Thanks...I think team's are really starting to play more defensively against us now. Struggling to score this year we're drawing too many games at the moment. Don't really have the players to go so gung-ho which is a bit of a worry!
An Attempt to Change Scottish Football
- Thread starter BJT
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Thanks...I think team's are really starting to play more defensively against us now. Struggling to score this year we're drawing too many games at the moment. Don't really have the players to go so gung-ho which is a bit of a worry!
Who Knows Best??
For those Hulkamaniacs, one might say “Moss know’s best”. Identifying a problem in the first half of the season, the Ayr boss decided to splash the cash on previously scouted Spanish left winger Diego Carmona.
Learning his trade at Valencia as a kid, he’s shown immense promise possessing good all-round attributes, whilst excelling in those needed to be a dangerous winger.
At only 19 years old Moss decided it was worth spending 8 million now on him, believing this kid could be the real deal and a fantastic acquisition for the club.
And at the league split point, he has played 14 games returning with 7 goals and 4 assists. He also tops the average rating in the Ayr squad.
More importantly, where Ayr were struggling to create and score goals as well as previous years, his introduction has resulted in 11 wins and only 2 draws – catapulting Ayr to the top of the Scottish Premiership and now lead Celtic by a solid 5 points. No more draw specialist tag.
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Ayr’s last 5 games are as follows:
Hearts A
Celtic H
Motherwell H
Rangers H
Hibernian A
Moss will no doubt want to clinch his and Ayr’s 5th title in a row at the earliest opportunity. But Hearts away is a tricky game, and a defeat there will really put pressure on the home game with Celtic.
However the form The Honest Men are in, it’s hard to see them not coming up trumps in this year’s title race. Only complacency will threaten to ruin the good work they’ve done this second half of the season so far.
View attachment 20213
Scottish Cup Final
With Ayr’s excellent form this second half of the season, it has seen them defeat Celtic away in the 5th round and defeating all other opposition to make it to another Scottish Cup Final.
Having won the competition 4 times in the last 5 years another date at Hampden Park has been booked. After knocking out the other Glasgow club Rangers in the semi’s, it’s the green of Hibernian who will be the last team left to stop the recent dominance Ayr have had winning this trophy.
Last year it was about the double treble – but this could be a history breaking moment in Scottish football, with Ayr on course to achieve a feat that has never been done before, the treble treble.
Paying the Price
In Champions League news, the Ayr story this year again ends in the 1st round of the Knockout stages. An extremely tough draw meant Ayr had to face Liverpool, and with their attacking talent were always going to pose a huge threat.
The two suspensions in the heart of the Ayr midfield cost the Scottish Champions dearly, with Liverpool bossing the game away from Anfield and scored five times to win the tie 5-3.
The return leg saw a full strength Ayr side take to the pitch, and fans will be left wondering what could have been if everyone was available.
In front of an Anfield crowd, Ayr showed truly what they’re capable of on their day. Daniel Bonde gave The Honest Men the lead just after half an hour gone with an excellent curled strike from 20 yards out.
Then in the 90th minute Eamonn Lynch tucked away a spot kick to give Ayr a 2-0 lead at Anfield…3 minutes to find another goal and put Ayr through????
….Then one minute later straight from the kick, there was a goal….but it was to the Scousers! Almost a miraculous comeback, but it wasn’t to be today.
Nevertheless a valiant effort as it always seems to be from the Ayr bunch when it comes to a European night, and yet another win against a top European side. It’s definitely safe to say Ayr have come on leaps and bounds and no longer can they be seen as little minnows, but a side capable of being a real handful for any top team on their day.
View attachment 20214
For those Hulkamaniacs, one might say “Moss know’s best”. Identifying a problem in the first half of the season, the Ayr boss decided to splash the cash on previously scouted Spanish left winger Diego Carmona.
Learning his trade at Valencia as a kid, he’s shown immense promise possessing good all-round attributes, whilst excelling in those needed to be a dangerous winger.
At only 19 years old Moss decided it was worth spending 8 million now on him, believing this kid could be the real deal and a fantastic acquisition for the club.
And at the league split point, he has played 14 games returning with 7 goals and 4 assists. He also tops the average rating in the Ayr squad.
More importantly, where Ayr were struggling to create and score goals as well as previous years, his introduction has resulted in 11 wins and only 2 draws – catapulting Ayr to the top of the Scottish Premiership and now lead Celtic by a solid 5 points. No more draw specialist tag.
View attachment 20215
Ayr’s last 5 games are as follows:
Hearts A
Celtic H
Motherwell H
Rangers H
Hibernian A
Moss will no doubt want to clinch his and Ayr’s 5th title in a row at the earliest opportunity. But Hearts away is a tricky game, and a defeat there will really put pressure on the home game with Celtic.
However the form The Honest Men are in, it’s hard to see them not coming up trumps in this year’s title race. Only complacency will threaten to ruin the good work they’ve done this second half of the season so far.
View attachment 20213
Scottish Cup Final
With Ayr’s excellent form this second half of the season, it has seen them defeat Celtic away in the 5th round and defeating all other opposition to make it to another Scottish Cup Final.
Having won the competition 4 times in the last 5 years another date at Hampden Park has been booked. After knocking out the other Glasgow club Rangers in the semi’s, it’s the green of Hibernian who will be the last team left to stop the recent dominance Ayr have had winning this trophy.
Last year it was about the double treble – but this could be a history breaking moment in Scottish football, with Ayr on course to achieve a feat that has never been done before, the treble treble.
Paying the Price
In Champions League news, the Ayr story this year again ends in the 1st round of the Knockout stages. An extremely tough draw meant Ayr had to face Liverpool, and with their attacking talent were always going to pose a huge threat.
The two suspensions in the heart of the Ayr midfield cost the Scottish Champions dearly, with Liverpool bossing the game away from Anfield and scored five times to win the tie 5-3.
The return leg saw a full strength Ayr side take to the pitch, and fans will be left wondering what could have been if everyone was available.
In front of an Anfield crowd, Ayr showed truly what they’re capable of on their day. Daniel Bonde gave The Honest Men the lead just after half an hour gone with an excellent curled strike from 20 yards out.
Then in the 90th minute Eamonn Lynch tucked away a spot kick to give Ayr a 2-0 lead at Anfield…3 minutes to find another goal and put Ayr through????
….Then one minute later straight from the kick, there was a goal….but it was to the Scousers! Almost a miraculous comeback, but it wasn’t to be today.
Nevertheless a valiant effort as it always seems to be from the Ayr bunch when it comes to a European night, and yet another win against a top European side. It’s definitely safe to say Ayr have come on leaps and bounds and no longer can they be seen as little minnows, but a side capable of being a real handful for any top team on their day.
View attachment 20214
Season Defined
Well, I was very confident coming into this run-in. Celtic’s form has dipped as it always seems to when it’s the important time of the season. And my side haven’t lost a game in a long while.
So going into the Hearts game I was hoping we could come away with the three points so there was less pressure against Celtic next week. However things did not go according to plan.
Deadlock
We had our best team out, but we just couldn’t break them down. Both sides had one clear cut chance each. Possession was fairly even, though we had 3 times as many shots as they did.
It was one of those games that I guess a point wasn’t the worst result as at least we got something, but it meant with Celtic beating Hibs 2-0 at home they were 3 points down – and a better goal difference.
Ayr Resilience
Come the Celtic game, we had our full side out again so I was confident with our home support and us now being a bit of a bogey team for Celtic both in trophies and one-off games we’d take this one home.
But like against Hearts, things didn’t go to script. Six minutes in and The Bhoys took the lead to stun our home fans.
So often I drill my side to be decent at set-pieces given they’re so important in the modern game. But I swallowed some of my own medicine.
An inswinger met the head of Karl De Meyer was what broke us. Great when you score a set piece, but infuriating when you concede one like that. So already we were under pressure.
However we got the perfect response from our lads six minutes later. Quinny who has gotten better throughout the year fed Lynch who from a central position hit a low shot passed the dive of still Celtic keeper Farquhar. Tied at 1-1, I was hoping we could build from here.
Celtic had other plans. As in the 37th minute Paredes smashed the ball into the roof of the net from about 15 yards out – our keeper had no chance with saving that one. 1-2 and again we were under real pressure to get the next goal, with each time Celtic leading they moved to the top of the Premiership on goal difference.
Now half-time, it was a chance to get the players mentally ready for what could be an absolutely critical next forty-five minutes in the title race…
One Team Second Half
Then on 52 minutes, Captain Bonde showed some brilliant footwork from not the best ball played to him, controlled it fantastically well and then got himself in a position to hit a shot with enough pace and placement into the bottom right corner to beat the keeper. 2-2 and we’ve come back yet again.
With the game now in a tense state, the next goal would probably prove the match-winner and with around a quarter of an hour to go the fifth goal of the game came…
And it was a brilliant team goal is what came. Hoofing the ball out of the Celtic danger zone, the ball came back to our ball-playing defender Taylor who set the pace for a patient and lengthy build up.
With good crisp passing and using the full length of the pitch, space then came for Quinn to attack the right flank. Getting into a position to cross the ball, he floated an excellent delivery to the far post giving our Spanish signing Carmona time to judge the flight of the ball and time his jump to perfection – to then nod the ball in from 6 yards out. 3-2 to Ayr with 15 left on the clock.
As in the past, when down Celtic do take risks to get back into the game. But not for the first time our lads punish them brutally – and that we did again.
Provider for the last goal, Danny Quinn took the glory this time. A cross with plenty of height launched from our left back Ecrepont found the former Arsenal man free at the back post to hit a controlled one-touch finish from a few yards out. 4-2 and now in minute 90, that was the game done.
To add further insult to injury, Celtic really lost their composure and conceded a foul from a corner swung into the box. Just needlessly tugging. Lynch happy to oblige would step up and score from the spot to leave the final result a 5-2 win to us.
Although the title wasn’t officially won here, it felt like it was.
The League was Ours
Our next game had Motherwell come to Somerset Park – easing to a 5-0 victory. Really playing superbly and with such a big win last game it felt like winning was a formality. Great to see the lads remain professional and get the job done in this manner.
Which then meant a home win against Rangers in our fourth of the fifth games would clinch the title.
And it was another outstanding attacking performance and defensive one that put the Rangers game to bed after the first half. 4-0 it was at half time, with no further goals coming in the second. Just as well for The Gers or it could really have been an embarrassment.
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Cup Final Opponents Shock Ayr
We lost the last game to our cup final opponents Hibs though! I played a complete second string for this one to ensure none of my first teamers that were not suspended for the final were not injured.
Good decision that was, as two of my players playing suffered 2+ month injuries. But nevertheless, being outplayed and losing to the only team stopping us from doing the treble treble isn’t ideal cup final preparation.
With that 3-1 defeat out the way, we ended the season with 90 points – only 3 points above Celtic. But with those heavy hitting victories against Motherwell and Rangers we ended up with a slightly better goal difference than Celtic overall.
Scottish Cup Final – Was it to be?
This was going to be a real tough game. We had Michael Taylor, Tyler Collins and Diego Carmona all unavailable for selection in this one. That’s our top winger, are defensive central midfielder and our ball-playing defender. All core elements for our side.
So it looks like this was going to be a tight game. We knew they could play after beating our second string last match, and with confidence up and our weakened team there was a real chance for a scoreline that would ruin 2.99 years of perfection.
In came Campbell, Finlayson and Abuksis. All not fully match-fit, I really did not want this match going further than ninety minutes.
Hibs had a lot of the ball in this final, hovering over the 55% mark all game. But we’ve always had a degree of organisation to our 442, and possession won’t always win you games.
A game of cat and mouse in the first half, and also the second half….one clear cut chance came all game long and it came to us.
Decisive Moment
And so came the 80th minute, a free kick on our left hand side was taken by our set piece specialist Daniel Bonde. Bringing up our two centrebacks MacPheron and Finlayson to cause havoc, that they did.
Swung into the near post big MacPherson got his head to the ball, with a glancing header that found his partner Finlayson losing his marker ending up free at the back post to volley the ball home from only a couple of yards out. He’d have done well to have missed that one! So 1-0 up and ten minutes plus injury time to go. All we had to do was hold on.
With the game under control from our starting XI, only Bonde was taken off just after his assist to bring some energy into the centre of the park as he was fatigued.
The minutes then played out very nicely for us, as they didn’t create anything at all….the final whistle then went and the hatrick of trophies and treble treble was ours!
View attachment 20204
[video=youtube;p6uAQXdb57w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6uAQXdb57w[/video]
Moss Grateful to Carmona
I really had my doubts after the first half of the season, but signing Diego Carmona really was a game changer. Initially a 3 star rated player, he shot up to 4 star and instantly became an integral part of our side.
Yes he didn’t play today, but he got us there, and also overturned our league deficit which at one point was five points even in the second half of the season.
I made sure there were no dodgy clauses in his contract! I’m hoping he’s going to be here for many more years to come.
We’ve had our budget confirmed for the upcoming season of a bit over 18 million – I’m surprised it is that much, but you really do rake money in if you make the CL knockouts.
I’m really looking forward to getting one more season played with Ayr – because the following season we should have our new 20,000 plus capacity stadium ready!
I’m not sure I’m going to need to invest too much either. But if a real quality player is available in the central midfield area and centreback slots that’s where the money will go.
I don’t have a perfect ball playing defender as Taylor is making do there. And with Tyler Collins 29 years old it won’t be long till he will decline just like Campbell. Collins was a bit of a desperate move, but I needed someone to come in and do a job this and next year.
View attachment 20203
Well, I was very confident coming into this run-in. Celtic’s form has dipped as it always seems to when it’s the important time of the season. And my side haven’t lost a game in a long while.
So going into the Hearts game I was hoping we could come away with the three points so there was less pressure against Celtic next week. However things did not go according to plan.
Deadlock
We had our best team out, but we just couldn’t break them down. Both sides had one clear cut chance each. Possession was fairly even, though we had 3 times as many shots as they did.
It was one of those games that I guess a point wasn’t the worst result as at least we got something, but it meant with Celtic beating Hibs 2-0 at home they were 3 points down – and a better goal difference.
Ayr Resilience
Come the Celtic game, we had our full side out again so I was confident with our home support and us now being a bit of a bogey team for Celtic both in trophies and one-off games we’d take this one home.
But like against Hearts, things didn’t go to script. Six minutes in and The Bhoys took the lead to stun our home fans.
So often I drill my side to be decent at set-pieces given they’re so important in the modern game. But I swallowed some of my own medicine.
An inswinger met the head of Karl De Meyer was what broke us. Great when you score a set piece, but infuriating when you concede one like that. So already we were under pressure.
However we got the perfect response from our lads six minutes later. Quinny who has gotten better throughout the year fed Lynch who from a central position hit a low shot passed the dive of still Celtic keeper Farquhar. Tied at 1-1, I was hoping we could build from here.
Celtic had other plans. As in the 37th minute Paredes smashed the ball into the roof of the net from about 15 yards out – our keeper had no chance with saving that one. 1-2 and again we were under real pressure to get the next goal, with each time Celtic leading they moved to the top of the Premiership on goal difference.
Now half-time, it was a chance to get the players mentally ready for what could be an absolutely critical next forty-five minutes in the title race…
One Team Second Half
Then on 52 minutes, Captain Bonde showed some brilliant footwork from not the best ball played to him, controlled it fantastically well and then got himself in a position to hit a shot with enough pace and placement into the bottom right corner to beat the keeper. 2-2 and we’ve come back yet again.
With the game now in a tense state, the next goal would probably prove the match-winner and with around a quarter of an hour to go the fifth goal of the game came…
And it was a brilliant team goal is what came. Hoofing the ball out of the Celtic danger zone, the ball came back to our ball-playing defender Taylor who set the pace for a patient and lengthy build up.
With good crisp passing and using the full length of the pitch, space then came for Quinn to attack the right flank. Getting into a position to cross the ball, he floated an excellent delivery to the far post giving our Spanish signing Carmona time to judge the flight of the ball and time his jump to perfection – to then nod the ball in from 6 yards out. 3-2 to Ayr with 15 left on the clock.
As in the past, when down Celtic do take risks to get back into the game. But not for the first time our lads punish them brutally – and that we did again.
Provider for the last goal, Danny Quinn took the glory this time. A cross with plenty of height launched from our left back Ecrepont found the former Arsenal man free at the back post to hit a controlled one-touch finish from a few yards out. 4-2 and now in minute 90, that was the game done.
To add further insult to injury, Celtic really lost their composure and conceded a foul from a corner swung into the box. Just needlessly tugging. Lynch happy to oblige would step up and score from the spot to leave the final result a 5-2 win to us.
Although the title wasn’t officially won here, it felt like it was.
The League was Ours
Our next game had Motherwell come to Somerset Park – easing to a 5-0 victory. Really playing superbly and with such a big win last game it felt like winning was a formality. Great to see the lads remain professional and get the job done in this manner.
Which then meant a home win against Rangers in our fourth of the fifth games would clinch the title.
And it was another outstanding attacking performance and defensive one that put the Rangers game to bed after the first half. 4-0 it was at half time, with no further goals coming in the second. Just as well for The Gers or it could really have been an embarrassment.
View attachment 20207View attachment 20206View attachment 20205
Cup Final Opponents Shock Ayr
We lost the last game to our cup final opponents Hibs though! I played a complete second string for this one to ensure none of my first teamers that were not suspended for the final were not injured.
Good decision that was, as two of my players playing suffered 2+ month injuries. But nevertheless, being outplayed and losing to the only team stopping us from doing the treble treble isn’t ideal cup final preparation.
With that 3-1 defeat out the way, we ended the season with 90 points – only 3 points above Celtic. But with those heavy hitting victories against Motherwell and Rangers we ended up with a slightly better goal difference than Celtic overall.
Scottish Cup Final – Was it to be?
This was going to be a real tough game. We had Michael Taylor, Tyler Collins and Diego Carmona all unavailable for selection in this one. That’s our top winger, are defensive central midfielder and our ball-playing defender. All core elements for our side.
So it looks like this was going to be a tight game. We knew they could play after beating our second string last match, and with confidence up and our weakened team there was a real chance for a scoreline that would ruin 2.99 years of perfection.
In came Campbell, Finlayson and Abuksis. All not fully match-fit, I really did not want this match going further than ninety minutes.
Hibs had a lot of the ball in this final, hovering over the 55% mark all game. But we’ve always had a degree of organisation to our 442, and possession won’t always win you games.
A game of cat and mouse in the first half, and also the second half….one clear cut chance came all game long and it came to us.
Decisive Moment
And so came the 80th minute, a free kick on our left hand side was taken by our set piece specialist Daniel Bonde. Bringing up our two centrebacks MacPheron and Finlayson to cause havoc, that they did.
Swung into the near post big MacPherson got his head to the ball, with a glancing header that found his partner Finlayson losing his marker ending up free at the back post to volley the ball home from only a couple of yards out. He’d have done well to have missed that one! So 1-0 up and ten minutes plus injury time to go. All we had to do was hold on.
With the game under control from our starting XI, only Bonde was taken off just after his assist to bring some energy into the centre of the park as he was fatigued.
The minutes then played out very nicely for us, as they didn’t create anything at all….the final whistle then went and the hatrick of trophies and treble treble was ours!
View attachment 20204
[video=youtube;p6uAQXdb57w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6uAQXdb57w[/video]
Moss Grateful to Carmona
I really had my doubts after the first half of the season, but signing Diego Carmona really was a game changer. Initially a 3 star rated player, he shot up to 4 star and instantly became an integral part of our side.
Yes he didn’t play today, but he got us there, and also overturned our league deficit which at one point was five points even in the second half of the season.
I made sure there were no dodgy clauses in his contract! I’m hoping he’s going to be here for many more years to come.
We’ve had our budget confirmed for the upcoming season of a bit over 18 million – I’m surprised it is that much, but you really do rake money in if you make the CL knockouts.
I’m really looking forward to getting one more season played with Ayr – because the following season we should have our new 20,000 plus capacity stadium ready!
I’m not sure I’m going to need to invest too much either. But if a real quality player is available in the central midfield area and centreback slots that’s where the money will go.
I don’t have a perfect ball playing defender as Taylor is making do there. And with Tyler Collins 29 years old it won’t be long till he will decline just like Campbell. Collins was a bit of a desperate move, but I needed someone to come in and do a job this and next year.
View attachment 20203
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The Stars of 2029/30
In an amazing season and I believe our best yet, everyone really performed well for us. Only two players were sub 7 in the average ratings, being our goalkeeper and our Summer signing in the centre def mid position Tyler Collins.
But these tend to be positions where these players don’t often get the praise they deserve – unless your team is so bad that the opponents get a dozen shots on target per game.
As mentioned previously, our mid-season signing Carmona probably was our best player in the second half of the season so worth a mention here. But over the long haul, there were four outstanding players and they were all importantly in differing areas of the pitch which is a great thing.
Reece MacPherson 7.29 – He’s been outstanding since he’s been with us now for five years. Still at only 26 years of age he cost us 2.5 million from Aberdeen. Rarely lets the side down and gets his fair share of goals too.
Daniel Bonde 7.37 – His first season as our captain replacing Allan Campbell who was only a squad player this year. Scoring 10 and assisting 20 goals he’s been key to everything we have achieved this season. Only his discipline remains a problem, and that potentially cost us in the game against Liverpool in the 1st Round CL Knockouts.
Danny Quin 7.26 – The freebie from Arsenal. Took a little while to get going but he improved throughout the year, and came up with a number of important goals. Scoring an excellent 17 times and assisting 11 he’s established himself as the first team right winger so there will be no need to invest in this area next year.
Eamonn Lynch 7.04 – Back to his best for us this year after a disappointing goal tally last season. Scoring an impressive 33 times he’s now coming to the peak of his career. 27 years old an with over 50 caps for Ireland he still has a good couple of years at the top of his game left. Hopefully he’ll remain injury free and his form will be key for next season.
View attachment 20097View attachment 20096
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 2nd
Scottish Premiership – 1st (Winners)
Scottish Cup – Final (Winners)
Betfred Cup – Final (Winners)
Champions League – Group Stages (1st Round KO Stage – lost to Liverpool)
The ambitious task the board set of winning the title this year although a struggle at the start, with the recruitment of Carmona we turned things around to achieve the treble treble. Such decisions with concrete results is what brings in Manager of the Year Awards, winning this now seven times in eight years.
It was really pleasing to have the better of Celtic this year. They may still have a couple of stand out players in their ranks that are real Champions League quality, but our team work and cohesion is unrivalled at this time which is why we’ve dominated everything domestically these past three years.
We also don’t have a first XI player over the age of 30. This is really handy as when we may need to invest more to replace ageing players, our new stadium will be built and in the hope we’ll fill out most of our capacity once completed. Finances will be better.
Goodbye Cameron
Only one player will be leaving on a free this Summer, and that’s out backup keeper Cameron Dawson. Fair play to the guy, because when he joined he made the difference in bringing us up to the top level in Scotland. He was our first team keeper the first time we won the Premiership Title and he’ll be forever remembered for the part he played in our rise and success.
So a backup keeper, and if targets are available, a natural ball-playing defender and better suited centre midfield defend player is where I’ll be particularly looking to strengthen – unless there are any wonder-kids that may be lurking about as you can’t ever pass up these sort of opportunities when they arise.
View attachment 20095
In an amazing season and I believe our best yet, everyone really performed well for us. Only two players were sub 7 in the average ratings, being our goalkeeper and our Summer signing in the centre def mid position Tyler Collins.
But these tend to be positions where these players don’t often get the praise they deserve – unless your team is so bad that the opponents get a dozen shots on target per game.
As mentioned previously, our mid-season signing Carmona probably was our best player in the second half of the season so worth a mention here. But over the long haul, there were four outstanding players and they were all importantly in differing areas of the pitch which is a great thing.
Reece MacPherson 7.29 – He’s been outstanding since he’s been with us now for five years. Still at only 26 years of age he cost us 2.5 million from Aberdeen. Rarely lets the side down and gets his fair share of goals too.
Daniel Bonde 7.37 – His first season as our captain replacing Allan Campbell who was only a squad player this year. Scoring 10 and assisting 20 goals he’s been key to everything we have achieved this season. Only his discipline remains a problem, and that potentially cost us in the game against Liverpool in the 1st Round CL Knockouts.
Danny Quin 7.26 – The freebie from Arsenal. Took a little while to get going but he improved throughout the year, and came up with a number of important goals. Scoring an excellent 17 times and assisting 11 he’s established himself as the first team right winger so there will be no need to invest in this area next year.
Eamonn Lynch 7.04 – Back to his best for us this year after a disappointing goal tally last season. Scoring an impressive 33 times he’s now coming to the peak of his career. 27 years old an with over 50 caps for Ireland he still has a good couple of years at the top of his game left. Hopefully he’ll remain injury free and his form will be key for next season.
View attachment 20097View attachment 20096
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 2nd
Scottish Premiership – 1st (Winners)
Scottish Cup – Final (Winners)
Betfred Cup – Final (Winners)
Champions League – Group Stages (1st Round KO Stage – lost to Liverpool)
The ambitious task the board set of winning the title this year although a struggle at the start, with the recruitment of Carmona we turned things around to achieve the treble treble. Such decisions with concrete results is what brings in Manager of the Year Awards, winning this now seven times in eight years.
It was really pleasing to have the better of Celtic this year. They may still have a couple of stand out players in their ranks that are real Champions League quality, but our team work and cohesion is unrivalled at this time which is why we’ve dominated everything domestically these past three years.
We also don’t have a first XI player over the age of 30. This is really handy as when we may need to invest more to replace ageing players, our new stadium will be built and in the hope we’ll fill out most of our capacity once completed. Finances will be better.
Goodbye Cameron
Only one player will be leaving on a free this Summer, and that’s out backup keeper Cameron Dawson. Fair play to the guy, because when he joined he made the difference in bringing us up to the top level in Scotland. He was our first team keeper the first time we won the Premiership Title and he’ll be forever remembered for the part he played in our rise and success.
So a backup keeper, and if targets are available, a natural ball-playing defender and better suited centre midfield defend player is where I’ll be particularly looking to strengthen – unless there are any wonder-kids that may be lurking about as you can’t ever pass up these sort of opportunities when they arise.
View attachment 20095
Season 13 – Ayr United
I’m hoping this 13th season won’t be an unlucky number for me this year. I think it’s been a good off-season. Having a large budget of 18.5 million or so ish, I’ve only spent 6 million in purchases but also loaned a couple of players.
I would have said very good if I could have found that central defensive midfielder. But they seem really scarce in my save. With that said, one I had doubts about before was available on loan being a Swiss guy named Pedro Nzadi. So he’s a decent backup this season for Tyler Collins who is now on the decline.
A real coup of a loan signing was Arsenal Israeli international Omri Ingel. He could easily walk into the first team as he is on par with my current keeper Pawasa. However given he’s on loan and a player we would never be able to financially afford with his near 100k in wages, he’ll only be a bencher for me as I want our main keeper to remain happy at the club.
Prior to that I purchased another keeper Richard Miller from Motherwell for 2.7 million. Wanting a very low wage and with a Scottish International cap to his name, he’ll never be good enough for the first team but I’d always consider him a number 3, or number 2 at best. As he’s only 23 he could stay at the club for a long while even though he won’t play much. He is a made sweeper keeper though, so will fit into the system well.
My major signing came from Hibernian. Julio Pereira is 22 years of age and plays as a central defender – but he does have decent enough attributes to play a ball-playing role.
It’s really hard to know who to drop, but this guy has to play. 43 Caps for his country Paraguay and a really good allround defender unfortunately I have decided its Reece MacPherson who has to give way.
Why not Michael Taylor? Taylor only has poor technique as a negative, where as Reece MacPherson has four. I can only go with what my scouts tell me.
So that area has been improved, but my centre midfield has declined although I can’t do anything about that this season.
What was good news was looking at Celtic’s current status. Brendan Rogers has taken over the Holland job (which I rejected first), and so they are currently manager-less. Additionally, their best player by a long stretch last year was Mexican International playmaker Adan Martinez. He went to AS Monaco for 25 million.
Awesome first touch, technique, flair, vision, stamina, strength, pace, acceleration, agility, balance…he’s like the perfect FM player!
They are going to be weaker this year, and I think for the first time I might have a better squad! This is also shown by the media prediction having us come 1st with Celtic a close second.
Let’s hope that isn’t going to be a curse this year.
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Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Final
Betfred Cup – Final
Champions League – Group Stages
So our board objectives remain the same this year and now on par with the media prediction.
What was really good after last year’s performance was our club reputation has now moved to a full 4 star rating – ahead of Celtic and Rangers on 3.5. So we are the most reputable club now in Scotland! That’s something I’m very proud of.
I hope after last year’s performance we may get a decent group again in the Champions League Draw. If we can make the knockouts again like last year and bring that consistency of performance to the European stage, I’ll be ecstatic as that is the progress I’m looking for going forward.
I don’t think I’ll ever win a Champions League at Ayr – but to be involved in the Quarters or even the Semi’s and be considered as a top 4 European team that year, that’s a feat I’d like to reach.
Financially we're in a really good position. A good amount in the bank with moderate spending this year and a solid squad I'm hoping for another good year...and I really hope that next year with more gate receipts from our new stadium we can really start to kick on and attract some real quality players over to our club.
View attachment 20079View attachment 20078View attachment 20077
I’m hoping this 13th season won’t be an unlucky number for me this year. I think it’s been a good off-season. Having a large budget of 18.5 million or so ish, I’ve only spent 6 million in purchases but also loaned a couple of players.
I would have said very good if I could have found that central defensive midfielder. But they seem really scarce in my save. With that said, one I had doubts about before was available on loan being a Swiss guy named Pedro Nzadi. So he’s a decent backup this season for Tyler Collins who is now on the decline.
A real coup of a loan signing was Arsenal Israeli international Omri Ingel. He could easily walk into the first team as he is on par with my current keeper Pawasa. However given he’s on loan and a player we would never be able to financially afford with his near 100k in wages, he’ll only be a bencher for me as I want our main keeper to remain happy at the club.
Prior to that I purchased another keeper Richard Miller from Motherwell for 2.7 million. Wanting a very low wage and with a Scottish International cap to his name, he’ll never be good enough for the first team but I’d always consider him a number 3, or number 2 at best. As he’s only 23 he could stay at the club for a long while even though he won’t play much. He is a made sweeper keeper though, so will fit into the system well.
My major signing came from Hibernian. Julio Pereira is 22 years of age and plays as a central defender – but he does have decent enough attributes to play a ball-playing role.
It’s really hard to know who to drop, but this guy has to play. 43 Caps for his country Paraguay and a really good allround defender unfortunately I have decided its Reece MacPherson who has to give way.
Why not Michael Taylor? Taylor only has poor technique as a negative, where as Reece MacPherson has four. I can only go with what my scouts tell me.
So that area has been improved, but my centre midfield has declined although I can’t do anything about that this season.
What was good news was looking at Celtic’s current status. Brendan Rogers has taken over the Holland job (which I rejected first), and so they are currently manager-less. Additionally, their best player by a long stretch last year was Mexican International playmaker Adan Martinez. He went to AS Monaco for 25 million.
Awesome first touch, technique, flair, vision, stamina, strength, pace, acceleration, agility, balance…he’s like the perfect FM player!
They are going to be weaker this year, and I think for the first time I might have a better squad! This is also shown by the media prediction having us come 1st with Celtic a close second.
Let’s hope that isn’t going to be a curse this year.
View attachment 20081View attachment 20080
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Final
Betfred Cup – Final
Champions League – Group Stages
So our board objectives remain the same this year and now on par with the media prediction.
What was really good after last year’s performance was our club reputation has now moved to a full 4 star rating – ahead of Celtic and Rangers on 3.5. So we are the most reputable club now in Scotland! That’s something I’m very proud of.
I hope after last year’s performance we may get a decent group again in the Champions League Draw. If we can make the knockouts again like last year and bring that consistency of performance to the European stage, I’ll be ecstatic as that is the progress I’m looking for going forward.
I don’t think I’ll ever win a Champions League at Ayr – but to be involved in the Quarters or even the Semi’s and be considered as a top 4 European team that year, that’s a feat I’d like to reach.
Financially we're in a really good position. A good amount in the bank with moderate spending this year and a solid squad I'm hoping for another good year...and I really hope that next year with more gate receipts from our new stadium we can really start to kick on and attract some real quality players over to our club.
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On Target
With this being our last ever season at our home of Somerset Park, determination for success is high this year.
Despite a very troubling season with many niggling injuries disrupting our team, we’ve continued to dig in and we’re going very strong on all fronts again.
With the New Year fixtures played, it sees us with a 3 points edge over Celtic with a dozen games to go before the league split.
Often in the past goal difference was always to The Bhoys advantage. But since Roger’s departure, they seem a little less offensive based on their goal tally so far.
On the other hand our first full season with our Spaniard bought mid-season last year sees us scoring a little more this year. And with our investment in Julio Perreira at centreback, our defensive line has remained as solid as ever. The loan of the Arsenal keeper as backup too has proved important, with our first team keeper out 2 months of the year. This didn’t impact us negatively.
View attachment 19796
Betfred Cup
With the strength of our squad and first team this year I’m confident two finals can be made again – and the Betfred was again the first final appearance of our season so far.
Coming up against Rangers who knocked out Celtic in the Semi’s it was the preferred tie. However they had held us to a draw at Somerset earlier this year.
The game started well enough – Eamonn Lynch gave us the lead on 15 minutes. A deep early cross swung across the Rangers backline found our deadly striker free in the box, converting the ball passed the keeper with a well controlled one touch finish.
But then in the 25th minute Collins came in with a reckless challenge just outside the right side of our own penalty area. It was a straight red, and after looking at the replay I can’t defend the US international.
So at least 70 minutes with at least 10 men. It was all a case of whether Rangers could breach our solid defence. And only 7 minutes later they got the equaliser.
Route one football at it’s finest, a big punt down the field with the ball won up top led to some quick slick passing which eventually led to Stevenson getting space to place a shot into the bottom left corner. 1-1 and it didn’t look promising for us from here.
Continuing to dictate the play, Rangers had a total of 56% possession in this game – but were unable to find another goal which took the game to extra time.
A dour next 30 minutes followed, so as with our Scottish Cup Final last season going to penalties, this one went the same way.
There were a lot of missed penalties in this final 5 in total. Our young right back Manson deputising for Gibbins unavailable scored with our fourth spot kick sending the keeper the wrong way….
This left the Ranger’s goal scorer of the game Stevenson needing to score to continue the shootout. But cracking under pressure he hit a poor penalty that was saved by our Keeper Pawasa and we had won the Betfred Cup for the now fifth time in a row!
The number of times discipline is causing us problems has been countless. But if we keep winning each year there’s no real reason to change things.
View attachment 19795
Champion League
When I saw the draw, this I would say is probably the kindest one we’ve had in all of our seasons competing thus far.
We drew Monaco who we have now finished above before, Utrecht from Holland, and Napoli from Italy. So we’ve avoided all the major giants in this group. Although in the first instance I would have expected us to finish third, or perhaps sneak a second again.
A Good Start
We had a perfect start by winning the game I hoped we would win at home to Utrecht 1-0. This was followed up by gaining a point over in Italy drawing 1-1 with Napoli. We were winning the game, but a red card gave the Italians a chance to push for an equaliser of which they did. It was frustrating as I felt we threw a chance of gaining 3 points here which would really give us hope for making the knockouts for the third year in a row.
Miracles in Monaco
Then it was another one of those games I had to fist pump….a goal fest down in Monaco it was. Although going a goal down, equalising, and going down again, we were able to pull things back to 2-2. However they then scored another three goals without response and it looked like we were going to end up with a hammering.
With the score then 5-2 in Monaco’s favour with under 8 minutes left of the game some of the travelling away Ayr fans thought they would be best leaving the stadium early…but oh my they missed a treat.
After a triple substitution the comeback began…
Monaco giving the ball away sloppily gave sub Wilson the chance to dribble the ball into their behalf before playing a ball out wide to sub Abuksis. He then crossed the ball in for Anderson who after having his first attempt parried, the ball came straight back to him to direct it into the back of the net. 5-3 Monaco.
Monaco failing to see out the game, still trying to attack lost the ball in our third. Gibbons then dribbled the ball out playing a ball to our right winger Quin. Crossing the ball from the right deep to the back post he found Abuksis who just like Anderson saw his first attempt saved but the rebound came straight back to him and he didn’t miss from a couple of yard out. 5-4 with 4 minutes of normal time left.
Then in the 88th minute the dramatic comeback was completed. After a throw-in on the left, Wilson took the ball to within shooting range. Without any real pressure on him, he tried his luck from a little over 20 yards out. With hitting the ball with great contact, the ball just flew into the top right corner. A quality strike brought the game to 5 a piece with still time for a winner.
Six minutes of injury time were left and we had a corner right at the death…the corner swung in and Wilson got first contact which looked like it was creeping into the bottom right corner – for only the defender to clear the ball off the line!
The final whistle then blew in this extravaganza. I’m not going to lie, I thought the game was well and truly over – my subs were based on keeping my key players fit for the next game!
Here are highlights of this classic Goal Fest:
[video=youtube;nPxT813mZt4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPxT813mZt4[/video]
Bringing Qualification Home
In the return game, despite going a goal down we were able to turn things around and were victorious 3-1. Things were really looking up now for qualification, but not just in second place we could for the first ever time top a Champions League Group!
A victory at home to Napoli in our fifth game after again coming from behind meant a win in our last game away to Utrecht would see us top the group. However Monaco were still tight on our heels if we were to drop points and them win they would finish above us.
We have had a habit of going down early in our Champions League games this year, and yet again Utrecht took the lead in the 25th minute. Fortunately now 28 year old Eamonn Lynch grabbed us the equaliser five minutes before half-time. That certainly helped matters and we could then focus on getting that winner during the second half.
We then took the advantage from the MOTM Lynch who was at the double in the 73rd minute.
Disrupting the game as we do, trying to nullify the game we did, we kept our single goal advantage – which was the goal that secured Knockout Qualification for the first time in top spot!
View attachment 19794
A Chance to Progress
Our group was nicer this year and was one I was quietly hoping with a bit of luck we could top it. Napoli was the unknown quantity here, but the away draw in game 2 gave me confidence to believe we could win the group.
Confirmed opponents in our next round are Inter Milan. The competition again is fierce in this year’s ECL, and Inter were probably the second best team that could have been drawn. Benfica and Borussia Dortmund were the other weak teams finishing second – but you can hardly call them weak!
But this is the best draw we’ve had at this stage. It also looks like their best striker is going to miss the first leg at the San Siro through suspension. It’s a tough ask, but if we can stay in the game after the first game then who knows what will happen in the return leg…
View attachment 19793
With this being our last ever season at our home of Somerset Park, determination for success is high this year.
Despite a very troubling season with many niggling injuries disrupting our team, we’ve continued to dig in and we’re going very strong on all fronts again.
With the New Year fixtures played, it sees us with a 3 points edge over Celtic with a dozen games to go before the league split.
Often in the past goal difference was always to The Bhoys advantage. But since Roger’s departure, they seem a little less offensive based on their goal tally so far.
On the other hand our first full season with our Spaniard bought mid-season last year sees us scoring a little more this year. And with our investment in Julio Perreira at centreback, our defensive line has remained as solid as ever. The loan of the Arsenal keeper as backup too has proved important, with our first team keeper out 2 months of the year. This didn’t impact us negatively.
View attachment 19796
Betfred Cup
With the strength of our squad and first team this year I’m confident two finals can be made again – and the Betfred was again the first final appearance of our season so far.
Coming up against Rangers who knocked out Celtic in the Semi’s it was the preferred tie. However they had held us to a draw at Somerset earlier this year.
The game started well enough – Eamonn Lynch gave us the lead on 15 minutes. A deep early cross swung across the Rangers backline found our deadly striker free in the box, converting the ball passed the keeper with a well controlled one touch finish.
But then in the 25th minute Collins came in with a reckless challenge just outside the right side of our own penalty area. It was a straight red, and after looking at the replay I can’t defend the US international.
So at least 70 minutes with at least 10 men. It was all a case of whether Rangers could breach our solid defence. And only 7 minutes later they got the equaliser.
Route one football at it’s finest, a big punt down the field with the ball won up top led to some quick slick passing which eventually led to Stevenson getting space to place a shot into the bottom left corner. 1-1 and it didn’t look promising for us from here.
Continuing to dictate the play, Rangers had a total of 56% possession in this game – but were unable to find another goal which took the game to extra time.
A dour next 30 minutes followed, so as with our Scottish Cup Final last season going to penalties, this one went the same way.
There were a lot of missed penalties in this final 5 in total. Our young right back Manson deputising for Gibbins unavailable scored with our fourth spot kick sending the keeper the wrong way….
This left the Ranger’s goal scorer of the game Stevenson needing to score to continue the shootout. But cracking under pressure he hit a poor penalty that was saved by our Keeper Pawasa and we had won the Betfred Cup for the now fifth time in a row!
The number of times discipline is causing us problems has been countless. But if we keep winning each year there’s no real reason to change things.
View attachment 19795
Champion League
When I saw the draw, this I would say is probably the kindest one we’ve had in all of our seasons competing thus far.
We drew Monaco who we have now finished above before, Utrecht from Holland, and Napoli from Italy. So we’ve avoided all the major giants in this group. Although in the first instance I would have expected us to finish third, or perhaps sneak a second again.
A Good Start
We had a perfect start by winning the game I hoped we would win at home to Utrecht 1-0. This was followed up by gaining a point over in Italy drawing 1-1 with Napoli. We were winning the game, but a red card gave the Italians a chance to push for an equaliser of which they did. It was frustrating as I felt we threw a chance of gaining 3 points here which would really give us hope for making the knockouts for the third year in a row.
Miracles in Monaco
Then it was another one of those games I had to fist pump….a goal fest down in Monaco it was. Although going a goal down, equalising, and going down again, we were able to pull things back to 2-2. However they then scored another three goals without response and it looked like we were going to end up with a hammering.
With the score then 5-2 in Monaco’s favour with under 8 minutes left of the game some of the travelling away Ayr fans thought they would be best leaving the stadium early…but oh my they missed a treat.
After a triple substitution the comeback began…
Monaco giving the ball away sloppily gave sub Wilson the chance to dribble the ball into their behalf before playing a ball out wide to sub Abuksis. He then crossed the ball in for Anderson who after having his first attempt parried, the ball came straight back to him to direct it into the back of the net. 5-3 Monaco.
Monaco failing to see out the game, still trying to attack lost the ball in our third. Gibbons then dribbled the ball out playing a ball to our right winger Quin. Crossing the ball from the right deep to the back post he found Abuksis who just like Anderson saw his first attempt saved but the rebound came straight back to him and he didn’t miss from a couple of yard out. 5-4 with 4 minutes of normal time left.
Then in the 88th minute the dramatic comeback was completed. After a throw-in on the left, Wilson took the ball to within shooting range. Without any real pressure on him, he tried his luck from a little over 20 yards out. With hitting the ball with great contact, the ball just flew into the top right corner. A quality strike brought the game to 5 a piece with still time for a winner.
Six minutes of injury time were left and we had a corner right at the death…the corner swung in and Wilson got first contact which looked like it was creeping into the bottom right corner – for only the defender to clear the ball off the line!
The final whistle then blew in this extravaganza. I’m not going to lie, I thought the game was well and truly over – my subs were based on keeping my key players fit for the next game!
Here are highlights of this classic Goal Fest:
[video=youtube;nPxT813mZt4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPxT813mZt4[/video]
Bringing Qualification Home
In the return game, despite going a goal down we were able to turn things around and were victorious 3-1. Things were really looking up now for qualification, but not just in second place we could for the first ever time top a Champions League Group!
A victory at home to Napoli in our fifth game after again coming from behind meant a win in our last game away to Utrecht would see us top the group. However Monaco were still tight on our heels if we were to drop points and them win they would finish above us.
We have had a habit of going down early in our Champions League games this year, and yet again Utrecht took the lead in the 25th minute. Fortunately now 28 year old Eamonn Lynch grabbed us the equaliser five minutes before half-time. That certainly helped matters and we could then focus on getting that winner during the second half.
We then took the advantage from the MOTM Lynch who was at the double in the 73rd minute.
Disrupting the game as we do, trying to nullify the game we did, we kept our single goal advantage – which was the goal that secured Knockout Qualification for the first time in top spot!
View attachment 19794
A Chance to Progress
Our group was nicer this year and was one I was quietly hoping with a bit of luck we could top it. Napoli was the unknown quantity here, but the away draw in game 2 gave me confidence to believe we could win the group.
Confirmed opponents in our next round are Inter Milan. The competition again is fierce in this year’s ECL, and Inter were probably the second best team that could have been drawn. Benfica and Borussia Dortmund were the other weak teams finishing second – but you can hardly call them weak!
But this is the best draw we’ve had at this stage. It also looks like their best striker is going to miss the first leg at the San Siro through suspension. It’s a tough ask, but if we can stay in the game after the first game then who knows what will happen in the return leg…
View attachment 19793
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Signs of a Power Shift…
The aim was to change the course of Scottish football…and yes we’ve dominated trophies each year for quite a while – but there was never a certainty in winning the league.
This is perhaps the first season Celtic’s powers are slipping, although as a club they’ll always have the finances to correct things in quick time. With the league split now here, Celtic trail us by a large ten 10 points going into these five games.
That means a maximum of 15 points are available, so two more wins will be enough to see us over the line…and with how our performances have been since the New Year, it’s hard to not see any other end result.
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Another Final to Come
In addition to our dominant league position, a comfortable 2-0 win against Livingston sees us face Dundee in the end of season Scottish Cup Final.
Dundee are currently in a battle for the Euro Spots so it won’t be an easy game, but it’s definitely a match we’ll be fully expected to win without much difficulty. A quad treble looks to be on the horizon…
Champions League – Ayr Make their Mark
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We got knocked out unsurprisingly….but it took Real Madrid to eliminate us out the competition. Losing 4-0 away at the Bernabau there was no chance of any comeback.
We drew 1-1 at home which was a respectable score-line in the end but the European power comfortably went through.
This was however in the Quarter Final stages…..because in the 1st round knockouts we shocked the Italian giants Inter!
Bye Bye Azzurri
Losing the away leg 4-2 in the daunting San Siro atmosphere, two goals in that game were scored in minutes 95 and 96. Inter went 4-1 up and at that moment I thought the tie was completely over. But that extra minute play time saw Anderson score our second away goal on the night giving us a slim chance of overturning the deficit.
The home tie was a tight affair. Inter dominated possession 57 to 43%, but the shots on target were 5 to 6 .
The score 0-0 at half-time it did not look like a comeback was possible, but then in the 50th minute Eamonn Lynch who I must add has been a real scoring machine this year, popped up to convert a cross from Anderson from two yards out. 1-0 with another 40 or so minutes to grab a second for an away goal advantage.
The Ayr faithful then believed, and fifteen minutes later a brilliant free kick curled away from the keeper right into the bottom corner from Sebastian Anderson. 2-0 Ayr!
Though Inter were looking the most likely team to score the next goal, time eventually ran out…and with no clear cut chances in the game, our strong back-line held firm seeing us knock out th dark horses of the competition.
So I have reached my personal objective for the club – to make it to the quarter final stages. The list of the teams competing as this point was really scary…it’s just brilliant to see my Ayr United amongst the best eight teams in Europe this season.
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The aim was to change the course of Scottish football…and yes we’ve dominated trophies each year for quite a while – but there was never a certainty in winning the league.
This is perhaps the first season Celtic’s powers are slipping, although as a club they’ll always have the finances to correct things in quick time. With the league split now here, Celtic trail us by a large ten 10 points going into these five games.
That means a maximum of 15 points are available, so two more wins will be enough to see us over the line…and with how our performances have been since the New Year, it’s hard to not see any other end result.
View attachment 19727
Another Final to Come
In addition to our dominant league position, a comfortable 2-0 win against Livingston sees us face Dundee in the end of season Scottish Cup Final.
Dundee are currently in a battle for the Euro Spots so it won’t be an easy game, but it’s definitely a match we’ll be fully expected to win without much difficulty. A quad treble looks to be on the horizon…
Champions League – Ayr Make their Mark
View attachment 19726
We got knocked out unsurprisingly….but it took Real Madrid to eliminate us out the competition. Losing 4-0 away at the Bernabau there was no chance of any comeback.
We drew 1-1 at home which was a respectable score-line in the end but the European power comfortably went through.
This was however in the Quarter Final stages…..because in the 1st round knockouts we shocked the Italian giants Inter!
Bye Bye Azzurri
Losing the away leg 4-2 in the daunting San Siro atmosphere, two goals in that game were scored in minutes 95 and 96. Inter went 4-1 up and at that moment I thought the tie was completely over. But that extra minute play time saw Anderson score our second away goal on the night giving us a slim chance of overturning the deficit.
The home tie was a tight affair. Inter dominated possession 57 to 43%, but the shots on target were 5 to 6 .
The score 0-0 at half-time it did not look like a comeback was possible, but then in the 50th minute Eamonn Lynch who I must add has been a real scoring machine this year, popped up to convert a cross from Anderson from two yards out. 1-0 with another 40 or so minutes to grab a second for an away goal advantage.
The Ayr faithful then believed, and fifteen minutes later a brilliant free kick curled away from the keeper right into the bottom corner from Sebastian Anderson. 2-0 Ayr!
Though Inter were looking the most likely team to score the next goal, time eventually ran out…and with no clear cut chances in the game, our strong back-line held firm seeing us knock out th dark horses of the competition.
So I have reached my personal objective for the club – to make it to the quarter final stages. The list of the teams competing as this point was really scary…it’s just brilliant to see my Ayr United amongst the best eight teams in Europe this season.
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Four Years in a Row
Four times in a row Ayr have clean-sweeped of all the domestic trophies, with this season being the most dominant of all.
Although finishing second, Celtic are no longer what they were. They did make Champions League football again this year, but rather than being closer to Ayr they were closer to falling out the top two spot.
Suffering two defeats all season and having a far superior goal difference to everyone else in the competition, Ayr ran out Premiership Winners very comfortably this year.
With the best attack and defensive record in the competition and now due to move to the new stadium end of June, providing the right players come in at the right time The Honest Men could now well be the dominant force of Scottish football for the foreseeable future.
However The Bhoys and The Gers will undoubtedly want to raise their game to re-balance the power that now appears to exist – and those two defeats Ayr suffered were away to both Celtic and Rangers.
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Scottish Cup Final – Never in Doubt
A 3-2 winning score-line saw Ayr clinch the quadruple treble in a game Dundee scored two goals from their two shots on target.
But unfortunately for them, Ayr were 3-0 up after the first twenty two minutes. Bonde returning after a three match suspension and again fined by boss Moss for two weeks again, despite his discontent scored two wonderful free kicks in this game.
Eamonn Lynch got the third after a long hoof from on-loan midfielder MacDonald – Moss’ target long-term from Chelsea who want 120 million for him, that caught the defence off guard leaving Lynchy to slot passed the keeper in a one v one situation/
Dave Laird was the Dundee man to grab a double scoring in the 27th and 91st minutes. But it seemed all a case of The Honest Men running down the minutes . It can be hard to motivate yourselves when that dominant, and the score-line didn’t really reflect the control Ayr had in this final.
It’s the sixth time in seven years Ayr have lifted the Scottish Cup, and these are great times if you happen to be an Ayr fan – not so much if you’re a Killie!
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[video=youtube;b2IDzcg65UY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2IDzcg65UY[/video]
The Stars of 2030/31
The fans have had their say in the matter. Despite Moss still frustrated with the ill discipline of his captain, 62% of the votes went to the Danish International midfielder. And with two match winning free-kicks in the cup final, it’s hard to argue with them.
However Moss’ pick this year went to Eamonn Lynch. He was absolutely prolific in everything that he did this year, kept himself fit and well, and broke his goal-scoring record previously set of 36 goals in a season. This time around he notched up an even more impressive 39.
A big part of this has to go to both flank players Danny Quin and Diego Carmona. Providing excellent services for the clinical poacher, goals were always going to come this year.
Julio Pereria also takes plaudits from the Ayr boss. Settling in extremely quickly and playing the ball-playing role very well, it was a good decision to bring the Paraguay international in. And at only 22 years of age he has many more years ahead of him.
Daniel Bonde 7.36 – He still deserves credit from me, as when he does play he produces something special and we are a better team with him in rather than out. It’s just a shame he’ll never reach his potential in my eyes because he misses too many games each year.
Eamonn Lynch 7.13 – Now 28 years of age, he hasn’t got many years left playing at the top of his game and will soon be in decline. However this season was his best ever and I hope he can bring another good level for us next season.
Danny Quin 7.26 – Scoring 17 times with 12 assists, he’s been a revelation for us since joining for absolutely nothing. Maintaining his excellent standards of last year, at 25 years old he’s still got the best of his career ahead of him.
Diego Carmona 7.28 – Scoring 14 times and 14 assists. An excellent return from the Spaniard who has adapted extremely well to the differing demands of the Scottish game. Although he does get tired towards the backend of games, he is always capable of producing a moment of brilliance to decide a game late on.
View attachment 19704View attachment 19703
A Taste of my Permanent Target
I did bring Graham MacDonald on loan from Chelsea during the Winter break. He has been my long-term central midfield defend target for a while but he’s not available at a decent price. However Spurs wanted to loan him out so it was great to get a taste of him.
He only averaged 6.79, but his attributes are that good and our form clearly was better in the second half of the season so he definitely improved us. It’s a shame I’m going to lose him and it’s going to be difficult to find a replacement this Summer. This position is definitely where I’ll need to invest.
Pre Purchases for Next Year
I also pre-purchased a couple of players to join us at the end of this season. Both players were transfer listed at their clubs and were good value for money.
After our loan keeper from Arsenal Omri Ingel due to return, seeing Phil Short from Man Utd listed and at a better level than our third keeper, it was a good opportunity to bring a permanent backup Keeper in. A sweeper keeper and only 2.8 million, we could finally afford this player who demanded a 40k per week wage.
Our other signing is Colombian International defender James Mastrascusa. Taken from United’s rivals of Liverpool, he cost us 6.25 million. Although not with the best balance, at 195 cm tall he’ll be a real king in the air for us and should complement Pereira very well. He’ll be replacing Michael Taylor despite him having another good year for us.
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st (Winners)
Scottish Cup – Final (Winners)
Betfred Cup – Final (Winners)
Champions League – Group Stages (Qtr Finals – lost vs Real Madrid)
This was our best season yet. A stronger squad, a better first team, and a clean-sweep of all domestic trophies again for the forth time in a row.
The highlight was our Champions league progress. We topped a group for the first time in our history, and also went a step further putting Ayr within the top eight clubs in European football whilst dumping out Inter in the process. Only Real Madrid beat us – who ended up beating Barca in the final.
I can’t imagine things will get better for Ayr now. A new stadium being opened in a month’s time will strengthen our financial position which is now deemed “Rich”.
It’s always going to be hard to attract the top talent to this league. But my aim now is to continue the success of this club, making the Knockouts of the Champions League every season whilst trying to make this club richer and richer.
So if there are any players domestically or young kids than can play at a good Champions League level and cost less with lower wages than someone elsewhere – then no debate, I’ll snap them up at a canter.
View attachment 19702
Four times in a row Ayr have clean-sweeped of all the domestic trophies, with this season being the most dominant of all.
Although finishing second, Celtic are no longer what they were. They did make Champions League football again this year, but rather than being closer to Ayr they were closer to falling out the top two spot.
Suffering two defeats all season and having a far superior goal difference to everyone else in the competition, Ayr ran out Premiership Winners very comfortably this year.
With the best attack and defensive record in the competition and now due to move to the new stadium end of June, providing the right players come in at the right time The Honest Men could now well be the dominant force of Scottish football for the foreseeable future.
However The Bhoys and The Gers will undoubtedly want to raise their game to re-balance the power that now appears to exist – and those two defeats Ayr suffered were away to both Celtic and Rangers.
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Scottish Cup Final – Never in Doubt
A 3-2 winning score-line saw Ayr clinch the quadruple treble in a game Dundee scored two goals from their two shots on target.
But unfortunately for them, Ayr were 3-0 up after the first twenty two minutes. Bonde returning after a three match suspension and again fined by boss Moss for two weeks again, despite his discontent scored two wonderful free kicks in this game.
Eamonn Lynch got the third after a long hoof from on-loan midfielder MacDonald – Moss’ target long-term from Chelsea who want 120 million for him, that caught the defence off guard leaving Lynchy to slot passed the keeper in a one v one situation/
Dave Laird was the Dundee man to grab a double scoring in the 27th and 91st minutes. But it seemed all a case of The Honest Men running down the minutes . It can be hard to motivate yourselves when that dominant, and the score-line didn’t really reflect the control Ayr had in this final.
It’s the sixth time in seven years Ayr have lifted the Scottish Cup, and these are great times if you happen to be an Ayr fan – not so much if you’re a Killie!
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[video=youtube;b2IDzcg65UY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2IDzcg65UY[/video]
The Stars of 2030/31
The fans have had their say in the matter. Despite Moss still frustrated with the ill discipline of his captain, 62% of the votes went to the Danish International midfielder. And with two match winning free-kicks in the cup final, it’s hard to argue with them.
However Moss’ pick this year went to Eamonn Lynch. He was absolutely prolific in everything that he did this year, kept himself fit and well, and broke his goal-scoring record previously set of 36 goals in a season. This time around he notched up an even more impressive 39.
A big part of this has to go to both flank players Danny Quin and Diego Carmona. Providing excellent services for the clinical poacher, goals were always going to come this year.
Julio Pereria also takes plaudits from the Ayr boss. Settling in extremely quickly and playing the ball-playing role very well, it was a good decision to bring the Paraguay international in. And at only 22 years of age he has many more years ahead of him.
Daniel Bonde 7.36 – He still deserves credit from me, as when he does play he produces something special and we are a better team with him in rather than out. It’s just a shame he’ll never reach his potential in my eyes because he misses too many games each year.
Eamonn Lynch 7.13 – Now 28 years of age, he hasn’t got many years left playing at the top of his game and will soon be in decline. However this season was his best ever and I hope he can bring another good level for us next season.
Danny Quin 7.26 – Scoring 17 times with 12 assists, he’s been a revelation for us since joining for absolutely nothing. Maintaining his excellent standards of last year, at 25 years old he’s still got the best of his career ahead of him.
Diego Carmona 7.28 – Scoring 14 times and 14 assists. An excellent return from the Spaniard who has adapted extremely well to the differing demands of the Scottish game. Although he does get tired towards the backend of games, he is always capable of producing a moment of brilliance to decide a game late on.
View attachment 19704View attachment 19703
A Taste of my Permanent Target
I did bring Graham MacDonald on loan from Chelsea during the Winter break. He has been my long-term central midfield defend target for a while but he’s not available at a decent price. However Spurs wanted to loan him out so it was great to get a taste of him.
He only averaged 6.79, but his attributes are that good and our form clearly was better in the second half of the season so he definitely improved us. It’s a shame I’m going to lose him and it’s going to be difficult to find a replacement this Summer. This position is definitely where I’ll need to invest.
Pre Purchases for Next Year
I also pre-purchased a couple of players to join us at the end of this season. Both players were transfer listed at their clubs and were good value for money.
After our loan keeper from Arsenal Omri Ingel due to return, seeing Phil Short from Man Utd listed and at a better level than our third keeper, it was a good opportunity to bring a permanent backup Keeper in. A sweeper keeper and only 2.8 million, we could finally afford this player who demanded a 40k per week wage.
Our other signing is Colombian International defender James Mastrascusa. Taken from United’s rivals of Liverpool, he cost us 6.25 million. Although not with the best balance, at 195 cm tall he’ll be a real king in the air for us and should complement Pereira very well. He’ll be replacing Michael Taylor despite him having another good year for us.
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st (Winners)
Scottish Cup – Final (Winners)
Betfred Cup – Final (Winners)
Champions League – Group Stages (Qtr Finals – lost vs Real Madrid)
This was our best season yet. A stronger squad, a better first team, and a clean-sweep of all domestic trophies again for the forth time in a row.
The highlight was our Champions league progress. We topped a group for the first time in our history, and also went a step further putting Ayr within the top eight clubs in European football whilst dumping out Inter in the process. Only Real Madrid beat us – who ended up beating Barca in the final.
I can’t imagine things will get better for Ayr now. A new stadium being opened in a month’s time will strengthen our financial position which is now deemed “Rich”.
It’s always going to be hard to attract the top talent to this league. But my aim now is to continue the success of this club, making the Knockouts of the Champions League every season whilst trying to make this club richer and richer.
So if there are any players domestically or young kids than can play at a good Champions League level and cost less with lower wages than someone elsewhere – then no debate, I’ll snap them up at a canter.
View attachment 19702
Season 14 – Ayr United
Will Departures Prove Costly?
The departure of MacDonald in CM-D was a blow to the quality of the first XI and unfortunately was not something I could fix this off-season.
The best replacement I was able to get was 22 year old Uruguayan international Alejandro Bonilla. He has 25 caps and our training report indicates there are no “Con” to his game. So that’s a positive, and he also has decent enough attributes for the role. I think he can do the job and hopefully there is a little further room for improvement as he is still relatively young.
Right Wing also of Concern
Disappointingly Stephen Hunte who has had an excellent history at the club also chose not to renew his contract. He remains at the club but won’t put pen to paper. There were no right wingers at all I could get this Summer apart from a 2 star Ghanian International.
Joseph Amoako does bring 42 international caps to him and he has okay attributes to do a job. But he’s definitely not an Ayr standard player but desperate times mean desperate measures.
In addition to those I pre-purchased during last season to these names, also coming in are Dino Vladislav a Swiss International an advanced playmaker from Basel and Marc White a Scottish International left back coming in from Hearts.
Dino will be good backup for Bonde when he’s suspended. Mark Wilson had this task the passed few seasons and has done a good job, but with him ageing and Dino only 21 years old there is room for improvement in his game.
Whitey is good enough for the first team, and one of the reason I bought him was our current left back is starting to decline and he also suffered a four month injury near end of last season. It felt like the right time to invest in someone who’s of the same standard but will also improve in time.
So overall it’s been a good Summer of transfers. We may be a little weaker in the central midfield area but I’m hopeful we can still compete on all fronts this year with the XI and the quality of depth we have.
View attachment 19672View attachment 19671
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Winners
Betfred Cup – Winners
Champions League – Group Stages
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase in football you can be a victim to your own success. Well I’ve reached this point with Ayr.
The board expect us to do the domestic treble this year. We’ve done it four times in a row, and if we don’t make it five then pressure will be on me. A little harsh I think!
The Champions League target remains the same. But if things go pear shaped for whatever reason domestically, making the knockouts really is a must to ensure any pressure that does come my way will be alleviated.
View attachment 19673
Ayr Stadium Unveiled
To the good, our new stadium is finally here! Having an official capacity of 22,197 seats, under soil heating, good training facilities, built in 2031 it has been named “Ayr Stadium”.
It will be interesting to see how our gate receipts will be affected. Last year we recorded an income of 22 million. Our season ticket sales went up by just over 600k. Hopefully the attendances we end up recording this year warrant the new stadium.
View attachment 19674
Scottish Football on the Up!
The major news for all Scottish clubs was Scotland moving up to sixth place in the coefficients table above Portugal.
Consequently one extra team automatically qualifies for the group stages of the ECL. I guess everyone can thank Ayr United and Moss for that. It also gives extra room for greater competitiveness domestically with the financial reward available.
Staying on top of our game we must!
View attachment 19675
Will Departures Prove Costly?
The departure of MacDonald in CM-D was a blow to the quality of the first XI and unfortunately was not something I could fix this off-season.
The best replacement I was able to get was 22 year old Uruguayan international Alejandro Bonilla. He has 25 caps and our training report indicates there are no “Con” to his game. So that’s a positive, and he also has decent enough attributes for the role. I think he can do the job and hopefully there is a little further room for improvement as he is still relatively young.
Right Wing also of Concern
Disappointingly Stephen Hunte who has had an excellent history at the club also chose not to renew his contract. He remains at the club but won’t put pen to paper. There were no right wingers at all I could get this Summer apart from a 2 star Ghanian International.
Joseph Amoako does bring 42 international caps to him and he has okay attributes to do a job. But he’s definitely not an Ayr standard player but desperate times mean desperate measures.
In addition to those I pre-purchased during last season to these names, also coming in are Dino Vladislav a Swiss International an advanced playmaker from Basel and Marc White a Scottish International left back coming in from Hearts.
Dino will be good backup for Bonde when he’s suspended. Mark Wilson had this task the passed few seasons and has done a good job, but with him ageing and Dino only 21 years old there is room for improvement in his game.
Whitey is good enough for the first team, and one of the reason I bought him was our current left back is starting to decline and he also suffered a four month injury near end of last season. It felt like the right time to invest in someone who’s of the same standard but will also improve in time.
So overall it’s been a good Summer of transfers. We may be a little weaker in the central midfield area but I’m hopeful we can still compete on all fronts this year with the XI and the quality of depth we have.
View attachment 19672View attachment 19671
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Winners
Betfred Cup – Winners
Champions League – Group Stages
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase in football you can be a victim to your own success. Well I’ve reached this point with Ayr.
The board expect us to do the domestic treble this year. We’ve done it four times in a row, and if we don’t make it five then pressure will be on me. A little harsh I think!
The Champions League target remains the same. But if things go pear shaped for whatever reason domestically, making the knockouts really is a must to ensure any pressure that does come my way will be alleviated.
View attachment 19673
Ayr Stadium Unveiled
To the good, our new stadium is finally here! Having an official capacity of 22,197 seats, under soil heating, good training facilities, built in 2031 it has been named “Ayr Stadium”.
It will be interesting to see how our gate receipts will be affected. Last year we recorded an income of 22 million. Our season ticket sales went up by just over 600k. Hopefully the attendances we end up recording this year warrant the new stadium.
View attachment 19674
Scottish Football on the Up!
The major news for all Scottish clubs was Scotland moving up to sixth place in the coefficients table above Portugal.
Consequently one extra team automatically qualifies for the group stages of the ECL. I guess everyone can thank Ayr United and Moss for that. It also gives extra room for greater competitiveness domestically with the financial reward available.
Staying on top of our game we must!
View attachment 19675
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Celtic Bite Back
It was a painful day for the Ayr fans and new signing Marc White at left back. His 8th minute own goal ended up being the deciding goal in the game to give Celtic their first Betfred Cup Trophy in six years.
In an evenly balanced game, Danny Quin took the MOTM award but it was of little consolation in the end. He grabbed an equaliser in the 34th minute with an excellent curling striker from outside the box.
But fouling inside the box from Diego Carmona following a corner taken was a cheap penalty to give away, to then be converted by Zaracho in the 47th minute.
Celtic have had the better of Ayr this season. Winning in the league 3-0 and getting a 2-2 draw at Somerset Park it looks like The Bhoys have better big game players in their ranks.
Noticeably the central midfield spot does seem to be the weak area. In the bigger games so far this year, Ayr have not fared so well.
So have the departures proved costly as initially thought? They have indeed…
View attachment 19582
Champions League
This is much more evident in the Champions League this year. A group of Barcelona, Benfica and Roma was the competition Ayr faced for knockouts qualification.
However in the games against superior opposition our midfield was over-run. Eamonn Lynch has also been out of sorts this season and is struggling to get a consistency with scoring.
The campaign started with a 2-1 away defeat at Camp Nou. But a 3-0 win at home to Roma brought back optimism to Moss, knowing the next two games could be crucial against Benfica for the battle for second.
But a 4-1 away hammering proved very costly for us this year. Although winning the home game 2-0 in the following game week, Benfica would have the edge if the table was to end up square on points between these sides.
A 1-0 home defeat against Barca was suffered in game number 5, and it was at this stage The Honest Men were confirmed as demoted to the Euro Cup.
However another 3-0 win in Rome left the Ayr side with a very respectable 9 points in the group. Benfica ended up on 10 after getting a draw against Barcelona away in the final game.
View attachment 19578
Scottish Premier
Going into the New Year, the league has been a success at the very least for Moss’ men. Eight points clear of Celtic after twenty one games means the title race is definitely in Ayr’s advantage.
With the competition in the league quite slim, the impact of a weaker midfield has been less evident, with Bonilla performing well in the averages and doing a sound job.
But disappointment in both cup competitions has led to Moss investing in the Winter window this year.
View attachment 19581
Finally a CMD Replacement
A central midfielder has finally become available and was interested in joining. Usalifa Balde a 25 year old from Porto has come in for an expensive 20 million fee. Not currently an International, it seems a large amount to spend on one player.
He does though have good technical attributes, and is strong with great endurance. He can also tackle fairly well, has a good work-rate to him and is defensively sound. So it was a purchase that had to be done, no choice here.
View attachment 19580
Lynch’s Time up?
With Eamonn Lynch also not performing up to scratch and at 29 years old, Moss has been looking for a potential replacement to come in the next season or two. Stumbling into his third player from Copenhagen, 21 year old Clause Borup now with a few International caps under his belt shows great promise much like Anderson did in his younger years.
With a release clause of 3.9 million this could be a steal. Although not a natural poacher, if the worst comes to the worst a profit could well be made on the player. But he does have time to improve and there’s no reason why he can’t become a prolific goalscorer.
View attachment 19579
Stadium Expansion
This is marvellous news for the club. With attendances soaring in this first season at Ayr Stadium with there still being a lack of seats, the board has been willing to invest in an expansion of the new ground.
It is thought the capacity will be increased to a little over 25,000. It’s great to see the board are really on board to do what they can to keep building Ayr to be a real Scottish powerhouse in the future.
Ayr will probably never be as big as the Glasgow clubs given the huge population in Glasgow in contrast to the small number residing in Ayr, but a 30,000+ capacity is certainly a target we can look to try and achieve based on how the near 10,000 capacity increase we had by moving to the new stadium has filled up instantly.
It was a painful day for the Ayr fans and new signing Marc White at left back. His 8th minute own goal ended up being the deciding goal in the game to give Celtic their first Betfred Cup Trophy in six years.
In an evenly balanced game, Danny Quin took the MOTM award but it was of little consolation in the end. He grabbed an equaliser in the 34th minute with an excellent curling striker from outside the box.
But fouling inside the box from Diego Carmona following a corner taken was a cheap penalty to give away, to then be converted by Zaracho in the 47th minute.
Celtic have had the better of Ayr this season. Winning in the league 3-0 and getting a 2-2 draw at Somerset Park it looks like The Bhoys have better big game players in their ranks.
Noticeably the central midfield spot does seem to be the weak area. In the bigger games so far this year, Ayr have not fared so well.
So have the departures proved costly as initially thought? They have indeed…
View attachment 19582
Champions League
This is much more evident in the Champions League this year. A group of Barcelona, Benfica and Roma was the competition Ayr faced for knockouts qualification.
However in the games against superior opposition our midfield was over-run. Eamonn Lynch has also been out of sorts this season and is struggling to get a consistency with scoring.
The campaign started with a 2-1 away defeat at Camp Nou. But a 3-0 win at home to Roma brought back optimism to Moss, knowing the next two games could be crucial against Benfica for the battle for second.
But a 4-1 away hammering proved very costly for us this year. Although winning the home game 2-0 in the following game week, Benfica would have the edge if the table was to end up square on points between these sides.
A 1-0 home defeat against Barca was suffered in game number 5, and it was at this stage The Honest Men were confirmed as demoted to the Euro Cup.
However another 3-0 win in Rome left the Ayr side with a very respectable 9 points in the group. Benfica ended up on 10 after getting a draw against Barcelona away in the final game.
View attachment 19578
Scottish Premier
Going into the New Year, the league has been a success at the very least for Moss’ men. Eight points clear of Celtic after twenty one games means the title race is definitely in Ayr’s advantage.
With the competition in the league quite slim, the impact of a weaker midfield has been less evident, with Bonilla performing well in the averages and doing a sound job.
But disappointment in both cup competitions has led to Moss investing in the Winter window this year.
View attachment 19581
Finally a CMD Replacement
A central midfielder has finally become available and was interested in joining. Usalifa Balde a 25 year old from Porto has come in for an expensive 20 million fee. Not currently an International, it seems a large amount to spend on one player.
He does though have good technical attributes, and is strong with great endurance. He can also tackle fairly well, has a good work-rate to him and is defensively sound. So it was a purchase that had to be done, no choice here.
View attachment 19580
Lynch’s Time up?
With Eamonn Lynch also not performing up to scratch and at 29 years old, Moss has been looking for a potential replacement to come in the next season or two. Stumbling into his third player from Copenhagen, 21 year old Clause Borup now with a few International caps under his belt shows great promise much like Anderson did in his younger years.
With a release clause of 3.9 million this could be a steal. Although not a natural poacher, if the worst comes to the worst a profit could well be made on the player. But he does have time to improve and there’s no reason why he can’t become a prolific goalscorer.
View attachment 19579
Stadium Expansion
This is marvellous news for the club. With attendances soaring in this first season at Ayr Stadium with there still being a lack of seats, the board has been willing to invest in an expansion of the new ground.
It is thought the capacity will be increased to a little over 25,000. It’s great to see the board are really on board to do what they can to keep building Ayr to be a real Scottish powerhouse in the future.
Ayr will probably never be as big as the Glasgow clubs given the huge population in Glasgow in contrast to the small number residing in Ayr, but a 30,000+ capacity is certainly a target we can look to try and achieve based on how the near 10,000 capacity increase we had by moving to the new stadium has filled up instantly.
Thanks mate, yes it's coming on. Can't believe we're already maxing out our new stadium capacity! We just need to get things right on the pitch again...
One Step Back, or Forward?
You tell me. All I can say is I wouldn’t change it for the world. But after losing the Betfred Cup final to Celtic, the Scottish Cup took greater importance going into the second half of the season for me.
Dispatching of Dumbarton with ease away from home 4-1 and then Clyde in round five 3-0 away things were looking good. We remained top of the tree in the league and it looked like we were on course for still a highly successful season.
Rangers Dump Ayr Out
But then we ran into Rangers away….despite us appearing to have the better of the game, they created two clear cut chances and they were clinical. We ended up losing the game 2-1….infuriating! It only seemed we had the league left to really play for. Although the Euro Cup is easier than the ECL, with teams like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter all dropping down into the Euro Cup this year there wouldn’t be much hope there.
Celtic Closing in
However the closer we were getting to the league split, the closer Celtic were closing in on us in the league. With the gap eventually working itself down to 4 points after 33 games, suddenly everything seemed all now to play for.
And despite wins such as a revenge victory at Ayr Stadium where we absolutely crushed Rangers 7-1 and then followed up with successive wins against Motherwell and Dundee, Celtic refused to give an inch and they had officially halved the gap before the league split.
A Euro Shock
But despite the league looking like it was now going to go down to the wire, we also produced another KO blow to the Azzurri.
In the Euro Cup Quarter Finals we gave them a real lesson in how to put the ball in the back of the net. So often Italian sides are good defensively, they were torn apart from by our kid Steve Pooler and our new Danish striker Clause Borup giving us a 10-5 win on aggregate putting us in the Semis to play Spurs.
The other Semi-Final saw Liverpool drawn up against the Euro Cup specialists Sevilla. Liverpool undoubtedly heavy favourites, but you can never rule Sevilla out of this particular competition.
League Shocks
Our squad definitely seemed up for the Euro Cup challenge this year. Now one tie away from a final spot we now had split priorities.
And this appeared to prove costly. Despite a good win 2-0 away to Hibernian in the first of the five games, two home defeats against bitter rivals Killie and then Dundee would appear to throw our hope of retaining the league title in complete jeopardy.
Celtic Capitulation to Ayr’s Delight
However Celtic who appeared to get over their struggles of producing in the big games ended up losing a semi-final tie in the Scottish cup to Hibs – and this seemed to have a real negative effect on their form.
Like us, they won the first of the five games – only to lose the next four on the trot! Unthinkable for a side that had been playing so well this year.
So that in itself meant our four point gap never got ate into any further. The victories in our last two games against Motherwell and then Celtic meant we won the league by an impressive ten points in the end.
It certainly helped to alleviate the pressure off of me, because under-achieving in both cups meant we could not afford to come second best in the league. So six times in a row, Ayr League Champs!
View attachment 19521
Euro Cup Shocks
Now normally at this point I’d be reviewing the domestic Scottish Cup Final to put an end to our season…however this time around, there is still the Euro Cup to review.
With our two shock home defeats in the League Split games against Kille and Dundee, these two surprise results ended up being surprise results in Ayr’s favour in the Semi Finals against Spurs.
Away in the first tie, our Danish strike duo grabbed a goal each to give us a 2-1 advantage going into the home tie. We may have gotten outplayed, but the better team doesn’t always win a game of football – as we’ve experienced already this year.
The home tie saw Spurs control the game and have more shots at our goal than us to theirs…but Anderson’s 17th minute goal ended up being the only goal of this tight game putting us through to the Euro Cup Final!
In the other game, it was Sevilla who caused the shock. Beating Liverpool 4-1 on aggregate winning both legs 2-1, it would be the Spaniards against the Scotsmen in this year’s Euro Final to be held in Brussels.
Euro Cup Final
So to Brussels we travelled in front of 50,000 fans. We had our full strength team out. Despite our poor results in the domestic cups, it’s for these games that you hope splashing out 20 million on a player will be money well spent.
The fact we’ve got this far and beaten two really good teams on the way here would suggest the mid-season signings especially Balde in the CMD position has had a real positive effect in our big game performances.
Now the first thing I’d want my team to do is not concede an early goal in such a big game. This would cause panic to set in and we could lose our composure very quickly soon after…
Nine Lethal Minutes
Well only two minutes into the game, our new first-team keeper Short winning his place from Pawasa played the ball short to Perreira who found Quiny down on the right.
Attacking the space between two Sevilla players closing him down, he played a delightfully weighted ball between the back-line to find Clause Borup in between them. One touch to set himself up, and one touch to smash the ball into the net from outside the box. 1-0 Ayr! And a perfect start for us in this final. How would Sevilla respond?
Well only 6 minutes later, a corner floated in by Bonde required VAR involvement. It appeared Borup was being held back in the box…after review a penalty was given! Borup himself stepped up, and passed the ball into the back of the net with the keeper not even attempting a dive completely wrong-footed. 2-0 Ayr!
Sevilla were really rocking now. Could they get themselves composed and tighten things up to keep them in the game?
Well forward on 60 seconds….Bonde disposed Horte in the Sevilla midfield with one of his strong challenges – no red card this time! After dribbling with the ball he then found Anderson making a run beyond the backline of Sevilla with a well timed pass. Anderson then beautifully set himself up to give himself a chance to strike a shot with his left foot….which he did and nestled into the right corner of the goal. 3-0 Ayr after nine deadly minutes. Game over???
It seemed Sevilla already had little left to play for in this game, only a heroic comeback would save them. It has happened before in big games, so I was hoping our lads wouldn’t lose their concentration and take their foot off the gas.
However a glimpse of hope came in the 34rd minute. An excellent side footed shot from outside the box crept in passed the diving Short in our goal landing in the bottom left corner. 3-1 Ayr and the half-time whistle blew.
Nice timing, because we had a chance to ensure we could regroup to assess the game situation and make sure we don’t give them a sniff of a comeback.
[video=youtube;sEURvmCixPI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEURvmCixPI[/video]
Throwing it away? No Chance
And that we did…with no clear cut chances created from Sevilla all game, they found a real chance to come by almost impossible. Ending up with only two shots on target all game, we had nullified them extremely well.
They were getting frustrated. Usually we foul a lot more than the opposition – but they were playing the hard men role today. A testament to how well we controlled the match in the second half.
The full-time whistle was eventually blown, and Ayr United for their first ever time have tasted European Glory in this year’s Euro Cup Final!
It promised to be a really disappointing year. But would I swap a Euro Cup Final win over a domestic treble? I don’t think so!
Our signings settled in really well in the New Year and I think this really set the platform for our amazing Euro Cup run. It may have been nice to have made the CL Knockouts. But sometimes winning a trophy is more important, and given this is the first Euro Cup Ayr have ever won this is just another brilliant step in the club’s history.
View attachment 19522View attachment 19520View attachment 19519
You tell me. All I can say is I wouldn’t change it for the world. But after losing the Betfred Cup final to Celtic, the Scottish Cup took greater importance going into the second half of the season for me.
Dispatching of Dumbarton with ease away from home 4-1 and then Clyde in round five 3-0 away things were looking good. We remained top of the tree in the league and it looked like we were on course for still a highly successful season.
Rangers Dump Ayr Out
But then we ran into Rangers away….despite us appearing to have the better of the game, they created two clear cut chances and they were clinical. We ended up losing the game 2-1….infuriating! It only seemed we had the league left to really play for. Although the Euro Cup is easier than the ECL, with teams like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter all dropping down into the Euro Cup this year there wouldn’t be much hope there.
Celtic Closing in
However the closer we were getting to the league split, the closer Celtic were closing in on us in the league. With the gap eventually working itself down to 4 points after 33 games, suddenly everything seemed all now to play for.
And despite wins such as a revenge victory at Ayr Stadium where we absolutely crushed Rangers 7-1 and then followed up with successive wins against Motherwell and Dundee, Celtic refused to give an inch and they had officially halved the gap before the league split.
A Euro Shock
But despite the league looking like it was now going to go down to the wire, we also produced another KO blow to the Azzurri.
In the Euro Cup Quarter Finals we gave them a real lesson in how to put the ball in the back of the net. So often Italian sides are good defensively, they were torn apart from by our kid Steve Pooler and our new Danish striker Clause Borup giving us a 10-5 win on aggregate putting us in the Semis to play Spurs.
The other Semi-Final saw Liverpool drawn up against the Euro Cup specialists Sevilla. Liverpool undoubtedly heavy favourites, but you can never rule Sevilla out of this particular competition.
League Shocks
Our squad definitely seemed up for the Euro Cup challenge this year. Now one tie away from a final spot we now had split priorities.
And this appeared to prove costly. Despite a good win 2-0 away to Hibernian in the first of the five games, two home defeats against bitter rivals Killie and then Dundee would appear to throw our hope of retaining the league title in complete jeopardy.
Celtic Capitulation to Ayr’s Delight
However Celtic who appeared to get over their struggles of producing in the big games ended up losing a semi-final tie in the Scottish cup to Hibs – and this seemed to have a real negative effect on their form.
Like us, they won the first of the five games – only to lose the next four on the trot! Unthinkable for a side that had been playing so well this year.
So that in itself meant our four point gap never got ate into any further. The victories in our last two games against Motherwell and then Celtic meant we won the league by an impressive ten points in the end.
It certainly helped to alleviate the pressure off of me, because under-achieving in both cups meant we could not afford to come second best in the league. So six times in a row, Ayr League Champs!
View attachment 19521
Euro Cup Shocks
Now normally at this point I’d be reviewing the domestic Scottish Cup Final to put an end to our season…however this time around, there is still the Euro Cup to review.
With our two shock home defeats in the League Split games against Kille and Dundee, these two surprise results ended up being surprise results in Ayr’s favour in the Semi Finals against Spurs.
Away in the first tie, our Danish strike duo grabbed a goal each to give us a 2-1 advantage going into the home tie. We may have gotten outplayed, but the better team doesn’t always win a game of football – as we’ve experienced already this year.
The home tie saw Spurs control the game and have more shots at our goal than us to theirs…but Anderson’s 17th minute goal ended up being the only goal of this tight game putting us through to the Euro Cup Final!
In the other game, it was Sevilla who caused the shock. Beating Liverpool 4-1 on aggregate winning both legs 2-1, it would be the Spaniards against the Scotsmen in this year’s Euro Final to be held in Brussels.
Euro Cup Final
So to Brussels we travelled in front of 50,000 fans. We had our full strength team out. Despite our poor results in the domestic cups, it’s for these games that you hope splashing out 20 million on a player will be money well spent.
The fact we’ve got this far and beaten two really good teams on the way here would suggest the mid-season signings especially Balde in the CMD position has had a real positive effect in our big game performances.
Now the first thing I’d want my team to do is not concede an early goal in such a big game. This would cause panic to set in and we could lose our composure very quickly soon after…
Nine Lethal Minutes
Well only two minutes into the game, our new first-team keeper Short winning his place from Pawasa played the ball short to Perreira who found Quiny down on the right.
Attacking the space between two Sevilla players closing him down, he played a delightfully weighted ball between the back-line to find Clause Borup in between them. One touch to set himself up, and one touch to smash the ball into the net from outside the box. 1-0 Ayr! And a perfect start for us in this final. How would Sevilla respond?
Well only 6 minutes later, a corner floated in by Bonde required VAR involvement. It appeared Borup was being held back in the box…after review a penalty was given! Borup himself stepped up, and passed the ball into the back of the net with the keeper not even attempting a dive completely wrong-footed. 2-0 Ayr!
Sevilla were really rocking now. Could they get themselves composed and tighten things up to keep them in the game?
Well forward on 60 seconds….Bonde disposed Horte in the Sevilla midfield with one of his strong challenges – no red card this time! After dribbling with the ball he then found Anderson making a run beyond the backline of Sevilla with a well timed pass. Anderson then beautifully set himself up to give himself a chance to strike a shot with his left foot….which he did and nestled into the right corner of the goal. 3-0 Ayr after nine deadly minutes. Game over???
It seemed Sevilla already had little left to play for in this game, only a heroic comeback would save them. It has happened before in big games, so I was hoping our lads wouldn’t lose their concentration and take their foot off the gas.
However a glimpse of hope came in the 34rd minute. An excellent side footed shot from outside the box crept in passed the diving Short in our goal landing in the bottom left corner. 3-1 Ayr and the half-time whistle blew.
Nice timing, because we had a chance to ensure we could regroup to assess the game situation and make sure we don’t give them a sniff of a comeback.
[video=youtube;sEURvmCixPI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEURvmCixPI[/video]
Throwing it away? No Chance
And that we did…with no clear cut chances created from Sevilla all game, they found a real chance to come by almost impossible. Ending up with only two shots on target all game, we had nullified them extremely well.
They were getting frustrated. Usually we foul a lot more than the opposition – but they were playing the hard men role today. A testament to how well we controlled the match in the second half.
The full-time whistle was eventually blown, and Ayr United for their first ever time have tasted European Glory in this year’s Euro Cup Final!
It promised to be a really disappointing year. But would I swap a Euro Cup Final win over a domestic treble? I don’t think so!
Our signings settled in really well in the New Year and I think this really set the platform for our amazing Euro Cup run. It may have been nice to have made the CL Knockouts. But sometimes winning a trophy is more important, and given this is the first Euro Cup Ayr have ever won this is just another brilliant step in the club’s history.
View attachment 19522View attachment 19520View attachment 19519
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The Stars of 2031/32
No doubt our mid-season signings Claus Borup and Usalifa Balde took us to that next level proved by our European success this year.
It was sad to see Eamonn Lynch go – as yes, I did sell him just before the deadline to Southampton for 15.25 million up front. Lower than his value of 27 million, but that was only going to decline. I bought him initially for 11 million, so it was a profit plus all the good years he gave us, well they’ll never be forgotten.
There was however one real stand out performer that was brilliant for us throughout the season. Finally coming of age, was Danny Quin
Danny Quin 7.52 – Scoring 21 times and assisting 22 times from his right wing position it’s an excellent return. That equated to being our second top scorer and leading the assists for us this year.
Sebastien Anderson 7.47 – This has to be his best season for us. Not only with his overall performance ratings, but he also scored 35 goals for us. It’s safe to say he’s now reached his potential. I’m hoping at the age of 25 he’ll be good for another 4-5 years.
Diego Carmona 7.42 – Making it at number three is the Spaniard. Scoring 14 times and assisting 16 times he may have played second fiddle to Quin this year, but it’s still an impressive return and his form was a great addition to our main two performers.
With 98 goals scored in the league, it reflects where our best performers were on the pitch this year – all in the offensive third. Defensively we seemed to let in more goals this time around. But with a 68 goal difference, our scoring power masked this issue and a plus 90 points total is always decent going that will give us a chance of League success each season.
Where to improve? Well A great servant in Matthew Gibbins at right back has started to decline slightly. Now at 29 years of age he’s still a key member of the squad, but if a quality right back becomes available then it would be a wise move to invest here.
At centre-back too, with our first team pairing two South American internationals with great experience here, someone on the bench of similar stature could be handy. Michael Taylor and MacPherson have been brilliant for the club, but with not so much football being played they have deteriorated along with age.
A good value CB with experience is something I’ll be looking out for as well. But how much money we’ll have I’m not too sure. And that’s because…
View attachment 19505View attachment 19504
Stadium Expansion Finalised
After seeing our capacity being filled each week, although only a year old I had requested an increase to our capacity. Initially 5,000 seats was the expected number the board would decide on. However they have decided an extra 11,000 – yes eleven thousand more seats is going to be built!!
That will take our capacity to over 33,000 which more than hits my target I thought was possible. It will cost the club just over 20 million pounds. It also means as the works will take a year to complete, we’ll be sharing with Glasgow Rangers playing our games at Ibrox Stadium.
I’m not sure yet how this will impact us, but nevertheless when our stadium is fully completed we’ll likely be by a fair distance, the third biggest club in Scotland with fanbase and attendances.
…There truly is now only one club in Ayrshire.
View attachment 19506
No doubt our mid-season signings Claus Borup and Usalifa Balde took us to that next level proved by our European success this year.
It was sad to see Eamonn Lynch go – as yes, I did sell him just before the deadline to Southampton for 15.25 million up front. Lower than his value of 27 million, but that was only going to decline. I bought him initially for 11 million, so it was a profit plus all the good years he gave us, well they’ll never be forgotten.
There was however one real stand out performer that was brilliant for us throughout the season. Finally coming of age, was Danny Quin
Danny Quin 7.52 – Scoring 21 times and assisting 22 times from his right wing position it’s an excellent return. That equated to being our second top scorer and leading the assists for us this year.
Sebastien Anderson 7.47 – This has to be his best season for us. Not only with his overall performance ratings, but he also scored 35 goals for us. It’s safe to say he’s now reached his potential. I’m hoping at the age of 25 he’ll be good for another 4-5 years.
Diego Carmona 7.42 – Making it at number three is the Spaniard. Scoring 14 times and assisting 16 times he may have played second fiddle to Quin this year, but it’s still an impressive return and his form was a great addition to our main two performers.
With 98 goals scored in the league, it reflects where our best performers were on the pitch this year – all in the offensive third. Defensively we seemed to let in more goals this time around. But with a 68 goal difference, our scoring power masked this issue and a plus 90 points total is always decent going that will give us a chance of League success each season.
Where to improve? Well A great servant in Matthew Gibbins at right back has started to decline slightly. Now at 29 years of age he’s still a key member of the squad, but if a quality right back becomes available then it would be a wise move to invest here.
At centre-back too, with our first team pairing two South American internationals with great experience here, someone on the bench of similar stature could be handy. Michael Taylor and MacPherson have been brilliant for the club, but with not so much football being played they have deteriorated along with age.
A good value CB with experience is something I’ll be looking out for as well. But how much money we’ll have I’m not too sure. And that’s because…
View attachment 19505View attachment 19504
Stadium Expansion Finalised
After seeing our capacity being filled each week, although only a year old I had requested an increase to our capacity. Initially 5,000 seats was the expected number the board would decide on. However they have decided an extra 11,000 – yes eleven thousand more seats is going to be built!!
That will take our capacity to over 33,000 which more than hits my target I thought was possible. It will cost the club just over 20 million pounds. It also means as the works will take a year to complete, we’ll be sharing with Glasgow Rangers playing our games at Ibrox Stadium.
I’m not sure yet how this will impact us, but nevertheless when our stadium is fully completed we’ll likely be by a fair distance, the third biggest club in Scotland with fanbase and attendances.
…There truly is now only one club in Ayrshire.
View attachment 19506
Season 15 – Ayr United
After last year’s amazing Euro Cup success, only one major honour now eludes Ayr and Moss…the Champions League.
There will only be one way winning this will happen, and that’s if all the major giants get knocked out the competition…a bit like how we won the Euro Cup last season. Barcelona and Real Madrid are just on a complete different level it seems.
But let’s be realistic…it’s never going to happen. And with that said, when it comes to objectives that are trying to be met then I’ve met everything I’ve set out to do both on a trophy front and with building an infrastructure allowing Ayr to compete with the two Glasgow giants.
I was hoping I’d get another crack at international management, but none of the nations I’m interested in managing are offering me the position. But it’s the Scotland job I really want but have been rejected twice now.
Transfers
Not a lot on this front this season. We haven’t been able to improve our first XI from last year. We have however brought a couple of reinforcements to improve the overall quality of our squad.
One is German defender Enes Vartemel with 1 International Cap to his name. He looks like a promising defender that can probably fill either ball-playing or central defender roles.
The other is a backup right winger which I had trouble finding last year. Kamil Slomka was sitting with the Bayern 2nd team. But he’s a Polish International with 30 caps and has decent attributes to do a competent job at a domestic level. I could have gone for a more expensive option, but I’m not going to completely ruin our wage structure.
A late signing was Ante Galic. If we suffer a midfield injury crisis, this guy is capable of playing in both central midfield spots. He’s a Croatian international with 22 caps already at the age of 23. So he’ll be a brilliant squad asset. Not sure why Celtic were happy to sell him to me. But I’m not complaining.
View attachment 19470View attachment 19468
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Winners
Betfred Cup – Winners
Champions League – Group Stages
Our board objectives remain the same as last season. Favourites to win the league and all competitions. I didn’t feel the need to splash out on any major signings to improve our first team as it is good enough to succeed again this year. Strengthening the squad in some areas was all that felt needed.
And probably a good idea. With our building work on our stadium occurring this year, that will be 20 million spent. So a conservative approach was the right one.
We’ve also tied up some important contracts on players. Bonde, Anderson, and Carmona have all signed long-term deals at the club. On much better wages now, it will mean we are having to spend more each week to keep them here. But we are in a position where we can do that comfortably. Importantly all our key players are happy here and that’s what is keeping me happy to stay at Ayr.
View attachment 19467
Just a Friendly? Nope - In it to win it!
One game I am looking forward to is the Euro Super Cup. Not a major trophy I know, but it’s the one more winnable trophy I can add to mine and the club’s collection. Our opponents are Juventus who won the ECL last year.
It’s the Spanish teams I’m scared of, and the way they play football is more likely to cause us problems in our 442. I’m confident we can give Juve a run for their money providing we have our best XI out there on the day.
We've beaten all the Italian teams I've faced. That includes the mauling of Inter, two 3-0 wins against Roma, and a 3-0 hammering of Lazio in the Euro Cup last season....so why not add Juve to our collection?!
After last year’s amazing Euro Cup success, only one major honour now eludes Ayr and Moss…the Champions League.
There will only be one way winning this will happen, and that’s if all the major giants get knocked out the competition…a bit like how we won the Euro Cup last season. Barcelona and Real Madrid are just on a complete different level it seems.
But let’s be realistic…it’s never going to happen. And with that said, when it comes to objectives that are trying to be met then I’ve met everything I’ve set out to do both on a trophy front and with building an infrastructure allowing Ayr to compete with the two Glasgow giants.
I was hoping I’d get another crack at international management, but none of the nations I’m interested in managing are offering me the position. But it’s the Scotland job I really want but have been rejected twice now.
Transfers
Not a lot on this front this season. We haven’t been able to improve our first XI from last year. We have however brought a couple of reinforcements to improve the overall quality of our squad.
One is German defender Enes Vartemel with 1 International Cap to his name. He looks like a promising defender that can probably fill either ball-playing or central defender roles.
The other is a backup right winger which I had trouble finding last year. Kamil Slomka was sitting with the Bayern 2nd team. But he’s a Polish International with 30 caps and has decent attributes to do a competent job at a domestic level. I could have gone for a more expensive option, but I’m not going to completely ruin our wage structure.
A late signing was Ante Galic. If we suffer a midfield injury crisis, this guy is capable of playing in both central midfield spots. He’s a Croatian international with 22 caps already at the age of 23. So he’ll be a brilliant squad asset. Not sure why Celtic were happy to sell him to me. But I’m not complaining.
View attachment 19470View attachment 19468
Board and Personal Objectives
Media Prediction – 1st
Scottish Premiership – 1st
Scottish Cup – Winners
Betfred Cup – Winners
Champions League – Group Stages
Our board objectives remain the same as last season. Favourites to win the league and all competitions. I didn’t feel the need to splash out on any major signings to improve our first team as it is good enough to succeed again this year. Strengthening the squad in some areas was all that felt needed.
And probably a good idea. With our building work on our stadium occurring this year, that will be 20 million spent. So a conservative approach was the right one.
We’ve also tied up some important contracts on players. Bonde, Anderson, and Carmona have all signed long-term deals at the club. On much better wages now, it will mean we are having to spend more each week to keep them here. But we are in a position where we can do that comfortably. Importantly all our key players are happy here and that’s what is keeping me happy to stay at Ayr.
View attachment 19467
Just a Friendly? Nope - In it to win it!
One game I am looking forward to is the Euro Super Cup. Not a major trophy I know, but it’s the one more winnable trophy I can add to mine and the club’s collection. Our opponents are Juventus who won the ECL last year.
It’s the Spanish teams I’m scared of, and the way they play football is more likely to cause us problems in our 442. I’m confident we can give Juve a run for their money providing we have our best XI out there on the day.
We've beaten all the Italian teams I've faced. That includes the mauling of Inter, two 3-0 wins against Roma, and a 3-0 hammering of Lazio in the Euro Cup last season....so why not add Juve to our collection?!
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Smooth Operators
In Control
After 19 of the 38 games we’re sitting in a good position at the top of the Premiership. Eight points clear of Celtic, they are struggling to clinch victories in the tight games they are ending up drawing.
On the other hand we’re winning those games, and it’s what has brought us this comfortable lead at this stage.
We also have the best defence and attack in the league at the moment. This bodes well for the rest of the season as I find this a good indicator as to how well we’re going to do over the long course.
View attachment 18789
Betfred Cup Final
We’re continuing to make dates in cup finals, and this year we came up against a Dundee outfit.
Not seen to be a difficult final for us, and we didn’t give them any sniff of an upset in this one.
Sebastien Anderson takes all the plaudits today, scoring a hatrick to give us a comfortable and well earned 3-0 victory. His second goal just before half-time in the 44th minute was the game breaker, as going into the HT break now 2-0 down would have been a real blow to the lads from Dundee.
Making cup finals and succeeding really has become the norm now. There are teams capable of beating us on their day, but when the games do matter we always seem to perform at a good level making us real tough nuts to crack.
View attachment 18776
Champions League – Last Gasp Equaliser Sees Ayr Through
We had a tough draw this year. There were the whooping boys Rosenborg, but accompanying them were Chelsea and Lyon who we haven’t faired too well against in the past.
A last gasp equaliser in the home match against Chelsea gave us a 4-4 draw being our first game in the group. That proved to be an invaluable point by the end of the sixth and final game.
We beat Rosenborg in both home and away games, and the team that we were in a real battle for second spot Lyon did the same.
Chelsea beat us in the return game 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, and Lyon lost 4-0 in the identical fixture earlier on in the group.
Our games vs Lyon ended up in two 1-1 draws. We missed our captain and man in the middle Daniel Bonde for these games, which was a pity as perhaps we could have maybe edged one of these with his presence on the pitch.
Goal Difference the Difference
Going into the final game Lyon had a two points advantage over us. However we had Rosenborg at home and they had Chelsea at home which would be a tricky game for them. They also had a two goal advantage with goal difference which could potentially play its part.
In that second game against Rosenborg we comfortably beat them with a 5-0 scoreline. This meant we had a two goal cushion and a draw against Chelsea which may have been enough was now no longer an option for Lyon.
However Lyon were 2-1 up and there were only 14 minutes left to play – until one of our long-term targets but I’d given up on Adam Piosek came off the bench for the Blues and scored their equaliser!
Lyon with their 59% possession continued to try and regain the lead now realising a draw wouldn’t be enough for them – but the Blues hung on for us to let us sneak through into the Knockouts on goal difference!
We have drawn Die Bayern in the 1st round knockouts. Hard to see us really getting passed that one, especially with not really improving on our first XI last year. But with our stadium expansion in the works it’s great we’ve been able to make this stage to help replenish what we’ve invested.
View attachment 18771
Fans Drawn to Ayr
What has been good is seeing what sort of attendance we could expect to see when our stadium expansion is completed.
At the moment we are averaging in the league a tad under the 30,000 mark. So it looks like the board’s decision to expand by 11,000 seats was an excellent one. Our capacity will be 33,295 once completed, so it’s the perfect size domestically and we should easily fill those extra seats up when competing in Europe.
Rangers are currently averaging 50k and Celtic 63k fans in contrast. Hibs are averaging just under 20k which is the fourth best. So I think when this is completed we’ve probably met our potential in this respect. Then it will be a case of seeing whether we are allowed to invest in state of the art facilities to get the very most out of the players we bring into this club.
Euro Super Cup Final
And the one trophy that although seen as a friendly was one I was desperately hoping to win was the final against last season’s Champions League Winners Juventus…
In a tight game with only one clear cut chance coming all game which was to us, it was decided by a goal on the counter with Danish International and Ayr striker Sebastien Anderson following a direct run into the heart of the Juventus defence by Spanish winger Diego Carmona, beautifully placing a finish into the bottom right corner out of the Juve keeper’s reach. It was a clinical break and finish which was unanswered till the end.
So no more realistic challenges remaining – all that is left is making a dream somehow become a reality, and that is to win the Champions League with Ayr…
View attachment 18769
[video=youtube;LfhxW5Wna2g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfhxW5Wna2g[/video]
In Control
After 19 of the 38 games we’re sitting in a good position at the top of the Premiership. Eight points clear of Celtic, they are struggling to clinch victories in the tight games they are ending up drawing.
On the other hand we’re winning those games, and it’s what has brought us this comfortable lead at this stage.
We also have the best defence and attack in the league at the moment. This bodes well for the rest of the season as I find this a good indicator as to how well we’re going to do over the long course.
View attachment 18789
Betfred Cup Final
We’re continuing to make dates in cup finals, and this year we came up against a Dundee outfit.
Not seen to be a difficult final for us, and we didn’t give them any sniff of an upset in this one.
Sebastien Anderson takes all the plaudits today, scoring a hatrick to give us a comfortable and well earned 3-0 victory. His second goal just before half-time in the 44th minute was the game breaker, as going into the HT break now 2-0 down would have been a real blow to the lads from Dundee.
Making cup finals and succeeding really has become the norm now. There are teams capable of beating us on their day, but when the games do matter we always seem to perform at a good level making us real tough nuts to crack.
View attachment 18776
Champions League – Last Gasp Equaliser Sees Ayr Through
We had a tough draw this year. There were the whooping boys Rosenborg, but accompanying them were Chelsea and Lyon who we haven’t faired too well against in the past.
A last gasp equaliser in the home match against Chelsea gave us a 4-4 draw being our first game in the group. That proved to be an invaluable point by the end of the sixth and final game.
We beat Rosenborg in both home and away games, and the team that we were in a real battle for second spot Lyon did the same.
Chelsea beat us in the return game 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, and Lyon lost 4-0 in the identical fixture earlier on in the group.
Our games vs Lyon ended up in two 1-1 draws. We missed our captain and man in the middle Daniel Bonde for these games, which was a pity as perhaps we could have maybe edged one of these with his presence on the pitch.
Goal Difference the Difference
Going into the final game Lyon had a two points advantage over us. However we had Rosenborg at home and they had Chelsea at home which would be a tricky game for them. They also had a two goal advantage with goal difference which could potentially play its part.
In that second game against Rosenborg we comfortably beat them with a 5-0 scoreline. This meant we had a two goal cushion and a draw against Chelsea which may have been enough was now no longer an option for Lyon.
However Lyon were 2-1 up and there were only 14 minutes left to play – until one of our long-term targets but I’d given up on Adam Piosek came off the bench for the Blues and scored their equaliser!
Lyon with their 59% possession continued to try and regain the lead now realising a draw wouldn’t be enough for them – but the Blues hung on for us to let us sneak through into the Knockouts on goal difference!
We have drawn Die Bayern in the 1st round knockouts. Hard to see us really getting passed that one, especially with not really improving on our first XI last year. But with our stadium expansion in the works it’s great we’ve been able to make this stage to help replenish what we’ve invested.
View attachment 18771
Fans Drawn to Ayr
What has been good is seeing what sort of attendance we could expect to see when our stadium expansion is completed.
At the moment we are averaging in the league a tad under the 30,000 mark. So it looks like the board’s decision to expand by 11,000 seats was an excellent one. Our capacity will be 33,295 once completed, so it’s the perfect size domestically and we should easily fill those extra seats up when competing in Europe.
Rangers are currently averaging 50k and Celtic 63k fans in contrast. Hibs are averaging just under 20k which is the fourth best. So I think when this is completed we’ve probably met our potential in this respect. Then it will be a case of seeing whether we are allowed to invest in state of the art facilities to get the very most out of the players we bring into this club.
Euro Super Cup Final
And the one trophy that although seen as a friendly was one I was desperately hoping to win was the final against last season’s Champions League Winners Juventus…
In a tight game with only one clear cut chance coming all game which was to us, it was decided by a goal on the counter with Danish International and Ayr striker Sebastien Anderson following a direct run into the heart of the Juventus defence by Spanish winger Diego Carmona, beautifully placing a finish into the bottom right corner out of the Juve keeper’s reach. It was a clinical break and finish which was unanswered till the end.
So no more realistic challenges remaining – all that is left is making a dream somehow become a reality, and that is to win the Champions League with Ayr…
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[video=youtube;LfhxW5Wna2g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfhxW5Wna2g[/video]
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