Clyde plea
Former Scotland boss Craig Brown has called on Clyde FC to return to their spiritual home of Rutherglen.
In an exclusive interview with the Reformer looking back on his days at Shawfield, Craig said it would be “too good to be true,” if the Bully Wee came back to the Burgh.
Former Scotland boss Craig Brown has said he would love to see Clyde FC back playing in their spiritual home of Rutherglen.
Craig managed the Bully Wee for nine years from 1977 until they left Shawfield in 1986 when he took charge of their last ever game at the old stadium.
He was offered the assistant manager job to Andy Roxburgh by the SFA before taking over as gaffer himself in 1993, guiding the country to the European Championships in 1996 and World Cup in 1998.
But he has continued to keep an eye on the Clyde results over the years.
And with uncertainty over where the club sees its future, Craig told the Reformer he would back any move that brought the Bully Wee back.
“That would be too good to be true,” he said.
“You just associate Clyde with Rutherglen and that part of Glasgow, certainly not with Cumbernauld.
“In Rutherglen there was a loyal hardcore of fans but there just isn’t the same feeling about Cumbernauld. Shawfield was synonymous with Clyde.
“We had great support, the backing from Rutherglen people was terrific. You had generations of supporters, people whose dads and grandfathers had supported Clyde. That wasn’t just the case in Rutherglen but in Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Burnside.
“They all seemed to come and support us and we had one or two local players, such as Stevie Archibald and Bobby Ferris.”
Craig, who has also managed Preston North End, Motherwell and Aberdeen, was speaking just over 30 years on from when Clyde finally moved out of Shawfield.
He was in charge for the 4-2 win over Alloa in April 1986, taking the honour of being the last Clyde manager of the Shawfield era.
Looking back 30 years later, Craig said he felt it had been a mistake to groundshare with Partick Thistle.
“Even a move to East Kilbride would have been less of an upheaval,” he says.
“The last game was quite emotional. I must have done over 400 games in my time as manager so 200 of them would have been at Shawfield. In my honest opinion, it was a feeling of sadness rather than excitement when we left.
“I had many, many fond memories of my nine years there.
“Although Shawfield was primarily a dog track, everyone really enjoyed playing there.
“There was a wholesome, family atmosphere about the stadium, during my time there anyway. The people were always very happy.
“The players liked going there to train as well as play because there was a nice, comfortable feeling around the place.
“On a Thursday we would train but had to get off because of the dog racing at night. We would do a right hard session and some of the players would stay and have a bet or two.”
Craig enjoyed great success with Clyde, twice winning the old second division title.
He also welcomed some of Scotland’s most famous names to Rutherglen, entertaining both Rangers and Celtic in his time.
But one of his favourite memories is when he managed to incur the wrath of Scottish football’s most famous manager.
“I remember Aberdeen came in the Scottish Cup and it was a very big occasion,” he remembers.
“It was after they had won the Cup Winners Cup and they beat us 2-0, but it was quite a close game.
“Alex Ferguson, who is a pal of mine, was manager at the time. I was asked before the game if I had any message for Alex and I said we hadn’t relaid the pitch before the game and we had no intention of.
“I wasn’t going to let the likes of Gordon Strachan and Eric Black come and stroke the ball around. He phoned me up about that and gave me all manner of abuse!”