SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 19/4/14.

Since I was at Eastercon I wasn’t at this game. It looks like the promotion play off is out the window for sure now, especially since we play the top two in the last two games.

Mind you, it would be nice to beat Dundee on their own patch in the last game.

If both Livingston and Raith drop any points over the next two weekends fifth place is assured, which would be a magnificent achievement. Since they play each other on May 3^rd that’s quite likely.

SPFL Tier 2, Palmerston Park, 1/3/14

Well that’s the unbeaten run gone for a comprehensive Burton then.

I don’t quite know what to make of it with the big Cup game coming up. We’ll certainly need to perform better than this result suggests we did today. I’ve not got much hope now Aberdeen seem to be justifying their second best team in Scotland status, except that we do ourselves justice against them next week.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 4/1/14.

This’ll do. Two points at home,* a clean sheet and now fifteen points ahead of the bottom club with 17 games left. Debutant loanee Chris Kane got on the score sheet too and it seems Colin Rhyming Slang provided the cross for it. Plus it restored the gap with Cowdenbeath to two wins and took us above Queen of the South.

It’s not secure yet by any means. Cowden can haul us back in again next week at their place. A draw wouldn’t be bad for us, a win would be magic.

*Edited to add: Did anyone spot the error? When I was a lad it was two points, now of course it’s three for a win.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 20/12/13

Well a home win will do nicely. Especially because it’s the first since August, was against a team in the top two and achieved without our two best midfielders. Scott Agnew is still out and Chris Turner didn’t recover from limping off at Stark’s Park on the 13^th.

I was surprised Jordan Kirkpatrick got a start today after being carried off last week. And Colin Rhyming Slang was on the bench.

Plus we gained ground on Cowdenbeath, Queen of the South and Livingston.

Maybe my gloom and doom of last week was misplaced.

(Maybe.)

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 7/12/13.

Well, Iain Russell didn’t fail it seems.

I have my doubts about us playing Wed-Sat. Tue-Sat gives more recocery time. I gather Ian Murray wants Wednesdays but the team is more likely to be jaded with the shorter break.

At least Morton and Cowdenbeath didn’t make ground on us, though Livingston and Queens both did.

Three games against teams at the top of the table coming up. Could be a rough December.

SP Hell.

I see the proposals for a reconstruction of the Scottish football leagues have advanced to the point they are now to be voted on.

I haven’t commented up to now as I’ve been resigned to gloom all season. The 4-3 at Falkirk and 3-0 at Morton did cheer me up, though.

The proposals would see a merger of the SPL and SFL with a top league of 12 clubs (as now; so no change at all!) The second tier will also have 12 clubs (an enlargement of 2.) The third tier will have 18 clubs (effectively a merger of Divs 2 and 3 of the SFL minus 2 clubs.) The fourth tier disappears (but there is a mooting of introducing relegation to/promotion from a pyramid below it.)

There is in addition to be a “split” after the top two Divs have played 22 games (home and away against each other) with the 24 clubs divided into three sections of 8,8 and 8 where again there will be home and away games against each member.

There is an air of indecent haste about this as it seems to be envisaged that this will start in season 2013-2014. That would mean changing the finishing post halfway through this season (and also effectively kybosh the play-offs for this year.)

As far as the top two “new” Divisions is concerned how is this different in essence from the SPL 2 which was shot down in flames about a year ago?

And I wonder how many promotion/relegation places will there be between the third and the second. Not enough I would suggest.

It all sounds to me remarkably like a way to hike Rangers up to tier 2 a year early. They will undoubtedly win Div 3 this season and I can see the argument running that they won their league; so deserve to be promoted. The Div 2 winners (Queen of the South?) would be going up to the second tier anyway.

In this regard it would be nice to have Rangers saying that if their promotion to the second tier in one go was advocated they would refuse to accept it – but I can’t see them making that refusal: even if they have described the plans as an abomination.

By all means have a merged league – provided there are equal voting rights across the Divisions. (Otherwise how long will it be before the top two Divisions vote away the lower completely?)

Very few fans, however, want to keep the present system where clubs play each other 4 times a season. The proposals do not really address this point. Under them 20 clubs will still be doing exactly that.*

The main trouble is that Rangers and Celtic are too dominant within the Scottish game. I have frequently said that unless and until the gate income is once again shared between the two competing clubs, along with more equal division of TV monies, no other club will have a hope in hell of challenging the big two.

I do know one thing though. Whatever and whenever league reconstruction happens Dumbarton will be demoted. That’s what always happens.

1922: third bottom Div 1. Three clubs relegated to adjust division sizes. Previously only two clubs had been relegated. It took us 50 years to get back up.

1975 : fifth bottom Div 1. Only the top 10 clubs stayed in the first tier. It only took us 8 years to get up to that level (for a brief one season visit.)

1994 : fifth bottom Div 1. Three Divisions rearranged to four, bottom five in Div 1 demoted to new Div 2. Promotion the next year saw us then have our worst season in living memory (and beyond) before tumbling down the leagues. 16 long years later we finally got back to Div 1.

Demoted
Under
Materiallly
Biased
Arbitrary
Regulation
Thrice
Over
Now

*Edited to add. The 24 “top” clubs will all play four times against at least three teams.

SFL Challenge Cup, The Rock, Round 1, 29/7/12.

Why do we bother entering this competition? We’ve only ever won about two games in it in its entire existence. Even newish boys Annan Athletic have a better record in it than us. East Stirlingshire and Elgin City too.

The first half was dominated by QoS. Stephen Grindlay made three good saves in the first fifteen minutes and QoS had another good chance which the boy volleyed wide. Their keeper didn’t have a save to make until just about the last kick of the half when an Agnew special made him work.

The second half was more even but our two best openings fell to James Creaney and the keeper was up to both of them. Otherwise there was a slow motion scramble on their goal line after a corner and that was about it for us. Midway through the half the game lost all cohesion with both sides resorting to balls over the top and it was from one of these that QoS scored, their tricky no 11 cutting out Grindlay with a ball back for an unopposed header. A similar incident earlier had seen their player miss what amounted to an open goal.

We lacked penetration and punch though Jim Lister can hold the ball up and win headers. I liked the look of Phil Johnston when he came on for Mark Gilhaney, willing to take on the defender and run.

The new strip is cracking though.

QoS have just been relegated from the Division we’re now in and we looked way off them.

It says it all that Stephen Grindlay won man of the match. I wouldn’t disagree.

I can console myself with the thought that we usually start slowly. We night need our usual post-Christmas good run desperately.

Edited to add:- I meant to put in that the new centre back pairing (Alan Lithgow with Andy Graham) was a bomb scare throughout. In particular Andy Graham looked very uncertain and it seemed to infect Lithgow.

I see the Challenge Cup* has us taking on Queen of the South on July 28^th at The Rock. Probably yet another entry in our ignominious record in this competition. Especially so since they were just relegated and we’ve swanned up past them.

*I’m not using the sponsor’s name.

I’ve also perused the League fixture list for the new season on Dumbarton FC’s website.

From this distance, and given we’ve not been at this level for 16 years, it looks, well, intimidating.

We kick off against Dundee at Dens Park.

Well, unless they’re in the SPL by that time in which case we may be playing Govan Zombies. (But let’s not go there. In all senses of the phrase.)

Co-operative Insurance Cup, Palmerston Park, 31/7/10

I was going to say that means Morton must be rubbish, but they hit 7 (seven)* past Stranraer today.

It’s just us, then.

*As the teleprinter always used to do when some team bagged a big score.

Queen Of The South.

Away.

Another first round exit.