Everything about Gretna F C totally explained
Margaret Bailey |
league =
Scottish Premier League |
season =
2007-08 |
position =
Scottish Premier League, 12th (relegated)|
1st |
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Gretna Football Club are a
Scottish football club from
Gretna, near
Annan,
Dumfries and Galloway. Under the ownership of businessman
Brooks Mileson, who poured vast amounts of money into the club, they went from being a
Third Division side to the
Scottish Premier League in five years. Prior to that, they were a member of the
Northern Premier League in England.
In the year since winning promotion to the SPL, however, the club have been placed in
administration after Mileson withdrew his financial support and have finished in the
relegation position in the SPL. The club now faces an uncertain future without Mileson's financial support. All of the club's staff were made redundant on
May 19 2008, after a
May 17 deadline for bids to buy the club from the administrator passed without any announcement of a bid having been made or accepted.
History
Period in English football
An amateur team called Gretna Green F.C. had existed in the town in the 19th century, but were bankrupt by the 1920s. This left the area without a team until Gretna F.C. was founded in 1946, initially playing in the Dumfries and District Junior League. The following year, they moved to a league run by the English
Football Association—the Carlisle and District League—despite being a Scottish-based club. This reflects Gretna's location on the border between the two countries. They remained in this league for all but one season until 1982, moving to the newly created second division of the
Northern League. They won the 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 the
Northern Premier League.
During the 1990s, they also became the first club from Scotland to appear in the
FA Cup proper since
Rangers had done so in 1887. The club, however, saw its future in
Scottish football and applied twice to the
Scottish League in 1993 and 1999. To help boost their later application, they played a Rangers XI in a game to raise money for victims of the
Lockerbie air disaster. Gretna won 2–1 against a strong team.
Period in Scottish football
Rapid rise through the leagues
In 2002 Gretna were elected to the
Scottish Football League, at the third attempt, following the extinction of
Airdrieonians because of financial problems. Gretna won the
Division Three,
Division Two and
Division One titles in successive seasons, from 2005 to 2007.
During their seasons of successive promotions they scored 297 goals with 130 coming in the
2004–05 season and a further 97 coming a season later. The 130 scored in the Third Division was one short of the British league record of goals scored in a season. The club's success was due to the funding of managing director
Brooks Mileson.
Gretna were also runners-up in the
2006 Scottish Cup. Gretna's 3–0 win in the semi-final against
Dundee made them the first team from the third tier of Scottish league football to reach the final.
As Hearts had finished second in the
SPL, however, Gretna became the first team from the third tier of their domestic league to qualify for the
UEFA Cup. Gretna's first match in Europe was in the
UEFA Cup second qualifying round against
Derry City of
League of Ireland. The match ended in disappointment for Gretna, as the First Division outfit succumbed to a 5–1 defeat; they were then eliminated following a 2–2 draw in the
second leg in Northern Ireland.
For much of the
2006–07 season, it looked as if Gretna would again win the division with ease. However, manager Rowan Alexander was forced to step down in March 2007 due to health problems, and coach Davie Irons stepped up to the manager's position. Gretna's form dipped afterwards and second-placed
St. Johnstone went on a good run, leaving the sides only a point apart on the final day of the season. Despite St. Johnstone taking an early lead in their match and looking destined for the Premier League, Gretna managed a goal in the very last minute of the season, giving them a win and ensuring promotion to the
Scottish Premier League.
Gretna in the SPL
During the 2007–08 season, Gretna played their home games at
Motherwell's home ground of
Fir Park because
Raydale Park didn't meet
SPL standards. Their first game in the SPL was against
Falkirk which ended in a 4–0 defeat for Gretna. They struggled for form, only gaining four points in their first 12 games and having to wait until
22 September 2007 for their first win in the SPL, defeating
Dundee United 3–2 at
Fir Park. This also marked the first occasion that Gretna had beaten a Premier League team in any competition.
A confused management situation didn't help. Whilst
Rowan Alexander was officially still
manager,
Davie Irons was in control of the team. On
November 6 2007, Gretna officially sacked
Rowan Alexander as manager and formally installed Irons in his position.
On
February 18 2008 it was revealed that Gretna staff, including players, hadn't received their wages on time. Irons and assistant manager
Derek Collins both resigned from their posts the following day. Gretna director of football
Mick Wadsworth, assisted by
Iain Scott and
Andy Smith, took charge of first-team affairs.
On
12 March 2008, Gretna went into administration due to
Brooks Mileson withdrawing his financial support. The ten point deduction that Gretna received upon going into administration left them with just six points from 28 games on the date of entering administration.
The SPL agreed to pay the players' salaries until the end of the
2007-08 season, ensuring that the club were able to complete its fixtures in the SPL.
Gretna captain
Chris Innes was made
redundant on
March 25 2008. Gretna's reason for
releasing their captain was because he'd "attracted interest from other clubs". The following day, 22 players, including 8 senior players along with coaching staff and the former owner's son were also made redundant.
Gretna were formally relegated from the SPL on
March 29 2008 after being defeated 2-0 by
St Mirren at
Love Street. The club broke the low attendance record for a third time on
April 5 2008 in their game against
Inverness. A crowd of 431 turned up for the game, which was 250 fewer than attended a match on the same day between
East Stirlingshire and
Elgin in the
Scottish Third Division.
It was revealed by the administrator,
Wilson Field of
Sheffield, that Gretna have
creditors of nearly £4M and
assets (
Raydale Park) of less than £1M.
HM Revenue and Customs is owed nearly £600,000 in total, and it was their threat to wind up the company that precipitated Gretna's move into administration. On
May 8, the administrators set a deadline of
May 17 for a buyer, otherwise the club will be liquidated. Before the deadline passed, media were told not to expect any announcements until
May 19.
Gretna won their final SPL game, a home match versus
Hearts 1-0 with a goal from
Gavin Skelton. This victory meant they finished with 13 points, narrowly avoiding setting a record low points total for the SPL. Six days later, the remaining forty members of staff at the club were laid off by the club, though it was also reported that the club were still negotiating with an interested buyer.
Honours
Northern League Division Two
Scottish Cup
Scottish Football League Division One
Scottish Football League Division Two
Scottish Football League Division Three
Records
Record victory: 20–0 v Silloth (1962)
Record defeat: 2–9 v Ashton United (2000)
Most league points in a season: 98 (2004–05)
Most league goals in a season: 38, Kenny Deuchar (2004–05)
Most hat-tricks in a season: 6, Kenny Deuchar (2004–05)
Current squad
Currently, Gretna have no players contracted to them, having made their entire playing staff redundant on 19 May, 2008.
Managers
Rowan Alexander (Manager November 2000 - July 2007)
Davie Irons (Manager March 2007 - February 2008)
Mick Wadsworth and Andy Smith (Temporary Managers February 2008 - May 2008)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gretna F C'.
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