The Lone Rangers

All the best fella!

With everything to play for we well and truly bottled it. Within just seven minutes Dunfermline opened the scoring against the run of play and left us looking like we had thrown it all away at the final hurdle. It was a disappointing result and one that did little to display just how well we had done all season, fortunately for the Borderers however luck was to play one last part in how our season would unfold.



Dundee caved under the pressure as well losing to the already relegated Alloa. A truely shocking result for the former Premier League side. We might not have done ourselves any favours but the footballing gods had apparently already taken care of our destiny and with that we sealed our spot in the top flight of Scottish football.

Congrats on the league win.

Superb stuff man! A nervy ending a bet!

Premiership bound! Congrats!

Well and truly deserved. At just seventeen years old Andy Vaughan took on the role of our lone striker for our biggest challenge to date and absolutely thrived from it. Having to replace club icon, Darren Lavery was going to be no small challenge but our lanky front-man had no problems finding the back of the net himself and quickl asserted himself as a new fan favourite. He's got a bright future here with Berwick and is ready for the step up to the Premier League.


An incredible season for the Borderers and one that seemed to be destined for them. For the last four years Sixty Four points wouldnt have been enough for even a top two finish however in what was arguably one of the toughest league line-ups it seems no-one was able to assert any dominance over the league, with the plucky team from Northumberland quick to take advantage.

Quality mate, onto the big boys!!

Despite our new Premier League status bringing in some much needed money we still needed to clear out some space in our tight wage budget to bring in some new signings.

The majority of our departures came with the end of five contracts, with the bulk of them coming from players we failed to sell last season. After a season spent with the under-20s the majority were glad to see the back of Berwick, however it was a long goodbye for our longest serving Englishman Jonathan Fairbairn. The only player from the clubs home-nation at the start of this career he has witnessed a huge transfer over the last few seasons.



Cost: Free
From: Derby County

With the step up to the Premier League almost certain to push the entire team to their limits, I jumped at the opportunity to add some much needed strength to our defence in the shape of Kyron Stabana. Surprised Derby let him go at the end of his contract, the young centre back has some outstanding physical stats and is already very solid in his defensive duties.



Cost: Free
From: Sheffield Wednesday

Jack Barmby has made the left wing his absolute own, having dominated his way through the Championship with ease, however with veteran Lee Holmes being shown the door we needed another player to provide some cover on the left side. Jake Ellam has some wicked stats for a supporting winger with a neat turn of pace and a cross that could certainly bring out the most of our lofty striker, Andy Vaughan.



Cost: Free
From: Liverpool

Final signing of the window has us bring in another back-up player, this time for our bulky central midfield. Alisdair Clarke never stood a chance of breaking into Liverpools starting line-up but at Berwick he has certainly got the potential to craft out an impressive career in Scotland. A good ball winning midfielder, with a bit more work he could soon emulate Scott Brown in the Scotlands top-flight.

Both Jake Ellam and Alisdair Clarke look to be good players to bring in matey

Andy Vaughan has already proved that despite their lowly status, our academy is more then capable of producing some serious talent in Northumberland. With the likes of Newcastle and Sunderland hoovering up most of the promising youngsters in the North East its no small feat.

Thanks to their continued efforts another teenager is set to burst on to the scene and once again he looks set to emulate Vaughan by smashing straight into the starting line-up.


Already placed straight into training to join our three man central midfield, Shane O'Hanlon is well on his way to becoming our creative play-maker. With the physical stats of a work horse at the tender age of just sixteen and already possessing the determination and work rates of players well beyond his age, he looks set for a bright future.

We still have just the two Scottish players in the team as Lee Currie and Darren Lavery both remain on the team-sheet all be it a world away from their former status as the teams leading lights however the English revolution is now firmly in effect.

Andy Vaughan remains as the clubs leading striker with only the above mentioned Darren Lavery able to provide cover for him but we have some strong cover across the entire team-sheet courtesy of some more signings in the transfer window. The team however will arguably not be as stretched this season with only the league and two cup competitions to deal with as we no longer qualify for the Challenge Cup. Wingers Jack Barmby and Michael Donohue could hopefully remain in their fully fit state throughout the entire season as they look to continue their recent runs of form and take the Premier League by storm.

We get our warm-up under-way by going up against familiar opponents Dundee. Having just pipped them to the post in the promotion race last season it was a good test to see if we were really a level above the former Premier League side and we certainly gave a good account of ourselves running our three goal winners thanks to our impressive midfield.


Another test, this time against recently relegated St Johnstone. It was one we completely failed. Having taken our place in the Championship it seems St Johnstone are keen to remind us that we are by no means a fully fledged Premier League side. Four goals found the back of our net as the team proved to be unusually generous. For a team that proved to have the tightest defence last season this was one hell of a wake up call.


Thankfully we bounce back to our best with a comfortable victory over Northern Ireland's, Glenavon. Once again the wingers lead the charge with the ever impressive Donohue and new signing Jake Ellam both finding the net, whilst Darren Lavery ensured he would remain hot on the heels of teenage superstar Andy Vaughan, netting another well taken goal. A good all round showing from the Borderers.


With our status in the top flight comes the exciting prospect of European football, we could soon see the likes of Czech side Jablonec gracing Shielfield Park on a regular basis and with a Darren Lavery goal we certainly laid down a marker in the first fixture against a non British side of my career. Could we one day see our Scottish talisman lifting some continental silverware?


We round off the pre-season with the traditional game against our feeder club, Ashington. Having lost our parent club, Inverness courtesy of our promotion it now leaves just Ashington as our linked team. Midfielders, Sam Gainford and Jason Smith both turned on the style to score two long range efforts against the minnows with an own goal adding to the one-way traffic.

We get things off not quite with a bang but a respectable draw non-the less against Dundee United. Andy Vaughan rested my nerves netting an early goal to open his account in the Scottish top flight and the rest of the team ensured they too wouldn't buckle under the expectations in the Premier League pulling off an impressive display to wrap up our first point of the season.


With no Challenge Cup with have just two domestic cup competitions to chase and we ensured we would remain hot on the heels for the League Cup scraping through a thrilling tie against Annan. The League One side pushed us all the way and ensured we would battle right the way into extra time with a goal each just before the final whistle and even deep into extra time. A back and forth game eventually was settled courtesy of another Vaughan winner.


A tie against Scotlands most dominant force was hardly the best way to get back to action following that lengthy game and new Celtic manager, Paul Lambert led his men to a convincing victory despite the third goal in three games for our dominant forward, Andy Vaughan. We might be into the top flight but it sure looks like we have a way to go before we can mix it with the top guns.


Or maybe not. Right winger, Michael Donohue netted a stunning brace to pick up all three points against giants Motherwell. He is rapidly developing into our most important player and at just Twenty One years old he looks set to be our leading light for many seasons to come. With the season only just started we are quick to pick up the points already and are certainly not looking out of depth just yet.


A shock result in the next round of the League Cup as we are destroyed by Championship side Morton. They dominated the game from start to finish despite us fielding the first team side. I was actually hoping for a good cup run this season but it seems that despite our increased standing in the leagues we still can't get far in these cup competitions. Disappointing.


We round off our first month in the division with another victory against the team who are supposedly set to be battling with to avoid relegation. Fortunately for us Hamilton look to be in a terrible state this season and we easilly ran out victors. Donohue continues to impress with Lavery picking up his first of the season benefiting from a six week injury picked up by Andy Vaughan.


Deservedly so. Donohue looks set to make Everton rue releasing him on contract last year and is quickly making a name for himself at the top of Scottish football. With rapid pace, a wicked cross and the best years of his career still to come we have our hands on a superb winger.


We make a solid start to the season, sitting in a safe mid-table position. Two victories and only a loss against high flying Celtic is by no means a bad way to introduce ourselves to the top flight. We are looking like we could certainly make an impact this season and not at the bottom of the table. Encouraging signs.

Decent start in the league mate, good to see nearly a full English side now!

Mid table to start, not bad. Tough luck in the League Cup, though. Better luck in the league and Scottish Cup!

Steven Naismith might have once been the in-form striker in Scotland but his crown has certainly slipped over the years. A penalty for Hibs atleast gave him a chance to roll back the years but our right side soon turned the tide with right back, McQueen and the current in-form winger, Donohue both finding the back of the net. There's a good partnership brewing between these two.


The right side might have won the game against Hibs but it was the left wing who repeated the feat against Inverness. Jack Barmby has been drawing attention from Crystal Palace of late and a goal just one minute from time gave him another boost in stature. We are now sitting with four victories on the bounce, impressive work for a team supposedly set for an immediate return to the Championship.


Our run of victories comes to an abrupt end against Kilmarnock as Muirhead makes a mockery of our usually reliable defence. Our new formation last season helped us to claim the tightest defence in the Championship, however it seems that in the top-flight they're certainly going to be tested to the limit. An expected result on the road, following our fortunate start to the season.




Two in a row for our unstoppable wide-man. Donohue has made the right flank his own totally dominating just about every left-back we have come up against to date. He is quickly becoming a fan favourite and with his eye-catching displays it is not hard to see why. Absolute star.


Another good month and amazingly we've ended up into the top three. We always seem to get seasons started in fine form and even in the Premier League it seems we are still able to get off the mark in fine form. As always at this stage there is far too much left to read anything into the league standings. Non the less impressive.

Celtic and Hearts sitting at the top, who saw that coming.

Good form though, mate. Keep it up!

Back to winning ways and its all courtesy of the man of the moment, Donohue. He just cannot stop himself in this league it almost appears to be just too easy for the former Everton youth. Patrick Thistle are looking like they could be set for a season to forget at this right, whilst Donohue looks like he is going to single handedly turn ours into the best debut possible.


Aberdeen joined us in the Championship only just two seasons ago but have quickly risen up to the top of the table in impressive Style. With Celtic going through a transition period with new manager, Paul Lambert we could potentially see them over thrown following nearly a decade of dominance, however an own goal undid their hardwork in this game to gift us a welcome point against the run of play.


Hearts are firmly planted in the Premier League unlike the rest of the teams in the Premier League they have stayed hot on Celtics heels despite never managing to over throw them. A Three goal victory against us gave them a comfortable victory and quickly had them rising back up the table following a slow start to their season.


Three on the bounce. Starting the month with a hat-trick is certainly a good way to impressive the plaudits and with no real rivals coming close to his ability or goals it looks like he is set for more awards for the rest of the season too. We need to get this boy a new contract soon.


We slip down the table but a fourth place in the league is certainly still way beyond what we expected. With the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts both around us and equal on points to Celtic it appears we find ourselves in a league that is still yet to have anyone break away and dominate it. Could we actually be about to snatch an unlikely top half position.

Epic start in the league Shame about the cups tho.

Donohue has been stealing the spotlight but against St. Mirren two of our other stars returned to the fray with a goal each, as former Leicester winger, Jack Barmby and the returning Andy Vaughan both found the back of the net. Darren Lavery certainly held his own as Vaughans replacement in the team but we are glad to see our teenage star back in the fray.


Donohue ensures he is not long forgotten picking up the opening goal just before the break as we pick up another victory against Dundee United. We are making a huge upset to a lot of teams here. It seems we are being under-estimated quite a lot but even we didn't expect our usually wasteful set-peice taker, Loftus-Cheek to score a Twenty five yard screamer to seal the points.


Celtic seem to be all over the shop at the minute, dropping points left right and centre as Paul Lambert struggles to get to grips with being in charge of Scotlands biggest team and we are quick to take advantage. Remarkably it was the thus far frustrated Sam Gainford who picked up both goals, the winger has been left on the sidelines thanks to Donohues form but jumped at the opportunity to keep his name in the running.


Our final chance at some silverware this season is the Scottish Cup and a tough tie against Hearts was a harsh way to get it underway. It was a game which neither side wanted to lose and predictable ended in a lifeless stalemate. Fortunately for us Hearts eventually caved under the pressure not to conceed as in their haste to clear the lines they smash the ball into their own net. A comical goal but one we were glad to take.


Finally Donohue doesn't end up with a monthly award but keen to uphold our stunning start to life in the Premier League, I pick up a rare award of my own. Upsetting Celtic is almost guaranteed to get you this award right now but I'll certainly take it.


Absolutely stunning. I never expected to find ourselves anywhere near this part of the table let alone right at the top. We sit two points clear of Aberdeen and remarkably five points away from the usually dominant Celtic. We are set for a remarkable season at this rate, The league appears to be wide open and we are certainly taking advantage. Europe here we come?

Cracking run! Even though it's only November, you have a legit shot at the title, and at the very least some European competition.

Wow, brilliant November month

An incredible result from the Borderers as we destroy Motherwell at Shielfield Park. Andy Vaughan continues to bounce back well from injury with the opening goal, whilst wingers, Jack Barmby and the ever impressive Michael Donohue both added to the scoreline for a great result from the Lone Rangers. We are beginning to look like the real deal at the top of the pack.


Another solid victory from Berwick as we send Hamilton further into the mire. Dunkley scored a good header from a well worked set-piece within just three minutes but it was to be the ref that would help us to the victory sending off two players either side of the half-time whistle to gift us a victory without much effort. A welcome gift in the busy fixture list.


Once again we are gifted the points as Hibs conspire to their own demise scoring an own goal following a mix-up from another impressive corner from the Borderers. We held on to the goal with a disciplined performance that left Hibs completely frustrated. However we are dealt a massive blow as Andy Vaughan is once again sidelined with a torn hamstring. Four months on the sidelines for our talisman striker is a massive blow to our hopes of keeping hold of this lofty position.


Well that soon put our good run to the sword. Inverness watched us perform upsets throughout the entire month but certainly made sure we where not to repeat it on the road, destroying us with five goals. It was a shocking display from a team that seemingly worked their way to the top and two own-goals from both Loftus-Cheek and McQueen certainly summed up the entire game.


We manage to hold on to a point and a clean sheet as we recover from the mauling by Inverness. Our defence had a lot of pride that they needed to salvage following their recent humiliation and a strong performance at least gave them something to hold on to. It seems our bubble might have burst at long last. Can't help but think, Andy Vaughan could have certainly helped us bounce back with a bang. He will be missed.


With Donohue destroying them single handedly just over a month ago we were hopeful of pulling off a similar result against Patrick Thistle to fully bring us back up to speed but it was not to be as a collapse in the second half ensures Christmas is not a happy one for Berwick fans. Having started the month in style it seems we are going to end it in disappointment.


Thankfully for us the referee helped us for the second time this month with a game changing red card. Darren Lavery finally found the net following his new found status as our lead striker with a goal to draw things level before Dunkley is deservedly sent off for two poor yellow cards. It seemed that was going to send us towards another defeat but a red card for Hearts threw momentum back in our favour and new boy Jake Ellam scored his first for the club to win the game.


Not going to lie the referee and some good fortune certainly paid their part in this month. The defeat to Inverness certainly showed just what we can expect when the Premier League teams are at their best but it seems no one is able to get things together this season and we maintain our lead at the top of the table all be it with a handy two game advantage over the chasing Celtic.

No one is taking their chances against you (except for Inverness), and that's boding well! Keep it up!

Cracking start to life in the Premiership!

Wow! Catching up with your busy updates yesterday and you've done superb to start life in the top tier in such great fashion!

Two departures and both back-up players from our right side. That was our entire transfer window business...exciting.

With Donohue and McQueen both absolutely dominating the Premier League it was clear to them both that breaking into the first team was not going to happen any-time soon. To their credit neither kicked up too much of a fuss about it but as soon as an opportunity came to jump ship and snap up some actual game time they jumped at the opportunity.

It does leave the team rather thin on the ground however and with no one worth signing in the January window we are going to have to pray for no injuries until the end of the season.

We did however take a few long looks at some former England stars with Huddlestone, Micah Richards and even Wayne Rooney all willing to join the team however the clubs finances still remain a world away from what these boys would be expecting.

Ah pal, these are the kind of saves that make me want to start at the bottom somewhere. Outstanding work from you

An international break gives the squad a break into the new year but we are soon back into the fray with a game against the previously high-flying Aberdeen. Having slipped up in there attempts at over throwing Celtic and falling behind the newly promoted English side they had a deal of self-belief to restore in 2020 and soon gave us a reality check with a tidy one goal victory.


St Mirren are struggling in the league of late and are desperately trying to mount a late push into the top of half of the table before the split. A point a piece did little to give either team any progress but non the less it was a deserved result following a lifeless game at Shielfield Park. Not one for the fans but on a side note should mention that for every home game thus far we have sold out our 4500 seats. Impressive pulling power in the Premier League.


That made up for the goalless last match. A barn busting game against Dundee saw eight goals fly in, with the plucky Borderers again coming away victors as the familiar face of Darren Lavery returned to his best. The Scot used to score hat-tricks for fun in League One and Two and rolled back the years to smash home three of his best as we stabilise our spot at the top of the table. I offered him a new contract straight after the game. He might be Scottish but he has been with me since the start. Club Legend.


We round off the first month of the new decade by beating Celtic in a surprising top of the table clash. Not only are we not meant to be anywhere near them in the league, I'm pretty sure no one ever even dreamed of us beating them twice in the season. Man of the moment Darren Lavery rewarded my loyalty by scoring the winner within the opening half and we comfortably held on to the points as Paul Lamberts position as Celtic manager starts to come under heavy scrutiny.


New year, same lofty position. We have arrived into the Premier League like ninjas, silently sneaking our way through the battling giants and arriving nicely at the top of the table. Truth be told its been a perfect storm for Berwick thus far. Celtic are going through a huge upheavel behind the scenes following Deilas unexpected move to Marseille whilst Hearts and Aberdeen are unable to put down any form to finally overthrow the former dominant side. Leaving us to sit proudly at the head of the pack.

Big wins over Dundee U and Celtic! Up the Borderers, mate! You've got this.