(31/7/06)

Pre-season
The pics and some video clips from the last 4 pre-season matches have now been uploaded to the website! Click HERE for the links!

Gaffer Jim Chapman shall no doubt be optimistic for the season after having scored 17 goals in 7 matches in the build up to the big kick-off next Saturday at Berwick.

CIS Cup
The date of the CIS 1st round match against Stenhousemuir at Cliftonhill has been confirmed as Tuesday 8th August with a 7.30PM kick-off.

(30/7/06)

Partick Thistle Match
The price for admission to the Challenge Cup match at Firhill has been the subject of various statements on the official Partick Thistle F.C. website. One such statement was as follows :

Quote

Albion Rovers Cup Tie Update

28 July 2006
We have tried unsuccessfully to get Albion Rovers to agree that we should charge £10 for adults and £5 for under 16s and OAPs, for our SFL League Challenge Cup Tie at Firhill on Tuesday 15th. August 2006. Albion Rovers are insisting that we charge our normal rates of £15 and £10.

Our understanding of the situation is that we will be able to charge the minimum price recommended by the SFL for a match involving a First Division Club, which we believe is £12 for adults and £6 for under 16s and OAP's.

We have now referred this matter to the Scottish Football League and will confirm the prices to be charged later this afternoon.

Unquote

Albion Rovers chairman Frank Meade has issued the following in response to these.

Partick Thistle offered us the option of £10 and £5 and at no time have they offered the option of £12 and £6.

This is the second time within the past year that Mr. McMaster has shown disrespect for our Club, the previous time being his insistence that last
season's Tennents Scottish Cup Replay should go ahead, despite the ground conditions, mainly because he did not fancy a trip to Forfar on a wet
Tuesday night. I acknowledge that there was a pre-agreement between the Clubs that any replay would take place on the Tuesday but our attempts to renegotiate this, in view of the weather, were rebuffed by Mr. McMaster.

Mr. McMaster has not made any attempt to contact me personally to discuss this preferred options on pricing for the upcoming match.

It is worth noting that PTFC charged £10 for adults for their recent friendly match against Accrington Stanley and the request to charge the
same for our Challenge Cup match to my mind demeans the Challenge Cup.

From my perspective Mr. McMaster's attempt to reduce prices will not benefit Albion Rovers and, as Chairman, I will defend our position and
seek to get the best deal I can for the Club. I very much doubt that reducing prices by one third will result in a significant increase in attendance by PTFC fans and will have no impact on attendance by Albion Rovers fans..

I am very disappointed that the Chairman of Partick Thistle would point the finger on prices at Albion Rovers when he has not had the courtesy to
call me personally to discuss.

Mr. Mc Master seems to forget his Club's most recent history, with PTFC being rightly held up as one our great Community Clubs, largely through
the fantastic efforts of their very loyal fans. The very least I would expect is an acknowledgement of our position as a growing Community Club.

PTFC supporters are rightly recognised as being among the most loyal and fair minded supporters in Scottish football and I do hope that they turn
out in large numbers for the match.

I will of course respect the decision of the SFL on prices but I needed to set the record straight for Albion Rovers fans.

Best Regards

Frank Meade
Chairman

The latest statement on the Thistle website says that the SFL have agreed that the minimum recommended prices of £12 and £6 can be charged for this match.

Tour Over
Rovers weekend trip to Northumberland ended with a 0 - 0 draw against Ashington A.F.C. in an uninspiring match in which the main talking point was an opposition player being red-carded for shoving the referee!

Reserve League Cup
The draw for the First and Second Rounds of the SFL Reserve League Cup has been made. Only eleven of the 30 SFL clubs have entered the competition this season.

First Round Draw

Queen's Park v Queen of the South
Partick Thistle v Arbroath
St. Johnstone v Hamilton Academical

Byes: Albion Rovers, Cowdenbeath, East Fife, Gretna, Morton.

Ties to be played on or before 31st. October 2006.

Second Round Draw

Cowdenbeath v East Fife
Queen's Park or Queen of the South v Gretna
St. Johnstone or Hamilton Academical v Albion Rovers
Morton v Partick Thistle or Arbroath

Ties to be played on or before 20th. December 2006.

(29/7/06)

Tour Victory
Rovers pre-season tour started well with a 4-1 win over Morpeth Town at North Shields on a pitch best described as bumpy. Bryan Felvus bagged 2 with Ciaran Donnelly and Scott Chaplain scoring the others.

(28/7/06)

Tour Venue Change
The venue of tomorrows' match against Morpeth Town has been changed to the nearby town of North Shields, still with a 3PM kick-off. We believe it is at North Shields F.C. ground. The late change is due to the Morpeth Town pitch not being quite ready yet!

(27/7/06)

New Signings
Jim Chapman has increased his playing staff by two and they are defender Kevin Nichol, a 20 year-old signed from Kilwinning Rangers and goalkeeper Lee Thompson an 18 year-old plucked from the Amateurs although it seems he may be loaned out to gain that all important experience!

(26/7/06)

Friendly Update
Rovers won 3 - 0 away to Kilwinning Rangers at Buff Park this evening. Young with a penalty and nice goals from Felvus and Chaplain secured the win after a ridiculous handball decision gave the home side a chance to take the lead but they missed the resultant penalty! Kilwinning did squander a couple of very good opportunities but excellent defending and poor shooting were to the fore! Last night saw a very different performance from the team when they lost 3-0 at Shotts Bon Accord in a match best forgotten.

Pics & videos from both matches as and when our computer problems are resolved!

Stein Programme
Some copies of the Jock Stein programme are still available. Cost is £2.70 including postage or £3 if paying via Paypal. Payments are to Albion Rovers Supporters' Trust, address & Paypal details HERE.

(25/7/06)

Pics
Due to technical problems I've been unable to put pics and mini-videos on the site but thanks to Wee Rover I've now done so! Pics and videos from the 3 friendlies are now linked from the fixtures page!

(24/7/06)

CIS Cup
The draw for the first round of CIS cup draw was made and Rovers were handed a home tie against Stenhousemuir. The game shall take place on  (assuming we stick to our traditional Tuesday, rather than the Wednesday) Tuesday 8th August.

(22/7/06)

Narrow Defeat
Rovers went down 3 - 2 in the Jock Stein Friendship Trophy against a Celtic Select this afternoon. A bumper all-ticket crowd of 1002 enjoyed the weather and the football at Cliftonhill. A Sichi goal put Rovers ahead but a brace for Celtic within a minute of eachother around the half-hour mark put Rovers behind. Scott Chaplain drew Rovers level but the Select scored soon after half-time to win the trophy.

(20/7/06)

Another Win
Rovers won 3-1 tonight at Arthurlie.

Challenge Cup Draw
Rovers have been drawn away to Partick Thistle in the first round of the Challenge Cup to be played on Tuesday 15th August. The home teams were drawn by freelance journalist Bill Marwick (cousin of former Rovers chairman Robin Marwick), and the away teams by Paul Hughes of The Sun.

Troon
Rovers defeated Troon 5 - 2 last night. Pics & video of this will be on the site as soon as we can iron out some technical problems!

(18/7/05)

Match Programme
The Supporters' Trust is once more taking charge of the match programme for the coming season. This Saturdays is a special edition comprising 28 pages in glorious colour, many featuring Jock Stein for the match against Celtic Select. This programme is priced at £2.

For the rest of the season the programme shall revert to part colour and part black and white with a cover price of £1.50.

(15/7/05)

TV Coverage
Next Saturday's Jock Stein Friendship Trophy match against a Celtic Select at Cliftonhill shall be televised on Celtic TV although not live. This channel is available to all Setanta subscribers on Sky or Telewest. We understand it shall be shown in "Daily Huddle" programme although we're unsure on which day it shall be aired. It's likely that there shall also be interviews as part of the coverage.

(14/7/06)

Chappie's Chat
Jim Chapman has penned some pre-season thoughts and supplies some information about our new playing staff and a freshly appointed assistant manager. Read the chat here!

Cup Draws
The draw for the, as yet unsponsored Challenge Cup shall take place on Thursday 20th July at Hampden Stadium.

The draw is regionalised in the following groups.

North/East Region (7 ties & 1 bye)
Brechin City, Dundee, Ross County, St. Johnstone, Alloa Athletic, Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, Peterhead, Stirling Albion, Montrose, East Fife, Arbroath, Elgin City, Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir

South/West Region (7 ties & 1 bye)
Queen of the South, Clyde, Airdrie United, Livingston, Dumbarton, Ayr United, Gretna, Morton, Partick Thistle, Albion Rovers, Berwick Rangers, Queen's Park, East Stirlingshire, Hamilton Academical and Stranraer.

The First Round ties will be played on Tuesday, 15th or Wednesday, 16th August, 2006.

The CIS cup draw takes place at the same venue on Monday 24th July.

(12/7/06)

Bounce Match
A Rovers team comprising almost exclusively of trialists lost 2 - 0 at New Douglas Park tonight against an Accies team. The first goal came in 14 minutes when a missing defence gave their striker space to pick his spot and a deflected shot within the final 10 minutes completed the scoring.

(8/7/06)

English Weekend
Rovers will finish their pre-season preparations with a trip south of the border. They'll play two Northern League Division One sides, Morpeth Town on Saturday 29th July at 3pm and Ashington the following day also at 3pm.

Felvus Signs
Jim Chapman has signed 20 year-old former Queen's Park frontman Bryan Felvus (seen below scoring against Rovers last August!).

Click to enlarge

Troon Change
Rovers pre-season match at Troon on the 19th July has been switched to Loudon (of Loudon Castle Theme park fame) as Troon's pitch is unlikely to be ready in time.

(3/7/06)

Sectarianism
Albion Rovers Supporters' Trust this week launches a positive action summer workshops called "Supporting Diversity" the workshops commence on Monday 10th July.

The workshops will involve children in the primary seven age group from a mixture of schools in Coatbridge and Airdrie and will take place at Cliftonhill Stadium.

Places on each of the 4 one-week workshops are available, please contact trust committee member/club director Patrick Rolink via the club on 01236 606334 if you have children of the appropriate age who'd be interested in taking part. Please note there is no charge whatsoever for participation.

Funding for the project has been received from Sense over Sectarianism and the Scottish Executive, and will allow the children participating to enjoy activities such as drama, comedy filming and sports with the celebration of Scotland's diversity being the central theme to all the activity.
The launch will take place at Cliftonhill Stadium on Friday July 7th.

The project will last four weeks and will involve four primary seven classes split into four equal groupings, mixed from all participating schools. This will give each group maximum diversity.

The four groups will then attend for one week each and take part in the project.

Timetable; this will be repeated for each group taking part to ensure consistency.

Monday A.M. Classroom workshops with Strathclyde Police, and representatives of the major religions allowing for an in depth discussion of the diversity of religion and the USP of each major religion. The police will also explain the legal implications of sectarian behaviour. This will give the children knowledge and understanding, dispelling many myths and lies about some religions, and also showing the effects of intolerance and prejudice.

Monday P.M. The children will take part in a team sports session, discussing teamwork and highlighting of skills and talents within the group, demonstrating the strength of diversity and the importance of teamwork. 

Tuesday A.M. The children will workshop with comedians on using humour to defuse situations and put across strong messages, comedy is a terrific way of dealing with difficult issues and this workshop is designed to encourage children to use humour rather than aggression. The children will gain confidence and be able to project their views in a manner which their peer group will find more acceptable. Comedy can really banish stereotypical behaviour and intolerance by showing it has no credibility and no real foundation in fact.

Tuesday P.M. The children will take part in an individual sport session, golf, highlighting the need for decision making when on your own and playing fair, even when you can't get caught. Golf also teaches manners and respect for others as well as etiquette, a must for the modern citizen.

Wednesday A.M. The children will do a workshop finding common ground between our diverse communities, the children will look at society's needs and demands on us as individuals. The children will compare outcomes from situations where religious intolerance is accepted against outcomes where sectarian abuse and behaviour is not acceptable and wiped out. The children will workshop on team building and on leadership issues, seeking out each others talents and skills and finding the best use of them. Tasks will be assigned and dealt with by teams chosen by the children with the criteria being, the best person for the job.

Wednesday P.M. The children will have an afternoon of team games where to succeed you must achieve high levels of teamwork and co-operation, the challenges will be taxing and only attainable if teamwork levels are high and consistent.

Thursday A.M. The team will workshop with Police on the issue of dealing with sectarian abuse, do we need more laws, more policing or more understanding of others, let the children make their views and recommendations known.

Thursday P.M.
The children will have a fun sports festival with individual and team events with the emphasis being on fun and enjoyment. The children will chose their own teams and this should demonstrate the diversity of the group.

Friday; the children will work all day with a production company to produce a DVD will be shown in local schools. The DVD will be two minute film expressing in any way the children choose, the evils of sectarianism. Each child will receive a copy and a copy will be sent to all schools in the area. Let the children speak!

After 4 weeks, four classes will be going into high school with a new outlook on life and the sectarian problem in this country. These children will be armed with knowledge and understanding that can only enhance their perceptions of our ever more diverse community. I am confident that some of these children will gain so much personal strength and self-belief from this project that they will go into our high schools and make a difference.

For more information on Albion Rovers Supporters' Trust visit the trust page.

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