Berwick Rangers F.C.
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| Full name | Steven Berwick Rangers Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Stevies boys"', The Black & Gold, The Dream Team, The Wee Gers | |||
| Founded | 1884 | |||
| Ground | Shielfield Park, Berwick-upon-Tweed | |||
| Capacity | 4,131 (1,366 seated) | |||
| Chairman | Robert 'Ronnie' Berwick and Doug Berwick | |||
| Manager | Steven Berwick and Ben Berwick | |||
| League | Scottish Third Division | |||
| 2011–12 | Scottish Third Division, 7th | |||
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Berwick Rangers Football Club are an English football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed situated on the border with Scotland. Despite being situated in England, they play in the Scottish Football League Third Division. They are managed by Ian Little.
History
Berwick Rangers were officially formed on January 7, 1884 after a match was played in the town between a team of millworkers from Dunbar and a team of railway clerks from Newcastle.[1] For much of the club's history it was believed that they had formed in 1881, though recent research indicates that 1884 is the more likely date of formation.[2] Their first competitive match was against another team from Berwick, 'The Royal Oaks' on February 16, 1884. Berwick Rangers won the match by "one goal and two tries [sic] to nil".[3]
Berwick Rangers affiliated to the Scottish Football Association around 1905 and entered the Scottish Border League in 1905, followed by the Border Amateur League (1908–09). Recent research has revealed that the club joined the East of Scotland League immediately after the First World War, a new competition formed to replace the Borders League. The club made several attempts to join the North Northumberland League but were rebuffed. It was not until 1951 that they were admitted to Scottish League Division C Division (North & East). This third tier, made up largely of reserve sides, had been created in 1946 and was regionalised in 1949. The division was scrapped in 1955 and Berwick, along with the other non-reserve teams, were placed in an enlarged Division B (renamed Division Two the following season). Berwick Rangers have played in the Scottish Football League ever since, despite low attendances and frequent financial problems.
Following their foundation, the club had had a nomadic existence before eventually settling down at Shielfield Park in 1954.
A notable early success was a 3–0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Cup in 1954 in a run which saw them reach the quarter-final, only to lose to Rangers 4–0. Ten years later they reached the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup losing to Rangers 3–1.
Arguably their greatest success came in 1967, when they beat Rangers 1–0 in the Scottish Cup under the management of player manager Jock Wallace. It was the highlight of a memorable cup run, which had seen them break a club record in beating Vale of Leithen 8–1 in the first round. The result sent shockwaves around Scottish football and led to a number of the Rangers players leaving Ibrox; it was also the club's greatest home attendance of 13,365. They were paired with Hibernian in the following round but lost 1–0 in front of a crowd of nearly 30,000.
The following years saw little progress until the late 1970s, when under the management of Dave Smith they won the Division Two title in 1979. Despite that success they were unable to build and suffered a slow decline through the 1980s. The nadir came in season 1988–89 when they were nearly bankrupted and the club were locked out of Shielfield, having to play their games elsewhere. In 1988 Jim Jefferies took over as manager and led the team to a club record 21 game unbeaten run.
The club weathered this and other crises in the early 1990s, narrowly avoiding going into administration in 1994. Later in the decade Berwick enjoyed a bit more in the way of success only missing out on promotion to Division One due to league reorganisation in 1994. They were relegated to the Division Three in 1997 but under the management of Paul Smith regained promotion in 2000. Under Smith's stewardship they took both Rangers and Heart of Midlothian to replays in the Scottish Cup.
They were again relegated to the Third Division in 2005, and narrowly missed out on an instant return to the Second Division the following season, this time losing to Alloa Athletic in the Second Division play-offs. Despite losing a good deal of the squad to other clubs in the close season, manager John Coughlin exceeded expectations by rebuilding the team and guiding them to the Third Division championship in 2007, their first title in 28 years, in a season which also saw a new record for consecutive league wins.
John Coughlin resigned as Berwick Rangers manager after a 3–0 home loss to Alloa Athletic on 6 October 2007. He left with Berwick at the foot of the table with only 5 points after 9 games. Cowdenbeath coach Michael Renwick was appointed new manager on 25 October 2007.[4] However after a dismal season which saw Berwick finish bottom and ship 101 goals, including a 9–2 defeat to Peterhead, Renwick was relieved of his duties on 19 April 2008.[5] The official website reported on 12 May 2008 that Camelon manager Allan McGonigal would take over as manager. He resigned from his post on the 13th of November 2008. His announcement came in the wake of a deal which sees a fan led consortium take control of the club. On 27 January the consortium concluded their deal to buy the club.[6]
Following McGonigal's resignation Jimmy Crease became manager for the fourth time, initially as a caretaker, but then on a permanent basis in December 2008.[7] Following a 4–0 defeat to Deveronvale in the second round of the 2011–12 Scottish Cup Crease stood down as manager.[8] Player Ian Little was named caretaker manager until the end of 2011 when his position was to be reviewed.[9] On 28 December 2011, Little was given the managers job at least until the end of the 2011–12 season.[10] On 26 August 2012, Rangers FC played their first ever league game in England when they faced Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park, in a repeat of their famous cup game in 1967. Berwick Rangers earned another famous result, with a 1–1 draw – Fraser McLaren scoring in the 62nd minute of the game.[11]
Status
They are one of a handful of teams in the world to play in a national football league other than their own country's, where both countries have their own fully professional competitions.
The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed is near to the Scottish border and is closer to Edinburgh than to Newcastle upon Tyne. The old town is on the Scottish side of the traditional border, the River Tweed, and Berwick has formerly been part of Scotland. The club also formerly played in the East of Scotland League, which contains other nearby Borders teams, prior to joining the Scottish League; for season 2007–08, the club's reserve side have rejoined this competition.
There is also some controversy over Berwick's identity.[12] The time (and expense) involved in travelling to away matches against English opposition would be greater than it is to travel to matches in Scotland; for example a match at England's southernmost and westernmost league team Plymouth Argyle would result in a round-trip of almost 1,000 miles. Were Berwick to make the transition they would be more likely to initially compete in one of the regional divisions below the Conference North, as Gretna F.C. did before making the opposite move (England to Scotland).
Berwick have never played in the Scottish top flight, so questions of potential competition in European tournaments have not arisen (Derry City, by contrast, regularly contends for the Republic of Ireland league title and represents the country in UEFA competitions, whereas FC Vaduz regularly represents Liechtenstein although the club plays in the Swiss Football League).
Berwick's status as a Scottish club, led to the anomaly of them being the only team in the Scottish leagues who were subject to the implementation of the Taylor report following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.[13]
Honours
- North Northumberland League:
- Winners: 1896–97
- Scottish Border League:
- Winners: 1898–99
Club records
- Record league win: 8–1 v Forfar Athletic, Division II 25 December 1965
- Record cup win: 8–1 v Vale of Leithen, Scottish Cup First Round December 1966
- Record league defeat: 1–9 v Hamilton Academical Scottish First Division 9 August 1980, 2–9 v Peterhead 19 January 2008 Scottish Second Division
- Record home attendance: 13,365 v Rangers Scottish Cup Third Round, 28 January 1967
- Most goals in a season: 38 by Ken Bowron 1963–64
- Most goals: 115 by Eric Tait 1969–88
- Consecutive league wins: 8, Scottish Third Division Season 2006–07.
- Longest unbeaten league run: 21, Scottish Second Division Season 1988–89.
- Most appearances: 435, Eric Tait 1969–88
Current squad
- As of 26 August 2012[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- For recent transfers, see Berwick Rangers transfers in 2012–13 season.
Notable former players
- Billy Houliston
- Jock Wallace
- Michael Kendall
- Robbie Horn
- Eric Tait
- Danny Swanson
Managers
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References
- ^ "A Club History". Berwick Rangers.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Summer 2006 – Berwick Rangers trust" (PDF). Berwickrangers.org. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Looks like Rangers marked their centenary too early". Berwick Advertiser. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ Berwick turn to Renwick as boss BBC Sport, retrieved 2007-25-10
- ^ "Berwick part company with Renwick". BBC.co.uk. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/berwick_rangers/7854537.stm
- ^ "Crease takes over as manager". Berwick Today. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "Jimmy Crease steps down as manager of Berwick Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ "Little given four games to prove his credentials". Berwick Advertiser. 2011-11-24.
- ^ "Little to stay in charge to end of the season". Berwick Today. 28 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19351578
- ^ "A tale of one town". BBC News. 8 October 2004.
- ^ "REVIEW OF THE FOOTBALL SPECTATORS (DESIGNATION OF FOOTBALL MATCHES IN ENGLAND AND WALES ORDER) 1990" (PDF). Hillsborough Independent Panel. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Berwick Rangers FC Squad". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
External links
