Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife. They are currently members of the Scottish Premier League, and finished runners up to Celtic in this season's Scottish League Cup, played on March 19 2006. They play at East End Park and are nicknamed The Pars. Jim Leishman is currently in his second spell as manager of the club. The club has recently come in for heavy criticism following this seasons huge price increases which has alienated many supporters, and means that it will cost £23 to watch Dunfermline against Hibs and Aberdeen in the league next year.

Origins of nickname

According to Black and White Magic, a 1984 book about the club by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott, there are numerous theories as to the origin of the club's nickname, the Pars. The authors wrote:

Most tend to confirm the more common belief that the name arose from the team`s parallel striped shirts, their drinking habits or their style of play. The latter were both described as "paralytic". The earliest theory claims that in the early days when the Football Club was closely connected with the Cricket Club, the footballers were renowned for their performances at the bar and so were called the "Paralytics".

However in the early 1900s it is known that Athletic`s nickname was the "Dumps" - shortened from Dunfermline - and this is said to have been coined by English sailors visiting East End Park when their ship docked at Rosyth. After the 1914-18 War they were known as the Pars and some believe the parallel black and white stripes to be the reason.

Another school of thought involves English workers who came to work at the armaments depot at Crombie and at Rosyth Dockyard; they kept their association with their local team by forming the Plymouth Argyle (Rosyth) Supporters Club and it is said that the Dunfermline nickname comes from the banners in evidence around the ground.

Managers

William Knight (1922-1925)
Sandy Paterson (1925-1930)
William Knight (1930-1936)
David Taylor (1936-1938)
Peter Wilson (1938-1939)
Sandy Archibald (1939-1946)
William McAndrew (1947-1947)
Bobby Calder (1947-1948)
Webber Lees (1947-1951)
Bobby Ancell (1951-1955)
Andy Dickson (1955-1960)
Jock Stein (1960-1964)
Willie Cunningham (1964-1967)
George Farm (1967-1970)
Alex Wright (1970-1972)
George Miller (1972-1975)
Harry Melrose (1975-1980)
Pat Stanton (1980-1982)
Tom Forsyth (1982-1983)
Jim Leishman (1983-1990)
Iain Munro (1990-1991)
Jocky Scott (1991-1993)
Bert Paton (1993-1999)
Dick Campbell (1999)
Jimmy Calderwood (1999-2004)
David Hay (2004-2005)
Jim Leishman (2005-)

Club Records

Highest home Attendance: 27,816 vs Celtic, 1968
Biggest League Win: 11-2 vs. Stenhousemuir, 1930
Biggest League defeat: 10-0 vs. Dundee, 22 March 1947
Biggest all-time defeat: 17-2 vs. Clackmannan, Midland League, 1891
Most capped player: Colin Miller 16 (Canada), 1995-1998
Most appearances: Norrie McCathie, 576 (497 league), 1981-1996
Most career goals : Charles Dickson, 212 (154 league), 1955-1964
Record transfer free paid: £540,000 to Girondins de Bordeaux for Istvan Kozma, 9 August 1989
Record transfer free received: £650,000 from Celtic for Jackie McNamara, 4 October 1995

Famous players

Willie Callaghan
Eddie Connachan
Charlie Dickson
Alex Edwards
Alex Ferguson
Hamish French
Ross Jack
István Kozma
Jim Leishman
John Lunn
Norrie McCathie
Harry Melrose
Bert Paton
Craig Robertson
John Watson
Ian Westwater

Current Squad (season 2006-2007)

New squad numbers have not yet been announced, those given are for the 2005-06 season.

(captain)

Honours

First Division (2) - 1989, 1996
Second Division (2) - 1926, 1986
Scottish Cup (2) - 1961, 1968; Runners-up (2) - 1965, 2004
Scottish League Cup - Runners-up 1950, 1992, 2006

External link

Dunfermline Athletic F.C. | Scottish football clubs