Here’s a post from Facebook from September 2008.
That was my 1st ever Spartans FC match.
I’d been past City Park many times but never ventured down that back alley to go see them play.
Rewind back to 13th September 2008. I got myself ready & thought I’d go soak up a bit of the pre-match atmosphere as I left the house at 2.40pm in anticipation of the bog standard 3.00pm ko.
There I was, taking the leisurely stroll up Pilton Ave, only to hear shouts & football sounds as I walked past the rather dilapidated wooden fencing. Hold on! I stepped up my pace, working up a mild jog round to the lights at Ferry Rd, past the row of houses before completing the hurried arrival into City Park.
The name City Park had intrigued me, what with being a Man City fan. I got to the entrance & as I paid the modest entrance fee, I asked why had they kicked off early. The bloke on the gate said to me, “we always kick-off at 2.30pm, no flood lights ya see.”
Oh right, thanks! And what colour is our strip? Yes, we played in White with Red shorts! Damn it, that’s me not gonna buy a scarf I thought to myself.
I was so impressed with how we played, I was hooked from just watching 3/4’s of a match. How much are the season tickets, I enquired? A steal at £50 and I handed over my money. My last season ticket for City was £250.
I was officially a Spartan!
Lynne, my partner had two young sons, (31 & 28 now) the eldest was a Celtic fan & the youngest was a Hearts fan.
I remember taking them to at least one Celtic match because they had signed Samaras from City.
As you can imagine, it wasn’t the easiest to get tickets for their games & the travelling wasn’t exactly fun either, so we decided to try closer to home, going up to Gorgie to watch Hearts.
The lads seemed to enjoy it but I could feel no passion at all for either Celtic or Hearts. I still loved the game & when I ventured down south on a family visit, it always seemed to coincide with City being at home – funny that, eh!
But finally on 13th September 2008, I stepped on to the muddy banking at City Park & my football passion was back.
If memory serves me well, I’m convinced I bought a cuppa & and homemade cake off Jeanette and met Mr Spartans, Craig Graham for the first time too.
The club was managed by the dynamic duo of Mickey Lawson & Sam Lynch – and by the way, what a team they had at their disposal!
City Park, was, to put it generously, a leveller. If you weren’t “lucky” enough to have experienced it, it had a shallow end which was the one closest to the entrance & a deep end that backed onto the cycle path (possibly the new tram way, which was originally a railway). On soggy days, I felt sorry for the kit person, especially with that white kit!
I still see some of those players around and have great respect for them. Just the other week, I picked up a bargain in the middle of Lidl – yup, I bumped into Donal Henretty. He still regularly comes along on Saturdays and turns out for the Over 35s side too.
Keith McLeod, what a goal scorer! Cloudy’s now part of the Edinburgh South coaching team but still enjoyed the odd catch up with him, especially if they are getting work done at the Community Foundation.
If I had to choose an absolute favourite from those days, it would have to be ‘AK 47’ Alex King aka Kingy. I’m still in touch with his dad Alex senior, a reminder of the friendships you can make through the football.
We also got a good few squaddies from the Dreghorn Barracks down to watch us when we signed fellow soldier Dave Etale. His story was a sad one, as whilst on duty in Afghanistan his armoured truck hit an explosive, which resulted in him having his leg amputated. I still follow “Flem”, one of the lads, he’s long since left the army & moved back to his native Yorkshire.
There’s some crazy footage on YouTube of some of our away & Cup trips. A rendition of the, erm, classic, “Shoe off, if you love Spartans”, springs back to mind! Also, I recall doing the conga in the rain, even though we were losing in the Scottish Cup at Airdrie.
I met my good pal Charlie (the bike) at an away down at Innerleithen, when we played Vale of Leithen. He came over to chat to us (Flem & I were wearing our Spartans shirts) in the Traquair Arms before the match & we’ve not stopped watching Spartans & drinking ever since.
We had many a cycle trip around the East of Scotland grounds, most notably up to Rosewell to take on our mighty rivals Whitehill Welfare, some right ding-dong matches those were.
I would have to say my favourite cycle match would be down to Prestonpans, stopping off for a couple of pre-match pints at the pub next to the roundabout as you are leaving Musselburgh. But then after the match, which I think we always won, the wee cycle back to Musselburgh and into the beer garden at the back of Staggs pub, discussing the exploits from the game as the sun slowly faded, with lots of ale being supped. Nothing finer!
I had started filming some of the games, shakily on a wee digital camera. I put four weeks of highlights on a DVD & dropped it off for ‘Wheelie Jim’ when he was in hospital.
Wheelie Jim (Martin) was a great bloke & top fan, still a legend of the Malt & Hops pub. After he passed & we’d set up a Para-Football team we held an annual Para-Football tournament in his honour. The Jim Martin Cup is still played annually at Spartans between Para clubs from around Scotland.
I became the unofficial – then official – camera bloke & started posting the highlights every week on You Tube – there’s still loads of matches on there, with a variety of eclectic soundtracks. I also started a Spartans Fanzine, which, with only two issues, is a real collector’s item.
These days, I’m one of the first faces you’ll see inside the ground on home games, along with my able assistant – selling you this very programme – and hopefully a winning raffle ticket, on match days.
The journey has been rough and smooth, with lots of laughs and a few tears along the way. So many magical memories I could have probably filled this entire programme with.
Moving from City Park to the state-of-the-art Ainslie Park (now the Vanloq Community Stadium) to Sammy (Dougie Samuel) taking over the reigns from Mickey & Big Sam and pushing us on through, finally smashing the glass ceiling & the inaugural pyramid system.
Frustratingly, winning that 1st ever Lowland League saw no promotion. Some cynics might say (ok, me!) was it something to do with a “new auld” club not wanting to have to start off in tier 5 so they only got relegated to SPFL2 for their misdemeanours, or did I just make that up?
I’ve got to see parts of Scotland I never would have, thanks to following Spartans. I even joined the esteemed group of ‘Blue Coats’ after serving my time (five years) working for the Foundation (or Academy as it was known in my time). I still volunteer for the club now. I’m still making football memories.
And yes, I’m still as passionate about them as I was 17 years ago. Mon The Spartans!
Grimbo
