East Stirlingshire F.C.

East Stirlingshire Football Club, also known as East Stirling, is a member of the Scottish Football League, where it plays in the Third Division.

Club History

The club was originally called "Bainsford Britannia" (Bainsford is an area of Falkirk) and was formed in 1881. They joined the league in 1900, but have rested in lower regions of the league for most of their existence, although they won the Second Division in season 1931-32, and Division C in 1947-48. The club's nickname is "The Shire". Their home town of Falkirk is home to two other teams: Falkirk and Stenhousemuir.

Related Topics:
Falkirk - Second Division - Falkirk - Stenhousemuir

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In the 1960s the club moved to Clydebank under the name ES Clydebank, but legal moves led to them returning to Falkirk and their original name.

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The current chairman and major shareholder Alan Mackin has stated his intention to sell their ramshackle Firs Park home and move the club, possibly to nearby town Grangemouth. To the chagrin of the fans he allegedly wishes to pay 80% of the proceeds for the land to shareholders (i.e. largely to himself) leaving the club with hardly any money to pay rental, wages etc.

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The perception of 'Shire fans is that Mackin pays his players £10 per week so that they do not get any decent players, that fans will disappear in the long term and then he can shut the club down. Their manager works for nothing and the new club sponsor is Littlewoods Pools, which was attracted by the joke status of the club.

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East Stirling's form in recent years has not been good. In the 2003-04 season they got only eight points during the entire season, reaching that total on the last day of the season and narrowly avoiding setting a new record lowest points total. In the 2004-05 season they still finished bottom of the division but managed to gain 22 points.

Related Topics:
2003-04 season - 2004-05 season

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