Nickname(s) Vics President Russell Ruxton Capacity 4,000 | Ground Capacity 4000 Founded 1882 | |
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Full name Arbroath Victoria Football Club Co-managers David McLeish, David Sturrock & Mark Fotheringham 2015–16 SJFA East Region North Division, 12th League Scottish Junior Football East Region North Division Grounds Ogilvy Park, Cairnie Loan, Arbroath | ||
Arbroath Victoria Football Club are a Scottish Junior football club based in Arbroath. The club competes in the Scottish Junior Football Association East Region North Division and play their games at Ogilvy Park. They are nicknamed "the Vics".
Contents
History
Arbroath Victoria (The Vics) are one of the oldest junior football clubs in Scotland: they were formed in 1882. The club gained their first honour in April of that year by beating a team called Sunrise 3–0 on the common.
On 1 November 1890 the Vics met Burnside Athletic, another local side, on the common. According to the local newspaper of the time, it was a miserable one-sided game, with the Vics winning 15–0. To our knowledge this is the club's biggest ever win. That year the Vics won the Forfar and District Junior Cup. In 1951, after years playing on local public playing fields and at Gayfield Park during the Second World War, the Vics moved to Ogilvy Park. The Vics were unbeaten at home from 25 October 1952 to 4 June 1955. They were the Angus League Champions four times in the seasons from 1952 to 1956.
In 1971 the Vics reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup, but were beaten by Cambuslang Rangers. To date this is their best achievement in this event. Many players have joined the senior ranks over the years; and in the 1980s three players, Brian Goodall, Eric Martin and Gus Malone, were selected to play for the Scottish Junior team.
The Vics celebrated their centenary on 8 August 1982 when George Best, the former Manchester United, Northern Ireland international and European Footballer of the Year, turned out as a guest for them, scoring twice in a 4–3 win against Arbroath F.C
Until the 1990s the Vics were one of the top teams in the region, winning almost every honour open to them, including the Angus League no fewer than 12 times. Recent seasons however have not been kind, and in 1999 the club came close to folding, but with a new committee and management team they appeared to have turned the corner, despite not having the best of results to begin with.
At the start of the 2002–2003 season the Junior regions were restructured, and the Vics won promotion to the Tayside Premier Division for the first time in 10 years. And with Tayside's top two teams, Carnoustie and Tayport, ending their domination of the league by electing to play in the new Scottish Junior Football East Region Super League, the Vics stood a good chance of remaining in the Premier Division. However although the Vics started the season well, they tailed off towards the end and found themselves back in the First Division.
In 2013–2014 the Vics played in the newly formed First Division North: after the East Region AGM the three regional divisions were merged into two and branded as North and South. Clubs in the Central division were split between the two new leagues on a geographical basis. After a promising start to the season the Vics finished in 11th place, their worst finish since 2006–2007 when they finished 10th.
In October 2014, the club announced that Jake Ferrier was retiring and thus stepping down from his post, ending an eight-year stint in charge of the Vics. Assistant Manager Derek Lawson was appointed as his replacement. In his first competitive game in charge, Lawson led Arbroath Vics to a 4–2 away victory against Lochore Welfare. Lawson led the Vics to the third round of the Scottish Junior Cup, losing 2–0 away to Scottish Junior Football East Region Super League side Penicuik Athletic after knocking out SJFA East Region Premier League side Kinnoull 6–1 in the previous round. Vics finished sixth in Derek Lawson's first season in charge.
Lawson resigned as Arbroath manager in December 2015 and was replaced by a three-man management team of former players, David McLeish, David Sturrock and Mark Fotheringham.
The Vics' local rivals were Arbroath Sporting Club until ASC folded in 2011.
Every year, the Vics contest the Urquhart Cup with Arbroath, the senior team in town. Names associated with the club have included Tony Cargill, Samuel Meston, Mark McWalter, Paul Tosh and George Best.
Honours
Stadium
Arbroath's Victoria Ogilvy Park has been their home since 1951, but like many other junior teams the Vics played on local public playing fields. During the World War II the Vics played at Gayfield (the home of Arbroath F.C.) as senior football had ceased for the duration of the war. When Arbroath F.C. required their ground back, the committee began to look for their own ground. The club secretary of the time, Jimmy Smith, was instrumental in securing a piece of waste land in the Cairnie area of the town, and the committee set about transforming this into a football pitch. The park was officially opened in 1951 and named Ogilvy Park in honour of Lord Ogilvy who owned the land in the Cairnie area.
Current squad
As of 16 Sept 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.