top of the league!

Ian's close-season blog post, below, assessing our prospects of "staying up" in the top flight, now looks strangely pessimistic, in spite of his conclusion that he's "confident we can survive". What a difference the confidence of our team has wrought.

With a quarter of the season gone, Accies have been in unexpected breathtaking form, and we stand clear top of the league on merit. Top scorers, best defensive record, unbeaten since the first game, headline-grabbers as the first away league winners at Celtic Park for nearly two years... the list of our accomplishments goes on. And special mention to Ally Crawford, hitherto a target for frequent abuse from many of our fans, and now the SPL's top goalscorer. Crawford currently looks like one of the most threatening midfielders in the SPL.

The problem with all of this is that it invites predators, and there is already much speculation that we could lose the likes of Crawford, Andreu and Gordon in the January transfer window. Not to mention the architect of this success, "Sir" Alex Neil. Despite his total managerial experience amounting to less than one-and-a-half seasons, Alex has made a huge difference to the way we play football and the results we've achieved.

Building on the good work of Billy Reid, Accies' most successful post-war manager, Alex has accelerated the promotion of young players, trained them to retain possession, developed a free-flowing passing style, and instilled a fearless, winning mentality. For me, he has been the stand-out Accies player of the last decade, but he's already eclipsed his on-field exploits in his short spell in the dugout. It's now surely just a matter of time before he surpasses the peak of Billy Reid's reign, 7th in the SPL, and leads us to a top six finish.

Well done to everyone at the club for making this one of the most pleasurable times to watch Accies.


On a personal note, this has been my first blog post for a while, and it may be some time before I post another. The reinvention of the Acciesworld forum has made it, for now at least, a more civilised place to visit, and I look forward to spending more time there. A downturn in our fortunes could change that, but it's hard to see any such downturn looming. I still believe there is room for a multi-user blog as well as a discussion forum, and I hope others will take up the open invitation to post here.

What are the odds of Accies staying up?

As the new season approaches what are the odds of Accies staying up? Arguably the squad that has won promotion via the play offs does not have the same depth as the one that won us outright promotion in 2007. Then the presence of the '3 Diamonds', Alex Neil fit and at his peak alongside experienced players like Canning and Mensing, saw Accies hit the track running so to speak with opening victories against Dundee United and Inverness. On the face of it then you might expect Accies to be the bookies favourites to be relegated and you would be right with Coral offering odds of 12/5, Ladbrokes 11/5 and others 5/2. But the big difference since 2007 is the seismic change in the membership of the Premier League as the financial meltdown has taken its toll. No Rangers, no Hearts, and although not due to financial overspending, no Hibernian either. Aside from Celtic, the only Premiership clubs with comparatively big player budgets are Dundee United and Aberdeen and even they have to balance budgets against debt. Other clubs might not have the budgets but both Motherwell and Saint Johnstone have developed squads that look as though there is still more to come in the new season. That leaves Accies playing in a league that has this time round has a more level playing field in terms of resources. In effect we are in a league of seven including ourselves, and an Accies side judiciously strengthened and injury free should be capable of taking points from any of the others. Nor should we discount taking points of the likes of Aberdeen or Dundee United.

Inverness took their time last season to get used to the managerial change from Butcher to Hughes and they seem to have lost some of their sparkle but with Butcher’s departure from Hibs, an anticipated raid during the close season on their squad hasn’t materialised. Kilmarnock appear to have sorted out their financial problems but their management team of Alan Johnston and Sandy Clark came in for a lot of criticism from their fans and it was interesting to see Clark depart to be replaced by Gary Locke. Despite an apparently strong contract offer, losing Kris Boyd who scored 22 goals for them to Rangers will have an impact. Can’t see his replacements Lee Miller and Josh Macgennis equalling that total. Interestingly Johnston is the bookies favourite to be the first to lose his job this season. Saint Mirren’s board clearly felt that the squad they had was underachieving under Danny Lennon but the appointment of Tommy Craig caught many by surprise. Championship winners' Dundee have had a big clear out of players as Paul Hartley has sought to reshape the squad that he had inherited from John Brown. Sometimes too many as much as too few changes can be dangerous and it will be interesting to see how Hartley moulds his squad with 11 new faces. Partick Thistle under Alan Archibald’s guidance survived their first season back in the top flight aided by the mid season loan signing of Lyle Taylor. Taylor has since been released by Sheffield United and Partick were looking for him to sign full time but he has gone to Scunthorpe. And then there is Ross County. A bad start to the season saw manager Derek Adams strengthening the team quite radically mid term backed by Roy McGregor's money,  but they will not want a repeat this season and to date have made 8 summer signings.

All the Summer ins and out can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/27793736

So all to play for in my opinion. 11th place, as we are well aware, will no longer guarantee safety but league reconstruction means that any team getting relegated via the play offs will receive a parachute payment of £500,000 in their first season down and £250,000 in year two assuming they stay down. A significant financial cushion that should allow teams to weather the drop. Back to the odds. Currently you can get odds on Accies to win the Premier League of between 300 and 750 to 1 but we are the bookies' favourite for outright relegation with Partick Thistle closely behind. While the odds will change I’m still confident we can survive.

For all the odds see here :

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/scottish/premiership/to-finish-bottom

What do you mean Accies aren’t playing now until August!

May be you had thought Accies were just going to keep playing all summer but I’m sorry it is now officially the close season. For the players it’s been a really long season with the addition of the play – offs and I’m sure they are off on well-earned breaks. The season started way back in 2013 with a friendly away to Spennymoor on the 18^th of July. I missed that one so for me and a number of Accies fans the first game was a couple of days later when we played East Fife on the 20^th. Seems like ages ago that I was sitting in the summer sun wondering where Methil Power Station had gone! But instead of finishing with the Morton game on the 3^rd of May we have had an extra 3 weeks of excitement, nail biting, squeaky bum time to go through. However until next August, unless there are pre season friendlies, I’m sorry it’s an Accies less summer so what are you going to do?

I used to go down to the ground peer over the fence at the Sainsbury end and watch the grass grow. Cant do that any more with the 3g pitch. There is the World Cup for those fanatics that like their international football but unless there is a team with red and white hoops and a player with a passing resemblance to Jason Scotland I’m not sold. You could always support England of course.  Last year we had the Olympics but the beach volleyball proved too much for me and by the time the Commonwealth Games come round we will have kicked off again. You could take up another sport like subbuteo or coarse fishing but many of us are couch potatoes.

Of course if you are a season ticket holder you can plan a trip to the ground to renew. Perhaps if you ask Scott Struthers nicely he will let you sit in your seat just to try it out. You can monitor the media and social media to see who is coming and going as Alex reshapes the squad for the premiership. Personally I’m going to watch the game against Hibs over and over and over again.  So see you all in August. If we are in the first round of the League Cup then it's the second of August, if not the SPFL kicks of on the 9^th. And for those of you who cant wait for a live game of football then you will be pleased to know that Brechin are playing Aberdeen in a pre season friendly on the 25^th of June and that is less than 5 weeks away.

Stranger than fiction

And so Accies discover a new, more exciting way to win promotion. Nobody can deny the events of Easter Road were hugely exciting and entertaining, and as exhilarating for Accies as they were devastating for Hibs.

Nobody, even most of our own fans, expected us to do it. The first leg had been a big disappointment - somebody summed up that game as "Accies played the football, but Hibs scored the goals", and the least that can be said is that we dominated the first half. But the bottom line is we lost 0-2 at home, and only the biggest optimists felt we could overturn that deficit in the away leg.

The script required a more urgent Accies than in the first game, with greater penetration: Jason Scotland, in particular, duly obliged. It required Accies to score the first goal, preferably early on, and in 12 minutes, Jason Scotland obliged again. It required an equaliser in 90 minutes, and with 1 minute 20 seconds to spare, a sublime combination featuring Gordon, MacKinnon, Scotland and Andreu led to the last named blasting into the net. That took us into extra time.

Accies dominated from start to finish, played the best football, had a clear goal scoring chance denied when referee Collum missed a blatant cynical foul in the second half, and could well have won by more in normal time. If we had, Hibs could have had no complaints, and it might have saved them later agony.

After a great game, extra time was an anticlimax, with both teams exhausted, and so the penalty shootout arose.

I don't know who would have taken the fifth Accies penalty - I've read Alex Neil, I've read Jesus Garcia Tena - but it wasn't needed, because Gillespie, Andreu, Antoine-Curier and Scotland all coolly scored, while Cuthbert saved two out of five Hibs pens.

The media have focused on Hibs' dramatic fall, and the fall-out, but these are trivial concerns to this blog. This was all about Accies' triumph, and manager Alex Neil winning promotion in his first full season in charge. It was about a special blend of youth, such as Gillespie, Gordon, Crawford and Longridge, with experience in the shape of the likes of Cuthbert, Canning, Neil and Scotland, gelling into a successful team unit. And it was about an unforeseen conclusion to a rollercoaster season.

In time, we'll move on to speculate about our prospects in the top flight, back where we spent three seasons just two years ago. We'll look ahead with relish to contests with the best teams in the country. But that's for another day: the here and now is about celebrating one of the greatest victories in Accies' post-war history, and dreaming of what it may portend.

Thanks and congratulations are due to everyone associated with this phenomenal success. Hibs 0 Accies 2, aggregate 2-2, Accies win 4-3 on penalties, Hibs are relegated to the Championship, Accies are promoted to the Premiership.

10-2

Yesterday's win deserves celebration regardless of its context.

• Ten goals is the most I have ever seen Accies score in any game - I suspect it's the most any living Accies fan has seen us score.
• 10-2 is the biggest winning margin I have ever seen Accies record. Others will have seen 8-goal wins before, with our 9-1 wins over Berwick in 80/81 and Brechin in 93/94, but I missed both of those.
• Twelve goals is the biggest single game total I have ever seen Accies involved in - my previous highest, with much less cause for celebration, was 3-8 to Celtic in 86/87.

It was a tumultuous end to the season, albeit somewhat subdued by the circumstances of losing the title to Dundee by virtue of their last game home win.

The game invites comparison with our narrow miss of promotion in the memorable 91/92 season, when we lost out on goal difference to Partick Thistle on the last day. Similar conspiracy theories have emerged about missed chances for Partick's and Dundee's opponents respectively. These should be discounted as readily as competing theories that Morton players took a trip to the bookies before yesterday. The big difference is that we always trailed Partick in 1992, and only drew level on points due to their last game draw.

Finishing second this season is a great accomplishment, not least because for the first time in many years it affords an opportunity for promotion, via play-offs. Hopefully the disappointment of having thrown away automatic promotion in the crazy last quarter of an hour at Dumbarton last Saturday will be eclipsed by yesterday's fantastic performance and result.

The play-offs beckon: let's see if we can do it.

Dumbarton debacle

Yesterday Accies effectively handed the league title to Dundee. It is small consolation that Dundee felt they had given it to us a week before, as we're a week closer to the end, and this time it's more likely to count. Yes, it is still theoretically possible for Accies to win it, but it's unlikely, and it's out of our hands.

Dumbarton has rarely been a happy hunting ground for us. But our record there is not as bad as some say: we won there, in the cup, as recently as last season, and truth be told, we haven't played them that often in the last decade, due to being in different divisions. However, yesterday's big crowd, and the sense of anticipation that we could be on the verge of a title, contrived to create a big sense of let-down.

The thing is, we actually came very close. With quarter of an hour to go, we were at 1-1. At that point, we felt that would be a bad result, but it would have been much better than what finally happened. We spent the early part of the second half bombarding the Dumbarton goal, and although they looked quite dangerous on the break, we had most of the play and spurned several great chances, notably a hazy Crawford dribble into the box, which I thought he'd finished, and Longridge one-on-one with the keeper.

As we went into the last quarter of an hour, Alex Neil clearly felt it was time to gamble, withdrawing a midfielder, Gillespie, for another striker, Antoine-Curier. Many of our fans prefer Neil as our manager to Billy Reid precisely for this sort of choice: in the same situation, would Billy have gambled? I doubt it, and with the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't the right choice by Neil. But at the time, it was a gamble I think most of us supported.

Cooler analysis suggests it might have been better to hold on for a draw, perhaps sneaking a winner if we were lucky. A draw would have left Dundee needing to win their last game, whereas now a draw will be enough for them. Dumbarton, even if their play-off hopes are effectively over, are capable of drawing with a jittery Dundee. But the knowledge that a draw is now enough should do wonders for any Dundee jitters.

Cooler analysis was what was missing. Neil had looked well able to manage from the pitch earlier in the game, when he countermanded the substitution of Scotland by Antoine-Curier, a decision vindicated by our goal. But in the crucial minutes, the notorious Neil red mist descended. Yes, it was frustrating to concede a goal against the run of play, although we could yet have recovered. Yes, Gilhaney wound him up, and doubtless knew exactly what it took. But the bottom line is that Neil should never have head-butted him, and that's what I saw him do.

Ironically, Neil and Chairman Les Gray criticised young Andy Ryan for getting needlessly sent off in the last game of last season.  How much more culpable is our experienced player-manager?

I don't wish to dwell on Neil's folly; I'm sure he recognises it more than anyone. But if he is to continue to play next season, then as a manager he needs to have a contingency plan for when incidents like this happen, as they will again, although hopefully not in such crucial circumstances. As it was, we looked not just leaderless, but totally disorganised, as we conceded two more goals in the last ten minutes. I'm told some of our young players were crying on the pitch at the end, but by then I had left along with many other disappointed Accies fans.

Today's perspective is that we never expected to win the league this season; the play-offs were our target, and we have accomplished that. But we accomplished that a couple of weeks ago, had the chance to go one better, and missed that chance through our own failure yesterday.

Hopefully we can pick ourselves up to beat Morton at NDP next Saturday, but we'll be missing quite a few important players. And while that's not likely to be enough to overtake Dundee, it would secure second place and mean we have one less play-off to negotiate. Either way, our prospects for those play-offs look diminished. Time for our players to show their mettle.

They think it's all over

It's not yet.

If Dundee had opened a three point plus goal difference gap yesterday, I would have been prepared to concede.

But our late equaliser could yet prove to be one of our most valuable goals of the season.
Why does one point make such a difference? With three games left, Dundee could have afforded to lose one and still pip us on goal difference (we're not likely to make up four goals in three games, although it is just possible). Now they can't. If Dundee lose a game and we win our last three, the title will be ours.

I'm not saying we'll do it. It's out of our hands now. If Dundee hold their nerve and win their last three, the title is theirs. But I'm not convinced they will. They could draw a game, giving us the slim chance of making up the goal difference. The pressure could get to them. And one or two of their opponents, who still have play-off places to chase (although Alloa's chance should be over before they play Dundee), could actually beat them.

TBH, I'm more concerned about us fulfilling our end of the deal. At least one of our remaining games, at Dumbarton, is eminently lose-able. And we are going to be depleted by suspensions, with Hendrie, Gordon and MacKinnon all due to miss games. The pessimists will point out we could even lose second place to a resurgent Falkirk, leaving us an extra round of play-offs to negotiate.

Even if we fail to overhaul Dundee, I think it's been a season to be proud of. Accies have exceeded my expectations. In last night's comment to my previous blog, Dave questions the mentality and discipline of our team under Alex Neil. While true, I think this criticism is a tad unfair. We weren't that much better under Billy Reid, and it was to be expected that Alex would stamp this aspect of his personality on the team, along with the more positive qualities he brings - hard work, effective use of the ball, determination, competitiveness, and a winning mentality. I can't share Dave's conclusion that the jury is still out on Alex - for a first full season in management I think he's done no bad.

Accies promotion would be "a disaster"

It hasn't attracted much attention elsewhere, but BBC Radio Scotland pundit Allan Preston made a comment yesterday, perhaps deliberately provocative, that promotion for Accies rather than Dundee would be "a disaster" for Scottish football.

I'd suggest Alex Neil should pin that up in the dressing room.

Preston's argument seems to be based on the size of Accies' support, and the disaster is the potential loss of revenue to SPL clubs in the difference between that and Dundee's support. It's a specious argument, at best, and it ignores all sorts of contradictory evidence, such as Accies playing more attractive football, and the report on the BBC website yesterday of Dundee seeking to emulate the Accies youth academy - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26893838

Yesterday's 1-1 draw leaves our noses still just in front, in what is turning out to be the tightest Championship title race for some time. I'd have taken a draw before the game, certainly when we went in at half-time 0-1 to what seemed a dubious offside goal (it seems Lee Kilday, injured and off the park, played the scorer on), and a draw was a fair result in the end.

So now we have just four games to decide things between the two contenders. I don't think Falkirk are back in it, despite their 5-0 win yesterday - too little too late for the Bairns, I think. For Falkirk to win it, even if they win all four of their remaining games, which is far from certain, they need both Accies and Dundee to drop four points each. I can't see it. I think we may well drop points, but we won't both drop enough to hand it to Falkirk.

I hope Preston's disrespectful comment helps make a difference. Bring on the "disaster"!

Top of the league!

At the start of season 2007/08 (actually after the second game), I launched a thread on AcciesWorld called Top of the League! It was an exciting time to be following Accies, perhaps the most exciting time since I started following in the 1970s. We had survived near extinction, including relegation to the fourth tier, had built a new stadium, and were heading back to the top flight. I was just one of many Accies fans who felt certain we were going to win the league in 2008. As indeed we did.

This season has not been the same. Despite establishing an early lead, many of us never felt we were the best team in the league, or favourites to win it. The club's stated aim was to make the play-offs.

Yesterday we returned to the top of the league. And we secured a minimum of a place in the play-offs. These are massive achievements, and every congratulation is due to the players, Alex Neil's management team, and Les Gray's board. But it's not over yet.

With just five games left, we are in pole position to win the league. The first remaining hurdle faces us when Dundee visit NDP next Saturday. We have not yet managed to beat Dundee this season, but if we can at least draw, we will still be top and one step closer to the title.

Can we do it? I have no idea. The fluctuating form of both Dundee and Accies suggests it's not just a question of avoiding defeat in the head-to-head then seeing out the season. I don't expect either contender to win all of their remaining four games.

But undoubtedly the game this coming Saturday is the toughest of our run-in, and if we can actually win it, then we have a fantastic chance of winning the league and returning to the SPL. Perhaps this most successful period of our modern history is not yet over - the adventure continues.

Can we do it?

SPFL Under 20 League, 27 November 2012, Accies 0 - Hibernian 4

After Saturday's first team defeat the last thing I wanted to see was another one but unfortunately that's what I got last night with the Accies under 20 team being well beaten by Hibs courtesy of goals from hat trick hero no. 10 Cummings and a single strike from no. 9 Caldwell. Accies started brightly enough and in just over 2 minutes had a shot on goals but it was Hibs who scored first in 19 minutes through Caldwell. Accies keeper Currie blocked a Hibs shot but the ball fell to Caldwell who struck it well. This sparked a period of Accies dominance but shots from Mcnaught, Ryan (twice) and Brophy (twice) in a 13 minute spell were all cleared or saved. As half time approached it looked as though Accies would go in a goal down but in 41 minutes Currie failed to hold a ball and Cummings was on hand to put the ball in the back of the net. The second half started in similar fashion with Accies having a free kick just outside the box but Ryan's attempt was well over. Cummings added a third for Hibs in 69 minutes when he met a cross with a spectacular overhead kick that gave Currie no chance. Hibs compounded a miserable night for Accies when Cummings completed his hat trick in 77 minutes. The ball fell to him in the Accies half and evading a defender he had only the keeper to beat which he did. This result leaves Accies in sixth place in the Under 20 league table with 20 points but still only 2 behind leaders Inverness and with 2 games in hand. Also at the game last night following on his saturday visit was Alloa manager Paul Hartley. As he was supposed to be interviewed by Inverness for thier vacant managerial position yesterday he must have flown down the A9.

The full Under 20  table is available at :-

http://spfl.co.uk/reserve-and-youth/u20-league-table/

SPFL Under 20 League, 12 November 2012, Accies 2 - Dunfermline Athletic 0

After losing their last two games, Accies under 20's got back to winning ways at New Douglas Park on Tuesday night with a comfortable 2 - 0 win over Dunfermline Athletic. Before the kick off I was able to admire the progress that Peter Howson is making on his wall mural. Away fans and those in sections A to D of the main stand are going to have a cracking view and if they tire of the football they can at least admire the mural. Captaining the Accies team was Jesus Garcia Tena and although he didn't score this was a captains' performance earning my man of the match vote. 

Accies started brightly and in 3 minutes a cross from Craig Johnston fell to Tena  who hit the ball awkwardly passed the goal post. Three minutes later an identical cross from Johnson was cleared just before Tena could get a  foot to it. In 17 minutes Mcgrath found Tena again but he was  quickly ruled  ruled offside. Dunfermline came into the game later in the first half with corners in the 30th and 33 minutes but made little use of them. Their best and possibly only chance of the game came in 39 minutes when the ball fell to Dunfermline's no 7 Ryan Ferguson near the goal line, but Currie for Accies managed to turn the ball past the post for a corner. Shortly afterwards Accies broke up the field and a cross from Tena on the left hand side of the park was expertly struck by Mcgrath from 10 yards out side the box giving the Dunfermline keeper no chance. 

The second half was somewhat disjointed with both sides making multiple substitutions but Accies were rarely threatened and secured all three points in 80 minutes when the ball fell to Greg Docherty, who from about 20 yards struck the ball past an again helpless Dunfermline keeper. That was all the action and I wonder if Tena may make a first team appearance on Saturday or will Mcgrath be filling a strikers slot?

Accies - Currie, Finnie, Mcmann, El Zubaidi, Kilday , Watson, Longridge, Docherty, McGrath, Tena (c), Johnston Subs Smith, Armstrong, Harrison, Granger, Quinn. 

More Managerial Merry Go Rounds

In September I reported that Richie Burke of Livingstone was the first managerial casualty of the season and wondered if the axe would fall on Danny Lennon or John Brown? Such are the vagaries of football that six weeks later both these managers look safe for the time being with Saint Mirren sitting in 11th position in the Premiership but 15 points above Hearts and Dundee suddenly putting a series of wins together to claw back within one point of Accies before last weeks' defeat. But there have been other casualties. Perhaps no surprise that Jimmy Boyle of Airdrieonians was October's, quickly replaced by Gary Bollan himself somewhat surprisingly sacked by Livvie last season despite achieving two promotions. November is only a day old and the biggest name so far has joined the ranks of the unemployed with Pat Fenlon 'resigning' from his post at Hibernian after a 2 year spell that so him take the club to 2 Scottish Cup finals but fail to improve significantly on their league position and this week saw his team knocked out of the League Cup by arch rivals Hearts. A winner of 5 titles in the League of Ireland he has found Hibs a tougher nut to crack and the club is now seeking their 10th manager in 16 years according to the BBC. So whose next ? The spotlight in recent weeks has been on Kilmarnock, Queen of the South and Morton. Despite funds which most recently allowed him to sign Nacho Novo on a short term contract its not looking good for Morton's Allan Moore. But one thing I can say with certainty is that there will be no shortage of candidates for whatever vacancy occurs.

There was a young man from Limerick (Aka Stuart Taylor) Part 3

On Friday Stuart Taylor's Limerick played their last game of the Irish season away to Derry City needing a win plus Cork City to lose to secure 6th place. Limerick went into the game having taken 13 points from a possible 18 in their previous 6 games and must have been optimistic. This was the conclusion to Stuarts' first season as a full time manager and Limericks' first season back in the Irish top flight for 19 years.

Limerick with a similar emphasis on youth to Accies fielded a team averaging 20.5 years, half of them teenagers against a Derry City team considerably older and experienced. Trailing a goal to nil at half time, unfortunately the flood gates opened in the second half and Limerick ended up on the end of a 6 - 0 drubbing bringing the curtain down on what otherwise might be described as a successful season.

Stuart took up his position in January this year giving him just less than half the Irish close season to get to know his club and players so securing a seventh slot after so many years out of the top league and doing it with a young squad must be regarded as a positive story. Not surprising that already his name has been linked with vacancies in Scotland even if  it was rivals Airdrieonians!

Quoted on the official Limerick site, Stuart has already begun planning for the new season. "We're a club that is always looking ahead and always looking to progress," he said "We're in negotiations with the players that we want to keep at the club. We have one player tied up from outside .... and we have another couple that we have been talking to.." I hope to get back over next season to see how things are developing and if his team progresses I expect Stuart to be gracing our touchlines or possibly even the english leagues.

Taking a child to the game

I have step children who were both committed Celtic fans before I had a chance to influence them. I took my stepson to an Accies game when he was 12, he was bored, and he never came back. I've seen plenty of youngsters bored at games, dragged along by parents either desperate to plant the seeds of lifelong loyalty or forced by childcare necessity to involve the kids in the parent's interest. So I thought long and hard about how to introduce my son to Accies.

My son's five. He considers himself an Accies fan: he's got a season ticket, a scarf, and he asks about the score. (As an aside, he doesn't have a replica kit - when is the shop going to be stocked with his size in home kit?) But he doesn't understand the rules of football, and he doesn't have the attention span to stick with a game on the telly, far less 90 minutes of live football.

I thought long and hard about how to introduce him to Accies. I swore I would refuse to take him until he was desperate to come, rather than risk losing him to boredom. But childcare necessity, my soft-heartedness, and the club's generous free season ticket offer intervened.

He got his first (free) season ticket last year, and on Saturday will use this year's book for the first time, in what will only be his fourth Accies game. I'm hoping to break his record of staying just past 60 minutes, but I don't expect to see the end of the game - which is a pity, because I doubt Saturday's game at home to Falkirk will be decided until the last half hour, perhaps the last fifteen minutes or less.

I wonder how others deal with this dilemma? I know some bring bagfuls of toys, and bribe the kids with crisps, sweets and soft drinks. I know it helps to move around a bit - visits to the toilet, the kiosk, changing seats at half time, etc. But my challenge is to engage him more with the game itself, pointing out features we all take for granted, explaining what's going on, justifying the rules, and so forth.

I'm hoping for plenty of goals and excitement - not things I typically expect from our encounters with Falkirk. It's more likely to be a bruising, perhaps bad-tempered encounter, decided by a goal or two, with hopefully Accies emerging on top. Will my bairn appreciate the bairns?

SPFL u20 League Accies 0 - Kilmarnock 1

The next under 20's league game came around quicker than expected with a rearranged game against Kilmarnock at New Douglas Park on Tuesday night. No European football for me on the telly instead the silky skills of the young Accies stars and their Kille counterparts.

Unfortunately I arrived too late to get a team sheet and the Accies twitter site is currently devoid of any information so I was flying blind when it comes to players details. This is a game that for large periods Accies dominated earning a series of corners and hitting the woodwork at least three times but somehow managed to lose 0 - 1 and in consequence of results elsewhere surrendered their lead in the Under 20 league.

Accies kicked off playing towards the Spice of Life stand and for the first 15 minutes or so this was a fairly equal game although Accies had a chance as early as 7 minutes when a cross from the right was well struck by Accies no 10 but hit the right hand post. Accies took a grip of the game and had a series of corner kicks none of which delivered an early goal. In the 30th minute another well struck Accies shot from outside the right hand side of the Kille box appeared to hit the crossbar. It was only in the closing minutes that Kille had their first real chance. From  a corner one of their players headed the ball down for an easy save by the Accies keeper. From the kick off the ball fell to Killie again and the keeper made another good save however the ball again fell to a Kille player who seemed to have an open goal in front of him. He appeared to think he had all the time in the world to score and fortunately the ball was cleared by Accies. So at half time, despite Accies having four corners to Killie's one and two hits off the woodwork,  the teams went in 0 - 0.

The second half was more of the same. On 53 minutes Accies got a corner but the Kille goalie got down well to palm the ball past the post for a second corner from which Accies struck the ball over the bar. In 59 minutes yet another corner for Accies saw a headed ball hit off the bar and over. Both teams made a substitution in 71 minutes and shortly afterwards Kille got the winning goal. A well struck volley by Killie's number 8 ended up in the top right hand corner of the Accies net. In 85 minutes  an Accies throw in was headed down in the box and the Accies players claimed it came off a Killie arm but the referee wasn't interested and apart from a late Killie corner the game was over.  Disappointingly, with Inverness winning 1 -0 against St Mirren, Accies are now sitting behind Inverness in the Under 20 league although with a  game in hand. Ominously Celtic, whose under 20 team were thrashing Ajax 4 - 1, are in third but with a game in hand on Accies and two on Inverness.

Sitting in the stand with Ronnie and Les was Allan Maitland. Will he end up at Airdrieonians? I suspect not but lets wait and see.

SPFL u20 League Accies 1 - Partick 1

I took in my first under 20's game of the season last night at New Douglas Park when top of the league Hamilton entertained Partick Thistle. Kicking off at 6pm,  allowing us all to see the Scotland game afterwards, it was good to see both Ronnie and Les at the game with Alex and Frankie in the dug out. This was a strong Hamilton team with Longridge, Tena and McShane all with considerable first team experience with us or elsewhere featuring. Both teams were evenly matched throughout and the final 1 - 1 scoreline reflects this. 0 - 0 at half time I was glad to see that one of the kiosks was open for refreshments as it certainly wasn't warm.

The second half was as before with both sides having their fair share of possession. However Accies opened the scoring in 71 minutes when Scott McMann scored direct from a corner kick, the ball appearing to go right through the opposition keeper's hands. Accies didn't keep the lead for long. Three minutes later Chis Duggan struck  a volley past Blair Currie that he couldn't have stopped. That was all the goal excitement and while we dropped points and our nearest rival Inverness and Celtic both won, Thistle 3 - 2 over Hibs and Celtic 2 - 1 over Ross County, Accies remain top of the Under 20 league on 17 points the same as Inverness and Celtic but ahead on goals difference.

The full updated table is available at http://spfl.co.uk/reserve-and-youth/u20-league-table/

With Stephen Hendrie again featuring for the Scottish under 19's in a 1 - 1 draw with Germany last night, a result that gives them a place in the Uefa European Championship elite round, this is a great time to be following the Accies youngsters. The next home game is not until the 12th of November against Dunfermline but I would encourage all Accies fans to come along and get a taste of the next generation of Accies and Scotland stars!

The Accies starting line up was Currie, Finnie, McMann, El-Zubaidi,Tena, Watson, Mcgrath, Longridge, Mcshane, Brophy and Docherty. Subs for Accies were Armstrong, Harrison, Smith, Quinn, Granger, Hughes and Law.

Raith Rovers - past times

Just as with popular music and hair styles, one's taste in football strips doesn't appear to move on  much after the mid twenties arrive. For example,  Dunfermline will be forever associated by me with the black pinstripe design on a white background which they wore when they won the Scottish Cup in 1968, and when they dumped Everton and West Brom out of the Cup Winners Cup.

And if I want a laugh, I merely have to picture the Ajax strip ( yes Ajax ! ) Hearts deported when they lost 7-0 at home to Hibs. However such nostalgic hankering most emphatically does not apply to the strip worn by this week's opponents Raith Rovers in the late 1960s. which  was a white top with two horizontal hoops, the dignity and gravitas of which has been captured perfectly by the David Bedford lookalikes in the recent 118 adverts. Quite deservedly they shipped ten goals at Ibrox in that strip although, unlike when we lost 10-0 at Parkhead, they did at least manage to score a couple themselves. (incidentally our Billy Lamont's place as top rated footballer in the Daily Express was unaffected by this setback !)

I also suffered my own personal setback at a Rovers game. Readers might not know this, but  before it was flattened in 1978,  the the terracing at the Clydesdale Street end rose to a fairly substantial height near the main ( and only) stand. This explains why so many were able to cram in - officially and unofficially, at the Montrose cup tie. When I say terracing, a more accurate description would be grass, foliage,  and wilderness - all patrolled by legendary Accies steward, big Jim Burke

But it was a fantastic place as a youngster to mess around and play during  frequent boring interludes on the pitch. Anyway on this occasion I decided to commemorate a 3-1 defat by Rovers ( such defeats were routine in those days) by swinging on a broken crush barrier, falling over, crashing against it and almost breaking my nose. No-one found it in the least offputting that the barrier had been broken for, well, years without attracting any interest whatsoever, health and safety regimes lay many years ahead, and the general consensus was  that I had got (firstly) exactly what I deserved, and (secondly) a very useful lesson for the future about self preservation.

A more favourable recollection was my introduction to national media, which occurred when I was pictured on the front cover of The Accies Matchday Magazine, celebrating Big Neilly's goal in the 3-3 draw with Rovers in November 1972. Such an accolade was not to be sniffed at as Tom Marchbank and Alan Dick had revolutionised the Accies programme, which now not only had photos ,but a different one on each cover - just like the papers !

Incidentally, up until then the Accies programme had enjoyed a variety of contributors, each with their own individual style - biblical, in the case of Charlie Bent who reported that after Tommy Cogill's  goal at Clydebank, "the fans rejoiced and sang his praises "!

The return game in March 1973 was a less happy occasion, as our long unbeaten run came to an end with a 2-0 reverse.  Alan D, being even then  a guardian of sporting fair play ,was less than happy with the circumstances of our defeat and the "simulation" of the Raith, and future Hearts winger, Malcolm Robertson. Alan duly referred to Malcolm's "Oscar winning performance " in the next edition of the Accies MDM, and you all know what happened  next......... albeit on this occasion only a censure by the big wigs at the SFA.

There's plenty more to follow as we're not yet into the last 30 years, but that'll do for just now !

Morton- past times

Unlike the old firm, Morton have faced Chelsea in European competition, back in 1968, in the Fairs Cities Cup, which was won that year by Newcastle, following a riotous semi final against Rangers. Chelsea had won the first leg 5-0 at Stamford Bridge, but still picked a strong line up for the return tie at Cappielow, which they won 4-3.

Their team included Bonetti, Harris, Webb, Hollins, Tambling, Osgood etc -  as well as a first ever selection of Alan Hudson as substitute. What the Kings Road superstars made of the Cappielow facilities is anyone's guess, unlike my own friends' opinions which have required not clarification but censorship.

I have to own up to a fondness for Cappielow, based partly on nascent luddite tendencies, and also  the fact that we hardly ever lose there. I remember bribing a woman to go to our 2-2 draw in January 2004. Primitive plumbing facilities required the toilets to be positioned beside the catering stalls, - you can imagine what happened next, and I recall Accies fans eying impassively the amber torrent flowing past the tea bar as they queued for their half time refreshments. I am still reminded of this by my companion, and not with any feelings of nostalgia either.

But Cappielow is a true old fashioned venue, with seats into which you have to be shoehorned, and a bar  on the corner of the ground which literally will  leave you rooted to the spot. I first went there in 1976, when we won 2-0, and our results have stood up pretty well ever since. Most supporters will recall another 2-0 win, in August 2007, when in Eric Morecambe style, Billy played all the right players, but not necessarily in the right order. If I remember correctly David Elebert was at right back, and Tom Parratt pushed into midfield.

Our return fixture later that year attracted controversy when Marko correctly overruled the referee's decision, and chalked off a Morton equaliser for a handling offence. Marko's decision  caused apoplexy among Morton supporters on a well known website, and for many years after this they appeared to harbour a fair amount of hatred for the big man, right up until he left us and joined ........Morton.

Finally, to Love Street and the venue for our B and Q Cup final victory in 1992. Opponents Morton included in their side current Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes,  but were unable to prevent Accies from retaining the cup with a 3-2 win, which included a rare goal from Chris Hillcoat.

To the surprise of most observers, Morton  have spent most of this season around the foot of the league table, and are currently stuck there in best Norseman style. However  they were the first visiting team to leave Parkhead with a victory this term, a feat from which Barcelona no doubt drew inspiration, albeit unlike Morton they didn't have to do it against 11 men. So a victory this Saturday cannot be taken for granted but is certainly achievable, even in the absence of Scotland pick, Stephen Hendrie

The romance of the cup

I disagree with those who talk about cup competitions as "distractions" from the main business of the league.

I have seen Accies win the championship or title of the second tier in senior Scottish football three times in my life, and will no doubt see it again - who knows, perhaps as soon as this season? However, I have never seen us in the final of the Scottish Cup or the Scottish League Cup - nobody has seen us in the latter, as we have never made it that far, and to remember the former, you have to have been following Accies nearly 80 years ago.

I have seen us lose heavily to Dundee United at East End Park in the semi-final of the League Cup, and attended two out of three of our Scottish Cup quarter finals under Billy Reid, including the ill-fated replay at Dens Park in 2007 (the one I missed I saw on TV, as it was broadcast live from Ibrox).

My remaining ambition as an Accies fan is to see us contest a final at Hampden, and every year I travel in hope.

This year the Scottish Cup journey begins at Palmerston Park, Dumfries, as we have been drawn away to Queen of the South in the third round of the William Hill Scottish Cup, on Saturday 2 November.  The stumble on the last day of last season has cost us, as finishing third or fourth in last season's SFL 1 would have ensured we missed this round and joined in the fourth round; our loss to Cowdenbeath meant we dropped to fifth and thus entered the draw a round earlier than we have done for ten years.

So it's that wee bit tougher this season.  We have three league games to negotiate before then, including crucial home ties versus our closest competitors, Raith Rovers and Falkirk. But I'm looking forward to another cup campaign with relish.  Maybe this year...

Livingston - past times

I have to confess to amnesia about most previous matches against Livingston, and their myriad of predecessors.

Having commented in the last article about hard hit shots, I omitted to mention Rory Boulding's last minute equaliser for Livingston at NDP in August 2011,when he fairly leathered the ball into the Spice of Life stand goal.

At this point, I have to turn to penalty shoot outs. I have often thought of Birmingham City as a pleasingly hapless club, and I recall that in fact  one year they enjoyed the shortest ever FA Cup run, when they forgot to post their entry form. On another occasion the Main Stand burnt down, when a fireman confused water with petrol. Their trophyless history (until recently) was blamed on a gypsy curse, which led to another next generation gypsy being dragged along to attempt to lift it.

The manager at the time, Barry Fry also tried to help matters along by urinating on all four corners of the pitch, although it is unclear whether this was an exercise in exorcism, or merely ( like the cricketers) a pleasant end to a social outing.

Anyway I got it into my head that they managed to miss virtually every penalty in a sudden death shoot out. I just can't remember the fixture, although Swindon did literally miss every one in 2008. Which brings us to 1992 and our B and Q Cup semi-final with Meadowbank, when after 14 penalties we won.....2-1. Out of 7 penalties faced, the losing Meadowbank keeper saved 4, saw one missed, and missed one of his own!

Meadowbank first appeared in senior football in 1974, and as new leagues were formed the following year our paths rarely crossed, as we were ensconced in the middle league, and Meadowbank less happily in the lower one.

We did cross paths though in the final match of the 1987-88 season when in an unrepeated gesture of  largesse ,the Accies directors let in everyone for free. The resulting crowd of just over 5,000 witnessed a 1-1 draw, and saw the First Division trophy presented to us- a sight not to be repeated for 20 years.

Watching a match at Meadowbank's stadium, imaginatively called Meadowbank Stadium, was also an impactful experience, reminiscent of the cresta run. It combined  Cappielow like cramp with feelings of vertigo, as the seats were not only steeply stacked, but also tilted forwards at an alarming angle.These challenges have been, albeit with some reluctance, consigned to history and Almondvale is now a very comfortable setting for a match.