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 ...
team based in the town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census re ...
Scottish Professional Football League
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...
until their relegation in 2019.
The club play at Shielfield Park, which has a capacity of just over 4,000.
History
Berwick Rangers was officially formed on 7 January 1881 after a match was played in the town between a team of millworkers from
Dunbar
Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ...
and a team of railway clerks from
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. For much of the club's history it was believed that they had formed in 1881, though recent research indicates that 1884 is the more likely date of formation. Their first competitive match was against another team from Berwick, 'The Royal Oaks' on 16 February 1884. Berwick Rangers won the match by "one goal to nil".
Berwick Rangers affiliated to the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility f ...
around 1905 and entered the Scottish Border League in 1905, followed by the Border Amateur League (1908–09). Recent research has revealed that the club joined the East of Scotland League immediately after the First World War, a new competition formed to replace the Borders League. The club made several attempts to join the North Northumberland League but were rebuffed. It was not until 1951 that they were admitted to
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
C Division (North & East). This third tier, made up largely of reserve sides, had been created in 1946 and was regionalised in 1949. The division was scrapped in 1955 and Berwick, along with the other non-reserve teams, were placed in an enlarged Division B (renamed Division Two the following season). Berwick Rangers have played in the
Scottish football league system
The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs.
The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...
ever since, despite low attendances and frequent financial problems.
Following its foundation, the club had had a nomadic existence before eventually settling down at Shielfield Park in 1954.
A notable early success was a 3–0 win over
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers 4–0. Ten years later they reached the semi-final of the
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...
, losing to Rangers 3–1.
Arguably their greatest success came in 1967, when they beat Rangers 1–0 in the Scottish Cup under the management of player manager
Jock Wallace
John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...
. It was the highlight of a memorable cup run, which had seen them break a club record in beating Vale of Leithen 8–1 in the first round. The result sent shockwaves around Scottish football and led to a number of the Rangers players leaving Ibrox; it was also the club's greatest home attendance of 13,365. They were paired with Hibernian in the following round but lost 1–0 in front of a crowd of nearly 30,000.
The following years saw little progress until the late 1970s, when under the management of Dave Smith they won the Division Two title in 1979. Despite that success they were unable to build and suffered a slow decline through the 1980s. The nadir came in season 1988–89 when they were nearly bankrupted and the club were locked out of Shielfield, having to play their games elsewhere. In 1988 Jim Jefferies took over as manager and led the team to a club record 21 game unbeaten run.
The club weathered this and other crises in the early 1990s, narrowly avoiding going into administration in 1994. Later in the decade Berwick enjoyed a bit more in the way of success only missing out on promotion to
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...
due to league reorganisation in 1994. They were relegated to Division Three in 1997 but under the management of Paul Smith regained promotion in 2000. Under Smith's stewardship they took both Rangers and Heart of Midlothian to replays in the Scottish Cup.
They were again relegated to the Third Division in 2005, and narrowly missed out on an instant return to the Second Division the following season, this time losing to
Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire.
Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa At ...
in the Second Division play-offs. Despite losing a good deal of the squad to other clubs in the close season, manager John Coughlin exceeded expectations by rebuilding the team and guiding them to the Third Division championship in 2007, their first title in 28 years, in a season which also saw a new record for consecutive league wins.
John Coughlin resigned as Berwick Rangers manager after a 3–0 home loss to Alloa Athletic on 6 October 2007. He left with Berwick at the foot of the table with only 5 points after 9 games.
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...
coach Michael Renwick was appointed new manager on 25 October 2007. However, after a dismal season which saw Berwick finish bottom and ship 101 goals, including a 9–2 defeat to Peterhead, Renwick was relieved of his duties on 19 April 2008. The official website reported on 12 May 2008 that
Camelon
Camelon (; sco, Caimlan, gd, Camlann) is a large set ...
manager Allan McGonigal would take over as manager. He resigned from his post on 13 November 2008. His announcement came in the wake of a deal which saw a fan led consortium take control of the club. On 27 January the consortium concluded their deal to buy the club.
Following McGonigal's resignation
Jimmy Crease
James Crease (born 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player.
Crease played for Berwick Rangers and Albion Rovers in the Scottish Football League. He has since managed Albion Rovers,
became manager for the fourth time, initially as a caretaker, but then on a permanent basis in December 2008. Following a 4–0 defeat to Deveronvale in the second round of the
2011–12 Scottish Cup
The 2011–12 Scottish Cup was the 127th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 24 September 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012. It was sponsored by William Hill in the first season of a three-y ...
Crease stood down as manager. Player Ian Little was named caretaker manager until the end of 2011 when his position was to be reviewed. On 28 December 2011, Little was given the managers job at least until the end of the 2011–12 season. On 26 August 2012, Rangers FC played their first ever league game in England when they faced Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park, in a repeat of their famous cup game in 1967. Berwick Rangers earned another famous result, with a 1–1 draw – Fraser McLaren scoring in the 62nd minute of the game.
On 12 January 2014, Berwick Rangers sacked manager Ian Little, with the club third bottom in Scottish League Two. A few days later Colin Cameron was appointed as the club's new player manager.
On 18 May 2019, Berwick Rangers became the second club after
East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...
to be relegated out of the SPFL pyramid and into the
Lowland Football League
The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the ...
, after a 7–0 loss on aggregate to Highland League champions
Cove Rangers
Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan ...
.
The Berwick Rangers Community Foundation was established in 2020.
Berwick Rangers record league performance was an 11-0 win over Vale of Leithen in the Scottish Lowland League on the 9 October 2021.
Status
Berwick Rangers are one of a handful of teams in the world to play in a football league system other than their own country's.
Berwick-upon-Tweed is south of the Scottish border and is closer to the Scottish capital
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
than to
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, the nearest major city on the English side of the border. It also is on the same latitude as the southern part of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
. The town had previously been part of Scotland and changed hands many times until finally taken by England in 1482. The club also formerly played in the East of Scotland League, which contains other nearby Borders teams, prior to joining the Scottish League.
There is also some controversy over the town's identity. Berwick's status as a club located in England led to the anomaly of their being the only team in the Scottish leagues who were subject to the implementation of the
Taylor report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
following the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in ...
in 1989.
Current squad
On loan
Coaching staff
*Manager: Stuart Malcolm
*Assistant Manager/First Team Coach: Dean Shanks
*Player/Coach Tam Scobbie
*Goalkeeping Coach: Myles Hogarth
*Club Physio: Jason Kinnon
*Kitman: Scott Mckenzie
*Groundsman: Ross Aitchison
Managers
*
Bobby Ancell
Robert Francis Dudgeon Ancell (16 June 1911 – 5 July 1987) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a left back for St Mirren, Newcastle United, Dundee and Aberdeen. He won two full caps with the Scotland national football t ...
(Dec 1950 – Apr 1952)
* John Thompson (Aug 1952 – Jan 1953)
*
Jerry Kerr
John 'Jerry' Kerr (1 June 1912 – 8 November 1999) was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971. He is credited with taking the club from third bottom of the Scottish League to being an ...
(Apr 1953 – Nov 1954)
*
Danny McLennan
Daniel Morrison McLennan (5 May 1925 – 11 May 2004) was a Scottish football player and coach. As a player, he was a Scottish League Cup winner with East Fife. His extensive coaching career took him all around the world and spanned a period ...
(Nov 1957 – Jan 1960)
*
Jimmy McIntosh
James McLaughlin McIntosh (5 April 1918 – 4 April 2000) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. As a player McIntosh was a fast, strong, stocky forward.Ian Spence (Aug 1963 – Oct 1966)
*
Jock Wallace
John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...
(Nov 1966 – Jan 1969)
*
Harry Melrose
Harry Melrose (born 31 May 1935) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.
Club career
A winger, Melrose started his playing career for Rangers. His only appearance for the Gers was in the Scottish League Cup semi-final in ...
(Mar 1969 – Sep 1975)
*
Walter Galbraith
Walter McMurray Galbraith (26 May 1918 – November 1995) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Queen's Park, Clyde, New Brighton and Grimsby Town. He then managed Accrington Stanley, Bradford Park Avenue ...
Jimmy Crease
James Crease (born 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player.
Crease played for Berwick Rangers and Albion Rovers in the Scottish Football League. He has since managed Albion Rovers,
(Aug 1992 – Jan 1994)
*
Tom Hendrie
Thomas Hendrie (born 24 October 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.
Playing career
A midfielder, Hendrie plied his trade at a number of clubs in the late 1970s, Dundee, Arbroath, Gateshead and Goole Town befor ...
(Jan 1994 – Feb 1996)
* Ian Ross (Mar 1996 – Oct 1996)
* Jimmy Thomson (Nov 1996 – Aug 1997)
* Paul Smith (Sep 1997 – Oct 2004)
*
Sandy Clark
Alexander "Sandy" Clark (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of Lowland League side East Stirlingshire.
Career
Clark played for several clubs in his playing career i ...
(Oct 2004 – May 2005)
* John Coughlin (Jul 2005 – Oct 2007)
* Michael Renwick (Oct 2007 – Apr 2008)
* Jimmy Crease (Apr 2008 – May 2008) (caretaker manager)
* Allan McGonigal (May 2008 – Nov 2008)
* Jimmy Crease (Nov 2008 – Oct 2011)
* Ian Little (Oct 2011 – Jan 2014)
* Colin Cameron (Jan 2014 – Oct 2015
* John Coughlin (Nov 2015 –August 2017)
* Robbie Horn (Aug 2017 – Oct 2018)
* Johnny Harvey (Oct 2018 – May 2019)
* John Brownlie (May 2019 – June 2019)
* Ian Little (June 2019 – May 2021)
* Stuart Malcolm (May 2021 - )
Club records
*Record league win: 11-0 v Vale of Leithen, Scottish Lowland League (9 October 2021)
*Record cup win: 8–1 v Vale of Leithen, Scottish Cup First Round (December 1966)
*Record league defeat: 1–9 v
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
,
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 ...
(9 August 1980)
*Record home attendance: 13,365 v Rangers Scottish Cup Third Round (28 January 1967)
*Most goals in a season: 38 by Ken Bowron 1963–64
*Most goals: 115 by Eric Tait 1969–88
*Consecutive league wins: 8,
Scottish Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...
2006–07
*Longest unbeaten league run: 21,
Scottish Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...
1988–89
*Most appearances: 435, Eric Tait 1969–1988
Honours
Scottish League Division Two
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...