Football Season Guide

Clyde struggled to achieve survival last season and over the summer have been working to remedy the problems that had them flirt with relegation in 2020-21. The early signs have been somewhat promising for manager Danny Lennon, who has been in charge of the club since 2017. Clyde came out on top in the fixtures they were expected to, while they were competitive against Championship side Kilmarnock. The major failing for the Bully Wee last season came defensively, but especially in the rearguard, where they were prone to make errors. This sector of the team has been dismantled in recent weeks, with only centre-back Scott Rumsby remaining. Of the players to go, only Tom Lang, their best defender last season, will be missed. Lennon has focussed on getting in experience in the central areas, with Conrad Balatoni and Jonathan Page arriving from Edinburgh City and Brechin respectively. Although both over 30, they have enough in them to make the step up, especially as only one is likely to play at any given time. A weaker area promises to be at left-back, where Mark Docherty is well past his best and Adam Livingstone has not shown himself to be especially strong in any case. There are similar issues on the right, which may serve to undermine the rearguard. In the midfield, Lennon has signed Morgaro Gomis in a bid to plug the defensive issues in this sector. For a club of Clyde’s ambition, he should be a good arrival, though Clyde’s other central midfielders are also at a mediocre standard. Indeed, Clyde’s hopes will once again rest on striker David Goodwillie, who continues to be an absolutely outstanding forward for this level of football. Although Robert Jones, Kieran McGrath and Owen Andrew have arrived, none of these players have any pedigree at this level and the onus will rest firmly on Goodwillie’s shoulders in terms of goals and assists.