Francesc Fabregas

Having a discussion about the greatest overseas players without including Henrik Larsson or Brian Laudrup would be trying too hard. They were superstars during their time in Scotland and overlooking them would have been contrary for the sake of contrariness. I would also disagree that A View from the Terrace has seen an increase in coverage of Celtic or Rangers in recent months. It doesn't feel that way at all. There's no encouragement from the production team behind the show or from the BBC to give both clubs more airtime - we just discuss the most interesting things that have happened over the past seven days, and sometimes that includes the Old Firm. I think there can sometimes be a degree of hypersensitivity towards the two teams from some people. Nevertheless, I'd like to thank everyone for tuning into the show this season - it's been tremendous fun to work on and it's great to read so many positive comments from people who have engaged with it and enjoyed watching. We hope to back in 2023/24 to talk more about Scottish football and, hopefully, watch Stenhousemuir win that elusive league title!

Tam Orr will leave the club in the summer after agreeing a two-year contract with Stranraer. On his day, Tam could be a very useful player but his day has not come around much at all this season and his limitations are badly shown up when he has to do anything other than "finish without thinking". He couldn't lead the line or play with his back to goal and it blunted our attack for long periods. I wish him well on his return to Stranraer and I've no doubt he'll pop a couple past us when we meet.

What a garbage, underwhelming season this has been. What a wasted opportunity. What a waste of money. Even although it became clear early on this team was not going to challenge for the league title, the failure to finish in the top four is still acutely disappointing. The board really pushed the boat out at the beginning of the campaign and to have nothing to show for their outlay must be so frustrating. As I've said in a post on the previous page, Stephen Swift will shoulder a lot of the blame for how the season has ultimately played out but I don't think Gary Naysmith is beyond reproach - he took over in January when there was plenty of time to correct our course, yet he failed to do so. Yes, he took over an unbalanced and mismatched squad but his signings did not improve the overall standard and the football's as bad a spectacle recently as it has been all year. To finish the season having taken just two points against four of the worst sides in the league is remarkable. If you could handpick a run of fixtures to conclude the campaign with, you would have gleefully selected our fixtures, yet we didn't take advantage and turned in some rotten results and performances along the way. You can probably count the good moments this year on the one hand. Ross Forbes' winner against Annan Athletic has probably been the best moment I've had watching the club since the Waterford game in 2019. Beating Dumbarton at the Rock last month was good fun. Matty Yates scored some good goals. Other than that? We've seen so many dreadful matches and miserable displays. The 1-1 draw with Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic at Ochilview in November sticks out as particularly rotten. On paper, it's looks like a decent group of players but it hasn't worked and it hasn't cohered and it's not fun to watch. Other than Nicky Jamieson, I wouldn't be keen on retaining anyone else for next season. There's probably an argument to be made for most of them but do we really want to put our trust in a squad that have let us down for two consecutive years? From the players we have signed on, I'm particularly vexed about Nat Wedderburn - on his day he's a terrific midfielder who can smash through opponents and pick out brilliant passes with his left foot, but how often has done it this season? He's slow to the point of immobile and lacks the energy or the willingness to get up and down the park. He'll be another year older, a little bit slower, a little bit more immobile, and I hope we don't suffer for it. We need a goalkeeper, a new centre-back (possibly two if Jamieson goes elsewhere), new full-backs on either side, another central midfielder, someone to play on the right of our attack and one, maybe two new strikers for the new season. It's an unenviable task for Naysmith and I'm cautious about how he fares. Other than Gavin Reilly, who initially brought a bit of spark to our attack, his recruits have not been good. Curtis Lyle is a dud and even although he has another year on his deal (!), he should not be our #1. Jordan Lowden was disappointing, Kian Spiers dropped off the face of the earth after a poor showing in Dumbarton and Jacob Blaney looked raw and uncomfortable at points before his injury. January is a difficult market, sure, but I still expected better. Nevertheless, I'll be there next term, I'll see you all in the Wee Bar before and after the games. Who knows! We might even win the bloody thing! Maybe.

Callum Yeats has been absent with injury for a couple of weeks now. He took part in the warm-up yesterday but wasn't part of the matchday squad. I hope he's back soon as Jordan Lowden has been an inadequate understudy. As for Euan O'Reilly, I don't think he's had the impact people hoped from him this season. There have been some terrific moments, most notably his performance against Dumbarton earlier in the month, but, like some many others, the way we're playing at the moment doesn't really suit anyone who wants to get on the ball and dribble with it. Against Albion Rovers yesterday, we were too slow to move the ball out wide to him and he was often doubled up on. I thought it was a wrong move to substitute him off.

I like Gavin Reilly and would like to retain him for next season, if some kind of deal can de done. He's got a decent touch, uses his body well and he's intelligent on the ball, causing problems for opposition defenders. He was at his best in the 2-1 defeat to East Fife, hanging on the shoulder of the last defender, looking for balls clipped over the top, and he was a constant nuisance throughout the first half (although we didn't really get players up to support him). In the second half, we couldn't get ahold of the ball and started punting it long, something that doesn't suit him, or anybody. Yesterday, on the rare moments we tried to work the ball through the middle of the park - the brief spell after our goal - we looked far brighter. I like Sean Crighton and think he has a positive influence on the team but his chronic ability on the ball is one of the reasons to move him on in the summer. I reckon he tries to play it long more than any player in the team and it's not working. On the whole, I think Reilly has done well enough but isn't being helped by the current set-up.

Another week, another missed opportunity. With East Fife and Forfar Athletic losing today, a game against the team at the foot of the table should have provided the chance to make a real statement and put pressure on the sides above us. Instead, we faltered badly. Other than a brief spell following Sean Crighton's equalising goal, Albion Rovers were better throughout and merited their victory. They were more aggressive than us, winning the majority of the first and second balls, but somehow didn't have to work too hard for it. We didn't create much and didn't force Jack Leighfield into doing anything meaningful - it was just poor stuff all round. The football we're playing just now is brutal to watch. What's the point in having players in the team like Nat Wedderburn and Euan O'Reilly in the team when the ball is ceaselessly launched up the park? Your heart sinks when you watch Crighton stroll out from the back and then melt the ball out of play with a gigantic punt, like it's some cursed artefact. I'm not sure if the players are being instructed to boot it long but it's not working and no-one can be having fun doing it. We've played the three worst teams in the division in recent weeks and taken just two points from them - that's unacceptable. On current form, you'd be hard pushed to see us beating Stranraer and Annan Athletic in our final matches (and hoping results elsewhere continue to go in our favour). It feels like we're repeating last season by passing up chance after chance to get into the top four before simply running out of time. Gary Naysmith has, on the whole, done a decent job since he's come in but he'll have to take a fair share of responsibility if the team fails to make the play-offs. He's being given the benefit of the doubt by "not being Stephen Swift" but he's had ample time to implement his ideas and get a tune out of this group of players and we're still coming up short (although I do appreciate he's working with an unbalanced squad). Also, other than Gavin Reilly, his signings have ranged between "mediocre" and "rubbish", which is a little worrying when he'll no doubt be embarking on building a new team in a couple of weeks. Let's hope to see some improvement between now and the end of the campaign. Give me something good, please!

This is a very polite reminder to watch this evening's episode of A View from the Terrace. It's going to be on @ 10:30pm on the BBC Scotland channel and it's going to be a lot of fun. Tonight, the panel are joined by Archie Knox, the best assistant manager of all time, to look back on his career. There's also a lot of discussion about Heart of Midlothian and other clubs. You'd be mad to say no!

It's a nice sentiment but I don't think it's worth or time and effort to spend thousands of pounds in re-establishing a youth set-up in the hope that one or two players make it into the first team. Prior to dismantling our previous infrastructure and joining the doomed Forth Valley Youth Academy, how many youngsters actually established themselves at the club? Robert Love and Gary Thom are the only two I can think of off the top of my head. We're better off using our money to bring in quality players from elsewhere.

What youth players? Do we even have a youth set-up with a pathway into the first team? I don't think we've had one in about eight years.

Unless someone can correct me, these are the players we've signed up for next season: GOALKEEPERS Curtis Lyle DEFENDERS MIDFIELDERS Adam Brown Mikey Miller Nat Wedderburn FORWARDS Euan O'Reilly Matty Yates It's not quite as many players as I first thought. Nicky Jamieson is someone I'd be very keen to keep on for next term and, if some kind of deal can be done, Gavin Reilly would be a huge asset going forward. Conor Brennan, Jay Cantley and Tam Orr should be moved on in the summer, Ross Forbes too (even if he has popped up with some supreme moments in recent weeks), as well as the rest of the loan players. There's a case to be made for signing up everyone else but, as Neilly has said above me, do we want to keep the same group of players who haven't really delivered across two years? Are we getting value for money from Sean Crighton? Has Adam Corbett kicked on as anticipated? Would Mikey Anderson be a cheap option in reserve or can we do better? There is still a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the season but it's something to ponder all the same.

You might not officially win the title on Saturday but if we perform at the weekend as we did tonight, we'll be in for a bit of a bleaching. That was wretched stuff against an Elgin City side who'd lost their previous six matches, a brutal, ugly affair where the ball was just kicked into the air as soon as it fell to one of our players. Ross Forbes' glorious strike at the death was the only good thing about the encounter. I don't necessarily think Elgin were much better but nevertheless, to take two points from two of the poorest sides in the division isn't really good enough, especially at this late stage. This season is effectively a re-run of last year. We were hamstrung by a poor start, bounced back to put ourselves in contention for promotion, but never could take advantage of the opportunities presented to us and ended up finishing in fifth. The same thing is going to happen again this time around. We've got a testing series of fixtures ahead of us and unless there's an upturn in the level of performance, the whole season is going to play out as one huge disappointment. I hope to be proved wrong!

Nat Wedderburn has signed a one-year contract extension with the club, keeping him at Ochilview until the summer of 2024. I like Wedderburn and he's so important to how we play, but he's slow and immobile and we lack dynamism and energy in the middle of the park whenever he features. This has been a problem over the past two seasons and I wondered if we might benefit from a change. Nevertheless, watching the big man pushing people about before opening up the left foot of his is great fun.

That was a brutal, ugly game of football between two mediocre teams. I think Stenhousemuir just about edged it based on the chances they created in the second half but other than that, this will be remembered as the match where Dumbarton, once and for all, chucked the league title. They looked spent, physically and emotionally, and I cannot see them catching a vibrant Stirling Albion side. They just look drained. I watched Aron Lynas at the full-time whistle and he sat on the turf, shell-shocked, in a state of disbelief. A season that started out so well has unravelled just as the finishing line is in sight. Lynas opened the scoring with a sumptuous half-volley just before the interval, and I was sure that was going to be the difference between the sides. It was a scrappy match with no quality - balls thumped long, balls headed as far away as possible, punts up the park - and it only really livened up midway through the second half with the introduction of Euan O'Reilly and a change in formation, two alterations that ultimately won Stenny the game. O'Reilly was terrific and his positivity and willingness to put his foot on the ball galvanised us. Suddenly, the Sons were on the back foot, with Gavin Reilly equalising with a well-taken finish from 12 yards out. We should have gone ahead shortly afterwards when Tam Orr inexplicably put a shot wide of the post, despite having eons to shoot. It was an inexplicable miss but Orr made up for it when Matt Yates' corner kick landed perfectly for him at the back post. Very quickly we went from "hmm, I think we'll be keeping an eye on the bottom of the table!" to "hmm, I think we'll get fourth place!" Despite his short time on the pitch, O'Reilly was my man of the match. Other players did well too including Adam Corbett and especially "Hurricane" Dan Higgins, who deputised at full-back following Jacob Blaney's early withdrawal. Higgins is not my favourite player and I don't quite trust him but he defended well and looked to play the ball when the opportunity arose. Fair play to Gary Naysmith too, he made the right changes at the right time and it swung the contest in our favour. Just before the half time, Martin McNiff allowed a ball to slowly run out for a goal kick, and Brett Long took ages to collect it, spot it, and boot it back into play. I was expecting a re-run of the meeting in February, when Dumbarton wasted time over and over again. Long was at it throughout the second half until Reilly's goal sparked him and his team-mates into a bit of urgency, so it was good to see it come back and bite them this afternoon. Also: Russell McLean was terrible when he came on - he didn't win a single header and didn't do anything positive on the rare occasions he had the ball.

This is a very polite reminder that A View from the Terrace is on the BBC Scotland channel tonight @ 10:30pm. This should be a very good episode - there's apparently chat about Scotland's sterling start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and an interview with larger-than-life football agent John Viola. You might as well give it a go!

After we signed Craig Bryson, I tweeted out something like he's either going to be the League 2 Player of the Season or he'll have chucked it after a couple of months... and I was right! Bryson was a superb player back in the day but the version that joined Stenhousemuir was miles off it and couldn't make a positive impact during his short spell at the club. A waste of time and money. As for tomorrow? There are on six points separating third place from seventh, so it's still incredibly tight in the race for the top four, but even so, we really have to win if we're serious about getting promoted. Gary Naysmith's new manager bounce has worn off and it's fair to say we've hit a slump. I missed last weekend's game against Forfar Athletic but, by all accounts, it was a stodgy performance lacking in verve and spark. We'll have to do far better against Dumbarton but they're a side we've struggled against this season. We got a bit of a chasing on our first visit to the Rock a couple of weeks ago and they're not to be trifled with, even with their injury concerns and their own struggles. I think this one might be a draw.

After the news of the dissolution between Open Goal and Broomhill FC last week, I watched some of the documentaries on YouTube (parts one and six) and listened to last night’s podcast in the car. I found the videos entertaining – Simon Ferry generally came across well and his passion for football was obvious, and they offered an interesting insight into the mechanics of operating a lower-league football team in Scotland, from signing players, to managing and coaching them, to attempting to build a fanbase in a difficult climate. I admired Ferry’s drive to succeed and I believe he went into this project with the best of intentions; it just didn’t go the way anyone associated with it would have hoped. It was also remarkable to learn that Ferry planned on permanently leaving Open Goal to replace Jim McInally at Peterhead last summer - losing Ferry altogether must have been unthinkable so it made some sense for the company to help him achieve his ambition by sponsoring a club and installing him as manager. I think Ferry has a lot to offer and can thrive without Open Goal; I'm not so sure Open Goal could have the same degree of success without Ferry. The podcast, meanwhile, was illuminating in some parts, not so in others. Ferry was entitled to walk away if he no longer enjoyed it, something he might have found difficult given Open Goal’s sponsorship, while various factors like kick-off times, a lack of volunteers, a mediocre budget and poor results would have dented his enthusiasm. It was interesting to listen to him describe how the role had completely consumed him and how defeats would affect him for days. If, say, Peter Murphy left Annan Athletic because he wasn’t having fun anymore, he’d be entitled to do so too, but Ferry’s exit was, rightly or wrongly, far more accented because of his profile. Some of the comments levelled at Ferry and his coaches were a little cruel – there was never one point I felt it was a vanity project, or that these young players had been “sold a dream”, or that massive wages were getting chucked around (and you’re not going to be one of the division’s big spenders if you’re playing David Wilson, a person who cannot save shots or catch crosses, in goal) – and the podcast provided them with the opportunity to dispel some of the rumours that have circled the club since last May. There was, however, a lack of serious self-reflection and introspection. I don’t think they discussed why Open Goal Broomhill were so far off the league leaders, or whether or not Ferry’s principles were appropriate for the division – it’s fair to say this is shaping up to be one of the club’s poorest campaigns since they joined the Lowland League in 2014. Everyone going into the season should have been aware to the challenges they were likely to face across the board and there seemed to be a real underestimation as to what it takes to succeed on and off the pitch. There’s a lot of finger pointing, but not a lot of looking inward. Let’s be honest, unless Open Goal Broomhill were winning every week and challenging for the title, interest was always going to drop off. Fans of the Open Goal podcast might have been happy to head along to Broadwood on a Friday night to watch Ferry and a bunch of players they’d never heard of competing to a poor standard against another bunch of players they’d never heard of so long as it ended with three points, but that’s much less palatable when they’re losing most weeks. After beating Buckie Thistle in the second round of the Scottish Cup in October, the team won just four matches and interest took a serious dip. I watched the highlights of their 2-1 defeat to Tranent Juniors earlier in the month and the crowd must have been around the 150-mark, a far cry from the 1,500 who watched them defeat Brora Rangers in the Scottish Cup first round. It’s one thing having tens of thousands of subscribers to your YouTube channel and selling out the Hydro for a one-off special occasion, but it’s far harder to translate that into a regular audience for mid-card Lowland League football. I think Open Goal might have been taken aback by waning attendances and an overall lack of enthusiasm from their fans. I’ve no doubt Open Goal will continue successfully and maintain a large audience for its podcasts, YouTube videos and live shows. Last week's outcome is humiliating and it might curtail the way their panel discuss players and managers but that hurt and embarrassment will wear off in time. The future of Broomhill, however, is less clear. There are a lot of questions still to answer – who’ll be managing the club next season? What will the squad look like? Where will they be playing? – but I’d be very surprised if anyone who watched Ferry’s team on a frequent basis returns once he's gone. The whole venture was built around a cult of personality and was never likely to sustain after he departed, for whatever reason. Broomhill’s General Manager, George Fraser, used last week's statement to point out that their followers on social media increased after Open Goal’s involvement, but I cannot see that translating into paying customers going forward - there might be more eyes on his team this season than in recent years but, ultimately, what does that matter if no-one's coming along and putting their hands in their pockets? Furthermore, good people have departed Broomhill over the past 10 months, including Michael Park, their social media manager, and Mozza, their Twitch partner and commentator, and it’s unclear that anyone with the same fervour to promote the club will come onboard in their place. It feels as though Broomhill have reached an existential crisis. As they approach their 10th campaign, they’ll going into it with their fourth change of name, their fourth change of badge, and their fourth change of colours. They seem like an empty vessel, a shell, something exists for the sake of existing. They might have started out with good intentions under the guise of BSC Glasgow but what now? What’s the point of this team? What are they for? Who do they represent? I don’t know, and I don’t think Fraser or anyone else associated with the club knows either.

Hello, this is a very polite reminder that A View from the Terrace is on the BBC Scotland channel at 10:30pm. If you like a bunch of Heart of Midlothian supporters laughing at their own jokes... then, sir, do I have something for you! (If that sounds horrible, give it a go all the same.)

Ross Lyon played in central midfield once or twice for Stenhousemuir last season. I can't quite remember the game, but he was specifically brought off the bench to add something to the middle of the park (with Stephen Swift outlining why in his post-match interview) but it didn't work and everyone was bewildered. Fair play for the Clyde-manager-in-waiting in reprising the experiment in League 1! EDITED TO ADD: I've just found the interview - it came after a 2-0 win over Forfar Athletic, where Lyon replaced Nat Wedderburn to play in midfield - and Swift says he gives you a defensive aspect as well as ball-carrying ability.

Purely for time! Every second is a prisoner and even going through something as straightforward as the previous week's failed picks would mean a point gets cut from elsewhere.

Because the main team behind the Terrace Podcast are Heart of Midlothian supporters. You don't just "get a shot" because you run a podcast of your own. Time to move on.

This is a polite reminder that A View from the Terrace is starting shortly on the BBC Scotland channel and it would be just darling if you could tune in and watch it. Thanks in advance.

Judging by the giggling throughout that short clip, someone was impressed! The incident at Shielfield Park marked Colin Cramb's final appearance for the club. Although our form had been on the wane in recent weeks and we'd been beaten 2-1 by Cowdenbeath at Ochilview on 1 April 2006, we still remained top of the table going into the clash with Berwick Rangers. Cowden had the opportunity to overtake us a couple of days later but unexpectedly drew with East Stirlingshire in a midweek game, so that elusive league title was still very much within our grasp with just four matches remaining. It's perhaps worth pointing out the game with Berwick took place on the same day as the 2006 Grand National: at Shielfield, Cramb was substituted after 38 minutes (I remember during the second half of the season he would routinely go down holding his calf or his hamstring - his fitness probably had something to do with his spotty form since Christmas) and instead of sitting in the stand to watch the rest of the game, he nipped into the social club across the road to watch the Grand National instead. A director saw him and told the manager, Des McKeown, who promptly suspended him for the remainder of the season. Cramb protested that he went to the social club for chocolate but no-one bought it. Cramb didn't play for Stenhousemuir again and the team, wouldn't return to the top of the table. We lost the following week to Queen's Park, conceding in injury time, and fell further behind Cowden. A couple of days after the game, the Daily Record ran an article where captain Greig Denham accused his team-mates of an overall lack of professionalism and the whole thing fell apart. We finished the season with our highest ever points total - 73 - but had nothing to show for it, with Berwick beating us in the play-offs. Despite the fact it all went to shit, there is no doubt in my mind that it's the greatest season of football I've ever experienced. What a ride.

This story simply isn't true. Colin Cramb was never sent off against Berwick Rangers across his five appearances. Neither was John Paul McBride. We did draw 0-0 with Berwick that season (the play-off semi-final second leg) but Cramb didn't play in that match - he'd been suspended by the club at this point. Cramb also says Berwick went straight up that season; they didn't, they lost to Alloa Athletic in the final. Cramb's talking absolute shite here.

Davie Anderson is the best midfielder I've ever seen in the lower leagues and I mention him on a week-by-week basis in the hope his name makes it into at least one episode.

That was the dictionary definition of a "game of two halves". I thought Stenhousemuir were excellent in the first 45, playing some of the best football I've seen from them this season, but they completely collapsed after the interval and were soundly beaten by East Fife in the end. I've no way to explain the capitulation - you could tell, within mere minutes of the restart, that something wasn't quite right, and the visitors took full advantage of the sudden malaise, crafting two neat goals to give them the win. Stenny started so well too! Nicky Jamieson and Sean Crighton dominated at the back, Nat Wedderburn bulldozed anything that stood in his way in midfield, Ross Forbes and Adam Brown were spirited and looked to play Gavin Reilly in behind whenever the opportunity showed up, and Reilly himself was a nuisance throughout. Forbes especially was terrific, showcasing some lovely touches and long-range passes, and it was his quick thinking that led to the opening goal, when Matty Yates swept home his low corner kick. I was especially impressed with our high pressing and we seemed to lock East Fife into a cycle of nervous passes across their backline, forcing Allan Fleming to go long and Crighton or Jamieson inevitably winning it back and putting us on the front foot. It was relentless. None of that was on display in the second half. The lofted balls over the top became aimless punts forward and I don't think Reilly got in behind once. East Fife dealt with everything we chucked at them with minimum fuss. Brown and Forbes tired and were unable to harry with the same intensity or contribute much when they got on the ball. The visitors seemed to target Jacob Blainey at right-back and often looked to exploit diagonals into space behind him. Jack Healy in particular gave Blainey a tough time, and the winger's effervescence led to the equaliser - he broke down the left and squared it brilliantly for Alex Ferguson to tap home from close range. East Fife's winning goal was just a shambles from the home side, with players dragged out of position before the ball was headed from the back post across the six-yard box for Scott Shepherd to finish. Shepherd had been anonymous in the first half, with Jamieson barely allowing him a kick, but he was tremendous in the second and encapsulated his team's comeback. Gary Naysmith was apparently in the Wee Bar after the match to apologise to supporters for this afternoon's performance. His team ran out of legs and he was slow to change things to stem the tide (something you can't accuse him of in the past). Forbes should have made way long before he did and Blainey was clearly struggling at right-back. It reminded me a bit of the dog days of Stephen Swift's reign, where a decent first-half showing was followed up by a disgrace. The result certainly opens up the race for the top four - Annan Athletic and East Fife have now moved ahead of us and we've dropped to fifth. A win today would have put us in a confident position. We haven't blown it, far from it, but we will need to see an improvement against Elgin City next weekend.