Challenge Cup Draw
Stirling Albion will face Dunfermline Athletic in the First Round of the Challenge Cup which  will take place on Saturday 26th July (3pm) at Dunfermline's East End Park.

This match could see ex-Albion player Steven Bell make his first competitive start for The Pars after signing for them during this close season.

The opening round of the tournament is divided into South-West and North-East regions with both Stirling and Dunfermline in the latter.

O'Neill is New Assistant Manager To Moore
Allan Moore has appointed John O'Neill as his new assistant, O'Neill replaces Mark McNally who left the club at the end of last season to work with The Scottish Football Association.

O'Neill will also be registered as a player and can play either in midfield or upfront.

Having made his final appearance for Queen of the South last weekend in the Scottish Cup Final, the experienced 34 year old is expected to play a big part in Allan Moore's playing squad next season as well as working alongside Moore as his Assistant Manager.

O'Neill had two spells with Queen of the South and was a popular figure with the fans in Dumfries, his other clubs include Queens Park, Celtic, Bournemouth, Ross County and St Mirren. His 17 year career so far has saw him make nearly 450 appearances and scoring over 100 goals, with 58 of those goals for Queen of the South in 165 matches.

Image Courtesy of www.qosfc.com

New Team Kit Preview
Stirling Albion will play in a new home and away kit design for Season 2008/2009.

Kit manufacturers Vandanel will once again supply the kits. The new home strip will be all red while the away kit will be all royal blue.

Both kits will not be availabe to purchase until nearer the new season.

Click to preview the new team kits

Season Ticket and Admission Prices 2008/2009
Season 2008/2009
Adult £215.00
Juvenile/Senior Citizen £135.00
Young Reds Members £120.00

Season tickets are valid for all home league, cup and pre-season matches.
Season tickets can be purchased from Stirling Albion Offices within Forthbank Stadium - Monday-Friday 10am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-5pm. Special arrangements for season ticket purchasing and uplifting as well as postal sales can be arranged if you contact the club beforehand on 01786 450399.

Admission Prices
Admission prices for matches at Forthbank Stadium for season 2008/2009 will be:-
Adult £12.00
Juvenile/Senior Citizen/Students(Home) £8.00
Young Reds Members £7.00
Family Section - One adult paying £12.00 with up to 3 juveniles for £7.00 per juvenile.

Stirlingshire Cup Draw
The draw for the group stages of the 2008/09 Stirlingshire Cup has been made.
Stirling Albion have been paired with Alloa Athletic and Falkirk in Section 2. We are due to play Alloa at Recreation Park before hosting Falkirk at Forthbank.  The dates of these fixtures will be confirmed at a later date. All group fixtures must be played before 31st August 2008. The top team from each group progresses to the final.

Full Draw
Section 1 
Stenhousemuir v Dumbarton
East Stirlingshire v Stenhousemuir
Dumbarton v East Stirlingshire

Section 2
Falkirk v Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic v Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion v Falkirk

News Round Up
Its been a frustrating week for Allan Moore as he rebuilds his squad for next season. Ryan Borris was offered a deal by Moore but the former Raith Rovers player has signed for Ayr United, while the club are still waiting on a decision from Ross Harris who has been offered a new deal but it is understood Harris is keeping his options open.
Allan Moore expects next season's Division Two to be a difficult league and is eager to start building up the squad of players as he knows the "fans expectations will be for us to do well".

The boss  is still keen on playing a friendly in Newcastle and wants the match to go ahead for both player morale and to reward the fans with an away friendly but knows that this match may only go ahead if he can find a sponsor for the trip as costs will be high for the club.
The club have also been approached by Queen of the South about a friendly in Dumfries on Saturday 12th July, but this match has not been confirmed.

Moore has also offered a deal to former Raith Rovers right midfielder Ryan Borris. Dumbarton are also reported to be interested in signing Borris and the Albion Boss hopes to have more talks with the 24 year old forward soon.

The club are also waiting to hear back from Ross Harris who has been offered a new deal with the club. Harris is currently considering his options for next season. Allan Moore hopes also to discuss John Paul McBride's future but Moore has been unable to contact him in recent weeks.

Ex-Player In Charge Of Under 13 Team
Stirling Albion intend entering a team in the SFA Youth Initiative at Under 13 level for Season 2008/2009 and the man at the helm will be ex-player Blair Cremin.

Plans for the new team are progressing well and Cremin will move from his role with the Under 16 team to take charge of the new age group team.

Blair said,"We are looking for boys born in 1996 who are of a good standard to compete at the next level. The SFA player pathway recommends that players of a suitable standard in the Scottish Youth FA and the local Football Development Leagues should move on to SFA Youth Initiative teams.We will shortly hold trials and we are looking for the support of local boys' club officials to promote players of a good standard to our club."

Cremin himself was a product of the clubs youth system and made a scoring debut for the first team against Queens Park at Hampden in December 2001.

Division Two 2008/09
With the completion of the play-off's, the full list of Division Two teams for next season is now complete.
The Binos will face the following teams:- Airdrie United, Raith Rovers, Alloa Athletic, Peterhead, Brechin City, Ayr United, Queens Park, East Fife and Arbroath.

If Gretna go out of business during the summer it is rumoured in the media that Airdrie United would be promoted to Division One, while Stranraer would be promoted to Divison Two, as both teams were beaten finalists in the play-offs.

Player Situation Update
Stirling Albion are delighted to announce that youngster Liam Corr has agreed a professional contract with the club. The Scotland Schools' Under 18 Captain made his debut for The Binos against Livingston in March and Boss Allan Moore is excited that the local lad who's had an excellent season at youth level will be staying at Forthbank.

Allan Moore is still working on securing the services of an assistant to work alongside him, while he has confirmed Slovakian Marek Tomana was amongst the players who were released by the club.

Defender Sean Royrcroft has agreed to a new six month deal.

Moore is also still in the process of talking to Laurie Ellis, John Paul McBride and Ross Harris about what each player's plans are for next season, while he is also in talks with several strikers.

Forthbank Friendlies
Stirling Albion are in the process of finalising plans for three pre-season friendlies at Forthbank Stadium in July.

Dates and opposition are :-
Saturday 5th July - Ballymena United (Northern Ireland),
Tuesday 15th July - Partick Thistle,
Wednesday 23rd July - St Mirren.

The 2008/09 Season starts on Saturday 26th July with the 1st round of the Challenge Cup.

Supporters Club Fundraising Match
A fundraising football match for Stirling Albion Supporters Club took place on Saturday 3rd May.
The match on the main grass pitch at Forthbank Stadium involved a mixture of supporters, club officials and players with Stewart Devine appearing in the second half.

The match finished 5-5 and was an enjoyable fun day out at Forthbank watched by a crowd of just under 100 with the day capped off by a thrilling penalty shoot out.

The match will see the Supporters Club raise about £2000 and will benefit the finances of the organisation which has seen rising travel costs take its toll over the past few seasons.

The Stirling Albion Official Website provided our video and webcast facilites for the event and videos are now available to view online.
- VIEW VIDEOS OF THE DAY
 - Read our match report
Read match report from RedWeb
For more info on this event view the fans message board at www.stirlingalbion.com

Moore Searches For Assistant
Following the departure of Mark McNally, who has taken up a new job with The Scottish Football Association, Stirling Boss Allan Moore has started his search for a new assistant manager. Moore has already sounded out a few candidates who he would like to have work alongside him and he has confirmed to The Official Website his preferred candidate for assistant would also be someone who would be part of the playing squad.

Player Situation To Date
Stirling Albion have released the following players - Derek Lilley, Paul Hay, Gary Muir and Colin Cramb.

The following players have agreed deals with other clubs Paul Nugent, Chris Aitken and Steven Bell.
Assistant manager Mark McNally has left the club to work with the Scottish Football Association.

David Lowing has agreed a deal with Stirling Albion for next season, the 23 year old Ayr United defender's other clubs include St Mirren and Forfar.

The following current players have all agreed new deals with the club - Myles Hogarth, Andy Graham, Ross Forsyth, Nathan Taggart, Stewart Devine, Scott Christie, David McKenna and Paul Murphy.

Boss Allan Moore is still in talks with other players while defender Sean Roycroft has been offered a new deal if he can prove his fitness after missing last season through injury.