Football Season Guide

Arbroath will be hoping that the 2016/17 season heralds a new start for the club after 18 months to forget. The Red Lichties were riding the crest of a wave as they headed into 2015, sitting clear at the top of the League Two table. It was the start of a nightmare however which saw the wheels fall off as their form plunged off the top of the cliff in the North Sea. They eventually finished third before losing to Queen’s Park in the two-legged play-off semi-final having sacked experienced manager Allan Moore in April and replaced by defender and rookie boss Todd Lumsden. He never really got to grips with the job and they made a poor start to last season, losing five of the opening six matches. They endured a season of struggle but managed to keep themselves ahead of East Stirlingshire in a battle against the drop. It wasn’t good enough for the board who sacked Lumsden at the beginning of March and replaced him with former Forfar Athletic manager Dick Campbell. He fared little better, picking up just seven points from a possible 27, as the side finished second bottom of the table in 9th place. Campbell has acted quickly during the close season, raiding his former club for experienced defender Michael Dunlop, midfielder Gavin Malin and striker Omar Kader. He has also added the experienced striker duo of Bryan Prunty and Steven Doris from Airdrie and Stirling Albion respectively to his squad and they look to have plenty of firepower ahead of the new campaign. He has retained the likes of defender Mark Whatley and influential winger and player of the season Bobby Linn and there is plenty of cause of optimism ahead of the new season that they can challenge at the right end of the table.