Ayr United F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ayr United

Full name	Ayr United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Honest Men
Founded	1910; 115 years ago (1910)
Ground	Somerset Park
Ground Capacity	10,185 (1,597 seated)
Chairman	David Smith
Manager	Scott Brown
League	Scottish Championship
2015–16	Scottish League One, 2nd (promoted via play-offs)
Home colours Away colours

Ayr United Football Club is a football team from Ayr, Scotland. They play in the Scottish Championship, which is the second-highest league in Scottish football. The club was started in 1910 when two older teams, Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., joined together.

Their nickname is "The Honest Men." This comes from a famous Scottish poem called "Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns. Ayr United plays their home games at Somerset Park. The team is currently managed by Scott Brown. Ayr United has spent 34 seasons in Scotland's top league and has won the second-tier league six times. They have also won the third-tier league three times.

History

Ayr United was formed in 1910 by combining two football clubs: Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C. This made them the only club in the Scottish Football League to be created by two existing league clubs merging.

The club has won the second-tier league six times and the third-tier league three times. Their most recent win was in 2017–18. They haven't won any big national cup competitions. However, they were runners-up in the Scottish League Cup in 2001–02. They also reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup twice, in 1990–91 and 1991–92. Ayr United has won the local Ayrshire Cup 26 times, often beating their rivals Kilmarnock in the final.

The player who scored the most goals in one season for Ayr United is Jimmy Smith. He scored an amazing 66 goals in just 38 league games in the 1927–28 season. This is still the British record for most league goals in a single season! The club's all-time top scorer is Peter Price, who scored 213 goals between 1955 and 1962.

Ally MacLeod is known as Ayr United's most famous and successful manager. He led the club three times over 15 years, winning 214 games and two league titles. He was even voted Ayr's Citizen of the Year in 1973. Other well-known managers include George Burley and Gordon Dalziel. Gordon Dalziel was the only manager to take Ayr to a national cup final in 2002, where they lost to Rangers.

Even though Ayr United has played 34 seasons in Scotland's top league, they have been in the second and third divisions since 1977–78. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, they became known for beating teams from higher leagues in cup competitions. They defeated teams like Hibernian, Dundee, and even their rivals Kilmarnock four times in a row in cup games.

In 1988, a fan named Sir David Murray wanted to buy the club. But the club's owners voted against it. Murray later became chairman of Rangers, which then had a very successful period. Later, local builder Bill Barr was the chairman for many years.

In 2009, Ayr United won a play-off game against Airdrie United to get promoted to the First Division. The next season, 2010, was the club's 100th birthday! To celebrate, Ayr United wore their original black and white hoops kit. However, they were relegated back down at the end of that season.

The club bounced back quickly, winning promotion again the next season through the play-offs. In the 2011–12 season, Ayr had a great run in the 2011–12 Scottish League Cup. They beat top-tier teams like Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Heart of Midlothian to reach the semi-finals. There, they played their rivals Kilmarnock but lost 1-0.

After some changes in managers, Ian McCall became manager in 2015. He helped the team avoid relegation and then led them to promotion to the Championship in 2016. After being relegated again in 2017, Ayr United won the League One title in 2017–18, getting back into the Championship right away.

Ayr United started the 2018–19 Championship season very well, even leading the league for a while. But injuries to key players caused their form to drop. They finished fourth, which meant they got a spot in the play-offs for promotion to the top league. However, they lost to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Key players left the club at the end of the 2018–19 season. Despite this, Ayr started the 2019–20 season well. Manager Ian McCall then left, and midfielder Mark Kerr took over as manager. The 2019–20 season was cut short because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Ayr finished fourth, but the play-offs were not held.

The 2020–2021 season was played without fans in the stadiums. Ayr United struggled and was in danger of relegation. Mark Kerr was replaced by former Scotland player David Hopkin. Ayr United managed to avoid relegation on the very last day of the season.

After a difficult start to the 2021–22 season, David Hopkin resigned. Jim Duffy became manager but was also replaced in December 2021. On January 7, 2022, Lee Bullen was appointed head coach. Under his leadership, Ayr United stayed in the Championship.

In the 2022–23 season, Ayr United had a fantastic finish, securing second place on the final day! This earned them a spot in the play-off semi-finals for promotion. However, they were defeated by Partick Thistle in both games.

Crest and colours

Crests

From 1948 to 2016, Ayr United used a club badge that looked like a shield with a Scottish flag inside. Below it was a scroll with the club's name. In 2015, there was a legal issue because someone claimed the badge was an unregistered coat of arms. Fans started a petition to keep the old badge, and many people, including politicians and famous footballers, supported them.

In 2016, after a competition for fans to design a new badge, a new one was chosen. This new design kept most of the important parts of the old badge.

• 

  The crest of Ayrshire between 1890 and 1931, similar to the Ayr United crest.

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  The crest worn between 1938 and 1948.

Colours

The club's first jerseys were red and gold, with navy blue shorts and socks. In 1914, Ayr changed to black and white hoops, which they wore until 1930. Then, they switched to a plain white jersey with navy blue shorts and socks until World War II. After the war, they kept the white jersey but used black shorts.

In 1958, Ayr changed to white with blue trim. In 1963, they went back to the black and white hoops, which they kept until 1968. They didn't use the hoops again until their 100th anniversary season in 2009–10. Since then, they have mostly worn white jerseys with black trim, or sometimes black and white striped shirts. For the 2013–14 season, they returned to the white jersey with black shorts and socks, which they hadn't worn since 1973.

Home kits

1910–1914

1914–1938

1938–1940

1945–1958

1973–1978

2011–12

2014–15

Away kits

1970s

1990s

1995–96

2001–02

2003–04

2009–10

2012–13

Stadium

Ayr United plays its games at Somerset Park in Ayr. It's one of the older, more traditional football stadiums. It has one main stand, two covered areas for fans, and one open area. The stadium can hold 10,185 people. The very first game played at Somerset Park was between the old Ayr F.C. and Aston Villa, which Ayr won 3-0.

In the 1990s, the club's chairman, Bill Barr, wanted to build a new, modern stadium. He got permission for a new 10,200-seat stadium with shops nearby. However, the plan for the shops was stopped, and the club felt they needed the shops to help pay for the stadium, so the project didn't happen.

In 2006, there was another plan to sell Somerset Park and build a new £29 million stadium for 7,650 fans. This new stadium would have been part of a "sports and business campus." But this project also did not go ahead.

First-team squad

No. Position Player 2 DF Nick McAllister 3 DF Patrick Reading 4 DF Frankie Musonda 5 DF Mikey Devlin 7 FW Anton Dowds 8 MF Ben Dempsey (captain) 9 FW George Oakley 10 FW Connor McLennan 14 DF George Stanger 15 FW Jamie Murphy 16 FW Jake Hastie 17 MF Jay Henderson (on loan from Ross County) 18 MF Jamie Hislop

No. Position Player 20 MF Roy Syla 21 MF Ethan Walker 22 FW Mark McKenzie 23 MF Marco Rus 25 MF Ryan Howley (on loan from Coventry City) 26 DF Connor McAvoy (on loan from Fulham) 31 GK Harry Stone (on loan from Hearts) 32 MF Dylan Watret 33 DF Scott McMann 36 FW Alfie Bavidge (on loan from Aberdeen) 38 GK Liam Russell 61 GK Jack McIntyre

On loan

No. Position Player 1 GK Robbie Mutch (on loan at Stranraer) 6 MF Andy Murdoch (on loan at Clyde) 11 FW Fraser Bryden (on loan at Queen of the South) 19 GK Ollie Ecrepont (on loan at East Stirlingshire)

No. Position Player 24 MF Scott Tomlinson (on loan at Stenhousemuir) 27 FW Max Guthrie (on loan at Stranraer) 29 FW Lucas McRoberts (on loan at East Stirlingshire) -- DF Jamie Hamilton (on loan at East Kilbride)

Coaching staff

Managers

Dates	Name
1910–1914	Committee
1914–1915	Herbert Dainty
1915–1918	Lawrence Gemson
1918–1919	John Cameron
1919–1923	James McDonald
1923–1924	Jimmy Richardson
1924–1926	Jimmy Hay
1926–1931	Archie Buchanan
1931–1935	Alex Gibson
1935–1940	Frank Thompson
1945–1948	Bob Ferrier
1949–1953	Archie Anderson
1953–1955	Reuben Bennett
1955–1956	Neil McBain
1956–1961	Jackie Cox
1961	Bobby Flavell
1961–1962	Gerry Mays
1962–1963	Neil McBain
1963–1964	Bobby Flavell
1964–1966	Tom McCreath
1966–1975	Ally MacLeod
1975–1978	Alex Stuart
1978	Ally MacLeod
1979–1983	Willie McLean
1983–1985	George Caldwell
1985–1990	Ally MacLeod
1991–1993	George Burley
1993–1995	Simon Stainrod
1995–2002	Gordon Dalziel
2002–2004	Campbell Money
2004–2005	Mark Shanks
2005–2007	Bobby Connor
2007	Neil Watt
2007–2012	Brian Reid
2012–2014	Mark Roberts
2015–2019	Ian McCall
2019–2021	Mark Kerr
2021	David Hopkin
2021	Jim Duffy
2022–2024	Lee Bullen
2024–	Scott Brown

Honours

Domestic

League

• Scottish second tier (Division Two, Division B, First Division, Championship)
  • Winners (6): 1911–12, 1912–13, 1927–28, 1936–37, 1958–59, 1965–66
  • Runners-up (5): 1910–11, 1955–56, 1968–69, 2000–01, 2022–23
• Scottish third tier (Second Division, League One)
  • Winners (3): 1987–88, 1996–97, 2017–18
  • Runners-up (3): 2008–09, 2010–11, 2015–16
  • Play-Off Winners (3): 2008–09, 2010–11, 2015–16

Cups

• Scottish League Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2001–02
• Scottish Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1990–91, 1991–92

Regional

• Ayrshire Cup
  • Winners (26): 1911–12, 1925–26, 1928–29, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1996–97
• Ayr Charity Cup
  • Winners (17): 1911–12, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1918–19, 1920–21, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1951–52
• Kilmarnock Charity Cup
  • Winners (4): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1936–37

Records

Club

Individual

All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.

Hall of Fame

* years involved as a manager
** years involved as vice-chairman

Scottish Football Hall of Fame

* years involved as manager

English Football Hall of Fame

International players

Only includes caps won while playing for Ayr United.

See also

In Spanish: Ayr United Football Club para niños