Fraserburgh manager Mark Cowie is thrilled to have Greg Buchan back after admitting it may have been a mistake to let him leave Bellslea initially.
The midfielder has rejoined the Broch – who he played for from 2016 to 2021 – after a year with Huntly.
Fraserburgh beat off competition from a host of other Breedon Highland League sides to secure Buchan’s signature.
‘He’s kicked on’
Reflecting on the 24-year-old’s departure last year and his return Cowie said: “We came to a stage last season where we probably had a couple of extra bodies.
“I’ve known Greg for years and I know the talent he possesses. We probably didn’t get the best out of him in his first spell.
“We saw the quality in training but he didn’t quite get the run of games.
“We could have held on to him for another two or three years and he might not have played as much as he wanted but he would still have been with us.
“But we made the tough decision to allow him to spread his wings and get regular game time.
“He’s kicked on since he moved on, he started his time with Huntly really well and ended up getting the captain’s armband which shows you what Huntly thought of him.
“In seven years as manager I don’t think I’ve made a lot of errors with recruitment but looking back maybe we could have done something differently.
“But it happened and the best interests of the player were behind it, we spoke at length with Greg about it at the time.
“Greg has kicked on, we always knew the ability was there, and with the competition to get him I’m delighted we’ve managed it.
“It says a lot about our club because Greg left to get game time and now he’s coming back, it shows we’ve got a great club that players want to play for.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him in a black and white shirt.”
Squad cover
Fraserburgh lost three players in the summer with Grant Campbell and Gary Harris retiring and Lewis Duncan moving to America.
But Cowie has managed to bring three in as they try to defend the Highland League title with Jordan Guild and Connor Wood joining Buchan at Bellslea.
Cowie added: “Football doesn’t stand still and there will be a day when Willie West’s name is no longer on a Fraserburgh team sheet, Bryan Hay, Paul Young – there will be a time when they’re not there.
“We have to be ready for that, players are playing longer nowadays, but you have to think about what’s coming behind them.
“A year or 18 months ago there was a bit of a gap between the youngsters and the guys around 30.
“But now we’ve got Greg, Ross Aitken, Logan Watt, Connor Wood, Jordan Guild, Aidan Combe, Ryan Sargent and Kieran Simpson.
“We’ve got a good spine which is young that will take over from the old guard.
“We’ve got a squad that almost mirrors last season with the same numbers and the same cover.”
