Armand 2 Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I know the history of players moving from Thistle to Stenny isn't great (Meechan aside) but I imagine we'll be looking to put Kevin Nisbet, James Penrice and potentially Div Wilson out for spells this season. The cup game may be an opportunity for Bomber to see them in live action. Nisbet in particular has a very good chance - and I can assure you is a far more accomplished footballer than Shaun Fraser. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 I know the history of players moving from Thistle to Stenny isn't great (Meechan aside) but I imagine we'll be looking to put Kevin Nisbet, James Penrice and potentially Div Wilson out for spells this season. The cup game may be an opportunity for Bomber to see them in live action. Nisbet in particular has a very good chance - and I can assure you is a far more accomplished footballer than Shaun Fraser. I saw Kevin Nisbet on loan at East Stirlingshire in 2014-15 and was really impressed by him. Scored some really nice goals, including a sweetheart in a win against Arbroath, if I remember correctly. While he'd do us a good turn, we already have a diminutive, hard-working striker in Allan Smith. We'll see what happens. Shaun Fraser was genuinely awful, the most limited footballer I've ever seen, at Stenhousemuir or elsewhere. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichtie78 Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I saw Kevin Nisbet on loan at East Stirlingshire in 2014-15 and was really impressed by him. Scored some really nice goals, including a sweetheart in a win against Arbroath, if I remember correctly. While he'd do us a good turn, we already have a diminutive, hard-working striker in Allan Smith. We'll see what happens. Shaun Fraser was genuinely awful, the most limited footballer I've ever seen, at Stenhousemuir or elsewhere. I remember that game well, and that goal was an absolute peach. Probably one of the best I've seen in person. I also remember it because one of my pals was chucked out for jumping down a row of seats instead of going to the stairs at the end of the row 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armand 2 Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I saw Kevin Nisbet on loan at East Stirlingshire in 2014-15 and was really impressed by him. Scored some really nice goals, including a sweetheart in a win against Arbroath, if I remember correctly. While he'd do us a good turn, we already have a diminutive, hard-working striker in Allan Smith. We'll see what happens. Shaun Fraser was genuinely awful, the most limited footballer I've ever seen, at Stenhousemuir or elsewhere. He's filled out a fair bit now. One of the most impressive things during his first team appearances has been his willingness to work the channels, take the ball in tight and link the play. Often you'll get young strikers coming on and chasing shadows for 10 minutes but that's not Nisbet. As for Fraser, the fact he's not played football at any level since leaving us is a telling sign. McCall bigged him up as something he never was, think he only made the switch from rugby well into his teens and that told with his technique. Didn't have a very good attitude either by most accounts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichtie78 Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Since you signed Jack Smith, enjoy this classic piece of #bantz created by one of Bobby Linn/Ricky Little 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Stenhousemuir beat Heart of Midlothian's U-20 side 2-1 at Ochilview earlier this evening, and the club might have a new hero on their hands in Vinnie Berry, who scored two wonderful goals to give the Warriors the win. The first saw him waltz into the box and, just when you thought he was going to tee up Colin McMenamin, he dumped the 'keeper on his backside and chipped the ball over him and into the net, and his second was a half-volley from the edge of the area in the final minute. He had a good game and his goals were an unexpected bonus. The result aside, I'm not sure what to make of the match. Hearts were the better side in the first half and we struggled to match their speed and movement. A couple of players looked a little off the pace but we're unlikely to come up against a team like that in the league, so it could be excused. Robbie Buchanan was the pick of the bunch for the Jambos and he opened the scoring, finishing a neat move by more or less passing it into the net via the post. Stenny came close when the lively Alan Cook slalomed in on goal but his shot was well saved. Stenny seemed to be playing a 4-1-4-1 system, with Berry in front of the back four and Jack Smith up front alone. Smith had an interesting game - he looked alright whenever he got on the ball and he played a lovely pass in for Cook's chance, but he looks like someone who needs talked through the games. There was one occasion in the first half when Ross Meechan bollocked him for not closing down a throw-in deep in the opposition half. Stenny made a number of changes in the second half and looked a little better, McMenamin offering more of an outlet up top than Smith, but the whole game seemed to lose its edge after Hearts swapped over a bunch of players. The ones that came on weren't as good as the ones that came off and Stenny began to get into the game. I don't remember Hearts having a single chance in the second half, come to think of it. They looked scratchy and that's when Berry pounced with his first, and his second minutes before the end gave Stenny a win they probably didn't deserve. The positives: Ross Meechan was very good and has picked up where he left off last season. Bold, brave, positionally sound and vocal, he should be given the captaincy, 100 per cent. He was organising players around him, scolding them when they deserved it and praising them when they did well. Fraser Kerr made a rash sliding tackle midway through the second half but, on the evidence of that game, he looks better than Euan Murray. Berry was very tidy and Alan Cook looked spritely. The young boys that came on did fine - the trialist #16 put himself about and the big #20 looks like he has something about him. That said, we're badly lacking in numbers and require another couple of bodies in. A big striker, someone how can provide an alternative and a physical presence would be just the ticket, and a winger to put some pressure on Mark Gilhaney would be good. I had a hunch he coasted through some games last season and it'd be nice to keep him on his toes. I just feel a little nervous going into the season with this squad. Everyone you'd expect was there expect Stephen Stirling and Allan Smith. Carlos Mazana-Martinez has reportedly returned to Spain. He was pretty homesick throughout last year, apparently. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaver1 Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Squad is wafer thin. Need 2 or 3 bodies but don't know where they will come from. Centre half and centre forward look like priorities. First XI is good enough but after that you worry. Thought most of the young guys did alright. The no 16 was probably the pick of the young ones but McRoary also did well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Not sure how many, if any, new players will be coming in. Bomber gives a short interview after the Hearts match - CLICK. “We are still looking around to improve the group, but not having a great deal of luck at the moment. “We will be going with a tight squad in any case and it will give academy players an opportunity." I would hope that another couple of bodies are at least forthcoming. I wonder if Hearts would lend us Robbie Buchanan for the season, he's got a bit of experience at this level and he's a crafter, something we don't really have at the moment. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 I think we're looking to add one or two more boys, but that'll be it. With a squad this small there's no way the young boys won't get any game time. Go beyond the presumed starting XI and they're all that's really there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEMSFC Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Friendly Vs St Mirren next Saturday at Ochilview 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Stenhousemuir 0 Ayr United 1 15 minutes 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Stenhousemuir 0 Ayr United 2 Trialist 43 minutes 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Stenhousemuir 0 Ayr United 2 Half-Time 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy25 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Stenhousemuir 0 Ayr United 2 Full-Time 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 (edited) That was pretty comfortable for Ayr United, all in. From the outset, they were content to let Stenhousemuir have the ball and while the Warriors knocked it around well enough, it was mostly between the back four, mostly around the halfway line and mostly without any penetration. I think Jamie McCormack saw the ball more than anyone else. Ayr didn't seem to mind and they scored with their first chance. The goal was simple in its execution - someone played a long ball into the left channel, Paddy Boyle galloped onto it before whacking a lovely angled finish into the net. Take nothing away from Boyle's run and finish, but the fact that one ball over the defence had us undone is a little worrying. Ayr got their second just before half-time when their big trialist headed home from a corner. It could probably have been better defended. In the first half, there was one moment of nice football from Stenny. Michael Hardie, the trialist winger, worked the ball well down the right before helping switch the ball out left, and Jack Smith forced Greg Fleming into a decent save with a looping header. Other than that, it was slim pickings for Stenhousemuir. The second half was pretty uneventful. I don't think either side made a a noteworthy chance and the raft of substitutions didn't help. Not sure what to make of that, quite honestly. Ayr didn't really need to get out of first gear and the whole thing was a bit of a stroll for them. I liked the fact Ross Meechan wore the captain's armband - long may it continue - and I thought Liam McCroary looked decent in the middle of the park. I'd like us to sign Michael Hardie, he really looked the part and seemed to be the only player capable of driving us on. He did drop out the game - Paul Cairney thumped him up into the air just after the interval and he seemed to play within himself (it was quite funny listening to the Ayr fans cheer every time he got dumped on his backside) - but there's something worth pursuing there. (His current situation might be a little unsavoury but you can't take the moral high ground when you've recently signed a convicted sex offender.) I'm really anxious about our lack of options in attack and find it worrying we're going into the new season with just two forwards. Colin McMenamin will give 100 per cent for the team and step up when required but, as was proven for most of last season, he can't carry the team on his own, not at his age. Jack Smith might have something about him but he looks as though he can only play one way (and with a strike partner). I don't think we'll see Allan Smith again, God knows when he'll be fit enough to play. But that's it, there's no money left and unless Heart of Midlothian can help us out with a couple of players, it's going to be a long, long season ahead. Edited July 3, 2016 by Francesc Fabregas 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum-ayr Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 (His current situation might be a little unsavoury but you can't take the moral high ground when you've recently signed a convicted sex offender.) Christ, what is it with Alloa Athletic and bringing out the beast in their players. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adventpc Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 link for the ayr match friendly. http://www.stenhousemuirfc.com/video/match-688/ayr-united/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaver1 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 McMullan is away to Dunfermline this season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Oh well, puts an end to that kind of fantastical talk. I hope he does really well for them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaver1 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 We lost against falkirk u 20 last night. The good news is we scored 2 goals. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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