Unlucky for some

OK, so Saturday really just wasn't my day. After travelling around 1400 miles to Ochilview for the first time in a year, a 3-0 derby defeat wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered. I had arrived (hadn't we all?) in hope and expectation of a home win. But maybe I should have known: long before I touched down at Prestwick, the early signs seemed to suggest that this was not to be my day.

I have had a number of unfortunate travelling companions at one time or another, but never before have I been stuck on a plane with a group of 50 moderately insane pensioners from Verona. Evidently somebody has taken it upon him/herself to organise annual trips for people who meet the above description, and this year, they were heading for Dundee. After spending 2 hours making a vain attempt at interpreting between Veronese and Glaswegian, I hurried off the aircraft, leaving my Dad's birthday present in the overhead locker. Perhaps I should have realised, there and then, that my luck had deserted me.

A few seasons ago I used to think I was a lucky mascot at home matches. I had my fair share of disappointments on away trips, but my trips to Ochilview tended to coincide with handsome victories, even at the most unlikely of times. Clearly this wore off a while ago, 2004 to be precise, but I've tried to find other ways of bringing the boys luck; I'm sure I can't be the only superstitious supporter around here...?

On Saturday, I went for last season's away shirt. Previously I had only worn it at one match; a 5-0 win against Montrose. Foolproof, I thought. Or not. It turned out to be no better the last 'lucky shirt' I had: the yellow and blue one from 2004-5. Back in the 90s, I thought, yellow and blue had brought us luck - Dundee in the Challenge Cup quarter-final, for example - surely the new version would do the same? That particular illusion, as I recall, came crashing down in the 7-0 defeat at Gretna.

All the same, the fact that my return to Ochilview was memorable for all the wrong reasons is, surely, a case of bad luck. Don't get me wrong, we were beaten deservedly on Saturday, but isn't it a cruel twist of fortune that I happened to be home that weekend, rather than any other? Because I, for one, am sure that none of our future performances will resemble that one.

Every team has an off-day, and Saturday was ours. In my attempt to find the positive elements in any defeat, I am tempted to suggest that Bucket put in an admirable shift, and did not deserve some of the criticism directed at him. Clearly he's not a silky player, but nor should we expect him to be: his workrate was refreshing, and should serve as an example to all. More to the point, though, I am not about to lose faith with the rest of the squad, and I fully expect them to bounce back with a victory tomorrow. I spoke briefly to Campbell in the bar last week: understandably he was less than happy, but he saw what went wrong, and I am sure he knows how to put it right. I am looking forward to watching the season unfold, and the Shire are not going to change that.

Savage Blow

I arríved in Prague at 3.15 on Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I did was switch on my mobile: once I was in the terminal building, of course. One down, but still loads of time to equalise and then ram home 4 or 5 in the 2nd half. Checked 5 minutes later to see if we had equalised. Disaster: internet access issues. It took a text message from a friend in Portugal, to me in Prague, to let me know that Homer had struck again at Ochilview. 2 down at half time. I guessed that that was that, and headed off to the Slavia Prague: Brno match. It cost me £2 to get in. A beer cost me 25p. The match programme was free and the big sausage thing was only 50p. The whole experience was a bit surreal. For my paltry entrance fee I got a decent game of football which Slavia won one:nil, but also thrown in was the obligatory police brutality and one of the most unusual sights I have ever seen at a football game. The 100 or so Brno fans at the other end of the ground stripped off their top halfs, and then spread themselves around the away end before starting some quite weird synchronised keep fit routine, complete with star jumps. As for Smicer, he was subbed. Maybe Campbell Money should invite him back to the UK to help out our flagging midfield. I got back to the hotel and quickly checked ceefax to see if we had pulled off a miraculous fightback. The TV signal was not the best so the text on the screen was a bit scrambled but it was possible to guess at most of the scores. As for our game, both team names were missing from the screen and the only clue as to what the final result might have been was "Savage 87". My worst fear. This time last year we lost 5-0 in the most embarrassing performance I have ever seen from a Stenhousemuir team. We then went on to have a completely forgettable season. Hopefully this is not the sign of things to come. Last season we lost too many games at home, with quite insipid performances, but Money was given the benefit of the doubt on the basis that it was not "his team". It is now very much his team, and for everyones sake I hope this is just a minor blip and that we will get back to winning ways next week. Otherwise, I think we all know what will happen next. Another dismal season like last season would seriously hamper all the good work the club has done attracting young fans to the club and generally improving the general atmosphere about the place. It had better not all be in vain, for Campbell, and the players sakes.

Il tifoso italiano...

Over the years I have grown used to following the Warriors from a distance, but over the last year, living in Italy rather than England has made things more difficult than usual. This coming Saturday will be my first trip to Ochilview for 12 months, and this realisation prompted me to reflect on my football experiences during that time. It has been a turbulent year in Italian football; last summer’s match-fixing scandal was followed by a burst of hooligan activity reminiscent of England in the late 1980s. The image of the game has only really been kept afloat by the reflected glory of last summer’s World Cup win, so much so that Materazzi’s now-legendary headbutt seems to feature on Italian TV at least five times each evening. Their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, of course, hasn’t been quite so flawless; it was a pleasure to see Scotland leading the group for most of the year. Our defeat to the Italians in March has left things looking slightly less rosy, but somehow I still believe we will capitalise on the complacency in the Italian camp. My local side out here, AC Siena, are a sort of Italian version of Gretna: the minnows who play in black and white, and just don’t sound like they belong in the top flight. The only difference is that I do not become annoyed at the mere mention of Siena’s name, whereas the same cannot be said for Gretna. Oh, and Siena are not captained by Chris Innes. In any case, enough of this Italian nonsense. When I was watching Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line for Inter against Siena, I’d much rather have been watching John Dempster. When I saw Esteban Cambiasso running onto the pitch, I’d happily have swapped him for Paul Tyrrell. This weekend, of course, I’m also looking forward to seeing all the new faces, with a great sense of anticipation. Judging from a distance, there are many reasons to be cheerful: Steven Hampshire is a proven striker, John Dillon always impressed me when playing against us, and we all know what Ross Hamilton has to offer when he’s at his best. I admit that, as last season drew to a close, I thought we would have problems in the transfer market. We had finished the season badly, and I thought this would make it difficult for Campbell to attract quality players. I am delighted to see how wrong I was. Campbell’s strategy seems entirely sensible: the squad is quite small, with backup provided by our excellent youths. The fact that we’re not signing players to sit on the sidelines means we can afford proven talent, despite hardly being Gretna in terms of finances. Quality rather than quantity is the way forward. So this Saturday I will be at Ochilview; I then fly back to Italy to complete the last 3 weeks of my job, most probably also taking in Siena’s games against Roma and Milan. But Serie A just doesn’t quite do it for me. Bring on the Shire!

Season so far

To use that well worn footballing cliche, if, at the start of the season, you had offered Campbell Money 7 points from three matches he would have bitten your hand off. So far, we have demonstrated an element of solidity throughout the team that was not there at all last season. We have won games that last season we would have lost. Having said that, not everything in the garden is rosy. When did we last go on a cup run of any description? Even the Stirlingshire Cup is beyond us. While our elimination at the hands of Colin Brown down in Berwick was unfortunate, we were well and truly gubbed by Tartan Franchise MkII the midweek just past. This game was a bit of an eye opener. Franchise FC are only one league above us, but the ability of their players to control the ball, pass it, move around, not even too swiftly, collect the return pass and then shoot, and sometimes on target, was startling when compared to, in particular, our lumbering midfield. Is it any wonder that we have resorted to long range passes (punts?), bypassing our midfield maestros? Although credit to our permatan centre half Jamie Smith who does seem to be an excellent proponent of this particular activity. I wasn't at the game today but over on Pie & Bovril, it seems that we actually played decently, passing the ball about well. I can't believe Albion will be anywhere near the top 4 this season, but any point away from home this season will be a bonus; and we now have 4. Disappointingly, Willie McCulloch's new cohorts set the pace at the top. I couldn't even cling to the delight that their injury time winner had brought my coupon home, as 10 man Dumbarton had minutes earlier scuppered that hope, so it was a double blow to hear East Fife had triumphed so late in the game. So, my first little post comes to a conclusion. The intention is that after each match, these posts will provide some sort of insight into how the team is performing, who is playing well, and who is playing badly etc etc. But, as luck would have it, for me anyway, the next two matches I watch will be in Prague and Manchester, so I can look forward to seeing how Vladimir Smicer is enjoying life back home, and how Russell Anderson deals with the Manchester United 2nd choice strike force. But of course I'd much rather be at Ochilview!