Cowdenbeath F.C.
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox football club Cowdenbeath Football Club (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in Cowdenbeath, Fife. They are members of the Template:Scottish football updater, the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system after their relegation from Scottish League Two on 14 May 2022 following a 4–0 aggregate defeat to Bonnyrigg Rose. Formed in 1881, the club has played at Central Park since 1917. They first joined the Scottish Football League (SFL) in 1905. The club has never won any of the major honours in Scottish football, but have won lower tier divisional titles on five occasions. They competed in the top division of the SFL from 1924 to 1934, but have only completed one further top flight season since, in 1970–71.
History
Template:See also Template:Update Cowdenbeath traditionally date their origin to the merger of two local clubs, Cowdenbeath Rangers (formed 1880) and Cowdenbeath Thistle, which occurred in 1881.<ref>This continues to be the official date of foundation given by the club. See Club Info Template:Webarchive, Cowdenbeath F.C.</ref> However, research by the club's historian<ref>Letter to the Editor by David Allan, Scottish Football Historian No.47, May/June 1991</ref> suggests the Cowdenbeath Rangers name continued to be used at this time and the founding of Cowdenbeath F.C. should properly be dated to 1882,<ref>David Allan's history of the club on their website supports the 1882 date, contradicting the official date given elsewhere on the site. See Club Info – History Template:Webarchive, Cowdenbeath F.C.</ref> when another merger saw Rangers combine with a local club called Raith Rovers (formed 1881 and unrelated to the present Kirkcaldy club). The establishment of one club to represent the town thus coincided with the establishment of the Fifeshire Football Association that year. Cowdenbeath, who are the oldest surviving football club in Fife, lost in the inaugural Fife Cup final in 1883 but won the Cup for the first time in 1885.
In 1888 the club moved to North End Park, and in 1905 were admitted to Division Two of the Scottish Football League. They won Division Two in 1913–14 and 1914–15, but were not promoted to Division One on either occasion. The SFL was suspended due to World War I in 1915, and the club moved to Central Park in 1917. They were placed in Division Two when it was reformed in 1921, and after finishing as runners-up in 1923–24, the club were promoted to Division One for the first time.
The club remained in Division One until being relegated at the end of the 1933–34 season but claimed their third Division Two championship in 1938–39. This feat was in no small part aided by Rab Walls' 54 League goals – the second highest seasonal total in Scottish League history, behind only Jimmy Smith's 66 goals for Ayr United in 1927/28.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the outbreak of World War II cut short Cowden's return to Division One, and the club closed down for the duration of hostilities. When peacetime football resumed in 1946, the club were controversially placed in the new (second tier) B Division.
While a 1949 League Cup success over Rangers at Ibrox was a highlight of the early post-war period, Cowden struggled to return to the elite level of Scottish football. This was finally achieved under popular manager Andy Matthew in the 1969–70 season, but the solitary season in Division One that followed remains the club's only top flight campaign since the 1930s. More recently, hopes for the future were raised when Cowden were promoted to the First Division in season 1991–92, but they soon slumped back to the basement of the Scottish League amidst a run of 38 League games without a win at Central Park.
A more professional approach was ushered in with the appointment of former Scotland defender Craig Levein, who had begun his playing career with Cowdenbeath, as manager in 1997. Promotion from the Third Division was achieved in the 2000–01 season, although they would be relegated again two years later. After a third-place finish in the 2004–05 season. The 2005–06 campaign saw the team achieve their first divisional title win for 67 years with player-manager Mixu Paatelainen when they won the Third Division. Season 2008–09 saw Danny Lennon's side miss out on promotion in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless two-legged match and extra time against Stenhousemuir. However, they were promoted to the second division for the 2009–10 season as Livingston were demoted to the Scottish Third Division after breaching the league's rules on insolvency. After a tough start to life in the Scottish Second Division, Cowden soon found their feet and finished in third place. Amazingly they went on to defeat Alloa and Brechin in the play-offs to secure promotion.
Prior to the 2010–11 season Jimmy Nicholl was appointed new manager.<ref name="manager">Template:Cite news</ref> They were relegated from the First Division to the Second Division on Saturday 14 May 2011 after losing their relegation/promotion play-off semi-final tie 4–2 on aggregate to Brechin City with the first leg at Glebe Park ending 2–2 and the second leg at Central Park ending 2–0 to Brechin City. It was a massive blow to the club especially after being 2–0 up at half time in the first leg in Brechin.
Under new manager Colin Cameron,<ref name="Cam">Template:Cite news</ref> Cowdenbeath immediately regained promotion the following season, winning the league with two games remaining. The season after, they ensured survival on the final matchday with a 3–1 away win over Hamilton Academical.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following season they avoided relegation again by defeating local rivals Dunfermline Athletic 4–1 on aggregate in the Championship Play Off final thanks to goals from Kane Hemmings, Greg Stewart and Thomas O'Brien.
The following season they finished bottom of the Championship after losing 3–0 on the final day to fellow strugglers Alloa Athletic. Before kick off Cowdenbeath had sat in eighth place but were overtaken by Alloa and Livingston who also won. Jimmy Nicholl handed in his resignation shortly after the match leaving Colin Nish to rebuild the team for life in Ladbrokes League One. Nish was unable to stop the slide and Cowdenbeath suffered successive relegations, finishing 9th but being defeated 2–1 on aggregate by Queen's Park in the semi-finals of the play-offs. Nish was sacked on 12 May 2016, being replaced by Liam Fox. Continuing Cowdenbeath's woeful run, they finished 10th in the 2016–17 Scottish League Two.<ref name="WangSmash">Template:Cite news</ref> They avoided a third consecutive relegation, and dropping out of the SPFL, by winning a play-off against Lowland League champions East Kilbride.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2017–18 season was no improvement at all, with Cowdenbeath finishing last again and having to go through the play-off to avoid relegation. Their opponents were Highland League champions Cove Rangers and Cowdenbeath survived once again thanks to a 3–2 home win following an away goalless draw.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Comparatively, season 2018–19 saw a successful campaign. The club finished in sixth place, comfortably avoiding the play-off spot by 24 points.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This improvement in form continued into the truncated season of 2019–20, with the club finishing in fourth place after 27 games played.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In June 2020, it was announced that fans had donated over £14,000 across three months via the 'Club 135' initiative, to assist the club financially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Club records
Biggest win: 12–0 vs Johnstone in Scottish Cup on 21 January 1928<ref name="ENC">Template:Cite book</ref>
Biggest loss:
Biggest home attendance: 25,586 vs Rangers on 21 September 1949<ref name = "ENC"/>
Youngest debut: Peter McKean vs Forfar Athletic on 11 November 2014 (15 years 60 days in Scottish Championship
Playing squad
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Out on loan
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Club officials
Board of directors
| Position<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Donald Findlay |
| Club President | Bob Brownlie |
| Honorary Presidents | Alex Anderson & Sandy Ferguson |
| Finance Director | David Allan |
| Club Director | Craig Scott |
| Governance & Compliance Director | Margaret Steven |
| Youth & Community Development Director | Thomas Ewing |
| Commercial Director | Malcolm Slora |
Coaching staff
| Position<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ACA">Template:Cite web</ref> | Name |
|---|---|
| Player/Manager | Paul McLean |
| Assistant Manager | Graeme Nisbet |
| Player/First Team Coach | Gary Fusco |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Steven Parker |
| Football Operations Co-ordinator | Colin Nelson |
| Community Coach | Dean Ewing |
| Sports Therapist | Toni Ross |
| Kit Manager | Dale Smart |
| Assistant Kit Manager | Michael Dunster |
Noted players
The following former Cowdenbeath players are all members of the club's Hall of Fame or recent players who are still playing at a higher level in Scotland (as well as some notable loan players). Template:Div col
- Template:Flagicon Kenny Adamson
- Template:Flagicon Ray Allan
- Template:Flagicon Eric Archibald
- Template:Flagicon Richard Baillie
- Template:Flagicon Graeme Brown
- Template:Flagicon Liam Buchanan
- Template:Flagicon Fraser Carver
- Template:Flagicon William Devlin
- Template:Flagicon John Dickson
- Template:Flagicon Scott Duncan
- Template:Flagicon John Falconer
- Template:Flagicon Brian Ferrier
- Template:Flagicon Tom Glancy
- Template:Flagicon Charlie Gronbach
- Template:Flagicon Craig Gordon
- Template:Flagicon George Jordan
- Template:Flagicon Andy Kinnell
- Template:Flagicon Bob Law
- Template:Flagicon Thomas Leask
- Template:Flagicon Hookey Leonard
- Template:Flagicon Craig Levein
- Template:Flagicon Duncan Lindsay
- Template:Flagicon John Martin
- Template:Flagicon Andy Matthew
- Template:Flagicon Jim McArthur
- Template:Flagicon Alex Menzies
- Template:Flagicon Willie Mercer
- Template:Flagicon Markus Paatelainen
- Template:Flagicon Mikko Paatelainen
- Template:Flagicon Bill Paterson
- Template:Flagicon James Pollock
- Template:Flagicon John Pollock
- Template:Flagicon Derek Riordan
- Template:Flagicon Innes Ritchie
- Template:Flagicon Andy Rolland
- Template:Flagicon Davie Ross
- Template:Flagicon Greg Stewart
- Template:Flagicon Alex Venters
- Template:Flagicon Rab Walls
- Template:Flagicon Steven Weir
- Template:Flagicon George Wilson
- Template:Flagicon Craig Winter
Managers
- Template:Flagicon John Young (−1905)
- Template:Flagicon Joe Parker (1905–1906)
- Template:Flagicon Sandy Paterson (1906–1924)
- Template:Flagicon James Richardson (1924–1925)
- Template:Flagicon Scott Duncan (1925–1932)
- Template:Flagicon Sandy Paterson (1932–1933)
- Template:Flagicon John Dougary (1934–1938)
- Template:Flagicon Bill Hodge (1938–1946)
- Template:Flagicon Willie Fotheringham (1946–1948)
- Template:Flagicon George Sweet (1948–1951)
- Template:Flagicon Bobby Baxter (1951–1955)
- Template:Flagicon John Dougary (1955–1958)
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Mitchell (1958–1959)
- Template:Flagicon Archie Buchanan (1959–1960)
- Template:Flagicon Harry Colville (1960–1964)
- Template:Flagicon Archie Robertson (1964–1968)
- Template:Flagicon Andy Matthew (1968–1974)
- Template:Flagicon Bert Paton (1974)
- Template:Flagicon Dan McLindon (1974–1975)
- Template:Flagicon Frank Connor (1975–1977)
- Template:Flagicon Paddy Wilson (1977–1980)
- Template:Flagicon Pat Stanton (1980)
- Template:Flagicon Andy Rolland (1980–1982)
- Template:Flagicon Hugh Wilson (1982–1983)
- Template:Flagicon Willie McCulloch (1983–1984)
- Template:Flagicon John Clark (1984–1985)
- Template:Flagicon Joe Craig (1985–1987)
- Template:Flagicon Dick Campbell (1987)
- Template:Flagicon John Blackley (1987–1988)
- Template:Flagicon John Brownlie (1988–1992)
- Template:Flagicon Andy Harrow (1992–1993)
- Template:Flagicon John Reilly (1993–1994)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Paddy Dolan (1994–1995)
- Template:Flagicon Tom Steven (1995–1997)
- Template:Flagicon Sammy Conn (1997)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Craig Levein (1997–2000)<ref name="Man">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Peter Cormack (2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Gary Kirk (2000–2002)<ref name = "Man"/>
- Template:Flagicon Keith Wright (2002–2004)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon David Baikie (2004–2005)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Mixu Paatelainen (2005–2006)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Brian Welsh (2006–2008)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Danny Lennon (2008–2010)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Nicholl (2010–2011)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Colin Cameron (2011–2013)<ref name = "Cam"/>
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Nicholl (2013–2015)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Colin Nish (2015–2016)<ref name="Nish sacked">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Liam Fox (2016–2017)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Gary Locke (2017)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Billy Brown">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Billy Brown (2017)<ref name="Billy Brown"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Gary Bollan (2017–2021)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Maurice Ross (2021–2023)
- Template:Flagicon Calum Elliot (2023–2024)
- Template:Flagicon Dougie Hill (2024–2025)
- Template:Flagicon Paul McLean (2025- present)
Honours
- Scottish League, Division Two<ref name="2nd division">Known as second division prior to 1975</ref>
- Champions: 1913–14, 1914–15, 1938–39<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Scottish Second Division
- Champions: 2011–12<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Scottish Third Division
- Champions: 2005–06<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
Further reading
External links
Template:Cowdenbeath F.C. Template:Scottish Professional Football League Template:Scottish Football League Template:Lowland Football League Template:Football in Fife Template:Authority control