Part Eight - 80s to Present Day
Following relegation to Division Two in 1978, East Fife struggled to raise a team that looked capable of mounting a serious promotion challenge, although it has to be said that a final league position of fourth was attained at the end of their first season ‘back in the basement’. The following four seasons, however, did little to warm the hearts of the supporters and with East Fife typically occupying a position in the lower half of the table, attendances dropped even further. To continue the example quoted in Part Seven of the club’s history, a Division Two fixture at Bayview against Albion Rovers in the early 1980’s could now only attract a ‘crowd’ of just 339 compared to the 3,152 who attended the same fixture a decade earlier!
Season 1983/84, however, saw the club’s fortunes completely turned around. Despite a small slump in fortunes in late Autumn, the first half of the campaign was largely favourable and league results started to show a marked sign of improvement, particularly towards the end of the year.
January 1984 was dominated by Scottish Cup fixtures and in particular the third round tie against Hibernian. The Fifers put on a great display against the Edinburgh side at Easter Road on 28th January and forced the tie into a replay at Bayview following a no-scoring draw. The replay in Methil three days later will long be remembered by the East Fife supporters in the huge crowd that lined the terraces on the last day of January 1984. An early goal from recent signing Tom McCafferty had the Fifers leading at the interval and, when Steve Kirk headed home in the second half to win the game, the cheer could be heard in Leith! Unfortunately, the joy was short lived as Celtic visited Methil in round four and won by six goals without reply.
There was further rejoicing at the end of the season, however, as a nail-biting run in to the end of the league campaign saw East Fife beat off the challenge of several other clubs to claim second place in the league. It had been a long time coming, but the Fifers were finally back in Division One.
This time the club managed to stay in the First Division for four seasons and, during that time, were twice involved in the battle for promotion to the Premier League. Of these four seasons, the 1985/86 campaign was extraordinary to say the least, when the Fifers failed to record their first league win until 9th November, their fourteenth league fixture, yet eventually missed out on promotion to the Premier League by just two points!
After being relegated in 1988 after finishing just a point behind third bottom Kilmarnock, a further period of gloom ensued as East Fife became firmly rooted in the Second Division., although at the end of a more promising campaign in Season 1991/92 the Fifers again missed out on promotion by just two points. Two years later, league re-construction once again pulled the Methil men out of the bottom league and, following the ambitious appointment of former Barcelona and Scotland star Steve Archibald as manager, promotion back to Division One was achieved in 1996.
The following season, however, turned out to be a disastrous one. Archibald was sacked after just five league games; the team dropped to the bottom of the league, and remained there until being officially relegated long before the season’s league fixtures were completed.
The slump continued and just two years later, after re-locating from Bayview Park to the impressive all-seated Bayview Stadium at Methil Docks, East Fife found themselves in the Third Division.
After four more miserable years in the bottom league, Jim Moffat was appointed as Manager towards the end of Season 2001/02. Along with assistant Craig Robertson, the new boss assembled a team capable of winning promotion and just over a year later, in the club’s Centenary year, promotion back to Division Two was won with virtually the last kick of the ball in the last game of the season!
Despite a promising start to the following season, however, the club were relegated once again in 2004 and have been in the Third Division ever since.
Following a disappointing series of results over most of the 2005/06 campaign, Jim Moffat was replaced at the helm by Dave Baikie in April 2006 along with Assistant Manager Graham Irons. After the remainder of the 2005/06 season was wound up with experimental teams and formations, the new management team set about re-building the side.
The change of management has resulted in a re-vitalised East Fife team which, combined with a complete re-organisation at Board level that has seen local businessman Willie Gray take over as Chairman from Derrick Brown following a well-publicised campaign, everyone associated with the club can now look to the future with confidence.
With the club keen to become more involved with the local community, and with various bodies such as the Supporters Trust, the Supporters Club and the East Fife Junior Supporters Club (formerly the ‘Young Fifers’) all keen to lend a hand, the future looks very promising indeed.
The enthusiasm of these organisations, along with the dedication of the current Board and many other volunteers who willingly give up their time on a daily basis for the love of their football club, has resulted in an air of enthusiasm at Bayview Stadium that has been sadly lacking in recent times.
Will the club ever rise again and be a formidable force in the Scottish game? Who can tell!
One thing is certain, however. With such a remarkable history, everyone who wears the black and gold of East Fife Football Club, whether it is on or off the park, can wear the colours with pride!
