Club History | Season 2008-2009

Athletic finished third on 51 points with a goal difference of 8. They scored 65 goals in all competitions, with Andy Kirk top scorer with 16 goals.

The season just finished had been grim. Money was tight and an inexperienced manager had been thrown in at the deep end. Jim McIntyre had made mistakes but was learning quickly. The form of Calum Woods and Nick Phinn had given grounds for hope and others like Iain Williamson and Paul Willis were showing promise. There was an excellent goalkeeper in Paul Gallacher. Apart from the clear out, last season, several more left over the summer. Mark Burchill moved back down south with Rotherham United, Stevie Crawford took up a player/coach role with East Fife, Scott Morrison moved to Ross County, Sean Murdoch to Hamilton Accies, Darren Young to Dundee and Stephen Simmons to Queen of the South on a short term contract. On the way in were Graham Bayne from Ross County, Steven Bell from Stirling Albion, Graeme Holmes from Airdrie, Austin McCann from Notts County and reserve keeper Callum Reidford from Rangers.

After some friendly matches, the serious business began with the Challenge Cup, at home to Stirling Albion. Graeme Bayne and Austin McCann made their debuts as Dunfermline won 3-0 in front of 1,340 fans. The goals were scored by Alex Burke. Iain Williamson and Nick Phinn. August got under way with a 1-0 defeat away to Partick Thistle, in the League. Andy Kirk, newly signed from Yeovil Town, was on the bench. Midweek up north in Peterhead for a League Cup tie, Andy Kirk made his first start and scored his first goal, Nick Phinn getting the other. The first home League match was against Queen of the South and two more Andy Kirk goals secured a 2-1 victory. The Pars next travelled up to Perth and produced a brilliant performance, defeating the promotion favourites 3-0 on their own patch.

The Challenge Cup was next and Jim McIntyre gave some of the fringe players an outing Paul Willis, Ryan Thomson, Iain Williamson, Scott McBride and Callum Reidford all started and Stuart Dearden, Harry McGregor and Jordan White were on the bench. Although the youngsters played quite well, an experienced Queen of the South team won 2-0 at East End Park. A dour 0-0 draw at home to Airdrie in the League was next. Both Joe Cardle and Steven McDougall played for The Diamonds. Andy Kirk was on the mark again as Athletic inched past Alloa 1-0 at home in the League Cup. A disappointing end to the month came about as Livingston won 2-1 at East End Park, in the League.

The customary blank Saturday brought in September and it was the following week before the fun started again. Dunfermline managed a 0-0 draw at Dens Park and followed it with a good 3-1 win at home to Ross County, in front of 2,631 fans - a dismal crowd. Ross Campbell, on loan from Hibs made his debut from the bench. The month continued well as The Pars played SPL side St Mirren off the park, winning 2-0 at home in the League Cup. Graeme Bayne and Simon Wiles got the goals. The Buddies had Gary Mason, John Potter, Jim Hamilton and Billy Mehmet in the starting line up and Chris Smith and Jack Ross on the bench. Only 2,186 fans turned up and The Pars were finding it hard to win back the fans. The month ended at Cappielow where Ross Campbell scored to gain a share of the points.

October kicked off at Broadwood and goals from Kevin Harper and Andy Kirk saw off Clyde 2-0 and had Athletic in third place only three points behind leaders Queen of the South and Livingston. The following week was another annoying international break but on the return to action, it was Andy Kirk again as Partick Thistle were beaten 1-0 at East End Park. Greg Ross made his first appearance after a long period out through injury. The last action of the month was at Tannadice where The Pars bowed out of the League Cup, unluckily beaten 1-0. November 1st brought St Johnstone to East End Park and they somehow escaped with a 2-1 win. Both Kevin Rutkiewicz and Martin Hardie were in the Saints line up. Thankfully, things picked up again with a 3-1 win away to Airdrie United. Another let down at home as both the referee and the linesman missed first a foul, then the ball going out of play in the breakaway which resulted in Dundee scoring the only goal of the game. The away form held true as Livingston were beaten 3-2 at Almondvale but Athletic slipped up again, at home to Morton losing 1-0 in front of 4,400 fans who were becoming more and more disgruntled because of the poor home form.

It would be well into December before the next match. The game, when it came, was on 13th at Palmerston and, being away, The Pars duly won 2-1, with Graeme Bayne and Nick Phinn the scorers. The next match, being at home, Athletic nearly contrived to lose to Clyde. Dunfermline fought back to draw 4-4. Stephen Glass, Nick Phinn and two from Andy Kirk after Pat Clarke had bagged two for the Bully Wee. Chris Higgins got one of the others. Rory Loy had arrived on loan from Rangers and made his first start. The home game with Livingston was heading for a 0-0 draw when Greg Shields scored the winner. The Livvy players protested but the officials ruled that the ball had crossed the line and were later proved correct as the filmed highlights showed. Despite the poor home form, The Pars finished the year second in the table, with only St Johnstone in front.

The year 2009 began badly, with a rare defeat away from home, Dundee winning 1-0. The first home game was in the Cup, with Clyde, the visitors. Graham Bayne and Nick Phinn scored in a 2-1 win, in front of only 2,871 fans. Jamie Mole had arrived, on loan, from Hearts and was on the bench. The following Saturday, it was back to poor home form as Airdrie United forced a 1-1 draw. Rory Loy scored for Athletic. The last action of the month was at home to Queen of the South, who won easily 2-0. The crowds were becoming quite a concern. As had proved the case after the Leishman/Munro fiasco, fans can stop turning up quickly. It takes a long time to get them back and they need an incentive. The desperate standard of football on show at East End Park was torture to watch. David Graham was signed from Hamilton Accies to boost the attack. Away from home, The Pars were the best team in the division and they started February with two more good away wins. Partick Thistle were beaten 3-2 at Firhill in the League and Airdrie United 2-1 at the Excelsior in Round 2 of the Cup. Back at home and another defeat, this time 2-1 to Ross County, featuring Craig Brewster, who scored one of the goals and was the best player on the park. Andy Dowie and Marc McCulloch also played for The Staggies. The month ended badly with a 2-1 defeat at Cappielow.

March opened with a visit from Jimmy Calderwood`s Aberdeen, in the Cup, and unusually Athletic put on a good show. Even after going behind, they fought back to get a thoroughly deserved equaliser through Nick Phinn. The efforts against The Dons took its toll and Dunfermline lost their next game 4-2 away to Livingston. The woeful home form returned with a 1-0 defeat from Partick Thistle. The following midweek, The Pars produced possibly their best performance of the season when, in the Cup replay at Pittodrie, they matched The Dons throughout the game and extra time. Partly through expertly taken penalties and partly through the heroics of Paul Gallacher, who saved two, Dunfermline won and progressed to the semi-final. To celebrate this Clyde were slaughtered 4-1 at Broadwood but that man Brewster scored in Ross County`s 2-1 win in Dingwall. The last game in March, being at home, was going down the customary drain losing 1-0 to Dundee, when Calum Woods scored with a thrilling strike from distance to equalise and raise the spirits of the Pars fans amongst the attendance of 2,382.

Dunfermline commenced April`s activities away to Airdrie United and a late Greg Ross equaliser saved the day for a 1-1 draw. The next game was also away and also resulted in a draw, this time 0-0 at McDiarmid Park. The same two teams met the following week, this time at East End Park, and yet another appalling home performance resulted in a 3-1 win for St Johnstone, in front of 3,595 fans. Once again the away form was excellent and Ross County were defeated 3-1 up in Dingwall. The Semi-Final at Hampden was next on the agenda and Falkirk the opposition. I could not believe it when, after finding his form again, Andy Kirk was on the bench and Jamie Mole preferred. Dunfermline had a more defensive approach which I did not understand, with The Bairns low in confidence after a poor season. In the first half, The Pars were markedly the better of two poor teams. After half-time, Athletic`s performance dipped again and Falkirk scored first, thereby gaining confidence and eventually winning 2-0 almost by default, it was yet another big disappointment to Pars fans.

The month of May began with a trip to Dumfries, to play Queen of the South and all the frustration from the Semi-final display was taken out on Queens. Goals from Andy Kirk, Calum Woods and Nick Phinn gained a 3-0 win. The last two games of the season were to be at home. In the first of these, only 1,348 fans turned up to witness a 2-1 win against Morton. Slightly more at the last game, 2,418, to see a rotten home draw 1-1 with already relegated Clyde. The Pars had just about their best season away from home, since the glory days. On the other hand their home form was absolutely awful and would normally have seen them relegated. Athletic finished third on 51 points with a goal difference of 8. They scored 65 goals in all competitions, with Andy Kirk top scorer with 16 goals. Nick Phinn chipped in with 12 from midfield and full back Calum Woods netted 5 times. Paul Gallacher had the most appearances (47) and managed 14 shut outs.

A lot went on behind the scenes in Season 2008/09, so here is a commentary on the events and happenings, to supplement the usual A Season In Time feature. The season began with Jim McIntyre in the manager`s chair, with Gerry McCabe as his assistant and with coaches Stephen Wright, Hamish French and Neil Inglis. Bobby Robertson was the doctor, Gerry Docherty was physio and Robert Kielty the sports scientist. In the boardroom, John Yorkston was chairman and Gavin Masterson, Frank McConnell, Rodney Shearer, Ed Smyth, Ronnie Weymes, William Hodgins, Jim Leishman and Bill Livingston comprising the board.

Wilma Cameron was Commercial Manager. During the previous season, I had been pursuing the idea of forming a Former Players Association. I had discussed the idea with Wilma Cameron. She said that she knew just the man to work with on this, so I was introduced to Bob Storie. Bob had, for some time, been doing the interviews with players for the match programme and was still in contact with many of them. I worked with Bob in obtaining Guests of Honour for the matches and we set about assessing support for a FPA. Roy Barry and Bonar Mercer were quickly on board. Season 2008/09 was when it all came together.

I was aware of the FPA at Motherwell and, through my contacts, engaged their help and advice. Former Par Willie McSeveney, board member John Swinburne and the Former Players chairman Davie Whiteford were very supportive and invited us to a game at Fir Park to see how they worked. We had a great day. As the year moved on, Wilma, Bob and I attended a meeting at Pittodrie, of the Scottish group of FPA`s. Aberdeen, themselves have a thriving Association and helped us draw up our constitution. The Pars board gave their full support and we were off and running. Founder members, in addition to Roy and Bonar, were Hugh Whyte, Jim Leishman, Pat Wilson, Jim Herriot and Dan McLindon. Very quickly several others came on board. By February 2009, a committee had been formed with Hugh Whyte as chairman and we were ready for an official launch. From those beginnings, the Pars FPA has flourished.

In October, the Hall of Fame dinner took place. This year the inductees were Hugh Whyte, Willie Callaghan, Jim Thomson, Bert Paton and Jim Bowie. Also from behind the scenes Pete Campbell. A special presentation was made to the 1967/68 Cup Winning Team.

In December, a decision was made to drastically increase the size of the board. Five new members were added:- Stephen Curtis, Iain Jones, Craig McWhirter, Karen Masterson and former Cowdenbeath chairman Gordon McDougall. Also in December, Pars legend George Miller sadly passed away.

In March, Jim Leishman`s wife Mary, sadly died. Mary was a big personality in her own right and this was reflected in the moving funeral. A big gathering of characters from Scottish Football was in attendance, to support Jim and his family. Amongst these were Stephen Kenny and Sol Bamba, who were no longer at the Club.