Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 16:48:51 GMT
Afternoon Gulls, from a wet & cold Scotland, where at least fans of Annan Athletic can take heart and get a welcome warm feeling from the fact that 4th position is pretty well guaranteed, along with a place in the play-offs and the intriguing possibility of meeting Queen of the South on equal terms next season. The Doonhamers were on the cusp of the play-offs themselves till quite recently, on the back of a flood of goals from Stephen Dobbie, but 7 successive defeats now see them firmly in a relegation battle along with Alloa, Falkirk and Partick Thistle.
The Scottish media is utterly obsessed with the Auld Firm so I promise never to mention them from now on. The other great talking point is hooliganism on the terraces, although the assault on Jack Grealish in Birmingham will have made this a burning English issue today as well. Maybe the Brummie thug took inspiration from the incidents this week and last at Easter Road. I've seen Jack Grealish play and he is (a) talented and (b) annoying, but running onto the field and trying to bash him up is going too far, surely.
Well done to Albion Rovers who, after a nightmare of a season, actually won yesterday, beating Stirling Albion for the second time. The Wee Rovers would actually have climbed off the bottom of the League last night had they held on to their lead against Berwick last week. As for Berwick themselves, a valuable point was gained against Cowdenbeath yesterday in spite of a particularly shocking incident during which, according to their Twitter feed, the manager was told by Cowdenbeath boss Gary Bollan to "take his face for a shite."
Hats off also to Stenhousemuir, bottom of Tier 3, for a shock win at leaders Arbroath. The suspicion is that Arbroath are so far ahead and such red hot favourites for promotion, that the players have started to lose interest. If so, the Warriors took full advantage yesterday and put additional pressure on Brechin, who drew 2-2 against their bitter rivals Forfar Athletic. Whoever finishes 9th in this division is likely to face Annan in the play-off semis so it's a Watch This Space situation for those of us rooting for the Galabankies.
Whether it be the Wee Rovers or the Wee Rangers who end up bottom of the League, I don't fancy their chances against either Cove Rangers or East Kilbride, who are champions-elect of the Highland and Lowland Leagues respectively. Kilby & Cove have both lost, narrowly, against Cowdenbeath in the play-offs in the last 2 seasons and it looks like the Time is Now for one of them this year.
My most recent match was Annan v Clyde. 555 is well above average for Galabank and the crowd was certainly swelled by Bully Wee supporters who think that Clyde are on their way back (but to where?). If you watch them playing at home on You Tube you'll notice they have 3 sides of a nice stadium but there are no fans in sight because the only part of the ground that's ever used is the bit where the cameras are. There are 2 empty stands to the left and straight ahead and what looks like a prison wall on the right. A shot that just misses the goal has the potential to rebound of this wall and smack the goalie in the face, if he's not careful. Under-use of stands is very common in the Scottish League; in fact at Dumbarton and East Fife (both relatively new grounds) one side is all there is. It must make for a miserable matchday experience.
Torquay would be a large town if it were in Scotland; the 5th largest in fact after Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. It's fair to say that the Gulls would probably hold their own in the Premier League as well. They wouldn't be top of the League but I'm fairly confident they'd not be bottom either. Teams like St Johnstone, Hamilton and Livingston regularly get attendances in the 2/3000 range; if it weren't for the twice yearly invasions of XXXXXX and ZZZZZZ followers they'd be in deep trouble indeed.
The Scottish media is utterly obsessed with the Auld Firm so I promise never to mention them from now on. The other great talking point is hooliganism on the terraces, although the assault on Jack Grealish in Birmingham will have made this a burning English issue today as well. Maybe the Brummie thug took inspiration from the incidents this week and last at Easter Road. I've seen Jack Grealish play and he is (a) talented and (b) annoying, but running onto the field and trying to bash him up is going too far, surely.
Well done to Albion Rovers who, after a nightmare of a season, actually won yesterday, beating Stirling Albion for the second time. The Wee Rovers would actually have climbed off the bottom of the League last night had they held on to their lead against Berwick last week. As for Berwick themselves, a valuable point was gained against Cowdenbeath yesterday in spite of a particularly shocking incident during which, according to their Twitter feed, the manager was told by Cowdenbeath boss Gary Bollan to "take his face for a shite."
Hats off also to Stenhousemuir, bottom of Tier 3, for a shock win at leaders Arbroath. The suspicion is that Arbroath are so far ahead and such red hot favourites for promotion, that the players have started to lose interest. If so, the Warriors took full advantage yesterday and put additional pressure on Brechin, who drew 2-2 against their bitter rivals Forfar Athletic. Whoever finishes 9th in this division is likely to face Annan in the play-off semis so it's a Watch This Space situation for those of us rooting for the Galabankies.
Whether it be the Wee Rovers or the Wee Rangers who end up bottom of the League, I don't fancy their chances against either Cove Rangers or East Kilbride, who are champions-elect of the Highland and Lowland Leagues respectively. Kilby & Cove have both lost, narrowly, against Cowdenbeath in the play-offs in the last 2 seasons and it looks like the Time is Now for one of them this year.
My most recent match was Annan v Clyde. 555 is well above average for Galabank and the crowd was certainly swelled by Bully Wee supporters who think that Clyde are on their way back (but to where?). If you watch them playing at home on You Tube you'll notice they have 3 sides of a nice stadium but there are no fans in sight because the only part of the ground that's ever used is the bit where the cameras are. There are 2 empty stands to the left and straight ahead and what looks like a prison wall on the right. A shot that just misses the goal has the potential to rebound of this wall and smack the goalie in the face, if he's not careful. Under-use of stands is very common in the Scottish League; in fact at Dumbarton and East Fife (both relatively new grounds) one side is all there is. It must make for a miserable matchday experience.
Torquay would be a large town if it were in Scotland; the 5th largest in fact after Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. It's fair to say that the Gulls would probably hold their own in the Premier League as well. They wouldn't be top of the League but I'm fairly confident they'd not be bottom either. Teams like St Johnstone, Hamilton and Livingston regularly get attendances in the 2/3000 range; if it weren't for the twice yearly invasions of XXXXXX and ZZZZZZ followers they'd be in deep trouble indeed.
