Airdrieonians F.C. A Diamond in the Rough

[leckuno]

Let me introduce you to my local team Airdrieonians F.C.. They are a professional football team founded in 1878 in the old mining town of Airdrie located around 16 miles east of Glasgow. Airdrie currently play in Scottish League 1. The clubs main rivals Albion Rovers come from just a few miles down the road in Coatbridge

Airdrie have had a bit of a chequered past with going through administration a few times and even going through liquidation in 2000 which saw the club fold in 2002. The club then came roaring back to life when local business man Jim Ballantyne bought Clydebank changed their name to Airdrie United and relocated them back to Airdrie. By this point though the stadium was long gone with the ground being sold an a Morrisons popping up. Up until 2009 the club did a ground share with Clyde sharing Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. In 2009 the town finally got its own Stadium back with opening the Excelsior Stadium which has a capacity of 10,100 and a 3G pitch. The stadium is now called the Penny Cars Stadium thanks to a sponsor ship deal with a local taxi firm. In 2013 the club finally won the right to change the club name back to the original Airdrieonians F.C.

The original Airdrieonians F.C. has even lifted the Scottish cup in the 1923-24 season then reaching the final on another 3 occasions with the last two being in the early 90's losing to both Rangers and then Celtic.

The club have even had some well known players play for them including Owen Coyle, Sandy Stewart, Kenny Black, Tony Watt, Sandy Clark and Hughie Gallacher.

The current chairman of the club is Martin Ferguson who is Alex Ferguson's younger brother who served as Manchester Uniteds Chief European Scout for a number of years.

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[leckuno]

July

So up in Scotland Preseason starts ridiculously early normally but we didn't have too many friendlies set up before the League Cup Group stages started so we have used those mostly as friendlies as well. We went into it expecting not to be getting out of the group as we were drawn with Livingston, Partick Thistle, Edinburgh City and East Kilbride. It's save to say though that our preparation didn't get off to the best of starts though as we lost to non-league Kelty Hearts before also getting hammered 3-0 by our biggest rivals. Going into the group games I decided to change formation to a more standard 4-2-3-1. It paid off with a great win against East Kilbride to give the team a bit of Confidence. We also then get a very respectable result against Premiership sode Livingston before following it up with a good win against Edinburgh City. The final game of the group is a game against Partick Thistle which we were extremely lucky to get a point as we fell behind after 24 minutes, went down to 10 meant after 63 minutes and then got the equaliser in the 90th minute. The point was enough to see us through to the 2nd round. Cup runs will be important here to try and bring some well needed cash in until we reach the Premiership.

Group Table

Expectations

I feel we should be able to meet these especially the league as we just need to finish in the top 4. The cups will mostly depend on the draws that we get but we would obviously love a draw against one of the old firm for making money.

August

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[leckuno]

Transfers In

In the transfer window we were given a bit of a body blow by the fact you are only allowed 4 domestic loans a season and these were filled before I started so we weren't able to raid Rangers and Celic for their promising youngsters. So to make it work for us we started to look at players from south of the border or abroad and I fell we've done a god bit of business bringin in these players as they now add a lot more depth to the squad and will help us kick on. We bring in two permanant players both on free transfers from part time club Queen's Park with Purdie going into the first team squad. The final permanent player is a q6 year old Portuguese regen who we'll see if he ever makes it out the under 18's.

August

Now that our preseason was done and we had a lot more games under our belt we were able to really get going now the League is underway. Scoring goals certainly isn't going to be a problem as we manage to score 9 goals in 4 games with only conceding 3.

The big game of the month was against Championship side Ayr United where we were 2-0 down after 20 minutes and then managed to keep the scoreline there until half time. With a few choice words for certain players and another couple taken off we were a totally different side. We managed to get it back to 2-2 in the 83rd minute before taking it to extra time where young Dean Hawkshaw scored the winner in the 97th minute to set up a Quarter final tie at home to Celtic.

League

September

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[leckuno]

September

We get the month off to a great start beating Falkirk who are the favourites to run away with the League. Next up We somehow get to Play Ayr United again in the Ramsdens Cup 3rd round and this match is even better as Ayr just didn't get a look in as we ease past them to go into the 4th round to play Celtic Reserves. While on a high from the Ayr game we suffer our first loss against Raith Rovers after we took a 1-0 lead it was disappointing to throw the game away.

The big game of the month though was the game against Celtic where a very respectable 3-0 loss took place. Considering we were 3-0 down at half time and then going down to 10 men as well .was good to get a draw in the second half. The game broke our attendance records as we played in front of a sell lout crowd.

We bounce back straight away with a tough win against Forfar but it was important to get back to winning ways.

League

October

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[leckuno]

October

We have a nice short month here which allows our players a lot of rest time which will be important later on in the season where we make our push for the play off places. We get off to a great start with a 5-1 win over Stranraer with Callum Smith getting 4 of the goals from the left wing. WE then gain a small bit of revenge over Celtic as we beat their reserves team comfortably in the Ramsden Cup to make it through to the Quarter finals where we will have the long trip to Wales to play Gap Connah's Quay which should be interesting. We then have a poor game against Montrose where we really shouldn't of dropped 2 points. Luckily we turn it around and get back to winning ways against Dumbarton.

League

November

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[leckuno]

November

A decent start to the month here as we get a good draw away to Falkirk. We follow up with a great home performance where we pummel Raith 4-0 with a great all round performance with a goal coming from a striker, winger, central midfielder and a defender which was great to see.

The big game of the month for us though was the Ramsdens Cup Quarter Final against Gap Connah's Quay who currently sit third in the Welsh Premier Division.

They just couldn't cope with us at all as O'Rilly got us off to the best possible stat as he opens the scoring with a darting run from the right wing in the 4th minute. Purdue had the game of his life so far as he gets two goals from his AMC role.

We then give another hammering in the Scottish Cup as we pummel Part Time Rothes 5-0 as well. Its always a good month when you score 20 goals in 6 games and only concede 3.

League

December

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[leckuno]

December

The month gets off to a great start with 2 good wins and then we face Montrose who appear to be a bit of a bogey team for us as after the draw then they are the only team in the league we have failed to beat and get the 3 points. We then have a really poor draw against Stranraer as we actually fell behind to them and managed to claw it back to get the point.

League

January

Youth

Looks like we have a promising Scottish keeper coming through the youth intake so hopefully its somebody who will be able to stick with us for the next few years. (not holidng out much hope though s he's from Glasgow and if he was that good would surely join one of the Old Firm)

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[leckuno]

January

Not the best start against Falirk as we get our third draw on the bounce so need to try dropping these points or somebody might actually get closer to us.

The rest of the month goes a lot better with us managing to score 6 goals in our other two league games while keeping clean sheets. The other game was the 4th round of the scottish cup where we had a good game against Clyde even though we were 1-0 down after 14 minutes but we rally at half time and put in the performance the fans have come to expect and march into the 5th round with a trip to Lanarkshire rivals Motherwell

League

February

Transfers

We only bring in one person in this window as we sign up Fraser Fyvie on free transfer after he was released from Cove Rangers but he brings a wealth of experiance from playing in the Scottish Premiership and Championship.

Something that was a bit of a coup for the club is we managed to get former England midfielder Jack Rodwell in on trial meaning he's able to play in league games for us. Hopefully it will mean we can sign him on a permanent deal by the end of it as he's not interested at the moment.

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[anej]

If the game is realistic Jack Rodwell would mean disaster for squad morale

 

[leckuno]

If the game is realistic Jack Rodwell would mean disaster for squad morale

Luckily he didn't last too long as he was still wanting far too much money for somebody who's career has pretty much come to an end

 

[anej]

Money loving Rodwell seems just like real life ?

 

[leckuno]

February

Its been a **** of a month with 4 cup games along with 4 league games. The month got off to a **** of a start against Raith Rovers.

We were so close to throwing this game away after being 7-1 up. I'm not really sure what the **** happened here as we were coasting and then conceded 5 goals. Just as well we got to 7 first.

The Scottish cup game was a tale of two half's as the first half was brilliant with 4 goals. I can't believe we were holding our own against a premiership team. The second half saw both teams snatching at chances and neither team was able to make the breakthrough to see a replay in front of our won fans.

The replay went as well as it could as we managed to play a blinder at home and sit back and absorb everything Motherwell threw at us before Roy made a break for it and scored a superb chip over the keep to see us into the Quarter Finals of the Scottish Cup against St. Mirren at home.

We feel like we can beat anybody at home as we knock out another Premiership side to make it to the Semi finals. Roy seems to always perform in the big games and is key to how we play. We were fortunate to get back in front quickly after the equaliser was scored as O'Reilly pounced on a bad pass from the keeper to the dart back past him and slot it home. We will now be going to Hampden to play Aberdeen.

League

March

Transfers

We managed to bring in another couple of free transfers this month to try and get started recruiting for next season with the budget we have left.

First we bring in Ivan Buigues to take over the Goalkeeper position as Scott Gallacher will be leaving at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Next we bring in Leonidas Kyriakou who will come in and help strengthen our back line as its nice to have another permanent player in for that position.

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[leckuno]

March

****** Montrose really are ou bogey team as we just can't seem to beat them at all this season. Luckily Dumbarton provide much easier opposition as it gets back to winning ways. We drop more points away to Falkirk as well.

The big game of the month though was against Inverness as we meet the Championship team in the Ramsdens Cup Final at Hampden.

We fall behind to an early go and after that I really thought our tea was out but the team pull out all the stops and within 5 minutes we are back level and hold it to half time. I gave the lads a pep talk at half time and told them they were still in this game and it certainly worked as Maghom scores an excellent effort from 21 yards out to confirm the trophy is coming back to Airdrie.

While on a high from the cup win we then welcome East Fife to Airdrie. We get an excellent win to take home the Scottish League 1 title with a few games to spare

League

April

Budgets

We get a decent budget for next season to try and build a team that will enable us to stay up which will be the expectations for next season.

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[leckuno]

April

It was a great month to finish on as we managed it undefeated with only dropping point against Peterhead but this was because we decided to rest a few players for the Aberdeen game.

The Aberdeen game was immense as we went 1-0 up through Cresswell cutting in off the left wing then Bryson got the equaliser but within the same minute we had the lead back at 2-1 and looking good value for money for a who 6 minutes before McKenna pops up at a corner and gets it to 2-2. We didn't leave it long though before Roy got us back in front which we held till half time. We just ran out of steam though and Aberdeen showed their class as they ran out the deserved winners.

what a way to finish the season as well with us finally beating our bogey team of the season 4-0.

League

Transfers

With the transfer budgets in place we started looking straight away to see who was available and Fraser Aird caught my eye straight away as he brings a wealth of experience from playing in the Championship and is a current international player for Canada.

Next in is a massive coup for a team of Airdrie's size and we bring in Estonia International Joonas Tamm who will be looking to lead from the back and try and use his time at Airdrie for a move to a bigger club.

Youth

The youth intake was really poor for a so called golden generation and there were no players that will ever make it close to the first team.

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[leckuno]

Season Review

Well it was a **** of a season for us as we exceed all our expectations. We won the double with winning the league and the Ramsdens Cup. We also made it to the Quarter Finals of the League Cup where we lost out to Celtic but the big surprise wasr eaching the Semi Final of the Scottish Cup with us upsetting Motherwell on the way.

It will be a big step up playing in the Championship and it will require a complete rebuild of the squad since a lot of them will be leaving at the end of the season with all the loans finishing or contracts coming to an end and it not being in our interest to renew them to free up wages.

Awards

Matheus Clemente near enough cleans up in the awards with only missing out on signing of the season due to him being a loan. In my eyes though he wins the signing of the season as well with deciding to take the leap and come to a small ex mining town in Scotland.

Team of the Season

We are eally well represented in the team of the season as we have 6 players in the starting XI.

Commercial

Everything has a green arrow next to it so we can only be happy with that and hopefully it all continues to grow.

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[leckuno]

July

We played some big friendlies at the start to try and get into the swing of things and we came very close to upsetting the odds in them all with a very good draw against Blackburn Rovers. We also have the traditional Ramsdens Cup Group matches as well which we of course use as friendlies. We do extremely well with getting a 100% record across all the group matches which is impressive with the amount of chances we've made to the squad over July and into August. We should take these results and really push on in the league as well.

Group Table

Expectations

I really feel we should be pushing for higher than just the top half of the league as I reckon with the squad we have we could even play in the Premiership and avoid relegation. In the cups it should be ok as long as the draws are in our favour.

August

Not the best start to the league having to play Falkirk, Motherwell and Dundee but we'll give it our best shot.

Transfers Out

We let 3 players go permanently to bring in a bit more cash to enable us to add a bit more to the squad as well.

Transfers In

Now with the number of loans that ended last season and the number of players we let go at the end of the season when their contracts ended we really needed to sign a whole new squad that was able to compete at this level and I may have gone a bit mental and signed 18 players.

The two biggest signings of the window came on Deadline Day as we managed to somehow bring in Jordan Rhodes who should score for fun in this league and Luca Zidane who will be taking over the number 1 jersey and being the main goalkeeper for a few season. Other key transfers were Tommie Hoban, Adam Henley and Stephen Hendrie who are all far too good to be playing at this level. The rest are all young players who should improve and be with us for a few years or allow us to sell them on to bring some cash in.

Season Tickets

The season ticket sales have doubled but its still far too low for a 10,000 seater stadium so hopefully it will continue to grow as we improve.

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[leckuno]

August

We start off against our old foes from last season as we start against Falkirk and it couldn't of started any better.

Our new signings are really gelling and it certainly shows as 3 of the scores have only joined in the summer. Its always good to see the transfers pay off from the start and not have to get use to the league. After that everything just continued to fall into place as we then manage to beat recently relegated Motherwell and then Dundee. Our new signings just keep paying off with fantastic performances. We even make it through the League Cup 2nd round by the skin of our teeth as we come from behind to beat Queen of the South with Tamm getting the final goal with 5 minutes to go.

League

September

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[Football Fumb]

Great write up & you seem to be doing well with this challenge. Looking forward to an end of Season review. GL.

 

[leckuno]

Great write up & you seem to be doing well with this challenge. Looking forward to an end of Season review. GL.

Cheers mate, glad your enjoying it

 

[leckuno]

September

September brings the first international break so it gives us a nice short month that will come back to haunt us towards the end of the season. The Dumbarton game was tougher than expected but luckily Jordan Rhodes gets a dream debut and scores the winner.

The Dunfermline game had a bit of everything. We looked Good value at 2-0 up and then did our best to throw it all away. Luckily though we keep fighting right until the very end and Lyons-Foster rises the highest at the corner to tuck it away in the bottom corner with the last touch of the ball.

Next up we face Celtic again in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup but we go down fighting and lose 2-0 which is at least a goal less than last season. We bounce back straight away though with a good win against recently relegated Ross County.

League

October

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