Queen of the South F.C.
File:Queen of the South FC logo New.png | |||
Full name | Queen of the South Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Doonhamers, Queens, QoS | ||
Founded | March 1919 | ||
Ground | Palmerston Park, Dumfries, Scotland | ||
Capacity | 8,690[1] | ||
Chairman | Billy Hewitson | ||
Caretaker manager | Jim Thomson | ||
League | Scottish League One | ||
2023–24 | Scottish League One, 7th of 10 | ||
Website | http://www.qosfc.com | ||
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Queen of the South Football Club are a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish Championship, in the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers but are usually referred to as Queens or QoS.[2][3] Their home ground since their formation has been Palmerston Park.
The club's national honours include winning the Division B Championship in season 1950–51, the Second Division Championship in season 2001–02 and in season 2012–13 and also the Scottish Challenge Cup in season 2002–03 and in season 2012–13. Queens led Scotland's top division up until New Year in season 1953–54 and Queens highest finish in Scotland's top division was 4th in season 1933–34. The club reached their first major cup final in 2008 when they reached the final of the Scottish Cup, where they were runners-up to Rangers. Jim Thomson is currently acting as the club's caretaker manager, after Gavin Skelton resigned on 7 November 2016.[4]
History
Stadium
Club Culture
Robbie Neilson, currently head coach at Heart of Midlothian, said about Queens from his loan period at the club in 2002: "It's a well-run club and a real family club with a good spirit about the place."[5]
Marc Horne wrote in The Scotsman following Queens' appearance in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final: "In the Palmerston Park club's songbook, it is clear there is no room for songs which feature religion, violent vendettas or centuries-old battles that took place in other lands."[6]
In the 2008 UEFA Cup qualifying trip to Denmark Queen of the South fans were hailed as "a great credit both to their club and to Scotland" by Danish police. About 850 supporters of the Dumfries club travelled to Denmark to watch the UEFA Cup clash with FC Nordsjaelland. Despite the fact that their team was eliminated, local police said their behaviour was impressive. Insp Rune Hamann said: "It was a pleasure hosting such a visit by Queen of the South whose supporters were extremely well behaved and a great credit both to their club and to Scotland. Copenhagen was particularly busy in the build up to and after the match with a carnival, party atmosphere being evident. I look forward to welcoming Queen of the South and their terrific supporters back in Denmark in the future."[7]
Ch Insp Mickey Collins from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said the fans were a "pleasure to work along with". He added: "Despite the huge numbers of supporters who travelled to Denmark there were no arrests, incidents or issues of any concern. Great praise should be passed on to those fortunate enough to be at the match."[7]
Club Mascot
The club mascot is 'Dougie the Doonhamer', a human sized border collie dog.The character has been played for many years by supermarket worker Brian Harkness.[8]
Biblical References
Queen of the South are often humorously cited as the only league club in the United Kingdom to be mentioned in the Bible. Luke 11:31 states "The Queen of the South shall rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them..."[9] Queen of the South is similarly quoted under Matthew 12:42.[10] In the biblical quote the "Queen of the South" is considered to be the Queen of Sheba. In 2005 the issue was investigated by The Guardian website in their series "The Knowledge" who also found full references to Arsenal, Bury and Reading as well as partial references to "hearts", "wolves", "forest", "hammer", "spurs" and "man's field".[11]
Honours
National League Competitions
Highest Finish in Top Division – 4th; Division 1; 1933–34
Division 2 – Champions 1950–51, 2001–02, 2012–13; Runners Up 1932–33, 1961–62, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1985–86
Division 3 – Runners Up 1924–25
National Cup Competitions
Scottish League Challenge Cup – Winners 2002–03, 2012–13; Runners Up 1997–98, 2010–11; Semi Finalists 1991–92
Scottish Qualifying Cup – Winners 1923–24
Scottish Cup - Runners Up 2007–08; Semi Finalists 1949–50
Scottish League Cup – Semi Finalists 1950–51, 1960–61[12]
B.P. Youth Cup - Runners Up 1985–86
Invitational Tournaments
1936 Algiers Invitational Tournament – Winners
Border Cup – Winners 1991–92, 1992–93
Scottish Brewers Cup – Winners 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07
Regional League Competitions
Scottish League South and West (Wartime League) – Runners Up 1939–40
Western League – Champions 1922–23
Southern Counties League – Winners 1996–97
Regional Cup Competitions (Competed for and won by the reserve team)
Southern Counties Charity Cup – Winners 1920–24, 1926, 1930–32, 1934, 1937
Southern Counties Cup – Winners 1921, 1924, 1935, 1936, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2003, 2004
Southern Counties League Cup – Winners 1996–97
Southern Counties Consolation Cup – Winners 1922
Potts Cup – Winners 1921, 1960, 1961
Individual Awards
PFA Scotland Manager of the Year Award – Allan Johnston 2012–13[13]
PFA Second Division Player of the Year Award – Jimmy Robertson 1980–81, Andy Thomson 1991–92, 1993–94, John O'Neill 2001–02, Nicky Clark 2012–13[13]
Bell's SFL Fan of the Season Award – Ian Black 2003–04
SFL Phenomenal Achievement Awards
Recognition of Queens' remarkable Scottish Cup run – Gordon Chisholm 2007–08[14]
Second Division Player of the Year Award – Nicky Clark 2012–13[15]
SFL Goalkeeper of the Season Award – Lee Robinson 2012–13[15]
SFL Second Division Manager of the Year Award – John Connolly 2001–02, Allan Johnston 2012–13[15]
Ginger Boot Award – Nicky Clark 2012–13[15]
Bell's SFL Angels Award – 2003–04[16]
SFL Team of the Season Award - 2012–13[15]
Club records
Record victory: 11–1 versus Stranraer; Scottish Cup; 16 January 1932[17]
Record defeat: 2–10 versus Dundee at Dens Park; Scottish First Division; 1 December 1962. Queens played for 78 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper George Farm was injured in the 12th minute and was carried off. Dundee's Alan Gilzean scored 7 of the goals. Dundee were reigning Scottish League Champions at the time and would make the European Cup semi-finals that season where they lost to eventual winners AC Milan.[18]
Record home attendance: 26,552 versus Heart of Midlothian; Scottish Cup 3rd Round; 23 February 1952; Queens 1 Hearts 3[19]
Record home league attendance: 21,142 versus Rangers; 6 October 1962; Queens 0 Rangers 4
Record attendance (any venue): 58,975; 5 April 1950; Hampden Park; 3–0 Scottish Cup semi-final replay defeat to Rangers; 52,924 watched the 1–1 draw with Rangers four days earlier, also at Hampden Park.[20]
Most league points (2 points for a win system): 55; Scottish Division 2; 1985–86
Most league points (3 points for a win system): 92; Scottish Division 2; 2012–13
First ever Scottish League Match under floodlights: Rangers versus Queen of the South; Ibrox Park; 7 March 1956; Rangers 8 Queens 0; Rangers player Don Kitchenbrand scored five goals in this match.[21]
Highest free standing floodlights in Scottish football: Queens floodlights were first used on 29 October 1958 and at 85 feet (26 m) high they are the tallest in Scotland. To mark the occasion Preston North End sent a team north for a friendly match.[17]
Highest terrace in Scottish football: Following the trend towards all seater stadiums the height differential between the lowest and highest step on the Portland Drive terrace makes this now the highest remaining terrace in Scottish football.
Individuals
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Longest serving player: Iain McChesney – 1960 to 1981 (615 appearances and scored 79 goals)[22]
Record league scorer in a season: Alexander "Jimmy" Gray – 37 goals in season 1927–28
Record scorer (all competitions) in a Season: Jimmy Rutherford – 41 goals in season 1931–32; Nicky Clark – 41 goals in season 2012–13
Most capped player: Billy Houliston (3 caps; 1948–49 season; 3–2 v Northern Ireland at Hampden (scoring 2 goals on his debut in 30 & 89 minutes), 3–1 v England at Wembley and 2–0 v France at Hampden.[20]
First Queens players to earn four senior Scottish football medals while playing for the club – Jim Thomson and Andy Aitken (winners of the 2001–02 Second Division and 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup; runners up in the 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup and 2007–08 Scottish Cup).[17]
Record transfer fee received: Andy Thomson; £250,000; Southend United; 1994[23]
Fastest hat-trick: Tommy Bryce; 1 minute 46 seconds Guinness World Records in the 6–0 win versus Arbroath on 18 December 1993. Bryce's hat-trick was recorded in the 8th, 9th & 10th minutes and Bryce also scored a fourth goal in the match.[24]
Longest distance goal by an outfield player: Ryan McCann – 84 yards (77 m) in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final 2–0 win versus Dundee on 8 March 2008.[17]
First player to collect a complete set of all four senior Scottish football winners medals: Andy Goram when he played in the 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup final 2–0 win for Queens against Brechin City to add to his medals haul gathered elsewhere.[17]
Oldest player to play for the club: Ally MacLeod versus St Mirren in the Reserve League West in April 1992. With Queens short of players the manager named himself as a trialist and played the whole 90 minutes. During the second half Queens were awarded a penalty and the ex-Scotland manager converted the kick. The final score was 7–1 to St Mirren and MacLeod received a standing ovation from the small crowd at the end of the game. He was 61 years old at the time.
European record
UEFA Cup/Europa League:[17][25]
Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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2008–09 | UEFA Cup | Second qualifying round | FC Nordsjælland | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
Players
Current squad
- As of 18 November 2016[26]
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 Queen of the South transfers in 2016–17 season.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
- For all former Queen of the South players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Queen of the South F.C. players.
The following players were inducted into Queen of the South's Hall of Fame on 29 October 2011, 19 January 2013 and 24 October 2015 respectively:[30]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The following players are listed on the club's official website as 'Queens Legends':[31]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
P/C = Player-Coach P/M = Player-Manager
1 Second Spell
Club staff
Coaching staff
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Operational staff
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References
- ^ "Queen of the South Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ^ "Burnsy" www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Eva Mendes – the latest Queen of the South" www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Queen of the South: Gavin Skelton exits as manager after six months". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Young stars should take step back to go forward – Scotsman.com Sport
- ^ Horne, Marc (25 May 2008). "Scottish Cup Final: 'Result is irrelevant, we are here to party'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
- ^ a b "Fans 'credit' to club and country". BBC News. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ Border News and Lookaround, 2008
- ^ "Luke 11:31; Luke 11:32 (English Standard Version)", BibleGateway.com, retrieved 15 April 2008
- ^ BibleGateway.com – Passage Lookup: Matthew 12:42
- ^ Which football teams appear in the bible?
- ^ "League Cup Doonhamers" www.qosfc.com 21/03/2009
- ^ a b Queens Duo Scoop Another Double at PFA Awards
- ^ Cup final manager Chisholm receives top award – Dumfries and Galloway Standard
- ^ a b c d e Irn Bru Phenomenal End of Season Awards
- ^ Official Queen of the South Site
- ^ a b c d e f "Club History" www.qosfc.com
- ^ George Farm on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ Jackie Oakes on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ a b Billy Houliston on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/live-qots-v-rangers-3/
- ^ Iain McChesney on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ Andy Thomson on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ Tommy Bryce on Queens Legends, www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Congratulations FC Nordsjælland". www.qosfc.com. Queen of the South F.C. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Squad Numbers Confirmed". Queen of the season South F.C. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ http://www.qosfc.com/news-3280
- ^ http://www.qosfc.com/news-3262
- ^ a b http://www.qosfc.com/news-3327
- ^ http://www.qosfc.com/news-2994
- ^ "Queens Legends" www.qosfc.com
External links
- Official website
- National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE (archive films of Queen of the South F.C.)