Everyone at Fraserburgh FC was saddened to hear of the passing of John Sinclair. Johnny was a fantastic servant to the club for many years and was deservedly awarded Life Membership of the Club.

One of John’s main roles was keeping the pitch in good condition which he did with immense pride.

John was laid to rest today and we send our condolances to all the family.

 

Ryan Sargent has agreed a two-year extension to his contract which will see him remain a Broch player until the summer of 2026. Ryan (22) has made 107 appearances for the club, scoring 27 times along the way so we are delighted that a local loon is committing to the club for the foreseeable future.

We are deligthed that talented youngster Callum Kelly has signed his first Proffesional Contract with the club. Callum, who turned 18 last week, has been a regular in both our U18 team and our championship winning Aberdeenshire League U21 teams of last season. Callum made his First Team debut coming off the bench in our Scottish Cup tie with Stranraer at Bellslea and went to make a total of five appearances over the course of the season. Congratulations to Callum and we look forward to seeing more of him in the seasons ahead.

The club are delighted to announce that we have agreed a three year contract with Aidan Sopel from Elgin City. Aidan (23) made 58 appearances for Elgin City and will be a great addition to our squad. Aidan is a player who we looked at getting on board last season but we are certain it will be worth the wait.

That’s us at the end of another season and one which we played a mammoth 51 competitive games. The most games we have ever played in a season. 34 League games and 17 Cup games.

We must give credit to the players who have put in a demanding effort this season and we often forget that these guys have full time jobs, many of which are manual jobs where they are on their feet for most of the day and then have to train or play games at night. There was hardly any rest afforded to them last close season due to the early start to the season with the Kilmarnock game at Bellslea in July. That on the back of the intensity of the title run in the previous season is some shift so hats off to the guys for that immense effort.

Our season, certainly for me, has been a great success. While not successful in our defence of the title, we have won all three Aberdeenshire trophies, the Cup, the Shield and the Aberdeenshire League (U21). That’s a great achievement for the whole club and one which I am extremely proud of, especially as I am President of the Aberdeenshire FA. We are the first club to do that.

A huge thanks to the coaching staff, Mark, James, Antony, Alex, Paul, Matthew, Dean and Graham along with our two match day physios Sarah and Emma. Your efforts are hugely appreciated by everyone at the club.

It’s equally demanding for the guys off the park where some of us are involved in all games we play, including the U18 and U21 games on a Monday night, especially the ones at Bellslea. A total of 41 home games over the season!!

We are very fortunate to have a core team of guys who keep the club functioning for these games and to make it as professional as possible in all aspects of the club.

We also have a very good Hospitality Lounge on a matchday and it without doubt a major part of the club’s finances so we are extremely grateful to all the girls who do such a wonderful job in keeping everyone happy, so many thanks to Alice, Amber and the team.

People like me and my fellow Directors are merely custodians of the club and it’s imperative we keep the club as healthy as possible so that when the time comes, we pass it on to others for them to continue.

We have two Directors who are moving on due to work and family commitments, Peter Bruce (Vice Chairman) and Calvin Morrice. These are two guys who between them have given over 50 years dedication to the club and two that I will miss immensely. Peter and Calvin have been at the forefront of the successful running of the club for many years and will be greatly missed, but it comforts me that they will be on the end of a telephone for help and advice when it’s required. That happens in football all the time, up and down the country, but it’s sad when it is your own club. On behalf of everyone at The Broch, we wish Peter, Fiona, Calvin and Gayle the very best wishes and look forward to seeing them at Bellslea Park again in the future.

Another significant change at the club is the end of a hugely successful sponsorship from McWilliam (Aberdeen) Ltd and in particular, Mike Lawrie. Mike has recently sold his business and is enjoying an extremely well-deserved retirement. Mike has been our main sponsor for 12 years and in that time, we have won 15 trophies together, our most successful period in the history of Fraserburgh FC. Mike is a very quiet and humble man who is a great friend of the club, and we thank him for his generosity over the years. I just hope that he has enjoyed the ride and got as much out of it as we have.

As I say, football moves on and with that comes change so I am excited to see a new logo on the front of our shirts for the first time since 2011 but more of that later.

With Peter’s departure we had a vacancy for the Vice Chairman and that will be filled by George Thom, who I look forward to working more closely with.

Further thanks to all our sponsors and advertisers who support us so well over the years and whose backing we couldn’t do without. Especially the main club sponsors, Entier, VT Wealth, Gray & Adams, Bruce of the Broch, Score Group, PBP Services, AM Campbell, JBS Group, Victoria Group and of course McWilliam (Aberdeen Ltd).

And finally, to our loyal supporters for your continued backing both home and away in such good numbers. Here at Bellslea, the supporters have always been like an extra man and when you travel in numbers to our away games it is so encouraging for the players to see that support.

Congratulations to Joshua Hawkins on making his first team debut in  our game with Forres Mechanics. This is fully deserved on his performances for the U18 and U21 games this season and we look forward to seeing him make many more appearances for the first team.

Josh is the 11th player to make his debut this season following Jordan Guild, Connor Grant, Jamie MacLelland, Ross Taylor, Ethan Sutherland, Kyle Wood, Connor Wood, Callum Kelly, Josh Bolton and Sam Inglis.

 

Congratulations to Joe Barbour and Ryan Sargent who both made their 100th Appearances in the game against Banks O Dee.

Joe made his debut at Allan Park, Cove on Wednesday 30th March 2011 and has had to be very patient to get a run in the team but has pretty much made the number 1 jersey his own in the past two season.

Ryan made his debut on Wednesday 12th April 2017 at home to Buckie Thistle and scored his first goal away to Fort William on Saturday 9th September of the same year. Ryan has scored 26 goals in his 100 appearances.

Well done to both Joe and Ryan, and here’s to many more.

 

Yesterday’s 3-0 victory at home to Huntly clocked up Mark Cowie’s 300th game as manager. His record, which has a 70.17% success rate, is below;

TOTAL

COMPETITION	P	W	D	L	F	A
Aberdeenshire Cup	20	16	0	4	38	21
Aberdeenshire Shield	17	12	0	5	34	26
League	220	148	31	41	665	243
League Cup	14	7	0	7	35	18
Scottish Challenge Cup	4	0	0	4	4	8
Scottish Cup	19	11	0	8	32	34
Scottish League Cup	4	0	0	4	3	12
SPFL Play Off	2	1	0	1	2	3
GRAND TOTAL	300	195	31	74	813	365

HOME

COMPETITION	P	W	D	L	F	A
Aberdeenshire Cup	9	7	0	2	17	6
Aberdeenshire Shield	5	4	0	1	11	6
League	111	71	14	26	360	124
League Cup	6	2	0	4	15	7
Scottish Challenge Cup	3	0	0	3	2	6
Scottish Cup	10	4	0	6	12	18
Scottish League Cup	2	0	0	2	3	7
SPFL Play Off	1	1	0	0	1	0
GRAND TOTAL	147	89	14	44	421	174

AWAY

COMPETITION	P	W	D	L	F	A
Aberdeenshire Cup	7	5	0	2	13	12
Aberdeenshire Shield	9	6	0	3	16	15
League	109	77	17	15	305	119
League Cup	7	5	0	2	19	9
Scottish Challenge Cup	1	0	0	1	2	2
Scottish Cup	9	7	0	2	20	16
Scottish League Cup	2	0	0	2	0	5
SPFL Play Off	1	0	0	1	1	3
GRAND TOTAL	145	100	17	28	376	181

NUETRAL VENUES (CUP FINALS)

COMPETITION	P	W	D	L	F	A
Aberdeenshire Cup	4	4	0	0	8	3
Aberdeenshire Shield	3	2	0	1	7	5
League Cup	1	0	0	1	1	2
GRAND TOTAL	8	6	0	2	16	10

In the past week we have had some milestones achieved at the club. Bryan Hay made his 500^th appearance at Huntly last Wednesday night and on Saturday Paul Young clocked up his 200^th appearance at Inverurie Loco Works.

 

Bryan made his debut on Saturday 30^th December 2006 away to Keith in a 2-2 draw scoring his first goal at home to Rothes in a 5-1 victory on Saturday 2^nd May 2009. Bryan has made 501 appearances to date scoring 26 goals along the way.

 

Paul made his debut on Saturday 29^th July 2017 in a 3-1 victory over Wick Academy at Bellslea. His first goal was scored against Inverurie Loco Work in a 3-1 victory at Bellslea on Wednesday 13^th September 2017. To date Paul has scored 33 goals. Paul has only another 480 appearances to go to catch his dad!

 

 

Yesterday’s game at Inverurie Loco Works was our 3,600th competitive first team fixture. Below is the breakdown of games with some stats.

Biggest Home Victory: 13-0 versus Fort William (League) on Saturday 10th November 2018.

Biggest Away Victory: 10-0 versus Peterhead (League Cup) on Wednesday 14th August 1974 and 10-0 versus Fort William (League) on Saturday 9th September 2017.

Biggest Home Defeat: 0-8 versus Deveronvale (Aberdeenshire Cup) on Saturday 11th August 2001.

Biggest Away Defeat: 2-13 versus Ross County on Saturday 20th March 1965 in the League.

Most goals by an individual in a game: Bernard Morys scored seven goals against 30th Training Battalion away on Saturday 4th January 1947 in the League.

COMPETITION	PLAYED	WON	DRAW	LOST	FOR	AGAINST
Aberdeenshire Charity Cup	43	23	8	12	110	64
Aberdeenshire Cup	238	111	33	94	477	440
Aberdeenshire Shield	65	42	0	23	141	113
Aberdeenshire Centenary Cup	1	0	0	1	0	1
Bells Cup (East)	20	16	0	4	51	19
Dewar Shield	5	1	0	4	8	24
Drybrough Cup	3	2	0	1	5	3
Fleming Shield	7	4	0	3	20	12
Highland League	2629	1197	440	992	5766	4940
Highland League Cup	244	105	34	105	516	492
League Play Off	2	0	0	2	1	3
Scottish Qualifying Cup	217	99	40	78	439	361
Scottish Consolation Cup	10	4	2	4	22	21
Scottish League Challenge Cup	4	0	0	4	4	8
Scottish Cup	87	30	11	46	159	200
Scottish League Cup	4	0	0	4	3	12
SFA North Region Cup	6	4	0	2	10	9
SPFL Pyramid Play Off	2	1	0	1	2	3
Scottish Supplementary Cup	13	7	3	3	23	18
Grand Total	3600	1646	571	1383	7757	6743