This is a list of seasons played by Clydebank F.C. (1965) in Scottish football, from their foundation as a professional club in 1965 to their takeover by Airdrie United in 2002. It details the club's achievements in senior league and cup competitions and the top scorers for each season. The list of top scorers also chronicles how the club's scoring records have progressed throughout the club's history.
Summary Several clubs using the Clydebank name and wearing white-and-red colours had represented the town, including a team that entered the Scottish Cup in the 1890s and a separate entity which played in the Scottish Football League (SFL) from 1914 to 1931. In 1964, the town's Junior club, Clydebank Juniors, which had been playing since 1899, was merged with SFL club East Stirlingshire (based in Falkirk). The merger was ended after one season after a legal challenge by East Stirlingshire supporters. The Steedman brothers, who had been owners of East Stirlingshire, immediately decided to create a new club in Clydebank to apply for SFL entry, which was granted after one year playing in the Combined Reserve League.
The Bankies never won a senior competition other than the third level Second Division in 1976, but did play in the top tier of Scottish football for three seasons, and reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals in 1990.
In 1996, their Kilbowie Park ground was sold by the club owners, and the team played in Dumbarton for three seasons followed by three in Greenock (a town 13 miles away on the opposite bank of the River Clyde) whole the owners attempted to sell their place in the league. During this period, the fans staged numerous protests including a boycott of a fixture against East Stirlingshire in 1999, resulting in an official attendance of 29 being recorded.
In May 2002, a group of businessmen who had been unable to prevent Airdrieonians going out of business after 124 years subsequently took control of Clydebank, renamed them Airdrie United and relocated the team to Airdrie for 2002–03, changing the playing colours to those of the original Airdrieonians but retaining the league place of Clydebank. The Clydebank supporters reclaimed their club's name and crest and successfully applied to join the Junior setup for the following season – this is the Clydebank F.C. active in the 2020s.
Seasons
SeasonLeagueScottish CupLeague CupOtherTop scorerDivisionPosition1963–64Competed in the Junior leagues as Clydebank Juniors.1964–65Competed in the 1964–65 Scottish Division Two as ES Clydebank (see List of East Stirlingshire F.C. seasons); this is considered to be part of East Stirlingshire's record.1965–66Competed in amateur competitions such as the Combined Reserve League.1966–67Division Two18thPreliminary round 2Group stageN/AUnknownUnknown1967–68Division Two9thPreliminary round 2Second roundN/AUnknownUnknown1968–69Division Two13thPreliminary round 1Group stageN/AUnknownUnknown1969–70Division Two13thSecond roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1970–71Division Two5thThird roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1971–72Division Two9thFourth roundQuarter-finalN/AUnknownUnknown1972–73Division Two17thFirst roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1973–74Division Two10thThird roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1974–75Division Two7thFourth roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1975–76Second Division1stSecond roundQuarter-finalSpring Cup – Runners-upUnknownUnknown1976–77First Division1stFourth roundQuarter-finalN/AUnknownUnknown1977–78Premier Division10thThird roundThird roundN/AUnknownUnknown1978–79First Division3rdFourth roundThird roundStirlingshire Cup winnersUnknownUnknown1979–80First Division9thThird roundSecond roundUnknownUnknown1980–81First Division10thQuarter-finalQuarter-finalN/AUnknownUnknown1981–82First Division4thFourth roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1982–83First Division3rdThird roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1983–84First Division4thFourth roundGroup stageN/AUnknownUnknown1984–85First Division2ndThird roundSecond roundN/AUnknownUnknown1985–86Premier Division10thThird roundThird roundN/AUnknownUnknown1986–87Premier Division11thQuarter-finalThird roundN/AUnknownUnknown1987–88First Division3rdFourth roundSecond roundN/AUnknownUnknown1988–89First Division3rdFourth roundThird roundN/AUnknownUnknown1989–90First Division3rdSemi-finalSecond roundN/AUnknownUnknown1990–91First Division8thThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupFirst roundUnknownUnknown1991–92First Division9thFourth roundSecond roundChallenge CupSecond roundUnknownUnknown1992–93First Division8thQuarter-finalSecond roundChallenge CupSecond roundUnknownUnknown1993–94First Division5thThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown1994–95First Division8thThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupSemi-finalUnknownUnknown1995–96First Division7thThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown1996–97First Division9thThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupFirst roundUnknownUnknown1997–98Second Division2ndThird roundSecond roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown1998–99First Division7thFourth roundSecond roundN/AUnknownUnknown1999–2000First Division10thFourth roundFirst roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown2000–01Second Division5thFirst roundFirst roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown2001–02Second Division4thSecond roundFirst roundChallenge CupQuarter-finalUnknownUnknown2002–03Club rebranded as Airdrie United (seasons) and moved to Airdrie to represent the community after Airdrieonians (seasons) were dissolved.2003–04Supporters of Clydebank established a new club to play in the West region of the Junior leagues.
League performance summary The Scottish Football League was founded in 1890 and, other than during seven years of hiatus during World War II, the national top division has been played every season since. The following is a summary of Clydebank's divisional status from their foundation as a separate senior club in 1965 until their move to Airdrie in 2002:
37 total eligible seasons 3 seasons in top level 29 seasons in second level 4 seasons in third level 0 seasons in fourth level 1 season not involved – before club was league member
References
Sources Soccerbase FitbaStats Football Club History Database