






Summer Friendly's
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Bolton were the only team to beat us as we hold our own against Celtic Dundee and Blackburn





Transfers
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We manage to pick out a few recognisable names from the SPL and Championship while filling up 4 of our 5 loan spots with players i expect to come in and make a difference as well as our usual influx of kids.


Russell Dingwall - AT
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After scoring 19 goals with Forfar last season i hope he'll manage to do the same when moving up a level.


Brad Mckay - DC
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A big buy for Airdrie getting a player with over 70 games in the SPL.


Nicky Low - MC
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Having used him at Aberdeen usually for cash i am glad to add Low to my list of players with SPL experience who we managed to pick up on a free.




2 Youth players join with plenty more to follow between now and January
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I have 4 of my 5 available loan's but only 1 player from Aberdeen. Looks like a gem of a player for the future but i expected more players but most of them went to bigger championship or SPL clubs
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We sold one of our key player from last season Sean McIntosh to Falkirk with over £43.5k going into the bank with plenty new midfielders coming in on a free.




League Odds
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The Dundee teams and relegated Ross County are the natural favorites for the league. Frankly im amazed they see us as 8th. I was totally prepaired to be at the bottom by some distance




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August




A new team and we start off on fire winning in the cups and going unbeaten in the League


Fixtures
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We started the season with a convincing win at the flag unveiling game with Morton. Falkirk and Inverness Caly Thistle before thrashing Brechin with Ross Dingwall taking his season total to 4 goals in 4 games.




Championship Table
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We make a great start with only SPL drop outs Dundee although amazingly after 3 or 4 games the top 5 teams are ALL UNBEATEN




Betfred Cup Group Phase
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We won all 4 games to walk into the last 16


Airdrie 2-1 St Johnstone
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We beat SPL team St Johnstone in a game where we totally deserved the win. Partick await in the QF




Transfers
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One player comes in on his 16th birthday



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September




Ross Country end our unbeaten run but we have much to be happy with in the past month.




Betfred Cup Q/F
Airdrie 2-0 Partick Thistle
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Underdog Airdrie of the 90s is back with a bang. We scored twice in the first half then shut up shot against one of the more toothless performances we'v faced this season to set up a Hampden date with who else but Hearts next month




Fixtures

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Our first dramatic win was in the Irn Bru cup game with TNS where all our loan players and 2 starters were away playing for the Scottish youth teams. We were 2 goals down heading towards half time i decided to juice up the front line with a extra striker and they went nuts scoring 5 goals without reply.


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We then rounded out the month with a season defying match with Dundee who twice fought from behind only to be thwarted in the 95th minute by Ryan Conroy making his 1st appearance since injurying his hip in a July pre season game


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In our less eventful games we drew with Dundee Utd which looks good but there bottom of the table. Ross County dropped our first defeat of the season but got bak on track with Dale Carrick scoring the only goal against Dumbarton.




Championship Table
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Were now 1/4 of the way through the season and were working well beyond my expectation winning half our games and are only 2 points away from top spot.



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October





Betfred Cup Semi Finals
Hearts 1-3 Airdrie
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A pathetic 18,816 and a even worse 1,578 Airdrie fans made the 27 mile trip to Hampden for the 2002 version of the clubs biggest game EVER, and the biggest Airdrie game since 1995. Clearly the weaker of the two sides so had to set up to counter fast and our first two counters of the game seen us score both times with Dingwall and Carrick scoring a goal each. Hearts failed to ever fight back after the second goal went in and when the second half started i had expected to see Hearts get right back in the game but they actually pushed the final nail in there own coffin with John Souttar scoring a own goal. Kyle Lafferty got Hearts on the score sheet in the 92nd minute but Craig Levine had long since been silenced and can sulk off as we amazingly reach the clubs first ever League Cup final about 3-4 years ahead of schedule

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The shocks were not all reserved for our Semi final with Hibs knocking out Celtic in extra time.
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Fixtures
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Our championship push began with the top of the table clash with Dunfermline where the sides couldnt be split. Away from the big game we comfortably won away to Morton and at home to Falkirk. A team full of u20's and bak up players swept aside Ross County in the Irn Bru cup.




Championship Table
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Just line in our League match we can not be split from Dunfermline. Same points, same goal difference, we have scored 2 goals more that puts us clear at the top. Our victory over Morton with hindsight could have had us sitting the opposite way around. Wonder how Brechin managed to stay up in the first season?




We also sign a u19 player and will have more activity in November
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November




Eww this month was minging! 2 defeats in the League and a Irn Bru cup defeat. This is no way to prepare for our first major final in over 20 years.




Brexit
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The moment i was warned about Brexit coming around the corner i dived on every free player i could as you'll see later. Now it looks like that wont be a issue




Fixtures
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It all started with our worst performance of the season. the form team of November Dundee Utd swept us aside and we had no answer at all to them. That looked like a blip as a Carrick double saw off Inverness CT. That was followed by our first back to back defeats in 14 months. Firstly and humiliatingly to struggling Brechin then our exit to Dundee in the Irn Bru cup, Where we did play a back up team. The same can be said for the Ross County match but we won there with both goals from new wonder kid Janis Bonhof




Championship Table
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Dunfermline pull a point away from us but we're both overtaken by Morton and with Dundee Utd catching us all fast we wait to see how the league will pan out with no interruptions for International games and the end of the Betfair Cup games.




Transfers
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Two u19s join, Bonhof was agreed in the summer, we just had to wait for him to turn 16. Also joining our strongest position is Center Midfielder Iain Vigures. At best he'll be a upgrade to a top midfield, at worse he'll be the best back up midfielder in the League.



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League Cup Final 2018


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Airdrie vs Hibs

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The SPFL at its very best here. Game without the Old Firm is moved to mid week, To be fair we've only managed to take 5000 fans to the clubs biggest game in 23 years.




Match
Airdrie 2-3 Hibs
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In the first half hour it looked like this match could have been over as Hibs went 2 goals clear. Dale Carrick was not going to lay down and let us loose like we did to the Old Firm in the 90s and He pulled a goal back giving us all to play for in the 2nd half. Both teams had there chances but it was Hibs Lithuanian giant Vykintas Silvka got what would turn out to be the up winning goal as our 20 minutes of gung ho only managed to yield another Dale Carrick goal but we just couldnt force extra time and Hibs take the cup back to Easter Road.




The cup run also played a huge role in our balance finally being out of the red, at least for now!
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December




Crisis at Airdrie
Four defeats and a draw see our title challenge fall apart and the squad get ****** off with each other!




Fixtures
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Dumbarton, Dundee, Morton and Falkirk all grab points after we were in the lead and let it away EVERY TIME!




Championship Table
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Dale Carrick moves top of the scoring charts but we stumble 14 points behind top spot so its now playoff or bust as it stands.




Manager offers
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Ross County, Inverness CT & Dundee offer me a new job around Christmas but i stay loyal of course



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January




Firstly i went bouncing into and through February so we will miss that update and jump from here to March




Fixtures
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After a disgusting start against Dundee Utd which was 4-4 at half time we started to recover our form with three wins and a draw in the league. We did go out of the Scottish Cup but after the League cup run and the dismal league form pushed the Scottish Cup to the bottom of the pile.




Championship Table
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We're a long way from a title challenge and there is only 4 points from 3rd to 7th so we have to keep winning.




Transfers window
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In
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Two more under 20s sign up


Out
We sold Josh Edwards with our depth at left back any future fee's will be a boost. Ryan Conroy & Steven Lemetti were moved off the wage bill



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March



The February game aside this was a disaster


Fixtures
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Our first match was the game in Dundee and our good from looked like it was carrying on to a late season title charge again. Sadly it looks like that was the end as more defeats to lower half teams Falkirk & Inverness CT with the only glimer of hope coming from our 4-2 win at league leaders Morton when they went down to 10 men. our other match with a leading team was Dunfermline which was another heartbreaking collapse where we went from 3-0 up to 4-3 down in 11 second half minutes thankfully saving a point at the end!




Championship Table
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Its Mortons league to loose. 12 points ahead of us and we need to win every game and hope for others to falter. Dunfermline should be safe in the top 4 with a playoff spot at least but from 3rd place Falkirk to 7th place Dumbarton its only 3 points behind.






We have a great youth intake
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We add a few more foreign youth players
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April



After starting with a draw at home to Dundee United have 3 of our best results of the season to all but assure us of a play off spot




Fixtures
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Dundee Utd started the month coming from 2 goals behind to keep there play off hopes alive. Ross County go into the final two games tied on points with Dundee Utd but by thrashing them 5-0 there now 6 goals behind there closest rivals. We then put 6 past relegated Brechin who's goal difference is past -50 and were as unforgiving to Dumbarton after they took the lead against us.




Championship Table
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Morton win the title after a slow start they dominated the rest of the teams. Dunfermline have tied down a play off spot while we need a point from our final two games to make absolutly sure but will be keen for the win at Dundee because our final game at East End Park will be for a bye in the playoffs




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May




Fixtures
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We beat Dundee comfortably to go ahead of Dunfermline. Needing only a draw in our final game so we lost 2-1 to enter the playoffs at the 1st round




Championship Table
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3rd is well beyond what i expected before the season but a few marque signing as well as some youth players really developing see us finish with the best goal difference in the division and 3rd overall




Falkirk will be our 1st round opponent
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Championship Playoff 1st Round




1st leg
Falkirk 1-1 Airdrie
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Oh boy what a time for Janis Bonhof to return from injury to score in the 93rd minute in his first game in over 2 months. Not a bad way to spend my 100th game in charge


2nd leg
Airdrie 0-1 Falkirk
Falkirk win 2-1 on Agg
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And the season ends just like that. We didnt even get out of the first round. As much as i would have loved back to back promotions this side needs a defensive rebuild next season.




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Season 2 Review






Final League Table
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Morton will be the only side going up to the top flight after Dunfermline lost to Queen of the South in the play offs while last years Champions St Mirren go straight back down. At the other end Inverness CT join Brechin in taking the drop to League 1 with our title rivals of last season Ayr winning League 1 and being joined by Alloa as the new teams in the Championship




Premiership Table
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We wont be playing any of these teams next seasons but it was worth a look at what Andre Villas Boas managed to do with his first season at Rangers beating Celtic to the SPL title as well as the Scottish Cup






Airdrie squad
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Dale Carrick moved it up another level with an incredible 34 goals. He along with the wingers Milne & Jordan were the stars of the team. The defense is what let us down and thats where we'll be looking to upgrade next season after the man i hoped to make our defense better Brad McKay flopped.




Fans awards
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It was a bit closer than i thought with Carrick falling just short of 50%. Young player of the year Gavin Milne was next best




Players of the Year

Dale Carrick
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Gavin Milne - MR
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The winger's stats were almost identical to last seasons. His exposure to the Scotland u19 team has helped his development. Were just waiting for bigger teams to start coming in for him, Jordan and Stevenson




Nicky Low - MC
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THe former Aberdeen & Dundee midfielder became our captain in his first season as he became the steel in our midfield. We really missed him over the last few weeks of the season.



The Kids
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Austin Stevenson's stats dont suggest that he's our best overall player but with two caps with the u21s and Rangers sniffing around it might be hard to keep him for another season, Nathan Jordan pushed Ryan Conroy and a Rangers loan player out of the way becoming one of the best wingers in the league over the season he was our "most improved" player. Janis Bonhof only took a month to become a locked down starter and he will join Carrick up top next season.



Others
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Per Sojberg took over and outperformed Josh Edwards at left back, Steve Bennett finished the season stronger than he started but is not showing much improvement, Poliacek worked his way into the first team by the end of the season but will struggle to crack past Low, Stevenson & Storie. 13 other u20s made first team appearance, our u20 depth is insane but how much quality is there? only time will tell!



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Season 3




Summer Friendly's
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Celtic and Rangers thumped us but we did very well against the rest winning 5 in a row going into the Betfred cup games


League Odds
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Darren Young's arrival has pushed Dundee Utd on our tails for the favorites. for the league. The players seem to agree







Transfers
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After signing 3 times as many players as we let go this summer was a far more even split with the team needing fine tuned rather than ripped up.




Mark Bunn - GK
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Defense was always the area i had to upgrade and after putting in some decent performances in his 9 English Championship games last season i hope his experience will help at the back


Curtis Good - DC
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Same can be said for the Aussie center back who even has a cap to his name!


Jake Sheppard - DR
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Soild performances from Scott Stewart is not enough as he is not improving in the stats department so here is his long term replacement, if Bennett doesnt work out




The usual 4 players come on loan, Seb Ross is dross and not my call, he'll never play
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Out


Only one story here, Gavin Milne demanded a new contract that had a buy out clause and Celtic have come in to fund the club for 2 or 3 seasons. I have no plans to spend the money till late August as i see what we have in house


5 youngsters go out on loan, Squad players Brad McKay and Craig Storie leave after there appearances fell by the wayside at the end of last season.



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August





Betfred Cup
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There will be no repeat of our run to the final as we are out already! I decided that since the league is my ONLY priority this season i played u20s and players needing match fitness and in doing so we won 3 of our games only loosing to SPL side St Johnstone

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Fixtures
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Were actually on a 9 game unbeaten run since that opening game with only St Mirren taking a point off us after we went 2 goals down to fight back for the point. Bonhoff seems to have taken over the scoring dutys from Carrick and im really happy to see we have only conceded more than 1 goal against St Mirren showing that all the money we spent of Defense has made a difference.




Championship Table
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Dundee took like they have awoken after nearly falling to back to back relegation last term. Falkirk look to be carrying on there late season form to be the other sides on double figure points.




Transfer Windows
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2 Mackay-Steven's join, 2 kids go out on loan and we sell a center back.


Gary Mackay-Stevens
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So most of you will know Gary Mackay-Stevens of Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee Utd fame arguably becoming our biggest purchase so far. We double up on the name by finding the best u20 player in the Championship not at Airdrie Sandy Mackay Stevens who goes right out on loan to Raith. We also loaned our Bruno Soulard for more first team action but sell David Brownlie, a star in season 1 but very poor in the championship last season and he was just going to get in the way of our 1000 u20 center backs he was in his last season of the contract we move him on for £9k, Or 3 weeks wages for Mark Bunn

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