Club History | Season 1984-1985
Great improvement but it was glorious failure for Dunfermline
A new age had dawned, but would it bring success? Jim Leishman had restored a spirit to the club, but he was going to have to build a squad from the ruins of the Stanton and Forsyth regimes, with next to no money to spend on replacements. With Jim and Gregor forming a promising management team, something had to be done to win the fans back. With attendances having been so low, that looked like being a very difficult task. Rab Stewart moved on to Motherwell. Incoming were Rowan Hamilton from Dundee, Dave Young from Arbroath and Paul Rodgers from Hong Kong. Paul Donnelly was unsettled and would eventually leave for Partick Thistle. The League Cup was now called the Skol Cup and had changed to a straight knockout format.
The season kicked off with a League match at home to Stranraer and The Pars ran riot. Grant Jenkins and four from John Watson leading to a 5-0 win. All three newcomers started as did Tony O`Hara signed from Berwick. The first round of the Skol Cup was next and another resounding home win as two goals each for Grant Jenkins and Norrie McCathie produced a 4-0 win. Dave Wilcox was transferred to Cowdenbeath before the game. The first away League match was at Starks Park where two goals for Norrie McCathie and one for Grant Jenkins beat the Rovers 3-1. The second round of the Skol Cup brought Celtic to East End and The Pars ran them close as two goals from John Watson resulted in a narrow 3-2 defeat. August ended at Links Park and doubles for both John Watson and Grant Jenkins saw Montrose defeated 4-2.
September`s first game found John Watson scoring to gain a 1-0 win at home to Stirling Albion. New signing Colin McGlashan made his debut at Berwick, where a goal from Norrie McCathie secured a 1-0 victory. Cowdenbeath at home was next and a crowd of nearly 3,500 fans turned up to see goals from Norrie McCathie and Stevie Morrison secure a 2-1 win. Six League wins on the trot - what a difference! Of course it couldn`t last and a narrow 1-0 defeat at Stenhousemuir punctured the euphoria. The final game of the month, at home to Queen of the South ended 1-1.
October witnessed a return to form with a 2-0 away win at Arbroath. Back at East End another healthy 4-0 win, this time against Queens Park. A trip to Coatbridge was next on the agenda and a 2-0 victory over Albion Rovers. The month drew to a close with a 2-2 draw at home to Alloa. The attendance for this game was 4,404 - what a job Jim was doing in bringing back the fans. The team sat proudly top of the league.
November started with a setback when East Stirling handed out a 2-0 defeat at Firs Park. Stevie Morrison scored at home to Berwick but it only resulted in a draw. At last another win as a John Watson goal produced a 1-0 home victory against Cowdenbeath. Dave Westwood played a solitary game in goal, deputising for the injured Hugh Whyte. New signing, Ian Gordon, from Airdrie was in the team and made a scoring debut as the month ended with a 1-1 draw, at home to Stenhousemuir.
December undid a lot of the good work with a run of poor results. Firstly Arbroath won 2-1 at East End then The Pars exited the Scottish Cup, losing 3-1 at home to East Stirling. The excellent book Black and White Magic by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott had just come out and was on most fans` Christmas lists. For the rest of the month it was draws all the way, 0-0 at Palmerston, 1-1 at home to Montrose and a 2-2 draw at Annfield. At the end of the year, Dunfermline were in second place.
There was no game on New Year`s Day, so I was spared my usual punishment. Instead I watched the first game of the year, a day later, completely sober. It was worse as I suffered the full misery of a 2-1 home defeat from Raith Rovers. Adverse weather put paid to any further Pars activity in January.
The long lay-off had affected The Pars and they were not "match fit" when they opened their February account with a resounding 4-0 defeat away to Queens Park. New signing from Hearts, Derek O`Connor made his debut in this game and scored in his next which was a 1-1 draw at home to Albion Rovers. Another signing from Hearts, Frank Liddell made his debut in this game. A week later and another debut, this time for Willie Callaghan, son of The Pars legend, as goals from Dave Young and Frank Liddell earned a 2-2 draw at home to Stirling Albion. Dunfermline started to get back in gear as they finished the month with two away wins. Andy Irvine made his debut from the bench as Athletic won 1-0 at Stranraer and followed this with a 3-1 win at Alloa. Colin McGlashan was sold to Cowdenbeath and Frank Liddell released.
March began with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Cowdenbeath but Jim and Gregor galvanised the team into an eight game unbeaten run as they tried to make up the gap in points between them and Alloa and Montrose. The run started with a 3-1 win at Gayfield. Bobby Forrest scored to earn a 1-1 away draw with Queens Park and a 2-0 win was achieved at home to East Stirling. New signing from Meadowbank, the midfield warhorse Davie Moyes, was in the team for this match. A tough 0-0 draw at home to Stenhousemuir completed the month`s fixtures and The Pars were still in third place.
As April arrived some changes in personnel took place. Derek O`Connor and Rowan Hamilton moved to Brechin City with former Par Ian Campbell moving in the opposite direction. Also arriving was a man destined to become a legendary Par, goalkeeper Ian Westwater signed from Hearts. Both were in the starting line up at Stair Park with Ian Campbell and Norrie McCathie getting the winning goals. Two more away trips ended in draws, 0-0 with East Stirling and 1-1 with Albion Rovers. A 0-0 draw at home to Montrose saw Athletic back into second place but the following midweek brought a crucial slip at home to Raith Rovers who won 3-2. Form returned with a 4-0 thrashing handed out at home to Queen of the South, the scorers Trevor Smith, Norrie McCathie, Jim Bowie and making his debut, young Ian Heddle.
May would decide The Pars fate and with a 0-0 draw away to rivals Alloa, Dunfermline were still in touch with them. If Athletic could win their last game, at home to Berwick, they would finish second provided that Alloa drew or lost their game up at Arbroath. Two Trevor Smith penalties completed The Pars side of the bargain with a 2-1 win and the crowd invaded the pitch believing that Arbroath and Alloa had drawn. It was not to be, however. The Wasps won 1-0 and it was glorious failure for Dunfermline. So much had improved. The playing style and a proven scorer in John Watson had the fans coming back and the basis of a good team had eventually been established.
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