Shettleston (Scotland)

Shettleston Juniors Football & Athletic Ground, to give them their full title, are a Scottish Junior or non-league football club based in Glasgow's East End. 'The Town' were formed in 1903.

Shettleston were crowned Glasgow League champions in 1923-24 and 1926-27 before a young Tommy Docherty started out his career at Greenfield Park until joining Celtic in 1945. Honours came in the 1950's as the Glasgow Junior Cup was lifted in 1957 and 1959, the same year The Town were runners up to Irvine Meadow XI at Hampden Park in the Scottish Junior Cup Final.

Another Glasgow Junior Cup came along a year after, with another one following in 1968. League honours came when Shettleston won the Central Division One title in 1985-86, 1998-99 and 2001-02. Three West of Scotland Cup wins were also interspersed throughout the same period. along with a trio of Central Sectional League Cup victories.

In 2000-01 Shettleston reached the semi finals of the Junior Cup and then the last eight the following season as the club had a resurgence. 

Shettleston FC will play in the SJFA Central District First Division One in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Monday 30th September 2013

A year earlier I had realised that I had missed a club off my list of those to visit in Glasgow, especially after whizzing by on the train from Edinburgh. I wasn't going to kiss out twice, so while on a visit to the city for a couple of days I made sure that I fitted a call to Shettleston into my itinerary.

I had walked up to Old Shettleston Road after calling in at nearby Vale of Clyde FC and found a couple of blokes going into the ground through a door on the main road. They kindly let me inside past the dressing rooms to pitchside, where I could survey the scene.

Greenfield Park appeared to be a ground in transition. I was told that it once had a Main Stand down the Railway Side, which was now open hard and grass standing. There were hopes that a replacement would go up in the near future. The right hand goal was a similar story. Where there was once cover, there was now nothing. The Clubhouse End had a fine cover over it with a seperate small seated cover behind the goal. The Old Shettleston Road Side consisted of flat standing and then terracing in front of the players facilities and then a covered terrace. That side of the ground had seen better days but it oozed character. Work looked to be under way to make improvements.

I mentioned to one of the gents that I was going to St Mirren against Aberdeen that evening. He suggested that it could be a decent game and predicted a 1-1 scoreline. He also suggested I used the inviting looking clubhouse for some refreshment before I set off to my next destination.

Sadly, as ever, time was my master and with a tight schedule ahead I declined and walked down to Carntyne station to set off to Yoker.