Ivo den Bieman
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Posts posted by Ivo den Bieman
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Not a vintage display but a very good second half showing deservedly takes the points. Great to see the points coming up the road.
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Cretinous there from Ambrose but we’ll take that! Two great penalties from Webster & QoS have fallen away badly.
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With the surreal spectacle of QOS v Montrose on Gaelic telly in the background, time for a summary of this game which I took in today. The tl;dr version is that Cove were very lucky to win that and Annan will be away back down the road wondering how they didn't take at least a point.
Balmoral's corrugated shack in the lee of the of the Post Office Depot has acquired two canvas stands behind each goal since I was last here, and the atmosphere was slightly strange; a murmur of conversation and the grumble of the pie shop generator made the soundtrack to the game in the first half, more like an early season cricket fixture at Mannofield. Cove were sluggish and poor for the most part and the girning ald buzzards & blazers in the main stand seemed pretty indifferent to the game's mediocre huff and puff.
The sun didn't have much teeth today and it was quite pleasant until the last half hour. Annan for some reason played in red and black and their defence tended towards anarchy on many occasions. There was a good visiting support of 40-50, a boisterous group of young guys disembarking from the Galabank charabanc into one stand, all flags, testosterone and e-numbers.
Well, on to the game. Cove had a couple of half-hearted efforts flashing past the side of either post but for the most part the first half was about Tommy Goss. Watching the big man trying to run is like watching a giraffe skateboarding for the first time, but good grief he's a pain in the arse physically. Firstly a bad clash of heads between him and Mark Reynolds saw the latter banjoed and disorientated, with an early substitution necessary. Secondly a dinked ball into the near post from the left saw him send home full back Doyle crashing into a post, and seeing stars for a bit. Fraser Fyvie attempted to use diplomacy to manage the chaos. "Haw that's the second time fae that big c**t ref." Surprisingly, the official remained unmoved by this Gettysburg Address-level rhetoric. Such was the impact of Goss that the home coaching team may have been considering a drone strike on the monster, after he cleared space for Lewis Hunter to let rip from the edge of the box, his shot skimming the bar with Demus in the home goal toiling. Kai Nugent also did well down the right, but the final ball wasn't there.
Against the run of play, after a ludicrous water break halfway through the first half, Cove scored. Why have a water break? It was hardly the weather to fry an egg on the bonnet of one of the well-appointed German SUVs in the car park. Anyway, it broke Annan' momentum and concentration and almost immediately Cove scored. It was a scrappy goal, with the ball ricocheting around in the box and the Annan defence dealing with the ball like a consumptive battling catarrh. Eventually, they choked: the ball fell to Burrell who scuffed the ball past the keeper into the right hand corner. 1-0, and it stayed that way to half time.
Annan were much the better side for the first part of the second half, and equalised. Michael Ndiweni had been a ghost in the first half, but he scored the goal of the game. Annan were making good progress down the right and Galloway fed Ndiweni into space down the right touchline. He glided into the penalty box unchallenged and from eighteen yards shot low acorss Demis and into the bottom right hand corner. For me we didn't see enough of that from him and Annan have to work up how to mix up the physical threat of Goss and that level of skill from Ndiweni more effectively.
At the other end Cove really were misfiring. I've never seen Megginson have a poorer game, missing two or three very good chances. The much-vaunted Burrell was anonymous. Such chances that were created were largely from mistakes from Annan's defence, giving the ball away cheaply or a terrible slack pass across the goal. Yet the home team couldn't capitalise. Annan themselves had tweo great chances to win that they somehow failed to take. Firstly Goss was played in after good build-up and either hit the post or was blocked by Demus, when it looked much simpler to score. Ndiweni was clogged and replaced by a wee guy who was played through with only Demus to beat. He nearly cleared the stand with his effort, let alone the bar.
Annan's wastefulness haunted them with a few minutes left. Scrappy play saw Megginson freed down the left and he finally remembered he was a footballer. He sent a skimmer across the face of gal and after a bit of League One pinball Josh Kerr, on as a substitute, thrashed the ball past the exposed keeper. 2-1.
That knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and it was easy for Cove to manage the remainder of the game. There was still time for a final gruesome miss from Megginson but at the final whistle the Annan players slumped to the astroturf in despair.
Cove will chuckle under their breath and realise they got away with one today. If they can play that poorly and still win then they have a good chance to be involved in the play-offs. As for Annan, if they put in that effort every week they will win more than they lose. They are just slack defensively- who knows what became of Swinglehurst, I think he's long-term injured- but they miss a guy like that. It was hard to disagree with the mannies inf ront of me, who observed that Kerr may just have kept the deeply unpopular Paul Hartley in a job for a week more. Hartley's side, bristling with good players, is much less than the sum of its parts.
One side will play much better and lose, and one side will not reach today's level and win. Strange game, football.
Speaking of which, back to QoS-Montrose.
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I'm still watching- just not enough time for P&B right now.
Thought it was a remarkably poor performance from Cliftonville the other night featuring some clownshoes goalkeeping- dear oh dear. Linfield were relentless but had a lot of help.
Big psychological blow that for Cliftonville- can see it really now being between the top two. Two very good sides to watch and not an awful lot between them.
At the other end I'm pleased to see Glenavon got over their woeful start which led to Gary Hamilton's demise.
Intriguing four way fight for the title in the NI Championship with old historical name Dundela pulling ahead nicely- attached their recent vital win in Derry against Institute. Bangor and Portadown in the mix. Dundela have problems though- their park is not good enough for promotion so they need to fix that or pass up promotion I think.
Limavady look like bouncing back quickly from the intermediate league which they lead from Queen's University. The bigger names with recent Premiership history- Warrenpoint and Distillery- treading water in mid-table & going nowhere this season. Warrenpoint have been pish in 2024 and fallen away into mid-table.
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Fergie bellowing on the open terraces at Douglas Park even featured fleetingly in the Only a Game? series of 1986 (all findable on youtube).
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Honestly its a shame to see Hamilton’s support fall away in the last 20-25 years. I can also remember Old Douglas Park & it was always a very partisan and decent support there. The Stepek-era Hamilton were always decent sides to watch.
Last time I saw Accies was up at Pittodrie at the fag end of 2019, just before Covid. Awful game which Aberdeen scraped through…I think Dumbarton brought more to Pittodrie for their cup tie a few months later.
Used to really enjoy the seethe as Hamilton scraped by in the top flight season after season playing comically negative football yet still bringing through decent young players.
Hope you find a way to turn it around, the club just seems done in from afar & the glory days a fever dream.
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Been a great game so far-really entertaining. Been impressed with Airdrie not letting their heads drop & keeping pressing.
Hearts just better quality- absolutely lethal on the break.
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I wasn’t at a game yesterday as I’m ill, but for the first time in a while I thought the show was ok. Or maybe it was just my high fever.
Did a double take as the Stenny chairman was interviewed at length about whatever this administrative protest and ‘open letter’ is about, must admit it passed me by.
Leaving aside the Rangers sycophancy as the Ayr tie kicked off, at least listening to a game is better than the normal ‘and now we give you, the fans…’ and a cavalcade of the kind of uncritical mouthbeathers who can be bothered calling Radio Scotland thirty minutes after full time.
I just turn over to 5 Live at that point normally for their late commentary. Someone was spot on up thread when they said 5 Live’s coverage is in a different universe.
Sportsound’s crew needs totally emptied, “Kenny Mac” is an aural haemorrhoid. The only ones I’d keep are Leanne, Deek Ferguson & it would feel like putting down an old pet to get rid of wee Chic ( I know many want to, but Chic’s enthusiasm for whatever Championship or L1 game they send him too, and his comedy mishaps, are good value).
When wee Chic seems good value it really says it all about the ‘quality’ of the rest of them.
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Decent appointment for East Fife and the club looks as though it has a chance to turn the corner after a few seasons in the doldrums. If the off-field ownership stuff can be sorted then a few good seasons lie ahead.
In fairness the couple of times I've seen them this campaign East Fife haven't been that bad, certainly I never saw them as relegation candidates. There's a few good players there but confidence and consistency have clearly been issues for them.
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I don't think Clyde are doomed just yet. Looking back at Montrose's near-exit from league football in 2015, we only began to really become detached in mid-late March after a brief upturn when Hegarty and Holt came in. Results were patchy in February and then we beat Arbroath 3-0 at home in early March. However unfortunately things just fell away after that and by the end of the month we were preparing for the play-off already. Indeed, we collected only four points from our last nine games before the play-offs.
Two things: McCall will not have gone there to finish last. His signings have 2-3 weeks to come good yet and perhaps put a run of form together. But it needs to be before the end of February for things to turn around meaningfully. Forfar are also eye-bleedingly bad and run very complacently. Most other clubs would have emptied Ray McKinnon before Christmas.
Secondly, even if you finish last, it's really good to have such an expereinced manager in charge. I am convinced that a mixture of Hegarty and Holt's accumulated know-how in very big games, and their player's sheer terror of their collective 10,000-degrees centigrade Jim McLean hairdryer, got them through those two legs. McCall similarly knows how to win big games.
Well, good luck. A few weeks yet before you bow to the inevitable I think. I know it is extremely tedious watching underfunded pish season after season after season, run by a succession of clownshoes managers putting out farragos of lower league jobbers who couldn't give a f**k either way. Somehow I think it can turn yet though.
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13 hours ago, Mr Grimsdale said:
from about 6 min 30 secs in this is delicious viewingAfter the equalising goal goes in… IT’S BEEN COMING YA FUCKING BALLOON
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Alloa have been with Pendle for quarter of a century
I remember the late 80s Umbro kits and the Matchwinner ones being quite smart. But they must have a big discount now wiuth Pendle having stayed with them so long.
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Quite the trip down Memory Lane here & some long forgotten faces from my early days watching league football.
My first ever Montrose game was in December 1990 at Boghead- a 4-1 Scottish Cup win. The home support was seething and calling for poor old Billy Lamont's head at the end. Montrose were streets better that night against a poor Dumbarton side. Hard to believe they'd been in the Premier League four or five season before that.
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Clearly angling for a move back to Morecambe.
Derek is a good manager but his interviews make the late Jim McLean look like a warm-hearted diplomat.
He’ll be off soon I think. Suspect Roy McGregor will not be amused.
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Yep clutching at straws. Aldershot have money to spend (a rare occurrence) after a good FA Cup run and are an attacking attractive side. Southend are recovering quickly after years as a basket case club and it might be a good move to there. Oldham and are a well run club under a new chairman- just they don't seem to have found the right coach yet.
All three clubs good moves on no doubt many times the money he's on at Cove. Scoring so often in our League One probably means he'll do well at that level. The top five or six clubs in the NL would be fine in the Scottish Championship I think- most of the rest about League One standard,
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Agree that the half hour furious tugging over VAR problems yesterday when there was a great day of Championship football ahead was galling to say the least.
Would have been better to have had a detailed look at the Championship title race and to hear from the different managers and personalities involved.
It's sad to hear how much Sportsound has degenrated. It's an Old Firm fanzine these days.
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34 minutes ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:
@Ivo den Bieman bring back the blog!
I am thinking of doing a blog called The Old Fashioned Neutral next season!
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As Spartans have no fans and I don't blame the home team support for not commenting on this dreadful game, a quick report.
Consolation: it was a beautiful day and given the tendency of Peterhead to tip even the most well manicured beard with frost at this time of year, it wasn't so cold.
However, I did pay to watch a game of football and am currently cossetted with some ambulance-chasing lawyers wondering whether to sue the Balmoor authorities under the Trades Description Act. I'm not sure what this was- a cross between a lower level rugby league match and a wrestling bout where the antagonists are blindfolded. Two stags with no antlers rutting over a mouldy orange.
I'm no fan of B-team-rimming, amoral Spartans who seem to have had no qualms about franchising impoverished neighbours to buy their way into the league in the past. Unfortunately they are just as awful on the park. Their no. 7 was a comically bad footballer, whose best suit appeared to be falling over when well-placed, and bearing a good resemblance to the b*****d child of Steven Pressley and the Jack of Clubs. Their number nine screamed like a rooster having its neck wrung whenever he felt a challenge near him and threw himself theatrically to the ground.
Spartans were full of greasy-haired tatty nonetities, all sharp elbows, lung power and "agonised" sqwauks whenever an opposition player challenged for the ball. Manager Samuel, a man with a beard so extensive that the Duke of Kent probably hunts small birds in there during shooting season, has fashioned one of of the most eye-bleedingly dull sides ever to 'grace' the Scottish League, certainly since the days when Terry Christie was a malign offside-trap abcess in the yawning concrete whalemouth of old Meadowbank.
Well, anyway, Peterhead's confidence is totally shot. All passes are now sideways and backwards. They're still okay-ish and combative in the middle of the park- giving as good as they got. The defence is alright. But since autumn when I last saw them sweep aside Clachnacuddin, East Fife and an abysmal Elgin City at Balmoor, something's gone badly wrong. Yes Rory Mac is supsended but they really need to find a way to play without him otherwise the poor man will be cryogenically frozen when he passes and then brought back to life to lead the line in the Blue Toons' League Two promotion push for the 2189/2190 season.
The attacking play was laboured and disjointed and really lacked a spark or cutting edge. Yes Samuel's serried ranks of whooping / fist pumping droids at the back made life very difficult. But you never had the confidence that Peterhead had someone who could provide that bit of creativity or guile to break through. The Spartans goalkeeper, a low slung fellow with long arms and no neck, made a terrific save low to his left early in the second half to thwart a header from Shanks (? I think). But other than that it was all shadow boxing and discordant fucked-accordion inconsequence from the home team as they desperately tried to find a tune.
The first half was appalling, really, for two promotion chasing teams, with only one clear chance at either end- a header that sneaked past McKenzie's left hand post, and a goalmouth scramble at the other end when the ball just would not fall kindly for a Peterhead player. After the break, as Peterhead monotonously tried and failed to guess Spartans' pin number at one end, a break away, a couple of passes and boom- 1-0 past a helpless McKenzie. Once Spartans went ahead there was no real belief that Peterhead could come back into it, despite working hard enough.
Ugh, It will be a long time before I'm persuaded to pay to watch Spartans again. As For the Curbishley and Gritt of Buchan, Ryan and Jordon, they are facing their first really bad spell and they looked a bit lost at full time today. I'm sure Peterhead will come good again but they really need to arrest this alarming slump as soon as possible, perhaps adding one or two more creative players to the squad. From strong title challengers to needing to shoire up the play off place in a few short weeks gives you an idea of the tailspin they are in, which surprised me. However the person most to be pitied presently at Balmoor is the media guy who has to sit down and watch all that again, in a desperate attempt to find anything resembling "highlights" for youtube.
Of course the real winners here were Stenhousemuir. I'm sure Gary Naysmith and his staff will have a good laugh when they sit down to watch this pish on a quiet evening at Ochilview. Bar a monumental collapse the Larbert side seem set fair for a first ever title as they are simply not likely to be troubled by the dung on show today. I must make a point of going to watch them sometime soon.
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7 minutes ago, GNU_Linux said:
Banks O' Dee (Torry area of Aberdeen)
Inverurie Loco Works
Fraserburgh
Huntly
Deveronvale
Turriff UnitedThe last four are 50 mins - 1 hr 10 drive from Aberdeen.
Formartine is 25 mins from the city centre, Inverurie slightly longer.
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22 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:
When you and I were lads Jack we had two divisions of 18 and 19 teams respectively. We're never going to return to that but why not three divisions of 12, 15 and 15 clubs, to maintain the 42-club status quo, with promotion/relegation on the basis you describe but the participant numbers designed to make as many clubs as possible still having a skin in the game come the season's end.
Also, just how many Highland League clubs actually desire to ascend to the senior structure ? It's not a criticism, quite the opposite in fact, as it's always seemed a decent competition to me - be careful of what you wish for and all that....
To be fair only Buckie are really lukewarm about promotion- otherwise the current top 5/6 would take it without hesitation if offered. Brechin would of course be the most enthusiastic but the likes of Rothes, Formartine also really keen. Unfortunately, the standards really have dropped in the HFL in the last two decades and now that Cove have been promoted a Highland contender versus club 42 will be a rare thing. There's just too much money in the LL, and I think for now Brechin missed their shot.
An 18-team league 2 isn't happening; a 14 or 16 team league would be large enough to allow for champions top go up automatically and the play off between the side finishing third bottom in SPFL2 and the runners up in HL / LL..
Ceretainly the pyramid needs much more "ventilation" in promotion and relegation not just at the interface between SPFL2 and the top senior non-leagues, but also between LL / HFL and the leagues below them. IMO the bottom four should go down from the LL to clear out comse of the accidental dross from its formation and bring in more of the Polloks, Clydebanks, Auchinlecks and Linlithgows.
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26 minutes ago, mo83 said:
I was very young but do remember little bits of the home game,am I right in saying the replay was like a day or two later or am I talking
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Game was in 95/96, 1-1 at Cappielow on 27 Jan followed by 3-2 win at Links Park. Can’t find date of replay unfortunately.
As you say we were shot down in flames by 2nd tier St. Johnstone in the following round, a 0-3 defeat.
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Come back John Brogan, all is forgiven!
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He did an outstanding job at Morecambe which is a potless club with dubious ownership presently, and an uncertain future. Having them just outside the play offs in that league with zero cash is pretty remarkable as his successor is likely to find out.
He did pretty well for a time at Plymouth and only really failed at Bradford which currently is a squabbling, badly run bin fire of a club. So there was mitigation.
Tbh quite surprised he came back to Dingwall but certainly think it's an appointment which will see Ross County more than safe come the end of the season. Clearly not a likeable guy but the results speak for themselves. I'm not suggesting he's in anything like the same managerial bracket, but there is something of Jim McLean's intensity / dourness about him.
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Montrose FC Vs Alloa Athletic FC
in Scottish League 1 General Chatter
Posted
One of the most entertaining games seen at Links Park in years. Some great goals & a stomach-churning see-saw of a match. Both teams determined to win the game & both going at it full throttle.
Lyons’ opener butnegging the kerper at his near post, Dillo’s thunderb*****d header to level things just before half time, after we’d given away two very cheap goals, set the tone.
Kane Hester’s trickery sent a third whistling home not long after the re-start and when Cawley’s petulance saw him sent off on the hour we seemed set fair. Alloa were also in a bad mood; Neill at no. 6 had an epic tantrum meltdown at whoever plays left back for Alloa, and got his abuse back with interest.
However yet again we conspired to give away an awful third goal, a lot of ball watching & leaving it for someone else to deal with caused the equaliser.
I actually felt that Alloa became less threatening when they brought that big galoot Sammon on. The Irish Frankenstein- missing only the bolt through his neck- had lots of long balls launched towards him which was all very well, but Alloa were much better playing it on the ground & pulling us out of shape.
Webster’s winner was a thing of beauty and I haven’t celebrated a goal like that for a while at Links Park. A great way to win the game which we deserved, just.
An outrageous backheel from Webster in the centre circle almost set up Hester, too, but the ball just wouldn’t fall kindly for him at the critical moment, after a long run.
Really great game & an important win. Onto Cove where we should travel confidently.