Cowdenbeath F.C. facts for kids
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| Full name | Cowdenbeath Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Blue Brazil Cowden The Miners |
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| Founded | 1881 | ||
| Ground | Central Park | ||
| Capacity | 4,309 | ||
| Chairman | Donald Findlay | ||
| Manager | Paul McLean | ||
| League | Scottish League Two | ||
| 2015–16 | Scottish League One, 9th (relegated via play-off) | ||
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Cowdenbeath Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football team. They are based in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The club is often called "The Blue Brazil," "Cowden," or "The Miners."
Cowdenbeath FC is part of the Scottish League Two league. This is the fifth level of the Scottish football league system. They were moved down from Scottish League Two on May 14, 2022. This happened after they lost 4–0 to Bonnyrigg Rose. The club was formed in 1881. They have played at Central Park since 1917. Cowdenbeath first joined the Scottish Football League (SFL) in 1905. They have won lower league titles five times. The team played in the top division of the SFL from 1924 to 1934. They have only had one more season in the top league, in 1970–71.
Contents
Club History: From Founding to Today
Early Days and Mergers
Cowdenbeath Football Club started when two local teams joined together. These were Cowdenbeath Rangers (formed 1880) and Cowdenbeath Thistle. This merger happened in 1881. However, some research suggests the name Cowdenbeath Rangers was still used. The club's true founding might be 1882. This is when Rangers combined with another local team called Raith Rovers. This Raith Rovers was not connected to the current Kirkcaldy club.
Creating one club for the town happened at the same time. The Fifeshire Football Association was also set up that year. Cowdenbeath is the oldest football club still playing in Fife. They lost the first Fife Cup final in 1883. But they won the Cup for the first time in 1885.
Joining the Scottish Football League
In 1888, the club moved to North End Park. In 1905, they joined Division Two of the Scottish Football League. They won Division Two in 1913–14 and 1914–15. But they were not moved up to Division One either time. The SFL stopped playing due to World War I in 1915. The club then moved to Central Park in 1917.
When Division Two started again in 1921, Cowdenbeath was placed there. They finished second in 1923–24. This led to their first promotion to Division One.
Top Division Years and World War II
The club stayed in Division One until the end of the 1933–34 season. They were then moved down. But they won their third Division Two championship in 1938–39. This was helped a lot by Rab Walls, who scored 54 league goals. This is the second-highest number of goals in a Scottish League season.
However, World War II began, stopping Cowdenbeath's return to Division One. The club closed down during the war. When football started again in 1946, the club was placed in the new B Division. This was the second tier.
Post-War Challenges and Promotions
A big moment after the war was a League Cup win in 1949. They beat Rangers at Ibrox. But Cowdenbeath found it hard to get back to the top level of Scottish football. They finally did this under manager Andy Matthew in the 1969–70 season. However, they only stayed in Division One for one season. This was their only time in the top league since the 1930s.
Later, hopes grew when Cowdenbeath was promoted to the First Division in 1991–92. But they soon fell back to the bottom of the Scottish League. They had a tough time, going 38 league games without a win at Central Park.
New Management and Recent Successes
Things became more professional when former Scotland player Craig Levein became manager in 1997. He had started his playing career at Cowdenbeath. The team was promoted from the Third Division in the 2000–01 season. But they were moved down again two years later. After finishing third in the 2004–05 season, they had a great year.
The 2005–06 season saw the team win their first league title in 67 years. This was under player-manager Mixu Paatelainen, when they won the Third Division. In the 2008–09 season, Danny Lennon's team almost got promoted. They lost in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless match against Stenhousemuir. However, they were promoted to the Second Division for the 2009–10 season. This happened because Livingston was moved down for breaking league rules.
Cowdenbeath started tough in the Scottish Second Division. But they soon played well and finished third. They then beat Alloa and Brechin in the play-offs to get promoted.
Ups and Downs in Recent Years
Before the 2010–11 season, Jimmy Nicholl became the new manager. They were moved down from the First Division to the Second Division on May 14, 2011. This was after losing their play-off semi-final to Brechin City. It was a big disappointment, especially after being 2–0 up in the first game.
Under new manager Colin Cameron, Cowdenbeath quickly got promoted again the next season. They won the league with two games left. The season after, they stayed in the league by winning 3–1 against Hamilton Academical. The next season, they avoided being moved down again. They beat local rivals Dunfermline Athletic 4–1 in the Championship Play Off final.
The following season, they finished last in the Championship. They lost 3–0 to Alloa Athletic on the final day. Jimmy Nicholl resigned soon after. Colin Nish took over, but Cowdenbeath was moved down again. They lost to Queen's Park in the play-offs. Nish was fired in May 2016 and replaced by Liam Fox.
Cowdenbeath continued to struggle, finishing 10th in the 2016–17 Scottish League Two. They avoided a third straight relegation by winning a play-off against East Kilbride. The 2017–18 season was also tough. Cowdenbeath finished last again and had to play in the play-offs. They survived again by beating Cove Rangers. The 2018–19 season was much better. The club finished sixth, far from the play-off spot. This improvement continued into the shorter 2019–20 season. The club finished fourth after 27 games.
In June 2020, fans donated over £14,000 through the 'Club 135' plan. This helped the club financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Club Records: Biggest Wins and Losses
Biggest win: 12–0 vs Johnstone in Scottish Cup on January 21, 1928
Biggest loss:
Biggest home attendance: 25,586 vs Rangers on September 21, 1949
Youngest player to debut: Peter McKean vs Forfar Athletic on November 11, 2014 (15 years and 60 days old in Scottish Championship)
Playing Squad
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Club Officials
Board of Directors
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Donald Findlay |
| Club President | Bob Brownlie |
| Honorary Presidents | Alex Anderson & Sandy Ferguson |
| Finance Director | David Allan |
| Operations Director | John Cameron |
| Investment Director | Neil Fentie |
| Club Director | Craig Scott |
| Club Director | Alan Smart |
| Club Director | Aaron Dougan |
| Governance & Compliance Director | Margaret Steven |
| Youth & Community Development Director | Thomas Ewing |
| Commercial Director | Malcolm Slora |
Coaching Staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Player/Manager | Paul McLean |
| Player/Assistant Coach | Gary Fusco |
| Goalkeeping Coach | vacant |
| Football Operations Co-ordinator | Colin Nelson |
| Community Coach | Dean Ewing |
| Sports Therapist | Toni Ross |
| Kit Manager | Dale Smart |
| Assistant Kit Manager | Michael Dunster |
| Groundsman | Craig Surgeon |
Noted Players
These former Cowdenbeath players are in the club's Hall of Fame. Some recent players are also listed who play at a higher level in Scotland.
Kenny Adamson- Ray Allan
- Eric Archibald
- Richard Baillie
Graeme Brown- Liam Buchanan
- Fraser Carver
- William Devlin
- John Dickson
- Scott Duncan
- John Falconer
- Brian Ferrier
- Tom Glancy
- Charlie Gronbach
- Craig Gordon
- George Jordan
- Andy Kinnell
- Bob Law
- Thomas Leask
- Hookey Leonard
- Craig Levein
- Duncan Lindsay
- John Martin
- Andy Matthew
- Jim McArthur
- Alex Menzies
- Willie Mercer
Markus Paatelainen- Mikko Paatelainen
- Bill Paterson
- James Pollock
- John Pollock
- Derek Riordan
- Innes Ritchie
- Andy Rolland
- Davie Ross
- Greg Stewart
- Alex Venters
- Rab Walls
- Steven Weir
- George Wilson
- Craig Winter
Managers
- John Young (−1905)
- Joe Parker (1905–1906)
- Sandy Paterson (1906–1924)
- James Richardson (1924–1925)
- Scott Duncan (1925–1932)
- Sandy Paterson (1932–1933)
- John Dougary (1934–1938)
- Bill Hodge (1938–1946)
- Willie Fotheringham (1946–1948)
- George Sweet (1948–1951)
- Bobby Baxter (1951–1955)
- John Dougary (1955–1958)
- Jimmy Mitchell (1958–1959)
- Archie Buchanan (1959–1960)
- Harry Colville (1960–1964)
- Archie Robertson (1964–1968)
- Andy Matthew (1968–1974)
- Bert Paton (1974)
- Dan McLindon (1974–1975)
- Frank Connor (1975–1977)
- Paddy Wilson (1977–1980)
- Pat Stanton (1980)
- Andy Rolland (1980–1982)
- Hugh Wilson (1982–1983)
- Willie McCulloch (1983–1984)
- John Clark (1984–1985)
- Joe Craig (1985–1987)
- Dick Campbell (1987)
- John Blackley (1987–1988)
- John Brownlie (1988–1992)
- Andy Harrow (1992–1993)
- John Reilly (1993–1994)
- Paddy Dolan (1994–1995)
- Tom Steven (1995–1997)
- Sammy Conn (1997)
- Craig Levein (1997–2000)
- Peter Cormack (2000)
- Gary Kirk (2000–2002)
- Keith Wright (2002–2004)
- David Baikie (2004–2005)
- Mixu Paatelainen (2005–2006)
- Brian Welsh (2006–2008)
Danny Lennon (2008–2010)- Jimmy Nicholl (2010–2011)
- Colin Cameron (2011–2013)
- Jimmy Nicholl (2013–2015)
- Colin Nish (2015–2016)
- Liam Fox (2016–2017)
- Gary Locke (2017)
- Billy Brown (2017)
- Gary Bollan (2017–2021)
- Maurice Ross (2021–2023)
- Calum Elliot(2023–2024)
Dougie Hill (2024-)
Honours: Club Achievements
- Scottish League, Division Two
- Champions: 1913–14, 1914–15, 1938–39
- Scottish Second Division
- Champions: 2011–12
- Scottish Third Division
- Champions: 2005–06
See also
In Spanish: Cowdenbeath Football Club para niños
