Berwick Rangers F.C.
Full name | Berwick Rangers Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Black & Gold, The Borderers, The Dream Team, The Wee Gers | ||
Founded | 1881 | ||
Ground | Shielfield Park, Berwick-upon-Tweed | ||
Capacity | 4,099 (1,366 seated) | ||
Chairman | Kevin Dixon | ||
Manager | Tam Scobbie | ||
League | Lowland League | ||
2022–23 | Lowland League, 7th of 19 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland.
Founded in 1881, they currently play in the
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 and a team of railway clerks from Newcastle.[1] 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.[2] 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
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 in the Scottish Cup in 1954 in a run which saw them reach the quarter-final, only to lose to Rangers 4–0. Ten years later they reached the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup, 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. 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
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
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
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.
Following McGonigal's resignation Jimmy Crease became manager for the fourth time, initially as a caretaker, but then on a permanent basis in December 2008.[6] Following a 4–0 defeat to Deveronvale in the second round of the 2011–12 Scottish Cup Crease stood down as manager.[7] Player Ian Little was named caretaker manager until the end of 2011 when his position was to be reviewed.[8] On 28 December 2011, Little was given the managers job at least until the end of the 2011–12 season.[9] On 26 August 2012, Rangers FC played their first ever league game in England when they faced Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park, similar to when the previous Glasgow Rangers played 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.[10]
On 12 January 2014, Berwick Rangers sacked manager Ian Little, with the club third bottom in Scottish League Two.[11] A few days later Colin Cameron was appointed as the club's new player manager.[12]
On 18 May 2019, Berwick Rangers became the second club after East Stirlingshire to be relegated out of the SPFL pyramid and into the Lowland Football League, after a 7–0 loss on aggregate to Highland League champions Cove Rangers.
The Berwick Rangers Community Foundation was established in 2020.[13]
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 the few teams in the world to play in a football league system other than their own country's.
Berwick-upon-Tweed is 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) south of the Scottish border but is still closer to the Scottish capital
There is also some controversy over the town's identity.
Current squad
- As of 20 October 2023[16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
- Manager: Tam Scobbie
- Assistant manager: Dean Shanks
- Goalkeeping coach: Alex Stewart
- Club physio: Elizabeth Martin
- Kitman: Scott Mckenzie
- Groundsman: Jason Kinnon
- Chief Scout: James Cumming
Managers
- Bobby Ancell (Dec 1950 – Apr 1952)
- John Thompson (Aug 1952 – Jan 1953)
- Jerry Kerr (Apr 1953 – Nov 1954)
- Danny McLennan (Nov 1957 – Jan 1960)
- Jimmy McIntosh (Apr 1960– Feb 1963)
- Ian Spence (Aug 1963 – Oct 1966)
- Jock Wallace(Nov 1966 – Jan 1969)
- Harry Melrose (Mar 1969 – Sep 1975)
- Walter Galbraith (Oct 1975 – Dec 1975)
- Gordon Haig (Jan 1976 – Sep 1976)
- Dave Smith(Oct 1976 – Oct 1980)
- Frank Connor (Nov 1980 – May 1982)
- Jim McSherry (Aug 1982 – Feb 1983)
- Eric Tait (Feb 1983 – Oct 1987)
- Jimmy Thomson (Nov 1987 – Sep 1988)
- Jim Jefferies (Sep 1988 – May 1990)
- Ralph Callachan (Aug 1990 – May 1992)
- Jimmy Crease (Aug 1992 – Jan 1994)
- Tom Hendrie (Jan 1994 – Feb 1996)
- Ian Ross(Mar 1996 – Oct 1996)
- Jimmy Thomson (Nov 1996 – Aug 1997)
- Paul Smith(Sep 1997 – Oct 2004)
- Sandy Clark (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[17] – Oct 2015[18]
- John Coughlin (Nov 2015[19] –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 – Oct 2023 )
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, Scottish First Division (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 2006–07
- Longest unbeaten league run: 21, Scottish Second Division 1988–89
- Most appearances: 435, Eric Tait 1969–1988
Honours
Scottish League Division Three:
- Winners: 1896–97
Scottish Border League:
- Winners: 1898–99
- Winners (2): 1980–81, 1983–84
King Cup
- Winners (7): 1908–09, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1932–33; also won by the Reserves in 1980–81, 1989–90[20]
References
- ^ "A Club History". Berwick Rangers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Summer 2006 – Berwick Rangers trust" (PDF). Berwickrangers.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Berwick turn to Renwick as boss". BBC Sport. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Berwick part company with Renwick". BBC Sport. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
- ^ "New Berwick owners remain bullish". BBC Sport. 28 January 2009. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Crease takes over as manager". Berwick Today. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
- ^ "Jimmy Crease steps down as manager of Berwick Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ "Little given four games to prove his credentials". Berwick Advertiser. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^ "Little to stay in charge to end of the season". Berwick Today. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ Lindsay, Clive (26 August 2012). "Berwick Rangers 1–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Berwick Rangers sack manager Ian Little". BBC Sport. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "Berwick Rangers appoint Cameron as new player-manager". berwick-advertiser.co.uk. Berwick Advertiser. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "Go-ahead for Berwick Rangers Community Foundation" (Press release). Berwick Rangers Football Club. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "A tale of one town". BBC News. 8 October 2004. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2006.
- ^ "REVIEW OF THE FOOTBALL SPECTATORS (DESIGNATION OF FOOTBALL MATCHES IN ENGLAND AND WALES ORDER) 1990" (PDF). Hillsborough Independent Panel. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "2023–24 Berwick Rangers FC squad". Berwick Rangers FC. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Colin Cameron chosen as new Berwick Rangers manager". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "Berwick Rangers part company with Colin Cameron". berwickrangers.com. 31 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- ^ "Coughlin named new Berwick boss". SPFL. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ "King Cup". sfha.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.