 | |||
| Full name | Gretna Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Black and Whites; Anvils | ||
| Founded | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) | ||
| Dissolved | 2008; 17 years ago (2008) | ||
| Ground | Raydale Park | ||
| Capacity | 3,000[1] | ||
| 2007–08 | Scottish Premier League, 12th (relegated) | ||
Gretna Football Club was a Scottish professionalfootball club based in the town ofGretna, Dumfries and Galloway, close to the border between England and Scotland, that last competed in theScottish Premier League, the then top flight ofScottish football. Nicknamed the Black and Whites or the Anvils, the club was founded in 1946, and enjoyed rapid and continual success in the mid-2000s, reaching theScottish Cup Final in 2006. However, the club fell into severe financial difficulties when its main financial backer, businessmanBrooks Mileson, withdrew funds due to ill health, leading the club to dissolve in 2008.
Despite being based in Scotland, the club participated in amateur and semi-professional leagues inEnglish football from 1947 until they were elected to theScottish Football League at the third attempt in 2002. Relying heavily on substantial financial support from Mileson, the club werepromoted through the Scottish leagues from theThird Division to theScottish Premier League in less than five years. The club also reached the2006 Scottish Cup Final, losing in apenalty shoot-out toHearts.
Gretnastruggled badly in the SPL and the club were placed inadministration after Mileson withdrew his support due to illness.[2] At the end of the season, all of the club's staff were made redundant and the club were initially relegated to theThird Division due to their inability to guarantee fulfilment of theirforthcoming fixtures. After this demotion, the one remaining offer to buy the club was withdrawn.[3] The club resigned their place in theScottish Football League on 3 June 2008[4] and were formally liquidated on 8 August.[5]
The club'ssupporters' trust then decided to establish a new club,Gretna 2008, who were accepted into theEast of Scotland Football League on 11 July 2008. Whilst sharing the same fanbase and a similar name, the new club has no legal connection with the original Gretna Football Club.[6]
An amateur club called Gretna Green had existed in the town in the 19th century, but were bankrupt by the 1920s. This left the area without a team until Gretna Football Club was founded in 1946 by local workers and servicemen returning from theSecond World War.[7][8][self-published source?] Former professional footballerJames Kerr was one of the club's founders and as part of the club's committee, his opinion held sway when picking the team.[8] The club initially played in the Dumfries and District Junior League.
The following year, the club moved to the Carlisle and District League. This was despite the club being based in Scotland, albeit very close to theAnglo-Scottish border. They remained in this league for all but one season until 1982, when the club moved to the newly created Second Division of theNorthern League. The club won this league and were promoted immediately, before back-to-back championship wins in the First Division, in 1990–91 and 1991–92, resulted in their promotion to the first division of theNorthern Premier League.
During this period, the club featured in theFA Cup, becoming the first club based in Scotland to appear in the competition proper sinceQueens Park in 1887. They managed to takeRochdale to areplay in1991 and gaveBolton Wanderers a scare in1993 before being beaten.[9]
The club saw its future inScottish football and applied twice to join theScottish League in 1993 and 1999. To help boost their later application, they played aRangers XI in a game to raise money for victims of theLockerbie bombing. Gretna won 2–1 against a strong team.[citation needed]
In 2002, Gretna were elected to theScottish Football League at the third attempt, taking the place ofAirdrieonians. The club was soon taken over byBrooks Mileson and with his financial input Gretna's on-field fortunes improved. Gretna won theDivision Three,Division Two andDivision One titles in successive seasons from 2005 to 2007. During their seasons of successive promotions they scored 297 goals, 130 in the2004–05 season alone.
Gretna were also runners-up in the2006 Scottish Cup. Gretna's 3–0 win in the semi-final againstDundee[10] made them the first team from the third tier of Scottish league football to reach the final.[10] Gretna lost toHeart of Midlothian inthe final onpenalties after a 1–1 draw.[11] As Hearts had finished second in theScottish Premier League and had therefore qualified for theUEFA Champions League, Gretna became the first team from the third tier of the Scottish league to qualify for theUEFA Cup. Gretna facedLeague of Ireland sideDerry City in the second qualifying round, but lost 7–3 on aggregate, losing the first leg 5–1 atFir Park,Motherwell (Raydale Park was deemed unsuitable for European football).[12]
Gretna had also been promoted to the First Division in 2006, and for much of the2006–07 season, they led the division, with a margin of 12 points at one stage.[13] ManagerRowan Alexander was forced to step down in March 2007 due to unspecified health problems,[14] though he later claimed that he had had no medical issues and had been asked to take time away by the club chairman.[15] CoachDavie Irons stepped up to the manager's position and Gretna's form dipped; second-placedSt Johnstone went on a good run, leaving Gretna with only a one-point lead going into the final day of the season. Gretna beatRoss County 3–2 with a last-minute goal byJames Grady, ensuringpromotion to the Scottish Premier League.[13]
During the2007–08 season, Gretna had to play all their home games atMotherwell's home ground ofFir Park becauseRaydale Park did not meetSPL standards. Their first game in the SPL was againstFalkirk which ended in a 4–0 defeat for Gretna. They continued to struggle, only gaining four points in their first 12 games and having to wait until 22 September 2007 for their first win in the SPL, defeatingDundee United 3–2 atFir Park.[16]
Far worse news was that during this time the club's financial situation became dire. The club had accumulated debts of nearly £4m,[17] and ownerBrooks Mileson fell ill and withdrew his financial support for the club[18] (Mileson never fully recovered from his health problems and died on 3 November 2008). A confused management situation did not help. WhilstRowan Alexander was officially stillmanager,Davie Irons was in control of the team. On 6 November 2007, Gretna officially sacked Alexander as manager and formally installed Irons in his position.[14]
On 18 February 2008 it was revealed that Gretna staff, including players, had not received their wages on time.[19] Irons and assistant managerDerek Collins both resigned[20] from their posts the following day. Gretna director of footballMick Wadsworth, assisted by Iain Scott andAndy Smith, took charge of first-team affairs. The club went intoadministration on 12 March 2008 after Mileson's withdrawal of support. Under SPL regulations, this resulted in an automatic ten point deduction, meaning they had a total of only six points from 28 games on the date of entering administration.[21] The SPL agreed to pay the players' wages until the end of the 2007–08 season, ensuring that the club were able to complete its fixtures in the SPL.[22]
Administration led to cost-cutting and redundancies; club captainChris Innes was made redundant on 25 March 2008, with the club explaining that he had "attracted interest from other clubs".[23] The following day, 22 players, including eight members of the senior squad, along with coaching staff and the former owner's son were also made redundant.[24] Gretna were mathematically relegated from the SPL on 29 March 2008 after being defeated 2–0 bySt Mirren atLove Street, and broke the SPL's low attendance record on 5 April 2008 in their game againstInverness, when just 431 turned up for the match.[25] They won their final SPL game, a home match againstHearts 1–0 with a goal fromGavin Skelton, which meant they finished the season with 13 points, narrowly avoiding setting a record low points total for the Scottish top-flight. Even without the point deduction, Gretna would have still been relegated by a 17-point margin behindKilmarnock.
In early 2008 it was revealed by theadministrator, Wilson Field ofSheffield, that Gretna hadcreditors of nearly £4m andassets (Raydale Park) of £812,000.HM Revenue and Customs was owed nearly £600,000 in total, and it was their threat to wind up the company that precipitated Gretna's move into administration. On 8 May, the administrator set a deadline of 17 May for a buyer to be found, or the club would beliquidated.[26][27]
After that deadline passed without a buyer making a firm offer, all the remainingemployees were made redundant, but it was reported that the club were still negotiating with an interested buyer.[28] On 29 May, Gretna were relegated to theThird Division due to their financial struggles, with theScottish Football League threatening expulsion should a takeover not be completed within a week. After a takeover bid fell through on 1 June,[29] the administrators confirmed the following day that they would look to sellRaydale Park to someone who will use the site for something other than football.[3]
Gretna resigned from the Scottish Football League on 3 June.[30] Near neighboursAnnan Athletic won the vote to replace Gretna in the Scottish league.[31] With no ground, staff, players or a competition to play in, the club's dissolution was inevitable and the club was formally liquidated by the administrators on 8 August.[5]
The Gretna Supporters Society, (aSupporters' trust) formed a new club,Gretna 2008 on 2 July 2008 and applied to join both theEast of Scotland Football League and theSouth of Scotland Football League.[32] They were accepted into the East of Scotland League, though they initially played their matches at theEverholm Stadium inAnnan. The club returned to Raydale Park in May 2009 which it now leases from the Raydale Partnership, a community group of which Gretna Supporters Society is a member.[33]
This is a list of seasons from the 1987–88 season from their time in England'sNorthern Football League and later theNorthern Premier League and from 2002 to 2003, when the club was admitted to theScottish Football League to 2007–08, when the club resigned its membership from the league and was liquidated following financial difficulties. The list details Gretna's record in major league and cup competitions, and the club's top league goal scorer of each season where available. Top scorers inbold were also the top scorers in Gretna's division that season. Records of minor competitions are not included.
| Champions | Runners-up | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Challenge Cup | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | ||||
| 1987–88 | NFL 1 | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 69 | 46 | 57 | 7th | QR2 | QR1 | |
| 1988–89 | NFL 1 | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 79 | 44 | 75 | 3rd | QR2 | R2 | |
| 1989–90 | NFL 1 | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 79 | 44 | 75 | 2nd | QR1 | R1 | |
| 1990–91 | NFL 1 | 38 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 86 | 23 | 95 | 1st | QR3 | R2 | |
| 1991–92 | NFL 1 | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 81 | 33 | 85 | 1st | R1 | R1 | |
| 1992–93 | NPL 1 | 40 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 64 | 47 | 63 | 6th | QR1 | R1 | ? |
| 1993–94 | NPL 1 | 40 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 64 | 65 | 55 | 10th | R1 | R2 | ? |
| 1994–95 | NPL 1 | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 64 | 66 | 55 | 11th | QR1 | R1 | ? |
| 1995–96 | NPL 1 | 40 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 75 | 65 | 52 | 12th | PR | QR3 | ? |
| 1996–97 | NPL 1 | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 55 | 67 | 50 | 16th | QR1 | QR1 | R2 |
| 1997–98 | NPL 1 | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 58 | 64 | 48 | 15th | QR3 | QR1 | R1 |
| 1998–99 | NPL 1 | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 73 | 80 | 58 | 12th | QR1 | R2 | R1 |
| 1999–00 | NPL 1 | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 48 | 78 | 40 | 19th | QR2 | R2 | First Group Stage |
| 2000–01 | NPL 1 | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 72 | 82 | 48 | 16th | PR | R2 | Group Stage |
| 2001–02 | NPL 1 | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 66 | 6 | 63 | 7th | QR2 | R2 | Group Stage |
| Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Challenge Cup | Europe | Top league goal scorer | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | ||||||
| 2002–03 | SFL 3 | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 50 | 50 | 45 | 6th | R3 | R1 | R1 | Dobie | 10 | ||
| 2003–04 | SFL 3 | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 59 | 39 | 68 | 3rd | R2 | R1 | R1 | Cameron | 17 | ||
| 2004–05 | SFL 3 | 36 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 130 | 29 | 98 | 1st | R3 | R1 | QF | Deuchar | 38 | ||
| 2005–06 | SFL 2 | 36 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 97 | 30 | 88 | 1st | Runners-up | R2 | R1 | Deuchar | 18 | ||
| 2006–07 | SFL 1 | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 70 | 40 | 66 | 1st | R4 | R3 | QF | UEFA Cup | QR2 | McMenamin | 24 |
| 2007–08 | SPL | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 32 | 83 | 13 | 12th | R4 | R3 | NE | Deuchar | 6 | ||
Gretna qualified for a UEFA club competition on one occasion. In 2006, Gretna reachedthe final of the Scottish Cup whilst competing in the Scottish Second Division and were beaten byHeart of Midlothian. The winner of theScottish Cup would normally qualify for theUEFA Cup, but because Hearts had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League through their league ranking in theScottish Premier League, the place was passed to Gretna as runners-up. They were eliminated in thesecond qualifying round byDerry City, representing the Republic of Ireland, in atwo-legged tie.
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | Second qualifying round | Derry City | 1–5 | 2–2 | 3–7 |
'We are obviously a new club carrying on the traditions of the old club and there is no connection with the old club other than the similarity in name,' said Hodge.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
