Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
| Full name | Dunfermline Athletic Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Pars | ||
| Founded | 1885 | ||
| Ground | East End Park, Dunfermline, Scotland | ||
| Capacity | 12,509 | ||
| Chairman | John Yorkston | ||
| Manager | Jim Leishman | ||
| League | Scottish Premier League | ||
| 2004-05 | SPL, 11th | ||
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Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Also known as DAFC, or the DA by local fans, and are nicknamed the Pars. Dunfermline were once managed by Jock Stein of Celtic and Scotland fame, and thanks to a good season in 2003/2004 (Jimmy Calderwood was manager) they were back in Europe for the first time in 35 years when they were involved in the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup. This was to turn out in disappointment however as they lost to that European legends Icelandic team FH Hafnarfjörður in the qualifing round. Dunfermline ran into financial difficulty in 2003 and narrowly avoided going into administration.
In 2003 Dunfermline became the first European team to install a plastic artificial pitch at their East End Park stadium. Which is like lego. The pitch was part of an experiment by UEFA to try and improve playing surfaces. In 2005 however, following a ruling by the Scottish Premier League, Dunfermline were forced to remove this surface and commence replacing it, with grass said to have originally been intented for Wembley Stadium, and hope only their first home will need to be changed to an away game to allow extra time to install the new grass surface. However, the Scottish Football League still allows artificial surfaces, and there is apparently interest from other clubs in purchasing the artificial pitch.
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
- Richard Campbell 1999
- Jimmy Calderwood 1999-2004
- David Hay 2004-2005
- Jim Leishman 2005-
Club Records
- Highes home Attendance: 27,816 vs Celtic, 1968
- Biggest League Win: 11-2 vs. Stenhousemuir
- Biggest League defeat: 10-0 vs. Dundee, 22 March 1947
- Most capped player: Istvan Kozma, 13 Hungary
- Most League appearances: Bobby Robertson, 360, 1977-1978
- Most goals in a season: Charles Dickson, 154
- Record transfer free paid: £540,000 to Girondins de Bordeaux for Istvan Kozma, 9 August 1989
- Record tranfer free recieved: £650,000 from Celtic for Jackie McNamara, 4 October 1995
Famous Players
- George Miller
- Bobby Robertson
- Alex Ferguson
- Jim Wallace
- Jackie McNamara
- Andrius Skerla
- Stevie Crawford
- Craig Brewster
Honours
Dunfermline have won the Scottish Cup on two occasions and the Scottish League Cup on two occasions. They reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1969.
- First Division (2) - 1989, 1996
- Second Division (1) - 1986
- Scottish Cup (2) - 1961, 1968
- Scottish League Cup (2) - 1950, 1992