As Clyde FC prepare for a trip to Rutherglen 40 years after leaving Shawfield, the search continues for a permanent place the Bully Wee can call home.
Saturday July the 4th sees Clyde return to their spiritual home of Rutherglen for a special friendly against Rutherglen Glencairn, as part of a community-led initiative to celebrate the Royal Burgh’s 900th anniversary
The game takes place at Glencairn’s Hamish B Allan Stadium, situated a stone’s throw away from Clyde’s former home at Shawfield.
Founded in 1877, Clyde played their first game at Barrowfield Park, on the banks of the River Clyde, before relocating to Shawfield Greyhound Stadium in 1898. The club would win three Scottish Cups during their stay there before being evicted in 1986.
The four decades since have seen Clyde (affectionately known as “the Bully Wee”) live a nomadic existence – forced to groundshare with Hamilton and sworn enemies Partick Thistle before relocating out of Glasgow to Broadwood in Cumbernauld in 1994.
For Clyde supporters, the legacy of Broadwood is a divisive one, as journalist and die hard fan Mark Pirie explains: “I didn’t grow up with Shawfield, so I have quite fond memories of Broadwood, but I think it’s mixed for a lot of Clyde fans. A lot was promised at the start that didn’t come to what they’d hoped, and there was a lot of negative results as we tumbled through the divisions, but obviously there was good days.”
Robbie Copeland was the beat reporter at Broadwood for three years with the Cumbernauld News between 2014 and 2017. As an outsider looking in. he had a different perspective. “It felt like as much as it wasn’t home, it did feel like home because it’d been there for so long, even though it was outside Glasgow.”
Mark mentions a famous result from 2006, when Clyde defeated Celtic 2-1 at Broadwood in the Scottish Cup. For many, it was the ground’s greatest day and one that did a lot for the perception of Broadwood in Clyde fans’ minds. “There’s good memories there, but I think for a lot of Clyde fans it’s mixed, especially with it ending on a sour note.”
That sour note came in 2022 when Clyde terminated the lease agreement at Broadwood with a year to go, after NL Council refused to extend their lease beyond the following season. The tension had arisen after an ill-judged move to resign former striker David Goodwillie – ruled to be a rapist by a civil court in 2017.
From there, the Bully Wee moved to New Douglas Park, groundsharing with Hamilton Accies for the last four years. Last season, Clyde reached the League Two play-off finals where they faced Accies who had spent the season ironically at Broadwood, with both sides playing their away legs at their respective previous home ground.
For Mark, it was almost inevitable that the two would meet in the play-offs for what was ‘a weird, emotional day’, sitting in the away end, watching opposition fans occupy the seats they called home for many years.
“I had a feeling” says Mark, “that if Clyde were going to make the playoffs, which it seemed like for a while, we were going to meet Accies just with the way it was going.”
It’s the culmination of an experience that has been far from ideal for Clyde over the last four decades. “Their situation is they’re effectively crashing on their mate’s couch,” says Robbie. “It’s costing them a lot of money. One of the directors was saying recently that there’s a good chance of them going to the wall if they don’t sort it. It’s a bit of a mess.”
Clyde have a manager in Darren Young – a former League 2 title winner with Albion Rovers with a proven track record at this level – and a good enough recruitment team to attract quality players, but the elephant in the room is a lack of a home.
Without their own digs, they are forced to pay exorbitant rental costs whilst losing out on outside revenue, making real growth almost impossible. In a stadium that doesn’t quite fit, it’s a challenge.
“It doesn’t feel like Clyde’s home.,” admits Mark. “It feels like a stopgap, a bit big and empty. It’s just not the perfect venue for Clyde. We need something more appropriate for the size of the club we are just now.”
The list of places Clyde have tried to set down roots in recent years is bewildering and endless, with the likes of East Kilbride, the Cuningar Loop, and indeed Rutherglen Glencairn all on the cards at some point.
In 2022, Clyde announced plans to take over the Gallwogate’s Crownpoint Sports Complex, less than a mile from Shawfield. However, Glasgow City Council rejected the bid, awarding it to Finnart Football Academy, who then decided to not proceed with the development – leaving everyone in the lurch.
“Crownpoint was a bit of a body blow,” admits Mark. “That seemed a wee bit further down the road and then it got rejected by the council.”
Attention has since turned to the Stepford Football Centre in Easterhouse, with local charity FARE working alongside Clyde to acquire the ground and not repeat the same mistakes of Broadwood. “They’re trying to make a community footprint so they’re not just dropped in there and build a football stadium around It,” explains Mark. “I think those involved would admit that it’s a way off an SPFL standard ground, but the early steps seem positive.
“Ultimately, I think a move back to Glasgow is what the club needs, somewhere to actually call home. I think if you spoke to somebody at the club, they’d say finding a permanent home is the most important thing ahead of on the pitch results.”
“They know what they want, and what size of ground is more appropriate for the fanbase. The older the fanbase gets, the more they start to fall away when it’s harder to get to games. We just need a new injection of supporters. It may not be a massive support, but there is still a connection to Glasgow, and this offers a chance of building a fanbase again.”
