Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional
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 who play in
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...
. Formed in 1877 at the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
in
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 club host their home matches at
New Douglas Park
New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One sid ...
, having played at
Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...
from 1994 until 2022. Their biggest accomplishments were winning the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
,
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
and
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
; they reached the final a further three times, all during a long period based at
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
. They have not played in the top division of Scottish football since 1975.
The team are currently managed by Jim Duffy who was appointed in November 2022.
History
1877–1898
The Clyde Football Club was founded and played on the banks of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
at Barrowfield. Documentary evidence from the SFA and indeed match reports in the
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 ...
press clearly show it all began in 1877, and the thread continues unbroken to this day.
Here's how the SFA recorded Clyde's origins:
Sitting on the edge of Bridgeton, Barrowfield Park lay in a triangle of land enclosed by Carstairs Street, Colvend Street and the river Clyde. The area was an intense mix of chemical, engineering and textile work with a high population density to provide the labour. Although no stadium photographs have emerged, it appears the ground consisted of a grandstand running north–south, a pavilion and tennis courts at the southern end and a bicycle track surrounding the pitch.
Today this area is dotted with industrial units, but also contains a large grassed area, so it may be possible to stand upon a corner of the original Barrowfield pitch. Barrowfield got initially shared with a short-lived team called Albatross.
The club founded then has no resemblance to a modern professional football club. Clyde F.C. was a private members club more akin to a present-day golf or bowling club. Clyde's Secretary, John Graham, was also a noted rower and it seems the club had other sporting and cultural activities besides football.
The first mention of Clyde was in Monday's
Evening Times
The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup
The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...
and the
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
which in their time were hotly contested major competitions. Clyde entered the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup on 29 September 1877 along with one hundred and one other teams.
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
were the visitors once again, and triumphed 1–0.
On 6 March 1883, the
Glasgow Football Association
Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...
was established (formed to compete with the older - 1877 - rival Edinburgh Association), with Clyde one of the six clubs represented at that first meeting. The club are one of only three founding members clubs still in existence today (with Queen's Park and
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
).
Clyde joined the
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 ...
in 1891, its second edition. Following acceptance,
Vale of Leven
The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...
provided the opposition for Clyde's first League fixture on Saturday, 15 August 1891. In a dream introduction to the format Clyde triumphed 10–3, and a mid-table finish saw the club complete a confident season in League football. While it was an undoubted success, Barrowfield revealed its limitations and could not cope with the crowds as many gained illegal entry. Opposition teams complained about the facilities, and it was clear that Clyde would have to do something to appease the League.
The club had the pitch dug up in the off season in 1893 to have the clayey surface replaced by ashes to lend additional facilities to the draining powers of the field.
The club enjoyed cup success in local competitions as the 19th century drew to a close. The team won the North Eastern Cup and Graham Cup four times apiece. Both tournaments featured teams from the East End of Glasgow. However, Clyde endured a terrible final season at Barrowfield, finishing bottom of Division 1 with only 5 points, but remained in the top division. The last action at Barrowfield was a friendly against crack opposition in the form of
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on 30 April 1898, ending in a 3–3 draw.
1899–1919
The club left
Barrowfield
Barrowfield is a neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, close to Celtic Park, home of Celtic F.C., which lies immediately to the east. It is bounded by the A89 road (Gallowgate) to the north and the A74 (London Road) to the south.
History
Being ...
in 1898 and purchased some open ground (
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
) directly across the river between the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatlands and the
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
town of
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
. The move was largely financed by the club becoming incorporated and issuing shares in "The Clyde Football Club Limited". On the eve of a new season, Clyde F.C. Ltd had an enclosed area of about . A grandstand seating of 1500 was nearing completion and embankment works around the pitch were well underway.
Local rivals
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 ...
provided the first opposition at
Shawfield Stadium
Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow.
Originally a football ground, Shawfield w ...
on 27 August 1898. An attendance of 10,000 witnessed a goalless draw and return gate receipts of £203. The 1899–1900 season saw the team relegated by finishing bottom of top division.
They were Division Two champions in
1904–05
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
(and runners up in
1903–04
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
and
1905–06
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
), but there was no promotion until the latter second-place finish. Automatic promotion and relegation was not established until 1921. The following seasons up to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
would be far more successful and represented the most consistent period of success for the club.
From 1908 to 1913, Clyde were at the top end of
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 ...
and reached the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
and
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 ...
. The team placed third in 1908–09 (three points behind champions Celtic) and in 1911–12 and reached further semi finals (in 1908–09 and 1912–13).
The 1910 final was a bitter disappointment. For 83 minutes Clyde (McTurk; Watson &
Blair
Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...
;
Walker
Walker or The Walker may refer to:
People
*Walker (given name)
*Walker (surname)
*Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer
Places
In the United States
*Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County
*Walker, Mono County, California
* ...
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
;
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
&
McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
&
Booth
Booth may refer to:
People
* Booth (surname)
* Booth (given name)
Fictional characters
* August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time''
*Cliff Booth, a supporting character of the 2019 film ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' ...
) held a 2–0 lead (Chalmers and Booth both scored). However, Robertson fluffed a clearance off Blair and into his own net.
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 ...
then netted a last minute equalizer from Langlands. The replay was far more cagey and ended goalless after
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, but with Dundee looking physically stronger. Chalmers struck after three minutes to give Clyde a 1–0 lead in the third match. Dundee equalized before half time, and as Clyde looked jaded, John Hunter won the cup for Dundee. The 1912 final was a 2–0 defeat to Celtic.
International honours were awarded to Clyde for the first time in
March 1909
The following events occurred in March 1909:
March 1, 1909 (Monday)
* Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo and Ookeah; and 18 other men set off from Ellesmere Island at for their final push to the North Pole.
March 2, 19 ...
, as
William Walker William Walker may refer to:
Arts
* William Walker (engraver) (1791–1867), mezzotint engraver of portrait of Robert Burns
* William Sidney Walker (1795–1846), English Shakespearean critic
* William Walker (composer) (1809–1875), American Ba ...
represented
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 ...
against club mate
Jack Kirwan
John Henry Kirwan (9 February 1878 – 9 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...
of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
(in 1914) were won for the first time. Both were highly prestigious competitions before
European football
UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...
was introduced. All six clubs (Celtic, Clyde,
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
and Third Lanark) were more often than not resident in Division One.
In September 1914, a fire destroyed the grandstand, and with it much of the club's early history. After the war broke out in November 1914, the Scottish League would continue playing. Many players signed up for 'King & Country' – some never returned, such as C. Clunas (2nd
Royal Fusiliers
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881.
The regiment served in many wars ...
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...
Royal Scots
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...
) – and teams like Clyde found it increasingly difficult to field competitive sides and the League eventually reduced back to a single division.
1920–1945
The club had managed to sustain football through the war years, but the Scottish League continued through 1919–21 with only one division. Division Two restarted in 1921–22, with automatic promotion and relegation adopted. Benefits were evident for ambitious teams, but the financial penalties for falling out of the top tier were extremely severe.
Relegated in 1923–24, Clyde spent two seasons playing teams like Armadale, Arthurlie,
Bathgate
Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...
,
Bo'ness
Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...
,
Broxburn
Broxburn ( gd, Srath Bhroc, IPA: s̪ɾaˈvɾɔʰk is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the A89 road, from the West End of Edinburgh, from Edinburgh Airport and to the north of Livingston.
Etymology
The name Broxburn is a corruption of " ...
, and King's Park until promotion (and another Glasgow Cup) in 1925–26. From 1926 to 1939, Clyde remained a
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 ...
club, as the team maintained a respectable mid-table status. International honours returned to
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
, as
Danny Blair
Daniel Blair (2 February 1905 – 7 March 1985) was a Scottish football player who began his senior career in North America before finishing it in England. He also earned eight caps with the Scottish national team.
Early career
Although he wa ...
was a prominent
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 ...
full back of this era and leading goalscorer Billy Boyd (with 32 goals in 1932–33) earned two international caps.
Liquidation was narrowly averted in 1930.
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
was booming in the 1920s and many clubs used this a way to supplement their income. A company offered to lease Shawfield in 1926 and also give a percentage of the gate money to Clyde, but animal racing was forbidden in the deeds of Shawfield and the League was dead set against the sport in general. Chairman John McMahon would not let go of the idea. After years of wrangling, the Shawfield Greyhound Racing Company Ltd started racing in 1932 and a few years later purchased the stadium from Clyde.
The team conceded a solitary goal on the run to the
1939 Scottish Cup final
The 1938–39 Scottish Cup was the 61st staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Clyde who defeated Motherwell in the final.
. Clean sheets were kept against
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
(2–0),
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 ...
(0–0 at
Dens Park
Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yards ...
, followed by 1–0 in a replay), city rivals
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
(1–0), and the Hibernian semi final match (1–0 at Tynecastle). The single goal against came at
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
in the 3rd Round, where prolific centre forward Willie Martin set a record for an opposition at Ibrox by scoring all four goals in a 4–1 win.
Clyde (
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
;
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
Weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
;
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
and
Gillies Gillies is both a Scottish surname and a given name shared by several notable people:
Surname uses
Politicians
* Duncan Gillies (1834–1903), Australian colonial and state politician
* James McPhail Gillies (born 1924), Canadian national pol ...
;
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
; Noble and
Wallace
Wallace may refer to:
People
* Clan Wallace in Scotland
* Wallace (given name)
* Wallace (surname)
* Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back
* Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
) faced
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
, who had scored the most goals on route to the final, in front of 94,000 at Hampden on 22 April 1939. After losing the coin toss, Clyde goalkeeper Brown was under the most pressure early on. Assisted by a Robertson delivery, Wallace fired the opener in the roof of the net. Despite further opposition pressure before the interval, Martin doubled the lead with an opportunistic strike after the break. Late goals from Noble (netting from a rebound) and Martin (assisted by Noble for his second) sealed an emphatic 4–0 win and a maiden
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,War with Nazi Germany caused the suspension of the Scottish League in 1939–40, and all players' contracts declared void. Unofficial competitions soon restarted with an East/West regional split. The geographical separation meant Clyde were placed in the Southern League. Runners up behind champions Rangers in 1940–41 (by three points), the team would continue to perform relatively well in warttime competitions.
A second major cup competition, 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 ...
would be inaugurated in 1946. It was the then Clyde and SFL chairman John McMahon who donated the trophy that is still awarded to the winners of the competition to this day.
1946–1969
The club ventured on a 20-match tour of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1947 and recorded 16 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Also in 1953, future
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
winner
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...
(and
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
teammate Ernie Taylor) turned out for Clyde against Everton in a benefit match at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...
in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
.
Leslie Johnston
Leslie Hamilton Johnston (16 August 1920 – 19 October 2001) was a Scottish footballer who played for Clydebank Juniors, Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township ...
, a then
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 ...
internationalist, twice broke the Scottish transfer record as a Clyde player in the 1940s.
The team showed steady league form just after the war and reached a fourth
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1948–49. In only the fourth edition of the competition since Clyde won it in 1938–39, their opponents
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
ran out comfortable 4–1 winners in front of a crowd of 108,000 at Hampden, with Peter Galletly scoring Clyde's consolation goal. It was claimed that both Rangers penalties were of a dubious nature.
The 1950s began with relegation from
Division A
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
* Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
* Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...
Division B
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
* Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
* Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...
champions in 1951–52. The team repeated the feat in 1955–56 and 1956–57. Each occasion saw the team bounce back to solid finishes in Division A. Floodlighting was introduced at Shawfield in March 1954. The first opposition was
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...
in a friendly match. Huddersfield won 3–2. Domestic cup success came readily in the 1950s. They won the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1954–55 and 1957–58 and were beaten semi-finalists in 1955–56 and 1959–60. They also reached
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 ...
semi-finals in 1956–57 and 1957–58, but lost on both occasions to
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 ...
.
The route to the 1954–55 Final began with three straight home victories in the competition against
Albion Rovers
Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...
(3–0),
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 ...
(3–1) and
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
(5–0).
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
provided Clyde's semi-final opponents. After a 2–2 draw at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...
, a solitary goal in the replay sent Clyde into the final. On 23 April 1955 at Hampden in front of over 96,000, Celtic, installed as firm favourites, provided the opposition in the final, in a match that was also the first to be televised live. Without forward McPhail and goalkeeper
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
* Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
* Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
Murphy
Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland.
Origins and variants
The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...
&
Haddock
The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...
Divers
Diver or divers may refer to:
*Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water
*Practitioner of underwater diving, including:
**scuba diving,
**freediving,
**surface-supplied diving,
**saturation diving, a ...
&
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
;
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...
;
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
&
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
. Celtic held a 1–0 lead with three minutes left until Robertson scored direct from a corner kick to earn a replay. A crowd of over 68,000 gathered for the replay, with the same Clyde line up, a
Tommy Ring
Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasg ...
goal was enough to win a more open affair.
The first half of the
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 ...
tie with Aberdeen at Shawfield on September 3, 1955, was also televised live (a competition first) by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
as an experiment.
Back at Hampden on 26 April 1958 in front of a crowd of 94,000 to face a strong Hibernian team, Clyde lined up:-
McCulloch
McCulloch is a Scottish surnames, Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician
*Alan ...
,
Murphy
Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland.
Origins and variants
The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...
&
Haddock
The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...
Finlay
Finlay is a masculine given name, and also a surname. The given name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Fionnlagh.
Given name Finlay
*Finlay Mickel, Scottish skier
*Finlay Currie (1878–1968), Scottish actor
*Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby play ...
& Clinton;
Herd
A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called ''herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals.
The term ''herd'' is ...
&
Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
&
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
. A deflected strike from Coyle in poor conditions gave Clyde a 1–0 win and a second Scottish Cup in four seasons and third overall. Fourth place in the final league table and another
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 ...
semi-final spot completed an impressive season in 1957–58. Haddock, Robertson and Coyle were confirmed in the final Scotland squad for the
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.
Brazil be ...
.
Dan Currie
Daniel George Currie (June 27, 1935 – September 11, 2017) was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams.
Early years
Born and raise ...
was selected in the provisional squad, but did not make the final cut.
Clyde gained entry into the Friendship Cup in 1960. It was an inter-League competition between four clubs each from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
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 ...
, with results aggregated to provide the 'best' League. It proved to be an unpopular format and ended in 1962. For the record, Clyde was drawn against
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), come ...
of
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
and beat them 4–0 away and 2–1 at
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
. The club began the 1960s as a yo-yo club. Relegations in 1960–61 and 1962–63 were followed by immediate promotions in 1961–62 and 1963–64, the former as Division Two champions.
At home to Celtic on September 10, 1966, the Clyde team unusually started the match with
squad numbers
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...
instead of the traditional (1–11) positional numbers on their shirts. The team actually returned from the interval with the routine numbering of 1–11.
The 1966–67 season led Clyde to their highest league finish in forty-five years and another Scottish Cup semi-final appearance. Competing largely as a part-time team, Clyde finished third behind the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
clubs. After producing a wonderful season of football that has marked the high tide in the club's fortunes to date,
European football
UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...
will forever love denying itself. The
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
had a rule that stipulated only one team per city could enter. Clyde argued that they were not from
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 ...
; they were from
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
. However
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
denied this argument citing Clyde's non-membership of the
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
FA and their participation in the
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
. Rangers had that position. Another League Cup semi-final was reached in 1968–69. The club journeyed on a 10-match tour of
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
in 1969 and remained unbeaten (9 wins and 1 draw).
As the 1960s came to a close, Clyde was competing rather comfortably in the top division. It was a different story on the terraces with Glasgow's
slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
programme hitting attendances hard. Large swathes of housing in Bridgeton,
Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Pa ...
,
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
were being demolished with the inhabitants decanted away to other parts of the city and beyond. Clyde's core support was drawn from these areas, and many of them have never returned to follow the team.
1970–1993
The club began the 1970s as in previous decades, with the threat of relegation of hanging around. In an attempt to quit the city, there was an attempted merger with
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 ...
, who were in dire financial trouble and had resigned from the
Scottish League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...
. After the move floundered as quickly as it arose, Hamilton quickly rejoined the League. Less than a year later,
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 ...
of Division Two made an audacious bid to merge with Clyde in
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 ...
at the time in return for a cash settlement. The Scottish League quickly quashed the move, after viewing it as Dumbarton trying to gain back-door entry into the top division.
After relegation in 1971–72, many club legends such as
Harry Glasgow
Henry Bird "Harry" Glasgow (20 June 1939 – 4 February 2016) was a Scottish football player and manager.
Glasgow began his career with Falkirk, where he made four appearances, all of which came in cup competitions. He spent a season on loan ...
, Sam Hastings, Tommy McCulloch, Graham McFarlane and Eddie Mulheron moved on. Clyde did recover and won promotion as Division Two champions in 1972–73. Two years in the top division until another relegation in 1974–75 would be their last in the top division to date. The Premier Division was introduced ahead of the season 1975–76 as the new top division, with inclusion based upon league position. A poor 16th-place finish in Division One in season 1974–75 meant Clyde was never in contention. The club now found themselves back in the second tier, now known as the First Division.
The club found a new role, discovering and developing talent before selling it on. Shawfield was the starting point for future
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 ...
internationalists like
Steve Archibald
Steven Archibald (born 27 September 1956) is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager. He played prominently as a forward for Aberdeen, winning the Scottish league in 1980, Tottenham Hotspur, winning two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup, and ...
Pat Nevin
Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (born 6 September 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. In a 20-year career, he appeared for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell. He won 2 ...
. Problems on and off the pitch saw Clyde move into freefall. After finishing bottom of the First Division in 1975–76, they found themselves in 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 ...
, the third tier, for the season 1976–77. They only could muster a seventh-place finish. In a decade Clyde had gone from the third best team in Scotland to a single spot above the finishing last 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 ...
. Towards the end of the season,
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 ...
legend
Billy McNeill
William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish football player and manager. He had a long association with Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, manager and club ambassador. McNeill captained Celtic's 'Lisbon Lio ...
took charge but left for Aberdeen after only a few months at the helm. The club then turned to the relatively unknown Craig Brown, and he had immediate success as the team won the Second Division in 1977–78.
Problems were arising at Shawfield. The stadium was falling into a state of disrepair, and the grounds were not well maintained. By the late 1970s, Shawfield came into the hands of the
Greyhound Racing Association
The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...
(GRA).
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
had been in decline since 1963 when off-course betting was allowed. To compensate for this, the GRA had transformed itself into a property company and had a policy of acquiring and redeveloping dog tracks for commercial and residential uses.
They became the first Scottish club to adopt a shirt sponsor in 1979–80. The club secured a deal with the
British Oxygen Company
BOC Ltd is a British based multinational, industrial gas company, more commonly known as BOC, now a part of Linde plc. In September 2004, BOC had over 30,000 employees on six continents, with sales of over £10.6 billion. BOC was a constituent ...
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
for a short stint in the early 1980s when he started coaching.
Relegation from the First Division in 1979–80 was followed by another promotion as Second Division champions in 1981–82. Shawfield eventually came on the open market in 1983 with a £500,000 price tag. The club was served with a notice to quit Shawfield by 1986.
Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a ...
provided the final opposition at Shawfield on 28 April 1986. Clyde claimed a 4–2 win. The unpopular but necessary decision was taken to ground-share with city rivals
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
. Clyde spent five unhappy seasons at Firhill, and there was a sense of relief when Clyde departed. The club was grateful for the use of Firhill, but there was an underlying sense of being tolerated as an inconvenient annoyance.
The 'Gypsy Army' reference came into being as Clyde supporters sought pride and solace during the club's homeless years. The club then negotiated a ground-share at
Douglas Park
Douglas Park was a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, the home ground of Hamilton Academical from 1888 to 1994.
The stadium holds the record for Hamilton Academical's largest ever attendance, 28,690 people against Hearts in 1 ...
with Hamilton Academical, where Clyde resided for two and a half seasons as plans were developed and implemented to build a new home in
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
. Meanwhile, on the field, relegation from the First Division in 1990–91, was followed by promotion again as Second Division champions in 1992–93 and an immediate relegation in 1993–94. However, this continued the tradition of the yo-yo existence the club had become known for at certain times in previous decades.
1994–2022
The Cumbernauld Development Corporation was keen to have a sports stadium and professional football team to promote the town, and
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
, with a 50,000+ population, seemed fertile ground on which to grow new support. A new site called " Broadwood" was to have an integrated business, housing and leisure development with a football stadium at the heart of it. With the help of Football Trust backing, two modern stands began to emerge during the early 1990s.
The Scottish League unusually granted permission for Clyde to switch grounds mid-season, and former landlords,
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 ...
, were the inaugural opposition on 5 February 1994. A capacity crowd of 6000 watched as Clyde lost to the ''Accies'' 2–0.
Clyde dropped to the third tier of football, and in 1998 they almost fell into the lowest reaches of Senior football. However, this was enough for the new chairman, Billy Carmichael, to introduce changes. Ronnie MacDonald got appointed as manager, having worked at Maryhill Juniors. MacDonald signed a whole squad from the Junior ranks, and within two seasons Clyde had gained promotion. Subsequently, Allan Maitland won promotion to the
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 ...
in 1999.
The 2003–04 season saw Clyde atop the League and looking set for the
SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
. But Broadwood did not comply with SPL requirements and crucially Clyde was on the brink of being petitioned by their creditors and liquidated. While the chairman's fortune was well spent on players' wages, very little else got serviced. The SPL relented and said Clyde could join them if the fourth stand got built. North Lanarkshire Council started the groundworks and then abruptly halted them as they became aware of Clyde's financial plight. Plan B, playing at
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, was investigated. In the event, a draw with
Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...
and a home loss to
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 ...
meant that Clyde missed out on promotion.
The Clyde Supporters' Trust formed during the 2003–04 season. Early that season some concerned fans met knowing that the chairman could not keep financing the Club indefinitely. The timing of the Trust's formation coincided with Clyde's failure to gain promotion, and the chairman sought to sell his majority shareholding. Following lengthy negotiations, a consortium of the Trust and traditional investors increased the majority shareholding for a nominal sum. The Clyde Development Consortium took control of funds gathered by fans and investors and used it to finance the Club through a CVA to clear the debts. In June 2005 the CVA was completed, and Clyde was mostly debt free.
In a season, 2005–06, that saw Clyde lead 2–1 from 1–0 behind at
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
in a
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 ...
tie with 17 minutes left before a goalkeeping error gifted Rangers an equalizer, with Clyde going on to lose in extra time, the other half of the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
,
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 ...
visited Broadwood in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...
. Clyde, however, won 2–1. The goal scorers for Clyde were Eddie Malone and
Craig Bryson
Craig James Bryson (born 6 November 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Now Bryson is now a fitness and conditioning coach with East Kilbride.
Bryson began his career at Scottish First Division club C ...
whilst Celtic's goal scorer was
Maciej Zurawski Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś.
Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May
Maciej may refer to:
Arts and ente ...
. Clyde reached the
2006 Challenge Cup Final
The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for rugby league's Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, France ...
, their first final for 48 years, since their
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Colin Hendry
Edward Colin James Hendry (born 7 December 1965) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer.
Hendry, who played as a defender notably played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the title winning ...
was appointed manager in summer 2007. On 14 August of that year, Clyde history was made when Michael Doherty became the youngest person ever to play for Clyde in a competitive match, a feat later broken by Connor Stevenson in a league match at
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
on 25 April 2009.
Hendry resigned in January 2008, due to family reasons. Former
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
defender John 'Bomber' Brown replaced him as manager. Clyde entered the final game of the season needing to better Morton's result to avoid getting forced into the playoffs. Clyde won their game 3–0, but in a cruel twist of fate, Morton won their own game by the same scoreline, sending Clyde into a two-legged play-off with Second Division side
Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a ...
. Clyde lost the first leg 2–1 and at 3–1 down in the home second leg looked as good as relegated. However, a thrilling fightback saw Clyde level at 5–5 on aggregate (4–3 on the day) before adding another goal in
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
to progress. Home and away victories over
Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
in the play-off final then secured First Division football at Broadwood for another season.
However, the following season Clyde finished bottom of the First Division and got relegated 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 ...
. Meanwhile, off the park, financial problems were once again apparent. In a hope to try and avoid administration in June 2009, Clyde terminated the contracts of the entire first-team squad, with only youngsters remaining under contract at the club. The squad for 2009–10 was rebuilt on a drastically reduced budget with a repeat of open trials which were successful in 2005. However early results were not good, and the board appointed
Neil Watt
Neil James Watt (born 16 September 1962) is a Scottish football player and manager.
Club career
Watt is a former professional football player and manager. He played first team football for Forfar Athletic, East Stirlingshire, Stirling Albion, ...
as Director of Football and John McCormack as first team coach. After a brief upturn in results, Clyde went six games without a win, and on Saturday 21 November, with the team sitting three points adrift at the bottom of the Second Division, it was announced that John Brown had left his position as manager. On Monday 5 April John McCormack was sacked by Clyde.
More history was made in a home match with
Peterhead
Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
on 17 April 2010, when Willie Sawyers scored after only eight seconds, which became the fastest Clyde goal ever recorded. Despite this, the club was subsequently relegated for the second season in a row, dropping down to the
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
where they made a disastrous start to the campaign, including an 8–1 thrashing at the hands of Montrose. On Wednesday 2 February 2011, Stuart Millar was sacked as manager of Clyde. They finished 10th in the Third Division, which at 42nd and last place overall is the lowest position in the Scottish league system.
On 20 April 2013 Clyde's owners voted to move to
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
and rename the club EK Clyde FC, however this plan would later be abandoned. The 2013–14 season saw a significant improvement on the field when a
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
play-off spot was secured in the penultimate league match of the season. In the previous six seasons Clyde had finished in the bottom two positions of every league campaign. However, the club missed out on promotion after a play-off semi-final defeat on penalties to East Fife. Gordon Young became the first Clyde player to score with their first touch on their club debut in a match against
Elgin City
Elgin City Football Club (also known as City or The Black and Whites) is a professional senior football club based in Elgin, Moray.
Elgin was founded in 1893 and originally played their football in the Highland Football League. The club was g ...
on 1 March 2014.
Duffy resigned as manager of Clyde on 19 May 2014 to take up the vacant managerial post at
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
, while John Taylor, a member of the boardroom since 1986, and the club's longest serving director had stepped down in April. In October 2014, the club were declared officially debt free, having accumulated an unsustainable debt of £1.4 million as a result of the club's failed promotion bid to the
SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
during season 2003–04, with the burden of debt having weighed heavily on the shoulders of the club for the next decade. Scott Durie became the first Clyde player to play every single minute of every competitive match in a season, during the 2014–15 season.
Former Rangers, Blackburn and Scotland midfielder
Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson (born 2 February 1978) is a Scottish football coach, former player and pundit who was most recently the manager of Alloa Athletic.
Ferguson spent most of his playing career at Rangers, in two spells either side of a £7.5 mil ...
was appointed as player-manager of Clyde in June 2014 and took the club to a 6th-place finish in his first season in charge. Ferguson officially retired as a player towards the end of that season. The following year, Clyde finished 3rd in League Two but got beaten in the playoff final. On 25 February 2017 with the club in 8th place in League Two after a 1–0 defeat to Annan Athletic and with no realistic prospect of gaining promotion after a ten-match winless run, Ferguson resigned as manager of Clyde, with his assistant Bob Malcolm taking interim charge of the side until a new manager was appointed.
After nine years in the bottom tier of Scottish football, at the end of the 2018–19 season,
Danny Lennon
Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.
In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. H ...
led Clyde to promotion to Scottish League One, beating Annan Athletic 2–1 on aggregate to win the promotion play-off final.
In April 2022, the club announced they would be leaving Broadwood at the end of the 2021–22 season, ending their 28-year stay in Cumbernauld. They will be ground-sharing with
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 ...
at
New Douglas Park
New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One sid ...
from the start of the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, with a view of relocating to a new home back in Glasgow in the near future.
Clyde's last match at Broadwood was a defeat by
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
on 23 April 2022.
Grounds
Barrowfield
Clyde has had five home grounds since they formed in 1877. The first of these was
Barrowfield Park
Barrowfield Park was a football ground in the Bridgeton / Dalmarnock area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Eastern during the 1870s and Clyde between 1877 and 1898.
History
Clyde moved to Barrowfield Park in 1877, initially gro ...
, situated on the banks of the River Clyde between the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Bridgeton and
Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Pa ...
.
Shawfield
By 1898, Barrowfield became too small in capacity to deal with the large crowds of spectators. The club then moved across the river to build a new stadium, which would be known as
Shawfield Stadium
Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow.
Originally a football ground, Shawfield w ...
.
A crowd of 10,000 saw the first match at Shawfield against
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 ...
. In 1908, a group of 52,000 gathered for a game against
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
, which remains Clyde's record home attendance to this day. Financial pressures led to the club relinquishing ownership of the stadium in 1935, selling it their former tenants, the Greyhound Racing Association. This arrangement continued satisfactorily for over 50 years until the GRA announced redevelopment plans for the stadium and gave Clyde notice to quit in 1986.
Broadwood
In 1990, Clyde had secured an agreement to move into a stadium in the new town of
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
, which due to shifting population patterns was by now one of the larger settlements in Scotland without a senior football team. The new all-seater
Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...
would not be ready until 1994.
Clyde moved into the venue midway through the 1994–95 season. Broadwood has hosted Scotland U21 matches and four
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
for four seasons from 1994 to 1998 and Rangers reserves for a while.
On 9 December 2010, Clyde had informed their landlords at North Lanarkshire Council (NL Leisure) of their intention to relinquish their lease on Broadwood and move elsewhere. Furthermore, on 19 October 2011, Clyde revealed that they were investigating the possibility of a move to
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
, the largest town in Scotland without a senior football team. Another option was to move back to Rutherglen and develop the Clyde Gateway Stadium in a ground-sharing agreement. This had received approval from current tenants
Rutherglen Glencairn
Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park).
G ...
.
In April 2022, the club announced they would be leaving Broadwood at the end of the 2021–22 season, ending their 28-year stay in Cumbernauld. They will be ground-sharing with
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 ...
at
New Douglas Park
New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One sid ...
from the start of the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, with a view of relocating to a new home back in Glasgow in the near future.
Groundsharing
After the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began, in September 1914, a fire completely destroyed the grandstand at
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
. Clyde were forced to switch their home games for a while.
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 ...
, the club's
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
neighbours, offered up
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...
as an alternative venue for home games.
After Celtic Park suffered similar damage in March 1929, The club had to play the rest of their matches in the 1928–29 season at nearby
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
. (reciprocating an earlier arrangement in 1914 when Clyde suffered similar damage to their ground).
On March 1, 1958, Clyde hosted Celtic in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Set for
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...
, the match was moved to Celtic Park over safety concerns. However, Clyde still had home advantage because the home stand tickets were initially reserved for Clyde ticket holders with Celtic tickets ineligible. The ''Bully Wee'' won 2–0 in front of 65,000, with goals from
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
and
Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...
. The full back pairing of
Haddock
The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...
and
Murphy
Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland.
Origins and variants
The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...
were reported to have been immense.
After quitting Shawfield in 1986, the club investigated several local options. Clyde secured an agreement with arch-rivals
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
to share their ground
Firhill
Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...
for five seasons until 1991. Despite reaching an agreement to move into Broadwood in 1990, it would not be until 1994 when the ground was ready, so Clyde shared with
Hamilton Accies
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...
at their
Douglas Park
Douglas Park was a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, the home ground of Hamilton Academical from 1888 to 1994.
The stadium holds the record for Hamilton Academical's largest ever attendance, 28,690 people against Hearts in 1 ...
for a further three seasons.
The club negotiated a groundshare with
Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...
to use Recreation Park for the club's first home game of the 2012–13 season, a first round
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
match against
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
. During pre-season work had begun at Broadwood to replace the grass pitch with an artificial surface (
astroturf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...
) and the pitch was not finished in time for their first home match of the season. Clyde were confident that the pitch would be completed and all the details finalised for the club's first home league match of the season in time for the visit of
Peterhead
Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
. The match was switched to Recreation Park for the second successive home game after a pitch inspection carried out earlier in the week by the SFL decided that the pitch was not at the stage of completion as expected. Installation of the new surface was completed in time for the club's next home match of the league season.
Supporters
Clyde Football Club is 100% owned by the supporters.
The supporters' fiercest rivalry is with
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
, given that the two clubs are both of smaller stature to that of
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
and
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 ...
. However, given the success and promotion of Partick Thistle to the
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
, and Clyde's recent relegation to the
Scottish League Two
The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...
, such derby games have become a rarity in past years. Both clubs were in League One together in the
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season.
The number of years Clyde spent without a permanent home of their own led to the fans identifying themselves as the ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
Army''.
The Clyde Supporters Social Club on Rutherglen Main Street burned down in the early 2000s and has never been rebuilt or re-opened. There was also a Supporters Club located in
Kirkintilloch
Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...
.
The Clyde Supporters' Trust got formed during season 2003–04. A group of fans became aware of the club's severe financial problems as Billy Carmichael's reign as chairman came to an end. It was formed in time to save the club and keep it in the supporter's hands in a time that coincided with Clyde's failure to gain promotion and the chairman looking to sell his majority shareholding.
In the past the Supporters' Trust has financed the signings of players such as John Potter and
Tom Brighton
Tom Brighton (born 28 March 1984) is a Scottish professional footballer, who played as a centre forward.
Early life
Brighton was educated at Marr College in Troon.
Career
Brighton began his career at Rangers, where he played only one game, ...
, and retaining the signatures of players such as
Neil McGregor
Neil McGregor (born 17 July 1985, in Irvine), is a Scottish football defender who has previously played in the Scottish Premier League for Dundee.
Career
McGregor began his career with Kilmarnock. He played in the Scottish Youth Cup wi ...
and David Hutton.
The Clyde supporters also run their own supporters team called Bully Wee United. Bully Wee United are recognised as the official supporters team of Clyde and represent the club in the IFA League with matches well played Saturday mornings. Matches are normally against the supporter's teams of the opposition facing the first team on the same day. Bully Wee United is unique in most Scottish supporters teams as they operate a strict policy that only Clyde supporters may play for the team. Players must attend a minimum number of Clyde games over a season. Clyde is also represented in the Scottish Central Amateur League by another supporters team named Broadwood Clyde. They got formed in 1994. They were crowned SSFL Division One league champions in 2005. They also won the SSFL League Cup in 2004 and SSFL Inter-Division Cup in 2003 making them the most successful Clyde supporters team. Broadwood Clyde play their homes games at Ravenswood in Cumbernauld on Sunday afternoons.
The Clyde View
The ''Clyde View'' is Clyde's official matchday programme. It won the Scottish Programme of the Year Award every season from 1995–96 to 2006–07, and again in 2008–09. It also won the Scottish Divisional Programme of the Year Award every season from 1991–92 to 2011–12. It won the inaugural Scottish Divisional Programme Best Design of the Year Award for season 2011–12.
On Wirrel's UK Programme of the Year, it achieved a top ten finish on three consecutive occasions from 2002–03 to 2004–05; 8th (2002–03), 6th (2003–04) and 5th (2004–05).
Nickname
The club's nickname, "The Bully Wee", is of uncertain origin although the club themselves have advanced three theories.
The first suggests that the clubs and supporters and perhaps players mainly came from
Bridgeton, Glasgow
Bridgeton ( sco, Brigtoun, gd, Baile na Drochaid) is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north ...
, a tight working-class area whose inhabitants had a reputation as "wee bullies", with this becoming transposed as the Bully Wee.
Alternatively, it is also claimed that it comes from around 1900 when a group of French supporters paid a visit to Barrowfield and, upon the scoring of a disputed goal, were heard to remark "But il'y, oui?" or "Their goal, yes". Supporters heard this unfamiliar phrase as "Bully Wee", and the name stuck.
Finally the third theory, and the one accepted by the club as the most plausible, links the term to the old Victorian idiom "bully" meaning first-rate or high standard and suggests that Clyde, a small club, would have been regularly referred to as "Bully Wee Clyde", with the first two words eventually becoming the standalone nickname.
Clyde's supporters also go by the name of "Gypsy Army". Due to the number of years the club spent homeless, rival fans called Clyde fans "gypsies" as a slur. The supporters of Clyde adopted this as a badge of honour and the "Gypsy Army" was born. Despite now having a settled home at Broadwood Stadium the nickname lives on in terracing songs, supporters buses and supporters football teams.
Rivalries
Historically seen as a
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 ...
club, local rivalries (
Glasgow derby
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply ...
) were developed and forged with other teams from in and around the city, in particular
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 ...
(also from the East End),
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
,
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
.
For most of the 20th century, they were six of leading clubs in the country. More often than not all six clubs reside in the top division, with fiercely contested competitions such as the
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
European football
UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...
) on top of national tournaments, it saw the clubs pitted against one another multiple times a season.
A team called Thistle FC, also known Glasgow or Bridgeton Thistle, were early rivals to the club. Formed a decade before Clyde in 1868, Thistle's first ground was situated nearby at the club's original home
Barrowfield Park
Barrowfield Park was a football ground in the Bridgeton / Dalmarnock area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Eastern during the 1870s and Clyde between 1877 and 1898.
History
Clyde moved to Barrowfield Park in 1877, initially gro ...
. Thistle's last fixture was a friendly against the full first team of Clyde at Barrowfield before going out of existence in 1894.
The Clyde vs Partick Thistle derby was previously a fierce battle between two of Glasgow's smaller clubs, in comparison to the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
. The rivalry intensified when Thistle became Clyde's landlords at
Firhill
Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...
for five years in the 1980s. The decision to groundshare was never fully accepted by either set of fans. After quitting Clyde on free transfer to sign for the
Firhill
Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...
club (newly promoted to the
SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
) in 2002,
Jamie Mitchell
Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jack Ryder (actor), Jack Ryder. The character debuted on 9 November 1998 and became one of the show's central protagonists until he was Kill off, killed- ...
stated he was shocked by the reaction of Clyde supporters to the move. He referred to it as getting the "
Mo Johnston
Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...
treatment". Former ''Jags'' midfielder
Scott Chaplain
Scott Chaplain (born 10 September 1983, in Bellshill) is a Scottish retired professional footballer. He last played for Albion Rovers in their 2014–15 Scottish League Two winning season.
Chaplain began his career in the Rangers youth set-u ...
(once a signing target for Clyde) spoke of the "competitive edges to those particular matches" after playing in the fixtures many times. When talking about a possible groundshare again, Partick Thistle chairman
David Beattie
Sir David Stuart Beattie, (29 February 1924 – 4 February 2001) was an Australian-born New Zealand judge who served as the 14th Governor-General of New Zealand, from 1980 to 1985. During the 1984 constitutional crisis, Beattie was nearly for ...
said it would reignite the Glasgow-rivalry saying "the healthy rivalry between ourselves and the Bully Wee is historical". Due to Partick Thistle's promotion to Scotland's highest professional league, the
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
, in the 2010s and Clyde's relegations to the lower leagues in the same period, matches between the two clubs became less common. However, by 2020 they found themselves in the same division (
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...
) once again, with a revived version of the Glasgow Cup also offering more meetings.
During the 2010s, Queen's Park became the natural rivals to Clyde, as both clubs were stuck in the bottom league (fourth tier) for the majority of the decade. From 2010 to 2016, Clyde were on a demoralising run of results against Queen's Park: the ''Spiders'' won 17 and drew 3 of the 26 matches. This included a run of 11 successive wins (scoring 29 goals in that run).
Geographically classed as a
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...
club since the 1994 move to
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
, Clyde's matches against
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
,
Albion Rovers
Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...
,
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
or
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 ...
can be considered a
Lanarkshire derby
The Lanarkshire derby is a football rivalry based in Lanarkshire, Scotland, with matches contested between any two from Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical and Albion Rovers (based in Coatbridge).
Motherwell vs Airdrie
*First meeti ...
.
Managers
The club has appointed 30 full-time managers in its history.
First-team squad
On loan
Club officials
Board
*Chairman: Gordon Thomson
*Vice-Chairman/Medical Director: David MacPherson
*Finance Director: Greg Callan
*Commercial Director: Charlie Lowrie
*Director of Corporate Governance and Communication: Bryan Macpherson
*Operations Director/Company Secretary: John Taylor
*Clyde FC Community Foundation Chairman: John Alexander
*Directors: Graeme Kelly, Ian Letham, Gordon Nisbet
Brian McLean
Brian Stuart McLean (born 28 February 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Clyde.
He began his career in Scotland as a youth and reserve player with Rangers before joining Motherwell in 2005, initially on loan. He t ...
*Goalkeeping Coach: James Evans
*Head of Football Operations: Graham Diamond
*Head of Recruitment: PJ Corr
*Video Analyst: Andy Muir
*Kitman: Ian Elliott
*Assistant Kitman: Lewis Kenna
*Head of Physiotherapy: Iain McKinlay
*Physio: Alistair Gray
*Sports Therapist: Alannah MacPherson
Reserve and youth teams
Reserve League Cup
Clyde put together a reserve team for the SFL's Reserve League Cup competition, which included a mixture of first team fringe players and youngsters. The club won the Reserve League Cup for the first time in May 2008. They defeated
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
4–1 on their own ground at
Almondvale
Almondvale Stadium, also known as the Tony Macaroni Arena for sponsorship purposes, but most commonly referred to as ‘The Spaghettihad’ (alluding to the Etihad Stadium), is a football stadium, located in the Almondvale area of Livingston, We ...
with Dave McKay scoring all four goals for Clyde. It was the team's first piece of silverware at reserve level for twenty years. The following season the club were knocked out by Ross County in the semi-finals losing 3–0 in
Dingwall
Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...
.
Reserve team history
'A' Team
It was common from the beginning of reserve football for the majority of club's reserve teams (second XI's) to go by the tag ‘A’ or sometimes ‘B’ or even ‘C’ if a club had more than one reserve side. It wasn't until after the formation of the new Scottish Reserve League in 1955 that today's reserve teams go by the actual tag ‘reserves’ and have done since 1957.
During the 1881–82 season, Clyde reached the semi-finals of the Scottish 2nd XI Cup in the competitions the first season. In 1896-97 they reached their first 'major' cup final, the Scottish 2nd XI Cup final eventually losing 4–0 to Hearts. After reaching the semi-finals again in 1905–06, they were thwarted by arch-rivals
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
this time.
The club first joined the Scottish Reserve League in 1909-10 and found the first few years of competing in the league though. It wasn't until the 1913–14 season when they made their mark when they lost 1–0 at Hearts in a league decider for the Reserve League title. It meant that the club missed out on a unique League and Cup double after they captured the Scottish 2nd XI Cup for the first time that season. They dispatched of St Mirren in the final over two legs (1-1 away and 3–1 at home). They successfully defended the Scottish 2nd XI Cup the following season when Clyde overcame Falkirk in the final over two legs (2-1 loss away and a 3–1 home win).
Their third and final Scottish 2nd XI Cup triumph came in 1941–42. It would be the team's last 'major' cup success for the next sixty-six years. In 1945-46 they reached their last Scottish 2nd XI Cup final losing to Hibs, after a superb 6-2 derby victory over arch-rivals
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
in the semifinals.
The Scottish Reserve League merged with the Scottish C Division ( third tier) for the 1949–50 season creating two regionalised divisions (South/West and North/East) with Clyde entering a reserve team in the South & West region. The club was crowned champions in 1949–50 and they retained their title in 1950–51. Despite successive titles, there was no promotion as only first teams could gain promotion to Division B. As reserve teams got excluded from 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 ...
, the C Division had their League Cup. Clyde couldn't quite match the success in the cup that they had in the league as they never won the competition. The best they could manage were semi-final appearances in 1951-52 and in 1953–54.
League restructuring
After both regional C Divisions got scrapped in June 1955, a new Scottish Reserve League started up. The new Reserve League was an exclusively all First Division league (a mirror image of the senior league) and all Second Division clubs' reserve sides got excluded from joining. There were several seasons when not all clubs took part. As for teams who were turned away or excluded from joining, they joined various supplementary leagues over the next few years.
For the first few seasons between 1955 and 1960, Clyde regularly finished quite high up the table or at least in a mid-table position. From then onwards in the seasons they spent in the league, the team were often at the wrong end of the table.
In one of the seasons that Clyde didn't participate in the Reserve League, they joined the Combined Reserve League for a single season in 1961–62. Due to the small number of teams involved, the competition got split into an Autumn Series and Spring Series. The club won the Autumn Series and finished second overall in the Combined Table.
Just like Clyde's first team, whose last spell in the Scottish top flight came in 1974–75, the same fate happened to their reserve team following a further league restructure at senior and reserve level. The Reserve League set-up changed again in 1975 after a reorganisation of the 'senior' Scottish League into Premier-First-Second Divisions. The new Premier Reserve League was a mirror image of the new
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) Th ...
in terms of membership. Lower league clubs used varying set-ups such as east–west sections and midweek competitions. In later games, clubs didn't always participate as running a reserve side became expensive.
It wasn't until season 1979–80 when Clyde gained membership to re-enter a reserve team in the Scottish Reserve League. They got placed in the regional West division. Finishing bottom in their first season, it was a further two seasons before they returned. They fared much better during the 1987–88 season when they won the division. It proved to be a one-off, though. Season 2000–01 was Clyde's last in the West Reserves League eventually before all reserves leagues got scrapped after season 2007–08.
Youth teams
The club ran youth teams at under-20, under-17, under-15, under-14, under-13, under-12, and under-11 level. There was an under-18 team until 2003, when it made way for under-17 and under-19 teams. The under-20 team replaced the under-19 team in 2014. The club also run Football Schools in
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
(since 2006) and Glasgow Southside (since 2008). Both schools have since been awarded the SFA Quality Mark Award at Standard Level and then at Development Level.
The Community Foundation received the Gold award in the SFA Quality Mark category for grassroots football. The Foundation also received the Young Start Award in 2017 to run a project called ''Start Young, Grow Young''. The club were forced to scrap their youth academy from under 11 to under 17 levels in 2015 citing a reduction in funding from the
Scottish FA
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 governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for ...
, with the under-20 side the only youth team remaining, which acts as a feeder to the first team for young players.
The team reached the
Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,
semi finals in 1988, but were beaten by
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
. The under-17 team reached the SFL Youth Cup final in 2004 losing 4–1 on penalties to
Hamilton Accies
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...
at
New Douglas Park
New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One sid ...
despite scoring in stoppage time of extra time to make it 1–1. Both of the under-19 and under-17 teams reached the semi finals of their SFL Youth Cups in 2006. The under-19 team finished runners-up behind
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 ...
in the inaugural
SPFL
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 we ...
under-19 league in 2014.
The under-19 team travelled to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 2003, taking part in a highly rated youth football programme called the ''Leonardo Project'' hosted by
FC Dordrecht
Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...
. They played three times against an under-19 team of the hosts, which contained Dutch youth internationalists, winning two and drawing one. In the third match, the opposition was made up of reserves and first team fringe players. They followed this up with a win over local
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
team
vv Capelle
Voetbalvereniging Capelle is a Dutch football team, founded on 20 February 1930.
Its home venue is Sportpark 't Slot in Capelle aan den IJssel.
Since 2018, VV Capelle competes in the Hoofdklasse.
Associated people
Chief coach
* Arie van de ...
and a narrow defeat to a youthful
FC Utrecht
Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard.
The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...
team.
The Lanarkshire FA started the Lanarkshire Supercounty Trophy for all four senior Lanarkshire clubs' under-17 teams in 2013. Clyde beat
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
in the semi final, but lost to Accies in the final. The under-17's also reached their sectional League Cup final in 2017. The Community Foundation youth teams reached Divisional Cup finals in 2018 and 2019.
From the 2018–19 season, Clyde have replaced their Under 20 side with a project alongside
North Lanarkshire Council
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...
called Project Braver, which will see young players play at youth level with a chance to progress to the first team, alongside providing further education or apprenticeship opportunities for the players.
Graduates
Graduates of the youth team who have gone on to play for the first team since moving to
Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...
Brian Carrigan
Brian Eric Carrigan (born 26 September 1979) is a Scottish footballer who most recently played for Sauchie Juniors in the Scottish Junior Football Association, East Region. He has previously played in both the Scottish and English football l ...
Craig Bryson
Craig James Bryson (born 6 November 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Now Bryson is now a fitness and conditioning coach with East Kilbride.
Bryson began his career at Scottish First Division club C ...
*
David Greenhill
David Greenhill (born 8 July 1985 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish professional footballer, who plays in midfield, for Broxburn Athletic.
He was capped by the Scotland Schoolboys in 2002.
Career
Greenhill began his career with St Johnstone, alth ...
Ruari MacLennan
Ruari MacLennan (born 26 March 1988) is a Scottish football midfielder who plays for Armadale.. MacLennan is a product of Clyde's youth system.
Career
Born in Livingston, MacLennan signed a YTS contract with Clyde in the summer of 2006, and m ...
Roddy MacLennan
Roddy MacLennan (born 3 May 1989 in Livingston) is a Scottish footballer who plays for Linlithgow Rose in the East of Scotland League. He is a product of Clyde's youth system.
Career
MacLennan signed a YTS contract with Clyde in July 2007.
H ...
* Jordan Murch
* Connor Stevenson
* Jordan Allan
* Steven Howarth
* Darren Walker
* Connor Cassidy
* Kevin Higgins
* Daniel Fitzpatrick
* Jack Sloss
* Drew Ramsay
* Kieran Daw
* Grant Dickie
* Scott Ferguson
* Fraser McGhee
* Gordon Young
* William Robb
Scottish internationals
Pat Nevin
Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (born 6 September 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. In a 20-year career, he appeared for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell. He won 2 ...
,
Steve Archibald
Steven Archibald (born 27 September 1956) is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager. He played prominently as a forward for Aberdeen, winning the Scottish league in 1980, Tottenham Hotspur, winning two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup, and ...
and Ian Ferguson also came through the Clyde youth system.
Hall of Fame
;Hall of Fame
*The Dunn family (2011)
*
George Herd
George Herd (born 6 May 1936) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Inverness Thistle, Queen's Park, Clyde, Sunderland, Vancouver Royal Canadians, Hartlepool United and Scotland.
Player
Herd began his professional football career i ...
(2011)
*
Davie Laing
David Laing (20 February 1925 – 15 July 2017) was a Scottish professional footballer.
Laing played for Hearts for eight years and represented the Scottish League XI while there in 1952. His last game for the club was on 4 September 1954 in ...
Pat Nevin
Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (born 6 September 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. In a 20-year career, he appeared for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell. He won 2 ...
Harry Haddock
Henry Haddock (26 July 1925 – 18 December 1998) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left back and spent almost his entire career with Clyde. He was also selected in the Scotland squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was renowned for hi ...
(2012)
* The 1966–67 Clyde squad (2014)
* Brian Ahern (2015)
*
Keith Knox
Keith Knox (born 6 August 1964 in Stranraer) is a Scottish former football player and was the manager of Creetown F.C. until his resignation in September 2017.
Playing career
Knox started his career with his hometown team, before moving to ...
(2016)
*
Tommy Ring
Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasg ...
(2016)
* Neil Hood (2017)
The club launched its official Hall of Fame in 2011, with five inaugural inductees. Three more were inducted in 2012. The Clyde team of season 1966–67 was inducted in 2014. There was one inducted in 2015. There is also a Hall of Fame section on the club website.
Honours
League
*
Scottish Division One
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 ...
Scottish 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 south ...
(Level 2)
**Winners (5):
1904–05
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
1903–04
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
,
1905–06
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
B Division Supplementary Cup
The Supplementary Cup was a Scottish football competition open to teams in the B Division, firstly in the Southern League during season 1945–46 and when full peacetime football returned the following season, the Scottish League between seas ...
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup
The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...
1: 1909–10, 1939–40, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1960–61
*Runners-up: 1911–12, 1924–25, 1941–42, 1943–44, 1958–59
Southern League
*Runners-up: 1940–41Summer Cup
*Runners-up: 1943–44
West of Scotland League / Shield: 1904–05, 1906–07
*Runners-up: 1905–06
Glasgow & District Midweek League
*Runners-up: 1912–13
Glasgow North Eastern Cup
The Glasgow North Eastern Cup was a senior competition organised by the North Eastern FA in Glasgow, and open to clubs in the East and North End of the city.
1881–82 season
Matches
Semi-final
Final
1881-92 season
1882-83 season
...
St Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...
Charity Cup
*Runners-up: 1938
Friendship Cup: 1960–61 (joint-winners)
1Clyde shared the trophy with
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
in 1952 and with
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 ...
Optical Express
Optical Express is a provider of ophthalmology services including laser eye surgery, cataract surgery and lens replacement surgery in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Optical Express is a trading name of ''DCM (Optical Holdings) Limited'' which ...
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 ...
: 52,000 vs
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
(28 November 1908) (at
Shawfield Stadium
Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow.
Originally a football ground, Shawfield w ...
); 8,000 vs
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 ...
(
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...
)
*Record win: 11–1 vs
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 ...
(6 October 1951), 10–0 vs
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
(14 August 1957)
*Record European win: 4–0 vs
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), come ...
(7 August 1960)
*Record loss: 11–0 vs
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 ...
(22 November 1897)
*Most capped player:
Tommy Ring
Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasg ...
: 12 (
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 international goals:
Tommy Ring
Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasg ...
: 2 (
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 ...
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 goals in one season:
Billy McPhail
William Simeon McPhail (2 February 1928 – 4 April 2003) was a Scottish football player who played for Queen's Park, Clyde and Celtic. He scored three goals in Celtic's record 7–1 victory over Rangers in the 1957 Scottish League Cup Final ...
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 ...
on 15 April 2009)
All-time league appearances
''As of 1 June 2020 (League only, includes appearances as substitute):''
All-time league goalscorers
''As of 1 July 2018 (League matches only, includes appearances as substitute):''
Noted players
Internationalists
A list of fully international capped players while they played for the club. Players are alphabetically ordered by nationality, forenames, and lastly surnames.
;
*
Frank Thompson
Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the United State ...
(2 caps)
*
Jack Kirwan
John Henry Kirwan (9 February 1878 – 9 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...
Albie Murphy
Albert "Albie" Murphy (November 1930 in Dublin – June 2000 in Dublin) was an Irish former professional football player.
He joined Clyde in Scotland from Transport in 1949, but returned to Ireland with Shamrock Rovers in 1951. He then rejoined ...
Alec Linwood
Alexander Bryce Linwood (13 March 1920 – 26 October 2003) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played for St Mirren F.C., St Mirren, Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, Hibernian F.C., Hibernian, Clyde F.C., Clyde, Greenock Morto ...
Danny Blair
Daniel Blair (2 February 1905 – 7 March 1985) was a Scottish football player who began his senior career in North America before finishing it in England. He also earned eight caps with the Scottish national team.
Early career
Although he wa ...
(7 caps)
*
George Herd
George Herd (born 6 May 1936) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Inverness Thistle, Queen's Park, Clyde, Sunderland, Vancouver Royal Canadians, Hartlepool United and Scotland.
Player
Herd began his professional football career i ...
Harry Haddock
Henry Haddock (26 July 1925 – 18 December 1998) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left back and spent almost his entire career with Clyde. He was also selected in the Scotland squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was renowned for hi ...
John Brown John Brown most often refers to:
*John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859
John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to:
Academia
* John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
(1 cap)
*
Leslie Johnston
Leslie Hamilton Johnston (16 August 1920 – 19 October 2001) was a Scottish footballer who played for Clydebank Juniors, Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township ...
(2 caps/1 goal)
*
Tommy Ring
Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasg ...
(12 caps/2 goals)
*
William Walker William Walker may refer to:
Arts
* William Walker (engraver) (1791–1867), mezzotint engraver of portrait of Robert Burns
* William Sidney Walker (1795–1846), English Shakespearean critic
* William Walker (composer) (1809–1875), American Ba ...