Stranraer F.C.

Stranraer
Full name	Stranraer Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blues or The Clayholers
Founded	1870
Ground	Stair Park,; Stranraer, Scotland; (Capacity: 5,600)
Chairman	Nigel Redhead
Manager	Keith Knox
League	Scottish Third Division
2008–09	Scottish Second Division, 10th (relegated)
Home colours	Away colours

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Stranraer Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in the town of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and have just been relegated to the Third Division.

[edit] History

The club was founded in 1870, and is the 3rd oldest club in the current Scottish League. Stranraer did not, though, enter the League until 1949. The town's comparative isolation in the far South West of the country no doubt contributed to this. Prior to gaining Scottish League membership, they competed in the Southern Counties League, Scottish Combination, Scottish Alliance and South of Scotland League.

The club came to national attention when Rangers came to Stranraer for a Scottish Cup tie in 1948. The Glasgow side recorded a narrow 1–0 victory in front of Stair Park's record attendance. Two seasons later Stranraer were elected to join the Scottish League's 'C' Division, competing mainly against the reserve teams of top flight clubs. The club were finally elevated to the mainstream of the Scottish League following the scrapping of 'C' Division in 1955.

With the league reformation at the end of the 1993–94 season, Stranraer found themselves playing in the new First Division in season 1994–95. Unfortunately, they finished rock bottom with only 17 points from 36 games. Stranraer spent three seasons in the Second Division before winning promotion back to the First Division at the end of the 1997–98 season. They again finished bottom of the league, with the same points total as before and a whopping 29 defeats.

The club then spent a further four years in the Second Division, with the most notable event being a good Scottish Cup run in season 2002–03, which saw them go all the way to the Quarter Finals, where they were beaten 4–0 by SPL side Motherwell. However, the team's good Cup run did not reflect their league form, as they finished 9th in the Second Division, and thus were relegated to the Third Division for season 2003–04. However, the team's fortunes improved from there, as they won the Third Division at the first attempt, gaining promotion back to the Second Division. In season 2004–05, the team shocked most people, as they stayed in the top two for most of the campaign. a 1–1 draw with closest promotion rivals Greenock Morton on 30 April 2005 saw them gain promotion to the First Division for the third time, but as in each of Stranraer's previous campaigns at that level, they were unable to avoid relegation at the first time of asking.

The team had a largely unsuccessful campaign in 2006–07, in particular with heavy defeats by relegation rivals Peterhead and Forfar Athletic .They eventually finished 9th, which resulted in a play-off with Division 3 promotion contenders East Fife. A 4–2 aggregate defeat (despite winning the second leg 1–0) saw them relegated to the Third Division.

During the 2007–08 season the club saw its secretary, Barney Duffy, resign over allegations of sex acts in the boardroom,^[1] and ex-Chairman Jim Bark receive 250 hours community service after pleading guilty to a charge of embezzling cash from the club's lottery.^[2] On the field, the team finished second in the Third Division, qualifying for the promotion-relegation play-offs. Stranraer beat Montrose 4–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, but lost 2–1 on aggregate in the final against Arbroath. However, as a result of the Scottish Football League's decision at its AGM on 29 May 2008 to relegate Gretna to the Third Division due to doubts about their ability to fulfil their fixtures in 2008–09 due to their administration, Stranraer were promoted to the Second Division as the losing finalists.^[3] This meant that the club would play in a different division for the seventh successive season.

On 21st January 2009 club chairman Nigel Redhead stated that Stranraer F.C. owed £250,000, and had a 50/50 chance of survival to the end of the season.

On 22nd January 2009, in response to the above, a small consortium launched the Friends of Stranraer F.C. to try to secure the club's future through donations from the football community at www.savestranraerfc.com .

On 23rd January 2009, as part of efforts to reduce costs to a manageable level, key player Gregory Tade transferred to Clyde .

On 24th January 2009, Stirling Albion defeated Stranraer 8–2. Shortly after the game, Stranraer and team manager Derek Ferguson parted company by mutual consent.

On 4th April 2009, after a 3-0 loss to Raith Rovers, Stranraer's relegation to Division 3 was confirmed and this means Stranraer will have played in a different division for each of the last 8 seasons.

[edit] Current squad

As of 11 March 2009.

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Duncan Crossthwaite
		DF	Roddy Cooksley
		DF	John Kane
		DF	Steven McGregor
		DF	Kevin Nicoll
		DF	Stephen Noble
		DF	Michael Wilson

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Stephen Aitken (Assistant Manager)
		MF	Andy Gibson
		MF	Martin McBride
		MF	Danny Mitchell
		FW	Craig Bradley
		FW	Craig Frizzel
		FW	Stuart McColm
		FW	Michael Moore
		FW	Alan Murdoch

[edit] Records

Most League points in a season:
- 56 (Second Division - 1993–94) (2 Points for a Win)
- 79 (Third Division - 2003–04) (3 Points for a Win)
Most League goals scored by a player in a season
- Derek Frye (1977–78), Michael Moore (2003–04), 27 Goals
Record Attendance
- 6,500 vs Rangers, 24 January 1948
Record Victory
- 7–0 vs Brechin City, Division 2, 6 February 1965
Record Defeat
- 1–11 vs Queen of the South, Scottish Cup, 16 January 1932

[edit] Honours

Scottish Football League
- Second Division champions 1993–94, 1997–98
- Third Division champions 2003–04
Scottish Challenge Cup
- Winners 1996
Scottish Qualifying Cup
- Winners 1937