Football Season Guide

Surviving for Forfar Athletic last season was quite an achievement after they made a wretched start to the season that seemed to have consigned them to the drop. Their survival push may have been aided by the wretched form of Queen’s Park and Albion Rovers, but they showed a good deal of character to get out of their situation and have earned their crack at the league again next season. Manager Jim Weir has not made too many surprising decisions over the summer and was able to retain the majority of the starting XI that got his team out of trouble last term. Midfielder Mark Millar, who scored several goals, was allowed to depart. Otherwise, they have set about improving their options. The most eye catching signing that they have made has been attacker John Baird, who has arrived from Inverness and should be an excellent addition to their ranks. In the midfield, meanwhile, Millar has been replaced by Gary Fraser, who appears to be another excellent capture for this level. Otherwise, they have set about tweaking their side only minimally. The defence has been improved by the arrivals of Darren Whyte on a permanent basis and Ross Meechan, who can play right-back if required. So far, they have managed to retain the services of goalkeeper Mark McCallum, whose superb form in the latter half of last season was perhaps the difference between survival and relegation. He will be protected by a solid defence on paper, though the midfield is lacking in numbers and will still lean heavily on Dylan Easton for their creativity. A notoriously erratic performer, that is somewhat risky. In the forward areas, though, they do have a three good options in the form of Baird, Matty Aitken and Dale Hislon, which should be sufficient to score a strong share of goals. Forfar certainly shouldn’t have the issues they endured last term and even have the potential to push for a playoff spot.