Transfers, Pre-season and Betfred Cup
View attachment 18969First thing that happened during pre-season was a takeover. Annoyingly it last a few weeks and really affected us in the transfer market. There were numerous players I was keeping tabs on but most moved without us attempting to sign them due to the transfer embargo we were in because of the takeover. This embargo also prevented me from getting Mark Wardrope or Martin Clark back on loan, once the takeover happened, their parent clubs Ayr United and Dunfermline wanted them to play with higher calibre of players.
Also during this time, I was approached by a club...
View attachment 18968Recently relegated Inverness Caledonian Thistle offered me a job interview. They have just got relegated from the SPL so I was eager to get the job and try and get them back up however they decided I wasn't the man for the job.
View attachment 18967I have also gained my National A licence and that means I am now studying for my Continental C Licence. I am stunned that I have managed to get so many badges so early on in my managerial career, especially at a Scottish League 2 club.
View attachment 18966I am stunned the board are expecting so much! They expect us to win the league despite the fact last season our objective was to avoid relegation and we finished 6th. They're expecting to reach the 4th round in the Scottish Cup aswell, safe to say the new board are very optimistic.
View attachment 18957
Heres the players we released after their contract expired in the summer. Strikers
McLeish and
Victoria leave after failing to impress during their time here. I would've potentially offered Victoria a contract on less money but he wasn't interested in signing a new contract. Midfielders
Dickson, Moxon and McKirdy also leave, the latter did sign a non contract in the summer but following serveral signings I decided to release him especially with Shields, a youth team player being a capable back up. The same applied for
Omolokun who got released later on in the window.
Roberts, Fergusson and Robertson all got released but never featured for me during my time as manager.
View attachment 18958
Kane Hester signed a non contract in the summer however East Fife came in for him and offered him more money, he dropped down to 5th choice so I wasn't going to get in his way of a move. lets meet the incomings...
View attachment 18965Aaron Connelly - A loan signing from Dundee United. 6ft 5in with fantastic physical attributes. He also has good finishing, movement, determination, bravery and anticipation. He has woeful composure but hopefully his other attributes will make up for his lack of composure.
View attachment 18964Ciaran Summers - After Martin Clark's loan expired, I needed a new left back. In comes Summers, he is fairly slow but has good passing, work rate, determination and decent crossing so should be a good addition at this level.
View attachment 18963Roddy Kennedy - Hopefully as good as his namesake Roddy Cameron! He has some impressive physical attributes alongside good movement, determination, decision making, anticipation and ok finishing so hopefully will chip in with a few goals this season. He is on a season long loan from Inverness.
View attachment 18962Greg Pascazio - He claims to be Scottish even with that surname but he comes in for £500 from recently relegated Arbroath. He has good tackling, heading, anticipation, determination, strength and positioning. He has all the necessities to be a good defender.
View attachment 18961Daryl McHardy - Another centre back joins. McHardy arrives following his release from Elgin City. He has very high determination and aggression alongside good tackling, heading and positioning. Like Swinglehurst, he is naturally left footed so will add healthy competition. He does look like a red card waiting to happen however.
View attachment 18960Kieran Christie - A season long loan signing from St Johnstone. He is 6ft 8in with fantastic vision and jumping reach. He should add physical presence to the side alongside decent tackling, first touch, work rate, vision and passing. I've never seen his personality type on FM before but hopefully with successful mentoring and man management I can change his low self belief.
View attachment 18959Liam Callaghan - A central midfielder arrives from Brechin for £500. He is an all rounder with good mental and technical attributes! He doesn't have the best physical attributes but he's has been brought in as backup to my other midfielders.
View attachment 18955
I had 3 friendlies ready just so we went into the Betfred Cup looking reasonably match sharp. We started with back to back draws against Arbroath and Darlington. We got a respectable 2-1 defeat against a strong Nottingham Forest side. We did manage to win a friendly against Bradford Park Avenue from the Vanarama North.
Airdrie - We scored some fantastic goals in this game. Connolly and Reilly scoring just before halftime to take us into the break 2-1 up. We managed to hold on until deep into stoppage time where they finally scored and eventually won on penalties.
Ayr United - A game we competed it and were not embarrassed! We really gave as good as we got and were unlucky to come away with a defeat.
Hamilton - We went away to SPL side Hamilton. We actually took the lead through a screamer from Belmokhtar. They then showed their class though as they picked us off and won 3-1.
St Mirren - A game where we didn't really threaten the SPL side. They were by far the superior side throughout the game and deserved the win.
After 5 straight defeats against superior opposition, I decided to play a friendly against a far weaker side in order for the players to go into the new season with some confidence and a win under their belts. I was expecting a bigger win against funnily named Royal Albert.
View attachment 18956It looks grim reading however considering we had 2 SPL sides in St Mirren and Hamilton, Championship side Ayr United and League One side Airdrie we gave it a real good go! We managed to score in 3 of the 4 games against higher opposition. Hopefully we gain a lot of money from gate receipts!
