Something stirring in the Kingdom of Fife
Season 2006/07 seems a long time ago now and Fife clubs, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, East Fife and Raith Rovers have good reasons to push it to the back of their minds.
On 5 May 2007, Raith were humbled 3-1 in the second leg of the Second Division playoff final by Stirling Albion, meaning that the Kirkcaldy side would be stuck in the third tier of Scottish football for another long season. Seven days later Dunfermline fell to a 2-1 defeat at Inverness Caledonian Thistle to confirm their relegation to the First Division after seven brave years in the Scottish Premier League. On the same day East Fife fared no better as they were thrashed 3-0 by Queens Park in the Third Division playoff final, condemning them to the lowest tier of the Scottish Football League for another term. Meanwhile Cowdenbeath narrowly avoided relegation to Division 3 after finishing the season just six points off the relegation play-off position in Division 2.
Oh, how times have changed! Whilst there are still no Fife teams in the SPL, there is a great chance of one being there next season. If you take off the recently-confirmed 25 point deduction for Dundee then Dunfermline and Raith are actually sitting in the top two places of the First Division. There is currently only one point between the sides and Raith have a game in hand over their west Fife rivals.
Cowdenbeath, after two back-to-back promotions find themselves punching well above their weight in the First Division and are remarkably four (nine, if you take Dundee's point deduction into consideration) points clear of the automatic relegation. The Blue Brazil, tipped to go straight back down to Division 2, have defied the odds so far this season. East Fife are currently undergoing a bit of modification after Stevie Crawford stepped down as manager. Despite this, Hearts hero John Robertson has taken the reigns and has the Methil side sitting seventh in the Second Division and has already nabbed a Manager of the Month award.
Football in Fife hasn’t looked so rosy in many years. Cowdenbeath, East Fife and Raith are all in higher leagues compared to 2006/07 and Dunfermline fans will be currently enjoying watching their team fly to the top of the First Division rather than the horrible relegation suffered in 2007. So what has changed?
Dunfermline
The situation at East End Park worsened before it got better. In season 2007/08 the Pars finished their return to Division 1 in a disappointing 5th place and suffered humiliating home defeats to Hamilton Academical (0-5) and Livingston (0-4) in the space of three weeks. After finishing as runners-up in the Scottish Cup the season previous, Dunfermline actually competed in Europe in 2007, but were knocked out at the first hurdle by BK Hacken.
The Pars board soon realised that manager Stephen Kenny was not capable of producing the goods that they demanded and he was sacked on 4 December 2007. Striker Jim McIntyre was handed the job on a permanent basis a month later. Since McIntyre's appointment, the Pars have steadily progressed and finished in a respectable third position in the last two seasons. McIntyre has disposed of dead wood at the club and has brought in some fantastic younger players such as Willie Gibson and Steven Bell. McIntyre has done a fine job and his side look favourites for promotion back into the SPL this season.
Raith Rovers
Season 2006-2007 ended in disappointment for Raith, but it had actually been the start of a new era. Hearts coach John McGlynn was hired on 20 November 2006 and steered Rovers from 9th place in Division 2 to finish 3rd. Rovers finished third again the following season and bowed out in the playoffs to Airdrie United. However, 2008/09 was to be the season that Raith finally hauled themselves back into the First Division, winning automatic promotion by finishing two points ahead of second-placed Ayr United.
McGlynn performed further miracles in 2009-2010 by leading the Starks Park club to 7th place (after amazingly heading the division for a period) and also took the club to their first Scottish Cup semi-final in 47 years.
After keeping Raith up in their return to the First Division, McGlynn added Brechin full back Willie Dyer, Cowdenbeath winger Scott McBride, Montrose keeper Andy McNeil and Airdrie forward John Baird to his squad. Despite these relatively unremarkable signings, Raith somehow find themselves just one point behind Dunfermline and in a promotion battle that even their most ambitious fans could not have predicted at the start of the season.
Cowdenbeath
The recent story of Cowdenbeath is just as impressive as their Kirkcaldy neighbours. However, the story begins with a failure, as in 2007/08 they were relegated to the Third Division, finishing 9th and, via the playoffs, succumbing to a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Arbroath.
The Central Park side sacked manager Brian Welsh in June 2008 and Danny Lennon stepped up from the playing staff to take control in the dugout, much like Jim McIntyre. Yet, much like McIntyre, Lennon proved to be a natural. His managerial reign started well as Cowden finished second in the 2008/09 season and although they lost on penalties to Stenhousemuir in the playoff final they were promoted just days before the start of the new season due to Livingston being demoted to the Third Division.
Remarkably, with a squad that Lennon had assembled to compete in the Third Division, Cowdenbeath performed well above expectations and finished third in Division 2. They defeated Alloa Athletic in the play-off semi-final and then swept past Brechin City 3-0 to unbelievably seal promotion to the First Division.
Danny Lennon left Cowdenbeath for SPL club St. Mirren in the summer, but the experienced Jimmy Nicholl has taken over and produced good results such as narrow victories over Dundee and Raith while a 5-1 romp over Stirling was a particular high point.
East Fife
The Fifers have had the hardest time of the four clubs in recent years, but most of their fans will admit that Division 2 is around their natural level anyway. Season 2007/08 saw a lot of investment in East Fife from Willie Gray and his financial backing paid off as the Methil side ran away with the Third Division title, finishing with 88 points, 23 more than runners-up Stranraer. 2008/09 was expected to be another successful year for East Fife, but Dave Baikie's side failed to make the impact they hoped, finishing sixth in the Second Division.
Striker Stevie Crawford had now taken over the reins and despite the withdrawal of funds from Gray, he managed to keep the team in the division, edging the dreaded play-offs by one point. Recently, John Robertson has taken over as manager which has allowed Crawford to solely focus on scoring goals again. It's still early in Robertson's tenure, but after beating Stenhousemuir 6-0 in their last league fixture they will be looking to push up the league from their current seventh position.
So there you have it. Considering the size of Fife, its football clubs are prospering and progressing very well. There is a fantastic chance of one of them being in the SPL next season and Cowdenbeath will be keen to stay up and keep punching above their weight in Division 1.
As a side note, it is interesting that Cowdenbeath (Danny Lennon), Dunfermline (Jim McIntyre) and Raith Rovers (John McGlynn) have had their clubs transformed by managers that were in their first permanent managerial job. It certainly backs the theory that older and experienced managers are being forced out of the game by chairmen looking for candidates that are in touch with the modern tactics and theories, as these young guns aim to bring success to the Kingdom.
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