Duncan Carmichael – författare

A history of Ayr United Football Club

A history of Ayr United Football Club

Welcome to a world of eccentric happenings in local football. These tales are mad but true. They are local but are sure to contain generic appeal by dint of the fact that such tales could reflect the game's evolution in many localities. Such generic appeal might also be enjoyed by supporters of any similarly-sized club. The timescale transcends the generations from Victorian times to modern times. From the ill-advised experiment with floodlit football in 1878 to Alex Williams' love-in with a referee in 2009, football's propensity for the abnormal has not diminished with time. What was life like on a stinking (literally) football special in 1901? Who was the fag-juggling Crocodile Dundee lookalike of Dunston? What was the quaint custom of 'stoatin the baw'? Which Ayr United goalkeeper once played in a Euro qualifier with a knitted bobble hat perched on his head? When was Sky news literally that? Illumination on such topics are contained within. However illumination was a commodity somewhat lacking in the first tale. Supporters of the finer aspects of the beautiful game are advised to look away now. Devotees of Manchester United/ Chelsea/Arsenal/Rangers/Celtic (delete where applicable) are also recommended not to trespass within lest they should find themselves in an alien territory which they will have no comprehension of. This is all about football in its rawest form.

'Revelatory and accessible' Sunday Post'[Dr Carmichael] has studied nutrition, hormone balancing and aesthetic medicine, and his passion, on which he lectures globally, is healthy ageing. His approach in his fascinating new book, Younger for Longer, is scientific and holistic' The Times'Be good to yourself . . . [Younger for Longer] features wisdom on nutrition, sleep, mood regulation and, most importantly, hormonal health for men and women' Scotsman'I have not stopped learning on my Low-Carb, Healthy Fat journey. Younger for Longer continues that process for me with an incredibly well-referenced text. It's refreshing to see the balance of nutrition and lifestyle discussed in such an informed and robust manner' Gary Fettke, orthopaedic surgeon, health activist and author'Younger for Longer tells you exactly what you need in order to live an extended, healthy life. It's very 80/20 and one of the best books I've read in ages' Richard Koch, author of million-seller The 80/20 Principle'Fascinating. Packed with the most incredible information about health' Radio Today, South Africa'Offers valuable, honest and solid medical insights into how you can age better. It is, without doubt, one of the best books I have read in my many years as a health activist'Longevity magazineTargeted at the general reader, the goal of this book is to show readers how to live a healthy life free from the debilitating effects of ageing, helping them to stay mentally alert and physically active, and making sure they get the most out of all of their years. It reveals practical steps to slow the ageing process and stay healthy - in short, how to stay younger for longer. With research showing that obesity, nutrition and lifestyle illnesses can hamper our body's response to Covid-19, such advice has become even more crucial in reducing Covid-19 risk factors. The key is to aim for optimal health. However, foucsing on one factor alone will not get us there. Our sleep, our mood, what we eat, our detoxification system and our hormones are just some of the factors that interact in amazing ways to make us who we are; they are also at the very heart of the ageing process. This book shows how these different strands combine in ways that can be positive or negative, and explains why this interaction depends far more on the lifestyle we choose than on the genes we inherit. In that way it gives the reader a unique and comprehensive understanding of their body and tells them how, with this knowledge, they can optimise their health. The topics range from nutrition, toxins, men's health and women's health to understanding why our skin, brain and liver age - and how to undo the damage and stave off ageing. But the book's main focus underlying all of this is hormones: the chemicals that tell different parts of our body what to do. Our hormone levels vary throughout our life, but if they are supported correctly, they can keep us youthful and vital into our final years. Finding health then is not about 'seven ways to detox' or 'the five best vitamins'. The body is far more complex than that and, in an approach aimed specifically at the layperson, Younger for Longer traces the exciting path of how the body works to help the reader create the best person they can be for the rest of their life.

Did you know that a former Ayr United great was the first Briton to be a football manager in Argentina? Did you know that he wasn't the only Ayr United manager to have been contracted to a South American club? Did you know that a former Ayr United manager gave first team debuts to such luminaries as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott? There are facts aplenty but the overall purpose of this compilation is the study of the managerial evolution at Somerset Park. It seems inconceivable that Ayr United managers used to have no input in team selection, or that a modern day incumbent would have clerical work almost at the top of the list of their priorities. These practices were down to nothing more than it being consistent with the protocol of the time. Nowadays, the manager is either revered or vilified according to whether it is a halcyon period or a time of struggle. It was not always so. From the viewpoint of the present day, the reader gets chance to chart the changes. Sometimes the efforts of past managers were in vain. Sometimes it came to glorious fruition. Either way it is all documented within these pages.

Second Division Champions, 1911/12; Second Division Champions, 1912/13; Second Division Champions, 1927/28; Second Division Champions, 1936/37; Second Division Champions, 1958/59; Second Division Champions, 1965/66; Second Division Champions, 1987/88; Second Division Champions, 1996/97; League One Champions, 2017/18. That says it all.

"There are lies, damned lies and statistics." In the world of football the concept of argument is woven into the fabric of the game and Duncan Carmichael views this as a positive. After all, the game cannot die for as long as it is being discussed. Why? Who? Where? When? How many? Statistics have the power to solve an argument or to fuel it further. Here the aim is to provide authoritative solutions to Ayr United-related arguments. For every question there is an answer. Including finding out which player had "nary a blemish on his escutcheon." The accounts begin with the first Ayr United match to be abandoned - on 11th November 1911 - and end with a list of couples married in the Somerset Park Centre circle. Among the historic images and photographs reproduced in between are many from the private collection of the late Hugh Nelson.

Football has evolved on a massive scale. Transfer fees have reached the hundreds of millions and if the growth remains unchecked the sport will reach imponderable heights. The global pandemic of 2020 provided a stark illustration of the game’s sense of priority. Mounting death rates failed to stifle the rapidly convened debates about the practicalities of getting football back up and running. Yet for all the game’s burgeoning development and inflated sense of importance, we will never lose our love of those foibles and eccentricities which remind us of football’s tendency to regress into its rawest format. This book is about the crazy goings-on in the history of Ayr United and, to a lesser degree, Ayr FC and Parkhouse. What happens when the goalkeeper doesn’t turn up? What can be done when the ball bursts? Why did an opposition player don a disguise? It is tantamount to a reality check. Football’s unpredictability extends to far more than unexpected results. It has the capacity to create scenarios that could not even be dreamt of. Boxers versus Jockeys at Somerset Park – let that one sink in!