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Chairmans Update

CraigGraham — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:40:28 +0000

Results

Sat 8th March

1st XI League Cup R1 Kelso Utd 0 Spartans 1 (Struan Preston)…a tough encounter with us having plenty of possession but not creating too many chances. Kelso had a couple of breaks and made a real game of it

2nd XI League Spartans 4 (Nick Reid 2, Adam Perry, Andy Mitchell) Eastfield 0..two goals in either half as the 2s continue their winning league form

3rd XI League Edinburgh University 1 Spartans 2 (Ross Webb, Gareth Rigby)…in the gale force conditions at Peffermill the 3s score twice in the second half to record a great win

Fixtures

Tue 10th March

Friendly 1st XI vs 2nd XI at Peffermill ko 7pm

Fri 13th March

Old Boys Friendly Spartans vs Newcraighall at the Academy ko 8pm

Sat 14th March

2nd XI M & M Trophy R3 Scotia A vs Spartans ko 2pm

3rd XI League Spartans vs Seaforth Highlanders at the Academy ko 2.15pm

Sun 15th March

1st XI SFA Regional Cup (South) Spartans vs Edinburgh University at Meadowbank ko 2pm

Under 19 League Spartans vs Berwick Rangers at City Park ko 11.30

Womens 1st XI League Spartans vs Boroughmuir at the Academy ko 1pm

Womens 2nd XI League Hibs B vs Spartans B ko 2pm

We’re looking for a big turn out at Meadowbank next Sunday for the final of the highest profile trophy at our level. Please make every effort to come along.

The end of season Player of the Year dinner has been arranged for Friday May 23rd at the Apex Hotel – ticket details nearer the time.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Chairmans Update

CraigGraham — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:39:47 +0000

Results

Sat 28th Frb

1st XI League Edinburgh Uni 0 Spartans 2 (Nicky Walker, Keith McLeod pen)..2 – 0 ahead within 20 minutes playing well but not that much to shout about after that

2nd XI League Spartans 3 (Nick Reid 2 (1 pen), Keith Boyes) Elderslie 1…not a great performance after the highs of last week’s second half performance but another 3 points

3rd XI Logan Cup R4 Spartans 3 (Finlay Clark, Steve Malin, Gareth Rigby) Seaforth Highlanders 0…goalless at the break but with the Peffermill breeze behind us in the second half we played well and scored good goals

Sun 1st Mar

Under 19 League Cup Easthouses 1 Spartans 2 (OG, Steve Philp)..a good win to go thru’ to play Tynecastle in the semi final

Fixtures

Sat 7th Mar

1st XI League Cup R1 Kelso Utd vs Spartans ko 2.30

2nd XI League Spartans vs Eastfield at the Academy ko 2.30pm

3rd XI League Edinburgh Uni vs Spartans at Peffermill ko 2pm

Sun 8th Mar

Under 19 League Tynecastle vs Spartans at City Park ko 2pm

It is the 1s and 3s at the Academy on Tuesday with the 2s and 19s at Peffermill. All at the Academy on Thursday.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Chairman’s Update

CraigGraham — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:12:46 +0000

Results

Tue 17th Feb

Friendly Under 17s 2 Under 19s 0

Sat 21st Feb

1st XI League Spartans 2 (Gavin Malin, Keith McLeod pen) Preston A 1…we are 2 – 0 up early in the game and the ref decides to intervene by sending off Robbie Manson harshly for a trip. The game turned into a bit of a battle but we held on

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup QF Stenhousemuir 2 Spartans 6 (Adam Perry 3, Joe Steele 2, Gary Bannon)…2 – 2 at half time but a great second half performance blew away undefeated Stenhousemuir. Another hat trick for ASdam but big Joe took away the Rick Shaws Manza of the Match

3rd XI League Redhall Star 4 Spartans 0..a disappointing performance which means relegation looks closer

Sun 22nd Feb

Womens 1st XI Scottish Cup R3 Forfar 1 Spartans 4 (Di Barry 2, Debbie McWhinnie, Julie Melrose)..thru’ to the last eight after a closer encounter than the scoreline suggests

Fixtures

Tue 24th Feb

Friendly 3rd XI vs Under 19s at Peffermill ko 7pm

Sat 28th Feb

1st XI League Edinburgh Uni vs Spartans at Peffermill ko 2.30pm

2nd XI League Spartans vs Elderslie at the Academy ko 2.30pm

3rd XI Logan Cup R4 Spartans vs Seaforth Highlanders at Peffermill ko 2pm

Sun 1st Mar

Under 19 League Spartans vs Civil Service Strollers at City Park ko 2pm

For all the weekly news catch up on the website www.spartansfc.com. Use the link then into the Academy site or the Womens site for more details.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Chairman’s Update

CraigGraham — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:37:12 +0000

Results

Sat 7th Feb

1st XI Friendly Spartans 7 (Keith McLeod 2, Omar kader, Dean Hoskins, Struan Preston, Daryl Devlin, Nicky Walker) Stirling Uni 1

2nd XI M & M Trophy R2 Spartans 7 (Adam Perry 3, Gary Bannon 2, Iain Cartwright, Joe Steele) Cumbernauld Colts 1

Sun 8th Feb

Womens 1st XI League Spartans 4 (Di Barry 2, Debbie McWhinnie 2) Kilmarnock 1

Sat 14th Feb

1st XI Friendly Spartans 2 (Omar Kader, Nicky Walker) Gala F 0

2nd XI League Spartans 8 (Nick Reid 4, Adam Perry 2, Keith Boyes, Martin Douglas) Sporting 1

Fixtures

Tue 17th Feb Friendly Under 19s vs Under 17s at Peffermill on gras under lights ko 7pm

Sat 21st Feb

1st XI League Spartans vs Heriot Watt Uni at City Park ko 2.30

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R4 Stenhousemuir vs Spartans ko 1.30pm

3rd XI League Redhall Star vs Spartans ko 2pm

Sun 22nd Feb

Womens Scottish Cup R3 Forfar vs Spartans ko 2pm

News

1. SFA Grassroots Awards 2009 – as we put on the website we won the Community Club of the Year at a gala dinner at Hampden on Thursday – well done to everyone across the club.

2. 1000 Club draw for November: Winners 1st Maggie Gardner £221, 2nd XI Danny Costello £133 3rd Alun Williams £89. A good month for the veterans, Maggie’s husband played in the great 70s team, Danny played in the same team and then managed the club and Alun retired last year after 19 playing seasons

3. Academy Funding – as many of you know the Academy has taken on some very significant loan funding and we will be approaching everyone across the club to help manage down the loans. Over the coming weeks and months we will be launching a number of schemes. This week we are announcing a tie up with Utility Warehouse which will save you on your utility bills and help us raise money. We have become a Community Fundraiser with the Utility Warehouse. This partnership will will generate valuable extra income for the Academy.

The Utility Warehouse is a major British PLC, providing over 250,000 households across the UK with gas, electricity, home phone, mobile and broadband.

It’s simple. All you do is call the Community Fundraising Team at the Utility Warehouse on Freephone 0800 131 3000 during normal office hours. They’ll explain how the services are provided, whether you will be able to save money with them and, as there is no minimum contract, you can try them out risk free,

You’ll reduce your household bills and Spartans receive an income from introducing you to the services. But the difference is that for as long as you remain a customer we’ll receive an income. It’s a win win, you receive lower bills from an award winning company and we are able to generate much needed funds for the future.

Go on give the Utility Warehouse a call and support us. we will be putting a link thru’ the website very soon but in the meantime call the number and get started. There are a couple of us using it already and it is as simple as it sounds.

4. Training this week – hopefully the weather will be a bit better…3s at Peffermill on Tuesday and everyone at the Academy on Thursday.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Sunday 1st February

CraigGraham — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:28:40 +0000

Results

Sat 31st Jan

1st XI League Spartans 7 (Keith McLeod 2 (1 pen), James Hair, Gavin Malin, Struan Preston, Nicky Walker, Dan Gerrard) Selkirk 0…4 up in 20 minutes with some great goals including a cracker from James’ in the first minute

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R4 Liberton AVU 2 Spartans 3 (Adam Perry 2, Richie Harris) aet. They scored an equaliser in the 88th minute to take it into extra time but richie scored a great opportunistic strike in the first half

3rd XI League Spartans 0 Broughton 2…plenty of possession but not creating enough chances then losing two goals from set pieces

Sun 1st Feb

Womens 1st XI Scottish Cup R2 Cowdenbeath 0 Spartans 8 (Debbie McWhinnie 4, Diana Barry pen, Kate McGillvray, Claire Crosbie, Camilla Neuman Holst)

Under 19 League Civil Service Strollers 2 Spartans 0…”the worst display of the season” according to the coaches, a very disappointing start to the league campaign after playing League Cup games to date

Fixtures

Tue 3rd Feb

Friendly Under 17s vs Under 19s at Peffermill jo 7pm

Sat 6th Feb

1st XI League Peebles vs Spartans ko 2pm

2nd XI M and M Trophy Spartans vs Cumbernauld Colts at the Academy ko 2pm

3rd XI League Redhall Star vs Spartans ko 2pm

Sun 7th Feb

Womens 1st XI League Spartans vs Kilmarnock at the Academy ko 1pm

News

1. Bus to Dalbeattie – supporters wanting to travel down to Dalbeattie on 14th Feb on the team bus should let Cameron know – we will be taking the double decker bus down so there will be about 25 spaces for supporters. The cost will be a nominal £5 for the round trip. Cameron’s email is cameron_hobbs@blueyonder.co.uk.

2. The Scotland National Rugby Squad will be training at the Academy in the early part of this week and have booked it every week thru’ to the end of the Six Nations. They really think our FieldTurf and the facilities are superb and will give them an edge when the action begins next Sunday against Wales. The Scotland Womens national football squad also held a training camp at the end of last week – more great recognition.

Of course we are much more than just elite groups - tonight saw the start of the 2009 Active Futures programme for 12 to 25 year olds held in conjunction with local youth agencies from Pilton, Muirhouse and Granton.

3. We are still learning how to operate the Academy – indeed ERDC are still sorting snagging problems so our decorating and permanent signage is having to wait. One challenge for us is how many volunteer hours we require. We have a small band of regulars plus the players from the 1s, 2s and 3s who help. Each squad has a night and its great too see them giving something back to the club. If you would like to go on the list to help we would be delighted, please email me or Douglas at the Academy. Slots are 2 to 4 hours and there is a range of help required.

4. Training this week – the 1s and 3s at the Academy on Tuesday and the 2s at Peffermill. All teams at the academy on Thursday.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Sunday 25th January

CraigGraham — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:52:57 +0000

Results

Sat 24th Jan

1st XI Spartans 8 (Donal Henretty 2, Keith McLeod, Omar Kader 2, Dean Hoskins, Danny O’Donnel, Daryl Devlin) Peebles 0…a one sided affair with their goalie winning MoM!

3rd XI League Spartans 0 Newcraighall Vics 0…another good performance but not quite good enough for the three points. Steve Malin missing our best chance just before half time, maybe if his folks could come up and watch Steve for a change!

Sun 25th Jan

Womens 1st XI League Spartans 8 Aberdeen 0…7 – 0 up at half time having played really well against one of the mid table teams.

Womens 2nd XI Friendly Spartans 2 East Fife 1

Fixtures

Sat 31st Jan

1st XI League Spartans vs Selkirk at City Park ko 2pm

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R4 Liberton AVU vs Spartans at Loanhead ko 1.30pm

3rd XI League Spartans vs Broughton at the Academy ko 3pm

Sun 1st Feb

Womens 1st XI Scottish Cup Cowdenbeath vs Spartans ko 2pm

Under 19 League Civil Service Strollers vs Spartans at Muirhouse ko 2pm

News

1. Another big week at the Academy with the Scotland Womens full International team holding a training camp at the end of the week. We have Diana Barry and Jo Hutchison in the squad with Shelley having retired after the campaign for the Euro 09 championships.

2. After the initial flurry of volunteers at the academy we’re still looking for a few more…just drop douglas an email on douglassamuel@spartanscfa.com if you are interested in helping in the cafe/bar or around the pitches/changing rooms.

3. Change to training this week with the 1s and 3s at the Academy on Tuesday and the 2s and 19s at Peffermill. All the teams back to the Academy for Thursday night.

Chairmans Update

CraigGraham — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:39:27 +0000

Results

Sat 17th Jan

1st XI King Cup R1 Spartans 0 Easthouses 2…loads of chances in the first half but we didnt take them…they score a lucky goal, then a second, we miss a pen and its all over….one of these days

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R3 Plean 0 Spartans 1(Michael Moffat)…again plenty chances for Spartans but it took until the 78th minute to break the deadlock…another clean sheet to add to David’s record

3rd XI Logan Cup R3 Spartans 5 (Steve Malin 2, Finlay Clark 2, Garth Fitzsimons) Heriot Watt 2 aet…after it being 1 – 1 at full time we run riot…veteran Hutton coming on in extra time to spray the ball around and make the difference

Sun 18th Jan

Womens 1st XI League Dundee Utd 0 Spartans 3 Claire Crosbie 2, Diana Barry) a comfortable victory after the Xmas break….Shelley’s three sesions per week paying off!

Under 19 League Cup Spartans 3 (Neil Cameron, Scott McDonald,Steven Philp) Edinburgh City 6…City worthy winners although we took the lead.

Fixtures

Sat 24th Jan

1st XI League Spartans vs Peebles at City Park ko 2pm

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R4 Liberton AVU vs Spartans ko 1.30pm

3rd XI League Spartans vs Newcraighall Vics at the Academy ko 2pm

Sun 25th Jan

Womens 1st XI League Spartans vs Aberdeen at the Academy ko 1pm

Under 19 League Berwick Rangers vs Spartans ko 2pm

News

1. After last week’s announcement of our Saturday Little Dribblers for 3 – 6 year olds between February and April we have now released details of our programme for the February school holiday covering 3 – 14 year olds

Little Dribblers

An introduction to football, this course has been carefully designed to promote motor and social skill development for children 3-4 years old. With a series of fun practices focusing on movement, small sided games and basic football activity this course is a great way to get pre-school children involved in the national game during the school holidays.

Junior Soccer School

Participants receive 2 hours of expert coaching each day, over a 5 day period. Each day is themed with a different aspect of the game, for example passing, heading or 1v1’s. Each day will also include lots of small sided games and shooting routines to allow young footballers the chance to score lots of goals. Participants are split into their own age group so that they learn and develop amongst children of similar physical ability.

SCFA 5 A-Sides

Our 5 a side sessions include a variety of small sided games and developmental fours with participants experiencing more touches of the ball, decision making situations and more 1v1’s.

Timetable

10am-11am – Little Dribblers (age 3-4 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost for the week £20.
10am-12pm - Junior Soccer School (5-8 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost for the week £30.
10am-12pm – SCFA 5 A-Sides (9-14 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost for the week £30.
1.30pm-2.30pm – Little Dribblers (age 3-4 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost as above.
1.30pm-3.30pm - Junior Soccer School (5-8 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost as above.
1.30pm-3.30pm - SCFA 5 A-Sides (9-14 yrs old) – 16th to 20th February, cost as above.

If you would like to book a place on one of the above courses now, please contact Debbi McCulloch (Academy Football Development Officer) or Kenny Cameron (Academy Community Programme Manager) on 0131-552-7854.

2. Training: As it will be for a while…the 19s and 3s at Peffermill on Tuesday and at the Academy on Thursday…the 1s and 2s at the Academy both nights.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Chairman’s Update

CraigGraham — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:05:48 +0000

Results

Sat 10th Jan

1st XI Scottish Cup R4 Airdrie 2 Spartans 1 (Gavin Malin)..having read most of the papers today and chatted to loads of people about the game it reinforced that the players, coaches and fans did the club proud and with a little bit of luck we might have got a replay. Roll on next season’s Cup competition

2nd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R5 Spartans 0 St Mungo’s 1…a big disappointment…outmuscled and despite having the bulk of possession we created little although Nick missed a chance at the end which would have earned a replay

Fixtures

Sat 17th Jan

1st XI King Cup R1 Spartans vs Easthouses at City Park ko 1.30pm

2nd XI East of Scotland Cup R3 Plean vs Spartans ko 1.30pm

3rd XI Logan Cup R3 Spartans vs Heriot Watt Uni at the Academy ko 2.00pm

Sun 18th Jan

Under 19 League Cup Spartans vs Edinburgh City at the Academy ko tba

Women’s 1st XI League Dundee Utd vs Spartans ko 2pm

News

1. starting with less news – from now on i will put less information in my weekly email as it is nearly all going on the website…the site is updated nearly every day…www.spartansfc.com

2. This weekend was really important for our Youth section at 11 a side level – our 1st XI at 13s, 14s, 15s and 17s were all playing their counterparts from Hutcheson Vale in league games…for a long time the recognised number 1 youth set up in Edinburgh. Our club is much more than the 1st XI across all our age groups…youth and adult but today’s scores were impressive…we won three of the games…13s by 4 – 1, 14s by 4 – 2 and 17s by 5 - 1. Unfortunately the 15s lost but Daniel did pick up something from his trip to Airdrie with the 1st XI squad on the team bus yesterday as he did score today. This set of results just shows what a great job the Youth coaches are doing….it’s a thankless task at times but I’m sure a number of those around Youth football in Edinburgh will have noticed these scores…I also spoke briefly to the Celtic scout who was at the 13s game and he was very complimentary about our passing style of play

3. Training: As it will be for a while…the 19s and 3s at Peffermill on Tuesday and at the Academy on Thursday…the 1s and 2s at the Academy both nights.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470

Chairmans update

CraigGraham — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:06:41 +0000

Happy New Year to everyone…

Results

Tue 30th Dec

1st XI Friendly Spartans 2 (Daryl Devlin, Alex King) Newtongrange Star 0

2nd XI Friendly Spartans 0 CSS 1

Sat 3rd Jan

1st XI Friendly Spartans 1 (Gavin Malin) CSS 3

2nd XI League Spartans 6 (Gary Bannon 2, Paul Sutherland 2, Andy Mitchell, Lukasz Zuk) Wishaw HSFP…a great win with a fantastic passing performance

Sun 4th Jan

Under 19 Spartans 3 St Bernards U21 3

Fixtures

Sat 10th Jan

1st XI Scottish Cup R4 Airdrie vs Spartans at Excelsior Stadium ko 3pm

2nd XI Scottish Amateur Cup R5 Spartans vs St Mungo’s at the Academy ko 2pm

Sun 11th Jan

Under 19 League Cup Easthouses vs Spartans ko 2pm

News

1. After a break since the Elgin game it’s Scottish Cup week again. Some good press today and there should be over the weekend again as we will hold a photocall at the Academy on Thursday. We have said to Airdrie we will take 500 supporters to the game – lets make sure everyone makes every possible effort. Final numbers on the supporters bus to Cameron by tomorrow please, the buses will leave from the Academy where the bar will be open before we leave.

2. We have the small matter of a trip to see the SFA at Hampden on Wednesday on our ineligible player in the last round…likely to be in the press on Thursday for the wrong reasons!

3. It has been a busy fortnight at the Academy…the news items on the website will take you through it, www.spartansfc.com. It has been great to see many of the old Spartans along to see the Academy. A notable visitor on the day the Edinburgh City game was postponed was captain from the 80′s Mike Drabble…Mike played in the league winning team back in ’83. Having not seen the team played for over ten years he was really disappointed to have missed the game but delighted at our new home. At the Academy Debbi McCulloch our second Development Officer joins us tomorrow to bring us up to the full complement of staff as our Youth and Community programmes really kick in in early 09..

4. Training at the Academy at 7.30 for the 1s and 2s both Tuesday and Thursday…the 3s and 19s a Peffermill on Tuesday and Peffermill on Thursday.

Cheers and best wishes to everyone for 2009.

Craig

07768 005470

Sunday 21st December

CraigGraham — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:59:42 +0000

Results

Mon 15th Dec

1st XI Scottish Cup R3 Elgin City 1 Spartans 2 (Omar Kader, Gavin Malin)…another famous cup win which certainly made the return bus journey a bit shorter than the one two weeks ago. The players competed well against a much more physical Elgin team and we looked really dangerous on the break. Well done to the players and coaching staff and roll on Airdrie…just a visit to Hampden one day on the week before the game to find out our fate from the Deano registration problem!

Sat 20th Dec

1st XI League Spartans 3 (Gavin Malin, Robbie Manson, OG) Lothian Thistle 2…a tough encounter with us scoring two in the last 15 minutes to secure victory in front of our largest crowd of the season. Another goal and another booking for Gavin. They certainly pushed us hard and it took two set pieces for us to equalise then score the winner

Sun 21st Dec

Under 19 League Cup Spartans 6 (Chris Smith , OG, Michael Kirkland 4) Civil Service Strollers 5….a hectic game on the FieldTurf with us nearly always ahead but leaking goals every time we scored

Fixtures

Sat 27th Dec

1st XI League Spartans vs Edinburgh City ko 1.45

2nd XI Friendly Spartans vs TBA at the Academy ko 11.30

Tue 30th Dec

Friendly 1st XI Spartans vs Newtongrange Star at the Academy ko 8pm

News

1. Looking ahead to the trip to Airdrie on the 10th of January. For a variety of reasons we really want to take a massive following. Obviously the better our support the more inspiration it will be to the players and in addition Mr Ballantyne their Chairman didn’t believe we took 1000 to Paisley for the St Mirren game…we might not get that many but lets see if we can get pretty close. Cameron is organising the buses which will leave from the Academy…to book use the banner on the website or call him on 07962 353645. It will be cash at the gate…from their website it appears the away supporters get the stand across from the main stand.

2. Football Nation – some of you may have notcied a Friday item on our website with a 10% discount voucher for all stock at Football Nation in Lothian Road…they have a full selection of football gear as well as all our merchandise

3. Some of you will notice that Mark has set up a new Spartans forum. The link is www.spartansfc.com/forum/. Loads of chat topics including one for Mike, Sam and the coaches to explain their perspective on the games, selection, formation etc.

4. The King Cup Round 2 was drawn today…we have Easthouses in Round 1 and if we win another cup game against Edinburgh Uni in Round 2 at home.

5. The EoS Select was named this week for a friendly on 29th December with no Spartans players in it…with the Airdrie game coming up and no competitive game on 3rd January our friendly against Newtongrange Star is a a critical part of the build up so Mike has asked that our players weren’t considered

6. Training this week – only Tuesday, apparently everyone wants a day off on Thursday…just the 1s, 2s and 3s on the FieldTurf between 7 and 9 on Tuesday.

Finally Happy Christmas from everyone at Spartans. It has been a rollercoaster year…cup success for the 1s and 2s at the end of last season but no league win for the 1s and relegation for the 2s. After the frustrating SFL bid and delays on the Academy it was a long Summer but the new season has started well across all the teams with the Scottish Cup run and the Academy opening making it a great finish to the year. Thanks to everyone who volunteer their help across the club…across our 480 youngsters, our two Womens teams, our three mens teams and our Community programme…with the Academy open its a great time to be a Spartan.

Cheers

Craig

07768 005470