PARS SHOWING SIGNS OF LIFE
Appointment of Hughes brings fresh hope that Fife’s sleeping giant can wake from its slumber
Agentle Saturday morning, cobbled streets, narrow alleyways and the sense of a community coming to life. It seems to this traveller that all Dunfermline needs is a town crier, shouting out that if all is not well it soon might very well be.
It is a role fitted for John ‘Yogi’ Hughes who can be heard later down the Halbeath Road doing his convincing impression of a lovelorn manatee during mating season. His voice carries over the hubbub of 3,503 spectators.
the sleeping giant of Dunfermline might not yet be fully awake but the Pars received a robust poke in the ribs on Saturday.
As always, a win is everything. But Dunfermline once nearly descended into the big sleep. ‘We were in danger of going out of existence at one time,’ says Drew Main, who has several roles at the club. He is chair of the supporters’ trust, the supporter liaison officer and also has a seat on the board.
Administration was incurred in the dog days. But Dunfermline survived. Main, 59, typifies the commitment of the fans that dragged the Pars towards financial safety, even if the trials of the pitch can still vex.
He joined the board four years ago. A mechanical engineer, he points out that the induction was ‘nerve-racking’. He adds: ‘It is a daunting prospect if you do not have that sort of background. I was nervous about the sort of reception I would receive. But the welcome was unbelievable. the only downside has been the performances on the pitch.’
A walk through the old town brings one to Dunfermline trophy Centre. Insert own joke here. the club last won a major trophy, the Scottish Cup, in 1968. Main, though, has been concerned about keeping the club on track financially.
the supporters’ trust has raised more than £250,000 and helps out with gym equipment and other incidentals. He concedes, though, that most of the attention from the outside is focused on the pitch.
the start of the season saw Dunfermline installed as one of the favourites to escape the Championship. By november, the escape hatch looked like a trapdoor to league One. Manager Peter grant paid the price.
‘It is never nice when somebody loses their job. It is not easy to be part of that decision,’ says Main.
the club, though, craves the Premiership. Main seeks financial stability at the organisation and a future with a hint of promise. He pays tribute to the fans who have stuck by the club and this is said with the sincerity of experience.
‘this is a club with a strong fans’ presence,’ he says. ‘the trust was well placed to help when the club was in financial difficulties. It is organised, regulated and now has a place on the board. there is genuine commitment.’
THE commitment can be visible. ‘tattoo on the arm,’ says Stuart Barrett, 35, when asked about his devotion to the team. ‘Supporter all my life.’
He is sitting in a corner of the Old Inn, the birthplace of the football club. Dunfermline Athletic FC was formed when some members of Dunfermline Cricket Club, constituted in 1874, decided there should be a football team, too. this was organised over ale in the inn and, in 1885, the football club was born.
there is a plaque on the outside wall of the bar and there is memorabilia on the wall. the most touching tribute to the glory of Dunfermline comes, however, when the voice of Stuart Adamson roars In a Big Country as the supporters sip pints ahead of the match.
‘We have had three cup finals in my time,’ says Barrett. ‘All lost, of course. But that doesn’t really matter in terms of supporting your team. It’s your team and that’s that.’
On the appointment of Hughes, he says: ‘Yes, he is a Falkirk legend and there is a rivalry with Falkirk. One of the theories for that is that we had an ice rink and they didn’t and the Falkirk boys would come through for a skate and end up in a fight.’
this master class on conflict does not skew his judgment. ‘I wanted a Dunfermline man like Stewart Petrie (manager of Montrose) but I think Yogi will keep us up. He has the fans behind him already.’
He still has hope. ‘We have the new investors,’ he says of the german group, DAFC Fussball. ‘I would like to see a strong infrastructure and one that brings young local players through. I would like that to be our core, our identity.’
His long-tested faith is shared by Steven Mill, 32, the sports broadcaster for Bauer Radio, who admits succinctly: ‘You don’t choose who you support. that’s the cards you are dealt. Sometimes you get good cards and sometimes you get s*** cards, like Dunfermline. I am strangely happy with that.’
the anguish has been real, however.
‘the last decade has been so terrible,’ he says. ‘From nearly going out of existence in 2013 to finishing seventh in league One. these were times when I was home and away every week.
‘I remember going to Stranraer to watch us on a Wednesday night and they beat us 4-1. that was a horrendous journey back. And going to Inverness to see us relegated…
‘I pity Celtic and Rangers and fans in a way. their winning doesn’t mean anything because they win most of the time. If we had won any of the three cup finals (Scottish Cup finals of 2004 and 2007, league Cup 2006) then I would not have been seen for four days.’
His link to glory is forged by ancestors. ‘My grandpa, george lumsden, played a few matches for us and was at the 1961 final as a fan (Dunfermline beat Celtic 2-0 in a replay) and my dad was at the 1968 cup final (Dunfermline beat Hearts 3-1).
‘the success of the 1960s looms large. We’re massive underachievers. I interviewed Yogi when he was announced as manager and I think he gets this. this is a club that is waiting to be reawakened.
‘look at the success St Johnstone have had. If they can do it, then so can we. they are the model for provincial clubs. Clubs smaller than us have had relative success. Why not us?’
THE old timers share Italian ancestry but also have been warmed by glory. Brian evangelista, 73, a retired coal board general manager, sits in the legends lounge at east end Park and talks of his heroes.
‘I first came here in 1958,’ he says of the stadium. ‘I was at the cup final in 1961. We went up from Rosyth on a special train. the town band marched in front of the players’ bus when it came back. I still remember the team coming out with the cup on to the balcony.’
His other strong memory was of the performance of goalkeeper, eddie Connachan: ‘Phenomenal. the saves he made…’
But Charlie Dickson, club record scorer with 215 goals in 340 appearances, lives on in his mind.
‘I was there when the Queen of the South goalkeeper kicked the ball off his head and it went into the net,’ he says. ‘Charlie was a proper footballer. gave you everything.
‘We had some players in the sixties: Alex Smith, the Callaghans (tom and Willie), Jackie Sinclair. Roy Barry, Alex edwards…’
He speaks fondly of the european runs, too. Dunfermline reached the semi-finals of the european Cup Winners’ Cup in 1968-69.
However, his ambitions are more modest for the immediate future. ‘Back to the Premiership as soon as possible,’ he says.
gennaro giudice, 69, arrived in Fife from Italy as a boy but has become part of the fabric of the club.
‘I have been going to games since 1963,’ says the former school teacher. He has been involved in the schools engagement programme, whereby players talk to pupils about health and well-being. One senses that both have been tested in his case by the Pars.
‘the biggest disappointment was
1965,’ he says. ‘We drew at home to st Johnstone in the last game of the season. if we had won, then we would have been champions. We lost the scottish Cup final to Celtic too when we were favourites.
‘That sort of stuff will probably never happen again. We’ll just be glad to get back to the top flight.’
He has played a part, though, in a club triumph: ‘The engagement programme has been a success. it has been good for the pupils and good for the players too. The players have gained confidence in public speaking.
‘The pupils listen to players so take their advice on diet, rest and training.’
The initiative also won an SPFL award. ‘The first trophy since 1968,’ says Giudice with the self-deprecation of the longsuffering fan.
A few hours after my conversations with fans, Yogi is on the other side of a terracing wall, reflecting on a comfortable victory. ‘There is something in the air here,’ he says.
There is certainly a november chill but is there also a hint of a warming wind of change?