Rallying the home support

First published in Sons View, 01 October 2011, Dumbarton -v- Albion Rovers

Last week’s positive display and 2-0 victory away at Forfar Athletic was a real boost for Sons, and we are all hoping that the good work will continue at home against Albion Rovers this afternoon.

If performances at SHS had matched Dumbarton’s away form, we would be sitting comfortably in the play-off promotion zone. As it is, we are at the other end of the table and our aim today is to put a good distance between ourselves and our visitors, to achieve stability at the Rock, and to push upwards.

Today’s game will be our fourth home league outing this season, and astonishingly Sons are still searching for that elusive first point on domestic turf in 2011/12 – having leaked 13 goals during those 270 minutes of football, while scoring just four.

By contrast, we’ve picked up 11 goals and seven points from two wins and a draw in the last three away games – though because of various commitments I’ve unfortunately had to miss them all. I was present for the opener at Airdrie United, but the less said about that one, the better…

The superstitious among my Sons friends have therefore suggested that I should stay away so we stand some chance of getting a good result. On the other hand, people who haven’t quite figured out probability theory reckon that, following three ‘tails’ in a row, a ‘heads’ is now more likely!

The truth is that breaking this particular duck is a football issue, though chance and the fans obviously make a difference. As the cliché has it, “football is a funny game”, and one of its abiding curiosities is that the familiar territory of your own stadium can prove the toughest arena of all to get things right.

Why? Well, sometimes there are factors at play which have little bearing on the location, like injuries, flukes, refereeing decisions, tactical changes and the sheer quality of the opposition.

Even so, the level of expectation is inevitably ratcheted up on home soil. The team is playing in front of a majority of its own supporters, and – let’s face it – home fans can be the first to get on your back (“not least at Dumbarton!” I hear some of you crying).

So today the men in gold will definitely be wanting some verbal encouragement from you, even (perhaps especially) if things are not going Sons’ way on the field.

Ironically, just a handful of away supporters can make much more noise than a significantly larger local crew. It’s healthy lungs and the solidarity of being an embattled minority that makes the difference. Today we need to reverse that.

Having been out on the pitch for 70 minutes myself, during the Play for the Sons match, I know that you pick up a good deal of what’s shouted. So it would be great if we could all make it positive this afternoon, following the fantastic example of many of our younger fans.

I have an additional reason to be looking forward to this game, because the Match Ball Sponsorship has been taken out on behalf my wonderful parents-in-law from the USA, Willard and Alice Roth. I have no doubt that the traditional Scottish hospitality will be extended to them.

As someone once put it, neither Alice nor Willard “know one end of a football from the other”, but I think they’ll recognise a goal if (when) Sons get a few, and sampling the local food and drink is bound to go down well.

Let’s hope we’re feeling content at the end of 90 minutes, too. ’Mon Sons!


TALKING ALBION

Albion Rovers are ten years younger than Dumbarton, having been founded in Coatbridge in 1882. Our history has been well entwined with the Wee Rovers; particularly during the time we shared Cliftonhill as part of the transition from Boghead to the Rock, and in the recent managerial figures of Paul Martin and Jim Chapman.

In 2009/10 Albion missed a promotion play-off position by a single point. Last term they put that right, earning promotion to the Second Division by beating Queen’s Park and then Annan Athletic to escape the Third Division.

I saw the first leg of their play-off semi-final at Hampden, and they looked a determined, well-organised outfit. As with Sons, it has been a difficult start to the new season for Rovers, but they don’t intend to be tourists at this level.

Over the years Albion’s major honours have been wins in the old and new Second Divisions (the second and third tiers respectively), incidentally.
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A bit of football romance

First published in Sons View, 30 July 2011, Dumbarton -v- Dundee

The long road to Hampden and the Scottish Communities League Cup Final on 18th March 2012 begins here at Dumbarton this afternoon, with an ambitious first round tie against First Division opponents Dundee. It’s a match we’ve all been looking forward to for some time, ever since it was announced a full two months ago at the Ravenscraig Sports Centre in Motherwell.

For Sons this game against comes on the back of a positive pre-season programme, plus our first knock-out competition triumph for a long while – Saturday’s last-minute 3-2 victory against East Stirlingshire in the Ramsdens Challenge Cup, which has earned us a second round home tie against Berwick Rangers and the chance of yet further progress. Who’d have thought it?

That said, Dumbarton’s all-round performance will need to be ratcheted up more than a few notches from last weekend if we’re going to get anything out of this afternoon’s game. The first half against the Shire was a bit of a non-event. Things got exciting following the break, but then after Sons had established a comfortable 2-0 lead they almost threw it away through lack of concentration. Thankfully, Pat Walker’s final burst of inspiration rescued the tie.

But the men from Dens Park are bound to be a far tougher proposition. So more than caution will be required. Sons have to dare to go out onto the pitch believing they can take the game to Dundee.

Leaving aside the really big ones, which teams like ours play little or no part in, cup competitions generally have become something of a devalued currency in the world of modern football. Certainly league campaigns are a better guide to the real quality and status of a team. But there’s something energising about the unpredictability of a knock-out competition which it’s important not to lose: the luck of the draw, the light relief from routine pressures, the opportunity to play sides you don’t normally meet, the chance of an upset, the adrenalin rush… and, yes, the romance of a ‘shot at glory’.

So the great thing about a game like today’s is that it means everything and nothing. If we pull off a surprise and get a win, it’ll be a tremendous boost. If not, there’s no great damage done. The target for Sons in 2001/12 is undoubtedly to secure safety in division two as soon as we can, and then to look towards the play-offs. But a bit of cup excitement would add flavour to the main task.

Indeed, we shouldn’t forget that this year Dumbarton could actually end up winning silverware for the fourth season in a row. In 2008/9, Sons won the third division championship. Then there was the Stirlingshire Cup claimed in 2009/10 against Stenhousemuir, and retained versus Falkirk last term. This season we could make it three consecutive wins.

Yes, I know that many regard the regional trophy as a mere ‘tea cup’ event for testing out youth players. But it actually dates from 1883/4 (the year after Sons last won the Scottish Cup, incidentally), it’s one of the oldest cup competitions in the history of football, and the trophy itself – if you have a look at it – is fabulous. Like today’s outing against Dundee, what’s not to enjoy?

TALKING DUNDEE

Unlike Dumbarton, who have never reached the final, today’s opponents Dundee have won the Scottish League Cup – which began officially in 1946/7 – on three occasions. Their last triumph was back in 1973/4 (1-0 against Celtic), and they also took the trophy in 1951/2 (versus Rangers) and the following season (against Kilmarnock).

More recently they have lost out to what was fleetingly the ‘New Firm’: local rivals Dundee United in 1980/1 (when the final was played at Dens Park instead of Hampden) and Aberdeen in 1995/6.

In the biggest competition, the Scottish Cup, both Dumbarton and Dundee have claimed the trophy once, Sons at the tail end of the nineteenth century and the Dee in 1910.

The Dark Blues had to work particularly hard for their silverware that year. History records that it took a total of ten matches for them to lift the cup, including two replays for both the semi-final against Hibernian and the final against Clyde. The epic started in the first round with a replayed tie against non-league Beith.

The League Cup, which is this year sponsored by the Scottish Government, started life as a development of the Southern League Cup – which was itself introduced in 1940, when wartime restrictions on football led to a suspension of the Scottish Cup.

The final of the competition has been played elsewhere than the national stadium on seven occasions during its 64-year history. Twice at Dens Park, twice at Ibrox, and three times at Celtic Park.
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Getting set for the challenge

First published in Sons View, 09 July 2011, Dumbarton -v- Motherwell (Friendly)

The long weekends of ‘no football’ (other than relentless media speculation about multimillion pound transfer deals not involving Dumbarton FC) are over. So here we are at SHS once more, watching a reshaped Sons squad limber up for the 2011/12 season with a series of home friendlies against higher-level opposition – and then two away fixtures with Alloa (closed doors) and Clydebank.

Everyone says that you can’t read too much into a friendly. But that isn’t entirely true. While the result may not be a predictor, the coaching staff and players are always looking out for individual or tactical issues that need attention, and there are usually telltale signs of what is to come.

Last term, for example, Sons played good imaginative football against two of this year’s pre-season competitors. The 2-1 win versus Partick Thistle was a real morale booster, and in many respects the 2-2 draw against St Mirren was even more impressive. But then Dumbarton’s frailties were made manifest by English opponents Oxford United, and we also struggled with shape and fluency in the games against Annan and the Bankies.

The difference was between playing sides with a more open style that suited Sons’ best football instincts, in contrast to games where grit, grind and lack of space clamped our style. In retrospect, that pretty much summed up 2010/11. A dismal start and an uncertain ending (salvaged by an excellent display away to Second Division Champions Livingston) were clamped around a spell where Dumbarton suddenly started producing up-tempo, quality football. It was a strange mixture, but we were thoroughly relieved to stay up, and this time hope to build on the strengths and show rather more consistency.

In theory, playing against promotion aspirants the Jags, from the First Division, SPL survival-or-better hopefuls the Buddies, and Cup Finalists and regular dark horses Motherwell should really test our mettle – with the on-the-road fixtures providing a different type of challenge. It looks a good mix.

I last saw Motherwell live at Hampden, when they were well beaten by Celtic in a match that had moments of real quality but never quite took off. Like many I had been hoping for an upset. But since my seat was at the Hoops end, I decide to keep fairly quiet about that, and in the end had no cheers to suppress!

The ’Well are a side deserving the greatest respect for what they have been able to achieve on (for the top flight) relatively slender resources. But for a club like Dumbarton, what they, Partick and St Mirren have at their disposal in terms of players and budgets is something Sons can only dream of. That said, everyone in the Second Division will be in the same economically-straitened boat this time, and there is no reason why we should not be competitive. Starting right now.
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Talking friendlies

First published in Sons View, 09 July 2011, Dumbarton -v- Motherwell (Friendly)

DFC's John Bell

Dumbarton 8, Celtic 0. How does that sound for a good result in a friendly?  No, you’re not dreaming. It actually happened. Though admittedly the year was 1892 and Sons were reigning Scottish Champions! Things may not have been entirely uphill since then, but we have more past glory to bask in than many. The Scotsman recorded Dumbarton’s triumph over ‘Buffalo Bill’s’ on Saturday 2 January – though subsequent research alleges that the Wild West man switched his allegiance to Rangers.

The report is a classic of its kind:  “Dumbarton came away occasionally in brilliant form, but the [Celtic] ground defence was at its best. Still they were beaten sometimes. Taylor scored for the Dumbarton in twenty-five minutes, and Boyle put on a second a minute after. Before other five minutes Bell put on a third. Duff’s goalkeeping was very indifferent. Dumbarton were fairly beating their opponents, who fell away considerably. With five minutes to go Thomson put on Dumbarton’s fourth. Dumbarton’s front play was brilliant, Bell’s considerably so. Another came from Thomson before the interval. Half-time: Dumbarton, five goals: Celtic, nil. After a brief interval the teams resumed, and Dumbarton began best, but Celtic struggled through to the end.”

Sons soundly beaten by, er... Sons

First published in Sons View, 09 July 2011, Dumbarton -v- Motherwell (Friendly) - a report of the Play for the Sons game...

An estimated 160 plus crowd, vocal in support, turned up at SHS to watch the first ever Dumbarton supporters’ fundraising game at the Rock on 4 June 2011. There was a smattering of youthful (and some not-so-youthful) talent on display, splendidly attired in the Sons’ 2010/11 home and away strips – which the players got to keep, in exchange for subscribing up to £250 each for the club.

The game itself saw a convincing win for Dumbarton Away, with the men in white pushing forward confidently in the opening stages of the game. Andy Scott in the Home goal made a fine outstretched save to his right on 9 minutes, turning a dangerous looking 20-yard shot from Alan Kennedy round the post, after the forward was set up by eventual Man of the Match Brian McMutrie.

But the big sticksman – who also had a fine game throughout – then found himself trapped off guard at the far post by a tricky inswinging cross on 14 minutes, following a good cross field ball from Alan Kennedy. The uncleared ball then fell for Ian McEwan to open the scoring with a close range header.

The Home side tried to regain some control in the middle of the park, but were finding it difficult to break through the Away backline, despite some good skill from Craig Campbell and Ross Black, and an effort on goal by Alex Stewart which did not really trouble Joe McCaughey in the Away goal. The match had started to even out a little when David Ferguson took advantage of a defensive slip to slot the ball just past the oncoming Andy Scott. 2-0 on 22 minutes.

Scott Mackie went on an impressive run as the home side tried to push back, creating an opportunity for Chris Whitfield, Tom McAllister and Paul Duffy were also full of running throughout. But it was the Away’s midfield moving into attack which continued to impress, with Gary McMurtie and Andrew McCulloch contributing to several build-ups, while Sean Bangs, Alan Smith, Allan Clarke and Andy Mackie played tidily and looked relatively untroubled for them at the back.

The substitutions were of the rolling variety throughout. For the Away side, Liam McVey was full of running and creativity. Alec Darroch tried to add sharpness up front for the Home side, and Simon Barrow came on in a defensive midfield role, but initially lost shape chasing a pacy attack before adopting a conventional right-back position in the second half. Robert Faulds made a couple of significant stops for the Homes and Darroch had a few half-chances in front of goal.

In the meantime, an extended sequence of cross field passes and sweeping moves from the Aways created another opening for Ian McEwan, but this time Andy Scott beat him to the post. McVey was rewarded for all his running on 34 minutes, as MacEwan burst through the Homes’ defence and the wily number 14 made it 3-0 for the Aways.

In the second half, Home centre-half Iain McPhee, who worked hard throughout, marshalled defenders Jordan Brownlee, Scott Mackie and  Simon Barrow to try to close down the Aways attacking prowess. Neil Jenkinson was keen to get forward for the Aways, who always seemed keen to push the game upfield, their confidence buoyed by going in three up at the break. 

While McCaughey continued to have a relatively quiet afternoon in the Away goal, Scott was kept busy for the Home side – who, despite a number of corners and near misses, succeeded in keeping their opponents out again until the 62nd minute, when the ever-threatening Ian MacEwan rounded the ’keeper who had denied him several times, and made it a decisive and deserved 4-0. 

Tom McAllister for the Homes had forced a stop out of McCaughey not long before that. But the gold and blacks never really looked like scoring. Jordan Brownlee was treated for cramp not long before the end, having chased and tackled hard in the Home defence, which was also backed up by Alec Darroch. He, along with Chris Whitfield, had come closest to forcing a couple of breakthroughs at the Away end. However, the final result was never in doubt.

Supporters represented at the SFA Council

First published in Sons View, 07 May 2011, Dumbarton -v- Forfar Athletic

For the first time in the modern history of the game, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) has welcomed a fans’ representative to a meeting of their Council. In addition to Supporters Direct’s attendance there were also representatives of the players, managers, disabled sports and the media.

The Sonstrust has continued to play a positive role in Supporters Direct – which links together Trusts across the country. Our own recruitment drive, fans’ survey and promotional activities have been warmly welcomed by SD – and we’re also helping them to launch a new campaigning blog called Changing Scottish Football.

On attending the SFA Council, Supporters Direct Scotland development manager, James Proctor, commented “We welcome the opportunity for a fans’ representative to attend the this meeting and speak directly to those in control of the Scottish game. It is clear from the McLeish report that there is a need to modernise the game and make the decision-making processes more representative. We hope that this first step heralds the start of a new co-operative relationship between the SFA and supporters.”

The McLeish report into the running of the SFA recommended that representatives of supporters, players, managers, coaches and referees should be involved in the structures of the SFA in order to properly represent the sport’s diverse interests. Sons fans also voted overwhelmingly for supporter involvement in the game’s governing bodies.
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Take a bow, Sons fans!

First published in Sons View, 07 May 2011, Dumbarton -v- Forfar Athletic

When the light dawned on 2011, things looked pretty grim in football terms for Dumbarton FC. Rooted to the foot of the table, we clearly had a fight on our hands. Today there will be a deserved celebration for having turned it around. Everyone has played an important part in that achievement, not least Alan Adamson, his backroom team and the players themselves.

But whether you believe that old ‘twelfth man’ idea or not, both the gaffer and those who have worn the Sons’ colours this season have certainly appreciated the consistent, vocal support from the stands – especially on away trips. That was well illustrated at Livingston, where the Dumbarton faithful set new sartorial and choral standards – as you can see!

Even the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium stewards noticed the songs, the good-natured banter and the ‘helpful advice’ directed at our opponents. “At times it was like you’d won the title yourselves!” one steward commented.

The manager and players have already paid tribute to the Sons travelling support. But a big additional thanks is due to Tommy Hughes and the Sonstrust Travel Section organisers – whose hard work has kept the show on the road (literally) on good, indifferent and bad days alike!
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Sons shine on Leith (hopefully)

First published in Sons View, 07 May 2011, Dumbarton -v- Forfar Athletic

Excuse me, it’s the end of the season already? It hardly seems last week that I was picking up my first ever Dumbarton season ticket, after 41 years of being stuck in England. Mind you, for much of this term it looked like it might be relegation we’d be confronting this May. Instead, Sons are heading for seventh spot, our youth players have done us proud, and we’ve won silverware for three seasons consecutively – thanks to that second Stirlingshire Cup victory in a row.

Going into last week’s encounter with Division Two champions-in-waiting Livingston, there was naturally a fair bit of apprehension. Few of us thought we would get much out of that match, leaving the likelihood that this afternoon’s one against Forfar would take place under the shadow of a possible relegation play-off. But Dumbarton’s chosen put in a fine, determined performance. That and defeats by Stenhousemuir and Alloa at the hands of Brechin and East Fife, respectively, saw us safe. And boy, was there a party!

A good part of the story of that visit to Almondvale was constituted by the away support, colourfully attired and determined to keep up a constant barrage of support for the Sons of the Rock. On the pitch, meanwhile, Dumbarton were determined not to be rolled over by the rampant Lions, whose own fans seemed relatively subdued. Perhaps with two titles in a row they were taking it for granted and dreaming instead of a challenge for SPL status? Who knows. What’s clear is that the sunshine, the singing and the roll of the turf went Sons’ way.

We should really have claimed all three points. But with ten minutes to go, Livi sneaked in an equaliser. It was a bit of a symptom of the downside from a bad season that ended well. What’s more, I had just finished getting the DFC website summary ready, referring to only our fourth clean sheet this term. It was not to be. So this afternoon we have chance to put that right and conclude a tough campaign on a winning note. Then it’s time to party once again, with the dance and awards event in the evening.

From the perspective of football’s sporting instincts (hardly getting a good press at the moment, what with another Spanish civil war between the millionaires of Barcelona and Real Madrid!), that 1-1 draw at Livingston put everybody in a decent mood. Sons fans stayed on to cheer out team, and also give credit where it was due to Livingston – who were evidently the standout team in the division. Earlier on the gap between them and the rest had not seemed that huge, but full-time status and deeper squad resources showed in the end.

Dumbarton, meanwhile, turned an early season drought into an attack-focused approach that delivered goals and entertainment on more than a few occasions this year. The problem was that we sometimes looked more leaky at the back than my dear departed dad’s classic Austin 1100 … and though you won’t have been around to see that, even if you were old enough, believe me: that car really leaked!

Newly confirmed boss Alan Adamson will no doubt have more than half a mind on ways of addressing some of this term’s problems as he seeks to reconfigure for August. But meanwhile, it’s time to try and end 2010-11 on an upbeat note, and have fun trying.

Then suddenly we’ll be facing the close-season football hiatus. Having attended 34 Dumbarton matches and a few other SFL and SPL ones since this time last year (more Sons games for me than in the past ten campaigns put together), I’m a bit more adjusted to football sabbatical than usual. I know my poor wife certainly is.

That said, for some of us there’s the small matter of a Play for the Sons match at SHS on 4 June to contend with. At the ripe old age of 53 it will be my first competitive game in 25 years – and you don’t want to know what happened in the last one! So after tonight’s celebrations it will be back to the strict diet and the training regime for me. Well, I say “back to”. But what I mean is, “time for my crash course in match fitness” - preferably without the crash. I need the Sons to shine on Leith for me!

As for this Forfar game: well, it’s the end of a difficult chapter for the Club. But it’s also a boundary beyond which we can look forward. The desire and spirit is certainly there. So have a great summer, and see you next season.
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Time to get the job done

First published in Sons View, 23 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Ayr United

OK, let’s be clear. Whatever the bookies now claim, Dumbarton can take points from this game against Ayr, as well as from champions Livingston and high-flyers Forfar. I say that, because the pessimistic view is that by getting tanked at Brechin, failing to win against two sides below us and losing out to Airdrie United last Saturday, Sons’ form over the past five weeks has not been sufficient to create any real hope for this run-in.

It’s others upon whom we are relying to ‘get the job done’ – that is, to secure a 2011-12 Second Division slot – so the cloud-laden argument goes. That’s dangerous nonsense. Sons can’t afford to take a back seat in the race to the finish line on 7 May. Nor should we need to.

For a start, with nine points to play for, Dumbarton have a six-point advantage over Stenny in the battle to avoid a relegation play-off place, even if the goal difference has to be watched. This constitutes a huge advantage. But we should think of it as a lever, not a cushion.

Second, the last few results do not recount the whole story – though they do tell one with an important, sting-in-the-tail moral, which gaffer Alan Adamson and his team will be only too aware of.

For the purposes at looking what we have to achieve over the next three matches, I’d contend that the 6-0 thumping by the Hedgemen is now well behind us and that the 5-2 Peterhead win is also a one-off. The more serious issue – as the newly confirmed manager made clear in his post-match interviews after losing 2-1 to the Diamonds – is that we are “failing to ‘close out’ games”.

On the upside, Sons have been averaging 2.5 goals a game (ten) over the last four outings. On the downside, eight have been conceded, and not in the ‘right’ matches – ones where we still took maximum points.

Last week wasn’t the best Sons performance, and in periods of the second half Airdrie United came at us in fast, ferocious fashion. They were a far cry from the lacklustre side Dumbarton outperformed by the same scoreline on a cold night back on 1 February (and also for much of the home match eleven days later, when two points were thrown away via an 87th minute Diamonds’ equaliser).

That said, Sons competed well in other portions of the game, took the lead through a bit of Jordan Halsman free-kick magic, and went in ahead at the break. It was the last 15 minutes where everything went wrong – not for the first time this term. Stenhousemuir’s last-gasp equaliser against East Fife didn’t help, either.

So what’s going wrong? Detail and particular player performances aside, getting trapped and flustered too deep exposes a tendency towards edginess at the back under pressure. Failing to clinch chances at the other end adds to the difficulty. Football can be a painfully simple game at times, as well as a gloriously complex one.

In honesty, a draw would have been an acceptable result against Airdrie, given the balance of the game. But in the end it was their greater determination and attacking commitment that won the day – deservedly. As soon as that equaliser went in, the winner looked not far behind… and that’s precisely how it turned out.

The lesson for today is surely, at least from this fan’s point-of-view, to take the game to Ayr and to try to build up the passing rhythm which, on several occasions this season, has made Dumbarton look like a top-half Second Division side, rather than one of the strugglers (such as our actual position would suggest).

All in all, the past few weeks may have been frustrating, but they have not been devoid of hope and decent football. Relying on others to fail is not the way to go – though Sons fans will undoubtedly be wanting the Wasps to beat Stenny, or as second best will be rooting for a draw, in the other match that we will all be keeping an eye on.

So it isn’t ‘squeaky bum time’ yet, but it could be at 5pm if Sons are not courageous – and careful. On the other hand, three points today would put our posteriors at rest, keep Sir Alex Ferguson’s odd phraseology out of our minds, and enable Dumbarton to enter the next two games for enjoyment more than results. ’Mon Sons!
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Fitba goes to the ballot box

First published in Sons View, 23 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Ayr United

A few weeks ago, Dumbarton fans were given the opportunity to vote on issues being mooted as part of a radical restructuring of the game in Scotland. The results were overwhelming – for a national (rather than regional) set-up for the second and third divisions, for fan representation on the governing bodies of Scottish football, and against the idea of SPL ‘colt’ teams in the lower leagues.

Now the SPL have decided, at their meeting on 18 April, that a vote on restructuring proposals will probably take place later in May. Supporters Direct, among others, will be urging SFL clubs to make their own preferences clear on issue such as those Sons fans voted on – in order as not to be left on the sidelines when the big boys vote.

Meanwhile, the politicians hawking around for votes of a different kind in the Scottish Parliamentary elections on 5 May have also been giving the beautiful game some consideration. All told, they have produced some interesting ideas and commitments. But will these still be on the table after our votes have been cast? Again, it will partly depend on grassroots pressure.

So, for the record, the Labour Party have backed greater community involvement in football and are considering a specific Sports Bill. The Scottish National Party, in their manifesto, have pledged their support for an enhanced role for Supporters’ Trusts. The Liberal Democrats say they want “involvement of democratic community organisations and co-operatives in the governance of football and other sports". The Conservatives have not pledged anything particular, though several of their candidates mention football connections in their biographies.

But the most specific idea has come from the Scottish Green Party. They have proposed a £1 million ‘leverage’ fund to help communities purchase their football clubs – “giving supporters first refusal if their club comes up for sale, and providing grants and loans to support buy-outs,” says co-leader, and Son of the Rock, Patrick Harvie.
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Sons can thrive again, says Coyle

First published in Sons View, 09 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Peterhead

Ex-Dumbarton stalwart Owen Coyle, one of a trio of brothers who inspired Sons on the pitch in the 1980s, is now plying his managerial trade in the English Premier League – as high-profile boss of Bolton Wanderers.

But earlier this month he took time out for a trip down memory lane (including reminiscences of Boghead Park, and playing with Sons in the Premier Division) by talking to the Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter, and our own Andy Galloway on the Lennox Herald.

“Dumbarton has maybe slipped lower down just now,” said Owen “but there's no doubt they could come back again, and I think if they get the infrastructure right at the club it could continue to progress and move back up the leagues.”

He continued: “I remember everything about the place I could drive to Boghead right now and know my way about it and everything I loved about it. When you look at some of the players we had and the team I played in when Alan Moore was there and he's still a pal of mine.

“We had some terrific players and that's what Dumbarton needs again they need those young players. I loved every time I was fortunate enough to pull that Dumbarton jersey over my head and I scored a lot of goals at a very good club.

“When you put it into context, for Dumbarton to reach the Premier League then [1984-5] was remarkable,” Owen Coyle concluded.

Andy Galloway has interviewed other well-known characters from Sons’ past this year, too. Rangers boss Walter Smith recalled: “Alex Wright asked Dundee United boss Jim McLean if I could go to Dumbarton. I went there and had an enjoyable time with Alex and Davy Wilson in charge. I then returned to United but, once you have played for a club, you always feel a bit of affinity towards them.”

Meanwhile, Alexandria-born Dunfermline Athletic gaffer Jim McIntyre was a ball boy at Boghead Park when Dumbarton gained promotion to the top flight 27 years ago.
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Fans with a real stake in Scottish football

First published in Sons View, 09 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Peterhead

While the Sonstrust took a pioneering lead in establishing supporters’ trusts as an established and growing feature of Scottish football, others have continued the movement forward – not least Stirling Albion and Clyde, who have become Trust-owned and Community Interest companies respectively.

Both, of course, face massive challenges on and off the pitch. But they have also made significant strides forward in the face of huge financial obstacles. The current economic climate, and the structure of the game, makes it increasingly difficult for small teams.

That’s why it was so encouraging to hear that a SPL club, St Mirren, are embarking on “something very special”, according to businessman Richard Atkinson – who is seeing through a radical community-backed takeover of Saints.

Atkinson has set up a Community Interest Company called ‘10,000 Hours’ to buy a controlling 52% stake in the club, which was recently put up for sale by five of the current directors.

The total £2 million deal is going to be financed by local people, charities, community groups and businesses buying shares. That will include around 300 fans contributing £10 a month, which will get them a say in how the club is run. There will even be a chance to earn a seat on the St Mirren board.

Overall, the Saints will then become a partnership of individuals and organisations, ensuring that a wide range of people have genuine stake in the future of the club. Community links, expertise, further funds, and networks to others are also created.

Richard Atkinson told the Paisley Daily Express: “We’ve launched a website –10000hours.org – that will [everyone] to register their details if they wish to join the CIC. The reason for the name of the company is that 10,000 hours of professional training or education in any complex task is generally seen as what is required to bring you to a world-class level.”

He adds: “At the heart of this, it’s not just talking about being naturally talented, it’s that if you put the hard work into any task, you can be world class. Hopefully we are now going to see the benefits of that kind of mentality coming through at St Mirren.”
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All the news that's fit to kick

First published in Sons View, 09 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Peterhead

At around about 5pm this afternoon, a short summary of this afternoon’s crucial match between Dumbarton and Peterhead will appear on the DFC website, as usual. Except that on this occasion it will be live from Southport, rather than the bowels of the Strathclyde Homes Stadium.

That’s because I am going to be missing this extremely crunchy game for the Sons, on account of being at the National Union of Journalists’ annual delegate meeting. At least that means (I hope) that a good wi-fi connection will come with the territory. It doesn’t, I can assure you, at most SFL Second Division Football grounds. Which is why you will sometimes see me swearing at my dongle – the one that fitfully provides mobile broadband, I hasten to add.

This little factoid leads me to reflect about changes in the way football has been reported over the years. The reason I can do at least four paragraphs to sum up a game I haven’t witnessed (don’t worry, someone actually present will be writing the match report!) is that it simply involves producing a quick story out of the BBC news feed, Alan Findlay’s pithy tweets (you can follow those via @Dumbartonfc if you make use of the Twitterverse), and any number of eye-witnesses via mobile phone.

All this would have been (quite literally) unthinkable when I wrote my first live match summary, which I think was around the late 1970s. That was while deputising for a friend at a Brentford game – my usual field was current affairs not sport – and the instrument of choice was a crackly old landline phone into an evening newspaper’s office.

The whole enterprise was incredibly clunky. It meant writing your story out, or relying on shorthand so ropey it might as well have been a report of the Moon Landing, and then relaying it via an analogue transmission that made central London sound like Mars on a bad day. At which point someone else would knock the thing out on a typewriter… and send it through for compositing.

Remarkably, there were far fewer mistakes than in many print outlets these days. Partly because you’d get a call back from an editor if there was something ‘hooky’ about your piece, and partly because it was proofread. In the digital age, such niceties can get, how shall we say, “ironed out” in the immediacy of the moment.

But I reminisce. Dumbarton’s match day media team is actually quite extensive. Other external reporters aside, there’s Alan on Twitter (as mentioned), the expert photographic eye of Donald Fullarton (who’s been taking pictures of the Sons for over five decades, by my calculation), Andy Galloway scribing for the Lennox Herald, and Jim McAllister – in between announcements, assisted by your noble proggie editor acting as ‘spotter’ – producing reports for Sons View. Tommy Hughes sometimes steps in with pics, too. And then there’s me, tapping away at my iPhone’s virtual notepad, so that the first draft of the full match report (minus team lines and photos until later on) can be published online within an hour of the game.

Actually, given optimum conditions, it could be even quicker than that. Minus the opening and closing paragraphs, the report is usually complete as the final whistle blows. That means it is an entirely sequential account – no rewriting or re-arranging with the hindsight, glow or glower of memory. The result my not always be as polished as I’d like, but it keeps the energy of the moment.

First, though, I need to head down to the SHS foyer, find an Internet signal, fire up the computer, write and post the summary, and then continue the match report operation in the back of the Edinburgh Supporters car on the way home. Which can take a little gymnastic ability! Then again, at least you know you’re not going to be getting soaking wet or frozen to death, as the harden hacks of yore often did. Or stand around feeding endless coins into an unyielding handset in a public phone booth. Ah, those were the days!

Anyway, that was then and this is now. Dumbarton need as many points and goals as possible from our game against the Blue Toon, who are looking somewhat doomed to Third Division football next season – and also from the forthcoming trip to Airdrie United. Where we don’t want to end up is needing points to avoid the relegation play-offs from our last three matches with high-flying Ayr, Livingston and Forfar.

Meantime, I’ll be tuning in from a far and keeping my fingers firmly crossed – while not typing or conferring. ’Mon Sons!
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Staying positive and focused

First published in Sons View, 2 April 2011, Dumbarton -v- Alloa Athletic

Whichever way you care to look at it, the next two games at Strathclyde Homes Stadium against Alloa Athletic, this afternoon, and Peterhead the following weekend, are going to be vital for Dumbarton’s 2010/11 Scottish League campaign – which remains focused on staying in the Second Division so that we can build positively for the future.

During the Sons’ six-game unbeaten run ending late last month, I warned (without exactly needing to be Nostradamus to do so!) that there could still be a number of twists and turns left in this season. That is certainly how it has turned out.

By far the nastiest ‘twist’ was the awful 6-0 drubbing away at Brechin City. No-one really saw that coming. The Hedgemen are undoubtedly a good side. Along with Livingston they are a ‘stand out’ team in an otherwise unexceptional division. But any notion that, as under-strength opponents, they might be easy pickings after their midweek Scottish Cup exertions against SPL St Johnstone were soon dispelled on a chilly afternoon at Glebe Park.

Hopefully, the visit to Ochilview on Tuesday night will have proved to be a constructive ‘turn’ by the time you read this – not least because of the opportunity to deny a relegation-zone side points, while claiming them for ourselves. Whatever the outcome of the Stenhousemuir match, however, the lesson remains the same. We have to concentrate on the task at hand and then face forward. There really is no point in looking back wistfully at what might have been.

Well, there’s one qualifier to that. Any football team committed to success naturally has to learn from mistakes. But in some cases this doesn’t take too much time and the more important thing is to put the disappointment behind you.

Last weekend, everyone knows what happened without needing to go into minute detail. Brechin were better than Sons, and more determined, all over the park. We made mistakes at the back. We didn’t create enough chances or take the ones we had. We got sorely punished as a result. End of story.

The important point is that it doesn’t have to be like that today, or next Saturday, or in any of the four games that will constitute Sons’ run-in to that end-of-term whistle at Strathclyde Homes Stadium on 7 May.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that after these two matches, against the Wasps and the Blue Toon, all our games will be against sides above us, and the final trio put the lads up against the top three in the division – each one of them fighting hard for promotion. That is why the best opportunity to reach safety is today and the following Saturday. We do not want to be left needing a big haul of points from our hardest matches when the pressure is at its greatest.

My calculation is that, if we won at Stenny, four points from Alloa and Peterhead are likely to pretty much guarantee Second Division football at the Rock in 2011/12. Six to make sure. Otherwise, looking at the matches to come and weighing the maths and probabilities, it’s eight points needed out of a possible 18. What we cannot do is rely on goal difference – not that any teams should, but if it ever came into consideration, we’d be sunk!

The task of reaching the shore is most definitely ‘do-able’. But make no mistake: when Dumbarton take to the pitch this afternoon (hopefully to a solid wall of support from the home fans), nothing is in the bag. So Sons need to play to their strengths (as gaffer Alan Adamson has clearly been seeking to achieve since he took over), to stay focussed and to think positively.

As for the Wasps: well, despite two consecutive draws, Alloa’s last away win was 2-0 against Airdrie United six weeks ago; and they weren’t in action on 29 March. So their need for points is considerable, with early season momentum having dropped away and a substantial goals-against tally having accumulated this year.

That means the men from Clackmannanshire will come to the Rock with every intention of administering a nasty sting. But in spite of setbacks, April’s Sons are not the same side as the one that, earlier in the campaign, looked unsure and anxious, unable to respond to reverses of fortune.

More skilled, purposeful and indefatigable displays are want we need to see from Dumbarton. Ensure that, and the right results should follow.
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Not just weather, but a series of 'ifs'

First published in Sons View, 29 January 2011, Dumbarton -v- East Fife.

Ah, the good old Scottish weather, eh? Having spent a good deal of February negotiating a welter of games, including re-arrangements brought about by the earlier ‘cold snap’ (more prosaically known as ‘winter’), Dumbarton found themselves twiddling their thumbs rather than thumping in the shots and crosses last Saturday.

Despite the synthetic pitch at Larbert, the game against fellow-strugglers Stenhousemuir was called off due to the sudden burst of bad weather in the central belt. Snow and freezing waterlogged conditions are not unprecedented in mid-March, or even later.

I remember a midweek postponement against Forfar in Dumbarton’s 2007-8 Third Division campaign… on 2 April. That was a bit of a personal blow, given that I’d travelled up from Exeter, where I was living at the time. Thankfully, the game against Stranraer the previous Saturday, which I’d sponsored jointly with the Sonstrust to mark my 50th birthday, went ahead – just. Even if we did lose 1-0.That morning, the pitchforks had been out in force at SHS to assist the drainage, and it was a close call.

So nothing is entirely predictable in the latter part of the season, and that includes this afternoon’s important clash against East Fife at the Rock. A few weeks ago the Fifers were below a resurgent Dumbarton, but with games in hand. They’ve taken good advantage of those catch-up matches, and now sit just on the edge of the play-off zone in the Second Division – their precise points tally depending on the outcome of a midweek visit to Brechin on Tuesday night.

That is both a challenge and a spur to the Sons today. We’ve been a little unfortunate to come away with only one point from the last three games. The performances have certainly merited more than that, but we’ve also been up against a series of determined promotion contenders.

The loss at Forfar on 26 February came against the run of play in the 78th minute. On 5 March, the boys looked tired against polished League leaders Livingston. And in between there was a titanic struggle leading to a 3-3 draw in the mud against Brechin City, on a cold night at Glebe Park. Both teams deserved three points for sheer effort and skill-against-the-odds alone. But fitba doesn’t quite work like that.

Talking of Brechin, we hope that they will take points off Alloa Athletic this afternoon, in order to boost Sons’ position further. If Ayr United had defeated the Wasps by two goals rather than one on 12 March, Dumbarton would now be sitting in seventh rather than eighth position in the League table, on account of respective goal differences. This is the time of year when it isn’t just the weather we have to watch, but a series of ‘ifs’.

Better still, Sons need to take destiny back into their own hands by continuing the good form, attacking prowess and defensive strengthening we have seen in the impressive run that started with a solid 2-1 win away at Airdrie United on 1 February. It can be done. By my calculation, based on form in the past five or six seasons, we need another 11 or 12 points from the remaining 9 games to be safe in the Second Division for next term.

All these matches will be important, but perhaps it is the ones against today’s opponents, Stenhousemuir away (to be re-arranged) and Alloa (home) where there will be greatest expectation of goals and results in our favour. That’s because the infamous football cliché about ‘six pointers’ comes into play when taking on the sides immediately around us.

This does not mean, however, that the Sons squad is unable, in principle, to pick up points against the high-flyers. At our best we’ve been up with them in performances, if not always in results. No-one should be given a free ride on the basis that we are looking down the table rather than up.

Meanwhile, before we turn our full attention to this afternoon’s clash on the park at the Rock, it’s appropriate to send out a hearty word of congratulation to Brechin City for their impressive Scottish Cup quarter-final performance against SPL visitors St Johnstone last Saturday.

The 2-2 draw was a tremendous result, and a credit to the Second Division as well as to the Hedgemen. It reminds onlookers that there is so much more to the game in Scotland than the Old Firm soap opera and the top flight.  It also shows what sheer determination and hard work from a smaller side can achieve.

We certainly need that kind of gutsy spirit from the chosen of Dumbarton at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium come 3 o’clock today.
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Dumbarton fans vote to keep football national

First published in Sons View, 19 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- East Fife. An edited version of this article also appears on the Sonstrust website as Fans vote for Dumbarton's future.

Dumbarton supporters have voted overwhelmingly against ‘regionalising’ the lower divisions in Scottish football. More than 95% of the 250+ supporters who took part in the match day ballot on 5 March, and in the equivalent online polls, want to maintain a national, professional league below the SPL.

There was also very strong opposition to SPL ‘colt’ teams being admitted to the lower leagues – something which the Scottish Premier League has also put forward as part of its outline proposals for restructuring the game in Scotland.

In response to the third and final question, almost all Sons fans said they believed that supporters should be properly represented on the governing bodies that run Scottish football.

Dumbarton is the first SFL club to directly ask its supporters what they think of some of the major issues raised by the much-publicised SPL proposals, and the similar ideas produced by former first minister Henry McLeish in his report for the SFA on the future of the game.

The poll took place at the match against Livingston last Saturday, as well as on the Sonstrust website (where the full results will be published) and on the three Facebook groups associated with the club.

The Sonstrust Board will be following up the vote by writing to DFC, Supporters Direct and the Scottish Football League over the issues.

The Scottish Premier League has announced that it will unveil and vote on its full plans for SPL1 & 2 “within a few weeks”. But its draft ideas also included proposals – including ‘regionalisation’ and colt-teams in the lower leagues – which would have a dramatic impact on smaller clubs.

At a meeting of 34 Supporters’ Trusts six weeks ago, there was a strong feeling that what has been put forward so far does not offer a sustainable future for the game in Scotland, and a desire that fans should be consulted and involved. The Sonstrust has taken a lead in this regard.
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Sons supporters speak out

First published in Sons View, 19 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- East Fife. An edited version also appears on the Supporters Direct website as Dumbarton Trust gives fans a voice.

The Supporters Trust at Dumbarton FC (called ‘Sonstrust’ after the club’s historic nickname – ‘the Sons of the Rock’) has held an online and stadium ballot to give fans a voice in the current debate over the future of Scottish football.

Full results will be announced next week, but hundreds have taken part and the interim findings suggest overwhelming opposition to the ‘regionalisation’ of the lower leagues and to SPL ‘colt’ teams playing in them – two of the proposals put forward by the SPL and the McLeish report.

Dumbarton supporters also back fan representation on the governing body of Scottish football, and the Sonstrust board is keen to work with others in Supporters Direct to ensure that the voice of fans – including the verdict of the SD survey – resonates at the highest levels within the game.

Sonstrust campaign coordinator Simon Barrow commented: “Football fans are used to being ignored, but at Dumbarton we’ve had a huge response to our online and stadium exercise in ‘direct democracy’. People have also been joining the Trust in record numbers, and are keen for a body like SD to be a really effective vehicle for grassroots-driven change in the game.”

Since the meeting of Scottish Trust representatives at Falkirk a month ago, the Sonstrust, which has over 300 members, has announced the results of a £1000 community bursary scheme (which has given three youth-oriented local projects a boost in funds), and is also holding a major recruitment drive running through to 19 March.

“Given that we already have half our regular home gate in the Sonstrust, we thought we might have ‘peaked’ – but we’ve already picked up a further 5%, said Barrow. “There’s a real appetite for supporter involvement in running clubs and shaping the future of the game. Our message to other Trusts is, ‘get out there, recruit, and get people involved’.”
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There's everything to play for

First published in Sons View, 05 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- Livingston

The defeat against Forfar last Saturday, followed rapidly by a tough midweek game at Brechin, has acted as something of a reality-check for the rejuvenated Dumbarton side and their buoyant fans.

But the fact that we are in the midst of a tough run of fixtures with the best sides in the Second Division, not least today’s top-of-the-table visitors Livingston, should not be allowed to detract from the remarkable overall turnaround achieved by Alan Adamson and the players in the course of the last eight matches.

Not only have Sons gained a significant number of points, won games, scored some great goals, picked up a first clean sheet, and dragged themselves off the foot of the table – they have also been playing a good deal of attractive, entertaining football. This has generated an air of positivity in the course of a season that, not so long ago, was looking like a complete write-off.

After the first few matches of 2011 it seemed as if Sons were being dragged inexorably into the relegation mire. There was almost an air of resignation around the Rock, matched only by the winter freeze that physically stalled our progress.

Now, however, the Sons have a realistic prospect of a decent mid-table finish, and our young team has been demonstrating its genuine football credentials – as a number of us always believed it was capable of doing.

This does not mean Dumbarton can afford to take the foot off the pedal, however. Far from it. The opening 25 minutes at Station Park showed that other teams in this division are sitting up and taking notice of the Dumbarton up-turn – perhaps especially those in the promotion play-off zone who cannot afford too many slip-ups if they are to realise their aspirations.

Dick Campbell’s Forfar side had clearly been sent out onto the pitch with instructions to harry the Sons, to knock them off their stride, to close down spaces for the fluid passing game they have developed up front, and to prevent them from gaining possession. For a time it worked. Ironically, we came out of a first half we had failed to grasp level pegging at 1-1; and a second half that we dominated, beaten 2-1. That, as they say, is football.

Livingston will be determined similarly to thwart Dumbarton this afternoon, and the challenge will be tough. Hopefully the darkest days of this campaign are behind us, but with ten matches left (including today’s game) we have to face the fact that there are likely to be setbacks as well as successes. The important thing is not to get too down about the former or too carried away with the latter.

The raw facts of Sons’ run-in to the last league game of the season (an opportunity for revenge against the Loons at SHS on 7 May) is that the opportunities and threats are evenly balanced. Six out of those ten encounters are on home turf. That’s in our favour. On the other hand, six of them are also against sides pushing for promotion with the wind behind their sails.

History suggests that at least one or two teams who have started strongly or who have moved into an advantageous position are liable to struggle to maintain momentum towards the end of the campaign. Similarly, some of those lower down will bounce back – as Dumbarton have already begun to do through our six-game unbeaten run.

The job now is to steady the ship, keep progressing, try to make sure we don’t drop games in the final minutes, and aim to collect – as soon as possible – those precious 41 points (another 12 out of a possible 30) that have been proved necessary to staying up over the last six terms.

Meanwhile, there are important battles off the pitch, too. Winning back the home support that ebbed away during the tough winter months is important. Bad news tends to travel faster than good. But now we can all do our bit in spreading the word that this is definitely a team worth watching.

Similarly, Dumbarton fans have the opportunity, through the Sonstrust website, of exercising their voice alongside others about the future of the game in Scotland – rather than allowing the richest clubs and interests to make all the running.

With the days and weeks moving quickly towards the 2010-11 season finale, there’s all to play for, in other words – both now and for the years to come. There’s never been a more important time to stand up for the Dumbarton. Starting this afternoon. ‘Mon Sons!
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Dumbarton fans can make a big difference

First published in Sons View, 05 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- Livingston

The Sonstrust is continuing its drive to increase membership and secure a bigger say for Dumbarton fans in the future of the Club, and also the future of Scottish football as a whole.

Fans at today’s clash with Livingston will be getting a ballot paper asking for their vote on three important issues – whether the lower leagues should be regionalised, whether ‘colt’ teams from the SPL should be allowed to play in the second and third divisions, and whether there should be proper fan representation in the governing bodies of Scottish football.

If you’re reading this and haven’t had the chance to vote yet – fear not! You can also do so online at the Sonstrust page or the Facebook pages for either the Trust or Dumbarton FC.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS because the SPL has announced that it may be deciding on ‘reconstruction’ of the league (issues effecting ours too, not just theirs!) within “the next few weeks”.

The views of Dumbarton fans and ordinary supporters across the country therefore need to be heard loud and clear. Today’s vote will give the Sonstrust and the Club a mandate to push the SPL and the SFL to ensure that reforms take our wishes seriously – not just those of the big clubs, the Old Firm, the moneymen and the TV companies.

Similarly, joining the Sonstrust is the key way that ordinary fans can help secure the future of Dumbarton Football Club – both on the pitch and off it.

If you join up today or at the next home game, your membership – which costs just £10 – will count for the rest of this season and the whole of next season too. A bargain!

Just go to the Sonstrust Table in the Community Suite, see Tommy Hughes, or drop a note to secy@sonstrust.net.

What does the Trust do, what can it achieve and why is it really worth joining? Well, here are a few examples. The Sonstrust has succeeded in:

* Giving supporters a direct voice into Dumbarton FC
* Raising funds and developing facilities for the Club
* Heading up Matchday commercial activity at DFC
* Getting a fully-funded Club Director – paid off 6 years early
* Producing the DFC Matchday programme and developing/running the Club website
* ‘Meet the Manager’
* Working with Dumbarton Stadium Company Ltd (DCS)
* Better supporters’ bar facilities: TV, memorabilia, projector, etc.
* A whole range of social events
* Local community initiatives fund
* Annual match sponsorship – 2 or 3 games per season
* Sponsorship of Match Ballboys at DFC, donating tracksuits
* Management /co-ordination of season ticket distribution
* Raise the Rock days – helping to increase crowds and revenue
* Walk to the Rock – profile for the Club in the community

Equally important is the fact that joining the Trust (it’s easy – just fill out a quick form and give your tenner in!) also links you to dozens of other Trusts and thousands of fans across Scotland. And together our voice can be much, much stronger.

Last week Supporters Direct especially praised Sonstrust for its work in recruiting and involving fans. SD development officer James Proctor declared: “Strengthening individual Trusts and building the Trust movement in Scotland is really important at a time when big decisions are being made over the future of the game.

“Henry McLeish’s report into Scottish football recommends the inclusion of fans in the decision making of the SFA and the SPL have recently started to engage with supporters’ trusts and Supporters Direct over their proposals for reorganisation of the leagues. Therefore having a democratic and Scotland-wide fans organisation is an important step in improving the game and ensuring fans are represented.

“The Sonstrust at Dumbarton have set a great example with their recruitment drive, which is emphasising the importance of being part of Supporters Direct, as well as encouraging community ownership and giving fans a bigger say. We hope others will be inspired by their initiative.”

So please join the Trust, make sure that you 'Rock the Vote' today, and make your voice heard in the debate about the future of our game.
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Onward and upwards for the Sons

First published in Sons View, 12 February 2011, Dumbarton -v- Airdrie United. Double issue, also Peterhead, 22 Februry 2011.

Like a good number of Dumbarton fans, I suspect, I found myself constantly going back to look at the SFL Second Division league table last weekend – just to check that the Sons had, indeed, risen to the lofty heights of eighth place. It’s amazing the difference two games can make. Specifically, lifting you out of bottom place.

Of course there’s no room for complacency. A couple of sunny days don’t make a summer, and both East Fife and Stenhousemuir still hold games in hand over us. But the really encouraging thing about our recent away matches against Airdrie United and Alloa Athletic was not just the results, but also the highly creditable performances, and the evident determination among the players and coaching staff to turn this season around for Dumbarton.

There might well have been a certain sense of unease among the travelling support on the journey to Clackmannanshire on 5th February. After all, the Wasps were smarting from their 4-1 drubbing at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium just two-and-a-half weeks earlier, and manager Allan Maitland had talked ominously about “revenge in the air”.

In that spirit, Alloa came out of their starting blocks with speed and enthusiasm. But, tellingly, Sons did not flinch. They moved the ball around and pushed back. Goals either side of half-time looked to have provided the winning edge. Then what seemed like imminent disaster struck. In a few short minutes, the home side drew level and then threatened to snatch all three points.

It was at that juncture, and in the midst of those nerve-wracking final few minutes following Ryan McStay’s third, decisive goal for Dumbarton, that our young team showed their growing character. They dug in, fought back and held out, when others might have buckled.

Both anecdotal and statistical evidence suggests that when there is a sudden change of fortune in a game of football, the blow to the morale of those who have had their lead overturned can combine with the momentum gained by their opponents to make a complete reversal – rather than a draw or a successful fight back – the more likely outcome.

Thankfully that didn’t happen. The Sons refused to panic, avoided sitting too far back, and didn’t give up chasing, harrying and looking for gaps and opportunities to reclaim the advantage. Such boldness was rewarded with a 3-2 victory. The same spirit was needed to hold out after a late home penalty at the Excelsior Stadium earlier in the week, with Dumbarton again running out winners, this time 2-1.

Both these matches turned out to be fine adverts for second division football in Scotland, too. They were played with flair, pace and passion. Hopefully this re-match with Airdrie United at SHS and the game at the Rock against Peterhead (following on from a long midweek trip to Balmoor) will prove equally entertaining, as well as providing further evidence of Sons’ resurgence.

What’s clear now is that the continuing turnaround we seek will have to be built without significant in-season resculpting of the squad. While Alloa, for example, brought in three players late in the transfer window, Sons – lacking the funds – were only able to add one further loanee. Mind you, the signings completed since the beginning of January have already played a highly significant role in moving things forward for the team. In particular, Jordan Halsman from Motherwell has looked confident and creative, while Pat Walker and Mark Gilhaney are proving a handful for defences in this league, combining with an imposing, restored Jon McShane.

Consistency and confidence is the key for Dumbarton’s further progress now. The busy schedule of midweek and weekend matches produced by the winter hiatus seems to have acted as a spur rather than a burden. It’s also noticeable that we have done proportionately better on artificial surfaces. Still not to everyone’s taste, they nevertheless provide the kind of consistent surface that benefits a passing game. That’s certainly what Sons displayed at Recreation Park and ‘New Broomfield’, moving the ball around with deliberation and assurance.

This Saturday and on 22 February it’s back to business on grass at SHS, however. Away from home, a couple of important ‘ducks’ have already been broken – the first outfield goals on the road this term (five of them in two matches), and the first consecutive victories. Back in October, Dumbarton lost to both the Diamonds and the Blue Toon in succeeding weeks. But that was then, and this is now. And ‘now’ is surely the time to make the Rock live up to its name. Onwards and, hopefully, upwards for the Sons!
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