MVP: LlD

Team DPs: 130

DUM are rivals to 6 teams.

Season 18 saw Dumbarton renewed as an expansion team and finish last in all SESLdom. Season 19, Dumbarton promoted via the play-offs and started Season 20 in Division 2. The team was capable of mid-table mediocrity, but the fans expect more.

Shockarooney!!! Promoted to the big time for Season 21.

Back to reality and relegation to Div 2 for Season 22. This was meant to be the first season back in Div 1, but we got promoted a season too early. Things were going swimmingly until the last session where suspensions and injuries let automatic promotion slip from our grasp. We did secure the SESL Cup with a fine 6-0 roasting of Kilmarnock in the Final. Ahh, that's what caused the injuries... Failed in our play-off against DFA and so we found ourselves still in Division 2 for Season 23. Managed to get automatic promotion finishing 2nd, but could have done better!

Season 24 and we were back in the top flight, but didn't have a great T11 or T17. I thought we would be doing well to stay above the play-off spots and so it proved. Although before the crash we had recorded a decent run and sat 4th, or was it 3rd. Anyway, we were having a good run in the cup too with a tie against DUU to look forward to. You might think - is he mad, DUU are too good - but before the crash DUU were very low on EL and ready for the taking. Post crash and it was DUM that crashed. All the teams we'd beaten put out much stronger squads and DUU saved some EL from somewhere and our season was over. Timed my run in brilliantly (even though I do say so myself) and keep just enough EL to avoid the unpleasant task of play-offs.

Season 25 - Still struggling on the T11 and T17 front, but unlike Season 24, we have sufficient resources this season to keep up without the need of play-offs. Famous last words...

Season 26 - As I suspected! Play-offs in season 25 but we saw off MOT and survived to compete in Division One for another season. I failed spectacularly in securing any youngsters to spend the TP on in Season 25 and had 67 TP at the start of season 26. I also started with 50 CP. Never happened before and I think I managed to get the T11 up to something half decent even though Dumbarton started near the bottom of the table in terms of T11 and T17. Ultimately Dumbarton had the worst possible start to both Cup competitions but the plus side was that keep the total DP down for the season and we won 2 OTF for being good boys - it's a daft rule but I'll take what's going all the same. As far as the League goes, we were bottom of Division 1 at one point but I was not that worried as I knew I could pull the team up beyond the relegation zone and finally managed to get the team above the play-off spots too. Mission accomplished as far as I am concerned.

Season 27 -I have whittled the squad down somewhat, but the T11 is good and Dumbarton start the new season with plenty of resources. Something that I would like to see more often. This season will be a continuation of the rebuild from last season with the T11 being the focus. Currently we have 4 age 1 players that will need 40 TP, but I have some more for a new rookie to be bought in. Yes, more of the same will be the war cry and I doubt Dumbarton will win anything this term. :-(

Season 28 - I have left those comments up for season 27. Clearly at the start of the season my head was down, but DUM went on to win the SESL Cup. Nothing in season 28 though...

Season 29 - Great season. Team T11 was at an all time high. Not right away, but slowly over the season. Semi-final of the CECIL Cup and we went out to a jammy GM, but after MSA there was no stopping DUM. All were sweeped away in the SESL Cup and the trophy was returned.

Season 31  - Last season (30) we started with 40CP and 50TP thanks to a wee trade with ALO. 4/25 MF for 10 TP. That reduced the T11, but we were ready to continue the building process and challenge for some silverwear. No free OTF allowance last season so the lads had to work at that in training. Cup runs were disappointing but the team managed to come second in the League with 72 points. That is a record total of points for Dumberton in any SESL Division.

For Season 31 Dumbarton picked up 2 OTF from the prediction league which is handy. Add to that a total of 43 CP and 42 TP and things are looking good. Plenty of cash to get things rolling and the T11 is very high and top of the SESL pile at 25.3. Sticking with the 3 WG rotation system this season so normal, EC and Counter will be the main tactics used. Possible a bit of stall... but we don't like to talk about that.

Season 32 - 3rd in Division 1. SESL Cup - Champions. CECIL Cup - Champions. Nothing further of note.

Season 33 - 8th in Division 1 (really?). SESL Cup - Champions. CECIL Cup - Semi-finals

Season 34 - 2nd in Division 1 with 71 points! SESL Cup - Champions. CECIL CUP - Quarter-finals

Season 35 - Division 1 - Champions. SESL Cup - Champions. CECIL Cup - Semi-finals. First ever Manager of the Season Award. 74 points in Division 1 - new Dumbarton record.

Season 36 - 3rd in the league and beaten in both Cup finals. Drat. Does this count as a bad season for Dumbarton....?

Season 37 - Division 1 - Champions. SESL Cup - Semi-final. CECIL Cup - Semi-final. 79 points in the league and new club record.

Season 38 - Division 1 - 8th SESL Cup - Champions. CECIL Cup - Semi-final. Not a great league campaign but won the SESL Cup.

Season 39 - Division 1 - 4th. SESL Cup - Runner up (beaten on penalties). CECIL Cup - Champions. Getting better and ready for a go of it next season.

Season 40 - 4th in the league but could have done better. Probably should have done better. Runner up in Cecil Cup to STJ and dumped out the SESL Cup early doors.

Season 41 - Top 3 finish and a couple of Cup runs will do nicely but I appreciate the fans are getting used to open topped bus runs through the town centre so it would be good to see the glory days back again. 

Season 43 - Disaster last term. 7th in the league and knocked out of the Cecil Cup in round 1 and embarrassed in the SESL Cup without a win in the group stage. Head hung in shame. It was at this point that I realised the team was ancient and things needed to be done. So the first shoots of a new Dumbarton are starting to come through and in season 43 that will continue. It will not happen overnight but we will be back!

Season 44 - Hard season just gone. Lucky to get a good start in the league because DUM only just avoided the play offs after a slog at the tail end of the campaign. The Cups were a non event but I was expecting that although we did get through the group stages which was a bonus. The T11 and overall SL are very low but the building work continues this term. Hope to keep Division 1 status but that will be a hard task. Long season ahead for sure.

Season 46 - obviously thought it wasn't worth the bother to mention season 45. It's been tough. Two seasons of fighting off relegation. That's actually harder than winning the league. Season 45 saw DUM in the playoffs but we can still produce the goods in a one off match and Div 1 status confirmed again. Starting with the lowest T11 and T17 in Div - in fact one of the lowest in SESL - this will be another long season. Starting to wonder why I enjoy this madness.

Season 47 - well the bubble has burst. Relegation confirmed and DUM start season 47 in Division 2. What are these Cecil Cup games we have? It's been a while but the T11 (22.8) is reasonable (for Div 2) although T17 (17.6) remains one of the lowest in all Sesldom. Another dog fight to look forward to but there are some shoots of progress and hopefully it will not be too long before DUM are back in the big time. Just don't think it will be for season 48 right enough.

Season 48 - Flirted with relegation from Division 2 in the first half of season 47 with just 15 points at home and none away after 15 matches. Much improved after MSA with the final 15 matches yielding 21 points at the Rock and 7 on the road. Strangely, finished 8th but only GD keep us out of the playoffs. To be fair GD was truely aweful.

T11 at the start of season 48 is 23.3. 13th in SESL and 4th in Div 2. T17 stands at 18.9 which is 28th in SESL and 9th in Div 2. Taking the T17 it would be fair to say Dumbarton at looking at midtable obscurity - again, but some wag will tip us for promotion given the more than reasonable T11. Need a backup GK and another DF or two. Other than that the squad is ok.

Season 49 - Another mid-table effort to forget about. 8th again but closer to the bottom end of the table this time. On the plus side, SESL Cup final saw DUM get runners up medals. Not the best but with an average squad I would take that again this term. That's a full 20 seasons at DUM completed.

T11 is at 24.0 and we are 4th in Div 2 in that respect (after one match played). That won't mean anything though as we were 4th last season too. 6th on the T17 chart with 19.6. An improvement on last season. Enough cash to start the season with 40 CP and some loose change in the bank.

Season 51 - Dreadful season just past. Relegated and not even via the playoffs. Starting in Division 2 with an utterly bang average squad. 6th in T11 22.8 and 10th T17 19.1. That's just Div 2 stats. Too scared to look up overall figures. 35 CP will not be enough to get the team back to Division 1 this season so the rebuild will be a long process. Aiming for mid-table mediocrity and hoping for a decent cup run.

Season 53 - Seasons 51 and 52 saw the team rebuild but it's still ongoing so getting promoted via the playoffs was not part of the plan. Two terrible Cup efforts last term, although going out of the CECIL Cup without losing a match was hard to take. Now back in Division 1 with the worst squad possible (T17 18.4) and low on resources, just 35 CP. This will be a dog fight but I've been there before. Although not always successful in such a situation, I am ready for the fight. Having said that, I am going to try to get a Cup run going. It's the best way to increase revenue.

Season 54 - Well that did not go well. No cup run and relegated from Division 1. The squad was bad but I had been hoping to scrap something half decent out of season 53. Not to be. Onwards we go. 35 CP and 50 TP to kick us off. T11 22.8 and T17 17.9 puts Dumbarton in the 'going nowhere' zone. I can accept that for one season but the team has 3 decent age 1 players coming through so the T11 should improve rapidly.

Had to change rivals after being relegated - Geographically, Morton and Queens Park are my closest teams so they go straight in. At one time Dumbarton were rivals of 9 other teams but that slipped to 8 and then just 7 at the start of last season. Now down to 6. That's still a lot and I will endeavour to estibalish who these teams are and make a point of pumping them as often as possible. So one space remaining for a new and/or old rival. Let me know if you are up it. DUM are the lowest of the low so you should be able to beat us.

You come to the Rock and want to win? You better be good... or lucky.

Founded in 1872, check out the real Dumbarton here - www.dumbartonfootballclub.com

Dumbarton Castle in the foreground and Sons of the Rock Stadium situated behind the Rock.

Born in 1968. Now living in Coatbridge, Scotland. My son sometimes accompanies me to the Stadium of Dreams in Maryhill, but it's more often a nightmare!! Really enjoyed going to see Dumbarton with the other SESL managers and I highly recommend that you make the effort to attend the next SESL outing! :-)

This is my second spell in SESL, having managed PT for a few seasons (12 to half way through 15). I returned half way through Season 17 and took on caretaker role at DUM when they were 3rd bottom of Div 2.

Given the full time job at DUM at start of Season 18 I made the move of scraping the old and starting again with an expansion team. That first full season back was hard as the T11 and T17 were very poor, but the squad was young. Last in all SESLdom was not entirely unexpected. After finishing last imagine my surprise when at the start Season 19 several highly rated managers predicted automatic promotion. It wasn't to be, but we still made it via the play-offs!!

Season 20 and in Division 2, I managed to get Dumbarton a straight promotion spot. Yikes!!!

Scary stuff. Too scary actually! Season 21 proved to be a disaster... 15th place in the League with 21 points. A mini run in the CECIL Cup, but nothing major, and more frustration in the SESL Cup where we failed to qualify from our group. Yes, a disaster.

Had a good squad for Division 2 at the start of Season 22 and we were always in the top 4 until the final hurdle. Pushed into 5th and then lost out in the playoff. Managed to secure my first trophy though with a good run in the SESL Cup :-)

Season 23 and I failed to keep pace with RR. Still, 2nd in Division 2 is not too bad, just that no-one remembers anything after first.

Season 24 and I was tipped for 6th and automatic relegation. I was happy to be somewhere in between, but it could have been so very different had it not be for the crash.

Season 25 - I feel as I keep banging on about it, but the crash nearly finished my love affair with DUM. I threw in some line ups here and there and limped over the line. My strategy from season 24 was spot on and I tried the same again for Season 25. It worked fine up until the last few games where OLMEC deserted me.

SEASON 26 - This was a make or break season for me. Limited players but more than enough cash and resources. If I couldn't use all that to stay in Division 1 it would have caused DUM to start to crash towards Division 3. Survival was secured with a decent League run and DUM finished 8th. Skip over the Cup runs - or lack there of.

SEASON 27 - Consolidated our position in Div 1 and tried for a couple of Cup runs. CECIL was not good, but after MSA DUM were on a roll. SESL Cup victory. First trophy for 5 seasons.

SEASON 28 - More of the same in the League, but the CECIL Cup was much better this season. Beaten in the final by a jammy DFA. Jammy. Reasonable run in the SESL Cup, but could not retain the trophy.

SEASON 29 - All the hard work was starting to pay off. T11 was rising and the team could beat anyone on their day. Kept the league games ticking over and mid table was lokking likely again. Made it too the CECIL cup Semi-final and came up against GM. They scored a couple of jammy goals in the first leg and it would have been a big ask to over come that and have enough EL in the tank for the final. Towel thrown in. The SESL Cup was a different story. DUM rolled over everyone they meet including DUU in the final. Get that trophy back where it belongs.

SEASON 31 - For the second season in a row I have not been given the fair play award of 2 OTF. Bitterly disappointed, again. However, I managed to secure 2 OFT from the prediction league and so will not have to fund that out of my own CP allowance. The team his hit top spot in terms of T11 and I will need to make sure that there are no slip ups in the Cups this season with those numbers. The mission this season will be more of the same - keep building the team up while maintaining Div 1 status and try for a couple of cup runs. Simples.

Seanson 41- Divorced as of 2018 and now living in Coatbridge with the lovely Tracy. It's been a bit of rollercoaster but I am in the process of stabilising my life now. Tracy often comes along to the Stadium of Dreams and it's been very different going to football in female company. We've made a few away games too and enjoyed the trips. Long may it continue. Sadly though our team got relegated and it’s off to the Championship for me and Tracy next season.

SEASON 43 - Popped the question during season 42 and Tracy has agreed to get hitched. Plans well under way for a wedding in November. Still going along to see the Thistle but it has been quite a difficult watch this season although it is nice to see the youngsters getting a chance and they are fast becoming the backbone of the team. Sounds like SESL Dumbarton...

Season 44 - Still on course to be married in November so my status will change before the end of this season. I am not expecting great things of Dumbarton this season but a relegation dog fight is just as difficult as a title challenge. Hoping my real life team can improve this season but, like SESL DUM, I am not expecting great things - sadly.

Season 46 - yes, it's done. Married in November 2019 and here we are in May 2020. Strange times although we are both still working so not much of change for us in that respect. I have taken on running Sanc but it's not as onerous as some might think - perhaps I'm not doing it right. It's a challenge though and hopefully I won't make too much of an arse of it. Mark makes it look so easy. Just taken on a team in United this very week so haven't played a game yet. I will keep you posted as to how that works out - fingers crossed.

Season 47 - Still as busy as ever. Sanc is coming along nicely with all the teams now having a manager and no caretakers. Long may that continue. My venture into United worked out well. I took over Southend United from the late Dave Dowson and managed to steer the team to the Division 2 title and win the Youth Cup. Not bad for a rookie. My second season in United 1 has just started and SU are in Div 1 amongst the big hitters of the league.

Home life reamins the same. Fast approaching our first anniversary and loving life. Sadly our proposed trip to Australia in October has been canacelled due to COVID but got a full refund from BA which is the silver lining. Used the cash to buy beer as we have to stay home for a month of annual leave in October. It's the only way to survive.

Time for OLMEC has been limited of late but I am managing to keep my hand in. I used to pride myself on never having NMR'd but sadly that is no longer the case and I have NMR'd in every league I play in now. I don't feel too bad about that though as it seems everyone falls off the wagon at some point.

Season 48 - What can one add when, for the last few months, the most exciting time is putting the bins out. :-(

Tracy got a kitten at Christmas. Ragdoll, to those who ken owt about cats. We were told the wee thing was a female but after a couple of trips to the vet that has been changed. Aye, hilarious but I got the last laugh. Originally called Bo we had to change the name - well not had to, remember the Dukes of Hazard.... but we did. Threw on N on the end and we now have Bon Scott in the family. Those who ken owt about ACDC will see where I'm coming from ;-) Anyway, the wee guy is coming on and after running away from two German Sheperds for the first few weeks he is taking them on a square go. Although Tracy thinks two against one is not a fair fight he remains undefeated!

Season 49 - July 2021, as you know I run SFLSL and it's been a tough ask of late with so many managers leaving however I have pulled a few stings and we are back to 32. Delighted with the lads who have joined of late - great lads who join the other great lads. All in all a great set up at the moment with my friend Roy still taking on a huge amount of the tasks.

Season 51 - Some plans for moving in the future are starting to take shape but no rush until we find somewhere that suits. I will be retiring in the next month and I'm looking forward to having a summer of doing very little. Probably looking to get a wee job at some point to keep me active but nothing too stressful.

Season 53 - January 2023, So retirment in June 2022 lastest 4 weeks. Tracy decided I wasn't going to be a lay-about any more and she got me a job. It's a great wee number but don't tell her that. Driving ambulances when and/or if I want. No stress and I limit myself to about 3 days a week. It's nice to be taking people who want to be taken rather than my last job which was 30 years of quite the opposite.

Then came two major changes all at once. We travelled down to Lesmahagow to see a house. Tracy loved it and we put in an offer. 5 minutes from home I got a call to say the offer had been accepted. We had 5 minutes of much joy to be short lived when we got home. The oldest dog, Braeden, wasn't well. He had had a stroke and the vets couldn't save him - although they gave it their best shot.

Now we have moved and enjoying life in a small rural town although winter here is very different to what we have experienced before and it's not been that bad.

Season 54 - June 2023, the new house so coming along. Redecorated and changed a few bits and pieces internally over the winter. Now it's nice enough to tackle the garden. It's a big garden and we're doing it in stages. This year is clearing away the dead trees and tree stumps to make way for a shed. Halfway to that goal already.

We got a new addition to the family during season 53, a Miniture Poodle. She is a lovely wee thing and very different to our other dog, a 12 year old German Shepherd. They get on fine but the cat was not impressed with the pup to start with. Took nearly a month before he came down on to the floor and interacted with her. Good friends now though.

My plans for Dumbarton are fairly straightforward - get the T11 as high as possible and remain in the top flight. Remember the days when DUM challenged for 3 trophies every season. I can not get back to those days this season but I will try to get the team more competitive than we have been for a few seasons.

COM'N THE SONS!!!