Francesc Fabregas

Stenhousemuir - the 2023/24 League 2 champions! - take on Elgin City on Saturday afternoon. There isn't much at stake here - Stenny have finally won thee title and Elgin are probably safe - but I cannot wait for this game. I'm really excited to spend the afternoon with my fellow supporters and see this group of players in action again. This is the most likeable squad we've had in my 20 years following the club and I want to enjoy watching them between now and the end of the season. The game against East Fife was a brutal spectacle but I'm putting that down to the blustery conditions rather than the quality of either side. Stenny are superb defensively, and I'm confident of maintaining another clean sheet here, but there are obvious issues further forward, and it's just not really clicking at the moment. With no pressure, it might relax our attacking players and we might see something more fluid and entertaining as we're struggling to create chances, let alone put them away. Everything seems to be a little too precise at the moment and I hope to see a couple of goals in our favour this weekend. Elgin City have improved since Allan Hale came in, and they're a good side at Borough Briggs, but they don't tend to travel well, picking up just eight points on the road all season, and I hope we can take full advantage. I'd be inclined to go with the same team that start against the Fifers last time out: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Adam Brown - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Edin Lynch - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - I fancy us to win this! Let's go out there and enjoy ourselves and show everyone why we're the champions!

Yesterday was the best day of my life. I've come to terms with winning the division for a few weeks but to have it finally confirmed is incredible. Nothing will feel as good as this. I am head over heels in love with this club and this group of players. Heroes.

Even if Stenhousemuir have nothing to play for by this stage of the season, I imagine everyone associated with the club will want to avenge the 6-1 defeat to Clyde in February. No mercy!

Adam Brown has agreed a new 12-month contract with the club. I think this is good news - he's a fine player and his set-piece delivery has led to numerous goals over the course of the season, but I do wish he'd contribute a little more in open play. His strike against Peterhead earlier in the campaign is undoubtedly the goal of the season. The squad is really coming together for next term. I reckon we'll need to add about five or six good players in the summer, but that can wait for the time being!

No. There's a car park there.

All roads lead to the weekend's match: if Stenhousemuir can beat East Fife at Ochilview, they will win the first league title in their 140-year history. What a moment! What an opportunity! I wish I had a fast-forward button on life; I'd be mashing it until we reached Saturday afternoon. The Warriors are not in tremendous form at the moment, drawing their last four matches and scoring just one goal, but they're defensively resolute and have set a League 2 clean sheet record (18). Nicky Jamieson is likely to miss out with an injury but Edin Lynch is a reasonable deputy, so long as he's asked to do nothing more than head and kick the ball in the direction he's facing, he should do alright. Although there are clear issues further forward, we did at least create some decent chances against Dumbarton last time out, and Ross Taylor should have scored when teed up by Matty Yates. We gave it a good go, and I'd like to think we'll approach this match with the same mindset. East Fife will be difficult opponents. They're the division's most in-form side, they've clearly improved under Dick Campbell and they'll pose a tough challenge. The matches between the two teams this season have been close. Regardless, I'd fancy us for this one - given what's at stake, given the expected attendance, I trust in the players and the manager to see us over the line. I wouldn't mind us going with the same XI that started at the Rock (with Lynch coming in for Jamieson). I can understand the calls to play Matty Aitken from the outset but he's been poor for a couple of weeks now so Matty Yates should keep his place as a "nine-and-a-half" or whatever: - Matty Yates - - Euan O'Reilly - Adam Brown - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Edin Lynch - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - I'm pumped for this one! I'll see you there!

Matty Aitken has scored twice in 2024 - against the Spartans in January and against Bonnyrigg Rose at the start of the month.

The big game of the weekend sees a resurgent Dumbarton taking on Stenhousemuir, the stuttering, soon-to-be champions, at the Rock on Saturday. I'm looking forward to this match - the three previous meetings between the teams have been good and I'm expecting the same here. Although you can never fully trust a Stevie Farrell side, the Sons appear to be getting their act together at the right time and look a decent bet to make an impact in the play-offs; Stenny, meanwhile, will clinch the League 2 title if they win and Peterhead drop points at Clyde, but on current form, you're hard pushed to see the Warriors keeping up their end of the bargain. Stenhousemuir were defensively excellent against the Blue Toon last weekend but are really stuttering further forward. Almost all of the attacking players are out of form - Matty Aitken has been in the doldrums for a while, and if he's not playing well, the whole team seems to suffer, while Matty Yates is going through the motions. I don't think Bradley Rodden or Jordan Kirkpatrick made the most of their opportunity against Peterhead, although Adam Brown and Ross Taylor haven't done much coming off the bench recently either. It's hard to know what Gary Naysmith will do for this one but I'd like to see us go back to the tried-and-tested XI and give it a go. Let's try and win it! I'd bring Taylor back into the fold because he's really saved his best stuff against Dumbarton. - Maty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - I think we can win this one but I reckon it's more likely to end up in a stalemate and we'll be handed the title when the games simply run out. I don't think there will be a lot of football played - the pitch looks in a lousy condition, and this was before Broomhill took on East Kilbride on the Sunday. Either way, I will see you all there!

The team from A View from the Terrace are filming a wee film at Ochilview this weekend to celebrate the team's first ever title win*. They're looking for photos, videos, anything that captures what it's been like following the club over the past few decades. Please do get in touch if you have anything at all! * I appreciate it's not yet wrapped up but something outrageous would have to happen between now and the end of the season.

It's first versus second at Ochilview on Saturday as Stenhousemuir take on Peterhead. This one should be an entertaining encounter - the past two meetings between the sides have been fun - and Stenny can either take one enormous stride towards clinching the title, or be made to wait a little bit longer. It really is that simple. The Warriors weren't amazing at Forfar Athletic at the weekend but there were some decent passages of play here and there and on another day, they could have taken all three points. I wonder how Gary Naysmith will approach this one - I have a feeling he'll stick with the same that started at Station Park. James Berry played well, scored a goal, and turned in his best performance since he joined the club; he deserves to keep his place in the team for the time being. Beyond Berry, there's no obvious alterations. I'd like to see more from Matty Aitken, who's been hot and cold in recent weeks (he couldn't get into the game at Balmoor back in February and the whole team suffered as a result), and Matty Yates. We all know how good a player he can he and I just hope he can provide a bit more quality on the ball. We have the options to change things if the game is going against us. We will go with: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - James Berry - Matty Yates - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - Peterhead are obviously a decent side but they've never once been able to take advantages of our various slip-ups over the past few months and that's why they're lagging behind. We're in for a good game here and I believe we can beat them if we play to our strengths. There's no need to be as direct as we've been recently as we've got the personnel who can knock it around nicely, as well as mixing it up if need be. I'd like to see a wee bit more intensity here - I'm impatient and I don't want to wait much longer! Home win! I'll see you there!

What planet are you living on? Liam Scullion will be lucky to play again this season. That video clip was appalling and both the Bonnyrigg Rose supporter and Scullion should be ashamed, even if the latter reacted in retaliation.

There's not a lot to assess here. It was a fairly mediocre game of football but a game of football we shouldn't have lost all the same. Nicky Jamieson had a great opportunity to win the game late on but inexplicably put a free header over the bar, while Forfar Athletic had one chance and scored from it (I'd need to see it again but it looked like a poor goal all round from a Stenhousemuir perspective). I couldn't see the hosts getting anything from the game, so fair play. I thought Nicky Jamieson had a good game, despite passing up a good chance in front of goal, and Ross Meechan was solid at right-back. James Berry maybe had his best game for the club and was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring. Nat Wedderbun and Mikey Anderson got through a power of running in midfield. Matty Yates huffed and puffed and Matty Aitken showed some nice touches but Adam Hutchinson marshalled him well. Daniel Scally and Stuart Morrison stood out for Forfar, but Russell McLean did not and struggled against Jamieson and Gregor Buchanan - these were the worst kind of opponents for a striker who's not really into the tough stuff and he couldn't get into the game at all. To back up Neilly's point about the referee, I thought his first-half performance was mince. I can accept unpredictability from the players but not from an offical. Nat Wedderbun was booked for a slide tackle but was then kicked by an opponent who escaped a caution. Berry and Meechan were both yellow carded for dissent but Andy Munro, yelling at the referee, gets a talking to. The standard of refereeing this season in League 2 has been noticeably poor and it's spoiling it. It's funny following the team at the moment - it seems like a matter of time before we win the league and that seems to have taken the tension and jeopardy out of games. I would have been annoyed by dropping points to a late, preventable goal, but I left Station Park with a sense of indifference. It doesn't matter, we'll make up for it next week. It sounds like I'm complaining - believe me, I'm not, this is brilliant! - but I'd like to see a wee bit more intensity between now and the end of the season.

A reasonably diverting game of football is taking place this weekend at Station Park as Forfar "the Athies" Athletic take on Stenhousemuir. There doesn't really appear to be all that much at stake here - Forfar should just about be safe after beating Clyde last weekend while Stenny are counting down the days until they lift the title - but it should be a decent contest all the same. The last three meetings between the sides have been entertaining and I'm expecting something similar here. Stenny have been okay-ish in recent weeks. We've been solid at the back and we've got plenty of energy and dynamism but I'd argue we've looked a bit pedestrian in attack and only really look like scoring from set-pieces. I think it might be worthwhile changing things up for this game and bringing Ross Taylor into the starting XI. I'd field Taylor wide on the right, move Matty Yates in behind the striker, and drop James Berry to the bench. I'm pleased Berry's getting a run in the team, and he's been fine in our last two matches, but I think it's time we try something different courtesy of Taylor's pace and trickery. Taylor's had a funny season, with some brilliant moments (his cameo in the home win over Dumbarton) and some stupid gaffes (the red card at Clyde), and I hope he can show us his value over this final run of fixtures. We have options on the bench if things aren't going in our favour. The team, otherwise, picks itself: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Nat Wedderburn - Mikey Anderson - - Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - I'd like to see a bit more from Matty Aitken, as I've found him frustrating in recent weeks, but I'm sure he won't need any motivation here. One of his best performances of the season came at our last visit to Angus. I'd like to think Stenhousemuir can remind us all why they're top of the league by turning in a scintillating display and bringing home the three points. The Spartans game was a bit flat and I want us to go out there and score at least four times. Come on Stenny!

A decent game of football between two handy sides, but neither team showed much attacking intent and a draw was the fairest outcome. A lot of the comments above sum up the match well. I thought Michael Anderson and Nat Wedderburn were our two best players (although the latter fluffed a decent chance at the death), and Ross Meechan had a strong game at right-back. I felt Matty Aitken threw himself to the ground too easily at points, and we could have made our substitutions earlier - Ross Taylor should have been on the pitch long before the 82nd minute. On the whole, there's not a lot to quibble over, other than a late penalty shout that was somehow ignored. It boggles my head that Blair Henderson is the division's top scorer. Every time I see him, I struggle to see what he's good at. Henderson barely won a header and there was a moment in the first half where we were caught out on the counter and the ball broke to him, but he didn't have a clue what to do with it in a deeper position and Euan O'Reilly was able to recover and make a tackle. Marc McNulty showed some nice touches here and there but didn't really influence the match. Nevertheless - we're 15 points clear with 24 left to play for. We're one small step closer to glory.

Thank you for the kind words! Weirdly enough, the three-part Andy Graham interview from 2019 is still available - you can get it from all reputable podcast apps. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Andy is probably the most charismatic person I've ever met and I'm delighted to see him doing so well with Wasps. Long may it continue!

That makes sense, my counting is terribly askew and I've wrongly attributed the relegation in 2017 to Mr McMenamy. I agree with your overall point - he leaves big shoes to fill!

As well as our chairman, our media team are moving on at the end of the season. I'll very sorry to see Iain, Conor, Chris, Angus et al leave the club - I think their work over the past year has been very good and they've done a great job of documenting this momentous campaign (especially the recent videos from full time at Ainslie Park and New Dundas Park). They've given us a great base to build on and will be difficult to replace.

Our chairman, Iain McMenamy, will step down at the end of the season. Mr McMenamy posted a state-of-the-nation address on the club website, celebrating our upcoming 140th anniversary and looking ahead to the future, both immediate and long term. I'd like to think he'll still be involved in some capacity at Ochilview - I've always found him to be friendly, open, honest and a good ambassador for the club. It's fair to say it's been a mixed six years under his chairmanship, with a promotion, two relegations and a series of underwhelming managerial appointments, but if you're going to bow out, our first ever league title win is the way to do it. This season has been extraordinary, the best I've ever had watching my team, and he leaves a hero. All the best, Iain!

Stenhousemuir begin the final quarter with a game against the Spartans at Ochilview. The Warriors currently enjoy a 16-point gap over the Edinburgh side and have won their three previous encounters this season. Every game has been pretty entertaining - the Spartans are one of the more enterprising sides in League 2 and boast some good footballers in Jamie Dishington and Rhys Armstrong - and I'm expecting something similar here. When I think about Stenny's most decisive games over the season, the 1-0 win at Ainslie Park at the beginning of September is up there. Despite playing for half an hour with 10 men, James Berry somehow scored a 97th-minute winner, and this match really showcased our best characteristics - defensively strong, tactically assured, and an outstanding team spirit; these same qualities will be on show on Saturday and all the way through the remainder of the campaign. It feels as though it's only a matter of time before we win out first ever league title and a victory on Saturday would take us one step further to glory. I'm not sure if Gary Naysmith will go with the same XI that defeated Bonnyrigg Rose the previous week or tinker a little. I think it might be the former: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Mikey Anderson - James Berry - Nat Wedderburn - Matty Yates - - Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - Whatever the manager goes with, I fully trust whoever's on the park and whoever's in reserve to do the business here. I hope the Spartans are tired and deflated after their draw with Bonnyrigg on Tuesday night - the New Dundas Park pitch was in some state at the weekend and was probably worse three days later - but regardless, we'll be in for a good game here. We'll need to keep an eye out for Marc McNulty. He's not looking fit or sharp at the moment but he's obviously a quality player who can cause damage if we let our guard down. The head and the heart say a home win. I'll see you there!

No it didn't. You can't pass the ball or dribble with it on that surface. The game at the weekend was a brutal spectacle. I always like watching my team playing at New Dundas Park - it's a different kind of challenge, you have to adapt your gameplan accordingly - but that pitch takes the cake!

I think this could well be the weekend the 2023/24 League 2 title heads to Ochilview. While Stenhousemuir ground out a win at Bonnyrigg Rose, both Peterhead and the Spartans lost, meaning the Warriors hold a 17-point lead at the top of the table. There are nine games remaining and 27 points left to play for - it seems inevitable at this stage. Today's match, however, was abysmal. It was a rotten game of football on a boggy pitch that cut up and got worse as the match wore on and, as expected, the ball spent more time in the air than it did on the ground. There were a handful of occasions when someone tentatively put their foot on the ball and tried to "pass" but these moments were fleeting. I have no idea how Bonnyrigg supporters can watch that muck every week. They're a great club who have brought a lot to the SPFL but they're a poor team, and the New Dundas Park surface does not help them. A draw would have been the fairest result here. Both sides threatened sporadically, both goalkeepers had the odd save to make, and there was little between the sides throughout. I didn't get a good view of Matty Aitken's goal but Bradley Rodden's corner was perfect and the big striker took full advantage. Every time we get a corner, I feel like we can score. It was great to see Aitken back on the scoresheet after a lean spell, and great to see Rodden finally make a decisive contribution in a Stenny shirt. The celebrations at the end of the match between the players and supporters were brilliant to be a part of. It's hard to tell who played well and who didn't - "winning headers" seemed to be the definitive indicator of a good performance - but a lot of credit has to go to the goalkeeper and his back four. The five players were outstanding, throwing their bodies in front of everything and defending as if their lives depended on it. If you're going to bounce back from a 6-1 humiliation the previous week, this is the way to do it. Our defence has been the bedrock of our success this season and it's been disrupted by injury in recent weeks, but having Kinlay Bilham, Nicky Jamieson, Gregor Buchanan and Ross Meechan in front of Darren Jamieson is an enormous boon. Credit to them. Up next: a Spartans side who could close the gap if they win their game in hand on Tuesday night. It'll be all to play for and we'll have to be at our best to beat them. Having a settled, confident back four will go a long way to achieving that.

A remarkable footballer. When it clicks for him, he looks like he could be playing in the Premiership but his lack of application and body language is such a turn off that it's hard to believe he's still in the SPFL. Fair play to him though, and fair play to Forfar Athletic.

How's big Russell McLean getting on at Station Park? I thought it was a bit of a kiddy-on signing but you can't really argue with five goals in seven games!

An enormous game lies in store on Saturday as Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic welcome Stenhousemuir to New Dundas Park. Neither team is in great form - Bonnyrigg have won just one match in 2024, while Stenny are coming into the tie off the back of a jaw-dropping 6-1 defeat to Clyde - but a victory for either side would go a long way. The Rose could kill off any lingering doubts about finishing at the foot of the table, while the Warriors have the chance to re-establish their credentials at the top of the table and maintain their impressive advantage. It's all to play for! While Stenhousemuir have a flawless record at New Dundas Park - three games, three wins - you know you're going to be in for a horrible, brutal game, low on quality but high in hard graft. We have better players than Bonnyrigg and if we can match their spirit and work ethic, we can beat them. The team should use the weekend's humiliation as motivation to go out and win this - it was so shocking that it has to be channeled into something positive, and I back the players and the manager to bounce back immediately. There are 10 games to go and we cannot let this fall away, not at this stage. Nicky Jamieson didn't play on Saturday but he did make the bench, so I'm going to assume he's been kept in reserve for the kind of fixture he's custom built for. We will need him, as the ball is likely to spend as much time in the air as it will on the deck. I'd bring Jamieson back in immediately, and I'd also give Ross Taylor a start at the expense of Adam Brown - Brown's set-pieces have always been superb but I don't think we're getting much from him otherwise. Ross Meechan had a ruinously poor game against Clyde but I trust him and expect him to excel at right-back here. - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan - - Darren Jamieson - Both the head and the heart say and away win. I'll see you all there!