Chairman's Update
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Chairman’s Update - Through to the 2nd round
Monday, October 6th, 2008 ResultsSat 4th October
1st XI Scottish Cup R1 replay Spartans 1 (Nicky Walker) Pollok 0…as Mike said in a note out to the squad today a great result and as good as an SFL scalp. Not a game for the purist but we missed chances in the first 15 minutes and then when Nicky went straight through early in the second half. They had a big penalty shout for a handball with 15 minutes to go but then with five left the Pollok defence were confused by a Stewart clearance which actually stayed in the park that they colllided leaving Nicky the chance to drive home the winner. 640 paying customers, plus the Pollok committee of 30 and a few other Spartans making it a better crowd than any SFL3 game. Thanks to everyone for their help on the day…we can look forward to good day out at Annan on the 25th.
2nd XI Match postponed
3rd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R2 Spartans 0 AFC Milton 4…well beaten in the end but possession was 50:50 and we couldn’t create enough chances while Milton took theirs comfortably
Sun 5th October
Womens 1st XI League Spartans 4 (Diana Barry 2, Trish McLaughlin, Danni McLaughlin) Forfar 1…4 - 0 at half time, but foot off the pedal
Womens 2nd XI League Spartans 5 Hibernian 2nd XI 5
Under 19 League Cup Edinburgh City 4 Spartans 2 (Michael Kirkland, Keiren Robertson)…3 - 0 down before we started playing….with four qualifying from the league cup we should still be OK but losing too many goals just now
Fixtures
Tue 7th Oct
Friendly at Peffermill ko 7pm Under 19s vs 3rd XI…the 19s needing game practice before their big Scottish cup tie
Wed 8th Oct
Womens 1st XI League Cup Semi Final Spartans vs Hibernian at Linlithgow Rose FC ko 7.30
Sat 11th October
1st XI League Preston A vs Spartans at Pennypitt ko tba…scheduled for 2.30pm but maybe 1pm due to Scotland game…watch our website for details
2nd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R2 Lochgelly U vs Spartans ko 2.30
3rd XI League Spartans vs Blackridge at Peffermill ko 12.30
Sun 12th October
Under 19 Scottish Youth Cup R2 Falkirk vs Spartans at the Falkirk Stadium ko 2pm…lets see if we can get a big Spartans support along
Womens 1st XI League Hibernian vs Spartans at Tranent Juniors ko 2pm
News
1. The Norwich Union Awards
Many thanks to you for all your votes, delighted to say we won the Scottish region award of £12,500 which will really help us with our coaching budget at the Academy. We now have the chance to go for £50,000 along with nine other regional awards…its just one form we need to complete but there are a number of other very good projects. The awards dinner is on 25th October in London…they pay travel and accommodation for two…the day of the Annan Scottish Cup match!!
2. The June draw of our 1000 Club was drawn…the winners were Bill Boyes £212, Patrick Hutton £127 and Mark Palmer £84. We will catch up on the draws later this month.
3. SFA European Study trip to Sweden…as a result of us achieving SFA Quality Mark we have been invited to go on the 7 day trip in November…one place with travel and accommodation paid for! We are currently discussing with our Youth section who would be best to go given that the Quality mark was based mostly on their efforts.
4. Training space for the 1s and 2s restricted on Tuesday at Peffermill but there will be enough for some good running! Astro on Thursday with 6.45 prompt start
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Chairman’s Update - Reflections on the Pollok match
Monday, September 29th, 2008 ResultsTue 23rd Sept
2nd XI Friendly Gala F 0 Spartans 2 (Nick Reid, Steve Malin)
Sat 27th Sept
1st XI Scottish Cup R1 Pollok 1 Spartans 1 (Nicky Walker pen)…a great cup tie played in a great spirit. They probably edged in on possession and we edged it on chances. Nicky and Daryl might have sneaked it at the death but a draw was fair. We played some great football on the deck, in particular the move which saw Donal hit the post early in the second half. The crowd of 1170 was the highest in the cup and indeed higher than any game in SFL 2 or SFL 3. The Pollok committee were also first class…nearly matching Annan for their hospitality!
2nd XI Scottish Cup R1 Spartans 5 (Danny Forbes, Adam Perry 2, Lukas Zuk, Paul Sutherland) Bluebell 0…a strong performance…Paulo’s bullet header opening the scoring with Adam’s first the goal of the game…a volley from 25 yards. A clean sheet too for the strong backline of Brown, Burns, Rae, Sutherland and Steele.
Sun 28th Sept
Under 19 League Cup Spartans 3 (Gavin Cattanach, Michael Fruish, Michael Kirkland) Tynecastle 4….our first defeat of the season…three goals conceded just before half time after controlling the early part of the game..Falkirk 19s coach Eddie May wont be too worried after watching the game ahead of the Scottish Youth Cup tie
Fixtures
Sat 3rd October
1st XI Scottish Cup R1 Replay Spartans vs Pollok at City Park ko 3pm…admission £5/£3
2nd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R2 Lochgelly Utd vs Spartans ko 2pm
3rd XI Scottish Amateur Cup Spartans vs AFC Milton at Peffermill ko 2pm
Sun 4th October
Under 19 League Cup Edinburgh City vs Spartans at Meadowbank ko 2pm
News
1. Thanks very much to the small band of fans who turned up at Pollok on Saturday…they have suggested they will bring 500 fans this week, we really do need a big home support. We have kept the prices very similar to those at Pollok and are really hoping for a big home support…our last Scottish Cup replay was our famous win over Alloa at Christmas in 2003…if the game is only half as good as that one it will certainly be worth watching.
2. The Sunday Lunch Fund raiser - to confirm this years lunch is on Sunday 2nd November at the Apex Hotel, Grassmarket with a 12.30 start. Last years event was a tremendous success, this years speakers are Dick campbell, Brian McGinley and Jim Leishman. Tickets are £25, or £250 for a table of 12. As part of his transfer deal to Forfar, Ross has kindly agreed to do much of the organisation again…pls contact Ross directly on r.j.campbell.hw.ac.uk if you would like to book a table or go via the teams for individual bookings…Donal for the 1s, Paulo for the 2s, Ross for the 3s and gary for the 19s. Last year’s event sold out, we’re expecting the same again so don’t wait to book
3. The news conference on Tuesday at the Academy with Gordon Smith, Kenny MacAskill and Stewart Maxwell for the launch of the investment of Proceeds of Crime money into Women’s football is likely to get quite a bit of press coverage on Wednesday…the event is at 10am
4. The Academy update - the grass is now all of 1 inch high and with the big astro nearly all down the academy is looking more like a football ground
5. Training as normal - grass Tuesday and then astro Thursday for all teams…the replay against Pollok means the 3s vs 19s game is postponed
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Chairman’s Update 21st September
Sunday, September 21st, 2008 ResultsSat 20th September
1st XI Image Printers Cup R1 Coldstream 1 Spartans 0…a disappointing result despite having a few chances. Coldstream scored relatively early in the seond half and we couldn’t find a way back. Not ideal preparation for next Saturday but a couple of players will be back available and we’ve watched them a couple of times so our game plan is ready to be set out at training.
The 2nd XI and 3rd XI games were postponed…the 2s making a wasted journey to Linwood to find a pitch which was never going to be playable.
Sun 21st September
Womens 1st XI League Celtic 1 Spartans 1…a good away draw against the league leaders
Under 19 League Cup Lothian T 2 Spartans 14 (Chris Smith 4, Steven Philp 4, Michael Kirkland 2, Kieren Robertson 2, Keir Anderon, Scott McDonald)…one way traffic!
Fixtures
Tue 23rd Sept
2nd XI Friendly Gala Fairydean vs Spartans at Netherdale ko 7.30
Sat 27th Sept
1st XI Scottish Cup R1 Pollock vs Spartans at Newlandsfield Park ko 3pm
2nd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R1 Spartans vs Bluebell at Peffermill ko 2.30pm
3rd XI free week…day out in Pollockshaws for the squad
Sun 28th Sept
Under 19 League Cup Spartans vs Tynecastle at City Park ko 2pm
News
1. As I’ve said before we need a really big support next Saturday in Glasgow…if your not travelling with the bus then the address is Newlandsfield Road in Glasgow…M8 then M77 junction 1 or 2…there is also a railway station nearby from Glasgow Central for the especially adventurous! At Linlithgow last season our support was spread all round the ground…we’ll try and get everyone together beside where the committee are. I’m sure the natives will be friendly!
2. There are no Womens fixtures next weekend as it is an international weekend - we have players in both the Under 19 and full team - the 19s go off to Slovenia for the Euro Championsip qualifying round tourney with Hayley Lauder, Sarah Archiald and Stacey Calder in the squad and the full team have a critical Euro Championship game against Slovenia at McDiarmid Park (ko 3pm) with Shelley Kerr and Joanna Hutchison in the squad.
3. A week on Tuesday (30th) Kenny McAskill is launching his “Proceeds of Crime” awards for Women’s and Girls football at the Academy in the morning. Gordon Smith and the Sports Minister (Stewart Maxwell) will be there as well for the photoshoot. Given our commitment to Womens football they are keen to recognise this by bringing the launch to the Academy.
4. While on the Academy the grass seed did go down last weekend and apparently it will grow well as long as the temperature is above 43 degrees and not too wet. I’m sure there was a tinge of green across the surface yesterday.
5. Training this week - on grass at Peffermill on Tuesday (start 6.45) and then on ASTRO on Thursday (start 7pm)..remember no studs on the astro!!
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Chairman’s Update - 14th September
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 ResultsSat 13th Sept
1st XI South Regional Cup R1 Spartans 6 (Daryl Devlin 2, Nicky Walker, Gavin Malin, Scott Livingston, Danny O’Donnel) Eyemouth 1…a comfortable win…on another day the score could have been 10 - 4 with Chris having to pull off a couple of good saves and our strikers missing a couple of “easy” chances
2nd XI League Cup Spartans 7 (Nick Reid 3, Danny Forbes, Paul Sutherland, Michael Moffat, Andy Mitchell) Garrowhill Thistle 1…it was a close first half, 2 - 1 to Spartans and we might have been behind but some “encouragement” at half time from coaches Lamb and MacDonald motivating the team to a much improved 2nd half
Sun 14th Sept
Womens 1st XI League Cup QF Spartans 5 (Hayley lauder 2, Debbie McWhinney, Kate McGillvray, Diana Barry) Hamilton Accies 0…a comfortable win putting us through to the semi final. We played very well and could have scored more, continuing our fine start to the season.
Under 19 Scottish Youth Cup Spartans 8 (Michael Fruish 3, Dale Murray 2, Brad Snodgrass, Chris Smith, Phil Mshelbwala) Berwick Rangers 2…a resounding victory with us ahead 6 - 1 at half time with some great passing play up the hill at City Park. Most of the big guns are in the draw tomorrow for the second round.
Fixtures
Tue 16th September
1st XI League Preston A vs Spartans at Pennypitt ko 7.45
Sat 20th September
1st XI Image Printers Cup R1 Coldstream vs Spartans at Home Park ko 2.30
2nd XI League Linwood vs Spartans ko 2pm
3rd XI Uphall Station vs Spartans ko 2pm
Sun 21st September
Womens 1st XI League Celtic FC vs Spartans vs ko 2pm
Under 19
League Lothian Thistle vs Spartans at Saughton ko 2pm
News
1. The Academy - at long last a few dry days at the end of last week means the grass seeding is almost complete with work getting done on both Friday and Saturday. It will get finished tomorrow. If the weather stays mild then it will be ready with the rest of the Academy on the w/e of 15th November. The interior fit out is going really well…we’re down on Friday, please drop me a note if you fancy a tour round.
2. Scottish Cup vs Pollock
We are running at least one supporters bus through leaving at 12 noon from Inverleith/Ryans…exact details are to be confirmed. To book a seat call cameron on 07962 353645 or email him on Cameron_hobbs@blueyonder.co.uk, let him know your preferred pick up.. The bus is subsidised and will cost £7 for adults and £5 for concessions. Pollock is an intimidating place to play and we need the biggest Spartans support we can get. We were all disappointed after the SFL vote and this game gives us a chance to show what we can do…off and on the pitch. If you are unsure whether to come along or not please do…we had a great support at Linlithgow last season, lets see if we can beat that.
3. Our Women’s 2nd XI
Our women’s 2nd XI are looking for an extra coach to help out, their games are on Sundays. If you are interested please email Jo on spartansbxi@googlemail.com. Thanks.
4. Training this week on Tuesday (2s, 3s and 19s) and Thursday (1s, 2s, 3s and 19s) - the 4 squads will need to be flexible as the light is fading and there isn’t much space with the ground work at Peffermill.
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Chairman’s Update - Scottish Cup Draw
Monday, September 8th, 2008 ResultsWed 3rd Sept
2nd XI League Waterside 1 Spartans 9 (Nick Reid 3, Danny Forbes 3, Lukas Zuk 2, Gary Bannon)…the goals raining in with Nick and Danny notching their first hat tricks of the season
3rd XI League Preston A 4 Spartans 0…a tough outing for a squad depleted by injury and unavailability
Sat 6th Sept
2nd XI League Cup Spartans 0 Harestanes 3…two goals down inside the first six minutes after some sloppy defending. Mind you Harestanes were very good having added some strong players to last seasons squad. A late flurry deserved a consolation goal but it was too little too late
1st XI and 3rd XI games postponed
Sun 7th Sept
Under 19s
League Cup Preston A 1 Spartans 3 ( Michael Fruish, Chris Smith,
Womens XI game postponed
Fixtures
Thur 11th Friendly Under 19s (Sat XI) vs Under 19s (Sun) at Inverleith Park ko 6pm
Sat 13th Sept
1st XI Scottish Regional Cup R1 Spartans vs Eyemouth at City Park ko 2.30
2nd XI League Cup Spartans vs Garrowhill T at Peffermill ko 2pm
3rd XI free Saturday due to Edinburgh holiday
Sun 14th September
Womens 1st XI League Cup QF Spartans vs Hamilton Accies at St Marks Park ko 2pm
Under 19 Scottish Youth Cup R1 Spartans vs Berwick Rangers at City Park ko 2pm
News
1. Scottish Cup Draw…Pollok away
Not the draw we would have wanted but I am sure they won’t be too happy either. I’ve put a quick quote on the website today and we’re looking forward to the game. We will certainly need a big support on the day…travel details will be on the website later this week.
2. Scotland vs Norway World Cup fixture in October
We have received 8 tickets for the game…as usual please let me know if you want to be entered into a raffle for a ticket. If you put your name in before Wednesday and Scotland lose then your name stays in!!
3. All teams down at Peffermill tomorrow starting 6.45 prompt due to the light and 1s, 2s and 3s likewise on Thursday.
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Chairman’s Update - 2nd September
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 ResultsMon 25th August
Friendly Edinburgh Uni 2 Spartans 2nd XI 1 (Steven Malin)
Wed 27th August
2nd XI League Spartans 6 (Richard Harris 2, Gavin Malin, Jim Rae, Danny Forbes, Joe Steele) Cumbernauld Clyde 3…some shaky moments at the back but looking great going forward, even a trade mark Jim R free kick
3rd XI League Broughton 1 Spartans 1 (Chris Smith)..first point of the season after playing 30 minutes with ten men
Sat 30th August
1st XI League Selkirk 0 Spartans 7 (Alex King 3, Nicky Walker 2, Danny O’Donnel, Stewart Fowlie)….took a little while to get going but then a free flowing second half and some great goals. AK’s first hat trick for the club…so good Mike and Sam have given him two weeks holiday!!
2nd XI League Cup Sporting 0 Spartans 3 (Tomas Mula 2, Nick Reid)…a tough encounter on a tight park but our new Polish defender turned striker to notch twioce in the last 25 minutes
3rd XI League Spartans 1 (Adam Smith) Redhall Star 3..a goalkeeping crisis meant Kenny Skiv going in goals and joining Lummy in the “played every position” elite bunch. Adam scoring on his return from the US but the strength of promoted Redhall showing that the Lothian Premier will be a tough league this season
Sun 31st August
Womens 1st XI League Boroughmuir 3 Spartans 8 (Debbie McWhinnie 3, Danni Pagliarulo, Hayley Lauder, Trisha McLaughlin, Kate Macgillivray and Diana Barry)
Under 19s League Cup CSS 1 Spartans 3 (Michael Kirkland, Chris Smith, Brad Snodgrass)
Fixtures
Wed 3rd September
2nd XI League Waterside vs Spartans at Kirkintilloch ko 6.30
3rd XI League Preston A vs Spartans ko 6.15
Sat 6th September
1st XI League Cup Image Printers EoS Cup R2 Coldstream vs Spartans ko 2pm (but looking at possibility of earlier due to the Scotland game…our website will be updated if ko time changes)
2nd XI League Cup Spartans vs Harestanes at Peffermill ko 2pm
3rd XI League Spartans vs Bo’ness at Peffermill ko 2pm
Sun 7th September
Womens 1st XI League Spartans vs Aberdeen at St Marks Park ko 2pm
Under 19 League Cup Preston A vs Spartans ko 2pm
News
1. Academy Update
After a couple of difficult meetings last week the completion date for the Academy is now 14th November. We have now agreed a very clear plan over the next 11 weeks and there are no known obstacles in the way - this date is not even weather dependent…other than the grass stadium pitch. After a week of good weather the grass seed was eventually due to be sown today but the heavy rain meant this was postponed. The contractor only needs one clear day and once the seed is down they are confident that, if it is a reasonably mild September, the pitch will be comfortably ready by the middle of November…indeed the work is being done by the team who prepared and reseeded Ibrox during the close season and they had it ready within 5 weeks from seeding.
Hutch and I have enough material to write a whole book on this project…maybe we’ll just settle for one chapter in Mickey’s life story!
2. 1st XI Sponsor
As noted on the website Gildeas Solicitors have extended their sponsoship deal to include the away kit and the tracksuits as well as our home kit. The deal is the best in our history and well done to Bryan B who enthusiasm and energy have helped land a deal which would be the envy of a number of teams in SFL 2 and 3.
3. The SFA Regional Cup draw (Round 2) gave us Eyemouth at home a week on Saturday…since the demise of the Qualifying Cup this is the biggest “domestic” trophy we play for. This will be our first home game of the season, season tcikets will be on sale (they are also available thru’ the website) and we’re looking at a good start after the disappointment at Dalbeattie last season. The 3rd round is on November 15th…a home draw and the game is scheduled for the Academy!
The first round of the Scottish Cup proper takes place next Monday in Glasgow…the games due to be played on 27th September.
4. Training this week
Due to the league games for the 2s and 3s it will be 1s and 19s only tomorrow and again on Thursday at Peffermill.
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Chairman’s Update - 24th August
Sunday, August 24th, 2008 ResultsSat 23rd August
1st XI Edinburgh City 3 Spartans 3 (Omar Kader, Donal Henretty, Nicky Walker)…after the long wait for the season to start we were fantastic for the first 65 minutes going 3 - 0 ahead and playing very well. They pulled one back with 15 to go and then managed to score another two in the last ten minutes…we had further chances when it was 3 - 2 but didn’t take them. A very disappointing end to the game but if we play as well as we did for the first part of the game it will be a great season
2nd XI League Spartans 3 (Michael Moffat 2, Thomas Mula) Scotia A 1…not a great performance but three points. Our new Polish defender popped up to drive home the opener after ten minutes but we didn’t keep the ball well and play as a unit
3rd XI League Blackridge 3 Spartans 1 (Garth Fitzsimons)…not a bad performance against one of the top teams with their third scored in the dying minutes. They coverted a soft penalty and we missed chances.
Sun 24th Aug
Womens 2nd XI League St Johnston 2 Spartans 8
Fixtures
Mon 25th August
Friendly Edinburgh Uni 1s vs Spartans 2nd XI at Peffermill ko 7pm
Wed 27th August
2nd XI League Spartans vs Cumbernauld Clyde at Peffermill ko 6.30
3rd XI League Broughton vs Spartans at Peffermill ko 6.30
Sat 30th August
1st XI League Selkirk vs Spartans ko 2.30
2nd XI League Cup Sporting vs Spartans ko 2pm
3rd XI League Spartans vs Redhall Star at Peffermill ko 2pm
Sun 31st August
Womens 1st XI League Boroughmuir vs Spartans at Meggatland ko 12.30
Under 19 Civil Service Strollers vs Spartans at Muirhouse ko 2pm
Not much news other than the Academy.
Not unexpectedly the contractor is now saying an early November completion date for the Academy - the weather has caused havoc but we’ve now had two dry days together so hopefully next week will be better
The 19s training Tue and Thus this week, usual time, weather permitting.
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Chairman’s Update
Monday, August 18th, 2008 ResultsSat 16th August
2nd XI League Millbank 0 Spartans 3 (Michael Moffat, Nick Reid, Gary Bannon)..off to a winning start and there should have been many more goals. If Gary can score against them it had to be quite straight-forward but strikers Moffat, Reid and Forbes were I’m sure keeping the goals for when it will really matter!
Sun 17th August
Womens 1st XI League Cup Forfar 1 Spartans 4 (Debbie McWhinnie, Hayley Lauder, Kate McGillivray, Shelley Kerr)…a comfortable win to set up the first league game of the season this Wednesday
Womens 2nd XI League Cup R1 Spartans 0 Clyde 4
Fixtures
Tue 19th Aug
Friendly 1st XI vs Under 19s at Peffermill ko 7pm
Wed 20th Aug
Womens’s 1st XI League Spartans vs Hamilton Accies at City Park ko 6.45
2nd XI League Cumbernauld Colts vs Spartans at Cumbernauld Juniors Ground ko 6.45
Thur 21st Aug
Under 19s Friendly Inch Colts vs Spartans at Double Hedges ko 6.30
Sat 23rd Aug
1st XI League Edinburgh City vs Spartans at City Park ko 2.30pm
2nd XI League Spartans vs Scotia A at Peffermill ko 2pm
3rd XI League Spartans vs Blackridge at Peffermill ko 2pm
Sun 24th Aug
Under 19 League Spartans vs Easthouses at City Park ko 2pm
There is no Women’s 1st XI game this Sunday due to the international game in Finland where we have a couple of players in the squad.
News
1. Norwich Union Awards
After the longest voting period in history our Academy application for £12,500 is still going well and we remain top of the Scottish league table. We now have almost 1200 votes however we know that a number of you have still to vote…the link is http://www.joinourteam.com/initiative/showinitiative/id/622/initiative/The-Spartans-Community-Football-Academy. Please can you cast you vote this week…we have taken on some very significant financial commitments to build the Academy - this is one way you can help make a real difference and ensure we win the award for the Scottish region.
2. The Spartans Sunday Speaker Lunch
After the success of last seasons Sunday Lunch we are delighted to confirm that this season’s will be on Sunday 2nd November, starting at 12.30…please put your date in the diary. More details to follow - despite Ross’s move to Forfar he has kindly agreed to lead the organisation of the evnt and indeed his Dad has again agreed to be the keynote speaker. Last year’s event was hugely successful, lets make sure this year’s is equally so.
3. Training this week
The 2nd XI are down on Monday at Peffermill, the 3s on Tuesday and the 1s and 3s on Thursday.
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Chairman’s Update
Sunday, August 10th, 2008 ResultsSat 9th August
1st X League Spartans vs Coldstream - game postponed…..at 1.40 despite every effort to make the pitch playable
2nd XI League Spartans vs Wishaw - game postponed
3rd XI Friendly Watt Star 1 Spartans 3 (Chris Smith 2, Finlay Clark)…the synthetic surface at Riccarton to the rescue…Finlay eventually notching after missing a number of chances apparently
Sun 10th August
Womens 1st XI League Kilmarnock 0 Spartans 0..by all accounts we played well but missed chances
Fixtures
Tue 12th August
1st XI League Preston A vs Spartans ko 7.45pm…the ko has moved around but given the lights we are obviously onto continental ko times
Friendly 2nd XI vs 3rd XI at Peffermill ko 7pm
Friendly Leith A 19s vs Spartans 19s at Leith ko 6.30pm
Sat 16th August
1st XI League Dalbeattie Star vs Spartans ko 2.30pm…there will be a bus travelling and as usual supporters are welcome to come on the bus, please call Jimmy M if you are interested
2nd XI League Millbank vs Spartans ko 20m
Sun 17th August
Womens 1st XI League Cup R1 Forfar vs Spartans ko 2pm
News
1. Mike’s Blog
I know a number of you were disappointed about Mike putting a hold on his blog. We had a committee meeting including Mike and Sam on Monday and all of us discussed that, as I found out when doing my press interviews after the SFL bid, good points are exagerrated and quickly blown out of all proportion. As Mike said in his last post suddenly there was controversy where none was intended and despite Mike being very careful on what he said. We therefore decided that Mike would hang up his mouse and keyboard and stop doing his blog for the meantime. This blog has attracted many people to our website…over 5,000 different users in July…which is quite remarkable. Thanks to Mike for the many new Spartans supporters his blog has encouraged and we’re working out how to ensure our supporters are kept fully up to date with the thoughts of all of us at the club. The new website is continually building new content and hopefully we can retain the readership.
2. Shetland Islands XI
You may have noticed Spartans old boy James Johnson (”JJ”) scoring for the Shetland Islands as they beat Fort William in the 1st Round of the North Challenge Cup…the Sunday Post even described him as ex-Spartans midfielder James Johnson! They have drawn Cove Rangers in the next round…they have been allowed to enter the cup on the basis they can only be drawn away! If Shetland can manage this perhaps we should apply to join the English pyramid league system! It is also interesting to track the ex Spartans players in the SFL as well this season - they do seem to be doing better in the bookings league table than in the goals scored table!
3. The Rain and the Academy
Obviously the current weather is doing little for progress on the grass pitch at the Academy…ERDC are however making good progress on both the club rooms and the large synthetic pitch however we really do need a dry spell for the grass pitch…the seed is on site ready to go on the ground but we need a few dry days
4. Obviously no training on Tuesday but all teams down at Peffermill on Thursday
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A new season
Friday, August 1st, 2008 Firstly many thanks for the many messages of support following our SFL bid. It was very heartening reading the texts and emails and has given us all the resolve we need to move forward. Mind you it was a bit lonely initially after Phil’s email out on the evening of the result!Anyway a new season is here and we’re raring to go. My update email will continue to cover the results and fixtures for the three Mens teams and the 19s, I will also add the two Womens teams as well. In addition it will continue to include the main news across the Mens section and the highlights across the rest of the club. We also have four websites now…the mens, womens, youth and the Academy…we are working on getting all the links working and will do a better job at keeping them current.
After loads of rain in early July progress at the Academy is coming along very well. The guys also had been working at weekends to get it ready for mid September for the SFL so we’ve cut back a bit on this. The weather has also been very wet both in early July and this week…Hutch did say that the new drainage has done a superb job although he would have preferred it not to have been tested quite so early! At the moment completion is now early October although the club room block may be ready before then. We did still go ahead with the irrigation system for the Stadium pitch which will make such a difference and the grass seed is due to be sown next week so we’re in good shape.
Last Weeks Results
Sat 26th July
1st XI Friendly Tynecastle 2 Spartans 5 (Daryl Devlin 4, Nicky Walker )
2nd XI Friendly Queen’s Park Reserves/U19s 1 Spartans 2 (David Cran, Steve Malin)…a better result than our last visit to Hampden at the start of July
3rd XI Friendly Spartans 2 (Chris Smith, Saveria Lagana) Stocksfield 5…thanks to Mark L for arranging Netherdale as neutral territory for the Scotland vs England annual challenge match
Wed 30th July
2nd XI Newcraighall Vics vs Spartans at Newcraighall ko 7pm
Fixtures
Sat 2nd XI August
1st XI Friendly Spartans vs Newtongrange Star at City Park ko 2pm
2nd XI Friendly Aitkenhead T vs Spartans at Balgray, Glasgow ko 2pm
Tue 5th August
Friendly 1st XI vs 2nd XI at Peffermill ko 7pm
Other News
1. Ian Murray the Hibs player has kindly agreed to join the 3rd XI coaching team for their Tuesday night sessions….Mark L is helping Ian start his coaching badges and thanks to mark for encouraging Ian to come along to Spartans. As long as the 3s start their season better than Hibs!
2. Many of you will have already heard this but some sad news regarding a couple of close friends of the Spartans family….The Doc (Andrew Ross) from EUAFC sadly passed away last Saturday, his funeral is this Saturday at Morningside at 10.15. So many Spartans players and committee have benefitted from the Doc’s influence while they were at the Uni and indeed since and his presence will be sorely missed at the matches between us.
Margaret Middlemist…wife of Ian and Mum of Ross also passed away the week before last. Margaret has had to put up with Spartans for many years and our thoughts go to Ian and Ross.
3. 1000 club - May winners
The May winners were:
- Alistair Arnott £215
- John McLean £129
- Dr Ian Smith (EUAFC) £86
The June draw is tomorrow.
4. Season Tickets will be on sale next Saturday at our first home game….details will be out on Monday after the committee meeting. We’re working out what we do when we move to the Academy and have the luxury of a stand and the cafe/bar.
5. Merchandise
Football Nation in Lothian Rd or off our website has a stock of strips, hoodies and t shirts all set for the new season - get in their first before all the tourists in the Capital snap them up when they visit the shop!
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