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The East Stirlingshire Thread


craigiemack

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Been cleaning out old Shire stuff in my loft over the last few days and came across a Daily Record newspaper cutting from Friday 28th February, 2003. The interview was with the then Shire manager Danny Diver..

"..I don't think East Stirling supporters deserve anything because their attitude to the club is appalling.

In all my time they haven't done anything constructive. They mump and moan and are happy to be third. That's not a supporter.

They can't live with guys such as us because they are happy to be beaten 1-0 by Morton. I can't accept that.

I have to accept not getting the results this season because this is the way we're had to go to move forward.

We had a meeting with them and I asked what if we moved to a new stadium, won the league, did well and we're called Grangemouth FC would they support us ?

They said no because it took away the name of their club. In this day and age, that is a nonsense."

But a tenner a week !

Diver said: "East Stirlingshire have never won games on a regular basis and have never challenged for anything. The difference is now we are not paying  £7000 a week to fail.

People say it's hard to motivate them on that money but they were on a massive bonus to beat Threave Rovers in the Scottish Cup and it made not one bit of difference.

Montrose have something like £150,000 on players this season and they are just 9 points better off than us. What's the point in that ?"

But at the risk of being derisory, what is the point in East Stirling ?

Diver said: " I have to say that I don't think there is any point in East Stirling."

 

The context to this interview was that the Shire had only won 2 of their 27 games played so far that season (weirdly both wins were away at Hampden). At the start of season 2002/03 following a promising previous season with the youth system bearing fruit chairman Alan Mackin ripped up everything and went to a £10pw wage for the players. What was bad about this was he announced this and revealed in it meaning all decent players avoided the Shire like the plague.  East Fife in same season dropped their wages to £15 pw but kept reasonably quiet about it and for them life went on. For Shire it was the start of the downwards roller coaster which had taken the club to the 5th tier this season and without a ground.

At the time of the interview Shire were bottom in the league having already lost 72 league goals and would go onto play an incredible 44 players in the league campaign. They had been knocked out the Scottish Cup by Threave Rovers 2 months earlier with Diver playing himself after promising not to come out of retirement that season. As great an ex-Shire player Diver was he was massively out of his depth in management and this interview incensed an already protesting fan base who took their struggle to new levels. Diver would leave the club shortly after following him being ridiculed by a protest giant pair of pants hung from the stand over his head in the dugout which read "Your pants Diver" (there were other way more ruder banners as well). A photo of this made the papers. 

From the depths of 13 years ago until now. Massive changed days to the current Shire management and players who take the time to acknowledge and speak to the fans no matter the result. Long may that continue. The club can only go forward with everyone together. 

 

 

 

Edited by Dead
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