Old News July 2007
30th July 07. Västerås - Stockholm bus tomorrow night ... There are a few seats still available on the Västerås - Stockholm leg of the Ballymac's bus trip to Sweden tomorrow night. Flight arrival into Västerås airport is approx 9.35pm and our bus will be leaving for Stockholm directly. We'll be doing a few drop-offs en-route to our hotel and charging a tenner a head. Any of you interested drop me a line here at the site or give some of us a shout at Dublin airport tomorrow.
Fordyce and McChrystal update ... HERE
29th July 07. Glentoran 0 Español 6 - Don't even go there ... !
By the way, couple of rumours ... Heard Northern Ireland U21 midfielder Daryl Fordyce has now signed for the Glens, and also heard fellow NI U21 defender Mark McChrystal was to be a guest at the Oval yesterday. As I say, rumours, so don't shoot me if they're wrong. Sure would I give ye a bum steer ;-)
Halfers draw v Español ... was won by Jim Hawkes with the ticket No. 3555, £460 for Jim and Paul Leeman benefiting from the same amount to kick off his Testamonial Season. The generosity of Glenmen is immense, and has no equal in Irish League Football. When it comes to Loyalty, "We are the people!!" Tommy McKee
el 28 de julio ... los españoles está aquí :-) GLENTORAN V's ESPAÑOL!
THINK ABOUT IT - THE BEATEN FINALIST'S IN THE UEFA CUP ARE COMING TO THE OVAL! Mon the Glens ...! How many should we settle for then .... 4, 5, 6 ... ? (Sure no matter, a win's a win eh ;-)
26th July 07. "LEGENDS" Shirts up for grabs at GCT Festival ...
"Kitchy" ... I am very sorry to have to report today of the passing away this morning of yet another Glentoran 'character' Billy Kitchen. Probably better known to most around the Oval simply as "Kitchy", Billy has been part of the furniture down Mersey Street for as long as I care to remember. A former Chairman of the Amalgamation of Glentoran Supporters Clubs in the early eighties, and current Chairman of 1st Newtownards GSC, there can be very few who haven't heard of Billy. Another great loss to the Glentoran family, and all here at Ballymac GSC extend their deepest sympathy to his family circle and many friends. Only in his 50's too - a sad day indeed.
24th July 07. Coventry result, 1-2. 0-0 half time then 2-0 down after 55 minutes, a Nicky consolation pen near the end.
23rd July 07. Coventry & Español games ... Tommy McKee tells me the 'Halfers' profits from tomorrow night's friendly with Coventry City will be donated to Colin Nixon's Benefit, while the proceeds from the draw in the Español game will be donated to help kick off Paul Leeman's benefit season. Please support both draws and help show your appreciation of two very deserving and loyal Glentoran players. (Just on that Español match, I'm told the admission charges are £10 and £5).
20th July 07. Bus to Bangor - Don't forget, Ballymac have a bus going to the Bangor friendly at Clandeboye tomorrow - departure time from Wilgar Street is 2.15pm. All visitors are once again very welcome to come along :-) Glens won 3-1 apparently (and it's 3 buds for a fiver in the social club :-)
First 'Halfers' draw of the new season ... v AIK was won by Willie McKee (no relation to the organiser!!) Willie won £400 with the ticket No.3008. Tommy McKee
19th July 07. Glentoran 0 AIK Solna 5 - NO HARM TO YOU ALAN, BUT AFTER 40-ODD YEARS OF WATCHING GLENTORAN FOOTBALL CLUB COMPETE AGAINST THE VERY BEST OF WHAT EUROPEAN FOOTBALL HAS TO OFFER, THAT HAS GOT TO BE, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THE ABSOLUTE WORST AND MOST EMBARRASSING EUROPEAN DISPLAY FROM A GLENTORAN SIDE THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN ... HOME OR AWAY!! COMPLETE AND UTTER SH*TE!
18th July 07. Fly-on-the-wall opportunity for Coventry City game! - How would you like to spend the evening of the Glens v Coventry City game (Tues 24th July) right in the thick of it. Colin Nixon's benefit Committee are offering one fan the chance to spend the entire evening with the Glentoran team ... even as far as sitting on the bench!! Read on ...
"The Colin Nixon Benefit Committee can exclusively offer one supporter and one supporter only the ultimate Glentoran experience. The Committee can offer an opportunity for one supporter to spend the entire evening with the Glentoran team and backroom staff for Colin Nixons up and coming testimonial match against Coventry. The lucky fan will not only get to meet all the players but will get a chance to see how the team prepares for a big match. The lucky fan will not only soak up the atmosphere but will spend the duration of the match on the Glentoran bench giving an exclusive experience of the trials and tribulations a manager faces during the game. Finally the supporter will be presented with a signed match ball by Colin to mark the special occasion at an after match function for the players in the Danepak suite."
This opportunity will be given to the highest bidder. To make a bid simply e-mail or telephone committee member Darren Nixon on darrennixon1982@yahoo.co.uk or mobile number 07834 326221. All bids must be received by 12.00 Monday 23rd July 2007. The Colin Nixon Benefit Committee.
Remember also folks, the Coventry game signals an official end to Nicky's benefit season, and although season tickets are valid on the night bear in mind it is Nicky's Testimonial match, and if you pay through the turnstiles any money will go towards Nicky's benefit. Not a lot to ask for a player only 20-odd appearances away from the clubs all-time record (Frankly I reckon it's worth payin in just for that goal he scored in Allianssi)!
17th July 07. We can do this ... and looking at some of the Champions League qualifying results tonight why the hell not! TNS beat Ventspils 3-2, Azerbaijani nobodies Lenkoran held mighty Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 with 10 men, San Marino minnows SS Murata only lost right at the death to Finnish Champs Tampere after leading for well over an hour! My God, even the great unwashed managed a draw tonight, 0-0 at home to AIK's modern-day nemesis Elfsborg! Bring it friggin on!
Morris out, McFrederick in ... Former Ballymena United and Northern Ireland Under 21 keeper William McFrederick has been drafted in on a 1-month loan as cover for the injured Elliott Morris. McFrederick, now with Glenavon, will join the Glens ahead of the European ties with Swedish outfit AIK assuming UEFA accept the late explanation. HERE
15th July 07. Cork out ... Just in case you didn't know, Swedish side Hammarby (Stockholm's rivals to AIK) knocked Cork City out of the Intertoto Cup yesterday, 2-1 on aggregate (1-1 in Cork, 1-0 in Sweden). Hammarby incidently currently sit just 2 points and 2 places above AIK in the Swedish League Table.
13th July 07. Elfsborg 2 AIK 0 - That's twice they've been chinned in 4 days, and only won once in their last nine ... hopefully they're on a roll ;-)
11th July 07. Ballymac bus to Sweden - Fans are advised that the Ballymac have now only 12 seats left on our bus to Stockholm via Dublin. Just to recamp - A 50-seater coach will leave our Wilgar Street clubrooms at 1.00pm on Tuesday 31st July, heading to Dublin airport to catch the 17.55 Ryanair flight to Vasteras. On arrival in Vasteras a further private coach will then transfer fans the 54-mile trip to various drop-off points in central Stockholm. Due to the different return dates for many fans this is strictly a one-way trip, with a total cost of £20 per person. For all those of you who have already paid a deposit, full payment would be appreciated as soon as possible. To book please see a member of the club directly or email me here at the site - Once the final 12 seats have gone that's it.
Morris out of European ties!! - Word reaching me this morning is that after a freak accident Elliott Morris could now be out of action for up to 6 weeks! It appears the Glens goalie clashed with striker Chris Morgan during training last night, the former Northern Ireland Under 21 keeper ending up with a suspected fractured jaw! If true it's disaster for Elliott on the eve of the Glens European venture to Sweden, and glamour friendlies with Espanol and Man Utd. Concerns now must be not only for Elliott, but for our goalkeeping cover at such an important time of the season. Michael Dougherty I imagine will now be immediately elevated to first choice keeper, but do we now have a suitable back-up, and given the timescale do we have time to find one! Have we already submitted our squad to UEFA?
10 July 07. Gazham call up for N Ireland game - New Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington has called up Glens striker Gary Hamilton for this Saturdays Milk Cup "Silver Jubilee" Challenge match with English Premiership side Everton. Kick-off for the Coleraine Showgrounds game is at 4.00pm, ticket outlets and prices HERE
9th July 07. Bus to Killymoon - Ballymac will be running a bus to the Glens friendly at Killymoon this Saturday. Departure time from our Wilgar Street clubrooms will be 12.30pm for the 2.00pm kick-off. All visitors are very welcome.
AIK v Elfsborg tonight - Glens/Blues rivalry switches to Sweden tonight as the European opponents of both teams square up in the Swedish Championship! Elfsborg have dropped from 1st to 4th in the past week after losing 3-nil to new leaders Halmstads, while AIK have improved to 10th. A win for Elfsborg tonight though would see them regain top spot. The reverse fixture is this Thursday. Coverage of the game can be had at the 'Live' goals link above from 7.00pm.
And the latest from our mole in Sweden ... "As you might have understood AIK is a fully professional team, so it'll be interesting to see how the players compare. I'm a bit more optimistic at the moment, we won our last game against Trelleborg with 2-0, with one of our debutants scoring the first goal and showing the way to the second one. Our new defender also played well. Before we face Glentoran we however have a double fixture against Elfsborg, currently located in the top three. We'll get a clearer idea on where our team stands after these games. You shouldn't expect a large attendance in Belfast though, for some reason many of the fans aren't very interested in European games unless we face top-class (premiership, seria A and the like) opponents. Our home attendance last year was on average about 22,000, and I'd guess maybe 10,000 might go to this game." UPDATE - AIK were beaten 1-0
Lucasz Adamczyk - Just so there's no confusion, let me just clarify what Lucasz actually told me the other day. First of all the lad seems a genuine enough fella to me, and says he wants to stay at the Oval. He told me Windy had agreed a deal with him before parting with the club, and that he'd still be more than happy with that - a deal which would mean him picking up less money if he turned out for the second string. We're talkin a hundred quid here. At the end of the day though it's down to whether Alan McDonald wants him or not, different manager, different ideas. That's about it.
8th July 07. PSNI 1 Glentoran 9 - Stroll in the park... apparently, ('Freckles' it's your round ;-) 2 from Rory Hamill, 2 from Kyle Neill, Colin Nixon, Gary Hamilton, Ryan Berry, Michael Halliday & Lukasz Adamczyk. The latter telling me he has been training with Linfield and was awaiting a call from them last night re a possible move!
5th July 07. Man Utd Tickets - I have been asked to let Season-Ticket holders know that they can purchase their Man Utd tickets at the Oval today before 4.30pm, and tomorrow between 10.00am and 4.00pm. Season-Ticket holders ONLY
Gary Browne off to the Whites ... HERE
4th July 07. ** FURTHER UPDATE - The Ballymac bus to PSNI this Saturday has been brought forward again and will now leave Wilgar Street at 11.00am for the 12.00noon kick-off. All visitors are once again very welcome.
We're away to Killymoon in a friendly on Saturday 14th July - kick-off 2.00pm ...
3rd July 07. Glentoran 3 TNS 0 - A Rory Hamill hat-trick! Header after half an hour, 30-yard contender for 'goal of the season' with 10 minutes to go, then a penalty (at the second attempt) with 5 minutes left. Fairly decent workout I suppose for the first match, and the manager must have used about 18 players - some 6 or 7 changes in the second half. No Hamilton though, although I believe he's carrying a knock, and the only face I didn't recognise must have been McGovern.
Glens look at McGovern ... Former Northern Ireland U 17 International Jamie McGovern has been trialing with the Glens. The 18 year old from Larne is a product of West Brom youth academy, he made 7 appearances on the right wing for WBA reserves in 2006-07. We had a look at him in a kick-about on Saturday when he played right-back.
THE BALLYMAC ANNOUNCE TWO BUSES ...
PSNI - Firstly this coming Saturday to our friendly with PSNI at Newforge. Assuming the game is a 3 o'clock kick-off, Saturday's bus will be leaving the Ballymac's Wilgar Street premisis at 2pm. Should the kick-off time be moved we will be leaving an hour before the game. No need to book, just turn up at the club before departure time, all visitors welcome.
EUROPEAN TIE - Quite a few fans are travelling to Sweden out of Dublin on Tuesday 31st July, and many, including Ballymac, are on the 17.55 Ryanair flight to Vasteras. With so many heading down for the same flight, getting a seat on one of the only 2 coaches serving the airport (Aircoach & Ulsterbus) could be tight, so the Ballymac have decided to run our own bus leaving Wilgar Street for Dublin Airport at 1.00pm. We are also looking at extending the bus trip to include private bus transfer from Vasteras airport to supporters various Stockholm hotels. We have room for around 25 visitors, and because of the different return dates for fans it's a one-way trip. We are taking bookings from today but depending on numbers and the Sweden connection total cost is undecided (shouldn't be more than around £20 all in). A tenner deposit though will secure your seat. To book see a member of the club directly or email me here at the site - Once full that's it.
BTW - AIK are at home to Trelleborgs in the league tonight, when I assume they will have their 2 new signings on display. Trelleborgs are second-bottom in the Swedish league, 3 places and 2 points behind AIK. Updates at the 'LIVE' link above.
CIS CUP DRAW - The Glens have been pooled in Group 'B' of this seasons CIS Cup, together with Lisburn Distillery, Armagh City, and Larne. We kick off the competition with a home tie against Armagh on Saturday August 11th.
BallymacGSC's European Ballot Winner was ... ENA NESBITT from Clonduff! Congratulations to Ena who now has the choice of an all-expences paid 5-night trip to Stockholm with the Ballymac or a cash alternative! The club would like to express our sincere thanks to all those who took part in the draw, and appreciation to Glentoran captain Paul Leeman for taking time out after training last night to select the winner. There can be only one I'm afraid ...
TNS Friendly, here we go again ... First friendly of the new season and Europe just around the corner, doesn't seem that long ago we were on the bus headin back from Portadown! Welsh Champions 'The New Saints' will be our pre-season opponents for the 3rd time in 2 years, their second visit to the Oval in 12 months! Results currently stand at 1 apiece, Glens winning 1-0 in Wales in 2005, and TNS 2-1 at the Oval last summer. The Welsh side are in Northern Ireland for a week-long tour, and having already dispatched Dungannon Swifts 3-0 last weekend, they visit the swamp this Saturday. Kick-off tonight is 7.30pm, and season ticket holders get into the match for free :-)
2nd July 07. My wee bird's at it again ... err ... only this time it's a Swedish bird ;-) Latest email ... I had forgotten that you faced Elfsborg just a few years ago. They are actually playing your worst rival Linfield in the Champions League Qualifier in just a few weeks. A bit of a problem there for AIK-Glentoran FC relations I guess, cause I bloody hate Elfsborg and want them to loose. I guess you might feel the same about Linfield? Sadly, Elfsborg have improved greatly since you faced them, and they won the Swedish league last year, with us coming in second. Before last season we had played in the league below the "premier", after a disastrous season in 2004 which got us relegated. Since then we reconstructed the entire organisation; new players, new coaches, new board (HELLLLLLLLO?), and got back up to the first league after only one season in the second division.
This year we've been pretty crap, and we are currently 11 place in the league after 11 rounds. We have only 13 points. Something has gone awfully wrong, and the offensive is not working at all. Our best player in offense is Brazilian Wilton Figureiedo, who last season scored 11 or 10 goals in the league (26 games), and offered som 6-7 assists as well. He's only scored once this season. the defense is looking ok, but the game on the wings is just rubbish, and the central midfield has left us wanting something new. (HELLLLLLLO AGAIN!)
In order to solve this crisis we just bought two new players from Argentina. Both are strikers, and played for Arsenal, de Sarandi in the Argentinian highest division. That team came in fifth last season. They make their debut for AIK on tuesday, so we don't really know much about their potential yet.
... isn't t'internet just wonderful ... ;-)
The Glentoran Community Trust are now offering up the Glens 1977 'Juventus', and 1982 'Undefeated' retro shirts from the GCT 125th Anniversary Ormeau Park Festival "LEGENDS" game for sponsorship.
30 shirts only are up for grabs, signed by the player himself! A 'second-chance' opportunity to grab a piece of Glentoran history surely not to be missed! Find out more HERE
