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Topic Originator: AJ27
Date: Fri 15 May 20:58
For those looking for reading material in these strange times a great new book has been released this week that’s available on Amazon - Forgotten, Scotland’s Former Football League Clubs - tells the stories of over 40 now defunct clubs from the high profile demise of Third Lanark, the recent cases of Clydebank and Gretna to the more obscure tales of Dumbarton Harp, Dundee Wanderers and Solway Star.
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Topic Originator: vasco
Date: Sun 17 May 15:23
Is Rangers in it?
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Topic Originator: 1970par
Date: Sun 17 May 16:42
Brilliant Vasco
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Topic Originator: eastendalloapar
Date: Sun 17 May 17:52
Clydebank did not just die, they were "murdered" by a club from Airdrie.
matt forsyth
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Sun 17 May 19:10
Clydebank FC still exists, just technically not the same Clydebank. They've had more changes than Boris Johnson's had kids!
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Topic Originator: Par
Date: Sun 17 May 20:22
Did Clydebank not buy East Stirling at one time to gain senior status, then Airdrie bought Clydebank when Gretna were preferred over Airdrie to join the league.
Might well need another volume soon!
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Topic Originator: Pars11
Date: Sun 17 May 21:44
Clydebank FC still exists, just technically not the same Clydebank. They've had more changes than Boris Johnson's had kids!
Similar to Glasgow Rangers and The Rangers then or so the deluded Govan gang would have you believe.
Bluebell Polka
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Sun 17 May 23:07
Quote:
Par, Sun 17 May 20:22
Did Clydebank not buy East Stirling at one time to gain senior status, then Airdrie bought Clydebank when Gretna were preferred over Airdrie to join the league.
Might well need another volume soon!
They did. They had some daft name like ES Clydebank.
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Mon 18 May 09:40
"Clydebank did not just die, they were "murdered" by a club from Airdrie."
Which one - the 1878 or 2002 variety ?
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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Mon 18 May 10:24
Quote:
jake89, Sun 17 May 23:07
Quote:
Par, Sun 17 May 20:22
Did Clydebank not buy East Stirling at one time to gain senior status, then Airdrie bought Clydebank when Gretna were preferred over Airdrie to join the league.
Might well need another volume soon!
They did. They had some daft name like ES Clydebank.
I think the Steedman brothers bought East Stirlingshire, transferred them lock, stock and barrel to Clydebank and changed their name to ES Clydebank. This arrangement lasted for only one or two seasons at the end of which there was a split and the Shire went back to Firs Park. Both they and Clydebank remained as league clubs.
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: DunfyDave
Date: Mon 18 May 10:40
Quote:
Pars11, Sun 17 May 21:44
Clydebank FC still exists, just technically not the same Clydebank. They've had more changes than Boris Johnson's had kids!
Similar to Glasgow Rangers and The Rangers then or so the deluded Govan gang would have you believe.
^^^^ I sometimes get Rangers and Gretna mixed up 😁
DunfyDave
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Topic Originator: General Zod
Date: Mon 18 May 11:45
Why did Clyde move to Cumbernauld again? I canny mind what happened there.
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Topic Originator: Lambo1885
Date: Mon 18 May 11:52
"Why did Clyde move to Cumbernauld again? I canny mind what happened there."
They had been ground sharing with Partick and i think Hamilton after being kicked out of Shawfield. They moved to Cumbernauld as the council built them a stadium i think.
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Mon 18 May 11:56
Good stuff AJ – sounds right up my street.
The ES Clydebank story is an interesting one, with many later parallels. GG is nearly right.
The Steedman brothers (who ran a car dealership in the West) acquired a majority in East Stirlingshire (who were bottom of the league, or thereabouts). Their methods involved signing young players, improving them, then selling them on. Eddie McCreadie (Chelsea and Scotland) might have been one such.
They got themselves promoted to the top division but didn’t last long, and the Steedmans decided that the club could never attract enough support and merged them with longstanding Clydebank Juniors where they could get better crowds for the 64/65 season. Years later Alan Mackin was allegedly considering a similar move, with Oban a candidate venue. John Arrol was their keeper in those days – he later played over 100 games for the Pars – remember this, he may feature in one of Sammer’s quizzes shortly 😉 ); in a display of nepotism their nephew got a game – Andy Roxburgh – whatever happened to him?
However, proper Shire fans challenged the move in the courts, eventually won their case, and fortunately, the situation was able to be unwound after a single season. The Steedmans took their money and went back to Clydebank where they reformed the club and tried to be elected to the league (which had had an odd number of teams since 1955). They failed at the first attempt, so played in the Combined Reserve League for a season (1965/66) with teams such as Glasgow Corporation, Jordanhill College, and the Old Firm 3rd XIs, before being elected to the SFL ahead of Gala Fairydean and Hawick Royal Albert. Ironically, the even numbers lasted for a season before Third Lanark went bust, and a 19 team division remained until reconstruction in 1975 when Ferranti Thistle were elected – renamed Meadowbank before being moved to Livingston in search of better crowds.
Clydebank became a successful breeding ground for players – Davie Cooper, Tommy Coyne, Owen Coyle, Gerry McCabe…- and had one of the first all-seater stadia (if wooden benches count). It was rumoured the Social Club profits kept the club going. Eventually the Steedman brothers lost interest and sold the ground, and a new one never materialised. There was talk of them moving to Dublin, or Carlisle, or Gala, but they ended up ground-sharing with Morton; a boycott of fans left them playing in front of a handful of spectators and a lack of players meant Stevie “Zico” Morrison had to play in goal. As Par says, when David Murray allowed Airdrieonians to go bust, and the new Airdrie Utd didn’t get elected losing out to Gretna (despite beating Cove, Edinburgh City, Huntly, Gala and Preston Athletic) but simply bought over Clydebank and moved them to the Shyberry.
It reminds me a little of the tale of Strathclyde Academical, but perhaps that is a story for another day.
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Mon 18 May 12:07
I think Clyde moved to Broadwood half-way through the 1993/94 season.
I think Airdrieonians moved in with them at the start of 1994/95 season as they had sold Broomfield. This was unfortunate for Clyde, as they really wanted to be the only team in town, but after years of being helped out by Partick and Hamilton they felt obliged to help out others.
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Topic Originator: red-star-par
Date: Mon 18 May 18:08
Some good posts on this thread, particularly from McCaigs Tower. In those days, with big crowds and small wages for the players, some chairmen must've had quite good standards of living
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Topic Originator: Par
Date: Mon 18 May 20:20
"I think Clyde moved to Broadwood half-way through the 1993/94 season."
I remember we played Clyde at Hamilton that season and were wining 2 - 0 when the game was abandoned, fog I think. The rearranged game which was at Broadwood we only won 1 - 0
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Topic Originator: storminNorman
Date: Mon 18 May 21:12
aye broomfield may 1994 the last ever game in that dump and against the Pars.
about 10,000 at the game and loads from the toon in attendance,that game was not for the faint hearted that's for sure.
they moved to ground share with Clyde until the shyberry was built.
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Topic Originator: sadindiefreak
Date: Mon 18 May 22:11
🤪
Post Edited (Mon 18 May 22:20)
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Tue 19 May 16:26
I remember we played Clyde at Hamilton that season and were winning 2 - 0 when the game was abandoned, fog I think. The rearranged game which was at Broadwood we only won 1 – 0
I remember it differently in that it was Hamilton that we were playing. But I agree we were winning 2-0 (at half-time, I think) when the game got called due to the fog. I remember standing behind Lindsay Hamilton’s goal, us scoring at the far end and no-one having a clue who had scored. Someone asked Lindsay - “Robertson” came the gruff reply, still concentrating fiercely.
We were in the middle of a long unbeaten run (and I had erroneously thought that had we won that match we would have gone on to set a new record). When the replay happened we drew 1-1 (I think Peter Duffield scored). That dropped point cost us the league (and promotion).
I’ve tried to find confirmatory details about the abandoned game, but without luck. I note the 2nd away match at Hamilton was midweek, which is consistent with it being a re-scheduled fixture (although a 44 game season required a few midweek games).
One such midweek game was the legendary one where our run was ended on a January Tuesday night at Brockville. (This may well have been shortly after the abandoned game).
We were trailing 1-0 but appeared to equalise, when Brucie McWilliams (I think) knocked it past Ian Westwater, possibly banging his (Westie’s) head in the process. Ironically, I think it was Ian Munro, then manager of Hamilton, who had signed Brucie in a player swap with Westie (who couldn’t get a game due to Andy Rhodes’ form).
As we were about to restart, the referee (I think it was Sandy Roy) noticed the stand-side linesman flagging. Over he trots, listens to what the lino has to say, then walks over to Neale Cooper and flashes the red card – some off the ball incident.
Back we go to restart. But the lino is still flagging. Over trots Mr Roy again. The lino points out that if that was a red card offence, then the goal shouldn’t count. Good point thinks Mr Roy, and we restart with a Falkirk free-kick. Cue bedlam.
I remember speaking to Westie at a PST golf event, and he said he was so concussed (possibly conceding the goal, possibly another incident) that he thought it was 1-1 for the rest of the game.
As a footnote, I think Mr Roy ran the line in the Killie Falkirk Cup final a few years later when his flag led to Neil Oliver’s late equaliser being ruled out.
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Tue 19 May 17:58
It was Sandy Roy from Aberdeen.
Neale Cooper had clattered Gregg Shaw off the ball in the lead up to McWilliams scoring, this resulted in Cooper walking and the "goal" disallowed - both correct decisions..............unfortunately.
I didn't know that Derek McWilliams was known as Brucie............slipped past.
Post Edited (Tue 19 May 18:12)
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Topic Originator: eastendalloapar
Date: Tue 19 May 18:16
I remember Westie who was in goals for Falkirk had suffered an injury and he said that he didn't know our goal was disallowed.
matt forsyth
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Tue 19 May 18:33
I didn't know that Derek McWilliams was known as Brucie............slipped past.
I could be wrong - but I think he had a large chin like Bruce Forsyth.
Yes - both decisions correct. Good game....
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Topic Originator: red-star-par
Date: Tue 19 May 20:08
I was at that game, I remember being bemused when Neale Cooper was sent off, and was none the wiser that the goal had been chalked off either. The sanction in the terrace collapsed after we scored due to the crowd pushing forward, and I'm pretty sure that was the night the bus windaes got panned in on the way out of F@lk1rk too
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