Something in the Ayr - Alistair Gemmell

Alistair Gemmell gives us the lowdown on current cinch Championship leaders Ayr United.

How would you assess your club's 22/23 season so far?

Beyond anyone’s expectations. To be sitting top of the Championship after 16 games, a point clear of Morton, Dundee and the chasing pack is certainly a welcome diversion after two seasons struggling at the wrong end of the table.  

It has been entertaining as well. The way manager Lee Bullen sets up the team with two up-front and two wingers means when the team gets the ball they go straight on to the front foot and attack the opposition which is great to watch. We have got some exciting players in forward areas and are the league’s top goalscorers with 34 in 16 games. We only had 15 goals at the same point last season. 

Playing the way we do, we aren’t going to be a possession side and control games in a manner that might be better for the heart rate, but it seems to be effective in the Championship and we have been competitive in most games, even where we have not taken full points. Defensively, we are conceding too many goals but even in games where we haven’t played well more often than not the players have found a way to take something from the match, which has been encouraging. 

There has been a big transformation at the club since managing director Graeme Mathie joined a year ago and recruited Lee Bullen as manager. They and others like head of recruitment, Keith Glendinning, have been putting the building blocks in place to turn around the club’s fortunes on the pitch and we are now beginning to see that, possibly ahead of schedule. 

Everyone knows how competitive the Championship is this season and I think any one of seven clubs could go on and win it. Our next four league games – Raith, Thistle, Dundee and Morton – are huge and I think only a fool would attempt to predict how they will play out but I am hopeful we can still be in contention as we roll into 2023. At the very least it looks like we will not be in a regelation battle come April and most Ayr fans would have taken that at the start of the season. 

Main Man: Favourite current player and why 

He has been gaining a lot of attention recently but it hard to look past the main man, Dipo Akinyemi. Fourteen goals in sixteen league games speaks for itself but he is more than just a goalscorer. 

Nobody really knew what to expect when he was signed from National League South side Welling United in the summer and he took a few games to find his shooting boots but he has been outstanding. His close control and power can create something out of nothing.  If we can get the ball to him in and around the box it does not seem to matter how many defenders are around him or what way he is facing, more often or not he can get a shot away. 

What is your earliest memory supporting your club?

I have always been an Ayr fan but grew up in Northumberland so did not go to many games when I was younger. My earliest memories are pre-season friendlies when we would visit Ayr during summer holidays or away games at Berwick Rangers, which was the closest grounds to us. I remember a midweek game at Shielfield Park in January 1996, you would lucky if there were 20 Ayr fans there and it was absolutely freezing. We won the Second Division title at the same ground 16 months later on a much warmer day. 

Explain the nickname

It comes from Rabbie Burns’ poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’, which includes the line: “Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a town surpasses. For honest men and bonie lasses”.  It’s a poem about the drinking classes in Ayr in the late 18th century described as a tale that includes humour, pathos, horror and social comment. If it was not 230 years old, it could have been written about an Ayr United away day! 

Almost Famous – What is your club best known for?

I guess if you were to ask a Killie fan you would get a very different answer but I think we are probably best known for our ground, Somerset Park. Somerset outdates Ayr United, having been first used by Ayr FC in 1888 when they needed an alternative venue for a friendly match against Aston Villa because their Beresford Park ground was being used for the Ayr Cattle Show at the time. 

The relocated Beresford Park clubhouse and grandstand were replaced in 1920 by the current Main Stand, designed by renowned architect Archibald Leitch. Critics might say the stadium has not changed since – which isn’t exactly true, there has been some upgrades and improvements, particularly in recent years – but I think most visiting fans enjoy the trip down the coast and the experience of standing on the terraces, even if they wouldn’t admit it! There are plans for a new stand on the North Terracing, which will retain the terracing but provide a roof and additional seating and hospitality facilities but should retain the character we all love. 

Greatest Gaffer: Your favourite/most loved boss watching your team

It could be Lee Bullen if we stay at the top of the table until the end of the season! We achieved a bit of success under Gordon Dalziel at the turn of the millennium, reaching a national Cup Final and challenging at the top of the then First Division and Ian McCall was able to re-establish us as a Championship club after a decade struggling to get out of the old Second Division, but it has to be Ally MacLeod. 

Ally will always be revered at the club for what he achieved, winning promotion to the top flight in 1966 and 1969 and establishing us as team who were a match for the biggest clubs in Scotland in the early 1970s. That was a bit before my time but he did return to Somerset Park for a third spell in 1986 where he built another fondly remembered side, spearheaded by the attacking threats of Templeton, Walker and Sludden, that won the Second Division in 1988.

Can you tell us one interesting fact about your club which other fans may not know?

We once beat the Swedish national team in a friendly. In May 1928, Ayr were given the honour of a match against a full Sweden team during a tour of Scandinavia, the club’s first overseas trip. It was the first time the Swedish FA had allowed the national team to play a club side. 

Who would make your ultimate all-time 5-a-side team?

1.  Kristjan Finnbogason - We've had a succession of solid (and some not so solid) keepers over the years but none that really stand out over the others. I’ve gone with Icelandic international Kristian Finnbogason even though he only played 11 games for the club. His second appearance was an Ayrshire Derby in the Scottish Cup on Valentine’s Day 1998 where he kept a clean sheet in horrendous conditions and cup holders Killie were knocked out the competition. 

2. Michael Rose - I guess a five-a-side team needs at least one defender and Michael Rose is one of the best centre-backs we’ve had in the last 20 years or so. He developed into a really important player for us in our title win and the following season back in the Championship. A classy defender, comfortable on the ball, he appears to be holding his own with Coventry and if it was not for injury I think he could play at the top level. 

3. Ryan Stevenson - An Ayr United fan living out the dream of us all by playing for his boyhood club.  It was not a glorious period for us when he signed from St. Johnstone in 2006 but he was a central figure to the improvement brought about by Brian Reid and scored the winner in the 2009 play-off final against Airdrie to win promotion to the Championship. He returned for more play-off success later in his career and will always be remembered for some spectacular goals. 

4. Michael Moffat - I cannot leave out the Moff. From bursting onto the scene in January 2011 after signing from Girvan and scoring the winning goal in the play-off final that season to scoring his 100th goal for the club last season it has been some journey. At 37, Moff is in his testimonial year and has transitioned onto the backroom staff as a strength and conditioning coach, so while we might not see too much more of him on the pitch he has already secured his place as an Ayr United great.  

5. Lawrence Shankland - It has to be Shankland upfront. Not only a great goalscorer but a scorer of great goals during his two seasons at Somerset. He netted 26 league goals the year we won the League 1 title and carried that goalscoring form into the Championship – 63 goals in 74 appearances overall. No further explanation required! 

What is your all-time favourite match?

Tough one. There have been famous cup victories, including over Kilmarnock, play-off successes and title wins but my all-time favourite would be the 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice in November 2018. 

We were still riding on a crest of a wave after being promoted from League 1 the previous season and going well in the Championship, going into the match two points clear of Ross County at the top of the table but I didn’t expect us to go up to Dundee on a Friday night and put in such a dominant, complete performance. Shankland scored four, Moffat the other on a night the Terrors couldn’t get near us. 

What should visiting fans make sure they see/do when visiting your club/town?

Get to Somerset Park early and enjoy the experience of being in a proper football ground! 

What makes your club special to YOU?

It is difficult to put into words - they’ve been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Its where I meet up with family and friends, most of whom I would never have met if it wasn’t for Ayr United.  I love going to games at Somerset Park and across Scotland (and sometimes further afield) and bumping into people you know, maybe not well, but with whom you share a lived experience and the highs and lows of supporting a club where success is far from guaranteed.

You can follow Ayr United’s progress every week in our SPFL Lower League Round Up - watch the latest edition now!