An Attempt to Change Scottish Football

[BJT]

Splashing the Cash

Right on the Summer deadline day, Moss decided to invest in wonderkid centre-back Milovan Jocic. Being pursued by several top European clubs, at only 2.2 million this player could be a real steal. With this position an area Moss was hoping to invest in, it’s possible he could well have his man. And at only 19 years old and a number of International Caps for Serbia this will definitely bring more solidity to an already good back-line at Ayr.

In the Mid-Season window, Spurs transfer listed “world-class midifielder” Vyacheslav Kulish. At only 25 million this in the modern day for a player of this calibre is quite the bargain. A Ukranian International and already with over 60 caps to his name at only 24 years of age, although primarily a deep-lying playmaker he can play an advanced role almost just as well. Given Bonde’s lack of discipline and limited vision, bringing in Kulish is definitely a significant step up and will definitely make Ayr a tougher proposition to play against.

These two signings could well bolster Ayr’s ability to push past their best ever performance in the Champions League being the Quarter Finals stage. And Moss has done well to get them in at a good value with many years of football left in them.

Balancing the Books – A Strategy Found?

Not only were these players snapped up at good value, the sales of 31 year old Matt Gibbins, keeper Pawasa and Dino Vladislav have balanced the books very well. The total nett spend this season has resulted in only a loss of 4 million with a nett profit of these players sold of around 10 million.

Perhaps a strategy of finding cheap young talent as squad players and selling them on is a strategy that could work both in improving Ayr’s first XI by investment whilst remaining competitive by still having a strong squad – and may be the way to prolong Moss’ career at his now beloved Ayr.

More Betfred Success

Another Betfred Cup win for the lads from Ayrshire. This year the challenge in the final came from Ross County.

Fully expected to win this one comfortably, Ayr did not disappoint winning the game 2-0. But credit must go to Ross County as they did fight well in this game and they had their moments threatening The Honest Men’s goal.

Ayr have now won this cup seven times the past eight seasons. It feels like the other clubs don’t take this cup seriously – but Moss sure does.

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League Title Looking Secure

The challenge to Ayr’s Crown this year has come from Motherwell. Despite not having any known players amongst their ranks, they have shown excellent consistency for the talent they do have and have been pushing Ayr very hard this season.

Despite a large gap now finally emerging after a real close fight, Ayr cannot afford to get sloppy especially with the Champions League still a distraction at this late stage of the season. But eleven points, the title looks like it's only heading one way this year.

A run of eight clean sheets in a row and still counting is a real reason why this gap had emerged.

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A Disappointing Cup Run / Celtic 3 - 0 Ayr

An abrupt end to Ayr’s run in the Scottish cup came at the hands of Celtic. No doubt Ayr had one eye on the Champions League second leg tie away at Napoli.

It was never going to be an easy game though playing away at Celtic park. With The Bhoys not having the best of league campaigns, The Scottish Cup was a real priority for them this year and this determination helped them to ease to a comfortable 3-0.

One of the worst performances from Ayr in the competition for quite some time. But the last time T|he Honest Men went out this cup at an early stage, they had an excellent run in the Champions League.

Champions League Promise

A Group consisting of Barcelona, Schalke and Red Star was what Ayr had to face this season. Very confident of making it into the Knockout Phase, Moss’ Ayr did not disappoint their fans by finishing very comfortably in second spot behind the mighty Barcelona.

Finishing on twelve points, all four victories came against the two weakest sides in the group, with the two defeats of course against Barca.

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However a really nice draw against Napoli in the 1st​ Round Knockouts was the reward – and Ayr did not throw away this opportunity to make the Quarter Finals.

Winning at home 3-0 in the first leg, the away tie saw Ayr gain a 1-1 draw taking them comfortably through to the Quarters. The draw in this one was against Benfica.

A tricky tie given Ayr’s history against this Portuguese outfit, some fortune shone in the first leg in Scotland. With an early red card given to Benfica in only the 11th​ minute, it meant Ayr would play most of the first leg against ten men.

With 20 shots to 7, Ayr grabbed an all important goal in the 21st​ minute through Diego Carmona which was to be the only goal of the game. Would it be enough for the trip to Portugal?

SLB Overcome

A tough game was played here, and SLB took the lead in the 76th​ minute leaving the tie completely square. Having the better of the game Benfica and their fans would have felt confident squeezing past the Scottish battlers – only for substitute Steve Pooler to score a crucial goal in the 84th​ minute meaning Benfica needed two more goals in the last 6 minutes plus injury time to go through.

But that they did not achieve, and Ayr played out the last few minutes well to come away with a 1-1 draw. Into the Semi-Finals Ayr come!!

And the Semi Finals Draw is…

The Semi Finals teams left in this year’s Champions League are Ayr, Athletico Madrid who won it last year, Barcelona and Juventus. Over two legs Moss was hoping to draw Juventus, especially knowing Ayr can beat Juve after winning the European Super Cup Final against them previously.

….with the draw made, Ayr got their wish with Juventus confirmed as the club standing in the way of a Champions League Final appearance. The first leg is due to be played ay Ayr Stadium. There will not be an all Spanish final this year.

 

[BJT]

Thanks for your input guys. Well at the moment neither jobs are available, and I think their lack of success has meant their board seem a little more lenient with their managers. Added to the fact 3 teams now qualify for the ECL, it's easier to stay in the job.

We also seem to keep maxing out our stadium capacity which I find quite amazing now at over 33k. It looks like I'm destined to stay at Ayr at this moment in time, and things are looking up at the moment too. And with our reputation surpassing both Celtic and Rangers attracting talent is getting easier if top players are unsettled. Buying a world-class midfielder and a top wonderkid shows that now.

It is just the money being an issue but I was quite lucky to get Kulishi he was on 110k per week but accepted the 69k I offered! But I can still see further stadium expansion which would mean in-time finances will be as good as it can get.

I think I'm going to end up staying - and see exactly how many fans we can attract to our games as it seems the sky is the limit at this point in time...

 

[BJT]

Anything can happen

The League Run-in

With an eleven points gap going into the last five games, Motherwell were hoping Ayr would slip up in one big major way to give them any chance of catching the league leaders.

With Ayr starting their first of the final five games away to Celtic, it was going to be a difficult trip especially given the 3-0 drubbing in their last encounter here.

It promised to be another tough afternoon and in the 67th​ minute The Bhoys had a perfect opportunity to take the lead from the spot – Robles firmly striking the ball into the bottom right hand corner, an absolutely brilliant save from keeper Phil Short pushed the ball out for a corner.

That proved to be costly with Ayr taking away a valuable point. Motherwell were only able to draw as well with their home game against Rangers. With an 11 points gap maintained and only 12 points available it looked like Ayr would retain the title. The next match was at home – to Motherwell.

…without making a shot on target all game, Motherwell despite having to win chose to do a park the bus job. Unfortunately for them this miserably failed, and it was two first half goals both coming just before the half-hour mark which gave Ayr a comfortable advantage going into half-time.

A Fabulous Nine

There was no change in intent from Motherwell who looked all resigned to fighting for second spot with Celtic now. Ayr ran comfortable winners registering over 25 shots on goal and secured their ninth league title in a row.

It seems that the phrase anything can happen didn’t hold true for Motherwell this year. But their achievement of eventually finishing second was an amazing one and if they had won it would have been a title success to rival that of Leicester City’s under Claudio Ranieri.

The remaining three games Ayr ran out victorious. A 3-1 win vs Rangers, 3-2 vs Aberdeen and an away 2-1 at Hibernian saw Ayr finish the season with 91 points. Motherwell stole second spot from Celtic ending the year with 72 points with Celtic taking the last CL spot on 70 points.

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Ayr’s ECL Dream

Mid-way through the last five league games saw the rematch of the Euro Super Cup Final which Ayr won 1-0 last season.

With the improvements made in the central of defence and midfield, Moss was confident of doing well in the home tie to give his side a chance of making it into the final with a result in Turin.

Fortune Favours the Scots

And the plan of taking an advantage over to Italy materialised – in part thanks to a reckless challenge from Juventus winger Bianco in the 29th​ minute. Just like against SLB in the Quarters, Ayr now had a brilliant chance to play the first leg against 10 men for over an hour.

The Italians as they do, chose to then play ultra defensively in this one. It was shot after shot from the Ayr lads but not one single clear cut chance was created. The Honest Men were now running out of ideas and time to gain that all important advantage needed.

But Moss taking a gamble, made a triple substitution in the 77th​ minute to try and bring that extra energy going late into the game. Knowing Juve must be feeling more fatigued, he was hoping his side could produce a bit of magic late on….

Dramatic Breakthrough

And the breakthrough finally came in minute 87!!! From a throw-in on the right hand side, without any real danger seeming in play, the ball found Steve Pooler’s feet…dribbling away from his tired marker, he created some space for himself to rifle in a shot from just inside the 18 yard box – to fly passed the helpless dive of Pereira in the Juve goal. 1-0 Ayr! And the advantage was now Ayr’s going into the second leg in Turin.

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Second Leg – Late Drama

The scene was set with Juventus now forced to come out the blocks with all guns blazing…and unfortunately for Moss’ men that is exactly what they did.

In two minutes in the 34th​ and 36th​ minutes Juventus overturned the deficit from the first leg to lead 2-1 and that lead they held going into the break.

Juventus now in control of the game, were looking more comfortable in possession which unlike in the first leg they were bossing at home. Things were not looking at all good for the team from Scotland and it looked like the dream was over.

Looking to spark some energy and give the subs some time to get involved in the game, a gamble in the 71st​ minute saw three changes made. Could Steve Pooler from the bench yet again grab a late goal?

Within 3 minutes of his introduction a moment of individual genius from Super Sub Pooler gave Ayr an away goal advantage. Receiving the ball and beating his man brilliantly, he held off his chase to get back and smashed the ball passed the keeper.

Fifteen minutes to hold on – could Ayr do it?

Juve Respond

Three minutes later Ayr’s hopes were dashed again with Juventus regaining their two goal advantage on the night which would see them through.

A sickener of a goal it was too from a deep set piece, finding Girones completely unmarked after his run to head passed our keeper. Moss couldn’t believe how shockingly bad that piece of defending was and that seemed to be the game.

…but one phrase Moss likes using and is in belief of is – “you get what you pay for”.

Piling on the pressure in the last few minutes desperately trying to get one goal that at this stage of the game would put Ayr through, a corner was won on the right handside.

Moss’ Signing Comes Good

Carmona swung the ball into the box but the ball was cleared out by a Juve head which came out to the edge of the box. Mid-season signing Kulish outside the box was fully alert to react to the clearance, with his marker sloppily not recognising the danger.

A really difficult bouncing ball to strike, Kulish got the perfect contact and weight onto his shot and on the half volley it flew in with absolute beauty passed the full stretched dive of the Juve keeper and into the top corner of the net…Ayr had done it!!! Away goals advantage….but the official then indicated an extra five minutes of added time.

But the goal really seemed to knock Juventus for six. They won a corner in the 91st​ minute, but Short commanding in goal dealt with the danger….Ayr held their nerve superbly these last five minutes until the final whistle blew – Ayr United officially in the Champions League Final 2032/33!

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The Winning Goal:

[video=youtube;W0T30g4qkCM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0T30g4qkCM[/video]

Final Opponents – FC Barcelona

The other game saw Barcelona squeeze passed the current holders Athletico Madrid also on away goals. After drawing the game in Madrid 1-1, Barca secured their place in the final drawing the home tie 0-0 which was enough to see them through.

They’ll be delighted at Ayr taking the scalp of Juventus. With Barca doing the double over Ayr in the group stages, they would be odds on favourites to win this one.

But Moss had brought in World-Class Midfielder Kulish who clearly showed his class making the difference against Juve. In a one-off game, could Ayr defeat the odds??

 

[Yeti01]

Best of luck against Barcelona! Go Ayr!

 

[BJT]

Anything can happen – Part 2

Champions League Final - Ayr vs Barcelona

So after notching up our ninth league title in a row, we’ve albeit had a huge lot of luck, made the Champions League Final this year. No doubt our investments in key areas have helped, along with two guys I was also intending to replace have actually performed out of their skin this year, Phil Short and Danny Quin. Did they hear me somehow?

In front of over 85,000 fans at the Puskas Ferenc Stadion in Hungary, this was going to be a daunting place to play for some of our players. Only Celtic games at Celtic Park can compare when performing in front of many spectators, but the magnitude of this game is on a completely different level.

Stinker of a Record

We haven’t faired well at all against Barca. We’ve played them many times in the ECL group stages and have drawn a couple of times at best, but the majority of times we’ve lost quite resoundingly. Our all-time record stands at 10 games played, winning 0, drawing 2, and losing 8. Wouldn’t it be sod’s law to win our first game against them here!

But our team compared to previous meetings is different. We have a commanding centre-back in Mastrascusa, a goalscorer in Borup and danger down the flanks.

Phil Short has been in brilliant form this year, and rather than be a weak spot as I predicted this year, he’s been playing his part well.

We Can Compete

What we have lacked is someone dictating the play from the middle. No doubt Bonde on his day can be a match-winner, but he’s lacked that quality vision and range of passing that truly top players possess. Well we have that now with Kulish so in all areas of the pitch we do have players that can compete at a top level.

Barca may be far superior as a whole, but any side can have an off-day. If we were to win this game, we can’t concede an early goal, we have to play out of our skins, someone is going to have to produce some brilliance in one form or another, and they are going to have to have a bad day in front of goal. A lot to ask yes, but on a neutral venue in Hungary there’s a greater chance of that happening than stadium’s both clubs are used to playing at.

First Half

The game started off with great energy being shown from our lads. Barcelona were playing a 4141 formation going up against our 442.

Barca were quite happy to try and play at a slower tempo using their extra man in the DM slot. We were also quite happy to attack with a purpose whenever an opportunity arose.

The game was very balanced between these two sides and no clear cut chances were being created and opportunities very limited. When reviewing the first half as a whole there really was nothing between these two sides…..

But there were two moments of absolute genius from one player on the park who seemed like a man possessed in this football match that gave his team a crucial 2 goal gap going into the half-time break…and this man happened to be Danish International striker, and also Ayr striker Claus Borup!

Two Wonder Strikes

The first goal came out of absolutely nothing. In the 17th​ minute, a free kick in our own half involved simple passes up to the central striker. With his back facing his own goal, he simply turned quickly freeing up space whilst cleverly using his strike partner to shield the challenging defender. This gave him just enough time to get his shot away at goal and he could not have hit the ball any better, and from 25 yards out the ball was rifled into the top corner. 1-0 Ayr!

Six minutes later Borup grabbed his second….after a deep nothing long ball played from Carmona, Adeyemo at centrehalf for Barca made a big error and failed to clear the ball. The ball then bounced into the path of Mr Borup who hit a sweet half volley in such a smooth motion he’d have known that ball was hitting the back of the net from the moment he touched it, beautifully dipping just underneath the crossbar with the keeper left completely helpless. 2-0 Ayr and two quick sucker-punches. A real shock was on the cards now.

[video=youtube;sGyZY3bFh-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyZY3bFh-Y[/video]

Second Half

After those two inspirational strikes, there was only one way this game was now going to go. We just wanted to keep things solid and continue to work our socks off for the second half but even more so, as we knew we were going to get put under the cosh.

Barcelona will no doubt have been told to play their game without fear and continue to attack us, confident if they could get one goal panic would set in and they could come back from the deficit.

And that was how it was going in the second half. With less energy in our legs, our ability to attack with pace and venom was always going to be harder to achieve. Barcelona were really trying to work the flanks and continuing to play patiently in their approach.

Scrambling Defence

However they met the Ayr resistance of Brennan and White at right and left back respectively who both were playing unbelievably well today. Both had brilliant games, and just when you thought they were going to break our defensive line – they kept coming in with last ditch tackles and continuing to frustrate the Barca offense.

This prevented Barca from still creating any clear cut chances, and their frustrations were then clear to see getting a couple of bookings after the hour mark.

Despite continuing to try and play their game and press us, their shots on target were all from outside the box or from free kicks…which weren’t flying into the top corner and being saved by our keeper.

On another day they may have striked those balls better, but today it really did not look like it was going to be Barca’s day. They had been met by an inspired Ayr United team looking to write their own history and not let this opportunity go by.

Written in the Stars...

Looking to maintain the excellent work-rate the Ayr side had been putting in to keep Barca at bay, we made subs to achieve that and disrupt the game at critical points. Unable to pierce the Ayr line, despite having never lost to Ayr in all their previous meetings, it was in the stars that it was to be Ayr’s day today.

The final whistle then blew in the 94th​ minute, and it was a heroic performance from all the Ayr players along with two moments of brilliance that decided this cup final and brought the Champions League back to Scottish football, Ayr United, and into the hands of Moss the boss.

Ayr may not be remembered for producing the most exhilarating and easy on the eye football purists want to see, but the teamwork and work-rate of every individual player is what makes this team collective tick, having that ability to grind out a result, and it is what has brought this prestigious trophy to Ayrshire.

Ayr United then are crowned Champions League Winners 2033/34 – remember that date!

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Further Stadium Expansion Planned

Even more good news for those associated with Ayr. The original 3,000 capacity extension has been increased to an additional 10,000. The building work will now be extended to finish end of 2034, but this will see the stadium have an official capacity of 43,295.

The cost however is huge coming in at 36 million. But with the successful Champions League campaign had this year, hopefully there will still be funds to invest in areas for next season.

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A new Footballing Philosophy to be Unveiled @ Ayr

Ever since moving to Ayr, it's been variants of playing the simple 442 that has brought about our rise and success at all levels and making sure each signing was the right one. And more recently, it's been a more offensive, quicker tempo and attack minded game that would be well suited to the British game.

However with the club's infrastructure that much better, and our reputation now at "Worldwide" status following our Champions League triumph, it's time I get to play the sort of football I really want to see any of my teams playing on the football pitch.

High pressing, controlled possession, technique, flair, creativity is the true Moss philosophy. I have a good number of players that now fit the bill, and so rather than grinding out results in the British way, I'm going to try and make Ayr more of a footballing team in the way they go about their business. Risky yes, but attractive, easy on the eye, and mesmeric it is. So Barca, next time - be prepared to be out Barca'd!

 

[Yeti01]

Amazing mate! What an effort - well done and congratulations!!

 

[BJT]

Thanks mate! Couldn't quite believe it myself Barca always batter us lol.

 

[BJT]

2033/34 – The Key Men

After achieving the un-achievable, there were perhaps four real standout players this year that deserve their mention.

Claus Borup – Scoring those two world-class strikes in such a big stage in the ECL final gave us this trophy. But not only did he achieve that for us, his 43 goals this season meant he surpassed Eamonn Lynch’s club record be quite a considerable margin of goals in a season.

His consistency and a notable improvement in taking spot-kicks has led to him being a real key goalscorer for our side. Claus came 3rd​ best in the ECL player of the year award this season.

Diego Carmona – The wizard down our left wing continues to assist and score big goals for us. Now given the set piece responsibilities since Bonde is now longer our first team central midfielder, he’s taken this one fantastically well scoring from several free kicks and providing quality set-piece deliveries for our players to attack. He also won the ECL midfield player of the year this season.

Danny Quin – The ageing Danny Quin has again won the fans player of the year vote and he’s contributed again magnificently well for us this year. He many not have many years left in him and I thought he’d fail to make the cut for us this year. But he proved me wrong and I couldn’t be happier he did just that. He also came second behind team-mate Carmona in the midfielder ECL award.

Phil Short – Another guy who proved me wrong. Never going to be a match winner, but it’s his reliability that really is an excellent attribute of his. He’s also come up with some penalty saves this year in addition to him being commanding in the air from set-pieces. At times when we’ve been under the cosh, he’s been there to steady the ship. He also won the ECL goalkeeper award this season.

The awards won and players coming in the top three of the ECL awards have shown our success in the end was no fluke. Players gaining this sort of recognition on this stage does show they have the talent to compete with the world’s best players and as a result meant Ayr were a force in Europe this year.

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A Summer Overhaul

Despite the successes Ayr have had of recent times, Moss has decided to bring a new football philosophy to the club. After proving he can succeed and coach the basics of the 442 well, he’s decided to revert to a rather unique 3412 formation.

It’s not a system used by clubs in the modern day, and without any full-backs no doubt this is a real weakness of the new system.

It will require players of good technical and passing ability especially with the midfield trio. The central defenders will also need to be of excellent quality to make-up for no full-backs in the system.

Players will need good work-rate with the immediate pressing from the front, and being a possession based game good composure is extremely useful given other teams will look to disrupt our short controlled passing game.

Transfers

Players leaving the club this Summer occupy all the full-back slots. This includes those that played so well in the CL final White and Brennan. Peterson and Manson the back-ups also leave the club.

Forward Dempsey was also sold. Being the 4th​ striker and a promising player in McIntyre in our youth team/

These deals were needed to reduce both the wages and bring in funds to invest in the AMC slot which Ayr currently have no-one available to play this position.

Celtic Left Fuming

Only three players came in this Summer, and all were in this AMC slot. Roddy Slaven comes in from Hamilton for a small 1.5 million fee. Expected to be third choice, he does have some useful attributes which will make him a decent choice for this task.

21 year old Shadow Striker Fresnel Simakala came in from Genk. Already with over 40 International caps to his name, he’ll be retrained to be more the AP(A) Moss utilises behind the two strikers. Good attributes, with a bit of training he’ll be an excellent backup.

And that is for the real steal. Celtic were left fuming their talented 20 year old Dutch International Bob Visser was poached from rivals Ayr. For 25 million, Ayr took advantage of the release clause in his contract. Over 20 International Caps to his name and already a leading player in the league, he’s got great potential and will already be a pivotal figure in the new Ayr. Naturally suited into the position, Moss is hoping he’ll hit the ground running.

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Expectations

The board as of the past few seasons now want the domestic treble each and every year. But there is added pressure, as with our success in the Champions League and our reputation boost to Worldwide, the First Round Knockouts has become a must for Ayr.

Failure to achieve will certainly then put real pressure on Moss. With the new system in place too, not only will it take a while to bring in, but with the reliance of quality players for this to work and less emphasis on being solid, Ayr could easily come unstuck in such a competitive competition.

On the contrary, with the superior players Ayr have domestically many believe that winning the league especially with Celtic’s demise of late, is a forgone conclusion with Ayr’s opponents not going to have sufficient quality to punish Ayr’s high defensive line game.

New Objectives

My own personal objectives for this save is to continue to compete at the top CL level playing my style of football. This isn’t that easy to achieve, because it demands world-class players to really succeed.

So continuing to perform well, investing correctly, and building Ayr to be as big as possible will be needed to achieve this.

Additionally, the World Club Championship is the last remaining trophy not on my CV and in Ayr’s trophy cabinet. I’ll be taking that very seriously this year and I hope we can bring this trophy home.

Lastly, becoming the number one in the Scottish Hall of Fame will be my ultimate goal. I’m currently 4th​ on the list, but still quite a long way behind Willie Maley who’s first. He has 2,190 points and I currently have 1,563.

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Here’s the System Ayr will be implementing:

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[Yeti01]

Interesting tweak with the new formation mate - good luck with it.

 

[BJT]

Season 2034/35 – Back to Domestic Kings

It was always going to be an impossible task to repeat last year’s feat. And there was no such luck this year.

Topping the ECL Group via the head to head results again Real Madrid, things were looking really good at this stage.

A 1st​ Round Knockout tie against Man Utd was the reward. Losing the first leg at Old Trafford 2-1, it looked like it was going to be tough to overcome the Red Devils. But at our 43k+ stadium, our fans helped takes us through this tie smashing United 4-0 in the second leg to take Ayr back to the Quarter Final Stages.

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Athletico KO Holders

However Ayr then faced the solid and well drilled outfit also from Madrid, Athletico. Despite having the better of the first leg, Athletico’s sturdy defence kept Ayr out at Ayr Stadium with the game ending 0-0.

With Ayr having to score in the second leg against a mean Athletico defence, it was a tough ask…and too tough this time around.

A close 1-0 defeat in the second leg saw Athletico squeeze passed. A valiant effort, but it was a taste of Moss’ old medicine where hard work and organisation triumphed over an attempt to play the beautiful game as it should be played.

Domestic Treble Winners yet Again

Where we unsurprisingly fell short in Europe this year, we dominated all things domestically.

The first half of the season was superb in the league. We went on a 51 unbeaten match run to finally be stopped away at Aberdeen. By this point we had a twelve point gap in the league over the half-way point and there was no competition since.

Our form did drop as teams seemed to be playing a lot more defensively and we did find it harder to break them down. But our awesome first half season form was more than good enough to see out a very comfortable title win this season.

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Betfred Cup Final (Ayr United 6 – 1 Aberdeen)

A performance that had control with 70% possession and clinical finishing saw our lads completely blitz the Aberdeen resistance.

Three goals in the first half hour saw the game already well and truly over, with a fourth added just before the break.

The goals didn’t stop there. Quin and Andersen decided to get in on the act making the score-line an embarrassing 6-0 to Ayr United….but Aberdeen stole Ayr’s clean sheet at the death in the 91st​ minute.

So the new system in place was looking good on the domestic front making it 8 out of the last 9 Betfred Cup wins for Ayr.

Below is the goal-fest that took place in this year's Betfred Final.

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[video=youtube;pffylYtHY2g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pffylYtHY2g[/video]

Scottish Cup Final (Ayr United 2 – 0 Hibernian)

Ayr’s second domestic cup final came against Hibs, who clearly turned up to try and frustrate The Honest Men.

Well their plan had worked well the first half with the game going in 0-0 at half-time. Ayr having all the ball, but Hibs holding firm with the second half to play.

However their resistance finally broke down in the 72nd​ minute when Claus Borup our scoring machine finally broke the deadlock. It actually came from a swift counter-attack from an attacking Hibs set-piece situation. Anderson lofting an excellent looping curled ball over the back-line to leave Borup free to convert the ball passed the keeper in a one on one.

The game was then secured in the 94th​ minute from Danny Quin – with a truly great move that started all the way from the back. Involving a patient buildup, the ball founds its way to Quin to fire passed the keeper to make it 2-0. Game set and match to Ayr – and that’s the sort of football I want to see played!

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World Club Championship Final (Ayr United 1 – 0 Atlanta United – aet)

Atlanta really did run us close in this one. Not creating any clear cut chances, but their 4411 formation really was a tough nut to crack.

Goalless for the first 90 minutes, I was hoping that our possession based football would finally break down a tiring Atalanta defensive unit in Extra Time rather than go through the nerves of a penalty shootout. I doubt I’d ever get a chance to win this trophy again!

Then came the 96th​ minute when Super Sub Pooler grabbed the first and only goal of the game.

Continually booting the ball up the pitch, Atalanta were now failing to put pressure higher up the pitch, and so the deadlock was eventually broken. Working the ball back into the danger area, Pooler was on hand to find himself a bit of space in the box to then convert Scott’s ball into him into the back of the net.

They had nothing left to cause us any trouble with, and we saw out the remainder of the game to secure the last trophy missing from Ayr’s cabinet and my CV, with Ayr now officially crowned World Club Champions.

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Thoughts on Philosophy Progress

I was really happy with the progress made this year. A brand new way of playing, with a developing AMC in Bob Visser being relied upon to make the team tick. Taking this into account we’ve had an excellent year.

I may look to tweak things slightly in the midfield. Although it’s great to play everything on the deck in a patient manner, the later part of the season did see us struggle to break teams down a little. So rather than having a central midfielder holding his position the whole time, I’m going to experiment with a BBM which will lead to a little more directness in our offensive play.

There were games we’d have 80% percent possession the max being 83% in one of the games. So I think we can control the game well enough to try and bring about that additional offensive movement to threaten the opponents box thus being a tad less predictable.

Consortium Takeover

In brilliant news for the club, new owners are now in place at Ayr, and with a willingness to secure the club’s long-term financial future and invest further into the club.

A transfer budget of just under 50 million has been announced for the upcoming year. We had been in substantial debt by the end of this season and that’s despite a good run in the CL and our domestic successes. The expansion of the stadium really did hit a dent in our finances along with the investment of our world-class midfielder last year with payments due across 3 years.

This is much needed, as areas of our squad will soon need to be reinvested in. Some players are ageing, and it’s at the point whether I decide to try and cash in and replace them best I can, or hold onto them a little longer.

At Ayr, the former is probably the best option. But this is something I’ll ponder on in the Summer.

 

[BJT]

The Key Men 2034/35

In what was a transition season with our football style, it was our Colombian centre-back who took home the fans player of the year Mastrascusa. An integral part of our side for a number of years now, he’s probably finally got the credit he deserves.

Claus Borup again had another prolific season scoring 34 times this year for us. And Danny Quin although almost hitting 30 years of age, he’s still providing the team with a lot of quality in his game topping our assists chart with 15 for the season.

We weren’t the heaviest scoring team this year, but I guess that is due to us controlling the game a lot better. Defensively though we were very sound and credit has to go to all our back-line this year.

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Onto Next Season

Talking about an overhaul with our takeover giving us a much needed financial boost, it’s generally been a really productive off-season. Only finding a left-winger has been a bit of a struggle, simply because there only seem to be two classy wingers available and interested.

Carmona will always be our first choice left winger, but it would have been good to find a decent backup. Jack Scott although has served us well, he’s declined and not at the desired level.

I have brought in a few guys on a free one of whom I’m planning to train up to play on the left, being Ivan Djoric snapped up from PSG. He’s got potential to be that good squad winger I need.

Long-Term Servants Depart

Romario from Sporting also came on a free. A top quality striker so a real bargain here, and he’ll be partnering Borup up front this season. This has led to long-term servant Anderson parting the club. He hasn’t been at the level I was hoping he’d perform at the last couple of years, so it was a good move to sell him whilst I could still make some money off of him, which came to 16.75mil. Not bad for a guy purchased at 2 million only.

Bonde is another player who I’ve decided to part with. He’s done a good job for us and has had a great career. Now at 29, again I thought to best make some money from him as I’ve been able to bring in another centre mid in on the free who is about on par skillwise being Tejada from Basel.

Another player who has left is Paraguayan international Perriera at centre-back. Only being a squad player the last couple of seasons, I received 27 million for him and there was also a good Brazilian CB on the market for 38 million. So he effectively funded the purchase of Mahseredjan from Liverpool. At only 23 years old, he has time to improve although technically he is lacking for my side at present. He'll also make our first team this year.

Moss’ Gem

The real star and the best ever player I will ever have had the opportunity to work with is Jannik Bruckner. Over 90 caps for Germany and only 25 years old, the advanced playmaker will take the duties from Bob Visser who I bought for 25 million last year.

This guy cost 60 million but he really is the real deal with Real Madrid also interested in his services. I think he’ll really be at the forefront of everything we do this year, and a player of this quality will really fit into this new system well.

I can’t wait to get the next season under-way. It’s a chance to see whether my tweak to our midfield will work well, whilst the investments make our first XI a little stronger and being more capable to play my football.

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Board Expectations

Domestic treble, first round ECL. It’s become the norm for now, and with the squad we have I’d be disappointed to not win 2 out of 3 trophies and make the CL quarters.

However the weak area is at left wing backup. Any long-term injury to Carmona and it does promise to be a challenging season.

Financially we are now also limited. Spending 54 million nett whilst now well beyond our wage budget, it means we really do need to perform well in our competitions this year for much needed prize money.

The option to further expand our stadium hasn’t appeared despite us hitting maximum attendances on a highly regular basis. With that said, it looks like our current 43,295 capacity will be the maximum we’ll be able to achieve at Ayr.

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[Jedd95]

Congrats on your Champions League victory vs Barcelona. Great achievement.

 

[BJT]

Thanks mate! Now to try and do it playing my way

 

[BJT]

The Ship Remains On Course

Champions League Semi Final Date Booked

With the final five league games straight in sight, Ayr are fighting on all fronts with the possibility of going one step better than the treble.

There is great optimism amongst both squad and the fans. A fine performance in the Champions League Group Stages saw Ayr United top the group ahead of The Red Devils from Manchester.

Qualification wasn’t in doubt with the competition coming in the form of Rosenborg and Krasnodar from Russia.

It did however require late drama away in Norway to come from behind to beat Rosenborg 2-1. Dropped points here and United would have topped the group via better goal difference.

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Knockouts

A Tough 1st​ Round KO

Winning the group saw Ayr rewarded with a first leg away tie against Italian giants AC Milan. The first game saw Ayr go down 2-1 despite taking the lead in the first half. Not a great result, but an away goal could still have proved useful.

However an excellent performance saw Ayr overturn the deficit to win 2-0 at Ayr Stadium. It was though a very nerve wracking finish, with Milan really pushing on those last ten minutes for an equaliser.

Several highlights saw last gasp challenges and headed clearances out of our box. Keeper Short made a crucial save to keep the lead intact…and fortunately my Ayr hung on to book a Quarter Final spot.

Quarter Final

It was Portuguese outfit FC Porto in the way of the Semi-Finals. A solid defensive display and possession based game saw us looking comfortable in this one. Porto clearly came to give themselves a chance to win on their home turf in the second leg.

This they did, with Ayr only able to conjure up one goal. An advantage yes, but very slim. The Honest Men really needed to score away for the best chance of going through.

The second leg started off perfectly as a 1-0 advantage on the night was made by Claus Borup scoring in the 31st​ minute. It meant Porto would need 3 goals to go through.

Always in Control

They did score two goals on the night, but by that time Ayr had restored their one goal lead prior to their second. The Scotsmen then added a third with ten minutes to go, giving Ayr a 3-2 win and a 4-2 victory on aggregate. Ayr again amongst the top 4 teams in Europe!

The draw saw Ayr avoid Real Madrid and Chelsea, with a tie against Germans Die Bayern to come. The first leg is due at Ayr Stadium.

Premiership Title Defence

In the league, Ayr’s title defence is going strong. With only the final five games remaining the advantage is a good eight points. Only a capitulation would see Celtic claim the title. But with the ECL a distraction, Ayr need to ensure they take each game as it comes.

A key game came as soon as game-week 32 where Ayr travelled to Celtic Park. In a very tight affair, it was the men from Ayrshire who got the only goal of the game with Romario scoring in those legs eleventh minute.

Celtic had a few chances in the last ten minutes of the game as they really were pushing for an equaliser. But poor finishing and good defending meant The Honest Men took a vital victory that created the eight point cushion before the last give games.

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Betfred Cup Final

The first cup final of the year saw regular final attendants Ayr come up against local rivals Kilmarnock.

Any chance of a closely contested final ended in the 38th​ minute when Nigel Hassell of Killie got himself a straight red. Three minutes later saw a bullet from Borup give Ayr the lead with Romario then adding a quick fire second right on the stroke of half-time following an inswinging set-piece.

It then became a case of trying to not be embarrassed against an Ayr side well suited to make good use of the extra man. A third goal came in the 82nd​ minute with Borup claiming his second of the match from six yards out which was enough to give him the MOTM award.

The 3-0 win makes the trophy Ayr’s for the ninth time in ten seasons, with neither Celtic no Rangers making the final in the last four finals.

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[video=youtube;1vd4aEdCIO8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vd4aEdCIO8[/video]

I’m really pleased with how the season’s going so far. Bringing in real quality in that AMC spot, improving our central defence and the tactical tweak in the central midfield area is giving us more goals with an improved defence compared to last year, although possession has fallen slightly but as expected.

This has meant we have done better in the ECL this year passing the Quarter Final stages of last year. We have had a nice draw so far, and even the Semi Final draw vs Bayern it is probably the preferred choice out of the other two sides left in the competition.

Training up Djoric to play on the left flank has helped as when he’s stepped in he’s doing a decent job. Danny Quin even at 30 has continued to perform really well and if he continues to perform along with the rest of the squad, I’m confident we can make our second CL final appearance. It would be great to win the trophy playing the way I want to play, so let’s see where the rest of this season takes us!

 

[BJT]

The Season Finale - 35/36

Champions League Semi Finals - Bayern vs Ayr

Tie in the Balance

With everyone fully fit and available for this one Moss was confident his side could gain an advantage heading into the second leg over in Germany.

Ayr took the lead in the 24th​ minute when the pretender to the real Romario converted in a cross from Carmona on the left flank after catching the Bayern defence unawares on a counter-attack.

The question was would Bayern try to push for an away goal in this tie? Well they kept to their 4141 formation designed to keep the score down.

Ayr continued to control the game ending up with 76% possession and having 10 shots to Bayern’s 3 all game, but the score remained 1-0 until the full-time whistle.

A good performance giving Ayr a decent chance in the second leg. Much like against Porto, an away goal could really hammer home this 1-0 advantage via away goals but the tie was still well and truly in the balance…

Boring for some

Surprisingly even playing in Germany, Bayern kept their 4141 formation. Expecting it to be a more aggressive formation, whether it was too defensive or whether Ayr’s well drilled outfit failed to let Bayern express themselves offensively it’s hard to tell, probably a bit of both.

The game followed the pattern of the first game, although with home advantage Bayern were registering more attempts at goal. However with 72% possession, for large parts of the game it stifled Bayern’s ability to really put Ayr under the cosh for any prolonged period.

But with a hard working pressing game and remaining solid from the 5 corners Bayern earned, both sides registered only two shots on target…but importantly, neither side were able to make a breakthrough in the game.

Time continued to run out for Die Bayern all the way until the final whistle – Ayr then through to their second CL final with a 1-0 Aggregate win!

Mastrascusa continues to be immense at the back for The Honest Men, picking up another MOTM award and epitomising the strong defence Moss has created at Ayr – proving possession and no full-backs can be utilised to remain solid at the back.

Real Madrid in the other Semi-Final fell away against the Blues of Chelski. So an all British Champions League tie awaits due to be held at the Metrolpolitano de Madrid the home of Athletico Madrid.

Two to Go – League Secured

The eight points gap created after game thirty three remained fully intact for the remainder of the season.

Winning away to Celtic in the first of the final five games meant the gap increased to 11 points with only 12 remaining. A home victory against Hearts was all that was required.

And that it was, in front of the home fans they were treated to a goal feast with The Honest Men smashing five points Hearts who showed no heart for their shirt.

That made it eleven league titles in a row. However that’s still a number behind Celtic’s record 14 league title wins on the bounce that occurred between 2011/12 to 2024/25.

So that’s another benchmark that is there up for grabs which I’m sure everyone associated with Ayr will want to see happen.

A poor run of form did happen though after securing the title, but it’s not easy to keep motivated in such a scenario. The next big game to look forward to was the Scottish Cup Final where Ayr knocked out Raith Rovers and Hearts in the Quarters / Semi Finals respectively – the team being faced Glasgow Rangers.

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One to go – Scottish Cup Final Triumph

A week before Ayr’s big date against Chelsea sees the Scottish Cup Final host Ayr and Rangers.

It’s been a while since Rangers have had any real domestic success and it was a chance for them to relive the old days – but against Ayr it would be a mammoth task for The Gers.

And it was proving to be too much for them. A goal from Romario gave Ayr the lead after 38 minutes with Borup only two minutes later scoring a second making it 2-0 to Ayr. At this point you’d think the game was a done deal.

But Josh Crompton seemed to have other plans, keeping his composure well to give Rangers hope just before half-time scoring again only two-minutes after Ayr went two nil up. Moss was fuming his side fell asleep before the break.

However it wasn’t to matter in the end. World class AMC Jannik Bruckner got Ayr’s third goal to restore the two goal cushion they had earlier now 3-1. With a little under 20 minutes left it would need a miraculous come-back from Rangers…

But starved of having any real possession to threaten the Ayr goal, Ayr continued to control the football and played the remaining time out well, easing to another Scottish Cup Final win and retain the trophy after last year’s success. The Treble again was Ayr’s.

The MOTM in this one was the 60 million pounds man Jannick Bruckner.

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ECL Final – Ayr vs Chelsea

With the stadium packed out filling up all 60,000 seats, the lads and myself were really up for this game.

The team now with my identity to it, I was hoping to see Ayr play the football we are fully capable of on this huge day for the club. Could we make history and win all major trophies in a single year?

It wasn’t going to be easy, and with Chelsea playing a 4231 they would most certainly have a fair share of the ball in this one and would be favourites with some of their players going up to double the value of our top player. It was imperative we made a good start.

And it didn’t take long for this cup final to see the first goal and the perfect start for Ayr. We took the lead after only 10 minutes played with our Brazilian Romario who smashed the ball with ferocity passed the Chelski keeper.

Against Barca in our first ever CL win this early goal seemed to cause them to panic and they conceded a second not too long after.

Chelsea Resolute

Unfortunately for us, our early goal seemed to kick Chelski right into gear and within five minutes they grabbed the equaliser with Moreira finding space in the box to place it low passed Short. 1-1.

Then in the 30th​ minute things got worse…an unbelievable bullet of a volley from Octavio gave Short no chance…and I myself was absolutely stunned at this finish. Sometimes you just have to applaud a world-class goal.

Ayr Bite Back

The next goal would be crucial in this one which was fast becoming a match full of goals. Thankfully our lads bit back with a vengeance only four minutes later with Claus Borup finishing from close range after a right wing cross from club legend Quin….

And then minute 39 Borup grabbed his second and restored Ayr’s lead! Diego Carmona this time crossing the ball in from the left flank with Borup striking the ball cleanly on the volley from six or so yards out. 3-2 to Ayr at half-time.

Carmona Red

Into the second half after a really good performance where I do think we deserved to be leading, we got back into our groove..until Diego Carmona stupidly got his second bookable offence getting sent off in the 55th​ minute.

Chelsea had shown in patches in this game that they can pass and create well just like us, so I was quite worried now forced down to 10 men. Romario was the man to be sacrificed to bring on Djoric to fill in on the left wing. A tough ask for Borup up by himself, but he’s a top striker and fully capable.

But as expected, Chelsea were now having the better of the game. We still had energy to compete and pass our way out, but it wouldn’t be long before we would start to get tired so subs were going to be important.

To bring some fresh legs and work-rate into the middle off came BBM Balde replaced by our Croatian International Galic – and what a sub that was to be!

With the game coming into the final stages it was the two subs coming on who combined to get us our fourth. Djoric playing a ball into Galic who got into the box and struck the ball passed the keeper. 4-2 Ayr!

Tense Finish

All we had to do now was keep our composure remain solid and hold on with Visser now coming on for Bruckner in the middle for more fresh legs to last the game…but to my anger Chelski responded only 1 minute later…the defence just went to sleep and a precisely well weighted ball saw Moreira in space behind our defensive line to put it passed Short in minute 84.

The last 10 minutes were tough where four additional minutes had been added on. Chelski kept coming with last ditch challenges, aerial headers clearing the box, and a fantastic save from Short kept our lead in tact right in the 90th​ minute.

At this point we were struggling to play the ball out and it truly was a backs to the wall job…..but lumping the ball up to their side of the pitch for the last time saw us home with the referee blowing the full time whistle before they could launch another attack…Ayr then win 4-3 and have brought back the Champions League to Scotland, a second time in 3 years!

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[video=youtube;oVdNFZ7Jjbc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVdNFZ7Jjbc[/video]

Absolutely ecstatic we’ve won this Trophy in the right manner. And despite going down to 10 men, we continued to play our game probably up until the 85th​ minute when it was a case of holding on. But our game was rewarded with our fourth goal where we played some good football to get us into the position for Galic to strike home.

We were the better team with 11 men, and only a wonder goal from them at that time gave them the 2-1 lead. The resilience shown to come back and take a 3-2 half-time lead shows what our team is made of.

We’ve got some guys at the 30 year old mark, so some thinking to do how to proceed for next year. I’ve got a few players also coming on free transfers all of good quality with something to offer.

I’m now third in the hall of fame. The quadruple has been completed, and only one trophy objective now remains – to surpass Celtic’s 14 league titles in a row.

 

[BJT]

Key Men 35/36

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

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

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

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

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

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Season 36/37

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

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

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

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

CB Wonderkid Found

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

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

Left Wing Dilemma

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

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

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

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Board Expectations

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

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

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

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

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

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[BJT]

Building Continues

Additional Transfers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ayr – The Place to Be

European Super Cup Final

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

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

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Befred Cup Final

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

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

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

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

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

World Club Championship

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

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

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

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Scottish Premiership

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Champions League

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

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

Group Stages

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

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

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

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

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

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First Round Knockout vs Athletico

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

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

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

Quarter Finals vs Die Bayern

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

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

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

To the Semi’s The Honest Men came.

Semi Finals vs AC Milan

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

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

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

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

ECL Final vs Barcelona

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

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

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

The Breakthrough

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

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

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

A Lapse of Concentration

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

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

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

All Square – Extra Time it is

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

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

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

Romario Steals the Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ayr – Up with the Best

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

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

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

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

Planning Ahead

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

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

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

Board Announce Stadium Expansion!!

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

 

[BJT]

Key Men 2036/37

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

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

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

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

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

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Summer Transfers

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

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

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

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

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Board Expectations

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

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

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

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

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[Yeti01]

Planning Ahead

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

Geez - scouting them early there mate!!

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

 

[BJT]

Geez - scouting them early there mate!!

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

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

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