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(28/10/02)

Scottish Cup
Rovers have been given a favourable draw in this season's Tennent's Scottish Cup. Rovers have been give a bye in the first round and are drawn away at Hampden in the second against current bottom dogs Queen's Park. As Gretna have also been given a bye in the first round it seems almost certain that our January 1st tie at Raydale Park will be brought forward to 7th December.

First Round
Stranraer v Whitehill Welfare
Preston Athletic v Hamilton Academical
Raith Rovers v Dumbarton
Montrose v Berwick Rangers
Stenhousemuir v Brechin City
East Stirlingshire v Threave Rovers
Selkirk v Cowdenbeath
Forfar Athletic v Huntly
Date for ties: Saturday, 7 December, 2002

Second Round
Stranraer or Whitehill Welfare v Stirling Albion
Raith Rovers or Dumbarton v Montrose or Berwick Rangers
Preston Athletic or Hamilton Academical v East Fife
Queen's Park v Albion Rovers
Forfar Athletic or Huntly v Stenhousemuir or Brechin City
Keith v Selkirk or Cowdenbeath
Gretna v Cove Rangers
Airdrie United v East Stirlingshire or Threave Rovers
Greenock Morton v Deveronvale
Peterhead v Elgin City
Date for ties: Saturday, 4 January, 2003

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(26/10/02)

Rovers Slip
An under par Rovers team lost 3-1 to Stirling Albion, despite Charles McLean giving them an early lead. It has to be said that the penalty equaliser for the Binos was a decidedly dodgy decision by the referee, but Rovers hardly looked likely to save any of the 3 points. Stirling leapfrog Rovers to take 4th place as all the other 3rd division games ended in draws

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(25/10/02)

AGM
Before the meeting started, those present were given copies of more detailed financial information which comprised a break-down of those cumulative figures contained in the material sent by post to shareholders. The reason for not having sent this with the original balance sheet was explained. One thing revealed was that the club had received transfer fees for Ian Harty moving to Stranraer and Euan Donaldson moving to Forfar in addition to the widely known transfer of Neil McGowan to Oxford Utd.

Following the meeting having been opened by chairman Andrew Dick, treasurer David Wright apologised for the delay in holding the meeting and went through each of the two years’ accounts, picking out certain items which might possibly have required further explanation. Basically, Mr Wright explained that the club was on a reasonably secure financial footing, having drastically reduced the £30,000 deficit which was outstanding at the end of 1998. At that time, the wage bill accounted for some 74% of the turnover, a figure which had now been reduced to a more manageable 65%. after a couple of questions had been satisfactorily answered, the Financial Statement was approved.

Chairman’s Remarks

In his remarks, the chairman referred to the outstanding achievements of the club’s youth development programme and paid tribute to those who have been responsible for its success. Mr Dick also explained the background to the departure of former manager John McVeigh at the end of last season and although Cathie O’Hare dissociated herself from the general tone of the remarks, there was no other comment.

The chairman informed the meeting that although, during the past couple of years, there had been "many" meetings with the variety of organisations and individuals responsible for the former Airdrieonians and the new Airdrie United, but because of the need to safeguard the interests of Albion Rovers, nothing positive had been forthcoming and that as far as he was concerned, the matter was now dead. Given that Cliftonhill would not last for ever, it would therefore appear that the only viable alternative was to move to a purpose-built stadium within the Coatbridge area. That could still be an option, but a lot of discussion with a variety of people would have to take place first - not the least of which would involve the disposal of the current ground for the best possible deal.

Mr Dick paid a fulsome tribute to David Wright for his sterling work in turning round the club’s finances. He also stated that the ground’s safety certificate was now granted annually without any problem and, in response to a question from the floor, confirmed that the club had complained formally to the authorities about Stenhousemuir’s unethical methods of having signed Rovers’ players train at Ochilview following the end of the season.

Elections

Chairman Andrew Dick and Vice Chairman David Shanks were re-elected to the board without dissent, and in spite of an objection from the floor, Thomas "Chic" Young was elected to the board of directors for the first time. (Later in the meeting, it was confirmed that Alan Brown had tendered his resignation from the board).

After a brief discussion, the current auditors, A M Scott & Company, were re-appointed.

Other Business

Under this heading, various items were raised, including the numbers of complimentary tickets allocated by the various clubs in the Third Division, the timing of future Annual General Meetings, the number of untraceable shares - and how they might be brought back into circulation.

Manager Peter Hetherston, having entered the meeting, was asked to comment on the current the transfer window situation, his assessment of the youth development system and the situation regarding goalkeeper Scott Shearer and the recently returned Paul Bonar. Peter gave a full reply to all these questions.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed by the chairman.

One interesting thing to note at the meeting was the attendance (via proxy authority of shareholders unable to attend) of several non shareholding die-hards. This added to the air of legitimacy of the meeting, although the prospect of shares becoming available for purchase by fans wasn't given much chance by the board.

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