The 2016–17 season is Dunfermline Athletic's first season in the Scottish Championship, having finished top of the Scottish League One in 2015–16. The Pars were relegated from the competition's previous incarnation, the Scottish First Division at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Manager Allan Johnston made four permanent first-team summer signings as he began his second season as Dunfermline Athletic manager. The club's first competitive fixtures came in the revamped Scottish League Cup, where they were eliminated at the group stage after finishing in third place. Dunfermline Athletic will also compete in the Challenge Cup and the Scottish Cup with their opponents in these competitions still to be determined.
16 May 2016: Manager Allan Johnston makes his first signing of the summer transfer window by recruiting former Cowdenbeath and Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder Nat Wedderburn on a one-year deal.
25 May 2016: Former Kilmarnock defender Lee Ashcroft becomes Dunfermline's second signing of the summer, following his release by the Rugby Park side. Ashcroft previously played under Allan Johnston whilst the latter was in charge of Kilmarnock.
27 May 2016: The draw for the Scottish League Cup takes place, with the new format seeing the club drawn in Group C alongside Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United, Arbroath and Fife rivals Cowdenbeath, with matches due to be played between the 19th and 31 July.
31 May 2016: It was confirmed that five first-team players were released after their contracts with the club had expired. Amongst those released were Shaun Byrne who had been with the Pars since 2008, and former captain Josh Falkingham.
3 June 2016: Managing Director Ross McArthur was appointed as the new chairman of Dunfermline, replacing Bob Garmory who had led the club following the acquisition by the fan-led group 'Pars United' in October 2013. Bill Braisby also took up the role vice-chairman.
8 June 2016: Having overseen the success of the club's social media profile, 29-year old Michael Mlotkiewicz was made general manager of the club .
13 June 2016: Former Queen of the South striker Gavin Reilly joined on a season-long loan from Heart of Midlothian. Reilly previously worked under manager Allan Johnston whilst both were at the Doonhammers.
17 June 2016: It was revealed that Dunfermline's first game in the Scottish Championship would be against Dumbarton, as the SPFL announced the league fixtures for the 2016–17 season. The club's first Fife derby with Raith Rovers would be at Stark's Park on 20 August 2016, with the final match of the season being away to Queen of the South.
8 July 2016: The club bring in former Dundee United youth player Euan Spark on a one-year deal, after the defender impressed as a trialist in 3 friendlies, scoring in the Pars first friendly of the season against Partick Thistle.
9 July 2016: Dunfermline's first match at East End Park saw them defeat an under-strength Hearts side 3–1, with goals from Andy Geggan and Joe Cardle seeing off the team from Gorgie.
15 July 2016: The side was confirmed as having come top of the fair play table for the previous season, with their only red card being rescinded after it was judged that Joe Cardle had not struck Ayr United defender Peter Murphy as referee Andrew Dallas had initially perceived.
18 July 2016: Kallum Higginbotham becomes the Pars sixth signing of the summer, as the former Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock winger joins on a one-year contract. Manager Allan Johnston expressed his delight signing, stating that he had admired Higginbotham "for a long time".
31 July 2016: The Pars' 2016 Scottish League Cup campaign comes to an end after defeat to fellow Championship side Dundee United by two goals to nil left the side in third place, four points behind the Tannadice club.
6 August 2016: The opening day of the Scottish Championship saw the Pars defeat Dumbarton 4–3 at East End Park, with Joe Cardle scoring the first hat-trick of the 2016–17 season. After leading 4–1, the last three minutes of the match saw Dumbarton awarded two penalties, with summer signing Lee Ashcroft being sent off after bringing down former-Par Robert Thomson in the box.
18 August 2016: The draw for the third round of the Scottish Challenge Cup takes place at The Kelpies in Falkirk, with former Pars manager Jim Jefferies drawing the home teams. Dunfermline are drawn against Scottish League One club Brechin City, with the tie to be played at Glebe Park on the weekend of 3 September 2016.
20 August 2016: The first league derby match with Raith Rovers in over 3 years sees the Kirkcaldy side finish 2–0 winners, with goals from Bobby Barr and Mark Stewart in the final 20 minutes giving the Rovers the win.
23 August 2016: Under 20s defender Stuart Morrison becomes the first Pars player since Lewis Martin in 2014 to be selected for international duty, with the 17-year old being called up by Scot Gemmill for the Scotland U19 side. for two friendly matches with Greece. Also in the squad is former Pars youth player PJ Crossan, who was bought by Celtic during the 2016 summer transfer window.
31 August 2016: Former Queen of the South and Rangers Striker Nicky Clark signs from Bury a two-year deal on transfer deadline day. Clark, who previously worked with manager Allan Johnston at Queen of the South, is also the son of current assistant manager Sandy Clark, who he also worked with at the Dumfries side.
1 September 2016: Allan Johnston makes his third loan signing of the season and his seventh first-team signing in total, bringing former Celtic midfielder John Herron on a short-term loan from Football League Two club Blackpool.
3 September 2016: The Pars run out 5–1 winner against Scottish League One side Brechin City at Glebe Park in the third round of the Scottish Challenge Cup. Goals from Paul McMullan, Gavin Reilly, Lee Ashcroft, as well as an own goal from Dougie Hill secure the win for Dunfermline, with Ally Love firing in a consolation goal for City.
5 September 2016: After a trial period with the club, Dunfermline make former Falkirk and Hibernian striker Farid El Alagui their eighth and final signing of the summer transfer window, with the French Moroccan joining on a four-month deal until January 2017.
10 September 2016: The first visit of Dundee United to East End Park in almost five years saw the Pars lose 1–3 to the Tannadice club. The match received a great deal of attention, after United goalkeeper Cammy Bell saved three penalties in the space of 24 minutes, from three different penalty takers, with Bell subsequently being awarded the match ball for his hat-trick of saves.
As of 28 February 2017
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Updated to games played on 31 July 2016.
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Last updated: 25 February 2017
Source: Competitive match reports.
Competitive matches only
Matches started as captain only
Country: FIFA nationality; No.: Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.
Appearances and goals
During the 2016–17 season, Dunfermline used twenty-seven different players in competitive matches. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. Centre-back Lee Ashcroft has made the most appearances, playing thirty-four out of a possible 35 games, with Nicky Clark leading the scoring with nine goals.
As of 25 February 2017
Dunfermline have used two goalkeepers in all competitions during the 2016–17 season. The table below shows the total number of shutouts made, with 7 clean sheets having been kept in all competitions after 31 matches.
During the 2016–17 season, 15 Dunfermline players have scored 54 goals in all competitions, with 3 goals having been own goals scored by Brechin City defender Dougie Hill, St Mirren captain Andy Webster and Buckie Thistle defender Hamish Munro. Striker Nicky Clark leads the scoring with 9 goals each in 30 competitive matches. Joe Cardle has scored the club's only hat-trick, in the first league match of the season against Dumbarton.
As of match played 25 February 2017
As of match played 14 February 2017
As of match played 25 February 2017
Last updated: 25 February 2017.
Source: BBC Sport; DAFC.co.uk
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Last updated: 25 February 2017.
Source: SPFL
Win Draw Loss
