After what was a highly competitive season 2022/23 in Lowland League Development League for our Under 20s side, we will be entering the forthcoming campaign with a new management squad in place.
Scott McBride and Kevin Liddle have moved on to pastures new and everyone at East Fife Football Club thanks them for their effort & time over the last couple of seasons.
We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Neil Paylor as the new Head Coach of our Under 20s. Neil currently holds the UEFA B Licence and is awaiting confirmation of attaining his A Licence. Neil joins us from Dunfermline Athletic where he was Academy Coach at Under 18s & Under13 level and last season was also Head of Opposition & Performance Analysis at cinch League 2 winners Stirling Albion.
Neil has also previously held the positions of Assistant Manager at Kirkcaldy & Dysart FC and First-Team coach at Raith Rovers Ladies & Girls FC.
Neil will be assisted in the role by Roy Barnes who was involved with East Fife Community Football Club for over 7 years and has latterly been coaching with St. Andrew’s United Under 20s. Roy holds a UEFA C Licence with the SFA and brings local knowledge to the role as he lives in the area.
Both Neil & Roy will be working closely with the first team management team, and we welcome them both to Bayview.
The uptake in our 120th Anniversary strip has been a huge success with over 400 name spaces being purchased by you, our loyal fans.
Unfortunately, despite being given assurances, Joma Europe has now informed us that they will now not be in a position to manufacture this bespoke strip. To say we are unhappy with this, is an understatement!
However, after extensive negotiations, we are delighted to announce that the Italian manufacturer Erreá have agreed to be our home kit supplier for season 2023/24, including the manufacture & supply of our anniversary home shirt.
As you will see from the latest mock up, the fundamental design of the strip remains the same, however the names will now be embedded horizontally across both the black AND gold stripes.
The reason for this is quite simple. Due to the incredible demand for spaces, Erreá expressed concern that on the smaller sizes of tops, some of the names may be omitted or in a font so small they would be illegible. Additionally, this change means each name will appear on each strip at least twice and the font size can be maintained even on the smaller child sizes.
Our kit partners, Football Nation, have already adjusted the sizes, where required, on all previously ordered strips to account for the change in manufacturer. We are hopeful that by using a European-based manufacturer, the strips could now be available in early August.
We are sure you will find the new design to be an exciting addition to the range of anniversary merchandise about to be launched and we thank you in advance for your understanding in something that has been out of our control.
The injury Sam suffered early on in the 2nd leg of our playoff semi-final match against Clyde has been scanned and assessed by a specialist. Unfortunately, it has now been confirmed that Sam has suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which will require surgery to fix, and he is scheduled to undergo an operation in a few weeks.
Regrettably, this injury means Sam will be unable to play football or work in his day job as a coach for a significant period of time.
Our popular fan podcast, Glory Days of Gold, have kindly agreed to start a GoFundMe page to provide a little help with both the cost of the procedure and Sam’s loss of income as a result of this injury.
The club and our Physio Jeb Spink will continue to support Sam through his rehabilitation and look forward to seeing him back playing football in the future.
For anyone wishing to contribute to the GoFundMe page can do so here.
We have been drawn in Group G for the 2023/24 Viaplay cup alongside Motherwell, Wueen's Park, Queen of the South and Elgin City.