Berwick Rangers Football Club is a

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 ...

team based in the town of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing from England; they were the only club from outside Scotland in the

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...

until their relegation in 2019. The club play at

Shielfield Park Shielfield Park is a football stadium that is home to Berwick Rangers and Berwick Bandits speedway team. Although Berwick Rangers is a Scottish Lowland Football League club, Shielfield Park is situated in the English county of Northumberland. ...

, which has a capacity of just over 4,000.

History

Berwick Rangers was officially formed on 7 January 1881 after a match was played in the town between a team of millworkers from

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

and a team of railway clerks from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. 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. Their first competitive match was against another team from Berwick, 'The Royal Oaks' on 16 February 1884. Berwick Rangers won the match by "one goal to nil". Berwick Rangers affiliated to the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

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 The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

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 The North Northumberland Football League is a football competition based in England. When it had two divisions, the highest (Division One) sat at level 14 of the English football league system and was a feeder to the Northern Alliance. The lea ...

but were rebuffed. It was not until 1951 that they were admitted to

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

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 system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gra ...

ever since, despite low attendances and frequent financial problems. Following its foundation, the club had had a nomadic existence before eventually settling down at

in 1954. A notable early success was a 3–0 win over

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers 4–0. Ten years later they reached the semi-final of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

, 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 John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...

. 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 The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

due to league reorganisation in 1994. They were relegated to

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

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 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

Second Division play-offs The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

. 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 Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

coach Michael Renwick was appointed new manager on 25 October 2007. 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. The official website reported on 12 May 2008 that

Camelon Camelon (; sco, Caimlan, gd, Camlann)
is a large set ...

manager Allan McGonigal would take over as manager. He resigned from his post on 13 November 2008. His announcement came in the wake of a deal which saw a fan led consortium take control of the club. On 27 January the consortium concluded their deal to buy the club. Following McGonigal's resignation

Jimmy Crease James Crease (born 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. Crease played for Berwick Rangers and Albion Rovers in the Scottish Football League. He has since managed Albion Rovers,

became manager for the fourth time, initially as a caretaker, but then on a permanent basis in December 2008. Following a 4–0 defeat to

Deveronvale Deveronvale Football Club are a senior association football club currently playing the Highland Football League in Scotland. They were founded in 1938 and play their football at the Princess Royal Park in the town of Banff, (formerly Banffs ...

in the second round of the

2011–12 Scottish Cup The 2011–12 Scottish Cup was the 127th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 24 September 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012. It was sponsored by William Hill in the first season of a three-y ...

Crease stood down as manager. Player Ian Little was named caretaker manager until the end of 2011 when his position was to be reviewed. On 28 December 2011, Little was given the managers job at least until the end of the 2011–12 season. 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. On 12 January 2014, Berwick Rangers sacked manager Ian Little, with the club third bottom in Scottish League Two. A few days later Colin Cameron was appointed as the club's new player manager. On 18 May 2019, Berwick Rangers became the second club after

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

to be relegated out of the SPFL pyramid and into the

Lowland Football League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the ...

, after a 7–0 loss on aggregate to Highland League champions Cove Rangers. The Berwick Rangers Community Foundation was established in 2020. Berwick Rangers record league performance was an 11-0 win over Vale of Leithen in the Scottish Lowland League on the 9 October 2021.

Status

Berwick Rangers are one of a handful of teams in the world to play in a football league system other than their own country's. Berwick-upon-Tweed is south of the Scottish border and is closer to the Scottish capital

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

than to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, the nearest major city on the English side of the border. It also is on the same latitude as the southern part of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. The town had previously been part of Scotland and changed hands many times until finally taken by England in 1482. The club also formerly played in the

, which contains other nearby Borders teams, prior to joining the Scottish League. There is also some controversy over the town's identity. Berwick's status as a club located in England led to the anomaly of their being the only team in the Scottish leagues who were subject to the implementation of the

Taylor report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...

following the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

in 1989.

Current squad

On loan

Coaching staff

*Manager:

Stuart Malcolm Stuart Ross Malcolm (born 20 August 1979) is a Scottish football coach and former player who is currently the manager of Berwick Rangers. Born in Edinburgh, Malcolm has previously played for St Johnstone, Cowdenbeath, Plymouth Argyle, Ross C ...

*Assistant Manager/First Team Coach: Dean Shanks *Player/Coach

Tam Scobbie Thomas "Tam" Scobbie (born 31 March 1988 in Falkirk) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Berwick Rangers. He has previously played for Falkirk, St Johnstone. Dundee United. Partick Thistle, Brechin City, and Kelty Hearts. Sco ...

*Goalkeeping Coach: Myles Hogarth *Club Physio: Jason Kinnon *Kitman: Scott Mckenzie *Groundsman: Ross Aitchison

Managers

Bobby Ancell Robert Francis Dudgeon Ancell (16 June 1911 – 5 July 1987) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a left back for St Mirren, Newcastle United, Dundee and Aberdeen. He won two full caps with the Scotland national footbal ...

(Dec 1950 – Apr 1952) * John Thompson (Aug 1952 – Jan 1953) *

Jerry Kerr John 'Jerry' Kerr (1 June 1912 – 8 November 1999) was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971. He is credited with taking the club from third bottom of the Scottish League to being an ...

(Apr 1953 – Nov 1954) * Danny McLennan (Nov 1957 – Jan 1960) *

Jimmy McIntosh James McLaughlin McIntosh (5 April 1918 – 4 April 2000) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer and manager. As a player McIntosh was a fast, strong, stocky forward.Ian Spence (Aug 1963 – Oct 1966) *

(Nov 1966 – Jan 1969) * Harry Melrose (Mar 1969 – Sep 1975) *

Walter Galbraith Walter McMurray Galbraith (26 May 1918 – November 1995) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Queen's Park, Clyde, New Brighton and Grimsby Town. He then managed Accrington Stanley, Bradford Park Avenue, ...

(Oct 1975 – Dec 1975) * Gordon Haig (Jan 1976 – Sep 1976) * Dave Smith (Oct 1976 – Oct 1980) *

Frank Connor Frank Connor (13 February 1936 – 3 March 2022) was a Scottish football player and manager. Career As a player, he played for Celtic, Portadown, St Mirren, Derry City, Albion Rovers and Cowdenbeath. After coaching at Celtic and Albion Rov ...

(Nov 1980 – May 1982) * Jim McSherry (Aug 1982 – Feb 1983) *

Eric Tait Eric Tait (born 17 June 1951) is an English former football player and manager. Football career Tait's footballing career started at East of Scotland League side Coldstream. He joined the Berwick Rangers in 1969, remaining with the club for ni ...

(Feb 1983 – Oct 1987) * Jimmy Thomson (Nov 1987 – Sep 1988) * Jim Jefferies (Sep 1988 – May 1990) *

Ralph Callachan Ralph Callachan (born 29 April 1955 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former association football, footballer, who played for three senior clubs in Edinburgh; Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts, Hibernian F.C., Hibs and Meadowbank Thistle F.C., Meadowb ...

(Aug 1990 – May 1992) *

(Aug 1992 – Jan 1994) * Tom Hendrie (Jan 1994 – Feb 1996) * Ian Ross (Mar 1996 – Oct 1996) * Jimmy Thomson (Nov 1996 – Aug 1997) * Paul Smith (Sep 1997 – Oct 2004) *

Sandy Clark Alexander "Sandy" Clark (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of Lowland League side East Stirlingshire. Career Clark played for several clubs in his playing career inclu ...

(Oct 2004 – May 2005) * John Coughlin (Jul 2005 – Oct 2007) * Michael Renwick (Oct 2007 – Apr 2008) * Jimmy Crease (Apr 2008 – May 2008) (caretaker manager) * Allan McGonigal (May 2008 – Nov 2008) * Jimmy Crease (Nov 2008 – Oct 2011) * Ian Little (Oct 2011 – Jan 2014) * Colin Cameron (Jan 2014 – Oct 2015 * John Coughlin (Nov 2015 –August 2017) * Robbie Horn (Aug 2017 – Oct 2018) * Johnny Harvey (Oct 2018 – May 2019) *

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, Hartl ...

(May 2019 – June 2019) * Ian Little (June 2019 – May 2021) *

(May 2021 - )

Club records

*Record league win: 11-0 v Vale of Leithen, Scottish Lowland League (9 October 2021) *Record cup win: 8–1 v Vale of Leithen, Scottish Cup First Round (December 1966) *Record league defeat: 1–9 v

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

(9 August 1980) *Record 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 ...

: 13,365 v Rangers Scottish Cup Third Round (28 January 1967) *Most goals in a season: 38 by Ken Bowron 1963–64 *Most goals: 115 by

1969–88 *Consecutive league wins: 8,

Scottish Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...

2006–07 *Longest unbeaten league run: 21,

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

1988–89 *Most appearances: 435, Eric Tait 1969–1988

Honours

Scottish League Division Two The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

: *Winners: 1978–79 *Runners up: 1993–94 Scottish League Division Three: *Winners: 2006–07 *Runners up: 1999–00

: *Winners (2): 1927–28, 1946–47 *Runners up (2): 1923–24, 1928–29

: *Winners: 1896–97 Scottish Border League: *Winners: 1898–99 East of Scotland Shield: *Winners (2): 1980–81, 1983–84 King Cup * Winners (7): 1908–09, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1932–33; also won by the Reserves in 1980–81, 1989–90

References

External links

Official Club Site

Statistics and History Fan Site

Picture Resource Fan Site

Supporters Trsut Web Site
{{Authority control Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1881 Football clubs in England Football clubs in Northumberland Berwick-upon-Tweed Expatriated football clubs 1884 establishments in England Scottish Football League teams Lowland Football League teams East of Scotland Football League teams Scottish Professional Football League teams Football clubs in the Scottish Borders