Stranraer F.C.

Stranraer FC

Full name	Stranraer Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blues
Founded	1870 (1870)
Ground	Stair Park, Stranraer, Scotland
Ground Capacity	6,250[1] (1,830 seated)
Manager	Stephen Aitken
League	Scottish League One
2013–14	Scottish League One, 3rd
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Stranraer Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club based in the town of Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway. The club was founded in 1870, making it the third oldest football club in Scotland behind Queen's Park and Kilmarnock. The club currently competes in the Scottish League One as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. They also won the Scottish Second Division on two occasions, most recently in 1997–98 as well as coming runners-up in 2004–05. Its only ever national cup final came in 1996, when the club defeated First Division champions St. Johnstone 1–0 in the Scottish Challenge Cup final.

Stranraer's home ground is Stair Park, which has the capacity to seat around 1,830 spectators and 6,250^[1] plus standing. The ground was opened in 1907 and is located in the east of Stranraer. The club is currently managed by Stephen Aitken after a spell as caretaker manager following the sacking of Keith Knox.

History

They were founded in 1870 and play their football at Stair Park.

With the league reformation at the end of the 1993–94 season, Stranraer found themselves playing in the new First Division in season 1994–95, finishing last, with only 17 points from 36 games. Stranraer spent three seasons in the Second Division before winning promotion back to the First Division at the end of the 1997–98 season. Once again, they finished bottom of the league, with the same points total as before and 29 defeats.

The club then spent a further four years in the Second Division, with the most notable event being a strong Scottish Cup run in season 2002–03, which saw them go to the quarter finals, where they were beaten 4–0 by SPL side, Motherwell. However, the team's cup run did not reflect their league form, as they finished ninth in the Second Division, and thus were relegated to the Third Division for season 2003–04. However, the team's fortunes improved from there, as they won the Third Division at the first attempt, gaining promotion back to the Second Division. In season 2004–05, the team shocked most people, as they stayed in the top two for most of the campaign. A 1–1 draw with closest promotion rivals Morton on 30 April 2005, saw them gain promotion to the First Division for the third time, although they were relegated to the Second Division the following season.

The team had a largely unsuccessful campaign in 2006–07, with heavy defeats by relegation rivals Peterhead and Forfar Athletic. They finished ninth, which resulted in a play-off with Third Division promotion contenders East Fife. A 4–2 aggregate defeat (despite winning the second leg 1–0) saw them relegated to the Third Division.

On 21 January 2009, club chairman Nigel Redhead stated that Stranraer F.C. owed £250,000, and had a 50–50 chance of survival to the end of the season. In response, on 22 January 2009, a small consortium launched the Friends of Stranraer F.C. to try to secure the club's future through donations from the football community at www.savestranraerfc.com.

On 23 January 2009, as part of efforts to reduce costs to a manageable level, key player Gregory Tade transferred to Clyde.

On 24 January 2009, Stirling Albion defeated Stranraer 8–2. Shortly after the game, Stranraer and team manager Derek Ferguson parted company by mutual consent.

On 4 April 2009, after a 3–0 loss to Raith Rovers, Stranraer's relegation to Division Three was confirmed, meaning Stranraer have played in a different division for each of the last eight seasons.

On 23 July 2011, they lost 8–0 to Morton in a Ramsdens Challenge Cup game. A year later, they lost 8–0 at home again, this time in the Scottish League Cup against Livingston.

The 2012 liquidation of Scottish Premier League side, Rangers, and the subsequent decision by SPL clubs to expel Rangers from the SPL, led to Scottish Football League member clubs voting Rangers into the Third Division. This meant that an additional team from each tier of Scottish football was promoted for the 2012–13 season. As Stranraer were runners up in the previous season's third division promotion play-offs, they were promoted to the Second Division.^[2] They secured their place in the third tier of Scottish football after a 2–1 win at Stenhousemuir on the final day of the season. ^[3]

Current squad

As of 23 January 2015^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK David Mitchell GK Daniel Tobin DF Jackson Longridge DF Frank McKeown DF Craig Pettigrew DF Scott Robertson DF Scott Rumsby DF Barry Russell MF Chris Aitken

No. Position Player MF Steven Bell MF Grant Gallagher MF Willie Gibson MF Stephen Stirling MF Sean Winter FW Jamie Longworth FW Craig Malcolm FW Jon McShane (on loan from East Fife) FW Danny Stoney (on loan from Rangers)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player MF Sam McCloskey (at Kilbirnie Ladeside)

No. Position Player FW Adam Forde (at Kilbirnie Ladeside)

Records

• Most league points in a season:
  • 58 (Second Division – 1993–94) (two points for a win)
  • 79 (Third Division – 2003–04) (three points for a win)
• Most league goals scored by a player in a season
  • Derek Frye 27, 1977–78
• Record attendance
  • 6,500 vs Rangers, 24 January 1948

• Record victory
  • 9–0 versus St Cuthbert Wanderers, 2010 (Scottish Cup) and vs Wigtown, 2011 (Scottish Cup)

• Record defeat
  • 1–11 versus Queen of the South, 1932

Honours

League

• Scottish Second Division: (third tier)
  • Winners (2): 1993–94, 1997–98
  • Runners-up (1): 2004–05

• Scottish Third Division: (fourth tier)
  • Winners (1): 2003–04
  • Runners-up (1): 2007–08

• South of Scotland Football League:
  • Winners (1): 1948-49

Cups

• Scottish Challenge Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1996

• Scottish Qualifying Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1937

References

External links

• Official website
• Save Stranraer FC
• Unofficial Fans Forum

Stranraer Football Club Players Managers Current season Club History Honours Records and statistics Seasons 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 Home stadium Stair Park Notable match 1996 Scottish Challenge Cup Final

Scottish Professional Football League « Scottish Premier League (1998–2013) Divisions Premiership Championship League One League Two 2014–15 Premiership teams Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Hamilton Academical Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Motherwell Partick Thistle Ross County St. Johnstone St. Mirren 2014–15 Championship teams Alloa Athletic Cowdenbeath Dumbarton Falkirk Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Livingston Queen of the South Raith Rovers Rangers 2014–15 League One teams Airdrieonians Ayr United Brechin City Dunfermline Athletic Forfar Athletic Greenock Morton Peterhead Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer 2014–15 League Two teams Albion Rovers Annan Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Clyde East Fife East Stirlingshire Elgin City Montrose Queen's Park Seasons 2013–14 2014–15 Broadcasters Foreign players Managers Monthly awards Stadia

Scottish Football League (1890–2013) ≫ Scottish Professional Football League (2013–present) Divisions Premier Division (1975–1998) First Division (1975–2013) Second Division (1975–2013) Third Division (1994–2013) Cup competitions League Cup Challenge Cup Former teams Aberdeen Abercorn Airdrieonians (1878) Airdrieonians (2002) Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Armadale Arthurlie Ayr Ayr Parkhouse Ayr United Bathgate Beith Berwick Rangers Bo'ness Brechin City Broxburn United Cambuslang Celtic Clackmannan Clyde Clydebank Cowdenbeath Cowlairs Dumbarton Dumbarton Harp Dundee Dundee United Dundee Wanderers Dunfermline Athletic Dykehead East Fife East Stirlingshire Edinburgh City Elgin City Falkirk Forfar Athletic Galston Greenock Morton Gretna Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Helensburgh Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Johnstone Kilmarnock King's Park Leith Athletic Linthouse Livingston Lochgelly United Meadowbank Thistle Mid-Annandale Montrose Motherwell Nithsdale Wanderers Northern Partick Thistle Peebles Rovers Peterhead Port Glasgow Athletic Queen of the South Queen's Park Raith Rovers Rangers Renton Ross County Royal Albert Solway Star St Bernard's St. Johnstone St. Mirren Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer Third Lanark Thistle Vale of Leven Seasons 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 Clubs Stadia Monthly awards Representative team