Forfar Athletic FC are a football club with membership of the Scottish Football League. They play at Station Park, in the north end of Forfar.
The clubs present home colours are sky-blue with gray-blue trim, gray-blue shorts, sky-blue stockings with gray trim , with the away shirt being an AC Milan style kit of red and black vertical stripes.
The club are nicknamed “the Loons”, although the local media have had a habit of referring to the club as the “Sky Blues”. Other rival clubs in Angus include Arbroath, Brechin City and Montrose, as well as the larger clubs of Dundee, Dundee United, Aberdeen and St. Johnstone in the wider east of Scotland region. As well as taking part in the Scottish Football League (presently Division 2) the club also participate in the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, the Challenge Cup and the Forfarshire Cup every season.
Contents
1 Origins of the Loons
2 Into the League
3 Post War Highs and Lows
4 The 1990s and beyond
5
Honours
6
Club Records
7 Loons Legends
8 References
9 External links
Origins of the Loons
The club was founded in 1885 when the second team of the older Forfarshire club called Angus Athletic, broke away to form Forfar Athletic. One explanation for the origins of the Loons’ moniker is that this second string were younger than the first team – “Loons” being a similar term to “lads” in the local dialect – over time people would say “I’m off to watch the Loons”. The early side played in a navy and black striped home strip. On September 1 1888 the club established their reputation when they defeated Lindertis, a side from nearby Kirriemuir, 14-1. This victory remains the largest victory for the club.
Into the League
The club were admitted into the Scottish Football League in 1921, entering the new second division. The club mostly remained in this division until the league was suspended with the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The club spent one season, 1925-26, in the ill fated third division but finished 3rd and gained promotion back to the second division. In this period Alex Troup was a key player for the club – he went on to play for Dundee and Everton. Unfortunately the club’s biggest defeat also came in this period, on January 2 1930, when they lost 2-12 to King’s Park.
Post War Highs and Lows
When the league resumed in 1946 the club found itself in the “C Division” of the league (the leagues seem to have been lettered a, b, and c from 1946 – 1956). The club won promotion to the B Division in 1949 and remained in the B division and its successor second division until finally winning the division championship in 1984 under manager Doug Houston. This was considerable progress from the 1973-74 season when the club finished bottom of the division. The late 1970s and the 1980s can probably be considered the club’s most successful period – at the end of the 1985-86 season the club was just one point below promotion to the Premier Division.
This era also saw a succession of good cup runs, the club meeting Rangers in the League Cup quarter finals in 1978 (losing 5-2) and again in the SFA Cup semi finals at Hampden Park in 1982, forcing a 0-0 draw in the first game and earning a replay which ended 3-1 to Rangers. In 1987 the Loons came within a few seconds of knocking Dundee United, then flying high after famously beating FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp, out of the cup in the quarter finals, but United scored to gain a replay, which they subsequently won.
Various kit colours have been used. In the 1950s and early 1960s, a green home strip was used. Later the team adopted lighter blue with varying navy. The nickname “The Sky Blues” was introduced in 1982 to aid marketing, however could be confused with the nickname of English club Coventry City.
The 1990s and beyond
The club continued in the first division until 1992, when they finished bottom under the management of ex-Dundee United player Paul Hegarty. The side won just five matches and lost twenty seven! When the league was re-organised in the 1994 close season the Loons found themselves in the new Division 3. They won the inaugural division 3 championship and promotion under the management of Tommy Campbell and the captaincy of Ian McPhee. In 1996 McPhee became player manager and remained in this post until his resignation through frustration at the club’s lack of progress in November 2000, being replaced by Neil Cooper. Neil Cooper remained manager until January 2003 when he moved back to become head youth coach for his former club Aberdeen. Cooper’s only full season in charge, 2001-02, was a fairly successful season with the Loons finishing 3rd in Division 2 and reaching a televised cup quarter final against Rangers, which despite losing 0-6 gave the club a considerable cash bonus.
Between January 2003 and November 2004 the club was managed by former West Ham United defender Ray Stewart whose biggest achievement was probably knocking Motherwell out of the CIS Cup in October 2003, leading to another big money tie with Rangers at Ibrox which finished 6-0 to the home side. Stewart became increasingly unpopular with the fans at the end of last season following a string of poor results. The 2004-05 season started with four straight wins and an inspiring 5-2 win away to St. Mirren in the CIS Cup, leading to a tie with Dundee at Dens Park. A good run was also achieved in the Challenge Cup when the club reached the semi finals only to be knocked out by Ross County. Unfortunately the club’s performance in the league again declined and Stewart resigned following an embarrassing 1-5 home defeat to Montrose in the SFA Cup First Round.
Brian Fairley moved to Station Park as manager in late 2004, having resigned from his post as Dumbarton manager earlier in the day. Fairley was to lead the Loons to mid-table safety by season end, cumulating in a 3-0 victory over Champions Brechin City.
Brian Fairley was to resign from his post in September 2005, citing the pressures of full-time work away from football. The club moved quickly to bring in former player Ray Farningham as manager, with another former player – George Shaw coming in as assistant manager. Despite some worryingly erratic performances, the Loons again secured 2nd Division status by season end. After the season ended Ray Farningham moved to Gretna as chief scout. George Shaw was promoted to the position of manager, with long serving striker Paul Tosh stepping up to player-assistant manager.
Honours
C Division Champions: 1949
Second Division Champions: 1984
Third Division Champions: 1995
Third Division Runners Up: 1997
Scottish Cup Semi Finalists: 1981/82; quarter finalists: 1910/11, 1984/85, 1986/87, 2001/02
League Cup Semi Finalists: 1977/78; quarter finalists: 1981/82
Most Appearances: Ian McPhee (534, 1979 – 1998)
Most Goals: John Clark (127, 1978 – 91).
Club Records
Biggest win: 14-1 .v. Lindertis September 1 1888
Biggest league loss: 2-12 .v. King’s Park January 2 1930
Biggest home attendance: 10,780 .v. Rangers, (February 7 1970)
Most goals in a season: Dave Kilgour, 45, Division II, 1929-30
Loons Legends
Important personnel at the club have included:
Jim Black (player, club secretary and chairman)
Alex Brash (defender, 1974-86)
Craig Brewster (midfielder, 1985-91)
Kevin Byers (midfielder, 2001-2004)
Tommy Campbell (manager, mid 1990s)
John Clark (striker, 1978-91)
Neil Cooper (manager, 2001-03)
Raymond Farningham (striker, 1979-86)
Martin Gray (ball boy, groundsman and kit supervisor, 1983-present)
Doug Houston (manager, early-mid 1980s)
Stewart Kennedy (goalkeeper, 1980-91)
Dave Kilgour (striker, 1920s)
Bobby Mann (defender, 1992-99)
David McGregor (Club secretary, former programme editor and current Chairman)
Ian McPhee (left sided defender and later manager, 1979-87, 1991-2000)
Alan Rattray (defender, 1996-present)
Sam Stewart (chairman, 1980s and 90s)
Paul Tosh (striker, 2001-present)
Alex Troup (player, 1920s?)
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