Friday 4th August 2017
FOUR of them now play for Alloa. One has signed for St Mirren this close season.
One is playing for The New Saints. One is coaching Morton’s development team. One is back at Celtic after his loan having been with Morton. One is back at Dumbarton via Rangers, St Mirren and Limerick. One is with East Fife. The whereabouts of the other three are unknown.
It sounds like part of a song Ed Sheeran released this year.
It’s actually details of what’s happened to the other players who played for Dumbarton in Jamie Ewings’ previous game.
It was a 1-1 draw at Alloa on the final day of the 2015/16 season. The goalkeeper is the only player who got on the pitch and has stayed at the club constantly since.
With Garry Fleming now one of the quartet with the Wasps, Jamie is now also the only player who’s been with the club all through its current Championship era.
In fact, he’s one of very few people in any capacity who have been employed by the club all that time. Managers, physios, coaches, admin staff and directors have all come and gone.
Whenever Jamie next gets to play for Dumbarton, it may well feel like a brand new team he’s playing for.
But it’s nothing new to him. He’s grown used to change.
He said: “Over the last few years it’s really only been me and Garry who have stayed that long.
“So it will be a bit strange to play alongside players who I’ve mostly never played a match alongside.
“But I get on with the boys anyway. The likes of Calum Gallagher and Stuart Carswell are still fairly new to the club but I’ve a good enough relationship with them.
“I’ll feel 100 per cent confident and I wouldn’t think of it as a completely new team, as some of the players have been around for some time.
“Apart from me, there are probably only a few youngsters and directors here, and the fans, who have been here since we started life in the Championship in 2012.
“They will always be here anyway, but it’s as if I’m part of the furniture now as well.
“That’s just the way football is now. People move on from the club, but I’d like to think I’ve shown loyalty and it’s been appreciated.”
The start of the Championship campaign tomorrow isn’t all Jamie has to look forward to this weekend. He turns 33 today.
If he’s still here when he’s 36, he’ll be in line for a testimonial after 10 years’ service, with this being season number seven with Sons.
So does he fancy the chances of that? And in the shorter term, helping Dumbarton to a seventh season of their own in the Championship?
He continued: “I don’t see why not.
“I love being at Dumbarton. People and the club are good to me.
“But we’ll see where we are in another three years. Things can change very quickly. I wouldn’t rule it out, but we’ll see where it takes us.
“Every year we’ve been here, we’ve continuously been knocked because we’re a part-time side playing against mainly full-time teams.
“The last five years haven’t really counted for anything – even when we’ve beaten teams like Dundee United and Hibs at our place. People still belittle us and say we’ve got no chance.
“Last season was just a bit sweeter, as people had us relegated from the off. It felt good that day at Dundee United when we had it all but sealed.
“We’d love to do it again.”
Andy Galloway