| 30 July: Rangers Finally Return to Belfast |
Tonight saw Glasgow Rangers finally return to Northern Ireland after an absence of 18 years. It was a fairly strong Rangers side which took to the field at 7:45pm in front of a crowd reportedly in excess of 18,000. My own personal fear was that following heavy losses at the hands of both Scunthorpe and Lincoln something worse was in store tonight. Thankfully I was wrong and Linfield put up a commendable performance before going down 2-0. The Linfield team was:
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Alan Mannus, Stephen Collier, Pat McShane, Jamie Marks, Darren Murphy, Hugh Dickson, Chris Morgan, Lee Feeney, Glenn Ferguson, Stephen Shaw, Noel Bailie
Subs: Andrew Hunter, Mark Picking, Garth Scates, Stuart King, Justin McBride
Speaking before the game David Jeffrey said he hoped it wouldn't be as long before Rangers returned to Belfast:
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"This is a match that has definitely caught the imagination of the Northern Ireland public. It's not just a game of football - it's a major event."
"Rangers have not been here for a long time so this will be a chance for the fans who constantly travel over to Scotland to see them on their own doorstep. I think it should be made an annual or biannual event. I know the supporters would certainly appreciate it. It would also be some form of pay back for all the money they spend on going to see Rangers."
"I think Alex McLeish appreciates the support his club receives from Northern Ireland and as far as I'm aware was only too happy to agree to playing this game. It's a chance for him to see his players in action one last time before the start of the Scottish Premier League and it's an opportunity for my players to take on top class opposition." |
| 27 July: Format Revealed for Next Season |
| The format for the Irish League for next season was revealed today and surprise surprise it's all change again. Over half of this season's First Division teams could earn promotion at the end of this coming season! From next August, the Premier Division will boast 16 sides - we have 12 this season; 4 will be promoted from Division 1 while the 5th placed team will play off with the bottom team in the Premier. The teams who are left in the First Division are likely to be joined by the top teams from the B Division - the likes of Dundela, Donegal Celtic, Moyola Park etc. The downside to all of this is that again there will be no automatic relegation this season, while on the positive side the ludicrous split will be scrapped after only one season. Makes you wonder why it was introduced in the first place. |
| 27 July: Bailie Goes on Goal Scoring Spree |
Linfield finaly recorded a victory during this pre-season period with a 6-0 victory over First Division Bangor at Windsor this afternoon. Glenn Ferguson, Justin McBride, Hugh Dickson and a Noel Bailie hat-trick scored the goals. The team was:
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Alan Mannus, Stephen Collier, Pat McShane, Garth Scates, Darren Murphy, Hugh Dickson, Justin McBride, Lee Feeney, Glenn Ferguson, Stephen Shaw, Noel Bailie
Subs: Jamie Marks, Miguel Chines, Mark Parker |
| 23 July: Imps Prove too Strong |
Linfield followed up their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe with another 4-0 loss this time at home to Lincoln. As last Thursday, the Third Division side walked away with the game in the second half with 3 goals coming in the second period. For the record the starting team was:
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Alan Mannus, Stephen Collier, Pat McShane, Garth Scates, Darren Murphy, Stephen Shaw, Glenn Ferguson, Hugh Dickson, Justin McBride, Lee Feeney, Noel Bailie
Subs: Chris Morgan, Stuart King, Mark Picking, Michael Gault, Peter Thompson, Mark Parker, Tommy Wright |
| 23 July: More Info for Those Going to Norway |
I don't know if it's just me but I seem to have run into a brick wall in my atempts to extract any information directly from Stabæk with regard the away UEFA Cup game. Thankfully one of our congregation :-) has received some assistance from a Stabæk fan. It seems the subway is the fastest way to get from central Oslo to the Nadderud Stadion, with a journey time of between 20-30 minutes from Jernbanetorget
(central station in Oslo) to Bekkestua. From here the stadium is a five minute walk. For those looking for some liquid refreshment a bar frequented by Stabæk fans has been recommended - Onkel Blå which translates as Uncle Blue. What an apt name! It has been suggested that Linfield fans travelling to Norway meet somewhere centrally in Oslo and travel to the game/drink together. As I'll probably be one of the last to arrive I'll let you all organise this between you, just be sure to let me know the final details :-)
Thank you Kaz for your assistance. |
| 23 July: More News from the Past Week |
| The Sunday World, on Sunday funnily enough, reported that Linfield are keen on signing Cliftonville's Pat Wall. Now there's a surprise! Next they'll be informing us that the Titanic has hit an iceberg. Anyway, according to said newspaper, David Jeffrey has also got his eye on another player from Solitude - Chris Scannell. Interesting... |
| 21 July: Player of the Year Award |
| Chris Morgan has finally been able to get his hands on his Player of the Year award for last season. Again, a big thank you to all who voted. |
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| 21 July: League Fixtures Announced |
| The League fixtures for the forthcoming season have finally been released and are available here. Because of the new format the fixtures have a strange look, with the Blues playing the Glens twice at the Oval but only once at Windsor - the second home game should come after the split, providing both teams finish in the same half. |
| 21 July: Holidays Over |
| That's me back now, just bear with me over the next day or two while I get everything done. In the meantime I'll give you this - the Blues have arranged another pre season friendly for next Saturday (27th) against Bangor. I'm just not sure if it's home or away :-/ |
| 10 July: It's Holiday Time |
I'm off on my holibobs for a while but no doubt there will still be a certain someone who complains on the discussion board about lack of updates. Feel free to give him a slap if he does. I'll leave you with these dates for your diary:
Thursday 18 July - v Scunthorpe (h)
Saturday 20 July - Open Day
Tuesday 23 July - Lincoln (h)
Tuesday 30 July - Rangers (h)
Saturday 3 August - Sheff Utd (h) |
| 9 July: Linfield - Rangers Tickets Selling Fast |
It was revealed today at the official press launch for the forthcoming vist of Rangers that tickets are selling quickly. Both the South and Kop Stands are sold out, while Rangers are well on the way to selling their allocation for the North Stand. Tickets for the Railway Stand are available priced £15 and £10 for concessions and this morning terrace tickets also went on sale priced at £10 and £8 for concessions. Speaking today, David Jeffrey said:
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| "It's fantastic that Rangers are coming over with a full strength side for the first time in many years. When you consider the following they have over here it will be great for the Rangers supporters in Northern Ireland to have their heroes come to them rather than the other way around. Celtic have been doing it for years in the Republic of Ireland so it is good for Rangers to do it for their thousands of fans here. Linfield have put an unbelievable amount of work into making this financially viable because nobody comes for nothing these days.But when July 30 comes we are sure it will be a massive success and a great day for all concerned." |
| 7 July: Reds Midfielder Set to Sign |
| Cliftonville midfielder/winger Pat Wall looks set to sign for Linfield after failing to agree a new deal with the Reds. From what I hear he will sign for the club once he returns from his holiday. |
| 1 July: Released Defender Finds New Home |
| Johnny Shaw, one of the players released in a cost cutting exercise last month has found himself a new home, in the ex Linfield players' retirement home more commonly known as Seaview. Meanwhile Johnny's new boss at Crusaders will be ex Blues defender Alan Dornan who has replaced yet another ex Linfield defender Gary McCartney who resigned last week. |
