Clyde F.C.
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| Full name | Clyde Football Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Bully Wee, The Gypsy Army | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1877 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld, Scotland (Capacity: 8,006) |
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| Chairman |  Ian Letham |
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| Manager | John Brown |
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| League | Scottish First Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | Scottish First Division, 9th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Current season |
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Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. They are currently managed by John Brown. Although based for the last decade in the new town of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire and south east Glasgow. They are not to be confused with either Clydesdale or Clydebank
Their greatest triumph is having lifted the Scottish Cup three times, the most recent being in 1958.
Contents |
History
1877–1898
The Clyde Football Club was founded and played on the banks of the River Clyde at Barrowfield. Documentary evidence from the SFA and indeed match reports in the Glasgow press clearly show it all began in 1877, and the thread continues unbroken to this day.
Here's how the SFA recorded Clyde's origins:
"Clyde:- Founded 1877; Membership 50; Grounds (private), Barrowfield Park, on the banks of the Clyde; ten minutes walk from Bridgeton Cross; Club House on grounds; Colours, White & Blue. Hon. Secretary, John D. Graham, 24 Monteith Row."
Sitting on the edge of Bridgeton, Barrowfield Park lay in a triangle of land enclosed by Carstairs Street, Colvend Street and the river Clyde. The area was an intense mix of chemical, engineering and textile works with a high population density to provide the labour. Although no stadium photographs have emerged it appears the ground consisted of a grand stand running north-south, a pavilion and tennis courts at the southern end and a bicycle track surrounding the pitch.
Today this area is dotted with industrial units, but also contains a large grassed area. So it may be possible to stand upon a corner of the original Barrowfield pitch. Given Clyde's history of ground-sharing, it's ironic that Barrowfield was originally shared with a short-lived team called, Albatross.
The club founded then has no resemblance to a modern professional football club. Clyde F.C. were a private members club more akin to a present-day golf or bowling club. Clyde's Secretary, John Graham, was also a noted rower and it seems the club had other sporting and cultural activities besides football.
The first mention of Clyde was in Monday's Evening Times of 17 September 1877:
"Clyde v T. Lanark Clyde opened their season at Barrowfield with a match against the 3rd Lanark Volunteers. In the end the 3rd were victors by 3 goals to 1."
This very short report was common at the time as sport was of little significance and football competed with racing, bowling and quoiting for the limited column space available.
Although most fixtures were informal, the Scottish Cup had existed since 1873. Soon there would also be the Glasgow Merchants' & Charity Cup and the Glasgow Cup that in their time were hotly contested major competitions. Clyde entered the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup on 29 September 1877 along with one hundred and one other teams. Third Lanark were the visitors once again and they triumphed 1–0.
Clyde joined the Scottish Football League in 1891. Following acceptance, Vale of Leven provided the opposition for Clyde's first League fixture on Saturday, 15th August 1891. In a dream introduction to League football Clyde triumphed 10–3, a mid-table finish saw Clyde complete a confident season in League football.
With League football an undoubted success, Barrowfield revealed its limitations and simply couldn't cope with the crowds as many gained illegal entry. Opposition teams complained about the facilities and it was clear that Clyde would have to do something to appease the League.
The solution lay directly across the Clyde on some open ground known as Shawfield. Clyde endured a terrible final season at Barrowfield finishing bottom of Division 1. The final action at Barrowfield was a friendly against crack opposition in the form of Sunderland on 30 April 1898 ending in a 3–3 draw. At a stroke Clyde transformed from Brigtonians to Shawfielders.
1899–1919
Clyde said farewell to Barrowfield in the spring of 1898. Across the river lay an area of undeveloped land known as Shawfield. With a new League season only a matter of months away, Clyde had the monumental task of transforming and enclosing the area into a venue suitable for first-class football. The move was largely financed by Clyde becoming incorporated and issuing shares in "The Clyde Football Club Limited".
By the eve of the new season, Clyde F.C. Ltd had an enclosed area of about nine acres. A grand stand seating 1500 was nearing completion and embankment works around the pitch were well under way. The Clyde directors of the time wildly estimated a final capacity of 100,000.
Celtic, the neighbours from up the road, were the inaugural opposition at Shawfield Stadium on 27 August 1898. A healthy crowd of 10,000 turned up to see a goalless draw and return gate receipts of £203.
Matters took a turn for the better in the 1903–04 season. Clyde finished 2nd in Division Two but were not elected to Division One (automatic promotion/relegation didn't appear until 1921). Clyde also won a supplementary competition called the Glasgow & West of Scotland League and repeated the feat the following season. Promotion was again denied in season 1904–05, with Clyde the Division Two champions, but prmotion was finally earned the following season. The years up to World War I would be far more successful and probably represent the most consistent period of success for the club.
A 3rd place in Division One in season 1908–09, only three points behind champions, Celtic, put Clyde firmly on the map of Scottish football. The semi-final of the Scottish Cup was also reached for the first time only to be thwarted by Celtic after a replay. International honours were also awarded to Clyde players for the first time this season. William 'Shoogly' Walker represented Scotland against Ireland at Ibrox (5–0), while the opposition included his team-mate, Jack Kirwan.
For five seasons until war began, Clyde were at the top end of Division One and reached the Scottish Cup final in 1910 and 1912. The former of these finals was especially disappointing. For eighty-three minutes Clyde (McTurk; Watson & Blair; Walker, McAteer & Robertson; Stirling & MacCartney; Chalmers; Jackson & Booth) held a 2–0 lead with goals from Chalmers and Booth, and looked certain to win. With the Cup in sight, nerves got the better of Clyde and Robertson fluffed a clearance off Blair and into his own net. Dogged Dundee fought all the way and salvaged the game in the last minute with an equaliser from Langlands. The replay was far more cagey an affair and ended goalless after extra time but with Dundee looking physically stronger. The third game was again a tight affair with Clyde scoring after only three minutes through Chalmers. Dundee equalised before the interval and with Clyde's energy sapped, John "Sailor" Hunter blasted Dundee to victory.
The 1912 final saw Celtic trump the Bully Wee once again with a 2–0 victory. Another third place finish in the League being the only consolation. Still undaunted, Clyde reached the semi-final again in 1912–13, but the jinx struck again and after a replay Raith Rovers squeezed into the final.
Clyde had something to cheer about during this period of near misses as they clinched the Glasgow & Merchants' Charity Cup in 1910 and the Glasgow Cup in 1915. It's easy to deride these competitions as second rate but they were fought just as hard as the Scottish Cup and indeed all six competitors (Celtic, Clyde, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park, Rangers and Third Lanark) were more often that not resident in Division One.
A severe blow was dealt as fire destroyed the grand stand in September 1914, and with it much of the club's early history. Officials, players and fans had little time to dwell upon the calamity as war began in November. The Scottish League took the decision to continue playing even though there was strong moral pressure on every young man to sign up for 'King & Country'. Besides, football crowds provided a fertile recruitment ground and the games themselves kept morale high. Many players joined up and teams, like Clyde, found it increasingly difficult to field competitive sides and the League eventually reduced back to a single division. Many Clyde players signed up and some unfortunately never returned such as C. Clunas (2nd Royal Fusiliers), T. Cranston (Black Watch) and W. Sharp (1st Battalion Royal Scots).
1920–1945
Clyde managed to sustain football through the difficult war years and peacetime presented new challenges. The Scottish League continued through 1919–21 with only one division. Division Two was restarted in 1921–22 with a very crucial difference. Automatic promotion and relegation had been adopted and while the benefits were obvious for ambitious teams, the financial penalties for falling out of the top tier were extremely severe.
Clyde, of course, couldn't resist the twin temptations of automatic relegation and visiting new locations. Relegated in 1923–24, Clyde spent two seasons in Division Two playing against the likes of Armadale, Arthurlie, Bathgate, Bo'ness, Broxburn, king's Park, Nithsdale Wanderers and St Bernard's. Escape via automatic promotion was achieved in the 1925–26 season and coincided with the demise of Division Three and many of the smaller teams returning to other leagues and Junior football.
This upswing in Clyde's fortunes was demonstrated by winning the Glasgow Cup for the second time in 1926 with a 2–1 victory over Celtic. Now that Clyde were back in the top flight, could they stay there? Until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the answer was a resounding "yes" as Clyde maintained a respectable mid-table status. Danny Blair was a prominent international full back of this era and Bill Boyd became Clyde's top marksman with 32 goals in season 1932–33 and earned two international caps.
Yet Clyde and financial problems were never far apart and liquidation was again narrowly averted around 1930. Clyde needed to find an answer to their money problems and it lay right in front of them. Greyhound and other animal racing was booming in the late 1920s and several clubs saw this as a way to supplement their income. A company offered to lease Shawfield in 1926 and also give a percentage of the gate money to Clyde. It seemed too good to be true; and it proved to be so. Animal racing was forbidden in the deeds of Shawfield and the League was very set against greyhound racing in general.
However, Clyde at that time had a very cunning and dogged Chairman called John McMahon. He wouldn't let the idea go and after years of wrangling a solution was arrived at. The Shawfield Greyhound Racing Company Limited started racing in 1932 and a few years later purchased the stadium from Clyde. Largely financed and owned by Clyde's directors, at a stroke the club had secured its future and found an additional source of revenue. On the other hand, Clyde had sold Shawfield to another party (however close at the time) and would never be able to raise money using the land asset as collateral. Although it wouldn't be appreciated until the 1980s, Clyde were tenants at the mercy of whoever owned Shawfield.
January 1939 saw Clyde at home to St. Johnstone in the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup, A 2–0 victory sent Clyde on their way. The next tie saw a very difficult trip to Dundee and a goalless draw ensued. Four days later Clyde squeezed past the Dens Park men with a 1–0 victory. Ibrox, and Rangers were the formidable 3rd Round opponents. Despite fourteen League titles and six Cup victories between 1920 and 1939, Rangers were no match for the Bully Wee as they crashed to a 4–1 defeat. Willie Martin, Clyde's prolific centre forward, scored all four goals and surely set a record for an opposition forward at Ibrox. Returning to Shawfield for the 4th Round, Clyde narrowly defeated neighbours Third Lanark, 1–0. Suddenly it was semi-final time once again with Hibernian standing between Clyde and another final. Although disadvantaged by playing the tie in Edinburgh at Tynecastle, Clyde again triumphed with a 1–0 victory.
Motherwell provided Clyde's opposition on 22 April 1939. They had scored far more goals on the way to Hampden and were installed as favourites. Clyde (Brown; Kirk & Hickie; Beaton, Falloon & Weir; Robertson & Gillies; Martin; Noble & Wallace) had other ideas though. Winning the toss and with a strong wind behind them, Motherwell began very strongly and unsettled Clyde with Brown seeing plenty of action. Riding the storm, Clyde settled and scored the vital goal after thirty minutes. Robertson sped down the right and crossed to Wallace. The forward gathered the ball and smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Motherwell replied with more pressure but couldn't find a goal before the interval. In the second period Martin quickly doubled Clyde's advantage with an opportunist's strike. The fight went from Motherwell and Clyde scored two more in the closing minutes. Motherwell's keeper blocked Noble's first strike at goal, but he swept home the rebound. Barely a minute later Noble supplied a cross for Martin to complete the scoring and seal a 4–0 victory. After so many attempts and so much heartache the Cup was finally won!
Although the joy of victory was unconfined it was tempered against a background of imminent war with Germany. The 1939–40 season had hardly begun when war was declared and the Scottish League was suspended and all players' contracts declared void. After the initial panic leagues were restarted with an East/West regional split in which Clyde performed relatively well.
Again Clyde had sustained football during very difficult times and had no idea what lay ahead in an economy shattered by war
1946–1969
The twenty or so years following WWII were the most competitive Scottish football has ever seen. League titles came the way of Aberdeen, Dundee, Kilmarnock, Hearts and Hibernian. For Clyde, especially in the 1950s, there was never a dull moment. Clyde were either riding high in the League and homing in on another Scottish Cup, or battling relegation and then pulverising the lower tier of football.
Clyde showed steady League form just after the War and once again reached the Scottish Cup final in 1948–49. This was only the fourth occasion the Cup had been played since Clyde won it in 1939 and Rangers awaited them at Hampden. As 108,000 fans gathered it wasn't Clyde's day as a crushing 4–1 defeat ensued with Peter Galletly scoring Clyde's consolation goal.
The 1950s began in poor fashion as relegation called in season 1950–51. Typically Clyde won Division B the very next season to regain top-flight status. The same pattern was to be repeated in 1955–56 and 1956–57. Each occasion saw Clyde bounce back to very strong finishes in Division A. The mystery was how relegation came about in the first place with teams containing current Scottish internationalists?
In keeping with the times Shawfield introduced floodlighting in March 1954. Huddersfield Town who were riding high in the Football League provided the opposition. The guests didn't read the script and left with a 3–2 victory.
Cup success came readily in the 1950s. Clyde won the Cup in 1954–55 and 1957–58 and were beaten semi-finalists in 1955–56 and 1959–60. Scottish League Cup semi-finals were also reached in 1956–57 and 1957–58 but on each occasion Celtic put a halt on Clyde's ambition. There are not many teams, outwit the Old Firm, who can boast that level of consistency.
Clyde's 1954–55 success started upon their entry at the 5th Round stage and a 3–0 defeat of Albion Rovers. Further home victories over Raith Rovers (3–1) and Falkirk (5–0) saw Clyde enter the semi-final with Aberdeen in a confident mood. At Easter Road they drew 2–2 and only a solitary goal in the replay put Clyde into the final once again.
Over 96,000 watched the Hampden final with Celtic on 23 April 1955 with the Parkhead men installed as firm favourites. This game was also the first to be televised live. Clyde, without their bustling forward, Billy McPhail lined up:- Hewkins, Murphy & Haddock; Granville, Anderson & Laing; Divers & Robertson; Hill; Brown & Ring. In a scrappy game Celtic took the lead through Walsh and looked like securing victory until three minutes from time. Clyde won a corner kick and Archie Robertson steadied himself to take it. His kick swung right under the bar and beyond the grasp of Celtic's Bonnar. Clyde had saved the day.
The replay in front of over 68,000 was a much better affair with more goalmouth action. Celtic had decided to tinker with their line up while Clyde stuck firmly to the one that had snatched a draw. Tommy Ring's second half strike was enough to secure the Cup for the second time.
Only three years later on April 26th 1958 Clyde were back at Hampden again to face a powerful Hibs team. Since winning the Cup in 1955 Clyde had been relegated and the team recast. Clyde lined up:- McCulloch, Murphy & Haddock; Walters, Finlay & Clinton; Herd & Currie; Coyle; Robertson & Ring. A single goal was enough to win the Cup for the third time in front of 94,000 fans. In poor weather Robertson made space in the box and Coyle's shot was deflected past the keeper.
However enjoyable the Cup wins were, Clyde's League form continued to fluctuate wildly. As the 1960s began Clyde were relegated once again and the yo-yo existence was getting ridiculous. Champions of Division 2 Two 1961–62 they went back down the very next season - and then straight back up. At last Clyde gained some stability leading to a 3rd place finish behind the Old Firm in 1966–67 and another Scottish Cup semi-final appearance. Competing as a largely part-time team, Clyde produced a wonderful season of football that has marked the high tide in the club's fortunes to date. A further stab at glory saw Clyde reach the League Cup semi-final in 1968–69 only to be squeezed out once again by Celtic.
Despite Clyde's highly successful 1966–67 season, European football was denied. The Fairs Cup had a rule that stipulated only one team from each city could enter. Rangers had that position and Clyde were left thinking what might have been.
As the sixties were coming to a close, Clyde were competing quite comfortably in the top flight. However on the terraces it was a different story. Glasgow's slum clearance programme was hitting attendances hard. Large swathes of housing in the Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, Gorbals, Oatlands and Rutherglen were being demolished with the inhabitants decanted away to other parts of the city and beyond. Clyde's core support was drawn from these areas and sadly many of them have never returned to follow the Bully Wee.
1970–1993
Clyde began the 1970s as they had previous decades with the spectre of relegation hanging around.
Many fine servants such as Harry Glasgow, Sam Hastings, Tommy McCulloch, Graham McFarlane and Eddie Mulheron moved on in 1972 as relegation called once more at Shawfield. Yet amazingly, Clyde recovered straight away and won Division 2 the very next season. The spell from 1973–1975 would be Clyde's last in the top flight to date.
With Celtic dominating the domestic game the bigger clubs were once again agitating for change. During season 1974–75 the League decided to introduce the Premier Division the following season, and inclusion would be based upon League position. Clyde were never in contention and finished a poor 16th in Division One. So the following season Clyde would play in the middle tier of Scottish football (still called Division One).
With hindsight the advent of the Premier Division was a disaster for clubs like Clyde. At a stroke the ability to generate money was restricted to a small elite. In the old format with a large top tier Clyde could have a poor season but still survive. There was breathing space to consolidate and sometimes even prosper. Being denied that opportunity, Clyde haven't graced the top flight ever since.
Clyde's role was now to discover and develop talent before selling it on. Shawfield was the starting point for internationalists such as Steve Archibald, Ian Ferguson and Pat Nevin.
Disarray on and off the pitch saw Clyde in freefall as they finished bottom of the new Division 1. Clyde would now be in the bottom tier (Division Two) of Scottish football in 1976–77. Unusually there was to be no immediate bounce back as they could only muster a 7th place finish. It's galling to think that in the course of a decade Clyde had gone from 3rd in the land to a spot just off the very bottom of Scottish league football.
A ray of light appeared at this time as former Celtic captain, Billy McNeil, took charge towards the end of 1976–77 season. Sadly he was destined for greater things as Aberdeen snapped him up after only a few months at the helm. Facing a bleak future Clyde turned to the relatively unknown, Craig Brown, to revive the Bully Wee's fortunes. His success was immediate as Clyde won the new Division Two in 1977–78.
However, the die had been cast and Clyde were destined to be also-rans in the bright new future of Scottish football. Problems were arising at Shawfield too. The stadium was falling into a state of disrepair and the grounds clearly weren't being maintained. By the late 1970s Shawfield came into the hands of the Greyhound Racing Association Ltd (GRA). Unsurprisingly Shawfield came on the open market in 1983 with a price tag of £½ million.
With the GRA set to cash in on their asset Clyde had to start looking for a new home. There were plenty of ideas but very few of them were practical. By 1986 Clyde were served with a notice to quit Shawfield. Alloa Athletic provided the final opposition at Shawfield on 28 April 1986 as the Bully Wee triumphed 4–2.
The only grain of consolation was that Shawfield proved very difficult to sell as planning restrictions and land contamination put off potential buyers. Eventually a consortium headed by the King bookmaking family took on Shawfield as a going concern.
The unpopular but necessary decision was taken to ground-share with city rivals, Partick Thistle. Clyde spent five unhappy seasons at Firhill and the sense of relief when Clyde departed was audible. The club were grateful to its rival for granting use of Firhill, but there was an underlying sense of being barely tolerated as an inconvenient annoyance. Hence the 'Gypsy Army' came into being as Clyde fans sought pride and solace during the Club's homeless years.
Next stop was Douglas Park, Hamilton. Clyde resided there for two and a half seasons as plans were developed and implemented to build a new home in Cumbernauld. Unable to make an impact nationally, the era from 1970–93 is more notable for some fine Club servants and unearthing some great talents that would leave Clyde all too quickly. Everyone will have their own list of favourites but Brian Ahern, Eddie Anderson, Jim Burns, Neil Hood, Keith Knox, Ross McFarlane would feature on most.
1994–Present
Clyde was desperate to find a new home and Cumbernauld Development Corporation was keen to have a flagship sports stadium and professional football team to promote the town. The grand scheme, at a new site called "Broadwood" was to have an integrated business, housing and leisure development with a football stadium at the heart of it. With the help of Football Trust backing two modern stands began to emerge during the early 1990s.
This was Clyde's big chance to start afresh. The Club would of course still be tenants, but that was nothing new to the Bully Wee. Cumbernauld with a 50,000+ population seemed fertile ground on which to grow a new support.
The Scottish League unusually granted permission for Clyde to switch grounds mid season, and fittingly former landlords, Hamilton Academical, were the inaugural opposition on 5 February 1994. A capacity crowd of 6000 watched as Clyde failed to ignite in their new surroundings and the Accies won 2–0.
While huge efforts were being made to entice the population of Cumbernauld to adopt Clyde as their team, the product on the pitch left a lot to be desired in terms of entertainment. Sadly the crowds soon drifted away as Clyde succumbed to yet another League reconstruction and life in the 3rd tier of Scottish football.
Broadwood seemed a fine and modern venue, if a little cold and windy. The problem with the grand scheme for Clyde and Broadwood was that both needed serious capital to succeed. Clyde didn't have the money and the whole Broadwood project stumbled, as it was dependent on the local population flocking to the stadium.
Clyde were finding life very difficult in the third tier of football and in 1998 they almost dropped into the lowest reaches of Senior football. This was enough for new Chairman, Billy Carmichael, to introduce sweeping changes. A charismatic figure, Ronnie Macdonald, had worked wonders in revitalising Maryhill Juniors and he was invited to do the same for Clyde.
Within days of his appointment, Macdonald had signed a whole squad from the Junior ranks. The majority had severe doubts about the strategy but within two seasons Clyde had gained promotion at a canter. At the same time the Club and the fans had rediscovered their pride too.
Allan Maitland won promotion to the Scottish First Division in 1999, where Clyde remain to this day.
As quickly as Macdonald had arrived, he departed with his backroom team and associates in a dispute over youth funding. Again the Chairman took this setback as a cue for further progress and he ploughed his personal fortune into providing Clyde with a squad that could challenge for the SPL.
The 2003–04 season was one of the strangest ever. Clyde were top of the League and looking set for the SPL. Yet, Broadwood didn't comply with SPL requirements and crucially Clyde were on the brink of being petitioned by their creditors and liquidated. While the Chairman's fortune was being spent on players' wages, very little else was being serviced. It was classic boom or bust, but it seemed the gamble would pay off if Clyde could reach the SPL.
In a crazy season the SPL finally relented and said Clyde could join them if the fourth stand was built. North Lanarkshire Council started the groundworks and then abruptly halted them as they became aware of Clyde's financial plight. Plan B, playing at Kilmarnock, was hastily progressed.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle ensured Clyde needn't have bothered with the arrangements. With three games to go it was all in Clyde's hands. An away win at lowly Ayr United would put Clyde in the driving seat. A deeply frustrating draw ensued and the title was up for grabs as Inverness came to visit Broadwood the following week. Clyde failed to respond to the task at hand as Inverness won 2–1. In effect the title was lost and Clyde had a mountain of debt to address.
One positive from the 2003–04 season was the formation of the Clyde Supporters' Trust. Early that season some concerned fans met knowing that the Chairman couldn't keep financing the Club indefinitely. When he stopped there would have to be some kind of structure to catch the Club as it fell. The timing of the Trust's formation was fortunate as with Clyde's failure to gain promotion the Chairman sought to sell his majority shareholding.
Following lengthy negotiations a consortium of the Trust and traditional investors gained the majority shareholding for a nominal sum. The Clyde Development Consortium took control of funds gathered by fans and investors and used it to finance the Club through a CVA to clear the debts. In June 2005 the CVA was completed and Clyde were essentially debt free. Since then the club has cut its cloth accordingly and sought to maximise every revenue stream in an attempt to keep Clyde competitive.
Echoes of the glory days returned briefly on 8 January 2006 when Celtic visited Broadwood in the Scottish Cup. Celtic were such heavy favourites that the game was presented as a gentle introduction for their new signing, Roy Keane. Clyde's young lads ran right through them and Celtic were flattered by a 2–1 defeat. Winning the odd promotion aside, it was Clyde's best day for decades.
Clyde reached the 2006 Challenge Cup Final, their first final for 48 years, since their Scottish Cup success in 1958. They lost the game 5–4 on a penalty shootout, after the game finished 1–1 following extra time.
Former Scotland captain Colin Hendry was appointed manager in summer 2007. On the 14th of August of that year, Clyde history was made when Michael Doherty became the youngest person ever to play for Clyde in a competitive match.[1]
Hendry resigned in January 2008, due to family reasons.[2] Former Rangers defender John 'Bomber' Brown replaced him as manager. Clyde entered the final game of the season needing to better Morton's result in order to avoid being forced into the play-offs. Clyde won their game 3–0, but in a cruel twist of fate Morton won their own game by the same scoreline, sending Clyde into a two-legged play-off with Second Division side Alloa Athletic. Clyde lost the first leg 2–1 and at 3–1 down in the home second leg looked as good as relegated. However, a thrilling fight back saw Clyde level at 5–5 on aggregate (4–3 on the day) before adding another goal in extra time to progress. Home and away victories over Airdrie United in the play-off final then secured First Division football at Broadwood for another season.
For recent seasons, see Clyde F.C. season 2005-06, Clyde F.C. season 2006-07, Clyde F.C. season 2007-08 & Clyde F.C. season 2008-09.
Grounds
Clyde have had five home grounds since they formed in 1877. The first of these was Barrowfield Park, which was situated on the banks of the River Clyde. By 1898, Barrowfield became too small in capacity to deal with the large crowds of spectators. The club then moved across the river to build a new stadium, which would be known as Shawfield Stadium. A crowd of 10,000 saw the first match at Shawfield against Celtic. In 1908, a crowd of 52,000 gathered for a match against Rangers, which remains Clyde's record home attendance to this day. Financial pressures led to the club relinquishing ownership of the stadium in 1935, selling it their former tenants, the Greyhound Racing Association. This arrangement continued satisfactorily for over fifty years, until the GRA announced redevelopment plans for the stadium and gave Clyde notice to quit in 1986. After tentatively investigating a number of local options, Clyde secured an agreement with Partick Thistle to share their ground at Firhill. This move was highly unpopular with Clyde supporters, given the venue's location on the other side of Glasgow from their Rutherglen heartland, and the fierce rivalry between the two clubs. By 1990, Clyde had secured an agreement to build a home of their own in the new town of Cumbernauld, which due to shifting population patterns was by now one of the larger settlements in Scotland without senior football. After numerous delays in construction of the new all-seater venue, during which Clyde spent a further three years groundsharing at Douglas Park, Hamilton, Broadwood Stadium was finally ready in 1994 for Clyde to move in.
Supporters
Clyde have a core support of around 800 fans.
Because the club have not played there for twenty years, Clyde have lost almost all of their support from in and around Rutherglen, the Clyde F.C. Supporters Club on Rutherglen Main Street burned down in the early 2000s and has never been rebuilt or re-opened anywhere else. Before Clyde moved to Broadwood Stadium; around 15 miles from the old Shawfield home, they were linked with a move to a new build stadium in the other 'New Town' of East Kilbride; less than 5 miles from Shawfield - with hindsight it is now apparent that this move would have been more beneficial to the club as they would have been able to retain its core support - which was almost completely lost during the years of ground sharing and the subsequent move to Cumbernauld where the club regularly struggles to break the 1,000 attendance mark.
The supporters' fiercest rivalry is with Partick Thistle, given that the two clubs were formerly of comparable stature as small, mid-ranking Glasgow professional teams. Rivalry with Glasgow's bigger clubs, Celtic and Rangers, has never been quite as marked due to their different levels of support and success.
The number of years Clyde spent without a permanent home of their own has led to the fans identifying themselves as the Gypsy Army in reference to this.
Managers
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Current squad
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Non-Playing Staff
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Reserve & Youth Teams
Clyde put together a reserve team for the SFL's Reserve League Cup competition, which includes a mixture of first team fringe players & youngsters. The club won the Reserve League Cup for the first time in May 2008.
Clyde have youth teams at Under 19, Under 17, Under 15 & Under 13 level. Several players have came through the youth system to play for the first team. Former Clyde, Rangers and Dundee United player Gary Bollan is the current Head of Youth Development. Dougie Bell, who also used to play for Clyde and Rangers, amongst others, is the current coach of the U19 side.
Graduates of the youth team who have went on to play for the first team since moving to Broadwood Stadium include:
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Note: Players in bold are still part of Clyde first team squad.
Scottish internationals Pat Nevin, Steve Archibald and Ian Ferguson also came through the Clyde youth system.
Honours
Major
Cup
- Scottish Cup:
- Winners (3): 1939, 1955, 1958
- Runners Up (3): 1910, 1912, 1949
- Scottish Challenge Cup:
- Runners Up (1): 2006
League
- Second Division
- Champions (9): 1904–1905, 1951–1952, 1956–1957, 1961–1962, 1972–1973, 1977–1978, 1981–1982, 1992–1933, 1999–2000
Minor
- Glasgow Cup:
- Winners (5): 1915, 1926, 1947, 1952, 1959
- Runners Up (14): 1892, 1917, 1921, 1923, 1932, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1957, 1964, 1968, 1971
- Scottish League Supplementary Cup:
- Winners (1): 1952
- Glasgow Charity Cup:
- Winners (4): 1910, 1952, 1958, 1961(shared)
- Paisley Charity Cup:
- Winners (2): 1939, 1940
- Glasgow North Eastern Cup:
- Winners (3): 1891, 1893, 1895
- Glasgow and West of Scotland Football League:
- Winners (2): 1904, 1905
- Tommy McGrane Memorial Cup
- Winners (1): 2006
- Optical Express Challenge Cup
- Runners Up (1): 2005
Reserve
- Scottish 2nd XI Cup
- Winners (3): 1914, 1915, 1942
- Scottish League C Division East & South
- Winners (2): 1950, 1951
- Combined Reserve Football League
- Winners (1): 1961–1962
- Scottish Reserve League West
- Winners (1): 1989
- Reserve League Cup
- Winners (1): 2008
Records
- Record home attendance: 52,000 vs Rangers (28 November 1908) (at Shawfield Stadium); 8,000 vs Celtic (Scottish Cup) (8 January 2006) (at Broadwood Stadium)
- Record win: 11–1 vs Cowdenbeath (6 October 1951)
- Record loss: 11–0 vs Dumbarton (22 November 1897), vs Rangers (13 November 1880)
- Most capped player: Tommy Ring: 12 (Scotland)
- Most goals in one season: Billy Boyd - 32 (1932–33)
- Youngest player: Michael Doherty, aged 16 years and 359 days (against Queen of the South in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 14 August 2008)
All-time league appearancesAs of 18 September 2008 (League only, includes appearances as substitute):
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All-time league goalscorersAs of 18 September 2008 (League matches only, includes appearances as substitute):
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Notable players
- For a longer list of former Clyde players, see here.
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The Clyde View
The Clyde View is Clyde's award winning matchday programme. It has won the Scottish Divisional Programme of the Year Award every year from 1991–92 to 2006–07, and the Scottish Programme of the Year from 1995–96 to 2006–07.
The Clyde View is currently in its 30th season. It boasts 76 pages, and is priced at £2.50
Nickname
The club's nickname, "The Bully Wee", is of uncertain origin.
There appear to be three main theories how the name originated. The first refers to the fact that Clyde's support and possibly players were drawn from the Bridgeton area. Renowned for their pugnacious character the support were 'wee bullies' and hence the Bully Wee.
The second theory takes a European dimension. Apparently some Frenchmen were at Barrowfield around 1900. Upon a disputed goal they cried: "But il'y, oui?" This translates as: "Their goal, yes", but sounds very like "Bully Wee".
The third theory is that "Bully" was a Victorian synonym for first-rate/good/worthy. As Clyde were a small club it seems obvious that "Bully Wee Clyde" must have rolled off the tongue.
Notable fans
- Craig Brown - Former footballer player and Clyde, Scotland & Preston North End manager
- Dougie Donnelly - Presenter of Sportscene
- Bobby Clark - Former Scottish internationalist goalkeeper
- John Mason - MP for Glasgow East
- Craig Bryson - Kilmarnock midfielder and former Clyde player
References
External links
- Official site
- Colin Hendry interview with stv, 13 June 2007.
- Clyde BBC My Club page
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Clyde F.C.
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Football in Scotland
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