Introduction

Welcome to our 2nd edition of the newsletter. We aim to keep as much as possible to same format when we produce these newsletters. As a result some of the basic information will be repeated. However we feel that is not a bad thing as we are getting new members joining us every week.

Committee

Chairman. Jimmy Scade, Secretary. Frank Dillon. Treasurer. Charles Robb, members. Evelyn Anderson, Adam Dickson, Derek Neilson & Colin Somerville.

Contact

The supporters club can be contacted at Frank Dillon, 230 Foulford Road, Cowdenbeath, KY4 9AX. Tel No 01383 610593. email fdillon@fdillon.freeserve.co.uk

Craig Levein

The supporters club wishes Craig Levein all the best in his new position as coach to Heart of Midlothian Football Club. It was always known that we would lose Craig at some time but it could not come at a worse time for Cowdenbeath Football Club considering our league position. Craig's record as manager of Cowdenbeath is as follows, P 111, W 44, D 21, L 46, F 150, A 145, Pts 153. This is the 14th best record of a Cowden manager out of 34. Only 7 managers have managed Cowden in more league games. His record though was very impressive once he had built his own side. The record since the last game of 1998/99 was P 53, W 27, D 12, L 14, F 91, A 54, Pts 93. His record against East Fife was P 6, W 5, D 1, L 0, F 12 A 3, Pts 16 (Red Cards - Cowden 0 East Fife 6. Craig of course also played in 60 games for Cowden as a player back in the early 1980's. His first game as Cowden manager was on 22/11/97 v Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill when Cowden won thanks to a Graeme Brown goal. His last match in charge was 3 years and 3 days later on 25/11/00 v Peterhead at Central park when Cowden won 2-0 (Burns & Smith) - 17 years to the day from when Cowden originally sold Craig to Hearts. Graeme Brown was the only player to play in both his first and last matches in charge. Best win under Levein was 6-1 v Brechin City and worst defeat was 1-6 V
Dumbarton. Dave McLean was the only other ex-Cowden player to manage hearts some 50 years age.

Peter Cormack

With the appointment of Peter Cormack as our new manager we have complied a brief history of his playing career. Born in Granton, Edinburgh in 1946. Played for Tynecastle Boys Club and was on Hearts groundstaff before joining Hibs in 1962. Made his Hibs debut aged 16 and was a highly regarded inside forward was scored exactly 100 goals for Hibs. Never played v Cowden in a competitive fixture but scored in a pre-season match v Cowden in August 1965 when Hibs won 4-0 at Central Park (Neil Martin 2, Jim Scott & Peter Cormack). Joined Nottingham Forest for an £80,000 fee in 1970 and then Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool in 1972 for £110.00. Won the league twice, the FA cup and the EUFA Cup when at Annfield and by then was a clever midfielder with the knack of grabbing goals (often headers). Played along side names such as Keegan, Heighway & Toshack. Then went to Bristol City and retired in 1980 after a brief spell back at Hibs. He next managed Partick Thistle for 4 years followed by spells as manager of Anortosi in Cyprus and as the national coach of Botswana in 1986. Later, he was assistant manager at Hibs until he left after a dispute with Alex Miller and in the 1990's was Alan McGraw's assistant at Morton until he was sacked in 1997. Latterly was involved in a painting and decorating firm in Edinburgh and also did some after dinner speaking. He was capped 9 times by Scotland and went to the 1974 World Cup as part of Scotland's 22-man pool.

Internet

There are now three web sites dedicated to Cowdenbeath Football Club. The football clubs official site at www.cowdenbeathfc.com. The fanzine at blue-brazil.co.uk. Chat sessions are held on this web site every Sunday evening at 19.00hrs. The Yorkshire Supporters Club at bluebrazil.com. Chat sessions are held on this site every Wednesday evening at 20.00hrs.

In an effort to keep costs to a minimum will all members who have access to the Internet please send a confirmation email to Frank Dillon at the above address.

Membership

Membership continues to grow and currently stands at 151 made up as follows, Full 103. OAP 20, junior 28. Members come from the following country's, Bulgaria 1, England 45, Israel 1, Scotland 103, Wales 1

Membership Identity


Membership badges have been issued and if any supporter has not received their badge please contact any of the committee. Sales of our clothing range are going quite well with very positive reports being received. With winter weather on us with why not order one of our knitted hats only £6.50.

Travel Club

Coaches are booked for the following matches, East Fife 2nd January 2001. Prices are as follows, members £3.00, non-members £5.00, junior and O.A.P. £2.00. The coach will leave Central Park at 2.00pm. Scottish Cup against Berwick Rangers 6th January 2001. Prices are as follows, Members £6.00, non-members £8.00, junior £3.00, O.A.P. £4.00. It is expected that two coaches will be available for the cup game but supporters are advised to book as early as possible due to the holiday period and the close proximity of the matches. A coach booking form is available during the week at Central Park and Frank Dillon is available on match days to take names. A group of 30 Blue Brazilian supporters from Maltby will be going to the cup match at Berwick and in keeping with The Blue Brazilian theme everyone will be wearing sombreros.

Social Events

With Craig Levin's move to Hearts plans for our first social night have been put in abeyance. Hopefully once Peter Cormack gets settled in he may be able to participate in a similar event. It is anticipated that the quiz night will take place in early February. To help us plan these social evenings we need an indication of the number of members who would come to one our more of the evenings. Can members therefore give their names to any committee member.

Sponsorship

Since our first newsletter, a member of the supporters club has sponsored another player. The members name is Clive Butterfield of Hertford, Hertfordshire. Clive has chosen Murray McDowall. Clive hopes to visit Central Park in February for a match. Hopefully if our monthly forecast continues to be successful we will be in a situation to sponsor more players.

Fund Raising

The November winner of the Blue Brazilian Monthly Forecast was Sam McNeish. Sam got a total of 24 points and in doing so earned himself £100 in prize money. Keith Russell of Cardenden sold the winning line of 24 points with the following results. East Fife 2 - 0, Dumbarton 1 - 1, Hamilton 1 - 1, Peterhead 2 - 0. Sales of the December monthly forecast have exceeded expectations and the idea of the monthly forecast seems to have caught attracted a lot of interest. Attached to this newsletter is the monthly forecast sheet for January please ensure that completed sheets are returned prior to the East Fife game on 2nd January 2001.

One area of fundraising that has been ignored is The Park Bar prior to home matches. With increasing amounts of spectators going to our matches there is now sufficient numbers to run a 50/50 draw. We are therefore looking for a volunteer/volunteers who would take this job on. Remember the more income raised more players are sponsored and coach fares will also be cheaper.

Player of the Year Award

All members are reminded they have a say in who wins the player of the year award at the end of the season. Voting slips can be obtained from Jimmy Scade. The latest standings are, Davie White 105, Graeme Brown 75, Murray McDowall 63, John Paul Burns 55, John Martin 41, Jimmy Boyle 27, Keith Wright 27, Craig Winter 22, Craig McMillan 18, Mark Bradley 16, Toby King 15, Keith McCulloch 13, James Allan 11, James Lakie 6, Alan Lawrence 3, R Juskoviak 3.

End of Season Dance

The player of the year award is made at our annual dance, which is held on the last day of the season. This year we have a home match against Brechin City on May 6th. This year's dance could be of special significance if we win promotion. Numbers are limited at our usual venue Wee Jimmy's. To try and gauge demand for tickets we shall be asking later in the year supporters intentions regarding going to the dance. An added bonus is that at least 10 members of the Yorkshire branch of the supporters club will be coming to the dance and over 30 from Maltby.

Central Fife Times

The Central Fife Times is the ideal way to keep up to date on a weekly basis with news about Cowdenbeath Football Club. Subscriptions rates which include postage are, 13 issues £6.63, 26 issues £13.26, 52 issues £26.52. If you require a subscription please send a cheque or postal order made payable to The Dunfermline Press, 17 Bank Street, Lochgelly.

Honorary Members

In recognition of a lifetime of following Cowdenbeath Football Club the supporters club is pleased to confer honorary life membership to John Finlay Snr, Willie Anderson, Eric Mitchell & Jack Gilmour.

Yorkshire Cowdenbeath Supporters Club

The Yorkshire Cowdenbeath Supporters Club are organising a trip to the last match of the season against Brechin City on Saturday 6th May 2000. The cost of the trip is £85.00 adults, £61.50 under 16 and includes transport, 2 nights bed & breakfast, tickets for the match and tickets for the player of the years dance following the match. Any fan from the North West wishing travel to Cowdenbeath for this match are asked to contact Simon Edmunds 3 Zion Terrace, Hebdon Bridge. North Yorks who will forward details. Email simbok2k@aol.com.

 

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