LIVINGSTON_F.C.

(Redirected from Livingston FC)

Original Livingston FC club badge.

'Livingston Football Club' is a Scottish football team based in Livingston, West Lothian. They currently play in the First Division. They are currently managed by Mark Proctor.

Contents
History
Honours
Managers
Famous players
Current squad
Club records
UEFA ranking
See also
External links

History


Early Ferranti Thistle FC club badge.
Meadowbank Thistle FC club badge.

The club began life as 'Ferranti Thistle' in 1943. A works team, they initially played in the East of Scotland League. Following the demise of Third Lanark, a place opened up in the second division of the Scottish Football League. After beating off competition from four Highland League sides, Hawick Royal Albert and Gateshead United, Ferranti Thistle were accepted into the league by a vote of 21-16 over Inverness Thistle. However, due to stringent SFL rules on overt sponsorship of teams at the time, Ferranti Thistle were forced to change their name to take their place in the league. After a campaign by the ''Edinburgh Evening News'' to find a name for the club, the name 'Meadowbank Thistle' was chosen, and approved by the SFL in time for the new season.
Having had little time to form a squad from the existing Ferranti squad, the first Meadowbank Thistle manager John Bain faced an uphill task to produce a competitive squad in time for the new season. Meadowbank played their first competitive match on 9 August 1974 against Albion Rovers in the League Cup, eventually losing 1-0 despite the strenuous efforts of a go-go dancer hired to mark the occasion.
Their apex came in the late 1980s. In the 1986-87 season, Meadowbank won the Scottish Division Two championship and won promotion to Division One. They finished Division One runners-up the following season but were denied promotion to the Premier Division due to a streamlining the size of the division.
The club suffered from the restructuring of the Scottish Football League for the 1994–95 season; having finished mid-table in Division One, it was relegated to Division Two because the league was scrapping its format of two 12-club and one 14-club divisions in favour of four divisions of 10 clubs. Meadowbank suffered a second successive relegation in 1994–95, finishing second from bottom in Division Two. After this, Meadowbank ran into severe financial difficulties, and were facing closure as a result. As a result, and in the face of significant opposition from many Meadowbank fans who objected to the dropping of the club name, in 1995 Meadowbank Thistle relocated to a new stadium in the new town of Livingston and changed name again, to Livingston F.C..
Livingston F.C's first season ended in triumph as they were crowned champions of the Scottish Division Three for the 1995-96 season. Three years later, in 1998-99, they won promotion again as Division Two champions. Another promotion followed in 2000-01 when the club finished champions of Division One and gained promotion to the Scottish Premier League after just six seasons in existence. Livingston's first SPL campaign, 2001-02, brought more success as they finished third in the league and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The club's reputation grew particularly after a competent showing in the UEFA Cup especially against well known sides like Sturm Graz. The club avoided the second season syndrome however finishing 9th the following season. Livingston won their first National trophy in 2004 by winning the Scottish League Cup after a 2-0 win over Hibernian at Hampden Park.
However the club's rise was short lived as they went into administration. Many fans found this ironic considering their sponser for a while was Intelligent Finance.
Livingston have recently come out of financial administration following a period of financial turmoil in which the previous boardroom occupants were ousted to make way for Pearse Flynn's Lionheart Consortium.
On February 11 2006, Paul Lambert resigned as Livingston manager after 12 straight defeats leaving Livingston bottom of the Scottish Premier League. He was replaced by former player and coach John Robertson .
Despite his best efforts, Livingston were relegated for the first time in May 2006, and a poor showing in the 2006/07 First Division saw John Robertson removed as Livingston manager on 15 April 2007. His successor was announced on the 22nd May 2007 as former Hibernian FC assistant coach Mark Proctor. Mark Proctor appointed Curtis Fleming as his assistant on the 26th of June 2007. Chairman Pearse Flynn appointed Dariusz Wdowczyk as Director of Football. After 4 games, Livingston was 2nd from the bottom of the league, but only 11 points from the leaders.

Honours



Scottish League Cup Winners (1) - 2004

Scottish First Division Winners (1) - 2000-01

Scottish Second Division Winners (2) - 1985-86¹, 1998-99

Scottish Third Division Winners (1) - 1995-96

Scottish Challenge Cup Runners Up (1) - 2000-01

Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) Winners (1) - 1973-74²
¹ This includes honours won between 1974 and 1995, when the club was known as Meadowbank Thistle.
² This includes honours won between 1943 and 1974, when the club was known as Ferranti Thistle.

Managers



Jim Leishman (1995-1997)

Ray Stewart (1997-2000)

★ Jim Leishman (2000-2003)

Marcio Maximo Barcellos (2003)

David Hay (2003-2004)

Allan Preston (2004)

Richard Gough (2004-2005)

Paul Lambert (2005-2006)

John Robertson (2006-2007)

Mark Proctor (2007-)

Famous players



Neil Alexander

Rab Douglas

David Bingham

John Robertson

Barry Wilson

Marvin Andrews

David Fernández

Javier Sánchez Broto

Stuart Lovell

Francisco Quino

Oscar Rubio

Davide Xausa

David McNamee

Hassan Kachloul

Paul Dalglish

Paul Lambert

Lee Bullen

Current squad


:''For recent transfers, see List of Scottish football transfers 2007-08.''

Club records



★ 'Record Victory': 7 - 0 v Queen of the South, 29 January, 2000

★ 'Record Defeat': 0 - 7 v Hibernian, 8 February, 2006

★ 'Record Defeat (incl. Meadowbank)': 0 - 8 v Hamilton Academical, 14 December, 1974

UEFA ranking


'Current Club Ranking'

★ 152 Iraklis Thessaloniki

★ 152 Egaleo Athens

★ 154 Sturm Graz

★ '155' 'Livingston'

★ 156 Baník Ostrava

★ 157 Metalurg Zaporizhia

Full List

See also



Clyde F.C. and Wimbledon F.C./Milton Keynes Dons F.C., which have a similar relocation history.

Relocation of professional sports teams.

External links



Official site

LiviLions fan site

Livingston Mad

Photos of Livingston FC


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