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It is with great sadness that the club learned of the passing of former player Walter Robertson.

Born in Buckhaven, manager Scot Symon signed the 18 year old from the highly successful Bayview Youth Club in August 1949. Coming from a family steeped in East Fife tradition, with his father Walter having played for and managed the club, Robertson could not put pen to paper quickly enough.

Symon handed Robertson his debut at left back in a midweek game against Motherwell at Fir Park ahead of the Fifers’ Scottish Cup final meeting with Rangers at Hampden in April 1950. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, a Charlie Fleming inspired comeback after the break earned a 4-3 win.

Robertson was perhaps unfortunate that being understudy to the redoubtable Sammy Stewart at the peak of his career, his time at Bayview was mainly restricted to reserve team action. He did, nonetheless get the opportunity to play alongside Scottish internationalists Henry Morris and Davie Duncan in those C Division days.

He was also clearly highly regarded by Scot Symon, who would include Robertson in the squads for floodlit friendlies at venues such as Roker Park, Sunderland and Newcastle United’s St James’ Park. During this time Robertson was carrying out his National Service and would regularly turn out for an RAF side packed with high profile players, such as Rangers’ Johnny Hubbard and Ray Wood of Manchester United.

Robertson was often heard to say that East Fife were the only club he wanted to play for, but had to reluctantly accept a free transfer to Forfar Athletic after being released by Jerry Dawson in May 1955. An injury sustained during his first season at Station Park however brought a premature end to his playing career.

After hanging up his boots he returned to football as a coach, working with Cowdenbeath, and having a short spell at Bayview under former playing colleague Frank Christie, where he guided East Fife reserves to a League Cup final in 1974.

Walter Robertson continued his close connection with the club he loved, and was in attendance at Bayview on a regular basis until very recently, when ill health saw him move to a care home.

East Fife Football Club would like to pass on our sincere condolences to Walter’s family and friends at this sad time.

ROBERTSON Walter 1949ca

Following extensive discussions with our Board of Directors over the last couple of weeks, I feel that now is a good time to advise our fans on the current situation at Bayview.

As you will all appreciate our first priority is for the health & well-being of all of our employees including players, management, club office staff and, of course, our volunteers. There has been a lot work going on behind the scenes and no doubt this will continue for a good while yet.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has caused an enormous amount of disruption to both the football club, and more importantly, the wider community. As you will be aware, all domestic football has been postponed until 30th April 2020 at the earliest, however, we realistically expect the shutdown to run well into the summer.

As a club we have implemented the following actions to safeguard our employees:

  • The club office is now closed and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Leona & Carolyn will be working from home during the closure and are available to answer any enquiries via email. 
  • Following guidance from the SFA last week, no first-team or under 20s training sessions have taken place. Players are undertaking fitness training on their own although the management teams have been available to provide them with any support and advice required. 
  • The Locality Hub Bayview Stadium will also remain closed until further notice.

As you can imagine, the postponement of all matches will have a substantial impact of the club financially. At the time of the shutdown we had 4 home league matches to play which has resulted in loss in revenue from gate admissions and sold-out hospitality as well as losses from club shop and bar sales. Our final scheduled home match of this season against Falkirk would have generated income of around £20,000 on its own. We are also in a promising position within the league & were very much in contention for the promotion play-offs this year, matches which would have also generated a considerable amount of revenue for the club.

Following a lot of hard-work by the Board of Directors over the last few years, East Fife Football Club are in a relatively safe financial position however the losses detailed above put a significant strain on club finances and we will begin to struggle should the shutdown continue into August as some within the game have indicated. East Fife do have Business Interruption insurance, including closure for diseases, however, when we enquired about this last week, we were advised that we would not be covered by that insurance as the stadium hadn’t been closed due to an incident of this coronavirus on the premises. We are currently checking whether our position changes now that we’ve entered a government mandated shutdown.

I have been heartened by the number of supporters who have contacted the club wishing to contribute financially. I have so far been reluctant to ask supporters for donations as I know many will be struggling with their own position at this time. We have, however, given our backing to a Gofundme campaign set up by Melanie Lothian & Mandy Stevenson. You can donate to the page here.

I would also encourage all supporters to sign up for our Goldmine Lotto which you can now do online. The current jackpot is £1,450 and the draw takes place every Wednesday at 1pm. For more info & to play click here.

East Fife TV and our media team having been doing a fantastic job keeping you informed and entertained over the past couple of weeks and have plans in place for future features. Last weekend I’m sure many of you tuned in to watch their “live” match & I’m sure you’ll do so again this weekend; I hear we’re going to have the chance to relive another memorable encounter! East Fife TV are showing all of these matches for free but donations can be made if you wish here. All monies donated will come directly to the club.

Finally, I encourage all of you to adhere to all advice issued by the government to help fight this virus and I hope you & your family remain safe & well.

Yours

Jim Stevenson

Chairman

East Fife Supporter Melanie Lothain has set up a GoFundMe page for any supporters who wish to make a donation to the club.

Mel has asked us to post the following message. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so here

Due to the recent shutdown of all professional and domestic football due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, many businesses, including East Fife Football Club, will face an uncertain future.

With 4 home first-team matches still to play the club will have lost out on a significant sum on money from gate receipts and sold-out hospitality as well as having to cancel the Big Band Fundraising night scheduled for the end of this month.

I’ve spoken to many fans who would like to help out financially so I have set up this Crowdfunding page, with approval from the club, as a means for fans, who are in a position to help, support the club (with an initial target of £5,000).

I know that they will greatly appreciate any support you are able to provide.

#MonTheFife

Our matchday programme, The Bayview, from last weekend’s postponed match v Montrose is now available to buy online here for £2.

All regular subscribers will still receive their copy.
UK postage - £1
Overseas postage - £2
Note: postage differs to our usual club shop postage prices; any over payment will be refunded.

In the 40-page issue:

  • Manager’s & Captain’s comments
  • East Fife On This Day
  • Blast From The Past (April 1980 v October 1992)
  • Walking Football Scotland
  • Interview with Jordan Mackenzie
  • Chris Higgins – 500 Appearances & Counting
  • A View From The Press Box
  • Extract from Chapter 14 of There Used to be a Power Station Over There
  • One Hundred Years Ago
  • Plus all the usual match reports, stats & half-time quiz

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