Clydebank

Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. Formed in 2003, they are the fifth club of this name, and are currently a member of the West of Scotland Football League.

The current Clydebank are a phoenix club formed after the previous Clydebank F.C. were bought out by Airdrie United and moved to Airdrie.

History

Background

In 1888 the first club by the name of Clydebank F.C. was formed. This team team played home matches at Hamilton Park and competed in the Scottish Federation from 1891 to 1893. They folded in 1895, and were followed by another Clydebank F.C. in 1899 who soon became defunct in 1902. In 1900, Junior Football team, Duntocher F.C., based in the neighbouring village of Duntocher, moved to Clydebank and changed name to Clydebank Juniors.

A third club named Clydebank F.C. were formed in 1914. Playing their home games at Clydeholm they immediately joined the Scottish Football League, but by 1931 they had disbanded. In 1964 the owners of East Stirlingshire F.C., Jack and Charlie Steedman, merged the Falkirk-based team with Clydebank Juniors, naming the new entity East Stirlingshire Clydebank F.C. ES Clydebank inherited East Stirlingshire's place in Division Two and played their home games at New Kilbowie. The merge, which was opposed by fans of both clubs, lasted only one season, with East Stirlingshire shareholders winning several court cases against it. East Stirlingshire reverted to its original legal status and moved back to Falkirk, parting company with the Steedman brothers.

The fourth Clydebank F.C. were formed in 1965 by the Steedman Brothers. The joined the Scottish Football League in 1966 and by 1978 had reached the Premier Division, becoming the first club to play in all Scottish League divisions after league reconstruction in 1975. Clydebank spent most of the following seasons in the First Division, but their fortunes changed around 1996 when the Steedman brothers sold their