Latest Archive June 2003

No Op For Silvio
Midfielder Chris Silvestro (voted player of the year by visitors to this site) does not need an operation! That's the great news for fans as the new season approaches. It was initially thought that the influential midfielder would miss much of the coming campaign, but tests have now revealed that the knee injury simply required rest (which it has already had) before beginning the necessary training to return to full fitness.

Incidentally, it is true that Silvio has not yet actually signed a new contract, but we understand there's no problem and we will do so.

Change Of Date?
Rovers have offered Elgin City the chance to change their scheduled 27th December Cliftonhill visit to Saturday September 6th, the day Scotland are at home to the Faroe Islands.

New Ground
Although details are scant we've added a page to the site with pics of the possible locations and some pros and cons about them which occurred to us.

Fri 18th 1st team v Malahide at Malahide (7pm?)

Sat 19th reserves v Belgrove 11am AUL complex 3pm

Sat 19th 1st team v Belgrove or maybe Carlisle United 3pm AUL complex

Sun 20th reserves v Malahide or Dublin City AUL complex 11am

We shall of course give definitive details as soon as possible. The Carlisle United press officer tells us that it's unlikely that a game against them will happen. They already have five matches scheduled in six days.

Dishington On Board
It has been confirmed that Gordon Dishington has been added to the board of directors. His remit will see him look at commercial/sponsorship aspects. This is not the first time Gordon has been on Rovers board, his decorators merchant store business has also been the clubs' shirt sponsor.

Games At Carluke
Rovers will play two pre-season games against Carluke Rovers at the juniors' ground - dates to be finalised. One will feature our reserves and the other our youngsters.

Return To Meadow
It now looks as if the Carnbroe site for a new ground is fast fading as the preferred option, with an area of land adjacent to Calder Street now looking likely. If it comes to pass, Rovers will be returning to the site of the Meadow, their former home which they occupied from 1884 (when they joined the SFA) until 1919 when they moved into Cliftonhill.

Airdrie Match
Rovers will play Airdrie United at Cliftonhill on Wednesday 23rd July. This seems likely to be a replacement for the 12th July game against our newest rivals, although we shall seek confirmation of this.

Duo Re-sign
Today's Advertiser reports that Rovers stalwarts Jordan Smith and Iain Diack have re-signed.

Monklands Friendly
Also according to the Advertiser Rovers will play Airdrie United on Saturday July 12th. It seems that both teams grounds will be unavailable so the game is liable to be "closed door" at a neutral venue.

Fixtures Announced
The SFL have today announced the fixtures for season 2003/2004. The first league match will see Cliftonhill visited by newly relegated Stranraer which should give a reasonable indication of what's to come. Rovers new year fixture reverts to traditional opponents Queen's Park but shall be on Saturday this season which is the 3rd of January.

One point to note is that Rovers will be visiting Gretna on its busiest day of the year namely St. Valentines day (14th February).

Older Rovers' fans will remember winger Eddie Rutherford who served the club well for several seasons after joining from Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in 1963. Eddie, now resident in the town's Victoria Park estate, has contacted Jimmy Lindsay to ask if his son could be included in one of Jimmy's youth schemes. So, it could be that sometime in the future we could again be treated to a famous Rutherford sprint down the wing.

Today's "Advertiser" confirms that manager Peter Hetherston is not being rushed into bringing new faces to Cliftonhill. Content that the majority of last season's players are staying with the club, the boss nevertheless is looking to add a goalkeeper, two defenders and at least one striker to his squad. "I've spoken to five players - all of whom have operated at a higher level - about coming to the club. It's important that the guys I bring in will not upset the balance of the team on and off the park"

Last Thursday, Chic Young, Rovers' food supremo, passed an exam in food hygiene. Since then (and we're sure it's just an unfortunate co-incidence) he's been laid low with food poisoning! Potential clients for next season should not worry, however, as Chic's standards are very high. He's never killed a customer yet!

Regular visitors to the inner sanctums of Cliftonhill would have difficulty in recognising the boardroom and hospitality areas at the moment. As we recently reported, some upgrading of these areas is underway and the changes look like being more drastic than we thought. We'll try to give you pictorial evidence in the near future.

Manager Peter Hetherston today reports that the majority of last season's nearly-men have agreed to remain for the new promotion push. Chris Fahey, Peter Cormack, Andy Paterson, Mark Yardley, Graeme McCaul, Mark Richardson, John Bradford, Jim Mercer, Jered Stirling and, of course, Kevin McAllister, will form the nucleus of the 2003/04 squad.

During their trip to Eire next month, Rovers' first team will have matches against Malahide and Belgrove United, although the latter might be sacrificed to play Carlisle United who are in the area at the same time. The reserves/youngsters will also be in action against Belgrove and either Malahide or Dublin City.

In spite of the proposed move to a new stadium still on the cards, Rovers today began a programme which will "brighten up" the boardroom, hospitality room and manager's room. Although there will be something of a furniture change-around, most of the work will be cosmetic, with wall coverings being changed to give a fresh look to these areas.

With the new season now only a few weeks away, manager Peter Hetherston is stepping-up his re-singing programme. Chris Fahey and Jim Mercer are scheduled to sign new contracts tonight, with others following suit in the next few days.

General Manager John Reynolds reveals that the recent Sportsman's Dinner raised "a substantial amount" for club funds. Although the actual figure raised is not to be made public, suffice it to say that it will be a big help towards keeping the club solvent.

Manager Peter Hetherston is this week continuing his talks with those players who have been offered new terms. We know that at least one member of last season's squad has asked for an increase - and that he's not going to get it!

Although little has been formally said about this subject, we understand that behind-the-scenes negotiations are continuing. Such a massive undertaking is naturally far from simple to complete, but hopes are still high that there will be a successful outcome, sooner or later.

Youth coach Jimmy Lindsay reports further progress towards bolstering his new intake. Confirmed new signings are Darren Cross (striker), Paul Connelly (midfield) and Colin Gillies (midfield), all ex Kilmarnock, Kerr Potter (defender) and Daniel Black (defender), both ex Hearts, Bryan Wynn (midfield), ex Motherwell and James O'Hara (midfield) ex Pollok Juniors.

Jimmy is also currently in discussions with Paul Lynch (striker), Steven Manson (midfield) and David Corwell (defender), all ex Hibs, Craig Binnie (defender), ex Hearts and Gary Fleming (striker), ex Celtic.

Eddie Hagerty last night resigned from Rovers' Board of Directors. Hagerty, the club's Safety Officer, cited a clash of personalities as the main reason for his departure from the ruling body and revealed that his letter of resignation was actually written five weeks ago. Internal strife is never a pleasant matter in any organisation and it is to be hoped that this unfortunate situation may lead to a reappraisal of certain factors within Cliftonhill.

Pre-Season Information

Preparation for the new season starts in earnest on Saturday 28th June when all signed players report for the undoubtedly difficult first training session. The first practice match against still-to-be-named opponents (probably in a closed-doors match) will take place on Tuesday 15th July, before the squad flies off to Dublin on Friday 18th for the now traditional mini-tour in the Dublin area.

Wednesday 23rd and Saturday 26th will see other friendly matches, and although the opponents for the first are still being sought, the Saturday encounter is likely to be against Airdrie United at New Broomfield/Shyberry. On the following Tuesday (29th) Raith Rovers will visit Cliftonhill for a first-team challenge match with a 7.30 kick-off.

As and when further details become available, we'll let you know.

Hope For Silvio

Although Chris Silvestro is still awaiting the second opinion on his knee injury, the Player of the Year is becoming more optimistic that surgery - if, indeed, any is actually required - will be minimal. Chris has been doing some cycling (and sparring!) with no ill effects and while not trying to read too much into the reaction, is hopeful that it may be a good omen.

The Wirral programme Club has just published its list of ratings for the season and in our division, Montrose (always near the top) have once again reached the pinnacle, with Morton and Stirling Albion in second and third place respectively. The only surprise in the list is that Queen's Park (another regular contender) do not figure in the top three, possibly due to the high cost of their offering. It's disappointing to report that Rovers finished in eighth place.

It is reported that manager Peter Hetherston has "agreed terms" with Jim Mercer, Peter Cormack, and John McCaig, with Chris Silvestro and 'keeper Chris Fahey expected to be tied up shortly. As previously revealed here, Mark Yardley and Andy Paterson have also agreed to remain at Cliftonhill for at least another season.

Rovers have appointed Frank Connor to the ever-burgeoning Cliftonhill coaching staff, with his main role being to work with Paterson at bringing on the 17/19 year-old players. Former Rovers' manager and Celtic coach Connor has a wealth of experience behind him and has been recruited from the East of Scotland leagues.

Although pocket dynamo Chris Silvestro still awaits confirmation from a second opinion, the signs are that his cruciate ligament damage may not be as severe as initially thought. He will still require surgery (of the keyhole variety) but could be back in light training by the start of the season.

We understand that while manager Peter Hetherston has nothing specific to report, the behind-the-scenes discussions with players are continuing, with indications being that most if not all the remaining first-team squad will be staying at Cliftonhill for at least another season.