Stranraer F.C.

Infobox Football club
clubname = Stranraer


fullname = Stranraer Football Club
nickname = "The Blues" or "The Clayholers"
founded = 1870
ground = Stair Park,
Stranraer, Scotland
capacity = 5,600
chairman = flagicon|Scotland Nigel Redhead
manager = flagicon|Scotland Derek Ferguson
league = Scottish Second Division
season = 2007-08
position = Scottish Third Division, 2nd (promoted)
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pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=ffffff|body2=ffffff|rightarm2=ffffff|shorts2=0000ff|socks2=ffffff

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 are currently playing in the Second Division, following promotion due to Gretna's period of administration.

History

The club was founded in 1870, making it the third oldest club amongst current Scottish League members. Despite this, Stranraer did not enter the league until 1949; the town's comparative isolation in the far South West of the country no doubt contributing to this. Prior to gaining Scottish League membership, they had 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. Once again, they 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 Morton on April 30, 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 has had a largely unsuccessful campaign in 2006-07, as heavy defeats at the hands of relegation rivals Peterhead and Forfar left them dangerously poised in the relegation zone. They eventually finished 9th, setting up a promotion play-off with 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, [ [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/01/11/football-chief-quits-over-boardroom-sex-romp-86908-20281009/ Football Chief Quits Over Boardroom Sex Romp] Daily Record, 11 January 2008] and ex-Chairman Jim Bark receive 250 hours community service after pleading guilty to a charge of embezzling cash from the club's lottery. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7377523.stm Fraud chairman avoids jail term] BBC News, 1 May 2008] 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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/gretna/7426281.stm Gretna demoted to Division Three] BBC Sport, 29 May 2008] This will mean that the club will play in a different division for the seventh successive season.

At the Club's AGM on 21 July 2008 it emerged that its debts stood somewhere between £180k and £240k, and that emergency talks were taking place in an attempt to ward off creditors. At an EGM on 16 August 2008 members voted to convert from a members' club to a company in an effort to raise a significant sum to clear the debts. It was reported that without this the club was within days of folding.

Current squad

"As of 31 July 2008."

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

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

Notable former players

*flagicon|Ireland Peter Kavanagh

References

External links

* [http://www.stranraerfc.org/ Official website]