2020/21: The Season so Far!

The announcement last week by celebrity dentist Professor Jason Leitch, that lower league football could resume, was met with much fanfare and celebration by the supporters, players and staff of those clubs involved in the SPFL's bottom two divisions. 

Once the initial urge to congregate in celebration in large civic squares (death of grannies guaranteed) had passed - thoughts turned to how and when our teams could once again step over the white line. Fans are ready to watch their heroes do gladiatorial battle in the arenas of small town Scotland once again - and the dodgier the Pixelot stream the better for true enthusiasts of the beautiful game. 

The twenty clubs await further detail on exact dates and formats from the powers at be within Hampden Park, but attention has well and truly shifted towards the restart. Teams are back in training (some clubs even made the effort to inform their supporters of this with informative statements on official communication platforms) and working towards an expected restart date of March 20th.

Outwith the obvious disruption and chaos that COVID-19 has played with everyday life (and in turn, the lower league football calendar) it has been a year of fundamental change at Hampden. The shift to 'professional' status (initially sold as an effort to avoid the drop into the Lowland League) quickly grew arms and legs, and by the summer of 2020 it had become very apparent that those in charge at Queen's Park were not willing to simply settle for survival in the SPFL's basement division.

The murmurs of full time football grew louder and louder as the months in lockdown ticked by, and it was clear that manager Ray McKinnon had full intention of using the backing provided to him by Scotland's most infamous refrigeration magnate, Lord William Haughey. With Peter Grant, Craig Slater and Ross Maclean already recruited in January, further high level experience was soon added in the form of Bob McHugh, Grant Gillespie, Lee Kilday and (most notably) Simon Murray. 

After years of living in hope rather than expectation, attitudes within the support (and the club) quickly shifted as the scale of financial backing became apparent. This was a squad built to win the League Two championship and nothing else would suffice. Expectations quickly sky rocketed and at the time of writing Queen's sit atop the division with a five point gap over our nearest challengers. The target of lifting silverware in May looks, at this point, extremely achievable.

All this just happens to coincide with the reincarnation of everyone's favourite vintage media outlet, The Web, and what better way to announce our return to the big stage by looking back on the highs (and lows) of the season so far:

Best Performance

With fans barred from stadia up and down the country, there is no question that this has been a season like no other. Watching Queen's on television, sometimes on questionable streams (with even more questionable commentary) has been an enlightening experience and the potential return to football grounds in time for next season is something everyone looks forward to.

At the very least, Queen's fans can take solace in the fact that its a winning team that they are being subjected to in this difficult time and that there have been plenty of enjoyable days plonked on the sofa, with a fine selection of world beers provided by Barry's Convenience Store, Cathcart. (Other convenience stores are available). 

While results have been unquestionably excellent, Queen's have been solid rather than spectacular for most of the campaign. Swashbuckling and ruthless we are most certainly not, but early season wins over Brechin, Albion Rovers and Stranraer quickly illustrated that this team is an efficient unit that will prove tough to crack.

When looking to identify the best performance (and result) of the season there are a few contenders. The passing football played in the first 45 minutes of our 1-0 away win against Elgin City has yet to be matched and the players showed great fortitude to come back from a goal down to beat Stenhousemuir at Hampden (a memorable debut match for much lauded summer signing Simon Murray). 

However, the on-field highlight has to be the commanding 3-0 victory away to Cowdenbeath on 5th December. Central Park has been a bogey ground for Queen's for many years (prior to this victory, we hadn't even managed a goal in deepest, darkest Fife since Alan Trouten's penalty in February 2008) but this new look Spiders outfit had the style and the swagger to make short work of The Blue Brazil. 

'Handsome' Peter Grant gave us an early lead with a pin point header from David Galt's free kick and second half goals from Gillespie and Murray put a well deserved gloss on a successful day's work. It was a terrific Queen's performance on a difficult surface, and one that showed the ruthless streak fans had been longing to see since football returned in October.

Worst Performance

While it has been rainbows and sunshine all around when it comes to our performance in the League, sadly the same can't be said of our dismal performances in both the Betfred and Scottish Cups. Drawn into a difficult looking group with Partick Thistle, St. Mirren, Morton and Queen of the South, few expected Ray's boys to make much of an impact in the Betfred and they were quickly proved right. 

Awful defeats away to Partick Thistle and Morton opened up the campaign and the age old excuses bemoaning 'full time opposition' from higher leagues no longer held water. Queen's fans were willing to write these results off (the truncated pre-season and entirely new squad playing their part) but when the competition returned in November there was no sign of any improvement.

A meek 3-1 surrender to Queen of the South (a side, who at the time, were on a dreadful run of form in the Championship) and a 1-0 loss to ten man St. Mirren, both at Hampden, took McKinnon's record against full time opposition to five defeats in five games with 14 goals conceded. Jai Quitongo's close range header against Queens was the only time we had managed to score a goal in any of those defeats. 

Super Ray finally managed his first Cup win as Queen's Park head coach as his side scraped past East of Scotland side Dundonald Bluebell in the Second Round of the Scottish, but this rare blip of Cup success was quickly followed by another horrible defeat to Queen of the South at Hampden in the following stage of the competition. 

Our 3-0 loss to The Doonhamers, live on BBC Scotland was unquestionably our worst display of the season. A glove we did not lay on our visitors from Dumfries and in truth, the final scoreline flattered the home side who were comfortably put to the sword by far superior opponents. 

The weaknesses of Ray's tried and tested 4-4-2 formation were brutally exposed and pre-match chat about 'the project' and a 'Championship level squad' was made to look extremely foolish on national television. One wag was heard to comment 'that performance is enough to get football stopped'. Jason Leitch and the SFA shut down the season days later. Coincidence? 

Best Signing

While Celtic's signing of laugh-a-minute central defender Shane Duffy has forever tarnished the reputation of Irish Football in Scotland, the game's enthusiasts from the Emerald Isle can sleep easy knowing that one of their finest young prospects is shining for Glasgow's biggest football club.

That's right kids, despite a number of impressive performances from various players, its hard to look past Canice Carroll as signing of the season so far. One of the few additions not previously known to the manager from his spells in charge of Falkirk, Morton and Dundee United, Irish under 21 international Carroll has stood out in his central midfield berth since joining from English side Stevenage in November. 

A physical, ball winning midfielder - the big man with the big hair never shies from a tackle and is constantly looking to break up opposition attacks. Not only this, but he is capable of the kind of forward pass that sets him apart from other players in this position and his status as a guaranteed booking is good news for those supporters with crippling gambling addictions.

The only disappointment from Canice's time at Hampden so far, is the realisation that he does not in fact speak with a thick Irish brogue. Its early days in Carroll's Queen's Park career but cult hero status is well within his reach (especially as rumours that he is the son of Queen's legend Frankie have yet to be denied).

Worst Signing

Compared to previous seasons, the calibre of new signings announced last summer was quite frankly ridiculous. Barely a day passed without the addition of a 'big name' and Queen's Park's official social media channels did not miss any opportunities when it came to the publication of cringe worthy fanfare. 

In terms of hype, the signing of Michael McGlinchey, the 54 times capped New Zealand international, was unmatched. The promotional video (a mix between The Lord of the Rings and A Place in the Sun: New Zealand) told us we were signing a potential lower league megastar but it just never worked out for Michael during his brief time at Queen's. 

An excellent performance in midfield away to Elgin should have been the catalyst for a run in the side but he never managed to hold down a place in the team and he was gone as quickly as he arrived, released in December before joining Clyde on a short term contract. 

His final appearance in a Queen's jersey, a masterclass in five yards sideways passes against Dundonald Bluebell, was not the ending he might have hoped for when he joined the club back in October.