Club History | Season 1992-1993
Rab Shannon and Scott Leitch topped the appearances with 46 each, whilst Hamish French was top scorer with 12.
In any series about past seasons, as every Pars fan knows, there are highs and lows. This was a miserable time for Athletic. Two seasons on from the board`s ludicrous behaviour with the Iain Munro/ Jim Leishman affair, many fans were totally dis-enchanted. Eventually Munro was sacked and replaced by Jocky Scott but Season 1991/92 had ended in relegation and a very poor standard of football on the park. Hope for the new season was not in abundance and was not helped by the loss of Andy Rhodes to St. Johnstone. Lindsay Hamilton and Roddy Grant came in exchange.
August was a busy month for Scottish teams, with most of them facing eight games. The Pars opener was away to Ayr United, with Hamilton and Grant both making their debuts. The result was a 1-1 draw. They followed this with a 5-2 midweek win at Central Park. Billy Davies scored two in this game and both goals in the Saturday home win, 2-1, against Hamilton Accies. The great start continued as Montrose were hammered 6-0 in the League Cup at Links Park. Back to the League and a single George O`Boyle goal brought a 1-0 win back from Kilmarnock. A hard fought 1-0 defeat in the League Cup away to Aberdeen was compounded, when Raith Rovers won by the same score at East End Park. The month ended dismally with a poor 3-1 defeat at home to Clydebank.
Dunfermline recovered their early season form with a 5-0 win over Stirling Albion, who were still exiled at Ochilview. A narrow 2-1 defeat away to St. Mirren was soon forgotten after a good 3-1 win at home to Meadowbank. Athletic were in 5th place and finished the month with a 3-2 home win over Dumbarton.
The Pars began October with a 1-0 win at Cappielow, courtesy of Roddy Grant but lost 3-0 away to Arbroath to exit the Challenge Cup, an inauspicious game for the debut of Jackie McNamara. The iffy home form continued when Ayr United won 3-1 and when Hamilton Accies beat Athletic 2-1 at Douglas Park, things were looking decidedly bleak. Hamish French managed to scrape Dunfermline a 1-0 win at home to Stirling Albion but the month ended back in the dumps with a 1-0 defeat away to Clydebank.
Kilmarnock were the first visitors in November and goals by Hamish French and Andy Williamson secured a 2-0 win. I caught a match at Fir Park won by Partick Thistle, which included no fewer than seven players with Pars connections. Jamie Dolan played for Well with Ray Farningham, George Shaw, Gerry Britton, Davie Irons, Paul Kinnaird and Colin McGlashan all in the Jags line up. Raith Rovers won the Fife Derby 1-0 in Kirkcaldy and Athletic followed this up by losing 3-2 at Meadowbank. The month ended well with a 2-0 home win over St. Mirren.
December came in with a 0-0 draw at home to Morton. Norrie McCathie scored the only goal away to Dumbarton but away again, Athletic suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Ayr
United. The Pars faced up to Cowdenbeath at East End Park and gave their fans an early Christmas Present with a good 4-1 win. The festivities were kept going with a 3-2 Boxing Day win at Rugby Park.
The new year began with a damp squid of a 0-0 draw at home to Raith Rovers, witnessed by a crowd of 10,798. The following weekend The Pars stumbled out of the Scottish Cup, beaten 2-1 at home by Ayr United. Bad weather wiped out games until the end of the month when two Scott Leitch goals earned a 2-1 win against Hamilton Accies at East End.
A midweek win 2-0 at home to Clydebank got things off to a February flier. Paul Smith returned to the club from Falkirk and went straight into the team. Paul Chalmers scored the only goal to bring the points back from Cappielow and when the next two games, both away, were won 2-1 against Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath, fans began to build their hopes. Dumbarton held out for a 2-2 draw at East End Park but the month finished satisfactorily with a 3-2 home win against Meadowbank.
March kicked off with an away match at St Mirren. Hamish French scored the only goal. After the encouraging start, it was disappointing to be held to a 1-1 draw at home to Ayr United. Hamish was the star again with both goals in the 2-0 win at Douglas Park but the month progressed badly with a 2-0 loss in the Kirkcaldy version of the Fife Derby. Athletic managed to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Kilmarnock in the month`s final match.
As April arrived, the fans were losing patience with the standard of football on show. Only 2,607 turned up to see the home defeat against Stirling not help. It had been a wretched end to the season. The nature of the collapse and Jocky`s falling out with the fans did not help. There was an overall sense of gloom which had pervaded since that idiotic decision to oust Jim Leishman and to ignore the fans. Gates had plummeted and there was no bond between the fans and Albion. Clydebank away resulted in a 1-1 draw, but the next home game ended in a 2-1 loss to St. Mirren, despite John Hillcoat replacing Lindsay Hamilton in goal. Hamish French came to the rescue with the only goal away to Meadowbank. Meadowbank Stadium was a very poor facility and many clubs complained about the lack of privacy in the dressing room areas. A group of disgruntled fans had harangued Jocky Scott and he had reacted angrily. I often wonder how these fans would have reacted if a group of footballers surrounded their desk or workspace and started criticising them.
The month of May began, for The Pars, at home to Cowdenbeath. The programme included an apology from Jocky Scott, which had obviously been dictated by the board, but with a lamentable performance by the team and two goals from former Par Willie Callaghan (Jnr), the fans were growling like bears well before the end of the game and a 2-0 defeat. Dunfermline had gone into this game two points clear in second place and in a promotion slot. Dumbarton at Boghead was next and a miserable 0-0 draw the outcome.
The season ended on 15th May with a home match. Having all but thrown it away, Athletic could still do it if they defeated Morton. The club was celebrating the award of the SPFA Merit Award to a very deserving Joe Nelson. There was no celebrating on the day, however, as Morton won 2-1 to consign The Pars to another season in the First Division.
Rab Shannon and Scott Leitch topped the appearances with 46 each, whilst Hamish French was top scorer with 12. The fact that they were in with a chance right up to the final whistle did not help. It had been a wretched end to the season. The nature of the collapse and Jocky`s falling out with the fans did not help. There was an overall sense of gloom which had pervaded since that idiotic decision to oust Jim Leishman and to ignore the fans. Gates had plummeted and there was no bond between the fans and the team. What would next season hold and how many would care? Three days later Jocky Scott was sacked and the board had a big decision to make.
On 10th June, Bert Paton and Dick Campbell were appointed as the new management team. Bert was a great favourite amongst fans.
A Pars man through and through and Dick another passionate Fifer. There was a big repair job to be done but it was felt that these were the very characters to handle it. The negativity dispersed and fans could now look forward to next
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