"Hamilton F.C." redirects here. For the soccer club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, see
Hamilton FC.
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Premiership, having been promoted from the 2013–14 Scottish Championship. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy and remain the only professional club in British football to have originated from a school team. Hamilton have won the Scottish Challenge Cup twice and have finished runners-up in the Scottish Cup twice. The club currently play their home games at New Douglas Park.
Club history
Hamilton Academical F.C. was formed in late 1874 by the Rector and pupils of the local school. 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 November 1897 following the resignation of Renton.[2]
In the 1970s, Hamilton briefly resigned from the league due to mounting debts.[3] In 1994 the club sold its home ground, Douglas Park stadium, to Sainsbury's supermarket, and subsequently ground-shared in Coatbridge and Glasgow for seven years.[3] During this period the club went through financial hardships and unpaid players went on strike.[3] As a result, Hamilton was unable to fulfil its fixtures during the 1999–2000 season and was docked 15 points, the eventual result of which was relegation to the Third Division.[3] The club moved into its New Douglas Park stadium in 2001.[3]
In 2008, for the first time in 20 years, Accies gained promotion to the top division of Scottish football, the Scottish Premier League. In the 2009–10 season, a 3–0 victory against Kilmarnock on 17 April 2010 secured a third straight season in Scotland's top flight, with four games remaining.[4]
The Accies' stay in the SPL ended in the 2010–11 season, when they were relegated after a 1–0 defeat away to St Johnstone.[5] Despite their relegation, Hamilton's time in the top flight was most notable for their emphasis on youth including midfielders James McCarthy and James McArthur, both of whom went on to play for Wigan Athletic F.C. in the English Premier League before gaining international recognition.
Return to the Premiership
After a hard-fought campaign during the 2013–14 Scottish Championship season, Accies finished in second position on the final day of the season following a 10–2 home victory over Morton. Despite the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion to Dundee, they went on to defeat Falkirk 2–1 on aggregate in the first stage of their Premiership play-off to face top-flight Hibernian over two legs for a place in the 2014–15 Scottish Premiership. Hamilton lost the first leg 2–0 at New Douglas Park, but two away goals in the return leg at Easter Road, including an injury time strike, forced the tie to extra time and penalty-kicks. Hamilton converted all of their spot-kicks and gained promotion back to the top flight.[6] Neil left the club in January 2015, to take up a position at English club Norwich.[7][8]
Stadium
The club play their fixtures at New Douglas Park, which was opened in 2001. The pitch is an artificial surface, one of two in the Scottish Premiership alongside Kilmarnock. The stadium has an overall capacity of 6,078 and is composed of two permanent and one temporary stand.
The ground replaced Douglas Park, which was the home of Hamilton from 1888 to 1994. The ground was eventually sold to supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 1994, with the proceeds going towards the construction of the new stadium, which lies adjacent to the site of Douglas Park.
Between 1994 and 2001 the club had no home. They ground-shared at Cliftonhill and Firhill Stadium.
Honours
Chart of yearly table positions of The Accies in the Scottish league.
- Scottish First Division
- Winners (4): 1903–04, 1985–86, 1987–88, 2007–08[9]
- Runners-up (4): 1904–05, 1952–53, 1964–65, 2013–14
- Scottish Second Division
- Runners-up (2): 1996–97, 2003–04
- Scottish Third Division
- Scottish Cup
- Runners-up (2): 1910–11, 1934–35
- Scottish Challenge Cup
- Winners (2): 1991–92, 1992–93
- Runners-up (2): 2005–06, 2011–12
Club records
Match records
- Record victory: 10–2 vs. Morton (May 2014)[10][11]
Transfer records
- Biggest transfer purchase – Tomas Cerny from Sigma Olomouc (July 2009; £180,000)[12]
- Biggest transfer sale – James McCarthy to Wigan Athletic (July 2009; £1,200,000)[12]
Players
Current squad
- As of 3 May 2016[13][14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Player of the Year
Former players
Staff
Current staff
- As of 30 July 2015[19]
| Role | Name |
| Player-Manager |  Martin Canning |
| Assistant Manager |  Guillaume Beuzelin |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Brian Potter |
| Head of Youth Academy | George Cairns |
| Club Secretary | Scott Struthers |
| Equipment Manager | Danny Cunning |
| Physiotherapist | Victoria McIntyre |
| Sports Scientist | Colin Clancy |
| Performance Analyst | Dominic Stewart |
Previous managers
- Alex Raisbeck, 1914–1922
- David Buchanon, 1922–1923
- Scott Duncan, 1923–1925
- Willie McAndrew, 1925–1946
- Jimmy McStay, 1946–1951
- Andrew Wylie, 1951–1953
- Jacky Cox, 1953–1956
- John Lowe, 1956–1958
- Andy Paton, 1959–1968
- John Crines, 1968–1969
- Billy Lamont, 1969 (Player/Manager)
- Tommy Ewing, 1969–1970
- Bobby Shearer, 1970–1971
- Ronnie Simpson, 1971–1972
- Billy Lamont, 1972 (Caretaker)
- Eric Smith, 1972–1978
- Davie McParland, 1978–1982
- John Blackley, 1982–1983
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- Bertie Auld, 1983–1984
- John Lambie, 1984–1988
- Jim Dempsey, 1988–1989
- George Miller, 1989 (Caretaker)
- John Lambie, 1989–1990
- George Miller, 1990 (Caretaker)
- Billy McLaren, 1990–1992
- Iain Munro, 1992–1996
- Sandy Clark, 1996–1998
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 Colin Miller, 1998–1999 (Player/Manager)
- Ally Dawson, 1999–2002
- Chris Hillcoat, 2002–2003
- Allan Maitland, 2003–2005
- Billy Reid 2005–2013
- Alex Neil 2013 (Caretaker)
- Alex Neil 2013–2015
- Martin Canning 2015 (Caretaker)
- Martin Canning 2015–present[20]
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References
External links
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Tomáš Černý[17]