Time to take Hart

It's been a few weeks since I posted, and during that time we've witnessed one of the most exciting Stenny signings of recent years. The arrival of Darlington striker Ian Harty is a terrific boost for all at Ochilview - we simply have to hope that he fulfils his undoubted potential.

Harty is certainly one of those players who, if raw talent were the only determining factor, would be playing at a higher level. We have had a number of other players in that category - Colin Cramb, Isaac English and John Paul McBride spring to mind. All were wonderfully gifted players who found themselves in semi-professional football due to a variety of extenuating circumstances - injury problems for English, disciplinary problems for Cramb. Yet surely those problems, paradoxically, worked to Stenny's advantage? Had the players' careers been trouble-free, I doubt we would ever have seen any of them at Ochilview. Harty is, perhaps, in the same mould - as a youngster at Stranraer, his talent was obvious, but for one reason or another, his career has hit the rocks.

By signing players of this nature, the club takes on the challenge of restoring them to their former glories. This obviously proves to be easier with some players than with others, but the likes of English and McBride demonstrate that it is possible. Can John Coughlin get Harty back to his best? Given his considerable coaching and management skills, I firmly believe that he can.

If he succeeds, our attack will be truly formidable, since Harty's likely partner - Scott Dalziel - has made a huge impression since joining in January. This can only bode well for our play-off push: despite falling to fifth place after the postponement of the Dumbarton game, the players have every right to feel confident in themselves. After all, no-one else can beat East Fife home AND away...!

Scotty Dazzler

Happy days are here again… after last week’s blip against Arbroath, and having successfully negotiated my release from domestic duties, I travelled to Methil not exactly with high hopes. I figured that if Steven Ferguson was back in the starting line up we would stand a chance, otherwise it would be backs to the wall, and 90 minutes of torture while we hold on to a 0-0 draw. Whether Ferguson would be fit was a mystery. One thing Campbell Money was good at was keeping us up to date with goings on at the club through his regular column. Since he left, Money/Coughlin Talks has not been updated, for whatever reason; so I had no idea what the prognosis was on Ferguson’s injury. Would he be fit or wouldn’t he? What about Ross Hamilton and Steven Hampshire? Surely there are goings on at the club that those without direct access to management and the board would like to know about. Back to the game – boy, is New Bayview a depressing, soulless haunt. Ochilview might not be the most impressive footballing theatre but at least it has a bit of character, and is most definitely “Ochilview”. East Fife’s new ground could be one any number of the new plastic grounds popping up over the country. When developing new grounds is this really all that is on offer? We played relatively well; very solid and difficult to get round. Bit like our manager I guess. East Fife, unlike their manager, lacked any sort of punch. While there is no doubt they are the best team in this league, I can’t help feeling that their Neanderthal tactics will get their comeuppance in the 2nd division. The tactic of punting high balls, occasionally in the direction of their 7’9” striker was less than effective, and McCulloch and Mailey coped easily enough with everything thrown at them. Up front Scott Dalziel is proving a more than capable player at this level. Up against 3rd division defences he looks a real handful. Very pacey; deceptively so. Whether he would be able to cope with the step up in leagues is another question. Hopefully he will get a chance to prove he can, next season!

So this weekend brings another big game with the visit of Stranraer. Should be interesting. Hopefully we will have some of our key players back from injury, but I suppose I’ll just have to wait until 3 o’clock on Saturday to find out.