Internal discussions have been ongoing at EDI this week and the main outcome appears to be that the board expect the manager to be spending less time contributing to the SESL site and more time focusing on just EDI as he aims to turn the fortunes of the club around and hopefully mount a promotion challenge in the next season or two.

Stirling lost 2-1 to Airdrieonians in the Div 2/3 playoff on Saturday.

The Binos were the underdogs going into the game and Airdrieonians were able to rest their players in their final league game whilst Stirling's T-11 were making sure of 6th spot in Division 3. I did of course stick with ball control again which has worked for us for most of the season and gives the opposition something to think about.  Although the lower GP value does impact on shot chances. 

On the day Kevin's better players were able to create and put away their chances and we will regroup for another promotion push next season. But we didn't do too bad for a team with the 2nd worst T-11 in the league.

Motherwell went into the final match against DUM needing the win to secure 6th place and a big financial boost for next season. Therefore, MOT put out the big £120k home bonus and went full tilt for the win. 

A big, big shot % advantage as well as the better GK had MOT feeling confident, and we did end up with the 10-5 shot advantage, with more shots falling to better shooters against a worst GK. But, it was not to be our day. DUM were able to have 3 goals creep in on 5 shots, for a final miserable day in net for our SL34 GK. 1-3 loss with 9 saves for the opposing GK, and MOT end up in 7th, no morale bonus in store for next season.

Our worst season in the division by far, despite the team not being in too bad of shape. We detailed how hard opponents were playing against us in the blog by nature of always having to play sides after they rested against STJ. I was surprised we even had the chance to rescue 6th place, but it's the hope that kills you.

On to next season - let's hope the schedule is kinder to us next time out!

I did once win a playoff playing stall for 90 minutes, no shots created and won 1-0 as they opponent played a couple of aggressive players and gave up a penalty.

Just saying...

Falkirk did what was expected and ended up finishing third bottom and being relegated. We did have some bad luck with key players getting injured but in the end we just weren't good enough to stay up. The second from last game was away at Celtic. We deservingly lost three one to remain thirtieth, three points from safety. The final match was at home against third placed Clydebank. We needed to win to have any chance of staying up. We started badly going a goal behind on 16 minutes but did equalise on 33 minutes to go into the second half all square. We couldn't find the winning goal and the game finished one apiece to relegate us. A winner would have kept us up. The only positive is we have three youth players fully trained up for next season.

The final Saturday of the season has gone, but it was a successful one for East Fife, as we notched up two wins.

We had much the better of things in our first match, against Stranraer.  Scott Shepherd (pictured) opened the scoring for us in the third minute and by half time had extended our lead to 3-0, with a goal from Trevor Brooking and a second from Shepherd.  In the second half we continued to dominate and Shepherd completed his hat-trick to give us a comfortable 4-0 win.

Our last match of the season was an away game against champions Livingston.  I can’t say we deserved it, but somehow we managed to win this one 0-1, the only goal of the match coming in the 68th minutes, a fine strike from Seb Ross.

So, we finish the season in 8th place.  Not as high as we had hoped for, but compensated for by our great performances in both cups.  Next season, promotion perhaps?

On Saturday Stirling will face Kevin's Airdrieonians FC in one of the Div 2/3 playoffs.

All players are available but Airdrieonians are better rested. Unlike last season we went for it in the last 2 games sacrificing EL management to make sure we at least got a shot at the play-off. It's apity we can't apply an EL boost for the play-off teams after the league season games are over to level the playing field a little bit. But that is part of the game and I have been on the other side of the draw.

It's been a fun season so far, I've pushed the ball control tactic as much as possible, sometimes even when it would be more beneficial to play more conservatively, especially with an OTF of 10.

We won't be sitting back when we face the Airdrieonians on Saturday 

Courtesy of Mr Copilot, apart from my addition in Italics and crossings out.

Raith Rovers delivered a commanding performance to secure a 4-0 victory over Lanarkshire Accies, to leave Roves ecstatic in avoiding the relegation playoffs.  The match kicked off with both teams opting for a 4-2-4 formation, but it was Raith Rovers who dominated from the start. Rhys Healey was instrumental early on, creating several chances, including a near miss in the 5th minute that was brilliantly saved by Ryan Fulton.

The breakthrough came in the 14th minute when Aidan Connolly’s cross found Luther Blissett, who headed home to give Raith Rovers the lead. They doubled their advantage in the 24th minute with a stunning long-range effort from Brazil. Despite some resistance from the Accies, Raith Rovers’ defense, led by GK Robbie Thomson, held firm.

In the second half, Rhys Healey continued to torment the Accies’ defense, eventually scoring in the 59th minute with a close-range header. Ken Sema added a fourth in the 67th minute with a looping header that left Ryan Fulton helpless.

The Accies struggled to find a way past Thomson, who made several crucial saves to maintain the clean sheet. Raith Rovers’ comprehensive victory highlighted their attacking prowess and defensive solidity, leaving the Accies with much to ponder as they face the dreaded playoffs.

With SESL Season 57 now all but over, unless your team has a play-off game at the weekend  that is.  The players have probably gone off on their holidays and the manager is either down the job centre or maybe, just maybe sitting in his office considering where it all went well, or wrong, last season.

In the case of the EDI manager....he has been informed that his position is secure but that the board of directors will expect EDI to show significant signs of improvement starting in Season 58. The Club find themselves back in Division 3 next season but to be honest that is not altogether surprising considering all of the changes to the first team squad over the last few seasons. However, the squad is now looking far more settled and all the major pieces are in place and the other than some sensible training and coaching, its now a case of adding some depth to the squad.

The financial report was published this week and makes for interesting reading (If you are an Accountant that is). The board note that the current team bank balance is slightly below what was expected but allow for the manager being able to remedy that situation somewhat before the new pre-season. Looking forward to next season, the board feel that 'Income' will be somewhere near on par with the lastfew seasons but it is hoped that 'Expenditure' will be slightly lower over the next couple of seasons and the clubs finances will gradually return to a healthier condition.

With  all of the above in mind.....The manager will look to add a decent 'Bosman' player and will also look to promote two(maximum) youth players to the first team squad in the early part of next season. The manager has stated that he is open minded about which positions he intends to target to strengthen but it is likely to include a midfielder. 

So its goodbye S57 and roll-on S58 from all here at EDI.

Relegated bottom of the league but not surprised as I pressed the last 2 games to try and get the golden gloves award succeeded and the young gloves came 2nd.    If you asked me at the start of the season if you willing to get relegated but win a cup I would have took that so here we are.   Div 2 next season, but I fancy us to come straight back up.    Teams in reasonable shape.   I will have 2 top draw gk next season and a quality striker so should be good.

In a tense doubleheader, the Doonhamers faced Montrose and St. Mirren, both in crucial matches that would decide their promotion fate. Against Montrose, QoS started with a defensive 5-2-3 setup but quickly gained the upper hand with an early goal from Billy Nicholl. Montrose fought back with Danilo’s equalizer, yet QoS responded with goals from Peely Wally and Aaran Stramash, securing a 3-1 victory.

In their next clash, St. Mirren pushed hard in a 4-4-2 formation. Both teams saw chances, with Ollie Watkins and Che Adams keeping the pressure on QoS’s defense. Despite several close calls, strong defensive work by Pat Bonner and James Rimmer kept the scoreline goalless. A final surge from Peely Wally was saved, sealing a 0-0 draw.

With this hard-earned point, the Doonhamers clinched second place and secured their promotion to Division 2, showcasing a blend of resilience and skill across both matches.

The Real Truth About The Dark Blues (since 2024)

Match #50 at Aberdeen
Expectably ABE bought max HFA 40 - which gave them a sporting chance at 2.1-3.3 xG. Both teams however failed big at shot generation.
DEE scored just once, kept a clean sheet though - and took the deserved and crucial 3 points in a rather unexpected manner.

Match #51 vs Albion
With ALB's press tactics - to assure Gracie's Glove win - this should have been an easy DEE win. 
Yet, again, DEE's shooters scored only half their xGs and GK Gadzhalov allowed 2 ALB goals.
Thus way too much "entertainment" going into the final minutes at just 3-2 - but in the end 3 points were all that mattered.

The DEEs finished the season at a most mediocre 8th: worse than expected, but certainly better than expectable some weeks ago.

At least this leaves much room to improve next season.

Ross county were relegated back to division 3

We won 6 drew 5,lost 19,scoring 37 conceding 60 amassing 23 points-our T11 was 24.6 (joint 16th in division) and our T17 was 22.0(10th in division) but you try and play your T11 as often as you can and that's why I think we were relegated plus I thought we went up a season early and were not strong enough and I was right,a couple of seasons rebuild now ahead and filling those positions that we require is priority. 

In the cups we went out in the 1st round to Berwick, but had a good SESL cup run and went out in the semi final to Hamilton.

Not too busy in the transfer market but brought in 2 from Rangers WG Todd Cantwell and MF Stephen Kelly who will both be very important next season,rebuild will begin with an apprentice GK and a strong Defensive midfielder. 

The SRA lads finally did it!! A draw in the final match of the seaosn was enough to gain 4th place and a place back in the top division. Gaffer McCumiskey was absolutely delighted with the players and fans having spent far too long in Division Two. The Blues have now rebuilt and can look forward to fielding some strong players in their prime as they take on the best next season. Avoiding the playoffs was a priority as tiredness and suspensions can play a big role in such battles. With nothing planned until Xmas the Boss intends to hit the beach somewhere and bask in some well earned glory before getting back the grind of Division One survival! 

With a little more luck we could have stayed up: looking at some recent games where we drew but could have won (MOT if we got a penalty, RAN who NMRd and we deserved more, HEA scoring 3 goals from 3 SL 24 players with 3 shots) and probably more earlier in the season. Ten draws all season tells the story.  We only conceded 54 goals in the league (7th best) but our 36 goals scored was the lowest. Hopefully the acquisition of Donnelly will help put that right next season.

I've had a quick look at T11 for next season and Age of the teams and it doesn't look too bad.

The axe finally dropped this weekend and sent EDI into Division 3 despite a 3 point session.

It was no real surprise as all at the club had been expecting this outcome for a few weeks now.

So its now time to sit back an look at the season and try to take some positives from it and to be honest, EDI are in pretty good shape with a view for going forward, not too bad at all despite the back to back relegations. LOL

We started the weekend with a home game against Willy's Forfar, a tough outfit who dont give up goals easy with a strong set up ,both sides opting for a 4-2-4 longball, 1st half belonged to defences as both stood firm, 2nd half subs on and it was looking like a 0-0 as both defences stood firm ,73 minutes and Leak our sweeper left the field with concussion, but on 79 minutes a quick break and a deep cross saw Baldwin power home his header 1-0,Forfar pressed on and on 85 minutes levelled things up when Skelly fired home 1-1,we were outshot 4 to 3 and a point for us but not enough as it meant instant relegation, well played Willy.

Last match of the season for us in division 2 and we were home to Nairn County, no atmosphere in the dressing room as we knew division 3 awaits and it was hard to fire up the team,we opted for a 4-2-4 longball as they went for a 4-2-4 normal, game on and both sides enjoying lots of possession but defences were on top but on 43 minutes Roberstan fired home 0-1,2nd half and subs on we pushed on and on 46 minutes Kelly drilled home 1-1,we were struggling to retain any possession for any length of time and on 64 minutes Young burst through the fired home 1-2 and on 76 minutes Rice drilled home from range 1-3 as we were outplayed and outshot 9 to 2,well played Richard.

So with just a point we finish bottom of division 2.

and counting. Falkirk continued their bad run of results last weekend and dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this season. We kicked off last weekend's games with a home match against leaders Livingston. We didn't play too badly but we're no match for their forward firepower and lost three one. The second game was a relegation six pointer at home against Airdrieonians FC. We had the better of the game but couldn't convert any of our four chances and the game ended goalless. With two difficult games left and sitting fourth bottom we look certain to go down, especially given our recent run of results. There is always next season!