Rumour mill:- Two new signings??

By Chris Mac
July 6 2005

Just to add to the confusion, it's been mentioned that we have to following two players training with us and here are a couple reviews of the players.

Willie Lyle surprised everyone at Somerset Park when he snapped up the chance given to him at the start of the 2002/03 season. He was so far away from a first team berth that he didn’t even travel on the pre-season tour of Ireland, but due to injuries to Marc Smyth and Iain Nicolson, he was pitched into action in the final pre-season friendly. A massively impressive performance saw him stake his claim and he started the first league game of the season on the bench against Falkirk.

With Ayr going in at half time with a two goal deficit, he was stripped for action, turned in another fine performance and never looked back. He went on to feature in almost every game of the season.

Generally recognised as one of the most promising full-backs in the First Division, the highlight of Willie’s career came in a Scottish Cup tie against Rangers at Somerset Park. He marked Scotland winger Neil McCann out of the game for 70 minutes, before McCann was sheepishly replaced.

Under contract until May 2004, Lyle has been watched by SPL clubs, with Celtic rumoured to have shown an interest.
 
SCOTT CHAPLAIN was one of Campbell Money’s first signings when he was first put in charge of the Ayr United youth set-up in 2000. Having just been released by Rangers as a 16 year old, Chappy showed his grit and determination in a trial and he was quickly snapped up.

He was quickly made captain of the under-18 side, whom he led to consecutive league titles and an SFA Youth Cup final against Rangers, before becoming an established first team regular in 2002/03. If fact, due to United’s down-sized squad, he was forced to play more matches than Money would have liked and finished the season a very tired looking young man.

Scott proved beyond any doubt that his loyalties lie firmly with Ayr following a Scottish Cup tie with Rangers in February 2003 when he refused to swap his Ayr United shirt with any of the Rangers “superstars”, instead holding onto the jersey as his own memento of the occasion.

A firm favourite with the fans due to his obvious enthusiasm and commitment, allied to no little skill and a knack of weighing in with an important goal or two, Chaplain has the potential to go on and play at a higher level.
 
These reports were taken from the honest mens website.

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