Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C.
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| Full name | Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Thistle, LTHV, Hutchie | ||
| Founded | 1969 (as Lloyds & Scottish) | ||
| Ground | Saughton Enclosure, Saughton, Edinburgh | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Tom Allison | ||
| Manager | Raymond Carr | ||
| League | East of Scotland League | ||
| 2016–17 | East of Scotland League, 1st (champions) | ||
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Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale Football Club are a senior non-league football club based in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are members of the East of Scotland Football League. They play their home matches at Saughton Enclosure in the Saughton area of the city.
History
Founded in 1969 as an amateur works team for Lloyds Finance, they initially competed as Lloyds & Scottish prior to renaming themselves as Lothian Thistle.
The club originally competed in the Lothian amateur league before a successful spell in the Caledonian Amateur Football League. They then moved up to senior status when they joined the East of Scotland Football League in 1995, gaining promotion to the Premier Division two years later in 1997
The club is linked with the youth football club Hutchison Vale, and changed their name to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale before the start of the 2011–12 season to reflect this.
LTHV won the East of Scotland league for the first time in their history in the 2013–14 season, repeating this success in the 2014–15 season. They were runner-up in 2015–16 and then won the league for the third time in 2016–17. They were not in the playoffs for the Lowland League though because they were ineligible for licensing reasons.
Ground
As of 2016 the club operates at Saughton Enclosure in the west side of Edinburgh,[1] where they have been since 1998. The ground can accommodate up to 1,000 spectators.
Youth
Hutchison Vale lists 97 current professionals having come through their ranks including many internationals. Scottish Internationalists include Kenny Miller, Gary Caldwell, Leigh Griffiths, Derek Riordan, Steven Whittaker, Allan McGregor, Danny Swanson, Kevin Thomson, Sam Stanton, Paul Hanlon, Danny Wilson, Gary Naysmith, Jason Cummings, Sam Nicholson, Andrew Driver, Scott Robinson, Steven MacLean, and Icelandic international Alfreð Finnbogason.
Former players include Scott Christie, Gary Locke, Alan Brazil, John Collins, John Hughes, Danny Lennon, Steven Tweed, Mickey Weir and Tommy Wright.[2]
Women
Hutchison Vale also have a women's section who play in the Scottish Women's Premier League. They also have a development squad playing in the second division of the SWFL.
Honours
- East of Scotland Football League
- Winners (2) : 2013–14, 2014–15
References
- ↑ "Club details - Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale". www.eosfl.com. East of Scotland Football Association & League. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ↑ "Famous Hutchie Players". www.hutchisonvale.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.