Peterhead suffered the indignity of relegation to League Two after a miserable season in which they never seemed to gain any momentum. Manager Jim McInally came into the campaign having taken a major risk with his defensive line, and it failed to pay off as the men from Balmoor slumped throughout this campaign. McInally failed to address their chief problems, particularly at the back, which was an area that was left strangely ignored over the course of the summer. Peterhead came into the season with only five recognised defenders, three of which were at the club on loan. Left-back Steven Noble had been a source of weakness last season, too. Even when injury problems hit the Balmoor side, these were largely ignored by the coaching staff, so they went through the opening part of the season in a rather makeshift manner. During January, that area of the side had an overhaul, but notably lost Fiacre Kelleher, who had been their outstanding performer in that area as Celtic recalled him. Thereafter, it took some weeks for Peterhead to start showing signs of resilience at the back, although Craig Reid’s arrival did help in that regard. Injuries were the overwhelming issue they faced in that sector, however. Elsewhere, they were robust enough in the middle of the field without being spectacular. Too many of the players that they had hoped to lean on offensively simply did not perform, which left Rory McAllister once again leading the line with very little support. In the periods when he struggled, the whole team toiled as they simply did not score enough goals or have enough imagination in their play. Leighton McIntosh was underused, while January reinforcements Allan Smith and Grant Anderson did not make the impression that their manager would have hoped, at least in part due to the club’s habit of chopping and changing their formation on a regular basis. The whole season was a muddle and deserved to finish with embarrassment, which was completed in the playoff final second leg as they were hammered by Forfar. A rebuild is required.
