Third Lanark Athletic and Football Club (FM 2010)

Rawhide · 12-29-2009, 06:46 PM

Third Lanark Athletic and Football Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Third Lanark is a football club that originally existed between 1872 and 1967, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Third Lanark are known as the Redcoats or the Hi-Hi (owing to the "Hi Hi Hi!" chant from their fans).

Originally one of the great clubs of early Scottish football, Third Lanark were declared bankrupt and dissolved in 1967. Their demise was considered as a shock because only a few years previously they had finished third in the Scottish Premier League, scoring over 100 goals in the process.

Third Lanark won the Scottish Premier league in 1904, and finished third in 1905 and 1961. They won the Scottish Cup in 1889 and 1905, and made their last apperance in a final in 1935.

The club reformed as an amateur side in 1971 and played in the Greater Glasgow Amateur League.

With the resturcturing of the Scottish football system as demanded by UEFA in 2009, Third Lanark were unexpectedly resurrected, ending a period of 42 years in the wilderness. Their return was controversal, given that they did not have to rejoin the revamped system in the third-division Highland League, but were instantly promoted into the new 20-team Scottish Premier League.

Third Lanark are owned by Stephen Burnett, one of Scotland's wealthiest men. Under his guidance, the Redcoats have built a new modern home stadium adjacent to their old Cathkin Park base. Burnett has also hired Hamish Brock, a former Scottish international, to be the club's new manager.

Hamish Brock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hamish Samuel McDonald Brock (born August 8 1976, Glasgow, United Kingdom) is the current manager of Third Lanark in the Scottish Premier League. He is a former midfielder who made one apperance for Scotland in the 1998 World Cup.

Brock turned professional in 1993 when he joined Partick Thistle, who were then playing in the Scottish Premier League. He moved to Newcastle when Partick were relegated, and played a key role in the Tyneside club finishing second in the English Premier League.

Brock was a surprise selection in the Scottish World Cup squad in 1998, having never played previously for his country. His only apperance came against Morocco, with Scotland losing 3-0 having already been eliminated from the tournament.

With his confidence seemingly shaken, Brock spent the entire 1998-99 English Premier League season in the Newcastle reserves, before returning to Scotland to play for Ross County in the old Third Division. Brock led the goalscorers for the entire division, helping Ross in their quest for promotion.

A car accident while on holiday in Portugal saw Brock miss the entire 2000-01 football season and he was released by Ross County. Signing for Peterhead in 2002 saw Brock return to something resembling his former self, finding the back of the net on no less than 20 occasions.

A disastrous knee injury saw Brock retire in 2003, stepping immediately into the role as manager for Peterhead at the age of 27. He spent four seasons at Peterhead, helping the club move into the old Second Division. He then became assistant manager at Partick Thistle.

Brock was appointed manager of the resurrected Third Lanark AFC on June 1 2009, with express orders to turn the once proud club into a European contender once again.

Caledonia Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caledonia Stadium is a stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. Originally designed as an athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, it was purchased by Stephen Burnett on behalf of the Third Lanark Athletic and Football Club in 2009 for use as a privately-run football facility. The decision to sell a public asset was widely slammed at the time, however the purchase did help the Scottish government avoid the worst of the Global Financial Crisis.

The stadium is bowl-shaped with two tiers all the way around the ground and a third tier along the two side stands. As of July 1 2009 it had a seating capacity of 70,000, making it the largest such stadium in Scotland, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom.

Scottish Football Turned On Its Head
The Edinburgh Daily News

The 2009-10 season will see a major change in the structure of the Scottish Football Association, with the FA agreeing to changes mandated by UEFA, the governing body of European football.

To save column space, the most important changes are listed in point form below:

Scottish Premier League
2008-09 - 12 teams, 1 relegated to Scottish First Division
2009-10 - 20 teams, 4 relegated to Scottish Conference

Scottish Conference (formerly First Division)
2008-09 - 10 teams, 1 promoted to SPL, 2 relegated to Second Division
2009-10 - 22 teams, 3 instantly promoted to SPL, 4 teams playoff for one further space, 2 relegated to Highland Leagues.

Scottish Second and Third Divisions
2009-10 - Consolidated into Scottish Conference

Highland Leagues
2008-09 - Independent league with no prospect of promotion into Scottish leagues
2009-10 - 18 team league with two promotion spots into the Scottish Conference

Scottish League Cup
2008-09 - Knockout tournament involving teams from all four Scottish divisions
2009-10 - Renamed the Scottish Premier Challenge Cup, and converted into a league/cup tournament only for the 20 teams in the Scottish Premier League.

New competition starting in 2009-10 - the "Celtic Champions Cup"
Competition modelled on the UEFA Champions League, with 16 teams from Scotland (6), Ireland (3), Northern Ireland (3) and Wales (4) competiting for the title of the champion team from the Celtic nations. Teams play in four groups of four teams, with eight teams qualifying for the knockout phase. The tournament is designed to run in July-August prior to the start of the league season proper.

Rawhide · 12-29-2009, 07:59 PM

June 16 - Crazy day, lots of reporters turning up at the Caledonian today for the announcement that I would be taking charge of the Thirds for the upcoming season.

In the afternoon, hit the phones with offers for players. Have deliberately not targeted any players from the Scottish Premier League. Two reasons - (a) I want to have a policy of firstly bringing home good Scottish players currently playing abroad, and (b) They will probably say no anyway.

Also called in a few favours assembling my backroom staff. The current lot here are okay but I think I'll need more than three people to assist me! Current assistant manager Ricky McInnes is a nice chap but he needs to be moved, as soon as I land my ideal assistant.

Later - Got the details of my contract from Stephen....absolutely insane. I'll be making more in one week then I did in a year as a youth player with Partick Thistle.

Minimum expectation is that the team "challenges" for the Premier League title this season. Transfer budget of $338 million (!!) and wage budget of $2.3m (!!!). We have more money than most sub-Saharan countries.

Sky Sports seems to think that we can finish third. But we don't have any players!

Much Later - Actually, we do have a few players. Most of them are quite average, probably solid contributors but certainly not anybody that Celtic or Rangers will lose sleep over.

We do have a few very promising prospects however:

Stuart Low (defender, 27 years old). Typical leader, no real weaknesses to his game. Good penalty taker. Probably will be our captain unless we land a real big fish in the transfer market.

Gordon Burns (defender, 25 years old). Great pace, seems to be a real leader.

Chris Calderwood (midfielder, 25 years old). Quick off the mark, good at crossing, no real aerial ability however.

Callan Rofe (forward, 17 years old). Perhaps our best player, a real clean striker of the ball and a dedicated professional. Our scouts rate him very highly, and he is already in the Scottish U/19 squad.

June 17 - Huge day at the offices overlooking the Caledonian.

Offers accepted and contacts put forward to David McNamee (defender, Plymouth), Alex Pearce (defender, Reading), Maruisz Lewandowski (Polish midfielder, Shakhtar), Callan Davidson (defender, Preston North End), Ross McCormack (midfielder, Cardiff), Nick Montgomery (midfielder, Sheffield United), Kevin McKenna (Scottish/Canadian defender/striker, Koln)

We had an offer rejected by Everton for young defender Jack Rodwell. I'm determined to land him, so have increased the offer considerably. Peterborough

Press conference in the afternoon officially introducing me as the new Thirds boss. Have cautioned against expecting early miracles, while hinting at some big signings in the pipeworks. If only they knew!

Later - The new offer from Everton has just come through. $73 million for Jack Rodwell! I hesitate for a few seconds and then immedately reply "Yes!".

June 18 - George Boyd is on his way to Thirds after Peterborough accepted the renegotiated offer. Jack Rodwell is less certain, but I'm confident that I've made him an offer he literally cannot refuse - certainly one that should compensate for not playing in the English Premier League.

June 19 - Through the day we receive word that all of the above players have accepted contract offers from Thirds. They will offically become our players on July 1.

Just as importantly, we finally land our assistant manger - Ally McCoist from Rangers. His departure from Ibrox causes quite a stir, as they were grooming him to eventually take over the reins from Walter Smith. He made 581 apperances for Rangers during his career, scoring close to 300 goals. He is exactly the kind of right hand man I want at Thirds - and just as importantly, he is here until July 2014.

June 20 - McCoist's first day as my right hand man, and we sit down with the rest of the staff for a debrief ahead of the 2009-10 season. McCoist has plenty of ideas for potental recruits but unfortunately they are all non-British; from July 1 2009 onwards, we are only able to field one foreign player in our entire playing squad of 25. Mariusz Lewandowski is that man, for the next season at least.

June 21 - Jack Rodwell has signed for Thirds. We are assembling quite a good squad. Our reserve team took on Camelon this afternoon, winning 4-0. Rofe bagged a hattrick in the process.

June 22 - The season draw has been released. We start with tricky games against Rangers (away), Hearts (home) and Hibernians (away). We finish the Premier League season against current champions Celtic (away). Between them, Rangers and Celtic have won over 70 Premier League titles, and every competition since 1985. Wouldn't it be great to break their dominance!

Rawhide · 12-29-2009, 08:53 PM

July 2 - Obligatory press conference today to announce my new signings. A few concerns over Lewandowki, who has been given a three-year contract. Apparently he has a history of being injury-prone. Refused to discuss transfer policy and finances - such matters should be kept behind closed doors.

July 3 - Odds for the Scottish Premier League:
$2.50 - Celtic, Rangers
$7.00 - Hearts
$9.00 - Aberdeen
$13.00 - Hibs
$15.00 - Dundee United
$34.00 - Third Lanark

July 4 - Predicted order of finish from Sky Sports
1st - Rangers
2nd - Celtic
3rd - Third Lanark
4th - Hearts
5th - Aberdeen
6th - Dundee United
7th - Hibs
8th - Motherwell
9th - Kilmarnock
10th - Hamilton Academical
11th - Falkirk
12th - St Mirren
13th - Inverness Caledonian Thistle
14th - St Johnstone
15th - Dundee
16th - Dunfermline Athletic
17th - Partick Thistle
18th - Queen of the South
19th - Greenock Morton
20th - Ross County

Airdrie United, Livingston and Raith Rovers are the favourites in the Conference.

July 6 - Our first friendly match against Livingston. Callum Davidson has the honour of being our first captain this season, while Ross McCormack scores the first Third Lanark goal since 1967. The match as a contest is over after twenty minutes, with Thirds having 11 shots on goal in that time! We lead 7-0 at halftime and make as many changes. We eventually run out 11-0 winners, despite playing most of the second half with our reserve team. Callan Rofe scores four goals, Ross McCormack three. What a result!!!

July 9 - Huge story in the news today...Stephen Burnett may be selling Third Lanark! A consortium of businessmen, including a former footballer, are rumoured to be putting an offer forwrad to Burnett in the coming weeks. Hopefully this doesn't disrupt our plans for this season (much less my employment here!)

July 10 - Callum Davidson is confirmed as the official Third Lanark captain for season 2009-10, with Stuart Low as his deputy.

July 11 - Another match, this time against the Shamrock Rovers from Ireland. We win 4-0 in our home debut at Caledonia Stadium.

July 17 - The Celtic Champions Cup started today, with Celtic and Rangers raging hot favourites to meet in the final in early August.

July 18 - Yet another friendly, as we dispatch St Johnstone to the tune of 4-3. Callan Rofe saves the day with a goal in the 88th minute.

July 19 - 20,000 season tickets have been sold by Third Lanark.

July 29 - We get word that our friendly against Aberdeen has been cancelled owing to their participation in the Celtic Champions Cup quarter-finals. Great for them, not so great for us. We'll now go into the Scottish Premier League with three games under our belts. Sensationally, Celtic and Rangers have drawn each other in the quarter-finals, destroying any hopes that they would meet (and monopolise) the final. All six Scottish sides progressed to the final eight.

August 1 - We officially nominate our squad of 27 players for the 2009/10 season.

August 4 - Motherwell enquire about the availability of our goalkeeper David Maclennan. We politelty tell them he is not for sale.

August 6 - Three players are called up for international duty: Ross McCormack (Scotland), Jack Rodwell (England) and Callan Rofe (Scottish U/21s)

August 8 - Rangers and Dundee United will meet in the final of the Celtic Champions Cup. It has been pushed back to August 19. Although technically at a neutral venue, Dundee United will have a great advantage as it is being played at the home of Dundee, only 100 metres from United's own stadium!

It's time to get the show on the road!

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 03:25 AM

After an extremely busy month we have arrived at the start of the Scottish Premier League season; the first season of any kind for Third Lanark since 1966-67.

We have three SPL matches this month, against three of the better sides in the competition - Rangers, Hearts and Hibs.

The board is setting extreme standards for this season - they expect a "serious challenge" for the SPL title, while they also expect Third Lanark to claim the Scottish Cup and the Challenge Cup. In other words, to win more silverware in twelve months than we have ever won.

Personally I'm hoping for a top five finish. That will be good enough to get us in one of the European competitions in 2010/11, dependent on who wins the Scottish Cup.

Here are my impressions on the Third Lanark squad for 2009/10.

GOALKEEPERS
Arguably the most important position in any team, and the only position where we did not recruit anybody. I'm hopeful that the players here have the quality required to do their jobs.

1. David Maclennan (24 yo, no previous club)
14. Andrew Carroll (26 yo, no previous club)

Carroll gets the nod having kept 7 clean sheets in 9 games (including reserves). Maclennan will likely get his chance later in the year.

DEFENDERS

2. Gordon Burns (26yo, no previous club)
3. Callum Davidson (33yo, signed from Preston, 329 career games, 20 goals)
5. Stuart Low (27yo, no previous club)
13. Matthew Lovell (26yo, no previous club)
16. David McNamee (28yo, signed from Plymouth, 154 career games, 4 goals)
17. Billy Watters (24yo, no previous club)
19. Gary Caldwell (26yo, no previous club)
20. Alex Pearce (20yo, signed from Reading, 54 career games, 3 goals)
22. Patrick McKeever (25yo, no previous club)
23. Kevin McKenna (29yo, signed from Koln, 244 career games, 34 goals)
26. Jack Rodwell (18yo, signed from Everton, 21 career games)

McKenna played five seasons for Hearts in a previous SPL stint, while McNamee is a veteran for Livingston when they were in the top flight. Callum Davidson is going to be a great asset to the club, provided he can stay on the pitch. Lovell is solid and has impressed in the pre-season. Low, our club vice-captain, is probably going to play a lot off the reserves bench, such is his versatility. Burns is likely going to see a lot of playing time on the left hand side. Pearce is going to be vital in our plans, but our jewel in the defensive crown is definitely Jack Rodwell. It will be hard to keep him here for the duration of his four year contract, with lots of interest expected from English premier league teams.

MIDFIELDERS

4. Nick Montgomery (27yo, signed from Sheffield United, 255 career games, 7 goals)
7. Chris Calderwood (25yo, no previous club)
8. Steven Dillon (25yo, no previous club)
10. George Boyd (23yo, signed from Peterborough, 226 career games, 51 goals)
12. Steve Bonar (27yo, no previous club)
15. Dean White (28yo, no previous club)
18. Mariusz Lewandowski (30yo, signed from Shakhtar, 261 career games, 23 goals)
21. Graeme Kelly (25yo, no previous club)

Montgomery has played his entire career for Sheffield United, spanning some seven seasons. Lewandowski is the wildcard signing, although he has played quite a bit for the Polish national side. He will be one to watch. Dillon seems like a good prospect, and is well rated in his technique. He may get some playing time off the bench. Boyd is a versatile player and can slot in up front when needed.

FORWARDS
6. Ross McCormack (22yo, signed from Cardiff, 116 career games, 37 goals)
9. Callan Rofe (17yo, no previous club)
11. Grieg Forsyth (25yo, no previous club)
24. Billy Oliver (16yo, no previous club)
25. Jonathan Laird (25yo, no previous club)

The undisputed star of the club is Callan Rofe, who was already in our developmental system. I'm going to take a chance and start him straight away. He has scored an amazing 17 goals already - albeit mostly against reserve grade quality teams. In Ally McCoist's opinion - himself one of the great Scottish forwards - Rofe could be a star on any side. If Third Lanark are to do well this season, he is going to be the key.

McCormack is a good prospect, and already has SPL experience with Rangers and Motherwell. Forsyth will probably be our reserve striker. God help us if Laird ever takes the field. Oliver is a developmental player and will most likely spend his entire time playing for the Under 21 side.

We will be entering sides in the Scottish Reserves and Under 21s competitions. They play a 27-game season in a ten team competition (there are several competitions in the same division). Hamish French will manage the Under 21s - they are already off to a flying start, unbeaten after three rounds. Ricky McInnes will manage the Reserve side.

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 04:08 AM

An important detail which I forgot to mention earlier is that this season the SPL is adopting a "one foreigner rule". That is, the match squad can only contain one player from outside the British Isles and Ireland. This will most probably affect Celtic and Rangers the most. The SPL president has insisted this is in the best interests of the league.

Also, each match squad of 18 players (there are seven reserves, instead of the usual five) must have three players aged 19 or younger. With Callan Rofe and Jack Rodwell in our regular side, that means we only need to find one extra player to fill the requirement. For now, Billy Oliver is that lucky player.

August 15 - Celtic beat Hearts 1-0 in the official season opener. Eight other matches are played that day.

August 16 - The rebirth of the Third Lanark Football Club occurs at the Ibrox Stadium, home of defending champions Rangers.

This is the side we take into the match: Carroll; McNamee, Davidson (c), Pearce, McKenna; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - Maclennan, Burns, Calderwood, Forsyth, Low, Bonar, Oliver.

Rangers are favourites to win, and duly open the scoring in the eighth minute. They double their lead in the thirteenth and I slum further into my seat. "Don't panic" is the message which is sent out.

McCormack has a dubious offside called against him in the 27th minute, while he puts a chance wide in the 33rd. Halftime cannot come soon enough. We are being swamped.

George Boyd zips a shot over the net in the 53rd minute. In the 67th minute George Burns and Greig Forsyth enter the fray, just as Rangers are setting up for a corner. Almost immediately a chance is created for Callan Rofe, but he sprays the shot wide.

The game frustratingly ends 0-2 and we are jeered off the pitch by the Rangers fans.

The press conference is tense, with many questions about Alex Pearce and George Boyd. I just want to get out of here so I play the "no comment" card each time.

August 18 - Dundee United win the first Celtic Champions League, beating Rangers in a penalty shoot-out 4-2.

August 23 - Our home debut against Hearts. We take an unchanged side. Callan Rofe scores our first ever goal after 37 minutes and it opens a deluge. Rofe scores again at halftime, and Alex Pearce gets his name on the scoresheet after 65 minutes. 45,000 fans celebrate our first ever win.

August 25 - 16 year old defender John Watson signs a pre-contract deal which will see him continue to develop his football at Caledonia Stadium.

Discouragingly, it is reported that Marco van Basten will be my successor if the proposed bid to take over Third Lanark succeeds. The board has responded by placing an embargo on any transfers until the matter is resolved.

Hopefully these stories prove to be just pie in the sky - there is unfinished business to resolve here first!

August 29 - Aberdeen shock Celtic, winning 1-0.

August 30 - John Watson (Scotland U19s), Jack Rodwell (England U21s), Ross McCormack (Scotland) and Mariuz Lewandowski (Poland) have been called up for international duty for September 3rd and 7th.

We take on Hibernian at Easter Road Stadium. Goalkeeper Andrew Carrol is out for eight weeks, presenting David Maclennan with his chance. Ross McCormack puts us ahead after two minutes, but the hosts level on the eleventh minute. Rofe puts us ahead with a deadly strike in the 42nd minute. The second half is relatively even, but Hibs level with only six minutes left. They go ahead in the final minute and we have grasped defeat from the jaws of victory.

Standings at August 31st 2009
1. Motherwell - 9 (+4)
2. Aberdeen - 9 (+4)
3. Falkirk - 7 (+2)
4. Dundee United - 6 (+5)
5. Rangers - 6 (+4)
6. Hibernian - 6 (+2)
7. Morton - 6 (+2)
8. Celtic - 6 (+1)
9. Ross County - 5 (+2)
10. St Mirren - 5 (+1)
11. Kilmarnock - 4 (+1)
12. Inverness CT - 4 (0)
13. Hamilton - 4 (0)
14. Dundee - 4 (-1)
15. Third Lanark - 3 (0)
16. Queen of the South - 1 (-2)
17. Dunfermline - 0 (-5)
18. St Johnstone - 0 (-6)
19. Partick Thistle - 0 (-6)
20. Hearts - 0 (-8)

Not the start I had in mind.

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 06:51 AM

September 1 - The close of registrations for the SPL. For the next three months we are limited to using only the 26 players in our nominated squad. Gary Caldwell is robbed in favour of 16 year old Robbie Mackay.

The pressure is on for a win in the Premier League - already we are six points behind first place. But first we must start our campaign in the Challenge Cup. We are drawn to play St Johnston, Dundee United, St Mirren and Dunfermline. If we finish in the top two of our group, we will advance to the quarter-finals.

September 4 - We receive notice that our first Challenge Cup match has been postponed for two weeks due to international call-ups.

September 5 - Ross McCormack is one of the star performers as Scotland beat Macedonia 2-0 in the World Cup qualifiers.

September 8 - Callan Rofe helps Scotland off to a flying start in the European U21 qualifiers, scoring both goals in their win over Albania. Scotland topple Holland in a major upset in the "main" World Cup qualifiers.

September 13 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Dundee Utd 3
Calamity for the Thirds as they give up another team in a repeat performance from the Hibs game. Callum Davidson is out for up to eight weeks with injury as well!

September 16 - Apparently there has been a breakthrough in talks between Stephen Burnett and Gary Hutton, the head of the takeover bid. We should expect an announcement within the next few days. I'm not too confident.

September 20 - I woke up today with a new employer. Broxburn-based businessman Gary Hutton. The rumours are that soon he will have a new employee running his football team. With that weighing over our heads, we travelled up the coast to take on Dundee.

September 20 - Premier League - Dundee 1 Third Lanark 3
Callan Rofe scores his first career hattrick as he saves us from another sticky situation. Dundee levelled the score with a penalty in the 75th minute, but the 17 year old stood up and slammed home two winners. The result takes us back up to eleventh on the ladder.

September 21 - I get invited into the new chairman's office, and walk out fifteen minutes later more confused than ever. Hutton thanks me for my patience and professionalism during the transtition period, and informs me that $649 million has been injected into the club's finances. However, he also states that it was always his intention to appoint a new manager and I will be duly notified in the near future what decision has been made on my future.

September 22 - A press conference before our first Challenge Cup match brings up the thorny issue of my relationship with Hutton. I grin and state that I've been very happy with the change of management. Nobody believes me.

September 23 - Challenge Cup - St Johnstone 1 Third Lanark 1
Frustrating result! We are better than this! Ross McCormack is out for an extended period as well with injury.

September 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Aberdeen 0
Finally we produce a performance from the top shelf. Callan Rofe scores all four goals. The kid is a gun. Kevin McKenna plays his 250th career game and celebrates with a big win.

September 30 - Challenge Cup - Third Lanark 0 Dundee United 1
A poor result, which means we really have to win our next two Challenge Cup games just to have a chance of qualifying for the Quarter-Finals. This match probably seals my fate...I am expecting the 'tap on the shoulder' from Hutton any day now.

End of Month Review

Premier League Standings
1. Celtic - 15 (+9)
2. Motherwell - 14 (+6)
3. Falkirk - 14 (+5)
4. Rangers - 13 (+6)
5. Morton - 13 (+6)
6. Dundee United - 11 (+6)
7. Aberdeen - 10 (-1)
8. Third Lanark - 9 (+5)
9. St Mirren - 9 (+2)
10. Kilmarnock - 8 (+1)
11. Hibernian - 7 (0)
12. Hamilton - 7 (-1)
13. Dundee - 7 (-3)
14. Hearts - 7 (-5)
15. Inverness CT - 6 (-2)
16. Ross County - 6 (-3)
17. Dunfermline - 4 (-7)
18. St Johnstone - 2 (-7)
19. Queen of the South - 2 (-7)
20. Partick Thistle - 1 (-10)

Challenge Cup Standings - Group B
1. Dundee United - 9 (+4) *sealed qualification
2. St Johnstone - 4 (0)
3. St Mirren - 3 (0)
4. Third Lanark - 1 (-1)
5. Dunfermline - 0 (-3)

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 08:00 AM

October 1 - Callan Rofe is named the player of the month for September, due in no small part to his seven goals.

October 2 - I get the call to meet Gary Hutton in his office. Expecting to get the pink slip, I instead get an endorsement to finish the season. Funny how things turn out.

October 3 - Premier League - Kilmarnock 2 Third Lanark 2
A double from Grieg Forsyth was the only highlight in this match. We seem to be having a lot of trouble sealing results. We were 2-0 up with six minutes to go but somehow we have squandered a chance to move into sixth. On a side note, Billy Oliver debuted today at the age of 16 years and 207 days - a new record.

October 7 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2
Finally a bit of luck falls our way, with Kevin McKenna scoring the match winner minutes from full time. Robbie Mackay and Chris Calderwood made their league debuts for the club. Finally we get a break from our hectic schedule, with a ten day interlude between matches.

October 8 - Dunfermline undergo their own change in ownership, with a fans trust group taking over the team. With the side placed 19th, they are going to need a lot of help.

October 11 - A news report in the paper today from goalkeeper David Maclennan, who claims that the Thirds are underachieving. Methinks that perhaps David is the one who is underachieving.

October 17 - Premier League - Morton 0 Third Lanark 7
15 seconds is all it took for Callan Rofe to open the scoring. He had three goals by halftime, and the Thirds took the match in a cakewalk. Callum Davidson made a welcome return off the interchange bench. Rofe was eventually rested after scoring his fourth goal and setting up Jack Rodwell's first goal for the Redcoats.

October 20 - Blackburn are rumoured to be chasing our vice-captain Stuart Low as a transfer target. We'll see what kind of offer they bring to the table before making a decision on his future.

October 21 - Challenge Cup - St Mirren 3 Third Lanark 5
We stay alive in the Challenge Cup thanks to this vital result, although we survived a scare or two from the local team. Rofe (with another hattrick) sealed the result in the dying moments. A draw in our next fixture against Dunfermline should be enough to seal a spot in the final eight.

October 24 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Queen of the South 0
On paper it should be an easy fixture, against a team that has gone nine games without a win. In reality it was much harder than the scoreline suggested. However, a win is a win is a win! Most importantly, we are now only four points behind Celtic and Rangers, who are tied for the competition lead.

October 27 - Premier league - Ross County 3 Third Lanark 3
We round off the month with another match against a team stuck in the relegation zone; this time my old team of Ross County, who have lost their past six games. However, the locals started the scoring in the 14th minute, only for Callan Rofe (again) to get the scores back level on the half hour. A dubious penalty five minutes later gave us the lead. The referee obviously believed in sharing, because two minutes later Ross converted a penalty of their own. The sides traded a goal each in the second half and the locals celebrated like they had won a cup final.

End of Month Review

Premier League Standings
1. Celtic - 26 (+16)
2. Rangers - 24 (+11)
3. Aberdeen - 23 (+9)
4. Falkirk - 22 (+8)
5. Third Lanark - 20 (+15)
6. Dundee - 20 (+2)
7. Motherwell - 20 (+2)
8. Kilmarnock - 19 (+8)
9. Dundee United - 18 (+10)
10. St Mirren - 18 (+4)
11. Morton - 17 (-1)
12. Hibernian - 12 (0)
13. Hearts - 12 (-6)
14. Dunfermline - 11 (-8)
15. Hamilton - 9 (-5)
16. Inverness CT - 8 (-5)
17. Ross County - 7 (-11)
18. Partick Thistle - 7 (-4)
19. St Johnstone - 4 (-11)
20. Queen of the South - 3 (-19)

Challenge Cup Standings - Group B
1. Dundee United - 9 (+4)
2. St Johnstone - 5 (0)
3. Third Lanark - 4 (+1)
4. St Mirren - 3 (-2)
5. Dunfermline - 1 (-3)

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 08:04 PM

We open the month with two games against Dunfermline in our two different competitions.

November 1 - Premier League - Third Lanark 6 Dunfermline 2
Callan Rofe scores three goals of his own and slots a penalty for good measure. Dunfermline scored two late goals to add some measure of respectability to the scoreline. This is our third straight home win in the SPL.

November 3 - With the transfer window opening again in January, I place an offer towards Wigan for their goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. According to my scouts he is twice the player of my current goalkeepers.

November 4 - Challenge Cup - Third Lanark 4 Dunfermline 0
The visitors do not have a shot on goal until the 84th minute. Thus is the tale of our most complete performance this year. A pity it is wasted on the Ferms. The result however means that we qualify for the quarter-finals.

Challenge Cup Group B - Complete
1. Dundee United - 12 (+5)
2. Third Lanark - 7 (+5)
3. St Johnstone - 5 (0)
4. St Mirren - 3 (-3)
5. Dunfermline - 1 (-7)

The other teams qualify are Rangers, Motherwell, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Falkirk.

November 5 - The eight teams are placed in a draw for the quarter-finals, meaning that we could play any of the other seven teams in our next match, regardless of previous form. The same process will be repeated for the semi-finals. We are drawn to play Aberdeen away from home on Boxing Day. I was hoping to avoid Celtic or Rangers, so this is a good result.

November 7 - Premier League - Motherwell 1 Third Lanark 1
An important game, with Motherwell only two points behind us on the ladder. A tough game, with a goal denied on the half hour. Motherwell run us ragged all game and deserve to win, but a Rofe free kick in the 87th minute preserves our unbeaten streak.

November 8 - Chris Kirkland has accepted our contract offer and will be our goalkeeper starting in 2010. I transfer list David Maclennan and Andrew Carrol, meaning other clubs are free to make offers for their services. Rangers beat Aberdeen 1-0 to open up a four point gap between second and third-placed Falkirk...who we play in our next game.

Also on this day, we receive word that Ross McCormack and Alex Pearce have been called up for Scotland's World Cup qualifiers.

November 9 - Callum Davidson, David McNamee and Jack Rodwell are granted three days of rest from training and fixtures.

November 11 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Falkirk 0
A great result for the side, which sees us hop into third place on the ladder. Ross McCormack was the goalscorer, ending a drought of some 732 minutes without a goal! Opposition manager Eddie May has come out and said that we are favourites for the title. Given that we are still six points behind Celtic, this is quite a statement.

November 12 - Callan Rofe is called up for the Scotland U21 side, due to play on November 17.

November 15 - The draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup (the main domestic cup tournament) is made today. We are drawn to play the winner of Inverness CT and Partick Thistle - both SPL teams.

November 18 - Ross McCormack scores both goals as Scotland downs Switzerland 2-1. The result means that Scotland has qualified for the 2010 World Cup, to be played in South Africa.

November 22 - Premier League - Hamilton Academical 0 Third Lanark 4
A surprisingly flat first half saw the teams level with no score. Ross McCormack opened up the second half with two quick goals which restored the status quo. We remain third on the ladder. In the crowd was Olympique de Marseilles manager Didier Deschamps, who is rumoured to be interested in signing Callan Rofe. Good luck!

November 23 - We receive an official offer from Olympique - "Name your price". We refuse to sell Rofe, so the answer is an emphatic "non".

November 24 - The scouts have suggested we sign Hearts' 18yo defender Craig Thomson when the window next opens in order to relieve pressure on David McNamee, who is the only defender capable of playing on the right side.

November 26 - Hearts reject our first offer so we promptly make another.

November 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 8 Partick Thistle 0
"When I was growing up, I always thought the club was called Partick Thistle Nil..." uttered comedian and devoted fan Billy Connolly. He would have been devestated by this result, with Callan Rofe scoring six goals in the first half (two were disallowed for offside). He eventually nets five goals, with McCormack, Rodwell and Boyd also on the scorers sheet. The official crowd of 66,498 is our largest of the season.

The match sets a club record for biggest win and most goals by an individual in a match. Rofe has also equalled the SPL record for most goals in a game (5).

Callan Rofe is also a certainty to break - nay, smash - the record for most goals in a single season. The record is currently 35 goals, set by Hendrik Larsson for Celtic back in 2000. Rofe currently has 29 goals, after only 16 games. If he isn't in the Scottish squad for the 2010 World Cup then there is something wrong.

David Maclennan now has gone 319 minutes without conceding a goal, as much a tribute to our dominance in recent games as it is a reflection of his skills.

November 29 - Olympique won't give up. They have tabled an offer of $16.7m for Rofe. The answer is still no - not now, not ever.

Meanwhile, a draw between Celtic and Motherwell gives Rangers first position in the Premier League standings.

We now enjoy a period of relative rest before a very busy and vital second half of December. This is our schedule:

12/12 - @ Inverness CT (Scottish Cup)
20/12 - Celtic (SPL - 2nd v 3rd)
23/12 - @ St Johnstone (SPL)
26/12 - @ Aberdeen (Scottish Challenge Cup Quarter-Final)
30/12 - St Mirren (SPL)
03/01 - Rangers (SPL)

Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Rangers - 39 (+22)
2. Celtic - 37 (+25)
3. Third Lanark - 33 (+32)
4. Falkirk - 30 (+13)
5. St Mirren - 28 (+8)
6. Dundee United - 27 (+15)
7. Hearts - 27 (+3)
8. Motherwell - 25 (+2)
9. Hibernian - 24 (+6)
10. Aberdeen - 24 (+4)
11. Kilmarnock - 22 (+3)
12. Dundee - 21 (-12)
13. Morton - 19 (-7)
14. Inverness CT - 17 (-1)
15. St Johnstone - 15 (-8)
16. Hamilton - 14 (-8)
17. Dunfermline - 12 (-20)
18. Ross County - 9 (-16)
19. Partick Thistle - 9 (-33)
20. Queen of the South - 5 (-28)

Rawhide · 12-30-2009, 10:13 PM

November 30 - Craig Thomson signs off on a deal to come to Caledonia Stadium in the new year. Hearts chairman Vladimir Romanov goes over the head of club management and accepts the $11.25m offer for him.

December 1 - A very successful day for us in terms of the monthly awards. Callan Rofe wins the Player of the Month award, with Ross McCormack second and Nick Montgomery third. Jack Rodwell is the Young Player of the Month with Alex Pearce second. Callan Rofe's goal against Dunfermline on November 1 was judged to be the goal of the month. Finally, I was named the manager of the month for November, winning four and drawing one of our five games.

December 5 - Deschamps won't give up. An offer for $20,000,000 for Rofe. That is surely a bargain price?

December 6 - Ross McCormack is sent home after contracting a virus. Hopefully he won't pass it on to the rest of the squad. He will miss our Scottish Cup game against Inveress.

December 12 - Scottish Cup 2nd Round - Inverness CT 1 Third Lanark 2 (AET)
We survive a scare against Scotland's most northerly club, with a Kevin McKenna header getting the job done in the 106th minute.

Celtic survive a bigger shock, getting past Dundee United only on a penalty shootout.

The draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Cape Town. Scotland are drawn in Group E with Costa Rica, North Korea and....Brazil.

December 13 - The draw for the third round of the Scottish Cup sees sixteen teams go into the hat. We draw Celtic at home! Shit! Why couldn't we get Queen of the South, or Cowdenbeath?

December 15 - Bristol City and Newcastle have submitted offers for David Maclennan. With the keeper no longer in our plans we have accepted both and will let him make up his own mind on his future. It would be good to keep him as a reserve but Andrew Carrol already fits that role and Chris Kirkland will be seeing most of the action on the field come January 1.

December 18 - Had to issue an explicit "hands off" warning to German club Werder Bremen after they submit an offer for Callan Rofe. Exactly the kind of distraction I do not want days before we play Celtic!

December 19 - David Maclennan has signed a contract to play for Newcastle. The deal will earn us $525,000 and he will move on January 1.

Results today in the SPL mean that a Celtic loss tomorrow gives Rangers a five-point lead in the ladder.

December 20 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Celtic 1
What a sensational game! Kevin McKenna put us ahead in the first five minutes, and by halftime we were up 3-0. David Maclennan has likely played his last game for us, as he hobbled off just after giving up the Buoys only goal of the game. Callan Rofe put the exclaimation point on the result with the final goal of the game. A capacity crowd of 70,000 walked away from the game dreaming - can they actually do it?

December 22 - Dean Withe has asked that he be placed on the transfer list. His request is granted.

December 23 - Premier League - St Johnstone 2 Third Lanark 1
A devestating and humiliating result, only days after our greatest triumph. The Saints get on the board early through a penalty and it looked as though the upset of the season was on. McKenna equaled the score in the 80th minute however the Saints never gave up and slotted home a sensational 20 yard strike in injury time to steal the win. Celtic are now back in second place.

December 24 - Merry Christmas, Callan Rofe. You have a new contract offer from Third Lanark, $53,000 per week for the next five years. Please sign immediately. Love, Santa.

December 25 - Challenge Cup Quarter Final - Aberdeen 1 Third Lanark 3 (AET)
A lucky escape for us, with two late goals scored in the extra time period. Nick Montgomery picked up an injury very early for us and it looks as though he will be out for perhaps three or four days.

Hearts shocked Rangers 3-0 to advance to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, along with Celtic and Motherwell.

December 26 - We draw Celtic - again! - in the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

December 28 - Best news in quite a while, with Rofe signing his new contract. $11,250,000 over 5 years. Not bad work if you can get it.

December 30 - Gordon Burns has turned down our latest contract offer and will be searching for a new club. Unless we accept a cash offer, he cannot move until after July 1, although nothing is preventing him from signing a contract between now and then.

December 30 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 St Mirren 0
The official halfway point of the season sees the Thirds win predictably and emphatically.

January 1 - The new year dawns with players exiting and entering the club. Kirkland and Thomson join the squad, while David Maclennan departs for the English Premier League. Kirkland is currently injured however and won't be ready until next week.

We put in bids for three players currently with SPL sides - Leigh Griffiths (striker, Dundee), Keith Watson (defender, Dundee United) and, most audaciously, Aiden McGeady, the best player in the Celtic side. They will only accept an offer for $100,000,000. With Gary Hutton's blessing, I make the bid. Now it's up to them to accept it.

January 2 - Celtic accept the offer, but McGeady isn't keen on joining our team. I expect a different answer once he sees the contract we have drawn up for him - $180,000 per week for five years! Madness!

Competition favourites Rangers head to Caledonia Stadium for a vital fixture. A win by the Thirds see us move up to second, six points behind the Gers. A Rangers win puts them nine points ahead of us.

Gordon Burns will move to Newcastle for the 2010/11 season.

January 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Rangers 1
Rangers had a goal disallowed in the very first minute, and responded by giving up three in the next ten. The champion leaders pegged a goal back in injury time but by then it was too little too late. We celebrate our second major scalp at home for the fortnight. If only we hadn't lost to St Johnstone in the meanwhile!

Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Rangers - 48 (+26)
2. Third Lanark - 42 (+40)
3. Celtic - 42 (+24)
4. Dundee United - 39 (+24)
5. Falkirk - 39 (+17)
6. Aberdeen - 34 (+8)
7. Hearts - 33 (+4)
8. Hibernian - 31 (+10)
9. Dundee - 30 (-7)
10. Kilmarnock - 29 (+3)
11. Motherwell - 29 (+2)
12. St Mirren - 29 (-1)
13. Morton - 29 (-3)
14. Inverness CT - 19 (-5)
15. St Johnstone - 19 (-13)
16. Hamilton - 15 (-11)
17. Ross County - 13 (-20)
18. Dundermline - 13 (-23)
19. Partick Thistle - 10 (-39)
20. Queen of the South - 5 (-36)

January Fixtures
A challenging list, with every opponent in the top half of the SPL.

09/01 - @ Hearts (SPL)
13/01 - @ Celtic (Challenge Cup Semi Final)
16/01 - Hibernian (SPL)
19/01 - @ Dundee United (SPL)
24/01 - Dundee (SPL)
27/01 - Challenge Cup Final
31/01 - @ Aberdeen (SPL)

Rawhide · 12-31-2009, 01:40 AM

January 7 - Keith Watson and Leigh Griffiths sign their contracts and are free to join up with Third Lanark immediately. I put in a bid for West Brom's James Morrison, who should be able to provide good back-up in the midfield.

Craig Thomson is named to make his Thirds debut against his old club, Hearts.

January 9 - Premier League - Hearts 2 Third Lanark 4
Ross McCormack gives us the halftime lead, Callan Rofe extends it immediately after the break. Hearts always stay in the contest though, and look to have equalised only to have the goal disallowed. George Boyd seals the result right on full-time. Callan Rofe breaks the Scottish Premier League goal-scoring record, notching up his 36th goal of the season. The next goal on the horizon is 50.

January 11 - Our reserve goalkeeper Andrew Carroll has signed a contract to play for Motherwell in 2010/11.

January 12 - The James Morrison transfer has been approved. He will start on the bench in our next game.

January 13 - Challenge Cup Semi Final - Celtic 0 Third Lanark 2
Celtic lose a player when Gary Caldwell gets his second yellow card after twenty minutes. The game is tied 0-0 at halftime after a dour struggle. Finally Celtic crack after 51 minutes and allow Callan Rofe to score from the penalty spot. New signing Leigh Griffiths scored on his Thirds debut to give us the decisive lead, and we qualify for our first cup final since 1960! Our opponents will be Hearts, who beat Motherwell 3-0. Interesingly, we played Hearts in the 1960 final of this competition (then known as the League Cup) so it will it be a case of history repeating?

January 16 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Hibernian 2
This match never reached any great heights, despite the scoreline. James Morrison, Leigh Griffiths and Kevin Watson made their debuts for the club, while Chris Kirkland made his first official league apperance. Celtic drew 0-0 with Aberdeen, giving us a two point break in second spot. Rangers lead us still by six points, however. We are going to need to rely on them slipping up if we are to claim the mantle of Scottish champions.

Pleasingly, we now have won six games in a row, a new club record.

January 19 - Premier League - Dundee United 0 Third Lanark 2
We hold the second best scoring team in the SPL to nil on their home turf. Great performance.

January 23 - We get our wish partially fulfilled when Morton upset Rangers 2-0. More performances like this please, Gers! Elsewhere, Celtic draw 0-0 with the mighty Queen of the South, who haven't won a single game yet this season. A win against Dundee will see us only three points behind Rangers and four ahead of Celtic.

Convinced that we need just one more quality midfielder to allow for greater flexibility, I place a bid for Harry Kewell, the Australian midfielder currently playing in Turkey. He also possesses British citizenship so we can get around the "one foreigner" rule in that way. His signing - if it comes off - will be quite a coup, although he is currently injured at the moment.

January 24 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Dundee 1
Unfortunately we don't take all of our opportunities and instead walk away with a misely draw against the second best Dundee side. Still, we reduce the Rangers lead to five points, with fourteen games left to play. We can't get too disheartened about the Dundee result as we have a cup final to prepare for! Nick Montgomery's run of injuries continues and he will miss the next two weeks.

January 25 - Galatasaray have rejected the offer for Harry Kewell. With the transfer window closing on February 1 we fire one back straight away.

January 26 - Challenge Cup Final - Postponed
Sensationally, we receive word at 2:30pm that the match will not be going ahead as planned due to the state of the pitch at Hampden Park. The rescheduled match will now take place on February 17. After waiting 117 years to win this tournament, I'm sure we can wait a few more weeks.

January 28 - Finally Kewell's club have accepted the offer - $34m! - and we can give him a contract. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he will fit in at the club.

January 30 - We land our big fish with 36 hours remaining on the transfer window. Kewell will probably make his debut in eight days after recovering from his sprained ankle.

January 31 - Premier League - Aberdeen 2 Third Lanark 2
We had our chance to win, then looked set for a certain loss, before George Boyd connected with a cross to seal the result. Callum Davidson had a particuarly bad game. We slip a point further behind Rangers in the standings after this weekend's round of games.

Callan Rofe is again named the Player of the Month, while I am second to Eddie May in the Manager of the Month award. May has Falkirk firing on all cylinders and they are on track to record their best season in quite some time.

Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Rangers - 60 (+34)
2. Third Lanark - 53 (+45)
3. Celtic - 53 (+27)
4. Falkirk - 52 (+24)
5. Dundee United - 43 (+21)
6. Hibernian - 40 (+13)
7. Hearts - 40 (+6)
8. St Mirren - 39 (+1)
9. Aberdeen - 38 (+4)
10. Motherwell - 36 (+3)
11. Morton - 36 (-3)
12. Kilmarnock - 35 (-1)
13. Dundee - 31 (-16)
14. Inverness CT - 25 (-5)
15. St Johnstone - 25 (-12)
16. Hamilton - 24 (-7)
17. Dunfermline - 18 (-25)
18. Ross County - 17 (-23)
19. Partick Thistle - 12 (-44)
20. Queen of the South - 6 (-42)

Upcoming Fixtures
03/02 - Kilmarnock (SPL)
06/02 - Celtic (Scottish Cup 3rd Round)
10/02 - @ Inverness CT (SPL)
14/02 - Morton (SPL)
17/02 - Hearts (Challenge Cup Final - rescheduled)
21/02 - @ Queen of the South (SPL)
27/02 - Ross County (SPL)

Rawhide · 01-01-2010, 03:53 AM

By the end of this month we would know whether Third Lanark possessed the ticker required to make a serious charge at the Scottish Premier League title. We would need quite a bit of luck as we would not face Rangers in the SPL again this season.

February 1 - The registration window closed today, with Harry Kewell added to our first team squad.

February 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Kilmarnock 2
An unbelievable result, especially considering that Scotland manager George Burley was watching from the stands at Caledonia Stadium. Perhaps the pressure to perform on individuals was too much? The Killies sealed the match-winner in the 88th minute. Afterwards, I received an official warning from the Scottish Football Association after I made remarks questioning the neutrality of the referees, in particular in failing to award us a clear penalty in the dying moments.

We have now fallen behind Celtic on the table. Funnily enough, we play them next.

February 6 - Scottish Cup Third Round - Third Lanark 3 Celtic 0
Celtic gifted us the opening goal when Marc Fortune put the ball in his own net. Rofe and Pearce added two of their own in the second half to give us another great win against our rivals - the third such victory this year. Despite the scoreline the game was a tough slogging battle, which really could have ended up either way after the first hour.

Meanwhile, Motherwell is looking for a new manager after sacking Jim Gannon. Ian McCall has expressed an interest in taking over the role. The only problem? He is currently employed as Partick Thistle manager and they are not going too well themselves. The Partick fans will be less than impressed.

February 7 - We get Morton in the Quarter-Finals of the Scottish Cup. Rangers are away to Dundee, Falkirk host Aberdeen, while the struggling Queen of the South are enjoying success in this competition at least - they will host Conference side Airdrie United, who themselves look likely to play in the SPL in 2010/11.

Ian McCall took over the Motherwell job, as expected. Partick Thistle get $200,000 as compensation.

February 10 - Premier League - Inverness CT 0 Third Lanark 10 - Do not adjust your sets
Our previous two matches against the men from the north have been competitive stands, ending with only a goal difference. This time was quite different as Callan Rofe went on the rampage in the first half, leading 6-0 after 33 minutes. By halftime the score was 7-0, and Rofe had made history as the first player to score six goals in a Scottish Premier League game. We received word that Celtic's Scott McDonald was having a day out as well, scoring all five of Celtic's goals in their match against Partick. While McDonald couldn't add to his total, Rofe and the Thirds could. The final analysis for Rofe was seven goals, a historic and incredible performance.

One record that McDonald did claim off Callan Rofe is that of quickest ever goal - his effort of fourteen seconds making Rofe's old record of fifteen seconds obsolete.

February 13 - Rangers draw 2-2 against Kilmarnock. Time to take advantage.

February 14 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Morton 0
The challenge for us would be whether we could maintain our form. More specifically, whether Callan Rofe could maintain his. With a 2-0 lead at halftime, it is time for our latest signing to take the field, with Harry Kewell making his way onto the pitch. He didn't disappoint, scoring the final goal of the game. Rofe now needs just one more goal to become the first player in over 120 years of competition to score 50 goals in one season. He is generating a lot of press, with most Scottish football writers comparing him to Ally McCoist.

February 15 - Despite scoring ten goals in the week, Rofe couldn't get a spot in the team of the week. What a joke! Although, to be honest, it's probably best that the lad keep his feet grounded, especially in the lead-up to the Challenge Cup final against Hearts.

February 17 - Challenge Cup Final - Third Lanark 6 Hearts 0
The ghosts of 1961 were exhumed in grand style, with Thirds leading 5-0 at halftime thanks to four goals from - you guessed it - Callan Rofe. Gordon Burns ensured he would never forget the Challenge Cup final when he scored his first ever goal moments after the break. Callum Davidson had the honour of accepting Third Lanark's first trophy since the 1934-35 Conference championship.

Challenge Cup Final side - Kirkland; McNamee, Davidson (c), Pearce, Burns; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - Carrol, Low, Morrison, Griffiths, McKenna, Calderwood, Forsyth.

February 18 - The board mandates that $2.5m be shared amongst the squad on a pro-rata basis for winning the Challenge Cup.

February 20 - Celtic flog Rangers 3-0, in a match with big implications on the ladder. Rangers' lead is slashed to two points, while we must continue winning just to stay in touch with the Auld Firm. Considering we play Queen of the South next, I'm confident that we will do just that.

February 21 - Premier League - Queen of the South 0 Third Lanark 3
17 minutes into the game, Callan Rofe writes himself into the history books by scoring his 50th league goal of the season. The Queens try hard but they are simply no match, and we win the game without ever leaving second gear.

February 25 - No sooner than he has settled into Glasgow, Harry Kewell is called away again, this time to play for Australia against Kuwait in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers.

February 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Ross County 0
Celtic draw 1-1 in the midday game and we have our oppotunity to capitalise on it at 3pm. Having dropped two valuable points against Ross earlier in the year, we are determine not to let history repeat itself. The match passed by in a blur and we continue to wear away at the two teams heading us on the ladder. Importantly, Chris Kirkland has now gone 549 minutes without conceding a goal for us, which is precisely the kind of difference I hoped he would make.

Queen of the South win their first game of the season, upsetting Dunfermline 3-1.
February 28 - Hearts draw with Rangers 2-2 and the Premier League is now officially a three-horse race between us, Rangers and Celtic.

Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Rangers - 68 (+37)
2. Celtic - 66 (+40)
3. Third Lanark - 65 (+63)
4. Falkirk - 58 (+23)
5. Dundee United - 56 (+27)
6. Hibernian - 50 (+17)
7. Hearts - 48 (+10)
8. Kilmarnock - 46 (+3)
9. Aberdeen - 45 (+5)
10. Dundee - 42 (-13)
11. Morton - 41 (-5)
12. St Mirren - 40 (-8)
13. Motherwell - 37 (-6)
14. Inverness CT - 31 (-15)
15. St Johnstone - 29 (-13)
16. Hamilton - 28 (-11)
17. Dunfermline - 26 (-24)
18. Ross County - 21 (-28)
19. Partick Thistle - 13 (-56)
20. Queen of the South - 10 (-46)

Upcoming Fixtures
03/03 - Motherwell (SPL)
07/03 - @ Falkirk (SPL)
13/03 - @ Morton (Scottish Cup Quarter Final)
20/03 - @ Dunfermline (SPL)
28/03 - Hamilton (SPL)

Rawhide · 01-01-2010, 06:29 PM

March 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Motherwell 0
Motherwell are on a slide, only gaining one draw in their last five games. At halftime we are locked in at 0-0, however Ross McCormack quickly changes that straight after the break. After 60 minutes we receive news of a massive upset in the works, with Kilmarnock leading Celtic 2-0. If results stayed as they were, we would enter second place. We are unconvincing winners - Rofe is disappointing, in particular - but the Kilmarnock result stands!

March 6 - Celtic draw against Morton and fall a point and a game behind us.

March 7 - Premier League - Falkirk 4 Third Lanark 1
A vital game for us - a victory would see us stay in touch with Rangers. However, we fall behind after 26 minutes when Nick Montgomery gives up a penalty shot. Falkirk return the favour four minutes later and scores are level. Sludden puts the locals back in the lead after halftime, and with twelve minutes to go Falkirk go ahead 3-1. A sensational shot puts the locals up 4-1 and they secure a famous victory - at our expense!

We are now six points behind Rangers with six games to play.

March 13 - For the second time this season a cup match is postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Our Scottish Cup match against Morton is postponed to the following Tuesday.

March 15 - If we beat Morton, we will play either Dundee or Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Falkirk will play Queen of the South in the other semi-final.

March 16 - Scottish Cup Quarter-Final - Morton 1 Third Lanark 9
Morton's cup campaign - chasing an apperance in the final for the first time since 1948 - runs to a sudden and irreversible halt, thanks to the free-scoring Thirds side. The locals scored the final goal of the game but there was no doubting who was going to win this one. Rofe scored his mandatory hattrick but McCormack and Boyd get amongst the goals too.

We play Dundee in the semi-final after they shocked Rangers 2-0. Suddenly the path to another cup victory seems much less cluttered. The venue will be Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium - it is a requirement that the semi-finals are played at neutral venues. Falkirk and Queen of the South play at Motherwell. They have lost the last two Scottish Cup finals between them - Falkirk last year, the Doomhammers the year before.

March 20 - Premier League - Dunfermline 1 Third Lanark 4
Back to earth against a team fighting hard to stay in the Premier League next season. We survive an early scare and continue on our free-scoring ways. Disappointingly, had we not lost to Falkirk (or any other team this season) we could be top of the ladder now. As it is, we settle for second. We also advance our team tally of goals to 97. The last time the Thirds scored 100 goals in a season was in 1960/61, when we finished third in the Premier League.

March 21 - An incredible result from Ibrox Stadium: Rangers 0 Dundee United 4. With five games to play, Rangers' lead is only three points. Dundee United supplant Falkirk into fourth spot.

March 25 - International call-ups for Harry Kewell (Australia) and Kevin McKenna (Canada)

March 27 - A win by Rangers today ensures we must win against Hamilton tomorrow to stay in touch.

Elsewhere, Raith Rovers become the first team promoted from the Conference into the SPL for 2010/11. They have only lost three games all year and will surely seal the conference title. A good run of recent form, finishing third in the old Second Division in 2007, 2008, and winning the division in 2009. It will be interesting to see how they handle the Premier League.

Sadly, results today ensure that the Queen of the South and Partick Thistle will be relegated into the Conference for next season. Hamilton and Ross County currently occupy the other relegation spots, with St Johnstone and Dunfermline also in "contention".

March 28 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Hamilton Academical 0
The Thirds duly register the win needed to keep them in second place, ending the month on a promising note. Ross McCormack has possibly his best day in Lanark colours, scoring three goals and setting up the other.

Scottish Premier League Standings (four games to go)
1. Rangers - 77 (+39)
2. Third Lanark - 74 (+68)
3. Celtic - 71 (+39)
4. Dundee United - 68 (+38)
5. Falkirk - 68 (+38)
6. Hibernian - 66 (+28)
7. Kilmarnock - 56 (+14)
8. Hearts - 53 (+5)
9. Aberdeen - 52 (+10)
10. Dundee - 47 (+2)
11. St Mirren - 47 (-14)
12. Morton - 44 (-10)
13. Motherwell - 40 (-7)
14. Inverness CT - 40 (-13)
15. St Johnstone - 34 (-13)
16. Dunfermline - 33 (-21)
17. Hamilton - 31 (-15)
18. Ross County - 24 (-29)
19. Queen of the South - 14 (-46)
20. Partick Thistle - 13 (-67)

Fixtures for the remainder of the season
04/04 - @ Partick Thistle (SPL)
10/04 - St Johnstone (SPL)
17/04 - Dundee (Scottish Cup Semi-Final at Murrayfield)
25/04 - @ St Mirren (SPL)
01/05 - @ Celtic (SPL)
08/05 - Scottish Cup Final

Rawhide · 01-02-2010, 05:22 PM

April 3 - Once again we have the Sunday fixture, meaning we can watch the other nine SPL games and know exactly what the consequences for our own game would be.

April 4 - Premier League - Partick Thistle 0 Third Lanark 4
Harry Kewell gets his first start against the Conference-bound club. We completely dominate the game from start to finish, not allowing our opponents a sniff in the first half.

April 10 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 St Johnstone 0
With Rangers not playing until tomorrow, we temporarily go on top of the ladder following our victory. A draw is all Rangers need to take back the lead. Rofe completes a first half hattrick and its all smooth sailing from thereon in.

April 11 - Rangers move back to the top with a 3-0 win against Falkirk.

April 17 - Scottish Cup Semi Final - Third Lanark 1 Dundee 0
A tense first half sees both sides going into the game without score. The stalemate continues until the 83rd minute, when Ross McCormack boots the goal that puts us into the Scottish Cup final. We will play Falkirk, who ended the Queen of the South fairytale by beating them 3-1 in the other semi-final.

April 24 - Ross County are officially relegated. Either Hamilton or Dunfermline will join them next week. Over in the Conference, Airdrie United and Alloa are through to the Premier League. It is Airdrie's first time in the top flight, whilst Alloa have not been there since the 1922/23 season.

April 25 - Premier League - St Mirren 1 Third Lanark 2
A win here keeps the Premier League title race alive - anything else and Rangers will have won yet another crown. For us, a draw will ensure we finish second, and therefore qualify for the early stages of the European Champions League. Therefore there is a lot at stake. We seem to have the game well in hand however St Mirren level the scores with seven minutes to play. The Premier League is forty seconds away from landing in Rangers' hands, however George Boyd kicks a late match-winner, much to our delight. We're going to Europe!

That means that we must beat Celtic, and St Mirren must beat Rangers, in order for the competition to change hands. All of the final round matches are played at the same time in order to avoid any attempts at collusion.

May 1 - Final Round of Premier League Matches
At halftime it is locked up 0-0 at Celtic Park, while there is a similar lack of goals between St Mirren and Rangers. George Boyd breathes life into the afternoon when he opens scoring for us, reducing Rangers' lead at the top of the ladder to just one single point.

Our fans' attention starts to divert to the match at St Mirren, willing the Buddies to score the one goal which would give Third Lanark an unexpected Premier League championship. However, with fourteen minutes left in the season we receive the upsetting news - Rangers have scored! Scott McDonald scores at Celtic Park and it is official - Rangers are the champions. It is their second in a row and 53rd title overall.

We can hold our heads up high though - finishing second in our very first season is a magnificent result! It is Third Lanark's highest position in the Premier League since 1961. We still haven't won since 1904 however.

Dunfermline are relegated, with Hamilton barely hanging on to their spot in the Premier League. The most pleasing result of the day is Queen of the South's 5-2 demolition of Morton. They went down swinging.

Rangers and Thirds qualify for the European Champions League qualifications. Celtic and Dundee United qualify for the Europa League, while either Hibernian or Falkirk will join them depending on the result of the Scottish Cup. All of the six clubs mentioned will represent Scotland in the Celtic Champions Cup.

We are given $11.25m for our finish in the Premier League. $6.25m of that will be shared amongst the players.

May 2 - It's awards time. And guess who cleaned up? Callan Rofe won the Player's Player of the Year (an award voted upon by the players in the SPL). Ross McCormack was a deserving winner of the Football Writers Player of the Year (voted by media outlets).

Callan Rofe was never going to lose the top goalscorer award, while Jack Rodwell was announced as the Premier League Young Player of the Year.

Alex Pearce, Kevin McKenna, Nick Montgomery, Callan Rofe and Ross McCormack were named in the Team of the Year. Third Lanark had more players than any other club.

May 3 - Chri Kirkland fails a medical test and will not play in the Scottish Cup final.

May 8 - Scottish Cup Final
The last game of the Scottish season, and we are in it!

Third Lanark side - Carrol; Thomson, Davidson (c), Pearce, McKenna; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - MacKenzie, Burns, Kewell, Griffiths, Watson, Morrison, Forsyth.

We face off against Eddie May's Falkirk, who gave us a footballing lesson last time out.

The first goal of the game is from Alex Pearce, who heads in a corner. Thirds 1-0.
George Boyd heads in a great cross from Craig Thomson, and we double our lead. 2-0.

Callan Rofe capitalises on an error from the Falkirk defenders and races away, chipping a shot delicately over the top of the Falkirk goalkeeper. 3-0.

Falkirk look to have pegged a goal back but its denied due to offside. Our lead is preserved at halftime.

We make three changes at halftime. Kewell, Watson and Griffiths are all on.

Sludden scores a great goal for Falkirk soon after the break. 3-1.

Rofe nearly scores late in the game but it's called for offside. The whistle blows and we have won our first Scottish Cup in over one hundred years!

Final Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Rangers - 89 (+49)
2. Third Lanark - 84 (+76)
3. Celtic - 79 (+42)
4. Dundee United - 78 (+47)
5. Hibernian - 68 (+20)
6. Falkirk - 67 (+22)
7. Kilmarnock - 62 (+9)
8. Hearts - 56 (+9)
9. Aberdeen - 56 (+4)
10. Dundee - 52 (-14)
11. St Mirren - 50 (-9)
12. Inverness CT - 46 (-13)
13. Morton - 43 (-17)
14. Motherwell - 42 (-10)
15. St Johnstone - 37 (-15)
16. Hamilton - 35 (-21)
17. Ross County - 33 (-27)
18. Dunfermline - 33 (-29)
19. Queen of the South - 18 (-48)
20. Partick Thistle - 13 (-75)

Notes:
Celtic - First time they have not finished first or second since 1994/95.
Dundee - Return to the SPL for the first time since 2004/05 and finish with their most wins since 1987/88, when they finished seventh.
Dundee United - Best season in the SPL since they won in 1982/83. Won the inaugural Celtic Champions Cup.
Falkirk - Lost their second Scottish Cup final in two seasons. Best placing in SPL since 1994/95.
Hamilton - Barely survive life in the SPL and will probably start 2010/11 as one of the favourites to make the drop.
Hearts - Fell from third to eighth in a more competitive SPL. Lost the Challenge Cup final.
Hibernian - Surprise finishers in fifth position. Won most games in SPL since 1974/75.
Kilmarnock - Best placing in the SPL in four seasons. Earned their most points ever.
Morton - Survived surprisingly well in the SPL, after winning the old Second Division just three years ago.
Partick Thistle - Worst ever season in the SPL, winning just two games and conceding over 100 goals.
Queen of the South - First SPL season since 1963/64 ends in tears. Made up for it with a good run in the Scottish Cup.
Rangers - 53rd SPL title
Ross County - Just relegated in their first ever SPL season.
Third Lanark - Most wins in SPL since 1960/61

New Scottish Premier League Teams in 2010/11
Raith Rovers - Runaway Conference champions. Last played in SPL in 1996/97.
Airdrie United - Promoted to the SPL for the first time in history.
Alloa - Just their second season in the SPL - the first time was in 1922!
Clyde - Finished seventh in the Conference and won a knockout playoff in order to qualify. They were last in the SPL in 1974/75.

European Finals
Europa League - PSV beat Bordeaux 1-0
Champions League - AC Milan beat Manchester United 2-1

Scottish Clubs in Europe
Rangers - Lost to Inter Milan in the Champions League Round of 16
Celtic - Lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16
Hearts - Lost to OB (Denmark) in the Europa League fourth qualifying round
Falkirk - Lost to FC Vaslui (Romania) in the Europa League third qualifying round
Motherwell - Lost to Sarajevo (Bosnia) in the Europa League second qualifying round

Rawhide · 01-04-2010, 04:48 PM

June 4 - The board is going to install undersoil heating on Caledonia Stadium. This will ensure that no fixtures at the ground will be postponed due to the weather.

June 6 - Seven of our players were called up for World Cup squads. Chris Kirkland for England, Harry Kewell for Australia, and Ross McCormack, Alex Pearce, Gordon Burns, James Morrison and Nick Montgomery for Scotland. But where is Callan Rofe?

June 8 - A sensational story in the Scottish newspapers today. A referee, speaking on condition of secrecy, has uncovered perhaps the biggest story in Scottish football history. "Several" SPL teams have been paying referees to influence the outcome of matches. One referee was paid nearly $1,000,000 over the past year to help one particular team. It appears that bookmakers have also been involved in the process The Scottish FA president has promised an immediate and thorough investigation, promising to leave no stone unturned. The tabloids have immediately dubbed this episode as "Bookiegate".

June 9 - Interviewed today by the Scottish FA about "Bookiegate". I adopt the Sargent Schultz defense: I knows nothing. Rumours circulating that as many as five SPL clubs are in cahoots to influence the outcome of particular matches and rake in the profits.

June 13 - The World Cup started tonight, with champions Italy drawing 1-1 with Chile in Johannesburg. Elsewhere, Slovakia beat Tunisia 1-0.

June 14 - Scotland beat Costa Rica 1-0, albeit through an own goal. Argentina draws 0-0 with the United States, in a mild upset.

June 17 - Callan Rofe was acknowledged today as the winner of the European Golden Boot as the top goalscorer in all European domestic football. Because UEFA currently classifies Scotland as a second-tier nation, Rofe had to score more goals than his rivals from other top-ranked nations to secure the award. Peter Crouch of Tottenham was the runner-up.

June 19 - Brazil hammer Scotland 3-0 in the World Cup. The nation's attention is diverted momentarily from Bookiegate and nearly everybody slams George Burley, despite the fact we played the best team in the world and got off lightly. Scotland has to beat North Korea in our next game to qualify. Should be easy.

June 20 - Callan Rofe is named as the Third Lanark Supporters Association Player of the Year. Almost immediately the transfer rumours fire up again. Sigh.

The fixture list for the 2010/11 SPL is announced. We start with trips away to Raith Rovers and Hamilton, while we finish the season with a trip to league champions Rangers.

The "minimum expectation" from my board is that we win the Premier League.
We draw Dundee, Hamilton, Hearts and Morton in the group stage of the Challenge Cup,

We also draw Dundee United (reigning champions), Linfield (Northern Ireland) and Rhyl (Wales) in the Celtic Champions Cup.

June 21 - The draws continue...we get Ajax (Netherlands) in the Champions League and will play them home and away in order to advance in the competition.

June 22 - Breaking news from Celtic Park - Tony Mowbray is out as manager.

Officially it is because of Celtic's failure to win a trophy in 2009/10. The rumour mill is going overboard with Mowbray's connections to Bookiegate.

June 23 - Mowbray has gone directly to the press, stating "I knew absolutely nothing about what people are describing as Bookiegate. However, there are people in the club who not only knew a fair bit about it; they were driving the whole concept. I decided my reputation as a manager and as a human being would be tainted if I stayed at Celtic Park a moment longer."

The news cycle goes into hyperdrive.

June 24 - We sign Scott Arfield from Falkirk.

June 25 - Scotland draw 0-0 with North Korea and fail to qualify for the knockout stages. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Callan Rofe was on board. Once again the nation's attention is diverted from Bookiegate.

June 27 - The SPL have stated they will announce the results of their initial investigations on July 2.

June 30 - I receive a new four year contract from Third Lanark. At nearly double the salary I currently earn, it doesn't take me long to accept.

July 1- Paul Hanlon from Hibernians joins our squad, while Kevin McDonald is signed from Burnley. The tastefully named Graeme Rampage is signed on a free transfer from Albion Rovers.

July 2 - Bookiegate Revelation Day
Explosive news from the Scottish FA headquarters. Figures from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Hibernian have admitted playing a major role in influencing the outcome of matches, paying off referees and reaping profits from bookmakers.

The Scottish FA hand out immediate penalties to the four clubs in the harshest possible terms - each of the four clubs are fined $20 million each, virtually bankrupting Hearts and Hibs, while competition points have been deducted from each of the four clubs for the following season. Hearts and Hibs will start on -6, while Celtic and Rangers have been deducted a whopping 21 points, destroying any chance they have of winning the Scottish Premier League title. They will be also deducted 15 points in 2011/12, 9 points in 2012/13 and 3 points in 2013/14.

The reaction is immediate and unprecedented. Supporters of four clubs go on a violent rampage in their respective neighbourhoods. Tear gas is used on Rangers supporters, while Celtic fans call for the resignations of the board.

Seven referees have been suspended indefinitely, and betting on SPL matches is banned throughout Scotland.

The penalty will be applied immediately, although clubs have seven days to appeal any decision.

July 2 - The English bookies have released our Premiership odds, and we are the new favourites!
$2.00 - Third Lanark
$6.00 - Dundee United
$7.00 - Rangers
$15.00 - Celtic
$15.00 - Falkirk
$21.00 - Kilmarnock

England beat Germany 2-1 and Italy beat France 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

July 3 - Sky News Sports make their annual predictions. They agree that 21 points is too much of a hurdle for Rangers and Celtic to overcome.

1st - Third Lanark
2nd - Dundee United
3rd - Hibernian
4th - Falkirk
5th - Aberdeen
6th - Kilmarnock
7th - Hearts
8th - Dundee
9th - St Mirren
10th - Motherwell
11th - Rangers
12th - Celtic
13th - Inverness CT
14th - St Johnstone
15th - Hamilton
16th - Morton
17th - Raith
18th - Airdrie United
19th - Clyde
20th - Alloa Athletic

The Czech Republic beat Ivory Coast 1-0 in extra time, while Brazil downs Spain on penalties in the World Cup quarter-finals

July 4 - With Partick Thistle now in the Conference, we make an offer to sign young defender Kyle Lochhead. He promptly jumps at the chance to play for us, leaving our cross-town rivals in a sticky situation.

July 6 - The Czech Republic are the first team through to the World Cup final after shocking Italy 1-0.

July 7 - Brazil break English hearts as they advance to the World Cup final.

July 9 - Callum Davidson is confirmed as Third Lanark captain for another season. Callan Rofe is a popular choice as vice-captain. The position was taken off Stuart Low due to the possibility of him not seeing a lot of match time this season.

We beat English Premier League side Newcastle 6-2 in a friendly at Caledonian Stadium.

The appeals from Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Hibs over their points penalties are dismissed. We almost certainly will have a new champion team in the Scottish Premier League

July 10 - England beats Italy 2-1 to finish third at the World Cup.

July 11 - The Czech Republic beat Brazil 1-0 to shock the world and become World Cup champions.

Rawhide · 01-04-2010, 05:36 PM

July 17 - Celtic Champions Cup - Linfield 0 Third Lanark 7
The start of the Celtic Champions Cup tournament sees us play our first game outside of Scotland. To cap off the historical nature of the game, Callan Rofe captains the Thirds for the first time with Callum Davidson on the bench. We play our best possible squad and win easily. To help preserve the squad, I will play my next match with a second string outfit.

July 21 - Celtic Champions Cup - Third Lanark 4 Rhyl 0
We rest almost all of our stars. 16 year old youth prospect Lee Currie becomes the youngest ever Third Lanark player, while Rampage, Arfield and McDonald also make their debuts. The result secures qualification for the quarter-finals. We will rest our players again in our final game against Dundee United, since the match means nothing and we will qualify no matter what.

July 24 - Celtic Champions Cup - Dundee United 4 Third Lanark 3
We take another weakened side and go down fighting, trailing 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 at various stages of the game. The result means absolutely nothing though and doesn't affect our ability to win the Celtic Champions Cup.

July 25 - We find out that our opponents in the CCC Quarter-Finals will be St Patricks Athletic, from the Republic of Ireland. The match will be played at Murrayfield.

July 28 - Champions League Qualifier - Ajax 0 Third Lanark 2
A terrific introduction to European football, with a very tough game against the Dutch runners-up. Rofe inflates the final score with a very late goal. The Scottish manager George Burley was spotted in the stands. Is Rofe in his plans?

July 29 - If (when) we beat St Pats in the Celtic Champions League, we will play either Celtic or Dundee United in the semi-final.

Story in the newspaper today linking me with the still-vacant position at Celtic. Why would I want to join a team that has 21 points docked off them?

July 31 - Celtic Champions Cup Quarter Final - Third Lanark 5 St Patricks Athletic 0
We coast easily in this match and set up a showdown with Celtic in the semi-finals.
　
August 1- Celtic have a new manager at last - former Bulgarian international Hristo Stocihkov will take on the poisoned challice of guiding Celtic through this difficult season.

August 3- Rangers topple Falkirk 2-0 in the first Celtic Champions Cup semi-final.

August 4 - Kyle Lochhead will join Peterborough on loan for the rest of the season after he failed to win a spot in our Premier League squad. I will be keeping a close eye on him as he is a very good prospect.

August 4 - Champions League Qualifier - Third Lanark 3 Ajax 2 (Third Lanark win 5-2 on aggregrate)
European football comes to Caledonia Stadium for the first time. We take a 2-0 advantage into the match and trade goals with the Dutch visitors. Ross McCormack was ultimately the difference, slotting two goals in a masterful performance. We have one more set of qualifiers to go before we are into the group stage of the Champions League. The only downer is that Paul Hanlon and Mariusz Lewandowski are both out for the next three weeks owing to injuries.

August 5 - We face a monumental challenge in our next Champions League qualifier - Real Madrid, one of the giants of Spanish (and European) football. They have won the Champions League nine times.

Alex Pearce signs a new contract with us. He will stay with us until at least July 2014.

August 6 - Celtic Champions Cup Semi Final - Third Lanark 3 Celtic 3 (Celtic wins shootout 4-2)
Less than 48 hours after negotiating the Ajax game we play Celtic for a spot in another cup final. We lead by a Rofe goal at the break, but alarmingly he hobbles of the pitch with an injury. Celtic storm back into the match and level the scores 2-2 by full time, going ahead in extra time when our tired legs cannot compete any longer. Leigh Griffiths locks the game up again with an incredible 35 yard strike and we are off to a penalty shoot-out - our first ever.

Unfortunately for us we miss our first and last shot. Celtic convert all of theirs and they advance to their first Celtic Champions Cup final.

The verdict on Callan Rofe after the match is a bruised thigh - he will be out for approximately the next ten days.

August 9 - Celtic edge Rangers 1-0 to win the Celtic Challenge Cup.

August 10 - The groups for the Euro 2012 qualifiers have been drawn. Scotland will face Holland, Wales, Austria, Moldova, Sweden and the might of Liechtenstein and must finish in the top two in their group in order to advance to the tournament, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

Rawhide · 01-06-2010, 05:49 PM

August-October in Review
I got a bit tired of sitting through and watching every single game, so I'm going to sim a lot of fixtures and present the wrap-up in a different format.

Third Lanark had opened a seven point lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League by the end of October, thanks to an undefeated run of twelve games. As expected, Rangers and Celtic filled out the middle of the table, although both would be title contenders were it not for their points penalties.

Premier League
14/08 - W 5-0 @ Raith Rovers. Three goals for Leigh Griffiths, who took Callan Rofe's place in the side after he was ruled out with injury.
21/08 - W 3-0 @ Hamilton.
29/08 - W 2-1 v Airdrie United. We come behind to survive a scare against the SPL new boys.
01/09 - W 2-1 v Falkirk.
11/09 - W 3-1 @ St Mirren.
19/09 - W 3-1 v Morton.
25/09 - W 5-1 @ Clyde. Rofe slams four goals against the relegation whipping boys. 06/10 - W 4-0 @ Dundee. Grieg Forsyth gets a rare double as we play our reserves.
13/10 - W 4-1 v Hibernian. Two more goals from Forsyth.
16/10 - D 2-2 v Celtic. Our winning streak comes to a halt, despite leading 2-0 at one stage.
24/10 - W 2-0 @ Inverness CT.
27/10 - W 3-1 v Alloa. We hammer the SPL new boys and our former player Steve Bonar.
30/10 - L 0-2 @ Aberdeen. A surprise loss to end the month. Our streak of scoring in 46 consecuitive SPL games is also over.

Champions League / Europa League

The Thirds were swamped by Real Madrid in the final qualifying phase of the Champions League, but qualified for the Europa League where they made a mixed start to their group matches.

19/08 - L 2-5 v Real Madrid. We had more shots, but they put more in the net. We need to win our next game by four goals to advance.
26/08 - L 2-3 @ Real Madrid. A better performance, but not enough as we lose 4-8 on aggregate. It's not all bad as we qualify for the group stage of the second-tier Europa League. Celtic are also participating. We are drawn in Group K (there are 16 groups) along with Lokomotiv (Russia), Blackburn (England) and Valencia (Spain).
16/09 - D 2-2 @ Blackburn. Good draw to get us underway.
30/09 - L 1-2 v Valencia. Tough loss against the hardest team in our group.
21/10 - W 2-1 @ Lokomotive. Our first game in Russia is won thanks to a local own-goal.

Challenge Cup
14/09 - W 8-1 v Hearts. Incredible result to open this tournament.
22/09 - W 2-1 @ Dundee. Ross McCormack scored the winner in injury time.
28/09 - W 5-0 v Morton. Another hattrick from the mercurial Rofe. We qualify for the quarter-finals.

Premier League Standings as of October 31st
All teams have played 13 games.
1. Third Lanark - 34 (+27)
2. Aberdeen - 27 (+12)
3. Dundee United - 25 (+9)
4. Kilmarnock - 23 (+8)
5. Falkirk - 23 (+7)
6. St Johnstone - 20 (+5)
7. Airdrie United - 17 (+1)
8. St Mirren - 17 (-1)
9. Motherwell - 16 (-8)
10. Rangers - 13 (+23)
11. Hibernian - 12 (0)
12. Morton - 12 (-9)
13. Inverness CT - 12 (-9)
14. Celtic - 11 (+22)
15. Hearts - 10 (-3)
16. Dundee - 10 (-10)
17. Hamilton - 9 (-14)
18. Raith - 6 (-17)
19. Clyde - 6 (-19)
20. Alloa - 5 (-24)
Note - Rangers would be on 34 points, Hibernian 18, Celtic 32 and Hearts 16 were it not for points penalties.

Europa League Group K Standings as of October 31st
1. Valencia (Spain) - 7(+4)
2. Third Lanark (Scotland) - 4 (0)
3. Lokomotiv (Russia) - 2 (-1)
4. Blackburn (England) - 2 (-3)

Third Lanark Top Goalscorers
32 - Callan Rofe
9 - Grieg Forsyth
8 - Ross McCormack
7 - George Boyd
7 - Harry Kewell

Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players
7.87 - Callan Rofe
7.39 - Grieg Forsayth
7.39 - Leigh Griffiths
7.31 - Jack Rodwell
7.22 - Alex Pearce

Milestones for Third Lanark Players
14/08 - Kevin McDonald played his 150th career game.
04/09 - Callan Rofe earns his first cap for Scotland, playing against Sweden in the European Championship qualifiers. He scored twice against Modolva four days later.
01/10 - Callan Rofe wins the Young Player of the Month for September. I am the Manager of the Month.
03/10 - We have five players in the Scottish squad, the most of any SPL club.
09/10 - Rofe scores his first hattrick for Scotland as they demolish Wales 5-0.
27/10 - Mariusz Lewandowski becomes the first Third Lanark player sent off.

Rawhide · 01-08-2010, 01:55 AM

November to January in review

Premier League
07/11 - W 6-1 v Kilmarnock. Great game, with Rampage scoring his first league goal for Thirds.
10/11 - W 3-1 v Motherwell. Comfortable win.
20/11 - W 3-1 v Hearts. Good showing in a rare midday Saturday fixture.
28/11 - W 2-1 @ St Johnstone. Fighting performance, with the Saints leading 1-0 at the break.
19/12 - W 2-1 @ Dundee United. After a break in matches we are back on form.
22/12 - W 3-1 v Rangers. We essentially humiliate the defending champions, only allowing one shot on goal all day! History may well record this as the day that the championship changed hands, from the dynasty of the past to one of the future.
29/12 - W 2-1 v Hamilton. We score two goals in the final twenty minutes to avoid a monumental upset.
02/01 - W 3-0 @ Airdrie United. Great way to start the new year.
08/01 - W 2-0 v Raith. McCormack and Rofe again ensure we don't incur the wrath of Raith.
16/01 - D 2-2 @ Falkirk. We drop points in our second game against Falkirk following the Challenge Cup semi-final.
19/01 - W 3-0 v St Mirren. Total domination against an average Buddies side.
22/01 - W 6-0 @ Morton. Fantastic performance away from home. Three goals to Rofe.
29/01 - W 3-0 v Clyde. We celebrate my 100th game in charge with a fine win.

Europa League
04/11 - W 6-1 v Blackburn. A smashing performance, with Rofe, McCormack and Lewandowski leading the way.
02/12 - D 2-2 v Valencia. Not a bad result
16/12 - W 4-0 v Lokomotiv. A fantastic result, with McCormack bagging a hattrick. We are drawn to play Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round over two legs in February.

Challenge Cup
05/01 - W 4-2 @ Rangers (Quarter Final). Two goals in the final five minutes give us a famous victory against our cross-town rivals.
12/01 - W 4-2 v Falkirk (Semi Final). An efficient performance sees us into the final to defend our title.
26/01 - W 5-1 v Dundee United (Final). Four goals to Callan Rofe and we have successfully defended our Challenge Cup title!

Scottish Cup
13/11 - W 4-1 @ St Mirren. Kevin McDonald produces a fine performance as we look to defend our title.
11/12 - W 3-0 @ Ross County. We go easy on the Conference side and advance to the Third Round, where we will play Berwick.

Premier League Standings as of January 31st
1. Third Lanark - 71 (+58)
2. Falkirk - 53 (+25)
3. Aberdeen - 52 (+18)
4. Kilmarnock - 47 (+13)
5. Celtic - 46 (+42)
6. St Johnstone - 41 (+6)
7. Motherwell - 41 (-3)
8. Hibernian - 40 (-3)
9. Dundee United - 40 (+6)
10. Rangers - 33 (+31)
11. St Mirren - 33 (+1)
12. Airdrie United - 33 (-4)
13. Dundee - 27 (-14)
14. Hearts - 25 (0)
15. Inverness CT - 22 (-15)
16. Morton - 18 (-24)
17. Hamilton - 18 (-29)
18. Clyde - 13 (-38)
19. Raith - 12 (-36)
20. Alloa - 11 (-49)

Third Lanark Top Goalscorers
72 - Callan Rofe (33 in SPL, 30 in cup competitions, 9 in Europe, 7 for Scotland, 3 in a friendly)
24 - Ross McCormack
13 - Grieg Forsyth
13 - George Boyd
9 - Harry Kewell

Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players
(Only including players who have started 20 or more games)
7.97 - Callan Rofe
7.32 - Jack Rodwell
7.20 - Stuart Low
7.18 - Craig Thomson
7.17 - Ross McCormack

Rawhide · 01-08-2010, 09:25 PM

February to March in Review

Premier League
01/02 - W 2-1 v Hibernian. The Thirds roadshow keeps rolling along.
12/02 - W 2-0 v Dundee. All over after ten minutes, we disappointingly take our foot off the pedal.
20/02 - W 4-1 @ Celtic. We continue our excellent record over the Buoys, and deal a blow to their aspirations of finishing in the top five next year.
27/02 - D 2-2 v Inverness Caledonian Thistle. We continue to show signs of burnout after our European adventures. Still, our unbeaten run stands at seventeen games.
02/03 - W 3-1 v Aberdeen. A brilliant performance, reversing the previous result which is still our only loss for the season.
06/03 - W 4-3 @ Kilmarnock. Perhaps the game of the season, with a seven goal attack-fest testing Third Lanark to the limits. Rofe once again scores a swag of goals and gets us out of trouble. However, the result means so much more to Third Lanark - WE HAVE WON THE PREMIER LEAGUE! For the first time in 107 years the Premier League title is back resting in our clubhouse trophy room. Pundits may say that our task was considerably easier thanks to Rangers and Celtic being handicapped before the season even started but our record clearly states we are the better side all the same. Callan Rofe is hailed as the key to our success, with the wunderkid scoring goals seemingly at will.
19/03 - W 3-0 @ Alloa. We could have the option of going easy but want to finish the season as best we can. Sorry Alloa. You could have used the three points in your relegation struggle.

Europa League
17/02 - W 2-1 v Paris Saint-Germain (1st Knockout Round). Fantastic result!
24/02 - L 2-4 @ Paris Saint-Germain (1st Knockout Round). Unfortunately all of the good work went to waste on a cold night in Paris. The Frenchmen win 5-4 on aggregrate and our European adventure is over. The board and supporters are understandably disappointed but can see the bigger picture, with the more alluring Champions League over the horizon (Scottish league champions are assured of a spot in the group stage, which is further than we could qualify this year)

Scottish Cup
05/02 - W 4-1 v Berwick (Third Round). A very comfortable result, even if the visitors scored the first goal of the game.
12/03 - W 6-1 @ Aberdeen (Quarter Final). A brilliant result coming just days after we secure the Scottish Premier League title.

News and Events
09/02 - Callan Rofe scores three goals in Scotland's 5-4 over Wales in the Four Associations Tournament (an annual competition involving Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland)
06/03 - Third Lanark wins the Scottish Premier League for the second time, and first since 1903/04. They also secure a spot in the group stage of the European Champions League.
26/03 - Callan Rofe scores twice for Scotland as they beat Holland 3-1 to go on top in the Euro 2012 qualification stages.

Premier League Standings
5 games remaining. Third Lanark have secured the championship.
1. Third Lanark - 90 (+70)
2. Aberdeen - 67 (+25)
3. Falkirk - 66 (+28)
4. Celtic - 61 (+50)
5. Dundee United - 53 (+9)
6. Kilmarnock - 52 (+10)
7. Motherwell - 51 (0)
8. Hibernian - 49 (+12)
9. St Johnstone - 49 (+1)
10. Rangers - 43 (+35)
11. St Mirren - 43 (+2)
12. Airdrie United - 37 (-10)
13. Dundee - 34 (-19)
14. Hearts - 33 (-2)
15. Inverness CT - 30 (-15)
16. Hamilton - 25 (-29)
17. Morton - 24 (-28)
18. Raith - 23 (-35)
19. Clyde - 23 (-38)
20. Alloa - 11 (-66)

Third Lanark Top Goalscorers
88 - Callan Rofe (44 in the SPL)
30 - Ross McCormack
14 - George Boyd
13 - Grieg Forsyth
10 - Harry Kewell

Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players
7.98 - Callan Rofe
7.27 - Jack Rodwell
7.21 - Craig Thomson
7.21 - Ross McCormack
7.19 - Mariusz Lewandowski

Transfers
In - Gordon Burns from Newcastle ($17m) - We decide to bring back our former defender to help plug a few holes in defense. Due to an administrative error he is ineligible to play in the SPL for the rest of the year, although he may play in the Scottish Cup and Europa League.

bbgunn · 01-08-2010, 10:47 PM

You guys are out for blood, beating up on poor Alloa like that!

Rawhide · 01-09-2010, 12:03 AM

Nothing went right for Alloa that day. Their odds of staying up for another season were in the realm of the miraculous anyway.

We need to win three and draw one of our last five games to reach 100 points for the season.

April to May in Review

Premier League
03/04 - W 2-1 @ Motherwell. Late winner from George Boyd.
10/04 - D 1-1 v St Johnstone. The Saints pick up vital points in their battle to gain a respectable league position.
24/04 - D 1-1 @ Hearts. We are now officially in a winning drought! The quest for 100 points is over too.
01/05 - L 2-3 v Dundee United. A crowd of 69,000 sees the Terriors walk away with a great victory in our last home game of the year. It is thanks largely to Mariusz Lewandowski who gifted the visitors a penalty in the 66th minute.
04/05 - L 2-3 @ Rangers. A poor way to finish what has been a fantastic season. Still, we claim the winner's cheque and trophy and celebrate in euphoric fashion in front of our rivals. We officially seal a spot in the Champions League group stages through winning the SPL

Scottish Cup
16/04 - W 3-2 @ Celtic (Semi Final). A brilliant game. Celtic looked to have taken the game into extra time with a goal from Scott McDonald after 89 minutes, however Ross McCormack delighted the Thirds fans with his winner from a placed shot. We are back into the final, and this time against Rangers!
07/05 - W 6-0 v Rangers (Final). A glorious day and a memorable way to officially finish the Scottish season, with a demolition job against our bitter rivals who had beaten us only three days previously. Four goals from Callan Rofe left nobody in any doubt about who the best player in the country was. The win completed four trophies for the season for the Thirds - the Premier League, Scottish Cup, Challenge Cup and Celtic Champions Cup.

Final Scottish Premier League Table
1. Third Lanark - 95 (+69) - 2011/12 Champions League (group stage)
2. Falkirk - 77 (+37) - 2011/12 Champions League (qualifying stage)
3. Aberdeen - 75 (+27) - 2011/12 Europa League
4. Celtic - 72 (+55) - 2011/12 Europa League (would have finished 2nd on 93 points)
5. Dundee United - 66 (+17) - 2011/12 Europa League
6. Motherwell - 61 (+4)
7. Kilmarnock - 58 (+6)
8. Rangers - 56 (+41) (would have finished 3rd on 77 points)
9. Hibernian - 56 (+13) (would have finished 7th on 62 points)
10. St Johnstone - 50 (-6)
11. St Mirren - 46 (-1)
12. Airdrie United - 43 (-11)
13. Hearts - 37 (-6) (would have finished 12th on 43 points)
14. Dundee - 36 (-25)
15. Inverness CT - 33 (-19)
16. Raith - 33 (-30)
17. Hamilton - 32 (-30)
18. Morton - 30 (-26)
19. Clyde - 28 (-42)
20. Alloa - 15 (-73)

Relegated to Conference 2011/12 - Hamilton, Morton, Clyde, Poor Old Alloa
Promoted to Scottish Premier League 2011/12 - Queen of the South (Conference champions), Ross County, Dunfermline, Partick Thistle (playoff winners v Dumbarton). All four teams were demoted from the SPL at the end of last season and bounce up straight away. Airdrie United and Raith defy the odds and stay in the SPL.

Celtic and Rangers each have 15 points deducted for next season.

Third Lanark Award Winners
Player of the Year - Callan Rofe
Top Goalscorer - Callan Rofe (daylight second)
Young Player of the Year - Jack Rodwell
Manager of the Year - Hamish Brock
Named in team of the year - Callan Rofe, Alex Pearce

Rawhide · 01-13-2010, 04:52 AM

2011/12 Season in Review

The 2011/12 season was Third Lanark's thrid season in the Scottish Premier League. During this season the team competed for the first time in the European Champions League and defended their SPL title comfortably.

The team also had success in winning the Challenge Cup for the third year in succession, but unexpectedly failed in the Scottish Cup and Celtic Champions League competitions.

Once again, Callan Rofe scored a swag of goals (84 in 53 games), and he was ably assisted in this regard with Ross McCormack scoring 33 goals.

Premier League Games (goalscorers in brackets)
13/8 - W 3-1 @ Motherwell (Rofe 2, K.McDonald)
20/8 - W 2-0 v Queen of the South (Rofe, McCormack)
27/8 - W 2-1 @ Partick Thistle (Rofe 2)
10/9 - W 5-0 v Kilmarnock (Rofe 3, K.McDonald, McCormack)
18/9 - W 5-1 @ Airdrie United (Rofe 3, Morrison 2)
24/9 - D 1-1 v Falkirk (Burns)
4/10 - W 2-1 @ Hibernian (Rodwell, Rofe)
12/10 - L 2-3 v Celtic (Kewell, McKenna)
15/10 - W 3-0 @ Dundee Utd (McCormack 2, Rofe)
23/10 - W 2-0 v Raith (Rofe 2)
26/10 - W 3-1 @ Inverness CT (Burns, Forsyth, McCormack)
29/10 - W 3-1 v Ross County (Morrison 2, Rofe)
5/11 - W 4-2 v St Johnstone (Hanlon, Forsyth, Arfield, Rofe)
8/11 - W 4-2 @ St Mirren (Rofe 2, Forsyth, Rodwell)
19/11 - D 1-1 v Aberdeen (McCormack)
27/11 - L 1-2 v Rangers (Rofe)
18/12 - W 3-1 @ Dundee (Rofe 2, Forsyth)
21/12 - W 5-0 @ Hearts (Rofe 4, Laird)
28/12 - W 4-0 v Dunfermline (Rofe 4)
1/1 - W 2-1 v Motherwell (Rofe 2)
7/1 - W 3-0 @ Queen of the South (Pearce, Rofe, Crawford)
14/1 - W 2-0 v Partick Thistle (Thomson, McCormack)
18/1 - W 5-1 @ Kilmarnock (Rofe 2, Rodwell, McDonald, McCormack)
21/1 - W 4-0 v Airdrie United (Rofe 2, Morrison, McCormack)
28/1 - D 1-1 @ Falkirk (Rofe)
1/2 - W 3-0 v Dundee United (Rofe, Burns, Morrison)
8/2 - W 4-3 @ Celtic (Morrison, Rofe, McCormack, Boyd)
11/2 - W 4-0 v Hibernian (Rofe 3, Rodwell)
19/2 - W 2-0 @ Raith (Burns, Griffiths)
25/2 - D 1-1 v Inverness CT (Kewell)
28/2 - L 1-2 @ Ross County (McCormack)
3/3 - D 1-1 @ St Johnstone (McCormack)
18/3 - W 6-0 v St Mirren (Morrison 3, Rofe 2, Forsyth)
24/3 - D 2-2 @ Aberdeen (Boyd, McCormack)
31/3 - W 2-0 v Dundee (Rofe 2)
8/4 - L 2-3 @ Rangers (Rodwell, Rofe)
21/4 - W 4-2 v Hearts (Rofe 3, Griffiths)
28/4 - W 5-4 @ Dunfermline (Rofe 3, McCormack, own goal)

Scottish Premier League Table
Rangers and Celtic had 15 points deducted

1. Third Lanark - 90 (+71)
2. Rangers - 71 (+52)
3. Falkirk - 71 (+29)
4. Aberdeen - 69 (+23)
5. Celtic - 68 (+50)
6. Hibernian - 65 (+15)
7. Motherwell - 59 (+12)
8. Inverness CT - 54 (+3)
9. St Johnstone - 51 (+3)
10. Dunfermline - 47 (-2)
11. Hearts - 46 (-15)
12. Dundee Utd - 45 (-5)
13. Kilmarnock - 42 (-36)
14. Dundee - 41 (-17)
15. Queen of the South - 39 (-18)
16. St Mirren - 37 (-25)
17. Partick Thistle - 35 (-28)
18. Ross County - 35 (-31)
19. Airdrie United - 26 (-44)
20. Raith - 25 (-36)

Relegated to Conference - Partick Thistle, Ross County, Airdrie Utd, Raith
Promoted to SPL 2012/13 - Morton, Hamilton, Stenhousemuir, Clyde

Champions League Qualifiers 2011/12
27/7 - W 6-0 v B36 (Faroe Is) (McCormack 2, Morrison 2, Forsyth, McKenna)
3/8 - W 7-0 @ B36 (Faroe Is) (McCormack 4, Rofe 2, Thomson)
17/8 - W 4-2 v Buducnost (Montenegro) (Rofe 2, Burns, McCormack)
24/8 - W 5-2 @ Buducnost (Montenegro) (Rofe 4, McCormack)

Champions League Group Stage
13/9 - W 4-1 v Bayern Munich (Germany) (Rofe 4)
28/9 - D 2-2 @ Benfica (Portugal) (McCormack, Morrison)
19/10 - L 0-1 v Athletico Madrid (Spain)
1/11 - L 2-4 @ Athletico Madrid (Spain) (Rofe 2)
23/11 - D 1-1 @ Bayern Munich (Germany) (Hanlon)
6/12 - W 3-0 v Benfica (McCormack 2, Boyd)
Finished third in group stage, qualify for Europa League knockout stages

Europa League
16/2 - First Knockout Round - L 3-4 v Lazio (Italy) (Rofe 2, Morrison)
22/2 - First Knockout Roudn - L 0-2 @ Lazio (Italy)

Scottish Cup
12/11 - First Round - D 4-4 @ Dundee (Boyd 2, Rodwell, Kewell)
Lost penalty shoot-out 7-6

Celtic Champions Cup 2011
16/7 - W 7-0 v Bangor City (WAL) (Rofe 4, Hanlon, Morrison, McCormack)
20/7 - W 6-0 v Linfield (NIR) (Boyd 2, Forsyth, McDonald, Montgomery, Rofe)
23/7 - W 3-1 @ Falkirk (SCO) (Rofe 3)
30/7 - Quarter Final - L 0-1 v Dundee (SCO)

Challenge Cup
21/9 - W 3-2 v Dundee United (McCormack 2, McKenna)
26/9 - W 4-1 @ Raith (Forsyth 2, Rofe, McCormack)
17/10 - W 2-1 @ Dundee (Rofe, McDonald)
3/11 - D 1-1 v Motherwell (Rofe)
4/1 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v Hibernians (Rofe 2, McCormack)
11/1 - Semi Final - W 4-1 v Hearts (Forsyth, McDonald, Rofe, McCormack)
25/1 - Final - W 3-2 v Rangers (Rofe 3)

Finals of competitions

Scottish Cup - Rangers d. Celtic 2-0
Challenge Cup - Third Lanark d. Rangers 3-2
League Shield - Clyde d. Cowdenbeath 1-0
Celtic Champions Cup - Celtic d. Falkirk 1-0
Champions League - Bayren Munich d. Barcelona 3-1
Europa League - Liverpool d. Inter Milan on penalties

Third Lanark Award Winners

Manager of the Year - Hamish Brock (second in a row)
Player of the Year - Callan Rofe (third in a row)
Top Goalscorer - Callan Rofe (third in a row)
Young Player of the Year - Jack Rodwell (third in a row)
Players in Team of the Year - Chris Kirkland, Gordon Burns, Jack Rodwell, Callan Rofe

Players in FIFA Team of the Year - Callan Rofe

Comings and Goings

Retirement - Callum Davidson retired at the end of the season, having played 400 games in his career. 62 were for Third Lanark. We offer him a contract as a coach, which he accepts.

Transfer - Craig Thomson signed a contract for the 2012/13 season with German club Schalke. He leaves after playing 79 games and scoring 2 goals for us in the SPL.

Marius Lewandowski was let go at the end of his contract. He played 100 league games, scoring a solitary goal.

Harry Kewell's contract was not renewed, leaving after playing 56 games and scoring 7 goals.

Kevin McKenna left the club after three seasons which saw the Canadian play 60 games.

Scotland at the 2012 European Championship
Third Lanark players in squad - James Morrison (22 caps, 2 goals), Alex Pearce (10 caps, 0 goals), Kevin McDonald (4 caps, 1 goal), Craig Thomson (no senior caps), Callan Rofe (16 caps, 20 goals)

Ross McCormack was extremely unlucky to miss out, given that he has played pretty well to date for Scotland, scoring 14 goals in 23 games!

10/6 - W 1-0 v Slovakia (Group B) (Rofe)
14/6 - W 1-0 v Czech Republic (Group B) (Rofe)
18/6 - L 1-3 v Ukraine (Group B) (Rofe)
21/6 - D 2-2 v England (Quarter Final) (Bannan, Rofe)
Scotland wins penalty shoot-out 5-4. Rofe and Morrison contributed goals.
27/6 - D 0-0 v France (Semi Final)
France wins penalty shoot-out 6-5. Rofe scores the first goal.
France goes on to win the final 1-0 against Italy.

Rawhide · 01-13-2010, 07:13 PM

With Mariusz Lewandowski leaving Third Lanark, the club had the option of signing another non-British player to fulfill the 'one foreign player' rule in operation in the SPL.

25-year old Argentine defender Cristian Ansaldi was signed from Monaco on a five season contract, and will fill the right hand side of the defense vacated by Callum Davidson. There may be a problem or two at the start with Ansaldi not knowning any English, but I'm not overly concerned.

Charlie Adam was the only other significant new signing by Third Lanark, with the Blackpool defender being added as depth.

Keith Watson wasn't part of our plans any further with Ansaldi joining the club, and he was quickly dispatched to Queen of the South.

Aston Villa made an offer of $6m for Kevin McDonald. Not keen to lose our newly capped midfielder without a fight, I raise the price to $10m and that's the last we hear from Villa.

Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland still has 14 months until his contract expires but I want to lock him up now. He knocks back a five year contract - which surprises me since it is a significant upgrade over his old weekly wage. He accepts a new three year contract worth $11.25m

Importantly, Callan Rofe re-signs with Third Lanark for five more seasons. His contract is worth $31.5m and we reward him further with the captaincy of the club. He is an old head on young shoulders and I'm looking forward to seeing how Thirds respond to his leadership.

Heading into our fourth season, our best eleven is as follows:
(Debut season, Career games, Career goals) (Year joined Thirds, Thirds games, Thirds goals)

GK - Chris Kirkland (2000, 247, 0) (2009, 85, 0)
DR - Cristian Ansaldi (2005, 174, 15) (2012, 0, 0)
DC - Alex Pearce (2005, 149, 12) (2009, 95, 9)
DC - Gordon Burns (2009, 67, 7) (2010, 55, 4)
DL - Paul Hanlon (2007, 89, 3) (2010, 40, 1)
DMC - Jack Rodwell (2007, 122, 15) (2009, 101, 15)
MC - Kevin McDonald (2005, 202, 20) (2010, 53, 4)
MC - Scott Arfield (2007, 125, 23) (2010, 18, 1)
AMC - James Morrison (2003, 211, 25) (2009, 60, 15)
ST - Callan Rofe (2009, 108, 164) (2009, 108, 164)
ST - Ross McCormack (2003, 209, 76) (2009, 93, 39)

Rodwell, Hanlon and Arfield are the only players who have not played for their country.

The expectations from the board are nothing if not high - they expect us to win the three Scottish domestic competitions (Premier League, Scottish Cup, Challenge Cup), also win the Celtic Champions League for the first time, and reach the first knockout stage of the European Champions League.

Rawhide · 01-13-2010, 10:15 PM

Season in Review - 2012/13

Third Lanark had high expectations of a third straight Scottish Premier League title, a sweep of the domestic cups, and European success at the start of the season. However, they stumbled out of the Celtic Champions Cup in the quarter-final stage, and lost captain Callan Rofe for the first three games of the new season. Salt was added to Rofe's wounds when he was dropped from the Scottish squad for no good reason - apart from the fact that he was closing in on Kenny Dalgish's record of goals. He was later reinstated into the squad as they faced a difficult task to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, being drawn with England and Romania in their qualifying group.

Thirds lost two of their first six games in disappointing results against Hibs and Dundee, but then peeled off six straight wins to sit just behind Falkirk at the end of October. The big surprise was Hibernian in third, with an undefeated start to the season, while Rangers were also undefeated (albeit with a nine point penalty around their necks). Thirds moved back into their usual position after demolishing Falkirk 5-2 in early November and further cemented their spot with an important win against Aberdeen.

A famous 1-0 victory against Liverpool kicked off the Thirds' European Champions League campaign. This was backed up with a great 2-0 win at Schalke - Craig Thomson's new home. Despite a loss to Spanish giants Valencia, Thirds were perched on top of their group at the halfway point of the European Champions League group stage. Their spot was further solidified with a 5-1 demolition of Schalke. A loss at Anfield against Liverpool put Third Lanark into a must-win situation against Valencia - although a draw would be enough to see Thirds qualify for the knockout stage for the first time. Unfortunately it was not meant to be with a 2-0 loss seeing Thirds crash out for the second year in a row.

Third were re-drawn into the knockout stages of the Europa League, where they faced Greek club Olympiakos.

With the opening of the transfer window, we decide to stick with the squad we currently have. A 1-0 loss to Hibs sees our lead over Rangers fall to only six points - were it not for the "Bookiegate" saga they would be leading the SPL, not us.

Any chance that Third Lanark had of falling off the pace for the Premier League title hinged on their next two games against Celtic and Rangers - they won both by 4-1. For good measure, Celtic were bundled out of the Challenge Cup semi finals as well. They would face Hearts in the final, won 6-4 in a goal-scoring feast. It was Third Lanark's fourth win in four years of the competition.

At the end of January Thirds led the SPL by nine points from Hibernian, who were having their best season since 2005. Despite an unexpected loss at Kilmarnock, Thirds stayed on top of the table throughout February, and added a 4-1 win against Olympiakos to the tally. Third Lanark advanced to the second knockout round against Tottenham, who were duly dispatched 4-0 over two legs. They would have to face Sporting in the first leg without Callan Rofe, who was suspended.

A third consecutive SPL title was sealed on March 30, with supporters celebrating just that little bit more enthusiastically than normal. The news was soured somewhat with the news that Jack Rodwell would miss the next three weeks. Sporting were shocked 3-1 by Third Lanark but the European adventure ended for the Scots two weeks later when Sporting won 6-2 in Glasgow.

St Mirren were smashed 5-1 in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and Rangers were brushed aside 2-1 in the final.

Scottish Premier League
19/8- L 1-2 @ Hibernian (Forsyth)
26/8 - W 2-0 v Celtic (Morrison, Boyd)
2/9 - D 3-3 @ Rangers (McDonald, Rofe, Burns)
15/9 - W 3-0 v Dundee Utd (Rofe 2, Forsyth)
23/9 - L 0-1 @ Dundee
29/9 - W 7-1 v Morton (Morrison 2, Rofe 2, Forsyth, McDonald, Griffiths)
7/10 - W 4-0 v Kilmarnock (Forsyth, Rofe, two own goals)
10/10 - W 3-2 @ Motherwell (Rofe 3)
20/10 - W 3-0 @ Dunfermline (Rofe 2, Morrison)
28/10 - W 4-1 v St Johnstone (Rofe 2, Forsyth, Boyd)
31/10 - W 4-0 @ Hamilton (McCormack 2, Forsyth, Rofe)
3/11 - W 5-2 v Falkirk (McCormack 3, Rofe 2)
10/11 - W 4-2 @ Queen of the South (Rofe 4)
14/11 - W 3-1 v Aberdeen (Rodwell, Boyd, Rofe)
21/11 - W 4-0 @ Clyde (Adam, Forsyth, Laird, Rofe)
24/11 - W 2-0 v Inverness CT (Rofe 2)
2/12 - W 4-1 v Hearts (Morrison 3, Rofe)
22/12 - D 2-2 @ St Mirren (Rofe 2)
26/12 - W 6-0 v Stenhousemuir (Rofe 4, Adam, Forsyth)
2/1 - L 0-1 v Hibernian
6/1 - W 4-1 @ Celtic (McCormack 2, Boyd, Rofe)
13/1 - W 4-1 v Rangers (McCormack, Boyd, McDonald)
19/1 - W 4-2 @ Dundee Utd (Rofe 3, Boyd)
22/1 - W 4-0 @ Morton (Rofe 3, Boyd)
27/1 - W 3-0 v Dundee (McDonald, Boyd, Rofe)
2/2 - W 4-1 v Dunfermline (Rofe 2, Boyd, Forsyth)
6/2 - L 1-2 @ Kilmarnock (Boyd)
16/2 - W 4-0 v Motherwell (Rofe, Forsyth, McDonald, own goal)
24/2 - W 4-3 @ St Johnstone (Rofe 3, McDonald)
3/3 - W 6-0 v Hamilton (Forsyth, Boyd, Adam, Rodwell, Rofe, Laird)
6/3 - W 3-0 @ Falkirk (McCormack 2, McDonald)
9/3 - W 2-0 v Queen of the South (Morrison, Forsyth)
24/3 - W 4-1 @ Inveress CT (Rofe 2, Morrison, Forsyth)
30/3 - W 3-1 @ Aberdeen (Morrison 2, Rofe)
7/4 - W 3-1 v Clyde (Griffiths 2, Rofe)
14/4 - D 0-0 v St Mirren
27/4 - W 2-0 @ Stenhousemuir (Rofe 2)
4/5 - W 2-0 @ Hearts (McCormack 2)

Scottish Premier League Standings
1. Third Lanark - 96 (+89)
2. Rangers - 81 (+54)
3. Hibernian - 80 (+22)
4. Falkirk - 70 (+39)
5. Celtic - 70 (+39)
6. Dundee Utd - 68 (+22)
7. Aberdeen - 66 (+24)
8. Hearts - 60 (+12)
9. Kilmarnock - 55 (+1)
10. Dundee - 53 (+6)
11. St Mirren - 50 (+4)
12. St Johnstone - 49 (-7)
13. Motherwell - 42 (-21)
14. Queen of the South - 40 (-15)
15. Morton - 36 (-34)
16. Dunfermline - 34 (-35)
17. Inverness CT - 32 (-31)
18. Clyde - 30 (-36)
19. Hamilton - 27 (-56)
20. Stenhousemuir - 9 (-77)

European Champions League
18/9 - W 1-0 v Liverpool (Rofe)
3/10 - L 1-3 @ Valencia (Rofe)
24/10 - W 2-0 @ Schalke (Rofe, McCormack)
6/11 - W 5-1 v Schalke (Rofe 3, McCormack, Morrison)
28/11 - L 1-2 @ Liverpool (Forsyth)
11/12 - L 0-2 v Valencia
Qualifed for knockout stages of Europa Cup

Europa Cup
21/2 - First Knockout Round - W 4-1 v Olympiakos (McCormack 2, McDonald, Rofe)
28/2 - First Knockout Round - L 1-2 @ Olympiakos (Rofe)
14/3 - Second Knockout Round - W 3-0 @ Tottenham (McCormack, Rofe, Morrison)
21/3 - Second knockout Round - W 1-0 v Tottenham (Morrison)
4/4 - Quarter Final - W 3-1 v Sporting (Forsyth, McCormack, McDonald)
11/4 - Quarter Final - L 2-6 @ Sporting (Rofe, McCormack)

Scottish Cup
17/11 - W 5-0 @ Annan (Rofe 4, Forsyth)
15/12 - W 3-1 v Celtic (Rofe 3)
9/2 - W 5-1 v Airdrie Utd (Rofe 4, Forsyth)
17/3 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v St Johnstone (Rofe 3)
20/4 - Semi Final - W 5-1 v St Mirren (Rofe 3, Boyd, McDonald)
11/5 - Final - W 2-1 v Rangers (Rofe 2)

Challenge Cup
20/9 - W 3-0 v St Mirren (Rofe, Forsyth, Arfield)
26/9 - W 4-0 v Hamilton (Rofe 3, Forsyth)
1/10 - W 3-1 @ Dundee (Rofe, Morrison, McCormack)
8/11 - L 1-3 @ Dundee Utd (own goal)
29/12 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v Motherwell (Burns, Boyd, Rofe)
16/1 - Semi Final - W 2-1 v Celtic (Montgomery, McDonald)
30/1 - Final - W 6-4 v Hearts (Rofe 3, Adam, Morrison, Forsyth)

Celtic Champions Cup
21/7 - W 4-1 v St Pats Athletic (EIR) (Rofe 3, Ansaldi)
25/7 - W 4-1 @ TNS (WAL) (Rofe 4)
28/7 - W 7-0 @ Portadown (NIR) (Rofe 2, Boyd 2, Morrison, McCormack, Burns)
5/8 - Quarter Final - L 1-2 v Celtic (McDonald)

Final - Rangers drew with Aberdeen 1-1 (Rangers won on penalties)

Awards
Hamish Brock - Manager of the Year
Callan Rofe - Player of the Year, Top Goalscorer, Scottish Team of the Year, World Team of the Year
Jack Rodwell - Team of the Year
Alex Pearce - Team of the Year
James Morrison - Team of the Year
Chris Kirkland - Team of the Year

12-29-2009, 07:59 PM	#2
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	June 2009 June 16 - Crazy day, lots of reporters turning up at the Caledonian today for the announcement that I would be taking charge of the Thirds for the upcoming season. In the afternoon, hit the phones with offers for players. Have deliberately not targeted any players from the Scottish Premier League. Two reasons - (a) I want to have a policy of firstly bringing home good Scottish players currently playing abroad, and (b) They will probably say no anyway. Also called in a few favours assembling my backroom staff. The current lot here are okay but I think I'll need more than three people to assist me! Current assistant manager Ricky McInnes is a nice chap but he needs to be moved, as soon as I land my ideal assistant. Later - Got the details of my contract from Stephen....absolutely insane. I'll be making more in one week then I did in a year as a youth player with Partick Thistle. Minimum expectation is that the team "challenges" for the Premier League title this season. Transfer budget of $338 million (!!) and wage budget of $2.3m (!!!). We have more money than most sub-Saharan countries. Sky Sports seems to think that we can finish third. But we don't have any players! Much Later - Actually, we do have a few players. Most of them are quite average, probably solid contributors but certainly not anybody that Celtic or Rangers will lose sleep over. We do have a few very promising prospects however: Stuart Low (defender, 27 years old). Typical leader, no real weaknesses to his game. Good penalty taker. Probably will be our captain unless we land a real big fish in the transfer market. Gordon Burns (defender, 25 years old). Great pace, seems to be a real leader. Chris Calderwood (midfielder, 25 years old). Quick off the mark, good at crossing, no real aerial ability however. Callan Rofe (forward, 17 years old). Perhaps our best player, a real clean striker of the ball and a dedicated professional. Our scouts rate him very highly, and he is already in the Scottish U/19 squad. June 17 - Huge day at the offices overlooking the Caledonian. Offers accepted and contacts put forward to David McNamee (defender, Plymouth), Alex Pearce (defender, Reading), Maruisz Lewandowski (Polish midfielder, Shakhtar), Callan Davidson (defender, Preston North End), Ross McCormack (midfielder, Cardiff), Nick Montgomery (midfielder, Sheffield United), Kevin McKenna (Scottish/Canadian defender/striker, Koln) We had an offer rejected by Everton for young defender Jack Rodwell. I'm determined to land him, so have increased the offer considerably. Peterborough Press conference in the afternoon officially introducing me as the new Thirds boss. Have cautioned against expecting early miracles, while hinting at some big signings in the pipeworks. If only they knew! Later - The new offer from Everton has just come through. $73 million for Jack Rodwell! I hesitate for a few seconds and then immedately reply "Yes!". June 18 - George Boyd is on his way to Thirds after Peterborough accepted the renegotiated offer. Jack Rodwell is less certain, but I'm confident that I've made him an offer he literally cannot refuse - certainly one that should compensate for not playing in the English Premier League. June 19 - Through the day we receive word that all of the above players have accepted contract offers from Thirds. They will offically become our players on July 1. Just as importantly, we finally land our assistant manger - Ally McCoist from Rangers. His departure from Ibrox causes quite a stir, as they were grooming him to eventually take over the reins from Walter Smith. He made 581 apperances for Rangers during his career, scoring close to 300 goals. He is exactly the kind of right hand man I want at Thirds - and just as importantly, he is here until July 2014. June 20 - McCoist's first day as my right hand man, and we sit down with the rest of the staff for a debrief ahead of the 2009-10 season. McCoist has plenty of ideas for potental recruits but unfortunately they are all non-British; from July 1 2009 onwards, we are only able to field one foreign player in our entire playing squad of 25. Mariusz Lewandowski is that man, for the next season at least. June 21 - Jack Rodwell has signed for Thirds. We are assembling quite a good squad. Our reserve team took on Camelon this afternoon, winning 4-0. Rofe bagged a hattrick in the process. June 22 - The season draw has been released. We start with tricky games against Rangers (away), Hearts (home) and Hibernians (away). We finish the Premier League season against current champions Celtic (away). Between them, Rangers and Celtic have won over 70 Premier League titles, and every competition since 1985. Wouldn't it be great to break their dominance! __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-29-2009, 08:53 PM	#3
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	July and a bit of August 2009 July 2 - Obligatory press conference today to announce my new signings. A few concerns over Lewandowki, who has been given a three-year contract. Apparently he has a history of being injury-prone. Refused to discuss transfer policy and finances - such matters should be kept behind closed doors. July 3 - Odds for the Scottish Premier League: $2.50 - Celtic, Rangers $7.00 - Hearts $9.00 - Aberdeen $13.00 - Hibs $15.00 - Dundee United $34.00 - Third Lanark July 4 - Predicted order of finish from Sky Sports 1st - Rangers 2nd - Celtic 3rd - Third Lanark 4th - Hearts 5th - Aberdeen 6th - Dundee United 7th - Hibs 8th - Motherwell 9th - Kilmarnock 10th - Hamilton Academical 11th - Falkirk 12th - St Mirren 13th - Inverness Caledonian Thistle 14th - St Johnstone 15th - Dundee 16th - Dunfermline Athletic 17th - Partick Thistle 18th - Queen of the South 19th - Greenock Morton 20th - Ross County Airdrie United, Livingston and Raith Rovers are the favourites in the Conference. July 6 - Our first friendly match against Livingston. Callum Davidson has the honour of being our first captain this season, while Ross McCormack scores the first Third Lanark goal since 1967. The match as a contest is over after twenty minutes, with Thirds having 11 shots on goal in that time! We lead 7-0 at halftime and make as many changes. We eventually run out 11-0 winners, despite playing most of the second half with our reserve team. Callan Rofe scores four goals, Ross McCormack three. What a result!!! July 9 - Huge story in the news today...Stephen Burnett may be selling Third Lanark! A consortium of businessmen, including a former footballer, are rumoured to be putting an offer forwrad to Burnett in the coming weeks. Hopefully this doesn't disrupt our plans for this season (much less my employment here!) July 10 - Callum Davidson is confirmed as the official Third Lanark captain for season 2009-10, with Stuart Low as his deputy. July 11 - Another match, this time against the Shamrock Rovers from Ireland. We win 4-0 in our home debut at Caledonia Stadium. July 17 - The Celtic Champions Cup started today, with Celtic and Rangers raging hot favourites to meet in the final in early August. July 18 - Yet another friendly, as we dispatch St Johnstone to the tune of 4-3. Callan Rofe saves the day with a goal in the 88th minute. July 19 - 20,000 season tickets have been sold by Third Lanark. July 29 - We get word that our friendly against Aberdeen has been cancelled owing to their participation in the Celtic Champions Cup quarter-finals. Great for them, not so great for us. We'll now go into the Scottish Premier League with three games under our belts. Sensationally, Celtic and Rangers have drawn each other in the quarter-finals, destroying any hopes that they would meet (and monopolise) the final. All six Scottish sides progressed to the final eight. August 1 - We officially nominate our squad of 27 players for the 2009/10 season. August 4 - Motherwell enquire about the availability of our goalkeeper David Maclennan. We politelty tell them he is not for sale. August 6 - Three players are called up for international duty: Ross McCormack (Scotland), Jack Rodwell (England) and Callan Rofe (Scottish U/21s) August 8 - Rangers and Dundee United will meet in the final of the Celtic Champions Cup. It has been pushed back to August 19. Although technically at a neutral venue, Dundee United will have a great advantage as it is being played at the home of Dundee, only 100 metres from United's own stadium! It's time to get the show on the road! __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 03:25 AM	#4
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	Squad Preview - August 2009 After an extremely busy month we have arrived at the start of the Scottish Premier League season; the first season of any kind for Third Lanark since 1966-67. We have three SPL matches this month, against three of the better sides in the competition - Rangers, Hearts and Hibs. The board is setting extreme standards for this season - they expect a "serious challenge" for the SPL title, while they also expect Third Lanark to claim the Scottish Cup and the Challenge Cup. In other words, to win more silverware in twelve months than we have ever won. Personally I'm hoping for a top five finish. That will be good enough to get us in one of the European competitions in 2010/11, dependent on who wins the Scottish Cup. Here are my impressions on the Third Lanark squad for 2009/10. GOALKEEPERS Arguably the most important position in any team, and the only position where we did not recruit anybody. I'm hopeful that the players here have the quality required to do their jobs. 1. David Maclennan (24 yo, no previous club) 14. Andrew Carroll (26 yo, no previous club) Carroll gets the nod having kept 7 clean sheets in 9 games (including reserves). Maclennan will likely get his chance later in the year. DEFENDERS 2. Gordon Burns (26yo, no previous club) 3. Callum Davidson (33yo, signed from Preston, 329 career games, 20 goals) 5. Stuart Low (27yo, no previous club) 13. Matthew Lovell (26yo, no previous club) 16. David McNamee (28yo, signed from Plymouth, 154 career games, 4 goals) 17. Billy Watters (24yo, no previous club) 19. Gary Caldwell (26yo, no previous club) 20. Alex Pearce (20yo, signed from Reading, 54 career games, 3 goals) 22. Patrick McKeever (25yo, no previous club) 23. Kevin McKenna (29yo, signed from Koln, 244 career games, 34 goals) 26. Jack Rodwell (18yo, signed from Everton, 21 career games) McKenna played five seasons for Hearts in a previous SPL stint, while McNamee is a veteran for Livingston when they were in the top flight. Callum Davidson is going to be a great asset to the club, provided he can stay on the pitch. Lovell is solid and has impressed in the pre-season. Low, our club vice-captain, is probably going to play a lot off the reserves bench, such is his versatility. Burns is likely going to see a lot of playing time on the left hand side. Pearce is going to be vital in our plans, but our jewel in the defensive crown is definitely Jack Rodwell. It will be hard to keep him here for the duration of his four year contract, with lots of interest expected from English premier league teams. MIDFIELDERS 4. Nick Montgomery (27yo, signed from Sheffield United, 255 career games, 7 goals) 7. Chris Calderwood (25yo, no previous club) 8. Steven Dillon (25yo, no previous club) 10. George Boyd (23yo, signed from Peterborough, 226 career games, 51 goals) 12. Steve Bonar (27yo, no previous club) 15. Dean White (28yo, no previous club) 18. Mariusz Lewandowski (30yo, signed from Shakhtar, 261 career games, 23 goals) 21. Graeme Kelly (25yo, no previous club) Montgomery has played his entire career for Sheffield United, spanning some seven seasons. Lewandowski is the wildcard signing, although he has played quite a bit for the Polish national side. He will be one to watch. Dillon seems like a good prospect, and is well rated in his technique. He may get some playing time off the bench. Boyd is a versatile player and can slot in up front when needed. FORWARDS 6. Ross McCormack (22yo, signed from Cardiff, 116 career games, 37 goals) 9. Callan Rofe (17yo, no previous club) 11. Grieg Forsyth (25yo, no previous club) 24. Billy Oliver (16yo, no previous club) 25. Jonathan Laird (25yo, no previous club) The undisputed star of the club is Callan Rofe, who was already in our developmental system. I'm going to take a chance and start him straight away. He has scored an amazing 17 goals already - albeit mostly against reserve grade quality teams. In Ally McCoist's opinion - himself one of the great Scottish forwards - Rofe could be a star on any side. If Third Lanark are to do well this season, he is going to be the key. McCormack is a good prospect, and already has SPL experience with Rangers and Motherwell. Forsyth will probably be our reserve striker. God help us if Laird ever takes the field. Oliver is a developmental player and will most likely spend his entire time playing for the Under 21 side. We will be entering sides in the Scottish Reserves and Under 21s competitions. They play a 27-game season in a ten team competition (there are several competitions in the same division). Hamish French will manage the Under 21s - they are already off to a flying start, unbeaten after three rounds. Ricky McInnes will manage the Reserve side. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 04:08 AM	#5
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	An important detail which I forgot to mention earlier is that this season the SPL is adopting a "one foreigner rule". That is, the match squad can only contain one player from outside the British Isles and Ireland. This will most probably affect Celtic and Rangers the most. The SPL president has insisted this is in the best interests of the league. Also, each match squad of 18 players (there are seven reserves, instead of the usual five) must have three players aged 19 or younger. With Callan Rofe and Jack Rodwell in our regular side, that means we only need to find one extra player to fill the requirement. For now, Billy Oliver is that lucky player. August 15 - Celtic beat Hearts 1-0 in the official season opener. Eight other matches are played that day. August 16 - The rebirth of the Third Lanark Football Club occurs at the Ibrox Stadium, home of defending champions Rangers. This is the side we take into the match: Carroll; McNamee, Davidson (c), Pearce, McKenna; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - Maclennan, Burns, Calderwood, Forsyth, Low, Bonar, Oliver. Rangers are favourites to win, and duly open the scoring in the eighth minute. They double their lead in the thirteenth and I slum further into my seat. "Don't panic" is the message which is sent out. McCormack has a dubious offside called against him in the 27th minute, while he puts a chance wide in the 33rd. Halftime cannot come soon enough. We are being swamped. George Boyd zips a shot over the net in the 53rd minute. In the 67th minute George Burns and Greig Forsyth enter the fray, just as Rangers are setting up for a corner. Almost immediately a chance is created for Callan Rofe, but he sprays the shot wide. The game frustratingly ends 0-2 and we are jeered off the pitch by the Rangers fans. The press conference is tense, with many questions about Alex Pearce and George Boyd. I just want to get out of here so I play the "no comment" card each time. August 18 - Dundee United win the first Celtic Champions League, beating Rangers in a penalty shoot-out 4-2. August 23 - Our home debut against Hearts. We take an unchanged side. Callan Rofe scores our first ever goal after 37 minutes and it opens a deluge. Rofe scores again at halftime, and Alex Pearce gets his name on the scoresheet after 65 minutes. 45,000 fans celebrate our first ever win. August 25 - 16 year old defender John Watson signs a pre-contract deal which will see him continue to develop his football at Caledonia Stadium. Discouragingly, it is reported that Marco van Basten will be my successor if the proposed bid to take over Third Lanark succeeds. The board has responded by placing an embargo on any transfers until the matter is resolved. Hopefully these stories prove to be just pie in the sky - there is unfinished business to resolve here first! August 29 - Aberdeen shock Celtic, winning 1-0. August 30 - John Watson (Scotland U19s), Jack Rodwell (England U21s), Ross McCormack (Scotland) and Mariuz Lewandowski (Poland) have been called up for international duty for September 3rd and 7th. We take on Hibernian at Easter Road Stadium. Goalkeeper Andrew Carrol is out for eight weeks, presenting David Maclennan with his chance. Ross McCormack puts us ahead after two minutes, but the hosts level on the eleventh minute. Rofe puts us ahead with a deadly strike in the 42nd minute. The second half is relatively even, but Hibs level with only six minutes left. They go ahead in the final minute and we have grasped defeat from the jaws of victory. Standings at August 31st 2009 1. Motherwell - 9 (+4) 2. Aberdeen - 9 (+4) 3. Falkirk - 7 (+2) 4. Dundee United - 6 (+5) 5. Rangers - 6 (+4) 6. Hibernian - 6 (+2) 7. Morton - 6 (+2) 8. Celtic - 6 (+1) 9. Ross County - 5 (+2) 10. St Mirren - 5 (+1) 11. Kilmarnock - 4 (+1) 12. Inverness CT - 4 (0) 13. Hamilton - 4 (0) 14. Dundee - 4 (-1) 15. Third Lanark - 3 (0) 16. Queen of the South - 1 (-2) 17. Dunfermline - 0 (-5) 18. St Johnstone - 0 (-6) 19. Partick Thistle - 0 (-6) 20. Hearts - 0 (-8) Not the start I had in mind. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 06:51 AM	#6
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	September 1 - The close of registrations for the SPL. For the next three months we are limited to using only the 26 players in our nominated squad. Gary Caldwell is robbed in favour of 16 year old Robbie Mackay. The pressure is on for a win in the Premier League - already we are six points behind first place. But first we must start our campaign in the Challenge Cup. We are drawn to play St Johnston, Dundee United, St Mirren and Dunfermline. If we finish in the top two of our group, we will advance to the quarter-finals. September 4 - We receive notice that our first Challenge Cup match has been postponed for two weeks due to international call-ups. September 5 - Ross McCormack is one of the star performers as Scotland beat Macedonia 2-0 in the World Cup qualifiers. September 8 - Callan Rofe helps Scotland off to a flying start in the European U21 qualifiers, scoring both goals in their win over Albania. Scotland topple Holland in a major upset in the "main" World Cup qualifiers. September 13 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Dundee Utd 3 Calamity for the Thirds as they give up another team in a repeat performance from the Hibs game. Callum Davidson is out for up to eight weeks with injury as well! September 16 - Apparently there has been a breakthrough in talks between Stephen Burnett and Gary Hutton, the head of the takeover bid. We should expect an announcement within the next few days. I'm not too confident. September 20 - I woke up today with a new employer. Broxburn-based businessman Gary Hutton. The rumours are that soon he will have a new employee running his football team. With that weighing over our heads, we travelled up the coast to take on Dundee. September 20 - Premier League - Dundee 1 Third Lanark 3 Callan Rofe scores his first career hattrick as he saves us from another sticky situation. Dundee levelled the score with a penalty in the 75th minute, but the 17 year old stood up and slammed home two winners. The result takes us back up to eleventh on the ladder. September 21 - I get invited into the new chairman's office, and walk out fifteen minutes later more confused than ever. Hutton thanks me for my patience and professionalism during the transtition period, and informs me that $649 million has been injected into the club's finances. However, he also states that it was always his intention to appoint a new manager and I will be duly notified in the near future what decision has been made on my future. September 22 - A press conference before our first Challenge Cup match brings up the thorny issue of my relationship with Hutton. I grin and state that I've been very happy with the change of management. Nobody believes me. September 23 - Challenge Cup - St Johnstone 1 Third Lanark 1 Frustrating result! We are better than this! Ross McCormack is out for an extended period as well with injury. September 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Aberdeen 0 Finally we produce a performance from the top shelf. Callan Rofe scores all four goals. The kid is a gun. Kevin McKenna plays his 250th career game and celebrates with a big win. September 30 - Challenge Cup - Third Lanark 0 Dundee United 1 A poor result, which means we really have to win our next two Challenge Cup games just to have a chance of qualifying for the Quarter-Finals. This match probably seals my fate...I am expecting the 'tap on the shoulder' from Hutton any day now. End of Month Review Premier League Standings 1. Celtic - 15 (+9) 2. Motherwell - 14 (+6) 3. Falkirk - 14 (+5) 4. Rangers - 13 (+6) 5. Morton - 13 (+6) 6. Dundee United - 11 (+6) 7. Aberdeen - 10 (-1) 8. Third Lanark - 9 (+5) 9. St Mirren - 9 (+2) 10. Kilmarnock - 8 (+1) 11. Hibernian - 7 (0) 12. Hamilton - 7 (-1) 13. Dundee - 7 (-3) 14. Hearts - 7 (-5) 15. Inverness CT - 6 (-2) 16. Ross County - 6 (-3) 17. Dunfermline - 4 (-7) 18. St Johnstone - 2 (-7) 19. Queen of the South - 2 (-7) 20. Partick Thistle - 1 (-10) Challenge Cup Standings - Group B 1. Dundee United - 9 (+4) sealed qualification 2. St Johnstone - 4 (0) 3. St Mirren - 3 (0) 4. Third Lanark - 1 (-1)* 5. Dunfermline - 0 (-3) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 08:00 AM	#7
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	October 2009 October 1 - Callan Rofe is named the player of the month for September, due in no small part to his seven goals. October 2 - I get the call to meet Gary Hutton in his office. Expecting to get the pink slip, I instead get an endorsement to finish the season. Funny how things turn out. October 3 - Premier League - Kilmarnock 2 Third Lanark 2 A double from Grieg Forsyth was the only highlight in this match. We seem to be having a lot of trouble sealing results. We were 2-0 up with six minutes to go but somehow we have squandered a chance to move into sixth. On a side note, Billy Oliver debuted today at the age of 16 years and 207 days - a new record. October 7 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2 Finally a bit of luck falls our way, with Kevin McKenna scoring the match winner minutes from full time. Robbie Mackay and Chris Calderwood made their league debuts for the club. Finally we get a break from our hectic schedule, with a ten day interlude between matches. October 8 - Dunfermline undergo their own change in ownership, with a fans trust group taking over the team. With the side placed 19th, they are going to need a lot of help. October 11 - A news report in the paper today from goalkeeper David Maclennan, who claims that the Thirds are underachieving. Methinks that perhaps David is the one who is underachieving. October 17 - Premier League - Morton 0 Third Lanark 7 15 seconds is all it took for Callan Rofe to open the scoring. He had three goals by halftime, and the Thirds took the match in a cakewalk. Callum Davidson made a welcome return off the interchange bench. Rofe was eventually rested after scoring his fourth goal and setting up Jack Rodwell's first goal for the Redcoats. October 20 - Blackburn are rumoured to be chasing our vice-captain Stuart Low as a transfer target. We'll see what kind of offer they bring to the table before making a decision on his future. October 21 - Challenge Cup - St Mirren 3 Third Lanark 5 We stay alive in the Challenge Cup thanks to this vital result, although we survived a scare or two from the local team. Rofe (with another hattrick) sealed the result in the dying moments. A draw in our next fixture against Dunfermline should be enough to seal a spot in the final eight. October 24 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Queen of the South 0 On paper it should be an easy fixture, against a team that has gone nine games without a win. In reality it was much harder than the scoreline suggested. However, a win is a win is a win! Most importantly, we are now only four points behind Celtic and Rangers, who are tied for the competition lead. October 27 - Premier league - Ross County 3 Third Lanark 3 We round off the month with another match against a team stuck in the relegation zone; this time my old team of Ross County, who have lost their past six games. However, the locals started the scoring in the 14th minute, only for Callan Rofe (again) to get the scores back level on the half hour. A dubious penalty five minutes later gave us the lead. The referee obviously believed in sharing, because two minutes later Ross converted a penalty of their own. The sides traded a goal each in the second half and the locals celebrated like they had won a cup final. End of Month Review Premier League Standings 1. Celtic - 26 (+16) 2. Rangers - 24 (+11) 3. Aberdeen - 23 (+9) 4. Falkirk - 22 (+8) 5. Third Lanark - 20 (+15) 6. Dundee - 20 (+2) 7. Motherwell - 20 (+2) 8. Kilmarnock - 19 (+8) 9. Dundee United - 18 (+10) 10. St Mirren - 18 (+4) 11. Morton - 17 (-1) 12. Hibernian - 12 (0) 13. Hearts - 12 (-6) 14. Dunfermline - 11 (-8) 15. Hamilton - 9 (-5) 16. Inverness CT - 8 (-5) 17. Ross County - 7 (-11) 18. Partick Thistle - 7 (-4) 19. St Johnstone - 4 (-11) 20. Queen of the South - 3 (-19) Challenge Cup Standings - Group B 1. Dundee United - 9 (+4) 2. St Johnstone - 5 (0) 3. Third Lanark - 4 (+1) 4. St Mirren - 3 (-2) 5. Dunfermline - 1 (-3) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 08:04 PM	#8
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	November 2009 We open the month with two games against Dunfermline in our two different competitions. November 1 - Premier League - Third Lanark 6 Dunfermline 2 Callan Rofe scores three goals of his own and slots a penalty for good measure. Dunfermline scored two late goals to add some measure of respectability to the scoreline. This is our third straight home win in the SPL. November 3 - With the transfer window opening again in January, I place an offer towards Wigan for their goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. According to my scouts he is twice the player of my current goalkeepers. November 4 - Challenge Cup - Third Lanark 4 Dunfermline 0 The visitors do not have a shot on goal until the 84th minute. Thus is the tale of our most complete performance this year. A pity it is wasted on the Ferms. The result however means that we qualify for the quarter-finals. Challenge Cup Group B - Complete 1. Dundee United - 12 (+5) 2. Third Lanark - 7 (+5) 3. St Johnstone - 5 (0) 4. St Mirren - 3 (-3) 5. Dunfermline - 1 (-7) The other teams qualify are Rangers, Motherwell, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Falkirk. November 5 - The eight teams are placed in a draw for the quarter-finals, meaning that we could play any of the other seven teams in our next match, regardless of previous form. The same process will be repeated for the semi-finals. We are drawn to play Aberdeen away from home on Boxing Day. I was hoping to avoid Celtic or Rangers, so this is a good result. November 7 - Premier League - Motherwell 1 Third Lanark 1 An important game, with Motherwell only two points behind us on the ladder. A tough game, with a goal denied on the half hour. Motherwell run us ragged all game and deserve to win, but a Rofe free kick in the 87th minute preserves our unbeaten streak. November 8 - Chris Kirkland has accepted our contract offer and will be our goalkeeper starting in 2010. I transfer list David Maclennan and Andrew Carrol, meaning other clubs are free to make offers for their services. Rangers beat Aberdeen 1-0 to open up a four point gap between second and third-placed Falkirk...who we play in our next game. Also on this day, we receive word that Ross McCormack and Alex Pearce have been called up for Scotland's World Cup qualifiers. November 9 - Callum Davidson, David McNamee and Jack Rodwell are granted three days of rest from training and fixtures. November 11 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Falkirk 0 A great result for the side, which sees us hop into third place on the ladder. Ross McCormack was the goalscorer, ending a drought of some 732 minutes without a goal! Opposition manager Eddie May has come out and said that we are favourites for the title. Given that we are still six points behind Celtic, this is quite a statement. November 12 - Callan Rofe is called up for the Scotland U21 side, due to play on November 17. November 15 - The draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup (the main domestic cup tournament) is made today. We are drawn to play the winner of Inverness CT and Partick Thistle - both SPL teams. November 18 - Ross McCormack scores both goals as Scotland downs Switzerland 2-1. The result means that Scotland has qualified for the 2010 World Cup, to be played in South Africa. November 22 - Premier League - Hamilton Academical 0 Third Lanark 4 A surprisingly flat first half saw the teams level with no score. Ross McCormack opened up the second half with two quick goals which restored the status quo. We remain third on the ladder. In the crowd was Olympique de Marseilles manager Didier Deschamps, who is rumoured to be interested in signing Callan Rofe. Good luck! November 23 - We receive an official offer from Olympique - "Name your price". We refuse to sell Rofe, so the answer is an emphatic "non". November 24 - The scouts have suggested we sign Hearts' 18yo defender Craig Thomson when the window next opens in order to relieve pressure on David McNamee, who is the only defender capable of playing on the right side. November 26 - Hearts reject our first offer so we promptly make another. November 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 8 Partick Thistle 0 "When I was growing up, I always thought the club was called Partick Thistle Nil..." uttered comedian and devoted fan Billy Connolly. He would have been devestated by this result, with Callan Rofe scoring six goals in the first half (two were disallowed for offside). He eventually nets five goals, with McCormack, Rodwell and Boyd also on the scorers sheet. The official crowd of 66,498 is our largest of the season. The match sets a club record for biggest win and most goals by an individual in a match. Rofe has also equalled the SPL record for most goals in a game (5). Callan Rofe is also a certainty to break - nay, smash - the record for most goals in a single season. The record is currently 35 goals, set by Hendrik Larsson for Celtic back in 2000. Rofe currently has 29 goals, after only 16 games. If he isn't in the Scottish squad for the 2010 World Cup then there is something wrong. David Maclennan now has gone 319 minutes without conceding a goal, as much a tribute to our dominance in recent games as it is a reflection of his skills. November 29 - Olympique won't give up. They have tabled an offer of $16.7m for Rofe. The answer is still no - not now, not ever. Meanwhile, a draw between Celtic and Motherwell gives Rangers first position in the Premier League standings. We now enjoy a period of relative rest before a very busy and vital second half of December. This is our schedule: 12/12 - @ Inverness CT (Scottish Cup) 20/12 - Celtic (SPL - 2nd v 3rd) 23/12 - @ St Johnstone (SPL) 26/12 - @ Aberdeen (Scottish Challenge Cup Quarter-Final) 30/12 - St Mirren (SPL) 03/01 - Rangers (SPL) Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Rangers - 39 (+22) 2. Celtic - 37 (+25) 3. Third Lanark - 33 (+32) 4. Falkirk - 30 (+13) 5. St Mirren - 28 (+8) 6. Dundee United - 27 (+15) 7. Hearts - 27 (+3) 8. Motherwell - 25 (+2) 9. Hibernian - 24 (+6) 10. Aberdeen - 24 (+4) 11. Kilmarnock - 22 (+3) 12. Dundee - 21 (-12) 13. Morton - 19 (-7) 14. Inverness CT - 17 (-1) 15. St Johnstone - 15 (-8) 16. Hamilton - 14 (-8) 17. Dunfermline - 12 (-20) 18. Ross County - 9 (-16) 19. Partick Thistle - 9 (-33) 20. Queen of the South - 5 (-28) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

12-30-2009, 10:13 PM	#9
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	The longest month - November 30 to January 3 November 30 - Craig Thomson signs off on a deal to come to Caledonia Stadium in the new year. Hearts chairman Vladimir Romanov goes over the head of club management and accepts the $11.25m offer for him. December 1 - A very successful day for us in terms of the monthly awards. Callan Rofe wins the Player of the Month award, with Ross McCormack second and Nick Montgomery third. Jack Rodwell is the Young Player of the Month with Alex Pearce second. Callan Rofe's goal against Dunfermline on November 1 was judged to be the goal of the month. Finally, I was named the manager of the month for November, winning four and drawing one of our five games. December 5 - Deschamps won't give up. An offer for $20,000,000 for Rofe. That is surely a bargain price? December 6 - Ross McCormack is sent home after contracting a virus. Hopefully he won't pass it on to the rest of the squad. He will miss our Scottish Cup game against Inveress. December 12 - Scottish Cup 2nd Round - Inverness CT 1 Third Lanark 2 (AET) We survive a scare against Scotland's most northerly club, with a Kevin McKenna header getting the job done in the 106th minute. Celtic survive a bigger shock, getting past Dundee United only on a penalty shootout. The draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Cape Town. Scotland are drawn in Group E with Costa Rica, North Korea and....Brazil. December 13 - The draw for the third round of the Scottish Cup sees sixteen teams go into the hat. We draw Celtic at home! Shit! Why couldn't we get Queen of the South, or Cowdenbeath? December 15 - Bristol City and Newcastle have submitted offers for David Maclennan. With the keeper no longer in our plans we have accepted both and will let him make up his own mind on his future. It would be good to keep him as a reserve but Andrew Carrol already fits that role and Chris Kirkland will be seeing most of the action on the field come January 1. December 18 - Had to issue an explicit "hands off" warning to German club Werder Bremen after they submit an offer for Callan Rofe. Exactly the kind of distraction I do not want days before we play Celtic! December 19 - David Maclennan has signed a contract to play for Newcastle. The deal will earn us $525,000 and he will move on January 1. Results today in the SPL mean that a Celtic loss tomorrow gives Rangers a five-point lead in the ladder. December 20 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Celtic 1 What a sensational game! Kevin McKenna put us ahead in the first five minutes, and by halftime we were up 3-0. David Maclennan has likely played his last game for us, as he hobbled off just after giving up the Buoys only goal of the game. Callan Rofe put the exclaimation point on the result with the final goal of the game. A capacity crowd of 70,000 walked away from the game dreaming - can they actually do it? December 22 - Dean Withe has asked that he be placed on the transfer list. His request is granted. December 23 - Premier League - St Johnstone 2 Third Lanark 1 A devestating and humiliating result, only days after our greatest triumph. The Saints get on the board early through a penalty and it looked as though the upset of the season was on. McKenna equaled the score in the 80th minute however the Saints never gave up and slotted home a sensational 20 yard strike in injury time to steal the win. Celtic are now back in second place. December 24 - Merry Christmas, Callan Rofe. You have a new contract offer from Third Lanark, $53,000 per week for the next five years. Please sign immediately. Love, Santa. December 25 - Challenge Cup Quarter Final - Aberdeen 1 Third Lanark 3 (AET) A lucky escape for us, with two late goals scored in the extra time period. Nick Montgomery picked up an injury very early for us and it looks as though he will be out for perhaps three or four days. Hearts shocked Rangers 3-0 to advance to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, along with Celtic and Motherwell. December 26 - We draw Celtic - again! - in the Challenge Cup semi-finals. December 28 - Best news in quite a while, with Rofe signing his new contract. $11,250,000 over 5 years. Not bad work if you can get it. December 30 - Gordon Burns has turned down our latest contract offer and will be searching for a new club. Unless we accept a cash offer, he cannot move until after July 1, although nothing is preventing him from signing a contract between now and then. December 30 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 St Mirren 0 The official halfway point of the season sees the Thirds win predictably and emphatically. January 1 - The new year dawns with players exiting and entering the club. Kirkland and Thomson join the squad, while David Maclennan departs for the English Premier League. Kirkland is currently injured however and won't be ready until next week. We put in bids for three players currently with SPL sides - Leigh Griffiths (striker, Dundee), Keith Watson (defender, Dundee United) and, most audaciously, Aiden McGeady, the best player in the Celtic side. They will only accept an offer for $100,000,000. With Gary Hutton's blessing, I make the bid. Now it's up to them to accept it. January 2 - Celtic accept the offer, but McGeady isn't keen on joining our team. I expect a different answer once he sees the contract we have drawn up for him - $180,000 per week for five years! Madness! Competition favourites Rangers head to Caledonia Stadium for a vital fixture. A win by the Thirds see us move up to second, six points behind the Gers. A Rangers win puts them nine points ahead of us. Gordon Burns will move to Newcastle for the 2010/11 season. January 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Rangers 1 Rangers had a goal disallowed in the very first minute, and responded by giving up three in the next ten. The champion leaders pegged a goal back in injury time but by then it was too little too late. We celebrate our second major scalp at home for the fortnight. If only we hadn't lost to St Johnstone in the meanwhile! Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Rangers - 48 (+26) 2. Third Lanark - 42 (+40) 3. Celtic - 42 (+24) 4. Dundee United - 39 (+24) 5. Falkirk - 39 (+17) 6. Aberdeen - 34 (+8) 7. Hearts - 33 (+4) 8. Hibernian - 31 (+10) 9. Dundee - 30 (-7) 10. Kilmarnock - 29 (+3) 11. Motherwell - 29 (+2) 12. St Mirren - 29 (-1) 13. Morton - 29 (-3) 14. Inverness CT - 19 (-5) 15. St Johnstone - 19 (-13) 16. Hamilton - 15 (-11) 17. Ross County - 13 (-20) 18. Dundermline - 13 (-23) 19. Partick Thistle - 10 (-39) 20. Queen of the South - 5 (-36) January Fixtures A challenging list, with every opponent in the top half of the SPL. 09/01 - @ Hearts (SPL) 13/01 - @ Celtic (Challenge Cup Semi Final) 16/01 - Hibernian (SPL) 19/01 - @ Dundee United (SPL) 24/01 - Dundee (SPL) 27/01 - Challenge Cup Final 31/01 - @ Aberdeen (SPL) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again. Last edited by Rawhide : 12-30-2009 at 10:16 PM.

12-31-2009, 01:40 AM	#10
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	January 2010 January 7 - Keith Watson and Leigh Griffiths sign their contracts and are free to join up with Third Lanark immediately. I put in a bid for West Brom's James Morrison, who should be able to provide good back-up in the midfield. Craig Thomson is named to make his Thirds debut against his old club, Hearts. January 9 - Premier League - Hearts 2 Third Lanark 4 Ross McCormack gives us the halftime lead, Callan Rofe extends it immediately after the break. Hearts always stay in the contest though, and look to have equalised only to have the goal disallowed. George Boyd seals the result right on full-time. Callan Rofe breaks the Scottish Premier League goal-scoring record, notching up his 36th goal of the season. The next goal on the horizon is 50. January 11 - Our reserve goalkeeper Andrew Carroll has signed a contract to play for Motherwell in 2010/11. January 12 - The James Morrison transfer has been approved. He will start on the bench in our next game. January 13 - Challenge Cup Semi Final - Celtic 0 Third Lanark 2 Celtic lose a player when Gary Caldwell gets his second yellow card after twenty minutes. The game is tied 0-0 at halftime after a dour struggle. Finally Celtic crack after 51 minutes and allow Callan Rofe to score from the penalty spot. New signing Leigh Griffiths scored on his Thirds debut to give us the decisive lead, and we qualify for our first cup final since 1960! Our opponents will be Hearts, who beat Motherwell 3-0. Interesingly, we played Hearts in the 1960 final of this competition (then known as the League Cup) so it will it be a case of history repeating? January 16 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 Hibernian 2 This match never reached any great heights, despite the scoreline. James Morrison, Leigh Griffiths and Kevin Watson made their debuts for the club, while Chris Kirkland made his first official league apperance. Celtic drew 0-0 with Aberdeen, giving us a two point break in second spot. Rangers lead us still by six points, however. We are going to need to rely on them slipping up if we are to claim the mantle of Scottish champions. Pleasingly, we now have won six games in a row, a new club record. January 19 - Premier League - Dundee United 0 Third Lanark 2 We hold the second best scoring team in the SPL to nil on their home turf. Great performance. January 23 - We get our wish partially fulfilled when Morton upset Rangers 2-0. More performances like this please, Gers! Elsewhere, Celtic draw 0-0 with the mighty Queen of the South, who haven't won a single game yet this season. A win against Dundee will see us only three points behind Rangers and four ahead of Celtic. Convinced that we need just one more quality midfielder to allow for greater flexibility, I place a bid for Harry Kewell, the Australian midfielder currently playing in Turkey. He also possesses British citizenship so we can get around the "one foreigner" rule in that way. His signing - if it comes off - will be quite a coup, although he is currently injured at the moment. January 24 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Dundee 1 Unfortunately we don't take all of our opportunities and instead walk away with a misely draw against the second best Dundee side. Still, we reduce the Rangers lead to five points, with fourteen games left to play. We can't get too disheartened about the Dundee result as we have a cup final to prepare for! Nick Montgomery's run of injuries continues and he will miss the next two weeks. January 25 - Galatasaray have rejected the offer for Harry Kewell. With the transfer window closing on February 1 we fire one back straight away. January 26 - Challenge Cup Final - Postponed Sensationally, we receive word at 2:30pm that the match will not be going ahead as planned due to the state of the pitch at Hampden Park. The rescheduled match will now take place on February 17. After waiting 117 years to win this tournament, I'm sure we can wait a few more weeks. January 28 - Finally Kewell's club have accepted the offer - $34m! - and we can give him a contract. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he will fit in at the club. January 30 - We land our big fish with 36 hours remaining on the transfer window. Kewell will probably make his debut in eight days after recovering from his sprained ankle. January 31 - Premier League - Aberdeen 2 Third Lanark 2 We had our chance to win, then looked set for a certain loss, before George Boyd connected with a cross to seal the result. Callum Davidson had a particuarly bad game. We slip a point further behind Rangers in the standings after this weekend's round of games. Callan Rofe is again named the Player of the Month, while I am second to Eddie May in the Manager of the Month award. May has Falkirk firing on all cylinders and they are on track to record their best season in quite some time. Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Rangers - 60 (+34) 2. Third Lanark - 53 (+45) 3. Celtic - 53 (+27) 4. Falkirk - 52 (+24) 5. Dundee United - 43 (+21) 6. Hibernian - 40 (+13) 7. Hearts - 40 (+6) 8. St Mirren - 39 (+1) 9. Aberdeen - 38 (+4) 10. Motherwell - 36 (+3) 11. Morton - 36 (-3) 12. Kilmarnock - 35 (-1) 13. Dundee - 31 (-16) 14. Inverness CT - 25 (-5) 15. St Johnstone - 25 (-12) 16. Hamilton - 24 (-7) 17. Dunfermline - 18 (-25) 18. Ross County - 17 (-23) 19. Partick Thistle - 12 (-44) 20. Queen of the South - 6 (-42) Upcoming Fixtures 03/02 - Kilmarnock (SPL) 06/02 - Celtic (Scottish Cup 3rd Round) 10/02 - @ Inverness CT (SPL) 14/02 - Morton (SPL) 17/02 - Hearts (Challenge Cup Final - rescheduled) 21/02 - @ Queen of the South (SPL) 27/02 - Ross County (SPL) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-01-2010, 03:53 AM	#11
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	February 2010 By the end of this month we would know whether Third Lanark possessed the ticker required to make a serious charge at the Scottish Premier League title. We would need quite a bit of luck as we would not face Rangers in the SPL again this season. February 1 - The registration window closed today, with Harry Kewell added to our first team squad. February 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Kilmarnock 2 An unbelievable result, especially considering that Scotland manager George Burley was watching from the stands at Caledonia Stadium. Perhaps the pressure to perform on individuals was too much? The Killies sealed the match-winner in the 88th minute. Afterwards, I received an official warning from the Scottish Football Association after I made remarks questioning the neutrality of the referees, in particular in failing to award us a clear penalty in the dying moments. We have now fallen behind Celtic on the table. Funnily enough, we play them next. February 6 - Scottish Cup Third Round - Third Lanark 3 Celtic 0 Celtic gifted us the opening goal when Marc Fortune put the ball in his own net. Rofe and Pearce added two of their own in the second half to give us another great win against our rivals - the third such victory this year. Despite the scoreline the game was a tough slogging battle, which really could have ended up either way after the first hour. Meanwhile, Motherwell is looking for a new manager after sacking Jim Gannon. Ian McCall has expressed an interest in taking over the role. The only problem? He is currently employed as Partick Thistle manager and they are not going too well themselves. The Partick fans will be less than impressed. February 7 - We get Morton in the Quarter-Finals of the Scottish Cup. Rangers are away to Dundee, Falkirk host Aberdeen, while the struggling Queen of the South are enjoying success in this competition at least - they will host Conference side Airdrie United, who themselves look likely to play in the SPL in 2010/11. Ian McCall took over the Motherwell job, as expected. Partick Thistle get $200,000 as compensation. February 10 - Premier League - Inverness CT 0 Third Lanark 10 - Do not adjust your sets Our previous two matches against the men from the north have been competitive stands, ending with only a goal difference. This time was quite different as Callan Rofe went on the rampage in the first half, leading 6-0 after 33 minutes. By halftime the score was 7-0, and Rofe had made history as the first player to score six goals in a Scottish Premier League game. We received word that Celtic's Scott McDonald was having a day out as well, scoring all five of Celtic's goals in their match against Partick. While McDonald couldn't add to his total, Rofe and the Thirds could. The final analysis for Rofe was seven goals, a historic and incredible performance. One record that McDonald did claim off Callan Rofe is that of quickest ever goal - his effort of fourteen seconds making Rofe's old record of fifteen seconds obsolete. February 13 - Rangers draw 2-2 against Kilmarnock. Time to take advantage. February 14 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Morton 0 The challenge for us would be whether we could maintain our form. More specifically, whether Callan Rofe could maintain his. With a 2-0 lead at halftime, it is time for our latest signing to take the field, with Harry Kewell making his way onto the pitch. He didn't disappoint, scoring the final goal of the game. Rofe now needs just one more goal to become the first player in over 120 years of competition to score 50 goals in one season. He is generating a lot of press, with most Scottish football writers comparing him to Ally McCoist. February 15 - Despite scoring ten goals in the week, Rofe couldn't get a spot in the team of the week. What a joke! Although, to be honest, it's probably best that the lad keep his feet grounded, especially in the lead-up to the Challenge Cup final against Hearts. February 17 - Challenge Cup Final - Third Lanark 6 Hearts 0 The ghosts of 1961 were exhumed in grand style, with Thirds leading 5-0 at halftime thanks to four goals from - you guessed it - Callan Rofe. Gordon Burns ensured he would never forget the Challenge Cup final when he scored his first ever goal moments after the break. Callum Davidson had the honour of accepting Third Lanark's first trophy since the 1934-35 Conference championship. Challenge Cup Final side - Kirkland; McNamee, Davidson (c), Pearce, Burns; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - Carrol, Low, Morrison, Griffiths, McKenna, Calderwood, Forsyth. February 18 - The board mandates that $2.5m be shared amongst the squad on a pro-rata basis for winning the Challenge Cup. February 20 - Celtic flog Rangers 3-0, in a match with big implications on the ladder. Rangers' lead is slashed to two points, while we must continue winning just to stay in touch with the Auld Firm. Considering we play Queen of the South next, I'm confident that we will do just that. February 21 - Premier League - Queen of the South 0 Third Lanark 3 17 minutes into the game, Callan Rofe writes himself into the history books by scoring his 50th league goal of the season. The Queens try hard but they are simply no match, and we win the game without ever leaving second gear. February 25 - No sooner than he has settled into Glasgow, Harry Kewell is called away again, this time to play for Australia against Kuwait in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers. February 27 - Premier League - Third Lanark 2 Ross County 0 Celtic draw 1-1 in the midday game and we have our oppotunity to capitalise on it at 3pm. Having dropped two valuable points against Ross earlier in the year, we are determine not to let history repeat itself. The match passed by in a blur and we continue to wear away at the two teams heading us on the ladder. Importantly, Chris Kirkland has now gone 549 minutes without conceding a goal for us, which is precisely the kind of difference I hoped he would make. Queen of the South win their first game of the season, upsetting Dunfermline 3-1. February 28 - Hearts draw with Rangers 2-2 and the Premier League is now officially a three-horse race between us, Rangers and Celtic. Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Rangers - 68 (+37) 2. Celtic - 66 (+40) 3. Third Lanark - 65 (+63) 4. Falkirk - 58 (+23) 5. Dundee United - 56 (+27) 6. Hibernian - 50 (+17) 7. Hearts - 48 (+10) 8. Kilmarnock - 46 (+3) 9. Aberdeen - 45 (+5) 10. Dundee - 42 (-13) 11. Morton - 41 (-5) 12. St Mirren - 40 (-8) 13. Motherwell - 37 (-6) 14. Inverness CT - 31 (-15) 15. St Johnstone - 29 (-13) 16. Hamilton - 28 (-11) 17. Dunfermline - 26 (-24) 18. Ross County - 21 (-28) 19. Partick Thistle - 13 (-56) 20. Queen of the South - 10 (-46) Upcoming Fixtures 03/03 - Motherwell (SPL) 07/03 - @ Falkirk (SPL) 13/03 - @ Morton (Scottish Cup Quarter Final) 20/03 - @ Dunfermline (SPL) 28/03 - Hamilton (SPL) __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-01-2010, 06:29 PM	#12
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	March 3 - Premier League - Third Lanark 1 Motherwell 0 Motherwell are on a slide, only gaining one draw in their last five games. At halftime we are locked in at 0-0, however Ross McCormack quickly changes that straight after the break. After 60 minutes we receive news of a massive upset in the works, with Kilmarnock leading Celtic 2-0. If results stayed as they were, we would enter second place. We are unconvincing winners - Rofe is disappointing, in particular - but the Kilmarnock result stands! March 6 - Celtic draw against Morton and fall a point and a game behind us. March 7 - Premier League - Falkirk 4 Third Lanark 1 A vital game for us - a victory would see us stay in touch with Rangers. However, we fall behind after 26 minutes when Nick Montgomery gives up a penalty shot. Falkirk return the favour four minutes later and scores are level. Sludden puts the locals back in the lead after halftime, and with twelve minutes to go Falkirk go ahead 3-1. A sensational shot puts the locals up 4-1 and they secure a famous victory - at our expense! We are now six points behind Rangers with six games to play. March 13 - For the second time this season a cup match is postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Our Scottish Cup match against Morton is postponed to the following Tuesday. March 15 - If we beat Morton, we will play either Dundee or Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Falkirk will play Queen of the South in the other semi-final. March 16 - Scottish Cup Quarter-Final - Morton 1 Third Lanark 9 Morton's cup campaign - chasing an apperance in the final for the first time since 1948 - runs to a sudden and irreversible halt, thanks to the free-scoring Thirds side. The locals scored the final goal of the game but there was no doubting who was going to win this one. Rofe scored his mandatory hattrick but McCormack and Boyd get amongst the goals too. We play Dundee in the semi-final after they shocked Rangers 2-0. Suddenly the path to another cup victory seems much less cluttered. The venue will be Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium - it is a requirement that the semi-finals are played at neutral venues. Falkirk and Queen of the South play at Motherwell. They have lost the last two Scottish Cup finals between them - Falkirk last year, the Doomhammers the year before. March 20 - Premier League - Dunfermline 1 Third Lanark 4 Back to earth against a team fighting hard to stay in the Premier League next season. We survive an early scare and continue on our free-scoring ways. Disappointingly, had we not lost to Falkirk (or any other team this season) we could be top of the ladder now. As it is, we settle for second. We also advance our team tally of goals to 97. The last time the Thirds scored 100 goals in a season was in 1960/61, when we finished third in the Premier League. March 21 - An incredible result from Ibrox Stadium: Rangers 0 Dundee United 4. With five games to play, Rangers' lead is only three points. Dundee United supplant Falkirk into fourth spot. March 25 - International call-ups for Harry Kewell (Australia) and Kevin McKenna (Canada) March 27 - A win by Rangers today ensures we must win against Hamilton tomorrow to stay in touch. Elsewhere, Raith Rovers become the first team promoted from the Conference into the SPL for 2010/11. They have only lost three games all year and will surely seal the conference title. A good run of recent form, finishing third in the old Second Division in 2007, 2008, and winning the division in 2009. It will be interesting to see how they handle the Premier League. Sadly, results today ensure that the Queen of the South and Partick Thistle will be relegated into the Conference for next season. Hamilton and Ross County currently occupy the other relegation spots, with St Johnstone and Dunfermline also in "contention". March 28 - Premier League - Third Lanark 4 Hamilton Academical 0 The Thirds duly register the win needed to keep them in second place, ending the month on a promising note. Ross McCormack has possibly his best day in Lanark colours, scoring three goals and setting up the other. Scottish Premier League Standings (four games to go) 1. Rangers - 77 (+39) 2. Third Lanark - 74 (+68) 3. Celtic - 71 (+39) 4. Dundee United - 68 (+38) 5. Falkirk - 68 (+38) 6. Hibernian - 66 (+28) 7. Kilmarnock - 56 (+14) 8. Hearts - 53 (+5) 9. Aberdeen - 52 (+10) 10. Dundee - 47 (+2) 11. St Mirren - 47 (-14) 12. Morton - 44 (-10) 13. Motherwell - 40 (-7) 14. Inverness CT - 40 (-13) 15. St Johnstone - 34 (-13) 16. Dunfermline - 33 (-21) 17. Hamilton - 31 (-15) 18. Ross County - 24 (-29) 19. Queen of the South - 14 (-46) 20. Partick Thistle - 13 (-67) Fixtures for the remainder of the season 04/04 - @ Partick Thistle (SPL) 10/04 - St Johnstone (SPL) 17/04 - Dundee (Scottish Cup Semi-Final at Murrayfield) 25/04 - @ St Mirren (SPL) 01/05 - @ Celtic (SPL) 08/05 - Scottish Cup Final __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-02-2010, 05:22 PM	#13
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	Rest of 2009/10 season April 3 - Once again we have the Sunday fixture, meaning we can watch the other nine SPL games and know exactly what the consequences for our own game would be. April 4 - Premier League - Partick Thistle 0 Third Lanark 4 Harry Kewell gets his first start against the Conference-bound club. We completely dominate the game from start to finish, not allowing our opponents a sniff in the first half. April 10 - Premier League - Third Lanark 3 St Johnstone 0 With Rangers not playing until tomorrow, we temporarily go on top of the ladder following our victory. A draw is all Rangers need to take back the lead. Rofe completes a first half hattrick and its all smooth sailing from thereon in. April 11 - Rangers move back to the top with a 3-0 win against Falkirk. April 17 - Scottish Cup Semi Final - Third Lanark 1 Dundee 0 A tense first half sees both sides going into the game without score. The stalemate continues until the 83rd minute, when Ross McCormack boots the goal that puts us into the Scottish Cup final. We will play Falkirk, who ended the Queen of the South fairytale by beating them 3-1 in the other semi-final. April 24 - Ross County are officially relegated. Either Hamilton or Dunfermline will join them next week. Over in the Conference, Airdrie United and Alloa are through to the Premier League. It is Airdrie's first time in the top flight, whilst Alloa have not been there since the 1922/23 season. April 25 - Premier League - St Mirren 1 Third Lanark 2 A win here keeps the Premier League title race alive - anything else and Rangers will have won yet another crown. For us, a draw will ensure we finish second, and therefore qualify for the early stages of the European Champions League. Therefore there is a lot at stake. We seem to have the game well in hand however St Mirren level the scores with seven minutes to play. The Premier League is forty seconds away from landing in Rangers' hands, however George Boyd kicks a late match-winner, much to our delight. We're going to Europe! That means that we must beat Celtic, and St Mirren must beat Rangers, in order for the competition to change hands. All of the final round matches are played at the same time in order to avoid any attempts at collusion. May 1 - Final Round of Premier League Matches At halftime it is locked up 0-0 at Celtic Park, while there is a similar lack of goals between St Mirren and Rangers. George Boyd breathes life into the afternoon when he opens scoring for us, reducing Rangers' lead at the top of the ladder to just one single point. Our fans' attention starts to divert to the match at St Mirren, willing the Buddies to score the one goal which would give Third Lanark an unexpected Premier League championship. However, with fourteen minutes left in the season we receive the upsetting news - Rangers have scored! Scott McDonald scores at Celtic Park and it is official - Rangers are the champions. It is their second in a row and 53rd title overall. We can hold our heads up high though - finishing second in our very first season is a magnificent result! It is Third Lanark's highest position in the Premier League since 1961. We still haven't won since 1904 however. Dunfermline are relegated, with Hamilton barely hanging on to their spot in the Premier League. The most pleasing result of the day is Queen of the South's 5-2 demolition of Morton. They went down swinging. Rangers and Thirds qualify for the European Champions League qualifications. Celtic and Dundee United qualify for the Europa League, while either Hibernian or Falkirk will join them depending on the result of the Scottish Cup. All of the six clubs mentioned will represent Scotland in the Celtic Champions Cup. We are given $11.25m for our finish in the Premier League. $6.25m of that will be shared amongst the players. May 2 - It's awards time. And guess who cleaned up? Callan Rofe won the Player's Player of the Year (an award voted upon by the players in the SPL). Ross McCormack was a deserving winner of the Football Writers Player of the Year (voted by media outlets). Callan Rofe was never going to lose the top goalscorer award, while Jack Rodwell was announced as the Premier League Young Player of the Year. Alex Pearce, Kevin McKenna, Nick Montgomery, Callan Rofe and Ross McCormack were named in the Team of the Year. Third Lanark had more players than any other club. May 3 - Chri Kirkland fails a medical test and will not play in the Scottish Cup final. May 8 - Scottish Cup Final The last game of the Scottish season, and we are in it! Third Lanark side - Carrol; Thomson, Davidson (c), Pearce, McKenna; Lewandowski, Rodwell, Montgomery, Boyd; Rofe, McCormack. Reserves - MacKenzie, Burns, Kewell, Griffiths, Watson, Morrison, Forsyth. We face off against Eddie May's Falkirk, who gave us a footballing lesson last time out. The first goal of the game is from Alex Pearce, who heads in a corner. Thirds 1-0. George Boyd heads in a great cross from Craig Thomson, and we double our lead. 2-0. Callan Rofe capitalises on an error from the Falkirk defenders and races away, chipping a shot delicately over the top of the Falkirk goalkeeper. 3-0. Falkirk look to have pegged a goal back but its denied due to offside. Our lead is preserved at halftime. We make three changes at halftime. Kewell, Watson and Griffiths are all on. Sludden scores a great goal for Falkirk soon after the break. 3-1. Rofe nearly scores late in the game but it's called for offside. The whistle blows and we have won our first Scottish Cup in over one hundred years! Final Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Rangers - 89 (+49) 2. Third Lanark - 84 (+76) 3. Celtic - 79 (+42) 4. Dundee United - 78 (+47) 5. Hibernian - 68 (+20) 6. Falkirk - 67 (+22) 7. Kilmarnock - 62 (+9) 8. Hearts - 56 (+9) 9. Aberdeen - 56 (+4) 10. Dundee - 52 (-14) 11. St Mirren - 50 (-9) 12. Inverness CT - 46 (-13) 13. Morton - 43 (-17) 14. Motherwell - 42 (-10) 15. St Johnstone - 37 (-15) 16. Hamilton - 35 (-21) 17. Ross County - 33 (-27) 18. Dunfermline - 33 (-29) 19. Queen of the South - 18 (-48) 20. Partick Thistle - 13 (-75) Notes: Celtic - First time they have not finished first or second since 1994/95. Dundee - Return to the SPL for the first time since 2004/05 and finish with their most wins since 1987/88, when they finished seventh. Dundee United - Best season in the SPL since they won in 1982/83. Won the inaugural Celtic Champions Cup. Falkirk - Lost their second Scottish Cup final in two seasons. Best placing in SPL since 1994/95. Hamilton - Barely survive life in the SPL and will probably start 2010/11 as one of the favourites to make the drop. Hearts - Fell from third to eighth in a more competitive SPL. Lost the Challenge Cup final. Hibernian - Surprise finishers in fifth position. Won most games in SPL since 1974/75. Kilmarnock - Best placing in the SPL in four seasons. Earned their most points ever. Morton - Survived surprisingly well in the SPL, after winning the old Second Division just three years ago. Partick Thistle - Worst ever season in the SPL, winning just two games and conceding over 100 goals. Queen of the South - First SPL season since 1963/64 ends in tears. Made up for it with a good run in the Scottish Cup. Rangers - 53rd SPL title Ross County - Just relegated in their first ever SPL season. Third Lanark - Most wins in SPL since 1960/61 New Scottish Premier League Teams in 2010/11 Raith Rovers - Runaway Conference champions. Last played in SPL in 1996/97. Airdrie United - Promoted to the SPL for the first time in history. Alloa - Just their second season in the SPL - the first time was in 1922! Clyde - Finished seventh in the Conference and won a knockout playoff in order to qualify. They were last in the SPL in 1974/75. European Finals Europa League - PSV beat Bordeaux 1-0 Champions League - AC Milan beat Manchester United 2-1 Scottish Clubs in Europe Rangers - Lost to Inter Milan in the Champions League Round of 16 Celtic - Lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 Hearts - Lost to OB (Denmark) in the Europa League fourth qualifying round Falkirk - Lost to FC Vaslui (Romania) in the Europa League third qualifying round Motherwell - Lost to Sarajevo (Bosnia) in the Europa League second qualifying round __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-04-2010, 04:48 PM	#14
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	June 4 - The board is going to install undersoil heating on Caledonia Stadium. This will ensure that no fixtures at the ground will be postponed due to the weather. June 6 - Seven of our players were called up for World Cup squads. Chris Kirkland for England, Harry Kewell for Australia, and Ross McCormack, Alex Pearce, Gordon Burns, James Morrison and Nick Montgomery for Scotland. But where is Callan Rofe? June 8 - A sensational story in the Scottish newspapers today. A referee, speaking on condition of secrecy, has uncovered perhaps the biggest story in Scottish football history. "Several" SPL teams have been paying referees to influence the outcome of matches. One referee was paid nearly $1,000,000 over the past year to help one particular team. It appears that bookmakers have also been involved in the process The Scottish FA president has promised an immediate and thorough investigation, promising to leave no stone unturned. The tabloids have immediately dubbed this episode as "Bookiegate". June 9 - Interviewed today by the Scottish FA about "Bookiegate". I adopt the Sargent Schultz defense: I knows nothing. Rumours circulating that as many as five SPL clubs are in cahoots to influence the outcome of particular matches and rake in the profits. June 13 - The World Cup started tonight, with champions Italy drawing 1-1 with Chile in Johannesburg. Elsewhere, Slovakia beat Tunisia 1-0. June 14 - Scotland beat Costa Rica 1-0, albeit through an own goal. Argentina draws 0-0 with the United States, in a mild upset. June 17 - Callan Rofe was acknowledged today as the winner of the European Golden Boot as the top goalscorer in all European domestic football. Because UEFA currently classifies Scotland as a second-tier nation, Rofe had to score more goals than his rivals from other top-ranked nations to secure the award. Peter Crouch of Tottenham was the runner-up. June 19 - Brazil hammer Scotland 3-0 in the World Cup. The nation's attention is diverted momentarily from Bookiegate and nearly everybody slams George Burley, despite the fact we played the best team in the world and got off lightly. Scotland has to beat North Korea in our next game to qualify. Should be easy. June 20 - Callan Rofe is named as the Third Lanark Supporters Association Player of the Year. Almost immediately the transfer rumours fire up again. Sigh. The fixture list for the 2010/11 SPL is announced. We start with trips away to Raith Rovers and Hamilton, while we finish the season with a trip to league champions Rangers. The "minimum expectation" from my board is that we win the Premier League. We draw Dundee, Hamilton, Hearts and Morton in the group stage of the Challenge Cup, We also draw Dundee United (reigning champions), Linfield (Northern Ireland) and Rhyl (Wales) in the Celtic Champions Cup. June 21 - The draws continue...we get Ajax (Netherlands) in the Champions League and will play them home and away in order to advance in the competition. June 22 - Breaking news from Celtic Park - Tony Mowbray is out as manager. Officially it is because of Celtic's failure to win a trophy in 2009/10. The rumour mill is going overboard with Mowbray's connections to Bookiegate. June 23 - Mowbray has gone directly to the press, stating "I knew absolutely nothing about what people are describing as Bookiegate. However, there are people in the club who not only knew a fair bit about it; they were driving the whole concept. I decided my reputation as a manager and as a human being would be tainted if I stayed at Celtic Park a moment longer." The news cycle goes into hyperdrive. June 24 - We sign Scott Arfield from Falkirk. June 25 - Scotland draw 0-0 with North Korea and fail to qualify for the knockout stages. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Callan Rofe was on board. Once again the nation's attention is diverted from Bookiegate. June 27 - The SPL have stated they will announce the results of their initial investigations on July 2. June 30 - I receive a new four year contract from Third Lanark. At nearly double the salary I currently earn, it doesn't take me long to accept. July 1- Paul Hanlon from Hibernians joins our squad, while Kevin McDonald is signed from Burnley. The tastefully named Graeme Rampage is signed on a free transfer from Albion Rovers. July 2 - Bookiegate Revelation Day Explosive news from the Scottish FA headquarters. Figures from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Hibernian have admitted playing a major role in influencing the outcome of matches, paying off referees and reaping profits from bookmakers. The Scottish FA hand out immediate penalties to the four clubs in the harshest possible terms - each of the four clubs are fined $20 million each, virtually bankrupting Hearts and Hibs, while competition points have been deducted from each of the four clubs for the following season. Hearts and Hibs will start on -6, while Celtic and Rangers have been deducted a whopping 21 points, destroying any chance they have of winning the Scottish Premier League title. They will be also deducted 15 points in 2011/12, 9 points in 2012/13 and 3 points in 2013/14. The reaction is immediate and unprecedented. Supporters of four clubs go on a violent rampage in their respective neighbourhoods. Tear gas is used on Rangers supporters, while Celtic fans call for the resignations of the board. Seven referees have been suspended indefinitely, and betting on SPL matches is banned throughout Scotland. The penalty will be applied immediately, although clubs have seven days to appeal any decision. July 2 - The English bookies have released our Premiership odds, and we are the new favourites! $2.00 - Third Lanark $6.00 - Dundee United $7.00 - Rangers $15.00 - Celtic $15.00 - Falkirk $21.00 - Kilmarnock England beat Germany 2-1 and Italy beat France 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. July 3 - Sky News Sports make their annual predictions. They agree that 21 points is too much of a hurdle for Rangers and Celtic to overcome. 1st - Third Lanark 2nd - Dundee United 3rd - Hibernian 4th - Falkirk 5th - Aberdeen 6th - Kilmarnock 7th - Hearts 8th - Dundee 9th - St Mirren 10th - Motherwell 11th - Rangers 12th - Celtic 13th - Inverness CT 14th - St Johnstone 15th - Hamilton 16th - Morton 17th - Raith 18th - Airdrie United 19th - Clyde 20th - Alloa Athletic The Czech Republic beat Ivory Coast 1-0 in extra time, while Brazil downs Spain on penalties in the World Cup quarter-finals July 4 - With Partick Thistle now in the Conference, we make an offer to sign young defender Kyle Lochhead. He promptly jumps at the chance to play for us, leaving our cross-town rivals in a sticky situation. July 6 - The Czech Republic are the first team through to the World Cup final after shocking Italy 1-0. July 7 - Brazil break English hearts as they advance to the World Cup final. July 9 - Callum Davidson is confirmed as Third Lanark captain for another season. Callan Rofe is a popular choice as vice-captain. The position was taken off Stuart Low due to the possibility of him not seeing a lot of match time this season. We beat English Premier League side Newcastle 6-2 in a friendly at Caledonian Stadium. The appeals from Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Hibs over their points penalties are dismissed. We almost certainly will have a new champion team in the Scottish Premier League July 10 - England beats Italy 2-1 to finish third at the World Cup. July 11 - The Czech Republic beat Brazil 1-0 to shock the world and become World Cup champions. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-04-2010, 05:36 PM	#15
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	July 17 - Celtic Champions Cup - Linfield 0 Third Lanark 7 The start of the Celtic Champions Cup tournament sees us play our first game outside of Scotland. To cap off the historical nature of the game, Callan Rofe captains the Thirds for the first time with Callum Davidson on the bench. We play our best possible squad and win easily. To help preserve the squad, I will play my next match with a second string outfit. July 21 - Celtic Champions Cup - Third Lanark 4 Rhyl 0 We rest almost all of our stars. 16 year old youth prospect Lee Currie becomes the youngest ever Third Lanark player, while Rampage, Arfield and McDonald also make their debuts. The result secures qualification for the quarter-finals. We will rest our players again in our final game against Dundee United, since the match means nothing and we will qualify no matter what. July 24 - Celtic Champions Cup - Dundee United 4 Third Lanark 3 We take another weakened side and go down fighting, trailing 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 at various stages of the game. The result means absolutely nothing though and doesn't affect our ability to win the Celtic Champions Cup. July 25 - We find out that our opponents in the CCC Quarter-Finals will be St Patricks Athletic, from the Republic of Ireland. The match will be played at Murrayfield. July 28 - Champions League Qualifier - Ajax 0 Third Lanark 2 A terrific introduction to European football, with a very tough game against the Dutch runners-up. Rofe inflates the final score with a very late goal. The Scottish manager George Burley was spotted in the stands. Is Rofe in his plans? July 29 - If (when) we beat St Pats in the Celtic Champions League, we will play either Celtic or Dundee United in the semi-final. Story in the newspaper today linking me with the still-vacant position at Celtic. Why would I want to join a team that has 21 points docked off them? July 31 - Celtic Champions Cup Quarter Final - Third Lanark 5 St Patricks Athletic 0 We coast easily in this match and set up a showdown with Celtic in the semi-finals. 　 August 1- Celtic have a new manager at last - former Bulgarian international Hristo Stocihkov will take on the poisoned challice of guiding Celtic through this difficult season. August 3- Rangers topple Falkirk 2-0 in the first Celtic Champions Cup semi-final. August 4 - Kyle Lochhead will join Peterborough on loan for the rest of the season after he failed to win a spot in our Premier League squad. I will be keeping a close eye on him as he is a very good prospect. August 4 - Champions League Qualifier - Third Lanark 3 Ajax 2 (Third Lanark win 5-2 on aggregrate) European football comes to Caledonia Stadium for the first time. We take a 2-0 advantage into the match and trade goals with the Dutch visitors. Ross McCormack was ultimately the difference, slotting two goals in a masterful performance. We have one more set of qualifiers to go before we are into the group stage of the Champions League. The only downer is that Paul Hanlon and Mariusz Lewandowski are both out for the next three weeks owing to injuries. August 5 - We face a monumental challenge in our next Champions League qualifier - Real Madrid, one of the giants of Spanish (and European) football. They have won the Champions League nine times. Alex Pearce signs a new contract with us. He will stay with us until at least July 2014. August 6 - Celtic Champions Cup Semi Final - Third Lanark 3 Celtic 3 (Celtic wins shootout 4-2) Less than 48 hours after negotiating the Ajax game we play Celtic for a spot in another cup final. We lead by a Rofe goal at the break, but alarmingly he hobbles of the pitch with an injury. Celtic storm back into the match and level the scores 2-2 by full time, going ahead in extra time when our tired legs cannot compete any longer. Leigh Griffiths locks the game up again with an incredible 35 yard strike and we are off to a penalty shoot-out - our first ever. Unfortunately for us we miss our first and last shot. Celtic convert all of theirs and they advance to their first Celtic Champions Cup final. The verdict on Callan Rofe after the match is a bruised thigh - he will be out for approximately the next ten days. August 9 - Celtic edge Rangers 1-0 to win the Celtic Challenge Cup. August 10 - The groups for the Euro 2012 qualifiers have been drawn. Scotland will face Holland, Wales, Austria, Moldova, Sweden and the might of Liechtenstein and must finish in the top two in their group in order to advance to the tournament, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-06-2010, 05:49 PM	#16
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	August-October in Review I got a bit tired of sitting through and watching every single game, so I'm going to sim a lot of fixtures and present the wrap-up in a different format. Third Lanark had opened a seven point lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League by the end of October, thanks to an undefeated run of twelve games. As expected, Rangers and Celtic filled out the middle of the table, although both would be title contenders were it not for their points penalties. Premier League 14/08 - W 5-0 @ Raith Rovers. Three goals for Leigh Griffiths, who took Callan Rofe's place in the side after he was ruled out with injury. 21/08 - W 3-0 @ Hamilton. 29/08 - W 2-1 v Airdrie United. We come behind to survive a scare against the SPL new boys. 01/09 - W 2-1 v Falkirk. 11/09 - W 3-1 @ St Mirren. 19/09 - W 3-1 v Morton. 25/09 - W 5-1 @ Clyde. Rofe slams four goals against the relegation whipping boys. 06/10 - W 4-0 @ Dundee. Grieg Forsyth gets a rare double as we play our reserves. 13/10 - W 4-1 v Hibernian. Two more goals from Forsyth. 16/10 - D 2-2 v Celtic. Our winning streak comes to a halt, despite leading 2-0 at one stage. 24/10 - W 2-0 @ Inverness CT. 27/10 - W 3-1 v Alloa. We hammer the SPL new boys and our former player Steve Bonar. 30/10 - L 0-2 @ Aberdeen. A surprise loss to end the month. Our streak of scoring in 46 consecuitive SPL games is also over. Champions League / Europa League The Thirds were swamped by Real Madrid in the final qualifying phase of the Champions League, but qualified for the Europa League where they made a mixed start to their group matches. 19/08 - L 2-5 v Real Madrid. We had more shots, but they put more in the net. We need to win our next game by four goals to advance. 26/08 - L 2-3 @ Real Madrid. A better performance, but not enough as we lose 4-8 on aggregate. It's not all bad as we qualify for the group stage of the second-tier Europa League. Celtic are also participating. We are drawn in Group K (there are 16 groups) along with Lokomotiv (Russia), Blackburn (England) and Valencia (Spain). 16/09 - D 2-2 @ Blackburn. Good draw to get us underway. 30/09 - L 1-2 v Valencia. Tough loss against the hardest team in our group. 21/10 - W 2-1 @ Lokomotive. Our first game in Russia is won thanks to a local own-goal. Challenge Cup 14/09 - W 8-1 v Hearts. Incredible result to open this tournament. 22/09 - W 2-1 @ Dundee. Ross McCormack scored the winner in injury time. 28/09 - W 5-0 v Morton. Another hattrick from the mercurial Rofe. We qualify for the quarter-finals. Premier League Standings as of October 31st All teams have played 13 games. 1. Third Lanark - 34 (+27) 2. Aberdeen - 27 (+12) 3. Dundee United - 25 (+9) 4. Kilmarnock - 23 (+8) 5. Falkirk - 23 (+7) 6. St Johnstone - 20 (+5) 7. Airdrie United - 17 (+1) 8. St Mirren - 17 (-1) 9. Motherwell - 16 (-8) 10. Rangers - 13 (+23) 11. Hibernian - 12 (0) 12. Morton - 12 (-9) 13. Inverness CT - 12 (-9) 14. Celtic - 11 (+22) 15. Hearts - 10 (-3) 16. Dundee - 10 (-10) 17. Hamilton - 9 (-14) 18. Raith - 6 (-17) 19. Clyde - 6 (-19) 20. Alloa - 5 (-24) Note - Rangers would be on 34 points, Hibernian 18, Celtic 32 and Hearts 16 were it not for points penalties. Europa League Group K Standings as of October 31st 1. Valencia (Spain) - 7(+4) 2. Third Lanark (Scotland) - 4 (0) 3. Lokomotiv (Russia) - 2 (-1) 4. Blackburn (England) - 2 (-3) Third Lanark Top Goalscorers 32 - Callan Rofe 9 - Grieg Forsyth 8 - Ross McCormack 7 - George Boyd 7 - Harry Kewell Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players 7.87 - Callan Rofe 7.39 - Grieg Forsayth 7.39 - Leigh Griffiths 7.31 - Jack Rodwell 7.22 - Alex Pearce Milestones for Third Lanark Players 14/08 - Kevin McDonald played his 150th career game. 04/09 - Callan Rofe earns his first cap for Scotland, playing against Sweden in the European Championship qualifiers. He scored twice against Modolva four days later. 01/10 - Callan Rofe wins the Young Player of the Month for September. I am the Manager of the Month. 03/10 - We have five players in the Scottish squad, the most of any SPL club. 09/10 - Rofe scores his first hattrick for Scotland as they demolish Wales 5-0. 27/10 - Mariusz Lewandowski becomes the first Third Lanark player sent off. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-08-2010, 01:55 AM	#17
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	November to January in review Premier League 07/11 - W 6-1 v Kilmarnock. Great game, with Rampage scoring his first league goal for Thirds. 10/11 - W 3-1 v Motherwell. Comfortable win. 20/11 - W 3-1 v Hearts. Good showing in a rare midday Saturday fixture. 28/11 - W 2-1 @ St Johnstone. Fighting performance, with the Saints leading 1-0 at the break. 19/12 - W 2-1 @ Dundee United. After a break in matches we are back on form. 22/12 - W 3-1 v Rangers. We essentially humiliate the defending champions, only allowing one shot on goal all day! History may well record this as the day that the championship changed hands, from the dynasty of the past to one of the future. 29/12 - W 2-1 v Hamilton. We score two goals in the final twenty minutes to avoid a monumental upset. 02/01 - W 3-0 @ Airdrie United. Great way to start the new year. 08/01 - W 2-0 v Raith. McCormack and Rofe again ensure we don't incur the wrath of Raith. 16/01 - D 2-2 @ Falkirk. We drop points in our second game against Falkirk following the Challenge Cup semi-final. 19/01 - W 3-0 v St Mirren. Total domination against an average Buddies side. 22/01 - W 6-0 @ Morton. Fantastic performance away from home. Three goals to Rofe. 29/01 - W 3-0 v Clyde. We celebrate my 100th game in charge with a fine win. Europa League 04/11 - W 6-1 v Blackburn. A smashing performance, with Rofe, McCormack and Lewandowski leading the way. 02/12 - D 2-2 v Valencia. Not a bad result 16/12 - W 4-0 v Lokomotiv. A fantastic result, with McCormack bagging a hattrick. We are drawn to play Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round over two legs in February. Challenge Cup 05/01 - W 4-2 @ Rangers (Quarter Final). Two goals in the final five minutes give us a famous victory against our cross-town rivals. 12/01 - W 4-2 v Falkirk (Semi Final). An efficient performance sees us into the final to defend our title. 26/01 - W 5-1 v Dundee United (Final). Four goals to Callan Rofe and we have successfully defended our Challenge Cup title! Scottish Cup 13/11 - W 4-1 @ St Mirren. Kevin McDonald produces a fine performance as we look to defend our title. 11/12 - W 3-0 @ Ross County. We go easy on the Conference side and advance to the Third Round, where we will play Berwick. Premier League Standings as of January 31st 1. Third Lanark - 71 (+58) 2. Falkirk - 53 (+25) 3. Aberdeen - 52 (+18) 4. Kilmarnock - 47 (+13) 5. Celtic - 46 (+42) 6. St Johnstone - 41 (+6) 7. Motherwell - 41 (-3) 8. Hibernian - 40 (-3) 9. Dundee United - 40 (+6) 10. Rangers - 33 (+31) 11. St Mirren - 33 (+1) 12. Airdrie United - 33 (-4) 13. Dundee - 27 (-14) 14. Hearts - 25 (0) 15. Inverness CT - 22 (-15) 16. Morton - 18 (-24) 17. Hamilton - 18 (-29) 18. Clyde - 13 (-38) 19. Raith - 12 (-36) 20. Alloa - 11 (-49) Third Lanark Top Goalscorers 72 - Callan Rofe (33 in SPL, 30 in cup competitions, 9 in Europe, 7 for Scotland, 3 in a friendly) 24 - Ross McCormack 13 - Grieg Forsyth 13 - George Boyd 9 - Harry Kewell Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players (Only including players who have started 20 or more games) 7.97 - Callan Rofe 7.32 - Jack Rodwell 7.20 - Stuart Low 7.18 - Craig Thomson 7.17 - Ross McCormack __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-08-2010, 09:25 PM	#18
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	February to March in Review Premier League 01/02 - W 2-1 v Hibernian. The Thirds roadshow keeps rolling along. 12/02 - W 2-0 v Dundee. All over after ten minutes, we disappointingly take our foot off the pedal. 20/02 - W 4-1 @ Celtic. We continue our excellent record over the Buoys, and deal a blow to their aspirations of finishing in the top five next year. 27/02 - D 2-2 v Inverness Caledonian Thistle. We continue to show signs of burnout after our European adventures. Still, our unbeaten run stands at seventeen games. 02/03 - W 3-1 v Aberdeen. A brilliant performance, reversing the previous result which is still our only loss for the season. 06/03 - W 4-3 @ Kilmarnock. Perhaps the game of the season, with a seven goal attack-fest testing Third Lanark to the limits. Rofe once again scores a swag of goals and gets us out of trouble. However, the result means so much more to Third Lanark - WE HAVE WON THE PREMIER LEAGUE! For the first time in 107 years the Premier League title is back resting in our clubhouse trophy room. Pundits may say that our task was considerably easier thanks to Rangers and Celtic being handicapped before the season even started but our record clearly states we are the better side all the same. Callan Rofe is hailed as the key to our success, with the wunderkid scoring goals seemingly at will. 19/03 - W 3-0 @ Alloa. We could have the option of going easy but want to finish the season as best we can. Sorry Alloa. You could have used the three points in your relegation struggle. Europa League 17/02 - W 2-1 v Paris Saint-Germain (1st Knockout Round). Fantastic result! 24/02 - L 2-4 @ Paris Saint-Germain (1st Knockout Round). Unfortunately all of the good work went to waste on a cold night in Paris. The Frenchmen win 5-4 on aggregrate and our European adventure is over. The board and supporters are understandably disappointed but can see the bigger picture, with the more alluring Champions League over the horizon (Scottish league champions are assured of a spot in the group stage, which is further than we could qualify this year) Scottish Cup 05/02 - W 4-1 v Berwick (Third Round). A very comfortable result, even if the visitors scored the first goal of the game. 12/03 - W 6-1 @ Aberdeen (Quarter Final). A brilliant result coming just days after we secure the Scottish Premier League title. News and Events 09/02 - Callan Rofe scores three goals in Scotland's 5-4 over Wales in the Four Associations Tournament (an annual competition involving Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) 06/03 - Third Lanark wins the Scottish Premier League for the second time, and first since 1903/04. They also secure a spot in the group stage of the European Champions League. 26/03 - Callan Rofe scores twice for Scotland as they beat Holland 3-1 to go on top in the Euro 2012 qualification stages. Premier League Standings 5 games remaining. Third Lanark have secured the championship. 1. Third Lanark - 90 (+70) 2. Aberdeen - 67 (+25) 3. Falkirk - 66 (+28) 4. Celtic - 61 (+50) 5. Dundee United - 53 (+9) 6. Kilmarnock - 52 (+10) 7. Motherwell - 51 (0) 8. Hibernian - 49 (+12) 9. St Johnstone - 49 (+1) 10. Rangers - 43 (+35) 11. St Mirren - 43 (+2) 12. Airdrie United - 37 (-10) 13. Dundee - 34 (-19) 14. Hearts - 33 (-2) 15. Inverness CT - 30 (-15) 16. Hamilton - 25 (-29) 17. Morton - 24 (-28) 18. Raith - 23 (-35) 19. Clyde - 23 (-38) 20. Alloa - 11 (-66) Third Lanark Top Goalscorers 88 - Callan Rofe (44 in the SPL) 30 - Ross McCormack 14 - George Boyd 13 - Grieg Forsyth 10 - Harry Kewell Third Lanark Top Five Rated Players 7.98 - Callan Rofe 7.27 - Jack Rodwell 7.21 - Craig Thomson 7.21 - Ross McCormack 7.19 - Mariusz Lewandowski Transfers In - Gordon Burns from Newcastle ($17m) - We decide to bring back our former defender to help plug a few holes in defense. Due to an administrative error he is ineligible to play in the SPL for the rest of the year, although he may play in the Scottish Cup and Europa League. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-08-2010, 10:47 PM	#19
bbgunn College Benchwarmer Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama	You guys are out for blood, beating up on poor Alloa like that! __________________ U of Hawaii \| U of Alabama \| Montreal Impact \| Montreal Canadiens \| West Ham \| West Indies cricket \| Portland Trail Blazers

01-09-2010, 12:03 AM	#20
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	Nothing went right for Alloa that day. Their odds of staying up for another season were in the realm of the miraculous anyway. We need to win three and draw one of our last five games to reach 100 points for the season. April to May in Review Premier League 03/04 - W 2-1 @ Motherwell. Late winner from George Boyd. 10/04 - D 1-1 v St Johnstone. The Saints pick up vital points in their battle to gain a respectable league position. 24/04 - D 1-1 @ Hearts. We are now officially in a winning drought! The quest for 100 points is over too. 01/05 - L 2-3 v Dundee United. A crowd of 69,000 sees the Terriors walk away with a great victory in our last home game of the year. It is thanks largely to Mariusz Lewandowski who gifted the visitors a penalty in the 66th minute. 04/05 - L 2-3 @ Rangers. A poor way to finish what has been a fantastic season. Still, we claim the winner's cheque and trophy and celebrate in euphoric fashion in front of our rivals. We officially seal a spot in the Champions League group stages through winning the SPL Scottish Cup 16/04 - W 3-2 @ Celtic (Semi Final). A brilliant game. Celtic looked to have taken the game into extra time with a goal from Scott McDonald after 89 minutes, however Ross McCormack delighted the Thirds fans with his winner from a placed shot. We are back into the final, and this time against Rangers! 07/05 - W 6-0 v Rangers (Final). A glorious day and a memorable way to officially finish the Scottish season, with a demolition job against our bitter rivals who had beaten us only three days previously. Four goals from Callan Rofe left nobody in any doubt about who the best player in the country was. The win completed four trophies for the season for the Thirds - the Premier League, Scottish Cup, Challenge Cup and Celtic Champions Cup. Final Scottish Premier League Table 1. Third Lanark - 95 (+69) - 2011/12 Champions League (group stage) 2. Falkirk - 77 (+37) - 2011/12 Champions League (qualifying stage) 3. Aberdeen - 75 (+27) - 2011/12 Europa League 4. Celtic - 72 (+55) - 2011/12 Europa League (would have finished 2nd on 93 points) 5. Dundee United - 66 (+17) - 2011/12 Europa League 6. Motherwell - 61 (+4) 7. Kilmarnock - 58 (+6) 8. Rangers - 56 (+41) (would have finished 3rd on 77 points) 9. Hibernian - 56 (+13) (would have finished 7th on 62 points) 10. St Johnstone - 50 (-6) 11. St Mirren - 46 (-1) 12. Airdrie United - 43 (-11) 13. Hearts - 37 (-6) (would have finished 12th on 43 points) 14. Dundee - 36 (-25) 15. Inverness CT - 33 (-19) 16. Raith - 33 (-30) 17. Hamilton - 32 (-30) 18. Morton - 30 (-26) 19. Clyde - 28 (-42) 20. Alloa - 15 (-73) Relegated to Conference 2011/12 - Hamilton, Morton, Clyde, Poor Old Alloa Promoted to Scottish Premier League 2011/12 - Queen of the South (Conference champions), Ross County, Dunfermline, Partick Thistle (playoff winners v Dumbarton). All four teams were demoted from the SPL at the end of last season and bounce up straight away. Airdrie United and Raith defy the odds and stay in the SPL. Celtic and Rangers each have 15 points deducted for next season. Third Lanark Award Winners Player of the Year - Callan Rofe Top Goalscorer - Callan Rofe (daylight second) Young Player of the Year - Jack Rodwell Manager of the Year - Hamish Brock Named in team of the year - Callan Rofe, Alex Pearce __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-13-2010, 04:52 AM	#21
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	2011/12 Season in Review The 2011/12 season was Third Lanark's thrid season in the Scottish Premier League. During this season the team competed for the first time in the European Champions League and defended their SPL title comfortably. The team also had success in winning the Challenge Cup for the third year in succession, but unexpectedly failed in the Scottish Cup and Celtic Champions League competitions. Once again, Callan Rofe scored a swag of goals (84 in 53 games), and he was ably assisted in this regard with Ross McCormack scoring 33 goals. Premier League Games (goalscorers in brackets) 13/8 - W 3-1 @ Motherwell (Rofe 2, K.McDonald) 20/8 - W 2-0 v Queen of the South (Rofe, McCormack) 27/8 - W 2-1 @ Partick Thistle (Rofe 2) 10/9 - W 5-0 v Kilmarnock (Rofe 3, K.McDonald, McCormack) 18/9 - W 5-1 @ Airdrie United (Rofe 3, Morrison 2) 24/9 - D 1-1 v Falkirk (Burns) 4/10 - W 2-1 @ Hibernian (Rodwell, Rofe) 12/10 - L 2-3 v Celtic (Kewell, McKenna) 15/10 - W 3-0 @ Dundee Utd (McCormack 2, Rofe) 23/10 - W 2-0 v Raith (Rofe 2) 26/10 - W 3-1 @ Inverness CT (Burns, Forsyth, McCormack) 29/10 - W 3-1 v Ross County (Morrison 2, Rofe) 5/11 - W 4-2 v St Johnstone (Hanlon, Forsyth, Arfield, Rofe) 8/11 - W 4-2 @ St Mirren (Rofe 2, Forsyth, Rodwell) 19/11 - D 1-1 v Aberdeen (McCormack) 27/11 - L 1-2 v Rangers (Rofe) 18/12 - W 3-1 @ Dundee (Rofe 2, Forsyth) 21/12 - W 5-0 @ Hearts (Rofe 4, Laird) 28/12 - W 4-0 v Dunfermline (Rofe 4) 1/1 - W 2-1 v Motherwell (Rofe 2) 7/1 - W 3-0 @ Queen of the South (Pearce, Rofe, Crawford) 14/1 - W 2-0 v Partick Thistle (Thomson, McCormack) 18/1 - W 5-1 @ Kilmarnock (Rofe 2, Rodwell, McDonald, McCormack) 21/1 - W 4-0 v Airdrie United (Rofe 2, Morrison, McCormack) 28/1 - D 1-1 @ Falkirk (Rofe) 1/2 - W 3-0 v Dundee United (Rofe, Burns, Morrison) 8/2 - W 4-3 @ Celtic (Morrison, Rofe, McCormack, Boyd) 11/2 - W 4-0 v Hibernian (Rofe 3, Rodwell) 19/2 - W 2-0 @ Raith (Burns, Griffiths) 25/2 - D 1-1 v Inverness CT (Kewell) 28/2 - L 1-2 @ Ross County (McCormack) 3/3 - D 1-1 @ St Johnstone (McCormack) 18/3 - W 6-0 v St Mirren (Morrison 3, Rofe 2, Forsyth) 24/3 - D 2-2 @ Aberdeen (Boyd, McCormack) 31/3 - W 2-0 v Dundee (Rofe 2) 8/4 - L 2-3 @ Rangers (Rodwell, Rofe) 21/4 - W 4-2 v Hearts (Rofe 3, Griffiths) 28/4 - W 5-4 @ Dunfermline (Rofe 3, McCormack, own goal) Scottish Premier League Table Rangers and Celtic had 15 points deducted 1. Third Lanark - 90 (+71) 2. Rangers - 71 (+52) 3. Falkirk - 71 (+29) 4. Aberdeen - 69 (+23) 5. Celtic - 68 (+50) 6. Hibernian - 65 (+15) 7. Motherwell - 59 (+12) 8. Inverness CT - 54 (+3) 9. St Johnstone - 51 (+3) 10. Dunfermline - 47 (-2) 11. Hearts - 46 (-15) 12. Dundee Utd - 45 (-5) 13. Kilmarnock - 42 (-36) 14. Dundee - 41 (-17) 15. Queen of the South - 39 (-18) 16. St Mirren - 37 (-25) 17. Partick Thistle - 35 (-28) 18. Ross County - 35 (-31) 19. Airdrie United - 26 (-44) 20. Raith - 25 (-36) Relegated to Conference - Partick Thistle, Ross County, Airdrie Utd, Raith Promoted to SPL 2012/13 - Morton, Hamilton, Stenhousemuir, Clyde Champions League Qualifiers 2011/12 27/7 - W 6-0 v B36 (Faroe Is) (McCormack 2, Morrison 2, Forsyth, McKenna) 3/8 - W 7-0 @ B36 (Faroe Is) (McCormack 4, Rofe 2, Thomson) 17/8 - W 4-2 v Buducnost (Montenegro) (Rofe 2, Burns, McCormack) 24/8 - W 5-2 @ Buducnost (Montenegro) (Rofe 4, McCormack) Champions League Group Stage 13/9 - W 4-1 v Bayern Munich (Germany) (Rofe 4) 28/9 - D 2-2 @ Benfica (Portugal) (McCormack, Morrison) 19/10 - L 0-1 v Athletico Madrid (Spain) 1/11 - L 2-4 @ Athletico Madrid (Spain) (Rofe 2) 23/11 - D 1-1 @ Bayern Munich (Germany) (Hanlon) 6/12 - W 3-0 v Benfica (McCormack 2, Boyd) Finished third in group stage, qualify for Europa League knockout stages Europa League 16/2 - First Knockout Round - L 3-4 v Lazio (Italy) (Rofe 2, Morrison) 22/2 - First Knockout Roudn - L 0-2 @ Lazio (Italy) Scottish Cup 12/11 - First Round - D 4-4 @ Dundee (Boyd 2, Rodwell, Kewell) Lost penalty shoot-out 7-6 Celtic Champions Cup 2011 16/7 - W 7-0 v Bangor City (WAL) (Rofe 4, Hanlon, Morrison, McCormack) 20/7 - W 6-0 v Linfield (NIR) (Boyd 2, Forsyth, McDonald, Montgomery, Rofe) 23/7 - W 3-1 @ Falkirk (SCO) (Rofe 3) 30/7 - Quarter Final - L 0-1 v Dundee (SCO) Challenge Cup 21/9 - W 3-2 v Dundee United (McCormack 2, McKenna) 26/9 - W 4-1 @ Raith (Forsyth 2, Rofe, McCormack) 17/10 - W 2-1 @ Dundee (Rofe, McDonald) 3/11 - D 1-1 v Motherwell (Rofe) 4/1 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v Hibernians (Rofe 2, McCormack) 11/1 - Semi Final - W 4-1 v Hearts (Forsyth, McDonald, Rofe, McCormack) 25/1 - Final - W 3-2 v Rangers (Rofe 3) Finals of competitions Scottish Cup - Rangers d. Celtic 2-0 Challenge Cup - Third Lanark d. Rangers 3-2 League Shield - Clyde d. Cowdenbeath 1-0 Celtic Champions Cup - Celtic d. Falkirk 1-0 Champions League - Bayren Munich d. Barcelona 3-1 Europa League - Liverpool d. Inter Milan on penalties Third Lanark Award Winners Manager of the Year - Hamish Brock (second in a row) Player of the Year - Callan Rofe (third in a row) Top Goalscorer - Callan Rofe (third in a row) Young Player of the Year - Jack Rodwell (third in a row) Players in Team of the Year - Chris Kirkland, Gordon Burns, Jack Rodwell, Callan Rofe Players in FIFA Team of the Year - Callan Rofe Comings and Goings Retirement - Callum Davidson retired at the end of the season, having played 400 games in his career. 62 were for Third Lanark. We offer him a contract as a coach, which he accepts. Transfer - Craig Thomson signed a contract for the 2012/13 season with German club Schalke. He leaves after playing 79 games and scoring 2 goals for us in the SPL. Marius Lewandowski was let go at the end of his contract. He played 100 league games, scoring a solitary goal. Harry Kewell's contract was not renewed, leaving after playing 56 games and scoring 7 goals. Kevin McKenna left the club after three seasons which saw the Canadian play 60 games. Scotland at the 2012 European Championship Third Lanark players in squad - James Morrison (22 caps, 2 goals), Alex Pearce (10 caps, 0 goals), Kevin McDonald (4 caps, 1 goal), Craig Thomson (no senior caps), Callan Rofe (16 caps, 20 goals) Ross McCormack was extremely unlucky to miss out, given that he has played pretty well to date for Scotland, scoring 14 goals in 23 games! 10/6 - W 1-0 v Slovakia (Group B) (Rofe) 14/6 - W 1-0 v Czech Republic (Group B) (Rofe) 18/6 - L 1-3 v Ukraine (Group B) (Rofe) 21/6 - D 2-2 v England (Quarter Final) (Bannan, Rofe) Scotland wins penalty shoot-out 5-4. Rofe and Morrison contributed goals. 27/6 - D 0-0 v France (Semi Final) France wins penalty shoot-out 6-5. Rofe scores the first goal. France goes on to win the final 1-0 against Italy. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-13-2010, 07:13 PM	#22
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	With Mariusz Lewandowski leaving Third Lanark, the club had the option of signing another non-British player to fulfill the 'one foreign player' rule in operation in the SPL. 25-year old Argentine defender Cristian Ansaldi was signed from Monaco on a five season contract, and will fill the right hand side of the defense vacated by Callum Davidson. There may be a problem or two at the start with Ansaldi not knowning any English, but I'm not overly concerned. Charlie Adam was the only other significant new signing by Third Lanark, with the Blackpool defender being added as depth. Keith Watson wasn't part of our plans any further with Ansaldi joining the club, and he was quickly dispatched to Queen of the South. Aston Villa made an offer of $6m for Kevin McDonald. Not keen to lose our newly capped midfielder without a fight, I raise the price to $10m and that's the last we hear from Villa. Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland still has 14 months until his contract expires but I want to lock him up now. He knocks back a five year contract - which surprises me since it is a significant upgrade over his old weekly wage. He accepts a new three year contract worth $11.25m Importantly, Callan Rofe re-signs with Third Lanark for five more seasons. His contract is worth $31.5m and we reward him further with the captaincy of the club. He is an old head on young shoulders and I'm looking forward to seeing how Thirds respond to his leadership. Heading into our fourth season, our best eleven is as follows: (Debut season, Career games, Career goals) (Year joined Thirds, Thirds games, Thirds goals) GK - Chris Kirkland (2000, 247, 0) (2009, 85, 0) DR - Cristian Ansaldi (2005, 174, 15) (2012, 0, 0) DC - Alex Pearce (2005, 149, 12) (2009, 95, 9) DC - Gordon Burns (2009, 67, 7) (2010, 55, 4) DL - Paul Hanlon (2007, 89, 3) (2010, 40, 1) DMC - Jack Rodwell (2007, 122, 15) (2009, 101, 15) MC - Kevin McDonald (2005, 202, 20) (2010, 53, 4) MC - Scott Arfield (2007, 125, 23) (2010, 18, 1) AMC - James Morrison (2003, 211, 25) (2009, 60, 15) ST - Callan Rofe (2009, 108, 164) (2009, 108, 164) ST - Ross McCormack (2003, 209, 76) (2009, 93, 39) Rodwell, Hanlon and Arfield are the only players who have not played for their country. The expectations from the board are nothing if not high - they expect us to win the three Scottish domestic competitions (Premier League, Scottish Cup, Challenge Cup), also win the Celtic Champions League for the first time, and reach the first knockout stage of the European Champions League. __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

01-13-2010, 10:15 PM	#23
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	Season in Review - 2012/13 Third Lanark had high expectations of a third straight Scottish Premier League title, a sweep of the domestic cups, and European success at the start of the season. However, they stumbled out of the Celtic Champions Cup in the quarter-final stage, and lost captain Callan Rofe for the first three games of the new season. Salt was added to Rofe's wounds when he was dropped from the Scottish squad for no good reason - apart from the fact that he was closing in on Kenny Dalgish's record of goals. He was later reinstated into the squad as they faced a difficult task to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, being drawn with England and Romania in their qualifying group. Thirds lost two of their first six games in disappointing results against Hibs and Dundee, but then peeled off six straight wins to sit just behind Falkirk at the end of October. The big surprise was Hibernian in third, with an undefeated start to the season, while Rangers were also undefeated (albeit with a nine point penalty around their necks). Thirds moved back into their usual position after demolishing Falkirk 5-2 in early November and further cemented their spot with an important win against Aberdeen. A famous 1-0 victory against Liverpool kicked off the Thirds' European Champions League campaign. This was backed up with a great 2-0 win at Schalke - Craig Thomson's new home. Despite a loss to Spanish giants Valencia, Thirds were perched on top of their group at the halfway point of the European Champions League group stage. Their spot was further solidified with a 5-1 demolition of Schalke. A loss at Anfield against Liverpool put Third Lanark into a must-win situation against Valencia - although a draw would be enough to see Thirds qualify for the knockout stage for the first time. Unfortunately it was not meant to be with a 2-0 loss seeing Thirds crash out for the second year in a row. Third were re-drawn into the knockout stages of the Europa League, where they faced Greek club Olympiakos. With the opening of the transfer window, we decide to stick with the squad we currently have. A 1-0 loss to Hibs sees our lead over Rangers fall to only six points - were it not for the "Bookiegate" saga they would be leading the SPL, not us. Any chance that Third Lanark had of falling off the pace for the Premier League title hinged on their next two games against Celtic and Rangers - they won both by 4-1. For good measure, Celtic were bundled out of the Challenge Cup semi finals as well. They would face Hearts in the final, won 6-4 in a goal-scoring feast. It was Third Lanark's fourth win in four years of the competition. At the end of January Thirds led the SPL by nine points from Hibernian, who were having their best season since 2005. Despite an unexpected loss at Kilmarnock, Thirds stayed on top of the table throughout February, and added a 4-1 win against Olympiakos to the tally. Third Lanark advanced to the second knockout round against Tottenham, who were duly dispatched 4-0 over two legs. They would have to face Sporting in the first leg without Callan Rofe, who was suspended. A third consecutive SPL title was sealed on March 30, with supporters celebrating just that little bit more enthusiastically than normal. The news was soured somewhat with the news that Jack Rodwell would miss the next three weeks. Sporting were shocked 3-1 by Third Lanark but the European adventure ended for the Scots two weeks later when Sporting won 6-2 in Glasgow. St Mirren were smashed 5-1 in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and Rangers were brushed aside 2-1 in the final. Scottish Premier League 19/8- L 1-2 @ Hibernian (Forsyth) 26/8 - W 2-0 v Celtic (Morrison, Boyd) 2/9 - D 3-3 @ Rangers (McDonald, Rofe, Burns) 15/9 - W 3-0 v Dundee Utd (Rofe 2, Forsyth) 23/9 - L 0-1 @ Dundee 29/9 - W 7-1 v Morton (Morrison 2, Rofe 2, Forsyth, McDonald, Griffiths) 7/10 - W 4-0 v Kilmarnock (Forsyth, Rofe, two own goals) 10/10 - W 3-2 @ Motherwell (Rofe 3) 20/10 - W 3-0 @ Dunfermline (Rofe 2, Morrison) 28/10 - W 4-1 v St Johnstone (Rofe 2, Forsyth, Boyd) 31/10 - W 4-0 @ Hamilton (McCormack 2, Forsyth, Rofe) 3/11 - W 5-2 v Falkirk (McCormack 3, Rofe 2) 10/11 - W 4-2 @ Queen of the South (Rofe 4) 14/11 - W 3-1 v Aberdeen (Rodwell, Boyd, Rofe) 21/11 - W 4-0 @ Clyde (Adam, Forsyth, Laird, Rofe) 24/11 - W 2-0 v Inverness CT (Rofe 2) 2/12 - W 4-1 v Hearts (Morrison 3, Rofe) 22/12 - D 2-2 @ St Mirren (Rofe 2) 26/12 - W 6-0 v Stenhousemuir (Rofe 4, Adam, Forsyth) 2/1 - L 0-1 v Hibernian 6/1 - W 4-1 @ Celtic (McCormack 2, Boyd, Rofe) 13/1 - W 4-1 v Rangers (McCormack, Boyd, McDonald) 19/1 - W 4-2 @ Dundee Utd (Rofe 3, Boyd) 22/1 - W 4-0 @ Morton (Rofe 3, Boyd) 27/1 - W 3-0 v Dundee (McDonald, Boyd, Rofe) 2/2 - W 4-1 v Dunfermline (Rofe 2, Boyd, Forsyth) 6/2 - L 1-2 @ Kilmarnock (Boyd) 16/2 - W 4-0 v Motherwell (Rofe, Forsyth, McDonald, own goal) 24/2 - W 4-3 @ St Johnstone (Rofe 3, McDonald) 3/3 - W 6-0 v Hamilton (Forsyth, Boyd, Adam, Rodwell, Rofe, Laird) 6/3 - W 3-0 @ Falkirk (McCormack 2, McDonald) 9/3 - W 2-0 v Queen of the South (Morrison, Forsyth) 24/3 - W 4-1 @ Inveress CT (Rofe 2, Morrison, Forsyth) 30/3 - W 3-1 @ Aberdeen (Morrison 2, Rofe) 7/4 - W 3-1 v Clyde (Griffiths 2, Rofe) 14/4 - D 0-0 v St Mirren 27/4 - W 2-0 @ Stenhousemuir (Rofe 2) 4/5 - W 2-0 @ Hearts (McCormack 2) Scottish Premier League Standings 1. Third Lanark - 96 (+89) 2. Rangers - 81 (+54) 3. Hibernian - 80 (+22) 4. Falkirk - 70 (+39) 5. Celtic - 70 (+39) 6. Dundee Utd - 68 (+22) 7. Aberdeen - 66 (+24) 8. Hearts - 60 (+12) 9. Kilmarnock - 55 (+1) 10. Dundee - 53 (+6) 11. St Mirren - 50 (+4) 12. St Johnstone - 49 (-7) 13. Motherwell - 42 (-21) 14. Queen of the South - 40 (-15) 15. Morton - 36 (-34) 16. Dunfermline - 34 (-35) 17. Inverness CT - 32 (-31) 18. Clyde - 30 (-36) 19. Hamilton - 27 (-56) 20. Stenhousemuir - 9 (-77) European Champions League 18/9 - W 1-0 v Liverpool (Rofe) 3/10 - L 1-3 @ Valencia (Rofe) 24/10 - W 2-0 @ Schalke (Rofe, McCormack) 6/11 - W 5-1 v Schalke (Rofe 3, McCormack, Morrison) 28/11 - L 1-2 @ Liverpool (Forsyth) 11/12 - L 0-2 v Valencia Qualifed for knockout stages of Europa Cup Europa Cup 21/2 - First Knockout Round - W 4-1 v Olympiakos (McCormack 2, McDonald, Rofe) 28/2 - First Knockout Round - L 1-2 @ Olympiakos (Rofe) 14/3 - Second Knockout Round - W 3-0 @ Tottenham (McCormack, Rofe, Morrison) 21/3 - Second knockout Round - W 1-0 v Tottenham (Morrison) 4/4 - Quarter Final - W 3-1 v Sporting (Forsyth, McCormack, McDonald) 11/4 - Quarter Final - L 2-6 @ Sporting (Rofe, McCormack) Scottish Cup 17/11 - W 5-0 @ Annan (Rofe 4, Forsyth) 15/12 - W 3-1 v Celtic (Rofe 3) 9/2 - W 5-1 v Airdrie Utd (Rofe 4, Forsyth) 17/3 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v St Johnstone (Rofe 3) 20/4 - Semi Final - W 5-1 v St Mirren (Rofe 3, Boyd, McDonald) 11/5 - Final - W 2-1 v Rangers (Rofe 2) Challenge Cup 20/9 - W 3-0 v St Mirren (Rofe, Forsyth, Arfield) 26/9 - W 4-0 v Hamilton (Rofe 3, Forsyth) 1/10 - W 3-1 @ Dundee (Rofe, Morrison, McCormack) 8/11 - L 1-3 @ Dundee Utd (own goal) 29/12 - Quarter Final - W 3-0 v Motherwell (Burns, Boyd, Rofe) 16/1 - Semi Final - W 2-1 v Celtic (Montgomery, McDonald) 30/1 - Final - W 6-4 v Hearts (Rofe 3, Adam, Morrison, Forsyth) Celtic Champions Cup 21/7 - W 4-1 v St Pats Athletic (EIR) (Rofe 3, Ansaldi) 25/7 - W 4-1 @ TNS (WAL) (Rofe 4) 28/7 - W 7-0 @ Portadown (NIR) (Rofe 2, Boyd 2, Morrison, McCormack, Burns) 5/8 - Quarter Final - L 1-2 v Celtic (McDonald) Final - Rangers drew with Aberdeen 1-1 (Rangers won on penalties) Awards Hamish Brock - Manager of the Year Callan Rofe - Player of the Year, Top Goalscorer, Scottish Team of the Year, World Team of the Year Jack Rodwell - Team of the Year Alex Pearce - Team of the Year James Morrison - Team of the Year Chris Kirkland - Team of the Year __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

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