Liam is a very experienced player having won silverware in Scotland and in Australia. He has the sort of pedigree we are looking to add to our squad as we move forward as a club.
Liam started his football at Inverness Caledonian Thistle at youth level. He went on to play in the Highland League with Brora and Buckie Thistle having won personal awards and silverware along the way. He has just completed 7 years in Australia having scored 68 goals in 105 appearances.
We are delighted that Liam has chosen to sign with us. We welcome him to Seafield Park!
Club Captain James McShane has extended his stay signing a further 2 year deal. Everyone at the Club are absolutely delighted with this, and needless to say we are ecstatic to have him onboard and see him lead the team currently going through a total rebuild.
James has had over the years, many Highland League clubs after his signature, and it’s no surprise as to why. Being a local man, he has stayed loyal to the club and has led our team impeccably.
El Capitano, it’s great to keep you!
STRATHSPEY AND BADENOCH WELFARE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION’S DALVEY CUP
STFC send their congratulations to Aviemore Thistle who captured the first silverware of the season, the Dalvey Cup at Cromdale beating Grantown United on penalties. The score after ninety minutes was 2-2.
Just back from a couple of days away to to see the boys have been at it again by capturing the signature of Caley Thistle’s Lewis Mackie. Lewis is the Jags seventh signing over the past ten days or so, and we at JagsWeb are really looking forward to next season already……only ten weeks and four days to go…….
The management team said “We are delighted to have secured the signature of Lewis Mackie following his time at Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC. Lewis is a fantastic young talent. His age and quality means that he is the exact profile of player we are looking to add to the ranks and develop here at Seafield Park. Lewis was a well sought after player and to have him decide to come to Strathspey is very pleasing for the club. As soon as we knew Lewis was available we pulled out all the stops to sign him”
Lewis’s playing history to date:
Lewis started his career at Clach at a very young age before moving to CaleyThistle in 2019, where he went from under 14s through to the 18s and making two first team appearances, his first being in the challenge cup just 2 weeks after turning 16! Then secondly in the Inverness Cup Final against Clach where they came out 4-1 winners with Lewis scoring the 4th goal.
I thought it was going to be a quiet close season but no……
Not as much signing activity this week but we are delighted that Ewan has decided to return for next season and Steven has joined us.
We would like to announce the signing of centre half Ewan Neil from Rothes Football Club. Ewan is a great ball playing centre half and managing to secure him on a permanent deal was one of our priorities over the summer. He will be another great addition to the managers already growing squad. Ewan has previously played for Clachnacuddin, Rothes, Loch Ness FC and was in loan to his from Rothes last season.
Welcome back Ewan!
Today we can officially announce the signing of Steven Macdonald on a permanent deal. This is a signing that shows intent from the club to go out and really manage to get the players we want and to get the deal over the line. Steven is a fantastic player who can play at CB or CM, he is composed and very calm on the ball. He has played at youth level for Ross County but he eventually decided to play shinty over football. Later down the line Steven played for Grantown FC, Spey Valley Utility and Loch Ness FC. He has won silverware with them all and was an exceptionally important player in those squads. New manager Bobby Beckwith and his team in the football department are delighted to have Steven onboard. WELCOME STEVEN TO SEAFIELD PARK!
PITCHSIDE ADVERTISING
Please contact our secretary Clive for more details if you wish advertise pitch side….. click here
LOTTERY
The jackpot this week is £5800 on our online fundraising lottery – click here if you want to play…
LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES As intimated after the current jackpot has been won, therefore completing that game, there will be couple of changes. There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly. The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).
The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw.
If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players.
Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100.
THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
Ending a busy few days for Bobby and the boys, two more players have put pen to paper.
LIAM SHEWAN
Firstly, we have signed Liam Shewan on a permanent deal from Rothes Football Club. Liam was part of a swap deal which has seen Ross Logan go the other way. We would like to thank Ross for his services as a player. We would also like to thank Rothes for making this possible and a smooth process. Liam’s former clubs include Grantown FC, Clachnacuddin, Nairn County, Rothes and for a small part of last season a short loan deal with the Jags. He has now made his move to Seafield Park permanent after a very impressing during his loan spell. Welcome (back() to the club Liam!
JAMIE CALDER
Also signing up is Jamie Calder from Loch Ness FC for the upcoming season! This is another exciting addition to our squad. Jamie is a young centre half with great composure and has had Highland League experience at Clachnacuddin before his move to Loch Ness FC. It’s great to have you on board Jamie and we look forward to welcoming you to Seafield Park.
Today we are happy to announce more arrivals to the playing squad at Seafield Park. This time it’s a double signing in the shape of Conor MacPhee and Jordan Laidlaw that new manager Bobby Backwith has added to his pool of players.
Conor MacPhee was signed from Loch Ness FC. The former Loch Ness captain had won the North Caledonian League with them, and has also won several trophies and a league title in junior football with Nairn St Ninians JFC. He has also played for Clach, Fort William and Inverness City.
Jordan Laidlaw has also won the North Caledonian League and other trophies whilst he was with Invergordon FC. Jordan has also played for Loch Ness FC and most recently, Avoch AFC .
HERE WE GO, HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS……SEASON 2024-2025
And you thought we were gonna be quiet……
NEW MANAGER APPOINTED – 1 MAY 2024
Manager Bobby Beckwith
Strathspey Thistle are delighted to be able to confirm the return of Bobby Beckwith – better known as Bobby Becks – as the club’s new manager. Bobby was one of the key players in the formation of Strathspey Thistle and as well as the main striker, he was also the club’s first ever lottery convenor. He later went on to be the coach of the Strathspey Thistle Boys Club which won the Highland Youth League in a play-off against a strong Peterhead side. Bobby was then manager at the Moray Junior side Lossiemouth United before going on to be assistant manager at Elgin City when they gained entry into the Scottish League. He also had a similar role with Turriff United, before going on to was manage Clachacuddin Ladies, and then Lossiemouth in the Highland League and recently he stepped up from assistant manager to interim Manager at Rothes.
So it has been a long journey to come back “home” and everyone at the club is really excited with what he can bring to the club. The one thing we can be sure of, no one will be more excited and passionate about making Strathspey Thistle a success both on and off the pitch. We hope Bobby will help usher in a new era for STFC.
Welcome home Bobby!
THE THREE AMIGOS We are also excited to announce two new additions to STFC who are going to be working behind the scenes in helping Bobby, our new manager .
Fraser, Bobby and Josh
First is our newly appointed Director Of Football Fraser Tulloch (left). Fraser is a former Jags captain and a man who brought junior trophies to both Grantown FC and Spey Valley United. Secondly we have Josh Horton (right) who is taking up the mantle of Sporting Director. Josh is a former manager of Grantown FC in the welfare league and was chairman at a very successful Grantown FC in the Juniors. We’re delighted to welcome both and are exited to see what the future holds with our new structure. The future is bright! The future is jaggy…….
JOSH RACE SIGNS We are absolutely delighted to announce the signing of Josh Race from Loch Ness FC.
Josh has had a very busy few years in football and is returning to us having started in our youth ranks. He is a creative midfielder with an eye for goal and was also a North Caledonian League winner with Loch Ness. He is a very talented player who has incredible work rate. Josh’s C.V. includes Strathspey Youth, Ross County youth for 3 seasons, Strathspey Thistle for 1 season, Spey Valley FC 1 season and Loch Ness for the past 3 seasons. It’s come full circle and we are elated that he has decided to come back to his local club.
Welcome back Josh!
LOTTERY And of course we can’t not mention our fundraising lottery giving you the chance of winning the jackpot of £5700 – click here if you want to play…
LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES As previously intimated after the current jackpot has been won, therefore completing that game, there will be couple of changes. There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly. The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).
The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw.
If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players.
Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100.
THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
It was another disappointing season on the pitch for the Jags culminating in a very torrid final week with two games home and away against the clubs who finished top and third in the league, who were very intent on topping up their goal difference, which both teams managed to do. Our caretaker manager for the final six weeks of the season Michael Rae decided not to renew his contract for family reasons We wish him all the very best in his future endeavours. This, as well as some players moving on, then opens the door to a brand new dawn more of which will fully reported when all the pleces of the jigsaw fall into place, but initial reports look very promising.
BUCKIE THISTLE WIN LEAGUE
The victorious Buckie team
All at Strathspey Thistle would like to send our congratulations to the other Jags, Buckie Thistle in their achievement of winning this season’s Breedon Highland League – especially after their finishing sequence of thirteen league games and one cup game over forty-five days. Congratulations also go to Brechin City and Fraserburgh for finishing second and third respectively.
Local lad Sam Morrison and his dad Eddie with the League Trophy
Brechin finished on the same points so the title was decided on goal difference and Jagsweb was very disappointed with some of the comments made by the Brechin chairman in an national newspaper interview. We were then taken aback in what sounds like a very complicated episode, with the revelations of Buckie’s failure to achieve SFA Bronze status. They needed this to move up to the Scottish League if they were successful in overcoming both East Kilbride of the Lowland League and then Club 42 of the Scottish League.
FOOTBALL WEEKEND MAGAZINE
We recently welcomed Alan Price, who writes for Football Weekend magazine, to our home match against Fraserburgh. Alan arrived very early and after touring the ground went off to sample the views and delights of the surrounding area, returning for the match and some after-match hospitality. Football Weekend is a monthly glossy magazine for fans who want to visit various areas of the world and combining it with attending various football matches and stadia – the magazine is available at all good newsagents eg WH Smith and on subscription.
Football weekend magazine
We’ll give more details regarding the magazine when Alan’s article is printed sometime over the summer.
We’d also like to thank Gavin, Tom and Frances from our local newspaper for all the help and coverage they have given the Jags over the past season.
OUR SPONSORSAND SUPPORTERS
And finally, we would like to thank all the businesses both near and far and our supporters for all the help, especially financially throughout the year….THANK YOU ALL.
3rd: Heavy rain caused a lunchtime call-off for the planned trip to Buckie Thistle
6th: Game on at Turriff United despite heavy rain overnight. An unpredictable wind caused problems for the Jags in the first-half and they trailed 4-0 at the break. Owen Loveland pulled a goal back soon after the break and for a short period it looked as though a comeback could be on before three more strikes from the hosts put a slightly unfair gloss on the final scoreline.
13th: The first of four games in a week, all against title contenders at a time of the season when the Jags squad was stretched to the limit, saw Fraserburgh run out 5-1 winners at Seafield Park. Young goalkeeper Ethan Rae again impressed while Jack Davison took advantage of a defensive error to score a neat consolation goal. Keep an eye out for a feature on a trip to Seafield Park for this game which is due to appear in Football Weekends magazine over the summer. We’ll highlight when on the club website and social media pages.
15th: No rest for the Jags as they travelled to face Buckie Thistle at Victoria Park. Another battling display, despite a 6-1 defeat, with Owen Loveland scoring the visitor’s goal.
17th: And, just 48 hours later it was Buckie Thistle again the opponents, this time for the final home league game of the season at Seafield Park. While the game was in progress, news of scores elsewhere in the Midlands League meant that the Jags place in next season’s Highland League was secure. With Buckie needing goals to overtake Brechin City at the top of the table, Strathspey fought hard but couldn’t prevent a 7-0 defeat.
After the game we said thank you to Betty and Davie Love for all of their hard work over the years both in keeping Seafield Park clean and the pitch looked after.
Betty and Davie Love with Charlie Sinclair, Donly McLeod and Graeme Stuart.
20th: A fourth game in eight days proved too much for the Jags as Fraserburgh scored 11 times without reply in their attempts to overtake Buckie and Brechin City at the top of the table. Our usual warm welcome off the pitch wasn’t replicated on it by a ruthless home side although results elsewhere meant the Broch finished the season in third place.
25th: Buckie’s efforts were seemingly in vain after a shock statement released by the Scottish FA confirming that their play-off against Lowland League champs East Kilbride had been postponed due to our fellow Jags’ not meeting the criteria for promotion to the SPFL.
Thank you – to Mike Rae for guiding the team through to the end of the season, in difficult circumstances, and to Robbie Flett and Charlie Brown for their help.
Keep an eye on our website and social media pages on Facebook and X for more news on the Jags over the close season.
STRATHSPEY THISTLE F.C; APPEARANCE RECORDS 2023/24 Records kept by Club Secretary – Clive Wolstenholme
AWAY GAME v FRASERBURGH FC BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE BELLSLEA PARK, FRASERBURGH AB43 9BB SATURDAY 20 APRIL 2024 – KO 3pm
Well, well, well – that’ll be it for another season.
Not the easiest physically and mentally of finishes for all the title chasing teams over the past couple of weeks.
Fraserburgh is always an exceptionally welcoming place, and, despite whatever the result may be, is one of the days during the season, that the management committee always look forward to – perhaps not so much the players….!!
Results this week mean that Fraserburgh, even if they beat us substantially, will have to rely on Keith beating Buckie Thistle and Brora Rangers beating Brechin City to win the league – a bookie would give you very distant odds for that possibilty to happen….but as we always say in football you never know.
MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES v BUCKIE THISTLE. Firstly I think we were impressed with the application and fitness of the Buckie boys over both games – considering this was games four and five over a twelve day period…we thought there may have been tiredness allowing us to maybe take the initiative here and there…and even though there were some controversial moments and decisions they still beat us convincingly in both games.
In pretty dire weather it has to be said Monday’s game finished 6-1 although many onlookers from both sides thought perhaps a 3-1 scoreline would have been more fitting. Again our start was abysmal with losing two goals within the first five minutes but on twenty-two minutes Owen Loveland scored but Buckie regained their two goal advantage in thirty-nine minutes and that’s how it stayed until half-time although we did miss great chance right on the forty-five.…but second half Buckie upped the pace and scored three more goals – one from Grantown’s own Sam Morrison, Buckie’s no 5… Our trialist goalie Kit Fletcher, had a great game, and was named Man of the Match by most of the spectators present, so we will hopefully see him at Seafield Park next season.
A very busy Seafield Park loaded with Buckie fans
It was no real difference on Wednesday, apart from the weather which was a really nice evening for football, with Buckie 3-0 up by halftime – Jags supporters were convinced that included a contested offside and contested penalty decision – but second half Buckie were more sharp but without some fantastic defending and blocking by the home team it could have been more. Home fans were very congratulatory on the players especially as tiredness must have played a part as we are also in the middle of a four game in seven days run. Strathspey Thistle would like to thank all the Buckie fans for making the journey to Grantown – Seafield Park has never looked so full for ages.
Saturday is going to be a very exciting day for the fans of Buckie and Brechin!
THANK YOU PRESENTATION TO BABS MCLEOD
Thanks Babs
After the half time rush in “The Shack” during the last home game of the season Charlie Sinclair presented Babs McLeod with a bouquet of flowers in appreciation of all her hard work during this season in catering for all our committee, other teams committees and guests. Well deserved..thanks Babs.
JAGS LOSE SWEEPERS
Betty and Davie Love with Charlie Sinclair, Donly McLeod and Graeme Stuart.
Betty Love has decided to retire after over twenty years of keeping Strathspey Thistle’s clubhouse, dressing rooms and toilets clean and tidy aided and abetted by her husband Davie, and the day after our last home game of the season against Buckie Thistle, they were presented by representatives of the Club, with a bouquet of flowers, season tickets for next years games in the Highland League and a voucher in appreciation of their commitment to the club. Davie has also been responsible for mowing the pitch so they will both be a great miss to the club. They have also been ardent supporters of the Jags for many years and as such we look forward to welcoming them every home game at Seafield Park next season. Our photograph shows the presentation L to R : Charlie Sinclair, Davie and Betty, Donly McLeod and Graeme Stuart
NEXT SEASON Probably the biggest smiles that were going around Seafield Park were not on the Buckie supporters – they were on the faces of the Jags committee who heard midway through the first half that their opponents, if there were to be a play off for a place in next years Highland League, had been beaten. Lochee United from Dundee had to win all their remaining four matches to secure the Midlands League but had been beaten convincingly by Dundee North End – so it meant that preparations could now begin for what looks like an exciting campaign next season with a lot of new faces throughout the Jags structure.
No matter what Saturday’s result will be be at Fraserburgh it will mean the parting of the ways of some familiar faces from the Jags dressing room and we would like to take this opportunity in thanking them for their efforts throughout the season, which let’s face it must have been really tough at some times, and we wish them all the best in their plans for the future.
At the moment we do not have much indication of all the changes that will happen over the summer but at this present moment the future looks very positive and here at JagsWeb we will, along with our other social media outlets on Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram try to keep you as informed as we can of all the goings on.
LOTTERY As ever we conclude this week’s meanderings offering you a jackpot win of £5500 on our online fundraising lottery – click here if you want to play…and remember please support us with the lottery over the close season – we wish you luck – and thanks for playing.
LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES As intimated a couple of weeks ago after the current jackpot, has been won therefore completing that game there will be couple of changes. There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly.
The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).
The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw.
If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players.
Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100.
THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
All winners will be notified.
Here’s to season 2024/2025 and thanks to all our loyal readers and supporters….and as Bon Jovi would tell us ….keep the faith!! We’ll be back intermittently throughout the close season.
