More on 'Mission Impossible'

Our long awaited book has a release date - Monday 3rd December. Priced at only £9.99 it is sure to be a good seller amongst Berwick fans and football fans in general.


I have had fans asking me about the book since we won the league and I was plagued by people all summer - all of them wondering when they can get a copy. So it is satisfying to finally get the book to the printers. We have purposely taken our time to get it just right, I have personally spent in the region of 100 hours working on the layout and artwork. And Chris Sanderson spent countless long nights writing it.

We are going to be taking pre-orders on the Supporters Trust website, where fans can order the book from Monday 5th November. If you do pre-order, you will receive your copy a few days before the official release date of Monday 3rd December. From the release date, you will be able to buy copies from the many stockists we have lined up (details are on the Supporters Trust website).

The official book signing session is going to be on Saturday 8th December (home to Queen's Park) in the Black and Gold from 12.30pm. We hope to have most of the Championship winning squad there to sign copies of the book, which will also be available to buy on the day.

Finally, I'd ask you all to help promote the book as much as possible. All profit from the book go into Trust coffers, to help further the aims of Supporters Trust. But we need to sell as many as possible to recoup the initial printing costs. So go on, tell everyone you know about it, why not stick up a poster at your work or college? You can download it here. Cheers!

A letter from Big Kev...

I recently received this e-mail from Kevin Haynes, now playing for Bathgate, asking how he could get a copy of the book. But he also includes a message to the Ducket faithful...

Hi to everyone in the Ducket,

Kevin Haynes here, hope everything is about to take a good turn under the new manager which see's Berwick climb the league. The fans deserve it.

I'm hopimg Chris see's this or someone can pass this email to him. I'm looking for a copy of his book when it comes out and i have no other way to contact him. If you would be so kind to do so I'd be very grateful.

Looking forward to hearing from somebody, many thank and good luck for the rest of the season.

Kevin

Mission Impossible - out 3/12/07 priced £9.99

The Supporters Trust have announced details of the book they are publishing to commemorate last season's Championship win. Priced at £9.99, it is available to pre-order on the Supporters Trust website from next Monday (5th November).

It is on general sale from Monday 3rd December, the stockists and full details are also on the website. There is a limited print run of only 1500 copies, so you're best bet is to pre-order, especially if you are ordering more that one copy!

One thing they are asking fans to do is to help promote the book. You can download a poster here, print it out and stick it up in your work place/college etc. All proceeds from the book go into Trust coffers.

Cup Draw - Dumbarton or Forfar Away

Rubbish draw...

The draw for the Third Round of the Tennent's Scottish Cup was made at Hampden this afternoon. We have been handed an away tie at the winner of Dumbarton and Forfar, who replay their second round tie after a 1-1 draw.

Full draw:
Albion Rovers v East Stirlingshire
Forfar Athletic or Dumbarton v Berwick Rangers
Culter v Huntly
Brechin City v East Fife
Stranraer v Stirling Albion
Clyde v Montrose or Pollok
Cove Rangers v Edinburgh University
Partick Thistle v Ayr United
Threave Rovers v Raith Rovers
Greenock Morton v Buckie Thistle
Linlithgow Rose v Dalbeattie Star
Arbroath v Cowdenbeath
Ross County v Whitehill Welfare
Livingston v Alloa Athletic
Peterhead v Queen of the South
Airdrie United v Queen's Park

Our tie will be played on Saturday 24th November at 3.00pm.

Airdrie United 4-0 Berwick Rangers

New manager, same story. We were totally outclassed in the end at the Excelsior Stadium. The result leaves us rooted to the bottom of the league, 8 points adrift of safety.

Jordan Smith (c) Rob Dazell

A match report from Trust board member David Cook

If new manager Michael Renwick needed reminding of the size of the task facing him at Shielfield Park,he got it in spades after Rangers suffered a crushing defeat at New Broomfield against a resurgent Airdrie United side on Saturday.Only Gary O'Connor's one-man show of defiance kept the score within reasonable limits,but the sad fact is that Rangers have lost all six fixtures on the road this season and are haemorrhaging more than three goals per game on their travels.Make no bones about it,that's relegation form,and the chairman's promise of desperately needed new blood in the January transfer window could come too late to save Rangers unless they experience a sudden upturn in form.

Despite their 2-0 defeat at Shielfield earlier in the season,Airdrie looked a decent outfit and their recent lack of form and the resultant pressure on manager Kenny Black seemed at odds with the quality of their playing staff.Bent on confounding their critics,the Diamonds were quickly out of the blocks and Stuart Noble forced Gary O'Connor into the first of a series of excellent saves after catching the Gers defence cold in the 4th minute.Two minutes later,Russell played in Noble again but O'Connor was once more equal to the task.Gemmell relieved the early pressure by using his pace to scare an occasionally leaden-footed home rearguard,but Smyth rescued the situation with a textbook tackle.With 17 minutes gone,Rangers cracked,Russell heading home Waddell's pinpoint cross.Gemmell threatened again a minute later,but normal service was quickly resumed and O'Connor denied Russell again and McDonald in quick succession.

With Rangers back four of Lennox,Horn (replaced by Bolo in the 25th minute),Smith and Noble under constant pressure and their midfield unable to retain possession for long enough to relieve the siege,there was a certain inevitability about Airdrie adding to their lead,which they duly did in the 34th minute.Waddell deftly set up the impressive Noble to execute a sharp turn and killer finish beyond the helpless O'Connor to double Airdrie's advantage.By now the triumvirate of Russell,Noble and Waddell were running riot and when the former was tugged back on another surging break into the box in the 41st minute it gave McKeown the opportunity to bury the resultant penalty beyond O'Connor.Game over,with Rangers' only remaining interest in keeping the score to a relatively respectable level.Their cause was not helped by the early loss of stalwarts Fraser and Horn to injury,but even had they been able to keep their best eleven on the park,Airdrie looked a cut above.

The half-time interval did little to change the flow of the game.One-way traffic continued and O'Connor did his Rorke's Drift thing again in the 53rd minute,clawing Donnelly's flashing header around the post before conceding a fourth goal in the 61st minute,McKeown grabbing a second after the Rangers defence was eviscerated by a brilliant pass from midfield.With Airdrie home and hosed and taking their foot off the gas with less than half an hour remaining,Rangers finally managed to threaten the home goal when sub Bolo's header deflected off Robertson's bar,though Prunty also hit the woodwork for the Diamonds in the 73rd minute after O'Connor blocked a Russell shot.O'Connor denied McKeown a deserved hat-trick minutes before the final whistle.

For Rangers,as a popular silver haired postar warbled a few years back,the only way is up.Michael Renwick needs time to impose his own management style on the team and he will have seen enough on Saturday to know where his priorities lie,but the imminent departure of the talented Danny Swanson will leave big gap to fill and the suspicion has to be that Renwick will find himself preparing for a sharp exit from the Third Division rather than consolidation in the Second.A paltry travelling support of 19 fans,one of the lowest at any away fixture in recent years,made clear what Rangers supporters think about the direction their team is taking.

O'Connor 9;Lennox 5;Horn 4;Smith 4;Noble 4;McLeish 5;Fraser 4;Swanson 5;Diack 4;Gemmell 6;Little 5.

Crowd - 850

Airdrie United vs Berwick Rangers

Michael Renwick takes his new team through to New Broomfield tomorrow afternoon to face the only team in the league we have beaten this season. Team news? Erm...check the Daily Record in the morning!

Hold on to your hats - if you are travelling through to Airdrie tomorrow, you will have the pleasure of paying a staggering £15 per adult. Ouch. I recently bought a return flight to Riga in Latvia for a similar amount!

If you are looking for a place to go for a pre-match pint, head for Cue Here in Airdrie town centre. I have had a couple of e-mails from the manager of the pool hall, offering warm hospitality and free pies! A free pie? Got to be worth a look...

Referee: Anthony Law
Weather: High chance of rain
Bluesq betting: Airdrie 4/7, Berwick 4/1, Draw 13/5

More on Michael Renwick

I've done some digging...

Well we've had a couple of days to digest the latest goings on at Sheilfield Park. Most of the people that I have spoken to have simply asked "who is he?". He may be relatively unknown to Berwick fans, but he is known amongst those in Leith and Cowdenbeath.

He seems to be quite highly regarded in lower league football - as a coach. A few Stenny fans on Pie & Bovril have said that his season with them as a player was at best, average. But there have been a few Cowden fans posting, saying that he is an all round nice guy and highly rated as a coach. But does a good coach always make a good manager? Short answer: no. Look at Brian Kidd, he had a huge hand at bringing on players such as Giggs, Scholes and Beckham. He was a terrible manager.

Above: Michael Renwick - yes it is a Photoshop super-imposed image!

Okay that is just one example, but get my point. I just hope this example doesn't apply to Renwick. From what he has said already in the press, he is an ambitious guy, hoping to go far as a manager and has admitted that the job at Berwick is the first step on his managerial ladder.

At only 31 he is starting out early, infact he is one of the youngest ever Berwick managers (perhaps the youngest, I'm too lazy to research it!). It is unclear whether or not he will be involved as a player too. I've always thought that a player-manager role simply doesn't work. Apart from Dave Smith, I'm struggling to think of a successful example.

A little bit about Michael Renwick....
Michael began his football career at boys club Hutchison Vale at the age of 15. He was signed as an apprentice a year later by Hibs before being offered professional terms a short while later. He spent 8 years at Easter Road and played under the likes of Alex Miller and current Scotland manager Alex McCleish. He played less than 50 games in those 8 years, before moving on to Ayr United in May 2000.

Reports suggest he didn't really settle at Somerset Park, he had two loans spells at Cowden and Morton during his Ayr career. He must have impressed at Central Park as Cowden signed him from Ayr for the following season. His records show he was out of football for two seasons (03/04 and 04/05). He signed for Stenny in May 05 and played 26 games in the 05/06 season before taking up a coaching post under Mixu Paatelainen at Cowden last year.

He was highly rated at Cowden and is seen as a bit of a nice guy too. He certainly seems to have lots of experience at every level of the game. And he has worked under some good managers in McLeish, Miller and more recently Paatelainen. He came to Berwick highly recommended from people in football and fought off competition from two other applicants to land the job, fingers crossed he can spark a Shielfield revolution...

New Manager Announced - Michael Renwick

The club last night announced the appointment of Michael Renwick as manager. There is an interview with Michael on the official website.

Who is Michael Renwick? That is what most people I have spoken to this morning have asked me. And to be honest, I couldn't tell them - Hibs did ring a bell and so did Alloa for some reason. He was at Easter Road for a few years after graduating from Hutchy Vale, but he was never at Alloa!

He had spells at Ayr and Morton before signing for Cowden and then taking a coaching role at Central Park.

The club have their official speil on their own website. Berwick Rangers chairman Robert Wilson said: "I am delighted to announce the appointment of our new manager Michael Renwick who joins Berwick from his coaching role at Cowdenbeath.

"Our immediate aim for the remainder of the season is to remain in the second division. We currently have a first team squad of 20 with Mark Stevenson joining from the reserve squad.
"Danny Swanson will move to Dundee United in January leaving us with 19 first team players. The new manager will have a budget to bring in two to three players during the January transfer window and hopefully a run in the Scottish Cup will generate extra funds to allow us to sign additional players.

"The bulk of the transfer fees we have received for Kevin Haynes, Gary Greenhill and Danny Swanson will be used to clear the overdraft with the bank to leave the club virtually debt free.
"When I took over as chairman nearly five years ago the liabilities of this club where in excess of £150,000 and I am very proud of our current financial situation. There has been a reduction in our playing staff budget but the club could not sustain the wages that were being paid two or three years ago.

"As I mentioned earlier it is very important that we keep our second division status this year as it will be a massive to boost to start next season with no debt which would allow us to invest more money in the playing squad and help with ongoing maintenance of Shielfield Park. I hope that all supporters will get behind our new manager and the players as you can play a massive part in the remainder of this season."

Seems like a rather strange appointment, but what ever we all think of the board's choice, we must back Renwick from the start. We also have to be patient - he is just starting out in management. That said, time is something we haven't got. We now need to go on a good run and pick up some points, starting at Airdrie on Saturday.

Lee Makel?

There have been a few stories in the press claiming Lee Makel will be the next Berwick manager. The Daily Record and Scottish Star have both ran the story, which was picked up by the BBC News website. The Livingston midfielder has been allowed to talk to Berwick chairman Robert Wilson about the possibility of taking over as player-manager.

Makel certainly has the required experience, with stints at Newcastle, Blackburn, Hearts, Bradford and Dunfermline. He has alloted over half a million pounds in transfer fees too.

The two questions that pop in to my head are:
1. Can we afford him?
2. It is worth risking taking on someone with no managerial experience?

For Makel to come to Berwick he would have to take a dramatic pay cut. I'd guess Livi are paying the majority of their players around £1k per week. We on the other hand were probably paying John Coughlin less than half that. Taking on someone with no experience as a manager is a risky business - but from time to time it can really pay off. Cowden's appointment of Craig Levien springs to mind. Another added bonus would be Makel's connections, he'd probably be able to unearth some transfer deals we would otherwise miss out on.

No official word from the club yet, so I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Pee is the fans choice!

Well you have been voting in your, er, droves in my poll. Current leader of the pack is the Grandfather of Shielfield Park, Ian Oliver (pictured above with John Hughes). 'Pee' has had every job title possible at Berwick, but never full-time manager (despite being reserve manager and caretaker manager!).

The more serious contenders are Micky Lawson (16%) and Ian Oliver son's, Neil, who has 11% of the votes. Keep the votes coming in!

A letter from Matt Kerr...

Ex-assistant manager Matt Kerr has emailed me over the weekend, with some kind words to thank every Berwick fan for the support he and John Coughlin received during their time at the club.


Dear Berwick fans,
I would like to thank you for all the support you gave us in our time at Berwick, I will never forget the games when, out numbered, you sang louder and cheered us on to many victories, we the staff loved it and so did the players. The day we won the Championship was fantastic I am very proud to be part of Berwick’s history. You lot deserved it after the agony of the season before I wish you all the best for the rest of the season and I hope you have plenty to cheer about. Thanks again, Berwick will always be in my heart.
Matt Kerr (Assistant Manager, ex)

I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say to Matt, thank you for giving us some good times to cheer. Cheers Matt.

Cowdenbeath 3-1 Berwick Rangers

Nae luck...

They say that when you are bottom of the league, luck is always against you. Well on Saturday we had that to contend with, along with Cowden's Pat Clark.

The ex-Berwick striker broke the deadlock 22 minutes from time, but we hit back through Diack, after he had just missed a penalty. Robbie Horn then hit the post before Clark put Cowden ahead again in the 80th minute and rubbed salt into the wounds in injury time, with a third goal.

Cowden deserved to win and Berwick were left to rue that missed penalty, which could have made all the difference.

Cowdenbeath vs Berwick Rangers

Caretaker manager Jimmy Crease will be looking to guide us to our first win at Cowden since September 2005. We haven't played for a fortnight so hopefully the players have had a chance to re-group. It will be interesting to see if Jimmy is going to make any changes to John Coughlin's way of playing, I doubt it.

If you are heading to Central Park and fancy wetting your whistle pre-match, I have always found the New Goth to be very welcoming, it is just under the railway bridge on the high street. Think of the Free Trade in Berwick and you'll get an idea of what it is like!

We are always up for Cowden, onwards and upwards!

Bluesq: Cowden 4/6, Draw 5/2, Berwick 10/3
Referee: Scott MacDonald
Head to head: Cowden 51, Draw 28, Berwick 46

Manager Latest

The speculation goes on...

Rumour has it that Alloa's youth coach, Hugh McCann, turned down a job offer from BRFC during the week. From what I have heard, Hugh is unable to take on such a big role at a football club due to personal reasons. He was very tempted by the offer, however he will remain at Recreation Park.

I have heard from a reliable source that the board are now not rushing to make a quick appointment. It may even be a couple of weeks before we hear any news. McCann would have been a pretty solid appointment, with his experience at the top level with Hearts and his time in the lower leagues with the likes of Shire and Alloa. He is the kind of guy who would have been able to steady the rocking ship.

One man we can now rule out is Campbell Money, who has taken the reigns at junior outfit Cumnock, where he will be assisted by ex-Hamilton forward, Darren Henderson.

The question I keep asking myself is this: who would want the job? There are plenty football guys out there who are looking for a club, but what could we offer them? We are bottom of the league, we have very little money to bring in new players, we are losing our best player in January, attendances at Shielfield are steadily declining and who ever comes will have to contend with the same issues that caused Coff to leave. That said, who ever comes in will be in a no lose situation - we are already bottom of the league, so if we finish any higher than tenth it will be a better position than where Coughlin left us.


Speaking of Coff, Berwick fan and author of 'Mission Impossible' Chris Sanderson went along to Stenny's training last night to speak to Coughlin and to get a publicity picture. Chris reports that John is happy to be at Stenny and wishes everyone back in Berwick all the best.

I will be bringing you Saturday's team news later on today.

Championship Book

After four months of hard work, the Supporters Trust are almost ready to release Mission Impossible - the book which celebrates our Championship success in May. Written by Berwick fan and Trust member Chris Sanderson, the book covers two contrasting seasons (05/06 and 06/07) at Shielfield Park, taking quotes and comments from players, management and fans. There is also a 24 page full colour season, with pictures from games throughout the 06/07 season.

Pictured above is author Chris Sanderson and defender Jordan Smith.

Priced at just £9.99, this is going to be something every Berwick fan will want to have on their bookshelve. And with a limited print run of only 1,000 copies, make sure you grab your copy quick!

The book is expected to be out at the end of next month, in plenty time for Christmas. As soon as I hear of an official release date and book signing, I'll let you know!

Berwick Advertiser Letter

This morning's Berwick Advertiser ran a letter from one 'Robert Hogg' of Edinburgh.

Jimmy Crease in charge for Cowden

The club's official website site has helped to shed some light on the manager situaton. A new manager is unlikely to be in place for our visit to Cowdenbeath this Saturday: "The search for a new manager is still on going. It is very important that we find the right person for the job and it is now unlikely that a new manager will be in charge for Saturday. Jimmy Crease will continue to act as caretaker manager until we find a suitable replacement for John Coughlin."

It is no secret that the board met on Tuesday night, it is likely that they had someone lined up to take charge this week, but couldn't agree terms. So the search goes on.

Spartans manager Mickey Lawson has more or less ruled himself out in the local Edinburgh press this week - so I'm told.

Lets have a look at all the possible contenders:

MICKEY LAWSON - more or less ruled himself out in the press this week.

HUGH McCANN - ex-Shire manager, currently at Alloa doing a good job with the youths. He may be ready to step back into management.

BRIAN FAIRLEY - currently out of management, and has been for over two years. Seems to have done a reasonable job at Stenny before he fell out with the board in 2001. The current favourite for the job.

NEIL OLIVER - very unlikely that Ollie will consider the job, mainly due to work and family commitments. He is happy enough lending a hand to the youths.

JIM CHAPMAN - more recently at Albion Rovers, where he had them playing good attacking football. Would be a good choice.

CAMPBELL MONEY - a man with more clubs than Tiger Woods, this guy has been all over Scottish football in recent years. Not the answer.

DICK CAMPBELL - left Ross County last month after only 5 months in charge. He was doing well in Dingwall before a major fall out with director of football George Adams. It is unlikely Dick will move back in to part time football.

IAN LITTLE/GARY O'CONNOR - both of these guys are at the stage of their careers where they will be thinking about management. Appointing someone from within the club would probably be a bad idea, we need new enthusiasm and fresh ideas from someone new.

THE OUTSIDE BETS - Eric Tait, Jimmy Crease, Pee, Jose Mourinho.

Who ever we get in, they have a massive pair of shoes to fill. John Coulghlin was one of the greatest managers we will ever see standing in the Berwick dug-out. He obviously thought he was unable to lift the club with the players and resources at his disposal, so what chance has a new guy got?

New Gaffer for Saturday?

We've all heard the rumours that are flying around on the 'net and in the town. Micky Lawson (currently manager at Spartans), Hugh McCann (ex-Berwick player and Shire manager, currently at Alloa as a youth coach) and ex-Dumbarton and Stenny manager Brian Fairley (below) are the three names that keep coming up.


There was a board meeting prior to the Kelso United game last night to discuss the appointment of manager - perhaps someone is in place already. The club have already said that they hope to have someone in place for Thursday training.

An odd mix of coaches/managers took charge of last night's City Cup game. Caretaker manager Jimmy Crease was present, as was reserve manager Richard Young, but it was Neil Oliver who was doing most of the shouting. Ollie has more or less said he has no interest in becoming first team manager, mainly due to family and work committments. I think we can safely rule him out of the running.

So who is it going to be? Watch this space, as soon as I know, you'll know! If I was a betting man, I'd say it is going to be Hugh McCann, but then again, I could be completely wrong as the club are playing their cards quite close.

Berwick Rangers XI 5-0 Kelsae Wildcats

A reserve Berwick side easily disposed of Kelso United to reach the final of LAST season's City Cup. Two very young teams were sent out on to Shielfield but it was the Berwick lads who showed the experience, with Sean Simpson netting the first goal early on. Jason Inglis scored soon after, shooting low past the 'keeper in comical fashion, the ball might have even gone through the 'keepers legs.

The game was over as a contest when Berwick-bord lad Darren Gillon was sent off for Kelso, for reasons only known to the referee of the evening!

Johnny Simpson (above) took to the field as a second half sub and caused the Kelso defence all sorts of problems down the right. He came close a couple of times, hitting the post once, before he got his goal. He rose well at the back post to loop the ball back over the 'keeper.

First team players Robbie Horn and Steven Noble got a decent run out and young hopeful Mark Stevenson had a steady game. New signing from Dunbar, John Crawford, originally from Eyemouth came on in the second half and managed to get on the scoresheet.

Spartans or Livingston in the Final.
Berwick 5-0 Kelso. Att. about 130.