Latest November 2002

(30/11/02)

Rovers Win At Links
Rovers ground out a 1-0 victory at Links Park this afternoon. Rovers didn't play well for large chunks of the match but Montrose hadn't a clue when they got near the box. Charles McLean took advantage in 78 minutes during a spell of Rovers domination to give Rovers the 3 points.

If it hadn't been for a late Gretna collapse to leaders East Fife (losing goals in 89 and 90 minutes) Rovers would be top of the league. The result must be enough to earn Peter Hetherston the 3rd division Bell's manager of the month for November. Rovers only dropped two points and managed a 4-0 win away to the league leaders in that time.

Black Cats Join The List
Sunderland have joined the list of clubs interested in keeper Scott Shearer. Scott will travel down to the Stadium of Light for a few days training with the premiership team this week.

(29/11/02)

Amateurs Exempt From Transfer Window
FIFA, through the SFA, have advised clubs that the current transfer window regulations have been revised to allow amateur players to change clubs during the "non-window" period. The only stipulation is that such players will remain amateur with their new club, at least until the "window" opens.

(28/11/02)

Injury Update

Manager Peter Hetherston reports that Jered Stirling, Jim Dick and Paul Bonar all came through Tuesday night's reserve match without trouble. Stirling and Dick are likely to be selected for Saturday's trip to Montrose, but Bonar is still on the way to full fitness. However, Andy Paterson is suffering from a groin strain and is rated 50/50 (at best) to make it.

Weir Upgraded

Mark Weir, an unused substitute at a number of first-team matches, has had his youth contract changed to reflect his potential and the high regard in which he is held by the Cliftonhill management. Like Graeme McCaul, Weir is now a fully-fledged member of staff.

Shearer In Demand

Apart from being chased by a number of big clubs, goalkeeper Scott Shearer has become a journalists' favourite, and the latest organ to request an interview regarding his thoughts is no less than the Times (that's the London Times).

New Broomfield - New Owner?

We understand that the football stadium in Airdrie has now been bought by a new third party from whom Airdrie United rent the facilities on a Saturday. We also gather that the club has no access to the stadium at any other time, presumably meaning administration being handled from elsewhere and a return to the days of players washing their own strips.

(26/11/02)

Stenny Win Reserve Match
Stenhousemuir reserves with Messrs. McVeigh, Smith and Brown in charge won 2-0 at Cliftonhill tonight. The Rovers side was a blend of youth team players and first team types too. Jered Stirling and Jim Dick played and despite Dick being substituted in the second half both looked as though a return to the first team squad on Saturday was a possibility.

Chris Fahey saved a penalty in the first half before Stenny went ahead. The second half saw 37 year-old veteran Jimmy Sandison sent off for a second booking within two minutes of the restart. Rovers conceded another penalty but Fahey was unable to save this one. Iain Diack thought he'd pulled one back with four minutes to go but it was ruled offside. One interesting name in the Stenny team was David Carr, released by Rovers just a couple of weeks ago. We presume he played as a trialist as the transfer window doesn't open till January.

Lining up the 1st penalty

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Shearer In Spotlight - Again

Today's sports pages report that goalkeeper Scott Shearer is attracting the attention of none other than Manchester United. Chief Scout Martin Ferguson - brother of Sir Alex and a former Rovers' manager - watched Scott for the second successive week on Saturday. With the transfer window fast approaching, it would seem that the big fellow's days at Cliftonhill are numbered.

(25/11/02)

Reminder
Remember tomorrow's reserve match against Stenhousemuir at Cliftonhill, kick-off 7pm.

Montrose Bus
The bus to Montrose on Saturday leaves Big Owens at 12 noon.

(23/11/02)

We Wuz Robbed
For the second match in a row a team were heading off the pitch feeling hard done by, unfortunately this week it was the Rovers. Particularly in the second half Rovers were head and shoulders ahead of Elgin, until that the 83rd minute when Ryan McMullan (for the second time this season at Cliftonhill) got the goal which gave Elgin a draw. The wee man only managed to score once at Cliftonhill in the whole of last season when playing for Rovers! A few minutes later Rovers were lucky not to lose another goal.

A denied plea for a penalty, a denied goal (when Rovers seemed to have the ball over the line) soured the match for Rovers supporters. Possibly due to the change of venue and maybe more to do with the reason behind that (i.e. floods) we didn't notice any travelling fans whatsoever, even when Elgin scored.

(22/11/02)

Two-Tier Dinner?

Airdrie Town Hall has been provisionally booked for Rovers' Annual Sportsman's Dinner on Friday 30th May next year and while the usual £35 or so package will be available to those who wish to dine formally etc, there will also be an alternative at a cost yet to be decided. Although the actual details have still to be thought through in detail, the basic idea is to make the event more accessible to the ordinary supporter and at this early stage, it's envisaged that the "formal" guests (ie the big spenders!) would be seated downstairs, with the balcony area being made available for others. Although separate facilities for food and drink would be in operation throughout, both groups would otherwise fully participate in the evening.

Player Poser

Although the current injury list is improving day by day, supporters will just have to wait to see which, if any, of the crocks are in tomorrow's squad.

Offside
We have received a plea from the Comedy Unit - the people who make the Tam Cowan "Offside" show, our last appeal for Rovers fans didn't get anybody to apply! They're looking for a representative from each team in Scotland to take part in the Offside mini-cup, a competition for supporters with "interesting, stupid or funny talents/party pieces". You may have noticed that some of the contestants featured so far haven't been very talented (in a conventional sense anyway). If you're interested contact Claire at The Comedy Unit on 0141 305 6667 or email claireurquhart@comedyunit.co.uk.

(20/11/02)

Voluntary Training

As a measure of how seriously Rovers' players are about doing well, a voluntary training session today (Wednesday) was attended by a substantial number of the squad.

Reserves Fixture

The next scheduled match for the second string is on Tuesday of next week (26th) against Stenhousemuir at Cliftonhill, with a 7pm kick-off. Having lost 5-3 to the Warriors at Ochilview earlier in the season, Rovers will obviously be out for revenge.

Hetherston Lights Up

Assisted by some upstarts called Fran and Anna, Rovers' boss Peter Hetherston and a few of his players this afternoon officially switched on Coatbridge's Christmas lights. Looking totally bored by the whole affair, the manager, flanked by Chris Fahey and James Coulter, to name but two of the Cliftonhill lads, nevertheless carried out his duties with aplomb.

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More Jerseys Ordered

Such has been the unprecedented demand for replica strips that General Manager John Reynolds has had to place yet another order for further supplies in various sizes. Have you considered that one of these might make a unique Christmas present for someone of your acquaintance? They are available from John at the club or from Bikes & Babes, Blairgrove Shopping Precinct. In addition, Supplies of tammies and car stickers are expected to be available in a couple of weeks. However, the new scarves are proving to be something of a problem to obtain, and they may not be in stock for a wee while yet.

(18/11/02)

Water Turnaround

The disastrous flooding which has made the city of Elgin front page news has meant that with Borough Briggs still under water, Saturday's match against Alex Caldwell's side has been switched to Cliftonhill. The clubs agreed to this course of action this morning and the SFL later gave their permission for the change of venue to be made. This means that instead of Rovers having three successive away fixtures, they will now have three at home. Manager Peter Hetherston, still on a high after the win over Morton, jumped at the chance to keep the momentum going.

Injury Update

The good news is that there are no more additions to the Cliftonhill injury list following the pulsating win over Morton on Saturday. Not so good is that Jered Stirling and Jim Dick are rated at no more than 50/50 for the re-located match against Elgin this week.

Youths Draw

Rovers' Under-18s yesterday travelled to Methil to take on their East Fife counterparts, and reports suggest that they were extremely unlucky to come away with only a share of the spoils from a no-scoring draw.

Silvio Booking Important

Chris Silvestro, yellow-carded against Morton on Saturday, has now gone over the disciplinary point threshold and will miss the away match against Montrose a week on Saturday.

(16/11/02)

Late Late Show
Rovers pulled of a magnificent win in the last 2 (or 3 including injury time) minutes. Despite dominating large parts of the match Rovers were 1-0 down with 88 minutes gone. A Jordan Smith goal originally thought to be a Collins own goal gave Rovers the equaliser. Iain Diack was the man who sent Rovers fans into rapture when he scored a minute into injury time with almost the last kick of the game.

Flood
Next weeks match at Elgin City is already in doubt due to local flooding. Sky News had a reporter standing 100 yards from the ground with water above waist height. Even if the water subsides it would seem unlikely that the stand will be habitable in such a short time. An unwelcome midweek trip to Borough Briggs may be on the cards.

(14/11/02)

Click HERE to read the latest edition of the McLean Column.

McPherson Sacked
Greenock Morton have sacked their manager Dave McPherson because ".... the team underachieved this season and in view of the sizeable investment made in both players and ground renovation it was unanimously agreed that an experienced Manager should be appointed to take the Club forward in the playing sense".

It's also rumoured that former Scotland player David Hopkin has retired and that he may take over as manager at least for Saturday's game. What (if any) effect this will have on their team at Cliftonhill this Saturday remains to be seen.

Carr Released

Young striker David Carr has left Cliftonhill "by mutual agreement". Carr, with one goal in only one start and five appearances off the bench this season, was obviously not in manager Peter Hetherston's long term plans and parting seemed to be the best option. Current thought are that he will be with Stenhousemuir before too long.

Weather Hits Pitch Plans

Arrangements to have the Cliftonhill pitch aerated and rolled this week have been disrupted because of the amount of rain which has fallen. Although acutely aware of the criticism which has been forthcoming, the Board's attempts to eliminate the problems have been thwarted - at least in the meantime.

Car Stickers "Soon"

General Manager John Reynolds reports that the car stickers which have now been ordered for some time will be available "soon". We understand that woolly hats will also be available in the near future.

Former Rovers' Managers Fall Out

Today's Herald reports as follows :- Billy McLaren, the Stranraer manager, has been reported for his aggressive attitude towards an opposing manager, which could lead to trouble at the SFA. Referee Brian Winter, who sent McLaren to the stand during his side's 2-1 win over Stenhousemuir on Saturday, has reported the Stranraer manager for "adopting an aggressive and threatening attitude" towards John McVeigh, the Stenhousemuir manager. The Daily Record also mentioned this but said that McVeigh was Albion Rovers manager!

(12/11/02)

Reserve Match Off

Due to the wet weather, tonight's scheduled reserve match against St. Mirren at Love Street has been cancelled.

Points Threshold Rises

It is reported that the SFA have surprised clubs by raising from 16 to 18 the number of disciplinary points accumulated by players before automatic suspension kicks-in. Although it's unclear exactly from when the new total will apply, the wording suggests that it is with immediate effect. It has obviously come too late to prevent Jim Mercer from missing out this week, but gives a bit more breathing space to the likes of Chris Silvestro and Todd Lumsden, both of whom were dangerously near the 16 points mark.

(11/11/02)

Mercer Misses Morton Match

The booking Rovers' captain Jim Mercer received on Saturday has taken him over the disciplinary points limit and he must therefore sit out this week's big match against Greenock Morton. It's ironic that it has come at this time when, after an inauspicious start to the season, the big man was at last displaying some better form.

Synthetic Pitch Trial

Following almost a couple of decades during which they were banned, we understand that FIFA is resurrecting the idea that matches might be played on artificial grass pitches. Apparently the latest synthetic surfaces are totally different from those which were around in the 1980s in that they more closely resemble the traditional surface. Although nothing has yet been decided, we believe that the SFA has been approached and that they, in turn, have asked member clubs if they would be interested in taking part in the experiment. So, the solution to our well-documented pitch problem could be just around the corner.

(9/11/02)

Historic Win
Rovers first ever victory against Gretna (ok, it was only the second meeting of the two teams) sent Rovers up to equal second place along with Peterhead. The 2 - 1 scoreline didn't reflect the fact that Rovers had 18 shots at target compared to the visitors 4. Yesterdays birthdays boys Charles McLean (age omitted on purpose) and Kevin "Crunchie" McAllister who turned 40 were among the best on the park today.

SFL Launch New Website
The SFL have now launched their new website www.scottishfootballleague.com which includes loads of information and has a page for every SFL member club. We have spotted at least one mistake regarding Rovers (a pic of Chris Fahey included in an article talking about Scott Shearer) and have pointed this out to them. Although not 100% complete yet the site is worth a visit.

(6/11/02)

Stirling Injury

We understand that the injury suffered by Jered Stirling against East Fife last Saturday has been identified as a knee problem. As the symptoms have been described as the joint going "out and in", it would seem that there is a dislocation problem. We'll keep you up to date on the situation, but it appears there is absolutely no chance of him playing against Gretna this week. With Jim Dick and Peter Cormack also out, manager Peter Hetherston will have to do a bit of reshuffling at the back.

Gretna
As expected the SFL have approved the January 1st game at Gretna being played on December 7th instead.

(2/11/02)

Super Rovers
An all-round superb performance from Rovers saw league leaders East Fife humbled 4-0 at home. It was interesting that large numbers of East Fife fans left after the third and fourth goals. Rovers remain fifth in the table but are only two points off joint leaders East Fife and Peterhead.

Scorer of Rovers penalty Jered Stirling was taken to hospital for an x-ray for suspected ligament damage.

Shearer At Celtic - Again!

Goalkeeper Scott Shearer must be becoming a very familiar face around Celtic Park these days! The big man will be back with the Hoops on Monday and Tuesday of next week for further coaching. We understand that the Celtic "experts" see an improvement in Scott's abilities since his first spell there two or three weeks ago.

(1/11/02)

Injury Update