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Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Second Division.
They are nicknamed 'The Wasps' for their kit's distinctive black and gold hoops. Their home ground is currently Recreation Park, also known as The Recs. The ground has recently undergone a number of changes with the removal of the Hilton Road Terrace and the laying of a new artificial playing surface in the summer of 2007. A new perimeter wall was then built at the Clackmannan Road end of the ground and a new 519 seater stand for away supporters was opened in October 2008.
[edit] History
Alloa playing at
Berwick in their 1997–98 title-winning season
The club were formed in 1878 as Clackmannan County, becoming Alloa a year later and finally adopting the present-day name Alloa Athletic in 1883.[1] Admitted to the Scottish Football Association in the same year, the club had to wait until 1921 to elected to the Scottish Football League, although they had enjoyed success prior to this. In 1906–07, the club were Scottish Football Union champions and won the Central Football League six years later, with two runners-up finishes in-between.
Alloa won the Scottish Football League Division Two title in their first season but were immediately relegated from the top flight the following season. Promotion was achieved again in 1938–39 but the onset of the Second World War saw the new season curtailed after just five games. When the leagues were re-organised after the war, Alloa were placed back in Division Two.
The 1950s and 60s were not overly successful for the Wasps although the club did provide the game with John White who went on to play for Scotland and Tottenham Hotspur (where he was part of their famous Double winning side of the 1960–61 season). Promotion was finally achieved again from the new Second Division in 1976–77 under the managership of Hugh Wilson. Relegation soon followed but the Wasps went back up 1981–82 under Alex Totten and managed an excellent 6th place finish in the First Division the following season. Unfortunately the team was relegated again a year later and a similar pattern followed after further promotions in 1984–85 and 1988–89.
Following further league reconstruction, Alloa found themselves as founder members of the new Third Division in 1995. Under Tom Hendrie, Alloa won this league in 1997–98, the club's first championship win since 1921–22. The following season saw the team consolidate in the Second Division and also enjoy a famous 7–0 derby win over local rivals Stirling Albion. Following the departure of Tom Hendrie to St. Mirren, Terry Christie took over at Alloa and led the club to the Scottish Challenge Cup in 1999 followed by promotion to the First Division a few months later. The team was relegated at the first attempt but bounced back up in 2001–02. Relegation followed once more, this time on goal difference.
Since 2003 Alloa have been playing in the Second Division. The team looked certain to drop into the Third Division when 14 points adrift in February 2006 but under new manager Allan Maitland the team went on a tremendous run which eventually saw them retain their place in the division through the play-offs.
[edit] Colours and badge
Alloa play in gold and black hoops, with black shorts and socks, and a change strip of entirely maroon. The current strip is similar to the first strip worn - black and orange hooped jersey and stockings - which led to the club's nickname of The Wasps. The club have rarely strayed from a hooped design with an occasional stray to all-orange or all-gold. In the 1897–98 season, however, the jersey was navy blue and white stripes - the only departure from orange or gold.[2]
The club have carried shirt sponsorship since 1984, using six different companies.[1]
[edit] Stadium
Recreation Park has a capacity of 3,100 and has been home to Alloa for much of their existence, with the club using the ground since 1895. Prior to that, Alloa had short stays at a number of grounds, as illustrated below:[1]
- 1878: West End Public Park
- 1883: Gaberston Park
- 1890: Bellevue Park
- 1895: Recreation Park
[edit] Supporters
Most record books list Alloa's record attendance as 13,000 for a match against Dunfermline Athletic on 22 February, 1939 in a Scottish Cup third round replay.[1] However the recent book The Roar of the Crowd by David Ross shows the record attendance to actually be 15,467 for a Scottish Cup 5th Round match against Celtic on February 5, 1955. Celtic won the game 4–2. In recent times, the record figure is a more modest 5,050 for a Second Division match against Cowdenbeath in May 1992.[1] With the current capacity just over 3,000, the figure looks unlikely to be beaten.
[edit] Current squad
As of 4 June 2009.
[edit] Noted players
[edit] Managers
[edit] Honours
- A complete list of honours is available on the 'Honours' section of Alloa's official website
- Stirlingshire Cup:
- Winners (14): 1904–05, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1933–34, 1946–47, 1955-56, 1957-58, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1981–82, 1996–97
- Runners-up (12): 1905–06, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1983–84, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01
- Fife Cup:
- Winners (3): 1885–86, 1895–96, 1897–98
- Runners-up (1): 1883–84
[edit] Records
- Transfer fee paid: £26,000 for Ross Hamilton from Stenhousemuir, July 2000
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Pat Lawlor
Willie Crilley
Laurie Cumming
Guido van de Kamp
