Ayr United F.C.

infobox football club
fullname = Ayr United Football and Athletic Club Ltd.
nickname = The Honest Men
founded = 1910
ground = Somerset Park
capacity = 12,128
chairman = flagicon|Scotland Donald Cameron
manager = flagicon|Scotland Brian Reid
league = Scottish Second Division
season = 2007-08
position = Scottish Second Division, 7th
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Ayr United F.C. are an association football team currently playing in the Scottish Football League. They are based in Ayr, South Ayrshire.

Their nickname is "The Honest Men", taken from the poem "Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns.

Ayr United were founded in 1910 after the amalgamation of Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C.. They are currently in the Scottish Second Division, in the third tier of Scottish football.

Recent history

After winning promotion from the Second Division they did quite well in their first season in the First Division. On the final day of the season Ayr had to avoid defeat to Partick Thistle at Firhill to avoid relegation. They won 3-1, sending Partick down instead. The 1998/99 season saw a marked improvement as the team played exciting football admired by fans and critics, particularly involving the strikers Andy Walker and Glynn Hurst and winger Gary Teale (now playing in the Premiership with Derby and a Scotland international), which included six consecutive away wins and a 7-1 defeat of Stranraer. However, ultimately the team finished in third place behind Hibs and Falkirk. The 1999/00 season was another disappointing one as they sank to a lowly 7th. Their yo-yo like league standings changed again in season 2000/01 as they came a close second behind Livingston.

In November 1998, Ayr United applied for planning permission for a new 10,200 all seater stadium at Heathfield. The application was passed by the local government, but was 'called in' by the Scottish Executive, which vetoed the decision [http://www.ayrunitedfc.co.uk/index.asp?p=somersetpark] . This meant that even if they won the league they could not attain promotion, hence rendering their promotion push ultimately futile.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s period the team established something of a reputation in cup competitions, claiming the scalps of higher league clubs Hibs, Dundee, Dundee United, Motherwell, Dunfermline and, sweetest of all for the fans, four consecutive wins over local rivals Kilmarnock.

They broke their less happy trend in the league 2001/02 as they went on to come third in the Scottish First Division, reaching the Scottish Cup semi-final and the Scottish League Cup final (of which they lost to Celtic and Rangers respectively). This was considered by most to be their best season to date. Several former SPL players played for the team, including John Hughes, Pat McGinlay, James Grady and Eddie Annand, and their League Cup semi-final victory over Hibs is remembered by many fans with great affection. Franck Sauzée, the Hibs manager, was sacked shortly afterwards.

Following this season a mediocre season followed, and the next season brought relegation to the Scottish Second Division as they came 9th in the league. This was a crippling blow for the club financially, especially with so much movement and uncertainty in the upper levels of the club with chairman Bill Barr leaving the club.

The beginning of the 2004 season saw the club change managers for the second time in two seasons as Campbell Money left the club after refusal to accept a part-time contract, and former player Mark Shanks took over the reigns. These same cashflow problems meant they had to offload several players and other coaching staff as well. The supporters rallied together however and formed the Honest Men Trust and effectively saved the club for the short term.

This was soon to end as more controversy was to arise at the club in March 2005 when the turmoil in the boardroom regarding a failed takeover bid from Prestwick-based Roy Kennedy caused manager Mark Shanks to leave citing self-pride as his reasons. This was ultimately to be a good decision, as Kennedy Construction were to go bankrupt in early 2006.

Ayr narrowly avoided relegation in the 2004/2005 season from the Second Division, and prepared for the start of the next season by releasing most of their players and signing in new players, a majority of which were from Junior division clubs.

In season 2006/7 a promising opening day victory away at fellow contenders Stirling Albion was followed by a season of mediocrity whereby United won only a handful of games and quickly slipped to 8th position in the division. On 26 February 2007, following a string of poor results, Ayr United manager Robert Connor and his assistant Robert Reilly resigned from their posts.

Former Stranraer manager Neil Watt was named as the new manager of Ayr on 22 March 2007. Immediate loan signings were made such as Paul Shields and Fraser McLaren and the club went on to finish 5th in the Second Division, losing only one fixture in their final nine games. New boss Neil Watt renewed the contracts of no less than 7 players and also added Michael Moore, BJ Corr, Murray Henderson, Craig Higgins, David Hamilton and Steven Swift who all spent time under Watt when he managed Stranraer. However following an indifferent start to the 2007-08 season, Watt resigned as manager in October 2007 [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/ayr_united/7057979.stm|title=Watt stands down as Ayr manager|accessdate=2007-10-25|date=2007-10-23|publisher=BBC Sport] and was quickly replaced by Brian Reid. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/ayr_united/7059546.stm|title=Ayr swiftly appoint Reid as boss|date=2007-10-24|accessdate=2007-10-25|publisher=BBC Sport]

omerset Park

Ayr play their football at Somerset Park, Ayr, one of the few surviving traditional stadium designs. It consists of one stand, two covered terraces, and one open terrace. It has a capacity of 12,128.

The first match to take place at Somerset Park was between the former Ayr F.C. and Aston Villa F.C. in a 3-0 victory for Ayr.

In November 2006, Ayr United held talks with Barratt Homes regarding the sale of Somerset Park, having secured a twenty acre site in the Heathfield area of the town. The site would be home to a new £18 million stadium seating 7650 as part of a "sports and business campus". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/ayr_united/6190994.stm]

Current squad

Recent managers

Club honours

; Scottish League First DivisionKnown as second division prior to 1975]
**Winners (6): 1911-12, 1912-13, 1927-28, 1936-37, 1958-59, 1965-66
**Runners up (4): 1910-11, 1955-56, 1968-69, 2001-02

; Scottish League Second Division
**Winners (2): 1987-88, 1996-97

; Scottish League Cup
**Runners up (1): 2001-02

; Scottish League Challenge Cup
**Runners up (2): 1990-91, 1991-92

Records

Their biggest win to date came against Dumbarton F.C. in the Scottish League Cup on 13 August 1952. They won 11-1.

Their biggest defeat came against Heart of Midlothian F.C. in the 1st Division on 28 February 1931. They lost 0-9.

Their highest attendance of 25,225 came against Rangers F.C. on 13 September 1969.

Notable players

*flagicon|Benin Laurent D'Jaffo
*flagicon|Scotland Peter Price
*flagicon|England Malcolm Shotton
*flagicon|France Ludovic Roy
*flagicon|France Luc Sonor
*flagicon|Scotland Robert Connor
*flagicon|Scotland Craig Conway
*flagicon|Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson
*flagicon|Scotland Ian Ferguson
*flagicon|Scotland James Grady
*flagicon|Scotland Ally MacLeod
*flagicon|Scotland Alan McInally
*flagicon|Scotland Steve Nicol
*flagicon|Scotland Henry Smith
*flagicon|Scotland Hugh Sproat
*flagicon|Scotland Gary Teale
*flagicon|Scotland Andy Walker
*flagicon|England Glynn Hurst

References

External links

*mmuk phoetc|234503|622630|10
* [http://www.ayrunitedfc.co.uk/ The Official Club Website]
* [http://www.honestpage.co.uk/ Ayr United fan website & discussion forum]
* [http://www.ayr-united.co.uk/ Ayr United History website]