Vale of Leithen F.C.

Vale of Leithen
Full nameVale of Leithen Football Club
Nickname(s)The Vale
Founded1891
GroundVictoria Park, Innerleithen
Capacity1,500
ChairmanStuart Robertson
ManagerIan Flynn
LeagueEast of Scotland League Second Division
2023–24East of Scotland League First Division, 15th of 15 (relegated)
Websitehttp://valeofleithen.co.uk/


Vale of Leithen Football Club are a football club based in the town of Innerleithen, Scotland.

They play in the East of Scotland League Second Division, and their home games take place at Victoria Park.

The team's motto is "Keep Faith", and features on their club crest, along with the town's patron saint, St. Ronan.

The home strip features a blue shirt, navy blue shorts and socks with white trim; the away strip is a yellow shirt, with blue trim.

Vale of Leithen should not be confused with the slightly differently named West of Scotland team Vale of Leven.

History

The club are one of the oldest in the Scottish Borders, having been formed in May 1891, they became full members of the Scottish Football Association in 1897.

The team began playing at Caddon Park under the name of Leithen Vale but after two games subsequently changed to Vale of Leithen Football Club.

In 1922, they moved to their current home, Victoria Park, which has a ground capacity of around 1,500 standing spectators with one covered stand.

The club were founding members of the Lowland Football League in 2013–14, having previously played in the East of Scotland Football League.

Their best finishing position was 6th place in their first campaign, spending nine seasons in the league before being relegated back to the East of Scotland League at the end of the 2021–22 season, and suffering consecutive relegations in the subsequent two seasons.

In March 2023 the club announced the appointment of Ian Flynn as first team manager.

Club Officials

Position Name
Honorary President Keith Brown
Honorary Vice President Stanley Clifford
Chairman Stuart Robertson
Vice Chairman - Treasurer Michael Hogarth
General Manager Bobby Craigie
Secretary - Club Chaplin Rob Wilson
Committee Member Michael Burns
Committee Member Brian Ellis
Committee Member Alan Forrest
Media - Club Website Jamie McQueen

Coaching Staff

As of 20 October 2024
Position Name
First Team Manager Ian Flynn
Coach Adam Hill
Player - Coach Gary Mitchell

Current Squad

As of 06 December 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Scotland SCO Ryan Gordon
GK Scotland SCO Thomas McLean
DF Scotland SCO Scott Cumming
DF Scotland SCO Jason Brydon
DF Scotland SCO Nathan Masson
DF Scotland SCO Gerry McBride
DF Scotland SCO Ross McIntyre
DF England ENG Bradley Morris
DF Scotland SCO Ross Nicholson
DF Scotland SCO Calum Scott
DF Scotland SCO Callum Williamson
MF Scotland SCO Dean Burgess
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Scotland SCO Serigne Saliou Fam
MF Scotland SCO Daniel McKinlay
MF Scotland SCO Callum Mitchell
MF Scotland SCO Gary Mitchell
MF Scotland SCO Kyle Mitchell
MF   Yasser Sambo
MF Scotland SCO Nathan Thomson
FW Scotland SCO Russell Bowers
FW Scotland SCO James Flynn
FW Scotland SCO Mo Sillah
FW Scotland SCO Daniel Taylor

Season-by-Season

Season League Division Position Played Wins Draws Losses GD Points Scottish FA Cup
2000/01 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 8th 22 7 3 12 -8 24 Did not Compete
2001/02 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 5th 22 9 6 7 -1 33 Did not Compete
2002/03 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 10th 22 5 4 13 −19 19 Did not Compete
2003/04 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 11th 22 4 7 11 −21 19 Second Round, losing to Greenock Morton
2004/05 East of Scotland Football League First Division 5th 22 11 5 6 +21 38 Did not Compete
2005/06 East of Scotland Football League First Division 4th 20 7 8 5 +6 29 Did not Compete
2006/07 East of Scotland Football Leaguen First Division 3rd 20 10 4 6 +36 34 Did not Compete
2007/08 East of Scotland Football League First Division 6th 22 10 4 8 +5 34 Second Round, losing to Culter
2008/09 East of Scotland Football League First Division 7th 22 9 4 9 +4 31 Third Round, losing to Inverurie Loco Works
2009/10 East of Scotland Football League First Division 2nd 22 19 2 1 +45 59 Second Round, losing to Keith
2010/11 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 7th 22 7 9 6 +1 30 First Round, losing to Keith
2011/12 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 8th 22 9 1 12 +2 28 Third Round, losing to Auchinleck Talbot
2012/13 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 9th 22 5 8 9 −8 23 Third Round, losing to Cowdenbeath
2013/14 Lowland Football League 6th 22 11 3 8 −2 36 First Round, losing to Brora Rangers
2014/15 Lowland Football League 9th 26 9 6 11 −14 33 Preliminary Round, losing to Gala Fairydean Rovers
2015/16 Lowland Football League 13th 28 7 5 16 −29 26 Preliminary Round One, losing to Wigtown & Bladnoch
2016/17 Lowland Football League 13th 30 11 4 15 −14 37 First Round, losing to East Kilbride
2017/18 Lowland Football League 15th 30 8 5 17 −32 29 First Round, losing to The Spartans
2018/19 Lowland Football League 13th 28 8 5 15 −31 29 First Round, losing to Gretna 2008
2019/20 Lowland Football League 16th 23 2 2 19 −71 8 First Round, losing to Fort William
2020/21 Lowland Football League 17th 12 0 0 12 −53 0 Preliminary Round Two, losing to Banks O' Dee
2021/22 Lowland Football League 18th 34 1 2 31 −156 5 First Round, losing to Brechin City
2022/23 East of Scotland Football League Premier Division 16th 30 2 0 28 −115 -6 Preliminary Round, losing to Dunbar United ††
2023/24 East of Scotland Football League First Division 15th 28 0 0 28 -109 -3 Preliminary Round Two, losing to Dunbar United †††
2024/25 East of Scotland Football League Second Division First Round, losing to Threave Rovers

† Season's curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.

†† Vale of Leithen FC were given four three-point deductions.

††† Vale of Leithen FC were deducted three points.

Honours

  • East of Scotland Football League
    • Winners (4): 1924–25, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1986–87
  • East of Scotland Qualifying Cup
    • Winners (6) : 1919–20, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1948–49, 1978–79, 1981–82
  • Scottish Qualifying Cup (South)
    • Winners (5): 1957–58, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1990–91, 1992–93
  • East of Scotland (City Cup)
    • Winners (1): 1991–92
  • King Cup
    • Winners (7) : 1921–22, 1936–37, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1991–92[1]

References

  1. ^ "King Cup Previous Winners". Retrieved 2 June 2019.

55°37′12″N 3°03′52″W / 55.61996°N 3.064402°W / 55.61996; -3.064402