Just how will Dumbarton fans remember 2016 then? The stunning 3-2 victory over the Scottish Cup winners? The 2-1 success over St Mirren on Survival Saturday? Beating Dundee United for the first time since 1996? Repeating that trick in December?
Nope. 2016 will always be remembered for three words. Bonnyrigg. Rose. Athletic. Sons’ 1-0 replay defeat to the East region Champions was, without a doubt, the worst result in my lifetime - and one of the worst in the club’s long, illustrious history. In a year which brought us Christian Nade, some stunning goals, and some glorious results the Bonnyrigg game is the one which most Sons’ fans will never forget. Last year I did a mammoth ‘10 games that defined our year’ article. It was over 10,000 words long and took me almost two weeks to complete (and then a further two weeks to proof!) This year I’ve elected for something a little more succinct. Something that lets my love of statistics run wild. Something that I’ve been slowly working all year on. 2016 - a year in numbers. 50 - Dumbarton have played 50 league, cup and friendly matches in 2016. Very few were postponed - in fact off the top of my head I don’t think any were - and this, combined with the new Betfred Cup group stage system, means that it’s the most matches Dumbarton have played in a single year for quite some time. 12 - Wins. It doesn’t seem like a lot all things considered. Victories this season have been against Queen of the South (2-1) and Livingston (1-0) in January. Hibernian (3-2) in February. Alloa Athletic (3-1) in March. Queen of the South (4-2) and St Mirren (2-1) in April. Cumbernauld Colts (0-3) in July. Dundee United (1-0) in August. St Mirren (0-1) in November and Queen of the South (1-2), Falkirk (2-1) and Dundee United (1-0) in December. A win percentage this year of 24%, compared with the exact same figure (albeit from fewer games) in 2015. That’s consistency. 13 - Draws. Even I don’t have the time to go back in history, but when compared with 2015 Dumbarton have drawn an awful lot of games. From the 41 matches played last year under Ian Murray and Stevie Aitken Dumbarton drew just five times. This years percentage is testament to the change in style brought into the team under Aitken. Like it or not we aren’t an easy team to break down and, whilst often poor to watch, I don’t doubt that it’s a statistic that pleases Aitken. This season’s draw percentage (for those lacking a calculator/basic mathematics skills) is 26% compared with just 12% in ‘15. 25 - Defeats. I know. It seems like more. Well it does to me anyway. Up until a strong run of performances just after I started writing this I would have been full of misery heading into the new year. Fortunately the decent form has polished up the statistics slightly, meaning Dumbarton’s loss percentage in 2016 is (for those of you without the most basic mathematical skills) 50%. In 2015 it was 63%. 3 - Can you remember what it feels like to not be on the edge of your seat with nerves as Sons lead a game heading into the final ten minutes? Chances are you can’t. Dumbarton have won by more than one goal just three times all year. Those were against Alloa, where we had ten men for almost half an hour following Jon Routledge’s dismissal, Queen of the South, where Garry Fleming only sealed the points from the penalty spot four minutes from time, and against Cumbernauld Colts in pre-season. I’ve missed the 3-0 up with ten minutes to play feeling. Actually I can’t remember it, so I suppose I’ve not really missed it… 2 - Fingers over eyes time. Twice in 2016 Sons have been hammered by six goals to nil. Around this time last year Mark Warburton’s Rangers side came to the Rock and, after a controversial handball opened the scoring, went on to embarrass Sons in front of a near capacity crowd. The second occasion was, if possible, even worse. A shambles unfolded before the small band of away fans’ eyes at Palmerston as Queen of the South - inspired by Derek Lyle, Alex Harris and Gary Oliver - tore Sons to shreds in March. That was also the day that Sons’ away record became the joint worst in Scotland with East Stirlingshire. Grim. 47 - Surely not many clubs can have used more players than Dumbarton this year? Of the illustrious 47, just 21 remain (including Christian Nade). That’s a high turnover. Ross Lyden became the 47th and final when he entered the pitch at Palmerston for all of a minute. In doing so he became the first player born in the year 2000 to play for the club. I feel very, very old. 8 - Don’t let it ever be said that Dumbarton aren’t regular users of the loan market, with eight loanees featuring for the club this year. Daniel Harvie and Sam Stanton both remain with the club. However Scott Brown (now with Peterhead), Jamie Lindsay (now on loan to Morton), Calum Waters (now with Alloa), Tom Walsh (now on loan to St Mirren), Kler Heh (apparently back at Sheffield United) and Joe Thomson (back with Celtic) have all moved on following very different levels of success with the club. 9 - As well as a number of loan players there has been an array of trialists featuring for Dumbarton over the course of the year. In actual fact they all featured over the course of a month given that we can no longer have the fun of naming a trialist in competitive match day squads. That’s an aspect of the ‘seaside leagues’ that I really miss. Naming them all became a bit of an obsession. In some cases it was extremely difficult too, so here’s the answer to the most difficult quiz question of 2016. Sons’ trialists were: ‘Romanian Rab’ (Robert Tatar), Josh Peters, Joel Kasubandi, Daniel Brady, Kieran Gibbons, Josh Todd, Aldin El-Zubaidi, Jai Munro and some guy known only as ‘Burns’ who played against Clydebank. I think his name was Paul, but in truth I have no idea. It certainly wasn’t former Queen of the South stalwart Paul Burns - this guy looked like an old Billy King. Of the trialists just Josh Todd would go on to sign permanently for the club. He’s been a virtual ever present this year, but the former Annan man is still searching for his first goal and looks set to move on in January. 52 - Dumbarton have managed to score 52 goals in their 50 games this year. That’s a nice 1.04 per game, and also my lucky number. Of those, nine have been penalties, 10 have came from corners, two have been own goals (three if you include Robert Thomson’s..erm..opener against Falkirk which he appears to have been credited with, and 10 have been scored by players who are no longer with the club That’s made up of Christian Nade’s 7 strikes (yes, I know he’s now back but I’m not changing it as he hasn’t officially been registered), and one each for Kevin Cawley (against Hibernian), Tom Walsh (against Queen of the South) and Romanian Rab (a thunderpeach against Cumbernauld Colts). Loan players scored just four times for Sons with Walsh’s goal added to by Joe Thomson’s tap in against Dunfermline in October and corner against Ayr last week - as well as Daniel Harvie’s...erm...cross in the same game. Yes I’m counting that Thomson is still with us, because I couldn’t be bothered re-writing this or the Nade bit tonight. 17 different players have scored for Dumbarton in 2016, with the top goalscorer of the year award taken (once again) by Garry Fleming: Garry Fleming (4 pens) - 10 goals Robert Thomson - 8 goals Christian Nade - 7 goals Ryan Stevenson (2 pens) & Mark Docherty (3 pens) - 5 goals Andy Stirling, Joe Thomson & Gregor Buchanan - 2 goals Kevin Cawley, Darren Barr, Tom Walsh, Donald McCallum, Robert Tatar, Grant Gallagher, Frazer Wright, David Smith & Daniel Harvie - 1 goal 89 - Conceded. Ok, here’s where I sort of ran out of space on the piece of A4 that stores all these stats. I think this figure is accurate but, to be brutally honest, there’s only so many tally marks you can read. Either way it is as near as makes no difference. The four ‘keepers that have been in goals for Dumbarton this year have all picked the ball out of the net on more than one occasion, with the breakdown like this. Mark Brown - 27 goals conceded in 11 games (2.5 per game) Jamie Ewings - 30 goals conceded in 18 games (1.6 per game) Jamie Barclay - 2 goals conceded in 1 game (2 per game) Alan Martin 30 goals conceded in 22 games (1.3 per game) *This takes into account the goals conceded in friendlies where the ‘keepers were swapped at half-time. 9 - Nine clean sheets this year have been recorded. That number surprised me actually as I was sure that it was more. Still, well done to the ‘keepers who managed that. 11 - The most goals that Dumbarton have conceded to a team this year - and that doesn’t include a further two in the friendly against them. Dundee have clearly enjoyed playing against Sons as they put eleven goals past Mark Brown in just two competitive games. The 5-0 Scottish Cup replay defeat and the 6-2 Betfred Cup group stage loss weren’t particularly enjoyable days out. 8 - Stevie Aitken’s evidently not a fan of a settled team, as he’s named the same starting XI on just eight occasions this year. Injuries, suspensions and ineligibility have all played a part in that, but it’s still an oddly low number. The ginger tinkerman. 5 - Captains. Five players have worn the armband for Dumbarton in a match from the start so far this season - akin to the trialists question see if you can name them all. Nope? Club captain Darren Barr and vice-captain Garry Fleming have worn it the most frequently, with Gregor Buchanan wearing it on the opening day of the season against Dunfermline, Mark Docherty wearing it in the defeat to Clydebank and Ryan Stevenson taking it for the games against Dundee United, Morton and Falkirk. Frazer Wright also wore it in matches where Fleming and Barr were taken off earlier in the year. 5 - Players have been sent off for Dumbarton in 2016. They were (in chronological order): Jon Routledge versus Alloa Athletic (8/3/2016, final score DFC 3-1 AAFC) Mark Docherty versus Falkirk (12/3/2016, final score DFC 1-1 Falkirk) Grant Gallagher versus East Fife (19/7/2016, final score DFC 0-2 EFFC) Gregor Buchanan versus Raith Rovers (24/9/2016, final score RRFC 3-2 DFC) Andy Stirling versus Ayr United (24/12/2016, final score AUFC 4-4 DFC) 0.98 - The points per game average of Dumbarton this year, obviously this statistic includes cup games and friendlies, but it helps to give an idea of just where we are at. The figure is fractionally greater than 2015’s 0.85, but you feel as if it will have to improve further in ‘16. 1 - Just one player signed for the club, was announced and then left after just a week without pulling on the strip for a single minute of action. Sebastian Osei-Obengo. Wherever you are. Thank you for still wearing the top in your Twitter profile picture. That’s the sort of loyalty you just don’t see in football anymore… All the best for 2017 to everyone reading this. As well as occasionally sticking stuff up on here I have a weekly column in the Lennox Herald where you can read me being stupidly optimistic or stupidly pessimistic. There is no middle ground. I’ve stuck an archive of all my Lennox Herald writing on this website, feel free to take a look and have a good laugh at how pleased I was with a Steven Craig/Garry Fleming strikeforce, as well as my weekly Alan Martin paragraph of praise.
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April 2020
CategoriesAuthorI'm Fraser, 22, Sons fan who is now living the dream of reporting on Dumbarton for the Lennox Herald. |