Francesc Fabregas

I'm not sure if this is a cast-iron guarantee or absolute toot but, if the rumour mill is to be believed, Stenhousemuir will shortly be bringing in centre-backs Ryan McGeever and Sean Crighton. McGeever was with Dumbarton last season while Crighton captained Airdrieonians. Two wholehearted meat-and-potatoes defenders who are as big as HGVs and will make sure the ball is as far away from the goal as possible. I think they would be good signings and add some much-needed steel to our defence but I think I'm being hoodwinked and they'll both end up at Darvel.

Not every day you see a Mike Stoklasa reaction meme, fair play.

Ryan Blair is probably the best long-range passer of the ball I've ever seen at Stenhousemuir. When he opens up his left foot, it's like a pitching wedge and he's capable of dropping gorgeous 60-yard balls into channels to help push the team up the park. Towards the end of last season, he was playing like a "quarterback", dropping between the centre-halves and hitting booming balls to the frontline. His whole range of passing, come to think of it, is very good and he's capable to dictating play from the centre circle. Conversely, if you press him with even the vaguest hint of force, he'll crumple and let you run over the top of him. Too often last season, teams who were faster and more aggressive were able to overwhelm us because of Blair's unwillingness to do the dirty stuff. He doesn't tend to get stuck in and it's always a surprise when he goes into a challenge to win the ball. His set-pieces are very poor. He doesn't have much of a goal threat. He's the kind of player that fans don't really take to because of his body language and languid style of play. He could be a useful player if you're willing to field an energetic screening midfielder next to him but I don't think he's good enough to warrant that kind of indulgence. I think the "former Swansea City player" tag will always open doors for him in Scotland, much like how Ross Perry made a career out of being a "former Rangers ace".

There's a lot to look forward to in League 2 next year. It's far too early to predict how the division will pan out but who cares when it's fun to do! I can see Kelty Hearts, Forfar Athletic and Edinburgh City challenging for the title. Although they didn't play all that well against Brechin City, Kelty's starting XI is made up of a number of talented, experienced players and if they're intelligent with their recruitment, they could go on to have a successful campaign. I think the "Ferguson factor" is perhaps a little overwrought and he's learned a lot from his mistakes at Clyde. Forfar Athletic made a dreadful misstep in appointing Stuart Malcolm as manager but now they're able to flush his dreck out of the squad and start again, you'd fancy them to challenge for the top. If Edinburgh can retain the bulk of this season's team, they could compete for the title but teams in League 1 must be looking at Liam Brown and Liam Henderson; I think Gary Naysmith might be thinking about turning the squad over. Stranraer have signed up a lot of last year's team, so too have Elgin City, and they should always be considered for a top-four place. I'm keen to see what Tam Muir can do at Stair Park and if Kane Hester can put his off-field problems to one side and focus exclusively on football, I've no doubt he'll finish as the league's top scorer. Stirling Albion have disappointed since being relegated to this division in 2015 but Ray Grant could be one of the best signings of the summer. Is Kevin Rutkiewicz able to get the most of out of his team, though? Who knows how Stenhousemuir will fare after making so many signings from BSC Glasgow (and BJ Coll)? They'll either be League 2's surprise package and finish in the top four or struggle to avoid last place. Cowdenbeath declined terribly over the last 18 months and there's a feeling that Gary Bollan has run out of ideas; Annan Athletic might make a couple of decent signings from non-league teams in the north of England but probably won't and end up in eighth; and if Albion Rovers can reprise their form from the latter part of the season and bring in some of their West of Scotland loanees on a permanent basis, they should have enough to keep them safe. All to play for!

Taylor Swift album covers mocked up to feature our incoming players?

In an unusual move, BSC Glasgow are signing players from Stenhousemuir! Jack Hodge has joined the Alloa-based club: As I've said a number of times over the past week, I thought he was one of the player we should have signed up for next season. Hodge definitely had something about him and could have developed into a very handy player for the Warriors. I hope he does BSC a good turn.

Websites like Soccerbase and Transfermarkt are notoriously unreliable the further down the food chain you go and practically non-existent when you go beyond the SPFL. I wouldn't trust them in this instance.

Our squad so far for the 2021/22 season: GOALKEEPERS Ryan Marshall (signed from BSC Glasgow) Graeme Smith DEFENDERS BJ Coll (signed from Forfar Athletic) Adam Corbett Josh Grigor (on loan at Syngenta) Ross Lyon (signed from BSC Glasgow) Jamie Mills (signed from BSC Glasgow) MIDFIELDERS Michael Anderson (signed from BSC Glasgow) Adam Brown (signed from Alloa Athletic) Declan Hughes (signed from BSC Glasgow) Callum Tapping FORWARDS Cammy Graham David Hopkirk Thomas Orr (signed from Stranraer) Robert Thomson (signed from Alloa Athletic)

We've also signed a goalkeeper called Ryan Marshall from BSC Glasgow.

BJ Coll has joined the club from Forfar Athletic. I don't think he got much of a positive write-up from Forfar fans but who knows, he could be a useful player for the Warriors.

Cammy Graham has signed on and it looks like he'll be part of the first team for the next season:

I've absolutely done myself here.

Me too! I wonder what this will mean for Brown and Graham. Both are capable of stepping up to augment the first time but both have had issues with injuries and fitness over the course of the season. Maybe they'll move to Syngenta as well. As for Grigor, I think this could be a really good move for him. He's shown he's got something about him (and I think he works better as a screening midfielder than he does a central defender) and playing every week can only help him develop further. I'm excited for him and I hope it works out well for everyone concerned.

How about that! Midnight Express was right! I thought he'd stay and form part of the first team for the year ahead but fair play to him. Josh Grigor has something about him and another year developing elsewhere might do him a good turn.

Callum Tapping signed a two-year deal when he joined the club last summer.

I can't see it, to be honest. I don't think our squad will be increased to the extent where we're able to loan anyone out. If they sign on, Brown, Graham and Grigor will definitely get game time, similar to last season. If we were to farm them out, I don't really see the benefit of sending them all the way down to the fag-end of the East of Scotland League - they've all shown signs they're capable of playing in League 2. They might do a job for BSC Glasgow, right enough, I hear they're struggling for players just now.

You're right, sorry - Josh Grigor was also offered terms for next season.

Although I've been generally cautious over the past couple of weeks, I'm excited about Tam Orr and I'm keen to see what he can do. He looked very handy on the two occasions I saw him playing for Stranraer and I hope he can reprise last season's form at Stenhousemuir. I imagine we'll hear back shortly whether or not Cammy Graham, Josh Grigor, Paul Brown and Callum Erskine have signed on for the year ahead. That would take us to a squad of 14, and we'll probably have another six or seven coming in on top of that.

Our squad so far for the 2021/22 season: GOALKEEPERS Graeme Smith DEFENDERS Adam Corbett Ross Lyon (signed from BSC Glasgow) Jamie Mills (signed from BSC Glasgow) MIDFIELDERS Michael Anderson (signed from BSC Glasgow) Adam Brown (signed from Alloa Athletic) Declan Hughes (signed from BSC Glasgow) Callum Tapping FORWARDS David Hopkirk Thomas Orr (signed from Stranraer) Robert Thomson (signed from Alloa Athletic)

Thomas Orr has joined the club from Stranraer. The striker had previously worked with Stephen Swift at BSC Glasgow.

That's certainly one way of looking at it. Stephen Swift is bringing in players he can trust and who are attuned to his management and his demands, and he probably got his BSC Glasgow side punching above their weight. I certainly hope they all hit the ground running are a huge success at Stenhousemuir. The scepticism comes from the fact that not many people will have heard of these players - I'd like to think I've got a solid knowledge of the Scottish lower leagues and I've had to look up every player we've brought in from BSC Glasgow - while scout reports from other supporters has been indifferent at best. Were they in demand from other SPFL sides? I'm not sure. Chuck in the fact that our record of signing players from the Lowland League has been poor over the last few years (PJ Sludden, Ryan Miller, Jack Smith, Kieron Gibbons, Adam Corbett) and I think people are right to be cautious. Who knows, maybe we've got a few blue-chip superstars lined up to sign on with us and Hibernian have a handful of world-class youngsters they're prepared to loan us!

We've signed our sixth player of the window - Stephen Swift has used his extensive contacts to bring in Jamie Mills, a left-back from BSC Glasgow.

It wouldn't surprise me given his connection to Stephen Swift but, as mentioned earlier, I didn't see much from him during his brief loan spell to suggest he's worth pursuing. Last season, I poked fun at Mr Raymond McKinnon signing players for Queen's Park he'd worked with at Greenock Morton and Falkirk, but this is just ridiculous!

I hope so! As long as you play to his strengths, you have a striker who will chip in with double figures in League 1, I'm sure of it. Mark McGuigan is at his most effective when hanging on the shoulder of the last defender and having the ball is slipped through to him. He's surprisingly quick off the mark for a man of his size and he scored most of his goals for the Warriors, particularly in the 2017/18 season, in this way. He's also handy inside the penalty box and is good at peeling off his marker at the right time to get a shot away. He's also a reasonably effective target man, but only when the ball's played into his feet. He's good at backing into opponents, holding it up, and popping it off to a supporting player. He's not fantastic in the air and is often bettered by opponents when going for aerial duels. We didn't get the best out of him by launching neck-high punts at him every week. His finishing can also be a little wayward and he tends to go for power rather than precision, leading to fluffed chances. I'm not usually that fussed about players moving on from the club but I sincerely hope he is a tremendous success at East Fife.

Former Stenhousemuir FC full-back Jonathan Tiffoney has been charged by the SFA over the David Cox incident last month - CLICK.