MVP: DdL

Team DPs: 138

AI are rivals to 3 teams.

Rebuild-ish!

Season 52 update:  September 2022

Kev is back!
Kevin Hull was Airdrie manager way back in seasons 9 thru 19.  

After quite a hiatus from the game I made a return in season 49 and 3 seasons at DEV.
i managed Airdrie for many, many seasons!  At this point in my life i had time to burn, and would regularly submit posts using the infamous "stickmen". Used to absolutely love spending time knocking those up and they got quite a good reception.
However, a wife and 2 kids later and my free time dwindled and dwindled, to the point where i had to unfortunately give the stickmen all up!

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Season 43 review Leon: AI Champions! Again! 
Not nearly as convincing as the year before, but we retained the title for another year. QP had an amazing season, but somehow near the end they slipped, where we didn't. Scoring more goals then ever before in the process. Gallagher and Linekar together good for almost 50 goals (48). Nailed the sponsorship bid for 5 MoM's with Linekar, Potter and Gallagher all three on 5 MoM awards, while captains Fry and De Jong both got their full amount of captain bonusses. The cups however, nothing to be proud off really. 

The real Airdie United History: 

Airdrieonians FC, long known to their fans and others as The Diamonds, has a unique place in Scottish football history.

Formed in 1878, a decade earlier than Glasgow Celtic, Airdrieonians made their reputation locally in 1885 by winning a charity football tournament run by the local cricket club. The following year Airdrieonians furthered that reputation nationally by inflicting a 10-2 defeat upon Glasgow Rangers, that club's worst known loss on its own ground.

The 1920s brought an era of resounding success, the culmination of which was victory over Hibernian in the Scottish FA Cup in 1924. From 1922 to 1926, only Rangers and Celtic prevented Airdrieonians from winning the Scottish League.

The history of the Diamonds is littered with glittering achievements and football landmarks, beginning with the awarding of the game's first-ever penalty kick in 1891, and a 33-year unbroken run in Scotland's top division after winning what was then called the Second League in 1902-03.

Hughie Gallacher, one of the all-time great centre-forwards, sprang to national and international prominence as an Airdrie player. Manchester United poached their manager in October 1921. Stanley Matthews played in the famous shirt in the 1940 War Cup semi-final replay. The first-ever international penalty shoot-out in football took place at Broomfield, as Airdrie dumped English top division leaders Nottingham Forest out of the inaugural British (Texaco) Cup in 1970.

Having been driven into full liquidation in May 2002, Airdrieonians FC became even more famous for being the first Scottish senior club to go out of business since Third Lanark in 1967. The spirit lived on, though, as the town welcomed Airdrie United into being, and saw it win the Bells Challenge Cup in 2008. Thanks to the efforts of owner and chairman Jim Ballantyne, the name Airdrieonians was restored in time for the start of the 2013-14 season.

Season 52 update - (September 2022) 

Still fixing stuff. Still enjoying my free weekends (although the lack of excercise coupled with more opportunity to drink isn't doing the weight too good!). Hopefully now with Covid settled i can get down the gym a little more than i was. Have been giving the Man Vs Fat football league serious thought. Anyone heard of it? It's basically a footie league for fatties like me, but you earn points for matches as well as for overall weight loss. Not too sure how far the leagues expand to, but it's definitely something i shall be pondering......... over a beer and a burger!

Have started to take a real interest in fixing electronics as a hobby, mainly games consoles. Have been investing in gear and buying up broken machines to fault find and fix. Keen to help out the movement of "right to repair" as the big technology companies invest more and more into ways to stop us fixing things ourselves and instead treating all gadgets as throw away items, and forcing us to upgrade.

Last year was my last season coaching in real life, as my son 18 and has started playing for his college academy and not for me. Sad times, but good to see him flourish! Will be weird to get my weekends back after 11 years of concentrating solely on football on my days off.

Can this be classed as early retirement?