An Attempt to Change Scottish Football

[BJT]

Key Men 35/36

After our history breaking year, the key men from last year’s treble have clearly taken to the new football I’ve brought to the team.

Centre-back Mastrascusa was awesome in our defensive trio, averaging 7.62 and fully deserved the fans player of the season.

Legend Danny Quin at 30 again still key to our side notching up 20 assists and won the most MOTM awards this year.

And Claus Borup despite being played in a supporting striker role this year he has still bagged 37 goals which is a marvellous return. Scoring two in the CL final as well, he’s been really key for us these past few seasons. I also can't forget Mr Dependable Phil Short. Voted 2nd best keeper in the ECL this year his consistent performances are crucial to our competitiveness.

But the fact we clean sweeped all major trophies this year shows how well all our squad players contributed to our successes and I hope they'll all be motivated to perform at a top level this forthcoming year.

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Season 36/37

It’s been a Summer full of difficult decisions. With Mastrascusa coming to 31 along with Danny Quin, the choice is to either keep them for another year or try sell them on.

Quin though is in his last contract year. I have tried to sell him but no one seems interested, so it seems inevitable he’ll be with us this year but I don’t think I’ll be able to renew his contract given we have invested in a couple of players to play on the right flank.

His replacement for the long-term is 24 year old winger Darren King costing 24mil from Newcastle. There was a choice between him and Russian International Gudkov who was 27 years old and in his prime. But given he would have cost more both in transfer fees, wages, and is older I went with the younger option.

He has great pace on him and decent enough technically. Perhaps not as good at dribbling and crossing as the Russian, but he has time to improve and being better technically and with good passing ability means he’ll fit into our possession based system well.

CB Wonderkid Found

Mastrascusa I think has to stay. He’s been the star player for us the last couple of years, and I’ve also bought for 25 million a 19 year old centre-back wonderkid. He’ll need a couple of years more before I intend to put him in the first team regularly. I’m hoping Mastrascusa’s presence in the squad will rub off on him so he’ll develop nicely in this time and hopefully be the perfect replacement for Mastrascusa.

So sadly I’ve not able to sell on players I could have got significant money for. However Bonilla and Slomka two fringe squad players have been sold on. Both Internationals so decent money has come in for them especially as they have been replaced by two freebies who are better players in Goreta and Bedoya.

Left Wing Dilemma

The last and major freebie signing was from Bayern. Finally we have a class left winger backup in Ervin Sani – although many may think he could well be a first teamer surpassing Carmona.

It will be a case of deciding whether Carmona plays who is more suited to the role, or Sani who is a better footballer but perhaps not a real natural winger.

In general though it’s been an excellent window. Getting in freebies and investing in two players with many years head of them should leave Ayr in good sted and be able to push in surpassing Celtic’s record haul of 14 league titles in a row. We’ve got a good strong squad now and I think we’re up for another good year ahead.

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Board Expectations

Interestingly the board no longer worry about achieving success in the Betfred cup and no judgement will be made here.

So winning the Scottish Cup, the league and reaching the First Round Knockouts in the ECL remain their target.

We also have the European Super Cup and World Club Championship again to contend with this year. Hopefully we’ll perform well in those competitions, but the extra games will certainly take its toll on our squad.

My aim is to make sure we win the league. The Scottish Cup and CL pay well, so I’m in agreement with our board these three competitions we need to do well in.

Celtic and Rangers though appear to be the real challengers again and both are trying to become major players like in the old days. With Rangers runners up in the Scottish Cup and Celtic finishing second last year, they’ll be the teams challenging us this year.

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[BJT]

Building Continues

Additional Transfers

I was unable to resist spending 25million on Alliard’s release clause. A 23 year old keeper with Belgian Caps to his name, he’s a small step up from Phil Short and with many playing years to come.

Meanwhile one of my freebies Goreta seemed to be more interested in spending time at the bar leaving himself in an unplayable state for our match days. Taking the hard line didn’t work, and so eventually he got sold for an excellent near 30 million profit! God knows how he’s an International. I’ve got no time for idiots like this in my squad.

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Bringing in a replacement Pinholt at a little under, it should hopefully work out well. He’s good enough to be our right wing understudy.

I was also able to finally offload Quin. A 13 million bid from the Hammers was accepted, but I’m very grateful for how he has performed marvellously at our club for most of his playing career.

I also scouted a 22 year old Uruguayan International who was discontent at Fiorentina. Looking like he could be a real good midfielder for the future and even at this moment in time, I decided to splash the cash on him before any other clubs may have come into the running.

Silvera although primary a deep-lying playmaker has the attributes to play the Box to Box Midfielder role which is his second best position. This is where I’ll be choosing to employ him for the second part of this season. Aggressive, Hard working, with excellent work-rate and vision he’ll suit our midfield nicely.

Ayr – The Place to Be

European Super Cup Final

A dominant performance by us, but it took extra time to grab the winner from none other than Super Sub Pooler.

It would have been a footballing injustice if Spurs were to walk away with the trophy. We controlled the game from start to finish and fully deserved to take this trophy back to Ayr Stadium.

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Befred Cup Final

Another Betfred Cup win making it 10 trophies in 11 seasons. It without doubt seems to be our favourite competition along with the league nowadays.

Completely in control of this one from start to finish. With 74% possession and 21 shots to Killie’s 2, it was Romario who was the match-winner in this one.

Scoring a hatrick with goals coming in the 42nd​, 51st​ and 58th​ minutes Romario takes home the match-ball helping to secure Ayr a 3-0 win.

Darren King has done a good job on the right wing for us in his first season at the club, providing two assists for Romario in this one.

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[video=youtube;e9QMM6OUehw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9QMM6OUehw[/video]

World Club Championship

World Club Champions again we became. After being Es Setif 2-1 in a game we were always in control of, our final opponents Cruz Azul suffered the same fate.

It did however require an injury time winner from Steve Pooler to take this one home. We had taken the lead from our king at the back Mastrascusa, but the equalised just after the hour mark, for Pooler to make his mark scoring his second winning goal out of the three cup finals we had now appeared in to include this one.

He may not be a first teamer, but his importance to our squad can’t go unrecognised.

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Scottish Premiership

Usually the league is still all there to play for going into those last final five games where everything gets decided.

But this year, our side were so dominant we won the league in the last gameweek fixture before the league was due to split being number 33.

The previous week we took Celtic to the cleaners winning our game at Ayr Stadium 3-0. In a game we had over 70% possession and registered 19 shots to their 2, it was an excellent performance and a game we fully deserved to win.

It was away against Hibs though where we officially clinched the title. We went 2-0 up and were cruising this one, although they scored a very late consolation goal. But the game wasn’t in doubt and a highly professional performance saw us over the line to bring us our twelfth league title in a row!

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Scottish Cup 4th Round (Rangers 0 – Ayr 0 / Rangers win on penalties 4-2)

Our biggest disappointment this year came in the Scottish Cup. We may have been without a couple of important players in the offensive side of the pitch but I was still hoping we’d have more than enough to edge passed Rangers at Ibrox.

But they are a little more difficult nowadays and aren’t the easiest side to break down. That proved to be the case today, and despite us dominating for long periods in the match we just could not find that all important goal.

Rangers didn’t really create much at all and didn’t deserve to go through. But when it comes to penalty shootouts it becomes a bit of a lottery. And I must say we don’t have the best penalty takes in the world in our squad to be confident going into them.

Nil nil the game ended with Rangers taking home the shootout 4-2 on penalties. We didn’t lose the game, but nevertheless a fourth round exit was much too early for my liking and the board’s too.

Champions League

The ability to retain any trophy is always a target of any current champion. With the aim of winning 15 league titles in a row, being able to retain this Elite Competition is something that is very unlikely, but with the type of football we now choose to play I would say with a bit of luck, it is a possibility.

So how did we fare in this year’s ECL?

Group Stages

We kicked off brilliantly with a 2-0 away win vs Celta Vigo following up with a 4-1 win over Monaco on our home turf. A very important win as Juve with us would have been favourites to go through but Monaco would be the team looking to play the disrupting party.

If we were to draw on points, this win would give us a significant advantage. And it could have been more so as in our next game we were held to a 0-0 home draw against Juventus.

A game we should have won, the Italians defended valiantly as they do and we couldn’t score the goal to give us the win.

However in the return match at the Delle Alpi we produced an excellent performance to take home a surprising 2-0 win. This gave us a real edge in finishing top of the group. A win at Vigo in the next game given our head to head record vs Juve would have given us top spot.

And that we achieved. A comfortable 2-0 home win saw us top the group with a chance to rest some players in the last match against Monaco. We ended up losing this 3-0 away, but it didn’t matter in the scheme of things.

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First Round Knockout vs Athletico

A game I was hoping to avoid. Athletico are a bit of a bogey team and they almost knocked us out this year. Although we drew 0-0 away from home in the first leg, they took the lead at Ayr Stadium in the 14th​ minute meaning we had to score two goals to go through…

Luckily for us Darren King and Ervin Sani in for the suspended and free kick specialist Carmona grabbed goals on the half hour and hour mark

We were the better side over the two legs and deserved to go through, but on another day we could easily have gone out of this one.

Quarter Finals vs Die Bayern

We seem to find ourselves playing the Germans in the knockout stages of this competition. And this time we sure needed luck and nerve to scrape through this tie.

Despite winning 1-0 at home, we failed to score in 120 minutes of football over in Germany. They had won the game 1-0 in normal time but it was a very even game which really could have gone either way.

A second goal of the night never came, and so it came to the dreaded penalty shootout…where our Spaniard Diego Carmona slotted home the winning penalty giving us a 5-3 win in the shootout.

To the Semi’s The Honest Men came.

Semi Finals vs AC Milan

This was a very tightly contested affair, and more luck was needed in this one. After drawing the tie 0-0 at home we only registered one shot on target all game. At times we do seem to struggle to break down teams on our own turf and it had forced us to score an away goal to give us a chance of making it in the second leg.

We again outplayed the Italians at the San Siro in a much more open game compared to the first leg. We registered 7 shots on target to their 5…but it took one moment of fortune to decide the tie, and lucky for us it was in our favour!

Amparo Milan’s striker supposed to score goals was defending his own box from a set piece free kick. Taken by Carmona, the striker in an attempt to clear unfortunately diverted it the wrong way and into the back of the net passed Berza in the Milan goal.

With the away goal Milan had a little over 30 minutes to grab two – but with a MOTM performance from none other than Mastrascusa , he led Ayr home ensuring we kept a clean sheet and made our second ECL final in a row.

ECL Final vs Barcelona

And this led us to the home of our Ukranian midfielder Kulish. The final held at Ukraine at the NSC Olympiyskyi in Kyiv in front of a 75,000 crowd saw Ayr United attempt to out Barca, Barca.

With the Catalonians having superior player quality and value they would have gone in as favourite into this one. Given Ayr have struggled at times to break teams down, against this Barca outfit no doubt the first goal would be important to give us a chance in this one.

Barca were really looking dangerous on the break, but fortunately our defensive line and our keeper were concentrating well as we were controlling this game with our football nicely.

The Breakthrough

And the breakthrough for us eventually came through our Brazilian Romario in the 42nd​ minute.

Some really nice passing movement and intricate play got the football into the box where it eventually found Romario from 12 yards out who unleashed a strong shot passed Lorenzo in the Barca goal to give us the lead just before half-time. 1-0 Ayr!

Things were going well but we couldn’t ever forget the threat Barca were causing with their pace up top.

A Lapse of Concentration

Continuing to control the game we were actually looking comfortable with no clear cut chances going Barca’s way….but oh my we let in a sickener of a goal.

Yes, a simple set piece corner. Swung into the near post Alex attacked the ball unchallenged which went flying passed our Belgian Keeper Allard. The scores were now tied at 1-1.

Angry at the manner of that goal I was, and it felt if we were to lose this game it would be a footballing injustice.

All Square – Extra Time it is

The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. With some of our players looking fatigued I really did not want this one going to penalties. So a triple substitution it was, hoping it would give them all time to settle into the game and bring in that energy to try and push for a winner in extra time.

Our freebie Colombian International BBM Bedoya came on to replace Silvera giving us extra energy in centre midfield and Sani for some extra pace down the flanks came on for the tired Carmona.

World Class AMC Bruckner was also tired and I felt bringing on Visser our Dutch International would be the best move to exploit a tiring defence. Hopefully we wouldn’t get any injuries otherwise the gamble may well backfire…

Romario Steals the Show

The decision to bring Pooler on in the 77th​ minute replacing Borup rather than Romario ended up to be a good one. Although Borup is our better striker he wasn’t having his best day.

And just as well, because our Brazilian man stole the show. Eight minutes into extra-time he restored our 1 goal advantage…a cross from super sub Pooler found Romario in the box converting the ball in clinically passed the keeper. 2-1 Ayr!

With players tired and Barca searching for an equaliser late into extra time, a fluid Ayr counter-attack secured the ECL Trophy for a second season in a row!

Committing men forward, a mixture of direct and passing on the deck meant our left winger sub Sani after some good holdup play from Romario then had the chance to attack the left flank. Crossing the ball into the box Pooler got good contact but his header was saved – with the ball falling into the path of Romario who diverted the ball back towards the goal hitting the back of the net to give him his hatrick and the matchball. 3-1 Ayr!

Full-time whistle then blown and Ayr retain the CL title! It is now the third time achieving success in this prestigious competition.

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[video=youtube;s0pFF3v3FKs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0pFF3v3FKs[/video]

Ayr – Up with the Best

Going out the Scottish Cup early was definitely a blessing in disguise. Being able to keep our players fit especially having the World Club Championship to attend to this year was key.

We also needed luck in every one of our knockout games. So it wasn’t plain sailing and you’d never expect it to be.

Darren King has done a good job to replace Quin on the right, and with Silvera bringing both energy and vision in midfield we’re stronger in that area too.

We’re controlling games against the big boys now and some top players are really keen in joining us. Perhaps our worldwide reputation in addition to the more fluid and enjoyable footballing style that is now played has contributed to that.

Planning Ahead

I have already pre-signed 2 year old Mazicou who although isn’t brilliant defensively makes it up for with excellent work-rate teamwork and ancitipation. He’s a mezzala but will be employed as our deep-lying playmaker.

Kulish has been excellent and is still 27 years old with many years left in him. But it’s all about making these small improvements and bringing in new players to continue to motivate the players currently at the club in the hope we’ll continue to remain competitive and play to our maximum potential.

I will be keeping an eye out for another centre-back. But Mastrascusa is still so important for us. He’ll soon be 32 but I think I can squeeze another season out of him. But if a bid of a large amount does come in, I need to make sure I have a centre-back replacement in mind.

Board Announce Stadium Expansion!!

So I thought we wouldn't be able to increase our stadium capacity. However after continually filling our capacity, the board have been able to secure an additional 1,099 seats further increasing our capacity to over 44,000. Not sure why they couldn't put in the extra seat though.

 

[BJT]

Key Men 2036/37

Mastrascusa again was voted our fans player of the year and securing an awesome 7.60 average for a defender.

Bruckner has really settled in now and notched up 20 assists for us this season. Seen by a key member from his colleague he’s proven to be money well worth spent.

Despite not performing in the big finals this year, Borup remains our main goal machine. Integral to our league success, he scored 38 goals this season and is an excellent return.

However Romario really deserves a big mention this year. Despite not getting as many goals as Borup with only 21 goals, six of them were in two cup finals…the Betfred but more importantly the Champions League.

Proving he’s a big game player, any doubts of getting rid of him just before he’s entering his prime have been removed. I wished he would score more in general, but unless I am able to find a top quality striker at good value, I can’t see myself parting with him for the next few years.

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Summer Transfers

Not a lot of activity this Summer. We had our pre-deal player of last season Fred Mazicou come in from French side Lyon for 65 million pounds. A lot of money, but at 23 years old and a top midfielder already with room to improve, he’ll be a real staple in our aim for continued success.

Our Turkish centre-back Vartemel requested to leave. With Galatasary offering 26 mil for the 29 year old it was good too to pass up, especially where a 25 million Brazilian International at 24 years old was listed by Arsenal.

We were also able to try balance our squad out with our midfield signing by letting last year’s freebie Tejada go for 22.5 million.

There wasn’t any real talent worth snapping up over the Summer that were out of contract. But with those I found the previous year, we’ve made a good profit on a couple of them that’s definitely helped to continue shaping our squad.

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Board Expectations

For the first time the board now expect us to reach the ECL Quarter Finals. That’s definitely added pressure given there are a lot of strong European teams competing in the first round knockouts.

We’ll need to do better in the Scottish Cup this time around and it’s still a board priority.

This year we aim to make it thirteen league titles in a row. We have a strong squad again this year with both strikers now moving into their prime years. I’d be extremely disappointed if we didn’t win it this year, especially being so dominant last season it would be a huge drop in a performance level if we fail.

Our building work of the stadium expansion has also been completed over the Summer. Our new official stadium capacity is 44,394.

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[Yeti01]

Planning Ahead

I have already pre-signed 2 year old Mazicou who although isn’t brilliant defensively makes it up for with excellent work-rate teamwork and ancitipation. He’s a mezzala but will be employed as our deep-lying playmaker.

Geez - scouting them early there mate!!

jokes aside congrats on another great season mate!! You must be an Ayr legend by now!!

 

[BJT]

Geez - scouting them early there mate!!

jokes aside congrats on another great season mate!! You must be an Ayr legend by now!!

Cheers mate, and Oops Well scouting players young has always been a strength of mine Didn't register the other 2 clearly!

Lol yep I'm on their list now..Daniel Bonde is there, Mastrascusa all there from my era. Bonde must have been a legend for his continuous red cards though!

 

[BJT]

Thirteenth Consecutive Title Secured

Ayr are now one short of the current all-time Scottish record for consecutive league title wins held by Celtic.

This year’s title was wrapped up much the same as last year, right at the end of gameweek 33 prior to the league split taking place.

Only the first dozen games saw a tight tussle for the top spot. But with Rangers dropping off quite rapidly and Celtic unable to keep pace with The Honest Men it was another comfortably title.

Only one league defeat all year, which came in the 3rd​ gameweek away to Hibs 2-1. But from then on the form was picking up nicely and Ayr ended the year with a 97 points total which was 21 points ahead of second placed Celtic, whom nowadays we are able to dominate in our fixtures quite considerably.

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Champions League / Barca get their Revenge...

We weren’t able to make it a hatrick of CL wins like Zinedine Zidane – Barcelona got their revenge in this year’s Semi Finals.

After comfortably qualifying through the group stages top with the highlight being a real hammering of FC Porto in front of the Ayr faithful 7-0, Ayr beat Lyon in the First Round Knockouts and then Man Utd in the Quarters to book their Semi Final place.

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But despite dominating the game in the home leg, Barcelona with three shots and three goals took an away 3-3 draw back to the Nou Camp which ended up being enough for them.

Despite Ayr again having the better of the play in Spain, with looking for a last gasp winner to put the Scottish side through Barcelona pounced with two very late goals to put gloss on the victory which really did not tell one bit of the story.

Barcelona then very fortunate to make the finals this year, and Ayr simply unlucky this time around.

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Domestic Treble Achieved

Betfred Cup Final – Ayr 2 – 0 Kilmarnock

It was Killie’s third final in a row in this competition – but unfortunately for them, their third defeat in a row to their arch rivals Ayr.

Bossing the game from start to finish, Killie never really looked like getting a look in. With the possession based and high pressing game now employed by Moss, teams rarely get a look in.

A professional performance then brought the cup home for an eleventh time.

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Scottish Cup Final – Ayr 1 – 0 Hearts

One goal was enough today to separate the two teams – and it went the way of The Honest Men.

Claus Borup scoring in the fifteenth minute with a nicely curled shot passed the keeper did the job. Now completing his eighth year at Ayr, he’s been a marvellous servant to the club and at 27 years of age still has a few years left in him.

Bossing the game with 73% possession, Hearts only managed a couple of shots on target all game, with mainly trying to foul the team from Ayrshire being their game plan which in the end ultimately failed.

Eleven Scottish titles now for Ayr under Moss, and the domestic treble was secured yet again.

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Five In All

European Super Cup – Sevilla 1 – 2 Ayr

The European Super Cup was contested by Spaniards Sevilla and Scottsmen Ayr. It was a clean performance from the Ayr outfit.

Going two goals up the game looked secured before the hour mark. However Sevilla did grab a late goal in the 82nd​ minute which gave the Spaniards a chance to try and bring the game into extra-time.

But Ayr kept organised and held on to lift the European Super Cup Trophy yet again.

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World Club Cup – Ayr 3 – 0 Boca

The perfect display which saw Ayr register 25 shots to Boca’s 0 saw Ayr take this one home 3-0.

Steve Pooler was at the double with the third coming late in via the help of an own goal.

A dominant performance and Ayr for the second year running were crowned World Club Champions and for the third time in all.

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--

Really happy we comfortably took the league title as my aim is to win the fifteen league titles in a row. We have players that can do that at their current ages providing they continue to perform well and we don’t suffer a number of serious injuries.

We were unlucky in the ECL this year, but that’s football it happens. But being able to have the better of the play over in Spain against Barcelona is what I have also aimed to do, and at times our football now is a real pleasure to watch with the players we have at the club.

Winning the Scottish Cup again is excellent as it’s not a bad competition to win from a financial perspective. However our bank balance really has dropped sharply this season despite the takeover giving us a large amount of money available for transfers.

The high wages must be taking it’s toll now, and so I think the club has now reached it’s limit for potential. Still maxing our gate receipts but no indication of any further expansion, it looks like I can now safely say – that this is Ayr at its best.

Key Men 2037/38

Now 32 years old, Mastrascusa still producing really high averages for us and was voted the fans player of the year yet again…

I have been trying to bring in our now 21 year old wonderkid Saidi in because he is the replacement for our Colombian.

I’ve decided to keep him for next year but he’ll be our bencher. He’s been a superb servant for the club and still has a lot to offer, and he probably is still good enough for the first team. But the kid needs to develop and he has performed well in the game he has come in for us.

Borup again scoring over 30 goals this season grabbing a total of 33. And it was Diego Carmona our assist king this year, so it was a good choice to keep him as our main man on the left flank.

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With our financial predicament, I think this year I’m going to keep what we have together in full. No one had their contracts expiring, and so ensuring we have as high a wage budget available as possible to renew any that will expire this coming year is important.

I feel the squad is good enough to take home a fourteenth title win in a row – so let’s try to equal Celtic’s record this year!

One aim now achieved is topping the Scottish Hall of Fame. Now ranked number 1, it leaves the league title triumphs as my one solo goal left in the save.

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[BJT]

Quiet Pre-Season

Not a lot of activity for us this Summer. With our bank balance a little over 20 million which is substantially lower compared to the last couple of seasons I didn’t intend to many any big signings.

Two players are out of contract and unfortunately both don’t want to renew. Phil Short who had several good years here in between the sticks is no longer content to being a backup.

The same with Bob Visser. Only first teamer for one full season he’s been backup to our world class playmaker Bruckner since.

Short’s Replacement Found

I was able to get rid of Short before the deadline and get in a replacement from PSG. Goran Krivokapic 24 years old has 55 caps for Serbia and will be an excellent backup sweeper keeper. He also is fully content with this role at the club and cost me 10.75mil.

I was able to get a 9.75 mil deal for Short so that’s not bad going to balance the books. Although only 20 mil or so is in the bank our board have given a transfer budget of over 50 million.

Visser Problem Remains

I may need to touch this if I can’t renew Visser’s contract or sell him and find a replacement during mid-season. But perhaps he may change his mind if he realises that he’s not good enough for our first XI.

Otherwise it’s really the same squad as last year. A bit risky not shaking things up more, but last season we had a loss of over 45 million so it’s wise not to go crazy this year.

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Board Objectives

These remain the same as last year. League, Scottish Cup and Quarters of the ECL. I think looking at last year’s performance we are almost established as a Quarter Finals side now.

Thumping Porto 7-0 is my indicator, as they’re a club that are in a similar position to us competing in a nation not considered a top league but are a big enough club whom you would expect to reach the Quarters more often than not.

We also showed our capacity to beat a big club away from home in Man Utd last year 3-1.

But I hope we can make the top 4 clubs again like we did last season as that’s where we want to consistently be.

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[Yeti01]

Whats the plan from here mate? Sticking with Ayr till the end?

 

[BJT]

Whats the plan from here mate? Sticking with Ayr till the end?

Not sure mate. Love to hear any suggestions! I think having an English nationality has meant getting the Scottish job is a no-go...tempted to load up some other leagues and see whose been bossing things domestically there and choose from any jobs that become available from that. I've never had a save this long, would be good to try and hit 30 years of management if I can.

 

[BJT]

Clean Sweep – All Square with The Bhoys

League Success with 108 points

Ayr recorded their 14th​ league title in a row to equal the record previously held solely by Celtic.

It was a really dominant year for The Honest Men. Remaining undefeated, scoring over 100 goals and conjuring up a record breaking 108 points total to surpass Celtic’s 106 point record in a season saw Moss’ squad this year make history.

Celtic came a clear second with 81 points ending up 27 points behind Ayr. Rangers however had a really poor season and were only able to finish in sixth spot.

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Betfred Cup – Ayr 3 – 0 Hearts

The first trophy of the year again went to the side from Ayrshire. However it wasn’t Killie the opposition this time around but it was Hearts.

A goal after 4 minutes set Ayr well on their way. Doubling the lead just after half-time meant Hearts desperately needed a goal to give them some hope to make a comeback.

But this never came, and the third was to be the final nail in the coffin came with 10 minutes to go. Borup with a double and Romario were the men on the scoresheet, both strikers doing their jobs well and landing another Betfred success for Ayr.

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Scottish Cup Final – Ayr 3 – 1 Celtic

Celtic lined up very defensively for this one in a 4411 formation. However it took only 6 minutes for their plans to be scuppered with Borup getting the first goal.

However there was fight from The Bhoys and in minute 33 the equaliser came. But the next dozen minutes changed the whole complexion of the game.

With a tight encounter in place, Carmona restored Ayr’s lead only 4 minutes later. But more critically right on half-time David Pugh for Celtic earned his second bookable offence that resulted in a red-card. Going against Ayr with 10 men for the second-half would now be extremely difficult.

In full-control of the game, Ayr bided their time patiently waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Celtic to their credit were hanging in there, but the game was tied up a couple of minutes before the 90 when Bruckner grabbed the important third goal giving Ayr a two goal cushion which secured the game.

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Champions League – Football Wins

After topping the group grabbing 15 points from a possible 18, the road to the ECL final saw Ayr knockout the lights of Inter, Porto and Man City, to leave Man Utd as the final opponents.

United with better players would be expected to take this one home, but with Ayr having such a strong season confidence would be high and with this brings a dangerous animal to the table.

Ayr's Midfield King

Some of the football on display this year has been excellent. With the midfield area perhaps the strongest area of the pitch, no doubt Ayr would look to boss the game from here and hope this would lay the foundation for another Champions League success.

United had their moments in this one, with some last ditch tackles and some safe goalkeeping keeping the Red Devils at bay.

Defensively United weren’t giving much away at all. Playing their 433 formation despite Ayr having all the possession and creating some decent opportunities, Stephens in goal was there to keep the ball out of the net.

With Ayr playing well and controlling the middle-third playing some neat intricate football having nearly 70% of the ball, the game looked like it would either be Ayr making the breakthrough, or United catch Ayr off-guard…

Decisive moment Arrives

With 14 corners to United’s 3, it was clear which team was looking to win this game…and the deadlock was finally broken just before the 70 minute mark.

Continuing to probe the United back-line, it took a burst of pace from Pinholt to cause some space in the United defence. Laying the ball to Bruckner he continued to make a run into the box. Bruckner then found Pinholt with a nicely weighted pass allowing Pinholt to set himself to get a quick shot away which he did…..and passed the United keeper into the back of the net. 1-0 Ayr and the breakthrough was made.

United showed more urgency the later the game was getting to the 90th​ minute. But with the Ayr midfield maestro’s showing great confidence on the ball, Ayr were able to control any pressure United were trying to build with some composed possession to stifle the United charge and all the way to the full-time whistle. Ayr then Champions League Winners 2038/39!

Best Performance Yet

This was perhaps the most pleasing performance I’ve had from my side. The passing and moving with the patterns of our play was really how I envisioned my side playing the game and it was a pleasure just watching them play.

Mazicou took home the MOTM and it was fully deserved. He really did boss the game for us in the DLP position. But our whole backline played a good game keeping things tight, and the brilliance of Pinholt and Bruckner was enough to see us home today.

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[video=youtube;xTcG5hPRccI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTcG5hPRccI[/video]

Key Men 2038/39

Although not a hero in our ECL triumph, Carmona was mister consistent this year and took home the fans player of the year award. Averaging an excellent 7.79 and contributing 22 assists he was hugely important in our record breaking year in the league. He also was awarded best midfielder in the ECL this year.

Borup just about hit over the 30 goal mark this year. Still grabbing the goals he continues to perform exceptionally well at this later part of his career. Borup was awarded second place in the ECL award this season.

Allard secured the ECL goalkeeper of the year award. Safe between the sticks and playing the sweeper keeper role excellent, no wonder Moss has rejected all of Barcelona’s approaches for the 26 year old.

Milovan Jocic now having been a first team regular for a few years at Ayr now has secured his rise to being one of the best centre-backs in Europe. Winning the defender of the year award in the ECL he’s really matured fast and still has a near 7 years or so left in him.

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Profit on Visser

Other news this year saw Bob Visser sold to Beskitas just before the first window deadline for 31 million. Replacing him was Jason O’Hanton from Bournemouth costing 15.25 million buying out his release clause.

Only 23 with room for potential and on par with Visser skillwise, it was a good bit of business and the times he has come in he hasn’t let the team down in any way.

Legend Mastrascusa sold

The other huge news was the departure of the Colombian Mastrascusa. After spending 8 seasons at Ayr, he’s been one of the reasons for the huge increase of stature at the club.

Scoring 25 goals for Ayr and being a real menace at the back, he has been a fantastic servant and I can’t given any more praise to what he’s done and helped us achieve.

It was right to let him go as he wanted first team football. So Bordeaux came in with a 12.75million offer which I accepted. With no immediate replacement made, I hoped our squad would hold out for the year and fortunately no real serious injuries were suffered so it worked out well.

Next Year

No other concerns at the end of this season with contracts. And with that said, we’re in a great position to push for winning 15 titles in a row surpassing our joint record with Celtic.

I had agreed to bring in a centre-back in with only compensation due to be paid for the start of next season. He is only 18 and is effectively the replacement for Mastrascusa.

If a top class striker becomes available I could well decide to invest in one. Both Borup and Romario are now 28 so there’s no harm in planning at this stage.

The other guys a little older are Carmona and Bruckner both now at 29. They can still offer another good few years but they’re in the same boat. If I can find someone else at a reasonable price then selling these guys is an option.

However the likelihood is that I’m probably going to keep the squad as it is this year and give them a chance to make history at the club given the services they’ve all provided.

 

[Yeti01]

I am keen to see you stick with them mate

 

[Jedd95]

15 titles in a row will certainly be mission accomplished mate. Cracking job

 

[Jedd95]

Is this over for good, or just a small hiatus?