Arbroath Football Club is a semi-professional Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in the town of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

. They currently play in the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

. The club was founded in 1878 and plays home matches at

Gayfield Park Gayfield Park, commonly known as Gayfield, is a football stadium in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League team Arbroath F.C. The club have played at Gayfield since 1880, although the pitch has ...

. They play in maroon strips and are nicknamed "The Red Lichties" due to the red light that used to guide fishing boats back from the North Sea to the

Burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

's harbour. The Red Lichties share a long-standing and fierce

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

with local neighbours Montrose, as well as with fellow local sides

Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...

and

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

History

Record score

The Red Lichties most notable and lasting accomplishment is to hold the world record for the biggest victory in World senior football, set on 12 September 1885 when they beat Bon Accord 36–0 in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Jocky Petrie scored 13 goals in that game, a record for the most goals by a single player in a British senior match.

Recent history

The Red Lichties have had mixed success in recent years. In the 1996–97 season they hit the bottom of Scottish senior football as they finished last in the Third Division. However, the following season they were promoted back to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. They spent three years at this level before winning promotion to the First Division. They finished 7th in their first season in the First Division, 13 points clear of relegation troubles. However, in the 2002–03 season, the Red Lichties struggled badly, and finished bottom of the table, 20 points adrift of penultimate side

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...

. In the 2003–04 season, the Red Lichties narrowly avoided back-to-back relegations, as they escaped the drop on the last day of the season. In 2004–05, however, there was no escaping a 3–0 defeat at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

on 30 April 2005, which consigned the Red Lichties to the Third Division for the following season. The club rose from the depths of the Third Division to the heights of the First Division, then fell back down to the basement league in the next few seasons. However, under manager John McGlashan, the Red Lichties competed at the top of Division 3, finishing 4th in their first season and second in the next, reaching both divisional play-offs in seasons 2005–06 and 2006–07, although failing to gain promotion. They finished fourth in Division 3 and disposed of Cowdenbeath 2–1 on aggregate thanks to a late extra time winner from Robbie Raeside in the semifinal. Stranraer were the opponents in the play-off final and the Red Lichties ran out 2–0 winners in the home tie first leg at Gayfield Park thanks to a Robbie Raeside header and a Barry Sellars strike. At Stranraer, the Red Lichties goal was pummelled for much of the match and they spent much of the second half down to 10 men after Craig Tully had been red-carded. Although one goal was conceded, a resolute defence saw the Red Lichties hold on for a 2–1 aggregate win and promotion. The Red Lichties managed to consolidate their position in Division 2 in 2008–09. The season had started well but a narrow defeat in the Scottish League Cup at Gayfield Park on penalties to Scottish Premiership side Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, triggered a sequence of losses and the club found themselves in the bottom half of the table. The performances were boosted by loan additions such as Steven Doris, Craig Forsyth, ex-Scotland international Colin Cameron and they got results when it mattered. Safety was all but assured with a narrow 1–0 win over Queens Park at Hampden Park, courtesy of a fine Robbie Ross strike and a 2–0 victory over Stranraer at Gayfield Park with goals from Ross and Forsyth. A 2–2 draw against Peterhead and a 0–0 draw against Raith Rovers in May was enough to seal 7th spot. During season 2009–10, results seemed to go into freefall after a 6–0 home defeat to St Johnstone in the Scottish League Cup early in the season. John McGlashan resigned to be replaced by Jim Weir who after a mixed start eventually rallied the Red Lichties to a spirited last few weeks of the season. With a win needed against East Fife to avoid the play-offs, the side threw everything they had in the last 20 minutes to find a winner but to no avail. After beating Queens Park in the play-off semifinal, their season ended with a 2–0 loss to Forfar Athletic in the final. Weir resigned to take up the vacant position at Brechin City and was replaced, on 27 May, by Paul Sheerin. On 23 April 2011, the Red Lichties defeated local rivals Montrose 4–1 to win the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Third Division title; securing the club's first senior honours in their 133-year history and a return to

at their first attempt. The next few seasons in the third tier (renamed League One) were mixed. A tremendous first season playing lively attacking football saw them run champions Cowdenbeath closely, more than matching them in head-to-head encounters but lacking the professional edge to grind out other results and losing the final three. The Red Lichties finished on 60 points and went out in the playoff semifinal. In 2012–13, a fairly mediocre season saw them end up in 5th spot, on 52 points just pipped for the final playoff spot. One highlight was a 3rd Round Scottish Cup tie at Celtic Park, drawing 1–1 and then exiting in the replay after an equaliser was controversially ruled out. Season 2013–14 was disastrous. After an average start, a run of 14 games without a win saw the Red Lichties end up bottom of the pile on 31 points and automatically relegated. The attack-minded and purist emphasis of manager Sheerin, who continued as player-manager, meant most fans stayed supportive. Some poor signings were costly. The Red Lichties thus experienced their fourth relegation in 11 years. Sheerin left Gayfield Park in June 2014 to take up a post with the Under-20 side at Aberdeen. Allan Moore was subsequently appointed with Todd Lumsden as assistant. On Sunday, 12 April 2015, after a string of poor results in which the side only won once in 16 games, Moore was relieved of his duties as Manager and Lumsden took the helm. The team had been sitting at the top of the table by eight points in December but ended up finishing third and subsequently lost 3–2 on aggregate to Queens Park in the Play Off Semifinal. The team performed poorly under the management of Todd Lumsden in season 2015–16 which was reflected by a lowly league position. With relegation into the Highland League a real threat, Lumsden was sacked in March 2016. Dick Campbell was then appointed and was able to steer the team to safety, finishing 9th and ahead of East Stirlingshire who were subsequently relegated after losing the play off to Lowland League champions Edinburgh City. The 2016–17 season saw a massive turnaround under the helm of Campbell. They spent much of the season in second place behind Forfar Athletic and in early February were 11 points behind their Angus neighbours after a 1–0 defeat by the Loons at Gayfield Park. The Red Lichties however clawed that difference back and after the penultimate game of the season's 3–2 win against Elgin City, found themselves a point ahead at the top of the table with an away match against Stirling Albion remaining. An astonishing 1200 fans travelled to Forthbank to witness a 1–1 draw but with Forfar unexpectedly losing at home to Annan 4–2, the title was secured. The 2018–19 season saw Arbroath line-up alongside the three other Angus sides in the same League for the first time in 25 years. Despite having to compete with full-time

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...

, the club led from the opening day to win a second promotion in three years and a first league title win in the third tier. The Championship was secured on 13 April with a 1–1 draw at local rivals Brechin. Returning to the second tier for the first time since being relegated in the 2002–03 season, Arbroath were never in any real danger of an immediate return to League One and spent most of the season on the fringe of the promotion playoff positions. Highlights of the League campaign included two victories against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

and a 1–0 win against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

, which made Arbroath the only side to defeat the eventual champions at

Tannadice Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

in the League that season. When the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was brought to an early conclusion, Campbell had led Arbroath to an impressive 5th-place finish. Arbroath's good form continued into the first half of the 2021–22 season; as of the beginning of 2022 they were sitting close to the top of the Championship, and in with a serious chance of gaining promotion to the top flight for the first time since the 1974–75 season.

Stadium

The Red Lichties

is not the club's original ground, which was nearby and was known as Lesser Gayfield. The current ground is the closest to the sea in Britain, a traditional style ground exposed to the elements, where the traditions of 'real football' where opposition fans mix as they change ends at half time to stand behind the goal their side is facing was observed until only a few years ago. There is terracing on three sides and enclosed stands on all four sides. On stormy winter days, waves beat on the walls surrounding the ground.

Rivalries

Arbroath's main rivalry is with Montrose. The first meeting of the sides was in 1888 and Arbroath ran out 6–2 winners. They also have lesser rivalries with fellow senior Angus clubs

and

. In the 2018–2019 season, all four senior Angus teams competed in Scottish League One.

First-team squad

On loan

Club officials

Coaching staff

*Manager: Dick Campbell *Assistant Manager: Ian Campbell *First Team Coach: John Young *Goalkeeping Coach:

Rab Douglas Robert James Douglas (born 24 April 1972) is a Scottish former professional footballer and current coach for Arbroath who played as a goalkeeper. He played for several clubs, including Livingston, Dundee, Celtic, Leicester City and Forfar At ...

*Head of Recruitment: Barry Sellars *Recruitment Assistants:

Brown Ferguson Brown Ferguson (born 4 June 1981 in Falkirk) is a Scottish football player and coach. He is currently the assistant manager of Stenhousemuir. He also previously had manager spells at Stenhousemuir and Linlithgow Rose. As a player, he playe ...

, Craig Ireland *Club Doctor: Callum Innes *Sports Scientist: Kevin Milne *Sports Therapist: Craig Reynolds *Kit Manager: Louise Walker

Executive

*Chairman: Mike Caird *Vice-chairman: Ewen West *Secretary: Dr Gary Callon *Treasurer: Robert Sim *Directors: Douglas Bain, Jonathan Booth, Brian Cargill, Anne McKeown, Gary Moir, Paul Reid

Managers

* Bob McGlashan (1927–1946) * Archie Anderson (1946–1949) *

Alec Cheyne Alexander George Cheyne (28 April 1907 – 5 July 1983) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside forward. He is reputed to have been responsible for the Hampden Roar following his goal in the 'Cheyne International' of 1929. Playing c ...

(1949–1955) *

Tommy Gray Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

(1955–1957) *

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

(1957–1960) * John Prentice (1960–1962) * Bert Henderson (1962–1980) * Ian Stewart (1980–82) * George Fleming (1982–1985) *

Jimmy Bone James Bone (born 22 September 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a striker. Following his playing retirement he moved into coaching and has managed a number of Scottish League clubs. Playing career Early career ...

(1985–1987) *

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

(1987–1990) * Ian Gibson (1990–1991) * Walter Borthwick (1991) * Mickey Lawson (1991–1992) *

Danny McGrain Daniel Fergus McGrain (born 1 May 1950) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played for Celtic, Hamilton Academical and the Scotland national team as a right back. McGrain is regarded as one of Scotland's greatest players and thr ...

(1992–1994) *

Jocky Scott John Alexander "Jocky" Scott (born 14 January 1948) is a Scottish football coach and former player. During his playing career he played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Seattle Sounders and Scotland. An extensive management career followed with spells at ...

(1994) * George Mackie (1994–1995) with

Donald Park Donald Park (born 19 July 1953) is a Scottish football player and coach. Playing career A product of the Scottish Highland Football League, Park was educated at Lochaber High School in the Highlands of North West Scotland. Donald Park joined H ...

(1994) * John Brogan (1995–1996) * Tommy Campbell (1996–1997) * Dave Baikie (1997–2000) *

John Brownlie John Brownlie (born 11 March 1952) is a Scottish former football player and coach, currently assistant manager of East Stirlingshire. Brownlie played as a right back for Pumpherston Juniors, Hibernian, Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Hartle ...

(2000–2003) * Stevie Kirk (2003–2004) * Harry Cairney (2004–2005) * John McGlashan (2005–2009) *

Jim Weir James McIntosh Weir (born 15 June 1969) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Weir played in the senior Scottish leagues for Hamilton Academical, Hearts and St. Johnstone. He has also worked as manager of Montrose, Arbroath, ...

(2009–2010) * Paul Sheerin (2010–2014) *

Allan Moore Allan Moore (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. Playing career During his playing career he turned out for several Scottish clubs including Dumbarton F.C., Du ...

(2014–2015) *

Todd Lumsden Todd Lumsden (born 6 February 1978 in Consett) is an English football player and manager. Career Lumsden mostly played in the lower leagues of Scottish football, although he did play for Hamilton Academical at First Division level. He was app ...

(2015–2016) * Dick Campbell (2016– )

Honours

League

Level 2 (Scottish Division Two, Scottish B Division, Scottish First Division, Scottish Championship): Runners-up: 1934–35, 1958–59, 1967–68, 1971–72, 2021–22 Level 3 (Scottish Division Three, Scottish C Division, Scottish Second Division, Scottish League One): Winners: 2018–19 Runners-up: 2000–01, 2011–12 Level 4 (Scottish Third Division, Scottish League Two): Winners

, 2016–17 Runners-up: 1997–98, 2006–07 Play-off winners 2007–08

National cup competitions

Scottish Cup Semi-finalists: 1946–47 Scottish League Cup Semi-finalists: 1959–60 Scottish Youth Cup Semi-finalists: 2001–02 Scottish Challenge Cup Semi-finalists: 2012–13 Scottish Qualifying Cup: Winners

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

Runners-up: 1899,

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

Minor

Reserve League Cup 2003, Combined Reserve League 1964, Northern League 1891–92, Forfarshire County League (joint) 1908–09, Dewar Shield 1937–38 Arbroath were the first winners of the Forfarshire Cup in 1883 and have won the trophy 17 times since then. Winners in 1883–84, 1887–88, 1889–90, 1892–93, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1906–07, 1913–14, 1920–21, 1923–24, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1957–58, 1993–94, 1995–96

Club records

*Biggest win: 36–0 vs Bon Accord, 12 September 1885,

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, 25 August

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

*Highest home

attendance Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effectiven ...

: 13,510 vs Rangers, 23 February

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, Scottish Cup *Highest average home attendance: 4,780, 1959–60 season (17 games) *Most capped player:

Ned Doig John Edward Doig (29 October 1866 – 7 November 1919) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. He played the peak of his career for Sunderland, in a period of time in the club's history where they were dubbed the 'team of all tale ...

, 5 (2 whilst with Arbroath),

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

*Most league appearances: 426, Tom Cargill, 1966–80 *Most league goals in a season by a player: 45, David Easson, 1958–59

References

External links

Arbroath Mad fan site

Relichtie historic nostalgia site
{{Authority control Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1878 Football clubs in Angus, Scotland 1878 establishments in Scotland Scottish Football League teams Scottish Professional Football League teams