This is a list of Airdrieonians F.C. seasons in Scottish football, from their foundation in 1878 to their dissolution in 2002. It details the club's achievements in senior league and cup competitions and the top scorers for each season. The list of top scorers also chronicles how the club's scoring records have progressed throughout the club's history.
The original Airdrieonians were formed in 1878 as Excelsior F.C. The club soon became members of the Scottish Football Association and initially began competing in the Scottish Cup and Qualifying Cup, before joining the Scottish Football League in 1895.
The Diamonds won the Scottish Cup in 1923–24, beating Hibernian in the final, and were also runners-up three times, in 1974–75 (losing to Celtic), in 1991–92 (to Rangers) and in 1994–95 (again to Celtic).
They were never champions of the Scottish League but finished second four times in succession between 1923 and 1926 in what was their most successful period. [1] During the 1990s, in addition to the Scottish Cup final appearances (the first of which earned them a place in the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup) they also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup in the same seasons, but lost on penalties both times. Those were two of six occasions where Airdrie reached the penultimate stage of the League Cup, but they never made it to the showpiece match in that competition.
In 1994 the club moved from their Broomfield Park home after 102 years. They spent four seasons as tenants of Clyde at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. The burden of the construction cost of their new all-seater ground (the Excelsior Stadium) was made worse with the deterioration of their supporter base due to lack of investment in the playing staff and the years playing away from their home town, which placed severe financial strain on the club. [2] Despite managing to remain in the second tier for nine successive seasons and win the lower-division Scottish Challenge Cup two years running, [3] they were dissolved in 2002 due to debt. [4]
Local businessmen subsequently took control of struggling Clydebank, renamed them Airdrie United and relocated the team to Airdrie for 2002–03, changing the playing colours to those of the original Airdrieonians but retaining the league place of Clydebank. [5] In 2013, the new club was allowed to call themselves Airdrieonians F.C. and use a close approximation of the historic entity's badge; however they are not a legal continuation of the 1878 club. [6]
The Scottish Football League was founded in 1890 and, other than during seven years of hiatus during World War II, [lower-alpha 1] the national top division has been played every season since. [lower-alpha 2] The following is a summary of Airdrieonians' divisional status until their dissolution in 2002:
Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, was a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire.
Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. Formed in 2003, they are currently a member of the West of Scotland Football League.
The Excelsior Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season it has also been used by Celtic for the home matches of their women's team in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) and B team in the Scottish Lowland Football League, as well as by Glasgow University F.C. of the West of Scotland Football League. It is an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 10,101, and has a 3G artificial surface.
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football League, as well as Rangers W.F.C of the Scottish Women's Premier League.
The 1998–99 season was the 102nd season of Scottish league football.
Broomfield Park was a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 football season.
Alexander Stewart is a Scottish football player and coach. Stewart played as a full-back for Hearts, Kilmarnock, Airdrieonians, Partick Thistle and Airdrie United. He became the latter club's first manager, and has been an assistant manager at several clubs in Scotland, England, the United States and India, working with Owen Coyle.
The 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup was the 12th season of the competition, competed for by all 30 members of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were Airdrieonians, who defeated Alloa Athletic 2–1 in the 2001 final.
The 2001–02 Scottish Challenge Cup was the 11th season of the competition, which was also known as the Bell's Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was competed for by the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were Airdrieonians, who defeated Livingston 3–2 on penalties in the 2000 final.
The 2000–01 Scottish Challenge Cup was the tenth season of the competition, which was also known as the Bell's Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was competed for by the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were Alloa Athletic, who defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5–4 on penalties in the 1999 final.
The 1994–95 Scottish Challenge Cup was the fifth season of the competition, which was also known as the B&Q Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was competed for by the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League. The previous champions were Falkirk, who defeated St Mirren 3–0 in the 1993 final.
The 2001 Scottish Challenge Cup Final was played on 14 October 2001, at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld and was the 11th staging of the final in the history of the tournament. It was played between Airdrieonians and Alloa Athletic of the First and Second Divisions respectively. Airdrieonians emerged winners after defeating Alloa Athletic 2–1 to win the tournament for the second consecutive year, also being Airdrieonians last honour before going into liquidation in 2002.
Glasgow University Football Club are a Scottish football team that represents the University of Glasgow. The club was founded at a meeting of students "dissatisfied that the Rugby game alone has been played at College" on 7 December 1877, under the captaincy of Arthur Mechan.
The Lanarkshire derby is a football rivalry based in Lanarkshire, Scotland, with matches contested between any two from Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical and Albion Rovers.
Section B are a group of football supporters who follow Airdrieonians F.C., and before the current club's formation in 2002, followed the original Airdrieonians. The group, formed in 1977, have been well known throughout Scottish football for their boisterous, vociferous and often violent behaviour for over 40 years.
The 2000 Scottish Challenge Cup Final was played on 19 November 2000, at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld and was the 10th staging of the final in the history of the tournament. It was played between Airdrieonians and Livingston both of the First Division. Airdrieonians emerged winners after defeating Livingston 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time.
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club following the liquidation of the original Airdrieonians club, formed in 1878. The club's official name was changed in 2013 with the approval of the Scottish Football Association to the traditional name of Airdrieonians. As with the previous club, this is often colloquially shortened to simply "Airdrie".
Clydebank Football Club was a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. The fourth entity to carry the name, Clydebank were formed in 1965 following the relocation of East Stirlingshire Clydebank F.C., a club formed by a contentious merger of Clydebank Juniors and East Stirlingshire in 1964 to bring a with the intention of creating a senior club for the town; this arrangement lasted only one year before East Stirlingshire continued alone as before and a new Clydebank team was formed. Playing their home games at Kilbowie Park, they were elected to the Scottish Football League in 1966. Clydebank had two short spells in the Scottish Premier Division, and reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1990, whilst a First Division club.