'Progress' report...

Our progress so far this season might be described, at best, as 'mixed' - and even that would be pushing it. After positive performances in our opening two league matches and - lest we forget - the demolition of Dundee in the Challenge Cup, surely one of the best Warriors perforamnces since the glory days of 1995, things have regressed considerably. We go into this afternoon's match at Dumbarton on the back of five consecutive defeats (three in the league, one in the Challenge Cup and one in the Stirlingshire Cup).

Let us focus first on the positives. Over the years we have developed the habit of signing strikers of considerable pedigree, only to see them flounder once at Ochilview - Paddy Flannery, Murray McDowell or Craig O'Reilly anyone? Fortunately it appears that Alex Williams will not be falling into that particular trap - he has lived up to his reputation as a quality striker, and all Warriors fans will be hoping he returns to fitness as quickly as possible.

Our problems, however, lie in defence. A nunber of our recent defeats (most notable those against Alloa and Peterhead) have been defined by individual errors, and it is becoming ever clearer that the defenders are struggling without the protection which last season was offered to them by Craig Molloy, sitting in front of the back four. Last week's defeat to Dumbarton was something of an anomaly in this respect - their goal was more attributable to the skill of Derek Carcary than to any shortcomings of our own - and judging from the highlights we actually played pretty well over the piece. Hopefully we can take that forward into this afternoon's match with Forfar.

On a different note, it would be remiss of me not to mention the success which ex-Stenny star David Templeton has been enjoying. I have been extremely impressed with his form for Hearts this season, and he throuoghly deserved his recent call-up to the Scotland under-21 squad. I was particularly fond of his goal against Hamilton the other week, which had 'Made in Stenhousemuir' written all over it: he capitalised on an uncharacteristic mistake from Simon Mensing - another ex-Warrior currently thriving in the SPL - before firing home past Tomas Cerny. Whilst our present players might have a fair distance to go before any of them can emulate Templeton, here's hoping that we recover swiftly from our current troubles...

Pass me my vuvuzela

In all my many years following the Warriors, I can scarcely recall such excitement in respect of a new season. The summer months have seen us hogging the limelight with an array of impressive and attack-minded signings: for me, the highlight was Alex Williams’ arrival. On one level, his goalscoring record over the years speaks for itself; on another level entirely, he will undoubtedly have endeared himself to Stenny supporters by turning down an offer from Stirling Albion (his alma mater, and a club currently paying a highly uncharacteristic visit to the First Division) to join up at Ochilview. Yet at the same time, my reaction to all this has been one of puzzlement - Coughlinho has, after all, built a reputation as a highly successful coach of defensively-minded teams. Why this sudden change of philosophy? It’s almost like Arsene Wenger (or – to quote an example from closer to home – Des McKeown) instructing his players to settle for a one-nil victory and shut up shop. I am more than happy to trust John’s judgement – and if the new style pays dividends then it will be most welcome; I simply find it surprising. And I do have one reservation – the loss of midfield dynamo Craig Molloy. It has been suggested that last season’s excellent defensive record might be attributed – at least in part – to the ‘defensive’ work performed higher up the park. Notwithstanding his loss of form in the latter part of last season, ‘Tiger’ was the great protagonist in that respect. Our new midfield is packed with talented players, but they are mostly attack-minded. I might not win many friends for saying this, but as things stand just now, I would have been tempted to sacrifice one of our many forwards if this had enabled us to hold onto Molloy. But that is all water under the bridge: now is the time to look forward to the season ahead. Readers might be forgiven for thinking that I too have changed my philosophy: this blog has traditionally been a bastion of optimism, yet here I am worrying about our midfield and hankering after Craig Molloy. To redress the balance, then, let me state that- whilst this post highlights a couple of minor concerns – I am certainly not immune to the growing wave of Stenny-optimism. The squad is – on balance – significantly stronger than last year, and by extension, the strongest that we have had for many years (since last year’s squad was itself our strongest for a while). As such I will stick my neck out and say I think we can finish (wait for it)… THIRD, behind Brechin and Livingston. And – at the other end of the spectrum – even if hell freezes over we should still finish ahead of Airdrie United, who are likely to be hindered by their lack of any players over the age of about 14. On that note, let the long journey begin.

Alphabet games

Whilst not exactly screaming from the rooftops, the majority of Warriors supporters will probably be quietly contented with our recent progress. Though our league position is not yet the healthiest, we appear to have turned a corner in terms of form. And securing our passage through to the Fourth Round of the increasingly bizarrely named 'Active Nation Scottish Cup' is, of course, a welcome bonus.

In the midst of all this optimism, then, it might come as a surprise to learn that - in the League at least - we are seemingly incapable of beating teams beginning with any letter other than 'A'. Of our four league victories this season, two have been against Alloa and two against Arbroath. Unfortunately, however, before our next meeting with Arbroath on 16 January, we face five clashes against teams beginning with other letters.

This is, of course, partly the fault of the SFL, who, back in July - with their decision to relegate Livingston to the Third Division, thus handing Airdrie United a First Division spot for this season - reduced the number of teams beginning with 'A' in our league, by the not inconsiderable margin of 33%. Whilst that may be a cross we have to bear, we really do need to break the hoodoo tomorrow. The Clyde game will not be easy - they have a capable new coach in one-time Stenny assistant John McCormack - but this is still a great chance for us to pull clear of the danger zone.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the recent off-field developments at the club. The long-standing plan to become a Community Interest Company (CIC) has finally come to fruition, and looks set to benefit the club in a number of ways - safegaurding our future on the one hand, whilst also giving formal recognition to the club's work with the local community. For those readers who are still looking for that last-minute stocking filler, I urge you to follow my lead and buy a share in 'Stenhousemuir FC CIC' - the perfect gift!

Return of the blogger...

It has, for various reasons, been a long time since I posted to this blog - the usual, more regular updates will recommence henceforth. My last post was immediately prior to our victory in the play-off final, and much has happened since then. Over and above the football, of course, everything was put well and truly into perspective during the summer, by the tragic deaths of Gordon Lennon and Paul McGrillen, two former Stenny favourites. My thoughts remain with both sets of families and friends, as I'm sure do those of all readers.

As for matters on the pitch, the opening weeks of the season have been nothing but varied. After a flying start, we now find ourselves at the wrong end of the table after a run of poor results. Yet there are a number of reasons to be positive - we have shown we can compete well in this league, and with a bit more luck we would undoubtedly have been further up the table.

This was most obviously borne out by last Saturday's derby defeat to Stirling Albion. Unlike many Warriors supporters, I have always tended to regard Stirling as geniune rivals. As such, there was no chance of me missing their first visit to Ochilview since 2001 - hence my 6:30am departure from my London home last Saturday! Whilst the result was ultimately disappointing, the first half display was the best I've seen from any Stenny team for several years. Fingers crossed, therefore, that we can take the positives from defeat, and pick up a few victories in the coming weeks.

Double D

Currently engaging the posters on the main forum is the question of “who is best”? Diack or O’Reilly; two of our three frontline strikers. For me it seems that the problem is that neither of them is the complete player. They both have their plus points and their negatives, and probably more of one than the other, unfortunately. Diack is now in his second phase with the club, so we know what we get from him. He is a poor man’s Kenny Miller. A nuisance of a striker, who causes problems for opposition defences, and some would say was the perfect foil to someone like our current no. 9 Scott Dalziel. Unfortunately, like Miller, he can’t hit a barn door with a banjo. Fundamental flaw for a centre forward really. O’Reilly, has always impressed me when I have seen him play against us, however, so far, in the limited opportunities he has been given, he has not been the threat I had hoped. It may be that him and Dalziel are the “Lampard and Gerrard” of the Scottish Second Division. Great individually, but can’t play in the same team (some might say), but so far this season Diack has seemed the bigger threat when partnered with Dalziel. O’Reilly may not be as nimble as Diack, but he does have a number of other attributes e.g. pass the ball to him and there is a good chance he will control it, give him a chance in front of goal and he will score more often than he misses. However, ask him to run on to one of Scott Dalziel’s flicks or, pass it 10 yards in front of him, and there is a good chance it will dribble out for a throw. Up front Coughlin’s preference seems to be Double D (Diack and Dalziel) but that could easily change as form fluctuates and injuries and suspensions kick in. No doubt O’Reilly will get a run in the team at some point in the season, which will please some and disappoint others.

Here we go (again)

Quicker than it takes to blink, another season is upon us. Coughlin has chosen to avoid wholesale changes from the team that scraped through the play offs having finished 4th in what was a pretty mediocre third division last season. So, what makes him think that the team that gave us a pretty horrid time of it last season will be good enough to avoid a quick fire return from whence we came? The new additions are something of a mixed bag. Chris McCluskey is not your typical goalie. Someone who makes Scott Johnstone look like a giant between the sticks won’t fill you with confidence. He had a cracking game against Alloa in the Stirlingshire Cup, but I’ll feel a lot more comfortable with Bennet back in goals. Steven Thomson – bit of an unknown quantity. I cannot recall having seen him play before he arrived at Ochilview, probably because he was punted by Montrose after a handful of appearances before turning up at Tranent. Hardly a glowing CV. He played for Blackburn aswell – presumably the team hailing from Susan Boyle’s home town as opposed to the more illustrative Rovers. Pat Scullion has turned in some impressive performances pre season. From memory he caught the eye for the wrong reasons playing for Elgin i.e. he was hopeless, but Coughlin does seem to have done a good bit of business getting him to Ochilview as there was quite a bit of competition (allegedly) for his signature. He had mixed reviews at Alloa, but generally he seems to be a decent signing. Craig O’Reilly – impressed when playing for Clyde, and last season scored a couple of belters against us for Montrose; before our Second Coming. Pre season he looks very good and I think will be first choice up front, with the other strikers battling it out to partner him. He could get us a lot of goals next season (finger etc crossed) Kevin Bradley impressed last season with Montrose. He is a nippy wee player who Brechin were after aswell. So far he has been OK from what I have seen, but I think over the season he will prove to be an important player for us. Having spent the last season watching too many turgid low scoring matches, it seems we have gone from one extreme to the other. Our defence, which last season was so strong, now looks like the weak link. General perception is that we need a left back (Alan Reid please) – Steven Thomson, or Kevin Motion, are not the answers. Chris McLeod also looks a poor replacement for John Ovenstone in my opinion. And he gets suspended quite a lot. All of which puts more pressure on Gary Thom and Jordan Smith – an injury or suspension to them would make things awkward. Saturday will give us a better impression on how things will pan out – I will have to keep abreast of it via the wonders of the internet unfortunately – but despite the low key build up to the new season I can’t wait for it all to start again.

Celebrity striker spot #3

Continuing my long list of former centre forwards spotted ambling through the pub lined streets of Rose Street, Edinburgh, is Andy “Bomber” Brown. He looks a lot better in a suit than he ever did in an ill fitting Stenhousemuir shirt. His torso really was too long. Who’s next? Darren Johnstone, Willie Watters, Kenny Miller…