Assuming storm Dennis doesn’t scupper this one I’ll be heading to Broadwood stadium. I’m not sure if my dad will be with me if it’s cold and wet. I’ll still need to go see him and my mum to take care of a few jobs. Look at my mums printer, fit a new ceiling light in the kitchen and take a mattress to the tip (superking orthopaedic so that will be fun!). I’m not sure what to expect from the game. The reverse fixture was a 2-2 draw back in September. I’m not sure we are a better team than we were then. Colts are sitting in 9th on 32 points having played 24 games and we are sitting in 12th on 20 points having played 22 games. We have been thumped in the last 2 games and have recorded only 2 wins and 2 draws out of the last 10 to net 8 points from a possible 30. Still let’s hope for the best and 3 points.

Chores finished at my folks, mattress cut in half with a saw and disposed of, light fitted and a new printer bought and setup and we were on our way.
We made it through the driving rain to Broadwood. My dad was sure it would be called off but it was still on. The rain wasn’t so bad at the game as it was on the way there. Plenty of parking too and not a huge crowd. Perhaps 100? With at least 50 of them Berwick fans. Halftime draw tickets purchased and off to the stand.

There’s a fairly comprehensive match report on Facebook. But my tuppence worth is coming up here. We should have won this one but we came away with a goalless draw.

Overall it was a much better performance from the team but the lack of a viable goal threat still haunts us. Perhaps we need to change shape and stick a striker upfront and keep them there. We had much more of the possession and some good chances but Cumbernauld had a few chances and if one had gone in I couldn’t see us pulling it back. It’s just a case of surviving this season and seeing what next season brings but I would still like to see a victory between now and the end of the season. Perhaps a run in the Lowland a league cup?

Well I recovered just in time from my bug and my dad was feeling better after last weekend so we headed on down for this one. We were booked into the meal that was before the game and I had paid for some members the Northstar centre to attend so I didn’t want to miss it. I was on camera duty too for this game so off we trotted leaving about 9:30am hoping the weather wouldn’t cancel the game.

We arrived in plenty of time as usual, quite windy on the drive down but seems to calm as we approached Berwick. No rain so likely the game would be on. Lunch was at 12:30 so hoping that would still be on anyway! Steak pie for me followed by chocolate fudge cake and Macaroni for my dad followed by apple crumble. It was actually quite good, well worth £30. 2 courses, match ticket, program, team-sheet and halftime buffet for £30 is a great deal. I could only manage a cup of tea at half time though and that was to warm my hands rather than actually wanting a cup. Eric Tait was in full swing entertaining the room with his tales and the guests from the Northstar Center were enjoying themselves. Lunch finished we moved to the JB lounge and I sorted a few things and collected the camera to record the game.

Yay! We scored first, what could go wrong! It was a goal that looked like it took several deflections on the way in but it still went in. It’s hard to see when filming, all you are looking at is a tiny screen. Alan will edit the footage and put it online when he gets back. East Stirling pulled one back though and it was 1-1 at half time. Now the wheels came off and this is why my match report type section of my blog is so poor. It’s easy to write about a victory but we let 4 in to finish the game 5-1 down. Same criticisms as previous weeks, poor defending, passing, shooting, positioning. Our new striker looks non existent too so that’s pretty depressing. I doubt he will bag a goal before the season ends without some real improvement. The team do run, effort is there but it’s not happening. 22 games played, 20 points. The Lowland league cup is at the end of the season. Dare we dream we could actually muster some enthusiasm, some energy and get it together to make an actual push for a trophy?

Do we change manager? Is there any point? Who would we attract? We’ve had 6 mangers in 5 years and will soon become a toxic club who can’t attract anybody. Obviously questions are to be asked of the manager and his team but as long as we have reasonable answers there no point in change. Time will hopefully build consistency and stability in the squad. (I hope).

Mixed loyalties, upheaval, Berwick has delivered it all to me over the last few seasons. 6 managers in 5 years and god knows how many directors have passed through the doors at Shielfield. Over the last 3 seasons it’s been great taking my dad to the games (despite the results) and I try to support the club as best I can.
I wasn’t happy when the Chairman was voted out and the directors stepped down, it came as a real shock. But the club needs to move on, we all need to move forward and support the club as best we can. I don’t know the new directors but things seem to be happening, a few new advertising boards, game day sponsors sold out for the remaining games etc. Even the launch of the 1881 fund seems to have generated money and interest. Whether or not the £10k target is achieved it’s still (at the time of writing) generated £2370. Not an insubstantial amount. Supporting Berwick is a rollercoaster and does provide ample amounts of passion and division.....

Still we have to move on and i have donated £500 to the club 1881 fund in order to do so.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/the1881fund?utm_term=ZbAvyBdXV

Not far to travel for this one, just over an hour away by car. I had contacted BSC Glasgow to ask about disabled parking and they were very prompt and said they would reserve a space near the entrance for me (taking my dad). My dads not going now though due to health issues but BSC and all the lower league teams should be commended for the accessibility they have offered. The worse experiences we have had is at bigger clubs who have policies etc in place but seem somewhat in able to act on them. The worst experience we had was at Motherwell (Berwick away in the Betfred cup) when the stewards wouldn’t let us in the home end after I had contacted the club to arrange parking and I was told we could enter there and go to the away stand. There was no reasoning with these guys. My dad had to walk around the stadium, uphill stopping several times. When we got to the away end we were faced with an empty car park! I asked the steward if I could bring the car round but no chance mate. I explained the circumstances but the attitude was appalling. Hired help that have no connection to the club and couldn’t give a monkeys. Only able to do the job they have been assigned with no emotion or understanding. He actually said the he was only hired to “mind the area” what ever that means....

Well I arrived in plenty of time and got parked easily in the car park and walked round to the entrance. I’ve never been there before but it’s a decent ground. A bit odd that you can’t actually see anybody at the turnstile. It’s a brick wall with a hole just above the turnstile that you have to bend down to look through to speak to anybody. Still once that was negotiated i was in and had a chat with one of the BSC guys. The usual stuff, difficulty of lowland league etc. Next it was stovies, a bargain at £1.50. A chit chat with some Berwick guys then a seat in the stand.

First strike to Berwick! A cracking free kick and we are in the lead, Happy days, can we actually do this. Well no we can’t..... 3-1 at halftime and 4-1 at the final whistle. Brought back down to earth with a thump. Yes BSC are higher in the league but we should be better, better passing, better possession, better shooting. Again many chances for a strike but we run it wide, take an extra touch and generally produce a frustrating performance. A red card towards the end adds to the overall disappointment. It’s unlikely we will go down, we are 12 points off the bottom spot with 9 games to play. But it’s a conversation that’s on the terraces. Memories of last seasons relegation still fresh when we were in above Albion Rovers and they turned it around. Like last season we aren’t picking up the points. Next week is Edinburgh University. They are second bottom but that doesn’t make, them a pushover. They will be looking for the points to secure their league status and could see Berwick as an opportunity to do so. Actually it not Edinburgh it’s East Stirling next. Not an easy game there either.

Well a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. A complete change at the top, Chairman and directors gone and replaced. http://berwickrangers.com/a-message-from-the-new-board-of-directors-of-berwick-rangers-fc-plc/

There are plenty of opinions flying about but I’ll leave that for others to dissect. It if anybody wanted to write a book on Berwick Rangers the last couple of seasons would have everything in it!

I’m match ball sponsor for this game against East Kilbride and it looks like a full house for hospitality too. Let’s hope we can get a result. I’ll be down with my dad as per usual, it’s been a while since he was at a game with me, a serious case of Flu saw him out of commission for a number of weeks. The last game he attended was Berwick v Gretna on the 7th of December. I did take him to an East Fife game on the 11th of January. He has a season ticket for East Fife. It’s £20 for over 80’s and at £13 for a concession it’s paid for itself after a couple of games. There a few game we can go to when Berwick have a few empty Saturdays.
We were at the East Kilbride v Berwick fixture in September where we were beaten 3 -2. Many ups and downs since then and a few Squad changes to add to the mix.

It seems like forever since we were last down in Berwick. I was down over the festive break but even that seems like a long time. (4th of Jan the last game looking at the calendar). The fixtures are a bit “all over the place” they alway have been a bit but the Lowland league season is especially difficult. I guess it’s because we are out of the various cups but we have 3 empty Saturdays between now and the end of the season. There are 2 postponed games that will hopefully fill those up but I don’t think it was planned as a buffer. We have a home game on the 22nd of February and the next one is the 11th of April with 2 away games scheduled in between. Edit here. I think there is a Lowland league cup at some point that we still have to play in. I’m not quite on top of the fixtures as you may have been able to guess. I’m too busy and tired at the moment. Life is getting in the way.

Still down to Berwick and off to Foulis to fill our bellies before heading to Shielfield.

Beaten 2-0 in the usual manner, taking the eye off the ball and some wayward passing. The frustration of almost as per usual. Almost a good pass, almost a decent shot. I’m really hoping that the team gets it together but the season is moving on. There are some decent players but somethings just not quite right. Here’s hoping for a better run for the remainder of the season, for the fans and for the players. The games are looking tougher. No chance of winning the league that’s for sure but a few wins wouldn’t be a bad thing. It wasn’t a bad performance and the ref was quite poor today. A couple of bad tackles and some blatant holding going unpunished.

The new striker missed a sitter in the first half, I’m sure he’ll be thinking about that tonight.

St Andrews Berwick Rangers Supporters would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. It’s been a difficult time off and on the pitch but hopefully things can start to progress. Times ahead will be tough but there alway many worse off than most of us.

St Andrews Berwick Rangers Supporters have made several donations this festive period, Help the Homeless in Glasgow, Several shoeboxes for the Berwick shoebox appeal and a donation to the people’s kitchen in Newcastle to name a few. Thanks to all who have contributed and a Merry Christmas to you all.

A small donation from St Andrews Berwick Rangers Supporters to The people’s kitchen of £50 to help those less fortunate than ourself.
“The People's Kitchen support hundreds of friends across the city every day. Volunteers have supported people in Newcastle for over 30 years serving over 140 meals every session, cooking everything from scratch.
The Kitchen is the home that people have never had or that they have forgotten about. It gives back love to those who have never had it or have forgotten what it was like. It is part of our city and you can help sustain it.
As well as serving a hot meal, volunteers provide friends with clothes and sleeping bags. Not only on Christmas Day, but six days a week all year round.
Newcastle is a city that cares and every penny helps. At Christmas, your fiver donation will mean that friends can enjoy their dinner in good company.

Donate your £5 to feed a friend.”

https://www.peopleskitchen.co.uk/

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?charityCampaignUrl=feedafriendforafiver

Back to Forthbank, the home of Stirling Albion and Stirling University and in the top few “coldest I’ve been” football grounds. I’ll be takin my friended Gordon and perhaps my dad if I can track him down. I wasn’t going to go to this one, Christmas party at work last night but I only had a couple of pints be fore the drowsy ness of a long day set in so I substituted beer for Spanish ham, pizza and waffles...... first thing to do today’s though is head off back to work to pick up the car. We got a taxi home last night, 6 mile trip and £25! (Well £23.45. But keep the change). I’m sure the last time I got a taxi it was about a tenner. That may have been about 15 years ago though....

A lift into work to collect the car and tidy up a bit before heading home and getting an all day breakfast at the cafe in the village starts the day off. I’ll meet Gordon at my folks about 1pm and head to Stirling. It should only take just over an hour so we should be there in plenty of time. There’s ample parking at Forthbank stadium and I would expect the crowd to be less than a Stirling Albion game.

So my dad wasn’t allowed out. Too cold for him so my mum said. To be fair it was cold and it got colder as the game went on. The rain was pretty torrential on the drive to and from the game, a bit of sleet on the way back too along with a mystery tour because I was following the Satnav and missed a few junctions......

we had the chances but again we failed to take them. It’s annoyingly frustrating. Take a bloody shot. Stop pissing about on the edge of the box or down by the corner flag. A bit of direct play is required. We need a striker. Yaw isn’t cutting it. I don’t like to criticise but he’s simply not good enough, his positioning is dreadful, his first touch isn’t improving and his shooting (when he dose) is pretty woeful. Why is he standing on the touch line inside his own half? Get up the bloody front. Why are you taking throw ins? Get up the bloody front. Why are you on the wing crossing a ball in? Get up the bloody front! I think you get the picture here. If you think you’ve been fouled but the ref doesn’t think so and play is not stopped get on your bloody feet and chase the game. Don’t sit on your ass on the grass looking around, nothing’s going to happen. I honestly could have played better at his age, I didn’t take football seriously but at least I could hit the ruddy goals. It’s too late now though, I’m too old and I’m still in recovery from my back injury so Berwick will never see the majesty of “the rubber hammer” as they used to call me.... oh and I could pass a ball too, something that I never though was actually a skill but it turns out it’s actually something that people struggle with. Yes I was playing at a lower level but putting the ball into the box doesn’t change, I always put it where it was to go, never hammered over the top past the opposite corner flag or hoofed upfront a like a cannonball that nobody had a chance to collect. I was predominantly a left back too!

The really frustrating thing is that we pretty much dominated but done nothing with it. Stirling won a free kick and slung it into the box and within the congestion at the rear post the ball was in the net. We have some decent players but I fear they will now start giving up, it must be frustrating for them too. Lewis Barr put in a great shift again. I think he should be given a chance upfront a striker. I think he would work well there given the chance, what we currently have isn’t working and I don’t think anybody would complain if he was moved upfront for a game or two. Another narrow defeat full of promise but no points.

Civil service strollers next week and I doubt I’ll go. It going to be cold and the prospect of navigating Edinburgh on the last weekend before Christmas doesn’t appeal to me. I’m not a city boy and hate driving in them. There are also very few seats (for my dad) and the seats often have an obstructed view because they are at ground level and people stand at the railing in front of them (from the internet). I also don’t expect Berwick to beat them. I will be at the following two games that are both at home though but my dad will be at home for these two. His next game (weather permitting) will probably be Berwick v East Kilbride on the 25th of January.