craigiemack

Hahaha sorry I misread the results, I'll change the OP. A 4-1 thumping of LTHV isn't exactly great pre season form either though !

f**k me, that is 2 hours of my life i'll never get back. Can't wait to get started again on Saturday - hopefully we'll all be allowed in to games at some point in the near future. All the best to every team this year and a huge thanks to all the committees and covid officers that have worked tirelessly to make the restart of football a success

5 sleeps till East Stirlingshire FC ruin my Saturdays again and I can't wait so lets get the predictions in for the year. 1. Kelty Hearts - Despite losing some key defensive players they've kept the bulk of their team from last season and made some shrewd signings. Jamieson is one of the best part time goalkeepers in the country and although they didn't make any eye catching defensive signings it should be a solid enough back 4. Higginbotham adds more firepower to their already feared attack and it would be a shock if they didn't win the league. One thing i noticed though is no LL team has played in the Betfred Cup and won the league in the same season, the games against St Johnstone and Dundee Utd might take a bit of the legs so will be interesting to see how they respond. 2. Bonnyrigg Rose - A solid unit last year and you'd expect more of the same. The other teams that finished in the top 4 last year have made changes to their squads but Bonnyrigg have signed everyone on and added the versatility of Andy Mair from Civil, another solid team so you'd expect him to fit in easily, defensive depth in Bob Wilson and the goalscoring ability of Jordan Smith from Tynecastle. I don't think they will be as close to Kelty this year but I think they might still be one step ahead of the rest. The downsides would be the loss of Euan Moyes and the effect of behind closed doors games. New Dundas is always a fiery place to go and the intimidation factor might not be there this year with no fans. 3. East Kilbride - Good old Kilby have invested heavily this summer but its strikingly similar to the Shires failed attempt of last year. Scatter gun recruitment of players that don't really know that they are letting themselves in for. The way Aitken conducts his interviews also give an air of complacency and they might be in for a shock when they go to Stirling Uni on Saturday. However, if it all clicks then they will be strong challengers for the league and will give Kelty a strong fight. One of my pals is a Morecambe fan and said that Steven Old is a very commanding defender and a huge threat from set pieces while you'd expect Paul Paton to have a similar influence to Nicky Low. Chris Erskine imo could be one of the worst LL signings ever but we'll wait and see on that one. 4. East Stirlingshire - I think this has been the Shires best summer of recruitment since our first season in the LL. Keeping Tapping, Low, Dish and Brown at the club was great business and we look to have strategically signed players to fit a tactic. Barclay was past his best and has been replaced by Ross Connolly, yet to concede a goal in pre season and looks a good addition. Gregg Wylde will add a bit of quality in defence while Kieran Gibbons will add stability to the midfield and allow Low more freedom to work his magic. Hadden and Henderson are two young wingers but appear to have a lot of pace and might add the direct wing play that we were missing last season and Kearney and Brown will be a very physical front pair. I think we'll be a very good team to watch this year but we are a long way off challenging for the league. The clubs defeatist attitude in big games denies any shot of winning them so it will no doubt be another season of ifs, buts and maybes. If it all clicks we might challenge the top 3 but in the same breathe I wouldn't be surprised if we finished in 7th. 5. BSC Glasgow - Like Shire I really like the signings BSC have made this summer but their is a lot of the unknown this season regarding the squad, something there hasn't been in previous years. Marshall was a solid, experienced keeper and he has been replaced with an untested younger goalkeeper. The loss of Collins and Orr up top will surely be a huge loss and are almost impossible to replace. Because of this, there will surely be a lot of pressure on Declan Hughes to drive the team forward. However, in Stephen Swift they have probably the best manager in the league who will have drilled the same ethos into the new players. They'll be hard to beat and if as clinical in attack as they been in recent years they'll be a hindrance to the teams at the top and could easily sneak into the top 3 again. 6-14th. Trojans, Edusport Academy, Borrowstounness, Cumbernauld Stallions, Gala Unicorndean, Stirling College, Berwick Celtic, Dalbeattie Circle, Civil Service Amblers. There is literally no way to separate any of these teams. Spartans have made good signings but are still no where near the force they once were. Edusport have made some decent signings too and with the strike force of McLaughlin and McNeil they are a good team on their day. They just lack the consistency and a shaky back 4 doesn't help that. I can't see Bo Ness having the same impact Bonnyrigg did in the league and the quotes from their manager suggest that a period of stability and adjustment are the aims for the season. Cumbernauld came out in Januray saying they had a bit of cash to spend this year but all they have done is sign Queens Parks under 20 team. Shire had two players on loan from them last year, both decent players but no where near the quality to push into the top 5. Can they take points of Kelty for the third year in a row? I quite like Galas team, Galbraith and Rodgers are very good players for this level and will comfortably keep them out of the relegation fight and their aim will be trying to be the Borders premier team for the second year running. The covid crisis has probably had the harshest impact on the uni teams as their ability to get new players has been hindered but you would expect them to be comfortably mid table again. Angus Mailer will be a huge loss for them though. Berwick are doing a lot of great work of the field but on it is a different story. They managed to get rid of Walters, who was perhaps one of the worst goalies i've seen at this level, this can only be a positive. Lewis Allan will give them firepower to push up the league slightly you would imagine. Vale of Leithen first game will give a big indication of what is to come. Dalbeattie made a few eye catching signings and that looks to have pushed them away from the other 3 struggling teams of last year. A possible outside chance to reach the top half. I literally have no idea what to write about Civil, I think they've passed their peak as the other sides around them seem to have improved while they've stayed stagnant, there is not much on their social media so I guess i'll see on Saturday when they inevitably shitfest a 1-0 victory against the Shire. 15th. Gretna 2008 - The Gretna team that was defeated 9-1 by the Shire was the worst side I have ever witnessed so this year surely can't be as bad as that. Rowan Alexander is a great appointment as manager and i'm sure he'll improve them. They got some good results in the cups last year and if they can translate that to league form they should move clear of the bottom 2 but I dont't think they have the quality to reach any of the clubs mentioned above. 16th-17th. Vale of Leithen and Edinburgh Uni - Both stick ons to go down but I don't know in what order. Vales luck will surely run out and i'm sad about that because I never made it down to their ground for a game. They seem to have lost a few players to the East of Scotland League and their 4-1 defeat to LTHV in pre-season doesn't bode well for the season ahead. No clue about Edinburgh Uni, they were already close to the drop and the covid situation will have put more pressure on the management team to sign up players. Both look goners if 2 teams are relegated this year.

I presume teams would need to provide financial evidence that they are fucked to be able to withdraw in December? If not then it's basically giving a free pass to some clubs to make sure they are still in the league in a years time.

I don't know the ins and outs. My thoughts are that with the increasing cases around the country and the stricter restrictions anyone coming into contact with someone who has tested positive will need to isolate. I know that in Rugby League the players wear GPS monitors so if a player tests positive they can track who was in close proximity and for how long etc but that obviously wont be an option at this level. Importantly though, and I think this point may be getting overlooked, I hope whoever has tested positive is okay and its only asymptomatic. We forget sometimes when our emotions run high about our teams that these players are only part time and have much more important commitments outside of football. Hopefully whoever has tested positives working life wont be affected. From the teams perspective this is obviously going to have a big impact on our season. We wont be able to train for 2 weeks, you could say they are the 2 most important weeks of pre season too, and we will miss at least our first game, possibly the Edinburgh Uni game on the Tuesday too, this will mean that like every year we are chasing other teams from the start. The timing could have been worse though, when the season gets going something like this could mean having to postpone 4 or 5 games. Where are they going to find the dates to play these games in what is already a crowded season?

A Shire player has tested positive and as such the full team have to isolate for 14 days, thus meaning our first game of the season is postponed? No doubt this will be the first of many times a player tests positive and the full squad need to isolate. Said it at the time but it really is a joke that the league decided to have a 32 game season, its completely unachievable. I wonder if this will have an impact and they might rethink, if not then it could easily become a joke if positive cases continue to happen.

Another signing from an American College tonight, what a global club we are. I love how we need to mention the height of our new signings. We're turning into junior cloggers with every passing day.

Not unless the Shire covered it. Hopefully they did. Looked like a guy with a camera in the photos the shire took

Do you think there will be highlights from todays game ?

It just won't feel right, we'll still draw 1-1 though so it won't be all that different!

In other news, I also presume Mark Millar and Evan Horne have moved on? Haven't seen them in any photos nor in the line up on Saturday. Cant remember seeing them sign with another club so id imagine they might still be free agents.

I quite like our start, I had resigned myself to the fact we were going to have BSC as usual so this is a nice change. Civil will test us as always but it we have any ambitions to finish anywhere near the top of the league then we need to win it. Edinburgh uni should be a walk in the park then I'm sure Dalbeattie will give us a good game but like the Civil one if we want to be near the top we need to win it. If we get 9/9 to start the season that should set us up nicely for the EK game. I'm looking forward to seeing our team this year, I think this is the first year in the lowland league where we haven't had to replace any big players over the summer and this has allowed us to improve our squad in a few positions. We look to have a settled defence and hopefully Ross Connolly can give the back 4 the confidence that I don't think Jamie Barclay always gave them. Gibbons and Low should compliment each other well and we've signed a few wingers that will add pace to an attack that last year looked quite slow. Sean Brown staying fit for the year would also be a huge bonus. I can't see us winning the league but I hope that we could put up some sort of fight. The games are going to come thick and fast this year and it would be great to be involved in some sort of scrap for the title. I'd hate for us to bottle our opening games then have 27 meaningless fixtures crammed into 6 months but it will not surprise me one bit if that ends up the case.

France also recorded over 10,000 cases yesterday so I don't know how long that will last. I had hoped that each team could have one friendly with fans so that the clubs and fans could get used to the protocols that will need to be carried out for the league seasons. I don't really care about not being able to watch pre season friendlies anyway and if it means that we get fans back for the league kicking off then i'm sure its a sacrifice worth taking.

Please don't ever refer me as someone from bainsford! Classic shire though, always deflecting the blame. Never someone from the cliques fault.

Hahahahaha

Start as you mean to go on, enjoy the East of Scotland in 2021 ya bunch of diddies

Barry Ferguson's signing policy literally is just any player who has a good game against him. I remember he signed Steven Brisbane when he was at Clyde because he scored a good goal against them. It just happened to be his only goal that season I think. Matty Flynn is the same, played okay against Kelty and that was good enough to sign him. Flynn and McNab should be no where near Keltys squad

Just putting out a teaser gogsy

Played in the UEFA Youth League last season too, interesting signing.

Hahahaha thousands of pounds on equipment. You can do it on a mobile phone if you wanted, you must be a good junior man as youre so out of touch with the times. Around a hundred people watched the shire games at a time, that would grow when the 'diehard fans' or 'non league nerds' like myself who aren't allowed to attend watch the games. So should I just not pay any attention to my football club because I have to watch it online? Should the volunteers who put hours and hours per week into their club just stop because they are only allowed to watch it online? Streaming online gives people the opportunity to connect and get back involved in their football club. It can only be a good thing. These are extraordinary times, it's a great thing for clubs to do. Streaming online helped keep me hooked to the shire and I'm sure thousands of people around the country who can't attend games will stay connected to their club if there are streaming opportunities available. Keep living in the past old boy.

Hahaha state of this post. What is wrong with live streaming games if fans aren't allowed to attend? Stick the link to a just giving page in the description and I'm sure a lot of fans watching would donate some cash. It's better than nothing The Shire began live streaming last season and it was great. I moved to Dundee 4 years ago and as such I didn't get the chance to see us play as often. My Saturdays were reduced to looking on twitter for updates or my pals texting me, if the cameraman couldn't make it there would be no highlights so I would never know what happened. Last year the games were livestreamed so if I was free on Saturday afternoon and couldn't make the game I could watch my team play. Obviously it's not the same as being there but for fans that don't live local or can't make the game it is still brilliant. We defeated Civil Service with 2 late goals and it was like we'd won the Champions League the way I was jumping about my house. Fair play to Kelty if they are going to stream, hopefully other clubs follow if they have the resources. On your way troll.

The pyramid expansion is obviously the biggest and most intriguing matter in lower league Scottish football, but there are hundreds of threads already made about it and it seems that almost every thread no matter what it is about ends up with a pyramid discussion. On the cup draw, there are so many interesting ties. I'm interested in the West v East conference ties as it'll be interesting to compare the standard between the two leagues. In terms of an upset, I'd perhaps go for Dalbeattie to beat Largs. I think dalbeattie have a good squad and it just hasn't clicked in the past few years but they've made a few good signings so that could be an interesting one. Similarly Gretna against Penicuik could be good, they improved once Alexander took over and have also made a couple decent signings. They knocked Hill of Breath out the Scottish last year so they might have enough to defeat Penicuik. Hopefully fans will be back for these games as I'm sure with the right promotion and marketing decent crowds could be attained. I also heard that the Soccer shop are paying travel expenses for away teams in the cup, if so fhat is a great gesture. I don't know if there is prize money for this cup but it is now the premier non league competition and hopefully it will continue to grow and hold a lot of prestige in the coming years. Would love for the semis or final to somehow end up on TV as it could be a great advert for football at this level. Good luck to all teams, so glad the fitbaw is almost back

We probably wont be allowed in anyway mate. I cant see us in before 2021 Aye that well may be the case. I'd just of preferred easy ties in the first few rounds to get us through to the later stages. Gives us something to look forward to after we bottle our chance of winning the league in the first 5 games. However, I would be distraught if we drew Wigtown and bladnoch away or something mad like that and we didn't get to go so at least if fans can't attend we aren't missing much.

What a great discussion on the South Challenge Cup this is

What a shite draw, only positive is we will probably start favourites against either of them but our record against Spartans is pretty poor.