John “Spod” MacLeod Named New Skye Camanachd First Team Manager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 January 2014 John “Spod” MacLeod has been named as the new Skye Camanachd first team manager ahead of the start of the 2014 shinty season. He has been involved with the club’s pre-season training since early December and plans are already underway to confirm the club’s pre-season friendly fixtures. MacLeod has played for Skye Camanachd at all levels, winning a Strathdearn Cup winners medal, and he is also a Camanachd Association Grade 2 referee. He has twice represented the North in the Grampian Cup clash with the South. The new Skye boss has put together a strong backroom team. Aonghas MacDonald and David Pringle will be assistant managers whilst there will also be march-day roles for Ally “Mhor” Morrison, Donnie “Digg” MacDonald and Douglas MacDougall. There will be more news to follow on their respective roles. John MacLeod becomes only the twelfth different manager to lead the Islanders’ first team since the club reformed in 1969. At that time, team selection was made by a seven man selection committee. However matters came to a head in the mid-70s when a squad of nineteen was selected for an away match but less than a team of twelve actually turned up! A committee meeting thereafter decided that having one manager in overall charge was the best way forward and Donnie MacKinnon was selected as the first team manager. MacKinnon managed the side from 1976 until 1981 and his side won the Sutherland Cup in 1979. MacKinnon was succeeded by John Angus Morrison in 1981 and he won the Sutherland Cup in his first season in charge with victory over Glasgow University in Oban. Calum Murchison took over for a three year period in 1986 and had a Torlundy Cup win to his name before Ross Cowie led the team to the most successful period in the club’s history. Runners up in North Division 1 and MacTavish Cup runners up were second prizes but Cowie’s team won the biggest prize of all when they took the 1990 Camanachd Cup over the sea to Skye for the one and only time in the club’s history. Two goals apiece from Willie Cowie and John MacRae clinched a 4-1 win over Camanachd Cup veterans Newtonmore. Over 2,000 people waited in the Square in Portree for the team’s triumphant late night return. Ross Cowie is the first team’s longest serving manager with a total of eight years from his three periods in charge. John Finlayson took over from Cowie in 1991 but had to contend with a depleted squad due to several players retiring and injury problems. Cowie again led the team before Angie Murchison’s appointment in 1998 which coincided with the opening of the club’s new Clubhouse and pitch at Pairc nan Laoch. Murchison’s team qualified for the new National Division 1 following his first season in charge and he won the Division the year after in 1999 / 2000 giving Skye their only period in the Marine Harvest Premier League before relegation back to North Division 1 at the end of the 2000 / 2001 season. Ross Cowie returned for a year as manager and was followed by DR MacDonald with Murchison again and Donnie Martin all having turns in the hot-seat before the appointment of Ally Morrison in 2006. Morrison introduced a more youthful squad and got his rewards when the team won the 2008 Balliemore Cup Final. Angie Murchison took over again at the start of the 2009 season but he stood down during that league campaign and was replaced by his assistant manager Aonghas MacDonald. MacDonald led the side until the end of the 2011 season but his work commitments made it impossible to carry on. Willie MacRae took charge for a two year period from 2012 but after a promising first season, performances fell away last term and the team failed to qualify for the new national second tier. XX will now take charge of a Skye first team which will be playing third tier shinty for the first team since the club introduced a first and second team structure. The list of Skye Camanachd managers since the club reformed in 1969 is as follows;
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