Airdrieonians F.C.

**Airdrieonians Football Club** (forbye cried *The Daimants*) is a professional fitbaw club frae the toun o Airdrie in North Lanrikshire.  It is a member o the Scots Professional Fitbaw League (SPFL) an is nou in the Scots Championship.

## History
### Birth Efter the Deith o Airdrieonians
Airdrie Unitit wis formed in Mey 2002 efter the deith o Airdrieonians.  Airdrieonians haed feenished seicont in the First Division in the 2001/02 season, but efter monie yeir o siller problems thay dee'd wi dets o mair nor £2 million.  The deith o the auld Airdrie left a place in the Scots Fitbaw League (in the Third Division) an local Aidrie man, an Airdrieonians fan, Jim Ballantyne attemptit wi the aid o ithers, tae get intae the League wi a team cried "Airdrie Unitit" that wis a re-birth o Airdrieonians.  But thair application wis rejectit in favour o the Inglis UniBond team Gretna.  As a last resort, Ballantyne bocht oot strugglin Division Twa side Clydebank an, wi the SFL's aye-sayin, the club wis remuived tae Airdrie, the sarks wis chynged tae leuk lik thaim o Aidrieonians an the name wis chynged tae Airdrie Unitit.

### First Season (2002/03)
Airdrie Unitit's first season stairtit wi a hame gemme agin Farfar Athletic, whilk the Daimons won 1-0 wi a goal bi caiptain Stephen Docherty.  Maugre a puir stairt tae the season, the club endit weel, as striker Jerome Vareille led thaim tae a promotion chailenge at the end o the season.  Thay didna achieve the promotion as a late goal frae Brechin Ceety agin Hamilton Accies saw thaim tak seicont place aheid o Airdrie.

Ane o the hielichts o the season wis dingin SPL side Kilmarnock oot o the CIS Cup awa on the penalties.

### First Success (2003/04)
Airdrie Unitit's first, an sae faur anely trophy cam in the 2002/03 season (anely the club's seicont season) that thay won the Seicont Division an war promotit tae the First Division.  Airdrie wan the trophy whan, efter a gey puir stairt tae the season, thay lostna in the last aichteen gemmes - the last bein agin umwhile leaders Morton (wha eventually endit fowert) whan the Diamonts teuk the trophy efter a 2-0 win in front o a croud o mair nor 5,000 (still the club's record for a League gemme), tho the League haed, in fact, been wan the week afore wi a 1-0 win awa tae Alloa (wi club hero Owen Coyle scorin his 100rt Airdrie goal tae clinch the title).

Afore this, Airdrie Unitit haed reached the final o the Bell's Chailenge Cup, but wis beaten 2-0 bi First Division Inverness Caledonian Thristle.

### Mid-Table in First Division (2004/05 & 2005/06)
In Airdrie Unitit's first season in the Scots First Division thay endit up 5t. The club lost monie pleyers in the simmer o 2005, an went intae the 2005/06 season wi nae muckle expectation o gettin the same poseetion again - but thay aye managed tae finish 6t.  In this season the club recordit a 7-0 win ower Dundee at hame, whilk aye staunds as the club's record victorie.

### Sackin o Sandy Stewart an Relegation (2006/07)
On November 13, 2006, Sandy Stewart, wis sackit frae his poseetion o manager efter ower fower yeir in chairge o the club, owin tae monie poor gemmes an the fack that club hadnae been abuin 8t.  He wis succeedit bi ex-Airdrieonians pleyer an Airdrie Unitit coach Kenny Black fower day later.  Black haed been a coach at Leicester City in Ingland sin 2004, an this wis his first managerial post in senior fitbaw (tho he haed been in chairge o the fitbaw team at the Varsity o Edinburgh aforehaund).

Despite sum sines o a late rallie, Black didnae inspire the Daimons tae onie grate extent, an thay endit up 9t in the league, leavin thame in the Scots League Play Aff poseetion.  Thay wad need tae win the Play Aff tae stai in the First Division.

Thay got aff tae a guid stairt, dingin Brechin City wi an aggregate score o 6-1.  But in the final thay war puir, castin awa a 2-0 lead in the lest five meenits o the first leg agin Stirling Albion an lost the hame gemme 3-2, sicweys gien Airdrie Unitit thair first relegation in thair gey short history.

## Club Information
### Grund
Airdrie Unitit pley thair hame gemmes at New Bruimfield Pairk in Airdrie, as the fans caa it, tho it is offeecially kent as "Exelsior Stadium."  The noo deid Airdrieonians' auld pairk (Briumfield, tho in the lang syne thay haed pleyed at Mavisbank) wis selt tae supermerket chyne Safeway (sin then takken ower bi WM Morrison), wha wer gien permission tae big a new store on the site.  It is generally jaloused that is wis this transaction whilk startit the siller proablems o Airdrieonians, as thair auld grund wis knockit doon sum yeirs afore the new ane wis gien persmisson tae be biggit.  The yeirs awa frae Airdrie (in whilk the club grund-shared at Braidwood Stadium, Cummernaud, wi Cylde FC) resultit in the siller frae the sellin o Bruimfield, whilk wis tae be uised tae pey fer the biggin o the new grund, wis wastit.  The yeirs awa an the cost o biggin a pairk wi a capacitie o mair nor 10,000 (despite croods bein less nor twa thoosan) dindnae help the club.  The buird's reasonin ahint biggin a grund o sic hie capacitie wis that the Scots Premier League (SPL) demandit that clubs hae a stadium wi at least 10,000 seats tae get intae thair league.  The requiremint is noo onlie 6,000 - whilk mey hae been enough tae sauf Airdrieonian's frae the financial burded o biggin sic a muckle new grund.

New Bruimfield is the heichest grund abuin sea-level in Sctoland.

### Serks
Airdrie Unitit hae takken on Airdrieonians' pleyin colours: a white serk wi a reid daimon - frae whilk thay tak thair nickname "The Daimons."  The serk is sponsort bi Airdire Regeneration Partnership an Diadora mak the kits.

### Matchday Programme
The Airdrie Unitit programme is cried "Daimons Ar For Aye".  It is editit bi John O'Brien an photographs come frae offeecial club photographer Robert Dalzell.  Its leuk an layoot is the wark o Frank Toucher an it is printit bi Walker & Connell Ltd.

### Sangs
As wi ilka club, Airdrie Unitit hae monie sangs at the fans are fond o.  The twa that are pleyed on the tannoy afor an efter the hame gemmes ar "Ainlie the Lainlie" bi Roy Orbison an the auld standard "Cannae Help Fallin."

As weel as thir sangs, the fans hae monie chants anent the club an aw.

## References