Starter for TEN; Anyone for TEN-is? Bo Derek: Scottish Football 2020-21

[ursus arctos]

I guess that they have worn them episodically since the 90s, but Dundee's white sleeves still look wrong to me

[Ray de Galles]

I'm surprised these kits weren't considered a bit of a clash really.

Good goal for The Dee, well on top now.

[ursus arctos]

And another

[Ray de Galles]

I guess that they have worn them episodically since the 90s, but Dundee's white sleeves still look wrong to me

Back to navy sleeves next season and with "neon blue" and white trim.

[Ray de Galles]

Sublimated jute design too, in honour of the city's heritage. Recoloured badge though.

[blameless]

Re Barry Ferguson leaving Kelty Hearts, I hadn't realised that knuckle-dragger Bob Malcolm was his assistant. That's shades of the old Walter Smith - Archie Knox management team: a hard man with a complete nutter backing him up.

Elsewhere, Killie have pulled a goal back but it looks like too little, too late.

[blameless]

And that's that. Killie drop out of the Prem for the first time since 1993.

They've been in the top flight so long that the manager who got them there in the first place (Tommy Burns) has been deceased for over 13 years now.

[Gangster Octopus]

I'm a little disappointed by Kilmarnock's relegation. Had an affinity with them from when I saw Bobby Williamson playing for them thirty years ago.

[blameless]

Williamson was of course also Killie manager for part of their stay in the top division, even winning the Scottish Cup. Even now, they could do a hell of a lot worse than asking him back.

[AMMS]

Bobby Williamson is currently recovering from fairly aggressive cancer. He lives in Kenya, he's been based in Africa for around 15 years. He was interviewed on Radio Scotland last week, that's how I know.

Steven Gerrard is the longest serving manager in the Scottish top flight, only Dick Campbell has been in his job longer in the top 2 divisions. That level of change surely can't be good for the sport or the clubs.

[Baptiste]

Had to look up where Kelty was. Will it be the 'Central Park Derby' vs Cowdenbeath?

[CY_Boaby]

There'll be a lot of fans in the Championship looking forward to saying Aye to a Killie Pie next season. 28 years in the top flight is bloody good going for Killie, but it's always nice to see a new team go down.

I remember when Killie got promoted back in 1992-93. Saints had been relegated the season before and we had delusions of grandeur that we'd go straight back up - but these hopes got shattered after getting humped 7-0 on the opening day of the season at Raith Rovers. Being a tight-arsed Paisley bastard, I refused to pay the student rate to get in to Love Street that season, so would occasionally wander along to Love Street at half-time and usually get in for free, unless I encountered the wee nyaff steward who'd demand I still pay full price. I'd just walk to round to another gate and eventually get in.

It was April and Saints had actually got their act together after the dreadful start. Killie were visiting and they brought a big travelling support - it was always special seeing the visiting end (the old terracing version) populated with people standing on the horizon behind the goal. Killie were 1-0 up at half-time and the atmosphere was terrific when I got in. We turned it around in the second half with a terrific free kick from John Hewitt and a winner from Eddie Gallagher. The final whistle went and we all thought we were going up, but it was Killie who held their nerve for the final few games and took the second promotion place behind runaway winners, Raith Rovers.

28 consecutive seasons in the top division, Scottish Cup and League Cup wins, third-place finishes and various European adventures. For a club of their size they've had a bloody good run, but all good things must end sometime. The Championship is a very unforgiving league with Rangers, Dundee Utd and Hibs all failing to get out at the first attempt. Killie could be in for a very tough time and it'll take more than a Killie pie to keep the natives happy.

[blameless]

Having spent a few years in the late 80s watching Eddie Gallagher falling over his own feet at Firhill, I'm shocked at the notion that he might score a winning goal. Still, we live and learn.

AMMS: was sorry to hear that about Bobby W, hope his health improves.

Unless I've miscalculated somewhere, next season will be the first in almost a century that Fife has had five teams in the Scottish senior leagues (Lochgelly United went bust in 1926)

edit: and also the first time in almost a century that Angus has had fewer than 4 teams (Brechin and Montrose both joined for the 1923-24 season)

[AMMS]

Having spent a few years in the late 80s watching Eddie Gallagher falling over his own feet at Firhill, I'm shocked at the notion that he might score a winning goal. Still, we live and learn.

AMMS: was sorry to hear that about Bobby W, hope his health improves.

Unless I've miscalculated somewhere, next season will be the first in almost a century that Fife has had five teams in the Scottish senior leagues (Lochgelly United went bust in 1926)

edit: and also the first time in almost a century that Angus has had fewer than 4 teams (Brechin and Montrose both joined for the 1923-24 season)

He said he was in remission and feeling pretty good, his time in Africa hasn't made him any less dour though so it was hard to tell.

It was a recurring segment they have on Sportsound where an ex-player or manager picks the best 11 players they've played with, or managed, while chatting about their career. Sometimes it can be quite entertaining. Bobby Williamson picked Colin McAdam as one of his centre-halves, I'm not sure what that tells you about Williamson's playing and managerial career or his eye for a player.

[Lang Spoon]

That stat really brings it home how Fife has punched under its weight considering population in only having 4 senior teams for so long. The failure of a senior team to set up in Glenrothes (I guess all the new towns had this problem, till Franchise shenanigans) coupled with the depopulation and general penury of the mining belt probably put saw to that though.

[The Red Max]

It pains me to say it, as my grandfather hailed from Dingwall, but I sincerely hope the racist **** gets you relegated.

https://twitter.com/RossCounty/status/1397503711878987776

[Felicity, I guess so]

Phew, that's us dodged that bullet again, then

[CY_Boaby]

Don't get too relaxed, you might still end up with Yogi Hughes.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Indeed...

[BallochSonsFan]

Now that the dust has settled on the most bizarre season I've ever seen, I think the overwhelming feeling is relief. The season was disappointing and it took the play-offs to save our L1 status. Dumbarton's best match of the season was arguably that first leg at Ainslie Park against Edinburgh City. The return leg could still have been close had it not been for Henderson's comedy dive earning him a deserved 2nd yellow card. It was important to secure our L1 status as it allowed us to turn attention towards the future of manager Jim Duffy.

Duffy stabilised a rapidly sinking ship following the sacking of Stevie Aitken a couple of years ago. Aitken's squad wasn't terrible but it was clear that he could no longer get the best from his players and he was correctly dismissed. The manner of Aitken's departure was distasteful and the former manager made some comments that were deeply misguided. Duffy came in and sorted the defence, before ultimately taking advantage of the on loan Dom Thomas to get us attacking and winning games. A 6th placed finish was probably the right outcome and Duffy would repeat that feat in his first full season, although largely down to the signings of Joe McKee and Reghan Tumilty. That summer was a worrying one for Sons fans as Duffy was given far too much time to commit to the club, forcing us to shop amongst the leftovers at SFA exit trials events. That scattergun squad building was again evident and whilst I sympathise massively with the challenges he faced building a squad under the uncertainty of Covid, signings such as Denny Johnston were never going to give us the attacking edge we needed to be confident in L1. A parting of the ways was probably best for both parties. Duffy at 62 and with recent heart concerns was not the man to take us forward but it seems to be a generally cordial split and I wish Jim all the best for the future. There shouldn't be a repeat of the bitterness seen from his predecessor.

Stevie Farrell comes in from a Stranraer side who Dumbarton beat in the L1 play-offs. He knows the club, having served as assistant manager to Stevie Aitken at Dumbarton. He's still a young manager, should know a lot of lower league players and will hopefully see his move to Dumbarton as a chance to impress. Next season will be very competitive with Falkirk and Cove Rangers being joined by relegated Alloa and promoted Queens Park. Alloa have appointed Barry Ferguson in the hope that he can earn them promotion at the first time of asking. It'll be a tough ask - Falkirk need to make the step up after too long in the 3rd tier of Scottish football. Cove will have a budget that'll allow them to compete at the top end of the table. Queens Park could be absolutely anything now that they're professional and teams like Airdrie and East Fife will be competitive. Clyde will want to avoid a repeat of this year's troubles and I'd hope that we're far more competitive with a new manager bringing some new ideas along with the new ownership giving the club a fresh focus.

The new owners replace a Brabco investment group that had a very troubled time with the club. Initially sold an easy land deal with a complicated football club, Brabco would eventually see their master plan to move the club to a new ground foiled by planning concerns with the associated housing development that would have financed the stadium and returned a profit to the owners. The new owners still see the club moving as the ultimate end game and have again made noises about Dumbarton becoming a full time team playing Championship football. Whether or not that is a realistic ambition remains to be seen. The club struggles to attract fans thanks to the combination of a local population with little real regard for their town football club and fans of Glasgow's big 2 leaving in droves every week to follow their big team. I happen to believe that we could be bigger than we are right now. Full time football, or a squad consisting of a mix between full and part time players, may well be a realistic option some way down the line, but there needs to be a significant improvement between now and then. Its a long term project that will involve selling the idea of the club to sceptical locals and making the club a more valued part of the local community. Prior to Covid lockdown there was a move towards fans arranging non-football social events at the club to try and attract locals who weren't part of the typical football crowd. You can only go to the well so many times and whilst football fan fundraisers can be enjoyable, the Rock Comedy Club was a bold move to bring more locals to the ground and to get them thinking about the club and it's stadium in a more positive way. It's telling that the new owners have taken up 2 directorships on the club board. Brabco were very much hands off as owners and preferred to work in the background on their proposals to move, leaving the local club board to run things as best as possible. They offered the club little in the way of support and at times were openly confrontational with both the board and with supporter representatives from the club's supporters trust. I was involved in discussions with both the club board and the owners as part of my role on the Sons Trust and at times it felt like the 2 parties were pulling in different directions, with the trust trying to represent fan interests with owners who cared nothing for the club and a football club board that had no relationship with the owners. The overall feeling was one of neglect from Brabco whilst the club board fought against increasingly desperate circumstances. One can only hope that this marks a genuine fresh start for the club with a manager keen to impress and build his career, a club board able to move on from the difficulties of Covid into calmer waters and an ownership group far more engaged and willing to be involved in the running of the club.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Best of luck, BSF

[BallochSonsFan]

Best of luck, BSF

Thanks.

A lot of Dumbarton fans - me included - remain deeply suspicious of the new owners. The idea of an owner with extensive contacts in Scandinavian football is just bizarre. We're an unfashionable part time team in west-central Scotland. The kind of things that they're talking about may well be realistic long term ambitions but despite Brabco being involved at Dumbarton for over a decade, there was never previously any kind of long term strategy or hands on involvement to make those plans happen.

I suppose we just need to remain very cautious and hope that the combination of new owners, new manager and a hopefully re-invigorated support can eventually bring longer term improvements to the club. We've also got our 150th year celebrations to look forward to from May 2022.

[CY_Boaby]

Congratulations to Glasgow City for making it 14-in-a-row in the SWPL1. I caught the half-hour Sportscene highlights yesterday and they looked comfortable beating Rangers 2-0 and keeping Celtic at arms length, who were busy walloping Motherwell 8-0.

Terrific achievement for a club who are still part-time and don't have a men's professional team to bankroll them. Unfortunately you can see the tide turning and the shadow of the old firm looms large.