The East Kilbride FC Thread

[luggy]

Except the Old Firm wasn't the only difference.
East Stirling were seen as East Kilbride's nearest challengers last season. That's not the case this year. The game last season took place during an international break. There was very little football at all that weekend, never mind being up against an Old Firm game.  And the capacity last season was only 550, so a crowd of 800 at that game is greatly exaggerated.
Still let's not let those pesky facts get in the way of a good dig.

Ok but why build a 5000 all seater stadium if you only have 200 loyal fans? Answers on a postcard.

[Toby]

3 minutes ago, luggy said:

Ok but why build a 5000 all seater stadium if you only have 200 loyal fans? Answers on a postcard.

I don't recall making a point about East Kilbride's stadium plans. My point was about the unnecessary digs  at them over the size of their support and the criticisms of other football fans from the town occasionally going to watch them when their own teams aren't playing. Do keep up..

[luggy]

I don't recall making a point about East Kilbride's stadium plans. My point was about the unnecessary digs  at them over the size of their support and the criticisms of other football fans from the town occasionally going to watch them when their own teams aren't playing. Do keep up..

70% of your supporters base are part timers good luck with that once your charging £13 a game.

[Toby]

Just now, luggy said:

70% of your supporters base are part timers good luck with that once your charging £13 a game.

I'm a Morton fan.

[luggy]

I'm a Morton fan.

And I am a shire fan.

[haufdaft]

If the crowd was less than 200 then that is very poor.

 

I would've imagined that a game between East Kilbride and East Stirlinghire would have been one of the more attractive matches in the Lowland League irrespective of East Stirlinghire's league position.

 

 

[bpek]

Could it be that both teams aren't firing on all cylinders at the moment and although that could change as there is a long way to go, the town of ek was buzzing last year with the form of ekfc but that hasn't materialised yet and that result for East Stirlingshire on Saturday maybe mean that they have turned the corner so some fans might start returning to watch the shire if that kind of form continues, I'm not so sure that the Glasgow derby had to much to do with the attendance after all Govan is a twenty minute drive from ek so they could have well been back up the road to watch the match at kpark, also lets not forget that it's also a holiday weekend so people could also be away for a break

[luggy]

The Shire's crowds have been pretty poor this season especially at away games, 7-0 5-0 in our last two games will hopefully bring a few back for Hawick on Saturday.

[jinky]

IMO Ekfc have lost some real quality players without being able to find better replacements...this must be a difficult balancing act when players like Brady,Vitoria,McLeish & Lachlan to name but a few have all moved on.

Unsure if the club scouting is failing or keeping such a big squad focused is the issue?...still early days in the campaign and maybe the East Stirling result will be the catalyst for improvement,only time will tell, but so far results and performances have been well short of last years.

[CITY1974]

How's Ross Caldwell doing ?

[johnmc80]

How's Ross Caldwell doing ?

He left club at start of season.

[CITY1974]

Jeezo what a waste of talent .He's got it but just seems to have gone into a shell.He got a hard time at City but his goals got us into championship.
Any idea where he is now ?

[henry89]

looks like ES brought 20 fans http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/east-kilbride-boss-slams-side-11240196.amp

[johnmc80]

Juniours with blantyre vics i think.

[Dead]

I hope someone is able to clarify this for me as I am a bit confused with the history of East Kilbride FC since they were formed. I dabble more than a bit in historical footy research and out of interest the other day I was looking at what amateur league East Kilbride played in after they were formed until they joined the Lowland League.

All well and good I though as followed the amateur East Kilbride until they joined the Lowland League and became a senior club for start of the season 2013/14. However, I then saw there was still an East Kilbride amateur team which continued to compete in the Scottish Amateur Leagues (very successfully) to the present day).  I didn’t know that and was a bit confused and was unable to find any explanation as to what happened in the summer of 2013.

So what I would love some help with/thoughts on is:

1)      Did the original East Kilbride Amateurs change levels and become a senior club when they joined the senior Lowland League for its’ 1^st season in 2013/14, with a new EK amateur team then being formed to continue playing in the amateur leagues (just taking the place and the level in the amateur pyramid of the original amateur team) ?

 or

2)      Did the original amateur team continue and a new senior team was created to take part in the Lowland League ?   

So if was 1) then I can understand that Kilby fans treat the senior club as a continuation from 2010 to date but why then were the new amateur team able to just step into the same level as the original amateur EK ?

If 2) Do the Kilby fans here then treat East Kilbride starting from 2013 or from 2010 and if from 2010 are they club records from these times included in the records for the senior club or treated as separate ?

I’m genuinely interested as I love origin stories for all the clubs and hate when they get lost in the mists of time or though just the lack of someone recording what happened, thinking that no one in the future will be interested. Goodness knows the number of years it has taken me to find out the actually birth story of my own club.

On a separate matter, is there a list anywhere of all the clubs and when who joined East Kilbride after the initial formation of the club in 2010 ? The Official website names the 2 clubs that East Kilbride was formed from and then says other teams joined later but doesn't which teams and when.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Dead

[HibeeJibee]

It's the same 'umbrella operation' and it established a senior team in 2013... In the same way Bonnyton Thistle were only a youth club (members of SYFA) to now. Many LL clubs have amateur teams as well as their youth teams: off the top of my head Spartans, Civil Service Strollers, Edinburgh Uni, Stirling Uni, Gala; plus others have less formal linkups (e.g. Selkirk and Selkirk Vics?).

Probably the arch example was Spartans. Until point when LL was established they had teams in the senior game, the junior game (their reserve team), the amateur game and the youth game. After that they quit the East juniors - having kept on their EOSL membership the coaches and players effectively moved across en bloc - but until then then were members of 4 grades at once.

So as you've identified East Kilbride were members of the Central Scottish AFL, and then formed a senior team in 2013 (and joined SOSL but then became members of LL instead before a ball had been kicked). Cumbernauld Colts happened in the same way - they formed a senior team in 2015, but continued their amateur team in the Caledonian AFL. BSCG were like Bonnyton, but established an amateur team in the Central Scottish AFL last season, IIRC.

[Dead]

Thanks for the reply.

I have no problem with club's running different teams in different grades and do applaud what Gala Fairydean Rovers have done this season for example.

It is confusing, however, where do you draw the line on the particular continuity of one team within the "umbrella" ? In some clubs it is clear when the senior club has always been separate from their other team or teams at other grades.  My own club in the dim and distant past also ran a separate junior club along side the senior club so it's nothing new.

The EK situation is different however only in, as you say, a senior team was created for the lowland league within their "umbrella" with the amateur team continuing on. So perhaps the senior team was therefore formed in 2013 and not 2010. Personally, I don't mind either way but I do like uniformity with these things  as a lot of senior clubs in this country have had various events in their past that has caused either their club to go defunct and then reform or worse and each club seems to have there own interpretation on how this should be recorded e.g. Hibs and Hearts both had Victorian issues and also East Stirlingshire' s landlords Stenhousemuir had a death and reboot into a new club after WW1. History seems to treat such events as seamless and the continuity of the club is not therefore in question.  So perhaps in this context there is nothing wrong within using the "umbrella" club dates as the timeline.

As I said in my OP I was just curious about how EK came to be in their present form and how Kilby fans think of their club's history.

[johnmc80]

The senior team was formed for first season of the lowland league. Had been accepted for south before lowand league was formed.

[Dead]

Thanks for confirming that.

[ekok]

Hope this helps clear up the origins of the Club/ Lowland Team.

The distinction is that the Club was formed in 2010, when Stewartfield FC and Jackton BC came togther under the EKFC banner . Several other teams, including what was then Whitehills Amateurs joined EKFC between then and in 2013 the Club appplied and were accepted as inaugural members of the newly formed Lowland League. Simply put Club 2010,  Lowland Team  2013.

Edited September 30, 2017 by ekok