Gretna F.C. 2008

Gretna Football Club 2008 (commonly referred to as Gretna 2008 and colloquially as Gretna) is a football club from the town of Gretna. It was founded in 2008 after the bankruptcy and demise of Gretna, which had existed since 1946. Gretna 2008 is not a direct continuation of the old club, being under a completely different management and set-up;[2] the club trades under the name Gretna FC 2008 Ltd to avoid confusion with the old Gretna.

Gretna 2008
Full nameGretna Football Club 2008
Nickname(s)Black and Whites; Anvils
Founded2 July 2008 (2008-07-02)
GroundRaydale Park, Gretna
Capacity1,030 (138 seated)[1]
ChairmanAlex Thomson
ManagerRowan Alexander
LeagueLowland League
2019–20Lowland League, 13th of 16
WebsiteClub website

In 2013, the club became founder members of the Lowland League, having previously played in the East of Scotland Football League Premier Division. The team played for most of the 2008–09 season at the Everholm Stadium in Annan. Late in the season, however, the new owners of Raydale Park allowed Gretna 2008 to move to the ground in their home town.[3] In May 2011, the Raydale Community Partnership, of which Gretna FC 2008 is a member, negotiated the purchase of the site.

History

The original Gretna Football Club were founded in 1946, and joined the Scottish Football League in 2002. After being taken over by the late millionaire Brooks Mileson, the club had a meteoric rise, gaining promotion three years in a row to make the Scottish Premier League in 2007. However, the club could not financially support itself and following Mileson's illness and withdrawal of financial support, the club slipped into administration and then bankruptcy in the summer of 2008. The club were relegated from the SPL and then forced to resign their place in the Scottish Football League.[4]

With Gretna heading out of business, on 2 July 2008, the Gretna Supporters' Society, a supporters' trust, founded "a new Gretna Football Club", and appointed Anton Hodge as chairman. In August 2009, the trust amended its articles of governance and Gretna FC 2008 is now managed directly by the members of the trust board, whose chairman is Craig Williamson. The new club is wholly owned by the society and its board elected by the society's members. The club appointed the University of Cumbria's football officer Stuart Rome as team manager and recruited much of the playing squad from Workington's reserve team.[5] Technically, Gretna 2008 coexisted briefly with the old Gretna, which was not formally liquidated until 8 August 2008.[6]

Unable to play at the old Gretna's home ground of Raydale Park, they instead moved into the Everholm Stadium in Annan.[7] Gretna 2008 played their first match against Workington on 12 July 2008.[8] Four days later, they were successfully accepted into the East of Scotland Football League First Division,[9] and on 9 August 2008, won their first competitive match as a new club, beating Kelso United 3–0 away in their first match of the league season.[10] The new owners of Raydale Park allowed Gretna 2008 to move to the ground in their home town in May 2009, and the Raydale Community Partnership, of which Gretna FC 2008 is a member, negotiated the purchase of the site in May 2011. They finished their first season as a new club in fourth place in the league. They narrowly missed promotion again in their second season, but finished their third, in 2010–11 being promoted as First Division champions.

In 2013, Gretna FC 2008 were elected founder members of the new Lowland Football League.

Colours and badge

Gretna 2008's colours are black and grey with white dashes.[11] Gretna F.C. had used white shirts after Brooks Mileson took control of the club, but black and white hoops were the club's traditional colours.

The badge of the club is largely similar to that of Gretna, except that 2008 has been added to reflect the change of status in that year. The anvil represents the famous Blacksmith's Shop wedding site at Gretna Green, and the thistles represent the club's Scottish location.

Current squad
As of 23 January 2021[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  ENG Colin Bell
— GK  ENG Aaran Taylor
— DF  ENG Daniel Harvey
— DF  CAN Joe Jackson
— DF  SCO Sam Muir (on loan from Motherwell)
— DF  NIR Bryan Gilfillan (captain)
— DF  ENG Adam Gordon
— DF  SCO Ryan Muir
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  SCO Farrel O'Sullivan
— DF  ENG Jack Patrick
— MF  SCO Dean Watson
— MF  SCO Dylan Cairnie
— MF  ENG Robbie Ivison
— FW  SCO Evan Galasso
— FW  ENG Connor Liddell
— FW  ENG Daniel Smales

Seasons
For information on the seasons as Gretna F.C., see List of Gretna F.C. seasons.
Year League Level P W D L F A GD Pts Position Scottish Cup
2008–09 East of Scotland First Division 22 13 5 4 50 22 +28 44 4th of 12 DNP
2009–10 East of Scotland First Division 22 13 4 5 53 20 +33 43 4th of 12 DNP
2010–11 East of Scotland First Division 22 19 1 2 85 18 +67 58 1st of 12
Promoted as champions		 DNP
2011–12 East of Scotland Premier Division 22 9 6 7 40 46 -6 33 6th of 12 DNP
2012–13 East of Scotland Premier Division 22 9 7 6 34 25 +9 34 4th of 12
Transferred to Lowland League		 DNP
2013–14 Lowland Football League 5 22 8 7 7 40 33 +7 31 7th of 12 DNP
2014–15 Lowland Football League 5 26 13 6 7 62 32 +30 45 3rd of 14 2R
2015–16 Lowland Football League 5 28 11 3 14 38 50 −12 36 10th of 15 1R
2016–17 Lowland Football League 5 30 12 4 14 44 65 -21 40 9th of 16 2R
2017–18 Lowland Football League 5 30 12 4 14 50 56 -6 40 8th of 16 1R
2018–19 Lowland Football League 5 28 9 2 17 42 67 -25 29 12th of 15 2R
2019-20 Lowland Football League 5 24 2 6 16 21 62 -41 12 13th of 16† 2R

† Season curtailed due to 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

Honours
  • East of Scotland Football League First Division
    • Winners: 2010–11
  • East of Scotland City Cup:
    • Winners: 2012–13
  • East of Scotland Qualifying Cup
    • Winners (2): 2009–10, 2012–13
  • Alex Jack Cup
    • Winners: 2008–09
  • Lowland League Cup
    • Runners-Up (2): 2014-15, 2015–16

References
  1. "Raydale Park General Safety Certificate" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. Anderson, Keith (11 July 2008). "Gretna given place in the East of Scotland League". Edinburgh News. The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  3. "Gretna enjoys football homecoming". BBC News. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  4. Rinaldi, Giancarlo (4 June 2008). "How Gretna paid the ultimate price". BBC News. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  5. "Gretna 'hope to do the East League proud'". Peeblesshire News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  6. "Liquidation signals the final nail in Gretna coffin". Cumberland News. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  7. "Gretna are saved – but they will be playing in Annan". Cumberland News. 12 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  8. "Stuart Rome leads Gretna FC 2008 into battle for first time". The Daily Record. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  9. "New Gretna club joins East league". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  10. "Perfect start for Gretna". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  11. "Gretna are on the long road back". Scotsman.com Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  12. "Squad list (1st Team) - Gretna FC 2008". www.gretnafc2008.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
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