Blackburn United F.C.
| Full name | Blackburn United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Burnie | ||
| Founded | 1978 | ||
| Ground |
New Murrayfield Park Ash Grove Blackburn | ||
| Capacity | 2,400 | ||
| President | Ian McGinty | ||
| Manager | Mark Campbell | ||
| League | SJFA East Region South Division | ||
| 2015–16 | SJFA East Region South Division, 3rd | ||
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Blackburn United Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Blackburn, West Lothian. Members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, they play in the SJFA East Region South Division.
History
Formed in 1978, the club joined the Junior grade of football two years later. United presently compete in the East Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association and play their home matches at the purpose built Dem-master Community Stadium (New Murrayfield Park), which has room for approximately 2,400 spectators, in the centre of the town. The whole facility that is New Murrayfield Park boasts a six-dressing room pavilion and associated amenities, a floodlit 3G main Stadium pitch, two further 11-a-side pitches and two 7-a-side pitches.
Community Club
The Club forms the pinnacle of the Blackburn United Community Football Club, a fully accredited SFA Community Club which, in addition to the adult side, also caters for under age football at all ages from under-9 to under-21 as well as ladies, girls and special needs football. For those of an even younger age there is a soccer school with its own dedicated coaches.
Current squad
- As of October 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club records
Appearances
The club's record appearance holder until March 2014 was Craig Spence who, after signing from Airdrieonians at the beginning of the 1998–99 season, made 375 appearances and scored 20 goals before retiring in August 2012.[1] On 15 March 2014, fellow Airdrie man Alan Brown, signed as a teenager at the beginning of the 1997–98 season and who had three spells at the club, surpassed Spence's record when making his 376th appearance for the club, scoring his 68th goal in the process. Alan went onto make a total of 409 appearances, scoring 69 goals, before leaving the club at the end of the 2014/15 season. [2]
Notable former players
The following players have either played for Blackburn United before going onto forge careers in the senior grade or have played for one of the Club's predecessors before similarly going onto play in the senior grade;
- Alan Irvine former Liverpool and Dundee United player.[3]
- Chris Innes former Dundee United, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle player who also captained Gretna to the 2006 Scottish Cup Final.[4]
- Tommy Farr former Bradford Park Avenue player. Tommy was the goalkeeper for United's predecessors Blackburn Athletic when they won the 1934 Mid Lothian League Championship.
- Jimmy Stein former Everton player. Jimmy played for another of United's predecessors Blackburn Rovers in 1924 and was a winger who scored Everton's first-ever goal at Wembley when netting in the 1933 FA Cup Final.
- Big Matty Mclachlan former captain. The bigman was a formidable defender on his day, strong, composed and unbeatable in the air.