Whitehill Welfare F.C.
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| Full name | Whitehill Welfare Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 | ||
| Ground | Ferguson Park, Rosewell | ||
| Capacity | 2,454 (192 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Mark Allard | ||
| Manager | Neil Janczyk | ||
| League | SJFA North Championship | ||
| 2023–24 | SJFA North Championship, 13th of 14 | ||
| Website | http://www.whitehillwelfare.co.uk/ | ||
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Whitehill Welfare Football Club is a football club based in the village of Rosewell, Midlothian, Scotland. They are members of the East of Scotland Football League [2] and play their home matches at Ferguson Park. The club was founded in 1953 and initially competed in juvenile football before turning senior and joining the East of Scotland Football League in 1979. They are the most successful side in East of Scotland League history, winning a total of 16 titles prior to joining the Lowland League as one of its founder members in 2013.
History
The earliest records of Whitehill Welfare indicate that the team first appeared in the 1905–06 season under the name Rosewell Rosedale, replacing the defunct Rosedale Rovers, and playing in the Midlothian Juvenile League. The highlight of this team's existence, it appears, was to reach the Scottish Juvenile Cup Final, and an incident in August 1939 where the police investigated an attack on the Rosewell goalkeeper, accused of letting the side down during a 10–2 defeat.[citation needed]
Although Rosedale continued operating until 1957, it was in 1953 that Whitehill Welfare were formed, the founding fathers being a group of employees from the now defunct Whitehill Colliery. In the early years, Whitehill were the chopping block for the more fancied clubs. Although reaching the Scottish Juvenile Cup semi-final in 1959, they did not really come to the fore until 1964, when they won every trophy in the Mid and East Lothian Section Juvenile League.[citation needed]
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By 1979, there were only six Juvenile clubs left in Whitehill's league, and so the Welfare decided it was time to go senior. This resulted in the team joining the East of Scotland Football League in August 1979, a league which they were to top at the end of their first four seasons. Membership of the Scottish Football Association also has the advantage of allowing the club to compete in the Scottish Cup. In this competition, Whitehill Welfare have knocked out Albion Rovers (1986–87), earned replays against three Scottish Football League sides and played Celtic in the 1995-96 tournament. The game saw Whitehill Welfare hold Celtic to 0–0 until the 39th minute before ending in a 3–0 defeat.[3]
The 2012–13 season saw the return of Mike Lawson, who guided the team to the SFA South Region Challenge Cup and completed the double by winning an unprecedented 16th East of Scotland League title before leaving for Spartans, taking 13 players along with him. Their most successful manager, Dave Smith, returned to build a new team and led this team to another league title and Scottish Qualifying Cup double. The club joined the Lowland Football League in 2013 but were relegated back to the East of Scotland league in 2019[2] (their place taken by Bonnyrigg Rose, a team based just two miles from Rosewell which had only moved to the senior setup from the Junior ranks a year earlier).
Current squad
As of 2 August 2020[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Neil Janczyk
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| Assistant Manager | Scott Gallacher
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| Coach | Ryan Mccallum
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| Coach | David Mcginley
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| Physio | Frank Fleming
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Honours
- Senior football
- 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2012–13
- 1980–81, 1986–87, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05
- SFA South Region Challenge Cup
- 2012–13, 2015–16
- East of Scotland Qualifying Cup
- 1980–81, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2008–09, 2013–14
- East of Scotland 'City' Cup
- 1993–94, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2013–14
- King Cup
- 1982–83, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
- East of Scotland League Cup
- 1987–88, 1998–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–2008, 2011–12
- Juvenile football
- Scottish Juvenile Cup
- 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1977–78
- East of Scotland Juvenile Cup
- 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1977–78
- Walker Cup
- 1964–65, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75
- Porter Cup
- 1964–65, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1977–78
- Di Rollo Cup
- 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75
- Howard Cup
- 1964–65, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1974–75
- Hunter Cup
- 1974–75, 1975–76
- W. Bauld Cup
- 1974–75, 1977–78
- Midlothian Juvenile League Championship
- 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977
- Midlothian Juvenile League Cup
- 1967–68, 1969–70 (joint winners)
References
- ^ "Ferguson Park". Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Relegation Confirmed - News - Whitehill Welfare". www.whitehillwelfare.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ "'It was all about a fantastic Whitehill Welfare team . .'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "The Team - Whitehill Welfare - Whitehill Welfare". www.whitehillwelfare.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2019.