[Stenhousemuir -vs- Cowdenbeath]

My favourite Stenny dressing room implosion came not long before the sound of whirling helicopter blades was heard in the land...

helicopter_dreams_winners.txt

[Cowden v Brechin Basement Battle]

5 hours ago, HenryHill said:

Two goals, clean sheet, three points, no bookings. Nice.

I thought it would be a grim bottom of the league battle, but it turned out to be a comfortable win for Cowden. 

First time I'd seen  Gavin Morrison, the big lad from Brora who has a big reputation up in the North, where I live. He's very impressive in midfield. Kavanagh also caught the eye. Our stand-in Our stand-n goalie was also very impressive.. We looked solid at the back, with Mango and Jamie Todd outstanding.

We've made a rocky start to the season .Onwards and upwards

[Cowdenbeath v QP]

2 hours ago, big al said:

That’s quite enough of that talk Ron, I have to listen to him through the week.

Hi Al what I like about Mr Nelson is that he doesn't babble or tell us about what we've just seen on the screen.  

For people like me  who live far away, it's great to watch home games without having to travel forever in baltic weather.  Kudos to the team in charge of the excellent streaming service.

The only thing I miss is standing on the terracing surrounded by complete lunatics. with instant one-liners). Speaking of such things, Big Stuart is such a miss, isn't he?  - the best and quickest I've ever heard.  It really was an art form. (Mibbe we should have a trophy in Stuart's name  for the best terracing wit of the year (With examples, of course).

[Cowdenbeath v QP]

Great package by Blue Brazil TV, Well done. guys. 

QP hardly got out of first gear.

My MOM - Colin Nelson. I think Nelly has a new career looming...

[Cowdenbeath v Broxburn]

On 26/10/2019 at 18:47, Blue Oktober said:

We were very poor today but have the chance to respond in the right manner on Tuesday lets hope we do so. We  need to see big improvements next two games but we need to get behind the team. Before these two tis we were going well ab=nd getting results so lets not throw the baby away wit the bath water.

In terms of Broxburn fully deserved win and out played us today showing last week was no fluke. Well organised and worked for each other showing real desire and some real quality at times. Everyone I met associated with the club were spot on and a great vocal home support overall the club were very gracious winners. I will be cheering them on in the Scottish hoping they can go further and a couple of fans I spoke with are thinking about travelling to watch us when they Broxburn are away. 

I hate losing   & extremely disappointed with  a real opportunity dropped  and financial impact too, but Credit to all at Broxburn on your deserved win all the best and enjoy you're night.

Broxburn wanted it more. Fought for every ball, backed by a very vocal support. We  were outfought and outthought. The decision to play Mango in midfield backfired:: Broxburn were very direct, and pumped balls high in the air, meaning that the ball was passing Mango by, while putting huge pressure on our  nervous back line line because our most dominating defender was stranded in midfield

For me, Harvey Swan was easily our best player. When he ran at the Broxburn defence, his close control caused them big problems.

What a missed opportunity to earn serious cash, with Inverurie up next. 

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

14 hours ago, PELE said:

Looked to me like:-

Whyte,

Valentine, Glass, Pyper, Pollock,

Swann, Thomas, Easton, Taylor,

Allan, Connelly.

Subs: Buchanan on for Connelly. Barr and Mullen on for Easton and Thomas

How did Taylor play?

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

1 hour ago, onecowden said:

21 points from the first quarter is a brilliant return for our efforts. Well done to everyone involved with the club. We ended season 17/18 with 22 points in total. In 17 months the transformation on the pitch is quite remarkable. We have Stirling Albion away on the 26th of this month then Cove at home a week later. Lets see how many locals we can get to that game. The team deserve a good backing. Tell your friends, family, anyone. Lets show the club/players we appreciate all their efforts.

• How will I spend the rest of this dark, wet Orkney evening? - Staring at this. Well done to all concerned 
• Scottish League Two

		Team	P	GD	Pts
1		Cove Rangers	9	16	22
2		Cowdenbeath	9	8	21
3		Edinburgh City	9	5	19
4		Stenhousemuir	9	-3	12
5		Annan Athletic	9	-6	12
6		Elgin	9	0	9
7		Queen's Park	9	-4	9
8		Albion	9	-5	8
9		Brechin	9	-7	7
10		Stirling	9	-4	6

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

5 hours ago, StevieLes II said:

Never thought I’d say this as I’ve always been a terrace first guy, but if it saved the club money, I’d be happy to close the terrace for most home games. Especially through the winter months.

New stand was around 3/4 full yesterday and creates a wee bit of noise and atmosphere. First time in a long time I’ve felt a bit excitement, (not including nervous dread at playoff games) and I think being in a busy stand contributed to that.

You can take away my freedom, you can take away my money, you can take away my old age pension, you can take away my takeaways - but if you try to take away the terracing I'll put you, your friends and family to the sword in a bloody battle that will be talked about in hushed tones for centuries. Got that, Stevie? 

[Queen's Park V Cowdenbeath]

On 24/09/2019 at 12:28, Blue Brazil Forever said:

Nah!  Deduct 10 points. Simple, fair and equitable.

You weren't playing today, were you, Sandy?

Great to see Greg Stewart getting great reviews for his performance for Rangers against Aberdeen today, scoring his first goal for Rangers and giving the Aberdeen defence a hard time.

[Queen's Park V Cowdenbeath]

Nae bother, really.

[Queen's Park V Cowdenbeath]

3-0 Cowden! This Cowden team seems to have a bit of resilience about it. Pleasing. 

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

On 15/09/2019 at 15:21, Blue Oktober said:

A lot of good points CLB and suggestions appreciated. I completely  agree involving Kids & Community are key aspects as well as wider engagement. Some initiatives already off the ground with more too come I guess one of the biggest challenges as well as the availability of funds is the availability of people to support initiatives with the boar members pretty stretched. I will try and outline some of what's happening and I guess some of what the club would like to do too  by easy of an update :

• Community work is underway on a Community Trust with the hugely successful 5K run being one of the first big initiatives . There been a huge amount of time spent on this and a complex  process  around   Trust Agreements partnership consents etc. but highly advanced stage.
• Schools Alex Haddow doing a great job working with all the local schools to get them involved and attending as well arranging mascots. Our community coach Dean Ewing is also in the local schools running sessions too.
• The Club opened the Andy Mathew Lounge in the stand with the bar now open for the first time in 10 years  available to fans pre match & post match with players in post match giving fans the chance meet building closer bonds. The lounge is available for Hospitality & for match sponsors etc too.
• Club has created a new Commercial package covering player sponsorship, match & ball sponsorship and advertising. The club has tried to break all the packages down and make them flexible to try & make more accessible to people so for example if someone can't afford to the full player sponsorship they have options starting at boot sponsorship. Also for the first time which has moved to be very popular opportunity to sponsor a step.Details on the club website clicking on the Commercial tab available here.
•  The club lottery is now available fully on line including a mobile app you can play here.
• Blue Brazil TV has been ressurected to share highlights , post match interviews & player interviews as well as behind the goals coverage, still more to develop here but the more subscribers the more effective it is you can subscribe free here.
• New merchandise such as the popular Cowdenbeath.
• There are a number of other areas being worked on one of which coming soon free public access fast broadband across all of Central Park.

I hope this gives an isight on some of what's ended and what's being worked on suggestions always welcomed too with fans already contributing some great suggestions.

Financing a football club is not easy in this day and age & boards have a free budgets based on projected forecasts so in other words the board has to agree what they think is a realistic and achievable figure to give the manager a playing budget to recruit the kind of players that fans want see & hopefully in turn brings some success, none of these aspects hover are guaranteed. though. 

So in practical terms it means the board has to set targets across all income opportunities and push these to deliver the budget if they fail then there's a shortfall that some one has to cover. If fans are able to  spread the word on sponsorship, hospitality etc that would go a huge way, as would using the lounge getting some atmosphere with fans & players etc.

Also getting friends & family to try the lottery we are getting players now in the USA & Australia which is great.

This is not a post  to say how great the board are or have a moan complaint people are not doing enough it s intended to give some insights around progress & challenges. The club has some fantastic loyal and generous fans whom without there would be no club. Money is tight for every one & I know there are some already giving probably more than they can, that is why spreading the word on some of the opportunities available far & wide hips financially and also spreads the burden too.

Mon the coo

 

 

Good stuff, Alan. Many thanks. It's also good to see how our on-line presence has improved so much in recent times.

[Stenhousemuir -vs- Cowdenbeath]

32 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

That was a horror show yesterday, a thoroughly depressing 90 minutes and one we deserved nothing from. We looked alright in the first half and knocked the ball around well enough but there was no penetration, no opportunities to get in behind Cowdenbeath and I don't think we forced Kevin Dubrowski into a serious save until we were three goals down. The opposition we good - they looked solid at the back and kept our limited attack quiet and they were dangerous whenever they bounded forward. Connor Smith in particular was excellent and I thought he was the best player on the park.

The said, the three goals we lost were dire, particularly the second and third goals. Where was the concentration? Where was the midfield to support the defence and mark the Cowden runners coming from deep? Pathetic stuff. I think the only Stenhousemuir player who looked half decent was Thomas Halleran but he was removed midway through the first half (albeit he might have been injured). As others have commented, our loan signings have just added depth to the squad, they haven't improved us and it's pretty dispiriting to see Cowden field boys like Smith, players of genuine quality who improve the starting XI, while we have Dylan Dykes on the bench.

Three league home matches, three miserable performances, nine goals conceded. Other than a 20-minute spell against Albion Rovers and a brief period against Edinburgh City, we've been rubbish. Why is this? I can't explain it. We don't really have a clear way of playing - we have boys in the team who should be good enough knocking it about the deck but instead we play neck-high balls to a striker who, while willing, needs balls into his feet. I worry about Colin McMenamin (why do so many of our supporters struggle to spell his name?) If we fail to get wins against Brechin City and Stirling Albion, the end could be nigh. A damn shame as he's been a superb player for the club, but it's yet to really work out under his management.

Craig, it's no disgrace to be thrashed by the mighty Blue Brazil

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

On 10/09/2019 at 12:44, Balloo Brazilian said:

Predictions for this week people? I thinks I'll go for the draw 0-0 or 1-1.

After the default  gut-wrenching torture in  relegation territory, we have a team.  Early days for making predictions, but from what I've seen so far there is a balance to this side, stretching from our gigantic keeper all the way through to the strikers. Not only that, the spirit among the players is evident for all to see. Credit to the management team and the board. Now, if only we could persuade the town...

[Stenhousemuir -vs- Cowdenbeath]

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

On 25/08/2019 at 12:03, Cowden_T.I.D said:

 

 

Thanks mate , really enjoying doing it although the camera ran out of battery and missed frasers goal but a new batters is ordered

 

 

Great stuff, T.I.D - much appreciated

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

4 hours ago, The_Pit_Owns said:

Kris Renton was absolutely brilliant today. Two assists and won the penalty.

Hard-won victory. Thought our back line was superb - winning so many  balls in the air and a lot of second balls. We were a bit shaky to begin with, but the more we settled the more we began to dominate the play. We have an outstanding keeper who gives confidence to the men in front of him. Our new signings from Hearts are already making their mark in a positive way. Smith was outstanding and big Kris never gave their defenders peace. The smiles are back at CP - get the word out  - this is a promising side

[Cowdenbeath v The Binos]

First half very scrappy, but turned it around in the second half and deserved the win. Renton was outstanding - his work rate was excellent and his goal was class. 

My first look at the team: Our big keeper was excellent, Barr was commanding and Pyper did well. Good to have Harvey Swan in the team - he gives us a different dimension, he's too good a player to be on the bench. We could still do with a dominant midfielder (like Toorie) to breaks up the play. When Stirling threw everything at us to save the game, we defended robustly. We're not too far away from being a good side

 

By the way - cracking programmes by the boys - packed with information. Super one for the Andy Mattew Lounge - pure class, as ever

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

14 hours ago, onecowden said:

Still we are in a better place at the start of this season than the two previous. The game against Stenny next week is more of a gauge. I’m hopeful we could be fighting at the right end of the table this year. Fingers crossed.

Yes. We seem to have more actual footballers in the squad this time around. I was concerned about the keeper situation, since McGurn had been so outstanding, but so far that situation seems to have been addressed very well. The BBC guys said that we matched Hearts in terms of fitness. I hope we can hit the ground running when the league programme kicks off.

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

On 06/07/2019 at 23:17, ++Ammo - Airdrie++ said:

When I seen sheer in warming up I actually thought it was a guy who's won a raffle and the prize was a place on the bench for a friendly. I've seen big units play in the lower leagues, but he really is some size.

Anybody who thinks Sheerin doesn't contribute much should read the quotes by Cove defenders in the Evening Express. Still counting the bruises apparently.

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

Billy McGann was so wee that the ball boys used to trip over him 

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

16 hours ago, Cowden Cowboy said:

That was Billy McGann - an incredible shot stopper but one of the smallest goalies ever. Airdrie's Drew Jarvie virtually ended his Cowden career by scoring 4 goals past him in a top flight clash - more than one goal being lobbed over Billy's head.

Yes, fantastic shot stopper - very agile. Wasn't he eventually replaced by a very youthful Jim McArthur, Cowboy?

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

8 hours ago, ronaldincoo said:

Davie Ross. What a wizard on the wing. My dad reckons he could hit the crossbar 8 times out of 10 from a corner.

Steve,  does your dad reckon that he himself could hit the crossbar 8 times out of 10 from a corner?  Send on any footage.

[COWDENBEATH 2019-20]

16 hours ago, Zen Archer said:

Craig Barr, he lost a bet and changed his middle name by deed poll.

He's an ordained minister as well.

I've got a slightly used clerical collar I could sell him if he signs....

[Cowdenbeath 2018-2019]

1 hour ago, ronaldincoo said:

Beaky Baxter.

Ah, the Great Smokie Pensioner Mystery, when Cowden lost 4-1 at Arbroath! Here's how Helicopter Dreams recorded it for posterity:

The turning point of the game comes in 69 minutes when an Arbroath supporter throws the ball in Mark Baxter’s face as the full back waits to take a throw-in. Baxter loses the plot and hurls the ball back at the fan. The referee immediately sends off the Cowden player. Jay Stein makes it 2-0 for Arbroath. Then, with nine minutes remaining, Iain Mauchlen makes a reckless challenge on John McGlashan and is rightly red-carded. This sees almost all the players on the park congregating to “debate” the matter. McGlashan subs himself off and disappears down the tunnel, where there is an altercation. Paul Watson and Steven Cook score further goals against the nine-man Cowden, and Mikko Paatelainen scores his first goal for the club in injury time.  On Pie and Bovril, a thread headed “Mark Baxter, you are a fucking disgrace”, starts a furious debate involving a total of 141 postings. 

These were the days....