24/25 Season - March, April & Youth Intake

It's been in indifferent month but overall we are massively over exceeding expectations. The end of the regular season is here, can we get ourselves into the Championship group before the league splits? Well lets see!

As you can gone are those bonkers high-scoring games, we are now much more solid, the new signings have helped and the double-Libero tactic seems to be working, goals have dried up at the other end but still, 9 points from 6 games is decent.

And with that we have managed to do it!

A top 6 finish in our first season in the Premiership, that is some achievement. We now have 5 games left to show the big boys we can try and match them, 5th could get us a Europa Conference League spot but it's going to be tough.

I have quickly speak about on-loan Striker Nathan Lowe, as you can see above he scores nearly all of our goals and is slowly being recognised for his good displays.

He's won the last 3 Young Player of the Months in the Premiership (guessing January is missing as it was the Winter break)

He's also up to 2nd in the Premiership top goal-scorer with 19 goals in 29 league games. I really really hope we can sign him on a permanent deal at the end of the season.

Now we come to annual youth intake and wow!! Just take a look at this….

Two elite talents and six top talents! But are any of them actually any good? Well, I think so!

Firstly is RB/CB Ian McWaters, he's a little short for a CB so will definitely be training up as a RB. I have high hopes for this lad.

Next is the other elite talent and that's Michael Campbell, a natural AM, which isn't my tactic so I will be looking to re-train him as a RW (IF), I think, with his attributes he can do that job to a good level. 

Now we come to the pick of the top talents and there are two which I really like.

First is CM Dom Kilday, I really like the look of him, good passing and first touch and good bravery, with some work he could be a first-teamer in the coming seasons.

And finally we have CB Steven McIlvogue, when I search for players to sign I always look at 4 base attributes, Bravery, Natural Fitness, Determination and Natural Fitness, this lad has 13+ in all of them. He needs some work and I am concerned about his height, but with us playing 3 at the back I can see him slotting in there, maybe as a Libero if I can get his passing and first touch improving.

Finally, the finances and another facility improvement. One big thing this season has been the increase in gate receipts, mainly from home game against Celtic and Rangers, as we only have 788 season ticket holders but a ground of over 50k, when we face the big two we tend to get attendances around the 50k mark. This means a massive influx in gate receipts, each game brings us around £1m in extra money which is absolutely massive. Because of this I have decided to ask the board to improve the Youth facilities, they said yes. It comes at a cost of £2m but we have more than enough in the bank and with a home game against Celtic to come it repays 50% of that straight the way!

24/25 Season - Championship Group & End of Season Review

5 games of the season to go, 6th place is now signed and sealed but could we somehow gain a position and with that qualify for Europe in our first Premiership season?

Well it started as tough as possible, home to Celtic, we took an early lead but then the big moment 10 minutes into the second half, CB Morrison was sent off, we were down to 10 and on the ropes, after that we just couldn't deal with Celtic, they scored and then in the 96th minute grabbed a winner. We had performed admirably though.

We then went to Hearts and won 3-1 courtesy of a McKinstry masterclass. Draws at home to Hibs and St Mirren followed, this meant we went into the final match, away to Rangers needing to win and to hope Hibs lost to climb into 5th. Well just look what we did!!!!

We went to Ibrox and came out with a win, it was a backs-to-the-wall performance, they were much the better side but we scored twice early and then hung on all the way until injury time where Rangers grabbed a goal, we had sealed a famous win but was it enough?

Yes it was! Hibs lost at home to Hearts meaning we leapfrogged them into 5th and with that a spot in the Europa Conference League qualifiers next season!

What an absolutely incredible campaign, we were predicted to end 9th but we hardly ever fell as low as that, 6th always looked on but to end 5th is a huge, massive overachievement!!

As for key men there is really only one man to talk about and that's on-loan Striker Nathan Lowe, what a season for the lad. 20 Premiership goals, 26 in all, he was absolutely incredible but the bad news is we probably won't see him next season. Stoke don't want to send him out on another loan and want over £2m for him. I'll be sad to see him go and we now need a new superstar striker!

Nathan Lowe dominated the club awards, most goals, most POTMS, player and young player of the season, there really is no one else to talk about!!!

Here is the Best XI including the fantastic 541 formation!

You can see from the average ratings where the problem area was and that's defence!

And here's the whole squad.

A quick word on the finances, an amazing season on the pitch but just as good off it.

The bank balance ends at just over £5m, a £1.3m increase on the same point last season, we made £8.6m in gate receipts, our biggest outlay was the £3m spent on upgrading the facilities and group upkeep.

And now we have Europe to look at we have the chance to make even more money, we do however need to improve the squad and to do that we need money to spend, unfortunately the board don't seem to want to let me have much!

£53k p/wk in the wage budget gives me around £4.7k spare but when players leave in the Summer it gives me around £10k. That is enough to bring in 2, maybe 3 decent players and with only just short of £1m to spend on players I won't have much chance to go splashing the cash! I will more than likely transfer that £1m over to the wage budget meaning I have more wages to play with and then go looking at freebies and loans once again.

Now the big news, well I say big, but for me it's rather odd. The board want to build a new stadium.

There's no word on the capacity but there is no way it'll be anywhere near the 50k stadium we're in now. I understand why, the ground is old and we have to spend money on it's upkeep, surely though, the £1m per season that it costs on ground maintenance is massively trumped by the over £8m in gate receipts we've received. Hopefully the board are ambitious and build a suitably large ground to keep that money coming in!

Finally, I want to look at how the other Scottish team have done in Europe, one of my aims for this save is to get Scotland to top of nation co-efficient, currently we are a long way off that but we will only start increasing our co-efficient if the other clubs in Scotland do well.

Celtic - Automatically qualified for the Champions League but ended 25th and missed out on a playoff spot by one place

Rangers - Lost in the Champions League Qualifiers to Besiktas, went straight into the League Phase of the Europa League and managed to end 13th sealing a playoff spot. They got through that round beating Anderlecht but lost to Manchester United in the Last 16

Hearts - Lost in the Europa League Qualifying Playoff to Club Brugge but then went into the League Phase of the Europa Conference, they managed to end 24th, scraping a playoff place. They got past Antwerp int he playoffs before losing to Real Sociedad in the Last 16

Hibernian - Lost to Norkopping in the Europa Conference 3rd Qualifying Round

Aberdeen - Lost to Konyaspor in the Europa Conference 3rd Qualifying Round

So overall not great, our co-efficient for next season has dropped from 35.75 (10th place) to 34.2, which drops us all the way down to 14th. This means next seasons qualifying through the league has been severely dented, we have lost our automatic League Phase spot in the Champions League, we now have two teams in the Qualifying stage. A huge blow, the likes of Celtic and Rangers, alongside ourselves in the long run really have to start making the latter stages of tournaments to get the co-efficient heading the right way.

You're freaking massive my dude! 
Congrats on a very strong season and improvements made to the club as a whole! Curious what next season brings you in Europe 😀 

25/26 Season - Season Preview & Transfers

And just like that we're ready for a new season, it's been a busy Summer, it was needed, we had to improve this squad massively to keep moving forwards.

First I just want to say thanks to Michael aka @Wightyyyy on X (Twitter) for the amazing kits he made for me out of the goodness of his heart. They look incredible!!!

The expectations are in and my word they are higher than I thought. The media expect us to end 6th, a place lower than we ended last season but still, higher that I expected!

So I hoped the board may expect a little bit less but I was wrong! They also want a top half finish!

Alongside that they want us to progress to the latter round of both domestic cup comps!

Now we come to the transfers, there's only one out to speak of and it's a big one. Bournemouth came in for superstar goalkeeper Callan McKenna.

There was no way he was going to go for that, I got my negotiating hat on and managed to get this……

£5m up front, + a payment of £3m in 12 months time and 40& profit of next sale, the good news as well was Bournemouth offered him back to me on loan for the season. A huge fee and I now have 12 months to find a quality replacement.

Now to the in's, after the loanees left, certain players contracts were up and were released and Sinclair (W) and Metanire (RB) both retired, therefore I really needed some quality players. Defence was the main area to improve, we had no RBs and only 3 decent CBs, with us playing 3 at the back I needed at least 2 new CBs. We also needed a replacement for Vata on the Wing after his loan was up and also for Striker Nathan Lowe, big shoes to fill!

So please welcome…..

Lewis Macari - Right Back - Free Transfer from Stoke City

The first of two new right backs, signed on a free and a cheap wage, I really like the look of this lad and is only 23, so plenty of years ahead of him to improve.

George Tanner - Right Back - £59k from Bristol City

Tanner will be my first choice right back, the only player I signed for a fee and someone I had signed and sealed before last season ended. He looks top quality for the level we're at.

Callum Marshall - Striker - Season loan from West Ham

Nathan Lowe's replacement and if you compare the attributes this is actually better in most areas. Ok he's a lot shorter than Lowe but he has pace to burn, good finished and even for a player under 6ft can still head!

Tom Lawrence - Winger - Free Transfer

A fantastic signing for no money and a cheap wage as well. Signed to play on the RW but can also play up front and in midfield, versatility!

James Forrest - Winger - Free Transfer

Signed for his experience and to offer another option out wide, a really low wage for someone who left Celtic at the end of the season.

Jamal Baptiste - Central Defender - Free Transfer from Manchester City

When I saw him coming to the end of his contract I had to bring him in, I beat numerous English clubs to his signature, will he be a starter? Probably not at first but I have high hopes than he can be a fixture in the first-team for years to come.

Will Fish - Central Defender - Free Transfer from Manchester United

Another player snapped up when his contract ended, he looks really good, determination, heading, marking and tackling. Top quality and is only 22!

Some really good signings and the squad now looks more than set for another European challenge, the big thing now is to try and get through these Europa Conference Qualifying rounds, the money would be really helpful.

Luckily we got that McKenna money in because, just before the offer, the board came to me and asked if I wanted to improve the training facilities, I was like “yes of course”, it went through and the upgrade cost us £4.6m, all of my bank balance!!

So the upfront money for McKenna pays off that facility upgrade!

25/26 Season - August

The opening month of the season and it's bloody busy! The league starts but more importantly we have the qualifiers for the Europa Conference League. We enter in the 2nd round, there were no expectation as to how far we got, so lets just take it a round at a time!

First up was Latvian side Tukums, an easy game on paper and it was just as easy on the pitch.

4-1 home and away, easy at that! 

Into the 3rd round and we had Slovenian side Domzale, it looked to be a really tough test but we did amazingly

2-0 in the first leg at home followed by a 2-0 away win, it was really nice to get clean sheets as well. 

Now all we had was 1 round to go before getting to the League Phase and we were handed what looked like an easy-ish tie against Bosnian side Željezničar Sarajevo.

The first leg was away and we didn't play that well, we managed though to hold on for a 0-0 draw.

But a draw away from home isn't a bad result, we now go to Hampden knowing a win see's us through.

We started really well, on the front foot and all over them and it didn't take long to take the lead. A ball in from Tanner and McKinstry was tripped, Tom Lawrence stepped up and smashed home the penalty.

We continued to attack and just after the 30 minute mark we doubled our lead, McKinstry cutting in from the right to drill home. Now all we had to do was see the game out.

We never looked troubled, they had a 25-yard shot which hit the bar but we easily saw it out.

An incredible run and that puts us into the League Phase of the Europa Conference and with that £2.5m in prize money alongside the £175k we gained through the qualifying rounds.

Then the fixtures came out and they look really tough!

Some really hard matches but I've exceeded expectations and my own aims, whatever happens from here on in is a bonus!

Now we come to domestic action and it's been a tricky start, lots of game, so lots of rotation, results however have been OK in the whole.

The Rangers game was a shocker, 2-1 up with 20 minutes to go and we fell apart, after that we did OK, a solid win over St; Johnstone and a really good display in the cup against Falkirk, we then drew Hibs away which on the face of the game was a decent point. The month ended with probably our best display of the month, a 3-1 win over St. Mirren.

There's been some really good player performances over the month but a lot of our results are down to 2 men, the wide men McKinstry and Lawrence, Lawrence especially has settled in really quickly and has scored 7 goals in his 9 starts.

Interestingly though, it was Striker Marshall who won an award, he ended August as the Premiership Young Player of the Month, weirdly though I didn't actually think he's played that well but 4 games, 2 goals and a decent average rating proves otherwise

Marshall is doing OK but I really felt we needed another Striker, I have Erwin but he is just not good enough, so with a bit of money to spend I went on the hunt for a new Striker and decided upon this lad….

Rodrigo Muniz joins from Fulham for £325k, he looks really good, is fast but also good in the air. He will provide good competition to Marshall.

Very alright start to the season! Certainly not bad if you consider the fact that your preseason was very short due to European fixtures! 

Shame with the Rangers result. Is that still a by-product of the tactic/formation? Or still very immature in seeing out matches? 

I actually put in the low block tactic but we went too deep and they were too good. So id say half my issues but still I think it's a mentality issue as well

You have been busy!

What a massive first season in amongst the big dogs, absolutely buzzing for you finishing inside the top 6 and even getting a spot in Europe! Will do wonders for the club and its finances.

Speaking more on the recent results, brilliant to qualify for the League Phase! Some tricky matches in there, but think of the money!

Brilliant job mate

25/26 Season - September & October

What an amazing two months it's been, the double-Libero tactic is still going strong, I did have a wobble with and wondered if I should bin it off but decided to go for it and my word has it worked out!!!!

Just look at that run of wins (and goals) in October! Only a single defeat and that a 1-0 loss to Celtic away which I'll more than take. We've scored so many goals and even kept a couple of clean sheets!

League wise it's been great with 16 points from 7 games and 5 straight wins!!

Nicely sitting 3rd in the league, I mean how good are Celtic?! Its going to take a long while before we catch them up! If we can come in the top 4 this season I'll be bloody delighted!

We've also had a solid start to the Europa Conference with a fantastic 0-0 draw away to Goteborg and then smashing Podgorica 5-0 at home. With only 6 games in the League phase it was imperative we started well and we now have a seriously good chance of progressing to the knockouts.

A quick word on the tactic, the “double-Libero” is still working well, attacking wise and possession is just incredible, we're averaging over 600 passes a game with a 91% success rate!

I have made a couple of changes, what I saw in defence was my wing backs sitting deeper than my back 3, so I've changed them to CWBs and also added drop off more to try and get the CBs a bit deeper as we kept getting caught with balls over the top. Defensively it's still not amazing, we tend to fall apart in the final 30 minutes of games still every so often but the attacking play massively outweighs our defensive frailties!! 

Finally, we end the month with two awards!

Left Back Adaramola wins the Premiership Young Player of the Month which a string of quality performances.

And Striker Munoz wins the Premiership Player of the Month, this lad has started life at Hampden amazingly, he's banging goals in and is so good on the ball as well!

2026 World Cup Qualifying

It looked like a decent group on paper, bar Netherlands, who were clearly the favourites to top the group we only had Ireland to worry about. Gibraltar, Armenia and Lithuania were our other opponents, but those are easily winnable games. 

March

We had to start well and with Gibraltar at home first we knew we had to win and win well!

As expected we dominated and ended up 6-0 winners

Up next was Ireland away, a game we could have really done with at least a point but Ireland, and more importantly Evan Ferguson has other ideas!

A 4-2 loss, Ferguson with all 4, a massive setback

June

We opened with a huge game, even bigger after the loss to Ireland, an away trip to Netherlands awaits, a point would've been amazing. Well we went one better, Che Adam scoring a brace to seal a 2-1 win, it was one of those games, Netherlands dominated, 67% of the ball but we were clinical and that's what mattered!

A huge win but we had to follow that up with a win over Lithuania at Hampden and we did exactly that.

A Jacob Brown hat-trick in an emphatic 6-1 victory. We were well and truly back on track and with Netherlands and Ireland drawing 0-0 we were well in the race for that top spot

September

The opening game was away to Armenia, we had to start quick and we did just that, 2 goals in the opening 18 minutes set us on our way, Armenia did grab a goal back but we scored a 3rd just before half-time to get our 2 goal lead back. Armenia had a lot of chances, Gunn in goal made some huge saves but with 9 minutes left they scored a 2nd, as the game drew to a close Armenia got caught and we scored a 4th in injury time courtesy of Ben Doak's first Scotland goal. A 4-2 win and a really good attacking performance.

Up next was the big one, home to Ireland we knew we had to win. The game was an absolute epic, one of those matches that you get completely engrossed in, we took a 2 goal lead but then Ireland came back, scoring twice in 10 minutes of the second half, the game looked to be heading for a draw until deep into injury time, when Callum McGregor picked the ball up 20 yards out and rifled a shot into the bottom corner!! 3-2!!! What a game and a huge result!

October

Qualification was close now, we sat top of the table but we knew we had to keep getting those wins on the board.

First up was an away trip to Gibraltar and it was a bonkers game. Have you ever seen Gibraltar score 3? Well you have now! Fortunately for us we scored 5!!!

As you can see we were 5-2 ahead at half-time and it was an easy win but our defensive display was a disgrace.

Up next was an absolutely massive game, Netherlands at home, a win would put us in pole position for top spot, a draw would mean Ireland would jump ahead of us due to their better goal difference.

By half-time the score was 1-1, Che Adams grabbed the opener before Depay levelled only 5 minutes later, our issue was discipline, we were down to 10 courtesy of a shocking 2-footed tackle from Patterson, a draw now looked good but within 5 minutes of the second half we scored against the run of play, Ryan Gauld cutting in from the left and curling it into the top corner. Now all we had to do was hang on, Malacia was then sent off for Netherland midway through the second half which helped us out, we then defended for our lives, Gunn in goal was again amazing, the whistle blew and we had done it, a 2-1 win!

This meant with 2 games left we sat top of the group by 2 points from Ireland.

In those final games we had Lithuania away and Armenia at home, winning both would seal top spot but I also knew Ireland had to go to Netherlands, a win in our opening game combined with Ireland failing to win would mean we sealed top spot with a game to spare!

November

The time had come, a win for us and an Ireland slip up would seal qualification. We go to Lithuania with a fully fit squad and morale high but then disaster, 2 minutes in an Lithuania scored, after that we utterly dominated, attack after attack and then bang, Che Adam scored twice in 7 minutes to put us ahead. We continued to attack and finish the game but they held firm. Into the second half and completely against the run of play Lithuania broke through and scored a 2nd goal with only their 2nd shot. 2-2 but we were playing really well. It didn't take long for us to regain the lead. Kieran Tierney scoring from the edge of the box to make is 3-2 and after that it was one-way traffic, the subs came good as both McTominay and Jacob Brown scored to give us a brilliant 5-2 win.

The big question though was how did Ireland do?

THEY LOST!! Which means only one thing………

Scotland are off to their first World Cup since 1998!!!!!!

We capped off a brilliant qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Armenia, we played a heavily rotated team but even so, a quality win!

A fantastic end!

Interestingly Netherland also qualified as one of the best runners-up. 

We're off to the 2026 World Cup, grab your tartan and your bagpipes!!!!

We're going on a school trip to the world cup!!!!!!!!!
Congrats on an amazing qualifying campaign and the team looks like they could deal some damage 😀 

25/26 Season - November & December

What an amazing few months it's been, busy but amazing!!!

Just look at all those games and if you sift through the results you will see some absolute belters!!

Out of the League Cup in the semis for the 2nd successive year to Celtic was disappointing, but in the League, bar one really awful result to Kilmarnock it's been brilliant.

9 games, 19 points, some amazing wins but one stands out, WE BEAT CELTIC!!!!

Our first win against them with me in charge, we performed brilliantly, even with a tactic I threw together at the last minute!

The double-Libero stayed but we moved the CMs back and the WBs forward, it worked a treat!

What a brilliant first half to the season in the League, 3rd with 42 points, miles and miles behind Celtic but only 5 behind Rangers with 2 games in-hand

It's also gone really well in the Europa Conference, when I left you last we had played twice and gained 4 points, we continued on our good form with a draw against Lugano before a really good win over Union Saint-Gilloise, then came the best result of the season so far (until we trumped it with the win over Celtic), we went to Basel and beat them 3-1!

We ended with a battering by Boavista but they had ended top with a 100% record, we had managed to massively exceed expectations, ending 13th and qualifying for the playoff round

What a brilliant few months, let's hope we can continue it on. Now we move into the Winter window and with money to spend (we have £5m from the McKenna deal that went through in August), I will be looking to strengthen, I really need a left-footed CB and another decent CM!!

25/26 Season - January & February

Another really busy couple of months down, we have the League, the cup and the Europa Conference League to look over but first transfers….

Firstly, there has been one huge out, we say goodbye to Winger Stuart McKinstry after UAE side Al-Wahda activated his £10m release clause, a big loss but that money is massive.

So with money to spend I went and brought in four new players.

The first player in was central defender Nelson Abbey, defensively we were really struggling and I noticed one problem, we had no naturally left-footed CB, Abbey joins as that man who fill the Libero on the left side of the back three, he comes at a cost, £2m but worth every penny in my opinion.

Next up is a face we've seen before. I had Michael Okeke on loan in the previous seasons, he has spent the first half of this season on loan at Bahia, when I saw him transfer-listed by Manchester City I had to bring him in, we were losing Louis Reed as I had accepted a £300k bid for him so another CM was needed, he looks brilliant and alongside Kilkenny should take our midfield to another level. 

Now for McKinstry's replacement and that man is Jack Byrne, in comparison he is better than McKinstry and only cost me £700k! A absolute steal at that price.

Now to an odd one, with McKenna leaving at the end of the season to join Bournemouth I wanted to bring in a new GK, get him in now and get him settled before being No. 1 next season. After an extensive search I went for experience and brought in Jason Steele for £125k, he's 35 but personally he looks really good. Great, a new keeper, that will do me for a season or two, or so I thought! 2 weeks after bringing him in he decided to retire at the end of the season!!!!

Some really good signings, even Steele will do a job for the rest of this season. 

Now to the results and boy things are still going so well!

Let's firstly discuss Europe, we managed to get ourselves into the playoff round and faced Swiss side Luzern.

First leg - The game was really even and we did play well, Luzern scored early but we grabbed a leveller half an hour in, it looked to be heading for a draw but they scored in stoppage time to win the game 2-1. Overall though we are still well in the tie and with our decent form I knew we could turn it around

Second Leg - And we did exactly that, in emphatic style! A 5-1 win, 3-0 at half time, that was one of our best performances of the season

One amazing performance but it is going to get very tough in the Last 16.

We face Werder Bremen, it's also nice to St Mirren in there as well, that should help with the co-efficient.

Now to domestic action and I don't think it could've gone much better!!!

So much green!!! Only one defeat and unsurprisingly it was away to Celtic, it was close though!!! 8 league games, 19 points, this season just gets more and more amazing by the game!!!!

We also got through to the Quarters of the Scottish Cup. Our opponents? Yeah, you guessed it, Celtic away!!

Just look how healthy the League Table looks!!

We sit 3rd, level with Rangers but below them on goal difference. Just to put in perspective how well this season is going. Last season we claimed 56 points from the 38 games, this season we've already exceeded that and more and there's still 10 games to go! Also, just look at the gap to 4th! The big question now is, can we overtake Rangers to get that 2nd Champions League spot?

In other news, I have used to McKinstry money to improve the facilities.

A huge improvement and that should really help in improving, not only the players already here but also the kids coming through the academy.

Just caught up on this absolute beauty of a save! What a first season in the Premiership that was! Got yourself into Europe and kicked on as if it was nothing. Buying low and selling high is the way forward. Keep on smashing it bother! 

Wonder what the stadium capacity will be…?

25/26 Season - March/April & Youth Intake

My word things have gone downhill since I last left you, I guess I should be happy, even before March came around we had already exceeded our points tally from last season and were nailed on for another shot in Europe next season! So you have to take the rough with the smooth I guess!

Firstly, lets take a look at the Youth Intake, it was forecast to be a rubbish one with the preview showing C's at best, well it came in better than that, even if once again it said it was a poor intake!

One “elite” talent and three “ top” talents! Definitely not as poor as expected but are any of them actually any good? Well two definitely take the eye.

Calvin Leslie is the elite talent, naturally a striker but only has 8 for finishing but then again he doesn't have the right attributes for a wide-man either! I like the fact he has high work rate and teamwork but he needs some serious work.

The other half-decent one is goalkeeper Neil Irvine but once again needs some real work to make him anywhere near good enough to be in the first-team squad.

So not great on the face of it but those top quality academy players will come once we improve both on and off the pitch.

Now to the results and firstly Europe, we had made it through to the Last 16 of the Europa Conference League but had the tough task of Werder Bremen ahead, we did really well in the first leg but let a 1-goal lead slip to draw 1-1, in the away leg they were just too good, we succumbed to a 3-0 thrashing, an amazing run though, especially for a team not even expected to make it out the qualifiers.

We also got dumped out of the Scottish Cup to Celtic, it was always going to be a tough ask playing them at Celtic Park and they were just too good.

We were never ever in the game, even though we've beaten Celtic this season they are way way too good currently!

Now we come to the League and it's been hard work, we have struggled with the sheer number of games and also we've had a raft of injuries to key men, most of them out wide. I really need to improve the depth of the squad next season, I will make sure that I don't send all my younger lads out on loan next season and keep some back to try and give some of my key men a rest when required. We however come out with some decent results, I think it felt worse as we had the cup games where we lost but actually, on the face of it, it's still pretty good!

5 games, 8 points, the only real blemish was that shocker of a result against St. Johnstone. The big issue we've had though has been goal-scoring, gone are those days of scoring 3 or 4 a match, we've scored 4 goals in those 5 games, Muniz has gone totally off the boil but I've had to play him as Marshall has been injured and we have no one else. Strength in depth is very much needed!

So the end of the regular season has come about and things are looking rosy.

We have 5 games left, 15 points to play for and we sit 13 clear of 4th places Hibs, 3rd will get us a spot in the Europa League qualifiers next season. We are still chasing Rangers down though but we have the tough ask of going to Ibrox in the penultimate game. 

To be honest, I'll take 3rd, I never thought we'd have done this well this season!!

Been a solid season. Hot on the heels for the UCL which is great. Some cracking results in Europe as well mate. Only east is up for the Spiders with you in charge.

Another great season, despite the supposed wobbles! Can smell 2nd going into these last few games, I have confidence!

25/26 Season - Championship Group & End of Season Review

Here we go, 5 games left, 5 games to become heroes, the League title is out of the question but maybe, just maybe, we could nick Rangers to that 2nd spot and claim Champions League football next season! No one ever thought we'd be in this position, the media, the board, and most definitely myself but here we are, on the verge of something incredible!

Game 34 - Kilmarnock (A)

Although we had tougher games to come I was worried about this one, Kilmarnock beat us 3-0 at Rugby Park earlier in the season but this was totally different, it took us a while to break through but not for the want of trying, we dominated and made that pay half-way through the second half, Kilkenny scoring from the edge of the box, that lead was doubled with 10 minutes to go when Lawrence nipped in at the back post to tap home a Paton cross. A brilliant 2-0 win and with Rangers drawing we were now level on points with them.

Game 35 - St. Johnstone (H)

The easiest on paper but it was far from it, we were really poor, created very little and the game was a damp squib. It looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw until with virtually the last kick of them, a corner came in, a massive scramble ensued, it feel to Callum Marshall who somehow knocked it home for Queen's Park. An absolutely huge win and even more so when we saw Rangers has drew again. 3 games left, we now sat 2nd by 2 points!

Game 36 - Hibernian (A)

You have these games on FM, a game where no matter what you do you won't win and this was one of those. We did take the lead, a lovely rifled finish from Muniz who had gone 9 games without a goal. Hibernian had 2 shots on goal……and scored them both. The first, a 30-yard drill into the bottom corner, the second, 25-yard wonderstrike into the top corner! We couldn't come back and lost 2-1. Rangers drew though, their 3rd straight draw. 2 games left, 1 points clear….Rangers away next!

Game 37 - Rangers (A)

I had no hopes for this game, just try REALLY hard not to lose. This was a game I don't think I'll forget in a long, long time!!! Rangers absolutely battered us from the off, Steele in goal for us was amazing and somehow, completely against the run of play we scored. Muniz with goals in consecutive games, he was played in by Kilkenny, a lovely touch and he slid it past Butland in the Rangers goal. That was where things went mad, I have never ever seen a game on FM where a team had so many chances and fail to score, they hit the bar THREE TIMES, Steele made at least 5 amazing saves, blocks on the line, sitters missed. Rangers smashed on the door and somehow it held firm. The whistle blew and we had done it! A 1-0 win at Ibrox and that meant we had sealed 2nd place and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers next season!!!! And breathe!

Game 38 - Celtic (H)

An end of season party at home to the Champions, we had wrapped up 2nd, they had won the League weeks ago and we came out with an absolutely amazing 2-1 win, a goal either side of half-time courtesy of a Lawrence penalty and another Muniz goal sealed the win and even though Tadic scored late on we had beaten Celtic for the 2nd time this season!

What an absolutely bonkers end to the season, I'm definitely a lot greyer but I don't care! We have ended in the Champions League spots ahead of Rangers!!!

81 points! EIGHTY-ONE!!!! That an improvement of 25 points from last season. This double-Libero 523 tactic is an absolute beast, defensively not great but my word does it work!!! I am in shock, I have never been as engrossed as I am in this save and I sincerely hope it continues!!

Now lets see who our best players were, firstly, the Best XI

Average ratings are a little low but ah well, nevermind! Seeing Paton there is odd but then again McKinstry left mid-season and Byrne, his replacement spent a lot of time injured. McKenna was good in goal but Steele took over from January and was utterly incredible, a POTM performance in that Rangers game seals his spot in Queen's Park history, such a shame he's retiring at the end of the season.

The clubs player and young player of the season goes to defender Liam Morrison, what a shrewd signing he's been £150k from Bayern last season, he's now one of our key men in defence, playing as the right-sided Libero. 45 starts and an average rating of 7.1

Tom Lawrence ends as the clubs top goalscorer, now I'm not sure if FM has a penalty issue but as you can see below a lot of his goals came from penalties! He scored 26 over the season, 15 of those from the spot, a good conversion rate though, 100%!

The most assists goes to midfield maestro Gavin Kilkenny, another brilliant signing last season and all for nothing. This lad is something else, 52 starts, 11 goals and 9 assists, all from central midfield.

And here is the whole squad for you to look over.

And to cap the season off I end as the Premiership Manager of the Year!

So with Champions League qualification sealed we have a lot of money coming in to look forward to, the balance currently is £7.1m and is expected to drop considerably, I'm guessing that all depends on how far we get in Europe, we enter the Champions League in the 2nd Qualifying Round, I don't expect to get all the way to the League Phase but if we can get into the Europa League that would be huge for the finances.

Our decent season has been reflected in the budgets.

We are already spending all of that £110k p/wk in wages so I will end up moving some of that £10.94m transfer budget over, there is absolutely no way we're spending that when the balance is lower than that and also expected to drop. Once again I'll be looking for cheap deal, freebies or loans for next season.

The big news is the new stadium has been announced, we will be moving into the Malkay MacKay Stadium in 2029, a capacity of just short of 19k, a lot less than Hampden but our average attendance this season was around the 10k mark and that's with the home games sell-outs against Rangers and Celtic.

Now let's see how the other Scottish clubs did in Europe, obviously we got all the way to the Conference League Last 16 which was amazing but let's see the rest

Celtic - They automatically qualified for the League Phase of the Champions League but didn't do well, 7 points from their 8 games meant they ended 27th and went out

Rangers - They managed to get through 3 Champions League qualifying rounds, beating Sparta Prague, Besiktas and Marseille to get into the League Phase but did even worse than Celtic, they ended 34th with 4 points.

St. Mirren - What a run they had. The lost in the Europa League playoff to Sporting Lisbon but dropped into the Conference League where, in their 6 games, gained 12 points and ended 9th, missing out on the Top 8 on goal difference. This meant they joined us in the playoff round where they beat Apollon Limassol and then won in their Last 16 tie, beating Austria Wien, into the Quarters but that's where it ended, a narrow defeat to Real Sociedad. Amazing!

Hearts - They lost in the Europa League 1st Qualifying Round to Luzern which meant dropping to the Conference League Qualifiers where they beat Fehervar in the 3rd Round before being knocked out in the Playoff Round to Brighton.

So not bad, but not brilliant. Seeing both clubs go out in the League Phase of the Champions League is not helpful to our co-efficient.

We ended this season 14th with a co-efficient of 34.2 but it increases next season, I'm guessing down to both ourselves and St Mirren getting into the knockouts, to 36.7. This means we will rise up to 13th next season. This means our qualification spots will stay the same.

Finally, we need to talk about the National Team and more importantly the shocking draws we've had for the upcoming World Cup and then the Nations League.

In the World Cup draw we were seeded 3rd and were handed one of the toughest groups.

We're in Group K with Germany and Argentina, luckily we also have Costa Rica, the best 8 3rd places do go through to knockouts so we can only hope and pray for that!

In the Nations League draw it was just as tough with us getting England, Belgium and France! OUCH!

What a season it's been and it doesn't stop here, next up we have the 2026 World Cup, Scotland's first one since 1998!! COME ON THE TARTAN ARMY!

Awesome read and loving that tactic

What a run in and that Rangers game will be an all timer. Christ that was good! Now for the Scots to perform their magic! 

2026 World Cup

Here we go, grab everything typical Scottish thing you own, we're going on a World Cup adventure to the USA, Canada and Mexico, with the group we have (Argentina, Germany and Costa Rica), it may not last long but it'll be fun nonetheless!

Just to recap, here are the groups, we are in Group K with Argentina, Germany and Costa Rica.

The top 2 from each group go through to the Last 32, alongside the 8 best 3rd place teams 

Scotland's 26-man squad has been announced and there's no real surprises, nor any major injuries.

The big surprises are in defence with Queen's Parks Liam Morrison and 17-year old Newcastle centre back Luke White getting a callup after some good displays in the March friendlies. Lawrence Shankland also gets a callup, I am really short of decent Striker and he was about the best 3rd choice Striker I could pick! 

If everyone is fit and available this is my Best XI, as you can see I'm using the “double-libero” tactic that's served me so well with Queen's Park and did well during the World Cup Qualifying Campaign.

The big decisions are in goal, where Gunn, Kelly and McKenna are all pretty even and at Left Back where we also have Doig and Hickey. On the bench we have the likes of McTominay and Lewis Ferguson who are both solid midfielders. As you can also see from the screenshot above, Ryan Gauld is currently unavailable, he contracted flu in the days before the first game and is our for up to 2 weeks! A big loss.

Game 1 v Argentina

I decided to do live updates on a Discord I'm involved in, here are those updates, pardon the language!

Here we go, up first....Argentina at the SoFI Stadium in California. We only have one player missing, Ryan Gauld has flu!

We're playing the double-Libero tactic that I use with Queen's Park, we may get hammered!

3 mins - OH MY GOD!!! It's 1-0 Scotland, a lovely move, its played out to Doak on the right, he nods it to McGregor who beats his man and slams it home!

10 mins - McGregor so close to a 2nd, his 20-yard shot is tipped over by Martinez

18 mins - THIS IS INSANE!!! It's 2-0 Scotland, we play a short throw , it falls to Adams, he squares it Doak, he turns his man and rifles it into the bottom left corner!

23 mins - OH MY F*CKING GOD!!! A Tierney corner is headered home by McKenna, Scotland 3 Argentina 0!!

38 mins - I am in shock, it's 4 F*CKING 0!!! Argentina play out, they pass it around and then bang, McGregor wins the ball back, he passes it to Adams, who with 3 men around and about 25-yards out smashes it into the goal!!!!!

It's half-time, it's 4-0, Argentina have an xG of 0!

I cannot believe what I've just witnessed

Well this is the most boring 2nd half ever!

There are no words, just look and let it sink in!

That was one incredible game, we were utterly insane in that first half. We now have one foot in the Last 32 already, Costa Rica up next in 4 days time, if we win we should be through!

Game 2 - Costa Rica

If we win and Germany beat Argentina we're already through to Last 32! We've made some changes, to keep players fresh. I'm not sure why the lineup isn't in position order. Morrison comes in for Welsh, Tierney replaces McKenna at LCB with Doig coming in at LB, McTominay replaces Gilmour with Ferguson coming into midfield instead of McGregor, Morgan comes in at LW with Jacob Brown instead of Adams up top (edited)

40 mins - It's been a really quiet game so far with the best chances falling to Costa Rica but with our first highlight we take the lead, it's a nice move through the middle of the pitch, McTominay picks it up, plays a nice throughball to Brown who slides it under the keeper, 1-0 Scotland!

43 mins - Jacob Brown has to score, Doig goes flying down the left, he plays a stunning cross, Brown is free, but his header goes well over

And that's half time, 1-0 Scotland!

57 mins - Doak hits the post, he does amazingly to spin his man, runs into the box but his efforts doesn't curl enough

75 mins - OH MY WORD! Stuart McKinstry comes on and rips the piss out of their left back, he totally skins him, runs into the box, lays it back from Brown who has an easy tap in! 2-0 Scotland!

And that's full time, not as exciting as the Argentina game but a win is a win!

We also had the good news at the end of the game that Germany had beaten Argentina 2-0, meaning we had qualified for the knockouts with a game to spare! Incredible!

Game 3 v Germany 

With qualification already sealed there was no need to live update this game and I didn't want this post to be longer than war and peace so I just played and this is what happened..

We rotated the side once again and left out the players who were a game from suspension, I decided as well to go with the more defensive double-Libero tactic which has the CMs dropping to DM and the WBs moving forward a little bit. Well it went well, we didn't play amazing but defended for our lives. It looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw until right at the end, a Gauld corner was headed home by McKenna. A 1-0 win! 3 wins out of 3 and we end top of the group!!!

Absolutely crazy, we're into the Last 32!

We then got the draw for the knockouts and were handed an easier tie than we expected. We would face Egypt in the Last 32, here is the knockouts as a whole.

Here is our possibly journey IF we win!

• Last 32 v Egypt
• Last 16 v France or Colombia
• Quarters v More than likely Brazil or Italy

Yeah we won't look any further than that!

Last 32 v Egypt

We do like playing at the SoFI stadium! A strong team put out. Gauld in for Ferguson, Gilmour isn't fit so McTominay plays

2 mins - First attack and we have a penalty, A cross from Doak and Gauld is tripped

McGregor steps up.....AND SCORES! 1-0 Scotland!

Not a single other highlight, half time 1-0 Scotland

This is the worst game ever seen, not a single highlight since the penalty!

Oh a highlight!

82 mins - It's a red for Egypt, Trezeguet dives in on McGregor, right on the edge of the box, it's a shocking tackle and he's gone

83 mins - McGregor seems OK, Gilmour takes the freekick and it's wonderfully tipped over the bar

88 mins - Holy sh*t, Egypt have a chance, it's awful defending from Kerr Smith who just passes it to Egypt, they break clear, their first shot is blocked, it falls to Elneny who half-vollies it over the bar

And that's it, full time, we win 1-0, a really poor game but it's all about winning. We so far haven't conceded a goal!

Last 16 v France

Yes it was France we would face after they smashed Colombia 5-1. A tough ask but with wins over Argentina and Germany under our belts I had hope we could cause another shock!

McTominay is out and Doak isn't fit. Gilmour in for McTominay, McKinstry in for Doak, McGregor is also rested as he is struggling for fitness, Ferguson comes in for him

13 mins - First chance to France, Theo Hernandez gets down the left, he crosses it and its met by Griezmann but he shoots wide

21 mins - Another France chance, this time a Griezmann freekick goes just over

43 mins - it's all France, we've not had a highlight yet, and Angus Gunn is there to keep it at 0-0, saving from close range after a Mbappe shot

And that's half time, we're doing well to keep it at 0-0 but at some point we need to create some chances

66 mins - Oh dear, it's a penalty to France, a corner came in and the ref blows for handball by Hyam. (edited)

Mbappe steps up........

AND GUNN SAVES! (edited)

It was an awful penalty in fairness

71 mins - It was coming and France eventually take the lead. Camavinga goes charging through the midfield, he lays it through to Kolo Muani who places it into the comer, Gunn no chance. France 1 Scotland 0. Now we somehow have to make a chance!

84 mins - We are going to need a miracle here, we've not had a highlight, we've defended well but not been at the races going forward. France make another chance, Kolo Muani cuts in from the right, he plays it to Dembele at a tight angle about 2 yards out but its blocked by Hyam

It's all over, France win 1-0, we were absolutely battered as you can see in the stats and the fact that Angus Gunn ended as POTM!

A poor way to go out but France were just too good. What a run though, to even get through that group with wins over Germany and Argentina was testament to this team. We will be back and with the youth coming through we will be better!

The World Cup ended up being won by Portugal who beat Netherlands in the final

A shock winner in my opinion.

Wow what a showing at the cup!! Shame you couldn't beat France as they looked ripe for the taking. Still a mahoosive effort regardless 😁🙌 

Double Libero revolution starts here and with the talent you'll be having lined up in 4 years you'll be mighty! 

You're absolutely smashing this Steve, 

I do hope you continue this once the main game is out because I'm so invested in watching you topple the Old Firm, unlucky in the World Cup but it's gonna happen, we can celebrate being the 2 people to bring football truly home (despite what the English will tell you 🤪) 

#UpTheSpiders 🕷 

2026/27 Season - July & August

The World Cup is over and it's time to get back to all things Queen's Park. After last years amazing 2nd place finish we have another European adventure ahead of us which start in the Champions League qualifiers. The squad needs strengthening…..massively if we are to challenge. Was last season a fluke? Well we shall see!

Firstly, let's discuss transfers..

Out-wise there weren't that many. Will Fish left, he fell out of favour and moved to Samsunspor for £375k, Jack Spong also left, he was never going to be a first-team player and moved to Legia for £76k, we also lost Steele (GK) and Hanlon (CB) who both retired, also McKenna (GK) and Marshall (ST) who both went back to their clubs after their loans expired.

Now to the in's and there's quite a few so I'll go over them quickly!

Darren Allison - Midfielder - £155k from Raith

Signed for the future, I'll hopefully send him out on loan this season.

Bobby McLuckie - Winger - £650k from Sunderland

A lad I'd looked at last season but Sunderland nicked him, they now no longer want him so I brought him in, only 20 so plenty of years ahead of him.

Andrew Fisher - Goalkeeper - £750k from Swansea

With me losing both my main goalies in the Summer I needed a new 1st choice and Fisher will be that man, he looks really good, he has big boots to fill though after how Steele ended last season!

Joe Taylor - Striker - Free from Luton

Finding a decent Striker has been tough, Muniz was good last season but fell away towards the end and with Marshall going I was left with just Muniz. For no money Taylor looks good and will be a decent back-up.

Keyland Watts - Defender - Free from Swansea

I needed another left-footed centre back to provide back-up to Nelson Abbey and this is that man.

Ryan Trevitt - Midfielder - Free from Brentford

A signing I didn't need but when he popped up on a free I had to snap him up, he will provide decent back-up to Kilkenny and Okeke.

Darko Churlinov - Winger - Free Transfer

We really needed to strengthen out wide, Lawrence and Byrne were great last season but that was all we really had and both have struggled with injuries, with McLuckie and now Churlinov we have decent options on either flank.

Federico Bonazzoli - Striker - Free Transfer

A last minute signing, he looks really good and for no money, we now have 3 quality strikers, the difference between Muniz and Taylor is Bonazzoli can also play out wide, much needed versatility.

So some really good signings and only £1.55m spent. Wages have risen quite sharply though which is going to damage the bank balance slightly, Europe is huge, we need that prize money!

Talking of Europe, let's see how it went. 

Well our Champions League run did not last long! We were drawn against Panathinaikos and lost 4-3 on aggregate.

Weirdly, in that first leg we absolutely dominated but somehow had to come back from 2-0 down to scrape a draw, not the result we needed at home and that was to be our downfall, a 2-1 defeat away sealed our fate and this meant we dropped down to the Europa League.

Where, in the 3rd Qualifying Round we faced Neftci Baku or Azerbaijan. We were huge favourites and we made that count as we hammered them 3-0 at home. In the away leg we rested numerous players and defended like clowns but only lost 3-2 meaning a 5-3 win on aggregate.

We now had one round to get through, if we win we go into the League Phase of the Europa League, we lose, we drop down to the Europa Conference. 

Standing in our was Club Brugge. A really tough task…..or so we thought!

The first leg was at home, we had to make sure we had a lead to take to the away tie and my word did we win! A 4-0 hammering, a massive win, one of the best in this save so far, we were utterly dominant and clinical to boot!

We sat back in the second leg, soaked up the pressure and saw out a solid 0-0 draw, we had done it, we had qualified for the League Phase of the Europa League!

What an incredible win and £3m to add to the bank balance

We then got our fixtures and I won't lie, they don't look too bad.

Some tough tests, some winnable games, can we do enough to get into the playoffs spots? We shall see!

A quick word on the other Scottish teams in Europe…

• Celtic - Lost to Shakhtar in the Champions League playoff meaning they dropped down to the Europa League
• Rangers - Lost to FC Twente in the Europa League 1st Qualifying Round, then beat Marijampole and Celta Vigo to get into the League Phase of the Conference League
• St. Johnstone - Lost in the Conference League 2nd Qualifying Round to Lugano
• Hibernian - Managed to get through 3 Conference League qualifying rounds, beating Gent, Riga and Braga to qualify for the League Phase

So 4 of the 5 teams managed to get through, just a shame we don't have a team in the Champions League proper.

Finally, let's see how it's gone domestically.

Well it didn't start as we lost at home to Celtic but after that it's been green all the way. Some good results but we need some clean sheets! It was also nice to see Tom Lawrence grab a hat-trick in the final game of the month, his first game of the season after a 6-week lay-off.

A solid start and we're well in the mix, I'm not expecting a title challenge, nor am I expecting to end as high as last season, if we can get a European spot and hopefully win a cup I'll be more than happy.

That's a strong bit of business there for little in terms of financial outlay; securing Europa League football will be great as well, fancy you to have a good showing in the league phase, good luck! 

The free transfers look a bargain and quality at that! Allison looks like he could become a real gem for you! 

Europa league fixtures look tough, but I think you'll pull through in the playoff round. Good to see the other Scottish teams do well too 😀 

26/27 Season - September & October

It's been a very busy few months! I want to try and keep these updates shorter than I have been as I know what I'm writing is probably too much. So let's see the results.

Overall I have to be happy with those set of results given the sheer number of games, I am however frustrated, we are really not playing that well, we can hardly keep a clean sheet and have drawn too many games! Maybe my expectations are too high, when you drill down we have played 3 Europa League games and have gained 5 points..fantastic!

Just look badly Celtic are doing!

Then you look at the domestic results, we're into the League Cup semi where we face Rangers and in the League, yes we've drawn a few too many games but we still sit 3rd!

And only 4 points off Celtic, maybe I need to stop being so pessimistic and realise, although we aren't keeping clean sheets, we're doing so much better than anyone ever expected at this point of the save.

Very strong start to the second level of European football! Also on the final point, I think you're being very pessimistic. There's genuine quality there and with a few strokes of luck you'll be challenging the league soon enough!

2026 Nations League

Let's take a brief look over how our Nations League campaign went, well we're in Division A and we have a shocking draw. France, England and Belgium, if we avoid bottom spot I'll be delighted

We opened with a home game against France and came back from 2-0 down to seal a famous draw……in the 96th minute…..courtesy of an own goal!!!

Next up was a trip to Wembley where we faced old foes England, we were battered but Angus Gunn in goal was possessed, Kane scored a penalty right on half-time but with 2 minutes left Billy Gilmour scored to seal a 1-1 draw. Massive!

We then faced Belgium at home and played amazingly to claim a 3-1 win, Che Adams with a brace, this lad is a goal-scoring machine!

And the big one, England at Hampden!! We took the lead just after the half hour mark but then, mid-way through the second half Declan Rice grabbed a leveller, after that we took total control. Jacob Brown, playing for Che Adams as he needed resting grabbed two goal and even though Smith-Rowe scored in injury time we had done it, we beat England!!!!

This means with two games left we couldn't end bottom which was massive but the next game would decide who won the group, we went to the Stade de France and unfortunately lost to a late Kolo Muani goal, the man who knocked us out the World Cup! Gutting but we had done so much better than we ever expected.

In the final game we faced Belgium away and we ended with a 2-1 defeat, a poor final two games but I have to be delighted, we beat England!!!

We end the group in 2nd place, above England!

Challenge wise (remember one of my aims is to top the FIFA Rankings), we have moved up to 17th place, a rise of 8 places since the start of the Nations league.

81 points and second place, amazing season and to get into the last 16 in the world cup…Awesome buddy