‘I DEDICATE this to John Ritchie, my best pal who we lost. I told him before he died that we’ll win the championship, John, and you can start talking to us after that. And he was by my side all day today,” Arbroath manager Dick Campbell told BBC Scotland after watching his side clinch the League One title, referencing the untimely death of the club’s goalkeeping coach (pictured below) last summer.
It was a typically selfless remark from the man fondly known as The Bunnet, the lower-league stalwart who claims that in managing the Angus side he does nothing but hire a decent backroom team and recruit good players.
We are deeply saddened and still in a state of shock that our friend, and goalkeeping coach John Ritchie sadly passed away on Friday. JR was an absolute gentleman and much loved. Our thoughts go out to John’s Family at this very difficult time. RIP JR https://t.co/mGgMoa1Qnb pic.twitter.com/abeAy8WHSq
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) June 2, 2018
Canny, forthright and with oratory abilities that will have an audience eating out of his hand, Campbell is, of course, doing himself a disservice here. This season he put together a solid back four and goalkeeper, the bedrock of his side who, as a collective, have been near ever-presents. It is perhaps no surprise that Arbroath’s worst run of form this season came from February onwards once Campbell was forced to make changes.
I'll see you up on the moon....
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) April 14, 2019
A brilliant wee video put together by very good friend of the club @ewansmithpr
Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/AY1UQAeZcs
A solid custodian was one of the missing pieces of the puzzle from last season’s impressive fourth-place finish, and the recruitment of Darren Jamieson proved to be one of his best summer signings. The same could be said for right-back Jason Thomson, who forms part of a back four of monsters in which the full-backs are taller than the centre-halfs. This gave them a solid base, allowing the side to attack teams from the off, in a 4-4-2 without a true holding or screening midfielder.
The front four invariably involved two wingers and a strike partnership, for which Campbell possesses a number of options – his side will finish the season with five strikers in a lean squad of 18.
The busy duo of Ryan Wallace and Michael McKenna formed the striker partnership for much of the season so far, notching up 21 goals between them. Then January brought with it new recruits in the forward areas, with Greig Spence and Luke Donnelly added. However, the additions appeared to have disrupted the attack somewhat, with Campbell struggling to find a settled strike duo since.
By the time the new arrivals signed up, however, Arbroath’s imperious form had given them an unassailable 13-point lead, thanks in part to starting the campaign with 14 wins and three draws from their opening 17 matches. They have been top of the league since the opening day when they spoiled Montrose’s championship day, blowing them away 4-0.
And despite the Red Lichties’ subsequent stutter towards the title, Raith, the only full-time side in the division – their presence making Arbroath’s achievement all the more remarkable – seemed unable to capitalise on the multitude of chances presented to them.
Even during that spell, Arbroath showed enough resilience at key moments to keep any pressure at arm’s length. With Raith dispatching of Montrose 4-1, Campbell’s side came from behind twice to defeat Airdrie at the end of January. It came a week after they’d emerged victorious from Stark’s Park, with that victory over Raith producing a glorious image of The Bunnet turning round to celebrate with his own supporters in the away end, two arms in the air. At the time, Campbell was in the midst of an eight-game touchline ban after his antics at the same venue earlier in the season caused a suspended ban to kick in.
There was another match earlier in the season which displayed another of the main characteristics of this team: the quality of their bench. Despite the shallowness of the squad, Campbell packed it with quality.
Towards the end of September, and trailing to Stenhousemuir after a “lethargic” first half according to their manager, Campbell turned to Danny Denholm at half-time, who helped swing the momentum in their favour. The victory was secured after an inspired double change saw David Gold and Ryan McCord take to the field, with the latter curling in the winner from the edge of the box 10 minutes from the end.
It is something Campbell has talked about a lot this season: deciding to run with a small squad with a high concentration of quality. Something else he often repeats is that it wasn’t he or quality coaching staff that attracted these good players to the club, rather it was the presence of good players already on the books. Quality begets more quality.
As much as it has been a team effort, however, the star of the show has been Bobby Linn. The tricky winger and main creative outlet, who collects bins for a living, took up boxing as a means to get fit at the start of the season, and at 33, still harbours hopes of moving up to a higher weight class – becoming a full-time player. His 23 goals so far, including a hat-trick of hat-tricks, will likely have him on the radar of a few clubs and will no doubt see him crowned League One Player of the Year.
Arbroath have been crowned League One champions after a 1-1 draw at Brechin City 🏆
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) April 13, 2019
Here are the scenes from Glebe Park at full time 👐
Report: https://t.co/GpzLrdXefD pic.twitter.com/WoVnkstEfq
Next season, Arbroath will take their place among the full-time teams – and possibly Alloa – in the Championship after securing just the third title in their 141-year history. But, it is the second time in three seasons that their delighted fans have charged on to the pitch as supporters of a league-winning side.
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